The Call of the Void

The Call of the Void- Chapter 24- Took Your Shot, Didn't Miss It

“Steven?”

He heard Kevin open his door. Steven stays quiet on his bed, rolling over so his back is to the door. He has his arms forming an X on his chest and he scowls at the wall.

“Steven?”, Kevin asks again. He hears Kevin pad across the floor and he stiffens when Kevin's hands shove his legs to the side so he can sit on the edge of the bed. “What's wrong?”

“Ask your boyfriend.”, Steven snaps and he hates to be so mean to Kevin who has never done anything wrong in his life. Steven curls in on himself a little tighter, hiding away from his own bitter words.

“He's not my boyfriend, Steven.”, Kevin says and it doesn't have the tone of a sharp denial, but a tone of exhaustion. Just how much has Seamus been dicking this guy around? He's always known. Kevin deserves better.

“Ask your fuck buddy then. I don't care what he's called.” Steven just can't stop. Why is he being so harsh with Kevin? He never normally is. Maybe this is just something an interaction with Seamus does to him.

Kevin sighs. “I know you don't like him, but I do. I'd prefer if you respected him a little more.”

Steven squeezes his arms against his chest just that little bit harder. “Kevin, I care about you, but I really really don't like that guy.”

“I know. You've told me.”

“You can do a lot better than him.”

“Again, you've told me.”

Steven shoots up, twisting to look Kevin right in the eye, “Then why the hell do you keep running after him?”

Kevin bites his lip, eyes falling to the comforter that they both sit on. Steven has always been the one person Kevin has ever met that legitimate makes his bed every morning. Every fabric is straight, pillow symmetrical at the head of the mattress. Must be why he's always been the one out of the two of them that's been in control. “I can't tell you why.”, he says and it's a thought provoking tone. “Could you tell me why you kept running after Kristin?”

Low blow. Very low blow, Kevin. He's the only one who really knows what went down between him and Kristin beyond the story that he kept spreading around that involved her moving to England for a university program. It sounded ridiculous, even in his own head, but it managed to get people off his back as to why Kristin no longer hung around. Kevin, Steven's only best friend in the world, is the only one who knows how he chased her to England, attempting to win her back and take her home. It was a moment of weakness on his part despite that not being the most pathetic part of the story.

“I'll say the same thing every time. Moment of weakness.”

“It was two years, Steven. You chased her for two years.”

And he did. He followed her everywhere from the corner store down the street to a whole different continent. It still wasn't enough for her. Eventually, she scared him off by saying she had cheated on him through out the duration of their relationship and she didn't even want to look at him because the guilt was too much. He knows it wasn't true. At least, he sure hopes it wasn't.