SHUT UP
" to love & to be loved "
CHAPTER NUMBER TWO

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WORKING IN THE LAB WAS INCREDIBLY THERAPEUTIC, and for the first time in a very long while, Alexander felt oddly content about what he was doing. It was comfortable for him, and he was endlessly glad that he was given the same shift as Owen.

Alexander was peering through a microscope, Owen seated to his right, when he heard a soft beep, and the glass doors to the lab opening. Still not used to the sound, he tilted his head up to see who was coming in. Owen appeared to have done the same, halting his pen mid-sentence.

Another boy walked in, long dark hair falling just above the shoulders of his uniform white coat. Once he glanced over to catch the two gazes on him, he gave an amiable smile, before signing himself into the labratory.

Alexander resumed his work shortly after, examining the cells which he had slotted into his microscope. As he wrote his findings down, he noticed in his peripheral, that Owen was still paused from his work.

Curiosity took over him as he peered towards his newfound friend, seeing that his eyes lay on the newcomer. Alex followed his line of vision, seeing the man simply busying himself with mundane work. There was nothing special about it, but Owen seemed entranced.

"Who is that?" He finally voiced.

Owen's eyes snapped back to him, and he was clearly embarrassed from being caught; his cheeks and the tips of his ears turning pink. A bashful look moving onto his face, he said simply, "Danny." His eyes fluttered to the side, and he tried to hide a smile, "He comes in now, when my shift ends."

Looking between the two other boys, Alexander licked his lips slightly. "Do you guys talk?" He opted away from even asking if Owen liked him, because it was heart-wrenchingly obvious.

"I, um, I guess. He's really nice to me . . . but I can't really get any words out around him," He admitted, finally looking up at Alex again.

"How long?" Alexander asked simply, knowing that the Doctor would understand.

Cheeks once again flushed, eyes drifting over Alexander's shoulder, only to land on Danny again, he admitted solemly, "Two years."

"Two years?" Alex spluttered in response, surprised that anyone would be able to stand the torture of unrequited love for that long. "Wow, Owen . . . You're really whipped, huh?"

He only groaned, twisting in his seat so that he could drop his head into his hands. Rubbing his face, his voice became muffled inbetween his fingers. "I know, I know," He told him.

Alexander patted his back. "Well if he's so nice, can't you just talk to him more. Maybe tell him?"

Owen opened his fingers and peered at the other boy through them, "Are you insane?" He asked, dropping his hands. "It'd kill me . . . I . . . I'd combust," He overdramatasized plainly, shaking his head.

Alexander only laughed slightly at how ridiculous Owen was, shifting in his seat so that he faced forward again. "Just talk to him," He didn't look back up at Owen, instead, smiled down at his work.

__________

A presence in front of him drew his attention upward, only to see who he now knew to be named Danny. The boy held a file in his hand, "Here're the results to the test you left over there. Thought I'd process them for you," He remarked with an effortless smile, dropping the papers in front of Owen.

Owen tried for a nervous smile in reply, shaking hands opening the file to skim over it. "Th-thanks," He managed out, looking up at Danny, and noticeably bouncing his leg up and down. "You really didn't have to," He huffed slightly out of something close to embarrassed gratitude.

"Hey, it's no problem," He replied easily, shifting on his hip, his hands placing themselves on the metal table in front of him. His large silver ring clinked gently against it. "You must be Alexander," He guessed, looking over at said boy.

"Yes, I am indeed. I see my name has spread around," Alex pushed some of his hair back slightly.

"Like wildfire," Danny nodded, eyes flickering to Owen, and then back to him, lips twitching into a little smile. "I hope to see you around," He took a slightly step back, hands falling from the table to his sides again, "And you, Owen," He added, clearly taking the boy by surprise. A subtle blush spread through Owen's cheeks, and he ducked his head while fixing his glasses.

"Oh, um, yeah," He nodded quickly.

"Sucks that we're on a different shift, but hey, what can you do?" He shrugged nonchalantly, catching one last glimpse at Alexander, and then Owen, before he meandered away.

Once out of earshot, Owen reach over to tug on Alex's sleeve, practically on the end of his chair as he leaned into the other boy. "What do you think he meant by that?" He whispered, blue eyes desperately looking into Alexander's.

"I think . . ." Alex licked his lips, before they pulled into a subtle smirk, "That you might just have a bigger shot than you think you do."

[856.]