As Connor listened to his phone ring, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of place Jude lived in that they would just kick a fifteen-year-old out over night and not care about where he went! If Connor ever tried to go anywhere, his father would give him the fifth degree. It was why he was glad that Daria's parents worked with his dad and she could throw her party while his father was away. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't be able to convince his dad to let him go, no matter what degree of guilt tripping he did to accomplish what he wanted.

"Connor? Is everything okay?"

"With me, Dad," Connor said quickly, knowing how Adam could blow things out of proportion. "Not so much with Jude."

"Your friend? Is he okay?"

It was a good sign that Adam was concerned about Jude, right?

"Well, he's fine, but his mom had to take his dad to the hospital. He fell off of a ladder or something? Anyway, she doesn't want him to stay home alone tonight but she thinks she'll be home super late so Jude asked if he could stay here." Like he was in elementary school again, Connor crossed his fingers behind his back, hoping that his father bought his lie. He would consider himself an adequate liar, at best. He found it hard to lie and he wasn't in the habit of it but, perhaps because of it, Adam wasn't in the habit of disbelieving it either.

"Really? Does she want to call me?"

"Her husband fell off a ladder. She just wants to make sure Jude's not home alone. He already stayed with us and lived so I guess she thinks she can trust you without anything happening."

"Someday I am going to have to meet her," Adam mused.

"Yeah, someday," Connor said. "So, what can I tell Jude?"

"Tell him it's all right and that I hope his dad gets better soon. He's not allergic to any food or anything, is he?"

"No," Connor said, realizing that he wasn't completely sure. For all he knew, Jude could be allergic to something and had just never seen a reason to tell him.

"Okay. I'll pick up something for supper, then, don't worry about finding food."

"Okay. Um, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you … not mention me being sick? I mean, he knows, of course, it's hard to hide but I … I don't want to talk about it."

"No, I understand," Adam assured him. "I wouldn't want to be treated like a patient in front of my friends either. As long as you show me that you took your medication, I won't say anything."

"Deal," Connor said, relieved. "Thanks."

"It's not a sleepover, though. You boys have school in the morning."

Connor rolled his eyes. "You know you can't keep me awake, Dad."

"I know," Adam chuckled slightly. "I'll be home in about three hours at the latest."

"Sounds good."

Connor hung up the phone and headed back to join Jude on the couch. Jude had his knees curled up to his chest and, to Connor, he looked a lot younger than they actually were. There was hope playing in his dark brown eyes but he looked as though he were scared to admit it.

"Dad said you can stay. I, uh, said your dad fell off a ladder so your mom had to stay at the hospital."

"Are you usually so good at lying?" Jude asked and that wasn't what Connor had been expecting to here.

Connor shook his head. Lying was not something that he would ever want to be good at it, despite that he sometimes tried. He had made the conscious decision to try and lie to Jude, however he and Ms. Adams talked about it, but he had even failed at that. Jude knew he was sick – he did not, admittedly, know the whole story but he did know that Connor was sick – and Connor had never intended for Jude to know even that much. Despite how guilty he felt about it, Connor had been determined to keep that much to himself. Things, in the end, usually just ended up spilling out of him.

"It's kind of a miracle I thought about it," Connor finally said. "But, hey, you can stay and that's what matters."

"I'm going to have to meet your dad," Jude said, sounding sulky, and then he looked a little more optimistic. "I guess that's better than trying to sleep on a bench or something."

A bench?! From the look in Jude's face, Connor guessed that he probably slept outside before but Connor couldn't even fathom that. Wouldn't he be hungry? Wouldn't he be cold? Wouldn't he be scared?

"If it happens again, you can always come here, okay?" Connor said. "You're safe here."

Connor couldn't do much as a protector but he knew he'd do his best for Jude. His best friend didn't deserve the life he had, that was for sure.

"Thanks," Jude said, his eyes sliding to the side as Jellybean jumped up on the couch. "Could I read to you?"

"Do you really want to?"

"Yeah," Jude said. "I like reading to you."

"I told you that you'd like reading," Connor said.

Jude just shook his head. "That wasn't what I said."

Connor almost asked about what he meant but Jude leant over, opening his small bag. He lined the pocket dictionary, pens, and sticky notes along Connor's side of the coffee table and then he pulled his book into his lap.

"Crap, I lost my place. Do you remember where we were?"

"'Give me those scissors,' Atticus said. 'They're no things to play with.' Just before chapter five."

Jude rolled his eyes at Connor and started flipping through the pages, looking for where they had left off. "You know, one of these days, I'm going to make you recite this to me."

"I can't even write an essay on it so clearly I don't know this book as well as I should."

"I thought you told me that you picked an essay topic."

"I did," Connor said. "How Lee uses word choice to evoke emotions. Which sounds really impressive but I have no idea what to do with it and that makes it less impressive."

"You can pull something off," Jude said confidently.

"I guess so," Connor said but he didn't sound convinced. He nudged his shoulder against Jude's. "Thanks, though. Okay, time to read."

"Maybe I'll inspire you for your essay."

"Yeah, maybe," Connor mumbled, and then he let it. "Oh! I should note all the words I had to write down for you. That might give me a place to start."

"Whatever helps," Jude said, like he could deny Connor when Connor had done so much for him and he meant so much to him.

"Okay, read," Connor said. "That way I have more to work with … Also, I like listening to you read. I do. I promise."

Jude believed him, though he did laugh before running his finger down the page to find where they had left off. He cleared his throat, sounding out every word as he went, Connor correcting him along the way. By now, Jude could recognize the small 'uh' sound that Connor made when Jude did something wrong and he'd try to correct himself before Connor got the chance to. Sometimes, he'd get it wrong in two different ways but that hardly compared to how he felt when he got it right before Connor had to tell him so. By the time Connor's father arrived home he and Connor were playing Hangman.

Jude shut the notebook as soon as he heard the door open. He couldn't very well be Connor's friend from school if he wrote like a child. Not that he thought he looked like a typical Anchor Beach student and Jude felt certain that he didn't look like the type of friend Connor's father was expecting him to have. Butterflies erupted in his stomach. This was a bad idea. Connor's father wasn't going to like that Connor and Jude were friends. It could actually be the end of their friendship if Adam really didn't like him.

Not that Connor looked so concerned. He gestured for Jude to follow him into the kitchen.

"Hi, Dad. How was work?"

"Fine, fine." The man turned around. "Hi, I'm Adam."

Jude hesitantly stretched his hand out to shake Adam's, feeling intimidated. He wondered if that was how Adam wanted him to feel.

"I'm Jude," he finally said.

"Nice to meet you. I brought home chicken and some salads for dinner. I hope you like that."

Jude nodded, forcing himself to speak as Adam turned back to the grocery bags. "Yeah, sounds good. Um, thanks for letting me stay."

"You're welcome. Tell me more when you find out about your father."

"All right," Jude said.

"Connor, can you and Jude set the table and pour drinks?"

It was an easy enough task and before long they were seated at the small dining room table. Jude carefully took bites of his dinner, feeling like Adam was watching him, even though he knew it wasn't true. Every time he looked up from his plate, Adam was watching Connor. Which made a lot of sense, Jude supposed.

"So, what classes do you have together?" Adam asked.

"Just English," Connor replies.

"It's Connor's favourite class," Adam said, like Jude might not have known.

"I like drama too," Connor said.

"Do you like To Kill A Mockingbird?" Adam asked Jude and then he glanced at Connor. "You're still reading that, right?"

"It's the novel study for the term," Connor replied.

Adam nodded and turned his attention back to Jude.

"Oh, it's, um, my first time reading it," Jude said. "I've just been trying to keep up with the class."

"Connor and his mother love it," Adam said, "but I've always found it a hard book to get into – I've read it once or twice, you know. I like simple books, to be honest. There's a lot to that story."

"That's what I'm finding," Jude said, glad that he could connect with Adam on something. "But I really like that there's more than one thing going on. It feels like real life."

"That's a good point," Adam said. "But I think that I read things that don't remind me of real life."

"Except for you eight magazine subscriptions," Connor muttered. "And the newspaper."

"A person can't stick their entire head in the sand."

"Just half," Connor said and the bitterness in his tone caught Jude off guard.

"Jude, are you going to be able to stay with Connor while I attend my Christmas party? I know he was glad you were able to stay the weekend over Halloween."

Jude's stomach warmed. Connor had been glad he'd been over. Jude had known it, Connor had said it, but it was nice to have someone else acknowledge it.

"I liked staying over too," Jude said. "I think I'm allowed to stay over. I know that I want to."

"I hope you're able to," Adam said. "Connor spends enough time at home alone. I don't want to leave him –"

"Without a babysitter?" Connor interrupted.

"No, I just want you to stay alone overnight. You're still just fifteen, Connor. I'm sure Jude's mother doesn't want him staying home alone either."

Jude almost choked on his coleslaw. "My parents work a lot. They like me, um, out of the house, doing things."

Lying was so easy to do with other people. He had been honest with Connor for so long that he'd forgotten how to talk to other people. He was glad that the lies could still bubble up to his mouth easily and come out convincingly. He was also glad that Adam didn't seem to hate him – wasn't visibly glaring at him and hadn't kicked him out yet, at least. Jude was choosing to take all of the good signs that he could find.

"Well, that's a good attitude to have, I think. You should do more," Adam said, gesturing at Connor.

"Between tutoring and studying, what do you want me to do? I could get whacked in the head with a baseball bat."

"Sports don't always have to be violent."

"I'd be black and blue within the first five minutes," Connor said, rolling his eyes.

Jude forked his potato salad into his mouth, not wanting to get involved in the conversation and not wanting to think about Connor's bruises.

"How about chess club?"

Connor just snorted and Jude had to grin at that.

"I do enough, Dad!"

Adam didn't look convinced but he dropped the issue and Jude could breathe a little more easily. He didn't want to end up in the middle of a family fight. Or any fight. And he'd heard enough about Adam's ability to argue – he didn't want firsthand experience. Adam lapsed into asking Connor about his other classes. He peppered a few questions in for Jude but Jude could tell that he was really interested in getting the gist of his son's day and, so, Jude was able to get few words in, which he appreciated. When they were finished, he and Connor returned to the kitchen to clean up from dinner while Adam headed upstairs.

"He likes to read the newspaper after work, not in the morning," Connor said as he dropped pieces of chicken to Jellybean instead of putting it away. "He has a ritual. When he's reading the newspaper, I'm usually supposed to be doing homework."

"Do you have homework you should be doing?" Jude asked, putting the dishes in the dishwasher.

"Not really. Besides, I have a friend over. He can't make me do homework."

"Maybe he thinks we're going to be doing our homework together, since, apparently, I have an English essay to do too now."

Connor was laughing at him. "Maybe I should make you write an essay. You know, if I'm going to be the best tutor I can be."

"I would stop reading entirely," Jude said.

"Little reflections on each chapter? A hundred words or something. Playing Hangman isn't really the best way the best way to work on your writing."

"I still can't make all the letters right!"

"I'm going to give you a notebook," Connor said. "You can practice writing. Think about trying to write something once a day – even if you just copy your favourite quotes from Mockingbird or something. I think it'll help."

"Thank you for trying to help," Jude said. "I really do want to learn."

"I know. You probably would have told me to get lost long before now if you didn't."

"Or worse," Jude said.

"Or worse," Connor agreed. He finally put the excess food in the fridge and shut it. "Sorry, Jelly, you're pudgy enough. Come watch a movie with us."

Jude was happy to follow Connor back to the couch and try to find a movie. He wasn't used to the sound of Adam walking around above them, though, and he kept getting distracted by the sound of footsteps. Jude lived in the attic. He was the footsteps overhead. He didn't like that the script had been flipped on him. They finished one movie and were halfway through a second one when Adam came downstairs.

"Don't stay up too late," he warned. "You have school tomorrow."

"We're just going to finish the movie," Connor replied. "We're not going to get into trouble, Dad."

"If you leave this house tonight, you're grounded for a month."

Connor leant back, shaking his head. "We're not going to get into any trouble. We're going to finish the movie. Stop being so paranoid. Everything's fine."

"All right, all right." Adam glanced at Jude. "I have to leave before you get up for school but it was nice meeting you. I hope your dad feels better soon."

"Uh, thanks and thanks again for letting me stay."

Adam smiled warmly at him. "Connor's friends are always welcome."

"Friend," Connor corrected, his voice low enough that Adam didn't respond but Jude grinned a little. Friend. He was friend.

"Goodnight, boys."

"Goodnight," they chorused.

Once Adam was gone, Connor nudged Jude.

"What?" Jude asked.

"Meeting my dad wasn't so scary, was it?"

"It wasn't as bad as it could have been," Jude admitted. "He seems … fine."

"Parents always do in front of other people," Connor joked. "But I think he does like you if it makes you feel any better."

It did, a little, but Jude didn't really want to admit it. He couldn't help but smile a little. If Connor's father liked him, then it really was okay for them to be friends. It didn't matter what kinds of differences they had, not to anyone but Callie, probably, but Callie had her own problems as suspicions and Jude knew that he couldn't hold those against her. He knew he should feel guilty about the way that Connor was curling up next to him but he couldn't. Inside this house, there was no one to spy, no one to care, and no one that would actually hurt them if they did happen to find them. He was comfortable as they finished the movie and headed up the stairs, Connor feeding Jellybean before they did. It was like when they had spent the weekend together and Jude remembered that routine well. He followed Connor into his room.

"Shut the door," Connor whispered, "Just most of the way so Jelly can get in and out."

Jude did as he was told. "Can I borrow pyjamas?"

Connor laid a set out on the bed and Jude changed quickly so that he could climb into bed, settling on the inside where he was comfortable. The door creaked as Jellybean made her way in, leaping up onto the bottom of the bed and nestling near Jude's feet. Connor was careful not to disturb her as he took his spot, pulling the blankets up around him.

"Goodnight, Jude."

"Goodnight," Jude whispered.

Connor fell asleep long before he did. It was one of those nights where Jude knew sleep wasn't going to come easily to him and he would have to fight to keep from tossing and turning. He'd wake Connor; he'd accidentally kick Jellybean. He didn't want to do either of those things. Jude just stared at the ceiling, trying not to let his mind wander too much in either direction. He didn't want to think of Callie; he didn't want to think of Connor. He didn't want to think of what his life was or could be. It was all too much to handle this late at night when he was up alone. But he was always up alone, wasn't he?

Something on Connor's nightstand vibrated. Jude slowly pushed himself up on his elbow to see that his phone was the one with a text message. Moving carefully and trying to track Connor's every move to make sure that he wasn't waking up. His phone in his hand, Jude settled back on the bed, opening the texts from Callie.

Jay: I'll be home with Nic tomorrow.

Jay: I won't be able to stay for long but I'm going to make sure that you're safe

Jude: CU soon

Jay: Are you safe tonight?

Jude: Yes.

Callie didn't answer him again and so Jude put the phone back. He turned onto his side so that he was facing Connor. There was just enough light in the room for Jude to make out the basic shapes of his face and he couldn't help but lay there and stare.

He was with Connor; of course he was safe tonight.

If you have a song that reminds you of The Island Of Misfit Toys and would like it to be on the playlist, send it in and let me know! I'd love to hear your playlist suggestions. This week's songs are: Breathe by Rhodes; and Look After You by Aron Wright.

So, on tumblr I'm: we are all of legend now (with dashes between every word). If you want to find my replies to anon reviews, add backslash tagged backslash anon dash replies. If you want to see anything I post about The Island Of Misfit Toys, go to my tumblr URL and add backslash tagged backslash the dash island dash of dash misfit dash toys. Punctuation is spelled out due to Fanfiction's restrictions. If you're having any trouble accessing the tumblr content please send me a pm and I can format it for you in a different way.

~TLL~