Mercy [Buzzfeed Unsolved]

12. Andrew

"I have something to tell you, Shane."

Though Shane had had the feeling that Steven was hiding something, the fact that he was being so blunt about it made him realize that it was probably a lot more serious than some simple worrying. Steven was fiddling with his hands now, unsure of where to place them as his mind raced.

Shane exhaled slowly, bringing his mug back to his lips once he couldn't find the right words. Immense curiosity burned throughout him, but he managed to keep it quelled in favour of not wanting to scare off his friend. Even when he did speak, he chose his words with much consideration.

"You... what are you-... what do you want to tell me?"

"I..." Steven trailed off. It wasn't that he was hesitating anymore; it was more like he was at a loss of what exactly to say or how to say it. His face contorted, twisting with confusion the more he thought.

"Is it about the case?" Shane offered, hoping to ease him into his confession.

Steven nodded. "Yeah it is but... I think I'm going to have to start from the very beginning."

"You can take your time," he reminded him softly. "I'm going to be here all night." Steven giggled nervously, and perhaps he was considering taking all the hours of the night to explain his predicament. It's not like Shane minded much: the case had such a prevalent connection to him personally, and of course he wanted to be there for his friend.

"Okay. I hope you're serious, 'cause I'm going to start from the very beginning."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first time Steven met Andrew was Andrew's first day at the office.

Steven hadn't actually been working in the police department for too long. He showed promise in the area, but he was still relatively fresh out of training, somewhat inexperienced in the trade. Nevertheless, he was quick to make friends with the entire office the second he broke out of his little shell he had arrived in.

Keith Habersberger was originally Steven's first partner. And to be fair, Keith was a great partner; he was incredibly helpful in showing Steven the ins and outs of the police department, and not to mention he was an absolute character, always talking about something new and interesting. Steven was left for a while to work at the office alone when Keith was asked to work in security for a short period of time. This was critical to being so close to Andrew in the first place.

Andrew was about the same age as Steven when he came to the department, but still needed someone to partner up with him. Chief Bennett, knowing Steven relatively well at this point and seeing that he worked well in his position, let him partner up with Andrew and show him how things worked in the Mercy police department.

At first, Andrew kept mainly to himself: he was courteous when spoken to, but it was rare to really see him open up personally. He almost seemed to have no personal life at all, in fact. Nevertheless, both he and Steven were two opposing forces, colliding and mixing together in perfect harmony. Somehow, Steven came to understand Andrew and all of his mannerisms, and in turn, Andrew knew how best to deal with Steven in any type of situation. They became a sort of dream team together, working efficiently together as they continued to build their relationship.

They were so close, in fact, that by the time Keith came back to patrolling, he was paired with Shane instead of Steven, who had just newly been recruited.

This, of course, is where Shane became a part of the story. Because of his constant presence in the police force since his internship during his high school years, he was able to gain connections that moved him all the way out to Mercy. Pretty much all of his training was done in Chicago beforehand, so the entire crime scene and community in Mercy was foreign to him.