Friends Care About You
A/N Another Shrek drabble.
I'm glad people enjoyed the last one so much.
This is about Artie since he's my other fave in the third movie and it's about wanting friendship but afraid to try or ask for it in case you get rejected or hurt but true friends never do that to each other as Artie's gonna find out.
But it's also about trust.
It was a clear day in Far, Far Away and people in the kingdom were celebrating and happy.
It was Friendship Day, a holiday of friendship and showing them that you care about them.
But somebody was depressed by this holiday.
It was the young King of Far, Far Away Arthur Pendragon or Artie as he liked to be called.
He was always left out on this holiday in Worchester but Lance and the others were especially mean to him on Friendship Day.
"Nobody wants to be friends with a loser worm!" Lance's voice said in his head.
Lillian saw he was troubled as he left the castle and the kingdom to go visit Shrek and the others but had a feeling he was upset about something.
But she decided to leave him alone for now......
In the swamp Shrek along with Puss, Donkey and the triplets were having a good time enjoying the holiday and their friendship but were having a BBQ with the others later but they laughed seeing the triplets playing and causing mischief but Shrek was surprised seeing Artie sitting alone on a log as the triplets were trying to scare him but wasn't working.
"Something is wrong with him.
I wonder what it is?" Shrek thought.
Donkey saw him approach Artie but Puss stopped him.
He knew they needed privacy.
Artie was just staring into the sky but had a lot on his mind.
He'd never had luck making friends as a child but never gave up trying but after his mother died, everything changed including his father and his spirit of never giving up died and never revived especially at Worchester when Lance and the entire student body kicked his spirit down along with his confidence.
"Artie?" Shrek's voice said stopping his train of thought.
"Oh....... hey Shrek.
What's up?" he said trying to fake a smile.
"Artie drop it.
I can tell something's wrong.
You came here early because the party's not until later.
Do you want to tell me why're you feeling down?
We are friends." the ogre told him.
Artie flinched at this.
"Are you sure?
Because........." Artie said trailing off.
"Because what Artie?" Shrek asked.
"Never mind.
It's not like you'd understand.
You have friends who care about you truly." he muttered as Shrek gasped at that.
"You're wrong Arthur.
You have friends but this holiday bugs you.
Why?" Shrek told him.
"How does he know that?
Can he read my mind or something?" the young King thought.
"I can't read minds but I can tell from your eyes since they're the windows to a person's soul and we have been hurt before so I can read your emotions well Artie." he answered as Artie sighed.
"There's no denying it.
I always feel like this on Friendship Day every year.
It makes me depressed." he began.
"Why would you?
It is a great holiday." Shrek asked confused.
"It made me feel upset because I felt unwanted at home and at Worchester.
My Dad hated me and blamed me for my Mom's death.
The other kids hated me because I was different from my peers so Friendship was hard.
I built up an immunity to that feeling because I didn't......... didn't." he said as Shrek hugged him.
It upset him when Artie was sad like this.
They were almost like brothers but he knew that Artie needed to know somebody did care about him.
"It's okay.
I have been rejected trying to make friends too." Shrek said softly.
"You...... have?" Artie asked him stunned.
"Aye.
None of the other kids saw me for who I was but just because I was an ogre, they hated me except for one kid who was human but she moved away during third grade so I felt hurt and rejected growing up and always wanting to know what friendship felt like.
Everybody hurts sometimes, even ogres." he answered.
Artie nodded in reply as he wiped away a tear from his emerald eye.
"You're right man.
I guess I have one friend." he answered.
"You do?" Shrek asked confused.
"Yeah I do.
You.
You and I know each other like brothers and care about each other.
You even helped me get a little confident in myself but we are friends." the young King replied as he hugged him.
"Yeah Artie you got it." Shrek replied playfully noogieing him.
He then saw the others stare at him but laugh understandingly.......
Later that night as he was returning from the swamp party, Artie was thinking about what happened but was wearing a friendship bracelet.
He then saw somebody sitting outside the castle leaning on the fountain.
It was a young girl his age with long black hair, hazel eyes, slender and wore a shirt and jeans.
But she was quiet.
"Why're you sad?" he asked her after getting the courage to speak up.
"Because I'm alone in this world.
I'm Ara.
I moved to this kingdom a few days ago but nobody likes me.
Just........ because I'm different and have magic." she answered as a ball of purple energy was in her hand.
Artie was in awe.
"She's just like me before I had friends." he thought as he sat beside her.
That shocked her.
"Nobody has ever tried to be near me.
Are you not afraid that I could hurt you?" she said.
"No.
I don't see you as a monster but as a normal, lonely kid....... like I was." he told her.
Ara was surprised by that but curious.
"Somebody like you lonely?
But how?" she asked.
"Other kids hated me too back in high school.
They would always throw me in lockers, hang me from axe ball hoops and make my life a living misery.
Every night in my dorm room, I would cry myself to sleep but I'm okay now." Artie told her.
"You are happy being lonely?" she asked him.
"It still hurts but I have one good friend who's wise and helps me no matter what but also believes in me.
As long as you have one person who believes in you, then it doesn't matter if you have many or little friends.
Besides you need a friend." Artie told her.
"You'd........ want to be my friend?" she said in disbelief.
He nodded as she hugged him.
He then entered the castle with her feeling good that for once in his life, he had people who cared about him and wouldn't leave him......