The next morning Steve woke up alone, with Danny nowhere to be seen. He noticed a long handwritten note on his bedside table, it was from Danny.

"Steve, I'm so sorry for what happened yesterday. I was such an asshole, I had no idea what came over me. I know I have wrecked everything that we had between us, and I don't see how you can forgive me. You probably don't want to talk to me ever again, which I completely understand. I'll stay out of your life. I loved the time we spent together and you will always stay in my heart. Danny"

Steve read it over a few times, taking in every word. Having slept on it, he knew that he didn't want to talk to Danny about it and deep down felt like he never wanted to talk to him again. Danny had completely humiliated him, and ruined any trust that that they had towards each other. Steve stared at the note a little longer, before scrunching it up and tossing it to the other side of the room.

Steve built up the courage and got out of bed. It was Monday morning, back to school. Just only a week ago, Steve had bumped into Danny at the beach and his life was changed. Now his life had done a complete 360 flip, leaving him back at square one, but this time with a mangled heart. He drove himself to school, ignoring any of the routines he and Danny had set up. It was going to be hard to see Danny at school and at home, but Steve just made sure he stayed strong within himself.

Steve met up with Catherine at lunch, to try and tell her all that happened. She hadn't arrived at Kono's party til late in the afternoon and didn't have a clue as to what happened. Steve had spoken about it to anyone, so he was kind of relieved that he could let it all with Catherine. She couldn't believe that Danny would act like that, and could tell that Steve was completely broken over it. Though she found it hard to understand why Steve was so submissive about it.

"Catherine, this is going to sound absolutely stupid but, after all that happened, and how fucking mad and angry I felt, I think deep down I still have feelings for him," Steve admitted.

"Steven! How can you let someone like that back into your heart? He was such a jerk; he had absolutely no right to do that. He hurt you Steven, and you'll never be able to erase that from your memory," Catherine rightly put.

Steve turned away from Catherine, unable to give her eye contact after what she said. She was right, as always, but Steve just couldn't see it that way. Of course, he had no desire to talk to Danny or see him; he just knew that those feelings were still there. Maybe like Danny's note said, he will always keep him close to his heart. Maybe Steve was feeling that too, Danny was probably Steve's first love. He never admitted to himself or Danny that he did in fact love him, but all the confusing and exciting feelings he had felt over Danny that past week sure felt like what love should be.

"Steven! Promise me that you won't talk to him and that you won't try and reconcile things. He needs to know that what he did was shitty and how he has wrecked the one good thing in his life," Catherine said, persistently trying to get through to Steve.

Steve was still turned away, unable to look at Catherine. Catherine sighed and reached over and hugged Steve from behind, squeezing him tight. She didn't let go until the bell rang for the end of lunch.

Steve was dreading his physics class all day. Usually it was his favorite class, but now that Danny was in it, he had to really make himself go. He heart ached as he entered the class room. He couldn't bear to see Danny and be in the same room with him. Last night at his house was different though. Steve realized that he hadn't let the mass of everything settle in, and after his parents fought, he needed someone to be there for him.

Steve took his seat whilst the rest of the class were still entering. Danny emerged from the classroom door, with his backpack slouched on his shoulder. He didn't look very good, he looked sad and exhausted. He shuffled past Steve, avoiding any eye contact, before sitting down behind him. Danny had usually sat at the front of the class, but Steve was glad that Danny decided to sit behind, so he didn't have to look at him for the rest of the class.

Danny left the class as soon as the bell rang. Steve was relieved that Danny didn't try to talk to him and try to apologise, he couldn't think of anything worse than to talk to him about it. At least Danny wasn't trying to justify what he did, he knew it was wrong and there was no turning back.

* A few weeks later *

Steve had a rough few weeks, returning back to his old life without Danny. His parents were fighting constantly, to the point where Mary-Ann would stay in Steve's room all night. Steve just kept bottling up everything inside, only talking to Catherine about those sorts of things when it got too much for him. Now he couldn't wait til he finished high school and could get away from his parents. He and Catherine had been filling out applications for army and navy careers, Catherine thought they sounded challenging, while Steve just wanted to escape.

Danny had done what he said and kept his distance from Steve the past few weeks, but often passed him in the corridor at school or near their houses. Slight eye contact was given as the time passed, but Steve still couldn't talk to him. The one good thing Danny had done though was to talk to Chin and explain everything that had happened that day. He even told Chin that he loved Steve and wished he hadn't acted that way. Chin appreciated Danny's honesty but didn't talk to him again for respect to Steve.

Steve wasn't too sure what and how Danny had felt since everything had happened. When he did see him, he always looked tired and lonely. Catherine had told him multiple times over those few weeks that Danny was getting into fights at school. He was falling back into the same patterns that he had in New Jersey, causing trouble and stress to himself and his Mom. Danny hardly turned up to the physics classes anymore and when he did, he was often wearing a black eye.

Though there was good news for Danny and his family. Steve's mother had told him that Danny's aunt was really picking up and there were talks of her being transferred to California for more intensive treatment. That meant that Danny and his Mom had no reason to stay in Hawaii anymore. Steve wasn't sure how to handle that information when he heard it. His first reaction was a feeling of pain and sadness; as he didn't want Danny to leave. Though as his friends kept telling him, it would be best if Danny left the island and Steve wouldn't have to deal with it anymore.

Chin, Catherine and Kono were all very supportive with it all; they all kept their distance from Danny and were there for Steve as much as they could. The one thing Steve noticed was that they all were adamant that Steve had to forget about Danny. He knew that they were right but he still couldn't shake his feelings away. They had become too strong when he was with Danny in the beginning, and now if it was even possible, his feelings were even stronger.

Even if he was to react to his feelings and get back together with Danny, he would have to keep it secret again because of his friends. And there was no way he would do that again, he would be open and respectful of the relationship, whether it be a guy or girl. He hadn't thought about his sexuality like he had when he was confused about it all at the start. He didn't have any crushes or feelings towards any guy or girl, and wasn't interested in anything like that. Perhaps his underlining feelings towards Danny were jading that. It wasn't till he talked to Danny for the first time since it happened that he could revisit all those feelings and memories.

It was another late night of Steve's parents fighting. Steve had started to listen in to their arguments when he could; they were so frequent he thought he should figure out what all the fuss was. It wasn't about money or spending time with family, it was about work. Not his Dads job like he presumed, but Doris' work. She had never really talked about her job, mostly claiming it was too boring to talk about. Now it was a heated topic by his parents every night. This particular night Mary-Ann was staying at a friend's house, leaving Steve alone to deal with it. He actually missed Mary-Ann, even though he always comforted her, he liked when she came into his room; he liked sharing it with her. Tonight Steve couldn't deal with it. As soon as they started, Steve headed out to the beach at the back of his house. He was organized enough and had actually set up a tent by the water, much to the ignorance of his parents. It was nice warm night, and he enjoyed the crashing of the waves.

He sat outside the tent on the sand and watched the sun slowly set. Just when Steve thought that the waves were loud enough to drown out his parents yelling, he could clearly hear people yelling. He turned back to his house but couldn't hear them, it wasn't until he heard a door shut, when he realized that it was Danny and his Mom fighting. He could see Danny run away from the back of his house and down to the shore. Danny screamed to the top of his lungs in frustration. After calming down a bit, he took in his surroundings and saw Steve sitting, watching his struggle.

"Oh sorry, I'll go," Danny said straight up.

"No you can stay. I don't mind," Steve replied, without even thinking about the repercussions.

Danny looked shocked but relieved from Steve's answer. He tried to say something else but held back and looked back to the water. Steve smiled at Danny's disposition. He couldn't help but. All the wise words from Catherine, Chin and Kono ran through his mind, but at this moment in time he didn't care.

"Are you okay?" Steve said, softly.

Danny turned around quickly and stood still for a while, he had no idea how to respond.

"Not really, my life is falling apart again," Danny said, honestly.

Steve didn't know what to say, but his eyes spoke for him. He felt for Danny, he felt like his life was falling apart too. Danny sighed and headed over towards Steve, hesitantly at first. He sat next to Steve on the sand and became completely relaxed.

"What's going on?" Steve asked.

"I'm getting into fights again, my mom is so angry at me, I'm failing in school, and I have no friends. That's what's going on," Danny blurted out. He hung his head in his hand, completely exhausted.

All Steve wanted to was to reach over and kiss Danny, but it tried his absolute best to stop himself. He felt sorry for him, but he so wished that he didn't. He didn't know how to respond, because he knew deep down that the reason Danny's life was falling apart again was because of him. Not him exclusively, of course Danny's actions that afternoon had kick started it all, but the underlining factor that he no longer had Steve in his life. Steve was good for him, providing him with substance and a positive outlook on life.

The two remained in silence for a while, but were both quite content with each other's company. Steve almost felt relaxed with Danny by his side. He didn't have to look at him; just knowing he was there was more than enough.

(Thanks guys for all your feedback, really appreciate it! What would you guys like to see next? Have I justified everything and left enough time for them to maybe get back together? Or is everyone still completely pissed with Danny? Let me know where you want it to go, I don't want to write something that you don't want to read)