Happy

Memories

"Joey... Joey... Joey!" Joey was jerked from his sleep at the sound of his name. His tired brain barely awake, when a heavy weight hit his chest, nearly making the poor ginger jump out of his skin.

Groaning in pain as his head hit a low-bearing plank that acted as a make-shift roof; the boy peered down with blurry vision to see a dirty draw string bag in his lap.

Huffing grumpily while rubbing the growing bump on his head, Joey peeked out of his little 'shelter', and found a smirking Prim beaming back. A proud look adorned her dirty face, her short hair appeared scruffy as if she had been dragged through a hedge backwards.

"What's this?"

"Open it and find out." Prim grinned.

Opening the bag with a sense of hesitation, Joey's eyes widened as juicy apples and oranges filled his vision. His jaw fell slack at the amount of fruit in the bag. All of it looking fresh and relatively clean.
"Where did you-"

"Remember that grumpy old troll from last week? He came back- so I thought I'd get a little revenge as well as a little breakfast." Prim smirked, her face smug as she ran a hand through her hair. "Brilliant, right?"

"No! It's not! He knows what we look like, Prim! Don't you remember what happened the last time you tried to steal from him!?" Joey panicked as he jumped out from his little shelter, grabbing Prim by the shoulders as he shook her slightly. The fruit in his lap, now laying forgotten on the shelter floor.

"Yeah so what? I didn't get caught. The old todger didn't even see it coming! Stop worrying so much, little mouse."

"Don't call me that!" Joey fumed.

"Why? It suits you perfectly!" Prim smiled mischievously as she tapped the end of the ginger teens nose.

"Stop avoiding the subject! Prim, you know better than to go looking for trouble. We are walking on a thin ice as it is. Half the people in this town hate us already and we've only been here for a couple of months. We're lucky they haven't kicked us out, or worse, tried to kill us."

"Ah, whatever. I wouldn't give two shits, if the town came after us with torches and pitch forks. We are here to stay whether they damn well like it, or not."

"You know- sometimes I wonder if you actually have any sense in that head of yours or if it's too full of recklessness and ego to function properly." Joey huffed in annoyance as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"No need to be rude about it, Joey. I got us food, what more do you want from me?"

"I want you to take better care of yourself. If you go around making everyone hate you, you're going to end up with a lot of enemies. Enemies that I can't protect you from."

"You? Protect me? Ha! You don't protect, you flee, you're a coward."

"Sometimes fleeing is the best option. Preserving life comes first, and if that means avoiding violence to keep you from harm, then I'm more than happy to be called a coward."

"Ugh! Ya know, you've got a knack for making me feel guilty." Prim groaned as she crawled into the shelter, taking the fruits with her.

"Who else is gonna put you straight and knock some sense into that thick skull of yours?" Joey questioned with a smirk, gaining a glare from Prim as she poked her head out with a mocking expression.

Chuckling quietly, Joey started straightening himself out. Cleaning himself up to the best of his ability, despite lack of a mirror or brush, to seem somewhat presentable.

The ginger teen had gotten a job working as an assistant to the local black smith. He was hoping to start earning money, so he could save up to buy Prim a present for her birthday in a few months time.

He couldn't help but fret over what to get her. Eventhough, she constantly insisted she didn't want anything. Without fail, every year she would say it didn't matter; having joey there for her was enough... but as a love struck teen, Joey wanted only the best for his long time friend and secret love.

If he played his cards right not only would he start earning money, but he would be able surprise his love and capture her heart.

Finishing up, Joey took in a deep breath. Psyching himself up for the day ahead. He was excited about this new job. He knew it wouldn't be easy but it was all worth it.

Dusting his clothes down for a final time, the ginger finally started his journey towards the black smiths.

"I'm going out for the day! I will be back later." Joey smiled, waving good bye to a confused Prim.

"Where are you going?" Prim called after him.

"To the black smiths! I told you I got a job there, remember?" Joey called back, about to round the corner out into the streets. "Stay out of trouble! See you later!"

"Oh, okay... Bye!" Prim waved farewell as the boy finally disappeared from sight.

Smiling gently, she crawled back into their shelter. Making herself comfortable, she curled up into a ball under the thin, worn-out sheets they used to keep warm at night. "Good luck, silly little mouse."