That boy... always near your little girl. Not that he was bad he was just... off. He didn't seem as social as the other kids and always wearing Long clothes despite it being the middle of summer.

Your daughter, Ivy, always wanted to pack extra food in her lunch. Of course she was a growing girl, being 13, but 2 whole footlongs? It seemed excessive, no matter which way you looked at it. It was clear she was hiding something, you just hoped it wasn't another dog.

But then she begged you to have a sleepover with one of her male friends. And after a lot of begging and compromise, open doors, he leaves in the morning, and you had to be alerted if they were leaving the house. It seemed fair and Ivy was estatic.

Simon carefully made his way into your house a few days later. He looked around, seeing the house wasn't in shambles, or constant fighting like at his place. It was quiet. No parents fighting or breaking things, just you and Ivy since your spouse was on deployment for a while.

He greeted you, thanking you for allowing him over before retreating to your daughters room. He seemed nice enough, definitely not a popular kid. But it of course, didn't matter. You sat watching your true crime documentaries before Ivy came back, the boy standing beside her.

"Can you make dinner? We are getting hungry. I was thinking spaghetti." Ivy said, the boys eyes widening. If Simon said anything close to that he'd be rewarded with a slap in the face by his father at home.

"Id... like to help." Simon said without knowing why. Maybe someone being like a parent to him was what he needed. So he followed you into the kitchen, silently regretting it. But he forced himself to make connections with his best friends parent. "How do you make spaghetti?" He asked quietly, looking up at you. He didn't know how to cook because of his family situation... so maybe watching and helping would help him too.