"Goooaaalll!" Ant shouted out excitedly as Newcastle United scored against Swindon.

"Ah come on man" Dec moaned as he stretched his small frame upwards to try and get a better view of what was happening on the pitch "I can hardly see a thing"

He nodded towards the tall,grey haired man in the flat cap standing immediately in front of him on the stands.

"Oh no,didn't you see them score?" Ant enquired.

"Just about managed to see it through that gap" Dec replied,pointing towards a very small space between the older gentleman and whoever it was standing next to him "It's shit being this small"

"Don't worry Dec,get on" Ant suggested as he bent right down so Dec could sit on his shoulders.

"What?you're joking right?I'm too heavy to sit on your shoulders"

"Ah come on man,you must weigh about ten pounds" Ant joked.

"I weigh about sixty five pounds actually I'll have you know" Dec grumpily informed him.

"Come on mate,even for just ten minutes so you can at least have a good view of the game for a little while" Ant persuaded.

"Ok" Dec sighed ungratefully,but was secretly pleased with Ants offer as he climbed up onto his broad shoulders,although the person standing directly behind the boys wasn't so happy with the situation.

Dec stayed there for a good twenty minutes,bouncing up and down excitedly at Newcastles near misses on goal,cheering so loudly directly above his new friends head that Ant seriously thought his eardrums might burst.

As the game came to a close,Decs full sixty five pounds started to feel like a ton on Ants shoulders.

"Come on then,off you get" Ant said as he bent down and slowly lowered Dec to the ground.

"Thanks" Dec cheerfully replied "that was great.My Dad and brothers sometimes let me go on their shoulders like that so I can see better,but I never expected you to do it"

"It's no problem mate,I'm just glad you enjoyed it" Ant smiled.

"Dad's picking me up" Dec informed Ant as they made their way out of the stadium "said he'd give you a lift home too"

"Oh er really?" Ant suddenly felt slightly awkward "but I live in the opposite direction to you"

"That doesn't matter" Dec assured him "he said it's the least he can do after you invited me to the game today.He'll be parked up the road,come on let's go and find him"

"Er ok" Ant reluctantly agreed.

"There he is" Dec pointed to an old blue Vauxhall car as the two boys made their way through the bustling crowd.

"Hi Dad" Dec cheerfully greeted his Father as he climbed into the back seat of the car "this is Ant"

"Hi Ant" Fonsey smiled "nice to meet you and thanks for inviting our Dec to the game"

"Er,nice to meet you too Mr Donnelly and that's ok,I'm glad you let him come"

"Please call me Fonsey,everyone else does" The doting father explained "so did you boys have a good time?"

"Yeah it was great Dad" Dec chirped "was a draw though,wish we'd won"

"Ah well,that's better than losing" Fonsey smiled.

"Yeah that's true" Dec agreed.

As Fonsey drove through the cold,wet Newcastle streets,the boys chatted happily amongst themselves.Fonsey was glad Dec had a new friend,not that he needed it,his popular son had more pals than he could count,but this young man seemed different than the others.He was quieter,more respectful and Fonsey thought he might even be a calming influence on Dec when he was at his most excitable,this was definitely a friendship he should encourage.

"So Ant" Fonsey said "as you boys seem to be getting on so well,would you like to come over to ours for dinner one day?"

"Er....yeah ok" Ant hesitated "that would be nice"

Fonsey couldn't resist teasing Dec and winked at him in the rearview mirror "you boys can have a playdate"

Dec rolled his eyes "shut up Dad,we're not five,you're so embarrassing"

The loving father couldn't help but laugh at his sons discomfort as they pulled up in front of Ants house.

"Here we are then Ant" he announced "home safe and sound"

"Thank you Mr Donnelly" Ant murmured slightly shyly.

"Fonsey remember?"

"Oh yeah sorry,thank you for the lift Fonsey"

"Such a polite boy" Fonsey smiled as Ant climbed out of the car,making Dec cringe even more "you could take some lessons in manners from him Declan"

"So how about coming over on Thursday?" Fonsey asked after opening the drivers side window,as Ant turned around to thank him once again "Decs Mam is a great cook,I'm sure she'll rustle up something delicious for us.There's no filming on Thursday is there?so you've both got the day off?you can come and hang out with our Dec in the afternoon if you like?"

"Er,I don't know I'm pretty busy at the moment,can I let you know?" Ant asked.

Fonsey was slightly disappointed with Ants reluctance,maybe he was being too pushy and should back off a bit,he was basically a stranger to this kid and it was only the first time Dec had properly hung out with him.Fonsey could have kicked himself for not being more aware of Ants discomfort and for not reading the signs.

"Nice boy" he smiled at Dec as he drove off from Ants place.

"Yeah,he is" Dec replied.

"Was I out of line for inviting him for dinner?I never meant to make him feel uncomfortable" Fonsey queried.

"No it's ok,he just has alot on his plate.His Dad left and he now has to help out alot at home" Dec assured his worried Father.

"Oh right,I guess that's why he didn't know about Thursday then?" Fonsey pondered.

"Yeah" Dec sighed "he's usually looking after his kid sister while his Mam works.He cooks and cleans and all sorts,I feel kinda bad for him,having all that responsibility at his age,I can't imagine doing that"

Fonsey laughed "yeah I can't imagine you doing that either,you can barely look after your hamster"

"Hey,that's not fair" Dec retorted "I look after Chuckles just fine"

"You mean your Mam looks after Chuckles just fine" Fonsey grinned.

Dec knew there was no point in pursuing this particular argument as his Dad was right.He loved his little sandy coloured hamster,but he was very lazy when it came to cleaning her cage out,he knew as long as he dealt with her food and water,Anne would happily do the rest,so he just let her.

"Maybe we should invite him at a weekend?" Dec quickly brought the subject back to Ant "his Mam is at least around some of the time then,so he'll hopefully get a break"

"Yeah good idea" Fonsey agreed "why don't you give him a ring tomorrow and ask him?"

"Ok Dad,I will"

Dec did just that the following day,thanking Ant once again for inviting him to the game and telling him what a great time he'd had.Ant informed him the only day he would be free in the near future was the Sunday after New year,to which Dec immediately suggested he come over for one of Annes famous roast dinners.

Anne was also keen to meet this young man that Dec had started to talk more about.He had been keen to tell her everything about the football match and his new friend when he had returned home the previous day.

When that chilly January Sunday afternoon came around,Ant nervously stood outside Decs front door,willing himself to ring the doorbell.He could hear chatting and laughing coming from inside,he knew that Decs siblings and their families would be there too,Sunday dinner was a huge event in the Donnelly household where the whole clan came together,only occasionally would someone be missing it if they had a genuine reason like sickness or being on holiday.

"Hi Ant" Dec smiled as he greeted the slightly reluctant boy "come in and meet everyone"

Ant stepped inside to the crowded living room.

"Everyone this is Ant" Dec informed them "he works on Byker too"

Decs young nieces and nephews basically ignored their uncle and carried on playing with their toys and games,but the adults cheerily called out a chorus of "hi's" "hello's" and "nice to meet you's"

Ant immediately started to feel a little more at ease,but not totally.He could tell what a nice,friendly bunch they were,but he was still way out of his comfort zone.

"Come this way Ant" Anne encouraged as she ushered him towards the kitchen "let's get you a drink shall we?Declan,hang Ants coat up will you please?"

Dec did as he was asked before quickly returning to his friends side.He was very aware of how awkward and overwhelming this could be for Ant so was determined to help him relax as much as possible.

"Now Ant,what would you like?" Anne asked in her motherly tone "tea,coffee or a cold drink?"

"Er...can I have a glass of lemonade please Mrs Donnelly,if you have it?" Ant had already spotted the bottle of lemonade sitting on the kitchen counter.

Anne laughed,her husband had already informed her of Ants impeccable manners.

"Of course you can and it's Anne,Mrs Donnelly is my mother-in-law"

Ant couldn't help but giggle at that.

"Now why don't you boys go and hang out in Decs room so you're not under my feet,I've already got the tiny bairns to contend with,then I'll call you when dinner is ready"

"Ok Mam" Dec smiled as he and Ant took their drinks upstairs.

"Wow you've got alot of stuff" Ant observed as he peered around the bedroom.

"Not really,it's not all mine" Dec said "I have to share it room with Dermott,although he's away alot,he's training to be a priest ya know.Luckily Martin and Eammon have moved out now,there used to be four of us in here,so it was pretty crowded"

"Wow,yeah I can imagine" Ant was grateful for one thing in his busy life and that was that he had his own bedroom where he could retreat to when things got on top of him,that was his calm place.If he went to the seclusion of his bedroom,his Mam and even his little sister both respected the fact that they should give him time and space when he needed it.

"Who's that?" Ant enquired pointing to the small cage in the corner.

"That's chuckles,me pet hamster,want to hold her?"

"She's asleep isn't she?" Ant observed.

"That's ok,I can wake her up,I do it all the time" Dec stated.

"Aww Dec,you shouldn't do that,hamsters like to sleep during the day and come out at night,leave her be" the caring youngster requested.

"Yeah and don't I know it when she's running around her wheel at a hundred miles an hour at 3 o'clock in the morning,waking me up"

Ant laughed "the Joy's of having a pet eh Dec?"

"Do you like animals Ant?" Dec queried "have you got any pets?"

"Nah,Mam won't let us,says we don't have the time or money for one,I guess she's right though"

Ant thought for a moment.

"When I'm older though,im gonna get a dog,I love dogs"

"Oh really?me too.What kind of dog would you get?" Dec curiously asked.

"Probably a Labrador" Ant smiled "Nan and Grandad had one,was the best dog ever,so soppy and affectionate,would love to have a dog like that"

"Yeah sounds great.I would have a Great Dane" Dec proudly announced.

"What?" Ant almost spat out his lemonade with laughter "a Great Dane?Dec they're huge,it would tower over you"

"It will not" Dec stated,slightly offended "I've not finished growing ya know,I'm not gonna be this size forever.Once I'm a strapping 6 foot grown man,people will stop to admire me and my Great Dane strutting our stuff around Newcastle city centre"

"Ok Dec,I'll believe you" Ant teased "although it's more likely they'll be admiring the little guy with his chihuahua"

Dec frowned,not sure how to take Ants dig at his height,but before he could retaliate,a voice came from downstairs.

"Boys,dinner is ready" Anne called.

"Ok Mam" Dec replied,the smells of the roast dinner cooking had been tantalising his smelling senses for some time now and his stomach was starting to rumble,the huge breakfast he'd had of two slices of marmite on toast,a bowl of cornflakes,a yogurt,a banana and a mars bar he'd snuck out of the 'goodie' cupboard when Anne wasn't looking,wasn't even enough to fulfill the growing teenager for long.

As the two boys made their way downstairs,Ant could feel the anxiety that he occasionally suffered with start to kick in.How would he cope with being sat around the table with so many people?all looking at him and asking him endless questions?

The thought of it filled him with dread and actually made him feel physically sick!