Guang left for California last night and Leo was feeling lonely. He was running around the house helping his mom clean up. Her family was coming over later that night and would be with them until after New Year's. Leo didn't see his Mexican family very often, so he was very nervous. He wished that Guang was here; he would feel a lot better if he was. They texted each other all the time, but it wasn't the same as seeing him in person.

After spending many hours cleaning the house from top to bottom, Leo and his mom flopped onto the couch together to take a break.

"Leo, I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay."

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I don't want you to tell your grandparents that you're bi. They wouldn't handle it well."

Leo felt uncomfortable suddenly, and his mom must have noticed because she continued to talk about it, trying to reassure him. "I love you, Leo, and I love every aspect of you, but it's because of that that I don't want you to tell our family that you're bi. At least, not yet. They're fairly old-fashioned and I don't want them to make a big deal out of it, which I know they'll end up doing. Okay?"

"Okay. I understand."

They say there for a moment longer until she said, "We should get back to work. There's still a lot to do."

"Yeah."

Leo's family had been at his house for a week and he felt like he was suffocating. His grandfather was disappointed that he and Candice had broke up, saying that she was a "good Christian girl," which is probably the most ridiculous thing Leo had ever heard anyone say about her.

It was hard to keep his being bi a secret. He had to dodge around the topic when he told everyone about his concussion, and he avoided any and all talk about Guang. Leo knew that if he started talking about him, he would let something slip about their relationship, how they had met, everything.

It was the day before Christmas Eve and they were at the kitchen table having dinner when Leo's grandfather asked if Leo had made any new friends at school that year.

"Um, a couple. But I don't talk to them very much, except for when we're in class or something like that."

"Your mom was telling me that you've had a friend over a lot recently. Who's he?"

Leo panicked and glanced at his mom, who gave him an apologetic look. "He's a foreign exchange student from China. He doesn't have a lot of friends and his host family is kind of mean to him, so he's over here a lot. He's a junior."

"I see. Will we be able to meet him? Or did he go back already?"

"He's in California visiting some of his family. He won't be back until after you guys leave."

"That's a shame. Maybe next time, then."

"Next time?"

"We're coming back to see you graduate. Didn't your mom tell you?"

"No, she didn't."

"I wanted it to be a surprise," she said.

After dinner, Leo helped his mom clean up and fell onto the couch. He had been sleeping there since his family had arrived. He snuggled up under his blankets and pulled out his phone to stare at his wallpaper. It was a picture of Guang that Nick had taken during the last week of school. According to Nick, Guang was laughing at something that Leo had said. As he was looking at it, he got a text from Guang.

GH: I really want to talk but I'm exhausted and I have to go to bed. I miss you. Goodnight.

Leo smiled and texted Guang back.

L: Goodnight. Sweet dreams.

Leo rolled over and fell asleep with his phone in his hands and a smile on his face.