Next Night, Shane's House, 11:43 P.M...

The blonde teenage boy was currently pacing back and forth in his room with his cell phone by his ear, desperate for Paige to answer him. He needed her, and he needed her now.

"Come on, come on. Answer the phone, Midnight." He said out loud.

After a few more rings, Paige finally answered the call.

"Ello, cunt! How ya doin?" Her British accent blared confidently through the phone.

"Not good. Not good at all." He admitted.

"What's wrong? You got stomped in the nuts with cleats because your dumbass refuses to wear a cup?"

"That almost happened like a month ago, but no; that's not why. I... fucked up really bad. With the girl stuff."

"Well, what happened?"

Shane sighed.

"Me and Bayley kissed again, and this time it was planned. I initiated it."

Paige facepalmed.

"You moron. Why would you go and do that?"

"I panicked alright? I was standing with her, waiting for her bus to come when all of a sudden, she asked to kiss me. I didn't know what to do man. You should've seen the look on her face. I couldn't say no to that! It would've broken her heart." He explained.

"Yeah, well depending on what you do next, you're gonna take her heart and smash it into little pieces! Are you forgetting what the other one did to you?" She scolded.

"No, I didn't forget, and it's killing me. She's killing me to be more specific. All throughout today and yesterday, she's been teasing the fuck outta me. I swear she's wearing sexier outfits just to mess with me, and it's working. And then there's Bayley. Cute, happy, adorable Bayley, who today, I had to make my business to avoid, in an attempt to run away from my problems."

"So, you're being a pussy?"

"In a nutshell, yes. That's exactly what I'm doing. And until I can come up with a plan, that's all I can do."

"Well, how about DOING WHAT I BLOODY SAID AT THE START, AND TALKING TO BOTH OF THEM ABOUT IT?!" Paige yelled, frustrated by her friend's cowardly actions.

"Woman, did you forget the reason why I can't do that? Alexa will fucking lose her shit, everything I've worked towards will be reduced to nothing but a waste of my damn time, and I'll lose my best friend! Plus, how do you think Bayley would feel, if she found out about Alexa giving me a handjob? I don't even think she knows what that is!"

"You don't understand. All you're doing is setting yourself up for failure. You said before that you care about these two a whole lot, right?"

"Yeah, I do."

"The fact of the matter is, the more you hide, the more you hurt them. You're leading them on, stupid."

Shane couldn't believe what she had said.

"Leading them on? What the hell, how?!"

"Oh my God, you really are a tosser. Think about it, both of these girls are hopelessly in love you with you by the looks of it. You've got one who wants you so bad, she's willing to use her body and sex appeal to get you. On the other side, you've got one who sees you as this kind, nurturing individual, and wants you to be there for her, because she believes that you'd never hurt her. Well guess what, fuckhead?! You're hurting her. She may not know it yet, and you may not realize it, but you are. You've made out with them both on separate occasions, and have been sexually intimate with one of them. If that's not leading on, then I don't know what fucking is at this point." She explained.

"B- But, I'm not dating either of them."

"Do you think Bayley knows that? Based on how you've described her to me, she probably believes that when you kissed her, that solidified you two being together. Listen, you're too far gone into this, you are going to hurt someone's feelings, but trust me. Whatever pain they feel if you confront this problem now, will be nothing compared to the pain they'll suffer if you let this drag on any longer. You have to fix this, NOW. Before it's too late."

After a short period of silence, Shane sniffed and started to tear up.

"I- I never meant to hurt anyone. I just wanted... I just wanted everyone to be happy. I can't do shit right, can I? I'm such a fuck up. Paige.. Where did it go wrong?"

Him crying transformed Paige's emotional state from angry to concerned real quick.

"Love, you're not a fuck up by any stretch of the imagination. You just made a mistake. It happens to the best of us. I believe you had nothing but good intentions in your heart. Just, it didn't work out how you wanted. They'll understand, I promise."

Shane sadly chuckled.

"You know, it's funny. I moved away, and even when you're thousands of miles away from me, you still manage to play a big part in my life. Maybe.. Maybe Alexa was right."

"Hm? Right about what?" Paige asked.

"Oh, uh. A few days back she confronted me about you. You see, I've still been using the British accent even with you not around, mainly to make people laugh. It became a special thing between me and her as well. She says I did it to deal with not being able to see you and that, you were my first love."

The pale girl gasped and blushed.

"Oh... Well, was I?"

"I guess in a way, you were. You were the first girl I ever got really close to, and I do love you. All of this goes back to you when you really think about it. My drive to make Alexa see the path she was going down came from how you did the same for me. It's almost like you're my guardian angel or something."

"I don't know about angel, bruv. But, I still try to look out for your best interests, even if I am really far away."

"I know you do, and I thank you for that. This is just... as complicated and confusing as anything I've ever gone through in my life."

"Sure seems like it, going off the way you're describing it. Whatever, did you forget who you are? You're Shane Mothafuckin Price! You can get through anything. You got this!" Paige joked using one of Shane's old phrases.

The joke got a much needed laugh out of the boy.

"When I see you again, I might kiss you, Midnight." He joked back.

"I think your lips have gotten you in enough trouble, mate. But, depending on what happens in the future, I might just take you up on that."

"Paige. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Yeah, me neither. Now, it's late as fuck where you're at. Take your ass to sleep, ya slimy Yank!"

"Back at ya, slag." Shane came back with an insult of his own, before hanging up.

He sat on the edge of the bed and sighed.

"Whoever said women are nothing but trouble, might've been on to something." The blonde haired boy said out loud before removing his shirt, covering himself in blankets, and going to sleep.