Kieran & Drew (5 page)

“Yeah, yeah, I know it. Thanks.”
“No problem.”

They went back to their textbooks. Within minutes, Drew’s mind had wandered, thoughts of blue eyes and storage rooms distracting him.
ChaPtEr ThrEE.

D
REWhadn’t exactly expected an ecstatic greeting from Kieran in class, but he thought the guy would at least look at him and answer him with more than the odd one-word reply. He supposed Kieran’s embarrassment was a little more acute than he originally thought. Though, casting a quick look around the classroom, he supposed he might want to keep a low profile too, if people were whispering about him.

He cut a glance to Kieran, who was more or less huddled at the other end of the desk, hunched over his sketch pad, and sighed. This was where small talk came in handy, surely? He heard Kieran curse quietly and watched as he examined the pencil with a now-broken nib. Seeing an in, he hurriedly pulled a spare out of his bag.

“Here,” he offered, perhaps a touch too brightly.

“Careful, he looks hungry.” Giggling erupted from the desk in front of them, and he glared at the two girls who sat there, smirking at Kieran.

He recognized one of them, Liz Sanderson. He leaned forward with a smile and nodded at her. “Hey, Liz…,” he whispered with a small “come here” nod. A gleam of interest shone in her eyes. “Take a break from being a bitch, yeah?”

Her flirty smile turned sour, and both girls turned around with affronted grunts. He risked a cautious look at Kieran and was further annoyed to see that instead of looking amused or grateful, he seemed only uncomfortable to be the source of attention.

“Don’t pay any attention to them,” he tried, still offering the pencil.

Kieran took it and nodded his thanks, but otherwise went back to ignoring him. He sighed and supposed it would probably be best for Kieran if he played along and left him alone. Though the thought disappointed him, he turned his body away from Kieran, leaned his chin in his hand, and went back to his own work. He glanced up once more when someone else approached their desk—approached
Kieran
.

“Hey, Kieran, what’s up?”

Kieran mumbled something back that Drew didn’t quite hear, and he lowered his hand and faced forward in a discreet move to try and eavesdrop.

“I wanted to let you know I watched that film you recommended. It was awesome.”

For whatever reason, Drew felt a dislike for this guy so instant it was dizzying. Here he was, unable to get a single sentence out of Kieran, despite knowing Kieran was hot for him, and this guy? This guy was carrying on like they were old friends. To his delight, however, Kieran seemed genuinely flummoxed.

“What film did I recommend?”
“That vampire film?”

Uh oh. Whether he could ever speak to Kieran again and still respect him all depended on whether the word
Twilight
was about to be uttered in his presence.

“You know…,” the guy continued; Drew thought his name might be Toby something. “With the two kids, one’s a vampire, the other’s at school, he gets bullied and—”

“
Let the Right One In
?” Kieran provided, sounding a little impatient and glancing around them, clearly not wanting to draw any more attention to himself than he had over the past few days.

Two things happened. Drew quit eavesdropping at the mention of one of his
favorite
films and stared at them outright, and Toby snapped his fingers like a douche bag.

“That’s the one. It was great. Though I hear there’s actually an American version out on DVD too—”

“Don’t bother,” Kieran cut him off with a surprising level of authority in his voice. “I mean, it’s okay and all, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the original.”

“Yeah, but….” Toby shrugged, actually glancing between Kieran and Drew. “The American one doesn’t have
subtitles
.” He grinned, as if he’d just made some sort of clever observation and they were all supposed to bow down to the intellectual and comedic giant that was Toby.

Drew, determined to not butt into a conversation that didn’t actually involve him, held back a sneer, but could not stop himself from rolling his eyes. That film was boss. So what if it was in Swedish? He hated those stupid big blockbuster companies, taking an already stunning film and remaking it only two years later just so—

“They didn’t need to remake that film, it was already perfect,” Kieran answered Toby and, unbeknownst to him, only gained himself that much more respect from the guy sitting next to him. “And it held more true to the book, too.”

“Oh, there’s a book?”

 

Drew took a deep breath and held it in.
Don’t punch the guy. It’s not his fault he’s a moron. Actually it is, but still, don’t hit him.

“Uh, yeah.” Kieran kind of laughed. “The author’s
John Ajvide Lindqvist
, and I sort of love him,” Kieran deadpanned, obviously joking. It gained a small smile out of Drew, but fell flat with Toby.

“I’m reading one of his other novels right now, actually,” Kieran continued, notably uncomfortable in how he shifted on his stool and cleared his throat.

“That a vampire book too?”

 

“No, it’s called
Handling the Undead
. It’s a zombie novel. Sort of.”

 

“Huh, cool. Can I see?”

 

“Wha—Uh, you mean the cover? Yeah, I guess.”

Kieran cast a quick look around at the rest of the class, who were busy and chatting quietly amongst themselves, as he pulled his backpack into his lap. Kieran handed the paperback over so Toby could check out the cover and read the back blurb, but Drew’s attention was drawn to what he could see in the open backpack. He didn’t realize he was almost leaning over Kieran to get a closer look until he heard Kieran clear his throat. Both Kieran and Toby were staring at him.

“Help you?” Kieran asked, clearly amused by Drew’s faux pas. “Oh.”
Shit
. “Sorry, I was just looking at….” He gestured to where he could see a comic poking out.

“Oh.” Kieran flushed slightly. “Yeah, I’m into graphic novels.” “What’s that?” Toby smirked. “Porn?” Then laughed. Alone.

Kieran scratched the side of his neck. “No, it’s a comic book,” he mumbled.

There was an awkward five-second pause when no one said anything until Toby once again opened what Drew was starting to think of as the huge, stupid fucking hole in his face.

“Hey, have you seen those
Twilight
films? They’re supposed to be cool.”
Drew relaxed, knowing that despite the fact—for reasons not yet obvious—Toby was trying to impress Kieran, it didn’t matter and he would not be successful. Kieran actually seemed to be one of the enlightened few when it came to truly great books, and quite astute in the world of ohmygodfuckingawesome films and ohmygodpiecesofshit films. Toby the
ass-hat
had just made a blunder.
Vampires. Do. Not. Fucking. Sparkle.

“Have you read
Harbour
yet?” Drew chimed in. Fuck being polite.

 

Kieran’s eyes actually widened a little in surprise. “No, not yet. So… you like
John Ajvide Lindqvist?”

“Absolutely.
Let the Right One In
is actually one of my all-time favorite films. And you’re right about the remake, it’s not as good.”
Take
that
, Toby.

“I want everyone in their seats, please,” Mr. Trinder called from the front of the class. “Remember, you’ve only so much time to get your projects complete, so I suggest you spend your time wisely. Less chatting and more working, and I want to see all of you putting in a few hours after school.”

Toby gave Kieran a nod and Drew a completely unreadable look. Drew tried not to smirk. He felt like he’d won something, he just had absolutely no idea what. He felt something kind of flip flop in his stomach when Kieran offered him a small smile. An
I didn’t know you could be like m
e smile.

Okay. Time to do something brave. Was Kieran actually kind of hot? Yes. Was Kieran already into him? Yes. Did he want to see what might happen if they were to hang out? Yes. But that last one was a bit nerve-wracking. He cleared his throat.

“So, hey… um. Me and Matt—you know, my friend Matt?” Kieran nodded. “We’re taking his little brother and going to that new comic book store that just opened up, you know the one? It’s by the—”

“I know it.”

 

“Yeah, so, we’re going tomorrow. You-you want to come with?”
Arrrgghhhgg.
There. He’d done it. No big deal.

Kieran was looking hesitant, however. In fact, he seemed almost suspicious. “You want me to hang out with you, your friend Matt, and your friend Matt’s little brother?”

“Yeah, sure.” He tried to shrug in a way that looked completely casual despite the fact that he was trying to figure out whether he’d just asked Kieran out on some sort of fucked-up double date.

“F-for real?”
Drew smiled. “Yeah, what’s the problem?”

Kieran withdrew a little, looking away and lifting one shoulder like he didn’t really care. “Just… I don’t usually hang out all that much, with… you know, with people from school.”

“Well, now you do,” Drew said quietly. “Unless you have plans, or whatever.”

 

Kieran was quick to shake his head. “No, no plans. But, um… I mean, I don’t want to intrude, or anything.”

 

“Kieran, it’s a comic book store, not dinner and a movie.” He laughed and was pleased when Kieran smiled.

 

“And this isn’t like… some sort of trick where you two stand me up or whatever?”

Drew frowned. “Are you serious?”
Kieran pressed his lips together in a straight line, glancing away and shrugging again. “People do that to other people.” He scratched the side of his face. “I hear.”
Whoa.
He knew Kieran was a bit of a loner, but that sucked. “We’re not like that. We don’t do that.”

“Yeah?” Kieran asked so hopefully that Drew wanted hug the guy. “This doesn’t have anything to do with….” He suddenly blushed and looked around him quickly, lowering his voice. “Anything to do with what-what we talked about in the storage room?”

Drew caught the drift. He knew Kieran was actually trying to figure out whether this was a trick—whether he and Matt wanted to prove some sort of point outside of school without getting in trouble. The idea of it made him feel kind of shitty and only reinforced his resolve to make this guy his friend, if nothing else.

“Okay, I’m no longer asking, I’m telling you to meet us outside the store. There will be comics, a nine-year-old who will most likely hang on your every word, and a greasy burger somewhere along the way.”

Kieran’s smile started off small and unsure, but then quietly grew into something that had Drew wishing he were braver, and that they
were
discussing some sort of date.

“Okay.” Kieran nodded.

 

“Okay.” Drew nodded back, pleased as shit.

K
IERAN was nervous. They were late. They were late, or Drew was full of shit and they were somewhere else right now, laughing that he was here, standing all by himself and waiting for them. He was considering just turning around and going back home when he saw them. Judging by the somewhat nervous glance Drew shot Matt and Matt’s subsequent frown, he could only assume that Drew hadn’t mentioned his inviting him or he’d forgotten altogether. Great. What was Drew’s deal? Why invite him to hang out with him and his friend but then look all uncomfortable when he actually turned up? He dug his hands deep into his pockets. It was the kid who darted ahead of the other two and spoke to him first.

“Hi, I’m Travis.”
“What’s up, Travis? I’m Kieran.”
“Hey, you’re here.” Drew smiled, looking nervous.

He suddenly felt doubtful. Had he imagined the entire exchange in art class? Had Drew just been playing polite but ultimately didn’t want him there? He should have stayed home. “Uh, yeah. You… you asked me, right?”

“Yeah. Of course I did.”

Kieran worried his lip. What did that mean? Did that mean “no, I was just being polite,” or did it mean he’d forgotten altogether? The awkward silence was broken none too gently by Matt slapping Drew’s arm with the back of his hand.

“
Ow
. What?” Drew frowned, rubbing his arm.

“Oh for—never mind.” Matt rolled his eyes at Drew and held his hand out to Kieran. “Hey, man. It’s Kieran, right?” They shook hands and Kieran nodded. “I’ve seen you at school, but I don’t think we’ve ever actually met.” He looked at Drew, who was rubbing his arm still. “And that was for not introducing us, moron. Didn’t your momma teach you any manners?”

“Not really.” Drew grinned.
“Can we go in now?
Please
?”
“All right, butt-head, just stay in sight.”

Kieran looked at Drew, who inclined his head in an “after you” gesture. Kieran followed Matt and Travis through the doors and consoled himself with the fact that even if they ditched him at some point, he could still look for the new
Walking Dead
.

“SO, KIERANseems like an alright guy,” Matt said.

Drew glanced over to where Kieran and Travis were leaning over opposite sides of a desk, both skimming through a large, open file of labeled comics. Kieran was grinning and Travis was laughing at him. “Yeah, he’s not bad.”

“Are you gonna tell me why you invited him?” Matt asked, picking a large plastic sword up out of a barrel, frowning at it and turning it around in his hand.

“I need a reason?” He shrugged. “I saw one of those comics Travis likes in his backpack and thought he might want to come with.” He chanced a look at Matt, only to see him looking back at him suspiciously.

“You don’t
need
a reason, I was just wondering. I didn’t know you two hung out.”

“We don’t, we just got talking in class, that’s all,” Drew kind of mumbled. At the time, he’d felt a victory of sorts for having invited Kieran, despite not knowing what he wanted out of doing such a thing. But when it came to mentioning it to Matt, he backed out. He’d grown nervous, and a part of him wanted to know what Matt’s reaction and attitude to Kieran would be without forewarning.

If he were to be honest with himself, he was kind of disappointed at his own actions. He’d always been the type to try and keep the peace, and he hated confrontation, but not mentioning Kieran to Matt until the last second smacked a little of cowardice. And as much as he initially liked Kieran, he was a little bit embarrassed when explaining to Matt that Kieran would be there waiting for them. What kind of guy did that make him? He turned it over in his mind and rationalized that though he was a bit of a chicken, he didn’t know Kieran all that well and was still feeling him out himself.
“What class do you have with him, again?” Matt asked.