"I gotta hide!" Kuzey burst into the boys' toilets, nearly sending Peter flying in the process, ducking into the end cubicle and slamming the door shut behind him. Peter, who'd been occupied with picking his nose in front of the mirror for a good five minutes, frowned at the sound of locking, too in-shock to protest being shoved out of the way like that. He pulled his finger out of his nostril and looked at the shut door in confusion.

"Kuzey? That you?"

"Yeah."

"Did you eat the canteen food again?" he called, "cause Lars did that once and… it was kinda like that time Mummy emptied the radiator, he said."

"No. And ew!" came a small, sniffling voice from inside the cubical. "Some boys in the year above said they're gonna get me!"

Peter heard the shouts of said boys from outside the toilets, and he yelped, running over to the cubical. He recognised those deep, year 11 voices.

"No not that lot! Please let me in they're really mean!"

"No."

"Come on! I'm begging you! Lemme in! Lemme in!"

"Okay fine, you'd just end up giving me away if I didn't;" Kuzey opened the door a fraction and Peter rushed in, locking it just as the group burst into the toilets. The two boys climbed onto the toilet seat, exchanging terrified glances in the silence. There was the sound of slow footsteps, doors being thrown open and a sudden thump on their own door caused them to jump, Peter giving out a small cry.

"We know you're in there! Come out now!"

Neither Peter nor Kuzey said a word. Maybe if they just kept quiet, their tormentors would get bored and leave.

Oh how Peter wished he wasn't too scared to fight them. They were the same group that picked on Lars, whom they'd deemed an easier target than his brother, for the most part. Not to mention the kids in their own year group that loved to bully Lars for the same reason.

Whilst Peter could let insults glance off him and generally not care about what others had to say about him, Lars wasn't like that. His hurt showed even when he tried to hide it. He was sensitive deep down and anyone could see it. Peter, on the other hand, usually only got upset on a superficial level, rolling his eyes and replying with an insult of his own, or pretending to be offended. What did he care for their opinions? Like Taika, he was strong, and could knock their teeth out if he could get away with it.

Still, if they picked on Lars one more time then he might just fight them outside of the school grounds. What could the teachers actually do if he punched someone at the weekend?

"We can wait here all day," the voice sneered, "it's not like we care about going to class."

"To be honest, I don't see how hiding in the toilet is any better than lessons," another voice grumbled.

"Yeah it stinks here."

"Shut up!" Peter and Kuzey stifled giggles at that first voice. "They're gonna come out soon anyway! And if not, we'll just climb over!"

Neither had any intention of leaving the cubical at all- at least not through the door- and they certainly had no desire to sit around and wait for a good hiding from their bullies. Peter nudged Kuzey, pointing at the window to the left, small, but not too small, and easy to fit through. He knew they could fit through. This wasn't the first time someone had tried to corner him in the toilet.

Kuzey's eyes widened and he shook his head. Peter nodded, frowning. When he got no response from the other boy, he sighed and climbed onto the back of the toilet, opening the window and wiggling out. He hit the tarmac outside with a yelp.

"What was that?" hissed one of Kuzey's pursuers.

"Sounds like they're climbing through the window!" cried another, and Kuzey cursed. He scrambled up too, poking his head out the window to find a rather battered Peter holding out his arms. It seemed that he landed on his face, and Kuzey wondered if the kid's thick skull had cushioned the blow well, before a pang of guilt hit him for even thinking that. Peter had given them a way out; now was not the time for mean comments. He'd probably do plenty of stupid things to earn them another time.

But as Kuzey looked down past Peter at the hard playground floor, he felt very queasy. It wasn't that high, but still terrifying. And he'd be falling face-first!

"I'll catch you," Peter whispered, and although Kuzey hated to admit it, he felt safe at that, even for a fleeting moment. It was that moment that allowed him to wiggle out of the window- briefly cursing his dad for feeding him too many sweets- and tumble down.

Right into Peter's arms.

The two boys crashed to the floor, yelping and smacking foreheads. They landed in a heap, tangled in each other's limbs and protesting, but when they heard shouts coming from the building they'd just climbed out of, Peter and Kuzey quickly untangled themselves and jumped up, once more on the run from that one gang of boys.

"Why won't they leave us alone?" Kuzey cried as Peter grabbed his hand, ducking into another building and bursting into the library. The pair crossed the room in silence, weaving between stand-alone shelves packed with books and plopping down at one of the study desks.

"That was close," Peter whispered, leaning right into Kuzey's face so the librarians wouldn't notice them talking.

"Yeah…" Kuzey placed his bag on the desk, taking out a battered textbook and shakily beginning to read, although it was hard to concentrate through the adrenaline in his body, and Peter staring at him so closely.

"So why were they chasing you?" Peter asked quietly.

"Eh, kind of a long story," Kuzey shrugged, "basically, they were making jokes about my religion and nationality like I was the first Turkish person they'd met or something. And I told them to leave off and they got a bit rude."

"So you got rude back?" Peter offered.

"Nah, I slapped one of them."

"And they started chasing you?"

"Pretty much," Kuzey sighed, "and it's not the first time it's happened either. Gonna guess you have some shit with them?"

"Yeah they're not very nice…" Peter looked down, "they really hate my brother for some reason, and keep going on about our mums. But I try to ignore them. I just wish they'd leave Lars alone… And now they've started on you too…"

"I can handle them. And if not, I have a big family who will happily knock the bigot out of them."

"I'd like to see that. Still, they'll soon get bored. I guess… If not, you're welcome to hide in here with me."

"I do that anyway," Kuzey nodded at his book, "I like reading, in case you haven't noticed."

"Ah, right." Peter glanced at the title: Accounting for Beginners. "Seriously?" he raised an eyebrow, "that's boring even by your standards."

"Don't mock accounting," Kuzey jabbed a finger in Peter's face, "I'm gonna be a rich, successful businessman someday. And then when all those pricks want me to employ them, I'll just turn them away. They'll regret saying those horrible things then!" He grinned wickedly and Peter gulped.

"How… passive-aggressive. I'm impressed."

"I guess you can have a job in my company," Kuzey continued with a wink, "for catching me and stuff."

"That's sweet of you," Peter blushed, "but I plan to go into theatre."

"West End musicals?" Kuzey gave a low whistle, "well good luck. That's gonna be tricky."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Peter groaned, waving a hand, "still, if all goes to plan, you could be looking at a future Billy Elliot!"

A librarian shushed the pair as they walked past, tidying books away, and Peter flinched, leaning in closer.

"More like Billy Idiot," Kuzey replied, grinning.

"Oh your wit is so sharp it cuts right through me," Peter said dryly.

"Funny." There was an awkward pause, Kuzey glaring at his book but still not reading. He might as well ask him now, since they were alone and there was still a while before lunch ended. His Baba wanted him to bring a friend to his birthday party, and Oscar had landed him right in it by mentioning Peter. Now Baba thought they were best friends or something, from how Oscar had hyped it up. Fancy, annoying, over-protective prick…

Still, at least this way Peter was away from Charlie for a day, and couldn't sneak round to her house or something whilst Kuzey was miles away on a roller coaster with his dad like an idiot.

"Hey, I'm going to Thorpe Park on my birthday," he began, "and Baba said I could bring a friend or two… and you seem like the kind of kid who gets excited about roller-coasters…"

"I love roller coasters!" Peter squeaked, earning another glare from the librarian.

"Good," Kuzey gave a small smile, "I bet you get scared though."

"Do not!"

"I swear, if I have to tell you off one more time you'll be kicked out!" the librarian hissed, and Peter looked down.

"Who else is coming?" he whispered.

"Nobu," Kuzey replied, "and that's about it."

"Aw sweet," Peter grinned, "so what about you? You scared of rides? Bet you are."

Kuzey shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Don't know. Never been on a big ride before."

"Well we'll see," Peter gave a wink, "bet you're a big softy really."