"It looks like things are officially over." Noah sighed and set the tablet on the table. He didn't even get past the headline. Maya picked the device up and began reading the article.

"Up-and-coming fashion designer and Forrester Creations heir RJ Logan has been spotted out on the town, getting hot and heavy with someone who is most definitely not his oft-rumoured boyfriend Noah Newman..." Maya read before scrolling further down. "Damn, Noah. I'm sorry. Welcome to Dumpsville, population us."

"How am I supposed to feel about this? I proved him right: I slept with Eden. There's a voice in my head telling me I'm not allowed to get mad, but I am." Noah waited for the sound of his toast popping, but it didn't come.

"We're human. When I left Rick for Carter, and he ended up marrying Caroline, it still hurt. A lot of things still hurt."

Noah watched as she poked at her fruit salad. RJ didn't like eating only healthy food. RJ also didn't like Noah.

"I wonder when he's going to make me leave. He owns this loft, you know. Or he owns the lease. I don't know how it works because he always paid the bills. RJ could call me right now and say that we have to leave." Noah looked at his phone, sitting on the nightstand and charging, and hoped that RJ would call, but he knew he wouldn't.

"Everything will be fine. If RJ throws us out, it's not like you can't afford to stay somewhere else. Oh, and I called Brooke today and we talked. They're letting me take a hiatus from work, and you said Liam wasn't mad about you missing work yesterday." Maya speared a piece of cantaloupe with her fork and looked at it. "Eventually, I'll go back to work. It's not like I'm the only trans model at L&M. Hell, they even pointed that out in the statement they released to the press."

"But you are the one who is engaged to the CEO of a rival fashion house," Noah pointed out. The toaster popped and he stood up.

"Was," Maya corrected sadly. "When I talked to Brooke, I asked her about Rick. She said he never asked after me when they talked on the phone yesterday. He's done with me. I knew he would be. I told you."

"For what it's worth, you have me," Noah offered, sitting down and reaching for the butter dish. RJ refused to let tubs of margarine into the loft. Liam would scream about its chemical makeup and it gave everyone a headache, so the ban was just easier. "And Liam told me to take the week off. I guess Bill is going nuts at Spencer."

"Bill goes nuts all the time," Maya sighed. "He's most likely the one who outed me. You know that, right?"

"He did? But how? Why aren't you doing something about it?" Noah stopped buttering his toast and stared at Maya. "You can't just let him get away with it!"

"My mom isn't going to slam Bill's face into a wall," Maya chuckled. As much as he didn't want to, Noah smiled. "Bill has known for a while. Part of the reason I left Rick that first time... He blackmailed me into it. I can't blame him for everything, because there were a million other reasons I left Rick, but Bill was still one."

"How did he even find out? And why did he wait so long to out you?" Noah shifted his eyes away from Maya and back to his toast. "Sorry if I'm prying."

"You are, but it's okay. I need to tell someone. I'll go insane if I don't." Maya bit the cantaloupe off the fork and chewed. She and Noah sat in silence. The only sounds were her chewing and the reluctant scraping of his butter knife against the toast.

"So, what are you gonna do about Bill?" Noah finally asked.

"Nothing," she answered, slowly shaking her head. "What can I do? Everyone already knows Bill is an ass, but it's not like he lied. And it's not like my operations were exactly legal. Going after him would just get me in more trouble."

"Your surgeries were illegal?" Noah didn't understand how that worked. "This isn't like buying collagen injections off eBay."

"My boyfriend at the time, Jesse, he paid for my surgeries. He knew a guy who knew a guy who knew a doctor who does all kinds of black market plastic surgery. Fascinella, if I remember correctly. The guy runs a clinic in Mexico. He mostly gives drug lords new identities when they need to disappear. Jesse had plenty of money: it didn't matter that it was dirty. Hell, that probably made it more appealing."

"That actually makes more sense than I was expecting. I hadn't even considered the cost of the surgeries," Noah mused. "But how would Bill know about this Fascinella guy? You said yourself that he runs an illegal Mexican clinic."

"Because he's rich and used his money and influence to dig into my background?" Maya guessed. "When Rick and Caroline split up, Bill considered me an afterthought. Ridge was the main threat to his niece."

"Until the tape leaked."

Maya nodded. She looked away from Noah for just a second, but he found it odd. "That tape changed everything for everyone. I wish I had never..."

"Never what?" Noah felt his stomach begin to knot and he hadn't even eaten anything.

"RJ didn't leak the tape, Noah. Not alone. He planted the bug, that much is true, but it was originally my plan. We were just looking to get rid of Caroline and Ridge. Get them out of Forrester and out of everyone's lives." Maya had stopped looking at Noah, but he believed every word she was telling him. "Rick and Layla were in on it, too. We never... Nobody thought RJ was going to start taking credit the day it happened, or that I would be outed.

"Everything happening to everybody is my fault. I should've just grown a thicker skin. Because of me, L&M is having a PR nightmare and everyone knows I'm trans and the worst part is that it didn't even work! Ridge and Caroline are refusing to leave Forrester, even though sales of their newest line are publicly flat lining."

"It's not your fault," Noah assured Maya, dropping his food and reaching across the table to hold her hand. She looked up at him and he could tell she was struggling not to cry. "You didn't make Ridge and Caroline say those things. RJ chose to do everything he's done. Bill Spencer has been holding this over your head for who knows how long. You made a not wise decision, but you didn't make everyone else's choices. We all did that."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Maya's voce was small and fragile. "Why are you comforting me when you're hurting, too?"

"Because I've been through this before. RJ and I have never been solid. And he told me that when his first line debuted, you were the one who stood by him while I was at the airport picking up his sister. So it's... I don't know. But you're a good person, Maya. And I don't know too many of them."

Through her tears, Maya smiled. Noah squeezed her hand and smiled back.

B&B

RJ didn't know how to act. He hadn't wanted to come into work. All he wanted to do was spend the day in Thad's bed, listening to the salsa music on the radio and wait for the man to come home, but the voicemail from Amber was so urgent that he couldn't justify not coming.

"Amber and I have been talking..." Brooke said with an audible sigh and a glance to RJ's design partner. "We know you leaked the tape of Ridge and Caroline. Everyone knows: it's the cover story on the Eye on Fashion website and who knows how many others. And you haven't been coming into work again. If it were just because of the tape, I might have looked the other way, but there's the Maya stuff, too. We needed you here and you weren't."

Blinking, RJ looked from his mother to his best friend. "What Maya stuff?"

"You don't know? How can you not know?" Brooke's mouth hung open, so Amber finished her thought.

"Maya is a tranny."

"That's not an appropriate word to use, Amber. I should know because Viz yelled at me yesterday for using it," Brooke told her business partner. Then she turned back to her son. "Maya requested a leave of absence this morning, and I thought it best we give it to her."

"And we're giving you one, too," Amber told RJ.

"You're firing me? From the company I cofounded?" RJ found himself unable to blink or focus on just one woman. He kept looking from Amber to Brooke and back again. "I miss a couple days and I'm gone? This company wouldn't be anything without my designs. This company wouldn't exist at all if it weren't for me and Julian! And you can't fire me, Mother, because of the clause in your contract. I'm in the creative department. You have no say!"

"But I do," Amber said, reaching out to RJ. He pulled away. "You keep disappearing and causing scandals and I love you, but I have a company to think about."

"You're the one betraying me?! Amber, I'm the one who insisted that clause went into my mom's contract so she couldn't fire you! And in return, you're firing me! What the hell?" RJ screamed, standing up and kicking his chair to the floor. "If I hadn't brought you to Julian, you'd still be in that trailer park with your mom, waiting to see Rosie every other weekend!"

"You're not being fired!" Brooke yelled, slamming her hands on her desk. "RJ, we all know what you've done. You're a great asset to L&M, but we can't let you do whatever you want. We're just putting you on leave: giving you a break to calm down and get your life together. You'll still get your salary. We'll still use your designs: Amber can finish the necessary alterations. But we're all worried about you. You're all over the blogs. You've become a mess."

"We know you leaked the Forrester tape. We know you spent all night partying with Thad, who did come into work on time. RJ, what happened with Noah?" Amber asked, looking up at her friend. "What's going on with you?"

RJ cracked his neck. "Yeah. No. You want to put me on administrative leave? That's fine. But I will be damned if I discuss my personal life with you two. Especially not Thad. Not after this. Mom, this is something I would have expected from Dad. You're supposed to be better than this. You're supposed to be better than him!"

Kicking his downed chair again, RJ stubbed his toe and began jumping up and down on his good foot. When the pain subsided enough for him to stand on it, he glared at both women then stormed out of the office.

B&B

"Wyatt is doing well with his physical therapy," Brenda told Quinn, who smiled and nodded.

"My son is super determined to get past this." Quinn poured a glass of lemonade and offered it to the nurse, who graciously accepted. "The doctors say he'll be in physical therapy for a while, but he should be able to walk with crutches soon!"

"I'm glad he's doing so well physically. It helps that he was so active before the accident, but I don't think he's handling it well mentally."

"Are you calling my son crazy?" Quinn's eyes narrowed into slits. "I'm not fond of that word."

Brenda shook her head. "Not at all, Miss Fuller. It's just... I've been doing this for a while. I can recognize PTSD. He's trying to keep it hidden, but he's not dealt with his trauma. The woman who hit him... I read that she got off?"

"Suspended sentence," Quinn hissed, the words slithering out of her mouth like a snake's tongue. "The bitch never had to serve a single day for putting my son in that wheelchair."

"Has he been able to talk to her?" Brenda took a drink of her lemonade and watched Quinn. "What even was her name?"

"Taylor Hayes, and she hasn't. Not even an apology. Just a press release and words delivered by her lawyer. I won't let her anywhere near Wyatt. I won't!" Quinn threw the lemonade pitcher against the wall. She thought of beheading Taylor and started breathing heavily.

Brenda put a calming hand on Quinn's shoulder. "Miss Fuller, we need to let Wyatt make that decision. If he never sees this Taylor, he can't get closure. He might never be able to move on from his accident. Not in his head or his heart."

"What are you saying, Brenda?"

"I'm saying Wyatt needs to talk to Taylor. He needs the chance to ask her questions, or yell at her. Wyatt needs to deal with this demon face-to-face."

Quinn snorted. "That's a more accurate description than you realize, Brenda."

B&B

"Thanks for letting me stay with you. I could have gotten a hotel room, but you offer better perks than room service," RJ told Thad when a dirty grin. Then he looked at the sink full of even dirtier dishes. "Where is your dishwasher?"

"Does it look like I have room here for a dishwasher?" Thad held his hand out, showing off just how tiny his apartment was. "Where would I keep it?"

"No offense, but you better not expect me to be domestic. I'm terrible at that stuff. Before Noah moved into the loft, I had a cleaning service come in three times a week. Then he took over cleaning because that's how rich people live in Genoa City, I guess. God, I hate that slum town."

Thad blinked at RJ, disbelief on his face. "I'm from Genoa City."

"And, lucky you, it doesn't show. You dress like a notmal person, not some clearance rack refugee."

"You have purple hair. You really can't comment on anyone else's appearance."

"Lavender," RJ corrected, twirling to show off his outfit. "And as you can see, I can afford to dress like someone who gives a shit about their appearance. All the people I met in Genoa City were as tacky as Steffy's cheek injections."

"Who is Steffy?" Thad looked confused.

RJ spun into Thad's arms, and the other man caught him, but they fell back onto the bed. Laughing, RJ kissed his paramour. "You don't know Steffy Forrester? You really don't have a background in fashion.

"Steffy is my evil older sister. She was always my dad's favourite, next to my other sister Phoebe, but she died before I really got to know her. The thing about Parisian boarding schools is that you don't really get to know your family all that well because you're at a boarding school in Paris and they aren't."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Thad ran his finger along RJ's jawline.

"Being involved with me is going to be complicated. Whether we're serious or just fooling around, everyone I know is going to have an opinion and you're going to hear it. And you're probably going to end up having sex with my mom at some point, too."

"Um... I'm gay. Your mom knows that."

"Doesn't matter. It's a law somewhere. Just remember to use protection. I don't know if she's started menopause yet." RJ chuckled and sat up, straddling Thad. "But enough about her. What are we? Are we dating? Fuck buddies? Temporary roommates with benefits? I like words. Labels."

"What do you want us to be?"

That was a question that RJ couldn't answer. He shook the nagging thoughts out of his head and ran his hands over Thad's torso. Even through the shirt, he could feel the solid muscle. Leaning down, RJ kissed the man. Both smiled.

"I need to go," RJ told the man. Reluctantly, he climbed off Thad and blew his breath upward to dislodge his bangs from his forehead. It didn't work, so he reached up and brushed them away. "There are some things at the loft that I need to get."

"What kind of things? Clothes? Because you brought three shopping bags full of them. And I get paid in a couple of days, so food won't be an issue."

"Work stuff. My portfolio is still there, and I may be on leave, but I can't just leave it lying around. Everything else can be burned for all I care."

"Do you need a ride?"

For a moment, RJ wanted to accept the offer. He wanted to burst into the loft with Thad on his arm and rub it in Noah's face that the guy he had cheated with so much hotter than the woman with whom Noah had cheated. He wanted to be the one to make someone cry, instead of constantly having breakdowns mid-argument.

"No." He declined. As angry as he was, RJ really didn't want to see his ex-boyfriend hurting. Things were going to be awkward enough with just RJ there. Thad would only bring unnecessary drama. "I'll take a cab."

B&B

There was a knock at the door and Maya went into a panic.

"Go hide in the closet," Noah suggested. "I'll try to get rid of whoever it is."

"Thank you," Maya told him, nodding and running. She opened the closet door, then gave Noah a knowing look. "And you had better not make a closet joke. I will end you."

Noah chuckled. RJ had made the same threat once upon a time. It was a good memory: the only things he and RJ shared now were memories.

"Hi." Noah wasn't happy to see Steffy Forrester. The last time he had spoken to her, the only time, really, she had been less than pleasant company. "RJ isn't here. I think he's moving out, actually."

"I'm not here about RJ." Even though Noah hadn't invited her into the loft, Steffy pushed her way past him and walked inside. "I'm here to see you, Noah. To apologize."

"Apologize? To me?"

She nodded and batted her eyes at him. "I was mad at my brother and I took it out on you. I'm sorry about that. I was a royal bitch to you, and you haven't yelled at me or insulted me. You're a good guy, Noah."

Thinking back to how he woke up in Eden's bed, Noah disagreed. "I'm not that great. Actually, I'm kinda awful."

"Quit trying to turn me on." It wasn't immediately clear if Steffy was teasing. "So, Noah, how did you and my brother meet?"

Looking off to the side, eyes lingering on the closet door, Noah tried to think of the best way to put it.

"I'm not sure we should be talking about that. RJ and I broke up. I mean, I did say before that he's moving out."

So you did." Steffy seemed to be thinking, then she grinned. It scared Noah a bit. "That should make this part easier."

Before he could even ask what Steffy was talking about, Noah found her tongue in his mouth and her hands groping his ass. He pushed her away and tried to find words that weren't coming.

"All I've been able to think about is you, Noah. You had to feel it: there's something between us." Steffy stepped back up to him, hands on his chest. "Your heart is racing. You do feel it."

She kissed him again. It was less forceful than before, but she still maintained all control. Steffy reached under his shirt, running her nails along his back, and Noah didn't know what to do.

"Come with me." Steffy began walking backwards, one hand on Noah's neck and the other tugging at the front of his pants. She was still kissing him. Then she pushed him.

Noah fell back on the bed and his senses returned. This was wrong. This was RJ's sister. Maya was in the closet, listening to everything. He needed to end it.

"Stop," he said, looking up at her.

Ignoring him command, Steffy climbed on top of him and bent down for another kiss. Noah turned away. Then his heart stopped.

"No."

"I don't take no for an answer," Steffy laughed, trying to force Noah's face back towards her. She never saw it coming, but Noah did.

"Bitch, you had better get the hell off my man!" RJ yelled, running across the flat and grabbing Steffy by her long locks. He pulled as hard as he could, but instead of removing his sister, he just removed a handful of her hair. "I knew your ass was wearing a weave."

"They're extensions." Steffy looked down at Noah and smiled, then turned to her brother. "And they're expensive."

Then all hell broke loose.