To Shannon, falling in love was hard. His mother, father, friends and even strangers, had said love was the easiest thing in the world. It was a feeling, something that couldn't be ignored. When he asked what love [i]felt[/i] like, he'd received different answers, all of which just made him think of a stomach virus.
Of course, love wasn't for a ten year old with an opinion on everything.
It wasn't until Shannon reached high school, and gained a few more friends, that he really started to wonder.
Everyone around him seemed to have a partner. The only thing was, Shannon felt nothing for the girls that seemed to flock his way. The sight of their too-small shirts and pussy-flaps hanging from their skirts made Shannon want to be sick, and not in a stomach-virus, supposed-to-be-love kind of way.
His friends noticed the amount of girls their friend had hanging off him, and found it amazing how he could resist them so easily.
Shane, the spokesperson of the group, had expressed his theories to the group, without Shannon, of course.
Shannon was anything but stupid. He could see the glances he received when he shoved another girl from his lap. He could hear the whispered conversations his friends held when he was supposed to be focused on the video game they were playing.
There was something wrong with him, and he knew that. He looked at these girls, wondering why he couldn't find them attractive. [i]Maybe it's the way they dress[/i], Shannon thought. He'd tried looking at other girls, ones that dressed in clothes from the adult section, rather than the toddlers. Even then, nothing struck him.
Shannon confessed his issue, as he thought of it as, to his parents. They were no help. They told him he was too good for those girls, and the right one would open his eyes.
[i]Well, Mummy and Daddy, you were right,[/i] Shannon thought, only a few days later, [i]but[/i] he's [i]not a girl.[/i]
Jeff Hardy. The guy of anyone's dreams. Smart, funny, talented. He'd spent the first four years of high school in the music rooms or the art rooms, which explained why Shannon had never laid eyes on him before.
Shannon had spotted Jeff during their lunch hour, his head visible over nearly everyone else. No-one seemed to have noticed Shannon's sudden absence in the conversation, which was probably for the best.
It wasn't until Jeff stood a few feet away from Shannon that Shane, and the rest of the boys, figured there was a voice missing. Though, that was over looked as soon as Shane's eyes met with Jeff's.
Jeff was greeted enthusiastically, pats on the back all 'round. There were two chairs empty at the table. One next to Shannon, the other next to Adam.
Shannon nearly died of an aneurism when Jeff sat next to him. It was almost impossible for him to not lean over and breathe in that delicious scent that seemed to pour off of Jeff.
Shannon introduced them all, letting everyone know, with pride, that Jeff was his best friend from near birth.
The entire lunch session was spent talking, laughing, and catching up. Except for Shannon. No, he couldn't speak without making a fool of himself. Something about Jeff made Shannon nervous. His palms sweated, his heart pounded within the cage of his ribs.
And it went on like that for nearly a month. Jeff would emerge from the music rooms, join the guys for lunch, then disappear again. Shannon learned to control himself, in a way. He'd speak when spoken to, after thinking over his words over in his head. If a problem arose, like Scouts deciding his jeans were the perfect place to set up camp, he'd excuse himself quickly. Sure, his friends seemed to notice his sudden change, but Jeff found nothing different, since he knew Shannon as a shy boy, always running off.
After the first month, with no real contact with Shannon, Jeff decided to talk to him. Just them. No friends around. No way to escape.
So during the last day of school, just before the semester break, Jeff left his music room early, just before the lunch break. It wasn't like he went to class anyway.
Jeff was at the lunch table before everyone, grinning when he saw Shannon walking over by himself, his nose buried in a book. Shannon bumped into three people on his walk, two of them shouting an angry [i]"Hey!"[/i] in his direction, while the third gripped his arm, tugging him off his intended course. The book in his hands dropped to the ground, and was left. Not that Shannon had a choice, being dragged against his will and all.
At first, Shannon was more angry than anything. His book was lost in the sea of students filing out of class, he was being dragged against his will, although his kidnapper was gentle.
Shannon managed to sneak a glance at his "kidnapper", just as he was thrown into the boys bathroom, and his heart sped up.
Jeff tried to be as gentle as possible, though Shannon made it difficult.
Shannon stumbled back, his back hitting the sinks. He arched off them, hoping to relieve some of the pain. Regret and worry flashed through Jeff, but he pushed it away. A suave and sexy man shouldn't start off with an apology and on-your-knees begging to be forgiven. Instead, Jeff smirked, leaning up against the bathroom wall.
Shannon blushed profusely, those butterflies unleashed in his stomach again. One had even managed to lodge itself in his throat.
'Do you know how cute you are when you blush?' Jeff smiled, his eyes practically undressing Shannon right there. He wanted to know how far that blush went.
Shannon stuttered a little, taken aback. Only once in his life had he been called "cute", and that was by an aunt he barely knew.
'You're a strange one, Shannon.'
'W-Why?' Shannon stuttered out, his hands gripping the sink behind him for support. [i]Quit making a fool of yourself![/i] His brain demanded.
'You're shy, but only around me. You run off, but only when I'm around. Am I that scary?' Jeff teased lightly, stepping forward slowly. Shannon tried to back up, but found the sink refused to get out of his way.
Jeff stood in front of Shannon, his hands on the sink, trapping Shannon. He leaned over the smaller boy, using the height advantage to the full extent.
Shannon sort of cowered back, not able to handle the warm breath on his face, the body of Adonis so close to his. But, again, the sink refused to move, keeping him trapped between dirty, chipped porcelain, and his extremely gay desires.
'I-I… No. Not scary. J-Just…' Shannon mumbled, trailing off.
Now, in normal circumstances, rambling and stuttering would have pissed Jeff off, but Shannon was something else. With his slightly pudgy form, brilliant green eyes, musical laughter and that cute face he pulled when he was glaring at you just made Jeff melt, on the inside. Only on the inside.
Jeff leaned in closer, so close his lips were nearly touching Shannon's. If Shannon were to just pout, their lips would touch, fireworks would explode, and Shannon would be a crumpled mess on the floor.
'Just what?' Jeff prompted, chuckling when he felt Shannon shiver. Shannon tried to speak, but found that butterfly in his throat again. He swallowed twice before attempting to speak again, forcing the butterfly back into his stomach, where the rest were wreaking havoc.
'J-Just… Fuckin' gorgeous and…' Shannon murmured, his face heating to the point of combustion. It felt like a volcano had erupted in his skull, his skin so close to melting from the bones.
Jeff grinned. This is what he wanted.
'And?' Jeff smirked, leaning in just that little bit closer. Shannon could feel the material of their shirts touching.
'And perfect.' Shannon finished, his hands loosening on the sink behind him. He hadn't noticed then, but his hands ached from grasping the porcelain so tight.
And Jeff had had enough. He'd gotten what he wanted. A confession, of sorts.
Shannon let out a squeak, much like a mouse would, when Jeff finally sealed their lips together. Shannon felt weak at the knees, and regretted letting the sink go. His knees buckled beneath him, but Jeff caught him easily, strong arms holding the smaller boy up, and against his chest, while he ravished the others lips with a series of small kisses.
It took a moment, but Shannon composed himself, one hand caressing Jeff's neck, while the other fisted his shirt. He broke off the tiny kisses, trading them in for one, long kiss. One that made Jeff feel slightly dizzy.
If it wasn't for the fact that this was Shannon's first consensual kiss, he'd have been all over Jeff. But, seeing as the only other person he'd kissed was some girl named Mandy, and she'd forced herself on him, Shannon was nervous, afraid to screw this up.
Jeff was a brilliant lead though, in Shannon's mind. He guided the kiss, keeping Shannon on track, though barely able to stop himself from shoving his tongue down Shannon's throat.
By accident, Jeff bit Shannon's lip, causing the smaller boy to jump back, meeting with the sink again. Jeff still had his arms around him, effectively keeping him close.
[i]That's going to bruise,[/i] Shannon thought as he sucked on his bottom lip, feeling small indents from Jeff's teeth.
'You bit me.' Shannon whispered in astonishment. There was no blood, but his lip felt swollen, though he knew it wasn't from the bite.
'Don't be a sook.' Jeff murmured, ducking his head down to steal one last kiss.
When he leant back, Shannon noticed his lips were slightly swollen too, pink and shining.
Shannon wasn't sure what to do next. No-one had told him what comes after an earth shattering kiss in the schools' bathroom.
But Shannon's thoughts, rambles more like it, were broken when the school bell rang loudly, echoing off the cold plaster walls.
'See you tomorrow, Shannon.' Jeff whispered, touching Shannon's arm lightly before leaving.
Shannon, on the other hand, was frozen to the spot. The butterflies in his stomach slowly died, leaving him feeling quite empty.
And, indeed, Jeff did see Shannon the next day. And the day after that. And the days after that.
They stole kisses when they could, touched one another at every opportunity.
It wasn't long until Shannon had fallen, harder than a landslide. And it left Shannon thinking, [i]Maybe falling in love isn't so hard.[/i]