So this is my latest deviation. I felt this big need for a Kid Fic in which we could see both Kieren and Simon interacting in a different way. And also, kid!Simon wearing ridiculously oversized jumpers. Enjoy
"You're going to see Gary. You know Gary", said his father as he kept his eyes on the road and drove.
Yes, he knew Gary. That's why the prospect of being around him wasn't that much of an incentive to feel better. Kieren looked out the window wondering what he had done wrong. Why couldn't he just stay back home with his little sister Jem and his mother? He liked taking care of her and watching fascinated as she slept, yet there was something that made his parents believe that it was a much better idea to be sent to the improvised day-care of Roarton.
The small boy watched trees pass by wide-eyed as he remembered his parent's words. 'He has to learn to make friends', 'we can't keep him by our side forever', 'the older he gets, the harder it will be'. Kieren didn't know much about life, but he was positive that 6 years old was still "not too old", so why rushing things? Why not letting him play with Jem instead of taking him to a foul place with children that disliked him?
"Kieren!"
His father's call snapped him back to reality. He was so deep in thought that he hadn't realised they had already arrived. Kieren tried to swallow the lump in his throat as he was walked to the entrance of the place. Inside, everything seemed to be upside-down. He recognised a few familiar faces in the middle of the pandemonium; Philip Wilson was standing in a corner, watching as some kids fought against each other with a small smile on his face, and Lisa Lancaster, who couldn't even walk yet, was crawling after a ball and laughing.
The more he kept on looking, the more miserable Kieren felt. He couldn't help but think how boring all of it was going to be, especially since his best friend wasn't there anymore. Ever since Rick moved, everything started going downhill; they had grown up together, played together, did everything together, and even though Mister Macy was quite frightening, Kieren didn't mind putting up with him for the sake of being with Rick. But then one day, Rick's parents decided he couldn't play with him anymore, he couldn't see him, he couldn't have sleepovers with him and eventually, that it would be better if they moved. And so they did, leaving Kieren to his own devices, with no friends and broken-hearted.
Shirley Wilson emerged from the back of the house, carrying a baby in one of her arms and some toys in the other. She smiled when she saw Steve and Kieren at the door.
"Steve! It's so nice to see you", she said as she stepped forward to stop a kid from running out the door. "And Kieren, look how big you are now!"
The boy smiled shyly and met Shirley's gaze with his big brown eyes.
"Thanks for taking care of him, Shirley. It's a relief to have someone like you lookin' over them", said Steve with a smile just before crouching at Kieren's height and looking him straight in the eye. "I'll be back for you in a few hours, son. Be nice to Shirley and the other kids, okay?" He ruffled his hair and smiled at Shirley one last time, before making his way back to the car.
"Make lots of new friends!" shouted Steve before driving away and leaving Kieren at the Wilson's house.
Shirley closed the door behind him and went back to dealing with the most urgent matters at the time. Kieren stood there, still observing the kids around him and clutching his lunchbox tightly. Besides from the unfortunate fact that Rick wasn't there, a small hope started growing in Kieren's chest when he scanned the room for one last time, and not on the prospect of making friends, but because he couldn't find Gary Kendal anywhere.
A small smile was starting to spread across his lips when he felt a sudden push from behind. The lunchbox slipped from his hands and he fell to the floor, bruising his knees. He heard laughs behind his back and all hope vanished. So that was where he had been all along.
Kieren looked back up as he tried to stand up and saw a dark haired boy with piercing eyes standing before him, followed by two other boys, one of them blond and with a smirk on his face.
"Look who's here. It's Ki-Ki-Kieren Rotter" said Gary, earning a laugh from the boys that accompanied him.
"It-it's Walker", stuttered Kieren, who had successfully stabilised himself back into a standing position.
"Same shite", replied the taller kid right before pushing past Kieren and being followed by his friends.
Gary was older than him. He was also taller and stronger, and he was always surrounded by a pack of friends who backed him up in all of his misdeeds. He was known for bullying other kids and starting fights, but he'd always had a fixation with Kieren, calling him names, pushing him and stealing his things.
After the unfortunate incident, Kieren decided it was best to keep a low profile, so he went to sit at the back of the room in one of the small plastic chairs Shirley had set out for them. The blonde boy opened his lunchbox and took out a sheet and some crayons, focusing his attention in a flower bouquet that was set on one of the tables and started drawing it.
Kieren stared intently to his drawing. There were a few details missing but he had to be very sure of which were those details, so he looked back up to the original flowers to compare them with his own interpretation of them. But there was a problem. The beautiful flowers were now being covered by someone's body, a slender and tall for his age body, covered in an oversized jumper and black trousers. The boy seemed to be interested in the flowers but in a distant, sort of melancholic way; he touched them with his pale fingers and leaned in to smell them, the movement not disturbing his very well-kept dark hair.
The kid must've noticed Kieren's gaze, because he looked back at him with sheepish blue eyes, curiosity written all over his face. Kieren dropped his gaze, feeling his cheeks burning red. He hadn't meant to stare and make the boy uncomfortable, but he was also curious about him, since he had never seen him before. Hadn't his parents mentioned something about a new family moving to Roarton?
Kieren lifted his eyes again and the boy was still looking at him with those deep blue eyes of his, though there was something else written on his face, something like... sympathy. So they were when Gary stepped in the middle, snatching the red crayon from Kieren's hands and breaking it.
"Oi, that- was my favourite colour!" the blonde boy protested.
Gary looked down on him, arms crossed over his chest. "Well I guess it's not anymore"
Kieren sat on the floor, impotent as the three older boys towered over him. Gary crouched in front of him and looked at his drawing.
"What is this?"
"I was…drawing flowers", replied Kieren.
Gary snorted. "Flowers? Flowers are for girls. Are you a girl, Ki-Ki-Kieren? Or should I say 'Ren the Rotter'?"
The blond boy behind Gary bursted into laughter. "Yes, call him that, Gary; Ren the Rotter!"
"Shut up, Dean! It's not funny when you say it", snapped Gary, then turned back to Kieren. "You didn't answer my question, Rotter. Are you a girl? Is that why you draw flowers?"
Kieren felt tears welling up in his eyes, but he wasn't going to give up so easily. He stood up, both fists clenched and brow furrowed. Gary and his friends whistled in fake admiration.
"Well, well, the Rotter wants a fight. Maybe we should give it to him".
Gary shrugged his camo jacket off and prepared to give Kieren the hardest push ever, when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find the boy in the ridiculously big jumper frowning at him.
"Leave him alone"
Gary stared back in disbelief. How could this foreigner dared to challenge him? He always did whatever he wanted, and if he wanted to bully Kieren, he would do it and no one could stop him.
"Back off, idiot!" he spat at the blue-eyed boy, pushing him. But the boy was faster and grabbed Gary's arms, making him lose balance and fall. Once he was on the ground, the boy sat on top of Gary, grabbing one of his arms and twisting it, making his rival cry out.
"Hey, you're hurting me! Get off!"
"Not until you promise you will stop bugging him", responded the mysterious boy, pointing towards Kieren.
"Okay, okay, just let me go!"
The boy did as he was told and Gary stood up quickly. He grabbed his jacket from the floor and rushed out of that room, followed by his concerned crew.
"Gary, you alright?" asked Dean behind him
"Well, you could've done more, instead of just staring!" reprehended Gary as they exited the room.
Kieren couldn't believe what had just happened. He had been saved from Gary and his peers by this stranger, who apparently wasn't afraid of them. He was still trying to order his thoughts when the blue-eyed boy approached him, a shy smile on his lips.
"Did they hurt you?"
Kieren shook his head, earning a much more open smile from the boy.
"That's good. I'm Simon, Simon Monroe"
"Kieren Walker, not Rotter", clarified the blonde. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
Simon chuckled; his breathless laugh made Kieren smile. "I read about it. Where did you learn to draw like that?"
The dark-haired child pointed towards the flower picture that had started everything. Suddenly, Kieren felt very self-conscious; that drawing was nothing compared to the skills the new boy had just displayed a few moments ago, so Kieren just shrugged and crouched to collect his scattered crayons.
"It's just something I like doing. I love drawing, and not just flowers"
Simon smiled and helped him get his crayons. "I like flowers", he added sheepishly, handing the crayons to Kieren.
In that precise moment, Shirley came back to hoard all of the kids to the back of the house, where they could run and play in the yard. Kieren and Simon went out together and sat in a corner.
"I had never seen you here", started Kieren
"We just moved a few days ago", replied the other boy
"Where are you from?"
Simon hesitated. "I-Ireland; I'm not thupothed to thay thiths". He suddenly covered his mouth and took a few deep breaths. "Sorry, I tend to lisp when I'm nervous"
Kieren smiled at Simon. "It's ok, I stutter when I'm nervous. That's why Gary calls me Ki-Ki-Kieren, though I don't like it. And why aren't you supposed to say that?"
"I don't know", shrugged Simon. "Mum says it's better that way. People don't really like Ireland".
"I've never been there. Is Ireland far?"
"A bit, but I can take you next time we visit", replied Simon with a smile, which was returned by Kieren.
Simon frowned. "Why were you alone?" he inquired.
Kieren shifted a bit. "I-I don't really get along with anyone. I had a best friend, but he moved. His name was Rick"
"Best friend?" Simon raised his eyebrows. It seemed like a very personal and characteristic gesture of him.
Kieren nodded "Yes, didn't you have a best friend back in Ireland?"
Simon thought for a minute, before responding
"Not really; I've never been very good at making friends, so I rather read and listen to my father play guitar…"
The anxiety of the first moments was quickly dissipating and Kieren felt more at ease with every minute that passed in Simon's company. The younger boy was amazed of all the wonderful things Simon knew. He explained what he knew about flowers and told Kieren about his favourite novels. The Irish boy seemed to have knowledge about everything that was to know in the world.
They were sitting in a comfortable silence when Simon turned to look at Kieren. "Didn't Rick ever defend you?"
"Sometimes, but most of the time he just laughed along with Gary. He didn't want to look bad", admitted Kieren, lowering his gaze.
"That's not nice. Friends don't do that, they help each other. I'm going to help you, Kieren Walker. Because that's what we are now: friends"
Kieren lifted his gaze to meet Simon's deep blue eyes. The boy was smiling widely and his whole face seemed to glow. Kieren was so marvelled with the sight, he barely noticed Simon grabbing his hand and squeezing it affectionately.
By the time Steve Walker came back to pick his son up, he found a very happy Kieren running around the house like any other kid, though he was chasing a very particular one, with a massive jumper over his thin frame and perfectly combed dark hair. When Steve called Kieren to tell him it was time to go, the strange boy accompanied him to the door protectively.
"Dad, this is Simon. He's my friend!" exclaimed Kieren, the excitement obvious in his voice.
"Nithe to meet you, Mithter Walker", said Simon, extending a hand towards him, unable to hide his nervous lisp. Steve shook the young man's hand, still thinking this over-polite boy was indeed a bit odd.
Steve then urged Kieren to say goodbye to his new friend. Simon extended a hand towards Kieren, but instead of taking it, he hugged the older boy, who froze for a second just before returning the hug with equal emotion.
Kieren was already halfway to the car when he remembered something and ran back to the Wilson's house, lunchbox in hand. Simon looked at him curiously as he opened the small plastic box and took out a sheet. Kieren extended the flower's drawing towards his new friend, smiling broadly. This time, Simon hugged him first.
The ride back home was much more pleasant. Kieren could still feel the excitement bubbling up in his chest the next day his father dropped him at the Wilson's house, and the day after that and the following one, because that precise day, Kieren had discovered many things about himself: he didn't have to be "Ren the Rotter", he could talk without stuttering and he didn't have to be alone. But most of all, Kieren learnt something very important: that it was okay to draw flowers.
And that was it. I know, it's lame but I'd really like to hear your opinions about my little experiment. This was something very different from what I usually do, so feedback will be immensely appreciated and loved for the rest pf my life. Cheers!