A/N: This is just for me to pass time and waste my writing skills. No update schedules or any of that shikes. Characters belongs to Guillermo del Toro and DreamWorks.
He was only sitting down by a tree by himself, watching as the rest of the kids from the kindergarten ran around and played with each other on the slides and swings, jumping and chasing each other around with agility, not getting the excitement of wanting to run with the other little children.
He wasn't as fast as them. If he'd try to play tag with them, he'd always be It—hopelessly chasing the other faster boys and girls who'd tease him and laugh at his slowness. It wasn't any different back in the city—why would it be any difference now?
It was when he turned to the side when he noticed someone else sitting on the other side of the tree. He leaned more towards the figure, only being able to see messy black hair, skinny limbs—arms hugging the knees—dressed in worn denim pants and a light blue coat.
Toby pouted his lip with curiosity. He tilted his head and brought his eyebrows down a little—this boy seemed like the boy he had briefly seen in the house across the street where he and Nana had just arrived.
His little heart skipped a beat when he heard a sniffle and saw the fragile-looking shoulders heave come from the boy sitting closest to him. He put a hand on the ground and leaned closer towards the other lad, asking, "Are you okay?"
The other boy stiffened and tensed up, slowly looking up from his arms and turned his head around to meet gazes with Toby.
The blue eyes that stared back into his green ones were unlike any other blue Toby's ever seen—they were light, pretty and calming, giving a sense of comfort and ease to him. However, they were red and puffy from crying, and they seemed dull with sadness.
The boy didn't respond, only staring at Toby silently with tear-stained, wet and red cheeks and a runny nose, so he asked, "Why are you sad?"
The blue eyes fell to the ground, and the boy looked away, answering with a soft and sad voice, "My papa left."
Toby's own gaze fell to ground as well, and he gave an understanding "Oh," trying to imagine what it was like if his Nana would suddenly leave him. He didn't like the thought of that. Nana wouldn't leave him, would she?
There was a moment of silence between the two, and when Toby thought they had been sitting there without talking for a while, he looked over again at the boy and said, "I'm Toby."
The boy, whose tears were already drying and eyes were looking somewhat more clear, yet with that clouding sadness, glanced at him from the side, and bluntly said, "I'm Jim."
"Do you want to be friends?" The question came out sounding like a timid, yet eager one, and Toby couldn't help but silently hope his offer of friendship wouldn't be declined once again.
Jim stared at Toby with those admiring eyes of his, and the second almost forgot he even asked him his friendship just by staring into them and getting lost in them—they were nearly mesmerizing. He didn't understand why, they just looked so interesting.
"...Friends?"
Toby blinked, then grinned. "Yeah! We can play with toy cars together, read books and watch TV together, ride our bikes together—do lots of stuff together!"
It took a few moments for Jim to look like he was ready to give an answer, and when he did, he reluctantly looked up at Toby and said, "...O-Okay."
Toby never felt happier than he did when he heard Jim say that one word.
