“We’re supposed to go a few streets down.” Angelo spoke up way after Aiden decided to stop in a random alleyway.

“Galhardo said to search around the area. Ain’t this around the area?” True, but Angelo got the feeling that a street made up of nondescript buildings and modest storefronts did not qualify as the shopping district. If it weren’t for the crescent moon theming of the laundromat next door, he might’ve forgotten he was in Lunaria.

“Yeah, but I th-think he wanted us to reach Apennine Boulevard first.”

“Oh. Should’ve said so.” Aiden leaned against the wall without a care. Worry must’ve shown on Angelo’s face, because he followed up with, “If you wanna uphold scouts’ honor or whatever, you can go by yourself.”

“But we’re supposed to stay together.”

“Then I guess you’re stuck here.”

Since then, Angelo stayed put next to the alleyway’s entrance. Aiden mentioned something about it looking too suspicious if both of them stood inside. He also wanted a lookout in case a cop showed up. None did. What would they even arrest him for, pacing around? Softly drumming on the recycling bins?

Whatever he did back there, at least he had something to do. No new messages entered the group chat since Angelo thanked Roxie for picking out spacepunk names for him and Aiden, Jello and Killa, respectively. All he had to keep busy was fighting with himself over whether he should talk with her more. He lost. Somehow.

If only Roxie were here to hold his hand again. Or Leon. Both? What if they smiled at him, hugged him, and called him their friend who they’d cherish forever? What if they meant it? He knew he shouldn’t get so carried away, but he kept scrolling through pictures of them, dreaming the impossible. If he had even a fraction of this, he’d…!

“How long’s it been?” Aiden poked his head out of the alley, making Angelo’s heart jump. His body did too, which was dangerous in platform wheelies. He almost dropped Leon’s phone!

“S-Since we left? 40 minutes-ish.”

“You tell everyone we made it?”

"Not yet, sorry. I-I didn’t want to look suspicious by saying it too early, but I probably should now.” Angelo began typing a message about how they went to Apennine Boulevard but decided to search elsewhere. He’d have to break the habit of lying over text some other time.

“Good. I don’t want Galhardo on our backs.” Aiden almost left, then doubled back upon seeing his screen. “That’s too many details.” He held out a hand. “Here, let me–”

“No!” Angelo clutched his brother’s phone for dear life. “S-Sorry. No, thank you. I need to keep this phone safe.”

“Chill,” Aiden held his hands up, “it’s not like I was gonna throw it away.” That stung coming from the person who gave Angelo the idea to do the same. “Just write somethin’ like ‘we made it.’ That’s it. Don’t mention a street or anything.”

“Okay?” Angelo did as told. He didn’t have the guts to ask follow up questions. Lucky for him, this got Aiden to go back to whatever he was doing.

‘Emil already beat you to the punch, hehe >w<’ Roxie’s text confused him at first. ‘Unless you are… the Leon imposter??? ‘,: /c’

That hit a little too close to home. ‘Sorry I’m Angelo! I’ll make it clear from now on! (>_<;)7’

‘Nooo, your lack of comma makes it sound like you’re apologizing for being you TT^TT’ No comment. More importantly, she typed a crying face, and he needed to atone for causing that.

‘I’m sorry (I am also Angelo)’

‘you don’t gotta remind us every time you text lol.’ Jun entered the conversation.

‘okay (Angelo posting)’ At the time, he thought it was funny, but two seconds of hindsight made him wonder if he was being annoying.

A new message snapped him out of it, one that didn’t come from the group chat or either of his parents’ phones. He opened the message before realizing he probably shouldn’t. It was probably for Leon. At least, that’s what he thought before reading.

‘sup? jun checking in. where are you guys exactly? i won’t rat you out.’

He thought about asking Aiden how to respond. That thought scared him, so he texted back anyway. ‘we’re on prosperity street next to the laundromat.’

‘cool thanks. just thought i’d ask to be on the safe side. this is angelo right?’

‘yes (Angelo here)’ His fingers sent it before his mind could stop him.

‘lol i was hoping you’d do that. later.’ Their text ended with a peace sign emoji.

The iconic Jun Kim liked his joke? He wondered if he’d ever get used to being on speaking terms with them. After spending nearly a week in a cardboard box, speaking to anyone made him a little dizzy, let alone a household name. The buzz from that carried him straight into an awkward smile-off with two ladies passing by. He ducked his head into Leon’s phone.

What to do now? Listening to music was out of the question, no matter how much he wanted to. His earphones were back on the ship, and his soul would sooner leave his body than risk Aiden–or anyone–overhearing hyperactive, sugar sweet music playing from his speakers. So, he just stared at the ground.

Bulky, shiny, sometimes sharp, and often platformed, a rainbow of shoes passed him by. Time passed with them. One perk of losing his mind in a box was that it made it a lot harder to get bored. It helped that a few developments happened in the group chat. Seeing the others come up with cover stories and finding leads made him wonder if he should do more.

Just then, two flat, black shoes stopped right in front of him, stopping his train of thought. He looked up to see a police officer staring down at him. On instinct, he turned to warn Aiden before realizing that would do more harm than good now.

“Hi.” Her smile shouldn’t have set off alarms, but Angelo knew police officers didn’t just talk to people for no reason. It also felt cold, like a routine attempt at friendliness.

“Hi.” His voice shook. “Is s-something wrong?”

“I just noticed that you’ve been standing here all alone for a while now.”

“You have??” He covered his mouth. “Sorry.”

Her hand rested on one hip. The other thumbed behind her at the crosswalk separating this street from the one he and Aiden came from. “I’ve been up and down the past coupla blocks 4-5 times, and every time I passed this street, there you were with your head down.”

Angelo’s stomach turned. In avoiding eye contact, he failed his one job of watching out for cops. He wanted to crawl into the nearest dumpster to save Aiden the trouble.

The cop’s eyebrows scrunched together, looking between him and the building he stood in front of. “You look a little young to be working at a law firm.” She pointed to the laundromat. “Are you waiting for your family? Friends?”

“Um,” out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aiden walking away like any other pedestrian, “no?”

“Do you have a place to stay?”

That question felt weird. Weird enough to set off his alarm bells. Unfortunately, a police officer was exactly who people told him to go to in this kind of situation, and the closest thing to a trusted adult just disappeared into the landromat.

Hard eyes studied him. “If you don’t have anywhere to go, I’m going to need you to come with me. We have shelter for people like you.”

“I-I-I’m–I’m staying in a hotel room!” Angelo finally found the strength to squeeze words out of his throat.

“Mm-hmmm.” She did not buy it. “Do you have any proof of that?”

“My brother has our room key.” He shrank into his shoulders.

“I see.” She folded her arms with a sigh. “Until we’re able to verify proof of that, we’re going to have to take you to the station for safe keeping.”

“What?” His question came out quiet and cracked.

Sure, he wasn’t getting arrested for causing trouble, but he couldn’t imagine Captain Galhardo giving him a gold star for this. The guy clearly hated his guts already. More than that, he took this mission seriously. Only to him would getting arrested sound like an excuse to slack off, but that’s all that mattered when he’s the boss.

The cop reached for her walkie-talkie.

Run. Hide. That’s all Angelo came up with, though things ended horrifically last time he followed those instincts. It shouldn’t go as bad this time, though maybe quicker if this cop carried a taser. He’d rather not get tased and forced to do pushups.

She kept a steely eye on him. He must’ve looked like a weirdo, shaking so much. Even his eyes couldn’t stay still. Through foggy glasses, he saw Aiden strolling leisurely down the other side of the street. They briefly made eye contact before he broke it.

Faint. This option wouldn’t help at all, but it became likelier with every hitched breath. Call for help? Fainting sounded more useful. Besides, he’d rather not cause a scene.

The walkie-talkie rose to her ear.

“I-I’m–” it took a few attempts to spit out the full sentence “–I’m an undercover s-star ranger on a mission! Please don’t take me away!”

She nodded fake politely, not even pausing her radio conversation. “We got a 10-66 at Prosperity Street.” Angelo wondered if that was code for ‘little freak boy.’ “Send a car, over.”

Knowing no words could convince her otherwise, Angelo showed his ID. That got her attention. She motioned for him to hand over his card, which he did.

The radio call continued as she examined it. “66 can disregard… Yeah, no car needed, over and out.” Finally, she hung up, smiling warmer than ever. “Star ranger, huh?” She even laughed a little. “Sorry about that. I thought you were some homeless kid. We take that pretty seriously around here. Anyway, here’s your ID back, Ranger Summers.”

Angelo took his ID, feeling a little disoriented by a woman old enough to be his mother addressing him by a title.

“I didn’t know you guys did undercover missions.” Neither did he, until yesterday. “Maybe I could help you out? As a way to make things up and,” her hand covered one side of her mouth jokingly, “to be honest, it can get boring on patrol.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

If he felt disoriented before, he had full-on whiplash now. Were they friends, because she sure acted like it despite nearly carting him away a few moments ago.

“Sorry, it’s t-top–it’s top secret.” He did not want to deal with her more than necessary.

“Darn.” She snapped her fingers. “Well, good luck, ranger. Have a good one.”

“You too.” He gave her a halfhearted wave goodbye. She couldn’t disappear around the corner fast enough.

Not long after she did, someone else came waltzing back.

“Thought she was never gonna leave.” He glanced over his shoulder. “What happened?”

All that came out of Angelo’s mouth was “S-Sorry. I didn’t see her.”

Aiden had every right to be as annoyed as he looked. Yet Angelo couldn’t help but notice his own blood boiling. He didn’t know why. It’s not like he trusted Aiden. He had better chances predicting a dice roll than whether Aiden would help or not.

That didn’t change the fact that having the one person he could turn to not just leave him but ignore him during his time of need was a scene out of his worst nightmares. It also didn’t change that if they just went to Apennine Boulevard, none of this would’ve happened.

“Are you good?”

Angelo choked down his anger, nodding through a clenched jaw and tightened chest.

“Cool.” Aiden passed by Angelo to lean against the alley wall. “Anyway, I’ve been meaning to tell you that if you’ve got secrets, keep your mouth shut around Jun. Take it from me, that guy’s nosy as all get out. Lives for gossip. Your brother’s kind of a blabbermouth, so you might wanna pass that to him too.”

“Th-Thanks?” Angelo wanted to ignore him so badly, but that was important to know. Unfortunately.

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s a chill guy otherwise.”

“My brother?” He couldn’t believe his ears.

“Jun. It might be tempting to rely on people like him or blondie, but at the end of the day, you gotta look out for you.”

“Because no one else will?”

Aiden took a moment to answer. “It’s not always guaranteed.”

“I know.” Angelo wondered how many times he’d get a hands-on lesson. He needed to toughen up or risk life crushing him under its weight. As much as he loved being around his brother, that comfort put a wrench in his growth. He needed to carve his own path, and he needed to start now. “I-I’m going to Apennine Boulevard.”

Aiden craned his head over the corner. “Huh? Okay.” He seemed unbothered by not having a lookout, though Angelo did screw up spectacularly. “Be back by 6:30.”

“I will.” Angelo took a few wobbly steps away, then stumbled back. Though Aiden annoyed him, he wouldn’t risk letting him get arrested, especially when they’d both get punished for it. “If th–If the cop sees you, just show her your ID.”

“She won’t.”

Angelo walked to the street corner further away, not wanting to pass that officer again. Only when he reached the crosswalk did he realize how his hand hovered near buildings for support. Managing to pull it away, he made his best attempt to mask the terror he felt with each wobble of his ankles. He only yelped a little bit!

His heart continued racing from his near arrest, and despite walking taller, his confidence fell short. But he still refused to lean on any buildings after crossing the street. Even the most reliable walls wouldn’t always catch him when he fell. They had better things to do. Keeping him steady wasn’t their job; he only had himself to blame for straining them for so long.

He just wanted to know when he’d stop wanting to cling onto something. How much more did he have to pay in bravery points to afford anyone’s time? More people filled each block he walked, but he felt alone with his problems.

Another problem reared its head. Further into the crowd, a boy around his age stopped strangers for something, probably to hand out fliers. Angelo had to disappear behind some other people if he wanted to avoid him. Unluckily, he was too far from the buildings to do it in time.

“Excuse me, have you seen–?”

Someone bumped into Angelo’s shoulder before the other boy finished speaking, knocking off his glasses. While Angelo focused on steadying himself, the boy picked them up.

“Here you…” A pained, concerned look filled his freckled face. Instead of giving the glasses back right away, he wiped them on his vest. He then plucked the ruffled cloth from the collar of his vest, which turned out to be a tissue, and handed it to Angelo with the glasses before replacing it with another. “Here. For you.”

Angelo hadn’t realized he’d been tearing up until now. He wiped his face and put his glasses on. “Thanks. I-I’m also a boy, by the way.”

“Uh, yeah, I thought so.”

“S-Sorry. Reflex.” Sometimes, he forgot how much of a game-changer short hair had been. Still, a boy his age who treated him like a human being? Without mistaking him for a girl? An alien could walk up to him, and he wouldn’t be as shocked.

“Anyway, have you seen this boy?” The other guy held up his phone. On it was a picture of a younger, frowning boy who shared his red hair and freckles. “He ran off somewhere around here.”

“No,” Angelo felt bad for wanting to avoid him, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Somehow, he managed a smile. He then stared directly into his eyes with a more serious look. “You are important. You matter. Take care.”

“Wh–?” Angelo’s brain short-circuited. This guy stabbed him with kindness in broad daylight. Where were the cops now? “Th-thank you? You t-too. I hope you find him.”

Just like that, the boy disappeared into the crowd. Angelo might’ve met an angel. He struggled to keep it together and lost before long. 0-2 against himself.

Not wanting to get in the way, he wept while walking with everyone else. The bland buildings he came from had since given way to more abstract architecture. He saw curved, concrete pyramids, elongated domes made of glass windows, and a cylindrical building decorated with colorful orb-like rooms. He found himself smiling.

His sidewalk came to an end; the next crosswalk led to a row of bright storefronts. Above it read ‘Apennine Boulevard,’ not that he could miss it. Both the sidewalks and crosswalks looked like overstuffed runways. Bright lights and screens hung over every other doorway, and music blared out of them.

More cars drove through here than anywhere else in Lunaria, which meant like ten, but there were also some police cars parked along the sides to pad things out. The trees lining the middle of the street were a nice touch. He’d love a miniature of this place.

Being here was a little different. Had his hat not covered his ears, the noise might have been too much. The crowd left almost no wiggle room. Most importantly though, with all of this going on, what chance did he have of seeing Ranger Hook? He needed a place to think.

A statue of Angus McBeefy in an old-timey spacesuit stood outside of the biggest McBeefy’s Angelo ever saw. People left enough space around it for picture taking. Stumbling against the crowd and apologizing all the way, he finally made it to the crosswalk that took him to the big man-bull-farmer-astronaut.

Mia sent a few messages to the group chat since he last checked. The latest one mentioned a woman who looked like Hook heading over to the shopping district. That could mean a few streets, but Angelo kept his hopes up. He caused so much trouble this month. If he found her, it’d be a huge step towards becoming stronger and making things up for everyone.

No way was he letting this chance slip by. He pretended to get in line and kept his eyes peeled for the white haired woman, fully prepared to stay for as long as it took.

It didn’t take long at all. Angelo spotted her coming down the sidewalk–the one on the other side of the street.

The most powerful of power walks took him back across while he tried not to look like someone hunting her down. Had he thought of what to do when he caught up? No. Right then, he needed to keep her in his sights.

Good news: He caught up to her. Bad news: He almost crashed into her. Worse news: His wheelies activated, sending him into a window pane.

Image: Angelo hitting a window with his face while the white-haired woman watches in concern. A crowd of people walk by without noticing, except for a young boy. [https://f2.toyhou.se/file/f2-toyhou-se/images/89273392_EMlPjntPX9EslxQ.png?1727767283]As his cheek slid down the glass, it actually felt great compared to the failure and humiliation.

“A-Are you alright?” a voice called out behind him. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s my fault.” Once he crumpled to the concrete, he looked up to see a white-haired woman with purple lipstick reaching out to him. Her. “It’s okay. I can s-stand–” he cut himself off with a groan, “I can get up.”

She stared at him pitifully, not buying it even though he managed to stand perfectly kind of straight. “Is there somewhere close by you need to go? You seemed like you were in a mighty hurry.”

“He seems pretty lost to me.” Both turned to see a red-headed, freckled boy. Wait. Wasn’t that…? “He came across the street just a moment ago.”

“Are you lost?” asked the woman, gently, but deep enough to make Angelo jealous.

“Yes? I-I mean no?” He tried to pick an answer that made sense. “I don’t really know where I-I’m–where I’m going.”

“You don’t?” Only after she asked did he realize how weird he sounded after clearly being in a hurry.

“Uhhh,” he adjusted his hat and glasses, hoping to buy time to think. Still not enough time. He just started talking. “Th-the last time I stood around, a cop almost took me to a homeless shelter. Or s-something like that.”

“Goodness gracious!” Her eyebrows shot up. She looked around nervously. “Um, well, don’t your momma and daddy know where you are?”

Might as well tell the truth. “No. Th-They’re not here.”

“Here as in…?”

“The Moon. Or s-space at all.”

“Oh, bless your little heart.” she muttered under her breath. “I-I’m in kind of a hurry myself, so, I can’t talk, but if you can, walk up that street right there,” she motioned to the intersecting street just ahead, “keep headin’ north, and, sorry, it’s a little hard to see, but keep your eyes out for a red and blue open sign on your right.”

“I can help!” the kid offered.

She stared between him and Angelo, not sure what to say. “Suuure. Maybe don’t go in with him? It is a bar. I mean, I guess it’s fine so long as neither of you order anything–Anywho. There’s a lady at the counter who has, uh, experience with your situation. She might be able to help you find a place you can stay.”

“Okay. Thanks.” A pit formed in Angelo’s stomach the more he realized how much she genuinely worried for him.

“Of course. I gotta go now. Bye, y’all!”

She hurried into the crowd. His motivation to complete the mission left with her. He wasn’t heartless enough to turn in such a kind soul, but he felt the need to report something back to the captain. With the way his ankle felt, he couldn’t take more punishment.

He unhooked Leon’s phone from his wrist.

“You have a phone?”

Angelo jumped. He forgot that kid was there. “Th-Th–It’s not mine.”

The boy’s eyes bugged out. “So you stole it?”

“No! I’m borrowing it.” Only after the fact did he realize that sounded like the worst lie.

“What? Someone let you take their phone like that? What if you never gave it back? Geez, it’s like they’re asking to get robbed.”

“Um, I th–I think someone’s looking for you.”

“Ugh, of course they care now.” Crossing his arms, the boy puffed out a freckled cheek. His face brightened instantly. “Anyway, you look really cool for a homeless person.”

“Wh–? I-I’m not–! …You think I look cool?” No offense to Emil, but Angelo thought his outfit looked like the result of Santa’s elves rebranding to appeal to modern kids. Fun? He thought so. Cool? No. But this must’ve been the modern kid.

“Not when you beefed it, but yeah, you look cool. That’s why I’ve been following you.”

“Wow, tha–What??” Angelo’s question turned into more of a squeal. “How long have you been following me?”

“Since you walked by that store over there.” The boy pointed to a few doors behind them.

“So you followed me across th-the street, to McBeefy’s, waited, and then followed me back here?”

“Good thing I did.” The kid had no shame at all. “Now I can help you go to that bar!”

“Thanks? But I-I don’t need to go to that bar. I’m not homeless.”

“Oh.” He stared at the ground for a moment. “Are you a spacepunk, then? You look like a spacepunk.”

“Yeah.” At least for today.

“What’s your name?”

“Jello?” Angelo hoped he remembered right.

“Cool.” The boy smiled. “I’m thinking my spacepunk name should be Lil’ Milliwatt. Or just Milliwatt. What do you think?”

“Me? I think Milliwatt covers th-the Lil’ part, plus it’s easier to say. But I don’t know if you should listen to me.”

“Why not?”

“There’s cooler people you can ask.” In fact, many passed by them.

“That’s okay. You’re cool enough for me.” He smirked, cooly, as Angelo wondered what he saw in him. “So that settles it! I’m Milliwatt. Do you need to go anywhere?”

“S-Sorta? Not right now. You don’t have to help me, though. You sh–You should probably go back to whoever was looking for you.”

“If I wanted to, I’d just answer my phone.” Milliwatt held up the phone on his wrist. He glared at it when it buzzed, then his eyes fell to the ground. “But if you don’t want me around, I get it.” When Angelo didn’t answer right away, he turned to leave. “Bye, Jello.”

“Wait!” Angelo couldn’t believe what he was about to ask. “Do you want to hang out?”

Milliwatt turned back with wide eyes. “You’re asking me?”

“I-I guess. I have time.”

“Nice!!” He pumped his fists. His happiness confused Angelo but made him smile a little.

“S-Sorry, I gotta check something first.” Angelo finally unlocked the phone in his hand.

“Okay. That’s not your phone, though, right?”

“It’s my brother’s.”

“Ohhhh.” Milliwatt opened his mouth to ask another question but never followed through. Angelo needed to concentrate on the group chat right now, so he appreciated it.

At some point, Jun asked if Mia knew if the woman had a Southern accent. Mia had yet to answer back, and Angelo wasn’t going to. He also saw a direct message from Emil.

‘Sorry if I’m a little cagey about touch between me and other guys in public. I know you were just trying to be a friend. Prying eyes might get a different impression. Also I gotta thank Ange for this trick.’

Angelo went back and forth on whether he should respond. Eventually, he did. ‘(Angelo speaking) I know this wasn’t meant for me but imagine me–’ he initially wrote ‘patting you on the back,’ but that wouldn’t do. Delete. ‘–punching you in the arm in a manly but caring way. Enough to leave a heart-shaped bruise but not like /that./ Also you’re welcome.’

He hurried back to the group chat before embarrassment set in. The first draft of his message talked about seeing the woman on Apennine Boulevard, but then he remembered Aiden’s advice and decided to backspace on any mention of a place. A touch of uncertainty was added for flavor, and then he hit send.

“(Angelo reporting for duty) I think I saw the same lady but she went into a crowd. Sorry.”

Perfect. He mentally gave it a chef’s kiss. This text would save him from more pushups. He didn’t even have to worry about not seeing her again. The crowd gave both of them the perfect cover. Best of all, it’s technically true! No one could call him out on it if they wanted to.

Now, he was free to focus on a mission he actually cared about: getting Milliwatt back to the angel looking for him.