THE VERY NEXT MORNING, Stephen opened his eyes after having a nightmare. When he turned to the side, he saw Nagini closely staring at him. Believing he was having another nightmare, he closed his eyes, waiting to wake up. Suddenly, he felt something warm touch his lips and jumped out of bed.
"You crazy psychopath!" he screamed. "I told you already I'm not gay!"
Some time later.
Last night, after landing in the water, Stephen hurriedly swam to land and urged the group to head straight for home. Some of the people were confused on two accounts. The first was why Stephen looked so pale despite having successfully escaped the DBFPD. The second was why Kimberly was raging.
Castiel and Maxwell informed them about what had happened while they were falling. Clint and Willis couldn't help but laugh. Stephen's face was so red that he didn't think the little boy was a homosexual. Hearing Nagini say that he honestly wasn't gay took the group aback.
Nagini explained to everyone that he was neither gay nor part of the DBFPD. Clint hadn't believed either of his claims and was still upset that their match was interrupted. Explaining that his brother forced him to do cruel things to other riders, Stephen couldn't help but see where Nagini was coming from. He told the group that he didn't want to go back.
"Wherever the bird flies, I follow!" he announced.
To Kimberly, it felt like he was confessing, but he seemed genuine. Stephen allowed him to come with the group on the condition that he stay away from him. This shocked everyone. Yet Stephen's claims were solely based on the fact that Nagini's brother was more or less abusing him.
Dropping off Clint and his teammates, they all had a very intense car ride. Nagini was wiser than they gave him credit for. As long as they didn't agitate him with foolish questions, he didn't bite. The only weary thing was that he was consistently staring at Stephen sitting on the passenger side.
They eventually began skating when they were inside the city. Nagini followed Stephen all the way home, stating that he didn't have any money or a place to sleep. Even if Stephen denied him entry, he could tell the boy would just sleep outside his window. Neither Kimberly nor Stephen liked that idea, so they managed to get permission from Victoria, who allowed him to spend the night.
Stephen had a lot of questions to ask him, like about his unique Dyna Blades, but he was too exhausted, and tonight was a school night. Since Kimberly was still upset, she denied the boys the right to sleep in the same room. So Nagini slept on the couch. But like a snake, he managed to slither right into Stephen's bed without anyone hearing.
The next day.
"Try to kiss me again and you're dead, got it?!"
"Haha," Nagini laughed, smiling. "Don't worry, I'm not gay."
Kimberly, Victoria, and Mila were all exercising outside. They heard yelling from the top floor, prompting them that Stephen was finally awake. Victoria ignored it to make sure Mila was doing her squats correctly. A neighbor passing by told Kimberly that her husband and she enjoyed how lively their family was.
The girls eventually returned home to see Stephen brushing his teeth. About twenty minutes passed, and he was still brushing his teeth. Victoria kicked open the door and told him to get out so they could wash up. Afterwards, she went to congratulate Nagini for having found true love.
The house all gathered in the living room to have breakfast while Nagini was in the bathroom. Victoria continued to tease Stephen nonstop about being in legal trouble since Nagini was only fourteen. Kimberly was perhaps the most upset because she had secretly daydreamed about being the first person to kiss him.
Mila was too busy sewing something to notice anything. Victoria turned her teasing toward Kimberly, causing the two to grapple with each other on the floor. It wasn't until Stephen noticed Nagini come out with a towel on that he shielded his eyes in embarrassment. Mila's face turned bright red as she jumped up to him with a smile.
"Here ya go, big snake brother!" she said, handing him his jacket.
He thanked her. From what Stephen could tell, Mila clearly had a big crush on him. Nagini began dressing himself in the living room without shame, prompting Kimberly to become even more upset. It was clear no one had taught the boy any decency.
A few minutes later, he sat next to Stephen, opening his mouth for him to be fed. Stephen raised his leg to pin Nagini's back on the floor.
"Feed yourself!" Stephen said in disgust.
"But I like to keep my hands in my pockets!" Nagini happily replied.
Stephen was fully convinced that if he wasn't gay or psychotic, he had to have been some kind of idiot.
The house might have looked like it was going to change with Nagini around, but everything remained just as normal.
After breakfast, Victoria and Kimberly were in their rooms discussing matters regarding Dante. Ever since they passed the Dyna Blade regulation laws, he's been out of control. He had recently made a name for himself after arresting ex-members of the Skull Raiders.
"Alright, I'm headed out," Stephen announced.
"I wanna go to school with you, too!" Nagini screamed.
Stephen tried to deny him, but he knew the boy would just sneak out to follow them. At this point, he had become a babysitter. Kimberly could hardly believe how much less of a psychopath and more of a child he was. The three of them walked down a hill together, pondering Nagini's past.
"When are you going home?" Stephen asked. "Aren't you concerned about your brother?"
"I don't want to go back," he answered, climbing up a rail. "Dante'll just lock me up inside a jail cell like he always does."
'Like he always does?'
Nagini revealed to the two that he was only useful when using his Dyna Blades. At least that's what Dante told him. He further stated that Dante disclosed that they weren't blood-related. Someone abandoned Nagini on his doorstep when he was still a baby, so Dante had been taking responsibility for him ever since.
"I don't know who my mom or dad are," he said, lying down on the grass. "All I know is that riding DBs is all I have. But I can't ride with just anyone. I only ride with people who get me."
Standing up, he continued, "That's why I chose you, Steph. You more than just understand me… That thing you said about the snake on the ground… Haha… That snake's always been living cramped inside small spaces so he doesn't know any better."
From Nagini's perspective, he saw himself as a serpent slithering across the ground. After so many disappointing encounters, that snake was alone. He continued slithering by himself until one day, he had the strongest desire to take a glance at the endless sky. And when he looked up at it, the first thing he saw was a bird.
Nagini truly wasn't gay; he simply didn't know right from wrong. The boy had been mistreated and raised poorly. Considering that Stephen was technically abandoned as a child, too, he could really relate to him. Standing near the boy, Stephen stared as Nagini watched the clouds pass by.
He was going to ask him more about his time as a Road Rider until the group heard police sirens. A large truck climbed up the hill and parked right in front of them. Windows rolled down, Dante pulled out a taser gun and shot Nagini before he could fully get up. "I was worried about you!" Dante said.
He then deployed his taser again. Nagini hadn't screamed, but he cringed at how high the voltage was. Kimberly tried to stop him from using excessive force, but Stephen held her back. This gave Dante the chance to place handcuffs on Nagini's wrists and feet.
"Let's go home now, ya little crap!"
Grabbing him, he placed Nagini above his shoulders. Stephen hadn't been surprised that Dante had arrived. He was part of the police, meaning with one keyboard stroke, he could easily find where his friends and he lived. And considering Stephen's name was spreading online, it only made Dante's job easier.
"Hey," Stephen said as he walked by him. Stopping with his back turned, Dante asked what he wanted. This was family business, not police. If he was on duty and had a warrant, he'd undoubtedly try to arrest Stephen right now.
"Am I the first house you came to looking for Nagini?"
"Where else would I have—argh!"
Stephen dead-legged him, causing him to drop Nagini. He then caught the boy by his feet before passing him to Kimberly. Knowing that Dante would retaliate, he spun his body and aimed a metal stick at Dante's neck. He moved fast, but Dante had managed to pull out a gun and point it directly at the side of Stephen's head.
"What do you think you're doing, you filthy piece of crap?!" Dante infuriatingly asked.
Now Stephen understood where Nagini's foul language came from. Veins were bulging out from Dante's head as he sinisterly furrowed his brow at Stephen. "You think you can stop me with a metal stick? Have you forgotten that I'm the police, buddy?! Don't think I won't throw filth like you in jail just because I'm off duty!"
Stephen chuckled, backing up a little. He said, "You're mistaken… I'd never attack a law enforcer. I was just trying to show you this thing I found and wondered if it was yours."
Handing him the stick, Dante noticed that it had a knob at the end of it. His eyes widened after seeing the words "Knight XV." He then panicked, turning around to see his truck rolling down the hill. What Stephen had given him back was the gear stick after he had left his truck in neutral!
"Haha. Come on. Let's bounce, Kim!"
Stephen grabbed Nagini off Kimberly's hands and started running. All they could hear was Dante screaming that it was he who broke off his gear stick. And while they were running, Nagini didn't say a thing. Stephen, who was carrying him on his shoulder, asked, "You just crawled out of that hole, right?"
"Huh?"
"It's a bit too soon for you to go back, don't ya think?"
For the first time in a long time, Nagini cried.
The trio hadn't gone far, and they could still see Dante at the bottom of the hill. His truck had rolled into the lake. Nagini screamed, "Brother, I… I don't wanna help you go against Road Riders anymore! From now on, I'm following Steph!"
Dante turned around, shocked at what he just heard. In his hand was his phone. On the screen was the police dispatch menu. He was going to call for backup, but suddenly smiled and turned his phone off.
"Steph, when did you have such a passionate side to you?" Kimberly asked while they ran.
"Haven't I always been passionate? Besides, I never saw a truck that big before, so I climbed up and saw a bug inside."
"What?!" Nagini screamed. "You mean you weren't trying to save me?!"
Smirking, Stephen pulled out the keys to Nagini's handcuffs and showed them off.
Some time later.
On the first day at school, Nagini waited outside Stephen's classroom window. Some of the students were freaking out because they thought there was a giant serpent outside. Because of his slick nature, Nagini always avoided the administrators, allowing him to remain unseen. Lunch was perhaps the only time he could sit next to Stephen.
After a few days, Kimberly was able to get him registered on the school's roster. She had to do a lot of illegal work, which Mila helped out with. And despite being fourteen, they managed to successfully enlist him as a student. Although, Kimberly was annoyed when she heard he would be in Stephen's classroom. So she immediately asked the other students to keep a close eye on him in case he tried something obscene with Stephen again.
"Everyone, this is Nagini Huntly," the teacher announced. "He'll be joining us for the remainder of the year."
"Nice to meet you all," he waved, smiling.
Many of the students hadn't recognized that he had been outside monitoring Stephen for the last few days. Up close, they all instantly fell in love with him. Whether it was his French-style haircut or the fact that he looked like an adorable little boy, they all accepted him, especially the females in the classroom.
The males were more curious about why they had a transfer student when there were only so many weeks left before the semester ended. Maxwell almost raged from his seat to call Nagini out on his gay, sadistic personality. That was until Stephen flicked a piece of pencil lead down his throat.
"Boss!" he screamed after choking. "I coulda died!"
"Mr. Maxwell, stop interrupting class!" the teacher demanded.
There weren't any empty seats, so the teacher asked which student would like to share their desk. Many of the girls immediately raised their hands. When the teacher pointed out that Nagini could sit next to one of them, he instead walked over to Stephen's side and sat on the same seat as him. The girls all gawked at the scene.
Castiel tried to speak up about how gay Nagini was, but his attempts failed after Stephen shot an even bigger piece of lead down his throat without anyone noticing.