Work Text:
Stephen didn't really have any friends, unless you count his pet rock named Faraday and his multitude of Star Wars figurines, cause then yeah he had friends. But not any ones that had conscious thoughts or could actually speak.
He wasn't exactly a go to person to talk to, being deemed as the weird kid for the majority of his short school career. He was just known as Meeks, the weirdo who was too smart for his own good.
At breaks he would often sit on the swings in the small playground at school trying to peacefully eat his ham sandwiches without being pushed off for the third time this week. He just kicked his feet in the dirt, lost in his own head making the occasional involuntary noise or movement. He would often stare at the other kids, just observing them, probably too closely if you asked someone but he was 7 he didn't know what he was doing wrong, if anything at all.
That's when for the now fourth time this week he heard a young but loud voice yell in his general direction.
"Oi nerd." He heard his classmate yell but chose to rightfully ignore, he just wanted to focus on his thoughts and slightly soggy ham sandwich.
This must have riled the boy up causing him to push the ginger off the swings again for the fourth time this week. As Stephen went tumbling to the ground the taller boy laughed at his small frame on the ground. His belongings tumbled out of his hands and his glasses flew off his face and right into the dirt. He scrambled to grab them, trying to make sure no real damage was actually done to them, he needed to see.
He solemnly picked up his belongings, he has gotten used to the constant torment. He makes his way over to the other side of the playground, sitting in front of a large tree, likely infested with ants.
He now only realised that his ham sandwich was discarded in the dirt when he fell. Great, he really wanted that sandwich.
Suddenly a presence sat down next to him but he didn't pay the newcomer any mind.
"Ahem." The mysterious person tried to get the gingers attention but the boy was too fixated on whatever was happening in his head.
"Excuse me?" The newcomer had finally caught Stephen's attention. He looked over to see a boy, probably around his age, maybe a few inches taller than him sitting down next to him. To Stephen this was an unusual occurrence, no one ever sat with Meeks, at least not willingly.
"Hi, uh I saw what happened, are you ok?" The boy, who Stephen still doesn't know his name, asked quietly, like he was afraid to say something wrong.
Stephen probably looked bewildered at the thought of someone asking him how he's doing, he didn't know how to feel.
"Yeah I'm fine, it happens a lot." He spoke quite nonchalantly for a child that is clearly being bullied. He ended up just staring at the boy, not quite knowing what to do with another person in his presence.
He had never exactly had a friend before. The boy shifted around uncomfortably, giving the ginger an awkward smile.
“Uh, do you want my sandwich? It's peanut butter and jelly.” The taller boy offered, Stephen was contemplating on whether the seemingly shy boy was going to kill him or not. He hadn’t exactly experienced much kindness in this albeit hellhole.
He didn’t know how to feel on the PB&J sandwich, he’d only ever really liked ham sandwiches, hence why he’s had them for lunch every day for the past two years. He was going to deny, but the thought of being uncomfortably hungry made him reach for the sandwich on instinct.
He didn’t exactly know what to do with the sandwich, he chose to observe it with slight disdain. It didn’t seem bad, he just didn’t like things he wasn’t used to.
“I’m Gerard Pitts by the way.” The boy, now known as Gerard, gave him another awkward smile. Stephen looked up from his now acquired sandwich. He realised he needed to introduce himself as well.
“I’m Stephen Meeks, but most people just call me Meeks anyway so that’s fine too.” He rambled, trying to copy the taller boy's smile, though the attempt wasn’t exactly his best, his smile was crooked, his teeth just a bit too big for his mouth.
He looked back at the weird sandwich he held in his hands, he finally decided to actually try the sandwich and not just stare at it intently. He took a small hesitant bite, he chewed slowly, making sure to get a good opinion on it before swallowing it.
Surprisingly he went in for another bite. He enjoyed the sandwich, sure it couldn’t live up to the sheer perfection that was ham sandwiches, but it sure was good. Gerard smiled at the ginger, happy that he seemed to enjoy his sandwich.
Once the entire thing was devoured Stephen finally looked back at Gerard comprehending that this was probably a socially acceptable time to say thank you.
“Thank you.” He garbled, sandwich still half filled his mouth. The brunette giggled fondly at the shorter boy.
Stephen still had differing opinions on Gerard, over all he was being quite nice, he did just offer him his sandwich. But on the other hand he had never had a friend before, at least not a real one.
He didn’t know how to act. Did the boy actually want to be his friend or was this another way of tormenting him? Stephen pondered on the thought for another minute before finally resorting to asking.
“Are you just being nice or do you wanna be my friend?” The ginger asked, hope filled his glass covered eyes as he stared at the boy, probably a little too intently for comfort.
Gerard quirked his eyebrow at the sudden question, Stephen sure was a little strange and yes maybe that did scare him a little, but he seemed to have good intentions.
“I mean do you wanna be my friend? Cause I do.” The brunette answered truthfully, kind of hoping the shorter boy would say yes. Stephen was half expecting that answer but it still surprised him when he heard it.
He finally had a friend.
“Yes, yes, yes, yes!” Yelled Stephen, not necessarily intentionally, but he was overfilled with joy, his hands flapping about in excitement. Gerard seemed surprised by the boy's sudden outburst but nevertheless smiled about how happy the boy seemed.
“Pitts and Meeks, it has a ring to it don’t you think?”