Broken Memories [Shoey Dawceffa]

Chapter 6

Joey is going to turn fourteen and Shane fifteen, they're still best friends. Yet, not like they were before... their friendship is much stronger and more real, still different though. So this just proves that Shane didn't hear Joey's parents' words about him staying away from his soon. He doesn't care and he almost said "Fuck you" when they told him that he isn't allowed to see Joey anymore, for the third time when Joey came back home, after the accident. He said in his mind not to create more problems and if his mother heard him cursing he would be grounded for sure. And being grounded for Shane is not seeing Joey so everything would be in vain.

Now that they're on eighth and ninth grade they meet every Fridays and Saturdays to study together at Shane's place. Well it's for Joey to study while Shane keeps complaining or telling Joey the some stories. Joey tries his best to obligate his best friend to study but he can't find the way of Shane doing it. Maybe he can make him shut for fifteen minutes but that's all.

Joey doesn't hear what he says most of the time but when Shane is trying to unburden with him, Joey stops with what he is doing and pulls away the books to listen to him. Shane trusts his life with Joey, he tells him everything and he couldn't ask for a better listener than Joey. However he wished he could be the listener as well once in a while.

On the other days, when Joey manages to get away from his parents - they kind of gave up on making Joey not seeing Shane thing - they keep doing the things they used to do as kids. Even if now the topic of conversations are others and Joey's draws have improved - Shane still haven't had the opportunity to read what Joey writes in the same book but he hopes one day he has that privilege.

Shane makes Joey play football sometimes with him and that makes him feel like a great player because Joey... kinda sucks yeah. But Shane is a good player himself and when he joined to a football team last year, Joey started going to all his important games. He makes Joey go to church with him on Sundays - and Joey doesn't even believe in those things but he goes anyway, for Shane - so now he likes it better as when he was younger.

Shane is also keeping his promise he made with Joey when he went to the second grade so he still spends his breaks at school with Joey. They have lunch together, they keep sharing their snacks and after classes they spend most of their time together. And the best of it, on Shane's point of view, he still manages to make his best friend laugh and he decided, a long time ago, that it's the best feeling in the world. The fact he's the reason why Joey is a little bit happier makes him feel like God.

Joey still needs his time alone and he might have changed but there is days when he is a bit quieter than the usual but that's nothing Shane is used to and learnt to respect about his green eyed friend.

They have - they are - literally growing up together so it's not weird - at least for Shane - to talk about how is body is changing, the weird things that happen to him - Joey shares with him as well, even when they are embarrassing - and how different him, both, had become and he also likes to compare himself with Joey - in a healthy way though. And with that he's still mad with the fact that Joey's voice is still deeper than his, even after their voice change.

"My school play is on Friday." Shane says while they're eating ice cream - it's almost spring in Shane's defence - sitting on the floor, in front of the TV.

"How many times did you talk to me about it already?" About ten times, Shane thinks. But he always talked about it with the purpose to listen to Joey saying that he's going to watch him

"I'm excited!"

"I know." Joey chuckles leaning the spoon to his lips. Joey doesn't find weird anymore - the fact that Shane keeps watching the way he licks his spoon - sometimes how he takes it to his lips and the way the pink from the ice cream contrasts so well with the redness of his lips. Joey doesn't mind and he never pointed that out to Shane. Shane doesn't even notice sometimes when he's staring at his friend even.