Fragile (Kittypanda & Xianghua)

[Xianghua]

Romeo sighed. "Come in," he said, opening the door wider, to reveal a small three bedroom apartment. The lights were dim and the inside smelled like a mixture of cigarettes and musky man smell. A small scent of cherry blossoms came from the girls, but it was over powered by Romeo's scent. A large blonde woman was asleep on the couch.

[kittypanda]

Shane smiled softly and walked inside of the apartment slowly. When he got inside he looked around the place and noticed the smells and the woman on his couch. He blinked in a confused way, who were these girls?

 

He thought to himself as he looked up at his teacher with a confused look on his face. "Uh... Could we talk somewhere more private please?" He asked in a shy kind of way. He didn't what these girls around him when he wanted to talk to the older male alone.

[Xianghua]

Romeo nodded, leading Shane to a room at the end of the hall. There were several stacked mattresses with various pillows and blankets, a cinderblock bookcase completely full with books, with candles on the top of it, a black desk with a spinning chair in the corner, and punk rock posters completely covering the walls. "What did you need to talk about?" Romeo asked, closing the door behind him.

[kittypanda]

Shane jumped when he heard the door close behind him, he didn't have enough time to look around the room but he did however turned around when he heard the older males voice. He bit his bottom lip in a thinking kind of way before he responded to him.

 

"Um well... Ms. Sun told me about what you did on that day..." He said in a quiet voice not sure if those were the right words. But he shook his head and looked up at him, "But what I really want to know is that... What you said was the truth... About you caring about me..." He felt so confused and torn on the inside.

[Xianghua]

"I wouldn't have said I did if I didn't," Romeo responded, simply.

[kittypanda]

Shane sighed softly and rubbed the back of his neck in an awkward kind of way, "Oh..." He said not knowing what else to do or say that was until he thought of his own feelings. "Well... I'm glad..." He smiled softly at him, "Because... I... Like you... A whole lot..." He laughed softly which sounded more like a giggle then a laugh.

[Xianghua]

Romeo was about to say something, when the girl in the black dress opened the door. "Shane, I'm afraid you're going to have to leave," she said, opening the door wider, to reveal a tall woman with curled dark brown hair, looking at Romeo.

 

"T... Tegan?" Romeo asked softly.

 

"I need to talk to you," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

[kittypanda]

Shane's smile turned into a light frown before he looked over at the older male then at the girl, "But... I'm not done talking to him..." He said quietly, he still wanted to know what the male was going to say. Why do I have to leave? Then his eyes widened slightly.

 

Don't tell me she's... "Oh.... I get it... I'll leave you two a lone then... Boy how stupid am I!" He said with his hands balled up into fist as he ran past the girl in tears himself. God he felt like an idiot! He ran out of the apartment and slammed the door closed behind him.

[Xianghua]

Romeo was about to say something to Shane, but couldn't find the words, just watched as the other stormed out. He sighed. "What is it, Bella?" he asked.

 

Bella stood, mouth agape. "Was that him?" she asked softly. Romeo nodded. "I guess my timing could use a little work..." she said, clearing her throat. "Anyways, Nonni called me, she was wondering if we could go to see her at the end of the month."

 

"I don't know..." Romeo said. "I've already missed a lot of work."

[kittypanda]

Shane ran down the steps and when he got to the first floor landing he ran towards the bike rack and unchainned his bike. God I'm such an idiot! He thought to himself as he rode away from the apartment complex and straight to his home. He didn't feel like going to school today.

 

He knew his mother would be mad when she finds out but he'll take whatever punishment she gives him. He felt like his heart was shattering into tiny pieces. Why did it hurt so much just to like somebody? When he got home he threw down his bike and unlocked the front and ran inside after he locked it back up.

 

He leaned against the front door and slid down it while covering his face with his tiny hands. Why was everybody so against him about finding happiness?

[Xianghua]

"Rome, you haven't visited her in 3 years," Isabella said sternly. "It's time you did."

 

Romeo sighed, plopping down on his bed. "I'm too jaded."

 

"It's because of Shane," Angelina, the girl in the pink dress, said softly. "Romeo keeps messing up."

 

"Or maybe Shane is just too stubborn," Gwendolyn, the girl in the black dress, responded. "And doesn't want to believe that Romeo cares about him."

 

"We know where he is," they said in unison.

 

"I think I should go talk to him," Isabella said.

 

"He doesn't know you..." Romeo said.

 

"No, she's right," Angelina said. "She needs to explain."

 

"Shane doesn't want to hear from you right now, Romeo," Gwendolyn said.

 

"Where is he?" Isabella asked the younger Sinatra twins.

 

The twins exchanged a look. "We'll show you," they said, taking Isabella's hand and leading her through a 45 minute walk, to Shane's house. Isabella knocked gingerly on the door. "Shane?" she called softly.

[kittypanda]

Shane jumped when he heard the knock on his front door and a woman's voice calling out for him, he slowly stood up on shaky legs with a frown on his face. He then turned around and got on his tip toes, he then looked out through the peep hole with a confused look crossing over his face.

 

He then unlocked the bottom part of his house door but not the dead bolt, "Y-Yes? And... Who a-are you?" He asked in a slightly fragile tone of voice. He sounded like a broke child instead of a boy his age should sound like.

[Xianghua]

"My name is Isabella Sinatra," the beautiful woman said. "I'm afraid there has been a misunderstanding. I'm Rome's sister, not his girlfriend. These two, they're our sisters too. We have a lot of sisters, aside from Lucian and Papa, Rome's the only male in the entire family." She smiled. "I just stopped by to let him know that our Nonni wants us to go visit her in Naples. Please, don't get the wrong idea. We aren't inbreds." She chuckled softly.

[kittypanda]

Man now I do feel like a fool and an idiot! Shane was kicking himself mentelly for what he has done and said, he frowned slightly and closed the door before un-bolting it. He then opened the door again only this time a lot wider.

 

"Uh... Would you ladies like to come inside? So I could apologize more properly...." He said finally showing off his cute but slightly red and tear stained face to the girls. His lime green eyes were big and innocent looking if only he was still... He winched at that thought.

 

"And besides... How did you know where I lived?" He asked in a soft tone of voice which held confusion to it.

[Xianghua]

Isabella pointed at the two girls, her arms crossing. "Psychics," she said bluntly.

 

"We know what happened to you," the twins said in unison.

 

Isabella punched them both in the shoulder at the same time.

[kittypanda]

Shane blinked in a surprised and shocked kind of way, he then frowned deeply at the thoughts and memories of what had happened to him causing him to almost fall over if he didn't hold himself against the door. "I-I-I s-s-see... W-Well... Come in... Please..." He said in a quiet voice his body was starting to shake slightly. He wanted these memories to disappear and never return.

[Xianghua]

Isabella harshly whispered something in Italian to the two girls, as she entered. The twins nodded, and walked home. "Are you okay?" Isabella asked softly.

[kittypanda]

Shane looked at her slowly and slowly nodded his head, "Y-Yeah I'll be fine... I-I'm just still... Slightly not over what had happened... Sorry..." He closed his lime green eyes and frowned even more.

 

"And I'm sorry for the way I acted... I feel so bad for the way I treated Mr. Sinatra..." He then opened his eyes and looked at her with a soft look crossing over his face.

 

"I noticed that a scar was on his stomach... Where did he get that from if you don't mind me asking?" He was quite curious about the older male. To him he was like a puzzle... A very hard one at that...

[Xianghua]

Isabella was silent for a moment. "I'm 2 years older than Romeo," she said. "When we were teenagers, he went through a major depression. One day, everyone was gone, and Rome was alone in the house. He used to get these random panic attacks, where he would just flip out of nowhere, acting absolutely crazy and violent... He tried to cut his stomach open, he barely made it, because Natalie got home to see him bleeding on the floor with his stomach open. She hotwired a car and drove him to the hospital, even though she didn't even have a license at the time. They sewed it shut, but the cut was so deep, it's never going away."

[kittypanda]

A sharp but soft and surprised sound came from Shane's lips, his lime green eyes widened even more then they were normally, did he just hear her correctly? "Oh my god..." He didn't know what else to say but that. No wonder why he freaked out at school on him!

 

Those words she said to him stung his already weak heart. That poor man... "I get it now... Why he kissed me so suddenly like that... He was just trying to let me know how much he cares..." Well that certainty made him lose his balance and slide down his door.

 

"God why am I such an idiot!" He said in a low tone of voice while he held his head with an even more deeper frown.

[Xianghua]

Isabella helped Shane stand, wrapping one of his arms over her shoulder, even though she was much, much taller. "Rome and I talk almost every day," she said. "And all he ever talks about is you. He really loves you." She smiled. "I wouldn't worry about it. Nothing you could ever do would make that man stop loving you."

[kittypanda]

Shane blushed a little bit when he felt the very tall woman help him stand up, but his blush deepened even more when he heard her say that Romeo loved him a whole lot... And those words made him feel happy. "T-To be honest.. Miss. Isabella I-I-I love him too... I thought... It was a normal crush on a very nice... And sweet... And attractive teacher... But..."

 

His voice dropped down lowly and a soft and sweet look crossed over his face. "After he told me how he felt... I felt so happy... But my stubbornness got in the way..." He sounded so sincere just then, like every word he spoke was the truth. Which it was.

[Xianghua]

Isabella smiled. "He told me... About what happened to you..." she said softly, resting her head on top of the other's, hugging him close, in a big sister kind of way, the way she would hold Romeo when he was upset. "He was so upset. He went back and forth from crying to shouting, he couldn't deal with it... It's been eating him inside. He feels so guilty, that he wasn't there to protect you. The guilt is killing him."

[kittypanda]

Shane released a soft sigh when he felt himself being pulled into the woman, he slowly hugged her back feeling surprisingly calm and safe just like how Romeo held him... "It's not his fault though.... I was mine... I should have said no to the date with Jason... But I didn't and look what happened... So if its anybodies fault it's mine..." He said right in her shoulder, his body started to shake now as he remembered him telling him to stop and it hurt. That caused some tears to fall.

[Xianghua]

Isabella grabbed Shane by the shoulders, looking him dead in the eye. "Listen to me," she said firmly. "It's not your fault. You need to understand that... I'm already in trouble for bringing this up but... The same thing happened to Romeo. It happened to me, too, and Natalie. When we were kids, before the twins were born, our dad... He would abuse us and our mom, sexually and physically. Natalie... Natalie actually had to have an abortion when she was 15, because of him... So we understand. I don't know if it's because it hits close to home for him, or because he loves you, but this has been the hardest thing for him to cope with in all of his 27 years. I've known him his entire life, and so many terrible things have happened to him... But to him, you being put in that position, was the very worst."