Mutism and Escapism [FVK]

Part Four

A/N: Congratulations to OptimusWooly and KATIE4DAMON, the only two people (to my knowledge) to complete the phone numbers challenge at the end of the last chapter! You guys rock!

For anyone wondering, here are the answers:

Laurence: Bevers

Drew: WoolyD

Luke: Beards

Thanks for playing! :3

*****

PART FOUR:

"Fucking hell, you're soaked, honey!" Shane cries as he opens the door, taking in my appearance before pulling me inside.

I probably look a mess, I mean, I've got a bruised cheek, I'm soaked through and my black jeans are now brown from mud.

Looking around, I see the others all sitting on the couch, looking at me with worried eyes.

Laurence is the first to get up and come over, starting to talk before Shane cuts him off with a finger over his mouth.

"You can talk to him in a minute, let him just get cleaned up and dry first" Shane tuts, making me smile and wanting nothing more than a dry set of clothes. "Come on you" he says the last part to me and gently takes my hand, leading me upstairs to the bathroom.

When we get there, he pushes the door open and closes it gently behind us and helps me peel of my wet hoodie.

That gets chucked into the end of the bathtub to stop it dripping on the floor and – with Shane's help - my t-shirt soon joins it.

I frown down at my jeans; they were skin tight already and now they're wet, clingy and not to mention filthy.

Shane just sits me down on the edge of the bath once they're a little way down my thighs and helps me pull them off too, completing the pile.

"Do you want a shower, sweetie?" He asks, holding his hand out to the shower controls but pausing while I answer.

I nod out of instinct and he starts the water flowing; I'll try and speak later when it's more personal, I don't want my first words to him to be 'yeah, turn on the shower'.

"Want company?" When he asks, it's not sexual, it's loving, and I can tell from his voice alone he just wants to look after me.

He strips out of his clothes when I nod and do the same with my boxers before we both stand under the warm spray. All the tension and worry practically seeps out of my body as he winds his arms around me, holding me early as the water flows over us.

Washing each other's hair is more fun than it should be, but it makes me smile none the less as Shane shapes my fringe into some kind of unicorn horn / mohawk.

Once we're clean and warm, we step out, Shane wrapping big fluffy towels around us as we cross the hallway to his room.

"I have some clothes you can borrow, just find whatever you want in my wardrobe" Shane says sweetly as we dispose of our towels in his laundry basket. Once we are both dressed, me in his clothes, we walk back downstairs to see the others, all of who stand up once we enter.

A chorus of apologies flood over me as several arms reach for me, all hugging me and holding me. It's Drew that ducks under my arm to wrap his arms around my waist. He whispers sorry in my ear and proceeds to hug the shit out of me. Luke puts his arm around my shoulders and apologises, giving me a gentle squeeze before standing back to let Laurence through.