vanish from my mind | shaymien

03 | walking home

it was three in the afternoon and it was time to call it quits. some of the crew was complaining, however, because they were so close to finishing up a piece for the set. whittle dismissed them and made them clean up anyway.

shayne had managed to grow distressed. thoughts played in his head and his worry became clearly apparent as the time came nearer. he hadn't mentioned it to damien or any of damien's friends, so if they left without him, it wouldn't be a huge surprise.

today, the blond came empty-handed, minus his usual paintbrush in his pocket. he decided he didn't need anything. and he can't believe he told ian he would walk home with the group of people he barely knew.

because after a month of asking, shayne was finally going to tell damien that he would walk with them.

he would let them walk him to his rundown house, in the middle of a beautiful street, and he'd let them laugh at him. because his house has paint that's chipping, a yard that is not taken care of, and curtain covered windows. he wasn't rich, his family didn't have money; they did what they could.

the anxiety would surely get to shayne. maybe he could back out one more time, or maybe he could ask ian if he could pretend ian's house was his. but that was a horrible idea- no one would believe him. he looked horrible.

his hair was slightly greasy from not washing it for a few days, his clothes were greatly wrinkled. his shoes have been the same for three years now because he's barely grown, so they're covered with mud and distressed heavily. his eyes are slightly sunken in because of lack of sleep.

now he stands near the auditorium door, his arms crossed as he stares at the floor and just thinks. damien and his friends will make fun of shayne and his predicament for sure. they're all well known, well dressed, and surely have way better homes than shayne.

shayne looks up to see damien and mari walking towards him. damien gives him another one of those award-winning smiles- the type where they can bright up someone's whole world so easily. damien's eyes sparkle in the horrible lighting of the room, which comes as a surprise, but at the same time, not. damien was a happy-go-lucky type of guy.

"hey, shayne!" damien says, blinking once. "i hate to ask, again, like i have been for a whole month, uh-"

mari takes over, "do you wanna walk home with us? it'd be cool."

fear began instantly pooling in shayne's chest and he breathed in. the correct answer was on the tip of his tongue. he could just say no and smile, or he could say yes and watch them make fun of him for eternity. "uh, i, um, yeah," he mumbles, stuttering over his words. "h-how many people are coming, uh, with us?"

damien's now surprised, probably due to shayne finally saying yes. "oh!" he shoots a look over to mari for an answer, but she shrugs nonchalantly. "i don't actually know. but if you're uncomfortable, it can just be us."

now shayne is surprised. damien was already coming to his rescue easily, and he didn't even need to ask. shayne reaches for the paintbrush in his pocket and wraps his fingers around it, searching for the correct words.

damien haas, shayne decided, is a miracle. he's been nice since they met, and he's managed to make shayne feel a million things by barely doing anything. something is screaming at him to just thank the brunet, but he refrains.

"yeah, can we do that?" the question is hesitant, but damien gives him a small smile a nods. mari smiles as well.

"okay, cool. i'll inform the group for you, dames. you two stay safe," she tells them, winking at damien. damien's face barely lights up, but shayne takes a small notice of how red the tips of his ears go before his cheeks.