AUTHORS NOTE: Don't worry if you get bored with this chapter, as things start to kick off with Tommy in the next x


When Pete met Bov

Chapter Two

Decisions, decisions

'Wake up, sleepy head,' said Maria, opening Pete's curtains the next morning and smiling over at him as he emerged, bleary eyed, from his covers.

'What?'

'Wake up, you're going to be late,' she smiled, grabbing his dirty clothes off his bedroom floor and walking out. Pete yawned, and sat up with a stretch. He slid out of bed, grabbing his school trousers off the end of his bed and tugging them on. He pulled on his shirt, tie and jumper, before yanking on some socks and moving downstairs, still sleepy. 'Breakfast!' Maria sang from the kitchen. Pete walked in, rubbing sleep from his eyes before sitting at the table. Maria slid a plate of toast in front of him, before the door bell rang.

'I'll get it!' yelled Steve from the living room. Pete heard the door open, and a few moments later, him and Terry came into the kitchen.

'Alright, Mrs. Dunham?' grinned Terry from the doorway.

'Terry, morning! Are you hungry?'

'Nah, I ate before I came out,' he replied.

'Oh, if you're sure,' she smiled, going back to sewing the skirt she had been sewing. Terry winked at Pete, before following Steve into the living. Pete finished eating, and dumping his plate in the sink. He went to the bathroom, and washed his face and teeth, before giving his hair a quick comb.

'Hurry up!' shouted Maria. 'Or I'll take you.'

'Whey!' laughed Steve from the living room.

'Piss off,' Pete muttered, leaving the bathroom and pulling on his shoes.

The bus that drove them to school was cramped. It seemed every student that went to East Green High took this bus. Ryan, Carl and Mark sat near the front with more of their little gang, where Bovver and Ned sat at the back with the two giggling girls, he found out were Kathy and Petal. Right, right at the back, were the more popular people. Michael and Ben, with Charlotte (whom Bovver said was like a princess, her family was that rich), Mary and Lorna. Lorna and Mary were more like sidekicks to Charlotte. Mary was short, and slightly chubby, whereas Lorna was tall; as if she had been stretched. And Charlotte was gorgeous. On the bus, he kept glancing at her, as she laughed and played with her dark hair.

'Bruv, you're wanted,' muttered Bov, shaking Pete out his reverie. He glanced behind him, at Ryan, who was gesturing him to come over. Pete stood up, and made his way there.

'Yeah?' he asked.

'Why you with 'im?' grunted Ryan, casting a dark look to Bov.

'Because he's my mate,' replied Pete bluntly.

'Your mate?' Ryan scoffed. 'Lemmie tell you summing about Stuart, yeah? I was his 'mate' once. I invited 'im 'round to my place and everythink, until my mum found some of her stuff missing. Can you guess who stole it, Peter boy? He did! So, if you ever bring 'im 'round to yours-'

'I don't believe it,' muttered Pete, before turning and moving back to Bovver and Ned.

'What he say?' asked Bov, narrowing his eyes slightly as Pete hesitated to answer.

'He… he said you were a thief.'

'For fuck sakes, he said the same to Ned. Look, all that stuff, it was my mums in the first place. He got Carl n' Mark to come 'round and fucking steal it! I 'ad to get them back for me mum!'

'Okay, I believe you,' said Pete, seeing how frustrated Bov was getting. The bus pulled into school and everyone started to gather their bags. Pete tried to get out his seat, as Charlotte bumped into him.

'Opps, sorry!' she laughed, walking off down the bus. Pete stared after her, a small smile on his lips, before Bov shook his shoulder.

'Come on, if we're late for Math, Miss Kendal will kill us.' Pete chuckled. They had had Math last lesson yesterday, and she had managed to clock Bov on the head with a board rubber, when she overheard him talking to Pete about boob size. After Math, they had French and P.E. Cricket. Bov and Pete lazed about. Cricket wasn't their sport, and it was only a couple more weeks until they did football. They just had to wait it out. When lunch finally came, Bov, Ned and Pete were making their way across the field, when a voice called them.

'Oi, Dunham! You coming to play footie?' yelled Ryan. Pete turned to Bov.

'You wanna play?'

'It aint an open invitation,' said Ryan, with a scowl.

'It is now,' Pete replied, as Bovver nodded.

'Ned! Hurry up,' shouted Bov over his shoulder. Ned hurried over, dumping his bag on the grass.

'Three against three, then boys,' said Ryan, glaring at Bovver before moving over to make his goals. Pete and Bov tugged off their jumpers, to make their goals, lining them up with Ryan's. And then the match began. Pete passed it to Bov who kicked it high in the air for Ned who then slammed it back towards Pete. Pete went running with the ball, dodging Carl and kicking it into the goal. Ryan started with the ball, kicking it past Bov, to Mark, who was waiting to slam it into the net, but Ned was there, kicking it back out to Pete. Booting the ball back towards Ryan's goal, Carl saved it, but Bov managed to get it back, and nudge it into the goal. Swearing angrily under his breath, Ryan kicked the ball right over to Ned, having it soar past him into the goal.

'Fucking yes!' he grinned, dancing around the pitch. Bovver kicked the ball back to Pete, who circled around Mark, and into the goal. Carl kicked it back out, a determined look on his face, as Ned slammed his foot into the ball. It curled, sending it straight back in the net. But Carl wasn't having any of this. With a grunt, he kicked the ball right at Ned. They all stopped, and stared, as it slammed right into his face, causing Ned to fall backwards with a cry, his hands covering his face. Pete and Bov rushed over, as the other three laughed. The blood was seeping through Ned's fingers, as he groaned in pain.

'Fucking 'ell, what did you do?' snapped Bov, glaring at Carl, who shrugged.

'He was in the way.'

'You kicked it at 'im on purpose!' spat Bov, as him and Pete helped Ned to his feet. Pete helped Bov get full hold of Ned, before darting back to collect their things.

'You know what they say about thieves,' he muttered when they passed Ryan. His face turned stony. Instead of going inside, Bov led them out of the school gates and down the road to his house. It was empty when they got there, sitting Ned down on the sofa. Pete pulled his hands from his face to inspect the damage with a wince. Blood was pouring out of his mouth, one of his teeth hanging out. His eyes were shut tight, as he whimpered, trying to cover his face again. Bovver came back, with some first aid stuff, kneeling down beside Ned and putting them on the sofa. Jacksie jumped around them, barking, tail wagging happily.

'What do we need?' he asked, sounding slightly worried. Pete looked over at the stuff, picking up the wad of tissues and pulling some out. He put them in Ned's mouth, to clean up the blood, but Ned pulled his head away sharply.

'We need to take it out,' said Pete, glancing at Bov.

'No, no!' moaned Ned, trying to move away.

'I'll hold 'im down,' muttered Bov, moving so he could pin down Ned's arms and legs. Ned tried to move, but there was no avail. Pete grabbed some more tissues, and opened Ned's mouth, locating the broken tooth and clamping his fingers over it. Ned screamed, and Jacksie barked, and Pete yanked with all his might. Wriggling it about a bit, he managed it yank it out.

'Fucking hell!' yelled Ned, tears streaming down his cheek as Pete pulled his hand away, holding the tooth. Bov clambered off Ned, a small grin on his face.

'See, it wasn't that bad,' he laughed. Ned flipped him the finger, before pressing his head down into the sofa with a moan.

'Maybe you should just go 'ome then, Ned. Clean yourself up,' smiled Pete, wrapping the tooth in tissue and then putting it in Ned's school bag.

'Pete, could you just nip upstairs and grab my football? We'll 'ave a kick around after school.'

'Sure,' he replied, darting up the stairs and entering a hallway. He pushed open the first door, to find a bathroom. Shutting that, he moved to the second door, to find, thankfully, it was Bovver's room. Seeing the ball in the corner, he knelt down and grabbed it. Glancing at the West Ham flag above his bed, Pete smiled, before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.


'Ah, mate, Carl's going to get a twatin' when I see him,' muttered Bov, as he kicked the ball into the school gates.

'Yeah, fucking sore looser or what?' agreed Pete, checking his watch. They had about five minutes left of lunch. They strode onto the field, Bov kicking the ball to Pete, who tapped it up on his foot, high enough to bounce it off his chest, and send it back to Bov.

'Alright, show off,' he laughed, kicking it ahead of him as they continued to walk.

'Ouch, I don't have anything,' they heard, as they moved ahead. Ryan, Carl and Mark were surrounding a small year eight, who looked terrified.

'Look, if you don't give me your money, I'm gunna make your life 'ell and you don't want that.'

'But I don't have anything!' the boy stressed, stepping backwards. Ryan laughed, when Carl grabbed his arm and twisted it, making him cry out in pain.

'Jeez, you trying to make a world record on injuries to other kids today?' barked Bov, and the two made their way over. Ryan turned.

'Leave it out,' he sneered. 'This has nothing to do with you.'

'First you hurt a 14 year old, and then you start to pick on a 12 year old,' stated Pete, raising an eyebrow. 'Can't you take on people your own age?'

'Yes,' muttered Ryan, stepping forwards until him and Pete were chest to chest. 'You just chose the wrong tree to bark up, mate.'

'And the wrong team to support,' laughed Mark. Bov moved over to him, showing no fear even though Mark was much bigger than him.

'You're a fucking twat,' muttered Ryan, for only Pete to hear. 'I offered you to be our friend, but I knew I'd lost you when you sat down next to Stuart.'

'Yeah, well I'm glad you lost me,' replied Pete. 'I'll stick with us West Ham supporters, thanks.' Ryan shoved him away.

'Oi!' shouted Bov, grabbed Ryan's shoulder and spinning him around, his fist connecting hard with his jaw. Carl leapt at him, Bov and him falling to the ground. Ryan staggered backwards into Pete, who roughly pushed him away. He stumbled over Bov and Carl, still wrestling, hitting the floor hard. Mark stepped over them, slamming his fist into Pete's face.

'Fuck me,' he muttered, the pain unbelievable, as white spots formed over his vision. Ryan jumped to his feet, managing to punch him in the chest, now he was partly blind. He kicked out, flooring Ryan again. 'Fuck off!' Pete muttering, trying to blink the white spots of pain from his eyes.

'Mr Marshall! Mr Dunham! MR BOVVERINGTON! Get up this instant!' Miss Kendal was making her way over, a furious look on her face. Her three chins wobbled as she rushed over, eyes dark. 'How dare you start fighting like children! STUART! GET UP THIS INSTANT!' Bovver scowled as he clambered to his feet, half his face covered in dirt. Carl continued to groan on the floor, winded from Bov's last punch. Miss Kendal grabbed Ryan's ear and yanked him to her. 'What the hell do you think you're playing at?' she screamed at him. Ryan winced away, but she kept a good hold on his ear. 'You five, get inside at once! Detention for a week should do it, don't you think?' She pushed Pete forward, as he held a hand over his eye. 'You wait until I tell your parents about this!'

Great.


'Pete, I'm very disappointed in you,' sighed Maria, sitting in Miss Kendal's room. Pete looked down at his hands. His eye had swelled considerably in the half hour he had been sat in here. 'I asked you not to mess up here! You've been here two days and already you've been fighting it out! You're as bad as Steve.'

'No, I'm not,' muttered Pete. 'They were bullying some little kid! We 'ad to step in.'

'Violence does not solve anything, Pete. It only gives you enemies. You should know that.' Her words stung. He knew exactly what she meant; his dad, who died two years back, during one of his football fights. Pete shook his head.

'It's not like that, Mum,' he replied, sitting back in the chair and folding his arms.

'It's exactly like that. What's their business is their business. Keep yourself to yourself. It's a month to your exams Pete. You gotta study hard, make the effort.'

'I do!'

'Fighting does not get you good grades, does it?'

'No, Mum,' he sighed. She checked her watch.

'I have to go and pick up the laundry now. I'll see you after school.' She moved to the door, before turning back to look at him with a small smile. 'You know that's going to hurt in the morning.'


END NOTES: Man, this is shorter then i realised. Sorry!