A/N - I just wanted to say THANK YOU. Oh my god, you guys, thank you for reading this and thank you for reviewing it. I honestly never thought that this would get past the first chapter! Anyway, what I meant to say was that this'll be the last chapter for at least a week, because I move on Saturday and I start Uni on monday and I have no idea how much time I'm going to have to write.

It might be that I have TONS of time and you can disregard this, but whatever. I hope you like this, please don't kill me, and I love reviews and messages so GO AHEAD.


Nick laughs at something Ann's saying as they walk into the cafeteria, queuing up with a crowd of other students to get whatever unappetising meal's on offer this Friday. He's twelve now, and at Junior High, and he's far too adult to bring a bag lunch anymore. Danny joins them as they finally reach the end of the line, and once they've all got their food Nick turns to look out across the dining hall, scanning the people sitting at the tables for Jeff.

Nick frowns to himself, wondering if Jeff's off sick. He's not part of any clubs, so it can't be that he's missing lunch for a practise or a rehearsal. Nick shrugs, and follows Danny and Ann over to a table as they talk animatedly about the debate club meeting that they're going to after school. Nick picks at his food, letting the talk go over his head and feeling a little left out. He's part of the Drama club and the choir with them both but he just isn't really interested in debate.

Nick's fork slips as someone nudges his arm and he turns to see Jeff sliding into the seat next to him, munching on an apple.

"I thought maybe you were ill, how come you're late to lunch?" Nick asks as Jeff dumps his bag down next to them on the floor. There's a moment's silence as Jeff finishes his mouthful, twirling his fingers in the air as he chews exaggeratedly.

"I had to clean up in art. I got paint on... pretty much everything." Jeff grins, taking another bite out of his apple.

"So I see..." Nick points to the dots of various coloured paint across the back of Jeff's hand and up his wrist and arm, "What exactly where you painting?"

"Self Portrait."

"But why are you so-"

"I had to paint myself. PAINT MYSELF! Geddit?" Jeff cracks up, but Nick just rolls his eyes.

"That's not even funny... But seriously, what were you doing?"

Jeff coughs, trying to control his laughter before replying, "We're doing Jackson Pollock. I got a bit carried away while I was Pollocking about."

Jeff bites his bottom lip, and Nick knows he's trying really hard not to laugh at his own joke.

"Oh come on! That was a good one!"

Nick smiles to himself, then realises Ann and Danny are waiting for him to reply to something. He looks at them in confusion.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to come over after debate club? You can just sit in the back while club's going on, there's usually someone else doing that so you'll have someone to talk to, then you can come back to mine with that idiot." Ann nods toward Danny, who's busy seeing how many chicken dunkers he can get in his mouth at one time.

Danny glares at Ann, looking as menacing as he can with that amount of food in his face, before trying to explain himself and spraying them both with breadcrumbs. Nick laughs as Ann lunges over the table to wipe the crumbs back onto Danny's shirt, jumping back as the ketchup sachets start flying. He turns, grinning, to Jeff, who is nearly always first to start any kind of food fight. Jeff isn't there.

Nick looks up across the cafeteria in time to see a pink shirted, blond haired boy slip out through the red double doors into the corridor. He's about to head out after him but something cold and sticky hits the side of his face and he barely has time to register that it's ketchup before he's being pelted with French fries.

Nick laughs, throwing a few back before ducking under the table to find a tissue and get the tomato sauce off his face before it dries. When he sits back up, Ann and Danny are trying to tidy the table as best they can before a teacher sees the mess they've created between the three of them.

When the bell goes, they each go off to their lessons, agreeing to meet at the end of the day to go to Debate club and then to Ann's. French, Maths and English go by faster than they usually do on a Friday afternoon, and to Nick's great surprise, Debate club's actually kinda interesting. Ann and Danny were right, there are a few other people there who aren't debating, and Nick spends half his time chatting with them and the rest of the time listening to the Debate over whether uniform is a good or a bad thing for education. Personally, Nick'd hate to have to wear a uniform, but he can understand the 'for' team's arguments.

After Debate club, they head back to Ann's, along with one of Ann's friends, Judy. They sit and talk in Ann's room, with some movie playing in the background that none of them are really watching and before too long it's seven o'clock and Nick has to get home for dinner. It turns out that Judy lives just around the corner from him, so they walk together through the gathering gloom of the evening. They've walked a few streets before either of them speak.

"I've just remembered where I've seen you before" She says, snapping Nick out of his daydream about why Jeff was so weird at lunch.

"Oh... really? Where?"

"You were at the soccer try-outs on Monday, right? I was waiting for my brother to finish."

"Oh. Ok. I didn't know you had a brother."

"Uh-huh. He's captain of the team, he was the one holding the try-outs," Nick remembers the tall, sandy haired boy who'd run them through the drills and whistled appreciatively each time he'd scored a goal. He can see the family resemblance now that he thinks about it. "He said you were really good. You'll probably get a spot on the team, which would be so awesome, right?"

"Right!" Nick grins, his walking slowing as they reach Judy's house. She waves goodbye to him from the doorway and he waves back from where he's leaning on the fence around her front garden. Checking his watch, Nick heads home as fast as he can when he realises he's already late for dinner.

After dinner, during which his parents nagged him about school, homework, tidying his room and all the usual things, Nick's sprawled out on his bed with his headphones on and his eyes shut. He's dancing his feet along to the music and drumming the back of his neck with his fingers as he thinks about how awesome it'll be when he's on the soccer team, and how he'll probably go back to the debate club to hang out with Judy and the others at the back. He's thinking about how maybe he could ask Judy for her number, 'cause she was pretty cool really, when the music fades away as the track changes and he hears a cough from someone standing in his room.

Nick opens his eyes, starting back as Jeff's grinning face hovers barely an inch from his. He sticks his tongue out at Jeff as he sits up and pushes his headphones down around his neck, crossing his legs to make room for Jeff to sit down.

"Hey Nicky."

Nick grins back at his friend. "Hey JJ."

"I wanted to ask you ab-"

"I have to tell you som-"

They both start speaking at the same time, then break off laughing. Jeff grins, although the smile isn't as broad as usual and it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"You first" he says, wriggling a little on the bed to get more comfortable, before leaning his chin on his hand and looking expectantly at Nick.

"I wanted to ask you about why you... kinda ran off at lunch. I mean, I know Ann and Danny sort of get absorbed in the conversation when they're talking and don't really notice anything else but what they're talking about, but then we started having a mini-foodfight but you were gone and..." He trails off because he realises he's rambling and the look on Jeff's face is so, so sad that he worries he's said something to upset him.

"I ran off because... well, I really needed to talk to you and you were busy with your friends and I didn't wanna interrupt it because... neither of us have really had other friends before and you looked so happy that..." Jeff shrugs, looking down at his feet and picking at the hem of his jeans.

Nick suddenly has an image of six year old JJ sitting exactly like that, fringe covering his face, avoiding eye-contact. The silence between them turns uncomfortable.

"Oh... Um... What did you want to talk to me about? We can talk about it now?"

Jeff mumbles something, and Nick has to ask him to repeat it. Jeff's head snaps up angrily.

"I said, Nicky, that I'm moving. My dad got a new job and we have to move. Like, this weekend. As in, tomorrow. I won't be coming back to school on Monday."

The words hang in the air, and it's all Nick can do not to cry, tears flooding his eyes all of a sudden. He feels like he's losing part of himself. He leans forward and pulls Jeff into the tightest hug he can.

"I guess this is you saying goodbye then" Jeff smiles into Nick's shoulder, his voice wobbling slightly. "It's ok though, Nicky, you've got Ann and Danny and that girl from debate club"

"Judy?"

"Yeah, Judy. She's totally into you, you should go for it."

They pull apart, smiling at each other. Jeff rubs his eyes with the back of his hand, and Nick does the same, each pretending they don't see the other do it.

Jeff sniffs, "I have to go help finish packing. It was kinda short notice so we've got tons to do."

"I could come help you, if you wanted, it's Friday so I have no homework to do tonight and..." Nick stops, remembering out of nowhere that he's never actually been to Jeff's house. He never will, now, he supposes.

Jeff's shaking his head though, and standing up off Nick's bed. "It's alright, we're nearly done anyway." Nick follows him over to the door of the bedroom, opening it for him, then hugging him once more.

"I'll miss you, JJ."

"I'll see you again, Nicky, I'm sure. Now go get Judy's number."

Jeff grins and has disappeared off down the stairs before Nick can stop him. Nick shuts the door and goes back to slump on his bed and soon the sound of his quiet sobs joins the tinny music still playing from his headphones.