They boys made it to school quickly and were less then 5 minutes late. The school day progressed normally. Bobby and Derek had most of their classes together so Derek was able to keep an eye on his friend. As always Bobby was grateful for the lunch Derek provided him and as happened so often Derek had to pull the boy aside and tie his shoes before gym Bobby seemed to think nothing of these things. When day ended and the boys met at their lockers to head home.

Grabbing his books Derek looked at his smaller friend “hey Bobby what if I came over to do homework today, it would be fun to hang out”

Grabbing his own books Bobby looked up at Derek smiling “sure that sounds great. Who knows when my mom will be home”

Derek zipped his backpack then patted his friends shoulder“ready to get going then bud”

Bobby nodded and with that they headed out of the building. As they made their way home Derek made mental note of how his friend struggled under the weight of his large bag as well as Bobby’s tendency to trip over things and cross the street without looking for cars. Derek knew he would have to work on that.

When they reached their street the boys headed straight for Bobby’s house. Derek relieved the smaller boy of his bag as Bobby opened his front door.

Once inside Derek laughed as he watched Bobby shed his clothing leaving a trail behind him. Starting at the door he toed foot his shoes then taking 2 steps forward he pulled off his socks leaving them in balls on the floor. Finally he removed his hoody throwing it on the ground before hopping on the sofa.

Derek simply shook his head as he followed Bobby cleaning up after him “you really shouldn’t just leave everything on the floor bud, someone might trip”

Bobby looked from the clothes in Derek’s hands to his friends face and shrugged “sorry, I won’t do it anymore” he looked slightly abashed

Derek winked “it’s fine bud” he quickly tucked Bobby’s socks into his shoes putting them to the side and folded his sweatshirt leaving it on a nearby table. He then joined Bobby on the sofa “what should we do first math or English”

Bobby looked thoughtful then smiling said “how about a snack”

Derek jumped up he placed both of their bags on the table in front of his friend “sure buddy, how about you pull out our books and and I’ll get us something to eat” Bobby nodded and was unzipping their backpacks as Derek headed for the kitchen.

Walking in the kitchen Derek spotted a bag of Oreos then headed to the fridge. As he was about to open it something caught his attention. Stuck to the front of the refrigerator was a note written by Bobby’s mother. Derek took the note and read it.

Dear Bobby,

Good Morning Baby! I hope you are reading this as you eat breakfast. Please be careful this morning, we don’t want any more accidents sweetheart. I hope you remembered to change your underwear this morning. Remember you have gym today. Be good and have a good day at school Baby. Call me when you get home.

Love,

Mommy

After reading the note it was clear to Derek that Bobby’s mother shared his concerns . He decided that they needed to have a conversation that night so he could start making changes.

He opened the refrigerator and grabbed the milk. He poured two glasses and grabbed some napkins before heading back to his friend.

Walking back into the living room Derek found Bobby laying on the ground with his small feet swinging in the air as he chewed on his pencil and flipped through his math book. Derek couldn’t help but smile at the very cute scene in front of him “hey bud I’m back” be called out

Looking up Bobby smiled “hey, ooooh cookies yay!” He sat up as Derek placed their snack on the coffee table next to his friend “not too many cookies bud, we wouldn’t want to spoil dinner... let’s say 5”

Bobby nodded and grabbed his first cookie. He dunked it in milk and bit into it in obviously delight.

Derek grabbed a cookie himself, he noted with some pleasure the way his smaller friend seemed to respond to his commands and decisions without argument. Bobby clearly craved an authority figure, a parent and he seemed willing to let Derek fill the role.

Derek was shaken from his thoughts by a sudden gasp, he looked up just as Bobby spilled his glass of milk. Derek sprang Into action. He stood and pulled Bobby back so he wouldn’t get wet before grabbing the napkins and wiping up the spill. He managed to get everything cleaned up then grabbed the cookies and his own glass “it’s ok buddy, I took care of it. Just maybe be more careful next time” he waited for Bobby to nod before bringing everything back to the kitchen. Upon his return they settled into do their work.

They made it 30 minutes and finished their math before Derek noticed Bobby starting to yawn. He looked at his smaller friend “you know buddy, I have to study for a Spanish test but you can lay down for a while if you feel sleepy”

Bobby started to protest “I’m fiiiiine” he let out a big yawn.

Derek smiled “you can take a nap Bobby a promise, I won’t go anywhere”

Bobby looked unsure “are you sure, you won’t leave, I hate being alone”

Derek shook his head “no bud, I’ll be right here when you wake up” he patted the sofa. “Why don’t you get comfy and close your eyes”

With another yawn Bobby nodded. He stood sleepily and made his way to the nearby sofa. He laid down with his head on a pillow.

Derek stood and covered his friend in a throw blanket and tucked the boy in “you sleep buddy and I’ll be right here” he ran his fingers through Bobby’s hair as his eyes closed.

Derek returned to his studying watching Bobby out of the corner of his eye. He had just finished when he heard a nearby buzzing. Looking around he spotted Bobby’s phone vibrating on the table. He picked the phone up and seeing Mom on the caller ID he decided to answer the phone