Chapter Twelve

"Lori's havin' a party tonight," Shane announced as he and Daryl rounded the corner on their way home.

Daryl shot him his coldest glare. "And?"

"And we're gonna go."

"Fuck no we ain't," Daryl growled, "Why the hell would you want to anyways?"

"Because fuck her, that's why," Shane said, "Whole school's gonna be there, my best friend included, and we ain't gonna sit it out on her behalf. Queen Bitch ain't gonna say nothin', alright? Not if she knows what's good for her."

Daryl sighed dejectedly, "It ain't a good idea."

"Man, s'the best idea I've had all day!" Shane tried to joke, and Daryl scrubbed a hand over his face.

"If this all goes to shit, you best know it'll be your fault," Daryl warned him.

"Duly noted, sweetheart."

"Don't call me that," Daryl snapped, "And if she goes and fucks things up, you ain't getting nothin' from me either!"

"Oh, you goin' on your period, Daryl? S'that it?"

"You're a dick."

"Yeah, but you knew that goin' in," Shane replied with a laugh, "And it just so happens, you like my dick. So go put on a shirt with sleeves and we'll head over there."

TWDTWDTWDTWD

When Daryl and Shane arrived at Lori's house that night, she and Rick were in the midst of a screaming match that would rival any Dixon family brawl. That being said, their argument consisted largely of Lori criticizing Rick's choice in attire for the evening, and him trying to calm her down.

The end result was the same, with the two of them storming off in opposite directions, both hell bent on going from drunk to drunker. An hour later, when Daryl and Shane were fast-approaching too-drunk-to-drive level, they walked past the den to find Lori and Rick plastered to the wall, apparently attempting to eat each other's faces. A half hour after that, they could hear the couple screaming at each other again from the other side of the house.

Like a ragged poltergeist hell-bent on avenging its untimely demise, Lori appeared directly behind the couch where Daryl and Shane were sitting.

"Shane, you need to go talk to Rick."

He had to fight not to roll his eyes. "What's the problem Lori?"

"He's really upset and he asked for you," she hissed.

"And what's he so upset about that he didn't come ask me himself?"

"Well I don't know Shane. If I knew then maybe he wouldn't have been starting fights with me all night!" Lori snapped.

Shane released an overdramatic sigh. "Fine," he said, motioning for Daryl to get up with him, "Let's go."

"He said just you Shane," Lori immediately snarled.

"Yeah, I don't think he's gonna care if Daryl's there too."

"Look, maybe this is something he doesn't want to tell the whole world about, Shane. I don't know, he won't tell me. But I think it'd be pretty rude to go inviting the whole school to kick him while he's down when he just needs his best friend right now," Lori said with feigned sincerity, still glaring at the two of them.

Shane scrubbed a hand over the back of his head. "Fuck, alright." He turned to Daryl. "Just get the both of us another drink, okay? This ain't gonna take long."

Daryl shot him a knowing smirk, grabbed both their cups, and headed to the kitchen. And with Lori glaring in his retreat, Shane headed to the back of the house in search of Rick. He found him in Lori's room, milking a beer.

"Hey man, what you doin' back here?" Shane asked, shutting the door behind him.

"M'grounded," Rick replied with a snort, downing the rest of his drink in one smooth gulp.

"The hell you mean, grounded?"

"According to Lori, I'm makin' a fool of myself. She says I gotta ride the party out in here until I'm, and I quote, 'presentable to the public.' Bitch."

"So what's the big problem?" Shane sighed.

"Her! She's the goddamn problem. S'like I can't take a dump without her knowing about it," Rick lamented.

"Man, I know you don't wanna hear this, but there ain't a whole lotta ways to deal with that kinda problem."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you either gotta break up with her, or lay down the law. 'Cuz I can't remember the last time I saw the two of y'all do anything but fight," Shane told him.

"Fuck. You're right," Rick sighed, hunching over on the bed to stare at his feet.

"Man, when am I not?" Shane laughed. "So this was the big existential crisis that got Lori's panties in a bunch?"

"I mean...I guess?" Rick replied, looking somewhat confused. "Lori knows about this?"

"Well, she was the one who told me to come back here. Said you were in some kinda state, and you were asking for me."

Rick sat up straighter at that. "Shane, I never asked her to get you. Last thing I told her to do was leave me alone for the rest of the night."

Shane's face paled as he spun for the door. "Shit. Fuck."

He stormed back out into the party, charging through the kitchen first and then the living room. When Daryl was nowhere to be found, he sought out Lori next, catching her before she walked out onto the porch and hauling her back by the arm.

"Shane, what the hell?" she hissed.

"Where. Is. Daryl?" he growled, not an ounce of amusement in his voice.

Lori's eyes widened to some degree, but she held her ground.

"Why do you care?" she scoffed. "You scared he'll go find some other football player to make out with?"

"Lori, I ain't fuckin' around," Shane glowered. "Where is he?"

His grip on Lori's arm tightened, and he saw the way she winced as the first pang of pain hit her.

"Jesus, Shane. Quit it," she said, trying to jerk her arm out of his grasp. And when that didn't work, "He went upstairs with some girl! Okay?!"

Shane released her instantly, near-sprinting away from her and up the stairs. He burst through the first door on his left, and stopped dead in his tracks when he found Daryl crowded into the corner by one of Lori's harpy friends. The girl was half-naked, kneading her grubby palms into Daryl's chest despite his obvious squirming and deer-in-headlights expression.

"The fuck is this?" he growled, stomping over and immediately jerking her away from him by the strap of her bra.

"Shit, Shane. It ain't what it looks like. I didn't—I swear I—" Daryl tried to stutter out.

"Stop," Shane ground out, before rounding on the girl. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The girl shrugged playfully. "Nothing he didn't want."

"Yeah, and you decided to come after him all on your own, huh? Nah, I don't buy it. Not for a fuckin' second."

"Look," the girl said in exasperation. "Lori gave me fifty bucks to come onto him. She was just so sure he was gay, and wanted me to prove it, or whatever. But obviously she was wrong." The girl gave a pointed glance down towards Daryl's crotch, before turning and walking right out the door.

Shane turned back to Daryl slowly, looking the boy over. He was glaring down at his own feet, arms wrapped around his body and bottom lip quivering between his teeth.

"Daryl..." Shane began lowly, and blue, slightly watery eyes darted up to meet him.

"She- she said you were sick and that ya needed me, and- and- then we got up here and she just started takin' shit off and Shane I never woulda done anything okay? I swear, it just—"

"You're hard," Shane commented, cutting Daryl off, and the younger boy blushed furiously.

"Didn't—didn't mean to..."

"You're allowed to like both," Shane said in a softer tone, grazing his fingertips over Daryl's forearm. "I do."

Daryl eyed him beseechingly. "Dunno what I like...only ever been with you, Shane."

Shane's eyes glinted something dangerous at that, and he shot Daryl a small smile. "Wait here, alright? I'll be back in a minute."

Before Daryl could protest, Shane was out the door. It only took him a second to spot Lori in the crowd, and he dragged her seamlessly back to the room where Rick was still hiding out and practically threw her inside.

"Look. I've tried my fuckin' best to stay out of this with you two. And I keep my mouth shut. But it's gone too fuckin' far, alright?" Shane growled, pacing the room.

"Shane, what...?" Rick tried, but the football player was far from finished.

"You wanna know what your stupid bitch of a girlfriend just did? She walked in on me and Daryl last week. And tonight, she sent one of her slut friends after Daryl, lied about you needing me, to prove to the whole school that Daryl was gay!"

"Rick, he's obviously lying," Lori said, and it took every ounce of Shane's self-control not to shove her to the ground.

"Fuck that," he snarled, "I told you he meant somethin' to me. And you pay that whore fifty dollars to fuck that up for me?! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Any confusion in Rick's features had faded to barely-concealed fury. "Lori...is this true?"

Lori's eyes darted between the two of them feverishly. "I didn't—I don't..." she tried, and then folded, "You know what, yes! I paid her! And it's for your own good, Shane. I'm not going to watch that redneck fag confuse you into being with him. You're better than that, Shane. And you should at least be with a girl who'll graduate high school!"

Shane's whole face went dark. "With a girl...what, a girl like you, Lori? Ya know I wouldn't have said anything. Really wouldn't have, if you'd just kept your damn mouth shut. But Rick—"

"I don't need to hear it," Rick interrupted, arms crossed over his chest and glaring in Lori's directions. "Whatever it is, it don't matter. 'Cuz me and you, Lori? We're done. You fuckin' disgust me."

"I disgust you?! Daryl—!"

"Daryl's family to me. And you fuckin' know it," Rick snarled, "How dare you call Daryl a redneck when you're the one spouting all this hateful bullshit. I don't give a fuck who Daryl or Shane are with. 'Cuz I love 'em either way, you get it? They're my brothers. But you think you have the right to fuck things up for them...fuck that, Lori. And fuck you. We're through."

"You don't get to decide that, Rick. You can't just come in here and—"

"Oh it's been fucking decided!" Rick shouted in her face. "And ya know how you paid that senior to steal the answers to your finals last year? The answers you made me keep because you were too scared to have them at your house? Well if I hear anything about Shane and Daryl around school, if you ever try to fuck with them again, the principal's gonna be finding out 'bout that. Let's see ya try to get into Yale after getting expelled for cheating. We understand each other, Lori? Are you fuckin' listening?"

Lori stood shocked into silence, tears streaming down her face. "Yes," she whispered.

Rick gave Shane a curt nod before the two of them left the room.

TWDTWDTWDTWD

When Shane came back upstairs, Daryl was hovering awkwardly in the corner, still cursing himself silently. For a few minutes there, he hadn't been entirely sure Shane would come back at all, and relief hit him like a freight train. Except, when Shane swung that door open and strode into the room, he had company. She was a girl Daryl recognized from school, with blonde hair and blue eyes and tan skin, encompassing pretty much everything his family had ever told him he didn't deserve.

The door had been shut and locked before Daryl had recovered from the surprise.

"Now this girl here, she'll do whatever you want, Daryl. What's it gonna be?" Shane said slowly, watching Daryl with the predatory eyes of a hunter corralling his prize beast forward.

Shane stepped closer to him, and said under his breath, "I trust her, alright? She ain't never opened her mouth before, and she ain't gonna do it now. So how do you want her, Daryl? You wanna see what it's like with a girl?"

"I..." Daryl croaked out, swallowing thickly, "You want this?"

"Kinda like the idea of watching you," Shane whispered. "So what's it gonna be? You wanna lose your virginity to her? Or you wanna wait...?"

Daryl's eyes shifted back and forth. "I don't even know her," he mumbled after a long pause, and Shane nodded his understanding.

"Alright," Shane replied at his normal volume, "Then she won't fuck you. You can take her mouth, and I'll take her ass. You alright with that?"

Daryl gave him a small, confused shrug, and looked over to the girl to find her smiling shrewdly. At Shane's slight crook of the finger, Daryl moved towards her, perpetually confused over whether this was a punishment or a reward.

Shane took the lead, moving towards the girl and snatching her lips in a dominating kiss. Daryl watched with a sense of shocked awe. He knew what it felt like to have Shane handle him like it was his job, be molded to the older boy's will. But it had never occurred to him just how arousing it would be to see the jock in action. Shane broke for air, and he motioned for Daryl to take his place.

With only a moment's of reluctance, Daryl moved in, kissing her with a hell of a lot more hesitancy than Shane had. He felt Shane move behind him, hands trailing over his waist, and when at the same time the girl nipped at his lip, Daryl couldn't suppress a low groan.

Abruptly, the girl was jerked away from him, and Daryl's eyes snapped open.

"Hope you enjoyed his mouth, darlin', 'cuz that's all you'll be getting of it," Shane said firmly, before ripping his shirt over his head and shucking it to the side. Daryl watched as the girl shimmied out of her dress, advancing towards him all the while.

"Leave his shirt," Shane murmured into the girl's ear when she reached for Daryl's collar. "He ain't takin' it off, so don't even try." Shane and Daryl locked eyes briefly, and the younger Dixon understood immediately what Shane was really saying. She doesn't get to see you like that. That's for me.

Instead, the nameless girl jerked open his belt and shoved his jeans to the ground. She led him by his collar back towards the bed, and Daryl had to focus hard on the ground to keep from trembling with the unfamiliarity of it all. Things were moving fast, and the world was getting dizzying. But he'd be lying if he tried to claim he wasn't hard as steel.

His body responded to Shane's demands before his brain had even processed them.

"Kneel by the headboard, Daryl. Good. Now darlin', why don't you get on your hands and knees for him and show him how good you are at suckin' cock?"

And even as the girl crawled towards him, Daryl couldn't keep his eyes off of the lean planes of Shane's body, or the surety in his hands when he grabbed the girl by the hips and held her in place. Daryl felt sharp fingernails rake up his thighs, and he looked down just in time to see the girl swallow his swollen cock down to the hilt.

"Oh shit," Daryl let out in a rush of air, and Shane only smirked at him. He watched Shane rip open a condom with his teeth, and slide it onto his erection. Daryl felt a brief flicker of pleasure in knowing that this girl wasn't getting Shane skin to skin.

She began to work her tongue slowly up and down his cock, and Daryl moaned softly. Shane's eyes never left his, even as he slid into the girl abruptly. The impact of it made the girl moan, and the vibrations of her moan had Daryl whimpering broken curses.

"Fuck, that's it sweetheart," Shane groaned as he started to thrust slowly, "Suck him good for me. Take him deep."

Shane fucked into her at a pace that started off slow and toe-curling but quickly became brutal, flesh slapping wildly when every move forwards had her mouth plunging down Daryl's throbbing length.

Shane kept Daryl's eye as he rubbed his hands up and down the girl's back, slapped her ass just for the hell of it.

"Yeah, you like that Daryl?" Shane asked him breathlessly, and the younger Dixon couldn't help but think that passersby would likely assume Shane was fucking him rather than her. "That feel good? Fuck, look at you. Can't even talk, can you? Bet he's leaking like a faucet, huh sweetheart?"

Shane slapped the girl's ass again, and she moaned gratefully.

"Tell me, Daryl. Tell me how good it feels," Shane demanded, and Daryl finally recognized what this was really about.

"S'good," Daryl gasped, trying to get his bearings, "Her mouth's...fuck. Oughta reward her for it, dontcha think?"

Shane grinned lewdly. "What kinda reward, Daryl?"

Daryl thread his fingers through the girl's yellow hair, guiding her movements.

"Fuck her harder," Daryl gruffly demanded, and he could see the way Shane's eyes dilated with arousal. His thrusts quickly became savage, fingers digging into the girl's hips for leverage. And watching Shane lose himself in the incredible friction, watching his eyes roll back and his chest heave with each breath, it was more than enough to set Daryl over the edge.

"Gonna come," Daryl gasped, "Fuck, fuck Shane, oh fuck, I..."

He came torrents down the girl's throat, and both boys watched with a sick fascination as she swallowed greedily, eyes still eerily innocent. When the sensation became too much, Daryl finally pulled away from her gently, and tried to stop his thighs from shaking quite so obviously.

"C'mere," Shane instantly ordered, and licked his lips once Daryl was finally close enough to touch. One of Shane's hands shot out and dragged Daryl forward, and when Shane captured the younger boy's lips in his own, his world righted. The girl's pussy was wet and tight and hot around him, but the slightest brush from Daryl's lips, and Shane had to catch himself from coming hard.

Shane canted his hips faster, harder, until the girl was coming with a loud moan and writhing invitingly on the bed. He could feel himself losing control, but then Daryl's lips were at his ear.

"Don't come in her," the younger boy said lowly, pleaded really. And Shane didn't have to ask why.

"This bitch, she's nothin' to me. Nothin' compared to you and me. You get me?" Shane promised him softly. You're mine first, Daryl. Mine."

Shane pulled out of her and whipped off the condom, fist flying over his fevered flesh. His knees nearly buckled when Daryl's fingers tangled with his to help him along.

"Fuck," Shane groaned. "Say it, Daryl. I wanna hear you say it."

"M'yours Shane," Daryl murmured without any hesitation.

Shane whimpered lowly, and closed his eyes as he focused on the sensation of Daryl's hand on his cock, and his lips on the side of his neck.

"Yours," Daryl growled one last time, and Shane came with a shout, streaking white over the girl's back as she lay there complacently.

Sitting back on his ankles, Shane panted through the aftershocks while Daryl watched him fixedly. He pulled the archer towards him, running his hands up and down his back in soothing circles.

"Mine," Shane whispered again. Daryl could only nod tiredly into the crook of Shane's neck, and the older boy smiled.