Sean and Emma hung out with Drew in the living room for the rest of the night. He didn't say much, and they didn't want to force him to talk. So other than making some comments about the houses they were watching on HGTV, it was a quiet evening.

"I think I'm going to take a shower and go to bed."

Emma smiled and said, "Okay, sweetie."

He stood up and looked at his parents, "Thank you for being so understanding."

Emma stood up and hugged him, "We love you, kiddo."

Sean followed Emma with a hug of his own for Drew, "I know it's easier said than done but try to get some sleep tonight, okay?"

Drew nodded as he pulled away. He headed to the basement door and smiled before he walked downstairs.

Emma grabbed Sean's hand, "Oh my God, Sean, this is happening."

Sean lifted her hand and kissed it, "Yep. It's happening."

She turned to him, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. Are you?"

She nodded, "I'm just worried. Drew's starting to get his grades up, and I don't want anything to ruin that for him."

"Well, we'll make sure that doesn't happen."

Drew went down to his room and saw the LED light on his phone, flashing in blue. That meant he had a text. He took a deep breath before he picked up the phone. He swiped it to unlock it and saw Oliver's name.

"Sorry, I ran out. We'll talk tomorrow."

Oliver sent the message three hours earlier. Drew wrote back immediately and said, "It's okay. And I didn't see this until now. Stupid phone. See ya tomorrow."

Drew wasn't expecting a message back, so he went straight into the bathroom, got undressed, and stepped into the shower.

Oliver wrote a text back while Drew was in the shower, "Goodnight."

Drew wasn't in the shower long, he just wanted to rinse the day off himself and the gel out of his head. He was mentally exhausted after everything that happened, and he couldn't wait to pass out. After he finished getting ready for bed, he looked at Oliver's message, turned his phone over and replayed the kiss over and over in his head.

Sean was sitting up in bed, waiting for Emma to finish getting ready. When she stepped into the room, he smiled at her. He said, "What a day, huh?"

"Are you as exhausted as I am?" She climbed into bed and cuddled up against Sean.

"Yes."

"I can't believe Oliver kissed Drew."

"I can."

Emma looked up at him, "You were right."

"There was no mistaking the looks he was giving Drew."

"So it was like me and how I used to look at you, huh?"

Sean smiled, "Yes. And how I used to look at you. Especially when we were in Grade 12. Well, when you were in Grade 12. I was only there for a few days."

"Our boy is growing up."

"Yep. This must be a lot for you."

She asked, "Why just me?"

"Well, you've raised him this whole time. I just got here, and that's not a knock, it's a fact. I haven't been dealing with this for long. It's all new to me."

"This is all new to me too. At least the part about Drew changing from moody teenager to mooning teenager who has a crush on someone." She kissed his chest and said, "I'm so glad you're here now."

Sean kissed her hair, "So am I."

Sean woke up the next morning and went straight into the shower; he wanted to get to the shop early so he, Pete, and Jay could make sure everything was up to snuff with Drake's car. Emma woke up while Sean was in the shower, and as she was stretching, she realized she never gave Sean David's card. They were both caught up in what was happening with Drew and Oliver the night before, and she forgot to provide Sean with David's info.

Emma got up, walked to her bag, and grabbed David's card from the inside pocket. She looked around for Sean's wallet and found it on his nightstand. She opened it and put David's card in Sean's wallet, then closed it and put it back. "There!" She smiled and walked over to the bathroom door.

"Babe?"

Sean turned and opened the shower door, "Everything okay?"

"Yes. I put David's card in your wallet."

Sean's heart skipped a beat, "In my wallet?"

"Yep. I'm going downstairs to make you some breakfast."

He smiled and said, "Okay, I'll be out soon."

She winked at him and closed the bathroom door. Sean quickly finished showering, grabbed a towel, and went into the bedroom. He opened his wallet and exhaled. Emma didn't see the ring sketch. "Oh, thank God."

He got ready for work and made his way downstairs.

"Good morning, beautiful. I'm sorry if I woke you."

"It's okay. I wanted to make breakfast for my boys."

Sean smiled and said, "Well, now I feel bad because I was planning on heading out early so we can double-check everything on Drake's car. I need this to go well."

"It will because you're the best." Emma grabbed a plastic container and said, "Here, I can give this to you to bring to work."

"Thank you, babe."

"You're welcome."

Sean walked over to her and kissed her cheek, "I love you."

"I love you too." She handed him his breakfast and said, "You can probably heat it in the microwave if you need to."

"I'll probably eat it on the way."

She smiled and said, "Well, be careful."

"I will." He walked toward the front door and grabbed his jacket, "See you later. And call me if you need me."

"Okay. Bye, babe."

"Bye."

Sean walked out, and Emma looked toward the basement door. Yesterday at this time, Drew was already dressed and ready to go. She walked down to the basement and knocked on his door. "Sweetie?"

"Yeah?" He opened the door, dressed and nearly ready to go.

"Oh, hi. I made you breakfast."

Drew smiled, "Thanks."

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. Oliver texted me last night saying he was sorry for running away and that he wanted to talk today."

Emma nodded, "That's good!"

"Yeah."

Emma tucked some of his hair behind his ear, "Come upstairs soon, so you can eat, and then I'll drop you off at school."

Drew nodded, "Okay."

When Emma pulled up to Degrassi, she noticed Oliver was sitting on the stairs.

"There's Oliver."

Drew said, "Oh, God."

"Sweetie, you'll be fine."

"Mom, I feel like I'm going to puke."

Emma reached over and grabbed Drew's hand, "Andrew, deep breaths."

Drew took a couple of deep breaths and turned to his mom, "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now go, say hi to your friend and get your butt to homeroom."

Drew smiled and nodded, "See you later."

"Have a good day, kiddo."

Drew opened the door, grabbed his bag off the floor of the car, smiled again at his mom, and closed the door. Oliver stood up and walked over to him.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Oliver asked, "Can we talk before homeroom?"

Drew nodded, "Sure."

Emma watched as the two boys walked up the stairs together, then she looked up toward the sky and said, "Please let them be okay."

Drew and Oliver walked into the Degrassi lobby, and Oliver motioned towards the stairs to the left. Drew followed him, and they stood under the staircase, away from everyone.

Oliver took a deep breath, "Drew, I like you."

Drew smiled.

"And I'm assuming you like me too."

"I wouldn't have kissed you back if I didn't."

Oliver smiled, "Cool." He lowered his voice and said, "Um, I'm not sure if I'm ready to be out at school yet."

Drew nodded, "I understand. I don't think I'm ready either."

Oliver asked, "Have you told anyone?"

"My parents and Maddie. Ethan figured it out on his own."

"Yeah, he did with me too."

Drew shook his head, "It must be because of his brother."

Oliver smiled, "Yeah, maybe." He asked, "And your parents are okay with it?"

"They're more than okay with it."

"I can't tell my parents. Not yet."

Drew asked, "So, what does this mean for us?"

Oliver shrugged, "I'm not sure, but I wanted you to know that I meant to kiss you yesterday, and I don't regret it, but I'm sorry I ran out. I just got scared."

Drew nodded.

"I'm sorry if I screwed up your first real kiss."

"You didn't screw it up. It just wasn't long enough." Drew smiled and Oliver blushed.

"Man, this is weird. I was so afraid you didn't feel the same way about me."

"Same."

"So, we both were freaking out for no reason."

Drew nodded, "Yep."

The first bell rang, and Oliver rolled his eyes, "Ugh. We're meeting during our free period, right?"

"Yep, and if you want, we can meet for lunch too."

Oliver smiled, "I'd like that."

Drew blushed, and he said, "Okay."

Oliver leaned forward and said, "I wish I could kiss you right now to make up for last night."

Drew's stomach flipped and he looked down at the floor, "Me too."

"This sucks."

Drew looked up, glanced beyond Oliver's shoulder, and saw his grandfather pointing at his wrist. "I gotta go. My grandpa just spotted me."

Oliver nodded, "Okay, see you later."

"Bye."

Drew walked toward his grandpa and said, "We were making plans to work on our project for Perino's class."

"That's fine. I just don't want you to be late for homeroom."

"I won't!" Drew walked past him and walked down the hall toward his locker. When he reached it, Maddie was already at hers. She smiled at him, and he asked, "What's that look for?"

"I saw you and Oliver talking, and you looked cozy."

Drew lowered his voice, "He kissed me last night."

Maddie squealed and yelled out, "Oh my God! Are you serious?"

"Maddie, shut up."

"That was so loud. I'm sorry."

Drew shook his head.

"How was it?"

"Rushed. He freaked out and ran. But he apologized this morning."

Maddie smiled, "Are you a couple now?"

"We had a five-second kiss, and we still have to talk about how we're feeling. Plus that whole, 'we're not sure if we even want to come out' thing." He turned to her and said, "We're meeting at lunch, and we're working on our project for Perino during our free period."

"Invite him over again. Not tonight. Tomorrow."

"You think so?"

"Yes."

The second bell rang.

Maddie shut her locker and said, "Ah crap, late again."

"Ugh." Drew slammed his locker shut and ran with Maddie toward homeroom.

Sean and Jay were in his office waiting for Pete, who was running late, "Man, my heart stopped when she said she put the card in my wallet, but I could tell she didn't see the sketch of the ring."

Jay smiled, "Have you come up with a proposal plan?"

Sean shook his head, "Nope. Not yet. I don't know why I'm having so much trouble with this."

"It will come to you. I also think having the ring will help."

Sean smiled and said, "You didn't need a ring."

"True."

"Oh, I have news."

Jay raised an eyebrow.

"Oliver does like Drew."

"Really?"

Sean nodded, "Yep. I could see him sneaking looks at dinner last night. It was like me with Emma or Emma with me when we were younger."

"And how did it make you feel?"

"I was thrilled for Drew. Honestly. He was so worried and stressed about it, and it turns out he had nothing to worry about."

"How did Oliver tell him?"

"Well, he didn't tell him; he showed him."

"They kissed?!"

Sean nodded.

"Are you okay with that?"

Sean nodded, "Yes."

"Did he like it?"

"He was disappointed it was so quick."

"Well, I mean, most first kisses are sloppy and gross because we don't know what the hell we're doing."

Sean scoffed, "Speak for yourself."

"Your first kiss was good?"

He shrugged, "It wasn't bad."

"Lucky."

Pete knocked on Sean's door and peeked in, "Sorry I'm late. The apartment above me had a flood in their bathroom, which traveled down to my bathroom and down to the bathroom below. It was a fucking mess."

Sean shook his head, "That sucks."

"Yeah. So are we ready?"

Sean stood up, "Yep. We're in the home stretch, boys."

Jay asked, 'What time is he coming by tonight?"

"7."

"Oh, that's plenty of time for us to wrap this baby up in a bow."

Sean smiled. "Yep. And then we celebrate."

Emma met with her boss Dylan to tell him her plans for the house in Rosedale.

"This is why you're my number agent, Emma."

She smiled, "I really think we can market this house with the video and get it sold quickly."

"Sounds good!" He asked, "So what are your plans for the Indian Road house commission? Your son is too young for a car, right?"

"Yes. Drew's only 14. I'm thinking of helping out my mom. Her salon needs renovating, badly. I don't think it's been touched since the '90s." Dylan chuckled and Emma continued, "She'll probably say no at first, but she was a teen mom, and I wouldn't be the woman I am today without her, so she's going to have to accept my help."

Dylan smiled, "That's nice. Oh! We're having an event on Friday night at the new project in Riverdale."

"35 Baseball?"

Dylan nodded, "Yep. Bring Sean!"

Emma smiled, "What's the dress code?"

"He doesn't have to wear a suit or anything. Sweater, jeans. Nothing too crazy."

Emma nodded, "Okay. Thanks."

"Hey, Drew. I have your test for you."

Drew walked up to Marco's desk.

"You only missed one question. Nice job."

Drew grabbed the test from him and looked at it in disbelief, "I thought I knew a lot, but I didn't think I knew that much."

"Well, you did. Now let's see if you can match this feat after you read The Great Gatsby."

"Thanks, Mr. Del Rossi." Drew walked back to his desk and held up his test for Maddie, who gave him a thumbs up.

After class, Maddie and Drew walked to their lockers with their copies of The Great Gatsby. "You're carrying yourself differently."

Drew turned to her, "Am I?"

"Yep."

Ethan walked up behind them, stepped in between Drew and Maddie and put his arms around them, "So, Nelson, I hear your night was interesting last night."

Drew asked, "Oh, what did you hear?"

"Oliver called me freaking out after he got home from your place."

"Great. Soon the entire school is going to know."

"Nope. I would never do that. But I want you to know I'm happy for the two of you."

"Okay, don't be happy yet. I don't even know what this is."

Ethan stopped walking and said, "What?"

Drew turned back to him and whispered, "Neither of us is ready to come out yet. It's not like we can suddenly start walking around school holding hands."

Maddie said, "Who cares what everyone else thinks? You wouldn't be the first gay couple at Degrassi." Drew's eyes bugged out. "I was loud again, wasn't I?"

Drew shook his head, "Yes."

Ethan asked, "Do you and Oliver want to be left alone at lunch?"

"Yes, if that's okay."

Ethan nodded, "Yep. I need to hide from Travis anyway."

Maddie snickered and said, "By the way, has Olivia tried to kiss you yet today?"

"Nope. I'm guessing she and Travis will be back together by lunch."

"Good point." She looked at Drew and said, "Straight couples."

Drew laughed.

"Don't forget what I said earlier."

Drew looked at her and shrugged his shoulders.

"Invite him over again tomorrow. To work on your project."

Drew asked, "You don't think it's too much?"

"Um, no? If you can't be a couple here, you can at least be one at your house."

"Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is new to both of us. We can't rush into anything."

Ethan scoffed, "Nelson, Oliver's liked you since the day he met you."

Drew asked, "Are you serious?"

"Man, you are so oblivious. You didn't know this one liked you either." He pointed at Maddie, and she rolled her eyes.

Drew shut his locker. "I gotta go. See you later."

Maddie yelled out, "Good luck!"

Drew rolled his eyes and kept walking down the hall.

Ethan closed his locker and said, "Ah, young love."

Maddie laughed, and they walked to class together.

Emma called Sean around lunchtime.

Sean answered his phone and walked into his office, "Hey, babe. How are you?"

"I'm good. How's your day going?"

"Good, we're all done with the car. Now we wait." He sat at his desk and asked, "How did Drew seem when you dropped him off?"

"He was a wreck. Oliver was waiting for him on the stairs."

"He was?"

"Yep."

"Oh, boy. I hope his day has been okay."

"So do I. Oh, I was calling to tell you that we're invited to a work event on Friday evening."

"Oh yeah?" Sean laughed and asked, "Please tell me I don't have to wear a suit."

Emma laughed and said, "No. Just a pair of jeans and a sweater are fine. It's at the new complex 35 Baseball."

"Oh yeah, over by Broadview."

"You got it."

"I can't believe how built up it is over that way."

Emma said, "Yeah, I kind of hate it. I liked it better when Riverdale wasn't filled with glass condos."

Sean smiled, "I agree."

"Felt more like a small town. Now it looks like downtown."

They chatted for a few minutes until Pete peeked his head into Sean's office.

"Em, I gotta go."

"Okay, well, good luck later."

"Thanks."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Drew walked into the caf and looked around for Oliver. When he spotted him, he smiled. Oliver looked up from The Great Gatsby and nodded at Drew.

"Hey."

"Hey." Drew put down his books and said, "Let me grab a sandwich, and I'll be right back."

"Okay."

Drew walked up to the counter, and Maddie bumped into him.

"Hello."

"You are acting so weird today, Allen."

She smiled, "I can't help it."

Drew said, "I am not looking forward to The Great Gatsby."

Maddie asked, "Why not?"

"I skimmed through it, and it's a lot."

"How so?"

"The words. They're fancy."

She smiled, "Oh, you mean it's flowery prose?"

Drew shrugged, "Like I know? Lord Of The Flies was one of the first books I actually read all the way through for school."

Maddie laughed. "Well, if you have trouble with Gatsby, let me know. I've already read it."

"You read it for fun?"

"Yes?"

"You geek."

"Oh, shut up."

Drew grabbed his sandwich, "Please try not to make things obvious, okay?"

"I won't. I'll be across the caf from you guys."

Drew handed the cashier the money for the sandwich, and when he got his change back, he said to Maddie, "Wish me luck."

"Good luck, lover boy."

"Madison, I'm seriously going to kill you."

She smiled, "Sorry, not sorry."

Drew shook his head and made his way back to the table and Oliver. Oliver looked up from the book and Drew said, "Man, The Great Gatsby looks like no fun."

Oliver laughed, "I'm so screwed." He put the book down.

Drew sat down, unwrapped his sandwich, and opened his drink. "So, how has your day been so far?"

"Fine." Oliver sighed, "I hate how weird this is."

Drew nodded, "Me too."

"I like you. You like me. We should be able to let everyone know it." Drew nodded again. "But some people are still jackasses. My parents included."

"Right."

"I don't think anyone would mess with us here. You are the principal's grandson."

"I wonder how my grandpa would react."

"He doesn't know?"

Drew shook his head, "Nope." He took a sip of his water then asked, "Your parents would be jerks about it?"

Oliver nodded, "Yeah, I heard my mom say something pretty nasty about Braden's dads once. So I kind of suppressed everything for a while."

Drew lowered his voice and said, "The reason I came out to my dad was because of his reaction to hearing about Braden's dads."

"Really?"

He nodded, "He was cool about everything."

"You're lucky. I wish I had your parents."

Drew smiled and said, "Oh, I came up with an idea for the Perino project."

"Oh yeah?"

He nodded, "We can talk about that next period, but um, I was wondering if you'd want to come over to my house again tomorrow night?"

"To work on the project?"

"Well, yes and no."

Oliver smiled and said, "Yes."