The Art of Discovery

Title: The Art of Discovery
Pairing: Shayne/Daniel
Genre: Original, General/Romance
Word-Count: 9400
Rating: NC-17 in later chapters for a male/male relationship, language, and sexual situations.
Other Distribution: Adult Fan Fiction (Temporarily Down),Bent-Fiction, Livejournal , and Original Slash Fiction on Yahoo Groups
Summary: COMPLETE! Daniel has just returned from a weeklong school trip and has a few questions floating around in his brain. Will Shayne, the new kid in town, be able to help answer them?
Author's Notes: None




The Art of Discovery

Chapter Two:

"James, don’t."

"What’s your problem, you his knight in shinning armor or something."

"No! I just don’t want to be blamed for anything your sorry ass does. Besides, man, he just moved here and he doesn’t need your shit."

James laughed and Stacy giggled at his side. "Hey, new kid! You, yeah, Shayne right? Come on over here. You don’t want to eat lunch alone do you?"

"Well," the blond stuttered, "I.."

"Oh, come on."

James snickered. Daniel crossed his arms. "Just ignore him." He said to Shayne and leaned closer to James’ ear, practically yelling. "He’s a prick anyway."

"Bastard."

"Oh," Daniel said in a monotone voice, "You’ve hurt my feelings. I think I’ll go home and cry."

"Sit down, sit down!" James encouraged. Shayne’s lips twitched upward slightly as one eyebrow raised and he shook his head.

"Sorry, but I usually eat lunch alone. Doesn’t bother me."

James huffed as his new "easy-target" walked away.

"You scared him off," he told Daniel.

"You deserved it." Daniel left the table and made his way to the end of the cafeteria where Shayne had just sat down.

"Sorry he’s such a jerk."

Shayne looked up and smiled. He had wonderful dimples. "That’s okay. I’ve seen worse than him." The blond stretched his neck to look across the cafeteria. "He looks pissed."

Daniel shrugged. "He’ll get over it. Mind if I sit?"

Shayne looked at him for a moment as if he was crazy and then motioned to the seat next to him. "You’re not eating?"

"No, I don’t eat cafeteria food."

"Neither do I, really," Shayne said, shrugging, "I just pick." He looked around the cafeteria again and shook his head. "You must be really ignorant or crazy."

"Why?" Daniel asked, cocking his head to the side.

"They’re all looking at me like I’m a zoo animal." He pushed the psudomeat around on his tray, "Not that I care. It’s just…I’d think it’d run your reputation. If you have one, that is."

"I do," Daniel said, not knowing whether to be offended or not. "Why would I run it?"

Shayne looked up at him from under a fringe of bangs and delicately crossed his legs. He smiled. "I’m different."

"Different?"

"Yeah." He laughed and then shrugged, "Everyone else already knows. I’m gay."

Daniel didn’t move. He’d been hoping it had just been a rumor. The boy looked up again, puzzled, "You can leave now."

"Hmm?"

"You can leave now. I won’t blame you if you don’t want to be seen with me."

Damn shitty town. "I can take care of my own reputation, thanks."

Shayne looked up like he’d suddenly been hit by a boulder.

"What?" Daniel asked.

"Not very many people are like that. I mean, I just, didn’t think….you’d be like that."

"Well, you judged me wrong I’d say."

"I’m happy to say I did." Shayne pushed his tray away just as Daniel saw James sliding through the crowd toward them, Stacy clinging to his arm.

"Hey." He said a little gruffly to Shayne, before turning to Daniel. "I got something that’ll cheer you up, man. I talked to Lizzie and she said it’s okay if you’re shy. Pick her up at seven on Friday."

Daniel’s eyes grew wide. "You didn’t!"

"I did."

"Damn it, James! I said I didn’t want to date her! That’s not a cue for you to set me up."

"Hey, calm down, killer. She’ll hear you." He winked and steered Stacy away. Daniel was on his heels in an instant.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Daniel didn’t see Shayne the rest of the day. Now that he had time to think about it, it was slightly unnerving. It wasn’t as if he’d planned on being friends with the only known gay man at school. He supposed if he never talked to him again, maybe Shayne would forget all about it.

But all of his rationalization and planning failed him when he saw Shayne leaving from his last class, everyone keeping a good distance away from him. Daniel shook his head. He would have walked with him, but he was already at his car. He watched the blonde as he passed up the parking lot and headed for the buses.

"Hey! Shayne!" the blond spun around. Daniel found himself running up the bus that the new kid was half on. "You don’t have a car?"

Shayne stepped off the bus and shook his head. "No, some idiot ran into my dad’s car and so I gave him mine so that he’d have a ride to work."

"Well, that’s nice," Daniel said, smiling, and then realizing he was just staring at the blond. "Uh…where do you live?"

"Down Old Cheridin Lane."

Daniel laughed. "Really?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"That’s where I live. Uh, do you want a ride. It’ll get ya there faster." He leaned closer, "And those elementary kids can be like World War III."

Shayne smiled but seemed a little reluctant. "I don’t know. I don’t want to be a burden."

"Ah, you won’t be. One condition though." He face fell serious.

"What?" Shayne asked a little nervously.

"You run to the car so we can beat James there. Damn bastard’s set me up and he can walk home!"

They both took off running and made it to the Cavalier and out of the parking lot before James had even shown his face. Shayne secured the seatbelt and crossed his legs, glancing out the window. "So, you don’t like-what’s her name-Lizzie?"

"I don’t know where she’s been. She’s like the town whore. Well, actually we just joke around saying that. She’s a nice girl, I just." He shrugged. "You know."

"Oh." Shayne said. "You mind if I turn on the radio?"

"Not at all."

The blond leaned across and fiddled with the dial. Daniel realized that he was blushing at the proximity and moved a little closer to the window. "So, uh, you have anyone waiting for you back home?" The question was out before he knew what he said and he cringed. Talking about Shayne’s sexual orientation was not the subject he had wanted to get himself into.

Apparently Shayne was thinking the same thing because he looked up questionable.

"No," he answered tentatively, "Well, there was this one guy named Chad but that turned out to be hell in a handbasket."

"Oh. Uh, sorry."

"It’s alright." The volume of the radio was turned up and Daniel smiled as he realized it was In the End.

"So you like Linkin Park, huh?"

"Yeah. Chester. He rocks."

Suddenly, Daniel was very uncomfortable. It finally seemed to sink in who exactly he was riding with and the silence wasn’t helping either. "Your uncomfortable aren’t you?" the blond asked.

"Oh, uh…" he floundered and realized that he couldn’t hide it, "Yeah, kind of."

"You afraid I’m gonna jump you or something?"

The idea hadn’t even crossed Daniel’s mind, but now he was blushing frantically.

"No, I just…well, I’ve never been around anyone…"

"Ah. I see. That’s what a backwards town will do to you."

"You’re telling me." Daniel rolled his eyes.

Shayne laughed. "But at least you’re trying right? I have to admit. I would have been a little lonely here if everyone stayed ten feet away from me." Daniel smiled.

"So, where do you live on Cheridin?"

"The address is like seventy-nine I think. Something like that. It’s a little ways out there."

"Seventy-nine? We’re eight-three. Just a couple of houses down. Wow. Mom’ll bring a bunt cake once she realizes we have new neighbors."

"Cakes are good. I can handle cakes."

"So, when do your parents get home?"

"Around five. Yours?"

"Oh, uh, one at five, one at seven."

"That’s cool."

"Hey, do you want come over for awhile. I mean it can lonely in a house all by yourself and you do live right next to me."

Shayne was smiling at him, but his eyebrows were raised in a questioning manner. "Sure, I mean if I’m not intruding."

"Oh, of course not. We can just hang out or something. Maybe even ‘study’."

Oh god. He just meant actually studying, didn’t he? He wasn’t flirting, was he? He gulped and blushed again. Shayne was looking out the window. He didn’t think anything of it. It’s alright, he didn’t even notice.

Contine to Chapter Three

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