{((Waiting For Never))}i{((Part 4))}

[Well, here's the next installment. Ooooh, Shane's in some deep shit now! The plot begins to actually start a bit in this one, sorry for the wait. This one is a bit longer than usual so rejoice or gouge your eyes out.]

[Rated: TEEN]

{Music: Paper, Rock, Scissors-- JamisonParker}

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The tension in the air slowly relaxed while the two began to walk to Grover Park. Conversation had suddenly found its way between Aaron and Shane. Aaron pouted jokingly as she noticed the many small children swarming the slides, swings and just about everywhere else. Screaming, the two charged into the child infested area and as always the kids ended up playing a small war with the children swarming the park.

The sky was darkening into a mix of purples, pinks, and small stars began to appear by the time Aaron and Shane decided they should head home. The last of the children had to prepare to head home also.

"Mommy! I don't wanna go home! Aaron still hasn't gone on the see-saw with me and she promised the would! I wanna play with Aaron and Shane all day long!!!" a little boy, Frankie, screamed while his mother desperately tried to tug him away from the two seventeen-year olds.

Finally, after many attempts, his mother impatiently slung him over her shoulder and began to head off.

"Thank you and goodbye!" she exclaimed with her back turned to them. "Frank Michael Robert Starling, you will calm down and be quiet or I will personally make sure you never get anymore candy, brownies, cake, or ice-cream for the rest of your life!" she said sternly.

"My name is Shane now! I want to be like Shane!" Frankie shouted as he waved goodbye and disappeared out of sight with his pissed off mother as they walked farther and farther away.

"Hah! Project Make-Clones-Out-of-Little-Children is complete!" Shane joked as he cackled maniacally and evilly rubbed his hands together.

"You're so weird," Aaron exclaimed as she childishly jumped off of the still swinging swing and bowed to an invisible audience in front of her.

"And you're not?!"

Aaron simply laughed in reply and muttered a small "I'm not weird, I'm just unique" as the two set off toward their houses. Aaron and Shane continued to make up random names to constellations they would create out of the stars that were appearing above. Unfortunately, before the two knew it, they were standing in front of the light grey door of Aaron's house.

Only one light was on in the entire medium-sized home. The light was dimmed from the blinds in the room on the second floor, but could be seen a bit through the blinds. That was the window of Jadea's office. Whenever she was home, that was the room she was in.

'Hm… I would've guessed she'd be at Ian, her editor's, house. I overheard one of their phone conversations, while my mom was in the kitchen with me, and she told him that she was nearly finished with one of her new novels.' Aaron thought as she walked up the six short steps up to the house.

"And here the last nice summer day ends…" muttered Shane as he stood below the steps with the lions silently and motionlessly growling at him.

"Yeah, back to school tomorrow. Yucky!" Aaron exclaimed jokingly.

"Well, we haven't seen Brent, Dan, or Riley since the beginning of summer."

Shane's three friends had all been away for the summer, all to different places and for different reasons. Shane and Aaron were just about the only people that didn't go away over the summer.

"So, are you going to walk to school with me tomorrow or ride in the car your parents got you for missing your seventeenth birthday because they were in Tampa, Florida for business?" Aaron asked him, a hint of sadness could be heard in her voice.

His parents were the type of parents that thought if they bought him things he would be happy. So for every event and important thing they forgot, they would just make it up by buying him something extremely expensive. They missed his sixteenth birthday, so they bought him two tickets to see just about every band he'd heard of. Not that the tickets didn't make him and Aaron have the best week of their life, but he missed them at times. But that was just how his family worked. Just like right then, His parents were in Japan for business. He would probably get a new laptop in the mail in a week or so with yet another "We're sorry!" note attatched.

"Of course I'm going to walk to school with you, it's a tradition! Besides, do you really think I could actually drive that car without immediately crashing it into a mailbox or something?" Shane replied with a smile.

"Okay!" Aaron's excitement returned to her voice. "So, are you going to meet me here at the usual time?" A smile formed on her face.

"As always."

"'Kay." Aaron said, suddenly growing a bit shy.

After unlocking the front door, she blew him an airy kiss before heading inside. As soon as the door shut, a crimson blush covered Shane's face. It was strange… Aaron blew him kisses all the time and he never blushed before.

"Damnit, what's been going on with me today?" Shane asked himself as he walked home.

Trying to convince himself that it was just teenage hormones wasn't working anymore.

'She blew me a kiss… She's just so… beautiful…' he thought as he entered the empty house with yet another blushing fit.

Sometimes he used to be upset that his parents weren't ever around and weren't like normal parent who actually cared about what their children did. But soon Aaron noticed this and she could destroy any bad feeling he had. Now the only thing that mattered to him was if she was there.

He simply climbed up the stairs with a heavy heart weighing him down. Slowly he changed and climbed into his bed, muttering to himself, "Shit, I'm not supposed to feel like this, but somehow I'm in love with Aaron… and it's not platonically either. She'll never like me like that; she hates 'the teenage boy' and the idea of ever having something more than just a friend."

Shane was as lovesick as you could get and for once, he didn't even have a chance. It was only around six thirty or so, but he decided to go to sleep. He wasn't in the mood to eat or do anything else anyway… he would just keep thinking thoughts he shouldn't be having about his best friend.

Unfortunately, unlike how he hoped, going to sleep did not relieve him of his thoughts of Aaron.