Luke sat there for a second, holding Noah's hand and tried to smile, "No, if it's good for Noah, then I am all for it". He patted Noah's hand again and stood up and grabbed his things. "In fact, I should let you two get to it. I have some things to do anyway. "He tried to smile again, glad for once Noah couldn't see it and know he was lying. "I will see you both, sometime." And he was out the door before either one could say anything.

Noah sat there for a second, unsure and then Maddie touched his arm. "We had better get going. You okay?" Noah stood up and grabbed his cane."Yeah, fine, let's go." But he couldn't shake this feeling. Maddie grabbed his hand and put it on her arm. They walked out the door and headed down the street in the same direction that Luke had gone.

Luke walked quickly down the street and around the corner before stopping and leaning against the building, trying desperately to catch his breath. Noah was moving out, in with her, and he knew it shouldn't feel like such a slap in the face, but it did. He felt sick and lost and it showed on his face. He straightened up, sort of and took a step, walking into someone. He looked up to apologize and found himself face to face with the last person he wanted to see. Reid.

"Aww, what's the matter, rich boy? Fancy car break down? What's poor little Luke got to be so sad about? Hey, aren't you supposed to be staying away from me? What am I gonna do about that?"

When Maddie and Noah hit the corner, she was slightly ahead and saw Reid, with that cruel gleam in his eye, looking down at Luke. She quickly pulled back before he saw her. "Maddie, what?" "Shh, just listen"

Luke stood there for a second and looked at the man who held Luke's whole world in his hands, and sighed. "I'm sorry, I was just leaving. I'll try harder to stay out of your way." He tried to go around him, but Reid grabbed his arm.

Reid was overjoyed. A defeated Luke Snyder? Now this he could work with. "I don't think so, pretty boy." He had a flash, and he almost giggled. Why have one when he could have both? "You know, things are kind of boring around here, and there's not a lot of good looking guys and as annoying as you are, you aren't bad to look at."

Luke's head came up. Was Reid suggesting what Luke thought he was? No way in hell! "I don't think so Reid, I am not in the least bit interested." He tried to pull his arm away, but Reid held tight.

"I don't think I was asking, Snyder! You want me to be happy, right? I mean, I am the guy who's going to be working on your boyfriend's brain" He leered as he said it. "I think a little company might make me happier as long as you don't talk too much. Don't worry, I have other ideas for you to keep your mouth occupied.

Around the corner, Maddie gasped, and Noah stood there for a second. He flashed back to this morning, when Reid had suggested going for dinner together. Noah had said yes. Why not? He thought it might be nice. Get to know Reid a little better. Have some fun. He remembered how Reid had put his hand on his thigh and rubbed a bit. It had felt strange to be hit on but not really bad. Now, the thought made him want to throw up.

Meanwhile, Reid had backed Luke up against the wall. He knew he had already won. The rich brat would do anything for his boyfriend and he knew it. He reached up and stroked a hand down Luke's face and Luke whimpered. He was scared, terrified really, but he felt defeated. The tears started to fall in earnest now and Reid grinned harder. Reid let his hand fall down to Luke's chest and he found a nipple under his shirt. He rubbed his thumb across it and started dreaming about what Luke was going to do for him in bed. Luke looked around, hoping for some kind of rescue but the street was deserted. He whimpered again. And this time Noah heard him.

He was around the corner in a flash, Maddie right behind him, both of them furious. "Get the hell away from him!" Reid spun around, "Noah!" And on pure instinct with only the sound of Reid's voice to guide him, Noah lashed out with all the anger and frustration that had been building for months, connecting with the side of Reid's face. Reid's head snapped sideways and he crumpled to the sidewalk.

Maddie just stood there, looking shocked, but Noah could hear Luke sobbing beside him. He turned, reaching to find Luke. He touched Luke's shoulder. "Luke, are you okay?" He wanted to move closer but didn't want to scare him. "Luke, you have to talk to me, okay? Did he hurt you?" He suddenly felt Luke clutch his hand.

"You shouldn't have done that Noah." He kept sobbing. "You should have let him. Now it's gone. Your only chance and it's gone. All my fault again." He cried harder and started to slide down the wall but Noah pulled on the hand holding his and took Luke in his arms. Wrapping both so tightly around his boyfriend that it was a wonder he could breath.

Maddie looked down at Reid with a look of contempt, resisting the urge to walk up and kick him. She went over, made sure that Noah hadn't killed him and then looked back at her friends.

"Luke, stop it. I was NOT going to let him do that to you, not ever. This is not your fault, it's mine. I keep trusting the wrong people, and we both keep getting hurt. And it's going to stop." He smiled as Luke reached up and wrapped both arms around his neck, clinging to him for dear life. But he was worried too. He remembered Luke's reaction to Zoe's attempt to force him to have sex. He had nightmares for months after.

Reid was starting to stir. He sat up. Got to his feet and glared at the two men in front of him. Maddie stood beside Noah, ready to intervene if Reid tried anything. "You're going to be so sorry you did that, Mayer." You just gave up your only chance to see again. Over what, a spoiled brat? Guys like him are a dime a dozen."

Noah smiled again, pulling Luke closer. "That's where you're wrong, Reid. There's no one else on earth like Luke Snyder. He would have done it, you know. Slept with you to help me. He loves me more than anyone ever has in my whole life. He loves me more than I love myself. He has forgiven me more times than you can imagine, had patience when I didn't deserve it, taken care of me while I treated him horribly, shared his family and his home with me. And it is about time I started to earn that kind of love from him. And this is how I start. Go to hell, Reid Oliver. You may be my best chance, but you aren't the only one. And you are NEVER going to get the opportunity to hurt Luke ever again. No one is!"

"Maddie, I dropped my cane. Could you pass it to me please?" Maddie grabbed the cane, passed it to Noah and all 5 feet, 1 inch of her stood there in front of her friends and glared at Reid. "Just so you know, Reid, I have a very interesting family history. Members of my family have been known to resort to violence in the past. And if I ever see you near either one of these men again, you will be meeting some of those violent people, including me! My next call it to Luke's COUSIN Katie so I think you will be looking for a new place to live." For good measure, she walked up and kicked him in the shin.

"OW!"

"Maddie, what did you do?" Noah grinned as he asked. He could feel Luke's breath on his neck as he spoke. "She kicked him in the shin. She always does that when she's angry." Noah could feel the smile on Luke's face. "Ready to go Luke?" Luke nodded. "Come on Maddie, let's get out of here." He kept one arm wrapped around Luke's waist and took his cane in the other. They started in the direction of the apartment that he and Maddie were going to look at.

"Maddie, remember when you said we would need a third roommate to get a good place?" Maddie smiled, she knew where this was going. "Yeah, Noah, I remember. Do you have someone in mind? "

"Well, I was thinking, if you asked that boyfriend of yours, Hunter, and I asked my boyfriend, we could get a really, really nice place."

"Wow, Noah, that's a great idea. And does this boyfriend have a name?"

"Yeah, Luke Snyder, if he still wants me."

Luke smiled, and pulled his boyfriend down into a kiss that told him everything he needed to know.