Possessive (Completed)

Redistribution

Asher and Simon spent nearly every moment at school together. The football team knew Asher had scared them off from Simon, though no one suspected Asher would spend so long on the small boy. Most of the players thought Asher was just having a phase, or a blip of compassion, combined with anti bullying sentiment, but when Asher stopped sitting with them and began dedicating nearly every ounce of his energy on Simon, combined with his absence from the football team, rumors began to grow. No one suspected Asher to be attracted to Simon, but explanations for the seemingly close new friendship were few and far between.

"How are you feeling today?" Simon asked, when Asher entered the lunchroom for the fist time since being removed from the football team. Asher had left Simon's house late on Saturday, and after much convincing agreed to go home.

"I'm better." Asher nodded.

"Do you miss your football friends?" Simon asked, and his eyes flicked to the noisy rowdy group at a table by the front of the room.

"No... none of them were really my friends.. only Garrett, but I've sorta ruined that, I don't think he'd even want to see me." Asher offered a weak smile.

"You don't know that. Garrett's very forgiving. Why don't you go ask him?" Simon suggested, and Asher made sad eyes that insinuated that he didn't want to go anywhere near the football team. "You'll have to face them eventually."

"Fine." Asher sighed, and stood up. The room felt bigger, he thought, or perhaps he felt smaller. Asher could feel the eyes of most everyone in the room as he stood from his new life and approached his old. Everything changed when he wasn't on the football team; he felt like it made him some sort of nobody. "Hey."

"Hey Ashe... Uh.. what's up?" One of the other seniors on the team asked as Asher approached. "We missed you at practice Sunday."

"Yeah.. I'm sure you did." Asher made his mouth a thin line. He knew better than to fall for their stuff. Asher held control because he was scary, but he knew there wasn't a single boy on that team that wasn't overjoyed to have Asher gone, and get their own chance to prove to the coach that they're the star. Every boy on that team... including Garrett. Asher turned around to see Simon sending him a reassuring smile, and begrudgingly turned back to the group of boys that was looking at him as if he were alien from another planet. "Garrett I wanted to know if you'd like to eat with me?" The table of boys went silent. Usually the whole team would surround Asher and follow him to wherever he wanted to sit, but here he was having to ask his presumably closest friend to sit with him.

"Sure, man." Garrett smiled, and grabbed his tray. "I hate those dudes, let's get out of here." Asher grinned sincerely at his friend. Garrett was always there for him when he needed someone, even if Asher could be neglectful.

"Hi Garrett. How've you been?" Simon asked.

"You know each other?" Asher's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Simon's in a service group with my sister." Garrett smiled looking fondly at Simon. He was a little nervous Asher would be upset if they had been talking while Garrett was supposed to be leaving Simon alone.

"Oh.. Allie. How is she, by the way?" Asher asked looking to Garrett, no evidence of malice on his face.

"She's back on her feet. Actually she'll be at the mission this Saturday during our game, are you going to that, Simon?"

"I am.. Hey.. since you aren't playing this week Asher, you could tag along?" Simon suggested.

"I'd like that." Asher nodded. He'd never been one for service, but spending time with Simon was an attractive offer to him, and hopefully doing things for others would make him a better person.

Simon had been going to St. Tommy's Mission of Mercy regularly since he was a freshman, and sharing that portion of his life seemed like a good thing to do for Asher, who had a bit of a self centered streak going for him. Asher was trying, though, trying not to let Garrett being with them bother him, trying to let Shea having Simon's phone number bother him, trying. And outside of football trying was something Asher had trained himself never to do. Liam had work that night so Asher was invited again to come to Simon's house, and the pair sat down in Simon's small living room.

"I like your house." Asher smiled in a slightly crooked manor. "It's a bit small, but filled with life." He looked to all the baby pictures and family photos that littered the walls. "Like you."

"Oh no. Those aren't of us." Simon replied with a hint of wistful sadness in his tone. "This is my grandparent's house.. And those pictures are of my cousins."

"You live with your grandparents." Asher repeated. "I knew that... I think. Do you mind if I ask what happened to your parents?"

"Uh.." Simon's smile faltered, "My mother is in a rehabilitation facility. She got into drugs a while back after my dad...." Simon shuttered "I'm Sorry. Do you mind if we talk about something else?"

"Not at all. Lord knows I've got more than my fair share of parental issues." Asher's somber eyes widened. "Where's Liam? He must have a super involved job, it seems like he's always out."

"Liam isn't allowed to get a job until he graduates. He's at football practice now."

"Ah." Asher nodded, knowing how demanding football could be. "I don't think he likes me very much."

"You know I don't think so either." Simon joked.

"There's something else I wanted to talk about.. when we first met you were so timid and frightened, but I've noticed your much more outgoing recently.."

"I have generalized anxiety that I take meds for regularly." Simon shrugged, "That mostly manifests in social awkwardness for me, but I've been working on going after things that I want lately, and not just trying to please people. It's difficult. Sometimes even when I seem alright in different situations I'm really not, and I still have to deal with panic attacks from overloading my system too."

"How'd you do it?" Asher asked, eyes fixated on his hands. "I mean make the change."

"I had help." Simon smiled, "And so will you. Mostly I got encouragement from Kit. I love my brother, but his solution was to just lay low, and let life pass me by, and I got sick of that. Kit's a rebel, and he's unapologetic. I wanted to be like that, and he made it seem like I could."

"He is." Asher chuckled lightly.

"And from.." Simon paused in his thought, and looked up to make eye contact with Asher.

"You can say his name.. you don't have to worry like that about me."

"From Shea." Simon stated, and despite Asher's insistence, he still winced slightly at the mention of the other boy's name. "He was a great help for building up my coura-" Simon was interrupted by the doorbell. "That's weird. Liam wouldn't use the doorbell, and I don't know who else could be here." Simon rose from his spot on the sofa and made his way over to the door.

"Hi Simon. Look I know I've been a bit.. but I really think we need to talk." Shea burst through the door seconds after Simon got it open, and stopped flat in his tracks when he saw Asher on the couch.