Caught.

"Oh." Simon looked up to Shea's rosy cheeks in the dark. "Would you like to come inside, you must be cold?" All of the sudden Simon's fears were gone, his energy had a place to go, that wasn't within him. Simon could focus on Shea and that was as big a blessing as he could ask for.

"Uh... Is Liam home?" Shea asked sheepishly.

"No. He isn't." Simon smiled coyly. "You don't need to worry, he's out on a date, he'll be out late."

"Sure, then." Shea nodded, and Simon dragged him in by the cuff, unwilling to let go of his newfound protector. Simon knew deep down this wasn't healthy. Simon also knew when he opened the door, he'd been hoping it would be Asher, but it wasn't Asher, it was Shea, and Simon could afford to be unhealthy if it meant preventing a panic attack. "What were you watching?"

"Nothing." Simon shut the television off quickly. "I wasn't paying much attention to it anyway." Simon stated truthfully.

"Ah." Shea rolled on the balls of his feet slightly. "What do you want to do?"

"C- could you... could you just sit with me for a little?"

"Sure.. Of course I can.." Shea nodded, and sat down on the couch next to Simon. He hadn't quite planned out what he was going to do when he got to Simon's house, but he hadn't expected it to be this. Shea had made a gamble going to see Simon like he had, and it had been a move he'd done without quite thinking everything through. This time, unlike the last time, it had worked out for him though. Simon laid his head on Shea's shoulder and allowed his breathing to sink with the other boys.

Simon felt dirty, he felt like he was using Shea, but he also knew that he was minutes away from a panic attack when Shea showed up, and he was gifting himself a few moments of comfort. Shea was a good friend, and he was helping Simon to calm down already, but when Simon answered the door, Shea was not who he was hoping it would be, and that made him feel incredibly selfish. He felt like he was using Shea; still, Simon couldn't seem to tear himself away from his spot next to Shea on the couch. Shea was like a magnet he couldn't seem to disconnect himself from.

"Uh.. Simon?" Shea asked to a half asleep Simon.

"Hmm?" Simon mumbled without opening his eyes.

"I think you know how I feel about you.. by now..." Shea began, and Simon's eyes flitted open in attention. "But I'm really not sure how you feel about me." Shea rubbed his hands together in his lap.

This was it. Simon's chance to do the responsible thing, and send Shea away again, like he knew he ought to. But Shea's eyes sparkled with hope, and his hair drifted perfectly across his face, peeking out just from behind his neck. Simon was enamored by the other boy, trapped in a web spun by his own emotions, finding himself almost unable to say the things that were on his mind. In fact, his entire brain seemed to have stopped responding and gone blank, as Shea stared at him uncomfortably in the silence. Still, Shea's lips were pink and shiny in the minimal light, and they seemed to summon Simon.

It was strange how one moment a perfectly rational person could be planning a perfectly rational next move, and then the next they could be utterly lost from the stretches of reality, morphing into someone else entirely. Surely it wasn't Simon closing the gap between him and Shea, yet Shea, having learned from previous mistakes remained perfectly still. Surely it wasn't Simon who pressed his lips gingerly against Shea's. Surely it wasn't Simon who held Shea's face tightly in his hands, as if a small gust of wind might tear the two apart again. Simon was far too rational for that. He was grounded, down to earth, and pragmatic, not the type of person that just kissed someone they had no idea how they even felt about. Yet Simon and Shea were kissing on Simon's couch.

Simon moved to deepen the kiss, and pushed Shea back on the couch, a bold move he'd never dream of making. It was as if his mind had checked out, and been replaced with simple animistic urges, urges he couldn't control. Shea was on fire in ecstasy as the kiss continued. Liking Simon was strange for Shea, being that Simon wasn't the kind of person Shea often went for, and it was moments like this that Shea cherished. When Simon was overcome with a fit of force and would take control of the situation it reminded Shea why he liked the boy in the first place. Shea liked to be kissed, and held, as Simon was doing, though he longed for it more often, and it was a venture Simon seemed to drag his feet through.

Simon, on the other hand, was uncomfortable. As he continued on he realized how much he didn't enjoy what was happening. He kept waiting for Shea to take the situation into his own hands and guide him through it, yet Shea seemed perfectly content with Simon in the lead. The longer Simon impersonated dominance, the more out of his element he felt. It was as if the magnetic pull from before had ceased, and he was left trying to clean up the pieces of a broken kiss that he'd been forced into by his own neediness.

It wasn't often Simon was in the proper mood, but when he was Shea never wanted the moment to end. His first kiss with Simon hadn't been nearly as good as this one, and Shea would cherish it forever. Simon was full of many different sides, and the bold one was Shea's favorite, and the one he always looked forward to seeing.

"Shea." Simon pulled off, breathless and dissatisfied. "This..."

"Is amazing." Shea finished for Simon, and gently kissed Simon again, hoping to bait the boy back into the type of kiss they'd had before. Simon was sitting atop Shea now, practically straddling him, and Shea was excited at the prospects for the night. Being with Simon was a balancing act. Whenever Shea initiated anything Simon would get uncomfortable, though Simon had panicked after their first kiss, which he himself had began, but Shea hoped he'd found the middle ground. He hoped that allowing Simon to take the lead would fix the problems they had, and he thought that the events of the day were proving that. Still, Simon moved too slow, and while Shea wanted Simon making the moves, he wanted the moves to come faster.

"Shea.. I.." Simon began pulling away again, and Shea's brows furrowed.

"Simon... It's alright. This can happen." Shea insisted, hoping to prompt Simon forward."Kiss me again..." Shea suggested, and Simon obliged, going back into a kiss. Simon was less harsh this time, and Shea enjoyed it less, longing to go further. "T-take off my shirt."

"No." Simon stood up firmly, hot and sweaty in the warm room. "I'm not- Shea, I can't... I won't..." Simon's voice cracked in anguish.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Shea repeated, standing to meet Simon. "I shouldn't have..."

"I- I..." Simon pulled at his hair, eyes slightly reddening. "I'm not..."

"Shh." Shea took Simon's face in his hands. "It's alright. I never should have asked you to do that. It was wrong of me."

"Shea, I think you should go." Simon whispered.

"No.. I don't want to go... You don't want me to go, do you?" Shea asked and laid a small, chaste, gentle kiss on Simon's lips. "I shouldn't have asked you to do that, but I don't want to leave again while you're upset with me..." Shea deepened this kiss, attempting to make it as easy for Simon as possible, but Simon struggled to kiss back.

"I'm not upset with you." Simon broke the kiss, attempting to hold a strong face, "But it's late, and I think you should go."

....

Work had been long for Liam, and he longed to go home and curl up on the couch with a nice blanket. His head ached from lack of sleep, and his eyes screamed to shut as he navigated the open road. Liam hated lying to Simon, but still he saw nearly no other solution. That was until his that day during work; Liam had been offered a raise and a bonus that day at work. With the added money he finally had enough to cover Simon's first year at private school, and a steady way to be sure he could cover Simon second year as well. He had been talking to the office of financial aid at a local Catholic school about the idea of sending Simon there, and now all Liam had to do was make the final call, and sign the check.

Things were finally looking up for Liam and Simon, and Liam was overjoyed. He felt that without the pressure of having to lie to his brother, their whole relationship could be built back up to the good place where it belonged. They were close, but Liam wanted them to be closer. He wanted to be the closest person to Simon in his life, and he was quickly approaching it as he intended.

What Mary had said lived on in Liam's head, threatening all of his plans, and he knew she was right. It was wrong to keep Simon away from the boys, especially knowing that the Simon could be the key to helping them, as he was for Liam. Still, though Simon could help the boys, Liam's chief responsibility was to keep Simon safe, and that meant keeping his brother away from Asher. It wasn't a decision Liam took lightly, but still Liam felt it would be what was best for his brother. Perhaps keeping Simon to himself was selfish, but it was also safe, and Liam was sure Simon would understand that given proper time to adjust.

Liam pulled into the driveway of their house around eleven at night, and he assumed his brother would already be fast asleep, but on his way to the garage he noticed that light poured from the front door, which sat ajar. In a fit of exhaustion Liam's mind raced to the worst case scenario, and he picked up his pace, turning to enter the house by the front door.

"Simon?" Liam shouted to no answer. "Simon!" He shouted again as he burst from the door into the living room of the house. There, with his hand on Simon's cheek was the boy who had screamed at them from the front porch just a few short weeks ago, white as a ghost, eyes wide in fear. "GET. OFF. OF. HIM."