You & I [Kier/Shane]

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Kier

Kier's POV

I lay patiently beside Shane, cautious of giving him even the slightest impression that I wasn't interested; He seemed vulnerable. Yet, from what I'd heard of his upbringing so far I could see why. It wasn't fair on him; He appeared to be a genuinely nice guy (which is why I wanted to be with him) and I couldn't see how anyone was capable of being so cruel towards him, especially without feeling any form of guilt afterwards.

"S-So... Umm..." Shane mumbled, causing my trail of thought to return back towards my uncomfortable looking partner. Raising my hand I raised it to the side of his long blond hair, tucking the thick fringe that had fallen in front of his eyes behind his ear and leaning over to kiss his cheek; I was desperate to reassure him, yet let him know he wasn't under any pressure to tell me at the same time.

"Well," He mumbled moments later, thankfully a little more confidently than before. Yet, I spotted a pink blush of embarrassment dusting his cheeks, causing me to gently smile. "I-I guess you could say that I've never been close with my parents; M-My Mother always looked down on me, M-My Father was hardly around... a-and I never had any siblings."  

I'd decided to stay silent throughout Shane's story, no matter how shocked I was at the words he'd speak; I didn't want to give him any reason to stop once he'd managed to gather the confidence to start. 

"M-My Mother and I had came to an agreement; I-I'd stay out of her way, a-and she'd stay out of mine. T-Then there'd be less arguments... Theoretically." Shane continued, releasing a small sigh as I began to gently run my fingers through the soft strands of his hair. "S-She'd expect so much from me, always pushing my limits until I'd snap... We'd argue, my Father would shout, a-and I'd be public enemy no.1.

"T-They're highly religious, always have been, which didn't help my relationship with them when I told them I was Atheist. They'd go to church weekly, while I was stuck at home with chores that must be completed by the time they'd return; They never were, and Mother and I would argue, and the vicious circle would begin again. " 

He fell silent and I heard the recognisable sound of sniffling, causing my lips to curl downwards. I shushed him gently, afraid at the mere sight of Shane being upset. 

"It's okay," I whispered soothingly, Shane's comfort a higher priority than my own fear of scaring him. "You don't have to say any more." 

The Blond shook his head, taking an apparent deep, yet quiet breath before continuing. "D-Drew had been my best friend since I was a child; We were incredibly close, practically joint at the hip yet throughout our High School years, people didn't seem to understand that." He was doing amazingly; I'd never seen him speak so confidently for so long. "W-When I was around fifteen a-a few guys in school spread rumours that Drew and I were in a relationship... P-People must have told their families... a-and someone told my Father." 

I frowned deeply, knowing instantly where this was going; They wouldn't have accepted him. My poor Shane became the black sheep of the family without his control. 

"To cut a long story short; I got kicked out." He mumbled, his voice hoarse and weak, and no matter how much I stroked his fair hair he never seemed to calm. "I-I lived on the streets for a week before Drew realised what had happened; I lived with him until we met Laurence and Luke, then we bought this house together." He finished, ending his story quite quickly in attempt to get the words out in the open. I knew there were more details to his story; He was too affected by his past for it to be as simple as that; Yet, for now, I was just happy to know at least something about him. 

"I-I'm sorry..." I whispered, giving myself a few minutes to process this information on Shane before settling back in my protective persona. 

"W-Why?" Shane replied in the same tone, his eyes shining as they settled on my own sad orbs. "Y-You did nothing w-wrong." 

My lips formed a hard line as I tried to find the words to respond with, yet none came to me. I had no idea what to say; I couldn't cope knowing Shane was so sad. Leaning forwards I met my lips with his for a gentle kiss, determined more than ever to help the man lying beside me. While he slept and lived on those streets something changed within Shane, turning him into a quivering mess at the mere thought of the outdoors, and I was certain I was able to find and kill that fear; He'd just need to trust me. Completely.