Chapter Eleven

The large wheels stopped mere feet away from Chris and Jonathan as the big yellow bus screeched to a halt. The sound of compressed air whooshed as the doors opened.

“This is our big day, Jay,” Chris beamed as the two boys sat down in a seat towards the back of the bus. Most of the other seats had already been taken by the students whose bus-stops preceded theirs; a few kids had snickered as they watched Chris pass by. “Isn't it?”

“Yeah, it is.” Jonathan tried to smile back, but it didn't work out so well. His eyes scanned the parts of the bus ahead of them, anticipating heads turning and glaring at them in any second.

Chris leaned over and gave Jonathan a kiss on the cheek. “Don't be nervous, love.”

“Right, easier said than done,” Jonathan replied. Chris slipped his hand under Jonathan's, interlacing their fingers and giving a reassuring squeeze.

The bus stopped again not far down the road. As Devon walked up and took the seat next to them, Chris pulled his arm back so that his and Jonathan's hands, though still joined, were hidden from sight. Jonathan momentarily looked down at the spot on his lap that now felt cool without the presence of body heat radiating towards it, then raised his eyes questioningly to Chris.

“Hey, Jon,” Devon casually said. Jonathan snapped his head around frowned.

“Hey, Devon,” he said. He quickly glanced back at Chris, who was wearing a look of near terror. For a second Jonathan wondered how he could be brave when even Chris truly wasn't, but that thought went as quickly as it came and he found himself revealing more to Devon than Devon would have liked to hear. “Chris and I are back together.”

“Jon, it's not April yet, cool it with the jokes.” Devon didn't even bother to look up from the books in his hands, until he realized that Jonathan wasn't going to reply. He slowly lifted his head and saw the seriousness on Jonathan's face. “You...what?”

Jonathan felt Chris flinch beside him. He took Chris's hand and brought it back into view. “We're back together.”

Devon stared at them bug-eyed; his face was tinted with the threat of vomiting. His mouth faltered, desperately grasping in the air for words to use, but finding nothing except empty space.

“Do you think he's gonna flip out?” Chris quietly mumbled into Jonathan's ear.

Without looking away from Devon, Jonathan affirmed. “If he doesn't, then something's definitely wrong.”

Perhaps it was not as much of a dramatic scene as either of the boys had prepared for. When Devon seemed to finally comprehend just what was going on, he shot a few looks of certain dislike their way then turned his focus to the window and the outside world that was passing by.

“I guess that's close enough,” Jonathan quietly said as he set his eyes upon Chris. And just then, something made him smile; maybe it was the way the sunlight dripped into the bus and soaked Chris in a golden hue. Chris's bright blue eyes were lit with fear, but as they met Jonathan's he relaxed a little and smiled back.

“It'll be OK,” Chris said, probably to himself more than Jonathan. “I think that might have been the scariest part.”

“Yeah,” Jonathan replied, and suddenly their positions were switched again. Chris was his normal happy-go-lucky self, and Jonathan almost tried to sink into the bus seat and disappear forever.

Although no one noticed them even after they walked off the bus and into the school, Jonathan's paranoia was still at a maximum height. He kept glancing around the halls, the feeling that a thousand eyes were all on them at any given time crushing him like a bug. Chris noticed this, but he was smart enough to see that there was no real way to convince Jonathan otherwise except to just let him live and find out for himself.

They drew closer and closer to Chris's locker, and Jonathan started to panic even more. Sure, he could stand there with Chris and wait for him to get his books, but they would have to part at some time. Then what? Would Chris try to kiss him goodbye? Not that he didn't want that. He actually really wanted to kiss Chris- really wanted to, but those thousand eyes made him hesitate at the mere thought.

A few feet from the locker, a teacher stood outside of his door, observing the students going about their daily morning routines. As he saw Jonathan and Chris pass by, he quickly called out, “Hey, Jonathan! May I speak with you for a minute?”

Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah, sure.” He quickly looked back at Chris, who smiled knowingly.

“See you later.”

Their hands broke apart and Jonathan disappeared into the distance as Chris walked on.

Some kids were loitering by Chris's locker, but he was used to that. More often than not they would harass him, but today seemed to be going extra well for him. All they did was just stare for a moment then move over so they were as far away from him as possible without actually leaving the area. One of the kids must have had a locker right there.

As his locker door swung open, so appeared a face covered in piercings and hidden away by a mass of dark brown hair. “Hey, Chris.”

Chris cautiously looked up, as he thought he had heard a hint of aggression in the voice. But he was relieved to see that it was just Damien, who seemed to be donning a new hoop in his eyebrow.

“Hey, Damien,” Chris said. “Nice, uh...” Chris gestured around his own eyebrow, “eyebrow ring... thing...”

“Thanks,” Damien coolly replied.

“Yeah. Uh, anyway, how was your weekend?”

Damien shrugged. “It was all right. Got to stay home and sleep in for two days. How was yours?”

“It was... the best weekend of my life,” Chris beamed.

“Oh, yeah? How so?”

“Uh... I don't know that I should say-”

“Ohhhh, who is he?” Damien immediately interrupted. Chris's jaw dropped in slightly fake surprise.

“Damien!”

“Did you sleep with him?” Damien's invasive and ridiculous questions were started to make Chris fluster a little.

“No, I didn't sleep with him, we live in the same house and his mother...” Chris trailed off before he said any more, though he knew that he'd already said too much.

“So it's Jonathan?” Damien asked, and Chris nodded. “Well, congratulations. You've liked him for a while, haven't you?”

“I think I always liked him,” Chris shrugged.

“And he's straight, right? That's even more impressive.”

“I guess it is...”

Silence merged its way between the two and stayed until the bell rang. Then they both left separate ways without speaking another word, but it was a sort of ritual for them. Along with this came the long route around the room that Chris took to avoid the other kids in his homeroom.

It was all normal, a normal day in school, doing normal scholarly things. Chris swerved in the halls on his way to his classes to avoid those trying to get to him, he tried to pay attention to whatever the hell the teacher was talking about and not get wrapped up in thinking about Jonathan, and he lost his pen somewhere between Math and English. Typical stuff, really.

Soon, though it felt like far too long for his teenage heart, he met up with Jonathan once again as they walked to the boys' locker room.

“How was your day so far?” Chris chirped.

“Well, I talked to Devon again. He said that he would tell me how he felt about this if he hadn't promised his mum not to use unnecessary language from now on.”

Chris rolled his eyes and found that he had nothing to say in return. At least, everything that he could say he felt was too obvious to say, and so he kept his mouth shut. But as the two boys walked through the door into the locker room, Chris decided to take Jonathan's hand and lead them past the usuals.

“Oh, look, it's spreading,” came the voice of Thomas. Jonathan merely shot him a nasty look, but oddly enough Chris was not satisfied by that. He stopped, nearly causing Jonathan to bump into him, and turned sharply.

For nearly half a minute he just glared with a look of death in his eyes, then finally spoke through clenched teeth. “If it is spreading, then you should watch out. You know who else has got it? Your little friend Nolan.”

Nearly everyone's jaws dropped and they all looked to Nolan, whose face was beet red and his eyes wide with horror. Chris stormed off, though immediately he calmed down and began to regret his behavior. Jonathan thought it was spectacular.

“Chris, that was... that was awesome!”

“I shouldn't have done that,” Chris said, shaking his head and striding on with determination.

“Shouldn't have done what?” Jonathan replied, his tone itching with annoyance. “Defended yourself?”

Chris stopped abruptly and spun around. “I shouldn't have told them that. He didn't want anyone to know... It wasn't my place to say it.”

He frowned at the floor and his ears ached as the sounds of the other boys commenting on their newfound knowledge began to fill the room and echo off the walls. Jonathan watched him sympathetically, then decided he needed to change as quickly as possible.

Chris soon did the same, and it seemed like all he did was blink before the class was over and they were back in there, changing this time from the gym clothes into their normal clothes.

Before they left the locker room, Chris stopped by the door. Nolan was sitting where he usually stood, staring into space with a look of despair. Chris quickly glanced back at Jonathan, who nodded in understanding.

“Nolan, I'm sorry.” Chris sat down next to the poor blond-haired boy. “I know I should have kept that to myself, but it just kinda slipped... Your friends are such jerks. If they really are your friends, even.”

“I guess they're not anymore,” Nolan replied, his voice dry as dust.

“I'm really sorry.”

Nolan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he looked at Chris and said, “I kinda wanted to tell people anyway. I guess now I don't really have to.”

“Yeah, see, there's always a bright side,” Chris said, and he awkwardly laughed a little.

News spread like wildfire; within the few minutes that it took Chris and Jonathan to travel from the locker room to Chris's locker to the cafeteria, it seemed as though everyone had been informed of not only Nolan's sexuality, but of Chris and Jonathan's relationship.

Even though they were no longer holding hands- in fact, Jonathan was a few paces ahead of Chris, rushing to escape the spotlight- it seemed as if everyone just knew. They automatically knew, and they felt the need to either stare or point or mutter under their breath.

“Jay,” Chris said as they stopped at their table, “walking fast isn't going to make them disappear.”

“I know,” Jonathan replied. He dropped his bag in his chair and took Chris's arm. Chris barely had time to set his own stuff down before Jonathan dragged him across the cafeteria to where the lunch lines were.

“At least they're only talking. It could be a lot worse.”

Jonathan stared at the floor, then lifted his eyes to Chris. “It just takes time, right?”

Chris smiled and nodded. “Right. And,” he leaned in close to Jonathan and whispered in his ear, “I won't let anyone hurt you. You have nothing to worry about.” He brought his hand up and quickly brushed his thumb over Jonathan's cheek.

The line moved forward a bit, and so Chris and Jonathan stepped along with it. A few of the people in front of them were talking about Nolan- at least, Chris had thought he heard them talking about Nolan. Then he felt bad, but he knew, like with many other things he had done in his life, that there was no taking it back. But maybe it would turn out for the best.

Not more than five minutes later, Jonathan cautiously put his tray on the table. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Chris walk around him and to his own seat. Jonathan made a split-second decision, and moved before Chris even had a chance to sit down.

The next few moments became tangled up in Chris's mind; one minute he was setting his tray down, then the next his head was being pulled up by Jonathan's hands, and then Jonathan kissed him. Right there, in the middle of the cafeteria, with all those people around them, Jonathan kissed him. Chris was so stunned that for a few seconds he forgot to react; once he remembered, he laid his hands on Jonathan's sides and kissed him back.

The room quieted around them, but neither really noticed. Soon people regained their consciousness and voices and began booing. Some even called out awful and degrading names.

Despite all that, as the two boys pulled apart and Chris rested his forehead against Jonathan's, they both smiled. Nothing felt better than showing the world their love, even if it meant negative consequences.

“I love you so much, Jay,” Chris quietly said.

“I love you, too. Do you think maybe we should get out of here?”

Chris quickly leaned forward and their lips briefly met again. “Yeah. Let's leave before people start to riot.”

They shared a small laugh and hurriedly gathered their things. On the way out of the cafeteria they faced several obstacles, the least of which being a rather large kid blocking the door, though not purposely; he had been speaking with his friend the whole time, so he missed the display entirely.

“Excuse me, 'scuse me,” Chris said in a rushed tone, and it took a few tries before the kid heard him. He moved, and shot Chris a look as though he felt Chris was being rather rude, interrupting his conversation like that.

Jonathan had never actually thought of where they would go when they left the cafeteria, but Chris seemed to have it covered. They walked through the halls, silent except for the muffled voices contained within the classrooms around them. One door was open, and it was into this room that Chris led Jonathan.

“Mr. Phillips?”

The teacher sitting at his desk looked up at the two boys. He smiled kindly and replied, “Yes, Chris?”

“Would it be all right for Jonathan and I to stay and eat lunch in here?”

“Sure.” Chris nodded for Jonathan to follow him into the room, and they both took seats relatively close to Mr. Phillips's desk. “May I ask why, though?”

“We're trying to... avoid opposition from the public,” Chris lamely explained.

Mr. Phillips lowered his eyelids a little. “How so?”

“People can be nasty, especially if they see the gay kid kiss his boyfriend. That doesn't please them, really.”

Mr. Phillips breathed, looking as if he was trying to stifle a detailed response. “Right. Well, I would have to agree with you there.” He looked down at the papers on his desk, and drummed his hands on the surface. “Oh, by the way, I read your novel, Chris, and I must say I was impressed. Have you considered trying to get published?”

“Really, published??” Chris replied with wide eyes. “You think it's that good?”

“Yes,” Mr. Phillips said. “Now, granted, it's a difficult and taxing process, and you probably won't succeed at first, but what you've got is a great story. The overall plot is wonderful. It seems like you've got quite a few subplots going on, but everything wraps up nicely in the end. The character development is superb, and frankly it seems as though the span of your vocabulary is wide enough to fill an entire dictionary itself.”

Chris blushed and ducked his head. Jonathan thought he looked kinda cute like that. “Well, thank you,” he quietly said.

“Which one is it?” Jonathan asked Chris. Chris slowly looked up, his eyes bulging ever so slightly.

“It's, uh... one you haven't read.” Chris pressed his lips together so there was barely any space between them and mumbled, “Because it's about you.”

“Because what?”

“I wrote it about you,” Chris said a little louder. “Well, I didn't mean to write it about you, and I didn't even realize that I did at first. But then I went over it again and... I wrote it about you.”

Jonathan thought for a few moments, Chris watching him and hoping his reaction wouldn't be bad. “Can I read it?” he asked, to both Chris's relief and dismay.

“I guess. Honestly, I think it might be the best one I've written so far.”

“When did you write it?”

In Chris's eyes flashed a quick sadness, an almost bittersweet expression. “The first time we were together. It's not so obvious that it's about you. It's just... well, you at least influenced it heavily.”

“If you'd like, you can have my copy and start reading now,” Mr. Phillips interjected. “Though you might find it hard to put down.”

Jonathan walked up to Mr. Phillips's desk and took the stack of papers from him. “Thanks.”

As Jonathan sat back down at his seat, he glanced at the cover. Typed neatly in the center of the page, black ink in size 12 font were the words Stares From Green Eyes.

Somehow Jonathan felt that maybe it hadn't been titled that originally. That or Chris had really been in denial about Jonathan's impact on the story.

Chapter Ten

Penny looked up at her son as they both heard the noise of the front door opening. Then there were a few footsteps, and some muffled murmurs, then silence.

“It's about time,” Jonathan said.

Penny rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Is that because you want to spend every waking moment with him?” she asked, mockingly.

Jonathan's cheeks flushed deep red, and he opened his mouth to retort before he was cut off by a cheery Chris.

“Hey, guys!” Chris stood off to the side of the doorway, almost as if he was hiding something. Jonathan jumped at the chance to ignore his mother, and so he quickly spun around to see Chris.

“Where were you?” he asked, his urgent tone a little frightening.

“Jonathan, stop it,” Penny commanded. She peacefully turned her eyes to Chris. “Chris?”

“Oh, sorry I took so long. Uh, I ran into someone... someone I want you guys to meet.” Chris moved over and waved at the area past the doorway. “This is my brother, Alex,” he said as Alex stepped into view, drawing looks of shock from Penny and Jonathan. “Alex, Penny and Jay- uh, Jonathan.”

“Nice to meet you,” Alex kindly said to the room. Jonathan absentmindedly grunted in return, and Penny walked over to him.

“It's nice to meet you,” she hesitantly repeated, the look on her face making it obvious that she was judging him.

“Thank you for taking Chris in.” Alex awkwardly scanned the room for a bit. “It's a little weird to think that someone else is taking care of him now.” Alex's eyes stopped on Penny, and he smiled at her. “But I'm sure you're doing a much better job.”

Penny seemed to approve of his statement, so she smiled back and asked, “Would you care to join us for dinner? It's not much, but you're welcome to, if you like.”

“Actually, I should probably get going soon. I'm supposed to be dining with my parents.” His smile faded as he looked over at Chris. “It wouldn't hurt to stay for a bit longer, though. I suspect they're not in the best mood right now.”

“Why is that?” Penny inquired.

Alex's eyes widened a little and he fumbled to make a decision. Chris was much quicker than he was. “I went to see them.”

For the first time since his entrance, everyone's focus shifted off of Alex. Jonathan stood up from his chair; Penny slowly and apprehensively turned herself to face Chris.

“You did?” Penny replied, and Chris nodded. “And...?”

“And I saw them,” he shrugged. “They saw me. Then we left and came back here.”

“They didn't say anything?”

“No.”

“Did you say anything to them?” Penny asked.

“No, and it wouldn't have mattered anyway.” Chris looked down at his feet. His voice had become low and cracked, and as he traced the paths of his shoelaces with his eyes he desperately wished he could stop being so sad all the time. He just wanted to be happy, why was the world so against that?

Suddenly the physical air around him changed as he felt the presence of two arms being wrapped around him. He didn't need to look up to know who it was; those arms had been around him enough times before that he just knew.

“Uh... come on, then,” Penny said to Alex. “If you won't have anything to eat, at least stay for a few minutes. I think it would mean a lot to Chris.”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed as he stared at his brother, making note of just how supportive these people were of Chris. It made him feel a little better.

Neither Chris nor Jonathan noticed when Penny and Alex walked into the kitchen, they just remained in the hallway, tightly embracing. Alex sat down beside Penny, thinking that if he sat next to her then it wouldn't be so awkward talking to her. For some reason he felt that sitting opposite her would put him under the spotlight even more so than he already was.

“Are you boys joining us or what?” Penny called out into the hallway.

“I love you,” Jonathan whispered and placed a soft kiss on Chris's ear before they broke apart and entered the other room.

“Oh, wait,” Chris suddenly said just before he sat down. He momentarily disappeared through the doorway, then reappeared seconds later with a white plastic bag, which he handed to Penny.

“Oh, thank you,” Penny cheerfully replied, grabbing the bag from Chris and bringing it over to the counter. Chris sat down and clasped his hands on the table, waiting for conversation to break out.

“So, Alex,” Chris began after realizing no one else was going to speak. Penny had taken her seat once again, but had felt, like Jonathan, that it was not really her place to say anything. “How's your... love life? Or whatever, just say something.”

Alex laughed a little. “It's, uh... well, I'm not engaged anymore. My fiance left me. Oh, and I was engaged before,” he added. Oddly he didn't seem too upset. “But what about you, eh?” Alex suggestively raised an eyebrow.

“Well...” Chris cautiously turned his head towards Jonathan and smiled.

“I kinda figured.” Alex narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. “You guys do look cute together, though. As long as you're happy.”

“Oh, that means a lot to me,” Chris sincerely said. He wanted to say, but couldn't find the words, that Alex's approval was nearly the most important thing in the world, certainly very high on the list. He was largely convinced that there would never be another person in his family who accepted him. Luckily, the bond between the two brothers was strong enough that Alex understood all of that without being told.

Their conversation lasted for another ten minutes before Alex announced that he must be on his way. Penny and Jonathan bid him farewell from the kitchen, but Chris took the liberty of walking Alex back out to his car.

“I'll talk to mum and dad for you,” Alex told him as he stood behind the open car door.

“I don't think I'll make any difference,” Chris said, “but thank you.”

Alex looked at him for a second longer, then reached into his car and pulled out some sort of card. He handed it to Chris and said, “Call me sometime, yeah?”

Chris looked at the card; it was a business card for what he assumed what Alex's graphic design company. When he brought his eyes back up, Alex was already fully in his car. He waved, then stood for a while and watched as Alex pulled out of the driveway and took off down the road.

As he walked back inside, he had the strange feeling like he had just lived through an entire week's worth of events in one hour. The wafting smell of dinner stroked his nostrils, and momentarily his thoughts subsided as he realized that he was rather famished.

He almost shoveled down his food, receiving an odd glare from Penny. “Geez, Chris, you'd think you hadn't eaten in days,” she said.

Chris slowly chewed that which he currently had in his mouth, then swallowed and pointlessly replied, “Oh.”

Jonathan wasn't paying attention to either of them; he was too busy absentmindedly swirling his fork around his plate. The patterns left behind by the trailing prongs were pretty, but he didn't care. He was rather worried about going to school the next day.

Would anyone say anything about he and Chris? Of course they would, though maybe not to their faces. Jonathan wasn't sure which would be harder to handle, furtive gossip or upfront degradation. He knew Chris dealt with both all the time, but at the moment he was more worried about himself, which he realized was really selfish. But it wasn't entirely his fault; he'd never been in this sort of situation before, and he was quite afraid of finding out what his reaction would be to the opinions of everyone else.

“Jonathan,” Penny said very loudly, and as he snapped out of it, Jonathan guessed that she had been trying to catch his focus for a while. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Jonathan coolly said.

Penny stared at him, disbelieving. “Well, will you help me clean up, please?”

“Sure.” It took Jonathan a few seconds to realize that Chris was already gone from the table and seemingly the kitchen in general. “Where's Chris?” he asked.

“Are you sure you're OK?” Penny stood in front of Jonathan and carefully examined his facial features.

“Yeah...”

“Chris went up to his room. Said he was exhausted. Jonathan,” Penny firmly placed her hand on Jonathan's cheek, “what's going on?”

“Mum, I-”

“You can tell me all you like that you're fine,” she interrupted. “I'm smart enough to know that you're lying.”

“I am fine,” Jonathan stubbornly replied, prying his mother's hand from his face. “I was just thinking about school tomorrow is all.”

Jonathan was hoping that would satisfy her, but Penny just looked at him sympathetically. “You're worried about the other kids bullying you?” she asked, though it was actually more of a statement than a question. “Listen, Jonathan, you're happy with Chris, right?”

Jonathan nodded decisively. “And I know that's all that should matter,” he said, guessing the advice his mother was about to give him, “but...”

“It's still tough to deal with all that other stuff,” Penny finished. “Think of it this way, any time anyone says something to you, it's just them vocalizing their own insecurities. You've found something that makes you happy, and you're willing to accept that it may not be what everyone else considers normal. A lot of people only wish they could do that.”

“Thank you,” Jonathan quietly replied, feeling that he had nothing else to say.

Penny smiled at him then went about clearing the table. Jonathan helped here and there, though there wasn't much for him to do with only two plates that had been left behind. Penny brought the plates to the sink, and Jonathan decided to wipe down the table's surface until he felt it was clean enough.

Once the task was completed, Jonathan went upstairs with the intention of resting in his room. But just before his hand reached the knob of his door, he had the sudden urge to see what Chris was up to.

Chris didn't seem to be up to much of anything. He was sitting cross-legged in the middle of his bed, cradling in his hands what looked like a rock of some sort. He was just staring intently at it, though not so intently that he didn't notice Jonathan standing at his doorway.

“Hey, Jay,” he said without shifting his eyes at all.

“Hey...” Jonathan took a few steps into Chris's room and closer to the bed, but he kept his distance. “Uh, I was just.... just wondering what you were doing. If maybe you wanted any company, or...”

Chris smiled at Jonathan and gently patted the empty space beside him. Jonathan awkwardly sat down, then turned his head and found that Chris's bright blue eyes were trying to pierce through him.

“Your company is always welcome, love,” Chris said brightly. He flipped the rock around in his hands, all the while still staring at Jonathan. Jonathan watched Chris's hands.

“Why do you have a rock?” Jonathan asked, a little judgmentally.

“Um... sentimental reasons.” Chris blinked a few times, then chuckled and looked down at his hands. “I nicked it from the school the first day I talked to you. It was one of the ones you were standing on.”

“Oh. That's... normal. And not creepy at all.”

Chris opened his mouth to speak before he had actually prepared any words to use. He took a deep breath and utilized the time to think. “It was an important day for me.”

“Well, I guess it was important for me, too,” Jonathan said.

Chris set down the rock, then stared at Jonathan for a few moments. “Can I ask something of you, Jonathan?”

“What?” Jonathan asked. “And should I be afraid?”

Chris laughed. “I don't think you should be afraid.” He reached out and at first grabbed a random part of Jonathan's arm, but ultimately held on to only Jonathan's hand, clasping it firmly between his own hands. “Will you tell me about, um, when you got that note from me? And stuff like that. I'd like to hear how you felt about it,” he bashfully added, bowing his head a little.

“Yeah, OK,” Jonathan replied after a moment of silence. Chris smiled and moved a bit closer to Jonathan. “Well, I was coming back from... whatever class I was coming back from, and I stopped at my locker. When I opened it the note was on the door- wait,” Jonathan interrupted himself and furrowed his brows, “how did you get the note inside my locker? It was, you know, locked.”

“Oh.” Chris thought for a few seconds, then said, “It's not something I'm exactly proud of, but back then people would do anything I asked them to. So I got some kid to break into your locker for me.” Chris scrunched up his nose and made a pained expression. “Sorry.”

“I wouldn't be sorry, I think that's what got us to where we are now.” Chris raised his eyebrows as if to say that Jonathan had made a good point. “Anyway, um... yeah. I saw the note, and at first I was like, what the hell? I didn't exactly know who you were, even though I'd heard your name and probably seen you around before, but still, I was really confused. I actually almost forgot to meet you, but luckily I remembered when I was walking out of the school.”

Chris laughed, which was a relief; Jonathan had thought for a second that Chris might have been a tad angered by that. “Well, then it's a very good thing you remembered.”

“It is, indeed. And then I found you, and I still had no freaking clue what was going on. Then you asked me... you asked me if I was seeing anyone. That caught me off guard, definitely.” Jonathan paused briefly, staring right into Chris's eyes. “I couldn't say no to you. Even if I had wanted to, which for some strange reason I didn't. There was just something about you, I guess.”

“Is that why you love me now?” Chris innocently asked. “Just... something?”

Jonathan smiled and closed his hand around Chris's. “I love you now because you're a fantastic person. You're very sweet, and funny, and... you're still the only boy I would ever call gorgeous.”

Chris grinned back at Jonathan, but the look in his eyes told Jonathan that he was about to hear something far more emotional than his own tale had been. Jonathan braced himself, knowing full well just how affected Chris could be at times.

“One day I was walking through the cafeteria, and I saw you,” Chris said. “Then I just got this feeling that you were different from everyone else... maybe like I was different... I couldn't stop thinking about you after that. For, like, a week I was trying to think of some way to talk to you. And I realized that I liked you. You were the first boy I ever actually liked.”

“I was?”

“Yeah. It was scary to think that, because I was still really confused, and up until then I had, you know, just looked at boys every now and then. It never really dawned on me... like, I knew I wasn't exactly 'normal' as I think most people would put it, but I was unsure of how, you know what I mean?” Chris paused, and Jonathan nodded slightly. “When I saw you, I was sure. Of course, I tried to convince myself that it was just you.”

“I couldn't imagine going through all that,” Jonathan quietly said.

Chris frowned and looked down at their joined hands. “That's why I was so unfaithful to you, Jay. I really hate myself for acting like that.”

“You shouldn't,” Jonathan told him. “It's understandable. And I might have done the same if I were you.”

“No,” Chris replied, shaking his head, “you're a much better person than I am. Than I used to be.”

As Jonathan looked at Chris, he remembered his recent fears. “Chris, I need your help.”

“Sure,” Chris said, not even bothering to question his request. But Jonathan felt compelled to explain.

“I need you to teach me to be strong like you. I want people to know about us, but I can't say that I'll be able to handle the... criticism.” Jonathan sighed uneasily. “I'm sure it's not easy, but you seem to do a good job of not letting people get to you.”

Chris smiled kindly and shrugged. “They're just insecure, right?” As Chris said it, Penny's voice echoed in Jonathan's mind. “Whatever they say, they're just talking about themselves.”

“Is it really that simple?”

“Nothing's ever that simple, Jay,” Chris said with a contradicting grin stretched across his face. “But if you tell yourself that often enough, eventually you start to believe it, even if only a tiny bit at first. Then the rest gets easier to deal with.”

Chapter Nine

Chris tapped his foot as he waited in line. After returning Ty to Kirsten's, he had traveled to the shop in town to pick up a few things. Penny had offered to drive- insisted, actually, but Chris refused. He found himself recently bestowed with a mass amount of energy that he needed to find some way to burn off, thus he chose to travel by foot. In fact, he was filled with so much energy that he ran from Kirsten's house to the store. Even then, he wasn't remotely close to being tired.

The line had only moved about an inch since he took his place. He was third, luckily, so it wasn't as terrible as it could have been. But he had still been standing there for a few minutes, and only one inch seemed a little ridiculous.

Someone walked up behind him, and naturally, he ignored whoever it was. The few items he held in his hands were starting to weigh him down, so he shifted his arms a little.

“...Chris?”

It was a man who called his name, the voice very deep and very familiar. Chris cautiously turned to meet the eyes of the man, realizing only halfway through his movement just who it was. He was about the same height as Chris, with the same curly hair but a shade darker, and matching blue eyes.

“Alex!” Chris smiled, absolutely astonished. It had been at the very least a year and a half since he last saw his brother. This particular brother, anyway; his other brother had not been around in a much longer span of time. “What are you doing here?”

“I just stopped here to stretch my legs a bit and get something to drink,” Alex replied. “I've been driving all day. But I'm glad to finally be back. Did you walk here or something?”

“Ran, actually.”

Alex laughed. “That doesn't surprise me. Do you want a ride back up to the house, then, or are you just gonna run again?”

It only then occurred to Chris that Alex had not been informed of anything that had happened within the past year. He was surprised, but he knew he shouldn't have been.

“Uh... no one... no one told you?” The perplexed expression Alex was now displaying confirmed his ignorance. “I don't live with mum and dad anymore.”

“Oh.” The explanation did very little to clear up Alex's confusion. He shifted his eyes around for a bit, thinking, then asked, “Where do you live, then?”

“With my friend and his mum,” Chris said. He frowned and stared at the floor, his voice becoming lower and sadder. “You're visiting our parents?”

“Yeah. Well, I was under the impression that you'd be there, too.” Alex uncomfortably scuffed the floor with his shoe and tried to decide whether or not asking for further information would be a good idea.

“Would you-” Chris abruptly stopped mid-sentence; Alex quickly looked up to see if something had happened, but he found that his brother was still staring at the floor. Cautiously, Chris spoke again. “Would you take me with you? … I haven't... seen them for a while.”

A year, he thought to himself. It's already been a year.

“Uh, sure.”

They were mostly silent until they had both paid and were headed out the door. Chris was wondering if any of this was actually a good idea, but he didn't really want to pass up the opportunity to find out. Alex pointed out where his car was and they began to walk towards it.

“So, why are you visiting?” Chris asked. “Just because?”

“For the most part. It's been quite a while, eh?” Alex chuckled a bit and Chris smiled in response. “I figured the 'rents could tolerate my presence for a little bit.”

Alex opened the door to his car, Chris following along on the other side. It was an extraordinarily nice car, seemingly brand new. Chris figured that by now his brother must have become a successful whatever it was that he did, which was sure to please their parents. And maybe their happiness would be enough to forget, even just for a short period of time...

The ride seemed a lot longer than he remembered; maybe it was just his anticipation that was slowing down time. By the time the house came into view, he thought he felt his hands begin to shake, and his heart was beating a little faster.

Alex noticed Chris's ghostly expression, but chose to say nothing. He swiftly pulled into the driveway of the large estate, and within a minute or two they were standing in front of the door. Chris was apprehensive about going further, but Alex just pushed the door open and held it for Chris.

Chris took a step, probably the scariest step he'd ever taken. Everything looked the same inside the house, as he had expected; his parents had never been too keen on change.

“You'd think that people would make their houses more secure so random creeps wouldn't be able to just walk in off the street,” Alex said with a purposeful loudness. He shortly laughed and winked at Chris, who was in no mood to laugh back.

Instead, Chris stood staring at the doorway where his mother's voice was coming from. “Honey, get up! Alex is here. Alex! It's so wonderful to see you again...”

Her voice trailed off as her eyes fixed with disgust on her youngest son, though she'd made it her life mission to forget she ever had three children. The smile that had appeared on her face faded as she stood frozen in the doorway, her husband soon to suffer the same fate.

“Alex, my boy!” He froze, too, but his expression changed much more quickly than his wife's had.

Then there was only a tense silence looming in the air. Alex found it difficult to watch the interaction between his family, though he had no idea what it was like to actually be a part of it. He did notice the hateful stares shot at his brother, and the way Chris's eyes started to water.

Once he could handle no more, Chris slowly turned to Alex, and in a shaky voice asked, “C-could you take me home?”

Alex felt like a complete outsider, with absolutely no idea what was going on, but he nodded his head in agreement. It was strange to hear Chris call any other place home; even though he had moved out years ago, Alex still thought of it as his home.

Chris left through the door first, and Alex turned to see his parents once more before leaving as well. They hadn't changed expressions, but they were both staring at the floor now rather than their estranged son. Alex muttered something about being back in a short while, then followed Chris.

Chris informed Alex roughly where his new home was, then leaned his head against the window and stared blankly. He really hadn't expected anything more or less from his parents, but it still hurt. The way his mother had looked at him, as if he wasn't anything more than a worthless clump of mass that was taking up space in her precious foyer. And to top it all off, he was unfortunately hit with memories of the last time he had seen his parents...

*

It was raining, the sky a dark and ominous color, but Chris couldn't have been happier. After a month of staying with Penny and Jonathan, he was finally going home. Penny had been kind enough to drive him, as she was headed off to work anyway and his house was along the way.

Now he stood at the door, backpack in hand, waiting for his parents to answer the door. He wasn't sure why, but he felt that it would have been weird for him to just walk right on in, so instead he knocked.

“Oh, Chris!” his mother exclaimed as she opened the door, pulling him inside and giving him a hug that nearly suffocated him. “It's great to have you back.”

“It's great to be back,” Chris happily breathed. He tried to soak in the happiness for as long as he could. “Where's dad?”

“He's around here somewhere.” She finally released him, still as bubbly and bright as ever. “Why don't you go put that up in your room?” she asked, pointing to his bag.

There it was. Chris knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to even think about unpacking. He started to get a little anxious.

“I want to talk to you guys about something first.” He tried to remember everything that Penny and Jonathan had said to him in encouragement. First, remain calm. He clasped his hands in midair to control any spasms. “Can we sit down in the other room?”

“Of course.” She sounded a little apprehensive, but moments later they were sitting in the next room over. Chris's father was just finishing up something he'd been working on, then he entered and sat down beside his wife. Chris was sitting in a single chair opposite his parents. It felt almost like he was being interrogated, even though he was the one who asked for the meeting.

“What is, sweetheart?” Chris's mother asked when minutes of silence had passed. Chris thought for only a second longer, then looked up and smiled.

“What exactly is it that you want me to do? You know, with my life.”

“Well,” his father began, “first, finish school. Keep getting good grades. Then, get into a good college, become something like maybe a doctor, a lawyer. Marry a nice woman-” Chris inwardly cringed, “-raise a family of your own. Teach them just like we've taught you. I think that's a fairly simple overview.”

“OK.” Chris took a deep breath and told himself the next step: Don't be afraid. That one would be a little harder to accomplish. “I can't do that.”

That such a simple statement could evoke such disappointment only made Chris fear worse for what he still had yet to say.

“What do you mean?” his mother asked.

“You're not failing your classes, are you?” his father asked with a slightly raised voice.

“No, I'm doing fine in school.” Chris sighed again and tried to compose himself. He really wasn't doing well with not being afraid. “And...” he quietly added, “well, Kirsten's thinking about keeping the baby, so I guess I'm already starting a family.”

“She's what??” his mother nearly shrieked. Chris shrugged as if to say that it wasn't exactly as if he had a choice (though he secretly was quite happy about Kirsten wanting to keep the baby), and she shook her head and calmed herself a bit. “Never mind.”

Chris was deeply regretting the whole situation now, but he knew he couldn't back down. It wouldn't have been right.

And lastly, Penny's voice played in his head, if they don't like it, we're always here for you.

“I can't get married,” he said. It wasn't exactly what he wanted to say, but it was a start. A start, and now he definitely couldn't go back. His palms were getting a little sweaty.

“Of course you can!” his father exclaimed as if Chris was just being silly. “Why wouldn't you be able to get married?”

“Well...” The room felt very hot now, and Chris looked out the window behind his parents to find some sort of distraction. It looked like the rain was clearing up a bit. And suddenly he thought of a way to take a detour. “Do you guys remember when I was little, maybe five or so, and you brought me over to the Helsby's for that play date? Remember that?”

“Sure.”

“And you tried to get me to play with Marina... but I only wanted to play with Mason...” Chris paused, hoping his parents would catch on before he vomited in the middle of the room.

“I'm not sure I'm following, dear,” Chris's mother frowned.

“I just feel like... it's sort of representative of my life...”

They still weren't understanding it. Chris silently screamed at them to just put two and two together so that he wouldn't have to say anything. Alas, it didn't work.

His father spoke again, sounding rather irritated. “Chris, please, plain English.”

Chris cowardly looked down at the floor. His voice started off normally, but rapidly increased in pitch and speed as he said, “I can't do what you want me to, I can't get married because I don't want to get married to a woman. You're always setting me up with all these girls, but I don't like any of them because they're girls, and I don't like girls. I never have, but I tried to think that I did and it didn't work because I'm gay.”

Chris was breathing heavily, waiting for his parents to react. He really couldn't take it back now.

He had expected his father to freak out the most, so he was very surprised to hear his mother's voice say, “Get out.” That was after she laughed in disbelief. Chris almost wished she had continued with the laughter.

He slowly looked up, bottom lip trembling. “What?”

“Get out,” she repeated, her cold manner giving her the appearance of stone. “You can take your things, all of your things, if you wish, but I want you to leave as quickly as possible and never come around here again.”

Chris felt his heart break, the pain just bad as when Jonathan had dumped him nearly a month prior. Except this time there was no hope left in him; at least with Jonathan, he knew they would still be friends, and for now that was good enough for him. But his own mother, the woman who raised him for the entire sixteen years he had been occupying this planet, wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Just for trying to be himself.

Chris's father hadn't said anything by the time Chris left the room to pack as much as he could and call Penny at work to have her come pick him up again. Her tone was so sad when he asked her, but she agreed without a second thought. Chris felt extremely grateful to have someone who actually cared about him.

As he stepped outside and stood on the porch of his house for what he assumed would be the last time, he noticed that the rain had let up completely; in fact, the sun was shining. And he noticed as he looked up at the sky that there was a rainbow forming. He thought maybe the weather was trying to mock him.

When he watched the house fade into the distance as Penny drove down the road, it felt like a part of him died. He knew that his parents weren't the greatest, that they were obviously controlling and narrow-minded people, but they were still his parents, and he still wanted their approval more than anything else.

*

Chris didn't watch the house disappear this time. He couldn't bring himself to do that. The memories had already started playing by that time, anyway, so he was too wrapped up to care.

A few tears splashed down onto the door of the car as he was brought back to reality. They were nearly at the house now, so Chris further instructed Alex where to stop.

“So... what exactly happened?” Alex inquired as he stopped in the driveway and shut off the car. “Why are you living here?”

“I...” Chris tried to word it without giving too much away just yet. “I disappointed our parents, I guess. They kicked me out. Twice.”

“No way! Seriously?” Alex laughed, but stopped when he realized it was probably inappropriate. “It's just I never imagined they would actually do that to any of us. Of course, I didn't imagine any of us would do anything to make them, either.”

“I didn't think they would kick me out... I just thought maybe they'd be upset for a while, but they'd get over it. Obviously, I was wrong.”

“Why'd they kick you out?”

Chris sighed and looked up at Alex. “Because I like boys and not girls,” he plainly said. “They were not happy about that.”

“You...?” Alex appeared to be at a loss for words, so Chris nodded. “Wow... wow. Uh... well, I mean, it's certainly not what I would have expected...”

“Yeah.” Chris lowered his head again and frowned at his lap. But moments later he felt his brother's hand on his back.

“Hey, Chris, it's cool with me,” Alex assured him. “Just a little shocked, that's all.”

“Really? You're OK with it?”

“Yeah, of course.” Alex ruffled what little hair Chris still had. “You're my baby brother, I'll always love you. Nothing could change that.”

“Eh, I'm their son, too, but that didn't seem to matter much.” Chris shook his head and exhaled with a bit of force. “David wouldn't like it.”

“Yeah, well, David's a prick,” Alex bitterly replied. “Mum and dad have him molded into the perfect human being. Because it's terrible if you maybe want to do something you actually enjoy rather than sit in a stuffy room all day wearing a suit and rattling off a bunch of law jargon you're not even sure makes sense.”

Chris turned his head towards Alex and actually smiled. It felt nice to finally connect with someone- someone he was closely related to. He didn't think that had ever really happened before.

“I want to be a writer,” he happily said.

“I dropped out of law school my second year,” Alex replied. “I just got tired of it. But I'm making good money now, doing graphic design. Advertisements, that sort of thing. Do you think I should tell mum and dad?”

“Well, I don't know,” Chris began. “On the one hand, they won't be happy, but on the other hand, it's not like they can really do anything to you. How did you manage to drop out without them noticing?”

Alex nonchalantly shrugged. “It was pretty damn easy. I mean, they paid for it, but they seemed to think it was a good idea to trust me with the money, so it's not like they ever got a bill or anything. I think I will tell them. I was a bit afraid before, but... man, what you did, that took guts. I'm proud of you, kid.”

Chris froze for a moment, replaying Alex's words in his mind until he finally decided they were real. Then he beamed and his eyes lit up as he excitedly said, “Come inside with me, I want you to meet Penny and Jay!”

Chapter Eight

Chris picked up the spoon, scooping out the reddish orange goo from the tiny jar in his other hand. It looked disgusting and delicious all at once, but he was definitely glad he didn't have to eat it.

“Oh, what, you want this?” he said to Ty, who was sitting in his high chair around the corner of the table from Chris and eying the spoon with a blank expression. Chris held the spoon closer to Ty, and Ty crinkled his nose a little. “I know, it doesn't look so appetizing, does it?”

Ty continued to make a weird face, twitching his mouth a little. Out of the corner of his eye, Chris saw something flash near the doorway.

“Well, let me tell you something,” Chris said in a low voice, “neither did that stuff Jay made a while ago, but I still ate that.”

“Hey!” Jonathan swung his head around the corner of the doorway, eyebrows scrunched in an insulted way. He quickly decided to show his entire body, and walked into the room. “You said you liked my casserole.”

“I did,” Chris nodded. “I never said it wasn't good, just that it didn't look good. Big difference.”

“Well...” Jonathan fumbled for a comeback. He knew he had one somewhere, in some back corner of his mind. “It's still mean.”

“It's not mean, it's honest,” Chris retorted in an overly pretentious manner, holding his chin high and sticking his nose in the air. Jonathan laughed and rolled his eyes, and Chris made a serious attempt to make Ty eat the awful-looking baby food.

“Come on, you know you want to eat it,” Chris sang, waving the spoon in front of Ty. “It's super yummy!”

“I don't think you're convincing him,” Jonathan said from his new spot standing behind Chris. He gripped the back of Chris's chair and leaned over Chris's shoulder. “It wouldn't convince me.”

Chris turned his head a little, narrowing his eyes at Jonathan and trying to ignore their closeness. He swung his arm around to shove the spoon and its contents in Jonathan's face, but he moved too quickly, and the reddish orange goo flew off the spoon and hit Jonathan right in the nose.

Chris alertly widened his eyes and bit his lip to fight back laughter that was threatening to break free from its place in his throat. Jonathan stood momentarily, mouth agape, then excused himself and stalked off to the bathroom to clean himself up. Chris watched him as he left, still stifling a giggle, then slowly turned his head towards Ty.

“Don't give me that look!” Chris set down the jar of baby food and pointed his finger at Ty. “Listen, kid, you don't know what it's like, OK? It's not easy pretending, but it's not like I can tell him or anything.”

Ty blinked a few times in response.

“Jonathan likes girls. He doesn't like me,” Chris said. He picked up the jar again and took out another spoonful. This time, Ty finally opened his mouth and ate, much more eager than before. Like Jonathan's casserole, it tasted much better than it looked.

“See? It's no so bad,” Chris told him. “Just wait until I have to make real food for you. Then you're in for it.”

Ty had made it over halfway through the jar before Jonathan returned. He walked back in and shot a rather peeved look at Chris, who wasn't paying attention just then anyway. But, as always, he quickly decided that he couldn't really be mad at Chris.

“Hey, look who's back,” Chris excitedly said as Jonathan stopped beside him. “And baby food-free!”

“Yeah, no thanks to some people,” Jonathan said with slight annoyance.

“Sorry,” Chris sheepishly said. Ty took another spoonful of goo.

“It's OK,” Jonathan assured Chris. “I'm gonna make some tea, do you want any?”

“Yeah, that would be nice.” Chris waited until Jonathan was near the counter, then spun around in his seat. “Thanks.”

Jonathan turned back and smiled. The look in his pale green eyes made Chris's heart beat a little faster and he began to wonder just a little.

Chris looked to Ty and shrugged. “You know what, Ty? I should take you on a walk later, if it's not too cold out. Maybe Jonathan could come, too.” Chris winked at Ty, then waited for an answer.

“I don't think it's supposed to be very warm today,” Jonathan said. “But I guess.”

Chris smiled, but shook his head at Ty. “Doesn't mean anything,” he whispered.

Ty continued to eat, until finally the jar was empty. Chris looked into the jar with fake surprise, then clapped and tried to give Ty a high-five. Ty laughed at him.

“Chris,” Jonathan called. When Chris looked up, he nodded to the kettle and opened the cupboard to grab two mugs.

Chris slid over next to Jonathan, keeping an eyes on Ty across the room as he waited for Jonathan to finish pouring his cup. But, much to Chris's surprise, Jonathan handed the cup to Chris.

“Aw, Jay, you're so nice,” Chris said while grasping the cup in his hands. He took a sip and watched Jonathan over the rim. The hot liquid glided down his throat and settled in his churning stomach.

“So, how are you doing?” Jonathan casually asked before taking a drink from his own mug.

“I'm all right.” Chris halfheartedly smiled and shrugged. “You know, it... it's tough.”

“Some people never have any clue what they're talking about,” Jonathan said, intending on enveloping more meaning than he really did.

“Jay, why are you such a good friend to me?” The question seemed rhetorical, though somewhere deep down Chris knew he was hoping for some sort of confession. “Only, I was so awful to you last year...”

“You're not awful to me.” Chris had a momentary lapse in sanity and thought that maybe Ty had been on to something. He had to think for quite a while about what to say next, not wanting to ruin what he thought might be his best chance.

“Thank you. For your help. For all the help you've ever given me, which is a lot. I...” Chris placed his cup on the counter to free his arms, which he then used to wrap around Jonathan's shoulders. Jonathan set down his own mug and gladly returned the embrace with almost as much emotion as Chris was putting in.

Chris looked over at Ty, who was staring back with what Chris took to be an expression of encouragement. Silently he conversed with his son through various facial expressions- though it was more of a one-sided conversation- eventually coming to the conclusion that there was no time left to waste. He was young still, there was no point in spending his life simply wondering, and so he decided to find out exactly how Jonathan felt about him using the first method that came to mind.

He began to pull away from the hug, but immediately locked lips with Jonathan. It was very brief, since he didn't want to freak Jonathan out entirely, but it was enough to send his nerves in a tizzy and chills running down his spine. Jonathan felt that it wasn't enough, though, and so he took the liberty of meeting their mouths once more, this time with much more passion and tongue.

Chris smiled against Jonathan's lips and whispered, “I take it that means you like me.”

“Yeah,” Jonathan quietly replied before a small cooing sound came from the direction that Ty just happened to be sitting in. Chris craned his neck around to look, finding Ty smiling at them.

“Well, I think Ty approves.”

“Oh-” Jonathan began, then turned his head back. “I forgot he was here.” For a minute he worried that maybe he shouldn't have kissed Chris like that in front of a small baby, but it didn't seem to bother Chris very much. Then he thought maybe he should have been worried about Chris's carelessness. Eventually it passed.

“Jonathan,” Chris said, and he waited for Jonathan to look at him again. “I love you. I just thought you should know that. I tried, I really did- I tried to get over you, but nothing worked. Like, with James... I really liked him, but it wasn't enough, I guess, to make me forget.”

Jonathan nodded in agreement. “It was the same for me.”

Chris scrunched his eyebrows up in confusion. “But, I- I thought that you said... I mean, when you... you told me that you never loved me. Not like that.”

“I wasn't sure if I did,” Jonathan said. “Now I am. I did. And I still do.”

Chris raised one of his hands and lightly brushed Jonathan's cheek. “I missed this so much. I've had dreams about it before, but I tried to ignore those,” Chris mumbled the end of his sentence, averting his eyes and staring at the ground.

Then Jonathan remembered all of his strange dreams, and he instantly knew what they must have meant. Staring into the face of the pretty blue-eyed boy in front of him, he felt that same desire to provide protection for him against the evils of the world, namely the jerks who populated their school. It would certainly be much easier to do if they were together.

“I missed it, too. But... I was a little afraid that it didn't matter, because you'd have moved on. It seemed like you did.” Jonathan paused thoughtfully, then shrugged a shoulder. “Well, I mean, you said you tried, so... Anyway, I'm just...” Jonathan groaned and shook his head, trying to clear his mind. “I love you,” he decisively said.

“I love you, too,” Chris happily replied. He leaned in to kiss Jonathan again, but just as their lips touched there was a sound from the doorway. It sounded like a woman suddenly gasping, then clearing her throat.

“Mum!” Jonathan removed his hands from their former resting spot on Chris's waist, and Chris slowly took his arms back. “Uh...”

“Good morning, Penny,” Chris smiled. “It is good, right? And I think it's still morning.”

“It's an all right morning, I would say,” Penny cautiously replied. “Though it seems like you boys have had a better time.” Chris opened his mouth to explain, but Penny cut him off with a wave of her hand. “It's fine- Well, I think we need to have a talk, but it's fine.”

“A talk, yeah, of course,” Chris said, nodding his head along. “Of course.”

“Yeah, but first I think I need something to wake me up.” Penny stumbled into the kitchen and over to the boys, instinctively grabbing a mug from the cupboard. She was pleasantly surprised to find that someone had already made tea, which made her job a lot easier.

Penny sat down at the table, opposite of where Chris had been sitting with Ty. She looked utterly drained of any and all energy, which could have been odd considering she just woke up. Jonathan and Chris both made their way over to the table as well, sitting on the same side and facing Penny. She assumed from the start that they expected she wanted to talk with them at that moment; they were right. It would be a lot easier to just get it done and over with.

“You two are... together, I presume?” Penny asked.

“Yes,” Jonathan almost immediately replied, catching Chris slightly off guard. It wasn't the answer, merely the quickness of it; Chris was thrilled by Jonathan's apparent enthusiasm.

“Yeah,” he agreed with a small grin.

“For how long, exactly?”

Chris narrowed his eyes pensively. “Five minutes?” He shrugged. “Roughly. Is that all right?”

Penny raised her eyebrows impressively. “Well, it's about time. In all honesty, I expected this to happen much earlier.” She thought to herself for a minute, absentmindedly nodding. “Right. I'm obviously not going to forbid you to be together, but we need to set some rules.”

Penny took a break to drink some tea. Chris looked to Jonathan, slowly moving his hand over to rest it on Jonathan's thigh.

“Yeah, Chris, that's not gonna fly,” Penny casually mentioned, still hiding behind her mug. Chris quickly pulled his hand back and tried to hide his embarrassment by making faces at Ty. Jonathan shifted in his chair a little.

“Can we get this over with? I'm starting to feel a bit awkward now,” he said.

“Number one,” Penny said, holding up a finger and taking one last sip of her tea, “no rooms with closed doors. Two, no inappropriate touching while others are in the room. Or for that matter, when they're not.” Penny shot a look at Chris, then went on. “And please, please, do not be making out everywhere.”

“Mum,” Jonathan bashfully muttered. “You don't have to worry.”

“I know, I'm just letting you know now so you can't say that I didn't later.”

“What's it like outside?” Chris abruptly asked, still focusing on Ty. He reached forward and brushed some of Ty's hair out of his eyes.

“How the hell are any of us supposed to know? We've been inside all morning,” Jonathan replied. “It's probably like it was yesterday- cold and boring.”

“It wasn't that cold yesterday.” Chris turned to Jonathan and smiled. “I was thinking we could go for a walk. Ty would love it. If you don't want to, that's fine.”

“No, I'll go,” Jonathan said. “It's not like there would be better things to do in here, anyway.”

“Wonderful!” Chris jumped up on his feet and carefully lifted Ty from his high chair. “Come on, let's go bundle you up and then we're gonna go for a walk! You, me, and Jay. Isn't that great?”

Chris's voice trailed off as he and Ty left the room and headed for the stairs. Jonathan laughed to himself at Chris's silliness, partially giddy still from the memory of what it felt like to kiss his new- and, at the same time, old- boyfriend. His happiness only intensified when he reminded himself that this time there would be no secrets. They didn't have to hide.

“So, you love him?” Penny asked. Jonathan turned his eyes towards his mother with surprise. “You can say yes.”

“Well, I- I mean, I- yeah.” Jonathan ducked his head to cover his sudden flush.

“Good. That boy's been through a lot... You'll take good care of him.” He looked over to the doorway where Chris had been not too long ago. Taking care of Chris- he liked the sound of that. Taking care of him, protecting him. Jonathan couldn't help smiling.

It seemed like forever before Chris finally reached the bottom of the bag containing Ty's things, where all of his clothes were stashed. Of course, there were only a few outfits, since he would only be there for the weekend.

Ty was laying on Chris's bed beside the bag, staring at the ceiling with his Chris-like blue eyes and waiting to be dressed in heavier clothing. The world was a strange place for him.

Soon Ty was fully prepared to brave the cold, wearing a rather thick navy blue jacket and an adorable knitted hat with ear flaps, and held up on Chris's side as he was carried down to the kitchen once more. Jonathan was waiting for them by the door, ready to go at any moment.

“Could you take him for a minute while I get my jacket?” Chris asked Jonathan, gently handing Ty over. Then he maneuvered around Jonathan and to the coat rack, where he grabbed a dark blue blazer and threw it over his shoulders. He fussed with the collar a bit, then buttoned it up. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem,” Jonathan said as he gave Ty back to Chris. Jonathan moved ahead and opened the door for Chris, then quickly shut it behind him before any of the cold air that hit them as they stood on the porch could make it inside the house.

“Ah, look, it's not that cold out here.” Chris exhaled with force, looking rather smug about the lack of reaction from the air. “I can't even see my own breath.”

“All right, it's not so bad today,” Jonathan admitted. “Can we get to walking now?”

“Of course.” Chris quickly began to walk down the porch steps and towards the sidewalk, not waiting for Jonathan at all. But Jonathan was just as quick and stayed beside Chris the entire time. “Jay, today is crazy, isn't it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that it's not even noon yet, but so much has happened, it seems. Maybe not, but that certainly was a little awkward with your mum, huh?” Chris laughed, because truthfully it was nowhere near as awkward for him as he knew it had been for Jonathan.

“Oh my God, don't remind me,” Jonathan moaned. He tried to forget it, but as he stared down at his feet all he could see on the passing pavement was image of his mother dictating the regulations of their relationship. His cheeks went a bit red again.

“Hey, at least we're in the clear.” Chris stared at Jonathan, first happily, then with a bit of uncertainty. “But there is... one tiny matter to attend to...”

“What's that?” Jonathan asked.

“What are we going to do about school? Because, I mean, we don't have to let people know... Or we could let people know.” Chris shrugged the shoulder that wasn't giving support to Ty's small body. “It's up to you, I guess. I already receive enough taunting now that it won't matter to me either way, but you... you don't have to go through it if you don't want to. That's fine with me.”

Jonathan thought about what Chris said. He nodded a little and rested his hand on Chris's back. “Those people in school... they can deal.”