Minseok’s head just barely peeked above the window of the car door. He had to strain his neck to be able to see the landscape rushing by, not that there was much to see except for drab buildings and the occasional fast food restaurant.

His seat belt settled uncomfortably at his neck but whenever he tried to shove it behind him, his mother would glare him down from the passenger seat and scold him, ordering him to put it on right. Emergencies happened unexpectedly, she always told him and then she would proceed to say that she just was worried that he’d get hurt.

Pouting, Minseok settled back in the seat and put his feet on the back of his father’s seat. It wasn’t like he was wearing his shoes so his mother could reprimand him for getting it dirty. He crossed his arms over his chest and continued his silent tantrum for about five seconds before tugging his Game Boy Light out of his pocket and switching it on.

His frown grew deeper however because all his friends already had Game Boy Colors while he was stuck with a boring silver Game Boy Light. Kris bragged the most, waving his Glacier blue Game Boy Color in Minseok’s face with a smirk. Then there was Jongdae whose parents had bought him a limited edition midnight blue Game Boy Color. As much as Minseok tried to convince his parents to get him a Game Boy Color because his Game Boy was too old, they wouldn’t give in.

Huffing, Minseok began playing Pokémon and tuned out everything else. He wasn’t one to pay much attention on car rides and enjoyed playing games to pass the time. He had already beaten a gym leader when the car stopped and his mother turned to look at him.

“Minseok, go out and help Luhan with his bags,” his mother said.

“But Mom, Luhan says he’s strong enough to carry his own bags! He doesn’t need me,” whined Minseok but he immediately shut his mouth when his mother narrowed her eyes at him. Without another word, he placed his Game Boy gently on the seat and got out of the car.

Just as he walked up the driveway to Luhan’s home, Luhan was already lugging out a Pikachu backpack that looked to be bigger than his body. Minseok bounded over and Luhan grinned at him, slinging one of the shoulder straps off to allow Minseok to put it over his own shoulder. This only worked because both of them were tiny nine year old boys. Together, they stumbled their way to the back of the car where Minseok’s father held the trunk open. They laughed uncontrollably when Minseok’s father heaved them both up by the backpack and they kicked their legs in the air.

Finally, after Minseok’s mother shouted from the window at his father to put them down, they were able to store the backpack in the trunk. Minseok and Luhan both went to the door but stopped when they heard Luhan’s parents.

“Have fun okay Luhan! And Minseok, take care of our son,” Luhan’s parents called.

“Bye Mom, bye Dad!” shouted Luhan with a big smile and a wide wave. Minseok smiled too before opening the door and crawling into the car to his seat on the other side. Luhan piled in after and was about to sit in the middle but Minseok’s mother scolded him, saying it was too dangerous for him to sit in the center.

Minseok caught Luhan’s eye and rolled his eyes causing Luhan to laugh. Once they were comfortably settled in their seats, Minseok’s father drove away.

“Lotte World!” the two little boys cheered and clapped their hands excitedly. Even Minseok’s mother couldn’t help but smile at their innocence.

The car ride was supposed to be about an hour or so and therefore, being two nine year old boys, Minseok and Luhan wasted no time in pulling out their Game Boys. This was one of the reasons that Luhan was Minseok’s best friend. Luhan still had a Game Boy Light too and even if his parents did buy him a Game Boy Color, he promised Minseok that he wouldn’t show it off like Kris and Jongdae do.

At some point during the ride, both Luhan and Minseok ended up falling asleep. Their heads rested against one another and they were both leaning in towards the center. Their Game Boys lay forgotten in their laps, the music and sounds still playing gently.

It wasn’t until a certain loud clanking noise from the tires below did the two boys wake up with a jolt. They were so startled that they instantly sat upright in their seats and looked out the window to confirm where they were.

However, instead of the city views, they were surrounded by looming gray concrete walls on all sides. They looked at one another, wide-eyed, and then shifted their gazes towards Minseok’s parents who were happily chatting with one another.

Minseok noticed his father didn’t have his hands on the wheel and he gasped, panic striking him like a bolt of lightning. He pointed silently and Luhan followed his finger, his own small sound of fear escaping his throat. They leaned over into the center to whisper to one another.

“Where are we?” Minseok asked first.

“I don’t know. How should I know? I was asleep,” Luhan answered in a huff.

“Why isn’t my dad driving? Aren’t we gonna crash?”

“Maybe we’re just on a straight road,” suggested Luhan.

It was possible, thought Minseok. At the same time, they both looked out the front window and saw it coming towards them.

It was a humongous monster the size of Namsan Tower. It had a million blue, wavy, slippery arms that were soon engulfing the entire car. Minseok’s parents didn’t have any reaction and simply ignored the monster that was eating them.

Minseok and Luhan shrieked in absolute terror and clung to one another, scrambling as close to the center of the car as they could get. The monster’s arms were around the entire car now, thrashing against the side windows. Luhan jolted up and looked behind them, whimpering when he saw the light at the end of this monster’s lair growing further away.

“Ahh! Monster! Help!” They shrieked, yelled, shouted, screamed, and everything else they could do at the top of their lungs and they almost shattered their own eardrums.

“What’s wrong?” Minseok’s father asked, glancing back at the two boys.

“M-m-monster!” stammered Minseok hopelessly, finger pointed at the blue arms constricting around the car from all sides.

His parents looked at each other then, exchanging a look the two boys didn’t understand. Then, Minseok’s mother tilted her head and pretended to look upset.

“Oh, darn. I was hoping they’d sleep through this too. Then they’d be eaten and never have known it,” his mother muttered.

Minseok’s eyes grew to the size of saucers and Luhan actually yelped. “E-eaten?” Luhan cried out.

“Yup, eaten. You see, this guy is called the Blue Monster,” Minseok’s father stated as he gestured to the blue arms. “And he’s a monster that eats little boys. He doesn’t like adults like us so he lets us go.”

“No! You can’t let him eat us!” Minseok began crying and Luhan nodded, hugging Minseok tighter.

Soon, the long arms changed into shorter arms that battered against the car and thus making the two boys scream again.

“It’s gonna eat us! It’s gonna eat us!” They sobbed. Eventually, they took their seatbelts off and squished together in the center seat, as far away from the monster’s arms as physically possible.

For the rest of the time, the boys helplessly embraced one another, prepared for their gruesome deaths at the hands of the Blue Monster.

But, after what felt like an eternity, they still didn’t feel any teeth crunching into their bones and the two boys opened their eyes to look around. They were outside again, on the streets and they were flying by buildings.

“W-what? Where’s the monster?” Minseok asked, completely and utterly confused.

“Yeah, he didn’t eat us?” Luhan added on.

They peeked around warily, slowly turning their heads and bodies to get a 360^o view. It was all gray buildings, signs, and traffic lights.

“W-we survived,” Minseok squeaked. He turned to Luhan and a smile spread on both their faces.

“We survived!” They whooped.

Minseok’s parents chuckled from the front of the car, shaking their heads.

A week later, when they were back in school Minseok and Luhan flaunted their adventure in Kris and Jongdae’s faces. They spun a tale of how they fought back against the Blue Monster and its one million arms, protecting not only themselves but Minseok’s parents as well. They earned some respect from Kris and Jongdae that day, satisfied when they saw the looks of awe and envy on their faces. For about a month, Kris and Jongdae brought snacks for Luhan and Minseok in recognition of their strength.

It was about a month and a half after the Blue Monster encounter when Jongdae came to school one day with the latest Pokémon game, which just so happened to be Pokémon Red with Charizard on the case making Kris, Minseok, and Luhan jealous. This was also when Jongdae told them that he’d seen the Blue Monster too and it wasn’t a monster at all. It was just a car washing place and he also said that Minseok and Luhan were liars because they couldn’t fight the monster from inside the car. Kris, who was always on the side of the winner, stood by Jongdae and sneered at them, laughing with Jongdae and teasing the pair.

“You got scared of a car washer!” Both Jongdae and Kris chanted mockingly. Minseok and Luhan couldn’t lift their heads, staring at their feet and clinging to each other in disappointment that Jongdae had seen through their ruse. For the rest of the day, Kris and Jongdae would imitate an octopus-like creature, waving their arms around and egging on Minseok and Luhan, taunting them to try and beat them up; of course, Minseok and Luhan might have been older but they were smaller than Kris and Jongdae so there was no way they could take them down.

That was the day when Minseok and Luhan found out what embarrassment truly was.

---

A/N: I've never really written a friendship fic before but I still hope you guys enjoyed it! Xiuhan will always be adorable no matter what age they are though LOL ^^