𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙈𝙚 𝙄𝙣.

Tana Reid Just Isn't His Type.

The day West had been waiting for, for over two years was finally here - moving day. He'd made the decision to leave after that day in the Sheriff's office, when Dennis had blamed him for his brother beating him blue and bloody, when he realised no one was truly on his side, not even the people who promised to serve and protect.
That was then. He had mixed feelings about leaving now, things were going well with his family, but he still felt that space would do them all good. Brittany had already left, they'd spent their last day together in her room eating junk food and talking about everything and nothing at all like they used to do on friday nights when Paul came home too early. They'd said their goodbyes, but neither of them were hurting because they knew it was only temporary. Some friendships outlasted the test of time, the test of distance. They were going to be okay.

Then there was Killian, he was sure any other person would've asked him to stay, or maybe he'd just been dating the wrong people before, but Killian was selfless, he wanted West to pursue his dreams, to turn into the best version of himself, to be the creative he was always meant to be, to meet caring and supportive friends with the same interests as him, and after everything, to come back to him.

6 months was all it took for them to form an unbreakable bond. He never truly hated Killian, not really... even when he tried hard to. The moment he set his eyes on him at that party, he knew he would be his undoing, there wasn't much he could do to stop it, so he just let it unfold, even when the little voice at the back of his head that sounded like Paul told him it would end in tears.
He'd never listen to that voice ever again, that voice that was just the essence of fear, that voice which had never been right.

"What the-- Where'd all your hair go?" A stunned West asked when the person who'd been running through his mind suddenly appeared in his driveway as he packed the last box into his boot. He was bald.
Not bald, bald, his hair had been trimmed down into a neat buzzcut, but bald, nonetheless.

"That's really the first thing you're gonna say to me?"

"Hey, " West tried again, he pulled Killian close then, placed a soft kiss on his cheek, "Now?" He urged.

Killian rolled his eyes affectionately and said, "Wanted to try something new. You like it?"

He wasn't about to tell him how Sparrow had stuck multiple pieces of chewed gum in his hair while he was asleep the previous night. He had dignity and wasn't going to admit he was being bullied by his own kin in his own home. He got him back by dousing him in ice cold water that morning, though, it was rather satisfying to wake him up from a very peaceful sleep that way. With that being said, he was dreading what Sparrow had planned when he came back from Michigan.

"Yeah... suits you."

That earned him a smile from Killian.

"You ready?" He asked, his fingers moving to pull at the strings of the black hoodie under his leather jacket. The action reminded West to thrift a couple of hoodies and jackets when he got settled in Michigan so he'd be prepared for winter.

West nodded, then handed him the car keys before attending to Paul who was lingering in the doorway.

"You gonna be okay on your own?" He asked, a gentle expression settling on his face.

"Yeah." Paul smirked with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Regina's coming over." And he had plans for the both of them.

"She's been over here a lot, lately."

"Aren't you the one who encouraged me to go after her?"

West flashed back to an incident involving whipped cream and toys (that weren't kid friendly) he was unfortunate enough to witness a couple of days ago. He'd just got back from the movies with Killian, the front door had been unlocked, and Paul's excuse for making West feel like washing his eyes out with bleach, was that he thought he'd be sleeping over at Killian's. Like he'd ever slept over at Killian's.