Hello everyone! I've actually done some more writing! This time I thought I would write about the FF as kids. The reason why I said it was AU was because Reed and Ben don't know each other in this one. I wanted to write this because I find childhood friendships to be interesting. One second, you're total strangers then the next you're acting like you've known each other for years. I hope I portrayed that in the fic. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own FF:WGH

It was a beautiful day. Sunshine covered a small playground packed with smiling and laughing children. Well, except for one. Sitting alone in the small, red sandbox was a small boy. He was curled up in a ball with his arms hugging his legs. His shaggy brown hair blew with the wind and his honey colored eyes was glazed with distance. It was as if he was in a trance. Well, that would be partially correct.

"Did you hear about the poor Richards boy?" a mother sitting on a bench nearby gossiped to another.

"His mother died in that crash a few months ago, didn't she?"

"Yeah, and they say that after the funeral, her son, Reed, completely shut down. He rarely says a word and this is the first time I've seen him outside ever since "it" happened."

"The poor thing." The other mother whispered, but Reed heard their entire conversation. They were right, he did isolate himself after his mother's death. With her gone, he had no one else that would understand him. Why bother trying to find someone to replace her, when he knew that no one could.

Reed grabbed the stick next to him and drew what seemed to be an equation. The new addition was only a portion of the gigantic circle that encased the brown haired child and his thoughts. Being a child prodigy, Reed's mother taught him things most kids wouldn't learn until high school. In fact, the lesson on circles was the last one they had had together before the fatal crash. She had taught him about finding the area and circumference, and what the radius and diameter was.

He had taken the lesson to heart, for everywhere he went, he drew a circle, visible or not, around the area he was in. It was his only comfort after the crash, knowing that, within his circles, was his own world that no one could enter. That's what was happening now. As soon as he got to the park, he drew a large circle in the sandbox and sat right in the middle of it. Somehow, the kids knew not to bother him or his creation, almost as if they were magnets of the same pole.

"Ya think he's dead?"

"Johnny, quit poking him with that stick." Reed half-woke from his trance, glazed eyes starting to lighten, to notice a boy a little younger than him with milky blonde hair nudging his arm with a long stick. Behind him were a golden blonde girl (whom he thought looked gorgeous) and another boy with orange colored hair who was a little bigger than the first two.

"I'm just seeing if's he dead or not. Geez sis, lighten up."

"Still, it's rude Johnny."

"Guys, I think he noticed us." The orange haired boy said, the two siblings looked to see that he was right, Reed was staring intently at them.

"Would you please stop poking me, it's a little uncomfortable." The white blonde boy, Johnny, jumped in surprise. His sibling dragged him back and walked forward, right on the circle's border.

"Hi. My name is Susan, but everyone calls me Sue, what's yours?"

"Reed." The brown haired boy replied, hoping that they would leave soon.

"That's a cool name. The one who poked you is my idiot of a younger brother Johnny and the big kid next to him is Ben. We were wondering if you would play with us. Ben needs a partner for basketball and it looked like you was bored. So, wanna play?" Sue asked with a huge grin on her face.

"No, thank you." This caused her grin to shrink.

"Why not?" she asked, a pout forming on her face.

"I can't leave this circle." Reed replied, hoping that his answer would suffice her curiosity and cause her to leave. The blonde looked around at the circle in the sand, a mischievous grin on her face.

"The circle can be erased." With that, Sue started sliding her foot across the line that formed Reed's circle, his creation, his world.

"Wait, please stop!" However, the blonde continued erasing the line until she was back at her starting point. "It's done," she exclaimed, brushing off the sand from her shorts, "now you have no excuse, so come and play with us."

"Why did you do that?" the brown haired boy asked, tears forming in his eyes.

"No one should be alone."

"What?"

"I said that no one should be alone. I don't know what happened to you, but it's obviously making you sad." This made Reed freeze in shock, but he quickly reverted back to his cold stare.

"Thank you for your concern, but I can handle it on my own."

"What I'm saying is that you don't need to face it alone, silly. That's why people have friends, to take some of the sadness away."

"You and I have just met, why would you care?"

"Because you look like a nice kid who needs a friend. So, you wanna play with us now?" Reed stood there for a moment, pondering what the girl had just said. She wanted to be his friend? That was something he couldn't wrap his head around.

"Come on, it won't kill ya to play a little B-ball, will it?" asked Ben

"Yeah, Brickhead here needs an excuse to get his butt kicked!"

"Shut it, Matchstick!"

"Guys! Shut it!"

"Sorry Suzie/Sis."

"So, how about it? Wanna play?" She stuck out a petite hand. Reed thought for a second and grabbed her hand with his own. She lifted him up and brushed the sand on his clothes.

"I'll play, but I need to know the rules first."

"You've never played basketball before!?!" the brown haired boy shook his head no.

"Well then, it looks like you need some good old fashion Ben Grimm training."

"Why, so he can learn how to lose?"

"That's it Flamebrain, It's Clobberin Time!" Ben proceeded to chase Johnny all the way to the ball court, both fists shaking with anger.

"Come on, let's go before they kill each other." Sue sighed as she started walking. She then heard a low chuckling coming from behind her.

"What's so funny?"

"Those two, are they always like that?"

"Yeah, you get use to it after a while. Let's go already before Johnny starts hogging the ball." Sue exclaimed while grabbing Reed's arm and dragging him to the court. Reed followed her with a huge grin and his eyes twinkling with the sunlight. Of course, he could never forget his mother, but maybe these three strange kids can help ease the pain.

How was it? Tell me what you thought in a review. See ya!