The bright, sunny sky shines past the scattered clouds over this small town once again. All seven kids sit outside in anticipation, waiting on the side of the street. It was a long, nervous wait. Rick would finally be home from the competition any minute now. Going into the heart of California for a major skating competition is certainly a big moment for any of them. Some of them feel he can win the whole competition. Others just hope he doesn't get hurt. Still, each is full of excitement for his return. Just having him back would be a blessing.

Especially for one of them. A new feeling completely foreign to Twister overwhelms him, as he waits. His nerves shackle him in place. His entire body is full of butterflies. He spent the previous night trying to plan out what he would say over and over. He even had Otto listen to his words, just to see if it sounded good. Now, his whole mind is running in circles, like a hyped-up hamster on his wheel. The intensity of his fears and hopes completely overlap any rational thought. That is, until he sees Tito pull up in Raymundo's car. The whole group beside him jumps up and cheerst. Tito slowly parks the car and their friend sluggishly gets out. Rick, yet again, dons his usual hoodie and sweatpants look, quiet as ever. The first to speak is Jorge.

"He's not dead!"

The group laughs as Rick sheepishly walks over to them, receiving hugs from Jorge, Anna and Harmony. Twister slips himself behind the pack, too nervous to see him up close just yet. Still, he's just happy to see Rick. The curiosity is too much for Otto.

"So, how'd you do bro?"

Rick, still very nervous, takes out a small trophy from his pocket. The trophy is hard to read from afar, but the text on it is clear. "8th Place: Boys 13-15 Division". Rick quietly speaks on it.

"Okay, I guess. Wish I could've gotten first."

Harmony runs up to him and embraces him fully.

"Are you kidding? You're a top ten skater after less than a year of practice! Do you know how good that is?"

Sam is quick to continue the praise.

"Yeah, that's pretty good, dude."

As the group continues their positive words, a voice from behind them takes the group by surprise.

"If the lil one's are happy about that, wait until they see this…"

As all the eyes turn over to Tito, each of their jaws nearly fall to the ground. Tito stands proud in front of the trunk, holding a massive trophy in his hands. This is a lot easier to read. "Best Trick In the Competition". As they all look sharply over to the winner of this trophy, Rick hides himself in his hoodie, muffling his words.

"Oh…yeah…that…"

The whole group blankly stares at Rick for a bit. Rick just shrugs his shoulders. As he looks at them, Otto comes up and wraps his arm around him. Each of them takes a turn to congratulate him for what seems like an unbelievable achievement. As they all mob him, Raymundo yells out of the crowd.

"We got burgers! Move the party to the backyard!"

As the group moves in a pack around Rick, he tries to look around at them. His analytical brain takes over. Something must have happened while he was gone. Before he left, there was a weird vibe around each of them. Before, there was a worry hovering over like a cloud. All of a sudden, that was gone. It was nice. Each of them sits down by the fire in their usual spots. Sam and Reggie snuggled up on each other. Anna and Harmony joke around next to each other. Jorge sits in his goofy big chair he bought from the store. But one thing stood out to Rick. Lately, Otto would put himself in between Rick and Twister. However, Otto was near his sister this time. That meant the only person near him was Twister. He looked over to him and took notice of one other thing that seemed odd.

Twister was wearing a hoodie. Rick had only ever seen Twister in a hoodie once. It was a while ago, when Rick gave him his own, the night of the Lars incident. Still, he shrugs it off. He's just happy to see everyone gleeful for a change. Raymoundo starts bringing the burgers out. As they start to eat, Otto's patience runs out.

"So what happened? What was this trick? Have we seen it?"

Rick thinks to himself for a bit. He knows the answer, but it may not get the right reaction. Maybe if he just told them part of the truth?

"Nah. Can't say you've seen it Otto."

Otto looks on to him quizzically.

"Keeping secrets? Not cool bro. You better show me."

Rick looks at him with a sarcastic grin.

"Hmm….maybe."

Otto and Rick laugh for a bit. Rick then eats a bite of his burger, as he tries to move the subject off of himself.

"Oh yeah. Tito's got your gifts. And no, Anna. We didn't get you jewelry. You'll have to settle for what we got."

Anna sarcastically groans in disappointment, as Tito starts to hand out each of the things to the kids. Otto got his Tony Hawk shirt. Anna still got a nice souvenir. Harmony got her chocolate. Each pretty much got what they asked for. It all went well. Except for one. Rick is quick to get up and take a break from his burger.

"I gotta go grab something."

As Rick leaves the room and shuts the screen door, each of the group takes a turn to look towards the quietest one of them. Twister looks at each of his friends holding a gift, only for him to be left out. But that wasn't what was bothering him. The nerves of the whole situation made it almost impossible for him to get a word out, since Rick got home. It was suffocating. Each of them notices this. They look to each other unsure on how to handle everything. Or at least, that's what they look like.

As Rick walks back holding a bag, he sits himself down where he was before. Yet, before words leave his mouth, things start to happen fast. First, the clouds start to hover over the sky. Little raindrops start to fall. Not too much to sway them from their spot, but enough to notice. A light drizzle. Harmony takes the opportunity to act.

"Shoot. We might need some cover. I'll go grab some."

As she gets up, her elbow nudges Anna. She responds right behind her.

"Oh yeah. I'll help."

Jorge is next to take the mantle.

"If we're gonna be here for the night, we should grab a jacket Sam."

Sam is quick to respond to him.

"Oh yeah. Be right back Reg."

Reggie is not far behind.

"Dad might need help with the dishes, since Tito went home to rest. Think you can help Otto?."

Otto leaps up out of his seat.

"Shouldn't take too long."

Rick looks extremely puzzled by all this. As they each take their leave of absence, Rick does try to inquire to Otto.

"Are you guys good, or…"

Otto swiftly interrupts his words.

"No No No. Been a long day for you. Chill. Eat your burger. We got this."

And with that, the backyard full of kids just a few seconds ago was down to two. Rick's confused face looks over to see one lone person still next to him. Twister hides in his hoodie, still struggling to get much out. He doesn't even notice Rick looking right at him. Rick senses it now. Something is definitely off. He's never even seen Twister wearing that hoodie. He's not even sure Twister owns hoodies in the first place. For Rick, things have been very weird for a while. He tries to shrug it off and inquire with Twister.

"Anything crazy happen while I was gone?"

Twister fails to move his head out from his hiding spot. He's so nervous right now. His whole body feels like it weighs a ton. If he just gets to the words he planned out, maybe this could go well. But his nerves get the best of him and his internal thoughts leave his mouth before he can process what's happening.

"Yeah. I…kinda came out to everyone."

As he realizes what he just said, Twister's heart almost stops. Why? What did he just do? He buries his face back into his hoodie in complete embarrassment. This was a disaster. He wanted the chair to completely snap him in half at that point, just to escape the situation. Maybe Rick didn't hear him clearly? After a few seconds, he sneaks a peak out of his hoodie to look at Rick. Of course, Rick is looking at him in complete shock. His eyes wide open at him. Finally, Rick speaks.

"For real?"

Crap. Twister could not escape this. After spending multiple nights carefully getting himself ready for this moment, he went and face planted at the starting gate. Could this even get worse?. Beside him, Rick collects his thoughts. The many thoughts that ran through his head. He slowly tries to articulate them.

"Twist…that's…"

Twister can already hear the words that are about to come out of his mouth. Rick was going to hate him, wasn't he? He can only imagine how bad this is going to go. But the words that leave Rick's mouth are not what he expects.

"Brave. Wow. Incredibly Brave."

Why did he say that? Both are quiet for a while, until Rick's soft voice echoes out again.

" If I may ask, what made you come out?"

Twister, like a turtle peeking out of his shell, comes out to look at Rick. To his surprise, Rick's face is visibly shaken. But he could easily tell one thing. Rick was not judging him. Twister could see it now. The feelings start to envelop him again. Looking at the boy he likes was going to make him blush out of control. He retreats his head back into his shell, trying to plan out his words with each breath this time.

"Well…you guys are all my friends. And I…I guess I'm comfortable with you all knowing. I couldn't really hide it anymore. I'm nervous, but it's important."

Rick looks at Twister. This was…certainly not the expectation coming home. Rick can't even think about the competition anymore. How could he miss this? Clearly full of embarrassment, he asks Twister a question.

"So the rest of the gang knows?"

Twister, head still buried in his hoodie, nods to his question. Rick shakes his head from it all and tries to turn the subject around.

"I have something to show you."

Twister's head slowly peaks out again to see Rick shuffling in his bag. He sees Rick pull out two things. One is a shirt, with a cool scenery of Hollywood on it. Another is his camcorder. Twister forgot that he let Tito borrow it. Still, why did Rick have it? Rick hands Twister the shirt first, and then opens the camcorder. Twister finally leaves his hiding area and looks over to his friend, ignoring the shirt he holds on to. Rick was busy shuffling through the footage. What could Rick be showing him? And then he sees it. In the footage, Tito is clearly holding the camera, busy trying to get the right angle. Twister can hear Rick on the video.

"Make sure the sign is in view."

"It is, lil cuz."

"Good. Twist needs to see it."

As Twister looks, he notices Rick standing with the Hollywood sign right behind him. Rick puts on a smile that surprises him. He seems…really happy in the video. He can hear him speak soon after.

"Hey Twist! I know you wanted to see the sign, so I got Tito to park on the side of the road and get it for ya! We went to some movie lot and I got a bunch of autographs of directors and actors and what not. I would've filmed it, but they didn't allow the camera in. Anyway, next time we come, you're coming to see it for yourself. You'll love it!"

Twister could not believe what he was seeing. He looks down at the shirt and notices a ton of signatures all over it. He quickly tries to hide it from the raindrops drizzling over them. He looks at Rick, who smiles at the camera. Twister's muffled words try to leave his mouth.

"T….thank y…"

Rick quickly interrupts him.

"I have one more thing to show you."

As he looks down, he notices Rick fast forwarding for quite a while. Twister takes a longer look at him. Rick's face was fully focused. Completely transfixed on the camera. Rick softly speaks to himself.

"You have to be the first person to see it."

Twister's not sure what it is that he was looking at, until he finally gets to the footage. It was the skating tournament. And it was Rick's run. Twister quickly sits up, abandoning his hoodie home and intensely watching. Rick's run is fascinating to him. He seems mentally in sync with his board. It was mesmerizing. Rick did not seem phased at all. Not like when he first learned skating with the gang. He was awesome. Then the final trick of the run came. Like Rick did in the last tournament, his best trick was for last. Yet it was something Twister could not fathom.

It was Twister's Feeble Grind. With an added element to it. Rick's flare he had skating always added something in Twister's mind to any move. But this one…it felt unlike any move he had ever seen before. As the run ends, Twister can hear the crowd roar. As the people move around, he can hear a conversation over the speakers happen, from the middle of the skate park.

"Kid! What in the world was that? Is that your special move?"

The next words Twister hears almost leave him paralyzed.

"Nah man, that's Twister's move. I just borrowed it."

"Is that the name of it? Twister?"

"100%"

Twister's eyes almost fill up completely with tears as he looks over to Rick, softly smiling at the camera footage again. Rick's voice fills with pride as he speaks.

"Your move was the best move there. As it should be. I'm sorry I kinda borrowed it. It was kind of a last second decision. I felt like doing your move helped me focus and relax. That's the real reason I did so well.

Rick smiles at the overwhelmed boy and looks straight at him.

"So thank you for that."

Twister did not know how to speak or even how to respond. Everything was all too much to take in. Luckily for him, Rick continues to be the one taking the lead of the conversation.

"They're not coming back for a while, huh?"

Twister looks at Rick afraid to speak yet again. He just slowly nods. Rick takes the opportunity to continue rambling a bit.

"I'm really sorry by the way.. That was a really big moment in your life…and I wasn't here for it. But you need to know I'm…I'm really proud of you."

Twister looks at him, full of confusion, as he continues.

"That's a scary thing to do. Leaving yourself vulnerable like that. And to be true to yourself through all of it…"

Rick stops himself for a second, looking at Twister. Something shifted in his own thinking. His eyes widen as he thinks to himself at that moment.

"You really are so much alike…"

Twister continues to look at his crush, almost transfixed. What did he mean by THAT? And when in the world did Rick, who was quiet as a mouse most of the time, turn into such a talker? Rick takes a breath and whispers to himself again.

"If you can't forget the past, you can forget the future."

Rick stapled those words in his head. Just then, he realized it. That quote wasn't about actually forgetting the past itself. Not for him. It was about growing and leaving the past version of himself behind. This whole experience changed him so much. Moving across the country. Meeting new friends. Trying all kinds of new things. All this was to escape the past "Rick". Still, he forgot the one key thing about that version of himself. It took him so long to realize it.

Fear.

His entire past enveloped fear. It shackled him. And now he was staring at someone who did the exact opposite. Twister was someone who took fear and moved right past it. He was still scared, of course. But the fear didn't overtake him. If he was ever going to truly take Tito's words to heart and move forward, he needed to push past his own fear. Twister was a pretty damn good place to start too. Rick gets very nervous as he thinks to himself, wondering what in the world to do. Waiting for a sign. Then, that sign came in the form of Twister's next words.

"Rick? You dropped your wallet. Don't let it get wet."

As Rick looks and moves his shaky hands down to grab his wallet. He looks at it for a bit. There was his sign. He realizes what he needs to do. He looks at Twister, extremely nervous.

"Hey Twist, can I borrow some bravery for a moment?"

Twister sits up. He looks at Rick a bit perplexed.

"Brave? I don't think I'm that brave."

Rick suddenly turns himself towards Twister, making sure he looks at him face to face.

"The hell you are not. You are the bravest person I know. And well…you're the only person I feel comfortable sharing this with."

Twister's eyes grow bigger as he looks at Rick. What was he talking about? Twister sees Rick slowly fidget through his wallet and take out something. It looks…it looks like a picture. Of what? Rick looks at it for a while, almost lost in the sight of it. His hands start to shake as he holds it with a firm grip. Words leave Rick's mouth softly again.

"Wow. Crazy."

That's when Twister notices it. Tears start free falling from Rick's eyes. Almost uncontrollably. Rick never cries like this. He keeps asking himself the same question. What was going on? As he tries to piece it together, Rick puts the picture in front of him.

"Here."

Twister looks at Rick again. Rick's face turns away from him. He's completely flushed in embarrassment, as he holds the picture in front of him. Twister cautiously takes it and looks at it. He first notices the main focus of the picture.

It's Rick. But, a much smaller version of Rick. He looks maybe 10 years old. He stands in a basketball uniform and baggy shorts, both clearly too big for him. His goofy grin that he had become known for shows brightly in the picture as well. Twister could not believe how adorable he looked. It was cute. He looked so….joyful. Then Twister moves his thumb and notices something.

There's someone else in the picture. Another boy. He looked the same age as Rick. The boy's arm is wrapped around little Rick's shoulder. He's smiling as well. They're both about the same size. Both skinny as can be. Both look like they have known each other for a long time. They seemed…comfortable around each other. Twister seems puzzled by this. When Rick got there, they all wondered something. While Jorge, Anna and Harmony brought family photos, photos with friends and photos of them at a younger age, they had never seen any of Rick. This was the first one. And he wasn't grumpy or anything like that. He was happy. There was something that confused Twister. While he was scared, he had to ask.

"Who is he?"

Rick's voice becomes very rough. The tears and pain in his voice are clear.

"Umm….Jay….his name is Jay."

Twister looks at Rick, shocked at what he sees. Rick looks completely shaken. His hands tighten up as he wraps them together. His legs begin to shake uncontrollably. The nervous nature of his stature is almost impossible to ignore. Still, the words slowly begin to leave Rick's mouth.

"We were best friends. I met him at that basketball camp. Something just…clicked. I didn't even know we went to the same school before that. Must've been 'cause he was a grade lower than me. After that, we hung out all the time. Played ball at his place. Did everything together. We were best friends for years."

Rick looks down at his hands, which were holding each other like vice grips.

"Took me four years to even realize. I…"

Rick looks over to Twister, his face fully exhausted already from the emotion completely overtaking his body. Twister can't take his eyes off of him at that moment. Rick takes another deep breath. Then, Rick speaks words Twister would never have imagined him ever saying.

"I liked him. He's not the first crush. I had plenty of girlfriends before that. But no fucking thing felt as intense or real as that. I didn't know what to do. I thought I could just hide it. I thought I could ignore it. The feelings got more intense every day. I couldn't get my mind off of him. It was really, REALLY tough. One day, I decided to tell him how I felt and…"

At this point, Rick's fingernail dug so deep, it was causing his hand to bleed. These emotions were back. The pain. The hurt. The misery. Everything. It all came back, like an avalanche.

"It went so horribly wrong."

For Twister, this was something he could never prepare for. Rick's past was a mystery to him prior to this. Now, it's almost like seeing everything seep out of him, like water leaving a freshly squeezed sponge. It overflows. Rick's hands move over his eyes, as his body still moves uncontrollably. But Twister could not speak. Not move a muscle. Something held him back, almost as if he knew deep down…that Rick needed this. After a while, Rick found the strength to return to the story.

"I didn't have the courage to tell him to his face. I left a note. Made sure he got it. And…we never spoke of it. I waited for a while but…it was clear he changed."

Rick has to keep taking breaks from speaking, as his tears and broken voice keep interrupting. He takes breaks to cough or wipe his face over and over again. Twister still just sits there, taking it all in.

"He started only talking about how hot the girls were in school. How he wanted to "do" them all. It was annoying. That wasn't who he was before. I hated it. Even wrote another letter to him, hoping I could give it to him. Bring back the old Jay. But I never could. One day, I thought I found him alone. My frustration came out. I called him out, saying he changed because of what I did. And he just…walked away. He avoided me after that. Even worse, one of his friends overheard it. That's when the bullshit started. Kids trying to fight me. Shoving me around. Calling me all kinds of shit. Didn't take me long to fight back. Of course, the one punch I threw knocked this one asshole unconscious and broke his jaw. The school expelled me. Mom couldn't move, due to her job. I felt like I ruined everything. I wanted to run away so bad. That's when she heard about the Foster Project. I was scared, but I didn't have a choice. I thought I could start over, forget it all…until…"

Rick looks back at the picture.

"He couldn't even let me have that."

Rick struggles again, the emotion still completely overtaking him.

"He found me before I left. I didn't know what I wanted to hear him say. He did apologize. He felt horrible about it all. Said it was going to be the biggest regret of his life…how he acted. I didn't know what to do. And then…he told me that all he wanted was for me to be happy with who I am. Because I was some good person or whatever. I thought about giving him that letter, but I couldn't get the words out…or do anything. I just stood there. Motionless. He tried to hug me, but I couldn't even react. I had to hold it all back. And just like before, he left. I think about it almost every fucking day. Just how….alone it all made me feel. I don't know whether to be mad at him or myself. But the only way I've dealt with it is just…stuffing it in. Worrying about other people. Trying to move on from it."

Rick finally takes a breath and looks over at the other boy. Twister's gaze is hard to ignore. It felt as if he was looking into his soul. Before this, Twister probably thought Rick was the least emotional of the kids. Now, he realized that maybe he was the most emotional. Seeing Rick this vulnerable was a revelation. Rick finally collects himself and takes it all in.

"Twist. I don't want you to go through what I did. I don't want you to feel that alone. It can be so scary. And well…I know the fear of doing this. But I can tell you're braver than I ever was. I see how strong you are. How you never fail to be yourself, no matter what anyone thinks. Don't ever let anyone tell or make you feel like you're not an amazing person. Because you are."

Twister's heart starts to flutter, as Rick lets the words rain from the sky, like flowers falling gently on his hair. As Twister desires to say something, Rick yet again beats him to the punch.

"No matter what happens, I am here for you. No matter what, dude. Oh, and…"

Rick chuckles to himself. His face is too tired to shed any more tears. He already put so much on Twister. He thought to himself…Maybe adding some humor would make the situation better?

"Well, if Otto is an ass and tries to do what Jay did, let me kick his ass, okay?"

Twister's look turns quickly into blankness. He looks away, trying to hide it. But Rick quickly notices. Was it a bad time for humor? He realizes it then. He fucked up. Bad.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to jo…"

As he says that, Twister finally lets out a frustrated scream. It shakes Rick to the core. But the words shake him even more.

"Why does everyone think it's Otto?"

Rick looks puzzled. I mean, it had to be Otto, right? It would make Otto's reactions recently make so much sense. It would make sense why Twister acted the way he did too. They were best buds. It was the same as him and Jay. He thought he had the puzzle put together. He wanted to be there for Twister, like he promised. He only knew one thing. He did not want to see Twister hurt at that moment. But, was that exactly what he just caused? Rick tries to re-piece the puzzle.

"So you do have a crush…but it's not Otto?"

Twister looks towards the ground as he speaks.

"No. It's not."

Rick takes a second to think. After everything he had just let out, he forgets that his mouth had been free speaking for so long. He doesn't realize he's thinking out loud.

"Shit. It's probably not Sam or Jorge. Maybe it's the Keoni kid you guys talked about before. Or…"

Twister's own frustration starts to take over his brain. How could he not see it? It was right in front of him. As Rick keeps talking, the patience of the young boy fades quicker and quicker, until he can no longer hold it. He lunges over and grabs Rick, holding his shoulders and looking him straight in the eyes. The frustrated tears come pouring out of Twister, as he screams at him.

"HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE IT? IT'S YOU, RICK! I LIKE YOU!"

Rick's whole body stops shaking. His hands go numb. His entire posture comes to a stand still. His mouth barely even opens, as the words try to escape.

"Wait….what?"

Twister's gaze continues to laser in on Rick's eyes. The emotion flies out with his words.

"I've liked you for a really long time. Ever since we met. I like you."

Rick continues to struggle to get his words out clearly.

"But…why me?"

Rick tries to continue. His voice is earnest, but swollen.

"I mean, you deserve better…"

As Twister hears those words, he feels his heart stop. Before Rick can continue, Twister throws his whole body at him. He wraps his arms tightly around Rick. He holds him as close and firm as he can. In that moment, he wants nothing less than to just hold on to him. Not only did the boy he had all these feelings for finally open up, he did it for him. As he continues to grip him, he has a revelation.

Rick's problem was not with Twister. It was with himself.

Between the story, his assumption and his demeanor. Rick's self esteem has always been a tricky thing for Twister to understand. Of all the time Twister knew him, Rick NEVER spoke highly of himself. Even perfect skates were not enough to deserve praise. Twister might not be the smartest, but he knew his friends better than anyone else. Twister finally grips his thoughts.

"Rick, you are an incredible person. I can't imagine going through what you did. I'd be devastated. But you didn't deserve any of that. I like you because…you care about me so much. What you've done for me in just a short amount of time. You never failed to hang out when I needed it. You always check on how I'm doing. Even on your trip. You went through all that because you care about my dreams. You helped me find my confidence. Not to mention you saved me from Lars. No one ever protected me before like that. You're like…the person I want to be like more and more every day. You are amazing at so much and yet…you can't even fucking see it."

Twister looks into his eyes. Rick had more fear right now than ever before. But he couldn't move. Everything was happening so fast. Twister tried to reach his heart, just like Rick had done for him.

"Rick, I've never been so scared or nervous about anything in my life than right now. I wish I could go beat up this guy myself for doing this to you. I don't want you ever to feel sad or down. I don't want to hurt you or pressure you. I do like you. A lot. But that's not the important thing. No matter what, I just want to see you happy. Forever. Whatever that takes. "

As those words hit Rick's ears, his mind becomes lost in his own thoughts. This was on Twister's mind all along? Then, another realization hits his mind that almost makes him collapse. Twister holds him up, as Rick puts his weight all on the boy's shoulder. Then, Twister feels something. Rick's hands…are wrapped around his back too. Twister hears his friend's voice again.

"I was wrong…you're not like Jay at all."

Twister's confusion hits full throttle.

"Of course I'm not like him. I'm here."

Rick tries to steady himself. He can barely speak, but knows he has a lot to say.

"I was so scared moving here. I just wanted to make everyone else happy. I did so much just to make sure everyone else could smile. Hell, I dated Reg because…I knew it would mean a lot to her. She's an awesome girl. She deserves the world. But I don't really know if I actually felt more than friendship with her. But if I told her that, it would break her heart. I couldn't do that. And my mind had a million things on it anyway. It wasn't fair to anyone, though, I failed to even know my true feelings ever since I met all of you. Not just because of everything with Jay, but…"

Twister continues to listen. Then Rick comes to accept a certain thought that crossed his mind early. Twister really liked him from day one? If that was true, then…well…Rick had to accept something he thought from long ago. Something he swept away for a very long time. Something that he thought never had any hope. Something that he now realized was indeed his true feelings. He then brings his head back up and speaks words that change everything.

"I think…I think I knew. When I got here. That first day. I knew in my heart I did have a crush on someone. Immediately. And, well…it's you."

Twister's whole body bounces up. What did he just say? He tries to contain the excitement as Rick continues for a while.

"There's something about you. It's just so….wholesome. That first time I saw you smile. I will never forget that. I was so scared of having those feelings again. But I couldn't stop myself. I love spending time with you. Talking with you makes me so at ease. You make me smile so effortlessly. With you, it's the same thing I had before. The same intensity. The same overwhelming feeling. Maybe even more. But I was so scared to get hurt. I didn't want to hurt you either. Then Anna told you how she felt and it made me throw that hope away. I feel horrible saying that, since Reggie liked me a lot. But it's true. I couldn't keep my eyes off of you. I was worried about you all the time. You were the first person on my mind every day. I just wasn't brave enough to accept that. Or brave enough to cause any pain anymore. For me or you. But I still have so much to process. So much to deal with, from my past. I don't know if I can be the person you deserve. And maybe…"

Twister hugs him before he can go any farther. Rick tries his best to return it. As the boys hug each other, the grips on each other grow tighter. Twister holds on firm as he takes his turn in the conversation.

"You know it works both ways, right? You've protected me and helped me through all the Lars stuff. You gave me hope when I needed it. You even taped me skating. I got the spotlight for the first time like…ever. I love that you do the little things like that…just for me. I want to be that person for you too. I'm not here to ask anything of you, other than to let me be there for you. When you're happy, sad or just lonely. If you have stuff to process, I want to help you. If you have bad days, I wanna help make them better. I want to be there for everything with you. I wanna cry together. Laugh together. Skate together. Everything. And we can take it slow. I bet this stuff is hard for you. I've never done it before either. But I trust you with every bit of my life."

As Twister says his words, he takes his hand and moves Rick's face, so they can see each other. For Rick, this was an entirely different way to look at Twister. It was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. Twister's eyes glowed like freshly cut diamonds. His smile made the rain around them feel almost therapeutic. There was no doubt in Rick's mind anymore. Jay was nothing compared to what he was looking at right now. Rick's face must've looked horrible. From the crying and pain. The clear nail marks on his hands. None of that truly mattered, though. The feeling Twister gave him right there…was of peace.

In Twister's view, the sight was just as impactful. Rick kept a tight mask on all this time. Now, he got to see the boy he cared for so deeply unmasked. He looked as handsome as the first day he saw him. But even more so now, since his softer side showed. His eyes are almost like a puppy's, drawing in all the feelings in Twister's heart. His arms around him, even with a wet hoodie on, still make Twister feel like he's wrapped around a comforting blanket. His demeanor is as welcoming as ever.

They both stare at each other for a bit. Their eyes are fixated on one another. The world around them paused for a while, as they took it in for what felt like hours. Finally, Rick's quiet voice speaks up.

"Are…are you sure about this?"

Twister confidently nods and sits up straight. Never leaving eye contact from the boy across from him. He clears his throat and makes it formal.

"Rick. If you wouldn't mind and are comfortable with it, would you wanna go out with me? Even just to try it?"

For one of the first times, Twister got to see Rick's genuine, whole-hearted smile. He could tell it was real. It was amazing. For the first time all night, Rick's words come out clear and full of life.

"I would love that, Twist."

Twister's excited screech unleashes on the sky, as he goes back to bear-hugging Rick. They hold each other for a good while. For Rick, this night turned into something he never would have guessed. The boy who took his focus from day one was now in his arms. This feeling…of elation. It was new, but it felt incredible. He held on. That was, until his eyes for the first time move towards the house. That's when he notices it.

"Ah Fuck…"

Twister looks up to him in concern.

"What?"

Rick takes a sigh, as he realizes.

"We've had an audience the whole time, haven't we?"

As Twister goes to turn around, the doors abruptly open and the crew come rushing out. The girls bombard Rick, tackling him to the ground. His tired demeanor makes it tough for him to handle the surprise attack. Twister notices Otto walk up to him and pat him on the shoulder.

"Man Twist. Never thought you'd be that smooth with that kind of stuff."

Twister laughs to himself.

"I guess. I'm just…really happy."

"Yeah. But don't suddenly take on his swearing habit."

Twister looks sheepishly at Rick, as the rest of the group laughs.

Otto smiles and walks over to Twister's new boyfriend, still on the ground exhausted. Otto smirks to himself as he takes a quick jab at Rick's shoulder.

"You said something about "kicking my ass"?

The group all laugh together as they all help Rick up and sit by the fire. For the rest of the night, the setting is the same as it always was. Joking and laughing together nonstop. The only difference is now, there are two pairs sitting close and holding on to each other. It was certainly an unexpected turn of events, but one that finally worked in a positive light. Somehow, through all of the turmoil in their lives, the group had found feelings many of them didn't know existed. And for once, they could finally relax and have a carefree night together…