Kieren Walker was sitting on the Sofa, watching TV as everyone else got on with their morning routines. His Mum and Dad had finally stopped making him sit with them at every meal, and when he did, they didn't put food in front of him like they used to.
"You alright, Kier?" his Dad Steve asked as he hurried passed, grabbing his keys from the coffee table "You fine to...be 'ere alone, are you?"
Kieren nodded, and smiled "Yeah, yeah I'll be fine. Go on, go do something. Don't worry about me."
"He's only sayin' that because he's boyfriends comin' over, aren't you Kier?"
Jem appeared at Kieren's side, leaning over the sofa with a granola bar at her mouth.
"Oh? Is that true Kieren?" his Dad asked, hands going to his hips as his eyes went from Jemima, to Kieren, and back again "That boy Simon comin' over, aye? Because I don't want any funny busi-"
"-Dad, stop, there's not going to be any funny business, he's just coming over to talk to me about something!" Kieren turned to glare at his sister, his eyes saying thanks a lot.
Jem grinned, and kissed her brother on the cheek softly "Can't expect me to keep all your secrets, little bro." and then she disappeared from sight behind Kieren, returning to the kitchen.
"I'm sorry Kier, I just-I don't like 'im, for one 'e's older than you, and two, he carries knives around, could'a taken your arm off if 'e weren't careful!" his Dad began.
Kieren frowned, adjusting all of his attention from the TV to his dad "Knife? Dad, what knife?!"
Steve shrugged, and patted his pockets, making sure he did in fact pick up his keys "The day you went-the day in the graveyard son, He had a knife when he were runin' at you. Dropped it on the ground, 'e did-but 'e still had it."
Kieren shrugged it off "Well Gary was looking for him before he found me, so maybe Simon was being cautious?"
His parents still didn't completely believe that Gary Kendal had been to blame for Kieren going rabid, but at least Jem did.
Steve didn't respond, instead he pretended he was looking for something else around the room, and upon not finding the imaginary thing, he retreated to another room. He always did that when things got too confronting for him.
Kieren let out an exasperated breath and allowed himself to sink back into the sofa, eyes going back to the TV. An early morning cartoon was playing, and he wasn't really intent on watching it, he just needed a distraction while he waited for Simon to show up.
There was a smash from the kitchen, and Jem let out an angry noise "Who the bloody hell put away the dishes last night? I'm blamin' them for that, sittin' way close to the edge that bloody was!"
Sue Walker, Kieren and Jems mother then entered the Kitchen "Oh jesus, Jem, you could at least clean it up!" she said as he hurried through the kitchen and into the living room.
"Alright, I'm doin' it, hold your horses mum!" Jem retorted, as more sounds emerged from the kitchen, along with more angry noises "Oh for fuck sake!"
Sue made a harsh clicking noise with her tongue, as hurried passed Kieren "Alright love, I'll see you later alright?"
Kieren nodded, waving goodbye to his Mum.
Steve followed after her, mumbling something that passed as a goodbye.
Jem came back into the lounge room then, a bowl of cereal in her hand, as she sat down beside her brother "Sorry to spill the beans on you, Kier." she mumbled through a mouthful of milk and sugary goop
Kieren shrugged "You didn't spill anything, he is just coming over to talk. We haven't really seen much of each other...since the funeral." he said glumly.
"So he saves your life, and then doesn't call you afterwards?Wanker. I've seen that kind of thing in movies, doesn't usually end well." she mused as she dunked her spoon into the bowl again
"Well thanks Jem, you've made me feel so much better about it now." he mumbled sarcastically
Jem laughed, slapping her brother on the arm softly "You'll be fine Kier." she said softly, as she noticed a figure walking along the road through the window "Better get the door though..." she added in a louder voice.
Kieren jumped to his feet, excited and scared and worried all at once, and hurried over to the door to the hall, and then to the front door. He pulled the front door open.
Simon Monroe, that Irish man who wore those dorky over-sized sweaters, was standing there with his hand raised, he had been just about to knock on the door before it was ripped open by the eager boy behind it. It had been a week since he'd last seen Kieren Walker. He'd missed that face, even if it did look a little annoyed.
"So where've you been all this time? You said you were staying put." Kieren asked quietly, as he stepped aside to let the black haired man into the house.
Simon entered hesitantly, walking passed the red-headed boy slowly "There was some stuff I had to take care of. Things I had to do. A bungalow to clean out." he said simply, before turning on his heels to face Kieren "I had some stuff to sort through. I'm here now."
Kieren stared at the man before him, and breathed in a few slow breaths "Things haven't changed between us, have they? I mean...are we still...?" he asked awkwardly, trying to prepare himself for the possibility of an answer he didn't want to hear.
Simon's white eyes stayed on Kieren, his demeanor seemed calm and collected to Kieren "Did you want things to change?"
Kieren shook his head, closing the door behind him without looking.
"Then no. Nothing's changed." Simon said simply, taking a step towards Kieren.
okay, then if nothing had changed, then Simon wouldn't object if he did this. Kieren closed the space between them and kissed Simon, arms stubbornly by his sides, and Simon kissed back, grabbing his face softly. It was nice for Kieren to be able to do that again.
"Oi, you two get a room!" Jem shouted, by the sounds of it, with more cereal in her mouth.
Kieren laughed, breaking away from the kiss and grabbing one of Simon's hands, leading him into the living room "Nice one Jem." he said, narrowing his eyes jokingly at his sister. He led Simon to the armchair Steve usually sat in, and gestured for him to take a seat, before taking his own on the sofa with Jem again.
"When I said get a room, I didn't mean this one, you love birds." she said with mock annoyance, before setting down her bowl of cereal on the coffee table "Hiya Simon, good to see you're still about."
Simon smiled a small smile, a hand resting in front of his mouth "Well, I said I'd stay." he said in the thick Irish accent that secretly drove Kieren crazy "I care about your brother very much. I wouldn't break my word."
Jem smiled "Well as sweet and gross as that is, I have a class to get ready for." she mumbled, exiting the room, leaving her bowl on the table.
"So," Kieren began as soon as he was sure Jem was out of ear-shot "is it lonely? In the Bungalow, I mean." he didn't really want to bring Amy up, but he had to, didn't he? They'd been BDFF's, well, they still were weren't they? That was kind of the point of forever. He needed to make sure that Simon was okay.
Simon looked over at Kieren, face indifferent, as he looked Kieren up and down "It is, but nothing I can't handle." those pin prick white eyes focused on Kieren's face, and his face became softer "Kieren, maybe you should focus more on how you're taking things, not how I am. You don't look okay."
It was true. Kieren wasn't doing okay, but he had a habit of not admitting that kind of thing "Well missing her is one thing, but living in her old house is...different." he said slowly.
Simon nodded "Yes, but how a person deals with things, comes down to the person. I miss her too, Kieren, I do...but I've got a handle on things, Can you say the same?"
Okay, so everyone was concerned for Kieren, and he understood that -based on previous events- they all had every right to be. Still it bothered him. Kieren didn't respond to Simon's question, because he wasn't sure whether saying yes would be the truth or not.
Jem entered the room again the, a bag on her back, and headed to the front door in a hurry.
"Jem, aren't you forgetting something?" Kieren called out, eyes going from Jem, to the bowl, and back again "I mean it's not like you can blame that kind of thing on me anymore."
Back when Kieren was alive, back when he could eat and bleed and die, Jem would constantly forget the little things like that, and then blame them on Kieren, not that he really minded back then. It was a thing they both seemed to do.
Jem turned around and headed back to the coffee table, a small nostalgic smile on her lips, but it quickly vanished as she thought up a snarky response "Maybe not, but I can blame you for a lot of other things, like that bowl earlier. You were the last person I saw in the cupboard."
Kieren smiled "Yeah I was, because I was finishing your chores, that you never got done. Couldn't have my little sister getting in trouble, could I?"
"That's big sister to you, kiddo." she shot back, before taking the bowl back to the kitchen. "Alright, Kier..." she paused, trying to think up a name for Simon "Sim-o, I'm gonna head off now."
Simon made a noise of disgust "That has got to be one of the worst nicknames I've heard, and I went through school hearing simone and Simmons."
Kieren shrugged, smiling over at a disgruntled looking Simon "Oh I don't know, I kinda like Sim-o." he said sarcastically, holding out his arms for a goodbye hug from Jem as she came back into the room.
"You two got any cute, puke-worthy nicknames for each other?" Jem asked curiously
Simon shook his head "Yeah well, that's not fair, It's not like I have anything terrible to call you. You've got one of those names you can only cut in half," he began as Jem hurried over and pulled Kieren into a hug "Your family's already claimed one, to be perfectly honest the name Ren doesn't suit you."
Kieren froze in Jem's arms, and she froze too, but only for a moment, before giving her brother a little squeeze
Kieren let go of his sister with an expressionless face, dropping his arms to his sides. He looked over to the TV "Yeah...Doesn't, does it?"