Chapter Two – A Little Help [1]

Stan smiled lightly, looking over at Carla, who returned the smile.

Ford felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he watched the two holding hands and chatting quietly to each other. [2] They were sitting on the swing seat on Glass Shared Beach that he used to sit at with Stan. Ford wondered if Stan ever mentioned him to her, or if he just completely forgot about the time they shared as kids.

As much as Ford tried to deny it, he loved Stan; he loved Stan ever since they were kids, but he had first put it aside as a crush. He was jealous of Carla; he was jealous that she got all of Stan's attention, that she could hold his hand and kiss him without any one judging them. Why should she get Stan? She doesn't know Stan like Ford does. She doesn't know how to read him like Ford does. She doesn't know when he's lying or when he's pretending to be happy. She was bound to go and break his heart; shatter it into pieces; and Ford would be there to comfort Stan in his time of need, like when Stan used to comfort him, back when they were kids. Ford would never think twice about hurting Stan. He would do everything in his power to make Stan happy and feel loved. It's bad enough that Stan's family treats him like a burden. Ford grimaced at the memory of Stan's family. He hated Stan's father and mother. They treated him like a burden as a child and as a teenager they treat him like he doesn't matter.

Ford had never liked Carla. He thought that she was ruining his relationship with Stan; trying to keep him from ever seeing Stan. Of course, that's what he thought before Carla had approached him one day after school.

Ford was sitting down at a picnic bench outside of the school, reading a book he had become drawn to. The birds chirped in the distance and a soft breezes tussled Fords hair around.

"Stanford, could I talk to you?" Carla asked, approaching him and giving him a small smile.

Now, as much as Ford didn't like Carla, he did his best to treat her like a lady should be treated, with respect. Ford marked the page in his book and shut it, placing it down on the table "What about?" he asked, adjusting his glasses. Carla gestured to the opened seat across form Ford "May I?" she asked. Ford nodded and Carla took a seat across from him at the picnic table "It's about Stanley," she said. Ford wanted to roll his eyes "Of course it is…" he thought bitterly. He kept his face from showing his true feelings and instead gave her a quizzical look "What about him?" he asked. Carla grinned "Well… I've been paying attention to the way you look at him, and I came to the conclusion that you're in love with him," she said. Ford's eyes widen in shock and his face went a deep red "Wha- How- You- ?!" he was at a loss for words. How could Carla know that? He's positive that he made sure no one noticed his true feelings. Carla giggled "I'm not dumb, Ford. I know love when I see it, and you love Stanley."

What shocked Ford even more was that Carla was acting completely okay with this. She wasn't upset, hell she wasn't even pissed. There had to be a catch. He was on some sort of hidden reaction show or something; someone was recording them. There was no way on God's green earth that she was fine with him liking her boyfriend! It just wasn't plausible!

She folded her hands on top of the table "I've wanted to talk to you about it for a while, but I never got the chance to because Stan kept side tracking me. Listen, Ford." Here it comes, the part where she yells at him, gets angry at him, tells him to "back off or else" "I think Stan likes you to."

Wait… What? Had Ford heard that right?

Ford blinked a few times, processing the words that just left her lips "Huh?" he asked, giving her a confused look. She nodded "Yeah, I think he has a crush on you." Ford raised an eyebrow "And… You're not mad? At all? Not even frustrated?" he asked. Carla shook her head "No, not at all. In fact, I'm planning on having the same conversation with him and helping the two of you get together," she said. Ford blinked a few times "Wha…?" he couldn't find the words he was searching for. It made no sense to him. Why was Carla helping him get with her boyfriend?

Carla chuckled lightly at his reaction "Surprised?" she asked. Ford nodded "Very." Carla giggled in response "Well, I figured I shouldn't stop true love, so I might as well help you guys out... Besides, I think I have a small crush on that southern guy you hang out with. Fiddleford, right?" she asked. Ford nodded "Yes. Wait, how do you know him?" Ford asked. From what he could remember Carla never hung out with Fiddleford after school, or any where else "We share the same art class." Ford raised an eyebrow "He takes art?" Carla nodded "Yep. He's a good artist to," she said.

After a long discussion on how the plan was going to work, Carla bid Ford goodbye. She had to tell Stan what was going on and decided that tomorrow would be best.

-O-O-O-O-

It had been three months since Stan and Ford secretly started dating. They had created a small group with Carla and Fiddleford; the four of them hanging out after school, talking about random things, without a care in the world.

Carla had started dating Fiddleford soon after Stan and Ford got together. There were no hard feelings, no awkwardness about it. It was perfect for every one of them.

One night in particular, Fiddleford and Carla had decided to go out to the movies, leaving Stan and Ford all by their lonesome at Glass Shared Beach.

The two teens watched the waves crash against the shore, seagulls squawking in the distance as the sun sat. Stan smiled at the scene "Been a while since we've seen something like this, huh?" he asked, placing his hand over Fords. Ford blushed lightly "Yeah… I remember… Didn't we kiss then?" he asked, looking up at Stan, who responded with a small shrug "Maybe. I can't remember. It was a pretty long time ago." Ford nodded in agreement "Yeah. We were only kids," he said. Stan did a double take to make sure no one was around and looked at Ford "Well, what's say we recreate that memory then," he said, placing a small, short kiss on Fords lips. Ford blushed lightly and turned away "Someone could see us…" he said, not trying to ruin the mood, which Stan understood.

Both Stan and Ford were careful when it came to showing affection in public. They would lace their pinkies together if no one was looking and Stan would give Ford a quick kiss on the cheek, but other than that, they couldn't do much. They couldn't even go out on dates, which was somewhat of a disappointment to Stan. Ford didn't mind to much, he just liked spending time with Stan; whether it was at school, during lunch, or just seeing him around town occasionally, he didn't care.

Ford came out to his parents, with Stan's permission, of course. His parent's, surprisingly, were over joyed. They were so happy for their son and his new found love. Apparently, they had suspected from a young age that Ford was a homosexual, and that didn't bother them at all. Ford was extremely happy that his parent's wouldn't kick him out or try and "get rid of the devil inside of him," as most people would have done in their place.

Stan never mentioned Ford to his parents; which Ford was perfectly fine with and understood why. Even Ford's parent's understood why Stan kept himself hidden in the shadows. Ford's mom did not like Stan's family, nor did Ford's dad. They couldn't stand that Stan's mom and dad treated him like he wasn't important. Stan reassured them that it wasn't that big of a deal and that he was perfectly fine, but that didn't stop them from worrying about his safety. Even as kids Ford's mom treated Stan like a son more than his own mother did.

Ford rested his head on Stan's shoulder "Sorry," he said, guilt forming in his eyes. Stan smiled lightly "It's fine. I don't blame you for being worried." Ford laced his six fingers with Stan's five "I love you," he said. Stan chuckled "I love you to, Sixer," he said. Ford tightened his grip on Stan's hand. For some reason, Ford couldn't help but feel like something bad was going to happen in these next few months. What that "something bad" was, he was unsure of.

-O-O-O-O-

Ten months.

Stan and Ford had been dating for ten months.

During that ten months, Stan had made a slip up. A huge slip up. Something that caused him to be kicked out of his house and staying in a motel that Ford had paid for.

To be completely honest, it wasn't really Stan's fault, but that's not what he thought. Had he been more careful, actually paid attention to his surroundings, none of these events would have taken place.

Stan entered his family's Pawn Shop, taking off his shoes and walking into the living area. He was surprised to find that both his parent's where home. Sitting on the couch. Eyes dark. Teeth gritted to hold in their yelling.

It was all a blur.

There was shouting, arguing, fighting, swearing. Stan being thrown out of his house.

A bitter laugh escaped from him, as his father slammed the door shut.

To think it all started so normal… It all started with Ford and him on the swing set, talking about that West Coast Tech University Ford had been told to go to. [3]

[1] When the Authors are terrible at making titles for chapters... Also! This is going to happen often. We're making it so the story has flashbacks in between present day chapters. Just so you guys can fit the pieces together and we don't leave you asking so many questions.

[2] Ford is the jealous type in this. He's got phases of jealousy to. He also has phases of anger.

[3] Apologize for the cliff hanger... Please don't hurt us, we're weak...

Apologize for any misspelling or grammatical errors. We just finished this at 11pm, so we'er exhausted as heck. We hope you enjoyed reading!