Jeff walked slowly on the brick footpath, feeling every bruise as he moved. The ten year old stared at his feet as they took him back to his house. He was only a couple of houses away, and he could already hear the screams of his mother. He didn't look up as he walked into his front yard, and went around the side. His shaking fingers opened the latch on the gate leading to the back, and he quietly entered. Jeff went straight to the back door, and snuck through the family room to the kitchen to get some food. He could hear his father and mother in the next room. A shattering of glass accompanied his mother's cries, but he tried to ignore it. He scampered to his room, and closed the door. Not bothering to turn on the light, he walked to his bed and flopped down. He forced unbidden tears back as he lay on his back, looking up at the glow-in-the-dark space stickers on his roof. If only he could travel to space and never have to hear the screams again...

~~~

The next morning, Jeff was out of the house before his parents wakened. He came out onto the road, and started the long walk to his school. Images flashed through his mind, no matter how hard he blocked them, of his mother snorting the white powder on the kitchen bench last night. He was used to the ritual his parents went through whenever stress hit them, but he wasn't used to this new urge to try out the method of getting 'high'. Yet, the possibility of what was threatened on him if he didn't were beginning to wear on him.

Jeff tripped on a stone, but managed to keep his balance. He looked up to his left, to see a small, green park. Jeff found himself wandering onto the grass. He walked to a willow nearby, and saw the tiny stream that ran next to it. For the first time in a while, the boy's shoulders relaxed. He kicked off his shoes, and sat on the edge of the stream, letting his warm toes splash the cool water over his ankles.

"You look like you're having fun there."

Jeff spun around, heart racing and hands clenched, to see a man standing behind him. "Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.

The man walked slowly towards the stream. "No one in particular. Just like coming here every now and then." He started taking off his shoes, and Jeff took note of the holes in them, sat down next to Jeff. "It's quiet and peaceful here, don't you think?"

"I can leave if you want," Jeff started to get up, but the man protested.

"I haven't spoken to someone for quite some time. You got a place to be?" He gave a gentle smile, and Jeff felt he could trust him.

They stayed quiet for a few minutes, before Jeff blurted out, "You don't care much for clean clothes, huh?"

The man shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have an option to clean them, or I would. What about yourself?"

Jeff wriggled his toes in the mud under the water, uncomfortable, and very much aware of the dirt and stains on his clothes. "I don't have that many, uh, options either."

The man didn't probe. Jeff looked at him out of the corner of his eye. He had a black beard that was streaked with grey and unkempt. His clothes were indeed dirty, and every time the wind blew, a faint smell came from him that reminded him of home. He didn't like it, but he liked the man. He had kind features. Suddenly, the man looked at him, his green eyes studying him.

"You go to school?"

"Yes..." Jeff's cheeks reddened, and he looked away quickly.

"What's your teacher going to say if you are late?" He made a strange tutting noise, and shook his head. "I'm sure they wouldn't be happy. You should probably go on now."

"But you'll be gone when I come back!" Jeff complained. He sighed.

"Your education is more important than talking to an old man and sticking your toes in some creek. But don't you worry. I have no where else to be. I'll be here when you come back, I promise you. And when Tom makes a promise, you can know you can trust him."

~~~

It was nearly half an hour after school had finished when Jeff came walking back to the green park. Sure as his word, there was Tom, but this time he was half hidden behind the willow tree near the creek. Jeff walked up to him, and when he came closer, the man jumped. He scrambled around, but dropped something in the grass. Jeff reached down to pick it up, frowning as he saw the packet of white powder in a plastic bag. He handed it back to his friend, who stuffed it into a worn pocket.

"Sorry kid. Didn't see you there." He stood there awkwardly, but Jeff couldn't help stare at the bulge that the packet made in his pocket.

"It's ok... my parents use it, too." He used his foot to push back the grass beneath his feet.

The man sat down against the tree, and Jeff followed suit, sitting next to him. They didn't speak for some time, and Jeff was thinking that he should leave, when Tom said, "I don't like the idea of a kid your age having to be around that stuff. I'm not sure we should be talking anymore."

"But I'm almost eleven years old!" Jeff protested, horrified at losing his friend. "I'll be fine. Plus, I've got more than that to worry about."

"How's that?"

"Well..." Jeff watched the water trickle by in the creek. "At school, there are some boys who... who also like to take it. And they have been telling me that if I don't try out it soon, they'll hurt me real bad. If I take it, I can be in their group, which means I get access to a lot of it, and lots of people look up to you, and actually like you..." he trailed off, embarrassed at telling this man so much. He blushed.

"So you've either got to try it, and you get some benefits, or you don't, and they'll find some way to scare you to do it later on?"

Jeff didn't quite know the meaning of 'benefits' but he agreed with everything else Tom said, so he nodded. "Pretty much." Memories of his father and mother never left his mind for long, and Jeff had sworn the day his mother laid her first punch to him that he would never touch the stuff. "I don't want to end up like-" he stopped, but continued when Tom urged him on. "Like my parents."

"That's too bad." Tom rubbed his head for a moment, before turning to the boy and asking his name.

"Jeffery, but my friends call me Jeff."

The sun burned warmly onto Jeff's back, and a sudden inspiration hit him along with the warmth.

"Tom, I think I know what we can do." Not stopping to consider Tom's startled face, he ploughed forward. "If I had someone else to help and encourage me, I reckon I could stand up against those boys. And if you had someone to help you, you could eventually get rid of wanting it. What do you say? We can meet here every day, and I'll ask you if you've taken anything, and then you'll ask me if I've taken anything, and we can help each other."

For the first time in a while, Tom laughed, a deep, pleasant sound. "You've actually got quite a smart mind in that head of yours. All right. Let's give it a shot, Jeff."

~~~

For the next two weeks, Tom and Jeff met regularly at the creek. They exchanged what troubles had come their way as they withstood the temptation of taking 'it'. Jeff had noticed the bags under Tom's eyes had darkened, and his hands now shook in a different way than before. But he also laughed more.

"I'm so glad I have you with me, Tom." Jeff had just come back from school again, and was settling himself next to Tom under the willow tree. "They seem to push harder each day. I told them again yesterday that I'm not going to give in... but..." Jeff gestured to his knees, and Tom winced when he saw bloody and skinned. "They pushed me down and said I'll join them soon enough."

Tom hesitated, and then reached over to pat Jeff's arm. "You're helping me more then you know. It's not been easy, but I couldn't have gotten this far if you hadn't helped me. Thank you."

Jeff grinned, straightened, and stood up. His motivation had been spurred again by listening to Tom's words of thanks, and watching his life improve. He still had no place to stay, and no matter how much Tom insisted it didn't bother him, he didn't miss his friend's glances in the direction of the other houses that lined the street nearby when they parted ways. But he had more money to spend on food, and yesterday he had bought himself a comb with the money he earned from jobs here and there. If his friend was in it with him, Jeff could persevere. Despite his parents' fights, despite the bruises the boys gave him. He could handle all of it.

~~~

Jeff didn't hear the boys creep up behind him, and he didn't have time to react when he was jerked around and socked in the jaw. He fell to the ground, skinning his hands on the concrete.

"Jeffrey, Jeffrey, Jeffrey," the tallest boy taunted. "So determined not to fall down in his morals, yet here he is, fallen."

Jeff tried to rise, but he was knocked down by one of the seven boys. "Boys, let me go."

"We have it right here. You smoke it, and you join us. You don't, and you know what happens next."

"I'm not going to give in. I can't."

"You've had your chances, Jeff. We warned you what would happen if you didn't stop with the stupid high and mighty talk. You'll never be better then us, even if you don't take it." He kicked Jeff in the shin, and grinned as he cried out. "Don't blame us. It's your pride that's caused this fall."

The boys closed in on him, and for the next ten minutes, laughter and screams filled the air

~~~

Jeff limped, and when he couldn't manage that, crawled the rest of the way to the park. The clouds overhead were grey and dark, and he could only hope it didn't rain. Every part of his body ached. He lifted a hand to wipe a trickle of blood trailing from his lip, and another from a slash on his forehead. He tried to stand, but his legs were too weak to hold his weight. An urge to throw up overpowered the boy more then once, and each time the taste of blood and vomit in his mouth made his bruised stomach turn. He could still hear the laughter and shouts of the boys echoing in his ears.

Finally, he collapsed onto the grass of the park. He lay there, whimpering, shaking, but wouldn't allow any tears to leak out of his black and blue eyes. He expected Tom to be there by now, but maybe he hadn't seen him. Jeff opened his eyes, and crawled painfully over to the willow tree. He got closer and closer, but couldn't see anyone. His heart sank.

The cold wind blew, and Tom's shirt could been seen from behind the tree. Jeff couldn't speak, but he managed to get to his feet. He stumbled to where Tom was sitting, but halfway there smelt a stench so strong and so potent he struggled to draw breath for the dread that was closing in on his lungs. A drop of rain landed on his curly mop of hair. He came around the tree, and Tom looked up at him, regret and sorrow engrained in his eyes. Tom looked to the damning evidence in his hands, and back to his friend's bloody face.

"I couldn't anymore. It's too much, I can't..." Tom started to sob, and he bent over, taking another whiff. Jeff's vision narrowed, and he grabbed the tree trunk to steady himself.

"I-I didn't give in..." But Tom didn't say anything in reply, but continued to cry and smoke. Rain started to come down heavily.

Tom stood up, and grabbed Jeff roughly. He held him against him in an embrace for some time, but all Jeff noticed was the smell of it on his breath as he sobbed. "You know I didn't mean it. You know, I promised you..." He seized Jeff's hand and pressed something into his palm, and while the boy barely registered it, he knew what it was.

Tom let go, and Jeff saw his eyes roll back, and then as the man fainted. Jeff leaned against the tree, and a tear slid down his beaten face. The pain of betrayal ceased his lungs, and he gasped for air. Rain pelted him, but Jeff didn't notice.

He looked down what was in his hand, and started crying.

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I don't promote taking drugs in the slightest, just in case the moral of the story didn't come across to you! :)

Any feedback is welcome, hope you enjoyed (enjoyed sounds very uh light and happy after all that, but you get what I mean right!?) xx

sweetNsmiling