Chapter: 1

Pairings: None as of yet.

Summary: How Ellis, Kieth and Dave met each other.

Keith didn't have the best of lives. His mother drank constantly and the slew of boyfriends seemed never ending. The ten year old couldn't comprehend why his mother beat him. Or why as of recent her boyfriends had started joining in on it. A long sigh left the bruised split lips of the red head as he walked along the road towards home. Home was a tiny trailer with a bedroom not much bigger than a glorified closet. Home was a ticking land mine, it wasn't one he was in a hurry to step on. His head lifted as he realized he was walking beside an old fashioned log fence. He looked over and smiled, he liked the way the people on the reservation lived. He was often jealous when he passed by and watched them going about their lives. Families out playing together. Everything just made the child sad. Today however in the fenced off area he spied something that made him stop. A boy..or was it a girl? Around his age whatever gender the long haired native kid was. He turned and put his chin on the top of the fence watching the child leading a young horse around by a lead rope. He decided that it would be ok to call out to them, anything was better than going home.

"Yo! Nice horse, 'e yours?" The little Georgian boy was happy when the other kid approached. The soft voice threw him for a moment but he decided it was another boy he was talking to.

"Yeah but he's too young to ride yet. Poppa gave him to me for my birthday...I see you walk by here a lot.." He seemed a little shy but Keith didn't mind it any, he didn't have a friend in the world because of his mom.

"Shoot I go to school just up the road, yah not in public school?" He tilted his head to one side brown eyes watching black ones.

"The reservation has it's own school, though there aren't many kids my age here." He admitted.

"We'e nearly the same age yah know. Why can' we be friends?" He reached through the fence and took the other boys hand shaking it. "I'm Keith le's be friends kay?"

"A..alright..I'm David.." He answered back looking down at their hands clasped together for a moment.

" Nice tah meet'ah Dave!" His grin was 100 watts of pure intention and it was infectious the young native boy cracking the smallest of smiles.

He didn't meet the third member of their trio until a full two years later. School was hard when elementary and middle school were in the same building. Little kids were always getting bullied and it took every ounce of the twelve year old red heads will power not to get in a fight. If he stood up for some poor kid he'd be blamed for the fight, and then his mother would hear and all kinds of hell would break loose. So when he heard the pitiful cries for help coming from the school yard he did his best to just keep walking to his favorite area to be alone in. But there was something about the small voice crying being interupted by hitting that snapped something inside him. He whirled around and stalked right up to the boy kicking the 9 year old curled in a little ball on the ground. Grabbing the boys shoulder he whirled him around mid kick and punched him across the face with everything he could muster.

"Ah'll teach'a tah beat up on tha lil' ones yah big prick!" He punched him again and again until the bully ran off crying with a swollen eye and a split lip. He spit at the ground where the bully had been. "Serves yah right."

Turning he knelt down putting his hand on the frightened boys head only to be met by the widest adoring blue eyes he'd ever seen. The little blond headed boy staring at him.

"Tha' was so cool! Yer like superman or summin!" He grinned in a weird lopsided manner at the older boy, then latched onto him with a hug. "Thankya for helpin me he wa' trying to take my lunch, but my momma made my lunch special. Didn' want to give 'im none."

"I'm nothin that special kid, just dun like seein someone get hit by some one older tha' them." He pet the boys hair having never gotten a hug before he just let him stay attached to his shirt. "I'm Keith by the way.."

"Ellis, I'm Ellis. I'mma follow you til the day I die yer so cool I bet you could do all sorts of awesome stuff!" He bounced excitedly and Keith was reminded of a puppy kind of.

"Didja hear Dave?" Ellis leaned far over the fence watching the cows grazing and then looked at the taller boy. "Keith's inna hospital. We shoul go visit him." the eleven year old's pure blue eyes looked at him with wonder.

"Did you hear that at school? Why woul' he be in the hospital?" Dave frowned in concern. Ellis may have been a little slow but Dave had seen Keith come over with bruises and worse before.

"School nurse sai' he got burn'd up pretty bad on his neck. We shoul' go see him yah?"

The two took their bikes and rode through town to the hospital uncaring of distance. Thankfully the nursing staff seemed elated anyone was there to see the little boy. Leading them into his room. Ellis ran over and started chirping off at the groggy red head while Dave looked around. It didn't look like anyone had been staying with him. Where the hell was Keith's mother through all this? Why wasn't she here with her ailing child? He was shook out of his thoughts by the tired sounding voice from the bed.

"Dave? I asked yah somethin...yah alright?" He sat up more in bed his whole neck from his ears down wraped in gauze. Parts on the sides had slightly wet patches from leaking through.

"Did your ma do tha' Keith?" He asked moving over to the bed. The wince on the boys face told everything and he looked off to the side. "Why didn' you tell the docs? They coul get you away from her."

"No! Ya dun think I didn't think of that? If they take me away then I'll neva see either of you again. I dun want that I'd rather just put up with her." He frowned chewing on his lip. Ellis blinked looking between them.

"Your momma did that? How? She light yah on fire Keith?" He said in a far too loud and worried voice making both boys shush him.

"She was doin laundry...An I was jus' tryin tah ask when dinner was. She got mighty pissed off at me and flung the bleach at me.." He touched his throat. "She tol the docs I was being a fool and tryin to take a ride in the washin machine..They believed it cause ay'm a boy and boys a' stupid." He sighed out some.

"Then..we'll protect you." It was Ellis that piped up not Dave and the middle 'child' of the group looked down at him blinking. "Yer momma gets bad you jus' come over to one of our houses, My momma wouldn't turn yah away and I dun think Dave's would neither. We don't wanna lose you neither Keith, so we'll protect yah." He grinned in that lopsided fashion he'd taken to. And the red head couldn't help but grin back at him. Dave just nodded at the strangely sound logic from the more hyperactive child.

"He's right, we'll protect yah Keith." He echoed the sentiment.

"Mah heroes." Keith laughed and ruffled Ellis's hair a bit looking at Dave. "Knight's in shinin armor an all tha' shit."

"You said shit!" Ellis said wide eyed and the other two just laughed at him.