He Left Sparkles in his Wake

Strange Company (Shane)

( The picture above is of a clematis flower. And the placeholder as I worked on the chapter: WHO COULD IT BE NOW *doot doot bew bweew neeew*)

Richard hurried back to Bluebell before he could start crying again. He felt awful for hurting Jared; for being hurt by Jared. He charged past his floor and continued going up the stairs. The air in the building was stifling. He quickly pushed past the last door and breathed a sigh of relief. The air felt cooler in his lungs. The air wasn't sad or guilty here. Richard closed his eyes and walked forward a few steps, feeling the gentle breeze brush across him. He breathed slowly and opened his eyes. The flowers on the roof swayed happily in the breeze, beckoning Richard to come closer. He strolled over to a blue Morning Glory. A smile grazed his face as his worries began to melt away.

Richard gently took a delicate sky blue bloom into his palm and brushed his thumb over a petal. A brief childhood memory flashed before his eyes: the memory of doing a similar act with one of the large purple petals of his mother's Clematis. His heart ached slightly to think of home. Shaking his head softly to dislodge the thought, Richard released the flower to once again sway on the breeze. He pulled out his phone before kneeling down to eye level with the spring flowers. He clicked the camera button a few times before adjusting his angle and taking a few more pictures. He rose and walked over to another plant, repeating the photographing process.

The sun had begun to set, as Richard took his last few pictures. He turned his attention to the horizon and quickly took a picture of it before finally putting his phone away. He walked closer to the railing and closed his eyes. The air had cooled more, becoming almost cold, and the light was quickly fading. Richard let his arms drop to his sides and took a deep breath. The wind slid past him, kissing his face and pushing his hair back. Richard vaguely heard a door open somewhere. Then he heard almost frantic footsteps. Something crashed into Richard and quickly had him pinned to the ground. His eyes shot open as the air was knocked out of him. Richard desperately wheezed for air, but the weight pining him didn't help either. He attempted to wiggle away from the thing above him, but all it did was deprive him of more oxygen. He closed his eyes and stopped moving. The weight shifted; it pushed Richard onto his back, in an almost gentle fashion.

Richard moved his hands to lie on the ground over his head. His rib cage finally expanded as he breathed. The gasp was harsh, but his desire for oxygen overpowered the pain. After a few breaths, he opened his watery brown eyes. Richard's vision was blurry, but he could make out a teal jacket hovering above him.

"What were you thinking?! You could have gotten yourself killed!" The voice urged. They shifted, one hand gently cupping Richard's cheek, the other pressing his hip into the floor. Richard blinked. Tears dripped down his cheeks.

"I-I wasn't going to jump. I just wanted to get away..." His voice was hoarse and faintly pained. The person above grumbled under their breath. It was a familiar grumble. A foreign sounding grumble. Richard fluttered his eyelashes in attempts to clear his vision. "Sh-Shane?" The American asked as the boy hovering above him came into focus. His own face flushed scarlet as the Brit stared down at him. Shane looked away with pink beginning to rise into his cheeks and quickly stood up. He moved one hand to cover his mouth and extended the other to Richard. The, quite literally, floored boy stared at the extended appendage with fascination before placing his own within it's grip. Shane easily helped him to his feet, let go of the other boy's smaller hand, but remained quiet. The silence quickly disturbing Richard; he thrust his fists into his pockets and looked down at their feet.

"I didn't think you would have cared...If I had, you know..." Richard found himself at a loss of words. He knew that Shane would respond with something along the lines of 'all human life has value and purpose, even if I don't like you'. He didn't know why he had even bothered trying to break the silence at that point. He could have just walked back to his room, done his homework, cry a little, dissociate for hours on end, the good stuff! Instead, he had to open his big mouth and try to talk to the one person who hated him even before he dated Jared.