Mad About You

Chapter 10

A/N: They'll be a few more chapters in this one, and then I hope to move onto writing more Riley/Zane centered fics. So if you have any interest in that, be looking for those. Also, I'm switching to Riley's POV for a portion of this chapter because…well, you'll see.

Peter's POV

Well, Riley and I didn't have to worry about keeping our relationship a secret anymore. We had managed to become the new hot gossip in school…for about a week. I mean it's not like we're the only gay couple to ever walk the halls of Degrassi. There were a few other gay couples, and now Riley and I just happened to be one of them. People were mostly shocked because I had been straight and suddenly wasn't, and people were always just shocked by the prospect of Riley being gay in the first place since he was so macho.

We still got dirty looks and stares in the hallways, but it really wasn't that bad, and you got used to it. Riley had quit the football team(as much as I pleaded, I couldn't convince him to stay on), so he didn't have to deal with the crap from his teammates everyday after school.

On my way to class one day, Riley caught up to me in the hallway and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey…how you holding up?" Riley felt bad for everyone finding out about us. When we started dating, he promised me he wouldn't let what happened to him when he came out happen to me, but it was a little late for that.

"I'm fine, as always. What about you?"

"Of course I'm fine, I've been through this once already, you haven't. Is anyone bothering you or really pissing you off?" He was so protective of me…it was sweet, but it could get a little annoying.

"Not really, I mean I've been fine so far."

"Are you sure? Because if anyone's making you feel uncomfortable, let me know, I can-" I stopped Riley mid-hallway and held his arms.

"Riley, I'm fine. It's OK, don't worry about me."

"I just really don't want you to get hurt. I know how it feels to be messed up emotionally after coming out, and I don't think anybody should have to go through all of that."

"I'm not gonna get hurt, alright? I'm gonna be OK. And don't worry about trying to protect me, I've got it covered." He sighed and held my hand.

"Just…be careful. I love you, and the last thing I want is for you to commit suicide because of homophobes." I leaned in and pressed my lips to his.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine." I assured him.

If only that were really the truth.

Riley's POV

I pulled into my driveway after school, and didn't move. I sat in my car for a good 5 minutes, just thinking about my life. I should be happy, right? I had a great boyfriend who I was very much in love with, my grades were finally better, I didn't have to worry about hiding who I was at school anymore and summer was coming up. On the other hand, I still had to hide Peter from my parents, I wasn't graduating and would have to watch my boyfriend graduate without me, and I wasn't playing football anymore. I had an equal balance of awesome and sucky things happening in my life right now. Christ. What fun.

I finally realized I hadn't moved from my car at all, so I got out and headed inside. I threw my bag on the floor next to the front door and made my way to the kitchen to get something to eat. My dad was in the kitchen, standing at the sink, un-moving. I slowly walked passed him to the fridge. He turned around after I passed him. He didn't even have to say anything for me to know he was angry.

"Is it true? Are you seeing that boy?" I froze. I knew exactly what he meant. He didn't have to say any more. But I played along and pretended I didn't know.

"What boy?" I asked.

"The one you brought into my house. The one you claimed to be doing "homework" with all this time?" His voice was getting louder. I'd finally had enough of him. I wasn't going to lie or make things up anymore. We both knew the truth and I was sick of hiding. I turned to him and smiled.

"You mean Peter? Yeah, I am seeing him. We've been dating for 3 months now." I stated, happily. I didn't think he'd actually do it, but he did. He turned around and slapped me across the face as hard as he could. I almost fell over, but stopped myself on the counter.

"Did you sleep with him?" He asked. I smiled and paused. He pulled me up by the front of my shirt and yelled into my face.

"DID YOU SLEEP WITH HIM?" He screamed. I almost laughed.

"I don't know if I would call it sleeping exactly…more like awesome, hot sex." I could just see the anger rising in him…and I was loving every minute of it. He punched me in the face, shoved me down into the fridge and kicked me several times in the stomach.

He got down on top of me and started repeatedly slapping me.

"I did not raise a fag! I did not raise you to become a fag! This isn't what you should be!" I finally gained the courage(and strength)to push him off of me and threw in a punch. I managed to get him pretty good in the face.

"You're a bastard! And you didn't raise me to be anything! This is who I am, I was born this way! The shitty way you raised me has nothing to do with it." I said. He came at me and got me right in the stomach, knocking me over again. He kicked me a few more times(mostly in the face…)before coming to a stop. I looked up at him, expressionless, and waited for him to say something. He finally spoke.

"You have 5 minutes. I want you out of this house for good in 5 minutes. GO!" He yelled. I painfully clambered to my feet and rushed up the stairs to my room, just as my mom was heading down. She stopped me when she saw the condition I was in.

"Riley, honey, what happened? What's going on? Were you beat up at school, what happened?" She was scared. She had a good idea of what was going on.

"Did you tell him? Did you tell him, mom, did you tell him?" I asked as frantically as possible.

"No! No, sweetie of course I didn't tell him! Why, did he…did he do this to you?" I almost started crying, but stopped myself.

"I have to pack. He wants me out of here in 5 minutes." I started up the stairs again, but my mom stopped me once again.

"Don't move. You're not going anywhere. I'm not letting him do this to you." She started down the stairs and I stopped her.

"No, mom, don't. I can't stay here. Not with him, it's not safe. I have to leave. Don't go down there, he might hit you too."

I ran up to my room and grabbed as many things as I could that would be important. One of the things I had was a picture of me, my mom and my dad when I was seven. I quickly grabbed a pair of scissors and cut my dad out of the picture, throwing him into the trash. Once I had everything I needed, I ran back downstairs, where my mom was arguing with my dad. My dad saw me come down and shoved me into the wall, hitting and kicking me again. He finally stopped when he pushed me to the door.

"My own damn son a fag. Who would've thought? You're worthless now. But who cares? You're 18 now, right? You're an adult, you can live on your own. I don't have to care about you anymore. And I don't. Just get out of here. I never wanna see your face again." I opened the door and was on my way out, when I turned around. I wasn't leaving without having the final word. I gave him the worst glare I had ever given anyone.

"I hate you. I hope your sorry ass ends up burning in hell with all the rest of you homophobic ass holes who can't even love your own damn children." And with that, I slammed the door and ran out to my car. I started it up and sped out of the driveway. I drove to the first place I knew I'd be safe. I grabbed my stuff from the backseat and ran up the stairs towards Peter's loft. I quickly banged on the door and wouldn't stop until he answered.

"Oh my God, Riley, what happened?" He asked, seeing the condition I was in. I dropped my stuff where I was standing and burst into hysterical sobs, falling into Peter's embrace.

He was perfect. He didn't ask any questions and just stood in the doorway, his arms wrapped around me, rubbing my back and whispering comforting things in my ear. When I finally calmed myself down enough, he brought me over to the couch and sat me down next to him, where he cuddled me. I rested my head on his shoulder while he stroked my hair and comforted me. I had stopped crying though, so I knew he was gonna ask questions now.

"Are you ready to talk?" He asked. I squeezed his hand and sighed.

"My dad found out. About everything. About me being gay, about me and you…I don't know how he found out, but he did. And he…he…beat me. He told me I had to leave and that he never wanted to see my face again. Now I have no place to live and…Peter, I don't know what to do." I started crying again. I vowed to myself that I would never let anyone see me like this…but I also never thought this much shit would happen to me by age 18. Peter kissed the top of my head and spoke again.

"It's OK…you have a place to live now. You can stay here. Everything's gonna be fine." He started rubbing my arm when his mom walked in. He gently moved me over so we weren't so close.

"Peter? What's going on? Riley, are you OK?" As if my boyfriend seeing me bawl my eyes out wasn't bad enough, now my principal got to see it too. Peter got up from the couch to explain to his mom what happened.

"Um, mom…Riley's dad just kicked him out because he found out he was….." He looked over at me to make sure it was ok for him to say "gay". I nodded in agreement. "He found out he was gay and now he has no place to live. Is it OK if he stays here for now?" His mom looked at the condition I was in and nodded.

"Of course he can. He can stay in your room. I'll get the inflatable mattress out." She stated, heading back to her room. Peter turned back to me and helped me up.

"Here. I'll bring you to the bedroom. You can rest in my bed. I'll get my mom to quit it with the mattress thing. I need to talk to her." I stopped crying and looked up at him.

"You mean, "the talk"?" I asked. He nodded.

"If you're gonna be living here, she needs to know. I have to come out to my mom." I smiled.

"Good for you. And thanks." I said. He just smiled back and led me into the bedroom. I lied down on his bed, and made myself comfortable. I curled up tight into a ball and relaxed. I didn't have to worry anymore. I was home now.

Peter's POV

I left my bedroom and started towards my mom's room. I found her digging through her closet, still looking for the air mattress. I stopped her.

"Mom, you can stop looking for the mattress." She looked up at me, confused.

"Why? Riley's still staying here, isn't he?"

"He's gonna sleep in my bed." She still looked confused, but I had a feeling she also knew what I was talking about.

"Are you sleeping on the couch? Peter, I don't get it."

"Mom…I um…I have to tell you something." She crossed her arms and wouldn't take her eyes off of me. This was going to be harder than I thought.

"Mom, I'm uh…I….I…mom, I'm gay. Riley and I are dating." That didn't exactly come out the way I wanted it to. It was too rushed and…not how I wanted it to be. She nodded and smiled. She paused for a long time before sitting down on the bed.

"Aren't you gonna say something? Are you mad? Surprised?" She laughed again.

"Peter, you've ceased to surprise me at this point. Videotaping naked girls, drag racing, emancipation, meth…I've seen it all from you by this point. I knew that there'd have to be something next on the list. I guess I just never thought it would be this." I approached her and joined her on the bed.

"Well…are you mad?" Was all I could get out. She turned her head to me and smiled.

"No. Of course I'm not mad. This is who you are, and even though it is coming at a surprising time, you've found yourself. If anything, I'm proud of you, not mad."

"But I dated lots of girls before I realized I was gay, and I've always liked them up until I met Riley…what does that make me?" She rubbed my shoulder.

"A boy who's in love, Peter. You might not believe it, but love really does conquer all, regardless of who that person is and what gender they are. It doesn't matter how many girls you've dated or that you've always been straight. You're in love with Riley, and I think that's what's most important." She said. Why did moms always know everything? I turned to her and flung my arms around her, hugging her as tight as I could. She hugged back and rested her head on my shoulder.

"I love you sweetie. I can't believe that you'd ever think I'd be mad at you for being who you are."

"I love you too mom. Thanks for understanding." We pulled away from the hug and she stroked my face.

"Of course honey. Just…promise me you'll stay out of trouble from now on?" I laughed.

"Yeah…I don't think that will be a problem anymore." Definitely not. Riley was here with me now, and he'd be safe. Things would be ten times better now.

Eh, it was a little corny, but whatever. I really like the relationship that Peter and his mom have for some reason, so I really wanted to put that somewhere.