A/N: Okay, so it's much later than I wanted it up, but here it is. By the way, you can thank my brother for this chapter. If he hadn't started talking about writing a Harry Potter fic with a Cedric/Oliver pairing I probably wouldn't have written this chapter over the weekend. You may also thank ABCCJPTT for inspiring me by writing her own Mozie story Stoplight. I encourage all of you to give it a read if you haven't already done so, without it I probably would have forgotten to post this chapter.

Disclaimer: The characters I created obviously belong to me. Those I didn't create obviously don't. See how that works? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a pop-tart calling my name…that's kind of scary actually.

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The drive back to Darren's house was far less enjoyable than the drive to the dance had been. Not because people were still staring at the artwork that was the car, but because we were all terrified of what might happen at the end of this trip. We were silent, each thinking our own private thoughts, fearing what would come next, imagining our worst nightmares come to life.

What exactly was that toad going to say in that phone call? How were Darren's parents going to react? Would they call Sean's mother? What would she say about this? Would they call Suzie's parents? Would that, in turn, lead to a call to mine? Were we ready for them to know? Were they? What would we do if our parents couldn't handle this? What if we can't handle this? What happens then? Could I handle this? Did I really want to?

…Yes. I do. I can. And I will. All I have to do is look at her and I know that I don't have to worry. Whatever our parents might say or do about this doesn't really matter as long as she stays with me. I know that together we can handle this. I can handle this. I want to. Now that I have her I will not let groundless fears get in the way.

I don't care what that little toad says, he doesn't matter. No one can bring the world down around us, we won't let them. The four of us are a unit now, a family of choice. That won't change no matter what people might say. Suzie's parents, my parents, the whole world will just have to deal with us. All of us. I'm not going to let any small minded person stop me from being with whomever I love.

Just as all of this settles firmly into my mind we pull into Darren's driveway. It's time to face the music, however discordant it may be.

We tried to prepare ourselves on the walk from the car to the door by holding hands and taking strength from shared glances, but I'm not sure how successful we were. I know that Darren has the worst of it, it's his mother we're about to face and she has some rather narrow views of the world. I knew that I was as confident as I'd ever be, but we all seemed a little pale and strained to my eyes as we entered. I don't think that with all the time in the world we'd have had enough to prepare for what we found inside. I know this was just about the last thing I'd ever expected.

Anger I could have handled. Joy, even better, but not this. I couldn't handle this one. Not tears. I've never been able to handle tears; and that's just what we encountered. Mrs. Beth Morgan sat on her stairs with her face in her hands, sobbing. The noise echoed into the silence of her home. The cordless phone lay broken on the floor, apparently shattered upon impact with the wall opposite the stairs.

Darren, ever the dutiful son and much quicker to take in the scene, cried out "Mom!" and was by her side in mere moments. The rest of us stood stunned in the entryway, unable to look away, unable to take it all in, and utterly unable to do anything. So we stood, and watched.

At Darren's shout Mrs. Morgan's head had shot up, giving us a clear look at her red, tear-stained face. "Say it isn't true. Tell me they're lying." Her voice was hoarse and shaking as she directed the questions directly to her son.

He only responded with a soft "Mom…"

"Tell me you aren't…what they say you are." She pled with her son, a note of desperation leaking into her voice.

Darren shook his head. "I can't. It wouldn't be true." He moved his hand as though to put it on her arm, but dropped it before making contact.

"You aren't! It isn't true! It can't be. Not my son. Not my little boy." She was shaking her head vehemently, fresh tears crowding her eyes.

"Mom," he moved toward her, but she backed away.

"You can't be," she said this in a near whisper, tears spilling down her cheeks, and eyes searching those of her son. When he didn't say anything, just sadly looked back, she let out a sob but tried to smother it with her hand.

"So it's true then?" she asked softly as she tried to master herself. "You're really-" Here she visibly collected herself, straightening her back and looking at him levelly. "You're…gay?" That last word was said tentatively, as though she was unsure of it's meaning, but surprisingly with no hint of the scorn or anger I'd expected. There was only caring.

Darren stared back and replied firmly, proudly "I am."

She looked at him for a moment then sighed. Her gaze turned to we remaining three, still spellbound in her doorway, assessing us. "And you all as well?"

We each replied in the affirmative, taking our cues from Darren. "Well," she said staring directly at me, "that certainly explains your career goal."

That startled a laugh out of me as I remembered our conversation (was it only yesterday?) about my plans to become an architect. That bald statement turned joke seemed to break the tension for all of us as tentative smiles rose to everyone's faces, even Beth's.

"Mom? Are you okay? With all of this, I mean." Darren still stood slightly in front of his mother, shoulders a little hunched as if waiting for a blow that never came.

Beth thought a moment before speaking. "I've noticed you weren't like other boys for a while now, there were always little signs that I tried to ignore. When I got that call tonight I thought it was heralding the end of my world, ending all of my dreams for you. My son is gay. He won't ever settle down with a nice girl and have children of his own. I wouldn't ever get the grandchildren I've been dreaming of. But, then I thought, it can't be the end of the world. So that means it's just changing according to God's will. And that means I can either change with it or…be left behind." She reached out and cupped Darren's cheek, "I don't want to be left behind."

We all saw the tears fill Darren's eyes and the smile break across his face as he replied "Never Mom!" and caught her up in a hug. Both of them crying and laughing.

I felt Suzie squeeze my hand, which I hadn't realized she was still holding, so I looked down to meet her eyes. She was crying too, but she was happy. "Do you think we'll get that lucky?" she asked, wrapping her arms around my waist while still watching her cousin and aunt.

"I hope so. I really do." I said, pulling her a little closer and holding her a little tighter for a moment, while Sean was swept up into the hug between Darren and his mother.

And I really do. I don't want to have to fight with my parents or Suzie's parents over this. I mean, if someone like Mrs. Morgan can take this in stride, why shouldn't our parents?

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A/N: The pop-tart is vanquished. There's the chapter for you. Let me know what you think. I'll do my best to finish this story before the summer ends, but I'm kind of stuck. If those of you still reading have any ideas for where I can take this thing to end it, please tell me about them.