It's been a few weeks since Alex and Jessica started dating, and although there has only been one more actual date since her party, they had had the conversation a few days ago, and they had decided to make things official between them. Alex is still getting used to having her kissing him in the hallway, or spending every lunch with her and Hannah, and sometimes Zach, if he can manage to break away from his friends.

They were meant to hang out together, the four of them, at Monet's, but Hannah had been asked to come in earlier at the cinema and Jessica had sent a text, telling Alex she couldn't make it. So Alex is just grabbing his things, ready to go home, but just as he is about to close his locker, he hears Bryce and his friends coming into the hallway. Zach is with them, and for a moment Alex thinks it will make a difference, but when he sees the angry look on Monty's face, he knows that it's just wishful thinking.

"What are you looking at, huh?" Monty spits out.

"I wasn't…," Alex tries, but the friends are already coming over to him. "I'm sorry."

"Fucking faggot!" Monty grits through his teeth, before giving Alex a hard shove.

"Leave him alone," Zach says, and for a moment they all just look at him, shocked to have him saying something at all. "Just back off, yeah?"

"What, is he your fucking boyfriend or something?" Bryce laughs. "Is he sucking your dick?"

"Fuck you, Bryce. You think you're the big guy when you say shit like that?" Zach asks. "Is that it? You think girls will want to fuck you if you keep reminding them that you're not gay? That you're some kind of homophobic asshole?"

"What has gotten into you?" Bryce asks, staying surprisingly calm. "I was just kidding, man. But if you two are fucking…"

"For a guy who's supposedly straight, you sure seem to care a lot about…," Alex begins, but when Monty gives him another shove, before wrapping a hand around his throat, he has no choice but to keep quiet.

Zach pulls Monty off though, and he grabs onto Alex's arm, a guilty look on his face.

"Are you okay, man?"

"Holy shit," Bryce laughs. "You really are fucking him, aren't you?"

"Just shut up, Bryce," Justin spits out. "You know how dumb you sound, right? Going around, calling everyone a faggot."

"Seriously, what is going on today?" Bryce asks. "You know I'm only messing."

"Yeah, just like you were only messing when you threatened to kick my ass if I ever kissed a guy at school? Or when you kicked my head in, when I came to you to talk about this shit? I am sick of your shit, Bryce."

"Yeah? Well, if you're so sick of me, then why don't you go and find somewhere else to stay, huh?" Bryce asks, a devious grin forming on his face.

"You're kicking me out? Are you for real?"

"Look, guys…," Zach tries, but Bryce steps up to Justin, something in his eyes so dark, so evil, that it makes him keep quiet.

"You think anyone else has your back like I do, huh?" Bryce grits through his teeth, Justin trying to hide how much his words are getting to him, but he can feel himself beginning to shiver, only now realizing just what he has done. "Good luck, yeah?"

"Bryce…"

Bryce and the other guys walk off, leaving Justin, Zach and Alex standing there, trying to take in what has just happened. There is a tense silence, until Clay steps into the hallway, a guilty look on his face.

"Sorry, but I heard what happened…"

"Yeah," Justin says, "I just got made homeless, that's what happened. So if any of you have a couch I can crash on…"

"I'm sorry, man, but you know what my mom is like," Zach says, but Justin just shrugs, still shivering from Bryce cutting him off like that. "I can ask her, but…"

"You can stay at mine," Clay quickly says, and they all look at him, fully aware that he and Justin have probably not shared more than a dozen words in all the time they've known each other.

"Thanks," Justin says, looking a little uncomfortable. "Won't your parents mind?"

"No, I know they won't," Clay says, faking a smile, hiding his panic. Because no, he has no idea whether his parents will mind or not. And he didn't exactly get the chance to think it through before he had offered to let him stay at theirs, but now it is starting to get through to him that it means that they will probably have to share a room, and he is not sure how he feels about it. Sure enough, he had fantasized about sharing a room with Justin plenty of times, but to actually have it happen? He isn't prepared for that.

Zach had offered Alex a ride home, because he was pretty shaken up after what had happened. He was planning on going home after dropping him off, but Alex had suggested they'd hang out, because he felt like it was the least he could do after Zach had finally stood up for him.

"Thanks," he says, his eyes focused on the game on the tv. "For defending me."

"I'm sorry for not saying something sooner."

"You know they'll think you're gay now, right?"

"They think everyone is gay," Zach chuckles uncomfortably. Alex keeps his eyes focused on the screen, not even noticing that Zach has begun staring at him, but when Zach's character dies, he looks at him.

"What are…," he begins, but before he can even finish his sentence, Zach has kissed him.

The kiss lasts far too long, until Alex breaks it off, a guilty look on his face.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm pretty sure I kissed you," Zach says, looking flushed and confused.

"We shouldn't be doing that."

"No, you're right," Zach quickly agrees, and he flashes an uncomfortable smile. "I should probably go home."

"You don't have to. We can play another game, right?" Alex suggests, and Zach hesitates for a moment, before nodding, and looking back at the screen, still struggling to process what exactly has just happened, and more importantly, why it happened.

"Can I ask you something?" Clay asks, when he and Justin are up in his room that night.

"Yeah, sure."

"So you're really gay?" Clay asks, nervous to ask, but he has to know. Not even because he likes Justin, but because he doesn't understand.

"Yeah, why?"

"Then how can you be friends with Bryce and Monty? Those guys go around calling everyone faggots. Doesn't that bother you?"

"Of course it does," Justin says, before a smile forms on his face. "You know how I ended up here, right?"

"But… Zach said Bryce didn't accept it when you came out. So…"

"Bryce doesn't care that I'm gay," Justin explains. "Not really. But people know that I used to stay over at his place, so he freaked out because he thought people would think something was going on between us. He was scared it would ruin his chances with girls, you know? But he doesn't care if I like guys or not."

"So… if you're gay, then what was all that with Kat?" Clay asks, and Justin can't help but laugh at being questioned like this. He knows it's harmless though, and he doesn't mind talking about it to Clay. Not at all.

"I was still trying to figure out what I liked, what I didn't like. But Kat knew I was into guys," he explains. "and when she left… I guess I just realized that girls aren't really my thing."

"Do your parents know?"

"My mom's a junkie, and I haven't even met my dad."

"Oh… right," Clay mumbles, feeling like he has just put his foot into it. But then Justin double-checks to see if the door is closed, before he flashes another smile.

"Do your parents know about you?"

"Me? Oh no, I'm not… I'm not."

"Right," Justin laughs. "So you're really going to lie to me after I've just answered all your questions?"

"No…"

"Jensen!"

"Fine, yes… I'm not gay though," Clay mumbles, looking down at his hands. "and my parents don't know."

"That's cool. I won't tell them." Justin smiles. "So you're bi?"

"Pan, I guess?" Clay shrugs. "I don't know. I'm still figuring it out, I think."

"The girls or the guys?"

"I don't know," Clay admits, flashing a nervous smile when he looks up, only to find Justin staring at him with a warm, reassuring smile on his face. "The telling people, I guess. My friends know, but I just don't feel like telling my parents."

"Then don't." Justin shrugs. "If you ever have a boyfriend, just introduce him to them. They seem cool, so I doubt they'll make a big deal out of it."

"I hope so."

"Is there a boyfriend? Are you and Tony…?"

"No!" Clay laughs. "Definitely not."

"There is someone though, isn't there?" Justin asks, a knowing grin on his face. "What's his name? Does he go to Liberty?"

"No!" Clay quickly says, his voice coming out all wrong, and he almost wishes he hadn't brought any of this up. But when Justin just shakes his head, smiling to himself, he knows that even if he were to tell the truth, he wouldn't be judged for it.

"He's a lucky guy, you know?"

"You think so?"

"Yeah," Justin says, flashing another smile, before lying down to go to sleep. "You're not so bad, Clay."

"Thanks," Clay mumbles, not sure if Justin is just kidding or not. But when Justin looks up, a mischievous grin on his face, he can't help but smile. "What?"

"You're really not going to tell me who he is?"

"Definitely not."

"Fine," Justin laughs. "But you know I'll find out, right?"

"Yeah… I'm sure you will."

"I heard about what happened yesterday," Jessica says, when she and Hannah come over to Alex the next morning. "Are you okay? Did Monty hurt you?"

"No, it was fine. Zach stopped him."

"Zach did?" Hannah asks, "Really?"

"Yeah, and then Justin got involved too, and Bryce kicked him out," Alex explains, hoping to find Justin today so he can see if he's okay. But right now he has bigger and more important things on his mind, like the fact that Zach had kissed him. "Have you talked to Zach at all?"

"No, I sent him a text last night, but…," Hannah begins, but before she can finish her sentence, Zach comes up to them. Alex almost turns and leaves, but when Jessica wraps an arm around his waist, he just fakes a smile, hoping she won't see right through it.

"Alex just told us what happened yesterday."

"He did?" Zach asks, and Alex notices the panicked look on his face.

"About you standing up for me, and Bryce kicking Justin out," he quickly explains.

"Oh, yeah…"

"I should probably try and find Justin, see if he's okay," Alex says, but when they all look at him, he shrugs. "What?"

"You don't owe him anything, you know?" Jessica asks. "If he's fighting with Bryce, that's on him."

"Don't worry, I'll check on him later," Zach says, and he flashes Alex a smile, but it only makes Alex more uncomfortable.

"Oh, shit, Jess, I forgot to show you the ehm… thing."

"The thing?" Zach laughs, teasingly grabbing onto his girlfriend's waist. "What thing?"

"A girl thing," Jessica says, before taking Hannah's hand. "You'll see. One day. If you're lucky."

The guys watch the girls walk off, before turning to face each other again, obviously both thinking about what had happened yesterday.

"I'm sorry, man. I shouldn't have kissed you."

"It's fine." Alex shrugs. "But just… you like Hannah, right?"

"Yeah. I don't know why it happened," Zach admits. "I'm sorry though, for putting you in that position."

"We should just forget about it. Unless you think we should tell Jess and Hannah?"

"Whatever you decide. I fucked up, so…"

"Yeah, well, I kissed you back," Alex mumbles, not sure if he wishes Zach would ask him why, or if he just wants the whole thing to go away. But when Zach flashes a small smile, he just finds himself returning it.

"We're just going to forget about it?"

"I think it's probably best if we do," Alex says, and Zach nods, before turning to leave. "And Zach?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you, for yesterday."