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*Shane's POV*

At this point, I was desperate. I had done so much for Jace and I would continue to sacrifice anything for him. Now was the one and only time I wanted him to do something for me: be with me.

I woke up feeling great that he'd finally said he wanted me back. Today was Sunday, and tonight I'd have Jace in my arms again. It was a great way to kick off senior year.

I freshened up quickly and made my way down the stairs.

"Wow, you look happy," Darren commented when I entered the kitchen. Everybody was awake and buzzing around getting their breakfasts. I enjoyed having the house a bit full for once. There was Ryan, my step dad and Darren's real dad. Then my mother, and Jasper, our dog. And a new addition to the family- figuratively speaking - was Tyler. He was dating Darren, and since he was always over, it seemed that he practically lived here. He even had some of his clothes and belongings permanently in Darren's room in case he stayed the night. I guess last night was one of those nights. In other words, they definitely fucked.

The strange thing? Darren and Tyler were both my exes.

Yeah, it was complicated.

"I'm sorry, is it weird for Shane Cooper to smile?" I retorted as Ryan gave me a side hug.

"I made you some scrambled eggs," he informed. Man I loved when people made food for me. Ryan was easy to get along with and I slipped into the habit of calling him Dad soon enough. It was just the right thing to do, and it helped me deal with the death of my own father.

""Morning, baby," Mom called out, making something at the stove. I went up to her and kissed her cheek in greeting.

"Nolan should be here," Tyler said. He was buried in Darren's arms, and while he was nibbling an apple, Darren was gently biting on the skin of his neck. I briefly grimaced, remembering that, that exact spot was Tyler's sweet spot. "Don't you two, like, ever get intimate?" Ty asked me.

I brought out a plate and turned to face Tyler. "Not in that way."

Tyler frowned. "You're shitting me, right?" he gave me a droll look.

"Can we not do this in front of the parentals?"

Mom chuckled. "It's not as if any of your sex lives are secret, boys. Your room walls aren't exactly sound proof and... you get the idea. By the way, Tyler, you really need to take those moans down a notch."

"Mom!" Darren said as Tyler's cheeks grew red with embarrassment.

"I'll... work on it, I guess." Tyler responded. I cackled with laughter.

"See how it feels?" I asked, proving my point. He grimaced.

"Never in front of the parentals. Got it."

Mom and Ryan moved to the dining area to eat, leaving the conversation.

I began to put some eggs onto my plate. "Jace and I are getting back together," I confessed. "Today, hopefully."

"Whoa, just like that?" Darren queried.

"Yeah. Too soon?"

"Well, Nolan's a fragile kid."

"Please, he plays football," Tyler disagreed. Darren kissed Ty's cheek.

"Yes, sweetheart, but we don't mean physically fragile. We're talking about his heart."

Tyler gasped. "Ohhh," he understood. I rolled my eyes to the ceiling, Duh, Ty.

"I care about Nolan. I do, but I care about Jace a whole lot more. It's just the truth."

"Tell him that and he'll be crying in a corner, Shane. You'd better be careful," Darren warned. I sighed.

"I will. I'm going over his place after breakfast. I'm gonna surprise him."

"Well, shit. That never goes well," Tyler remarked, taking a huge bite out of his apple.

"I'll have you know that he loves when I surprise him and he loves to see me."

"Okay, but if it goes wrong, don't say I didn't warn you," Tyler shrugged.

I finished squirting the syrup onto my pancakes and added whipped cream onto it. Taking a lick of it, I regarded Tyler. "Oh, well, watch me not give a fuck." I winked and followed my parents' lead into the dining room.

***

White roses was a thing between me and Nolan. He thought that they were a form of good luck, or something good to come. Today, the belief was, these white flowers would represent love to come, for Nolan. I just wasn't the one for him. I stopped by a floristry shop to pick up a bouquet of white roses before heading towards his house.

I was greeted by Justin's hard gaze when the front door opened. "Shane. How are you this morning?"

I smiled. "I'm good. Here to surprise Nolan." I lifted the flowers a bit and he let me into the sweet-smelling house.

"He had a rough night," Justin informed, locking the door.

My expression fell. Poor Nolan. "He didn't sleep?"

"At first, no. He was having shortness of breath which, of course, is a sign of another panic attack."

I slapped my hand over my forehead. "It's my fault. I forgot to call to tell him I got home safely last night."

"Don't blame yourself. For some reason, he didn't take his meds, so we think that was why."

I nodded. "Is he asleep now or can I go see him?"

"He just went up to his room, so you can probably catch him awake."

"Okay, thank you." I wasted no time in getting up the stairs and towards Nolan's room. The door was wide open, and I saw Nolan laying there, trying his best to get some sleep.

He saw me and raised his head. "Shane? I thought it was your voice I heard." A tired smile fell over his lips and I welcomed myself inside his room. I closed the door.

"I wanted to surprise you."

He sat up as I came nearer.

"You brought roses," he observed, accepting them. I kissed his lips firmly.

"Yes, and they're not plastic. I don't do plastic."

"I'll put them in water later." He placed it on the other side of his bed and pulled me down next to him.

"I heard you didn't sleep." I removed the hair hiding his blue eyes, wanting to look into them.

"Nothing new, Shane." He shrugged.

"I'm sorry I forgot to call after I left. I should've at least texted you I got back home," I apologized.

"Oh, no it's fine. Don't beat yourself up about it; my sleepless nights are quite normal. Plus, I forgot to take my medicine."

I wrapped my arms around him, seeking to comfort him, and he returned the gesture.

"I want you to go to sleep. I can lay down with you, if that helps," I offered. He shook his head.

"Every time you come over, you try to help me sleep. I'm gonna grow up this time and have some fun."

I chuckled. "You're tired, sweetheart."

He let me go. "Doesn't matter. Let's do something nice. We can go to that lake you like to visit. Or, we could hang out with Elly. Whatever you wanna do."

"What do you want?" I redirected.

"Oh... um..." he blushed. "C-cooking..."

"Cooking?" I repeated. That didn't really sound fun.

His eyes widened for a second. "No, I meant... forget cooking, that's so boring, isn't it? Maybe you could play the piano."

"You don't have one."

With a shrug, he said, "We can go to your place - I mean, if you want." He blinked, fighting the sleep in his eyes.

"You know what'll make me happy?" I gathered his form in my arms again.

"What?"

"Get some sleep for a couple hours, then we'll do other things. I don't want you to fight sleep, okay?"

It seemed he wanted to protest, but a tender kiss from me was all the persuasion he needed.

He placed his hands on my neck, kissing me back. "Okay," he agreed when we pulled away. "I'll miss you."

I raised my eyebrows. "Miss me?"

"Yeah, while I'm sleeping, I'll miss you."

I chuckled. "Then dream about me."

I moved the flowers out of the way and we laid down together. Holding Nolan tightly to myself, I watched as he drifted to sleep in no time.

*****

Double update (4 & 5) because I think this is a short chapter. Plus, the points of view go in order, and I really need to get to Jace's!

ALSO IMPORTANT

This story is about Nolan, but the first few chapters deal with his relationship with Shane, and Jace's idiocy. That's why all their views have been included. Once it's resolved, the views will shift and I'll tell you about that later or else I'd give it all away! ;*

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