A big empty room.
It wasn't a metaphor for what Ian felt in his heart anymore.
It was a reality.
In the time it took to realize just how much it really would affect him it was too late to protest. Too late to say anything about how he really felt. So he put on his happy façade; the one everyone always saw and he hid his real emotions back in the pit along with everything else his mind and society told him he should hide.
Nothing got past Anthony though. Ian thought this wasn't so, but Anthony saw the loneliness on his face when he thought he wasn't looking. It tore his heart in half watching his best friend fall apart before his eyes over his decision because he knew exactly how Ian felt.
Too bound by the stigma against it however, Anthony allowed it to happen; allowed himself to continue on a path he knew wasn't really what his heart wanted because his head (and everyone else) told him otherwise. The pressures of being a pop culture icon who didn't follow the norms of society were too much to simply throw away over a silly thing like feelings.
He looked over at Ian who was standing in the doorway of the empty room and for one fleeting moment felt a sudden wave of regret wash over him. He let out a small breath, almost a whimper and continued carrying the final box of his belongings to his car in the driveway leaving Ian standing alone forever.