So I'll continue to update "Moving Forwards" but ever since I wrote "The New Kid" I have really missed writing about a younger Peter & Carla. – However, in the New Kid, they were 17 & 18. – So I thought I'd take them back even-further with this new-fic "Softening a hard-heart."

So in this Fic, both Carla and Peter are 15. – Young enough to be almost innocent but old enough to cause some fictional mayhem! I hope you enjoy this opening chapter! (:


Peter and Carla had been friends for years now, they had first met in Primary School, when they were both just 8 Years Old, and despite their differences, they had clicked right from the very off and had been the best of friends ever since.

Peter Barlow was the kid that everyone feared throughout Weatherfield High. He was a bully, and a rude and violent one at that. He walked through school with scuffed trainers on, his school tie was loosened and his shirt was untucked and could be seen over flowing the bottom of his school jumper. He carried his small rucksack on his back, although it was hardly full, infact, apart from the odd pen and a packet of crisps, it was virtually empty. And you could almost guarantee that Peter would always be chewing some chewing-gum as he wandered-around the school like he owned the place.

However, there was one person, who could soften this tough boy. And that was Carla Donovan. Peter's best and oldest mate. Carla had long and flowing black hair and many of the boys at school stared at her as she walked past, but she barely battered an eye-lid at all of this male-attention that she was receiving. To Carla, life was just for getting through and surviving, and as-long as that happened, then she didn't really care what else was happening around-her…..Apart from Peter that was. She had to be there for Peter to keep him out of trouble…..Well…..To keep him out of prison infact…..


Peter had been getting irritated by this younger-kid by the name of Timmy. He was always out to get on Peter's nerves and just to find-out what would make Peter tick so that he could get him into trouble. That morning, whilst walking through the corridors, Timmy just got too much for Peter to handle any-longer. And he ended-up pinning Timmy-up against the nearest-wall in the very-same corridor. "You're asking for a punch you are you little….." Peter trailed-off as he raised his fist back ready to punch Timmy if he needed-it.

"I'm sorry." Timmy cried as Carla came running-over. "Peter put him down." Carla ordered-him, and as if by magic, Timmy was allowed to go free by Peter and scurried-off along the corridor in fear of the older-teenager.

"What was all of that about?!" Carla asked-him as she led-him down the corridor towards their form-room together.

"Well ya know…..Someone's gotta show him who's the boss of this place….." Peter joked with a smirk, making Carla smile at him in return.

"Oh and who's that then?!" Carla nudged him teasingly.

"Well who do you think it is Car?!" He asked her with the smirk still on his face.

"Oh I dunno…..Mr Smith…..I mean he's only the head-master of this glorified dump of a school….." Carla trailed-off as they entered the form-room together and then sat-themselves down next to each-other.


"Good Morning you two. It's unlike you to be so late for form-time Carla. Was Mr Barlow here giving you grief?!" Mrs Austin asked Carla.

"No actually Miss….." Carla replied politely.

"Okay then as long as you're sure. Peter Barlow, you are late…..Once Again!" Mrs Austin told-him disapprovingly.

"And you're moaning at me…..Once Again!" Peter answered back rudely with a fed-up sigh.

"Don't take that tone with me Mr Barlow or I'll be writing a letter home!" The strict teacher warned-him.

"A letter home?! I'm sorry but I wouldn't call that place a home. It's just where I sleep. Same as the rest of the kids that stay there. Peter Barlow infact lived in a Foster-Home. And the troublesome teen was going through a rough-patch at the moment.


Form-time was soon over and Peter and Carla scuffled out of the classroom together as they headed-towards their first-lesson, which was Maths. "Has something happened with Betty and Charlie recently?!" Carla asked Peter worriedly. Betty and Charlie were Peter's Foster-carers, and it was safe to say that Peter didn't exactly like-them.

"Nothing that you need to go worrying yourself about." Peter sighed.

"Too late for that ya muppet. Come-On just tells-me. You do trust me don't ya?!" Carla asked-in her strongly Northern-Accent.

"Of-Course I do. I just don't wanna tell you yet so shove-off alright?!" He told her, ever-so slightly frustratedley now.

"Alright Mister! No need to get all feisty. This is ME you're talking to remember. Your best-mate?!" Carla told-him and he just looked-at Carla.

"It's nothing I can't handle okay?!" He replied a little-more softly towards Carla this-time around and he just nodded-at him with a smile.


"OY! Barlow! I hear you've been picking on my little-brother!" James suddenly shouted from across the corridor. Peter and Carla continued to walk out through to the court-yard and James just followed-them. James was three years older than both Peter and Carla.

"And so what if I have?!" Peter answered-back. "Don't tell me the pathetic little-kid has been running to his older-brother to help him?! 'Cos if he has then he's in for it later-on!" He told James, putting on the hard-act as a crowd of rowdy teenagers gathered-around and Carla could do nothing but just watch-on as she watched her troubled-best-friend dig himself into a hole yet again.

"No-One picks on Timmy you idiot!" James replied threateningly, getting-up in Peter's face as he did-so.

"Yeah well I do! So what're you gonna do about it?!" A Cocky-Peter asked the sixth-former.

"This!" James replied with gritted-teeth before he then punched Peter in the nose, causing Peter to swing a punch back at James, landing his fist right-onto James' jaw. A full-on brawl was just about to begin when a teacher appeared to break the crowd-up. And Peter just sighed to himself in anger as he saw which teacher it was. Mrs Austin. The teacher who seemed to have it in for him lately. "That's quite enough of that lads. James. Go and wait in my classroom please. Peter, I will be seeing you after-school for a detention and a stern-warning! Carla, I trust you'll see that he gets there on-time and in once-piece preferably!" The teacher requested to Carla, who nodded before approaching Peter as the teacher then wandered-off.

Peter laughed as he held his hand over his nose, trying to catch the blood that was falling from the nose-bleed that James' Firm-Punch had caused him to have. "This isn't funny Peter!" Carla told-him firmly as she then handed-him a tissue. Peter held the tissue around his bleeding-nose as he then spoke to Carla.

"Yes it is Car. He thinks he's hard. Well he may have given me a nose-bleed…..But the next-time I manage to get my hands on him…..He'll have more than just an achey jaw that's for sure!" Peter said with an evil smirk.

"Peter will you just stop-this whole act for just a second?! You really freak-me out when you're like this!" Carla told-him worriedly, and Peter could see the look of concern that had appeared-on Carla's face and just sighed. He felt bad for her when she gave-him that look.

"I'm sorry Car. He just winds me up that's all…..Friends?!" He asked with his puppy-eyed look that he knew won Carla over every-single-time.

"We never weren't friends ya loony!" Carla joked with him as she giggled slightly as she watched him try, but then fail, to stem the blood-flow that was coming from his nose. "Oh come-here." She said, taking the tissue from him and wrapping-it around the bottom of his nose properly so that no more blood could escape past where the tissue was placed. "Now hold-it right-there until the nose-bleed has finished and don't even think of trying to move-it! Okay?!" She ordered-him and he did as he was told. "Thanks….." He trailed-off with as he shot a grateful-smile in Carla's direction.


After school that day, Carla and Peter both met-up again at the school-gates. "So are you going to this detention then?!" Carla asked-him softly.

"Silly Question." Peter replied and Carla just laughed at him.

"I'll take that as a no then….." She trailed-off, as they began to walk-home together. Carla had walked Peter back to his foster-home ever-since that night a couple of years back when he had tried-to run-away because everything had become just too-much for the poor-kid. Luckily, Carla had found-him hiding-out in the doorway of a Local-Corner-Shop and had taken-him back to hers for the night.

Peter pulled-out a packet of fags and a lighter as they walked-together. "Uh, excuse-me Mister, but where an earth did you get them from?!" Carla asked-him.

"Some older kid in sixth-form was giving them away…..Can't do any harm….."

"Or maybe they could!" Carla argued back.

"Hey they calm-me down okay?! And besides…..It's just one packet! I'll stop afterwards….."

"Yeah that's what you think!" Carla told-him sternly.


When they reached the Foster-Home, Carla could hear shouting coming from indoors. "What's going-on in there?!" She asked Peter-head. "Betty & Charlie have been at logger-heads for months now…..Talk is that one of them is gonna walk-out on the other eventually….." Peter trailed-off sadly.

"Well maybe that wouldn't be such a bad-thing….." Carla told Peter positively as they stood-up at the bottom of the driveway together.

"For Betty and Charlie maybe it wouldn't…..But if one of them leaves then some of us will have to leave too….." Peter revealed to Carla sadly.

"Why?" Carla asked-him simply.

"'Cause one person can only look-after so many Foster-Kids at once…..And I'm virtually the oldest in the house apart from one-other kid…..And if they're gonna move anyone then it's gonna be the older-kids isn't it?! Because let's face-it Carla…..They're not gonna want to un-settle the little-kids are they?!" Peter said as he pulled-out yet another fag.

"Oh Peter I'm sorry…..Surely they won't move ya far-away?! I mean…..Will They?! Is that what has been bothering you today?! I mean, I thought you hated Weatherfield?!" Carla asked-him.

"I do…..But all of my mates are here…..I mean, it's where I grew-up Carla…..And you're here too…..I don't know what I'd do without you…..You're My Best-Mate." Peter said as he took Carla's hand with his spare-hand and then squeezed-it briefly before he then let-go of it again almost straight-away.

"Yes I Am…..And I'm telling you to throw those fags away. Now!" She warned-him softly and Peter just chuckled. "Whatever Car….." He said as he lit the fag-up once-again and popped the end of it into his mouth. "Cya tomorrow yeah?!" The troublesome-kid told his best-friend as she began to wander-off.

"You will do. But in the meantime…..Take-Care Yeah?! And stay out of trouble! Ya little-thug!" Carla teased-him before she then disappeared-off around the corner. Carla really did look-out of Peter and he really did appreciate all of her support. But if he did have to move-away to another Foster-Home…..Then Peter didn't know how he'd be able to cope without Carla…..


Peter finished his fag and then hid the packet-and the lighter-away into his rucksack as he threw the used-cigarette to the ground, stamping-it out before he then headed-inside to the mass of arguments that were happening all around the Big-Foster-House. Peter just ran straight-up to his bedroom and then slammed the door shut behind-him. He plugged his ear-phones into his Ipod, put them into his ears, and then turned the volume-up as he lay on his bed and then shut his eyes, in hope that this would all just go-away for just a little-while.


Please-Review! - And let-me-know what you think! (: