"Dan..." my mum reminded me where I was and I jumped, hastily locking my phone and sliding it into my pocket. I looked round at her, to find she had been looking over my shoulder. I had no idea how long she'd been there. "Who were you talking to?" she asked, and my stomach churned at the question. I could feel myself going pink, and all my parents' friends were looking curiously at me. This couldn't happen. Especially not now, right in the middle of my parents' new years party. "A... A friend." I stuttered, unsure of how much of the conversation she had read. She raised her eyebrows. "Well do tell me which friend this is that you love so much." she pressed, a smile on her face. She just thought it was just an innocent 'I love you' to a crush or a girlfriend. She was just playfully trying to embarrass me. She couldn't know. "No one." I said, trying to play it cool. She laughed. "Whatever you say." she said, and I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

I returned to the living room about half an hour later after helping my dad out in the kitchen in an attempt to avoid my mum and her 'knowing' looks. She didn't know anything. She didn't even know that I was gay, let alone that I had been dating Phil for six months, that boy I met on the internet that she didn't like me seeing. That floppy-haired boy who was five years older than me. I returned to see my mother, stood in the middle of the room, triumphantly holding my phone in her hand, her brow furrowed as she struggled to find the texts that she really didn't want to see. She clearly thought it would be funny to tease her smitten sixteen-year-old son in front of her friends. "No!" I shouted, but she just laughed again, along with all her friends. As I started forward to take the phone out if her hands, her face fell and her laughter stopped abruptly. I put my head in my hands as she scanned just some of the hundreds of texts me and Phil had exchanged in the last few weeks alone. I could feel the eyes of all my mum's friends on me as I waited for the outburst. "JAMES!" she shouted for my dad first. Great. I finally looked up at her as my dad entered. "Would you care to explain yourself?" she said, her voice quiet and venomous. I gulped, taking a step backwards. "I hope for your sake this isn't the same Phil you met up with last year." I was quiet for a while before nodding slowly, biting my lip. She was about to speak when my dad interrupted. "What's going on?" he asked, looking from me to my mum and back. My mum showed my dad the screen of my phone, and I suddenly snapped into action, grabbing at my phone. My dad snatched it out of my reach and began reading. "That's private! It's nothing to do with you!" I shouted. My mum turned to me with tears in her eyes. "It is of you've been dating a twenty one year old behind our backs!" she shouted. All of the guests were staring at the three of us in shock. I stared at my mum for a few moments. "Please, let's not do this now." I begged, "I don't want to ruin new years-"
"Well it's too late for that!" my dad shouted, looking up from my phone but keeping hold of it. "Explain yourself." he demanded. I was silent for a while, looking around at everyone in the room. I shrugged, looking back at my dad. "I'm gay." I said simply, "And Phil moved down here six months ago to be closer to friends, and I've been with him since then and I'm in love with him."

My dad sighed heavily. "Don't be stupid, Dan, you're much too young to be deciding these things. Everyone experiments a little when they're teenagers, it doesn't mean anything. You don't love him."
"I do!" I shouted, tears filling my eyes. "I'm not seven, I know what I want."
My mum stepped forward, her expression now sympathetic. "Look, Dan. There are some bad people out there, especially on the internet, who will force you into thinking certain things. That's why I told you not to see him any more."
I shook my head. "Don't say that stuff about Phil!" I shouted.
"Dan, it's ok, this isn't your fault. He's the one in the wrong here. We'll call the police tomorrow, and he can get the punishment he deserves." my mum said soothingly. My eyes widened in panic. No. No. "No!" I yelled. The police couldn't get involved. I couldn't lose Phil. Phil was all I had left. "He hasn't done anything... Y-You can't take him away from me."
"Honey, it's not right. He's not a nice person, whatever you might think." my mum said, trying to calm me down. I looked to my dad, who was always the slightly more rational of the two. He sighed. "You can't see him any more. If you haven't told him by tomorrow I'm going to ring the police." he said, his voice oddly calm. I stared at him, trying to protest, but he was making it obvious that that was the end of it. Without a word I turned and left, stuffing my feet into the nearest pair of my shoes and slamming the front door behind me.

I arrived at Phil's, out of breath and close to tears. I knocked shakily on the door of his flat. Phil wasn't going out until later, and it had only just gone eight. I ran a hand through my hair. I had formed a plan in my head on the way here, and I was trying to organise my thoughts somehow and concentrate on what was important at the moment. Phil opened the door a little and peered through the gap, his eyes softening as he saw me. He opened the door fully. He must have just got out of the shower because his hair was wet and his checked shirt was only done up half way. He must've been getting ready to go out. Phil looked expectantly at me, finishing buttoning up his shirt, obviously waiting for me to explain my presence. "M-My parents found out." I muttered, a few tears spilling down my face. "About us. They said I can't see you any more."
He stared at me in disbelief, his arms dropping to his sides. "No..." he whispered.
"I'm sorry, I was texting you and my mum was looking over my shoulder and she took it off me and... They're gonna call the police if I don't break up with you." I started to cry, and then it was hard to stop. I gave in, letting myself break down in Phil's arms. He held me tight. "It's ok Dan, it's ok. You'll find someone better." he whispered and I shook my head. "I don't want anyone else. I love you. I'm so so sorry."
"It's not your fault." Phil said rubbing my back soothingly, and I felt a few sobs escape his chest.
"I shouldn't have been so careless." I whispered.
"Dan, it's ok... It's done now." Phil murmured, "It wasn't your fault. You go. I don't want you to get in trouble for this."
"I can't go!" I said, raising my voice a little and he hushed me, calming me with his little gentle movements. "I c-can't lose you. You're all I have." I whimpered. Phil didn't speak. I could hear his gentle, rhythmic breathing from above me, his heart beating in his chest. I looked up at him. His expression was blank, but his eyes were glistening with tears. "Phil, you don't have to pretend you're fine with this." I said quietly, and a few tears escaped from those beautiful blue eyes, streaming down his cheeks. I had always been so obvious and up-front with his emotions, but I often found Phil hard to figure out, even after we'd known each other for so long. I reached up and brushed the tears away with my thumb.
"I was stupid to think this would work." Phil muttered. "I'm sorry I got your hopes up. It's not your fault. I love you, but the age difference... It's not just something we can pretend isn't there."
I nodded and looked down, chewing on my bottom lip. I heard Phil sigh. "C'mere," he said, and he turned my face towards him, kissing me gently. I leaned in and kissed back at once. There was always something reassuring about Phil's lips, his kisses never failing to calm me down if I needed it, but this time there was something so startlingly unsettling about it, because I knew it could be the last one. I made my mind up in a split second and pulled away, looking up at Phil.
"Run away with me."