Zach can't help but laugh as he notices the blush on Alex's face when he turns to face him in bed the next morning. They share a nervous kiss, but it's obvious that neither of them are sure how to start this conversation, and it only ends with more nervous laughter.

"So… that happened," Alex finally says. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Zach nods, but then a grin spreads all over his face. "I'm happy."

"Me too."

Zach pulls Alex in for another kiss, but when one of their phones starts buzzing, they break away from each other.

Zach picks up his phone, and the smile quickly leaves his face when he sees the text from his mother.

"What is it?"

"My mom wants to talk," Zach sighs. "About us."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"Will you? It can get ugly."

"I'll go with you," Alex says, feeling like the least he can do is to be there to support him, after Zach has had his back these last few months. "Don't let her get to you, okay?"

"I won't. I'm not going to let her ruin how I feel right now," Zach says, and Alex can't help but smile. "I feel like I want to say something, but I'm not sure if it's too soon, so…"

"After what we did last night?" Alex chuckles. "Tell me."

"I love you."

Alex is so taken aback, not having expected to hear Zach say those words to him, that all he can do is stare back at him.

"It's too soon, right?"

"No! I just…," Alex quickly says, but when he sees the hurt look on Zach's face, he flashes a small, uncomfortable smile, never having said these words to anyone other than his family. "I love you, too."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, Zach," Alex laughs, before resting his head on his chest and closing his eyes. "We can stay here for a little while longer before we go see your mom, right?"

Zach can't help but smile, as he presses a kiss into Alex's hair, before wrapping his arms around him.

"We can stay here all day. Well, until they kick us out…"

Zach has been dreading having this conversation with his mother ever since he had first started realizing that just maybe he was into guys. He had never had a reason to tell her though, so he had managed to put it off, but he doesn't want to lie to her about Alex, so he knows he will have to face it sooner or later. Right now he would definitely choose later though, because as he and Alex are sitting on the couch, his mother on the other couch, staring them down, he definitely feels like running away and putting it off for as long as possible.

"I do not wish to have this conversation," Mrs. Dempsey begins, and Zach almost tells her that he doesn't want to have it either, but he keeps quiet. "But after what you said yesterday… about Alex being your boyfriend…"

"He is."

"You are not gay, Zach."

"No, I'm not," Zach says, "But I am dating Alex."

"Is this because of what happened to your father? Is this you acting out? Because if you are trying to get my attention, you have it. But don't do this, just because…

"No," Zach quickly says, not wanting to hear any more of it. "I am not acting out. I'm in love with him, okay?"

"Why?" his mother asks. "What has happened to you?"

"Nothing has happened to me. I am in love with Alex, and I'm sorry if you can't accept that, but I am happy. This has nothing to do with dad, or with me acting out. This is just me, dating the person I like. That's it."

"But why a boy?"

"I don't know, mom," Zach admits. "I don't know why I like guys. Does there have to be a reason?"

Zach can see that his mother is struggling, but he doesn't know what to tell her, other than what he has already told her.

"This is not what I want for you," she admits after a long silence.

Alex can tell how much the comment hurts Zach, so he grabs his hand to comfort him, but the move doesn't go unnoticed by Zach's mother.

"This, it's… I don't want this life for you."

"I know you wanted something different for me," Zach sighs. "But what about what I want? What about what makes me happy?"

"But why choose this kind of life? Why make it so hard on yourself?"

"This is not a choice," Zach says, the frustration building up inside of him, but he knows that his mother means well, in her own way, so getting upset with her wouldn't do any good. "I am happy, and I accept that you do not agree with it. But I am not going to pretend to be something I'm not, just to get your approval. That is not how I want to live my life."

"I just don't see how this can make you happy."

"That's okay," Zach says, Alex's hand still wrapped tightly around his. "I am, though. So I don't think there is anything else to say here."

"It's not too late to change. You can still…"

"Do you even hear what you are saying?" Zach asks, struggling to keep calm. "I do not want to change, okay? I like who I am."

"But…"

"No. I am with Alex, and I am happy, and that is all I have to say about it. We're done here."

Zach leads Alex up to his room, and as soon as the door has closed behind them, Alex wraps his arms around him, holding him tightly for the longest time.

"I am so sorry, Zach."

"It is what it is," Zach sighs. "I refuse to be like Monty, letting someone else decide how I live my life… I can't do that, Alex. If she doesn't agree with this… that's on her."

"I'm still sorry," Alex whispers. "I can't even imagine what that must feel like."

"I'm okay, really," Zach tries, but he can feel the tears welling up in his eyes, more out of frustration than anything.

"I'm proud of you," Alex whispers. "For standing up for yourself. Even if your mom can't see it…"

"She is just stuck in her own way of thinking."

"Maybe she'll come around."

"She won't. But it's fine."

"It's not."

"No, it's not," Zach agrees. "But I have to be okay with it. I can't let it get to me. Not now I am finally…"

"What?"

"I meant what I said, you know? I am happy, Alex. Being with you makes me feel…"

"Fuck off, Zach," Alex quickly scoffs, feeling uncomfortable with where this is going. But when Zach looks him in the eyes, he knows that he is serious about this.

"I need you to know how I feel. Especially after last night. I need you to know how much that meant to me."

"I know." Alex nods. "I'm just sorry it got ruined with all of this."

"It didn't. I won't let her take last night away from us."

"Wait, so she refuses to accept that you and Alex are dating?" Hannah asks, not even trying to hide her anger. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"She wants me to focus on school, she doesn't want me to date anyone." Zach shrugs, but they all know that that's not what this is about.

"So she's totally cool with you being into dudes?" Justin asks, a knowing look on his face. "I'm sorry, but what is her problem? Alex is like… look at him, he's harmless!"

"Thanks?"

"I'm pretty sure she had the whole 'white-picket fence' future in mind for me," Zach admits. "That included a wife and a bunch of kids."

"So? The only thing that changed is the wife. Big fucking deal." Justin shrugs, and when they all look at him, he flashes a big, innocent grin. "What? Like we're not all thinking it."

"You are such an asshole," Jessica laughs. "Seriously, Clay, I don't know how you do it."

"He has his good sides." Clay shrugs, but when Justin wiggles his eyebrows, he just rolls his eyes. "I wasn't talking about that."

"Let's not go there," Hannah quickly says. "Again. But what are you going to do about your mom?"

"Nothing. I can't make her accept it." Zach shrugs, trying to ignore the guilty look on Alex's face. "I'm glad I told her, though."

"I just wish she would have had a better reaction," Hannah says. "You guys are great together, so… I just don't want her trying to break that up."

"She won't," Zach says, flashing Alex a reassuring smile. "I won't let her."

"Remember when we were here, all those months ago?" Jessica asks, when Hannah sits down at their usual table at Monet's. "And you made me ask out Alex?"

"Yeah… sorry," Hannah chuckles uncomfortably. "If I had known…"

"That he was going to steal your boyfriend?"

"Well, shit. Yes!"

"I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I hadn't asked him out," Jessica admits. "Maybe you'd still be with Zach… Justin wouldn't have moved in with Clay… what would have happened to him when Bryce got arrested…?"

"I definitely wouldn't have been with Zach," Hannah sighs. "I loved him, but seeing him with Alex… he's in love with him. He never looked at me that way. I was too blind to see it, but what we had was more of a… I don't know. It was more of a friendship, I guess."

"With a lot of kissing?"

"Yeah," Hannah chuckles. "We weren't in love. Not really. Those guys are meant to be together. So whether you would have asked Alex out or not, they probably would have found each other one way or another. Same goes for Clay and Justin. Clay was obsessed with him, so if Justin was still living with Bryce when he was arrested, Clay would have stepped in to help him then."

"I just feel like…"

"What?"

"Like I should have let Alex go, the second I found out about the kiss. Maybe they could have gotten together sooner." Jessica shrugs. "I don't know. I feel like we somehow stood in their way?"

"We stood in their way? We dumped them as soon as we realized they were into each other," Hannah laughs. "I'm pretty sure we didn't stop them from getting together. If anything, we pushed them to get together. So stop it. It all worked out in the end."

"They are happy, right?" Jessica asks, as they look over to Alex and Zach, who are waiting for their drinks to be made, Zach's arms wrapped around Alex's waist, his face buried in Alex's hair. Alex has the biggest, most care-free smile on his face, and he looks nothing like the boy he was only months ago, who looked like he wanted to do nothing more than disappear.

"We are turning into Clay and Justin," Alex laughs, when Zach pulls him closer against him. "We said we'd never be like them, remember?"

"Well, I'm starting to see why they are the way they are."

"Jesus. What has gotten into you?" Alex laughs, but Zach doesn't have to answer, because they both know the answer to that.

Ever since the dance, their night at the hotel, and their conversation with Zach's mother, something had changed between them. Any shame, or any awkwardness that was left between them, it had disappeared, and they had finally been able to truly let go.

"Get a room, you two," they hear, and they turn to look, only to find Justin and Clay coming in, Justin with a big grin on his face. "Seriously, guys, I don't know what happened, but I am all for this new…"

"Leave them alone." Clay rolls his eyes, Alex and Zach trying hard not to laugh at how different the two guys still are. "Seriously."

"Just leave him." Justin grins, as he pulls his boyfriend in for a hug. "He didn't get much sleep last night."

"I hate you so much right now."

"Love you, too."

The girls look back at each other, both unable to keep the smile of their face.

"Yeah, I'd say they are happy."

Hi!

That was it! I hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for reading!

Xx