Shea was a mess at school. Shea was a mess at home. Shea was just a mess. He couldn't understand how Simon could keep giving Asher chances, how he could keep going back to the boy no matter what he did. Shea was iced out from the story, he was barely a footnote in Simon's life, and he felt completely used. Asher was the worst person he'd ever met in his entire life, and despite the fact that Simon had just screwed him over royally, he was still pretty sure Simon was the best person he'd ever met. The two boys should have been repulsive forces, pushing against each other in their sheer opposite nature, and yet they seemed compelled together. Shea was like a thin piece of paper incapable of blocking their magnetic rays.
He seriously could not imagine what Simon could ever see in someone like Asher, especially when Shea was so much better than Asher in every single way. Shea was the kinder, better choice, who treated Simon with respect, at least that was what he thought. But Shea wasn't even sure if he could still claim to be so far above Asher after exploding at Simon and his brother. Shea wrote his actions off as well deserved anger, and was sure that if it had been Asher who got kicked off the football team Simon would have been met with a lot less than the small amount of forgiveness Shea offered. Shea shuttered to think what Asher would do if Simon had kicked him off the football team, figuring Simon would probably be dead. If there was one thing Shea could count on it was that Asher would screw everything up worse than he could. Though it seemed another thing to count on was that Simon would give Asher another chance, no matter how bad things got.
Shea thought Simon was soft on Asher. The small boy never seemed to punish Asher properly, at least not like he punished Shea for his missteps. Every tiny mistake Shea made was equaled by a bigger mistake Asher made, and yet Simon had a pattern of forgiving Asher first. Asher had made Simon uncomfortable with nasty comments, and forceful affection, and all Shea had done was left Simon alone for a few days (for his own protection) and Simon gave Shea the silent treatment for days, while pretending everything was fine with Asher. It was infuriating, and it seemed to have come to a head just a days ago when he narrowly avoided being attacked by Simon's huge brother (whom Shea had never met before).
Shea had neglected to make other friends while at Boston Central High School, because he'd been so focused on his relationship with Simon, which he now saw to be a mistake. Simon was taken, and Asher had warned him, and for once in the cocky boy's life his warnings had been correct. Shea never should have gotten involved with Simon. It was a pattern for Shea; to get caught up with people who are 'emotionally unavailable' like Simon. Shea wasn't even sure why he'd ever even liked Simon in the first place. Clearly the boy didn't have a great judge of character if he was going to pick Asher, the mental equivalent of a screaming toddler, over Shea. Shea needed to get out of the house, and out of his own head; mostly he just needed to not be alone. Being that he couldn't go hang out with Simon he was going to have to go out with the other closest thing he made to a friend at Boston Central: Garrett.
Shea: I need to get out of my head. wanna go do something?
Garrett: OMG are you actually inviting me somewhere? u never do that!
Shea: don't make it weird
Garrett: ok <3 lunch in ten? I can pick u up
Shea: sure
Garrett made good time, and it wasn't long before the two boys were riding in Garrett's car to some fast food restaurant by their high school. Shea had been to school a few days before, but it still felt like years before he had been over that way. So much about his life had changed in such a short period of time.
"I'm so happy you wanted to do something. I've been in a bit of a bad head space myself." Garrett had a cheeky smile on his face, but Shea, head leaned on his hand at the table, only nodded half listening to his dinner partner. "So a lot of stuff's already happened since you left. Yesterday Coach made me the new capt-"
"Is that Simon's brother Liam?" Shea asked, gesturing to the man who walked from the back, seemingly helping a new hire. He appeared to be the manager.
"I don't know.." Garrett looked over to the blonde boy behind the counter. "Simon told me his brother doesn't have a job. Said they get their money from their grandparents."
"Their Grandparents? Where are their parents?" Shea asked, still half paying attention, his vision locked on the man.
"You didn't know?" Garrett raised an eyebrow. "Damn I thought the two of you were close. Simon's mother's at a rehab facility, and his dad..."
"That's definitely Simon's brother." Shea interrupted.
"Weird. Simon said Liam wasn't allowed to get a job until he finished up with school and football. I can't imagine he'd lie to his brother. They're very close, they really only have each other you know." Garrett turned to look at the man as well. Liam looked up from the register, and made a brief moment of eye contact with Shea, before his gaze turned into a glare and he marched back into the kitchen. "Anyway.. like I was saying Coach suspended-"
"How did you know where to pick me up today?" Shea asked, sitting up in his chair.
"I uh.. You invited me over a while back.. that night when Simon had his-" Garrett began. He stopped eating his food, and his tan face paled. "Why?"
"I was just thinking that I didn't tell you where to go today, and you just picked me up.. and you've been to my house before... and you.. you used to be friends with Asher.." The pieces of the puzzle began to lift up and place themselves together in Shea's head. Why Simon would lie to him. Why Simon would chose Asher over him after they kissed. Why Asher knew where Shea lived. It wasn't because Simon had told him, no it was Garrett. "Did you.. Did you tell Asher that I live in Cambridge and not Boston proper?"
"Yes." Garrett hung his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.. I never thought Asher would take it so far... I was just talking to him, and he asked me and I told him, and I didn't think anything of it.. But I never thought he'd get you transferred to a new scho--"
"Not now, Garrett." Shea snapped. "I've got to go."
....
Simon sat in his room waiting for Liam to get back from his football practice. It had been a long Saturday, and he was a little bit lonely. Kit had begrudgingly gone home the night before. He had been afraid Asher might do something to him, but Simon had insisted that Asher would never hurt him. Now Simon was just praying that he had been correct, and Asher was too good of a person to hurt Kit, despite his anger.
Simon's attention was grabbed by his phone ringing. The number that showed up was unknown, but Simon resolved to answer it anyway.
"Hello..."