6Here is basically a sequel-ish thing to Almost Teasing, in which it's Thanksgiving in our world and Terry invites - forces - Kie to come to his family's Thanksgiving, but of course things never go as planned, but yeah. You don't have to have read Almost Teasing to know about this story :) So. Yep. Also, please keep in mind this has little to no bearing on the actual plot of Almost Living.
You do not have to have read Almost Living to read this, not really, but it might make more sense ;)
This and Almost Teasing were written expressly as a request of Tenshi no Yami :) I might do a serious of brief one-shots with these characters, but I make no promises. I might have another chapter to this story but again, I make no promises. This just had a good stopping point :) and it was super long O.O 6,000 words! Ack! Anywho, yeah :)
Begin!
Almost Thankful
Terry invited Kieron to Thanksgiving at his dad's house hoping to show off the immortal, but it seems his father has alternative plans. What exactly is Terry thankful for?
Warnings: Story contains strong language and a slash pairing. Rated T for now, but the rating may go up if other chapters are added. If this is not your glass of pineapple juice...you know what to do by now.
A week later it was Thanksgiving again – well, my Thanksgiving, anyway. I was more than a little nervous as Kieron and I drove in my car. He seemed to have a perpetual scowl on his face and I knew he didn't want to be here, but I didn't really want to be here either. Thanksgiving at his parents' place was one thing, but at my dad's? That was another matter entirely.
My father and I hadn't been known to really get along. If anything, he thought me being 'gay' was just a phase and I would grow out of it, but it was time he learned otherwise. For years I'd tried to appease him, but no longer. Because I was with Kieron now, and despite how Kieron refused to do anything even remotely romantic, I was happy with him.
If my father had a problem with that, then he really had no place in my life. I hadn't even seen the man in years.
"We're almost there," I told Kieron. My dad's place was about two hours from my apartment. Upon glancing at him, I saw him rolling his eyes. "It won't be that bad."
"Then why are you so damn jittery?" he retorted, glancing at me. I felt his gaze looking me over. "If you don't want to go, why the hell are we going?"
"Because it's Thanksgiving," I said, sighing. "And I went to your place so you better shut up and think happy thoughts because my dad needs to like you."
He scoffed. "I could care less what your dad thinks."
"Kieron."
"The way you talk about him, you don't even like him that much, so why is it so important for me to behave?" he asked, irritation leaking through his voice.
"Because he's my dad," I said. "I behaved for your parents, you could at least do the same for mine."
He sighed heavily but didn't argue. I knew he didn't want to go – Tommy would be there and he and Kieron didn't really get along that well, not to mention he didn't really want to meet my dad. He hated being around humans in general – why would he want to be around my family, when Tommy already didn't really like him? I understood his irritation at going, but I was thankful he was coming just the same.
About ten minutes later found us pulling up outside my dad's house. Already vehicles filled the driveway, making me growl under my breath. I'd been told it was just family this year – and not extended. It was just supposed to me, dad, Tommy, his wife, and Kieron.
We climbed out of the car and walked toward the front door. I took in a deep breath and stared at the wood for a long moment.
"Are you gonna knock?" Kieron asked.
I glanced at him and found him watching me. "I…yeah," I murmured, and then took in another deep breath before I raised my hand and knocked on the door.
A minute later, my brother Tommy answered the door with a wide grin. "Terry!" he said, pulling me into a quick hug. "Kieron." He barely nodded at the immortal.
"Thomas," Kieron muttered with a twist of his lips. He always called him Thomas instead of Tommy, despite how much my brother hated it. I was pretty sure that was why he called him that in the first place.
"Hey," I said, breaking the tension, "is the food ready?"
Tommy released a faint laugh. "Is that all you care about?"
"Yep! So?"
He shrugged. "Sure," he said. "We were just waiting on you. Although you didn't tell me Kieron was coming."
I shrugged. "I figured you knew," I said honestly, because he knew I liked Kieron. He knew I wanted Kieron to come, and he knew I went to Kieron's for an 'early' dinner a week ago – although he didn't know it was in Ethereal, or that it was actually Thanksgiving there, just earlier.
He sighed and beckoned us inside. Kieron followed reluctantly behind me as we walked through the living room into the kitchen. I blinked when I entered to find not only Dad sitting at the table, but also my aunt Sophie, her husband, and about five people I didn't know. I glanced at Tommy.
"Where's Lacy?" I asked. "And the kid?"
"Amanda's sick," Tommy said, "so Lacy stayed home with her."
I nodded. Amanda was his kid, a precious little girl I'd seen only a few times, actually. Then again Tommy didn't live in town – closer than Dad's, yeah, but not really that close either.
"Terrence," my father greeted with a small smile as he got to his feet. I swallowed and stepped toward him – tripped toward him mostly, because Kieron gave me a shove – and accepted his quick hug. "How nice you could join us. Come, son, there's someone I want you to meet." He paused and glanced at Kieron. "And who is this?"
"That's Kieron," I said, "my-"
"Roommate," Tommy cut in quickly, with a nervous little laugh. "Kieron's his new roommate."
"Oh," Dad said after a small pause. "Well, hello, Kieron. Wouldn't you rather spend Thanksgiving with-"
"Kieron's an orphan," Tommy said.
I glared at my brother, utterly confused. Behind me, I could hear Kieron giving into a faint growl, but after a faint wave of my hand, the sound cut off. However I could still feel the heat of his glare on the back of my head.
"I see," Dad said with a small nod. "Welcome, Kieron. Glad you could join us." He stepped toward the immortal and held out his hand.
Kieron didn't look like he was going to shake it, but I turned a glare on him until he sighed and shook Dad's hand. "Nice to meet you," he said, but I think I'm the only one to notice the tight tone in his voice.
"Terrence," Dad said, looking at me as he dropped Kieron's hand, "I have someone I want you to meet."
I frowned. "Um…okay," I said unsurely, but when I glanced at Tommy, he looked just as confused as I did. "You're not getting married again, are you?"
Dad rolled his eyes. "No," he said, "of course not. Here, your friend can sit at the table. Come with me."
I sighed and gestured for Kieron to sit somewhere before I followed after my father. He led me into the dining room – not the table in the kitchen, but a separate room entirely – which only sat one other person.
Dad led me toward the table and the person stood. "Terrence," he said, "meet Rachel."
"Hi," I said slowly, looking at the girl at the table.
She was pretty enough, with long, flowing blonde hair, fair skin and piercing blue eyes. She wore a kind smile as she stuck her hand out for me to shake.
"Hi," she said cheerfully, "I've heard a lot about you, Terrence."
"Terry," I said, shaking her hand, "and, um…thanks. Can't say the same?" I glanced toward Dad, very confused.
"Rachel is new in town," Dad said, "why don't you two talk for a bit? Dinner is almost done."
I sighed and decided it best not to argue. Maybe this girl asked for me specifically because I knew the town fairly well – better than Tommy, at any rate. So I sat at the table and Dad left the room, leaving the two of us alone.
"So," I said quietly, "what do you want to know?"
She shrugged. "First," she said, "why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"
I paused. "Okay," I sighed. "My name is Terry. I live in an apartment. That's about it. You?"
I wasn't interesting, after all.
Well, save for the fact my boyfriend was an immortal who lived in Atlantis. Besides that, I was completely normal and boring.
She shrugged and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, smiling at me. "I'm twenty-three," she said, "I'm in college, and I enjoy romantic comedies."
I shrugged. "Meh, if that's what you're into," I said. Personally I could do without the romance. Or maybe that was just because Kieron refused to watch anything romantic, including romantic comedy, so I just stuck with other genres.
She grinned at me. "Would you like to see a movie sometime?"
I blinked. "Um…what do you mean?" I asked, confused. I just met her – why would I want to watch a movie with her? Besides, I really needed to be getting back to Kieron. "Actually, can we talk later? I kind of…" I gestured toward the doorway that led into the kitchen. She sighed and nodded, and I climbed to my feet and quickly left the dining room.
I found no empty seat next to Kieron. Instead there were two empty seats between Dad and Tommy. Kieron sat on the other side of Tommy, between him and some girl I didn't know. I frowned, watching Kieron scowl as the girl talked to him. He had yet to notice my presence. Tommy looked at me apologetically.
I approached him. "Move over," I said.
He hesitated. "Terry…can we talk?"
"About? Move."
He shook his head, got to his feet, grabbed my arm, and tugged me out of the kitchen. Through the living room we walked, before we approached the stairs. He dragged me up them and we stopped at the top of them, in the hallway.
"What do you want?" I asked. "Can't we just eat?"
"Food's not done yet," he said, "and we need to talk."
"About what?" I sighed.
"Dad thinks Kieron is your roommate."
"Gee," I scowled, "I wonder why? I mean, you only told him he was. And that he didn't have any parents! That was pretty rude."
"Sorry." He ran his fingers through his short, dark brown hair. "Just…okay, just for today, can you…not be gay?"
I glared at him. "You think it's a fucking choice? Are you turning into Dad now?"
"No," he said, "I know it's not, but…every time you guys are together, you wind up fighting. It's been a while, Terry. Just…be straight, okay? Just for today, until everyone else leaves, then you can talk to Dad and whatever, all you want, okay? Please? I really want everyone to have a nice time today."
"Kieron's my boyfriend," I told him, eyes still narrowed at him in a harsh glare.
"I know he is," he sighed, "just…c'mon. For Dad's sake. For my sake. I don't want you two to fight today, at least not with all the company, okay?"
I sighed heavily. "Okay…I'll try," I murmured.
Yeah. I'd try not to hold onto Kieron – when the immortal would let me, of course – and not kiss him and not…well…I wasn't sure. I didn't know how to be straight, but I'd try – for a few hours, at least. Then it was fair game.
"For two hours," I said. "If people haven't left by then, then so what."
He nodded slowly. "Okay," he said, "thanks." He smiled. "I know it's hard for you, but I appreciate it."
"Yeah," I grunted, "whatever. I'm getting back to Kieron now."
"You can't sit next to him," Tommy said.
"Why the fuck not?" He was my boyfriend and he didn't know anyone here except Tommy – I was definitely going to sit next to him.
"Terry…Dad made the seating arrangements, you can't just sit next to him. He's already a little suspicious since he's your roommate."
"He's not my roommate!" I snapped, rounding on him as I'd been trying to walk down the stairs. My skin was starting to itch though I wasn't sure why, because Kieron was just downstairs and wasn't in any danger…except from maybe the temptation to kill someone, but still.
Tommy sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. "I know," he said quietly. "I know, just…please. I understand, okay? I might not like him, but I know you do. You don't want him to see Dad all angry, do you?"
I hesitated. Kieron knew some of what to expect from my dad, but no, I didn't really want him to see it. I also didn't want my dad to start being a complete ass to Kieron, so I finally gave a slow, reluctant nod. "Okay," I murmured, "I'll…okay."
Staying away from Kieron was harder than it should have been, really. Since I sat next to Dad – two seats down from Tommy, and Rachel sat between us – he kept tossing me looks but I tried to not meet his eye. I wasn't sure how I could explain this to him.
"So, Kieron," commented my aunt, smiling at the immortal, "that is a strange name. Where did your parents come up with it?"
He shrugged. "Dunno," he said, frowning momentarily as he thought about it. "Never really thought about it."
"Well, I like it," said the girl next to him, and I couldn't stop the glare which overtook my face as she lightly touched his arm, a wide grin on his face. Kieron stiffened but didn't brush her off, and I wasn't sure if that offended me or not.
When we first met, he brushed me off all the time. He didn't know this girl at all and he hadn't even wanted to come here in the first place, so why wasn't he shrugging her off or even glaring at her? Instead he just gave a small shrug.
"Do you like my name?" the girl asked.
Kieron frowned somewhat. "Melody?" he asked, then shrugged. "It's okay, sure."
She chuckled, still smiling at him. I would have kept glaring at them if it hadn't been for the hand which landed on my arm. I glanced at Rachel to see her smiling at me. "So," she said quietly, "about that movie…"
"Um…what?" I asked. What was with her and a stupid movie? I barely watched TV anymore, let alone movies!
Kieron and I had other…ways to occupy our time…
"The movie," she said slowly, "the romantic comedy?"
"Um…okay?"
"Would you like to see one sometime?"
"Uhh…" I glanced toward my dad, confused, but he just smiled encouragingly and I gave into a large sigh. "Sure," I muttered, "why not."
I wasn't sure why she wanted to watch a movie, but whatever. A movie wouldn't hurt, would it? And it would make Dad happy. Right? Though why it would, I didn't know.
Still, though, avoiding Kieron's gaze was harder than I thought. I kept wanting to look at him, talk to him, but instead I kept quiet and stared down at the plate of food in front of me like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Every so often I would glance at the clock above the sink. As soon as two hours passed, I was done with this, and if people were still here then Kieron and I were leaving, because this was ridiculous.
Rachel kept talking to me – mostly small talk. Her favorite movies, music, TV shows, books, that sort of thing. I answered accordingly and nodded politely as she ranted on and on about this movie and that movie, but truthfully I barely heard her words. It took pretty much all I had to not snap at Tommy to trade me seats, or to tell that bitch to stop talking to Kieron…
Melody, right? Yeah, that was her name. She was cute enough, with short, wavy brown hair, freckles aligning her nose, and giant emerald green eyes but for some reason, I could barely stand to look at her. And Kieron kept talking to her – he never talked! What was up with that? If I yammered on and on like she was right now, he'd either smack me or tell me to shut the hell up, so why was he letting her talk like this?
It was ridiculous!
Hey, I wanted to snap, you're with me, not her!
Except I couldn't, because I promised Tommy I'd try. I knew it hurt for Tommy to ask that of me, because he'd always been pretty understanding of my sexual interests, unlike Dad. Although, I did know he was often trapped in the middle of our fights, so I figured I owed it to him to behave for at least one night – at least while there was company, and only for two hours anyway.
But time seemed to drag, because when I thought four hours had past, it had only been forty minutes.
Eighty minutes, I told myself, you can do it.
Except I really didn't want to.
"Your hair is so soft," gushed Melody, causing me to glance over as she ran her hands through Kieron's blue hair – except to her it, was probably a dark brown, or black. I stared as Kieron sighed and let her, even though he did stiffen somewhat and narrow his eyes.
"Thanks," he said very slowly.
"So, Terrence," my dad said.
"Terry," I corrected with a sigh, dragging my gaze away from Kieron and Melody to look at Dad.
"I hear you've gotten over your phase," Dad said happily, grinning at me. I flinched because I hated lying to the man, but I'd promised Tommy. For at least eighty more minutes, I had to keep that promise, so I simply shrugged and gave a quick, tiny nod. "That's great! Why don't you go show Rachel the upstairs? She wanted to look earlier but was busy helping me cook."
I sighed and nodded. If it got me away from the temptation of Kieron – and the temptation to bite that girl's head off – then okay, I could do it. Head bowed, I led Rachel from the room, through the living room, and up the stairs.
"So," I said with a heavy sigh, "here's the upstairs."
She looked around at the brown walls.
"There's Dad's room," I said, gesturing, "and that used to be my room, and that used to be Tommy's room."
"I'd like to see your room," she said quietly, and I shrugged.
I wonder if he's changed it?
I seriously doubted he kept it the same.
I pushed open the door to my room and glanced around as I poked my head inside. "Hey, it is pretty much the same," I said with a smirk, turning back to face Melody, "he kept the bed and everything!"
I wasn't sure why I was grinning so much, but I'd honestly expected him to be so disappointed in me over the years that he'd thrown my stuff out and changed my room into something completely different. It was a relief to see he hadn't.
Of course, it had been years since I'd actually lived here.
I looked back into the room, glancing around at the old VHS tapes, and turned to face Rachel again. "He even kept the V-"
Her lips swallowed my words as her mouth landed on mine and she wrapped her arms around my neck, tugging me closer to her. I floundered for a moment, too startled to do anything, but finally lightly grabbed her shoulders to push her away, when I heard a growl.
Oh shit.
A familiar growl.
I shoved her away to find Kieron standing at the top of the stairs, glaring at us, blue eyes dark with anger, and my skin itched. "K-Kieron," I whispered weakly, "wait, I know what it looks like, but-"
"Save it," he snapped, and then turned and walked down the stairs without another word, without another glance.
"Kieron! Kie, wait!" I hissed, darting after him.
I caught up to him as he was opening the front door to leave the house. Quickly, I chased him outside and slammed the door shut behind me as I grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face me.
"Kieron," I said quietly, "please-"
"I don't want to hear it," he said, glaring at me. "You fucking ignore me all through dinner, I had to sit through that woman's bitching, and I go to use the restroom and I find you kissing that girl?" He shook his head. "No explanation necessary."
"Kieron, please, let me explain-"
"I know what kissing is," he said, shrugging, "no explanation necessary." Then he turned, shrugging off my hold on his shoulder, and started walking away.
"Kieron," I hissed, chasing after him again. My skin itched and burned and I wanted it to go away but it wouldn't. Not until I fixed this, right? Was that why it was burning and itching? "It's not what you think!"
He grunted and kept walking. He bypassed the car and walked toward the street.
"Kieron!" I snagged his arm, tugging him backward, toward me, but he ripped away from my hold, leaving me staggering backward, staring at him. "Kie, c'mon…you have to let me explain!"
He kept walking.
Further and further away.
"Kie!"
Fix this, I told myself, have to fix this, fix this, c'mon, fix this.
I raced after him again, this time stopping in front of him, causing him to glare at me. "Please," I said hastily, "please, let me explain, okay? It's not what you think! I didn't kiss her!"
"Doesn't matter," he said, shrugging, expression guarded, and fuck, it hurt. He was shutting me out, after I'd tried so damn hard to get in, and it fucking hurt. "Need to get back to work anyway."
"Work?" I ran my tongue across my dry lips. "Gatekeeping?"
He shrugged and pushed past me.
"Kieron! Stop walking away! Let me fucking explain!" I hissed, glaring at his back. "You fucking owe me!"
Now he rounded on me angrily, and I knew I was the only one to see the feral look in his eyes, the fangs in his mouth, the shagginess of his hair…
"I owe you?" he snarled, and then barked out a bitter laugh. "That's fucking rich! I came here for you, because you wanted me to, and this is the fucking thanks I get? Fuck you!"
"Fuck you!" I snapped back. "It's not like you've never ignored me before!"
"You think I'm pissed about that?" He stopped, shook his head, and turned away from me, shoulders stiff. "I'm out of here."
"No, wait," I said, chasing after him yet again. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry, just-" As soon as my hand landed on his shoulder, he rounded on me and shoved me away in the time it took me to blink. I staggered back so much I tripped on my feet and fell, landing on my ass in the middle of the street.
"Don't fucking touch me," he growled, glaring down at me with that feral look in his eyes, "and stay the fuck away from me."
"Kieron," I whispered, heart seizing momentarily, "please…"
"Leave me the fuck alone." Then he spun away from me and walked away.
"Kie," I murmured, staring after him, heart racing in my chest.
Please no. Don't go. Don't…don't do this.
He stopped momentarily but didn't look back toward me. After a moment, he shrugged and murmured a faint, "Have a nice life, Terry."
And then he walked away, and this time I didn't – couldn't – chase after him.
Not with the way my skin itched and burned, my heart seized in my chest, and my eyes burned ferociously.
That was how my brother found me ten minutes later, except not in the middle of the street. Instead I sat on the sidewalk, knees pulled up to my chest, my arms wrapped around them, and my chin resting on my knees. My eyes stilled burned and my heart felt anxious and heavy, but I didn't know what to do. Was there anything I could do?
"Have a nice life, Terry."
He used my name. He rarely did that unless he was serious. And what the fuck did he mean, have a nice life? What was that supposed to mean?
I didn't want to think about it.
My brother found me sitting there, on the sidewalk near my car, and knelt next to me with a quiet, "Terry?"
I grunted.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "What's wrong?" A pause. "Where's Kieron?"
I sighed heavily and buried my face in my knees, my bangs dipping down to brush my hands which were clasped around my knees. "I fucked up."
"Huh? Terry, I can't hear you. What's wrong?" He lightly touched my shoulder.
"He left," I said a little louder.
"Left? Why? Weren't you his ride here?"
I nodded. I was his ride here, but not anymore. I wasn't his ride home. For all I knew, there was a gateway around here somewhere, but I'd never know. I'd never find it. I didn't know where any of them were anymore, except in the woods, but without Kieron there to tell me where to go, I wasn't entirely sure where the exact entrance was.
Maybe I'd never find it again. I didn't know.
"Terry? C'mon, look at me."
I sighed and lifted my head, gazing at my brother with burning eyes. "Kieron left."
"Why?"
"I fucked up."
"What do you mean?"
"What do I…? Fuck you!" I snapped, suddenly angry. "This is all your fucking fault!" I shoved him away and got to my feet, stomping away from him.
He caught my arm and pulled me back. Unfortunately, he'd always been stronger than me. "How is it my fault?"
"Because you made me make that stupid promise!"
"What does that have to do with…?" He frowned, confused, and I glared at him.
"Rachel fucking kissed me," I hissed, watching him, "and Kieron fucking saw it, and since I'd been going out of my way to fucking avoid him, for you, he fucking left!"
"You kissed Rachel?" he asked, shocked, and I shook my head.
"No! I didn't fucking kiss her! She kissed me!"
"Well did you push her away?"
"Yes!"
"Did you explain to-"
"He wouldn't fucking let me," I hissed. "He just fucking left and it's all your fucking fault!"
Now he glared at me. "All I asked was that you didn't openly talk about being with him at dinner," he snapped back. "I didn't tell you to fucking ignore him entirely! You could still fucking talk to him! And I didn't ask you to take Rachel upstairs after she was hinting all through dinner that she fucking liked you!"
I stared at him, that burning behind my eyes more pronounced, because he was right. He'd only asked that try to not let on that Kieron was my boyfriend – but I'd ignored him entirely. Roommates – friends – still talked. They still glanced at each other.
It was just so much easier to blame Tommy…
"I wouldn't have done any of it if you hadn't asked," I mumbled, sighing.
He sighed as well, and for a moment we both just stood there, watching each other, before we murmured at the same time, "I'm sorry."
I swallowed. "I'm sorry, Tommy. It's my fault."
"No," he sighed, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
"Let's just...call it a truce, okay? I forgive you."
It hurt to forgive him, but he was my brother and it wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault Rachel kissed me. It wasn't his fault Kieron saw it happen. It wasn't his fault Kieron fucking walked away.
"C'mon," Tommy murmured, grabbing hold of my arm, "we should get back inside. The routine is about to start."
I nodded numbly and followed him back inside, even though I wanted nothing more than to leave and find Kieron. Except I had no idea where to start looking.
The 'routine' was a tradition in my family. On Thanksgiving, after dinner, we always went around the table and had everyone name what they were thankful for. It could be one thing, two things, or three things, but no more than that. It seemed corny now, but I'd grown up with it.
Kieron would have laughed if he saw this part…
My faint smile disappeared. Kieron wasn't here to see it. It didn't make me feel better.
I sat at the table, next to fucking Rachel of all people, stuck between her and Dad like I had been all dinner. Dad smiled encouragingly at me and glanced at Rachel, before back toward me. Then he looked around at everyone and started his opening speech, as was the way of anyone who hosted the dinner and since it was his house, the job fell down to him.
Except suddenly his words meant nothing to me, because it all made sense now. Everything fell into place.
He introduced me to Rachel because Tommy told him I was passed my 'gay' stage and told him Kieron was my roommate, not my boyfriend. So he introduced me to Rachel, hoping we'd hit if off. Then he'd told me to take Rachel upstairs, where she kissed me, and…
He fucking set me up! He had her flirt with me so I'd like her! He's trying to make me go out with her!
Sickened at the thought, I buried my face in my hands, my elbows on the table, holding my head up. It was suddenly all I could think about.
The look on Kieron's face. Rachel's lips against mine. The way she talked about movies. How Dad introduced us as soon as I got here, and then made us sit next to each other. The encouraging looks he kept giving me.
I quietly fumed inside for a long moment. I only startled when Rachel's hand landed on my shoulder. I struggled to fight down the urge to shake her off, but it was hard. I opened my eyes, dropped my hands, and looked around to find everyone watching me. Dad especially. He kept grinning at me, then at Rachel, and back at me, like he was hinting at what I should say.
Fuck. You.
"I'm thankful for the fact I have such an understanding family," I said. "A family who isn't ashamed of me." I let my gaze fall first on Tommy, then on Dad, and I kept my gaze there. He watched me, a slow frown working its way onto his lips. "I'm glad my own dad didn't see it as his duty to set me up with someone."
"Terrence," Dad said, clearing his throat, "that's enough."
I glared at him and then got to my feet, angrily sliding my chair back. "And I'm thankful for Kieron, because he came all the fucking way out here today, against his will, because I asked him to, for me, and all I fucking did was ignore him to please you people." I glare at everyone and then looked again at my father, who was glaring back at me.
"Terrence," Dad hissed in warning, but I didn't care. Not anymore.
"And I'm thankful I don't give a shit what you people think anymore, because if you can't accept me how I am, I'm done trying. You people might have just cost me Kieron, but if you cared about me, you'd know how fucking much that hurts. Of course, if you did care about me, you wouldn't ask me to be something I'm not."
Then I spun on my heel, knocked my chair over harshly, and stomped out of the room. And as I slammed the door shut, car keys in hand, I snarled a final, "Have a nice fucking life."
A week.
An entire week of not seeing Kieron. It wasn't unusual, really – he'd been pretty busy lately, but still. At least before, I knew I'd see him again. Now, though, I wasn't sure if I would. Would he come back? Could I find him? Would he talk to me again?
"Have a nice life, Terry."
I sighed heavily as I sat on my bed, where I'd been for days now. Empty pizza boxes sat on the floor near the foot of the bed, but I hadn't bothered cooking anything. That burning, itchy feeling had pretty much stopped, and I wasn't sure what to think of that. I was happy it wasn't bothering me as much anymore, but at the same time, I feared what it meant.
The burning, itchy feeling was a symbol of our bond. If that sensation dispersed, did that mean our bond was no more? Did that mean we were no more?
I found I really didn't like the thought of that, but I had no way to fix it, because I fucked up and Kieron was gone. I didn't know where he was, but he knew where to find me if he wanted to see me again. If he came back, he'd find me here, at my apartment.
But it'd been a week, and I hadn't seen him since Thanksgiving. Since he walked away.
Since I fucked up.
I'm sorry. So sorry.
"Have a nice life, Terry."
I couldn't. Maybe I could if I worked at it, but I wanted Kieron to be in it too. I'd grown used to his presence, to the feel of him close to me, his breath in my ear, his lips on my neck, his mouth pressed to mine.
I'd grown used to it, and I wanted it back. I wanted him back. I wanted him to come back, but he hadn't yet, and I wasn't sure he ever would. It took so damn long for me to even get him to let me in, and I'd gone and shattered his trust. Ignored him, pushed him away, all for my family. Some fucking family.
I was startled by the sound of someone knocking at my door. I was tempted to ignore it, but the sound kept growing louder, and didn't seem to be stopping, so I sighed and forced myself to my feet. I left my room, trudged down the dark hallway, and into the living room, where I pulled open the front door.
And stared.
"Kieron!" I cried, lunging forward, into his chest as I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. After a brief pause, I felt it when his own arms came up and wrapped around me as well. "I'm sorry," I breathed, face buried in his neck, "so sorry, didn't mean it. Sorry."
He tried to push me away but I clung tighter.
"No," I said, "just…just…come in, okay? Don't leave."
He sighed, but I felt him nod. He tried to push me away again. "Human," he murmured, and his voice sounded so damn good, "let go."
I swallowed and finally forced myself to step back and let go of him. I stepped back into my apartment and released a sigh of relief when he stepped in after me, and shut the door quietly behind him. His dark blue eyes scanned over me quickly.
"You look like hell," he said quietly. "And no offence, but you smell."
I released a faint chuckle. "Yeah, well…how, um…how are you?"
He shrugged. "I'm okay. You?"
"Um…Kieron, look…I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean it. She kissed me, I didn't kiss her back."
He sighed. "Yeah…I know."
"You…you do?" I frowned at him.
He nodded slowly. "Your brother, um…filled me in."
"He…he did? How?" How could Tommy find him to talk to him? Tommy didn't even like him!
"I was doing some, um…work here, and he saw me. Chewed me out." A faint smirk twisted his lips. "He's pretty stubborn."
"Yeah," I breathed, "he is. What did he say?"
"Basically that I was an asshole," he said with a scowl, "and he told me about what…happened at Thanksgiving." A pause. "About what you said."
I swallowed thickly. "O-Oh," I murmured. "Are you, um…are you mad?"
He shook his head. "No," he said, "I'm not mad." Another brief pause, then he sighed. "If anything…I think I should be apologizing to you."
"Oh? Why? I fucked up, not you."
"I didn't let you explain," he said.
"I shouldn't have ignored you."
"I should have let you talk."
I offered a faint smile. "I'll accept your apology if you accept mine?"
He nodded and smiled back, slowly. "Deal."
With a wide grin, I shot forward again, wrapping my arms around his neck, and pressed our mouths together in a long-overdue kiss.
"I love you," I murmured, watching him.
"I'm very loveable."
"Kieron."
He sighed. "Yeah, well, you're not so bad yourself."
And there's that :) I might post more of this, but I make no promises. Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading and please review!
~Averick~