The past month had been a frustrating one. Alan had been making constant advances on the elder, while Austin constantly denied the younger. It was not that the elder did not have feelings for the younger, because he did. He was actually falling hard for the tiny red head. The only problem was Austin's firm belief that he was not good enough for someone like Alan. The red head had not given up just yet though. He kept trying and trying until one night Austin's rejections frustrated him to the point of hair pulling.

The elder had been walking next to the younger, their hands occasionally brushing as they walked to Austin's from the movies. They had gone to see see World War Z, which had been a terrible idea because Alan is a chicken and Austin is paranoid. Alan slipped his hand into Austin's and Austin pulled his hand away with an apologetic smile. The younger stopped walking and crossed his arms.

“Why can't I hold your hand? Don't you like me?” Alan sighed, exasperated with Austin's silliness. Austin shrugged and looked at the ground. “O-of course I like you Al . . . I j-just . . . I'm n-not good enough for you.” Alan shook his head at Austin. “Don't say that Aus! You're an amazing person.” The elder sighed and chewed on his lip before talking. “No, I'm n-not. I'm depressive and I have s-scars, and I'm j-just b-broken. You c-can have anyone you want. I'm worthless.”

The younger boy shook his head again, eyes sad. “Austin Robert Carlile. I've known you for a little over a month, but I've never felt this way about anyone. Sure you're quiet and sad at most times, but I see so much more than just that part of you. You are sweet and gentle and loving and kind. If you'd just try you'd be able to see how much you're worth Austin.” Alan moved in front of Austin, face softening. “Let me love you, and I will help you fix what is broken.”

At this point, tears were falling down Austin's face. The younger boy leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the elder's thin waist, hugging him tightly. Austin returned the hug, burying his face into Alan's neck. The shorter man hugged Austin tighter before pulling away, looking up into the elder's dark chocolate brown eyes. He leaned up and pressed his lips to the taller man's, kissing him softly. Austin kissed him back, his lips sliding against the tiny ginger's.

After a few moments, Alan pulled away to look at Austin with a smile. The elder man smiled back at him while Alan wiped his tears away. The red head took Austin's hand in his and laced their fingers together. Austin liked they way their hands fit together. They reached Austin's home and he unlocked the door and let Alan in first before closing the door and locking it behind them.

They lay in Austin's bed, facing each other. The elder was blushing, averting his eyes from Alan's, while Alan studied Austin's face. The younger scooted closer and lightly brushed his lips against the elder's. After a moment, Austin leaned in to deepen the kiss. Their lips slotted together in the most innocent of ways. Sadly, their kiss was interrupted by the sound of Austin's phone.

With a sigh Austin pulled away from Alan and picked up his phone, answering it.

“Hello?”

”Hey Aus, it's Shayley . . .”

Austin smiled a little at Alan and sat up straighter.

“H-hey Shay. You okay?”

”I uh . . ." Shayley's voice broke, and he cleared his throat. ”Can you come pick me up, please? I know it's late, but no one else will pick up . . . I need your help.”

Austin chewed on his lip, then let out a soft sigh. He couldn't deny someone his help, especially not an old friend. “Yeah, okay. Where are you?”

Shayley quickly gave Austin the directions to his location and Austin promised he would be there to pick him up as soon as possible. Alan watched Austin with his head cocked to the side, curiosity written all over his face. The elder man offered a brief smile. “A friend of m-mine need my help. D-do you mind if I g-go get him?”

The red haired man shook his head. “No, course not. Wait, when did you fix your car?”

"Earlier this m-month."

"Oh. Want me to come?"

“N-no, get some sleep. I'll b-be back before you w-wake up.”

Alan smiled and stood up to kiss Austin before he slipped on his jacket and made his way out the door.

Rain poured down as Austin drove down the slick intersection. The light was green, so he paid no attention to his left or right, continuing down while humming along with the radio absentmindedly. How was Austin to know a drunk driver was speeding down the road to his left, completely disregarding his red light? The truck hit Austin from his side of the car. The young man could barely process 'Something is wrong', before he was thrown to the right, the seat belt stopping him from flying out the right side of the car and into the road. The impact tore off the doors, sent the front-side passenger seat through the right side window, flipped the framework, and tossed the wheels and hubcaps deep into the forest and brush.

The noise was what scared Austin the most. Grinding, popping, and exploding: it was all louder than bombs. The noise was the only thing his mind could process, before everything went black. Because the world is an imperfect and unfair place, the drunk driver escaped the wreck with some cuts and bruises, but nothing major. He was able to, after the shock faded, get out of his vehicle and walk over to Austin's. Or, what was left of Austin's. After a quick and frantic call for an ambulance and the short time it took for it to get there, Austin was taken to the hospital. If Austin were conscious he would feel terribly bad, because he wouldn't be back home before Alan woke up.