School was not half as bad as Jim was expecting. For starters, he was moved up a year which meant he ended up in Sebastian's class. The blond was slightly ashamed about being a year lower than the other children his age, but Jim didn't tease him about it. He would have if Sebastian was there because of stupidity, but Jim could see perfectly clearly that Seb was clever. All that mattered to Jim was that Sebastian was able to protect him from bullies (not that he'd ever admit to the fear he felt in the pit of his stomach when the other children threatened him or called him a freak) and that they could spend almost all their days together.

Sebastian, who was keen to demonstrate that he wasn't an idiot, explained that he wasn't only in year five because he was thick. It was because he kept getting excluded for things and missed out on tons of the work. Jim's eyes bulged greedily when he heard the story of the exclusions, suddenly very interested in the circumstances of the move down into the depths of year five, pouncing on it and trying to make Sebastian elaborate, but the blond blushed and mumbled something vague, refusing to give Jim all the gory details.

The ten year old (after much pestering) muttered something about his most recent exclusion. Jason, his victim, a boy about whom no detail was given, had seen Dawn waiting in the playground one day when the class was let out late and called her a whale. Jim privately agreed that Dawn was a bit like a whale, but to be fair on her, quite a pretty one, well, for a girl anyway. The Irish boy understood Sebastian's rage and nodded his head. He knew Sebastian thought Dawn was nice even though Jim could tell she was painfully ordinary.

It was as good as a film to imagine what had happened based on the few details Sebastian gave. Jason pushing his luck in the cloakroom, the others laughing, Sebastian's devastated face, and then his protective expression, the sudden change of his body language making him seem bigger and more dangerous. In his head, Jim could see Sebastian, glorious, glorious Sebastian, pushing the boy down and then stamping repetitively on his head…

The teachers sat the pair of them at a desk together, side by side. That was an awful mistake on their part because Jim whispered and giggled with Sebastian throughout almost every lesson. The older boy clearly tried to get Jim to behave, but apparently the Irish child only found the disapproval amusing. The teachers attempted to reprimand Jim and Sebastian, but when it came to looking at their books, both boys had always completed their work to a good standard and so their long suffering teacher, Mrs Maxwell, could hardly penalise them.

Jim was delighted to witness how quickly, how logically and methodically Sebastian's brain worked. He wasn't as quick as Jim at sums, but he was still way above the rest of the class. Mrs Maxwell had long since realised that there was one hell of a brain inside Sebastian's violent head, but it wasn't until Jim arrived that she'd seen Sebastian actually complete his work without getting distracted or shifty and embarrassed. Mrs Maxwell suspected (rightly) that he wanted to show off for Jim, the new boy. Despite how little and cute-seeming Jim was, Mrs Maxwell couldn't help but get a bad feeling about him. Every time she spotted Jim tugging Seb's head down so he could whisper up close, or watched Jim give Sebastian a little smile that made Seb redden bashfully, she had the sickening feeling she was watching a predator and its prey. But not in the way one would expect. It was as though adorable little Red Riding Hood had trotted out to the woods and hunted the poor wolf with a concealed axe in her basket full of treats, just waiting for the moment he turned his back so she could hack him apart and skin him for a new coat.

Jim was exceptional at numeracy, but Sebastian unexpectedly excelled at literacy. Jim was amazed at how easily Sebastian could answer his comprehension questions. Writing seemed to come as easily to Sebastian as mathematics did to Jim. Jim watched Sebastian when he was writing, putting his pointy elbow on the table and resting his cheek on his palm. The blonde licked his lips a lot and chewed on his pen lid when he was thinking. He was right handed and his handwriting was large and neat, each letter like a little individual block only just clinging on to the next with a thin line.

At lunchtimes they sat together in the hall and had packed lunches, prepared by Frank and therefore healthy. He had left the crusts on Jim's ham and salad sandwich on the first day. "I specifically requested no salad and no crusts!" Jim remarked angrily. Seb had disappeared for a moment, borrowed a knife from Victoria, a girl with mousey plaits and a crush on Seb who just happened to be having a school dinner, returned to Jim, taken the salad out of Jim's sandwiches, cut off the crusts and then carried the cutlery back to Victoria. Jim didn't fancy the apple in his lunchbox either, and so Sebastian did him an exchange, swapping him some grapes. Relaxed and full, Jim ordered that Sebastian tell him about everyone, starting with that 'nasty ugly Victoria who stares at you like a creep'.

On Friday, after a long week of working hard and being stared at by everyone , Jim felt more settled than he ever had before. Despite people keeping their distance from the 'stinky care home kids', no-one had hurt him or called him names all week, which was very nice indeed. Laden with homework (well, Seb carried everything), the pair waited to be picked up by Frank. Homework was inhumane, Jim thought, and when he ruled the word he would ban it, but he was smart enough to know that refusing to do it would get him nowhere. Only after completing it all and getting good grades could he eventually make it to the position of power he craved. It was an awful truth, but Jim was a great believer in being realistic. You had to appease the idiots, and only then could you get them to do what you wanted.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"Write two or three paragraphs about a person in your life; your best friend, parent, sibling, neighbour, aunt, uncle, grandma, granddad, pet…" Jim read out with a sigh.

He and Sebastian had eaten their daily chocolate biscuits when they got in and changed out of their uniforms into more comfy clothes. Now all that was left to do was homework, because Jim didn't believe in leaving things until the last minute. He despised this particular sort of task though. Equations were far easier and more practical. Seb, however, seemed to brighten at the idea. Jim had noticed over the past week that Sebastian scribbled things down in a diary that he kept underneath his pillow. The Irish boy hadn't peeked in it yet, but he fully intended to just as soon as he had the opportunity.

Sebastian sat up at the desk and Jim lay on his front on the carpet as they tried to work through the task as quickly as possible. Seb had suggested they do it tomorrow but Jim was very strict on the matter. As soon as it was done they never had to think about it again, (well, for the rest of the weekend that was) and Jim's word was final.

After about half an hour of silent writing, Jim sat up and cleared his throat expectantly. Seb reread his work, made a few corrections and then turned around obediently.

"I wrote mine about you," Jim declared carelessly, waving his book about.

Sebastian was flattered by this and blushed a bit. "Can I have a look at it?" he asked. And so Jim handed it over, humming with boredom, clicking his tongue impatiently as Sebastian read his work.

Jim's piece went as follows:

'My best freind is called Sebastian Moran. He is ten years old and has blond hair and nice blue eyes. He blushes on his ears sometimes. He likes to wear jeans and tee shirts. He is very tall and big (but not fat).

Sebastian is good at sports especially swimming. He is a Scout and very strong. He is kind to me and grunts at other people. Some people are scared of him but I am not. He is my best freind because he is the only one I have and we share a room. I have the top bunk. '

Sebastian finished reading with a slightly nervous smile. He hadn't realised his ears blushed. Did they really do that? What did Jim mean?

"Did you think it was good?" Jim asked, now sitting on his knees and rocking back on his heels. "I didn't think about it much because I don't like writing things down."

"Yeah, I really liked it," Sebastian agreed with a nod of his head.

There was a long silence and then Jim sighed, tilting his head to one side. "Come on then. Let me see yours. I can tell you want me to read it." He grabbed for it and snatched it out of Sebastian's unprotesting hands. A few moments into reading it, his face fell with a little sigh. Sebastian really was a good writer. Probably better than him.

Sebastian's piece read:

'Jim Moriarty is my best friend. He has hair that is black like ravens and skin that is pale like milk. His eyes are large and glint in the darkness like glass that might cut you. Jim's smile is very cheeky and happens slowly and then all at once. His eyes catch the idea first and then his mouth agrees and they beam together. He is small and has skinny legs. His hands are pale and white and little and very careful. His feet are cold like ice and clammy.

Jim's voice is very soft when he whispers and very soothing. His Irish accent means a lot of his words slip and slide into one and other in a long line of sibilance. He is extremely intelligent for an eight year old. He is funny and witty and knows just the right amount of time to leave it before he says something. He is talented at maths and can recite all his times tables with his eyes closed although he gets irritated if you ask him if he knows one, as if you should already know he knows. He starts with a sigh, pretending he is bored, but then he suddenly gets very fast like he is chanting and clicks his fingers with his left hand as the rhythm grows and then he speeds towards the twelve times tables. He ends with a glare that makes you want to clap. Jim is the most brilliant person I know.

By Sebastian Augustus Moran. '

"That's…really very good," Jim conceded, looking slightly ashamed of his own effort. Yes, he hadn't tried very hard, but Sebastian knew how to spell much bigger words than he did, and made everything sound better, a bit like a song or a poem. Sebastian's words made Jim see pictures in his head, and even though he knew what he looked like, he could see a boy a bit like him in his mind, just as Sebastian had described.

Sebastian, who privately thought his work was rather good too, attempted to shrug and then muttered, "Thanks."

Jim got up and skipped over to Sebastian, perching on his lap and grabbing behind himself for the blonde's arms to wrap around him and keep him secure so he wouldn't have to balance.

"You make me sound…" Jim began, pondering his word choice. "You make me sound very interesting."

"You are interesting," Sebastian pointed out, slightly defensively because he noticed the sad tone creeping into Jim's voice and didn't want him feeling bad about himself.

Jim shook his head. "I don't do anything, though. You do swimming and Scouts and are good at sports and writing, and what have I got?"

"You've got your personality and your brain," Seb said easily. "You're a special person."

"A special person?"

"Anyone could see it," Sebastian explained confidently. "It shows up against other people. You'll probably end up being someone important."

Jim sat up straighter, preening at that description of himself. Sebastian was right. He didn't have to be a good writer, or strong, because he had the best brain there was and he was determined to always get what he wanted in life.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Later that night while curled up in his bed, Jim wrote another description of Sebastian inside his head, trying to make it as good as Seb's had been.

'Sebastian has pretty blue eyes, the prettiest I have seen. He reminds me of a wild animal because of his temper. But that's okay because I am like the lion tamer at the circus (although I have never been there) so he does not ever pounce on me or maul me. I know all the right words to say to make him not hurt me and he likes me anyway because I am like his owner now. He is very bashful sometimes but holds me carefully in his hands. His arms make me feel very protected and safe. I get the feeling that I could take on the whole world with Sebastian and we could win. Nobody would hurt us or bully us again then. He is very beautiful, even though that word is usually only for girls, which is silly, because girls are not at all beautiful like Sebastian is. I wish Sebastian could fight all the nasty people that have ever been mean to me until blood went everywhere and they were so badly hurt that they died…'

Jim never continued his second draft because he fell asleep smiling to himself. He dreamt of being the owner of his own circus and telling everyone what to do. When the audience started booing and said his circus was rubbish and should close down, Jim set his lion on everyone and they all ran away screaming while the lion ate the ones that were too slow to get away in time.