Hi all! Here is the first part of the next chapter. I'm still writing the rest of it but it was getting really long so I decided to split it up into two parts. That way I could get something up tonight and you wouldn't have to wait a couple more days. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. You might want to grab the tissues. Thanks again to everyone who takes the time to leave a review, I really like reading your comments. Cheers! RTR!

Ryan and Sonny sat across from each other eating lunch in a booth at the town square diner before going to see a movie that afternoon. Sonny swatted Ryan's hand away when he reached over to steal a french fry off of his plate. "Hey! Don't touch my fries." Sonny teased him. "I will cut you."

"Ow!" Ryan pulled his hand away and smirked at Sonny. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was dating a potato hoarder."

"Well, now you do." He grinned, teasing him again. Sonny picked his phone up off of the table as the massage alert chimed and looked at the display. "Damn." He muttered and set the phone back down.

"Problem?" Ryan asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"No, it's just my mom."

"You were expecting someone else?"

"Yeah, Will. I haven't seen him since the other night at the club. I left him a couple messages but he hasn't got back to me yet."

"Maybe he just got busy with school?" Ryan suggested.

Sonny thought back to the other night and Will's face as he and Ryan danced, he couldn't help but think that Will was avoiding him. "You're probably right." Sonny agreed.

"So tell me again about this weekend. We're going camping?"

"Sort of" Sonny took a bite of his turkey wrap. "It's up by the lake, there's going to be a bonfire and some music and beer. Some people are staying the night, but we don't have to if you don't want."

"Do you not want to stay the night?" Ryan asked, hoping for the chance to finally be with Sonny overnight.

"No… no… we can stay. I mean, I have a small tent I can bring."

"Yeah, bring it." Ryan said, winking and smiling at him "You, a fire and a cozy little tent. That sounds like a pretty good weekend actually."

Sonny halfheartedly grinned at Ryan's comment and checked his phone again to see if Will left a message or called.

Ryan watched him check and was a little hurt that Sonny practically ignored his comment about spending the night with him and was more concerned about Will. "It didn't ring." He offered, thinking he was reading too much into it. After all, Sonny had said that he and Will were just friends.

"I know. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just worried."

"I'm sure he's fine."

Sonny gave him an appreciative look. "Thanks." he said as he noticed Angela over Ryan's shoulder, walking into the diner. "Angela!" Sonny called out to her. "Over here!"

"Who's that?" Ryan asked, turning to look over his shoulder.

"It's Will's brother's stepmom. Will's been staying with them." Sonny told him, waving Angela over.

"Sonny! Hi, how are you?" Angela greeted him.

"I'm good, thanks." Sonny replied, turning to Ryan. "Angela, this is my friend Ryan."

"Nice, to meet you." Ryan said, shaking her hand. "My friend Ryan?" he wondered to himself, is that how Sonny sees him?

'Hey, have you seen Will today? I haven't been able to get in touch with him." Sonny asked her.

"He didn't tell you?" Angela asked.

"Tell me what?"

"His deposition is today. He's at the courthouse right now."

"That's today?" Sonny sat back in the booth with a concerned look on his face. "I wonder why he didn't say anything?" he asked himself.

Angela looked at her watch, "Sorry, Sonny. But I only have a little bit of time to get back to work. It was good seeing you." She said. "Nice meeting you, Ryan."

"You too." Ryan said as Angela walked away. "What deposition?" he asked Sonny, taking another bite of his sandwich.

Sonny sat silently, staring off into the air and trying to figure out why Will didn't tell him about the deposition today. They have talked about the situation with Will and his mom before and Sonny knew that having to testify against his mother was weighing on Will heavily, even though he knew it was the right thing to do for Johnny. Sonny was preoccupied with his thoughts and did not realize Ryan was talking. "Huh?"

"I asked you what Will was giving a deposition about." He said. "Are you okay? You look kind of pale."

"No. I'm fine. Will's um…" Sonny stopped mid sentence and got silent again, still trying to figure out why Will didn't tell him.

"Sonny?"

"Hmm?" he replied, looking up at Ryan.

"You just stopped talking."

"Oh, yeah…sorry. Will is testifying against his mother in his brother's custody case."

"Against his mother? Ouch, that sucks. What happened?"

"A lot of stuff, actually. Sami is basically a train wreck. She's an addict and alcoholic and well, a whole bunch of other stuff. Will is trying to keep Johnny away from the kind of childhood he had."

"Wow, I can't imagine how tough that has to be." Ryan said. "But, it does explain a lot about Will."

"Yeah, it's been really hard on him." Sonny added, "Wait, what did you mean by that?"

"What?"

"That comment about 'it explains a lot about Will'. What does that mean?" Sonny asked defensively.

"Nothing, I just meant that I can understand now why Will can be sort of standoffish and... you know, unfriendly."

"He's not like that." Sonny insisted.

"Sonny, I'm not trying to offend him but, I don't think he's said more than five words to me the whole time we've been dating."

"You just have to get to know him, that's all. He's really a sweet guy and super talented. Did I ever tell you he designed the entire house for me?"

"Yes, you showed me the sketches." Ryan reminded him. "Look, Sonny, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just making a comment that I get it. I'm sorry if I upset you."

"You didn't upset… never mind. I'm sorry. I know you didn't mean anything." Sonny reassured him, hoping he did not hurt Ryan's feelings.

"That's okay, he's your friend. I understand." Ryan reached across the table and took Sonny's hand. "Don't worry about it."

They finished their lunch in a palpable silence, Sonny kept going back to Will in his mind and how hard today and having to testify must be on him. They left the diner and were walking hand in hand to the movie theatre when Sonny suddenly stopped. "Hold up a second." He said, gently pulling Ryan back by the hand as he kept walking.

"What's up?" Ryan asked, turning back to him.

"Would you mind if I skipped the movie?"

"No that's fine, we don't have to go. What do you want to do instead?"

Sonny sighed regretfully, "That's the thing, umm… I think I should to go find Will." Sonny told him.

"Will? Why?"

"I just think someone should be there for him today. You know, in case he needs someone to talk to after the hearing." Sonny took Ryan's other hand in his. "Is that okay? Do you understand?"

Ryan took in a deep breath and shook his head gently, trying to bury his frustration. "If that's what you want."

"I'm really sorry, Ryan…"

"No, it's okay. I get it." Ryan tried to assure him. "You're a good friend, Sonny. I hope that Will realizes how lucky he is."

"Ryan…" Sonny said apologetically, knowing he'd hurt his feelings.

"Really, it's fine, Sonny. Go ahead." Ryan gave him a kiss and hugged him. "I'll see you later."

"Thanks" He hugged Ryan tight. "I'll call you tonight, okay?"

Ryan grinned and nodded his head.

"And don't forget about the bonfire this weekend." Sonny reminded him.

"Can't wait." Ryan called out, smiling and waving to Sonny as he walked away. Ryan stood in the middle of the town square watching Sonny as he left, feeling confused and unsure. "What aren't you telling me, Sonny?" he asked himself.

Will pushed open the courthouse door and walked out into the chilly autumn dusk. He loosened his tie and yawned, wiping his welling eyes to clear them from the emotions of the past few hours. He'd done what he had to give Johnny the life he never had, but in doing so had closed the door to his mother, even for all her many faults, she was still his mom. All he wanted to do at this moment was be with Sonny, but after the other night he knew it was too late. Besides, he had avoided Sonny since and was sure he was probable angry with him for not returning his calls. Then there was Ryan, Sonny was with Ryan now. He ambled down the steps of the courthouse, suddenly feeling alone when he heard his voice.

"Will!" Sonny called from behind him.

He turned around to see Sonny on the other side of the parking lot. As soon as he saw him, all the tension and emotion of the day Will had been suppressing came to the surface. He walked toward Sonny quickly as the tears started to escape his eyes.

"Angela told me. I hope that's okay." Sonny told him as Will approached.

"I can't believe you're here." He said, picking up his pace and collapsing into Sonny's arms.

Sonny stumbled back at the weight of Will falling into him. He steadied himself as Will wrapped his arms around him, buried his face in his neck and began to sob. He was taken aback at the openness of emotions coming from Will. They'd argued and fought with each other before, but he had never seen Will cry. Instinctively he held Will tight, trying to comfort him. "I'm here. It's okay." He whispered to him. Sonny held Will tight until he stopped. Will wiped his eyes on his forearm and held onto Sonny longer, eventually letting loose.

"Sorry. I guess I've been holding that in a while." He said wiping his eyes some more.

"That's okay. Are you alright now?" Sonny asked him as they sat down on the curb next to each other.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Did it not go well? Is that why you're upset?"

"No. It went fine… or you know, how it was supposed to go. EJ's attorney just asked me a bunch of questions about my mom when I was growing up and I… I just told the truth."

"That must have been hard."

"Sami just sat there with this look on her face like I was lying, like I was making it all up. Rolling her eyes at the judge when I told them about being taken by child services, about the drugs and drinking…" Will's face turned angry and tears fell again as the continued "… about the time she was high as fuck and fell asleep on the couch with a lit cigarette and caught the sofa on fire. She told me it was my fault for going to bed and not watching her. So what did she do? She came into my room and put a cigarette out on my stomach while I was sleeping. 'That'll teach you' she told me. I was eight years old! Fucking eight!" he cried. Will buried his face in his hands and started to sob again.

Sonny wrapped his arm around Will's shoulder and consoled him some more. "I so sorry, Will. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

Will leaned his head on Sonny's shoulder. "You want to know what the worst part is?"

"I can't imagine."

"I don't hate her. I want to and I should, I've even told her I hate her. But I don't. Why don't I hate her?"

"She's your mom, that's why." Sonny pulled him in closer, nuzzling gently against Will's head.

Will wiped his eyes and again and sniffled. He sat up a bit, Sonny's arm still around his shoulder, and looked at Sonny. "Thank you." he said softly, looking into Sonny's eyes. "Thank you for coming here."

"You're welcome. But, why didn't you tell me? Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I just didn't want to bother you with all this. You have your own things going on with school and the house and... well, Ryan."

"Will, I will always have time for you." Sonny assured him, connecting with his blue tear stained eyes. His voice was quiet and intimate. "You're my best friend."

"Am I though, Sonny? Is that what this is?" Will asked, matching Sonny's soft tone.

Sonny looked at him with confusion, unsure of the Will's question and equally uncertain of his answer. "Will, I…"

"Don't…" Will interrupted, searching Sonny's eyes for his answer. "Don't say anything." Will cupped Sonny's face in his hand and leaned in, pressing his lips against Sonny's in a soft but passionate kiss. He released Sonny's lips and looked at him, waiting for his reaction. Sonny just smiled back at him with affection; the confusion in his eyes was gone for the moment. He lightly ran his fingers through the back of Will's hair and guided his head back onto his shoulder, leaning his head against his again. They sat quietly together on the curb in the parking lot outside the courthouse as the night filled in around them.

Abigail pulled the car into Sonny's driveway, waving to Ryan as he was putting a couple folding chairs into the back of his SUV. "He's cute, isn't he?" She commented, putting the car into park and shutting off the engine.

"He's alright." Will said dismissively, getting out the backseat. "I'm going to get the ice for the cooler."

"What's with him?" she asked Lisa.

"Don't ask." Lisa got out of the car and said hello to Ryan. "Where's Sonny?"

"He's inside finishing packing his stuff. I just got here a couple minutes ago and he wasn't ready yet." Ryan told her. "Hey, Will." He called out as Will walked right past him heading into the house. Will waved hello over his head, but didn't turn around.

Will walked into the house and to Sonny's bedroom. He leaned against the door unnoticed and smiled, watching Sonny from behind. Sonny put the last of his clothes in his backpack and zipped it. He stood up and turned around, startled by Will standing in his doorway. "Hey." Will said.

"Hey, I didn't hear you come in." Sonny replied, smiling back bashfully. They hadn't talked about the other day at the courthouse yet and he wasn't sure how to bring it up.

"I was just getting ice for the cooler."

"Yeah, I keep that in the freezer not the bedroom." Sonny teased him.

"Thanks, smart ass." Will stepped toward him, "Look, Sonny, about the other night when I kissed you. I just wanted to say…"

Will was interrupted by a knock at the front door, "Sonny? Sonny, are you in there?" Adrienne called into the house. "Sonny, it's mom."

He looked at Will and grinned, "Sorry, I should probably…" he motioned toward the door and slid by Will. "Mom?" he said walking into the living room, "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, sweetie." She said kissing him on the cheek as Will walked out of the bedroom behind Sonny.

"I'm going to get that ice." Will told him "Nice to see you, Mrs. Kiriakis." He headed to the kitchen, leaving Sonny and his mom alone.

"Sorry, are you busy? I can come back later." Adrienne told him.

"No, that's okay. We're just getting ready to go up to the lake for the night." he said. "What's up, mom?"

"Nothing's up. I just came by to see how you were doing and make sure you were okay, you know, because of today."

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be? What's so important about today?"

"You really don't remember?" she asked curiously. "Well maybe I shouldn't day anything then."

Sonny was confused as to why she was acting so strange and what was such a big deal about this particular day. "Can you stop being weird and just tell me what you're talking about, please?"

"Sonny, what day is it."

"The 13th, why?"

"The 13th of what, Sweetie?"

"The 13th of October…" A look of sudden realization came over Sonny's face as it hit him. He sat down on the edge of the table is a state of disbelief that he did not remember. "I… I completely forgot." he said stunned, "How could I forget?" he asked her. "How could I do that?" His voice trembled as his emotions got the better of him.

"Oh, Sonny." Adrienne said, rushing over to hug him. "It's okay, sweetie. This is good, it really is. It means you're moving on. This a good thing, I promise you."

"But I forgot him, Mom. It's only five years ago today, and I forgot."

"Sonny, you did not forget James. You're just living your life, that's what is supposed to happen. People heal, they move on. You did nothing wrong."

"I still think about him." Sonny told her, "I miss him."

"I know, sweetheart." She hugged him tighter. "I know."

"Are you ready to go?" Ryan called out as he opened the front door.

Sonny turned to avoid being seen by Ryan and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Yep, ready." he said.

Will stood behind the wall in the kitchen holding the bags of ice, listening to their conversation. He heard the front door open and Ryan's voice then quickly made his way out the back.

Sonny sat quietly, unmoving, staring into the fire while his friends laughed and talked around him, but all he heard was white noise in the air. His memories danced on the flames in front of him as he replayed that day five years ago in his head. He was completely oblivious to Ryan sitting on a blanket on the ground in front of his chair, or to what was going on around him, or to Will who sat across from him. Will watched him carefully with concern; he had not taken his eyes off of him since Sonny sat down.

Ryan nudged Sonny again, finally getting his attention. "Are you alright?" he asked, "You haven't said a word all afternoon."

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just watching the fire."

"Why don't you come down here with me? It's nice and warm."

Sonny shook his head and stood up, "Nah, I think I'm going to take a walk, get some air."

"Good Idea. I'll come with you." Ryan stood up and brushed off his jeans.

"No, it's fine. You stay here." Sonny told him, "I'll be back."

"Um…okay." Ryan watched as Sonny walked down to the edge of the lake and sat down on a rock. He was about to go after him to make sure Sonny was really okay when he noticed Will get up and head down to where Sonny sat. Ryan sat down in the chair Sonny was just in and let out a heavy sigh, looking on as Will sat down next to Sonny. He turned to Lisa, sitting next to him. "Can I ask you a question, Lisa."

"Shoot, cutie." She replied.

"Do I need to be worried about that?" he pointed to Will and Sonny.

Lisa looked over to them down by the lake. "Have you asked Sonny?"

"He says that they're just friends, but I don't know…"

"Well if Sonny says Will is just a friend then that's your answer."

"Yeah, I guess." Ryan agreed.

"Besides," Lisa added, "Haven't you ever stayed friends with someone you slept with?"

"Wait, what? Sonny slept with Will?"

"You didn't know that?" Lisa asked, seeing the hurt come over Ryan's face. "Oh no, you didn't know that." Lisa put her hand over her mouth in shame. "See, this is why people don't tell me stuff."

Sonny sat down on a rock and stared out into the lake trying to clear his mind. He heard someone coming up behind him, "Ryan, I asked you to stay there."

"It's not Ryan, it's me." Will said.

Sonny, turned around, "Oh, sorry." He turned back to the lake. "Go away, I want to be alone."

"No. I'm not going anywhere." Will sat down on the rock next to Sonny.

He let out a frustrated breath as Will sat down. "What do you want, Will? Are you going to kiss me again and confuse me some more? Because, I don't think I can handle that right now."

"I'm not going to kiss you."

"Then what do you want."

"I heard you today." Will said gently, "When you were talking with your mom. I heard you." Will put his arm around his shoulder, "Sonny, talk to me. You were there for me the other day. Let me do the same for you."

Sonny dropped his head in his hands trying to fight off the tears welling up again. He sat silent for minutes until his emotions would let him speak. "When I was junior in high school, our neighbors took in an exchange student for the year. He was from New Zealand. His name was James Neeson…and I loved him." He started crying as he spoke about James.

Will held him tight. "What happened five years ago, Sonny?"

Sonny sniffled and wiped his eyes. "James and I were inseparable that entire year he was here. We did everything together. We were in love." Sonny sat up and turned toward Will. "He was my first love, the first person that ever really understood me, my first real kiss, he was my first…everything." He blushed as he told him. "James came from money so he had travelled all around the world. I would listen to him for hours talking about all the places he had been…I was so jealous." Sonny shook his head and smiled at the memory, "He was a year ahead of me in school… he said when I graduated he wanted to show me all the places he'd seen. We were going to travel the world, together. He was perfect, Will. He was cute, funny, confident… He was perfect, or so I thought."

Will's heart wrenched at the magnitude of emotions expressed on Sonny's face. He finally realized that he wasn't the only one fighting personal demons. He listened intently as Sonny continued.

"As much as I loved him, there was one thing about him that I couldn't get past. His family had no idea he was gay. Over here he could be who he was, at home he said he had to be who his parents thought he was and I had to be his friend, his straight friend." A look of shame came over his face. "I told him I wouldn't be a part of lie. If he loved me as much as he said he did, he would tell his parents the truth about himself. I pushed him into it. He told me his parents wouldn't understand, I should have listened to him. I pushed him..." Sonny buried his face in his hands and stated to cry again "…it was my fault."

"What was, Sonny? What was your fault?"

"He had been home for a few months, school was over for him." Sonny's voice was low and distant, as if disconnected from his body. "We talked on the phone, messaged each other… the night he was going to tell them he was really nervous, he kept texting me… I told him they would understand, that they loved him…" his breathing got heavier as he talked "…that night, after… he called me and he was so scared…" Sonny closed his eyes and shook his head. "I answered the phone and I didn't even say hello, I just said 'How'd it go?'. James was quiet, he told me it went bad, 'really bad' he said." Sonny wiped away his tears again, but new ones kept coming. "I told him it would be okay, I promised him. He didn't believe me, he said it wouldn't… then he was silent for what seemed like forever… then he said he said he was sorry, so sorry, I didn't recognize his voice, it was different somehow… then he was quiet again" Sonny stopped crying and got very still. "…and then I heard it."

Will's heart raced with panic as Sonny's face turned white and emotionless. "Heard what Sonny? What did you hear?"

Sonny looked up to Will through the pain in his eyes. "The gunshot."

…to be continued…