Thank you for reviewing, it means so much to me! Some of you weren't exactly happy with Max being there (I don't blame you, he interrupted their date! :() but him living with Magnus and Alec is kinda needed for a future thing in the story.

Hope you like this chapter! xo


Have you ever been in a room where somebody says that the silence is loud? It doesn't make sense when you first hear it, does it? But if you really think about it, it is quite a good, yet simple, description of an environment. It's true; silence can be loud.

It's the type of silence that's awkward. Tense. Almost painful, perhaps. It's the type of silence that builds and builds, so much so that it ends up being an annoying, incessant pressure in your mind. It's the type of silence that feels like it's screaming out at you like a banshee, unstoppable. It's the silence that makes the people in the room try their best to avoid looking at each other because it's so uncomfortable.

The silence is loud because there are so many emotions, thoughts and feelings swirling around in the air. And in the end, when the silence is broken, it's always because of one person: they crack. They can't handle how miserable the situation is and without even realising it, they are the first to break the silence. And just like that, almost half of the awkwardness and tension in the room simply disappears, all because the silence has.

In this case, Max was the first to break, breaking the silence with one small sentence as the three of them sat on the sofas, suffocating in the silence: "please let me stay with you."

Alec felt some of the tension go away, following the silence to its next victims. He breathed a long sigh and said, "Max, you're fourteen years old. You should be at home with your parents. Surely mum and dad would prefer you to be there, instead of having you move out?"

"No," Max shook his head. And then, the cockiness in his expression fell away and revealed his true emotions. Alec realised that his little brother looked devastated, heartbroken almost, as a grim expression crossed his face and tears formed in his eyes. "They don't want me there. You should have seen them, Alec... They looked so disgusted with me."

"What did you do?" Alec asked softly, fearing the worst. Was he in trouble at school again? Or was it way worse than that... Drugs, perhaps? He couldn't imagine his brother being a drug user, especially at that age, but it happened all the time to other people. He hoped he had just jumped to conclusions, that it wasn't anything as bad as that... But Max wasn't answering, he was just staring at the ground. "Max," he pushed. "What happened?"

Finally, Max looked up at his older brother. "Mum caught me kissing my boyfriend."

Alec's face became almost cartoon-like: eyes wide open, mouth formed in the shape of an 'O', skin ghostly pale. He was speechless; he couldn't bring himself to ask what he wanted to.

Thankfully, Magnus seemed to know what he wanted to ask, and so he spoke instead. "You're gay?"

Max shook his head. "No... I don't know. I think I'm bisexual because I kind of like girls too. I don't know, I'm just confused, I guess. I've been dating Liam for a few months now, but I didn't tell mum and dad because I knew how they would react."

"Wow, okay... Sorry, Max, I just guess this is a huge surprise," Magnus said, running his fingers through his hair. "So did they kick you out when they found out?"

"No, but I know they were tempted. They looked horrified, they barely spoke a word to me. You know how old-fashioned they are, they can't stand the thought of their son being gay... they just don't understand, they want everything to be their way. I can't live with them, it'll be horrible. I can just imagine how awkward it will be every day. I know you have a spare bedroom, so please let me stay here. I won't be any trouble, I promise," he was begging now.

"Max, I want to help, I really do," Magnus said, "but it's not up to me. You're Alec's brother, he should be the one to decide." Max nodded in understanding and they both looked at Alec. Little did they realise that he had barely been paying attention to their conversation as his thoughts were elsewhere, thinking about something Max had said that was bugging at his mind. "Alec?"

Alec looked up and frowned at Max. "I don't get what the big deal is. Mum and dad are fine with me being gay, they accept me for being who I am, so why wouldn't they do that for you?" Neither Max nor Magnus answered him straight away. "They are fine with it, aren't they?" Doubt crept into his voice.

"Alexander, I was going to tell you..." Magnus started.

"What, Magnus? What? Spit it out!"

"Your parents... Well, they weren't happy when you told them you were gay. You didn't move out straight away, but you eventually did because everything was so tense. Over the years, you haven't had much contact with them. They just can't accept the fact that you're gay. I'm so sorry, Alec."

"You knew all this time and you didn't tell me? Don't you think I deserve to know this?! I can't believe you," he shook his head. He quickly got up and let the room, ignoring Magnus calling after him, and went straight to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him as hard as he could.

He knew that he was acting like a sulking teenager, but he didn't care. He was angry, upset, confused... Betrayed. Things had been going so well between him and Magnus and then this bombshell goes ahead and drops on him! Alec sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning forward and putting his head in his hands.

He sat that way for a long ten minutes, crying his heart out. A knock at the door brought him back to reality, but he tried his best to ignore it, choosing not to let the person in. Magnus clearly hadn't got the hint though, and strolled straight in, sitting down next to Alec.

"I wanted to tell you," he said. "So did Isabelle. She barely talks to your parents now too, you know, she hates what they did to you. We were going to tell you, we were so angry that your mum had chosen to act like nothing happened... but you just looked so happy with the attention and love she was giving you. Alec, you have to understand: these past few years, I have had to see you upset and devastated about your parents and it absolutely killed me. I finally got to see you happy with them, and it was so lovely to see. Please don't hate me for this, I was just trying to do what's best for you."

"Magnus, I'm never going to have a chance at getting my memories back if people keep lying to me about what I've forgotten!" He exclaimed, still with his head in his hands. He didn't want to look at Magnus; he was scared that if he did, he'd look into those beautiful eyes and just forgive him for everything. But it wasn't that easy, he couldn't let himself do that. "I would have preferred for you to tell me the truth instead of letting me find out this way."

"I understand," Magnus nodded. "I just couldn't stand the thought of seeing you upset about it all over again. But you're right about the fact that you had a right to know, I shouldn't have kept the truth from you."

"No, you shouldn't have," Alec agreed. "I think I deserve to know my parents hate me."

"They don't hate you... they just don't understand you. I'm not taking their side here, I'm just saying that they were both brought up in a certain way and to believe certain things, and it's a struggle for them to change that. I hope that one day they'll be able to get past it, and see that you're still the same son that they knew before you came out to them, and I believe they will get past it one day, they just need time."

"Time?" Alec scoffed. "Do they expect me to just always be here, waiting for them to come around? It's too late, I don't want anything to do with them anymore."

"I know you don't mean that," Magnus said gently. He put a hand on Alec's back and started gently rubbing it. Somehow, it soothed Alec and calmed him down enough for his anger to fade.

He looked up at Magnus at last, and sighed. "You're right," he admitted, fresh tears falling down his cheeks. "When we had that family dinner, I could feel that something was wrong and I could tell that something was going on by the way you and Izzy acted around my mum. But a part of me didn't care, I just wanted... Well, to be happy, I guess. God, why can't they just love me for who I am? Why do they have to be so difficult? It's not fair."

"I know, it isn't," Magnus said before wiping a tear from Alec's cheeks. "But in a way, history's repeating itself with Max now. Maybe losing Max too, for the same reason they lost you, will knock some sense into them and make them realise that no matter what your sexuality is, you're still their sons. Your parents are good people, they just find it hard to understand others. Like I said, just give it time and see what happens... I really am sorry for not telling you, Alec."

"I know you are," he smiled sadly. "I just hope they don't mess things up with Max for as long as they have with me. I have to admit that Max having a boyfriend came as a shock to me as well, I didn't expect it, but we have to be there for him and support him so he doesn't feel completely unwanted, like he probably does with my parents."

"You're right," Magnus nodded, agreeing. "Look, I'll go and call your mother, let her know that Max is here with us before she starts worrying. I'll sleep on the sofa tonight, Max can have my room."

"Okay." Magnus stood up to leave the room but just before he left, Alec said, "so what were we going to do next for our date then?"

Magnus smiled at him. "I was going to cook a pizza, and burn it terribly. Then we were going to order a takeaway and sit in bed watching as many Harry Potter movies as we can before falling asleep together on the bed."

"We still have time to do that, you know. Just because Max is here, it doesn't mean we have to end our date... I guess you should go and put the pizza on."

Magnus grinned.