***Authors note***

Note to all readers. I am currently editing this fanfic, just spacing it better. Not a rewrite, this is a completed story. Thanks

I was 10 years old when I first met Jack, I had just moved from Boston to Gotham, uprooted by my drugged up mother to get away from my even worse father, and dumped in some new school where I didn't know a soul. But I spotted Jack right away in the playground, sitting by himself on a bench staring at nothing. I strode over and sat down opposite him, his eyes didn't move so I sat and waited until he noticed my arrival.

"I'm Rory." I said which only made him turn his head away further, pretending I didn't exist.
"What's your name?" I asked not deterred by his rudeness. Looking at him he was skinny for a boy, his clothes too big for his small frame and dotted with holes and rips. His hair was blonde but dirty making it look brown, his skin in stark contrast was so pale he looked frozen. His eyes flashed back to me and he narrowed them at me, such dark cold eyes for a child.

"Why are you still here?" He asked, annoyance evident in his voice.
"You still haven't told me your name." I told him. "If you don't tell me your name I'm just going to name you myself." I shrugged my shoulders, and his eyes looked uncertain but he remained silent.

"Fine, I'm going to call you-" I started.
"Jack." He said quickly, his eyes going back to staring at nothing again.
"Jack." I said a small smile on my lips. "I was going to call you Rupert." I was said watching his face for a reaction and was rewarded with a smirk that quickly disappeared.
"Well Jack we're going to be best friends." I told him which he didn't even react to. I was going to be this boy's best friend even if it killed me. I had a good feeling about him.

The next day I joined Jack back on the benches at lunch, he looked a little surprised at first but quickly became oblivious to my existence again. I slid over a brown bag without a word and opened my own. He looked at me and the bag with suspicion.
"What's that?" He asked.
"A bomb." I smiled as his eyes slid over to me for a second before going back to the bag, still making no move to open it.
"It's food." I said taking out my own sandwich and biting into it happily. "I make my own and you didn't have one yesterday." I said nudging the back closer to him. He still didn't look like he trusted me or the bag for that matter. But he opened it, watching me as he did but I just smiled at him.

"Why would you bring me lunch?" He asked taking out a sandwich and turning it over in his hands looking it over.
"Because we're best friends." I told him, confident in my childhood logic. "That's what best friends do."
He dropped the sandwich back into the bag and pushed it back to me.
"I don't want it." He said turning away again trying to ignore me. He was going to learn quickly it would take a lot more than that to deter me when I decided something.

"Well I made it for you. Do what you want with it." I said pushing it back to him, he left it untouched but at least he didn't push it back. We sat in silence as he stared off and I ate happily. Soon the bell rang and I stood up leaving to go back to class.
"See you later Jack." I smiled and walked away, we didn't have classes together so as I left I looked back quickly and caught sight of him picking up the brown paper bag and taking it with him.

I smiled happily, glad he hadn't shoved it into the bin which I half expected him to do. In class I couldn't stop fidgeting waiting to see if Jack had eaten what I made yet, if he liked it or not. I hoped he liked it. All I could find this morning was peanut butter and mum was asleep on the couch, bottle still clutched in her hand when I left. I had dragged a blanket from her room and draped it over her but I doubt she even noticed. I had also put a clementine in his lunch bag and a carton of juice. It wasn't much but it was all I had. When the bell finally rang I practically sprinted out of the room and headed for the bench, I was out before even Jack and I went and sat down waiting for him to arrive.

I turned around and watched the door as other kids all ran out, looking around for Jacks face. I finally spotted his blonde brown curls making his way over to the bench and as he sat down I watched him patiently waiting for his verdict. It was obvious he wasn't going to start the conversation.
"So, did you like it?" I asked as turned away still not acknowledging me.
"I threw it in the bin." He said turning his eyes to me briefly. "I don't need you making lunch for me." He said coldly and my eyes nearly filled with tears until I looked closely at him.
I smiled and his eyebrows furrowed as I did.

"What's so funny?" He asked confused.
"Nothing, ok I won't make your lunch." I said hiding my smile behind my hand. His face turned away again and I nearly burst into giggles. "But you have peanut butter on your cheek." I said after a little while and his eyes widened as he furiously wiped at his cheeks that soon turned pink. My smile was so big it hurt my face.
"It tasted gross." He said finally. He reached into his pocket and took out the clementine that I had put in. "I don't even know what that is." He said sounding a little embarrassed.

"It's a clementine." I explained taking it and began peeling it. "It's like a small sweet orange." I finished peeling it and split it in half putting it back down in front of him. "Try it, it's good." I said watching him staring at it. He began chewing the inside of his cheeks as he watched it. I took half of it as he watched it and peeled off a section slipping it into my mouth.

"See." I said smiling. "It's yummy." I purposefully looked away from him, pretending I was watching the other boys kicking a half deflated ball around on the grass. I could see from the corner of my eye his hand quickly shot out and took the other half. I kept looking forward, he probably wouldn't eat if I kept staring at him. We sat in silence until the bell rang I caught him slipping the last piece into his mouth.

I gave him a smile as we both got up and he gave me a wary look as I walked with him back into school. We got a lot of looks from the other kids and I held my head high ignoring it, I was young but I already knew how cruel kids could be. It's why I picked Jack to be my friend, he wasn't like the other kids. I'm not sure he was so happy I chose him but as I walked past his classroom and continued on to my own I nearly didn't catch what he said to me before he disappeared inside.

"I liked the weird orange." I marchedoff to class feeling happy.

I was breaking down Jack, soon he would have no choice but to be my best friend. I had went to his class at the end of school hoping to walk home together but he had already left. I went to the shop on my way home and with the $10 I took out of my mum's purse this morning I bought some food. Only what I needed, I don't know when mum ate but all I ever saw her doing was drinking so she must eat somewhere else. I hoped she would still be too drunk to notice some missing money when she woke up.

I bought some bread, ham for sandwiches, some more cartons of juice and a whole bag of clementines. I stowed these in my room as soon as I got home, not wanting my mum to eat them or see that I was making lunches for someone else. I hid them all under my bed, I already had it planned out. I would make the lunches in here in the mornings and hide them in my bag so she never spotted them. Not that she was ever conscious in the mornings or particularly care what I was doing, but just in case.

I went to check on her after I hid it all under my bed, and she was still fast asleep on the sofa. I went back to my own room and tried to do my homework, but it was no use I just didn't understand this new work, I hadn't done well in my old school, and this new work just baffled me. I had never been very smart, as my mum told me all the time. But at this new school all my teacher did was give us a book, tell us what page to read then give out homework. I gave up half way through and when I went back to check on mum again, she had already got up and left. I looked through the house for her but she had gone. Didn't even say goodbye. I sighed going to bed, but at least I can see Jack again tomorrow. There might be one person in this whole crappy town who might care.