Life is just not getting any easier for Mello.

Mihael stood there in the street for a long time, the noise of the club behind him fading into the background, staring in vain, hoping to see Matt. But it was no use, he already knew Matt wasn't going to come back. Not for awhile, at least. It had come down to the choice between Mihael and Near, and Matt had chosen Near.

Finally, his heart heavy, Mihael resigned himself to walking to the nearest bus station. For once, life worked out in his favor, and he got there just as a bus was about to leave, climbing the steps in a hurry and taking a seat near the back. It was a long ride back to his side of town and he spent the whole time staring out the window as the passing streetlights made bright blurs against the night, turning his thoughts over and over in his head, getting nowhere. As he thought, large drops of rain began to pelt the bus, hitting the window and collecting, rolling down in fat trails of water. 'Maybe the sky is crying for me,' he thought miserably.

What the hell had he been thinking? Why did he say that to Near? Near would surely tell Matt, and then… Matt would never speak to him again, he supposed. The thought was too much for him to handle and he buried his face in his hands. How? How had Near figured it out? Maybe he was right; maybe Mihael should just go to the police. Maybe he should go ahead and accept his punishment.

Faces flashed before his eyes; Mother, Father, Near, Matt. This was all too much, too confusing for him to handle. He stumbled blindly off the bus at the correct station, barely noticing the now heavy rainfall that drenched him as he walked the two blocks from the station to his house. He no longer saw the water logged sidewalk in front of him; instead he saw the look on Matt's face when their Near had walked away. The pain.

The house was darkened when he walked up to it. No surprise, it was late; Mother and Father were probably already in bed. He fumbled with the lock and swung the front door open gently, making as little noise as possible.

As it turned out though, it didn't matter. As he made his way through the living room, the lamp next to couch clicked on, revealing his mother sitting, legs crossed, phone in her lap, staring at him. He froze, and a million excuses rushed through his head. He couldn't bring himself to say anything though, just stared at her.

"Well," she began, her voice calm and composed. "Did you have a good time studying at Gevanni's? Although," she said, her eyes narrowing dangerously, "I don't think that's what you'd usually wear to work on a history project, now is it?"

Mihael gulped. He had completely forgotten. His normal clothes were in his backpack… in Matt's bedroom.

"Where were you tonight, Mihael?" she asked, a dangerous edge to her voice. He took a breath but before he could speak she said, "And don't you dare to lie to me."

"I- I was at… I was at a club," he whispered. Something told him lying would not be in his best interest now.

"Oh," she said, her words like ice. "I know. You see, I received a very interesting phone call from a friend of mine tonight. She happened to be leaving the Saturday evening service at her church downtown when she saw, to her surprise, you. Hanging all over a boy in front of nightclub. She called me right away of course." She held up the phone as proof. "Now tell me," suddenly her voice lost the calm tone, "what you were doing at a place like that? "

"I- I was with friends," Mihael answered, feeling like he was about to pass out.

"Is that how you've been spending your time? With these friends? You've been lying to me for weeks, haven't you? I should've known you didn't join a club at school, you've been hanging around with- with some sort of degenerate!" Her voice rose in pitch and volume with every accusation.

For the first time in his life, Mihael raised his voice to his Mother. "He's not a degenerate!" he screamed back. "His name is Matt and he's my best friend!" He couldn't believe he had just yelled- yelled- at Mother. It was terrifying, yet at the same time, oddly liberating.

"What is going on with you?" Mother gasped. "You never used to act like this. I can only assume it's because of this Matt. Sneaking around, lying… What else have you been lying to me about?"

And suddenly, without thinking , he said it. "I'm gay, Mother!"

He had said it. He had finally said it.

Mother paled. "What?" She stood, stepping closer to him. "What did you say?"

"I'm gay," he repeated forcefully. "I'm gay. I'm gay." The floodgates inside him had opened somehow, and now that he had said it once, he just wanted to scream it. He felt as though a terrible weight had been lifted off his chest, and for the first time in seventeen years, he could breathe properly.

Mother put out a hand. "Stop!" she cried. "Just stop!" Her eyes darted around, finally settling on the address book on the coffee table. "I know! We'll just put a stop to all this right now. I'll call Father Bryan from the church. It's an emergency, he'll come right over. And I'm sure he'll know some good places, rehab centers. You can beat this, Mihael. I know you ca-"

"No."

"What?" She looked at him, desperation in her eyes.

"No," he said again. "I'm not talking to Father Bryan and I'm not going to any sort of… rehab. I'm gay, not addicted to drugs."

"You don't know what you're saying," Mother said with pity. "You've been blinded by this person you think is your friend. But we'll fix this, sweetheart, we will." Her pity was worse than her anger.

"No! We won't fix it! There's nothing to fix! I'm not broken, this is just the way I am! And if you can't accept that, than you can just- can just… fuck off!" The instant he said it, he regretted it. In the space of a second, he wished a thousand times that he could take it back.

Mother's face grew stony, and her gaze was hard. "What did you just say to me?" Her teeth were clenched tight and her eyes flashed.

Mihael swallowed nervously. "I- I'm sorry. I meant to say… I just don't think…"

"I will not be spoken to like that in my own house, by my own son! Leave."

"What?" Mihael was in shock. In all the times he had imagined Mother finding out about his secret, he had prepared for anger, for hurt, for confusion… but not for this. "But-"

"Get out of my house," Mother said, her eyes determined. "I don't know who you are anymore. The only person I want back is my son, Mihael. Not you."

Mihael didn't know what to do. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out and, with one last desperate look at Mother, he turned and fled out the front door and into the rain.

Shorter chapter than usual. But I had to end it on the logical closure point. Let me know what you guys thought!