Kian screamed as the foot made contact with his stomach. Again. The voices were loud now. One word, repeated over, and over, and over. ‘Faggot, faggot, faggot…’

***

Kian’s eyes flickered open. He felt the familiar hand running through his hair. "Shhhh… it was a dream Ki, a dream…"

Kian turned over to look at his friend. Kian’s face was tear stained, he had been crying in his sleep, and Shane found a tissue to carefully wipe the tears away.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Shane said at length. He already knew what the answer would be.

Kian shook his head slightly. "There’s nothing to talk about." He saw the flicker of sadness as Shane realised he would not confide in him, and looked away.

Shane gently traced Kian’s cheekbone with his index finger, stopping at the scar. "Is it them Ki? Are they still tormenting you?"

Kian had to look up then. As he met Shane’s eyes he saw so much worry and pain in them. He wished he could tell his friend everything, *everything*. He knew deep inside that Shane would understand and that he would care. "Yes." He nodded. A hint of anger was visible on Shane’s face.

"Kian." Shane said after a few moments silence. "Kian, you know you’re much better than those bastards. If you stopped being so hard a judge to yourself, I’m sure it would stop haunting you."

Kian protested. "I don’t judge myself too hard."

"Yes you do." Shane said. "You want to be perfect and Kian, *no one* is perfect."

Kian bit his lip but said nothing. "You know it’s the truth Kian. Admit it." Shane pushed.

"There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be the best." Kian argued.

Shane sighed. "No. But it’s wrong to punish yourself if you realise you’re just second best. But, you know what Ki? Even if you don’t think you’re the best at everything, there will always be others who do."

Kian detected a strange tone in Shane’s voice and searched for the meaning in his friend’s eyes. Shane looked away. "It’s late, Kian. We should catch some sleep, long day tomorrow you know."

"You’re right." He reached for Shane’s arm as he stood up. "Thank you, Shane."

Shane smiled. "No problem. And, Kian, if you ever need to talk, you know where to find me."

Kian smiled back, his eyes closing as he fell into a content sleep..