Chapter Six: May 22, 7:00 p.m.

“You have absolutely no idea how happy I am that we’re out of that stupid locker room,” Jesse whispered happily as he and his three friends tip-toed quietly down the hallway.

“Listen,” Keira said, “We didn’t get out of there as quickly as I wanted to, okay? I lost track of time. We were just lucky to get out of there without being spotted. They’re going to rotate again at 8:00. When that happens, we’re going into the 100 Hallway.”

“This is so stupid,” Shawn said, rolling his eyes, “What exactly is the whole point of this? I mean, we can’t do anything. And we’re stuck in here for another eleven hours.”

“Come on, Shawnie,” Jesse said, slinging an arm around Shawn’s neck, “You’ve gotta admit, this is sort of fun.”

“No, this is boring,” Shawn grumbled.

Michael rolled his eyes. “Yeah,” he mumbled to himself, “Only because you were too stupid to run down the battery on your iPod.”

Shawn made to rush over to Michael, but Jesse knew what he was about to do. He tightened his grip around Shawn’s neck and held him back. “Calm down, Tiger,” he said, “Don’t get us caught.”

Shawn gritted his teeth, but relaxed. He allowed Jesse to pull him along the hallway close to an exit leading outside. Keira remained with Michael, who only leaned against the wall and stared at Shawn and Jesse’s retreating forms.

“You know,” Keira said lightly, glancing down at the other end of the hallway in case a guard was coming, “I told Shawn to talk to you.”

Michael only sighed. “Why am I not surprised?”

“I don’t know,” Keira shrugged, walking over to Michael’s side and leaning against the wall next to him.

“I really hate him sometimes,” Michael said sadly, resting his head on Keira’s shoulder, which was quite a feat as she was a good four inches shorter than him.

“No you don’t,” Keira said, “You just get pissed off that he’s so introverted.”

“And the award for understatement of the year goes to…”

“I have a question,” Keira said suddenly.

“What?” Michael asked, dreading what Keira might ask.

“Why do you hate it when Shawn calls you ‘Mike’?” she asked softly.

Michael sighed, closing his eyes, and leaned a little more onto Keira’s shoulder. “I knew that one was going to come up eventually,” he said, clearing his throat lightly, “I’ve always hated ‘Mike’. I don’t understand why people just can’t say ‘Michael’. Anyway, when Shawn and I were together, he was the only one who called me ‘Mike’, and he was the only one that I let get away with it. Now… Well, it’s too hard for me to hear him say it, you know? But he won’t stop calling me that.”

“Does he know that it upsets you?” Keira asked.

“Of course,” Michael said with a bitter laugh, “But he’s an arrogant asshole, and he doesn’t care. He’ll do what suits him, and he pays no mind to what I want.”

“Did he ever?”

“Yeah, actually; he did when we were going out. But now, you know… He just doesn’t care, or listen.”

---

“I really hate him sometimes,” Shawn said, drumming his hand on the wall he was leaning on.

“No you don’t,” Jesse said, standing next to Shawn but not leaning against the wall.

“How can you tell me I don’t hate him?” Shawn asked, glaring at Jesse. The look was only slightly visible in the darkening hallway.

“Because you love him.”

“Not this bullshit again,” Shawn groaned.

“Yes, this bullshit again. What is wrong with you?”

“What are you talking about?” Shawn asked.

“What is your problem with him?” Jesse asked, “What did he do to you?”

“He didn’t do anything.”

“Then he doesn’t deserve this. All you’re doing is screwing around with him, and I’m getting pissed watching it.”

“Look, Ker is already making me talk to him. I don’t need to listen to you too.”

“Obviously you do. When are you going to talk to him?”

“Do you honestly think I’ve thought that far ahead?”

“Well, seeing as how our class did choose you to speak at graduation after Brock, I would think you’d be a bit more prepared than just the opening line of ‘Hi’.”

“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of ‘Fuck you’.”

“Oh, that’ll definitely win him back, smart ass.”

“I don’t need to win him back. He’s trying to win me back.”

“You’re not exactly what I’d call a prize, seeing as how you’re an emotionally detached little bitch.”

“And you have a god-complex and an ego the size of fucking Russia.”

“I wasn’t aware that you could fuck Russia, but I’ll take your word for it.”

“Oh, you’re a clever one,” Shawn spat, rolling his eyes.

Jesse sighed, “When you talk to him, just do me a favor and…don’t do anything…stupid.”

“Yes, sir, Captain Jack Sparrow, sir.”

“Fuck off.”

---

“First tooth pulled?” Keira asked.

“Eight,” Shawn said.

“Ten,” Michal said.

“Never,” Jesse smirked.

“Oh right, because your teeth are the epitome of perfection,” Keira rolled her eyes. “I was ten too.”

“Come on,” Jesse said, “We’ve been through the boring crap. Let’s get into the interesting stuff.”

“Like what?” Michael asked, fearing the worst.

“Your first…kiss,” Jesse said.

“David McWilliams,” Keira said, a dreamy smile coming onto her face, “I was twelve, right before I moved here in middle school.”

“How old was he?” Jesse asked a little too quickly.

“Fourteen,” Keira shrugged.

“Right…” Jesse said, slightly agitated, “I was thirteen, Bevin Bailey. Remember her? She moved when we were freshman.”

“Yeah,” Keira nodded, “What about you two?”

Michael kept his mouth shut tightly. He looked away from the rest of the group. However, no one expected what was said next.

“Luke Kinney,” Shawn said firmly.

Michael’s head shot back to Shawn, but Shawn continued. “Seventh grade, the day before he moved to Wisconsin. Remember his dad was in the air force?”

“Fuck,” Keira said under her breath.

“Uh… He was, you know…?” Jesse asked hesitantly.

“Hell yeah,” Shawn said enthusiastically, “God, it was awesome.”

“Shawn…” Jesse said, this time warningly.

“Justin Bruckner,” Michael said, seemingly out of no where, “Seventh grade. Except, you know, he’s still around. He didn’t move.”

“What?” Shawn shrieked loudly enough for Jesse to jab him in the stomach with his elbow.

“Yeah,” Michael said, enjoying the look of shock on Jesse’s face.

“I thought that I-” Shawn began.

“You thought wrong,” Michael said icily, “You assumed. I never told you that you were. Get the fuck over it, princess.”

“You should have told me!”

“Did you ever tell me? No. Honesty is a two way street, baby. Now, are we going to continue this little game, or are we going to shut up now?”

---

Notice: Sorry for the shortness. I had a bit of writer’s block, and when I got to this last part, I thought it best to end it there. I’m also sorry for the lack of updating. I’ve had a lot of make-up work to do from my absences from school, and I’ve had a lot on my plate. Remember, also, that baseball is starting really soon. Updates as far apart as this one are probably going to become a lot more likely. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reading.