A/N: Hey guys! So, I decided to take the stories I published off of my tumblr (mysparkisflamingpink) for Niff Week and put them here. This is from the day one challenge, Kid!Niff. Have fun reading! :)
It had been a lazy June afternoon. In two weeks, Jeff was going to turn nine years old. To say the least, he was bouncing off of the walls with excitement. And he didn't hide his excitement from his next-door neighbor, Nick.
"I'm gonna be nine!" he exclaimed as he was bouncing on Nick's bed, "I'mgonnabenine, I'mgonnabenine, I'mgonnabenine! That means my dad's gonna buy me a new bike! And I'll get to ride it to school, and everyone's gonna think I'm cool, and-"
He saw already-nine-year-old Nick sitting on the ground, looking very unamused…it almost looks like he's sad. Jeff stops bouncing immediately and stares at him, wondering what happened to make him sad.
"Nicky?" he jumped off of the bed and sat down next to his friend, who was absently playing with his dinosaurs that were spread all over the floor. "What's wrong?"
"Nothin'," Nick moping meant one of three things; he was bored, he was waiting for his dad, or he was sad. He wasn't bored, because Jeff and Nick always had fun together. Always. His dad was home because it was Saturday. Nick's dad never worked on Saturdays. Which means…something was bothering him.
"Did I do something to make you sad?" Jeff never wanted Nick to be anything but happy. He didn't like it when his friends weren't happy. Especially Nick.
"No…it's not you," Nick replied, "I just wish I was getting cool stuff like you." he fiddled with his stegosaurus's scales, not daring to look at Jeff.
"What are you talking about?" Jeff was very confused at Nick's comment, because, oh my god, Nick's room was the coolest place on the block! He had dinosaurs, science kits, a bunch of CDS, a hundred board games, and a huge bed to jump on.
"My parents don't give me all the cool stuff the other kids get. I wish I had a bike." He brought his knees up to his chest and sat his chin on them. "I wanna be cool, too."
Jeff's confusion grew, because Nick didn't think he was cool? "But…you are cool."
Nick looked up at him, surprised, "How am I cool? I don't have a cool bike, or cool action figures, or video games, or anything!"
"I think you're cool."
Nick's eyes widened, "…You do?"
Jeff stood up, "Yeah! Look at all this stuff you got! Dinosaurs, science lab stuff, books on all kinds of cool stuff, a bunch of CDs…Plus," he jumped onto the soft bed, "you have the bounciest bed ever!"
Nick laughed, and Jeff was happy that he made him smile. He liked it when Nick smiled.
"But…you're gonna be cooler than me. You're gonna get a bike." Nick got up and jumped onto the bed next to Jeff.
"We can share it!" Jeff said excitedly, " 'Cause I'm not gonna ride it all the time. When I get my bike, we can trade off. I keep it for a week, and then you can keep it for a week. Then we'll both be cool."
Nick warily looked at him, "I don't know…what if your dad says no?"
Jeff stood on the bed, "He can't tell me what to do with my stuff! Besides, you're my best friend. I can give stuff to my best friend."
Nick looked up at him, "I'm your best friend?"
"Well, yeah! You're the funnest person on the street! And we hang out all the time. So, duh, we're best friends!"
"I've never had a best friend before…"
"Me neither. So, we can be each other's best friends!"
Nick stood up on the bed with Jeff, showing off a huge grin. "Yeah! Jeffy, you're my best friend!"
"You're my best friend, too, Nicky. And you're still the coolest kid I've met."
Nick laughed, and they jumped on the bed together, playing with dinosaurs and messing around with Nick's science kits for the entire day. Nick's mom walked in a few hours later to see the pair curled up together on the bed. She smiled to herself and pulled out one of his old blankets, covering up the two sleepyheads.
Nick remembers that day very well. It was the day he got his best friend.