Work Text:
They were laughing at him, pointing at him like he was some kind of freak, like he belonged in a circus. He wasn’t even that short, the thing is they were too tall, they didn’t look like normal 10 year old boys, they looked like they were 15, but nobody bullied them.
It was like this every day, he was ok with it, he liked being alone, there was nothing wrong with it.
“Why don’t you bring friends home” his mom had said, he just shrugged it off and said he had to practice the guitar or shower or finish that book she bought for him a month ago –he actually finished that one two days after but she doesn’t have to know that-.
He’s dying for the year to end, he just wants to stay in bed all day long and don’t have to worry about homework or smelling nice in the mornings. Half the year has passed and he feels like a zombie, every day he wakes up, takes a shower, eats, brushes his teeth and runs to the bus stop.
But of course, everyone has bad days, even zombies.
It starts off by him waking up late, he doesn’t have time to shower and all he gets to eat before running really fast to the bus stop is an energy bar, his mom gives him a kiss before he sprints out the door.
It’s raining when he gets there and he completely forgot his jacket. Normally, the bus isn’t that packed with kids, but today it is and he feels sick while listening to everybody talk. The rest of the day goes by slowly, with teachers talking and talking about stuff he doesn’t care about.
When it’s time to go home he decides to walk because his head hurts and he wants some fresh air, sadly, he’s a klutz, and while he’s walking down the stairs of the park near his house, he trips and feels like he’s going to fall on his head, he’s surely going to die like this, like the goof that fell down the stairs.
He doesn’t die, though, he doesn’t even fall, because someone catches him, he notices the someone is a boy he has never seen before and he looks concerned.
“Hey, are you ok? You looked like you were swaying while you walked” stranger says, and he’s looking at him with big eyes, still holding him like he’s afraid that if he lets go the other boy is going to collapse.
“I-uh-yeah, I’m just a klutz, uh don’t worry” he says, patting his knee like he actually needs to.
Stranger lets go and tilts his head and says “hm, I’ve never seen you before. Hi, I’m Gerard” raising his hand for him to shake.
He looks at the stranger’s –Gerard’s- hand for a minute, trying to guess if he’s a good person or he’s just going to laugh at him like the others, he concludes it’s worth a try so he shakes his hand.
“I’m Frank” he says in a little voice.
Gerard grins at him and says “do you want to come and play with my brother and me? We are over there” signaling behind Frank, where another boy is trying to climb a tree and an old woman is watching him with a smile.
He thinks it over, maybe this could be the start of his first real friendship. He looks back at Gerard, eyes shining and says “yeah, yeah I do”
It wasn’t a bad day after all, it was the best day of his life. That, and when he kneeled on one knee with a golden ring on the same park, but that’s a story for another day.
FIN