The Only Bruise On Your Heart

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Every morning without fail for the past two and a bit years of their high school education, the Timids and their friends had met up at the bus stop in front of their school. It wasn't anything special, just chatting like they normally did, but it was a tradition. They were creatures of habit. 

Shane was usually first, despite probably getting the least sleep of them all - he'd always look owl-eyed and a bit overwhelmed, and the talking part of his brain generally didn't wake up until about 10 in the morning. On some mornings (the ones when he was awake early enough), Drew would walk to school with him, but more often than not Drew would stumble along about ten minutes later not looking particularly at one with the world. 

Kier and Laurence would always arrive together, most of the time not long after Shane. It was amusing to Shane to watch the other kids back off when they walked down the road towards the bus stop; people seemed to think that because of Laurence's early-developed height and Kier's bizarre hair that they were either somewhat intimidating, or freaks that were probably somehow contagious. 

And of course, Luke was always late. Every single day, no exceptions at all, he'd amble up to them at a leisurely pace, headphones in, all tallness and swagger. The others would all stay and wait for him every time, but always give him slack for it: they didn't actually care about being late, but it was fun to complain anyway. 

This morning was no different, and Shane was waiting with Laurence and Kier for his best friend to arrive. Tapping his feet semi-nervously on the ground, the dirty blond worried at his bottom lip with his teeth. 

'Look, there he is!' Kier announced, pointing to the far end of the street and waving, ostentatious as always. The look that Laurence gave Shane was oddly... reassuring. The shorter boy just wanted to see his soulmate and get inside, away from the cold. 

Drew's walking sped up as he got closer to the small group, almost tripping every few steps; his uniform trousers were just a bit too long so he could "grow into them" according to his mother. 

'Hey!' the shortest of them called, grinning and waving back like a madman as he hitched his backpack up. 'What's up?' 

'Not much,' Laurence answered, or at least tried to, mumbling around the pencil case shoved in his mouth. The others didn't even think to ask. 

As soon as he was close enough, Shane pulled Drew into a tight embrace for a few seconds, breathing in deeply and smiling to himself. Everything was fine - he had nothing to worry about around his best friend, for fuck's sake. 

Once Luke had decided to join them a few minutes later, the small group trudged through the front gates of their high school, chatting lazily about anything that came to mind. Drew was humming a tune that sounded vaguely like a song he'd written a while back, but in a wonky key with the timing off. Shane bit his lip and chuckled a bit; his best friend grinned up at him and started singing, deliberately out of tune now. Kier made a face at them like some sort of bird. 

The five of them were mostly separated for their first stop of the day, which was "form time" - save for Kier and Shane, who had been in the same form since Year 7. The group paused at the bottom of the stairs at the front of the main building, letting the new soulmates embrace before they set off. 

'Come on lovebirds, no time like the present!' Luke jeered light-heartedly, earning a spectacularly ugly expression from the shorter Timid, and a joking middle finger from the taller. 

'See you in music,' Shane said quietly, prodding his best friend gently to push him towards his form. All he got in return was Drew's huge, chocolate brown eyes staring up at him, looking all mournful and adorable. Not adorable you idiot, Shane thought to himself, scrunching up his nose briefly before asking the other boy what was wrong.