You & I [Kier/Shane]

Chapter Six - Kier

Kier’s POV

I wanted to kiss him; I just wanted to meet those perfect lips with my own and calm him, let him know that everything was alright and feel his body relax against my own. It was insane, I haven’t even known him for long and now I wanted to comfort him, protect him from those negative voices in his head and see the person behind the fringe, and the long sleeve shirts, and the uptight shoulders. I wanted to get to know Shane, not the quivering, socially awkward man I’ve seen since I’ve got here. 

Once I left Shane’s room I strolled down the stairs and into the kitchen, set on making myself a warm mug of tea. As I reached into the cupboard I saw a slightly worn ‘Iron Maiden’ mug, reminding me instantly of the blond male cooped up in his bedroom and the collaged walls. Piercing my lips together I gently brought it down from its home and set on making him a drink along with mine. It always calmed me down after a hard day in the studio. I put the kettle on and wandered into the living room, finding Laurence typing away on his laptop. 

“Hey, Beveridge?” I asked, poking my head around the corner. 

Laurence merely hummed in reply, continuing his sentence before looking back up at me.

“How does Shane like his tea?” I asked, receiving a confused stare in reply.

“Milky, two sugars…” He mumbled in reply and I thanked him before hurrying back into the kitchen, beginning to make the soothing beverages. “Why?” I heard him call, followed by incoherent mumbling as he followed me into the kitchen.

“Kier..” Laurence sighed, leaning against the doorframe as he watched me bin the teabags. “He’s just a quiet guy, can’t you leave the poor man be?” 

As I stirred the sugar I frowned at him, shaking my head slowly. “I’m not doing anything. I just want to get to know him; he seems nice and you didn’t even mention to me that he lived here.” 

“He’s difficult.” Laurence mumbled in response, knowing I was slightly annoyed at him for leaving the vital information that Shane lived here. “He’s not exactly someone you can explain, or talk to for that matter… I shouldn’t even be speaking about him like this; Drew’ll kill me. “ He sighed as I threw the teaspoon into the sink, turning back to Laurence.

“I don’t see any reason not to speak to him,” I retorted almost protectively. “He’s a nice guy, you just need to give him a chance.” 

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t, I’m saying that it’s almost impossible to… you’ve only known him a week and had like what? 3, maybe 4, practically one-sided conversations with him? … He’s difficult.” He repeated, frowning over at me. 

I grabbed both drinks by the handle and moved over to Laurence, smiling appreciatively as he moved out the way for me. “That doesn’t mean we should just give up and let him waste away in the dark alone.” I replied, winking at him as I made my way towards the stairs.

“After living with him for over a year, you start to.” He grumbled in reply, follwing me and watching as I began to climb the stairs cautiously, in fear of spilling the drink and staining the carpet. 

“You know me, Beveridge,” I replied in a joyous tone, throwing him a grin behind me. “Never going down without a fight.” 

I heard a grumble as he walked away, probably returning to his slowly overheating laptop. Taking a deep breath I approached Shane’s closed door, knocking three times by kicking it this time, unable to use my hands.

“Hey, Shane?” I called, grinning at the wood. “It’s Kier again, can I come in?” 

I listened out for his small “okay” before opening the door with my right elbow, shuffling inside and kicking it closed behind me. Shane was still at his desk, sitting cross legged on his spinning computer chair; fringe covering his hair while he was now wearing a baggy blue hoodie, sleeves curled around his hands.

“Hey,” I beamed, walking over to him and placing his mug of tea on a coaster beside his closed sketchbook. “I made you tea; I guessed that was your mug, hope I got it right.” Shane nodded timidly in response, making me grin. “Great.” I breathed, moving to sit myself on his bed, crossing my legs as I got comfortable above the sheets. “You don’t mind if I hang out in here with you, do you?” He shook his head in response, sipping at his drink and smiling down at it; he had such a cute smile. “Laurence told me how you take your tea, I wanted to get it right.” I mumbled, noticing him taking more small sips.

“I-It’s really nice..” He awkwardly mumbled out, his head turning to me.

I grinned at him, happy that I was able to please him. “Great,” I breathed out once more. “I-I always have a mug of tea after work… I thought it’d help calm you.. Y-You seemed tense a-and.. Umm.. Yeah..” I didn’t know why I felt so embarrassed, the blush creeping across my cheeks; I hardly ever get bashful like this, it felt almost alien to me.

The sound of Shane’s soft giggle knocked me out my thoughts, causing my cheeks to heat up more. I eventually joined in, his musical laughter infectious to me. 

“What’s so funny?” I asked him as we both calmed down, his hair only over one eye now while he held a small smile as he looked at me, his pink tinted cheeks helping to make him look almost boyish.

He shook his head, giggling a little more. “You getting embarrassed, it’s odd.” 

I decided to keep my surprise to myself at the lack of a stuttered beginning as Shane projected his speech, completely in awe at his strong voice. “Why’s it odd?” I asked the timid blond gently, grinning across at him while I took a gulp at my warm beverage.

“You’re like… the definition of self-confidence… S-So it’s unusual to see you like that.” He mumbled, taking another sip of his tea and sighing happily as he retracted his mouth. 

I smiled, blushing slightly as I shook my head. “I’m not that confident, as evidenced just.” I giggled at my own response, blushing a little more as I smiled at him. 

He giggled along with me, turning his chair to face me more vertically. “You’re still more confident than I could ever be.” His hair was flicked across his second eye again with the turn of his head, causing my smile to drop slightly.

“It’s all just practice really.” I mumbled out, shrugging as I downed the last of my drink. 

“Yeah, maybe.” He replied quietly.

However much I hated the fact his thick fringe was covering his eyes once more, he was speaking to me; that was a start.