Tough Vs Shy

The blinding light from the morning sun slipped through the gaps between slender branches of the trees above, the shadows dancing on the roof of the truck as the wind rushed past those branches. A small cloud of smoke rose up into the air, whirled around and soon faded without a trace. Over time, several small, odd-shaped clouds came and went, before it's cause was dropped to the floor and stamped out, tiny embers glowing for a few moments before dying out completely.

Matt glanced around the empty gas station courtyard. He looked at the cracked concrete, smothered in dirt and dried up drops of gas and littered with cigarette butts and general rubbish on the floor. On one particular area of the ground, a small, dried up pool of blood could be spotted, and several skid marks remained nearby. The sight dragged memories of the previous night back into the 18 year old's mind and he frowned, a sense of guilt overwhelming him. He turned to face his truck and peered into the backseat. There laid his battered boyfriend, asleep with nothing but a blanket draped over his body. The left side of his jaw was covered in one large, ugly bruise and he was noticbly clutching his stomach, most likely from his injuries last night.

With a saddened expression, Matt carefully climbed into the backseat and sat on the edge of the seat. He placed his hand lightly on his love's shoulder, soothingly rubbing it. The smaller man stirred, eyes slowly flicking open and his body shifting ever so slightly. Squinting from the sudden slight he faced, he looked up at the bigger man above him.

"Hey there, Haner. How are you feelin'?" Matt asked in a gentle tone as hazel eyes met chocolate orbs.

"My stomach aches and my face really hurts..." Brian groaned quietly in response, stretching out his arms and legs and carefully sitting himself up.

Matt sighed and looked down, biting his lip slightly, "I'm really sorry about last night, BriBri... I didn't want to do that at all.."

"It's fine... I understand.. You did it to try protect me.."

The bigger man nodded, and there was a brief period of awkward silence between the pair. Brian had shifted into a fully upright position and Matt remained sat on the edge of the seat, but neither of them looked at each other after that. After several moments, Matt's phone rang. He mumbled quietly and fished his phone out of his pocket, answering as soon as he could.

"Hello? ...We're at the gas station... No, we were hoping to make it by this morning but something happened... Yeah, that's fine... Oh really? Shit, alright. We'll be there as soon as we can... Alright dude, I'll see you soon."

Brian's gaze shifted up to Matt after the phone call ended, "Who was that, Matty?"

"Jimmy. We need to get a move on. Apparently your parents are looking for you and so are mine, so we need to go now." Matt briefly explained, "You gonna stay back here or sit in the front with me?"

"I'll stay here, just so I don't have to keep moving about.." The smaller man replied, buckling his seat belt. Matt nodded, planting a kiss on Brian cheek before climbing back into the driver's seat and swiftly hitting the road again.


The journey was mostly a quiet one. Matt had stuck the radio on, but there was hardly any interaction between the pair. Brian wasn't really in the mood for talking, considering the damage to his jaw and Matt couldn't help but feel awkward and guilty for causing said damage. However, an hour and a half into the drive, Brian finally spoke up.

"Matty?"

"Yeah, BriBear?"

"We're gonna be safe from those guys at the cabin, right?"

"Of course. They don't know of this place, only me and Jimbo know. Speaking of Jimmy, he took Johnny and Zacky last night, so they'll be waiting for us to arrive. They say it's really nice there. You'll like it." Matt smiled, "You doin' alright back there?"

"Yeah, of course. Jaw's just hurting a little bit" Brian replied, gazing out of the window and watching the world go by. Matt gave a nervous chuckle and nodded, before taking a deep sigh. "Babe, stop feeling bad. It's okay, I'll be fine." He insisted.

"How can I not? I hurt you when I'm meant to protect you and love you..." Matt frowned sadly, running his hand through his scruffy black hair as he drove, "I can't help but feel guilty and just like a piece of shit..."

"Matt-" Brian began, but his boyfriend's phone rang again.

"Shit.. Bri, can you take that?" He asked as he handed the smaller man his phone. Bri nodded and answered, placing the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He asked nervously.

"Bri, is that you?" Came the slightly panicked voice on the other end of the line.

"Yeah... Who is it?" He replied, gripping the blankets draped around him with his free hand.

"It's Zack. I'm guessing Matt's driving?"

"He is. Why, what's up..?"

There was a brief silence, followed by some background chatter from Zack's end of the line. After two minutes, Zack spoke again, "Tell Matt to pull over at a store or gas station, but make sure it's not too close to the route you guys are taking, then ditch the truck. They've got guys all over town lookin' for you two. They know you took the truck."

"Oh shit..." Brian mumbled. Matt peered at him in the rear-view mirror and raised his brows. "Matt, they're looking for us... We need to ditch the truck as some distant-ish store or gas station."

"You what-? Wait... Gimme the phone-" Matt spoke, his hand reaching for his device. Brian handed it over and Matt quickly spoke to Zack before hanging up. "Alright... Jimmy's gonna pick us up. It's all arranged, all you need to do is help shift the stuff into his van and we can go." He explained, tossing his phone onto the seat and turning his full attention to the road.

15 minutes later, Matt pulled over into a car park behind a large supermarket. Jimmy arrived almost an hour later, explaining that there was slight hold up just after he left. The trio immediately got to work, moving all of Matt and Brian's belongings from the truck to the van. Once they were done, Matt drove the truck off elsewhere with Jimmy following behind. Once they were certain they had gone far enough, Matt abandoned his beloved truck with a heavy heart and climbed into the van.

"Sorry you had to do that, Sanders..." Jimmy frowned as they drove off again, glancing over him. Matt just shook his head and leaned against Brian, who wrapped his arms comfortingly around his love.

"It had to be done, sadly... How long until we reach the cabin?"

Jimmy paused and thought for a moment, glancing down at his watch briefly, "45 minutes?"

"Sounds good to me."

And for those 45 minutes, Matt and Jimmy joked about, entertaining both themselves and Brian. In fact, Brian had started to become quite fond of the taller man, something he'd once considered unimaginable and impossible. He would join in with some of the jokes and conversations,and they soon began talking about music. Jimmy had then proceeded to play a few of the albums he kept stashed in the glove compartment and they all had a great time. Any memories of school events were out the window and forgotten about, as if it never happened.

Upon arrival, Jimmy happily hopped out of the van and dashed to the cabin door, retrieving the keys from his pocket and letting himself in. Matt and Brian soon followed him inside, Brian cuddled up in Matt's large arms. As they headed in, they were greeted by Zacky and Johnny, who had already gotten themselves comfy on the couch, sat in front of a beautiful fireplace, the flames dancing in front of them like professional performers.

"Hey dudes!" Zacky chirped, twisting his body and kneeling on the couch.

"Hey Zee, there better be room on the couch for us two. My leg's killin' me already and this guy's in a bit of pain." Matt responded with a chuckle. Zacky jokingly rolled his eyes and shifted over, providing space for the pair.

"How is your leg, by the way?" Johnny asked with raised eyebrows, "And what's up with the guitar dude?"

Matt chuckled and took the seat provided, before rolling up his jeans to reveal the stitched up wound, "Not too bad, luckily for me it wasn't too deep but it's still a bitch. As for guitar dude, I... Kinda had to beat him up last night-"

"It wasn't his fault." Brian cut him off. Zacky gave them both confused looks. "Matt's friends showed up hen we were getting some gas from the gas station and they forced Matt to beat me up..."

"Damn dude... You're both okay though, right?" Johnny asked. Matt and Brian both nodded.

Then, the tallest of the group appeared with two large bags of snacks, "Look what I got us all!" He beamed brightly. Handing the bags to the guys, he squeezed onto the end of the couch and they all happily dug into the bags, picking out and munching on whatever they pleased.

For Brian, it was something he longed for. He had started off being scared shitless of the people who now surrounded him, and now he felt somewhat comfortable with them. Sure, it would take a lot of work to trust them fully, but he hoped it would all go well and it would come with time.

As for Matt, he felt like he'd accomplished something. He'd left behind his past and moved onto something new. Living with his best friends and having gained someone who he considered very special meant much more to him.

They were all happy. Johnny, Zacky and Jimmy didn't mind having Brian around, and Brian was adjusting to them. Later on into the night, Brian and Matt headed to bed. The smaller man snuggled up to Matt's muscular frame, his head rested on his chest. Matt draped his arms around his love and they spoke lovingly towards one another. The other guys soon headed to their own beds or the crashed on the couch. It had been a hectic but great first day alone, and they were all looking forward to the future they would surely spend together. Perhaps things would all work out for them. Things would go right for them all for once.


In the battle of Tough Vs Shy, it seemed that both sides had won.
The question was: Would it last?

Notes

Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this final chapter!
So sorry that I haven't been updating, I've had no motivation lately but I got the idea to finish this and so I did just that!

Now that this is finished, do you guys want a sequel? I've got a few ideas, so do let me know in the comments if you want a sequel.

Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to seeing your comments!