Fake Friends

Hello, I hope you all are having a good day. This prompt was suggested by a guest. It is Ford- Fake Friends- During the series. Enjoy.

Kevin and Stu were known to try and drag Ford into trouble. They always said that they were doing it because they were his "friends". Ford knew that maybe he should stop hanging out with them, but he didn't have the heart to be mean. After the incident with Ford, Cleo, Hannah, and Adam, Ford realized that maybe he should act. He just needed to get the courage.

Adam walked into the barn and saw Ford feeding Sam. He sat down next to Ford and patted Sam.

"Want to tell me about you and Cleo were doing in the barn?" Adam wondered.

"We didn't do anything." Ford answered.

"When I was your age, I had a couple of friends that pressured me into taking a girl into the barn to have sex with her. I didn't. I'd never do that, but they pushed me so hard and I thought if I said no, that they'd think I was chicken or something."

"What did you do?"

"Well, when we got to the dance, I asked her if she wanted to go into the barn. We watched a lot of our friends sneak out, but the thought scared us to death. We both had been taught to wait for the right person. To wait till we were married. Turns out, she was moving away in a couple of months. The last thing we needed was that night making our relationship messy. So we just didn't go. When I got home, I told dad about it. He told me that if those two friends were gonna make me do something that I didn't want to do or make me do something that I knew was wrong, that they were fake friends. A good friend will leave you alone about it and respect you. They won't pressure you. A fake friend will drag you into trouble and expect you to bail them out."

"Kevin and Stu do have a tendency to do that."

"I know. Dad also told m that if you continue to let those fake friends control you, that you would be forever at their mercy. If you let Kevin and Stu continue to drag you into trouble or force you into doing something you don't want to do, eventually, you'll be under their control. Eventually, you'll feel expected to cause trouble."

"I just don't want to hurt their feelings."

"Sometimes, to make people learn, you have to hurt them. If they really want to be your friends, they'll learn to respect you for who you are."

"Everyone at school thinking that having sex and drinking alcohol and smoking and doing drugs means you're grown-up."

"What do you think?"

"I think it's stupid. Anyone can drink, smoke, or do drugs. What makes you grown-up is how you react to it."

"And you'd be right. There's a lot of things that make you grown-up. The important thing is how you react to every situation thrown at you."

"Thanks, Adam."

"Anytime."

The next day, Ford went to school and saw Stu and Kevin.

"So, did you and Cleo go to the barn?" Kevin asked.

"We did, but nothing happened. We left quickly." Ford answered.

"Why?"

"Because sex doesn't make you grown up."

Kevin and Stu looked around.

"Shh, we don't want anyone to hear." Kevin whispered.

"Why? Everyone here knows about what us kids do at the barn. What are you afraid of? You think you're gonna get in trouble for it?" Ford spat.

"Ford, what's gotten into you, man?"

"You two. For the past 5 years, we have been good friends, but since we started high school, the two of you have been dragging me into trouble time and time again. If you keep it up, then I'm gonna stop being your friend."

"Look, we can make it up to you, Ford. There's a party next Friday. It's a clean party. It's Joel's birthday party and he's invited the whole grade. You and Cleo should come."

"Fine, but only because it's Joel's birthday."

Ford walked away. He went home that afternoon and saw Adam waiting.

"So, did you tell them?" Adam wondered.

"Yeah. They said they'd change. To prove it, they want me to go to Joel's birthday party." Ford answered.

"Are you gonna go?"

"Yeah. Only because it's Joel's birthday."

"Ok. Just remember, if they pressure you to do something, back out. If they get in trouble, they'll blame you."

"I know."

That Friday, Ford, and Cleo went to the party, and Kevin and Stu walked over.

"Hey, Ford, glad you could come." Kevin greeted.

"Joel sure knows how to throw a party." Ford answered.

"Yeah, he does."

They hung out for an hour and then FOrd noticed Kevin and Stu sneaking something to some of the other kids. He walked over to Kevin and grabbed whatever was in his hands. He saw that it was a small packet with white powder.

"You're selling drugs? Do you know what could happen if someone OD's? All of us will be in trouble." Ford warned.

"No one's gonna OD. It'll be fine." Kevin answered.

"Why do you want to be my friend? SO that you can use me as a cover? Is that all you've been doing? Using me?"

"No. I'd never do that."

"Do you think that because you're my friend, people will think you're clean?"

"Well, it does help. You have kept teachers off our backs."

"I'm leaving and I'm taking Cleo home. We're done. You, me, and Stu are done. I don't want to be friends with someone who only wants to be my friend so that he can give people drugs."

Ford went to Cleo and pulled her away.

"Ford, where are we going?" Cleo wondered.

"We're leaving. I'm sorry, Cleo, but I'm gonna have to take you home." Ford answered.

"But why?"

"I'll tell you on the way."

They got in the jeep and Ford started driving. He explained everything to Cleo.

"Oh, Ford. If something had happened and we were caught, we could have been in real trouble." Cleo said.

"That's why I wanted to get out of there. Besides, knowing Kevin and Stu, they'd start trying to convince me that the drugs were ok." Ford answered.

They arrived at Cleo's house and Cleo went inside. Ford went home and saw his family inside sitting around the table playing games.

"You're home early." Hannah said.

"Yeah." Ford mumbled. "I'm gonna go to bed."

Ford went upstairs and Adam followed him. Ford sat down on his bed and Adam sat down next to him.

"What happened?" Adam wondered.

"They didn't change. I saw them sneaking drugs to everyone so I confronted Kevin and I told him that we were done. I wasn't his friend anymore. I grabbed Cleo and took her home. I told her on the way and she agreed with him. Adam, they were using me. They used me to cover for them and I never saw it." Ford explained.

"But you saw it before it was too late. You're safer now. Now, they can't hide behind you if something happens."

"But I do feel ashamed. I was mean to them."

"It's never easy, Ford. If they really were your friend, they wouldn't have snuck behind your back and hid behind you like this. They were fake friends. While you put in all the work, they betrayed you."

"What do I do now?"

"Stay away from them and continue to be yourself."

Two down, one to go. Keep sending in your prompts for letter N-Z, but remember to put the character, prompt, and when you want it to be based.