Adolescent Foolishness (A Fearless Vampire Killers Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty-Four

[Shane's P.O.V.]

Gritting my teeth tightly, I move down the wide corridor and out of the ward as quickly as my shaking legs will carry me. I can't be here, not when everything is...so hectic. Not when Arys is here, and Drew is hurt, not when he'd rather be with a girl he hardly knows than the guy that's known him since we were both kids...

I almost told him, too. I almost told him how I really feel. That I love him. I've never been good with words, but even I know that would be a sorry waste of them. He doesn't care about me, only about Arys.

The automatic doors before me open sluggishly, and I step out into the cold late afternoon air. People are rushing in and out of cars, running frantically in and out of the building behind me. Ducking around the corner, I lean back against the grimy brick wall, bowing my head and biting back tears of frustration. I'm not used to dealing with these kinds of situations; I've never had to before. It's not as though I've ever gone through this with anyone else, because there's never been anyone else. Only Drew.

A while passes before I feel raindrops plonk down on my head, and I frown even deeper than before. Just what I need, huh...

"Shane?" I raise my head slightly and glance to my left to see a short figure standing at the corner, blue-and-purple-dyed hair sticking up at odd angles. Great. Things just keep getting better and better.

"What do you want?" I growl, my eyes still burning pathetically. As always, I'm thankful for my long fringe covering my face, it means she can't see how pathetic I'm being.

"I...I wanted to come see if you're okay. I... Do you want to get some coffee and talk?"

"I'd rather not." I bury my hands deep in my pockets, biting my lip.

"Oh. Right. Because who would want to get coffee with the girl that stole their boyfriend, huh." I glance curiously at her after she says that.

"Boyfriend?" I ask quietly. What does she know?

"I know there's something going on between you two. And I know I've just jumped right in the middle of everything. I... If you want me to back off, then just say so. I don't want to be in the way." She tells me.

"I think it's a bit late to be saying that, don't you?" Using my foot to push forward and away from the wall, I proceed to walk off from the hospital. I can't deal with her melodramas right now; I hardly even know the girl, and yet look at all the damn trouble she's caused!

"Shane, the only reason Drew decided to stay in the first place is because I'm dying."

I stop walking almost instantly, and turn around to look over at her, disbelief shooting through me. She's...dying? That's why Drew decided to stay?

"What?"

"It's a brain tumour. There's nothing the doctors can do, well nothing that'll instantly make me better anyway."

"Why didn't you say anything?" I ask her, stepping back towards her. She just shrugs.

"I didn't want to get in the way."

"So...who knows about it, then? Drew was the first to know?"

She nods. "I've only told Drew. And now you. I told Drew because...well, I can trust him. He's easy to trust. Surely you understand that?"

Dammit. Of course I do. I've only ever really trusted him, since we were kids. I don't find it easy to trust people, but I've spent almost half my life around Drew, so it's easy to trust him. "Yeah. I do." I just nod, stepping towards the wall and standing with my back against it again.

"I know you like Drew. From the way you've been acting, it's obvious. And I know he likes you too. I'm just in the way." She shakes her head at herself. "You must really hate me right now."

"I don't hate you. I just..." I trail off, unsure of what I should say next.

"You just don't like me because I took Drew away from you." She says blankly. I go to protest, but then instead just nod. "Do you want me to back off? If you really like him."

"I'll admit, I do. But it's Drew's choice. He's slow on the uptake, but if it comes down to making the right choice, he'll do alright."

"Ask him, then. Would he rather be with you or-"

"That's not fair." I shake my head. "We can't do that to him." I tell her. Bowing my head again, I realise what I'm going to have to do. I can't ask him to choose. Not directly. But I can give him the decision as to whether he wants to choose or not. "I want to go back to London. Could you tell Kier and Drew that I got the train?"

"What, you're heading back now? But-"

"If Drew wants to be with you, he'll stay here. I'll be back in London." I push away from the wall, and proceed to walk away, but not before looking over my shoulder at the small, confused girl. "And I'm sorry about your...your situation."

At that, I traipse off, away from the hospital and towards the nearest train station. Next stop, home.

As I walk, my thoughts seem to be just completely centered on Drew. I love him, I'm entirely sure of that. I want to spend the rest of my life with him, I know I would be happy just spending the rest of my life right by his side. But I don't know anymore if he feels the same. I used to wonder if he did, when we were younger; I would daydream about him confessing his feelings to me, taking me in his arms, kissing me, all that effeminate muck. I did some really stupid thing to myself whenever he proved how oblivious he was to my feelings... I tug my sleeves down and bunch the ends up in my fists at the very memory. Whenever he talked about a girl he liked in school, or later said he'd met "just the girl for me" in college, I would go home and do the most foolish things to myself, knowing I would never have the chance to be with him. Just proves how idiotic I was as an adolescent, punishing myself for being so naïve. Bur then, when I finally started showing Drew how I feel, and he showed signs of perhaps feeling the same way, everything seemed better. Life seemed better. Every twisted little thing I did as a kid to myself seemed rectified, because he finally felt the same way. But then Arys showed up, and it just seemed as though he didn't have those feelings anymore; it still does, in fact. But it's wrong to hate Arys for having feelings for Drew. She feels just the same as me, her intentions are as pure as I feel mine are. It's Drew's decision to lead her - and me - on like this. Not Arys's.

I continue to think of this until I've paid for my train ticket and I'm sitting on an uncomfortable seat in the crowded carriage of a train headed for Camden. It's only once the train begins to move that I realise this is my last chance to ever be with Drew...and I'm having to completely rely on that naïve, slow-minded nompkin to catch on to why I'm heading back to London. Fat chance...

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[Author's Message]

This is a short one, but it's to make up for having not updated anything in so long. I just haven't had a lot of inspiration for my writing, I've just spent a lot of time watching Yogscast videos...

Feedback would be marvellous, it didn't take me long to write this and I haven't bothered editing so it'd be great to know what I can change :3

Oh and before I forget, this chapter's dedicated to CyrusBarrone for being the first to comment, and with larvely feedback too :3 Thanks to everyone else for the mahvellush feedback too! <3

Keep the peace, stay awesome and faith always...Bevers 0(@.@)0