Alex and Tate halted in front of a towering birch tree with much of its truck covered in moss. It stood immovable right next to Faerie bridge.

"Tate, what's wrong?" Alex finally asked. The panicked look Tate wore made Alex's heart skip a few beats.

Tate was out of breath from the back-to-back sprinting, so he used his remaining energy to point to the top of the tree instead. "Look...up there..."

Alex's gaze buzzed all over the enormous plant life, searching for something abnormal or off-putting about it. "...a tree facing an excessive growth of moss? What about it?"

"L-look...closer. Here," Tate opened his backpack and handed Alex a pair of black binoculars. "Near that...broken branch..."

Alex aimed up at the tree through the optical instrument at the tree, and noticed a peculiar red patch by a broken branch. It was a minuscule swarm of tiny red bugs. "Spiders?"

"Not spiders...red velvet mites." Tate finally caught his breath. "I need you to go up there, and pluck a few into this." He pulled out a small plastic bug container from his backpack. It had a green lid and matching handle.

Alex was flabbergasted by the strange request, but not particularly upset. "This is your emergency?"

"I never said I had an emergency. I said I needed help."

"You also said I was the 'only one'. Why is that?"

"This isn't the beginning of some weird chosen-one journey if that's what you're getting at," Tate said, his fuzzy eyebrows, thick as caterpillars, crinkling with conviction. "I forgot my phone at home. Jeremi was with me, but then he ditched saying he forgot to lock his front door or some other useless excuse. I haven't seen him since. I panicked when I found the mites here and went looking for anyone nearby before they all crawled away. The palms of my hands are too sensitive, so I can't climb trees for shit. That's why I usually go bug hunting with a buddy in case I find something I want to collect hanging out on a tree. That buddy is usually Jeremi, but, you know..."

"So I was closest person you could find," Alex concluded.

"Yeah. And besides, I wanted to see if you really fit into that category of the 'stereotypical physically gifted white guy'."

Alex laughed so hard, he choked a bit on his spit. "The what? Where'd you hear that from?"

"A...lavender birdie told me. Now could you hurry up and climb already?" Alex feigned a bored look, but Tate matched it with an innocent one. "Please?"

Accepting defeat, Alex grinned and glanced up at the perilous height of the tree, his gaze soon landing on his objective: a flock of red velvet mites. "Poisonous?" he asked Tate.

"Not at all. Their color just wards off any predators by making them think they're poisonous. They're actually harmless to humans. I swear it."

"I didn't think you were lying," Alex remarked, reassuringly though as a stupefied Tate stared back at him. He took the container from Tate, and secured it in the clutches of his teeth, before and marching over to Faerie bridges' arching brick parapet. He mounted it, using it as a starting point to ascend the tree.

With each passing second, Alex's hands and legs moved with agile speed from branch to branch, and the tree was covered with many thick ones, making the climb not so easy to scale. Tate almost didn't notice him moving, yet he didn't miss how high he was getting. Finally Alex got to the lone broken branch, and slowly unattached the green lid from the rest of the container. He placed the container against the bark, just below the swarm of mites, and carefully slid it upward, ushering the mites to fall inside. After he successfully seized about seven of them, he climbed back down — as swiftly as he had gone up, and finished with a clean hop to the ground.

He took the container from his mouth, wiped it down with his shirt, and handed it to Tate. "Ta-da."

Tate stared at him for a moment, endlessly suspicious or impressed — ALex couldn't really tell — then pulled out a pair of plastic gloves from his backpack and pulled them on before taking the container back. "I've concluded that you're just not human. You're some kind of alien, and everything except for food and activities that involve a lot of physical movement, are foreign to you."

Alex grinned to himself. "Who knows. I guess I could be. Maybe my dad is too. That might explain some things. By the way, what exactly are red velvet mites?"

A thin smile spread wide across Tate's lips, and Alex guessed he was more than happy to answer such a question. "They're a species of arachnids known for their red color, and also as 'rain bugs' meaning they appear after the rain. They're usually found in dry, woodland, and terrestrial habitat areas. Usually they're mistaken for common spiders."

Alex whistled a sound of awe. "Are your parents okay with you collecting bugs?"

"Mom's a beekeeper, so she doesn't mind the creepy-crawlies. But dad," Tate sighed, "is a loser who ditched us years ago for life on-screen. He wasn't a fan of our insectuous hobbies, and preferred a more 'glamorous' lifestyle."

Alex giggled. "Insectuous."

Tate grinned at him, seemingly impressed. "An alien with a quality sense of humor."

"I once saw this caterpillar in the woods near where I used to live," Alex began, his voice becoming soft and wistful. "The next day when I went back, it was in a chrysalis. I came back everyday till it hatched. I started to think I'd never get to see it hatch, but then two weeks later I saw this...monarch butterfly I think, break out from the chrysalis. I named it Old Cheddar, cuz its wings reminded me of old cheddar cheese. I never saw it again, but I'm sure it was living its best life. I can't understand why your dad chose Hollywood over the fascinating life of bugs."

Tate began to laugh, a jaunty and slightly high-pitched sound. "An alien with a quality sense of humor, and a sensible admiration for nature. You're alright, A.P."

"A.P.?" Alex questioned.

"As in 'Alex Prior', duh." Alex nodded pleasingly. "And in honor of the butterfly you used to stalk, I'll name one of these mites, Old Cheddar. Pick."

Alex leaned forward and peered into the container. He pointed at the smallest of the mites that crawled around in circles as if it were a newborn baby.

Tate nodded, growing curious of the elated look on Alex's face as he watched the mites wriggle around. "Just an unnerving thought, but have you ever seen a beehive in real life before?"

Alex thought about it for a moment. "I've been stung by thousands of bees, yet I've never encountered their home base. So, nope. Never."

"Oh, then you haven't truly lived, man! Sunday. You, me, the rest of the group. We'll visit the BuzzHouse, where my mom works. Get you face to face with some hives, and we'll even try some honeycombs. Are you in, or are you in?"

Alex's smile spanned further than the entire province. "I'm in."

"Good choice. I'll officiate the arrangements later today. Here," he pulled out a bottle of hand cream and offered it to Alex. "Helps you get over that 'I've just been tree climbing' feeling."

"Thanks," Alex said.

"Don't mention it. Seriously, not a word of this transaction to any of the girls. They get salty 'cause I won't give them any. If you don't go bug hunting with me, then you aren't entitled to my hand lotions."

Alex laughed. "Noted, Tate."

"Call me Tick sometimes." Alex happily nodded. "I'll be going now. See you Sunday, A.P." Tate zipped up his bag, threw it over his shoulder with one hand, and started off, probably back home Alex presumed.

He waved to him, "bye Tick." Tate raised an open hand to the air in response without turning around.

Alex picked up his umbrella that lay on the ground in front of Faerie bridge, and then he noticed something else lying in the grass not too far away. He jogged over to it and discovered that it was Jeremi's skateboard laying upside-down. When he leaned down to pick it up, he noticed Jeremi further ahead, speaking to an older boy wearing a black turtleneck sweater. It appeared the older boy was doing most of the talking, while a seemingly unhappy Jeremi stood there and listened.

The man finally stopped talking and strode away from Jeremi, who also turned and left in the opposite direction. Alex quickly grabbed the skateboard, and started running to catch up with the Steele boy.