A/N: So I watched How to Eat Fried Worms a couple nights ago and really liked it. I especially liked the character of Plug and I wondered why he, of all the other boys, never really seemed to question his loyalty to Joe, until the very, very end when Joe cheated. So I made up a reason. I apologize if the quotes are off, I couldn't find it anywhere and it's been a couple days.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in the movie.

Rating: G

Genre: Friendship

Summary: Plug thinks on how and why he is friends with Joe the bully.

A Question of Loyalty

"Back at the Greasy Frog, when Joe yelled at me, I wanted to join Billy's team."

"So why didn't you?"

"I don't know . . . not brave enough, I guess."

It was the answer I was expecting, and I had no idea how to answer him back. I had been the victim of Joe's bullying since kindergarten. But whatever he did I could never join Billy's team. Because I was the only one in the group who knew the real reason Joe was such a bully. I hadn't found out until fourth grade, and it was the night after that day that I met the real Joe.

I was in my bed, trying to go to sleep with my sister's sleepover party going on in the other room. Tossing and turning horribly, I just about screamed my head off when I looked out my window and saw Joe's face there. He had a busted lip and a black eye and was snarling something awful. I leaped out of bed and opened the window, helping him in because I knew if I didn't I would live past the eighth grade. I then backed away slowly, ready to dive underneath my bed if I had to.

He straightened slowly and then simply blinked at me. I blinked back. He blinked again. I scratched my nose.

"We're having a sleepover, okay?" he growled at me, his hands fidgeting. I looked at his ring and swallowed hard.

"S-sure Joe," I said hurriedly. "N-no problem."

He stared at me a moment before I realized something was wrong.

"Umm . . ."

"Well aren't you going to get me a pillow or something?" he snapped. I swiftly picked up mine and handed it to him, willing to go without a pillow in exchange for my life. He took it and shook his head. "Idiot," he muttered, setting it on the ground and laying down, putting his head on the pillow and closing his eyes. I backed up slowly and sat down on my bed carefully.

After a long moment I could not resist. "What happened to your face, Joe?" I asked fearfully. He opened one eye and snarled.

"None of your beeswax," he said and then closed his eye again. I licked my lips nervously.

"But Joe—"

Suddenly he was up and on top of me, grabbing the collar of my pajamas in his fist; he lifted me off the bed and stared down his nose into my wide eyes. I could barely see him through the hair that fell into my face, but I didn't have to see him to know he was real mad.

"I said, 'none of your beeswax!'" he practically shouted. I trembled all over. But for some reason, after a moment, he slowly let me go and smoothed out my pajama shirt, looking at me thoughtfully for a moment before going back to sit down. I found I could breathe again and I pushed back my white blond hair so I could see him better. He lay down with his back toward me.

After a very long moment I guessed he was asleep and got into my own bed, pulling the covers up over my face. But not that much happened before I heard a sniff. I pulled my covers down slowly so just my eyes showed, looking over at where Joe lay. There was another sniff. I pushed my cover down lower. Another sniff. I sat up slowly.

"Hey Joe," I called softly. "Are you crying?" The possibility shocked me. Joe crying?! I didn't know he had tear ducts.

I could hear my sister and her friends laughing in the other room in the silence. Finally there was one last sniff and then Joe's voice said, "No," like that was the end of it. I knew he was lying, of course, but I wasn't about to challenge him. I began to wonder who had beaten Joe up so badly that he had to cry about it. No one at school ever dared to even look at him.

I then remembered one of the reason why I hated living two doors down from Joe's place. His older brother Nigel was always riding his bike through our lawn and messing up my mom's garden. And then I always had to clean it up. I hated that job. Made me look like a sissy. Only girls worked in gardens, everyone knew that. I also remembered hearing a lot of fighting in that house. An angry Joe usually emerged soon afterwards and I always hid in the bushes.

"Does your brother beat you up?" I asked without thinking. I flinched right away, saying goodbye to life after seventh grade graduation. But nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. I thought that Joe must have fallen asleep, but then he sat up and turned to look at me.

"Don't tell anyone," he said in warning, although his voice cracked so it didn't sound very scary.

"I won't," I promised, but not because I was afraid. But because I knew how I would feel if people knew that my older brother beat me up. I wondered if that was why Joe beat up little kids all the time, because he wanted to seem tough and not someone to be bullied. "Sorry," I muttered after a moment.

"It's no big deal," Joe lied through his teeth. I opened my mouth to say something else when I realized the room next door was eerily quiet. I groaned. Joe looked at me funny.

"What?" he asked.

"Whenever my sister has friends over and they get quiet like that it's because they're going to do something to me," I explained. "Last time they put shaving cream on my hand and made me slap myself. They'll probably do something bad to you too if they catch you in here, dumb girls."

Joe looked thoughtful for a moment and then he grinned. "I've got an idea," he said.

When my sister and her friends sneaked in with cans of silly string, I didn't wait for them to catch me. I counted to three and then jumped out of bed, growling and yelling and Joe jumped out from behind the door. The girls screamed and ran out of the room, and me and Joe fell to the ground laughing our faces off.

"That was great!" I said, when I could breathe again. Joe laughed a little longer.

"Yeah," he said finally. We looked at each other and grinned.

"You know, you're not that bad Plug," Joe said after a second. My grin got bigger.

"You're not so bad yourself," I told him, and I really meant it, which was really weird.

We both lay down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. I wasn't tired after scaring the girls so I started to talk after a minute.

"Say Joe," I started slowly. "Does this mean you won't punch me with your ring ever?"

"Nah," he said, turning his head to grin at me. "As long as you're on my team, I won't punch you."

"Awesome," I said, grinning up at the ceiling.

And he kept his word. Ever since I started being on Joe's team, he's never once punched me. In fact, the only time he ever touched me violently after that was when he pushed me in the park. But that was because I had told my sister about Billy and Joe's bet and she told Nigel, so I deserved it, mostly. I considered Joe my friend because he really didn't have any and he really wasn't a bad kid. He just never let anyone see that he wasn't.

So that's why I couldn't go on Billy's team. It was a question of loyalty and I had to stay loyal to Joe, because I knew no one else was, deep down. And he didn't deserve that. No matter what he did as a bully, he really didn't deserve that.

So there you go, just a little thing I thought up. Review and tell me what you think! :-D