Code2000

“What does tickling feel like?” You nearly dropped the Tim you were holding, whipping around to find Balan with his hands raised. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” “It’s fine. What brought this on all of a sudden?” He looked a bit embarrassed, playing with one of his dreads. “Well, you were playing with the Tims when you started giggling. You said it tickled. I don’t really understand it, but I would like to. Is that… weird?” “No, it makes sense. You’ve never been tickled before?” He shook his head, before a lightbulb seemed to go off in his head. He spidered his fingers along his side for a moment before frowning. You couldn’t help but laugh at the look of concentration on the maestro’s face. “You can’t tickle yourself, silly. Here, I’ll show you.” You put the Tim down and walked over to Balan, wiggling your fingers at him. He squirmed a bit, the smile on his face growing the slightest bit tense. You noticed this and stopped for a moment, giving him a concerned look. “It won’t

“Well maybe I don’t need your advice! You’re supposed to be fixing my heart, and instead you’re DESTROYING IT!” you yelled. Balan’s breath hitched for a moment, before an unknown emotion filled his eyes. He snapped his fingers before slamming the door. You realized he had dropped you off in the entrance hallway, right before the room where you had just met him. You yelled and punched the door, before shrinking down and sitting on the floor, back pressed against the wall. You sobbed for a while before reflecting on what happened. Now that you had thought about it, you had said some pretty nasty things back there. He wasn’t entirely innocent, but maybe he didn’t quite deserve that. You reached for the door, hesitating before pushing it open. To your surprise, the door wasn’t even locked. You looked around the empty room before a whimper caught your attention. It was a Tim, brushing against the door to Balan’s dressing room. It was soon joined by others, a chorus of sad chirps echoing

Your head perked up at the sound of musical laughter. Carefully, you slid your drawing pad under the desk and followed the sound to Balan, who was watching the Tims, a gentle expression on his face as he laughed into his hand. “Hehe! What are you guys up to?” You followed his gaze to what could only be described as a tower of Tims, seeming to be reaching for an apple. With small squeals they started to topple over. Balan’s expression quickly shifted into one of shock as they landed on top of him. “Balan! Are you alright?” You asked, making your way over to him. “Haha! Never better!” He said, springing back up as if nothing happened. He jumped up and grabbed the apple, giving it to the Tims. You smiled as the Tims scrambled over to their newfound snack. A muffled sound came from next to you. You looked over to see Balan turning away from the scene, his shoulders shaking for a moment before he returned to normal. “Balan, are you sure you’re alright?” “Yes, yes, I’m fine! No need to

“What did you say?” You gulped and repeated yourself, unnerved by Balan’s lack of a smile. “Why do you never take off your hat?” He put his hand under his chin, as if thinking about it for a moment, before his smile came back. He shrugged. “I suppose I’ve just never felt the need to take it off!” You tilted your head in bewilderment. Surely that wasn’t the real reason, right? You decided not to push the issue, instead leaving your mind to wander. You sat in front of your sketchbook, grabbing the page you were working on and ripping it out. With a sigh, you threw it in the trash. You had tried to recreate what Balan would look like without his hat, but it just didn’t feel right. As you stared at the discarded parchment, you heard a knock echo around the room. “Come in!” You called, already expecting Balan to wander in. Sure enough, his lanky form entered the room, closing the door behind him and wearing a maid’s apron, much to your amusement. “Any trash in here to take out? I’m cleaning