Alex's heart is nearly beating out of his chest as he knocks on the front door of the Dempsey home. He has been here before, but Zach's mother hadn't actually been home. He had met Zach's sister, but to meet his mother? It feels like a big, nerve-wrecking step, especially after everything Zach has told him about her.

"Wow, you look…," Zach says, as soon as he opens the door, and he sees Alex standing there, all dressed up for the dance tonight.

"Ridiculous?"

"Not what I was going to say. I…," Zach begins, but when his mother joins him in the hallway, he keeps quiet.

"Oh, hello. You must be…"

"I'm Alex."

"Yes," Mrs. Dempsey says, trying to hide the disapproving look on her face, but failing miserably, as she glances down to the ring in Alex's nose. "Zach's friend from school."

"Mom, Alex is…"

"Well, are you going to leave him standing out there?"

"No, of course not," Zach quickly says, and he lets Alex in, wanting to do nothing more than give him a hug or a kiss, but he stays far away from him, his mother still in the hallway with them.

"You should get ready, or you will be late."

They quickly go up to Zach's room, and as soon as they are inside, Zach pulls Alex in for a kiss.

"You weren't lying when you said she was intimidating," Alex chuckles nervously, Zach's arms still wrapped tightly around his waist. "I'm pretty sure she hates me."

"She doesn't, she's just…"

"Yeah, don't even try to lie yourself out of that one," Alex laughs, and he gives Zach another kiss, before freeing himself from his grip. "Did you tell her you're staying at mine tonight?"

"I did. What did you tell your parents?"

"That I'm staying at yours. I doubt they'll call your mom. They know we're dating, so…" Alex shrugs, unable to keep the smile off his face when he notices the blush on Zach's face. "Relax, we still have a dance to go to first."

"We better go then, right?" Zach asks, a nervous smile on his face as he puts his jacket on. He grabs his bag, and after giving Alex a quick kiss, they go downstairs.

"Before you go," Mrs. Dempsey says, and although Zach had been expecting some kind of rules, he was kind of hoping she wouldn't have done this in front of Alex. "No drugs."

"No, mom…"

"No alcohol," his mother continues, and Zach quickly nods. "And no girls, Zach. You need to focus on your education, and…"

"Mom," Zach begins, but she ignores him like he hasn't said anything at all.

"Girls are nothing but a distraction. I warned you when you were dating that Hannah girl, and I told you I never liked her, so…"

"That's not fair," Zach interrupts her, and this time she does hear him. "Hannah is great, and it wasn't her fault that I was distracted. Dad had just died."

"Are you seeing her again? Is that it? Because if you are…"

"No," Zach quickly says, not failing to notice the uncomfortable look on Alex's face. "But I am dating someone."

"Who is it? Do I know her?"

"I'm dating Alex," Zach says, and it takes a moment for it to hit his mother that he is not talking about a girl named Alex, but that he means the boy standing next to him.

"No," she says, shaking her head, a look of disbelief on her face. "Why would you say such a thing?"

"I am, mom. Alex is my boyfriend."

"Stop it!" she spits out. "I do not want to hear this!"

"Mrs. Dempsey…"

"No! I think it's best if you leave now, but we will talk about this later."

Zach nods, having expected this sort of reaction, so he leads Alex out of the house, and to his car, where they quickly get in.

"Are you okay?"

"I knew she wouldn't understand."

"Can't you go back in and explain it to her? Maybe if you tell her…"

"Tell her what, Alex? I told her you're my boyfriend, what else is there to say? If she doesn't want to hear it, what do you want me to do about it?" Zach asks. "I can't make her listen, can I?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." Zach shrugs, trying to hide how much it hurts, even if he had been expecting exactly this reaction. Alex can see right through it though, so he takes his hand, and he flashes a small smile.

"Are you sure you want to go tonight? We can just skip the dance, go to the hotel instead? Have a quiet night in?"

"And miss out on getting to dance with you? No way," Zach laughs. "I'll be fine. But thanks."

Clay and Justin are in the middle of the dance floor, Justin struggling to dance with a broken leg, but he refuses to let it hold him back, Clay looking even more awkward, clearly not used to dancing in general. But as awkward as they look, it is obvious to see how much fun they are having, and how oblivious they are to the people pointing at them, or the dirty looks they are getting.

It makes Alex wish he could be like them, but the thought of going out there and dance with Zach, it still fills him with dread. He still expects to get beaten up, the second he were to even hold Zach's hand.

Zach knows it, so he has simply sat with Alex, watching the others, and although it isn't exactly the dance he had been hoping for, he is just glad to get to spend it together with his boyfriend.

But it's not enough for Alex, and when he looks over to the other side of the room, and he sees Monty sitting there by himself, without his usual group of friends, it's like something inside of him clicks.

"Where are you going?" Zach asks, when Alex gets up. "Want me to go with you?"

"I'll be right back," Alex says, and without saying another word, he crosses the room, and he goes up to Monty.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"You know, I was scared of you," Alex admits. "I was scared to make a wrong move, in case it would make you or Bryce, or one of your other friends notice me. I tried to do everything I could to blend in…"

"Is there a point to this?" Monty asks, trying to look like he is still one of the tough guys. But Alex can see the hurt, lost little boy he truly is. How he is sitting here by himself, without Bryce, without his friends. How he has no one left.

"I am not scared of you anymore, Monty."

"What the fuck? Have you been drinking?"

"Look at yourself," Alex continues, "I just feel sorry for you now."

Alex can tell that Monty wants to make some kind of comeback, but before he can even open his mouth, he has already turned to go back to Zach, who has a worried look on his face.

"Are you okay? What did you say to him?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Are you sure?" Zach asks, looking over to Monty, and not failing to notice that he looks like he has just been punched in the face.

"Yeah." Alex nods. "Let's dance."

"This is my favorite part of the night," Hannah admits, when the group of friends are at the diner after the dance, still all dressed up as they are munching down on their burgers. "Just the six of us, hanging out…"

"Like we always do anyway," Jessica laughs.

"Not like this," Hannah says. "When I moved here, I was scared that I wasn't going to make any friends, or I wasn't going to fit in. I definitely didn't think I'd end up with a group of friends like this, you know?"

"You mean, your ex, his boyfriend, your…"

Before Justin can finish, Clay has hit him in the arm to shut him up, but still the mischievous grin doesn't leave his face.

"Yeah, alright," Jessica laughs. "It's a little weird. But we're all okay with how things ended up, right? It's not like we're jealous."

"Maybe a little," Hannah says, but when she flashes a big smile, they know that she is only kidding. "I'm just happy you guys are happy together."

"All of you," Jessica quickly says, looking over to Clay and Justin. "I know Bryce put you through some real shit, so I'm glad things worked out for you too," she adds, and Justin flashes a grateful smile. "You seem different."

"I am," Justin admits, grabbing Clay's hand, before taking a deep breath. "Clay, he ehm…"

"You don't have to do this."

"No, I do," Justin quickly says. "Clay didn't just stop me from ending up on the street, but he has been helping me with some other stuff too. And I know I joke around a lot, but I'm pretty fucked up. And if it hadn't been for Clay and his family… he saved me, you know?"

"He's a pretty good person to have in your life." Hannah smiles, not failing to notice the blush on Clay's face. "You don't have to talk about whatever is going on, but if you do want to talk, we're all here."

"Thanks." Justin smiles, still not ready to open up to anyone about what he's been through, but knowing that his friends are willing to listen, it means a lot to him. Especially after everything he's been through, having been friends with Bryce.

"That was so awkward," Alex laughs, when he and Zach step into their hotel room. "Do you think she knows why we're here?"

"I doubt it. She was probably just wondering why we were wearing suits," Zach laughs, as he drops his bag on the chair, before crashing down on the bed.

Alex is still nervously standing by the door though, still not entirely sure if coming here for the night was the best idea. But with his parents not letting him and Zach be in his room with a closed door, and not being able to spend the night at Zach's, it had kind of felt like their only option to spend a night together without any interruption.

"We can just watch a movie," Zach says, a reassuring smile on his face. "I know we haven't really discussed it, so…"

"So we're not here to have sex?" Alex asks, "Because I'm pretty sure we could watch a movie at mine."

"I don't know," Zach admits. "I've never done it before, so I don't know, okay? I thought it'd be nice, but if it's too soon, we'll wait."

"Do you really want your first time to be in a shitty hotel room?" Alex asks. "In some dirty bed, with…"

"With you?" Zach asks, because let's face it, that is the real question here. "I do."

Alex can't help but smile, as Zach gets up and steps up to him, a nervous smile on his face.

"I am in love with you, and I have never felt like I was ready to do this with someone. But with you… it feels right."

"It's a big step, Zach. I don't want you to regret it, or think we've rushed into it."

"I won't." Zach smiles, before giving Alex a kiss. "I'm ready."

"Shit. We're really doing this then?" Alex laughs nervously, when Zach goes to open his bag, and he pulls out a pack of condoms. "You know I've never been with a guy before either, right?"

"So? We'll figure it out together."