"Why me?" Dec grumbled to himself,remembering his Mothers words as he entered the mitre building for his next scheduled day of filming."why do I have to make an effort with that misery guts?"

That particular misery guts soon came into sight,sat at a corner table, reading a magazine once again.

Dec sighed as he made his way over to him.

"Hi,Anthony isn't it?" Dec mustered up as much fake enthusiasm as he could."I think we have a couple of scenes together"

The boy looked up,surprised at this unexpected interruption.

"Er yeah,Anthony although everyone calls me Ant"

"I'm Dec!Watcha reading?" Dec asked,seeking desperately for a topic of conversation.

Ant closed the comic to show the front page to the curious boy.

"Just The Beano" Ant smiled.

"The Beano" Dec mocked "bit old for that aren't you?"

"It's funny man,you should try it" Ant smiled,unperturbed by Decs comment.

"I did try it,when I was about seven like" Dec replied.

He couldn't think of anything else to say to this Ant boy,at least he'd tried though so his Mam couldn't complain.

"Ok,best get back" Dec announced before making his way back to his 'real' friends.

Ant practically ignored him anyway as he'd already returned to the fascination of his favourite comic.

"Miserable git" Dec mumbled again as he walked away.

Over the next few weeks,Ant and Dec did have a few scenes together,sometimes going through lines beforehand but off script,conversation didn't come naturally.The usual hellos,goodbyes and how are ya's were enough to suffice for both of them.They saw each other at the occasional Byker party,but it was still only polite pleasantries that were exchanged.

Christmas was fast approaching and Dec was looking forward to the break,spending lots of time with his large family and of course being spoilt rotten.

As the last day of filming came to a close,Dec was surprised to see Ant approaching him.

"Hey Dec" Ant called out.

"Yeah?" What could he want?he couldn't possibly be wanting to have a chat about anything,he hardly ever spoke to anyone unless it was for on screen filming.

"I got this for you" Ant smiled while handing Dec a Christmas card.

"Oh right,thanks alot" Dec took the card while feeling slightly guilty that he didn't have one to give to Ant in return.He had only given cards out to a select few.

"No worries" Ant smiled "have a great Christmas"

"Er yeah,you too"

The boys parted ways and once Dec was sat on the top deck of the bus on his way home,he ripped the card open.

He stared at the flintstones card for a moment that stated 'have a yabba-dabba-doo Christmas'

'What a geek' Dec thought to himself,but what surprised him even more was the invitation written on the inside.

'Want to go to the Newcastle-Swindon game on boxing day?'

Had Dec read that right?he scanned over the words several times.Yep,this Ant character was actually asking him to hang out.Dec was unsure!Of course he wanted to go to the match,but with someone he could barely get two words out of?how much fun would that be?anyway,he wasn't even sure if he'd be allowed to go,he'd only ever attended football matches with his Dad or older brothers before who could keep a close eye on him and make sure he stayed safe,Ant wouldn't be able to do that.

"Hi Mam" he cheerfully called as he made his way into the warm living room of his family home.

"Hi sweetheart" Anne called back "how was filming?"

"Yeah it was good" Dec replied "glad I'm off for a couple of weeks though"

"I bet you are" she smiled as she hugged him "you've been working so hard with school,Byker and everything.You deserve a good rest"

"Look at this Mam" Dec ordered,while handing Anne the Christmas card.

"Oh that's from that boy Anthony right?that's nice of him" Anne said passing the card back to Dec.

"Did you read what he said though Mam?he asked me to go to the Newcastle game on boxing day"

"Yeah I saw,well do you want to go?"

Dec shrugged his shoulders "dunno"

"That's not like you,you turning down a chance to support Newcastle?you not too keen to go?" Anne queried.

"Of course I want to go,but I wasn't sure if I was allowed to as it's boxing day and the family are all together usually" he paused briefly before adding "and I'm not sure I want to go with him"

"Declan come on,I thought you were going to make an effort with this boy?have you even talked to him?"

"I have Mam,I promise you,I've tried but it's like getting blood out of a stone,he's just not very chatty"

"Yeah I can see how that might seem totally alien to you" she laughed at her talkative son "but give him another chance.He obviously likes you or he wouldn't be inviting you places would he?and maybe he's different away from work,some people are"

"So I'm allowed to go if I want to?" Dec asked "I don't have to be here with everyone?"

"I think we can make an exception this time Decky" Anne promised "you deserve a treat for all your hard work recently and you'll be here some of the day anyway.I'd like you to befriend this boy,I think it will be good for you and maybe even for him"

"Ok Mam,I'll go,I'd better call him to let him know,he wrote his phone number on the card"

Dec still wasn't sure what he would talk about with this quiet boy?he could imagine it being very awkward but then again,as they would be at a football match,conversation probably wouldn't be necessary,just alot of shouting and cheering which Dec could manage just fine.

"Hi Ant,err it's me,Dec" he stuttered down the phone when Ant answered,not sure why he felt slightly nervous."thanks for the card and yeah,I'd love to come to the game"

"That's great Dec,I'm glad you can make it" Ant cheerfully replied.

Dec was surprised at Ants happy tone,not having heard much of it before.

"Kick off is at 3 o'clock" Ant informed him "not sure what time they open,but if we meet at the greys monument at 1 o'clock then we can grab a pasty or something at Greggs beforehand,then have a wander around the shops before we go to the match,oh unless you'll have had lunch first?"

"Nah I won't have,that sounds good" Dec was actually starting to look forward to the event "I can have lunch out,I'm sure Mam won't mind,I'll see you there,have a happy Christmas"

"You too Dec,bye"

"All set?" Anne asked as Dec sat down next to her on the sofa.

"Yeah I guess" Dec frowned.

"Declan?what is it now?" Anne sighed.

"Nothing Mam" Dec quickly responded "just he wants to meet a couple of hours beforehand and hang out"

"Yes and why is that a problem exactly?" Anne was getting slightly frustrated with her son now." You know you're being ridiculous now don't you Decky?Ant reached out to you,making the first move,you're two teenage boys who are going to have fun together.If he doesn't say much,I'm sure you will.He invited you out remember?he wants to spend time with you,so will you relax and stop worrying about nothing?you're going to have a great time"

"Ok Mam" Dec sighed.He knew she was right,he was really looking forward to watching his beloved Newcastle United play but tried to put Ant to the back of his mind so he could enjoy Christmas.

He certainly did enjoy it,receiving a crazy amount of presents from his huge family,including the Nike trainers he'd had his eye on for a while,a Newcastle united hat and scarf as well as various memorabilia,books,clothes and mountains of chocolates and sweets,which he scoffed down until he felt sick,assuring his bemused family that it wouldn't be Christmas if he didn't gorge himself on junk until he felt ill the whole day.

At the end of a busy,exhausting but fun Christmas day,Dec took himself off to bed,fishing out his Newcastle united strip from the bottom of his unruly wardrobe,ready for the next day.

"Hey Dec" Ant cheerfully called as he saw Dec approaching at 1.15pm.Ant noticed his lack of punctuality and hoped it wasn't something he made a habit of.

"Hi Ant,how are ya?" Dec smiled "how was your Christmas?"

"Yeah,it was good thanks,how about yours?" Ant enquired.

"Yeah was great.Where are we going then?"

"I'm dying for a Greggs pasty,want one?my treat" Ant offered.

"Yeah,great thanks"

The teenage boys were soon sat on a nearby bench enjoying their hot snacks.

"I'm really looking forward to the game" Ant announced "not been to a match for ages,been too busy"

"Doing what?" Dec asked curiously.

"Oh you know,school,Byker,helping Mam with everything She works alot so I help out at home.I cook,clean,help look after my sister and all that"

"Really?" Dec was surprised,he couldn't imagine doing any of that stuff,he was the baby of the family after all,everyone did it for him and it never even crossed his mind to help and no one ever asked him to "er what about your Dad?doesn't he help?"

"Nah" Ant sighed sadly "he left us,don't ever see him,I'm the man of the house now"

"Wow" Dec was lost for words,how could their lives be so different?he had never felt so blessed to have the lovely,loving family that he often took for granted at that precise moment.

"I'm sorry Ant" he mumbled awkwardly "I don't know what to say"

"It's ok Dec,you don't need to say anything" Ant assured him "he's been gone quite a while,I'm used to how things are now"

Dec just smiled and changed the subject "I love Greggs pasties,so good aren't they?"

"Yeah they are" Ant laughed as he savoured his last bite before throwing the paper bag in the nearby bin.

"Come on Dec,I want to show you something"

Ant led Dec to a nearby bicycle shop.

"See that?" Ant announced pointing to a blue bike "I'm saving for that"

"Saving for it?" Dec questioned "surely you can easily buy it with what you earn from Byker"

"I could" Ant sighed "but most of what I earn goes to me Mam,you know,to help with paying the bills,food and all that.She works hard,I need to contribute too"

Dec was starting to feel very sorry for this boy who he had judged so harshly in the beginning.When did he have fun?between working,going to school,helping his Mam around the house and with his sister?where was his joy?Dec couldn't begin to imagine being in his shoes and he was pretty sure that this football match must be a very rare treat for him,he had probably been given the tickets for an early Christmas present,his Mam had probably scrimped and saved for months to buy them and Ant had chosen to take him.He felt incredibly sad but also incredibly honoured.

Dec thought about everything he had learned so far today,thinking how you just don't know what's going on in other peoples lives.He felt slightly ashamed of himself and vowed never to be so judgemental in future,especially before he had even got to know someone.

Although there was something that had come to mind which made him smile as he thought about it.

This kid Ant might not be so bad after all!