Arts and Crafts, task 1: Write about two people who are inseparable.
Button Bonanza: Piers Polkiss
Ambers Attic, Land Before Time: Write about a safe haven
Lowdown, Jenna and Leo: two people who are inseparable
Word Count: 1352
i.
This isn't exactly the first time he's run away–not that his parents ever notice; their lives seem to be the same with or without Piers in the way. He always ends up in this park. There's something about the happy parents watching their giggling children play that just hurts. Maybe Piers shouldn't like the pain, but he does.
He stands against a tall oak tree, peering from behind the trunk. Have his parents ever brought him here, or anywhere like it? Have they ever played with him at all? He can't remember. All he can think of is distance and pity.
"Hey!" A chubby boy with neat blond hair appears beside him. "What are you doing? You hiding or something?"
Piers looks around. The boy can't be talking to him. No one ever talks to him. He's just Piers. Just unextraordinary, unimportant Piers. There's no one else around, though. With a ridiculous fluttering in his stomach, Piers realizes he is talking to him.
His words fail. All Piers can do is shake his head while silently opening and closing his mouth.
The other boy laughs. "You're weird."
"Sorry."
He waits for the boy to lose interest in him. They all do, in the end.
Instead, he holds out his hand, looking quite pleased with himself. "I'm Dudley."
Piers' hand trembles as he accepts the handshake. "Piers."
"Want to be friends?" Dudley asks.
Piers has never had friends before. He nods, eager for the chance.
Dudley grins before pushing him. It isn't a rough, hurtful push like his father when Piers is blocking his path, but Piers still tenses. He doesn't know if this is what friendship means, but he's terrified to lose it. Even though he's panicking on the inside, he manages to smile. "Want to play on the swings?"
…
His parents don't even notice when Piers slips back into the house just before nightfall. His mum is asleep on the couch. A half-smoked cigarette rests between her fingers, and there's a pile of ashes on the floor that tells Piers she must have fallen asleep with it lit again. He doesn't see his father around anywhere, but he doesn't hear screaming or the sound of things being thrown around. It's a small relief knowing his father isn't drunk tonight.
The seven year old goes to the kitchen and opens the refrigerator. It's mostly empty, but there are a few slices of cheese that no one will miss. He snatches them up before retrieving the last slice of bread. It isn't particularly filling, but it will have to do.
Piers sits at the table nibbling his sandwich. "I made a friend today," he says to the empty chair across from him.
He likes to pretend he has a normal family that sits down for meals and likes to ask him about his day. It hurts, and his eyes are always wet with tears when he plays this game, but he always does it.
"His name is Dudley, and he's gonna be my best friend forever."
ii.
The Dursleys look at him weird. Mrs. Dursley wrinkles her nose, and Mr. Dursley's face turns a funny shade of red.
"Bit runty," Mr. Dursley notes.
Piers pushed his fingers through his dark hair, his cheeks burning. Still, it's nice to be noticed at all.
"Can he stay the night?" Dudley asks.
"We'll have to speak to his parents," Mrs. Dursley says.
Piers shifts his weight nervously from foot to foot, his face burning even more. How can he explain to them that his parents don't even know he's here, that they won't be around to give permission for him to stay anywhere. "It's okay," he mutters, staring down at his raggedy trainers. "They'll say no anyway."
"We could ring them," Mrs. Dursley tells him, and Piers is surprised by the gentleness in her voice. "Perhaps if Vernon talked to them–"
"It's okay," Piers repeats, offering her a nervous smile.
What would happen if his parents knew? Would they care? Would he be punished again? Piers isn't eager to find out.
"Come on," Dudley says, taking Piers' hand and pulling him along. "I want to show you my comics!"
Piers, grateful for an excuse to leave, follows.
…
"I wish you didn't have to leave," Dudley says, nibbling a biscuit before wiping the crumbs off on his blue-and-white striped shirt.
It's such a simple sentence, but it makes Piers feel so wanted. He smiles. "You like me?"
The other boy snorts, pulling out a Green Lantern comic. "What a stupid question."
But he doesn't say it in a mean way, not like when his parents get mad when he asks so many questions. There's a teasing in his voice that borders on affection. Piers moves closer, heart racing. He reaches out, wrapping his scrawny arms around his friend.
This is what friends do on television. They hug and love one another, and Piers thinks that he loves Dudley. This is normal; despite what his mother and teachers say, Piers can be normal.
Dudley tenses at the touch, but relaxes. After a minute or so, he shifts around so that he can pat Piers' back awkwardly.
"You're weird," Dudley says, but it isn't said with the same weight as when other people say it. Coming from him, it's more compliment than insult.
"Thanks."
iii.
At twelve, his world falls apart. He's pulled out of class and finds himself sitting down with a cousin he's never met.
"I'm so sorry, kid," Max says. "Your parents… I'm sorry."
Piers doesn't cry. Maybe it looks bad, and maybe he should hurt, but there's only numbness as he stands there and listens to his cousin talk about the car crash that took his parents.
"Can I go back to class now?" Piers asks.
Max shakes his head. "You're coming with me, okay?" He offers Piers a small smile that's probably meant to be reassuring, but Piers can see how scared he is. He may be older than Piers, but he's practically a kid too. "You'll be staying with me until we can figure things out."
Piers doesn't have a choice. He shrugs and allows Max to lead him out.
…
"Sorry about your parents," Dudley says as the two of them walk through the park together.
It's one of the best things about living with Max. Piers is closer to the park and to Privet Drive now. Even if everything is wrong, he has some semblance of sanity.
"It's okay."
"Why don't you ever talk about them?" Dudley asks, pulling an almost-empty pack of stolen cigarettes from his pocket. He grabs one from the pack and tucks it between his lips, lighting it. "Even before now, you always change the subject."
"Do you want to come over?" Piers asks, accepting the cigarette when it's passed to him. He takes a deep drag, wincing when the smoke stings his dry throat. "Max is making chips."
"See? You're doing it again."
"Doing what?" Piers hates how obvious he sounds.
How can he explain to Dudley that he isn't exactly heartbroken about his parents? Is it possible for Dudley to understand exactly how much he means to Piers, that he is the first person in Piers' life that makes him feel like the world won't fall away?
"Just forget it," Dudley says sharply, taking the cigarette back. "You're going to be okay, aren't you?"
Piers opens his mouth before closing it again, dark brows knitting together. He realizes he doesn't know the answer. Everything feels so topsy turvy, and even if he isn't upset, he still feels like he's going to break.
"You will be," Dudley decides, nodding to himself as if that somehow makes it more true. "I'll make sure of it."
Piers smiles at that. Maybe it should be such a normal thing to say because that's what friendship is about, but it still feels so natural. "You really mean that?"
Dudley drops the cigarette and crushes it beneath his foot before moving closer and nudging Piers gently. "Of course. That's what friends are for."
Maybe Piers will be okay.