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Precocious	By : XxSwaggerMcJaggerxX Category: +M through R > Recess Views: 3538 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Recess and do not make a profit from this work.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Dudikoff wondered if his inability to sleep in this sort of situation was normal. He was assuming it was, what with an injured child in his house and all, but he had never found himself in this sort of situation before. Every thirty minutes, he found himself upstairs and checking on the little man. Both to make sure he was still breathing, and to calm his own nerves.
            He told himself that he would go to sleep at the top of each hour, but that time always came and went, and he was wide awake.
            “I gotta get some sleep,” he told himself. “Not gonna be able to help if I’m sleep deprived.”
            He turned off the living room TV. The kid hadn’t woken up since he was tucked in. Probably won’t until the morning. Still, he marched up those stairs one more time and peaked his head into his bedroom. On top of the kid was on of his weighted blankets. Franklin was kicking himself for not buying another because he certainly could use one right now. But he wasn’t going to snatch it from the kid. He needed it more.
            He watched Detweiler shift a bit before settling back down again. Alright. He was, or was going to be, alright.
ZZZ
            The next morning, Dudikoff went against his habit of sleeping in when he had the time and got up early in the morning. He stood in front of the fridge, looking through the food he had.
            “What do you feed someone with a head injury?” He asked himself. He knew what to nurse a sick stomach and how to ‘feed a fever’ and all that, but this was different. The kid was not supposed to be exposed to anything too overstimulating to his eyes, ears, and nose, but that didn’t apply to food, did it? If his brain was healing then wouldn’t he need a massive influx of nutrient rich food to help?
            With that in mind, he set on making a big breakfast with lots vegetables snuck in. Buddy seemed like the type of kid who’d make a fuss about eating vegetables. He headed upstairs with two plates in hands, hoping the kid wasn’t too picky. To his surprise, Detweiler laid in his bed awake, staring at the ceiling for who knows for how long by this point.
            “Morning, Kiddo,” Franklin said as he stepped inside. “How ya feelin’?”
            “Like someone keeps hitting my head with a hammer.” Dudikoff noted the grogginess in his voice.
            “You think you can sit up for some breakfast?”
            TJ didn’t bother trying to nod. The less he moved his head, the better. Instead, he slowly pushed himself up, moving his neck as little as possible. Seeing him struggle, Franklin was at his side, helping to get him propped up on the pillows.
            “There you go,” Franklin said once the kid was settled. “Think you can eat something for me?” He asked, bringing the plate of food over.
            “This is good,” TJ said as he ate. He might only be eating small bites at a time, but that was more of a lack of energy issue than an issue with the taste. “What’s in it?”
            “It’s a breakfast souffle. There’s eggs, spinach, some ham, cheese, and a bunch of other vegetables I snuck in there. Hope you don’t mind,” Franklin said, eating his own from a nearby seat.
            “So it’s kind of like a baked omelette?” TJ asked. “Pete makes those for me sometimes.”
            “That’s one way to think of them. Takes a bit more time to make these,” he explained. “Glad you like it.”
            The two of them ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. A nice comfortable silence. Halfway through his plate Franklin noticed that he completely forgot to bring something to drink and stepped out to grab the both of them a glass of orange juice.
            “They just gave me to you.”
            “Huh?” Dudikoff sat back down in his seat.
            “My parents. They let you and Prickly take me home,” TJ said. “It’s not like they were out of town this time . . .”
            “Yeah. Both of us were surprised by that. Well, more surprise from me, and more rage bubbling under the surface from Pete,” he said. “He told me about the time you got food poisoning and stayed with him, guessing it was ‘cause of that.”
            “I don’t think they like me.” TJ put more focus on his drink than his food. “They didn’t want to take care of me, so they gave me to someone else.”
            Franklin sighed. “I don’t know why they let us take you, but you’re in good hands, okay? Besides, the two of us like you. They don’t know how great of a kid they’re missing out on, and that’s their loss. You done eating?”
            TJ handed over the plate and glass and Dude sat it aside. With some fresh bandages, Franklin moved his seat closer to the bed, slowly unravelling the bandages around the boys head. Underneath, Franklin saw the stitches keeping a large gash shut to heal. The nurses had shaved away some of his hair to get the job done right. Still, it was a gnarly sight to behold. He made quick work of gently cleaning around the stitches.
            “What did the doctor say?” TJ asked.
            “You’ve got one hell of a concussion, and a line fracture on your skull. And a gash, but you’ll be fine after about two weeks,” He explained. “So good news, no schoolwork, or anything that’ll take too much brain power for a while. Bad news, that also means no TV while you rest.”
            “But that means all I can do is sleep!”
            “That it does. Sorry, Buddy.”
            TJ pouted, but didn’t argue. His head hurt too much to move it, let alone do what he did every day. For the time being, he was stuck here. Maybe stuck wasn’t the right word. He wanted to be with Dude; he was the one to rush to his side when he fell and could barely move, in agony and confused about what happened. This bed was super soft and comfortable, and Dude knew what he was doing. He hoped. This was definitely one of two places he wanted to be to heal up.
            “Alright. All cleaned up. At least your head.” Franklin tossed the old bandage in the trash. “I should get you in a bath later. But you look tired, so it can wait. For now, get some more rest. I’ll check on you later.” He took the plates and glasses in his hands and headed for the door.
            “Wait.”
“Huh?” Franklin paused and looked back.
“Can you stay? Please?” He was going to think of some excuse to say no, but those words got stuck in his throat at the sight of those bright blue eyes looking up at him.
“Alright, alright, I’ll stay. Geez, those puppy dog eyes are deadly.” Franklin climbed in bed and made himself comfortable. He wrapped an arm around the boy as he cuddled up to his side, clinging to him. Adorable. “Comfy?”
TJ nodded. “Thank you, Frankie.”
Oh.
Oh God, did his heart just skip a beat?
‘This Kid’s got me wrapped around his finger,’ he thought. ‘How the hell did this happen?’
            “You’re welcome, Bud.”
            “My name is TJ. You can call me by my name,” TJ said. He adjusted his position a bit. “You never do.”
            “Oh yeah? What’s the ‘T’ stand for?”
            TJ yawned. “Theodore.”
            Franklin hummed, absentmindedly rubbing his hand along the boys side. “Theodore, huh? That’s one of those names that you can see on an adult, but not a child.”
            TJ shrugged, and put more focus on getting some sleep.
ZZZ
            “He’s doing fine. He ate without much of an issue, but says his head still hurts like a bitch. My words, not his.”
            With his phone to his ear, Franklin spoke to Prickly while he absentmindedly straightened up the living room. It was going to be his bedroom for a while, so he didn’t feel the need to clean it that much, but it was something to keep his hands busy.
            “He’s bummed that he can’t watch TV, but he’ll survive. Those are some sick looking stitches they put in his scalp, too,” Dudikoff said. “How’s things looking on your end?”
            “They’re considering it to be an accident, but they’re replacing the parts that have rust on it,” Prickly spoke through the phone. “It’s the least they should’ve done when it collapsed earlier this year. But that means it’s off limits until they get around to it.”
            “How’d the students take hearing that?”
            “There were a few groans but none of them are making a fuss about it as far as I can see. I’m not sure if it’s because Detweiler isn’t there to rile them up or if its because he’s the one that got hurt so badly,” said Prickly.
            “Or a mix of both,” Franklin took a seat.
            “Probably. Thanks for keeping me updated, Franklin.”
            “No problem, Pete.”
            Franklin ended the call and sighed.
ZZZ
            Sleeping on Frankie’s bed was like sleeping on the perfect cloud, and TJ didn’t want to get out or move. Technically, he wasn’t supposed to get out of bed for much more than the bathroom, but he shifted in his sleep, and that shifting was enough for his head to throb and ache and pull him right out of his sleep.
            Like many times before, he laid in bed, willing himself to drift off. The sound of the door creaking made him open his eyes. Franklin walked into the room, the carpet muffling his footsteps. He gripped a towel around his neck as he searched through his dresser.
            ‘Must’ve gotten out of the shower,’ he thought. That was all he could think of, with the sight of the nearly naked Franklin Dudikoff in front of him. Sure he knew the guy had muscles, but seeing them on display was. . .something else. His hair was still messy from the shower, out of its usual styling, with the occasional drop of water rolling down his skin. The sunlight only accentuated his muscles. He might not be completely ripped, but his muscles were softer, much more appealing for TJ in this exact moment. When Franklin turned, he took in those amazing back muscles of his, flexing with every movement of his arms.
            The thing he wanted most was for his head to stop killing him. The second thing he wanted most was for that towel to be dropped. This bed with that sight, this might be what heaven fells like. Once Franklin stepped inside his closet, he was left with his imagination and not enough energy to reach into his pants.
ZZZ
            The feeling of how easily his knees could buckle was weird, and TJ couldn’t wait until it passed. He clung onto Franklin as he lead him into the bathroom, his legs shaking with each step. Less shaky when he took those few steps from the wheelchair to Pete’s car, but he wasn’t going to be running around for a little while.
            “I’m surprised you don’t have bubbles,” TJ said. The bath was already drawn and waiting for him as he worked himself out of his clothes.
            “I don’t take baths often enough to think about it,” said Franklin. “I like showers more, but you’re not standing on a slippery shower how you are right now.”
            TJ nodded. “Pete has water jets in his bathtub. They feel nice.”
            “You’ve been in his bath before?” Dude asked.
            “Yeah, all the time. He has bubble bath and these weird things called bath bombs, it’s great,” he said. “It’s huge, too. Big enough for both of us to sit in with more room.”
            “Must be nice, with that principals salary,” Franklin mumbled. “C’mon, let’s get you in to my second-rate bathtub.”
            With a bit of careful maneuvering and a lot of help, he was able to climb into the tub and settled into the warmth of the water. Sure he needed to get clean, but he was going to take a minute to enjoy the heat soothing his tense muscles.
            “Can you reach up to wash your hair or is your back still to sore for you to move your arms that far?” Franklin asked.
            “I don’t think I can. Just sitting up hurts,” said TJ. “Can you help?”
            Dude nodded. He sat on the edge of the tub, ignoring the part of his pants getting soaked as he gently rubbed shampoo into TJ’s hair. He was careful to not to brush his fingers against the stitches and to not scrub to hair to make the pain any worse.
            “You’re missing a spot,” said TJ.
            “I know, it’s your stitches. I’ll clean it, but I want to use a gentler soap on that spot. Something gentle that won’t sting,” Dude explained. “Looks like you need a haircut, Buddy. But try and wait a while for this bald spot to grow back in.”
            “They cut my hair?!” TJ nearly shouted.
            “To do the stitches. Relax, it’ll grow back.” Franklin wrung a soaked wash cloth over the boys head, effectively rinsing his hair. “Besides, your hat’ll cover it up.”
            Right. His head must really be rattled if he forgot about that. It was probably knocked off his head when he fell, but his friends were there and probably have it. Either that or it’s somewhere on the playground. He had five others in his closet if it was really lost, so no big deal at the end of the day.
            “Do my friends know I’m here?” He asked.
            “I’m not sure. I figure they’ll try and visit you at home, but you aren’t there. You think your parents would tell them they gave you to Pete?”
            “Yeah. But I’m not with him, either. Hmm.” He paused, lathering up some soap in a wash cloth. “If they come by, can you tell them I need to rest and can’t have visitors for a few days?”
            “Don’t want them to catch onto us, huh?”
            “Yeah, but mostly because they’re gonna be kinda panicky and I don’t want to deal with that right now.”
            “Sure, Kiddo. You finish cleaning up and I’ll grab some pajamas for you to change into, alright?”
            “Mmm-hmm.”
            Franklin paused to make sure he was alright before stepping out of the bathroom.
ZZZ
            He sat, not in his seat, but the middle seat in the first row, giving him the best view of everything in front of him. The other seats were empty, and for a brief moment, wondered exactly what time it was because of the warm sunset light coming through the windows, but it was far too late for any kid to be in school.
            He stayed stuck in his seat, still eyes glued to Dudikoff as he stood at the chalkboard, attempting to teach him something, but for the life of him, TJ couldn’t make out exactly what it was. His eyes were glued to the teacher in front of him.
            “Are you paying attention?” Dudikoff turned to face him. His usual red tie was missing, and first few buttons of his blue button up were undone. Walked with slow methodical steps towards him with his hands on his hips. “I know I’m your favorite teacher, but that doesn’t make it okay to slack off. Pay attention.” Dudikoff returned to the board.
            Was it just him or was it getting hotter in here? Franklins words remained muffled in his ears. He look so good, so amazing up there, radiating confidence.
            Where did his shirt go?
            Sure he was writing something on the board and he wanted to listen to him, but then again, his muscles looks absolutely amazing as the sweat rolled down his skin, down his well sculpted back that he couldn’t tear his eyes from.
            “This is why you’re staying after school,” Franklin spoke as he turned to face him again. “You can’t pay attention is class. What’s so important that you can’t pay attention?” After reaching his desk, Dudikoff pushed it aside and sat in a chair he dragged over. “Do you even know?”
            TJ shook his head. Dude gave him one of those smirks that had him at a loss for words.
            “Maybe I’m teaching the wrong lesson,” Dudikoff said. He reached forward and grabbed his wrist, pulling it close until his fingers brushed against the older males chest. “I’m standing up there trying to teach math when you’re much more interested in an anatomy lesson.”
            His fingers trailed down his chest, down his pecs and across his abs until he reached the leather belt buckle. He was just sitting but this whole thing had him out of breath and his heart feeling like it was going to jump out of his chest.
            “Such curious hands,” Franklin chuckled. “Go ahead, you can look.”
            And so he tugged at the belt, but his fingers weren’t listening to him, constantly making him lose his grip. The heat was starting to get to him, with sweat rolling down his face, making it hard to see what he was doing. Breathing became harder, and seeing what he was doing became impossible as the sound of his heartbeat filled his ears and he couldn’t see.
ZZZ
            As bad as his head hurt, TJ got bored with being stuck in bed on day three. He woke up at 7 am, in Frankie’s bed by himself. Dude was starting to build up a defense against his puppy dog eyes and he couldn’t get the man to sleep in the bed last night. He’ll try again tonight, but right now, he was more focused on doing something besides laying in bed all day.
            He pushed the covers off and moved until he sat on the edge of the bed and his feet were on the floor. At least if he fell back, it wouldn’t be onto the floor. Slowly, he stood on his feet, putting more focus onto balancing than he normally did. His back ached as he stood up straight , but taking steps by himself wasn’t as perilous as it has been the last few days.
            He walked towards the bedroom door, then to the stairs. He heard Franklin downstairs, and wondered why, since he got breakfast at 11. Carefully, he walked down the stairs, clinging to the railing on the way.
            He found Dudikoff in the living room, holding two heavy looking dumbbells, one in each hand, and lifting them. The soon to be teacher only wore a pair of loose drawstring shorts, giving him full view of his muscles as he moved and flexed. Franklin must’ve been doing this for a while, as beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face. And his arms. And his chest.
            “You shouldn’t have come down the stairs by yourself so soon.” TJ almost lost his balance at the sound of Franklins voice. “You’re still shaky on your feet. You could’ve fallen down the stairs.”
            “Sorry.”
            “Well, get over here and sit down. You’re already down here, might as well get comfy,” Dudikoff said. He sat the dumbbells down and waited until the kid came in and settled on the floor. He noticed the kid as soon as he reached halfway down the stairs, and was ready to bolt over to the stairs if he stumbled, but luckily, that didn’t happen. Little guy was practically drooling over him, and he was both enjoying the attention and going to exploit it completely.
            “You workout?” TJ poked around the small pile of equipment. “How come?”
            “Gotta stay in shape, ya know? You kids are lucky, you get your exercise just from playing every and don’t even have to think about it,” said Franklin. “Us adults have to make time for it, or else we get out of shape way too fast.”
            “They should make playgrounds for grown ups,” TJ said, laying down. “With bigger equipment and everything.”
            “They do! I’ve been to one, those are great and they should be everywhere,” Franklin said. “You mind keeping count, Champ? I’m about to do some push-ups.”
            “Yeah, sure.”
            “Great.”
            Rather than lower himself on the floor directly beneath him, Franklin maneuvered himself until he was right over the boy, with both hands on either side of him. His baby blue eyes were wide open, looking up at him in shock, a blush rose to his freckled checks, and Dudikoff was eating it all up.
            “One,” the kid breathed as Franklin lowered himself. TJ steadily kept count, trying to avoid eye contact. That only lasted to ‘five’ until he looked at those flexing muscles, listened to Franklin’s steady breathing.
            “You’ve been counting ‘nine’ for the last eight push-ups,” Dude chuckled.
            TJ looked away. “Sorry.”
            “Don’t be sorry.” Lowering himself, he gently kissed the boys cheek. “Start over, and focus.”
            Each count was punctuated with a kiss. Both to keep the boys attention and to watch him get more and more flustered. Push-ups were much too easy for Franklin, but the kid didn’t know that.
            “Is this better than watching me right after I get out the shower?” Dudikoff smiled down at him. “You’re not exactly subtle when you look. But I guess you don’t have the experience to know how.”
            TJ blushed, and Franklin soaked it all in. Kid was smarter than he let on and caught onto things easily, but he loved seeing him being shy and bashful. He lowered himself again, giving the boy another peck on the cheek.
            “Can’t say I blame you. I work hard to get this body, someone should get to look at it,” he teased. “But I’m not the only pervert in this relationship.”
            “You’re just the only one trying to commit a felony,” TJ shot back at him. He waited for Dude to lower himself again to wrap his arms around the older males neck and rolled, leaving Dudikoff on his back and him straddling his hips. “Gross.”
            This time, it was him who leaned down and kissed Franklin, but this connection was on the lips. In his position, he dragged his hands across Franklins chest, feeling every dip and curve of his muscles while a pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist, rubbing his back as his kiss was returned. Dude’s body was still warm from the work out, making him perfect to lay on top of.
            Cheeky boy. Of course, he was bold enough to do this, and Franklin hoped he never changed.
            “Not today. Not now,” Franklin said after breaking their kiss. “You’re injured.”
            “So?”
            “So you’re incapacitated, and I’m not doing this while you’re injured and healing.” Dudikoff pushed himself up. “It wouldn’t be right.”
            TJ huffed and pouted. “Fine.” He climbed off the soon to be teacher and plopped down dramatically on the couch.
            “Hey, at least you can still enjoy the show,” Franklin said, trying to lighten the mood. He ruffled the boys hair before turning his attention back to his workout equipment.
ZZZ
            Waking up in Frankie’s bed, knowing that technically he was bed bound and supposed to rest felt nice. He didn’t have to open his eyes and get out of bed for school or downstairs for breakfast. Turning over, he relaxed again, ready to drift off for a few more hours. Not being able to watch TV whomps, but he was going to be lazy, one way or another.
            But the sound of something being put down caught his attention. He knew Franklin checked on him and brought food, but by now, he would’ve been woken up. Curious, he opened his eyes to see what was going on. Instead of Dudikoff, his other most favorite person was sitting in the nearby seat.
            “Principal Prickly!” He was wide awaken now. He hadn’t seen Pete since being dropped off from the hospital. It looked like he was waiting for him to wake up for a while, if the newspaper and coffee mug was anything to go by.
            “How are you feeling?” Prickly asked. “Dudikoff says you’ve been in good spirits.”
            TJ nodded. “I’m okay. For a guy that got his skull cracked on the playground,” He joked.
            “Does your head hurt?”
            “Yeah, but aspirin helps,” He said. “I’m happy you came to see me.”
            “Sorry I didn’t come sooner. There’s stuff I have to take care of after this whole incident that’s been keeping me busy,” said Pete. “I’m glad you’re starting to feel better. That fall gave everyone quite the scare.”
            “My hand slipped; it was an accident,” said TJ. “They aren’t tearing down Old Rusty, are they?”
“No, but they are replacing the pipes with rust on them,” said Prickly. “No one is allowed on it until then.”
“And no one’s fighting it?”
“No. I’m thinking it’s because they saw how it hurt you,” he said. “Besides, it’ll make that old thing more stable.”
“Okay. Good.” TJ leaned back and relaxed on the pile of pillows, letting out a satisfied sigh. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too, Detweiler.” Pete stood from his chair and walked to the edge of the bed. “I brought you a gift.”
“Hmm?”
He watched as Pete reached back to the chair and pulled over an extra one of his blazers.
“Thought that would cheer you up,” he said.
“Thank you.” He hugged it close before putting in on, enjoying how oversized it was on him.
“You’re welcome. I’m surprised you haven’t stolen Franklin’s jacket.”
“I want to, but he keeps it in his closet and he doesn’t want me to go in there anymore.”
“And you’re actually listening to him?”
TJ nodded. “For now. He keeps costumes he wants me to wear in there.”
“Costumes? What kinds of costumes?”
“A cheerleader outfit. I saw a girl scout outfit in there. And one of those uniforms the ladies at that restaurant he took me to wore, with orange shorts and white tank top.”
“He took you to Hooters?!”
TJ winced at the volume of his voice.
“Franklin! Dudikoff!” He watched as Pete marched out the door in search of Dude, probably to rip his head off. “What the hell are you thinking taking him to a Hooters of all places?!”
“Please don’t be mad at him!” He shouted after him. TJ plopped back down. Whether or not Pete heard him, he doubted it would stop him. Instead, he focused on being nice and cozy with Pete’s jacket in Frankie’s bed.
Eventually, the two men came into the bedroom.
“I can’t believe you took him there.”
“Aw, c’mon, Pete. It’s not like I took him to a titty bar. He’s a curious kid, and he enjoyed himself, when he wasn’t hiding behind his hands,” Dude joked. “Didn’t you, Squirt?”
TJ hummed. “The ladies there were very curvy and bouncy, sir. It was like those pictures in his Playboys.”
“YOU SHOWED HIM PLAYBOYS?!”
“C’mon, kid, who’s side are you on?” Dudikoff rolled his eyes. “I didn’t show him those. He went snooping on his own and found them.”
            TJ watched Pete take a deep breath to calm himself down.
            “Don’t do it again,” he said, looking at Franklin. He turned to look at him. “Stay out of his stuff.”
            TJ nodded. “Sorry.”
            “Geez, Pete. With everything you and him have been up to, that’s nothing,” Franklin said with a roll of his eyes.
            “Don’t start. I can only hope none of those things happened when he was supposed to be resting,” said Prickly.
            “Nah. That was last week. He’s been in bed this whole time,” said Dude. “He’s been healing up fine.”
            “Good. Good. I only came to see how you were doing and making sure Franklin was doing a good job. I suppose I can leave you to rest then—”
            “You sure you can’t stay for a little while?” TJ asked, giving his best puppy dog eyes.
            “Those eyes are deadly,” Franklin whispered.
            “Yeah, they are.” Prickly sighed. “Alright. But only for a little while. You’re lucky I don’t have anything planned today.”
            “Since you’re not going to strangle me, I’m gonna go back to my workout,” Franklin said. He turned and headed back downstairs, leaving the two of them alone.
            “Have my friends asked to come see me?” TJ asked.
            Prickly shook his head as he sat on the edge of the bed again. “I’ve been expecting it, but they haven’t. Do you think your parents are saying you’re at home but keeping them from seeing you?”
            “Nah. They don’t care enough to do that. Maybe they haven’t tried to visit at all,” TJ suggested. Pete didn’t miss the sound of disappointment in his voice.
            “If that’s the case, then they’re most likely shaken up after seeing you be injured liked that,” he said. “Not everyone can handle seeing their friend being banged up like that.”
            “But I’m okay, now. My head hurts a little but all I have is a bandage around my head.” TJ folded his arms. “It’s not like I’m in a body cast.”
            “But they don’t know that. Their imaginations are probably running wild with how you’re doing. How about this, I’ll ask them if they want to see you and send them this way. I’ll let them know you’re doing fine and are asking to see them. How’s that?”
            “Sounds good.” He wiggled his fingers inside the oversized sleeves. “Principal Prickly, why’d my parents let me go with you this time? I know I wanted to go with you, but. . .shouldn’t they want me at home anyways? I know they don’t like me but I was in pretty bad shape.”
            “I don’t know why they gave you to us so easily, but you’re in good hands. And your parents do like you.”
            TJ shook his head. “No, they don’t. You don’t have to defend them, sir. They’ve make it crystal clear.” He pushed the covers off and carefully got to his feet.
            “Where are you going?”
            “I want Frankie’s jacket,” he said, walking towards the closet. “I can tell he’s nervous about watching me, but I think he’s doing a good job.” He found Dudikoff’s light brown trench coat and carried it back to bed. “Can you stay until I fall asleep?”
            “Of course.”
            Smiling, he curled up under the covers, with Pete’s blazer around him and holding Dude’s trench coat close to his chest. Though he was trying to get out of bed for the last few days, it was coming back to bite him, as staying in bed all day today didn’t sound like such a bad idea. Watching TV was going to have to wait. But seeing Pete put him in a good mood. He dozed off and after hearing him begin to snore, Prickly quietly left the bedroom. There wasn’t much he could do to help alleviate the boys discomfort, but he hoped that the slice of cake he brought over would make him feel better later. Sure, sweets shouldn’t be on the menu while he’s healing up, but one piece of cake wasn’t going to kill him.
            “He didn’t tell you something that’s gonna make you kill me, did he?” Franklin asked when he came downstairs.
            “Nope. All he said was that you’re doing a good job,” said Pete. “Be ready to have a few guests stop by.”
            “Huh?”
            “He wants to see his friends, so I’m going to send them your way. I’ll call you ahead of time, so try not to be in a compromising position when they arrive,” he said. “And I hope you have another trench coat to wear.”
            Franklin paused in his pushups, watching Prickly leave. Curious as to what he meant, he headed upstairs and peaked into his bedroom. He found the kid curled up in his bed with one of Prickly’s blazers around him, while holding on tightly to his trench coat.
            If it wouldn’t be a liability, he’d take a picture.
ZZZ
            As comfy as Dude’s bed was, bring stuck seeing only the four ells of his bedroom got old, fast. Now that he was steady on his feet, TJ trekked outside the room and downstairs. Normally he'd be able to hear Franklin walking around downstairs but today it was quiet. If he needed to step out for a minute Franklin would’ve told him, so it left him curious.
Peaking inside the living room, he spotted Dudikoff laying on his back on the couch, with a book in his hand. TJ adjusted the trenchcoat around his shoulders to keep it from falling off as he stepped inside.
“Hey,” Franklin said, looking up from his book. “Need something?”
TJ shook his head. “No. I just wanted to see what you were doing.”
“Just reading,” he said. He watched as the kid switched balance between his feet. “C’mon, Squirt, out with it. I can’t give you want you want unless you tell me.”
“Can I lay with you?” TJ asked. “Please?”
Franklin chuckled and opened his arms. “Sure, get over here.”
TJ smiled as he walked over to the couch. With a bit of climbing and adjusting, he laid halfway on Dudikoff with his head resting on the mans chest, complete with his trench coat acting as a blanket.
“What’sha reading?” He asked.
“Moby Dick. It’s been a while since I’ve read it,” said Franklin.
“Is it good?”
“Eh, it’s kinda a slog to get through, and some parts drag on for forever. The whale doesn’t even show until chapter 42,” Dude explained. “But it’s worth reading for it’s literary value. It probably wouldn’t get approved to be published today, though.”
“Can you read it to me?” TJ asked.
“You sure? You probably won’t stay awake long enough to get into it.”
“I’m sure.” TJ curled up closer. “Go ahead.”
Amused, Franklin wrapped one arm around the kids waist and held the book in the other and started reading out loud. While TJ had intended on staying awake, with his head against Franklins chest, listening to both his heartbeat and him reading, it was way too easy for him to fall asleep.
“I knew it,” Franklin chuckled before returning to silent reading. The kid had been healing up nicely, at least as far as he can tell. The wound on the back of his head wasn’t swollen and red anymore, and the fourth grader didn’t complain about headaches or feeling dizzy. Soon enough, he reached his limit on the novel and started dozing off himself.
Banging at his door yanked him out of his sleep about two hours later. Carefully, he managed to get off the couch without waking up the kid. He yawned and stretched on his way to the front door. Rubbing the sleep out his eyes, he opened the front door, expecting some solicitor or even a girl scout around this time of the year. Instead, he was greeted by five other fourth graders.
“Hey, Mr. Dude. Principal Prickly said that TJ was here,” the one with the boots said. Ah, right. This was his little friend group, how could he forget?
“Yep, he’s here. Give me a minute, will ya?” He closed the door. Pete warned him of them coming over didn’t he? Back in the living room, he tapped the kids chubby cheeks to wake him up.
“Huh? What’s going on?” TJ sleepily asked.
“Your friends are here. Probably shouldn’t be caught using my jacket like a blanket,” said Dude. TJ handed it over and sat up white Dude tossed it in the hall closet. Pete’s blazer was still upstairs in his bedroom, out of sight of any questioning eyes that might snitch. “Ready?”
TJ nodded, and Dudikoff returned to the door.
“Alright, come on in. He’s in the living room.” Franklin shuffled the small group of kids inside. He stayed back, opting to keep out of the conversation. Instead, he busied himself in the kitchen, listening in.
…
            “How’d you get Mr. Dude to take you in?”
            As absolutely frustrating as it was that Frankie was rejecting him at the moment, TJ guessed it was kind of a good thing, at least right now with his friends coming over. But he was still happy to see them after all this time. They gathered around, finding a seat either on the floor or couch.
            “I dunno. It’s kinda hard to remember with my head being rattled,” said TJ. It was a joke, but the look on friends faces showed they didn’t take it well. “He probably would’ve felt bad if he said no. But I’m feeling better now!”
            “That’s good. ‘Cause you fell from pretty high up, man,” said Vince.
            “And you were bleeding a lot, too,” said Gus.
            “That’s because of the many blood vessels around the head and skull. Any injury to that area would bleed a lot, regardless of severe it is,” Gretchen explained. “What did the doctor say?”
            “Um. . .Dude said that my parents said that the doctor said that I got a concussion, fractured my skull, and split my scalp open,” TJ said. He reached up and gently touched the remains of the stitches, as it has started to dissolve by now. “But I can sleep off the concussion, the fracture will heal on it’s own and I just need to be careful not to bump my head for a while. And I got stitches for my scalp. So all I’ve been doing is sleeping for the last week. No TV or anything. At least when I’m sleeping, I don’t have to think about all the homework I’ll have to make up.”
            “Yeah, about that.”
            It was then that he noticed they all were carrying their backpacks. One by one, they took out books and papers and sat them in a messy pile on the coffee table.
            “Ms. Finster took over since Mr. Dude didn’t come back,” said Spinelli. “She gives way too much homework.”
            “Hey, maybe Ms. Grotke won’t even ask for it when she comes back if you tell her about what happened,” Vince offered.
            “And if not, Dude’ll help me,” said TJ. He flipped through the pile of papers. “I’ve got time.”
            “How much longer until you can come back to school?” Mikey asked.
            “I can go back next week, if my doctor says it’s okay,” he said. “My headaches have been getting better, and I don’t get dizzy when I stand up anymore, so I’m probably fine.”
            “We hope so. That was a real bad fall, TJ,” Spinelli said. “Sorry we didn’t visit sooner.”
            “Oh. That’s okay. It’s not like we would’ve been able to talk much. Dude says I was in and out for the first few days, anyways.”
            “Still. We’re friends, we should’ve at least tried,” she said.
            “It’s kinda hard seeing your friend get banged up like that, huh?” They turned to Dudikoff peaking his head out of the kitchen. “You’re kids, so you don’t exactly realize how easy it is to get seriously hurt because most of the time you bounce back, so when one of you do, it’s kinda scary and no one wants to see their friend hurt like that, so you’re scared to visit because you don’t know if they’re okay or not. How’s that, am I in the ball park there?”
            “. . .Yeah. That’s pretty accurate,” Gretchen said.
            Dude nodded. “Stop being so hard on yourselves about it. He’s been sleeping most of the time, and I wouldn’t have let him have visitors anyways. He’s alright, and you’re here now. So relax and play some video games.”
            “You have video games?!” The small group turned to the TV, where a small pile of video games sat on top of a Nintendo 64. The five of them busied themselves looking through their options, while TJ turned towards Franklin.
            “I thought I was banned from TV.”
            Dudikoff shrugged. “Well, we aren’t going to know if it’s okay if you don’t try. I think you’ll be fine,” he said. “And if not, just stop playing. Besides, there’s only four controllers.”
            TJ nodded, and joined his friends on the floor.
ZZZ
            The end of his two weeks at Franklins house came sooner than TJ would have liked. He sat in the passenger seat with his duffel bag at his feet while Dude drove him home. Being truthful, he didn’t want to go home. His parents will take him for a check up, and once the doctor give him the okay, it’ll be back to normal.
            He liked the normal of being over Franklin’s or Pete’s house. Heck, Pete’s guest room was his at this point, though he preferred sleeping in his bed. He even had a cabinet in the kitchen with things he liked to eat. He might not have that at Franklin’s place, but it already felt like a third home.
            “Thanks for taking care of me,” TJ said..
            “No problem, Squirt.” He put the car in park after reaching the boys house. “You’re welcome over anytime. Need help carrying your bag in?”
            “Nah. I got it,” TJ said. He unbuckled his seatbelt and took his time getting out. “I’ll see you later?”
            “Yep, we’ll see each other later. Take care until then, okay?”
            TJ nodded. “Okay.”
            Franklin stayed for a moment, watching him step up to the front door and go inside. Driving off, he thought back to the last two weeks. Sure, his back ached a bit from sleeping on the couch for so long, but that would go away. As long as the kid was okay. He was used to living by himself, but now, stepping inside, his house felt empty without a particular other person inside it. Ah, well. The kid would return sooner or later. He just hoped it wasn’t because of his parents pawning him off for someone else to take care of.
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Precocious