Meeting JJ

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JJ is twelve when he first meets Josh and the other boy is thirteen. During the weekends JJ often likes to use the underground to roam the streets of London. His parents think he is going out with friends, and sometimes he is, but the thing is those friends never seem to stay friends for long before he manages to scare them away or creep them out. He tries, he really does; it's not like he doesn't want people to like him, but even at the age of twelve JJ knows he does not have a normal personality. His brain works in a slightly different way to others and it often gets him in trouble. Stuff that he often thinks is a brilliant idea turns out to be dumb and stupid and the worst ideas in the world.

On one weekend one of these ideas is shoplifting. It's not like he's wanting for anything; his parents are well off, earning a fair amount of money in their day jobs. Enough to send him to a good school anyway. No, the idea of shoplifting just suddenly appeals to him and before he knows it, he's walking out of a second hand shop with a video game under his shirt. He doesn't even know what he's got until he's far enough away to risk taking a peek and realises he's picked up Bratz: The Movie game.

He's not impressed and is about to chuck the game away when a hand reaches out and grabs him by the shoulder. JJ instantly lashes out at the stranger but the other boy is too quick, jumping to the side with a cocky smirk.

"Caught," the boy says. He's skinny and is wearing far too many layers for a hot day like it is.

"The fuck you want?" JJ politely replies. The boy's accent is one which he associates with London gangs and he immediately thinks this boy is here to mug him or something.

Instead of assaulting him the boy holds out his hand and after a moment of confusion JJ realises it is there for him to shake. He does so with much suspicion. He is told by the stranger that his name is Josh and that he'd been going about his business when he'd seen JJ steal the game. After a bit more discussion Josh realises JJ definitely isn't a bad kid and is in hysterics at the game the younger boy has nicked.

After a while JJ goes to make a move but Josh stops him and tells him he has to take the game back. JJ says "hell no!" absolutely not. He's too scared. What if he gets arrested or something? For a naive twelve year old that seems entirely plausible. Seeing how much this terrifies the younger boy, instead of forcing JJ to take it back Josh makes him swear he will never do it again and takes the video game back himself.

JJ thinks the strange boy is insane, that surely he is going to get in a load of trouble, but somehow, with a smart mouth and a quick thinking mind Josh is able to get off with a harsh telling off from the store owner. Josh tells him that he should put his quick hands to better use, like knitting or something. JJ calls Josh a rude word and the older boy leaves laughing. Later JJ feels a bit bad that he never got to thank the boy properly for saving his skin. He really is grateful for what the stranger did for him. But London is a big place filled with hundreds of thousands of people. He doesn't think he will see the boy again.

However as it happens, a few months later JJ see's Josh at the park near Southbank. He gets the chance to apologise and thank him properly now. The older boy seems pleased to see him again, a rare experience for JJ, and approves of his retirement from shoplifting. Josh invites JJ to have a kick about with some of his friends. JJ agrees readily; hardly anyone ever includes him in the fun.

To his surprise he also finds out that Josh's right hand man is Simon, as in Simon from his own school. Up until now he and Simon have never really spoken; Simon is very popular at school and JJ is not. There's no rivalry between them, but until now there had been no commonality. As it happens he finds out that he and Simon get along very well when they give each other a chance and the two plan to meet up after school some day. Josh's other friends are all really cool too, especially two kids called Tobi and Ethan. By the end of their time at the park JJ wishes that he had friends as cool as Josh's.

As if he could read his mind Josh invites him out of the blue to a music studio where his friend records. JJ agrees without hesitation, he's got nothing else planned for today. He doesn't really make plans, he can never stick to them.

The studio is a few stops away on the tube and they end up in what JJ views as a scary part of London. The older boy seems perfectly at home though. They enter through a graffiti covered doorway to a small room with a lot of older boys laughing, drinking and recording music. Josh is immediately swept off his feet by one of them and put into a head lock.

Despite being fairly intimidated at the start, JJ ends up having a great time at the studio, especially when they let him have a go in the booth. Josh is the only white kid in the studio but they all seem to love him. He's somewhat of a mascot, all decked out in their own branded snapback and t-shirt.

That was one thing JJ comes to learn and love about the other boy; his love of music, and not just one genre. Josh sometimes likes to pretend he only listens to rap and grime music but the truth is that he listens to just about anything from any genre, be it pop or heavy metal. From Elvis to Eminem and from Beyonce to The Beatles, he knows a lot of songs and can start singing random lyrics from a word someone else has said at any given time.

He was weird and random but never in a way that intimidated people, he was just a sweet kid. JJ honestly believes that without Josh he have been much more of a tearaway as a child and he knows his parents appreciate the older boy keeping an eye out for their wildcard son; and as they grow up there is definitely more than one time that Josh has to resolve some sort of situation JJ accidentally causes. Between him and Ethan they keep Josh's hands full.

As far as maturity goes, JJ is most certainly the slowest when it comes to growing up. He fully well knows it too. He knows he doesn't have a filter and he knows he can be a huge pain with his moaning and hyperactive-ness. JJ doesn't do emotional talks or deep conversations very well either but when he does he will either go to Josh or Simon. Usually Josh though. The boy just somehow always knows what the right thing to say is when JJ is in one of his bad moods. He's straight with JJ when the younger boy is acting like an idiot but he never belittles him like so many people have done in the past.

Josh is able to get people to see another side to JJ and help them realise that he's not completely crazy all the time, and when he is most of the time it's all part of his strange charm. Kids that will usually shy away from him after five minutes are persuaded to stick around for a while when Josh is also nearby.

It is through Josh that JJ meets Vik.

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