Propositions By: Jesse Drache

Disclaimers: I don't own Ephram, Colin, Bright or any other characters you might recognize, I'm just borrowing them for my amusement. So don't sue me.

Warning: This is Ephram/Bright/Colin slash; if you don't like it, don't read it.

Rating: PG-13 but will get up to NC-17 in the future.

Chapter 1: Bright's Proposal

Bright stood by his open locker glaring across the crowded hallway at his sister's locker.

He watched Amy search through her locker looking for some book or random object waiting for her to notice that Colin had come up behind her and was waiting to surprise her when she looked up.

An emotion very close to anger ran across his face when he saw Amy smile up at Colin and deliver a quick kiss on his cheek.

He couldn't keep his fists from clenching when he saw the small smile that crept up Colin's face before he turned and walked off to his next class.

Scanning the crowd, he managed to spot Ephram a small distance down the hall looking at Amy with a heartbroken look on his face.

Bright let out a disapproving sound, before slamming his locker shut and walking towards the perturbed boy.

"Ephram, come with me. I need to talk to you," he said, stepping into Ephram's line of sight.

"Leave me alone Bright, I don't have the strength to mess around with you right now."

Bright noticed the slump of Ephram's shoulder as he watched Amy walk into her English class.

"Come on," Bright said, grabbing Ephram's arm and pulling him in the opposite direction before he had another chance to protest.

***

Pushing Ephram into an empty classroom, Bright glared at the boy until he took a seat on the teacher's desk.

"Ok, so why are we here?" Ephram asked, crossing his arms and looking defiantly at Bright.

"Because I have a proposition for you."

"I'm not interested," Ephram said, his gaze not wavering.

"What if it could get you Amy?"

Bright saw the small shift that went through Ephram's features and smiled knowing he had the other boy's undivided attention.

"Why do you want to help me get Amy? I saw you staring at her and Colin. It's obvious that you hate seeing her with anyone, even when it's your best friend. If you want Amy alone, do it yourself."

For a moment, Bright was at a loss for words. Ephram had been watching him?

"It's not about Amy, it's about Colin." Bright said softly.

"Colin? Why Colin?"

"Because I want him back."

"Back as your best friend? Is Amy taking up too much of his time?" Ephram asked, sarcasm tainting his voice.

"Not as my friend, as my boy-boyfriend," Bright said, his voice becoming a whisper.

"Excuse me, but I swear you just said that he was your boyfriend," Ephram said, laughing softly.

"That's what I said," Bright said, looking down at his feet nervously and avoiding the other boy's gaze.

"What about Amy and Colin?"

"Colin was going to break up with Amy, but he was worried about hurting her. Only Lainey knew that we were together. Since he woke up the coma he's forgotten all about me, about us. But I want him back."

Bright continued to stare at the ground and he did not meet Ephram's eyes even when he felt the boy get off the desk and step closer to him.

"So what's your plan?" Ephram asked.

"Basically, to get Amy to fall in love with you. When she breaks up with Colin, I'll be there to take her place. That way Amy doesn't get hurt and I get Colin back." Bright stated with a shrug.

Ephram seemed to contemplate Bright's plan for a moment before letting out a breath and stating, "There's one problem with your plan. There's no way that Amy would leave Colin for me."

Bright stared at Ephram's dejected posture and noted the morose tone of his voice.

"Leave that up to me," Bright told him, not knowing what to say to Ephram's self-depreciating comment.

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of the bell ringing.

"Shit, I've got to go to Chem." Ephram said, grabbing his bag from the desk and moving towards the door.

"I'll meet you back here during lunch and we can keep talking. Think over what I said," Bright told Ephram, getting a brief nod from the boy before he ran off to his next class.