And now some more. I thought this was going to follow the same pattern of another story of mine, 'Panic Attack' but I think it's turning into something else. Ooh, it's a mystery.

Ta-ra.

The next time Howard met Vince he'd barely recognised him.

It had been two years.

It was a Tuesday...

Howard had grown a foot and was already sprouting facial hair. He was twelve years, ten months and eight days old and he looked ridiculous in his grey shorts and too tight blazer. The school term had started the day before and Howard should have been happy but instead he was miserable. The only consolation was that at least he was too big to be shoved into a locker this year. He still had no friends though, and school was getting harder. He was less impressive to his teachers and the nerds in the library had moved on. Howard was alone.

That was until a short kid with a jagged mess of blonde hair had come and stood in front of his desk. He threw his bag on to the desk next to Howard's but stayed standing in front of him, waiting to be noticed.

Howard didn't want to look up. It was bad enough being picked on by kids who were shorter than him but this kid only looked about nine. In fact...

He looked up slowly, taking in the ribbon stitched around the shorts cuffs, brightening the grey with blue and silver. He studied the buttons on the blazer, each different, eye catching and lovingly sewn. He took in the tightly clenched fists and then finally at the intense face and the blue eyes, still overly big in his face behind the dirty blonde curls.

"Vince?!"

"Alright, Howard... You got any sandwiches?"

Howard gaped. Vince was talking like they'd only been apart for a week at most but his face was closed and he seemed agitated. He needed to say something. He needed to express somehow that he was sorry for not running faster, for not trying to find him after the police car had taken him away. He wanted to say how much he'd missed Vince, how Vince was still his best friend, how he still wanted to spend his life having adventured with him.

"What's that on your head?"

Vince cracked a smile. It was a shadow of the true Vince Noir signature smile but it made Howard feel hopeful.

"It's my hair, innit, small eyes."

"What happened to it?"

Vince slouched into the seat beside Howard, scowling deeply and running his fingers through the thick hair. His response came out as a whisper.

"My Uncle Gregg lopped it all off."

Howard thought he might cry. He knew he couldn't. If he cried at school, over another boy's hair, the other kids would find a way to shove him in to a locker, even if it meant removing his legs first.

"I'm sorry Vince," he replied equally softly, and he really was. Vince's hair had been his crowning glory, his favourite accessory. He'd loved his hair and Howard had spent many lazy afternoons brushing it at Vince's request. He couldn't imagine Vince without hair. It was odd enough seeing him with an untamed, undyed mop on his head. It must have been the worst form of torture for him, to have his hair cut off. Howard shuddered to think what Vince must have felt.

"It's alright, Howard. It's grown back now. And I'll get my hands on a can of hair spray eventually. Just you wait. How are you doing, anyway? Gone adventuring yet?"

Howard gave a shy smile and looked down at his desk.

"I'm doing alright. No adventures without you though."

Vince let out a soft laugh and Howard didn't look up.

"Howard you old softy. What am I gonna do with you, ya berk?"

Howard shrugged. Vince was different now, perhaps he didn't want Howard as his friend. Perhaps he wasn't into adventures anymore. Perhaps he wanted cooler friends. Howard needed to do something to draw him in, to show his affection. But what?

And then he remembered.

"Did you really want a sandwich?"

Vince's whole body perked up at the prospect of food and Howard couldn't help the grin that swept across his face. Seeing those blue eyes go as wide as saucers and sparkle like they were full of glitter was one of the best sights he had ever seen. He didn't think it got much better, as far as sights went. A sunset was nothing compared to the delighted eyes of Vince Noir.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course, little man," Howard replied, digging into his bag for his lunchbox. His mother always packed him at least a dozen sandwiches, convinced that a growing boy needed an entire loaf every lunchtime.

He handed over a marmite sandwich to Vince and received such a bright smile in return that he actually started to worry about getting sunburnt, or smile-burnt, he supposed.

As Vince wolfed down the sandwich Howard began to wonder about why he was so hungry. And why he was here at all.

"Vince?" he asked timidly, just as the other students started filing in, laughing and chattering and, thankfully, ignoring Howard and Vince. "You're not living with your crazy cat auntie are you?"

"No," Vince tried to say through the sandwich. Howard passed him his water bottle to clear his mouth. He'd given up on lecturing Vince on safe eating on the third day of their acquaintance.

"Cheers, Howard," he said when he'd swallowed his mouthful. "Nah, I'm not with Auntie Sherbert, she ain't even in that house anymore, didn't you know?"

"No. We moved down to Lester Street."

"Oh, that explains why I didn't see you then."
"Didn't see me when?" Vince rolled his eyes but Howard got the impression that he was rolling them at himself rather than at his friend.

"Walked to school this morning. Past your house. Pretty dumb, huh?"

Howard blushed, which didn't make sense. Vince was embarrassed so he went red? It wasn't logical but, he realised, life with Vince hadn't been particularly logical last time.

"Hang on," he said suddenly. "What are you doing in my class? You've only just turned nine!"

A few people turned at that and Howard blushed again, realising that his voice had done it's annoying squeaking thing again. He couldn't wait for his voice to drop properly. Then he'd be a real man.

"Keep it down, will ya," Vince scolded. "As if you remember my real age anyway."

"But what are you doing here?"

"Convinced my relatives I was twelve didn't I? It weren't hard. I got passed around so much after I left Sherbert's house and no one's got a record of my birth certificate. I just kept on insisting and they believed me. Simple."

"But," Howard was confused. It didn't seem simple to him. "But you're tiny Vince, and what about the school work? It's quite hard this year. How will you cope?"

"Don't you worry about me, Howard," Vince grinned at him, throwing in a wink for good measure.

"But-"

"I'm a gifted child, Howard. Ain't nothing I can't do."

And he was right.

Well... almost.

...

And that was how it began.