(Hey, guys! So, if you're reading this... Thanks! This isn't the first fanfiction I've written, but it IS the first one I've published. So... I hope you like it...!)

Chapter 1

"Jeff, no… I just… I'm not ready for something as big as this…" Nick Duval explains as he climbs into his car.

"Nick, please, can… can we just talk about this..? Please..!" Jeff pleads as he stands holding the car door open so he can talk to him.

"Jeff, you telling me that you like me is a big surprise for me… I mean, yeah, I like you too, but… I don't know if I'm gay or what… I need to think this over…" Nick responds as he pries Jeff's hand off the door and shuts it quickly. Jeff's eyes slowly fill with tears as he watches his childhood friend, and new crush, drive away from his house. He walks back into the house, tears streaming down his face, and heads for his room.

"Jeff…?" a tiny voice calls as James, one of Jeff's nine year old twin brothers, peeks his head out of his door. "Are you okay?" The little boy asks as he steps out into the hallway and blocks his brother from walking any further.

"I-I'm fine, James… Just… go back bed, please…?" Jeff responds unconvincingly as he pushes his way past his brother and into his room. The young Sterling watches his older brother walk away reluctantly before retreating back to his own bed.

Jeff flops down face first onto his bed and starts to weep, when he hears a small jingle come from his cell phone. It's a text message from Emma Anderson. Emma is Blaine Anderson's younger sister. Blaine and Jeff both go to Dalton Academy together. Emma is 16, one year younger than Jeff, and just moved back to Ohio from an all girl academy in Texas. He moves over on the bed and reaches for his phone. The text message says: 'Hey, Jeff. How ya doin?(:'. Unable to text her back because his hands are shaking too badly from crying, he calls her. It only rings once when she answers.

"Hello? Jeff? Is everything okay?" Emma answers, worry filling every word.

"E-Emma? C-c-can y-you…?" He chokes up and tears roll down his cheeks again.

"Jeff! What happened! What's wrong!"

"N-Nick… He... He doesn't…"

"I'm coming over. I'll be there in five." She states as she hangs up the phone. Jeff lays his head back against the pillows and starts to think.

Nick said he liked me too… I wonder if he meant it… probably not… I'm worthless…

He turns over on his stomach and buries his face into his pillow. He takes a shaky breath, and is about to start sobbing again, when he hears a light knock on his door. "Who is it..?"

"Hey." Emma says as she pokes her head through the door. "Sorry, your front door was open, so I just let myself in… It's late, so I didn't want to wake anyone by knocking… Can I come in?"

Jeff sits up and nods slowly as she walks in and sits beside him on the bed. He looks at her and smirks a little. "Nice pajamas…"

She looks down at her bunny shorts and tank top and blushes. "Sorry, I-I heard you were upset, and rushed over… I didn't even think of changing…" She says nervously as she pulls up her legs and sits crossed legged. "So, what happened?" Jeff lets out a big sigh as he begins to explain.

"Me and Nick have been friends for a long time. Just friends. Little boys doing stupid little boy things, like climbing trees, riding bikes, you know, the usual stuff. When we were thirteen I brought him with us to our family farm. We had just got done swimming and sat underneath a big oak tree to dry off. We were talking and all of a sudden, he told me how he'd never been kissed before… I said I haven't been either… He told me a kiss should be shared between two people who really care about each other… He looked at me with those big, sparkling eyes, and… we both got our first kiss… right there, with each other. We didn't talk about it much after that, but it was a big deal for me… Ever since then I've had feelings for Nick… and, I just told him how I really feel tonight… He-he said he likes me too, but he needs time to think about it…" Jeff took a big shaky breath and holds back tears. "I'm just scared… I told him all this, and… and what if he doesn't feel the same way? It-it might just kill me…"

Emma turned and smiled at him sympathetically. "Well, maybe you should try giving him some time. I mean, this is really big news!" She rests her hand on his shoulder. "Everything is going to turn out alright."

"H-how can you be so sure…?" he asks with a sniffle as he leans his head against her hand. She scoots closer to him and wraps an arm around his shoulders.

"I don't… but, things usually do, do they not?" She reassures him with a caring smile. "Just, sometimes, it takes longer for everything to fall into place than other times."

Jeff snuggles up against Emma and tears slowly roll down his already tear stained cheeks. "He said he likes me too… Why does he need time then? I'm so confused…" He said as more tears begin to fall.

"Ssshhh…. Jeff, stop crying…" She says softly as she strokes his hair back out of his eyes. "It's going to be alright. If he said he likes you too, maybe he didn't expect you to feel the same way. Maybe he's just a little over whelmed. Give him time."

"Maybe you're right…" Jeff says as he closes his eyes. Emma yawns and rests her head on his. They both rest their eyes for just a minute…

"Jesse, nothing happened! I didn't even mean to fall asleep!... I couldn't answer my phone, I was asleep! Please, just believe me!" Jeff awoke to a crying, frustrated Emma pleading into her cell phone.

"Emma, is everything okay?" He said sleepily as he walked over to her. She sighs and hands him the phone.

"It's Jesse… He wants to talk to you…" she says reluctantly as she sits down on the bed.

"H-hello…?" Jeff says nervously as he puts the phone up to his ear.

"You listen here, you little punk! I want you to stay away from MY girl! Aren't you some faggy singing warbler, anyways? What are you doing sleeping with a girl? MY GIRL!" Jesse yells into the phone. Jeff clenches his fist and starts to get mad.

"First off, St. James, nothing happened! She came to comfort me when I was upset! Second, don't you EVER refer to her like that again! She isn't some inanimate object you can just OWN! And third, NEVER call me a 'fag' again! Or, ANYONE who likes a person of the same sex. It's extremely rude and uncalled for! Emma will be back to you soon, that is if she even WANTS to go back to a low life like you! She deserves WAY better!" Jeff yells as he hangs up the phone and tosses it on the bed. He looks over at Emma who is still sitting there, staring at him with wide eyes, speechless. "Emma, I-I'm sorry, I just…"

"No one's ever said anything like that about me… that I deserve better… thank you." She says with a small, nervous smile. It fades quickly as she stands up. "I have to go." She throws on her shoes and walks out his bed room door, and down the stairs, Jeff following her.

"Jefferson…?" His dad calls as he watches Emma walk out the front door. "Who was that? When did she get here?"

"Sh-she's a friend, Dad… I was having issues and she was comforting me last night…" Jeff responded still staring at the door. "Nothing happened, Dad. Don't worry…"

Emma drove away… She didn't know where to go. She couldn't face Jesse right now while he was so mad. And, she couldn't go to her family's house. Her dad has been angry because she hasn't stayed a day in that house since she moved back to Ohio a month ago. Her and Blaine's father is very violent. He gets angry very easily, and throws things when he is. The only thing that can calm him down is his wife, their mom, but she is almost never home, since she travels a lot for work. He also is a big alcoholic, which doesn't help with his anger issues. So, she's not going there. She was thinking of a place to go, when she hears a loud pop, and her car starts to slow down and make a strange scraping noise. She pulls over into the parking lot of the bowling alley. She stops the car and walks out to look at her tires. She must have run over something sharp, for she has a hole ripped in her tire. "Perfect… this is just perfect…" she says as she sits down on the ground and shivers from the autumn air. Her shorts and tank top aren't very warm. She hugs her knees tightly and buries her face in them. Right as tears start to roll down her cheeks, she feels a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she turns and looks over a shoulder at a guy a little older looking than her. He's a little on the chubby side, and gives her a warm smile. "Need some help? It looks like your tire's a little flat." He offers her a hand and helps her up. "Here, take this" He says as he takes off his jacket. "You must be freezing. You need it more than I do. Nice pajamas, by the way." He says with a wink as she puts on his jacket quickly. It's big on her, but it's warm. She notices he's wearing a Dalton Academy T-shirt.

"You go to Dalton? My brother, Blaine, goes there…!"

"Oh! Blaine's your brother? You must be Emma, then! He wouldn't be quiet about how excited he was to see you again when you moved back here. He said none of us get to meet you because you're a real cutie. Man, he was right." He says with a wink. "I'm Trent, by the way." He says as he shakes her hand "So, what are you doing in the middle of November at the bowling alley in your PJs? Shouldn't you be home with your family? Thanksgiving is tomorrow, you know."

"It's a long story…" Emma says quietly as she puts her hands in the pockets of the jacket and looks down.

"Hey, I've got time." He answers with a smile as he puts an arm around her shoulders. "Want me to take you home?"

"I really don't want to go home right now… My dad is going to be so mad… I need to give Blaine time to cool him down."

"Then, how about we come inside? Play a game or two? And you can tell me what happened, and we can get to know each other better." Trent says as he holds out his hand. She takes it and smiles.

"I'd like that."