"Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh!" Stinky interrupted. "You should totally have me over at your house!"
Dylan blinked in surprise. "W-What?"
"Your house! I've never been to your house before, Dylan! You should totally have me over."
Dylan didn't seem quite as enthusiastic as Stinky did at her proposition. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, and shifted his eyes to the ground. "Uh... I-I mean, I've never been to your house before, either," Dylan replied.
Stinky raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Yeah you have. I had you over for lunch."
"S-Since when?"
"Uh, since last week," Stinky answered sarcastically. She then stopped and took notice of Dylan's demeanor. "What's the big deal? Do you just not want me to go to your house?"
"Oh, uh, yeah," Dylan answered frankly. "Yeah, I don't want you at my house."
"Well, why not?"
Dylan rubbed the back of his head more, as it became clearer and clearer to Stinky that he was just trying to find some kind of excuse. "Well, Stinks..."
As he trailed off, Stinky finished his sentence for him. "Your mom and dad don't like me or something?"
"Oh, uh, no. Kind of the opposite, actually."
"...You think I won't like your parents?"
"And my sister, too," Dylan added.
Stinky shrugged. "Dylan, I can't say if I like them if I don't even get to meet them! I'm sure your folks are totally cool!"
Dylan remained silent, nowhere near as sure as Stinky was.
Stinky continued, "Hey Dylan, you owe me."
"Owe you? For what?"
"I took you to my house, now you gotta take me to yours."
Dylan let out a startled fart.
Brr-brrr-brrpphht...
"Stinks, seriously--"
"Dylan, seriously," Stinky butted in. "I wanna see your family. I've been friends with you for how long, and I haven't seen them."
"Yeah, well, that's because we're rivals, stupid..." Dylan muttered.
"Hey, rivals can still be friends, y'know! Why do you think I let you come to my house?"
Dylan didn't answer.
"You're my pal, Dylan, and I invite my pals to my place. It's not complicated." She put a hand on his shoulder. "I was trying to open up, just a teeny bit. I was just hoping, maybe... you can open up too."
Dyan's eyes widened slightly, as a calm washed over his face. Stinky could tell Dylan wasn't expecting that answer, but appreciated it all the same. He didn't have to say anything: his smirk was enough to assure her.
Dylan's smirk grew more wry as he replied. "Ugghhh... fine. You can come to my house," he reluctantly agreed.
"Yes!" Stinky exclaimed with a pump of her fist.
"Just, so you know... My family is--"
"Yeah-yeah, everybody thinks their family is weird, now let's go!" Stinky didn't even let Dylan finish his thought before she took off past him, leaving him behind.
"Wh--Hey!"
Stinky ran to the edge of the sidewalk at the corner of the street, before turning around and yelling at Dylan, "Which way to your house?!"
Dylan just chuckled and sighed. "Let me guide you there, idiot."
Dylan caught up to Stinky, and started showing her the way to his house.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------
Time: 7:31 AM
Dylan's house was farther from Stinky's than she thought. Their walk took about fifteen minutes, as Dylan made simple conversation to try and make the time go by faster. Whenever Stinky would try to ask Dylan about his family, he went silent. Stinky decided halfway through that Dylan must have wanted her to see for herself and just kept things light. The two also exchanged the occasional fart for good fun.
When they arrived at Dylan's house, Stinky didn't see anything out of the ordinary - from the outside, it looked like a perfectly normal, one-story house. The yellow paint-job contrasting with the front door's vibrant red. She cocked her head at an angle as if to say, "I don't see what the big deal is, this house looks fine."
"Gotta say, Dylan," Stinky joked, "your folks can't be that weird if they're living in this place."
Dylan just rolled his eyes.
"...You gonna tell me why you seem so nervous?" Stinky probed.
"I'm not nervous," Dylan insisted. "It's just... if I tell you, you're gonna think I'm messing with you."
Stinky nearly scoffed. "What, are they vampires or something?"
"Might as well be..." Dylan muttered. "They don't go out a lot. At least, not as much as me. I like my time away from home."
Stinky had that look of epiphany on her face. "Oohhhhh... I think I get it!"
Dylan seemed shocked. "Y-You do?"
"Yeah, totally!" Stinky answered confidently. "I shoulda figured way sooner! You're last is Gasser, after all - your family farts all the time! That's gotta stink up the place pretty bad."
Dylan's reaction was an odd mix of relief and minor annoyance, as if what Stinky had just said was both the funniest and stupidest thing he had ever heard. "That's... half-right," he admitted.
"Well, there ya go! Was that so hard to just say? If the place stinks that bad Dylan, then I don't have to stay. I just wanna meet your parents and sister!"
"Alright, just... let me know when is best for you to go."
Stinky nodded, as she and Dylan came up to the front door. Stinky knocked on the front door, then waited for someone to answer as she stood right next to Dylan. She could hear the faint sound of footsteps coming closer and closer from the other side of the door, and then immediately the mechanical sliding of the locking mechanism as the doorknob turned.
And then, as the door creaked open, small clouds of fog billowed out from behind, as if house itself was exhaling a slow, wintery breath. In the center of the fog was a tall, slender figure that took Stinky's attention almost immediately. Her face changed drastically from the lighthearted smile she had to a gaze of shock and confusion, as she looked upon the person before her.
Standing in the doorway stood a tall, skinny adult, completely covering their face with a gas mask, as well as their body with a long trench-coat. Their hands were thick black rubber gloves, and their feet were absolutely hidden by both the fog and the coat itself. The coat was heavily decorated with many pocket pouches, some full and some empty. The gas mask covered the entirely of the adult's face, with five separate filters where their mouth would otherwise be, and large green glossy lenses for eyes.
The intimidating looking figure looked down at the two children, before bending downward slightly, getting closer to Stinky's face. So close in fact, she could see her own reflection in the mask's lenses. The adult then spoke.
"Dylan... Who is your friend?"
The voice was heavily muffled by the mask, but deep and imposing all the same. Stinky could tell from what the figure said that it was an adult man.
Dylan answered somewhat sheepishly, "H-Hey, Dad... This is Stinky. That girl I've told you about. I was hoping, maybe... I could have her over for a visit?"
Stinky looked at Dylan in surprise. This dude is your... DAD? Stinky's mind couldn't wrap around how this scary-looking guy right in front of her could possibly be related to Dylan.
"...So early?" Dylan's dad asked.
"Uh, we can come back later if that's--"
"It's perfectly fine," Dylan's dad answered as he stood straight back up. He then leaned up against the door and extended his arms out towards the inside of the house, motioning Stinky to come inside.
Stinky gave Dylan a look, and as he returned her gaze, the two walked inside, past the tall man. Dylan's dad closed the door behind them as they came in through the doorway, then locked the door backup. All Stinky could take notice of was more of the same misty fog as it hovered all over the floor at her feet. Though she didn't have long to process it at all before Dylan's dad spoke up again.
"Stinky, is that right?" he asked her from behind, causing her to turn towards him in response. "Is that your birth name?"
Stinky blinked. "Oh, uh... No, Mr. Gasser. Just a nickname. My real name is Lulu."
"I see..." Dylan's dad then extended his hand towards Stinky, offering a handshake. "Please... call me Professor Gasser, if you would."
Stinky took the man's hand and gave it a decent shake. "Oh, sure. And, you can just call me Stinky. If you would."
If Professor Gasser was smiling, Stinky could not tell.
Professor Gasser withdrew his hand and add, "I'm happy that you are now formally acquainted with the Gasser Family." Before he walked past the two kids and into the living room.
Dylan looked at Stinky and said to her, "Told ya you would think I was messing with you."
Stinky only answered by sniffing a couple times.
"...What are you doing?" Dylan asked.
"Oh, I was just thinking," Stinky answered, "...this place doesn't smell that bad. Not sure why he would need the mask."
Dylan just narrowed his eyes and lead Stinky into the living room.
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