A/N Ok, so this chapter is REALLY short because it's more of an intro than anything, I hope you enjoy it!

-Havah

"Declan?" Kyle opened his door to see his friend standing there, drenched by the rain that had been pouring down. There were cuts on Declan's face and rain was mixing with blood. He was shivering in nothing but a pair of jeans and a short sleeved shirt, and Kyle opened the door wider so that he could enter. "What happened?"

"I…" Declan's breathing was shallow as he entered the room. "I didn't know where else to go, I…my dad found something of mine that he didn't like and he just went off on me."

"Your father did this to you?" Kyle asked in horror as he threw Declan a towel.

"Yeah…" Declan nodded. "Look, don't tell anyone, ok? Especially Lori, she doesn't need to get the whole pity brigade going, everything'll be ok in the morning, I just need to stay here…again, if that's alright?"

"It's fine," Kyle nodded. "You can have the tub if you want."

"Don't be an idiot," Declan shook his head. "I'm fine on the floor. I just need something that isn't loaded with six pounds of water to sleep in, got anything?"

"Uh, yeah," Kyle nodded, heading to his dresser, confused about how Declan could remain so calm after being hit by his father. He furrowed his brow as he rifled through his drawer, extracting a pair of black, flannel pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt. "Here." He handed the clothes to the shivering teen, who quickly stripped down to his boxers, donning the dry clothing.

"Thanks," Declan nodded gratefully towards Kyle. "You really have a tendency for keeping me out of trouble."

"I just like to help," Kyle shrugged, taking the spare blankets from the armoire. "I'm sorry that your father hit you."

"It's not your fault," Declan shrugged.

"It's not yours either," Kyle looked Declan in the eye as he spoke, handing over the blankets and a pillow.

"How do you know that?" Declan asked, not sure that he believed what Kyle was saying.

"Sometimes I just know things," Kyle shrugged. "I guess that's just one of them."

"Right," Declan snorted with laughter as he tossed the pillow onto the floor, followed by the sheet and quilt. "You're just being Kyle, how could I forget?" Declan lay down on the makeshift bed, trying to mask the sharp intake of breath that bordered a wince of pain as he pulled the blankets around him.

"I don't know," Kyle shrugged, shutting off the lights and climbing into the bathtub. He closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep, but he couldn't manage to let the relaxing state over come him, and he could hear Declan's heartbeat, irregular and heightened even an hour and a half later, letting Kyle know that the other boy was still awake too. "Declan?" Kyle asked, sitting up in the tub and looking at Declan.

"Yeah?" Declan answered Kyle, but did not sit up or face him.

"What did your dad find that made him want to hit you?"

"Oh," Declan bit his lip. "Um, can you keep a secret?"

"You kept mine," Kyle nodded.

"He found a letter…" Declan took a deep breath. "A letter from my ex."

"Lori?" Kyle asked.

"Um, no," Declan shook his head. "This was a letter from Max."

"Max?" Kyle was confused. "Max is-"

"Max was my boyfriend last year," Declan whispered.

"You're gay?" Kyle asked, confused.

"Not exactly," Declan shook his head. "I'm bisexual, sometimes it's one, sometime's it's another."

"Why did your dad hit you?" Kyle pressed.

"He thinks that love is between a man and a woman," Declan sighed. "And he's never going to change his mind about that…now he thinks I'm everything that he's afraid of."

"I'm sorry," Kyle sighed, lying back down.

"Don't be," Declan shrugged. "It was my fault for not shredding it, don't lose sleep over it, night."

"I won't, night." Kyle promised. He soon heard Declan's heartbeat regulate, but his own was far from stable and he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep his promise to Declan.