Shay stopped momentarily once she reached James' house. There were no cars in the driveway, only his bike. She turned back to see if Brad had followed her and felt a wave of relief when she saw nothing but darkness. She walked up the driveway still trying to catch her breath and knocked a few times.
No one made any attempt at opening the door, and it was getting cold out. She took a deep breath before opening the door a tiny bit, just enough to allow her to peer inside. After seeing no one, Shay opened it fully and walked inside.
His house was tiny, with furniture covering most of the walls and floor space. Shay shut the door behind her and looked around to see if she could perhaps see James or his room at least.
She didn't see either, but did however spot a hall. She quietly walked down it and saw three doors. One of them had a 'welcome' sign on the front which made Shay doubt that a teenage boy lived inside. And the other was evidently a bathroom. So she went with the other door.
When she opened the door the light was off which made everything harder to see. She quickly searched for the light switched and turned it on. His room was what Shay had expected. There was a bed with a black cover in the corner, a small desk and draws on one side of the room, a few soccer balls sprawled around the room and a collection of guitars in one of the corners.
But James wasn't there. Shay swung the door all the way open and walked inside, taking a seat on James' bed. She picked up a soccer ball and staring tossing it in between her hands. She wasn't sure why she hadn't left yet, maybe it was because she had nowhere else to go.
She couldn't go home because Brad would most likely be there and she didn't really want to see his face right now. She didn't want to deal with Alex and her violent ridden self right now.
The only other person left was James. The only person who hadn't blown up in her face in the past few day was him. He was so much more calmer and easier than everyone else, he made everything seem so, simple. Shay liked simple, she wanted- she needed simple.
"Shay?" A voice startled her and the ball went tumbling out of her hands. She looked up and nearly went tumbling herself at the view. James was in his jeans and nothing else. He had a towel in his hands which was evidently being used to dry his near damp hair.
"Uhm, I- I just-" Shay didn't know what to say. Why was she here? What excuse did she have for continuously coming back to him?
"Is everything alright?" He asked and walked closer to her. "Did Brad hurt you?" He raised his voice kneeled down in front of her. His face was barely even bruised. "Shay." He said again and grabbed her hand after tossing the towel to the floor.
"No, it's- everything is fine." She stuttered and tried not to look at him. She couldn't handle being this close to him, especially when he was barely wearing anything. He gently placed her hands back down onto her thigh and sat down on the bed beside her.
"Why are you here?" He asked politely.
She shrugged and it went silent.
"I just," She began but stopped before deciding to continue. "You're the only person that hasn't blown up in my face recently."
"Oh." Was all he said. "So I'm taking it that it didn't go well with Brad."
"No." She sighed. "He's so fixed on us not being friends. Ridiculous, right?"
"I can't say that I blame him." James shrugged and Shay backed away a tiny bit.
"Okay.." She said and decided that she better leave before he too gets fed up with her.
"No, I just see where he's coming from. I mean, we do spend time together and I can only imagine the way he sees me looking at you-"
"James." Shay didn't want him to continue.
"But if he's not willing to let it go then he doesn't deserve you." He quickly added. "You're too good for him, all you guys do is fight." Shay should be feeling angry at his words, angry at him for speaking so low of Brad, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
"I'd never fight with you, I'd never-" If James was wearing a shirt, Shay would have used it to pull him closer, instead she had to do all the work. She connected their lips quickly and he jolted back from surprise. He moved his hand to the back of her head before resting them on her waist.
She gripped the back of his neck as the kiss deepened, feeling the dampness of his hair on her fingers. He pulled her leg over his body and she sat on his lap with a leg either side of him.
James didn't know what was happening, only that he's been wanting this to happen for so long. Even if she was just using him, he felt it a privilege to be used by her if it meant he could feel this way.
Shay was surprised by her own eagerness and refused to focus on anything other than James. But eventually, the thoughts of Brad found their way back in and she broke the kiss.
"James." She said, while trying to catch her breath. He turned his head to the side as she climbed off of him.
"It's okay." He said, not snapping like she had thought he would have.
"I'm sorry." She felt terrible.
"I get it." He said and turned to face her. Tears were threatening to spill, so he cupped her cheek.
"That wasn't fair on you."
"You're just confused." He said sadly. "He hurt you and I was here,"
"I don't want to use you." She cried.
"You're not." He said quickly. "I'll always be here for you."
"James-" Shay didn't understand why he was being so understanding.
"You're into him, and perhaps you're into me as well. But until you work out what you want with him, you can't be doing that." He said, referring to them kissing.
"I'm sorry." She said again.
"It's fine." He assured her and rubbed his thumb over a tear that spilled. He was just glad that she finally acted non her feelings, it meant that she had some for him. "Just promise me that you'll do what's best for you, whether it's Brad or me. And make sure you're 100% sure of your choice."
"Okay." She whispered. "I promise."
"Do you need to stay the night?"
Shay nodded slowly. "Only if that's okay."
"It's fine." He said and stood up to get her some clothes. He rummaged through his draws while Shay awkwardly sat on his bed. He pulled out a plain grey t shirt and some plaid boxers.
"You can sleep in these." He tossed the clothes to her. "I'll let you get changed." He said before grabbing a shirt and some pants for himself and leaving her in his room to get changed.
Once James closed the door Shay quickly got changed and placed her clothes on top on his draws. She sat back on his bed, not sure where she was sleeping. James soon returned all changed and with two cups of tea.
"You can take my bed if you want." James aid as he passed Shay her cup.
"Where will you sleep?" She blew on her tea before taking a sip.
"The couch, I don't know." He shrugged.
"You can sleep in the bed." Shay said. "It's big enough for the two of us."
"Shay." He smirked at her. "As tempting as that sounds.... I don't think it would be a very good idea."
"Yeah," She sighed. "I know."
Shay finished half of her tea before James got ready to leave.
"If you need anything, just yell." He said as he paused at the door.
"I will." She nodded and crawled up his bed. "Thank you, again. For everything."
"It's okay." He said.
"And I'm sorry, for everything." She added and he shook his head.
"Goodnight Shay." He said and closed his door, walking to the lounge room.
"Goodnight James." Shay whispered even though she knew he couldn't hear.
