Craig stepped out of his house and slammed the front door shut behind him. He reached up and wiped away some of the tears that were running down his cheeks as he hurried down the sidewalk. The dark-haired teenager walked all the way to Sean's house. He wasn't quite sure why that was his first choice, but before he could change his mind, he was already knocking on the front door.

A couple of minutes passed before Sean finally opened the door. He was surprised to find Craig standing on his doorstep, silently crying. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of his classmate. Craig met his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Can I come in?" he asked quietly, looking around. Sean wordlessly nodded and pushed the door open further. Craig followed him inside and Sean carefully closed the door behind them. "My brother is asleep, so we've gotta be quiet," he muttered, as they walked down the hall and into his bedroom.

Craig nodded and sat down on Sean's bed, sighing and reaching up to gently touch his cheek. Sean sat down beside him and stared at his hands, unsure of what to say or do to make Craig stop crying.

"What happened?" Sean asked him, sounding a little concerned. Craig moved his hand away from his cheek to wipe away a few more tears, letting Sean see the bruise that was forming on his face.

Craig shook his head and folded his hands in his lap. "My dad got mad and this happened," he explained, gesturing to his cheek. Sean stared at the bruise and almost couldn't believe that his father would do that to him.

Sean wasn't quite sure what to think. Was he supposed to hug Craig or something? "A father shouldn't do something like that," Sean told the other teenager. Craig nodded.

"Yeah." Craig stood up and started to pace around the room. "I think I hate him," he ranted walking from one side of the room to another. "I mean, he acts like he cares more about my grades than me."

Sean just watched him and started thinking. He couldn't help but notice that Craig had a leaf in his hair. The brunette just kept on pacing and talking about his dad so Sean stood up and did the only thing he could think of to make him stop talking.

He kissed Craig. Craig froze for a few seconds before carefully leaning into the kiss. Sean was shocked when he found himself leaning into the kiss, and was even more surprised to find that he was enjoying it. He reached up and placed both of his hands on Craig's cheeks.
He was more gentle with the cheek that was bruised, lightly brushing his hand against it. When Sean finally pulled away Craig just stared at him. "What was that for?" he asked curiously, touching Sean's hand that was still on his cheek.

Sean shrugged and picked the leaf out of his hair. "I didn't know how to make you stop talking," he answered honestly. Craig nodded before sitting back down the bed, fiddling with his shirt sleeve.

Sean sat down next to him and the two teenagers sat there in awkward silence for a few minutes. "Hey, I'm sorry about that. I just wish there was something I could do to help," Sean confessed. Craig was quiet for a moment before smiling to himself.

"There is something you can do."

Sean glanced over at him. "What?"

"Kiss me again," Craig asked him, meeting his eyes again. Sean just stared back at him, a little unsure of what to do, but after a moment he slowly leaned forward and kissed Craig again. The brunette smiled into the kiss and blushed light red.

The kiss started out soft but quickly got more passionate as they got leaned further into the kiss. Craig pulled away, breathing heavily with a huge smile on his face. "I like you a lot Sean," he said, and the other boy couldn't hold back a grin.

"I like you too." His response made Craig laugh happily, for a moment almost forgetting all about his dad. His face fell again when he realized that he would have to go home soon.

"What's wrong?" Sean asked, sounding concerned again. "In a couple of hours, I'm going to have to go back home. And see my dad," he explained, letting out a big sigh.

Sean thought about it for a moment before smiling again. "You're free to stay here for the night," he offered. Craig looked up at him and smiled. "You mean it?"

Sean nodded. "Of course." Craig kisses him on the cheek, before saying, "My dad will be angry, but still, thanks." Sean reached down and grabbed his hand.

"I promise that I'll do anything I can to help," Sean promised him, squeezing his hand gently. Craig smiled and squeezed his hand back.