"Is this okay?" Justin asks, as he looks down at the pizza sitting in between himself and Clay in the grass. "I mean, I haven't really done this dating thing before, so…"

"You dated Kat."

"Well… we didn't really… you know…"

"Then what did you do?" Clay asks, but by the smirk forming on Justin's face, he already knows the answer. "Oh, right."

"And I've never really gone out with guys like this before," Justin admits. "Because of Bryce."

"Bryce?"

"Don't worry," Justin laughs, when he sees the horrified look on Clay's face. "Not like that. But I knew he would have kicked my head in if I had tried to go out with a guy at school, you know? So I just stuck to…"

"Hook-ups?"

"You think I fucked around?"

"Yeah," Clay admits, not sure what would be the point in denying it. They all know the stories about Bryce and his friends.

"I have only ever been with one guy, okay?" Justin sighs. "I really liked him, until Bryce threatened to kick his ass if he ever came near me again. And before Kat, I had only had sex with one other girl."

"Oh…"

"I'm not like those guys, Clay, whatever you might think."

"Sorry…," Clay mumbles, an embarrassed look on his face. "For what it's worth, I only ever slept with one girl, and I hadn't even kissed a guy until you kissed me, so…"

"Is that why you freaked out when I touched your dick?"

"I didn't freak out!"

"You totally did," Justin laughs, before grabbing another slice of pizza. "Don't worry, dude, next time…"

"Next time?" Clay blurts out, the grin on Justin's face only growing bigger.

"Yeah, next time. I mean, I know this isn't like, the perfect date or anything, but I thought it was going alright."

"Right…"

"Relax, Jensen," Justin laughs. "I'm not saying I asked you out on a date just to try and have sex with you tonight, so you can breathe. I'm just saying… you know… it was nice, right? What we did the other week?"

"Yeah, definitely," Clay chuckles, his cheeks flushing pink. "Really nice. I'm just not used to this."

"No shit."

"I'm trying, okay? But, and I'm not trying to make you feel like shit, but it's just a little weird to be doing this with you, when just last year Bryce was beating the shit out of me, and you were there, watching him."

"You know I tried to stop him, right?" Justin sighs. "Every time he did shit like that, I talked to him about it, and I told him one day his luck would run out, and… he will get into trouble, you know? One day some kid is going to fight back, and who knows what they'll do to him?"

"Well, maybe you should have tried harder," Clay says, and as soon as the words have left his mouth, he shakes his head. "I'm sorry, man, I didn't mean that."

"No, you're right. All of us should have done something. But I had nothing, Clay. His family gave me clothes to wear, they fed me… he was the only one who had my back. So yeah, I tried to stop him, but I didn't do everything I could, because look at what happened when I stood up to him in front of other people. He kicked me out, knowing that I would end up on the street."

"Why did his parents have to take care of you? Where were your parents?"

"I told you, my mom's a fucking junkie. You think she could look after a kid? She didn't notice half of the shit that was going on at that fucking house," Justin spits out, quickly realizing he has said too much. But when Clay reaches out and places a hand on his knee, he tells himself that Clay is not the same as Bryce. Clay won't kick his head in if he tells him something he doesn't want to hear.

"What shit?" Clay asks, noticing something in Justin's eyes that scares him. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah." Justin nods. "But it doesn't matter now, does it?"

"It looks like it does. You can tell me."

"It's just…," Justin begins, but then he sighs. "One of my mom's boyfriends, he wasn't a good guy."

"Did he hit you?"

"No. I wish he had."

"Oh…," Clay says, but then a thought dawns on him that makes him feel sick to his stomach. "Did he… I don't want to ask, but…"

"He touched me, okay? When my mom was drugged out of her mind, he would come to my room, and he would… you know, do stuff to me," Justin admits, keeping his eyes on Clay's hand on his knee, too nervous to look up and face him. "It's fucked up."

"Yeah, it is. But you're not fucked up, Justin. You know that, right? What that guy did to you, that wasn't your fault. You were a kid."

"I know," Justin mumbles. "I feel fucked up though."

"Well, you're not. And I don't know how long my parents will let you stay with us, but we'll figure something out, okay? I won't let you go back to that house."

"He's not living with us anymore. He left years ago." Justin shrugs. "I never told my mom, but I think she knows. I think it's why she hates me."

"I'm sure your mom doesn't hate you."

"She does, Clay. Her boyfriend tried to choke me, and she stood there and watched. What does that say, huh?"

Clay doesn't know what to say, because he had no idea about any of this, and it's a lot to take in. But what he does know, is that he will do whatever it takes to protect Justin.

Zach is just driving around after training, trying to clear his mind before he heads off home, when he notices Alex walking down the street. He knows he should ignore him and head home, but there's something about the look on Alex's face that worries him. So he parks his car, before catching up with him.

"Oh, hey. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same."

"I was supposed to meet Jess, but she had to cancel," Alex explains. "So I'm just going home."

"Want me to give you a ride?" Zach asks, but when he sees the guilty look on Alex's face, he sighs. "Look, man, I don't want things to be like this between us. Can we at least try to go back to being friends?"

"I don't think we were ever really friends, Zach," Alex scoffs, ready to walk on home. But Zach grabs his arm, so he turns back around, a frustrated look on his face. "I don't want to keep doing this."

"Me neither. But I hate this, okay? I want to be able to just hang out and…"

"I'm with Jess."

"I know that, and I'm not trying to fuck that up. I just want to be friends, okay?" Zach says, his hand still around Alex's arm. "At least let me buy you a drink."

"Seriously?"

"A coffee at Monet's. Not…," Zach laughs, shaking his head when he sees the teasing smile on Alex's face.

"Yeah, okay. But just as friends, okay?"

"So we are friends, then?" Zach grins, but Alex doesn't take the bait. "Relax, I'm pretty sure I can manage to keep my hands to myself."

"I'm sorry I fucked up our date last night," Justin whispers, as he sits up so he can look at Clay. "I shouldn't have told you that stuff."

"I'm glad you told me. I'm really sorry that happened to you."

"Yeah, well…"

"I meant what I said, Justin. We'll figure something out, okay? You're not going back there. And as to having fucked up our date… it really wasn't so bad."

"Fucking hell, Jensen. How bad have your other dates been, if you don't consider that a bad date?" Justin laughs.

"No, I know it wasn't great. But I'm just saying… you know… I like hanging out with you."

"Such a romantic."

"Fuck you, Justin," Clay spits out, but when he sees the grin on Justin's face, he can't stop the smile from forming on his face. "What I'm trying to say is, I would like to do it again some time."

"So if I were to kiss you right now…?"

"I mean, I wouldn't be complaining," Clay laughs, but when the door opens, and his mother comes in, he can feel himself blushing, because how much has she heard? "Mom!"

"Good morning. You boys were out late last night? Did you have fun?"

"We had a great time, Mrs. Jensen," Justin says, flashing a big smile.

"I'm glad. You should do it again some time then."

"Oh, we definitely will."

As the girls, Alex and Zach were about to head to Monet's after school, they had run into Clay and Justin, so they had invited them to come along. But as soon as they have sat down, Alex and Zach ordering their drinks, Clay looks over to them, a worried look on his face.

"Are you guys really okay with the two of them…?"

"What?" Hannah laughs. "Buying coffee?"

"You know what I mean," Clay says, keeping his voice down so Alex and Zach won't overhear. "Aren't you worried something is going on between them?"

"I'm pretty sure they're not about to jump each other in front of us," Jessica laughs, rolling her eyes. "Nothing is going on, Clay. Relax."

"Didn't they make out?"

"It was one kiss," Justin laughs, the worried look on Clay's face only making him want to kiss him, because he finds him adorable. A little irritating, seeing how it's none of his business. But adorable nonetheless. "It's not like they were hooking up or something."

"That doesn't bother you?" Clay asks, but Jessica just shrugs, so he looks over to Hannah, who has an uncomfortable look on her face. "Are you okay with them hanging out together?"

"For fuck's sake, Clay. They're getting us a coffee," Jessica spits out. "Let it go, okay?"

"But what if…"

"It was a fucking kiss," Justin snaps, and they all look at him, but then he just laughs, shaking his head to himself. "Jesus."

"Yeah, exactly. They cheated."

"They… are you fucking kidding me?" Justin laughs. "They didn't cheat, Clay. Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Yeah, they did. What, you don't think kissing someone else is considered cheating?" Clay asks, all of the sudden not caring anymore whether something is going on between Alex and Zach or not. Right now he cares far more about the fact that his boyfriend doesn't seem the least bit worried about what has happened.

"No, I don't."

"So I could just go out there and make out with someone else? You wouldn't care?"

"Yes, I'd fucking care. But I'm not going to dump your ass because of a kiss, am I?"

"Wait, does that mean you're now officially dating?" Hannah asks, an excited look on her face. "When did this happen?"

"No, we're not…"

While Clay is blushing, and trying to come up with something to say, they all see Justin behind him, mouthing a 'yes', before rolling his eyes.

Alex and Zach join their friends, clueless to what they have walked in on, but when they sense the uncomfortable atmosphere, they share a guilty, knowing look. Because their friends all keep quiet, and that can only mean one thing, and that is that their friends had been talking about them.

"Maybe I should just go home," Zach says, but Hannah grabs his wrist, and she pulls him into the seat next to her, a reassuring smile on her face. "Are you sure you don't mind me being here?"

"I'm sure. We're still friends, right?"

"Yeah, of course, but…"

"Clay was just being a dick." Justin rolls his eyes, Clay glaring at him. "What? It's none of your fucking business."

"I was just saying…"

"We all heard you, Clay," Jessica sighs. "Let it go, okay?"

"Are you okay?" Alex whispers, as he grabs his girlfriend's hand. He knows that this is all his fault, and he feels horrible about her having to put up with this. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. He's an idiot."

"No shit," Alex whispers, a smile forming on Jessica's face, and just seeing her smile again makes him feel a little better.

"So, going back to you and Justin. When did this happen?" Hannah asks, changing the subject, the atmosphere growing lighter, as Justin starts teasing Clay about how nervous he had been for their date. But when Alex looks up, he looks straight into Zach's eyes, and he can see the guilty look on his face. Because last night, after Zach had dropped him off home after they had had a coffee, there had been a moment where they had almost kissed. Alex had quickly gotten out of the car and said his goodbyes, but it's obvious that the moment hasn't been forgotten about yet.