A/N: Well, readers, it's time for a little self-promotion before writing this chapter. If you enjoy off-beat pairings, I recommend you to read some of my other Degrassi fics, Lighthouse Lost (another JayxDylan), and Café Tombstone (MarcoxTom cringes don't hurt me!). If you like Radio Free Roscoe and odd pairings, then how about reading There's Always a Price to Pay (MC/Ray) or I Didn't Bend the Street Sign (also MC/Ray)?

NOTE: I had to take down Cafe Tombstone (along with the Tom-centric I Think I Love You) due to text problems. If you reviewed these, sorry, but your review got sacrificed so I can edit and fix this problem. I express my deepest apologies to you guys. These will return by the end of the week.

Anyway, that's all there is for my self-promotion. I'm glad so many of you are enjoying this.

Less Than Zero

By Cradlerobber Speedo-kun

Why I was eating dinner with Eli and my father after a day like that, I don't know. It didn't improve, either. Lel kept following me around and trying to find out what was wrong with me. I finally slammed him against the lockers and punched him in the face, and then stormed off. He didn't bother me again, but I did hear him whining to Towerz about how unpleasant I was being.

I came home and found that my father was already there, and that Eli wasn't locked in his study for once. Apparently Eli finished up some papers of his that he had been writing for a while, so he ordered Chinese food and looked smugly pleased with himself. My father just looked happy. He doesn't like it very much that Eli is shut up in the study by himself so much.

I felt out of place at the table. Even after living here for so long, I tend to avoid having dinner with them. I can't help but feel I'm intruding on them somehow just by eating food at the same table and the same time as they do. My father's been living with Eli longer than I've been living with my father, afterall...

"I'm glad that you're feeling better finally, Jay." My father says, passing some chicken thing to me. I take it, resisting the urge to stare at the alien food, and put some on my plate, "Yeah."

"It's also good to see your friends, you know. I didn't really know who any of them were before last week. You never had mentioned them."

I shrug. Of course he didn't know any of them, it's not like we're very close. I'm still getting to know him, really...

"They all seem like decent people. I was a little worried that they never came here because you thought I wouldn't approve... Or, well, that you were embarassed about myself and Eli." He looks embarassed to even be saying it, and Eli is avoiding looking at either of us. I feel a little bad, because that's it exactly. I am embarassed about it. But can you really blame me? If people knew that 'gangsta Jay' has a gay father, lives with his gay father and his father's boyfriend... they wouldn't think of me the same way. And, of course, people would think I'm just a spoiled brat playing pretend if they saw what my living conditions are really like.

"Yeah... they're all good guys..." I finally say lamely. I don't know if he's just trying to be nice, given that none of the people who've been around the house lately really give off the impression of being 'good' people. Well... except for Dylan. I don't know if it's that or he genuinely does realize that despite appearances, they are all good people. Because they are. Sure, we steal stuff, smoke, drink, and party, but that isn't what we really are. It's a large part of it, but mainly we just survive together.

"We're glad you joined us for dinner tonight." It was Eli now that spoke. He set down his fork, and folded his hands on the table, a serious look settling on his face in the place of his self-satisfied smile of earlier, "There are two things we have to tell you. First, I would like to legally adopt you. Just in case, well..."

"If anything ever happened to me, I don't want you to have to go back to living with your mother. I know you're sixteen, and it's only a year and a half until you're no longer a minor, but I want to be sure that you don't have to end up back there again." My father finishes for him. I'm not sure that I'd want to live with Eli, but at the same time I don't ever want to go back to live with my mother...

I shrug, "Ok." They look suprised at my almost immediate response. "You don't want to think it over at all?" My father (1) asks. I stare at him steadily, "There's nothing really to think over..."

"Well," He begins with a sigh, "Secondly, Eli and I," at this he takes Eli's hands in his own, something he has never done in front of me before, "are considering getting married. It's legal for us to, and we want to make that commitment to each other. But we want you to be comfortable with it. I know you haven't exactly gotten used to the fact that your father is in a relationship with another man, you're still uncomfortable about it, so I want you to know about this now. We don't plan to get married for a year or so, so you'll have enough time to get used to the idea."

"Oh." What else can I say to something like that? My father is finally re-marrying, and this time it's a guy. What the fuck? I never saw that coming.

After dinner, the rest of which was even more awkward, I retreat to my room to think. I lay on my bed and toss a tennis ball up, catching it when it falls back down, and then repeating the process. (2)

I wonder if my father realizes his son is a fag like him. I wonder if Eli and my father realize their son is a fag like them. I'm the son of a 'them'. Not just a 'he', not just a 'she'. A son of more than one person...

A family?

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(1) He's obviously not very close to his father, hence his being so formal and calling him 'father'.

(2) I feel bad. Jay feels generally out of character this entire chapter, and I don't like it, but I don't think I can write it any other way for this chapter. ; ;