An Orphan's New Guardian (for marianna)

[ChrisWk]

It was a rather chilly summer evening on the outskirts of a somewhat small town, where a young 8 year old boy by the name of William was trying to find a place to sleep for the night. Although he had up until recently lived at an orphanage, he had ran away due to the horrible living conditions there, not to mention the borderline abusive staff. William had been living out on the streets for just over a week already, and had found a spot where he could comfortably sleep without getting woken up too often. Anyone walking by wouldn't have any issue spotting him, however, most people were too busy to bother stopping for a little kid like himself. The brown haired eight year old was getting pretty hungry, as he hadn't had a proper meal in over a week now, and was pretty close to giving up.

[GalacticBattles]

Dusk was falling when eighteen year old Jack, headed towards his apartment hone from work, spotted him behind a gas station, not far from the dumpster. His steps slowed, andhe drew nearer for a better look.
He was a small child, not older than seven by the looks of it, and none too clean, and the sight of him shocked Jack, who had never seen a child in this state before. Where were his parents? What could have happened to him? Should he call the police?
"Hey, little one," he said at last, quietly. "What's going on? Where's your mom?"

[ChrisWk]

William was sitting up against a fence, looking down at the ground as he was too tired to keep it up, however, he quickly woke up when he heard a voice only a meter in front of him. The young brunette quickly looked up with slightly startled eyes. “Uhh, she’s uhm.. she’s dead..” he replied, calming down as the young man standing in front of him looked rather friendly, unlike some other people who had come up and talked to him so far. William wasn’t too sure why anyone would come up and speak to him, but he didn’t really care, as Jack seemed like a nice guy just by the sound of his voice and what he said.

[GalacticBattles]

Jack knelt and held out a hand. "Hey, I'm sorry to hear that, little guy," he said softly. "But why are you out here by yourself?"

[ChrisWk]

William looked off to the side a little in nervousness, but decided to tell him the truth, hoping that he’d understand and not take him back. “I.. I ran away from my orphanage...” he admitted, looking down at his feet nervously.

[GalacticBattles]

Jack made up his mind as to what to do from here. "Come on. Let's get you to my place. I'll fix you some food and a bath and we'll talk more about it. What's your name?"

[ChrisWk]

William’s eyes lit up as he said that, as he’d grab any opportunity to get something to eat. “O-Okay, my name’s William..” he replied as he got up. “W-What’s your name?..” he asked.

[GalacticBattles]

"Nice to meet you, William. I'm Jack. You look a little shaky. How about a piggyback ride?"

[ChrisWk]

William wasn't sure whether he should trust Jack or not, but seeing as he didn't really have any other choice at the moment he figured he'd just go along with it. "O-Okay, yes please.." he said with a few nods, climbing up on Jack's back.

[GalacticBattles]

And so, Jack carried the youngster back to his apartment.
He had to admit that it felt nice to have this sort of affectionate physical contact with a child. It was a little like cuddling. He didn't have very many people to cuddle. He lived a fairly reclusive life. It wasn't unpleasant, usually, but having someone with whom he could share affection or compassion was a nice departure from what was usual.
At home, he helped William to slide off of his back and onto the couch.
"I dont have any clothes that will fit you, William, but if you go ahead and shower off, you can sit around in one of my bathrobes or T-shirts for tonight. I'll heat something up for you to eat."