"You slept with him?!"

"Race, it wasn't like that," Jack explained exasperatedly.

It was early morning, the coffee shop was empty, save for the employees who had just opened up. The calm before the morning rush.

"Then what was it like?" Katherine questioned, the table she had been wiping down ignored in her interest of Jack's announcement.

"We just fell asleep in Spot's car," Jack said, shrugging.

"Yeah, and he didn't bring the car back until the next morning," Race put in, fixing himself a coffee.

"Are you sure nothing happened?" Katherine asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Nothing happened," Jack said firmly.

"But did you want something to happen?" Race asked pointedly.

"No, maybe, I don't know," Jack answered, throwing up his hands in defeat. "One minute he was kissing me, the next he was asleep. I don't know, I guess I was a little disappointed, but he had a long day so it's not like I could be mad at him or nothing."

"Would you want to try again and get farther next time?" Katherine asked.

"Probably, but I don't know if that's what he wants," Jack said.

"He's dating you, of course he wants it," Race said encouragingly.

"What if he ain't like that? I mean, what if he don't roll that way?" Jack asked, worry in his voice.

"Once again, he's dating you, so I'm pretty sure it's safe to say he's into you that way," Race said.

"I want something more out of this relationship than just getting in his pants though," Jack argued.

"You? Wanting something more than that?" Katherine questioned, eyebrows raised in shock. "Who are you and what have you done with Jack Kelly?"

"Just because that's how I was when I dated you doesn't mean I'se that way with every relationship," Jack explained.

"Oh, so all you liked about me was how good I was in bed?" Katherine asked, offended.

"No, that's not what I'se saying," Jack clarified. "I'se just saying I'se grown since then. I'se, I don't now, more mature or something."

"Oh no, you know what I think it is?" Katherine said. "I think you're just in love with him."

"Jack's in love," Race sang.

"I ain't in love," Jack argued, smacking Race on the side of the head.

"Yes, you so are," Katherine said. "You're head over heels for this boy. Jack Kelly, wanting more out of a relationship than to get in his partner's pants, there's no other way to say it, it's true love."

"I don't even think I believe in any of that true love business," Jack muttered.

"And why not?" Katherine asked.

"Have you ever seen anyone truly in love?" Jack questioned.

"Yes," Race answered indignantly.

"You and Spot is different," Jack said.

"No, it ain't," Race argued. "Let me explain something to ya, Jacky-boy. When me and Spot first got together all I cared about was getting laid. And sure that's a nice part of the relationship, but the longer I was with him the more I realized there was something more, something stronger than just that. It ain't because I matured or nothing, it's because I'se in love with him. And it's real, too. None of that fake movie stuff. Real, unconditional love and all that jazz. You hear me, Jack? That stuff is real, and I bet you'se feeling it too."

"Miss me with that gay shit!" Spot called, sticking his head out from the eatery.

"Don't start with me, Conlon!" Race called back.

Jack didn't respond, instead busying himself with the coffee machine.

Race sighed. "Just give it time, Jack. You might change your mind."

Jack nodded noncommittedly, fixing his coffee and turning away from the others. He wasn't in love. He couldn't be in love. There were ten million reasons why being in love would be a bad idea, starting with one very obvious problem.


"Guess who's gonna be away for two nights!" Jack said excitedly, sitting across from Crutchie at their usual lunch spot in the eatery.

"You?" Crutchie asked, surprised and a little disappointed.

"No," Jack said quickly. "Snyder. He's going on a business trip this weekend. You know what that means?"

"What?" Crutchie asked, confused.

"You should come over!" Jack exclaimed. "We could watch movies, order pizza, whatever! It would be great!"

Crutchie smiled politely. "I thought you didn't like people coming over to your place?"

"Yeah, when the Spider's home, but he'll be away and I can finally have a couple relaxing nights," Jack said. "It's this weekend. Say you'll come?"

Crutchie thought about that for a minute. "Yeah, yeah, I'll come," he agreed, grinning.

"Cool," Jack said, smiling in return.

"Hey lover boys, you gonna order or what?" Spot asked, coming up to their table for the third time that afternoon.

"The usual for me," Jack said, handing him the menu. "But tell Tommy boy not to go too heavy on the cheese this time."

"I'll have my usual as well," Crutchie said, handing him his menu. "And I'll have a coffee, the usual."

"That's your second coffee today," Spot commented.

"I know," Crutchie said, grinning innocently.

"Whatever you say," Spot said, writing down the orders and heading back to the kitchen.

"Why the extra coffee?" Jack asked.

"Gotta big test I gotta study for today," Crutchie explained.

"What class?" Jack asked.

"Theatre history. We're reading Medea," Crutchie said.

Jack blinked. "The Tyler Perry movie?"

"No, the ancient Greek play by Euripides," Crutchie explained.

"Never heard of it," Jack said, taking a sip of his water.

"It's pretty gruesome. The lady kills her children," Crutchie said, shuddering. "There are a lot of plays we have to read in theatre history and I usually have to read through them about three times to get all of the information. Miss Medda is a hard grader."

"Isn't she your director?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, but she's also one of my professors," Crutchie explained. "I hope you'll get to meet her one day. She's the best."

"If what you say about her is any way to judge I bet I would like her a lot," Jack said, smiling.

"So, should I bring anything for this weekend?" Crutchie asked.

"Just yourself," Jack said, grinning. "I'll provide movies and we can order pizza when we get there."

"Sounds good. Meet here and walk over there?" Crutchie asked.

"Actually, it's a far walk so we can take a bus," Jack said.

"Cool, cool," Crutchie responded. "Hey Jack?"

"Yeah, Crutchie?" Jack asked.

"I really like spending time with you," Crutchie said, looking down at the table sheepishly.

Jack felt his cheeks grow warm. "Thanks kid, I like spending time with you too."

"That's gay," Romeo said, passing them with a washcloth in hand.

"Go wash a table," Jack snapped, waving him away.

Crutchie couldn't help but laugh at that, his grin spreading from ear to ear. He was happy at how accepting and supportive all of his friends at the coffee shop had been. He hadn't expected that level of kindness from all of them, but was pleasantly surprised. Growing up, he hadn't been able to be open about his feelings to many people, and to be able to be so open with his new friends now was an unexpected change. Crutchie thought he could get used to this.

There was only one problem. One thing he hadn't been truthful about. Could he tell Jack? Would he feel any differently about him if he told him? Crutchie tried not to think about it, pushing the thought away to the back of his mind. No, he would cross that bridge later.


"Are you sure this is okay?" Crutchie asked, looking around the small apartment nervously.

"Yeah, my step dad's out of town the whole weekend, I swear, he won't be back until tomorrow afternoon," Jack assured him, locking the door behind them.

Crutchie walked further into the apartment, entering the living room. It wasn't as nice as Davey's but it was quaint. It looked like it was well kept, for the most part. And it didn't smell bad, either. Crutchie wasn't sure what he was expecting, but somehow this wasn't it. He was pleasantly surprised.

"It ain't much, but it's what I've got," Jack said, following him into the living room.

"It's not so bad," Crutchie agreed. "It's a home."

"I'm not sure I'd call it that," Jack said thoughtfully. "But it's a place with a roof, so it ain't too bad."

"Hey Jack, there's something I gotta tell ya-" Crutchie began, but was interrupted when he turned around and Jack was suddenly standing inches away from him.

The kiss was sudden, and passionate. Crutchie could feel his legs grow wobbly as his breath hitched in his throat. Jack's hands were on his waist, pulling him close, while his lips pressed more firmly against Crutchie's, never seeming to be close enough.

"Jack, I-" Crutchie began, pulling away but interrupted yet again by Jack kissing along his throat, causing a gasp to escape him. It felt good, there was no doubt about it. But something wasn't right, could never be right, and Crutchie wasn't sure how to tell Jack about this. But he needed to before things went any farther. It was only fair to Jack, and himself.

"Jack, I need to tell you something," Crutchie tried again, trying in vain to back away.

"Can it wait?" Jack asked, returning his lips to Crutchie's, breathing in deeply.

Crutchie shook his head. "It really can't," he mumbled, his words muffled from the kiss.

Jack groaned a little, but pulled away. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, course not," Crutchie said quickly. "It's just that . . . maybe we should sit down?"

Jack shrugged. "Alright," he said, taking a seat on the couch, Crutchie following suit behind him.

"There's uh, something I gotta tell ya, that might have some effect on us," Crutchie started, feeling his heart pounding in his chest.

Jack stared at him, confused. "What is it?" he asked. "You ain't straight, are ya?"

Crutchie laughed. "No, not at all," he assured him.

"Then what? You ain't got an STD, do ya? Oh, god, that's a bad image," Jack groaned, rubbing his eyes with his hands.

"No, no, nothing like that," Crutchie said with a laugh. "I, uh, I just want to clarify this ain't about you, and this don't mean I don't like your or nothing. I just . . . I can't do this."

Jack's face fell. "Can't . . . do this?" he asked.

"Not-not the relationship," Crutchie quickly clarified. "I just can't do," he indicated with his hands between the two of them. "This."

"I'se not following," Jack said, completely lost now.

"Jack, I'se asexual," Crutchie finally came out and said it.

Jack blinked. "You'se what?"

"Asexual, It means-" Crutchie started.

"Yeah, I know what it means," Jack interrupted. "I just . . . you'se what now?"

"I know, I should have told you sooner," Crutchie said, feeling a pang of guilt for only just now telling Jack this very important detail of his life.

"Yeah, probably," Jack said quickly.

"You'se mad, ain't you," Crutchie said. It wasn't a question.

"No, I ain't mad, I just need time to think about this," Jack said, running his hands through his hair.

"Jack, I'se sorry, I really am," Crutchie apologized, worry growing in his stomach. Jack must hate him now. He must feel betrayed, or disgusted, or whatever mix of those emotions. There was no way he would want to be with him now, not after this. There was just no way He probably wanted him over this weekend to do stuff, stuff that Crutchie couldn't do, no matter what.

"What are you sorry for?" Jack asked, looking Crutchie directly in the eyes. "It ain't like you chose to be this way. It's just who you are."

"You'se . . . you'se ain't mad?" Crutchie asked, not wanting to get his hopes up.

"Course I ain't mad," Jack said. "Crutchie, it's okay. I admit, it took me off guard, and I'se gonna need to get used to this, but I ain't mad at all."

"So, you-you still want to be together?" Crutchie asked, a sliver of hope in his chest.

"Course I do," Jack answered quickly. He thought carefully about his next words, hoping against everything Race would never hear of this. "Crutchie, I love you, and nothing like this is gonna change any of that. I love you no matter who you are or what you'se comfortable with, you understand me?"

Crutchie just stared back at him, dumbfounded. His cheeks felt hot, and his eyes pricked. "You mean that?" he asked, blinking his eyes to try and expel any tears that threatened to form.

"With all of my heart," Jack said, placing a hand on Crutchie's cheek and leaning forward, planting a kiss on his lips.

The kiss was by far the best one Crutchie had ever had. There was nothing fancy about it, no special excitement or flare, just a simple, prolonged kiss.

It went on for several moments, the kiss deepening into something more passionate. Crutchie wasn't sure how far things would go, but he assumed Jack would stay within reasonable limits considering the news he just told him.

He could feel Jack's breathing labor, and a thought suddenly struck Crutchie, causing him to pull away.

"What?" Jack asked, noting the strange look on Crutchie's face. Was he . . . laughing?

"Nothing, it's nothing," Crutchie said, trying to stifle his giggles. "It's just, you was breathing heavy and I started thinking about that image of the cat with the caption 'heavy breathing'."

Jack stared at him for a moment, completely at a loss for words. "You're a nerd, you know that?" he said, leaning forward and planting another kiss on Crutchie's lips.

Crutchie smiled into the kiss. "But I'm your nerd," he said.

"And don't you forget it," Jack told him.

They leaned back in for another kiss, just as long and meaningful as the one before. Crutchie thought that this was possibly the happiest he had ever been.

If only that moment could have been frozen in time for a little longer.

A door slammed shut and footsteps could be heard entering the living room. Jack immediately pulled away, but he wasn't fast enough. The man standing before them had already seen.

"You-you'se back early," Jack breathed, staring in horror at his step dad.

"Change of plans," the man said quietly, eyes darting between Jack and Crutchie.

Jack quickly stood to his feet, and Crutchie followed to do the same. "Uh, this is my friend, Crutchie," Jack slowly introduced. "Crutchie, this is my . . . step dad."

Crutchie gave him a polite nod, unable to form any actual words.

The man nodded simply back. "It's time for you to go home," he told him, pointing at the front door.

"It's late, we wasn't expecting you-" Jack stammered.

"I said it's time for you to go home," the man said slowly, enunciating every word carefully.

"It's okay, Jack, I can catch a bus," Crutchie said quietly, grabbing his crutch and making his way towards the door. He looked one last time back at Jack, then quickly exited the apartment.

"That ain't right," Jack started. "It's late and a far walk to the bus stop from here. That ain't right of you to make him leave like that."

"You want to talk about right?" the man snapped. "You know, I've worked hard for you. I let you stay under my roof and I help pay for your college tuition and this is how you repay me?"

"All that money you use for my tuition comes straight from Mom," Jack snapped back. "She's the one who saved up for me to go to school, not you!"

"And how have you repaid her? By nearly flunking out?" the man questioned. "When's the last time you made an A? A single A in school?"

"I might make better grades if I were actually doing something interesting!" Jack shouted at him. "Not something stupid like pre-law like you'se making me do!"

"Me and your mother agreed on that years ago that that's what you would study!" the man shouted back. "We had this planned out for ten years! And you're just going to throw that all away? How is that for repaying your mother?"

"She would have wanted me to do what I wanted to do!" Jack argued. "Not what you wanted me to do!"

"And what do you want to do? Huh?" the man asked. "Sell coffee? Do that stupid art you're always doing? Something else faggots like you are good at? Because let me tell you something that won't get you anywhere in life."

"Yeah, well I'd rather be a washed-up faggot than a lowlife piece of scum like you," Jack seethed.

The man raised his hand, causing Jack to flinch. "Say that again," he challenged.

Jack didn't say anything.

"I said say that again!" the man shouted, slamming his hand against Jack's cheek.

"You'se a lowlife piece of scum," Jack whispered, turning his head away so the man couldn't see the tears springing up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, say that again," the man said, grabbing Jack by the chin and pulling his head to face him.

"You'se a lowlife piece of scum," Jack said slowly, glaring directly into the man's eyes.

"You're going to regret saying that," the man said lowly, threateningly.

"Try me," Jack challenged, squaring his shoulders in preparation.

A cruel smile played across the man's lips as he raised his hand a second time.

Jack regretted every word.