Shane's face was red with laughter. Rick's was slowly approaching the same level. They sat next to each other, about a foot away, both sets of eyes nervously (but excitedly) glancing around the little crowd.

Freshman year was supposed to be tough. They heard horror stories all throughout sixth grade - even Shane's older brother liked to convince them of its trauma. Wasn't as bad as they thought it would be, but it was only the first month. Rick had heard the whole getting-pushed-into-lockers-and-shoved-into-trash-cans bit about eight times during the summer, and that was only in the last couple weeks he'd spent nights at Shane's because of his... family problems. Never figured Shane would have a better home life. Maybe having just a dad was easier than having two parents who hated each other.

Didn't matter now. Parties were supposed to be fun. Shane had been complaining all night that there was a severe lack of alcohol and Rick kept telling him that's because we're all pretty much fourteen but he didn't seem to listen.

They were friends. That's all they were. Best friends, sure - maybe only friends - but that's all. That was why Rick's face flushed of color when he read that stupid name on that stupid piece of paper. Damn Shane. Why's it always gotta be Shane?

"Wassit?" Shane piped, picking up on Rick's weakening expression but not close enough to read the paper just yet. "Damn Rose C., ain't it? Man, she's had it out for you since the fourth grade. I say you outta just let her -"

Rick interrupted Shane's girl-centered monologue. "Were guy names s'posed to be mixed with the girl names?"

"Why, what'd you get?" Lacey-the-party-thrower grinned to herself.

A fourteen-year-old Rick Grimes blinked down at the paper he'd pulled from the Seven Minutes in Heaven hat to make sure he'd read it right. Oh, he definitely had.

SHANE WALSH

Still, he was silent. He had just parted his lips to speak when he felt Shane leaning over his shoulder and his loud voice in his ear shout, "What the hell, he got me."

There was a roar of laughter from around the room. Any color that had left Rick was now returning in the form of red embarrassment. Shane was just huffing and puffing, telling Lacy she didn't know how to play the game, and that you weren't supposed to mix the sexes unless you're at an orgy or somethin'.

"C'mon, man up," Lacey's friend, Susan (who was the equivalent to Rick's Shane) shouted over the chatter. "You pussies can't kiss? You'll go on and on about joining the military but you can't -"

"Aye, I don't have a problem with it," Shane defended immediately and Rick's ears twitched.

Okay, he thought. Yeah, we're friends. Doesn't have to be so weird. But damn, it's weird.

"I mean, yeah, it's just - y'all are never gonna let us live this down," Rick added. It was an honest concern, but took second to the idea of actually having to go into that closet with his best friend. Maybe he had a plan - Shane always did. Maybe they wouldn't actually be... kissing, or however this game was to be played. Yeah, Rick could act stupid.

"I promise I'll only bring it up when your parents are around," Susan teased, her legs crossing over Lacey's lap. It just so happened that these two girls were sophomores. Sophomores to freshmen were like the career-achieved to nervous college kids. At least, that was a pretty accurate analogy if you took in account the way all Rick's fellow classmates had practically melted onto the floor when they were invited to this party.

"Hey, I don't need another reason for dad to be disappointed in -" Shane started, playing along with her joke, before he was interrupted by Rick. He was still red from Susan's insult and he supposed Shane was too, but Shane always tended to deal with it in more humorous ways.

"'right, fine. Shane?" he finally settled on the answer, turning his head to his friend who looked disoriented now that Rick had cut off his joke.

Shane suddenly downed his entire plastic cup of soda (probably hoping it was spiked, but Rick kept telling him there's no goddamn alcohol at this girl's party, probably because she suspected the new freshmen wouldn't be able to handle their liquor so well), crushed it and tossed it to Susan, then stormed off into the open closet. "C'mon, cowboy," he called for Rick.

Rick followed and the door was closed behind them - accompanied with girlish giggling and and nervous boy-laughter that seemed to be more interested in those giggling girls than their two members of their own sex going in a closet together.

He took a deep breath and leaned his shoulder against the wall, but was pulled away to the back of the closet by Shane who justified it with, "I don't want those satisfied bitches to hear anything." A moment of silence passed, and then he said, "So, you wanna do this?"

Apparently Shane actually wanted to kiss him. That was okay. He'd kissed before. Girls, of course, but what was the difference? Especially since they were so close...

Rick's thought were cut off when he felt a warm hand grasping his jawline. The side of Shane's thumb stroked the beginnings of stubble on Rick's cheek. Rick could hear his own breath in his ears and mentally cursed himself for already getting so worked up. His hand reached out in the little dark room so he could feel Shane, too, and was pleasantly surprised when he barely had to - Shane had stepped so close. Rick's hand was firm on his side now, gripping and gasping with varying force. Then Shane's lips were on his own.

Rick held his breath as he leaned forward, returning the kiss, forcing Shane closer - flush against his own body. Maybe that wasn't the best idea, though, because he began to feel a hard, hot friction. Shane was grinding against him. Finally Rick let out a hard breath against those lips - so hard, in fact, that it interrupted their kiss. Shane didn't seem to care and came forward for more a moment later, feeding roughly from his mouth as if taken over by a sudden hunger. Rick, calling every kissing scenes from every movie he could think of, returned the affection - nervous that he wasn't very good, but too caught up in sudden arousal that he didn't care.

Never in his fourteen years had Rick used his tongue in a kiss, but Shane was insisting on it with just his own. He obliged. Both of their mouths were wet with spit and they were slipping off - against - each other. His breath caught in his throat as Shane suddenly began to undo Rick's belt, the sharp clinging of metal against a silent room (save for their mutual heavy breathing) stinging his ears - and a moment later a warm hand had gripped Rick's pulsing shaft.

"Only got a minute and a half," Shane whispered, and Rick was surprised that he could tell him that so confidently - like he'd been counting.

"Already?" Rick panted, then had his breath caught in his throat the moment Shane sank to his knees and took Rick past his lips - all of him, every single inch. His length was completely engulfed in a hot, wet mouth and Rick couldn't breathe. He let out a quiet, breathy line of curses and groans as he felt a strong suction... then Shane pulled away and stood up.

"Your parents still fightin'?" he asked strangely.

Rick blinked and quickly buckled his belt as an intimidating knock came at the door.

"Y-... yeah, a little," Rick answered, voice trembling and brows furrowed in confusion.

Shane was panting too - so much so that he spoke through breaks. "Then you wanna... come over... after this? Finish... Finish up."

Rick leaned forward to kiss Shane again - simply, for just a moment - then nodded.

"You guys've been in there long enough... are you decent?" Lacey teased.

Both of them checked to make sure their hard-ons weren't too visible (Rick made sure to take a hand away from himself and almost-gratefully grope Shane), straightened their shirts and hair, and inched closer to the closet door. Shane took Rick's hand right before it opened - squeezed it lightly, then let it go a finger at a time.

"Heaven 'nough for ya?" Shane whispered, grinning.