Connor was seven years old and though he was the smartest of his age group, he also felt like the loneliest sometimes too. He wasn't very good at sports and sometimes he wasn't very good at talking either. He just rambled on and on about what he liked and forgot that other people liked things too...and it wasn't as if he was the only kid in his class that liked dinosaurs, but he certainly took it to a new level as he had corrected many kids and teachers alike by saying that a pterodactyl wasn't in fact a dinosaur, but just a prehistoric bird because a dinosaur was defined by the body structure.
It wasn't always easy and kids often laughed at his clumsiness and how sometimes he chose to sit inside with the teacher for break reading about aliens and dinosaurs instead of playing with everyone else. He did have a couple of people he counted as friends at that age, but no one he was very close to, no one he actively sought out to play with. Not until a new boy came to school...
"Class, this is Thomas, he'll be joining us and I want you all to make him feel very welcome and show him what we do!" The teacher exclaimed with one clap of her hands.
"Actually, miss, I prefer Tom," He corrected her, giving the class a smile and wave before being directed to a seat. He sat anxiously, practically bouncing out of his chair. He was more than excited, he'd always loved school. He liked making lots of friends and bragging about how great his brother was and being the funny kid.
Connor looked over at him, mostly because the shaking of his legs was rather distracting while sitting next to the kid. He smiled, though, this boy seemed rather happy. Happiness was nice, so by default, this kid must be very nice. When it's time for lunch, he decides to formally introduce himself. Maybe he'd be his friend.
"Me name's Connor," He said. "and me mummy gave me extra crisps today!"
"My mum says I'm not supposed to have too many of those...she gave me extra carrots." Tom crinkled his nose and gave a small frown.
"I could share with you...if you want. I mean...I don't get them often, but I don't mind sharing." He offered.
"Really?" Tom's eyes widened and a grin broke out onto his face. "Thanks! You're really nice!"
Connor smiled and nodded his head. "You're welcome...what kind of things do you like? Do you like superheroes or dinosaurs or aliens?"
For a moment, Tom's jaw dropped and Connor worried that the boy didn't like him anymore, he looked down at his half-eaten sandwiched and just hoped for the best.
"I like almost all of that! I don't really know much about dinosaurs, but I think I'd like a pet one! A really, really nice one, though! Superheroes are my favorite though, especially Iron Man!"
"Do you like Spiderman?" Connor asked.
"Yeah, he's like the second bestest! Do you want a pet dinosaur?"
"Maybe. But not a big one, I wouldn't like cleaning up after him...maybe a small, nice one...like a diictodon!"
"What's a diictodon?"
"They're like-weird little things. They look really weird...but they're very friendly, I read! They're like modern day gophers...but they act like puppies, I think."
"Oh, cool! I have a puppy...do you?"
Connor shook his head. "No pets. I had a dog when I was really little, but we had to give him away..."
"You could share mine. His name is Scrappy, I named him after Scrappy Doo 'cause he was my favorite."
"Thanks!"
It wasn't long after that Tom and Connor became inseparable. Wherever Tom would go, Connor would go too. Countless sleepovers, many games of tag and hide and seek, and many incoherent conversations about superheroes were shared. They claimed they'd be best friends forever, nothing would ever, ever break them apart.
Those years, when they were young, they were some of the best years of their lives.