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Kieren had never been happier. The second his lips touched Rick’s; the world seemed to melt away. Nothing else mattered but the two of them. The disgusting alley behind The Legion, the sounds of rowdy patrons, the nipping of the cold air was gone. All Kieren could focus on was the feeling of Rick’s warm hands on his face, holding his gently as they kissed.
“You’re cute, Ren,” Rick said after they pulled away, Kieren smiling shyly as his face heated up despite the cold air. He mumbled a quiet ‘thanks’ before pulling away from Rick. Kieren was happy but not happy enough to forget where they were.
“What’re you doing?” Rick reached out, grasping Kieren’s jacket with desperate fingers. Kieren stumbled as Rick pulled him forward and had to steady himself against Rick’s arm.
“We shouldn’t be this close, you know that. Technically I’m not even supposed to be near you,” Kieren said as he remembered the night Bill Macy ripped his favorite shirt and bruised his cheek.
“But I want to hold and kiss you.”
“It’s risky.” They were behind The Legion of all places. The second anyone saw them, they were done.
“I don’t really care.” Rick tugged Kieren close until their bodies were flush against each other. So close that Kieren could make out all of the little freckles, blemishes, and scars on Rick’s face. And he was sure Rick could see the same.
“Rick, I don't know.” Kieren’s breath hitched when Rick’s hands slowly slid down his hips and gripped tightly. Rick leaned in and once again kissed Kieren softly.
They kissed for what seemed like hours. It never surpassed soft and gentle, but Kieren didn't mind. He liked the softness of Rick’s lips on his. He liked the feeling of Rick’s hands running up and down his sides. He liked the feeling of Rick’s shoulders under his hands. But most importantly Kieren liked being loved.
The next morning Kieren was home alone. Jem and his parents had gone out to run a few errands. Normally Kieren would join them, but he was so giddy from time with Rick last night that he just couldn't get to sleep. They stayed out behind The Legion for hours and hours, too, Kieren not making it home until nearly three in the morning. He was now sitting on the couch, a book in hand as his eyes grew heavier and heavier with each passing second. Kieren was about to drift off into a peaceful sleep when there was a knock on the door.
“One moment!” Kieren stumbled to the door, opening it to reveal the one and only Bill Macy.
“Kieren, your parents home?” Kieren looked at Bill in shock. What was he doing here? Surely, he and Rick weren’t caught last night. If they were, Kieren was almost positive that he would’ve known right in that moment.
“Uh, no,” he said, hand flexing around the doorknob. He was scared and he wanted to slam the door in Bill Macy’s face.
“Jem?” With each passing second, Kieren was less sure that he and Rick weren’t caught. Bill seemed calm right now, but he was such a tricky man.
“Why are you asking?” Bill must have taken that as a “no,” his hand shooting out to grab onto Kieren’s shirt collar. With a strangled noise, Kieren was yanked from his house and pushed to the ground, his skin scraping against the concrete in all sorts of ways.
“You corrupting my boy, are you!?” Bill kicked at Kieren’s side with his very heavy work boots, screaming profanities all the while. “Turning him into the dirty disgrace you are!” He kept kicking, his foot mainly aimed for Kieren’s sides, but occasionally aiming at his head. In an effort to protect his head, Kieren cradled it, leaving his sides exposed as all he could do was curl up against the ground.
After Bill sufficiently exhausted himself, he stopped kicking, instead reaching for Kieren’s hair. He pulled Kieren to his knees, hair firmly gripped between his fingers, and punched him across the temple. Kieren gasped at the pain as his ears rang and his eyes blurred. Bill hit him again, catching his nose, causing blood to spew out and cascade down his face at a worrisome rate. When Bill went for another hit, Kieren reached out blindly to try and defend himself, begging for him to stop as he did so.
When Bill did eventually stop, Kieren’s face well bruised and bloodied, Kieren looked up and could see Rick. He could see the way Rick’s face was pulled tight, the way his lips were turned into a frown, the way he looked so pathetic. Kieren had never, in the numerous years he had known Rick, seen him look in such a way. As much as Kieren understood the fear Rick had for his father, he couldn’t believe his friend, and possibly more, was just sitting there as he watched what was happening. A part of Kieren felt so unbelievably betrayed that he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to forgive Rick.
“Louise Kepten told me how she saw you two,” Bill paused, the disgust of the situation making him scowl and send a swift kick to Kieren’s bent knee, “kissin’.”
“I’m sorry, please. I’m sorry.” Kieren’s hands were gripped tightly around Bill’s wrist at the top of his head.
“You’re sorry, are you? You think that means anything? I should’ve killed you last time I suspected you of this- this disgusting practice!” Bill threw Kieren to the ground, stomping on his back to keep him pinned down. Kieren’s face would have connected to the concrete if he hadn’t stuck his arm down to break his fall, the force of the motion sending waves of pain through his wrist. If not broken, it was surely sprained.
“Bill Macy, you stop right now!” Kieren sobbed at the sound of his mother’s voice. He turned his head the best he could with the weight on his back to see his parents and Jem coming towards them. Each of them had a look more vicious than Kieren had ever seen.
“Can’t Sue, your boy has turned mine.”
“Turned him? What’re you on about?”
“Louise saw them doing unnatural things.” Bill gripped Kieren’s hair once again and pulled his head back. He whimpered at the pull on his neck, shutting his eyes so he didn’t have to see his family’s reaction.
“You let him go right now, Bill. My boy has done nothing wrong.”
Bill leaned down a bit, so his mouth was right by Kieren’s ear. “Stay away from Rick, got it? Or next time you’ll get a bullet to the head.” Bill shoved Kieren’s face on the ground, scraping his skin, before stomping away. Kieren lifted his head to catch Rick’s eye through the window as Bill drove away. He let himself cry as he stared at Rick, his heart filled with so much misery that it was hard to even understand.
“Oh, Kieren,” his mother said as she helped him sit up. “What on earth did he do to you?” Sue, with the help of Steve, pulled Kieren up and led him to the house. He mostly leant against his father who was rubbing a comforting hand over his arm.
“Go get the first aid kit, Jem.” Steve gently placed Kieren on the sofa, wincing as he groaned. His body ached all over from the beating he just received and the heartbreak he just suffered.
Jem ran over to them, kit in hand, and tears welled up in her eyes. “Here, mum.”
It took a while to fully clean and patch Kieren up. His whole body was littered with bruises, his stomach the worst. His mother carefully rubbed bruise cream across each one, whispering soft assurances as she did so. His father tended to his bloody temple at the same time, Jem keeping Kieren busy with whispered stories of their errands.
When Kieren was patched up, he leaned against his mother’s shoulder and cried. Sue just wrapped her arms around Kieren’s shoulder and pulled him closer. Steve sat on the other side of Kieren, hand resting on his bruised one, being cautious of Kieren’s aching wrist (which had been wrapped up to help with swelling). Jem was sitting next to her mother, tears in her eyes and hand reaching across the couch to rest in her brother’s hair. They didn’t ask any questions but opted to sit in a peaceful silence until Kieren calmed down. Once he did, Jem turned on the television and the four of them spent the night watching movie after movie after movie, one of them only leaving to go to the bathroom or grab a snack.
Although Kieren felt an ache deep within his heart from what transpired, he knew he had his family no matter what. He knew that Rick didn’t have the same and, if they were to ever cross paths again, Kieren would do his best to be there for his old friend.