This started as a drabble but it kept getting longer and longer, and now it's a fully fledged one shot. Note, one shot; I doubt this will be continued. I don't own Virals, much as we all can dream.

Ben pulled Tory in for a long kiss, and she laughed and obliged. Hi whooped loudly, giving them a slow clap with a smirk on his face. Several birds scattered at the sudden commotion. "Do you think they'll invite us to the wedding?" Hi asked loudly. Shelton looked away awkwardly.

"That's going a bit far, don't you think?" he deadpanned, keeping his gaze anywhere but the lovebirds. Shelton turned and trudged off, leaving the rather preoccupied Tory and Ben to their privacy.

"Name your first child after me!" Hi shouted over his shoulder, then jogged heavily to catch up to Shelton. "I got a picture," he waved his phone gleefully.

Shelton glanced down at the image on Hi's iPhone and continued walking, Hi struggling at his heels.

"Hey, wait."

Shelton slowed his pace a tad to allow his friend to catch up, but he kept moving away from the bunker. "What's up? You're not even laughing!"

"I don't feel well," he lied, averting his gaze. Hi waved a hand in front of his face, fingers splayed.

"How many fingers, man?"

"Twelve. I think it's the heat."

"Maybe it's the lack of ice cream. You want a sundae?"

"Nah. I think I'll just head home."

Hi shrugged. "Suit yourself. Chocolate sauce is calling me."

"Enjoy that, Stolowitski."

"Sayonara."

"Classy."

"Jealous."

"Dope." Shelton rolled his eyes and grinned, but as they parted ways - Hi back to the bunker, Shelton towards home - his grin faded and that photograph swam to the front of his mind again. He'd only glanced briefly at it, but it was burned into his retinas - the sand burning bright gold, the sea a glittering expanse of azure, and Ben and Tory in the foreground looking blissfully... busy. Shelton's eyebrows dipped into a frown.

He reached his house and unlocked the door, pushed it closed behind him, and made a quick kitchen stop before heading up to his bedroom. Maybe Hi was right, and he needed an energy boost. Maybe Shelton had become a diabetic. Maybe he should get that checked out.

Licking his Magnum thoughtfully, Shelton sat on his bed and stared at the wall. He tried to be happy for his friends. Ben had been waiting for ... that... for months. Years, even. How long had it been since Tory'd come to Morris? She'd seemed pretty ecstatic back there as well. He should feel happy for them. What was wrong with him today?

Shelton shook his head, finished his ice cream, and booted CoD to distract himself, but it was no use. He just couldn't manage to play properly when Tory kept popping into his mind. Shelton gave up after twenty minutes of trying, rubbing his forehead. His mind jumped randomly to a memory of Tory bursting into a run in front of him, her vibrant ponytail bouncing across her shoulders.

Why?

An answer came to mind, but Shelton dismissed the idea as ridiculous. Tory was pack. His sister, as much as anyone ever could be. So why now did he keep remembering the precise shade of her gorgeous eyes, even as he made a conscious effort to think about something else?

Shelton snorted quietly. Gorgeous eyes. He was just as bad as the girls at Bolton, blabbering high-pitchedly over Chance Claybourne's cheekbones, or eyebrows, or whatever it was.

Shelton couldn't help remembering Tory in her stunning cotillion dress, how she'd taken his breath away with her shy smile. Admittedly, she was pretty damn hot in her usual casual getup, but the dress had made even Hi remark on her appearance before Tory had reached hearing distance.

Shelton shook his head, wiping the smile off of his face. No. Pack. Tory was nothing to him but best friend, no matter how much that nagging voice in his brain said otherwise.

And, now that Shelton had acknowledged the voice, it doubled in volume, drowning out all rational thought.

So, fine then. Maybe he did like Tory as more than a friend. Maybe he was jealous of Ben - a lot - but it was surely just a crush. It would pass, and in the meantime, Shelton wasn't so selfish (or reckless, or stupid) as to get in the way of Tory and Ben.

Teenagers get crushes all the time, Shelton told himself. You'll get over it. Probably. Hopefully.

Maybe.