Secrets Kept

*Updated June 2014 – originally chapter 8, just tweaked a bit, not much of a difference.*

I should warn that this chapter is a bit more mature than the others though there really isn't much "action" in that scene…

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially Defiant Vixen, who is always kind enough to write such nice things! : )

Chapter Seven

Tracey would have liked to think that talking to Gary had helped matters but, nearly six months later, summer was fast approaching and Gary's mood had yet to improve. Part of the reason behind this, Tracey was sure, was the fact that the professor had forever been on the teen's case about something: a shirked chore, a broken curfew, a skipped class, a mysterious illness that happened to coincide with a night spent at a friend's house. Tracey had heard it so many times that even he was sick of hearing it. May seemed to always be hovering nearby, always inquiring about the same things that Professor Oak was constantly lecturing Gary about.

Those were just a few of the external factors that were obviously affecting Gary's behavior. It seemed that there was always some sort of little quarrel going on between him and at least one of his friends, partly because Gary was frequently blowing off plans with them. There had been many times when Tracey found himself somewhat annoyed with the other boy after hearing him claim to one of his friends that he didn't feel well or was busy when Tracey knew the only thing bothering him was something that would never go away, unlike these phantom illnesses and homework assignments that provided him with excuses.

This wasn't to say that Gary didn't speak to him about what was going on – to Tracey's surprise, it was quite the opposite. He always seemed to find a reason to talk to Tracey, whether it was inquiries about the happenings in the lab (even though Tracey knew that Gary knew the answers to his own questions), venting about everything going on, or normal, casual conversation. The latter was Tracey's favorite instance – it was when Gary's true personality showed and Tracey couldn't help but love the glimpses he would catch of it. The dry sense of humor, combined with the vast knowledge of and interest in many different subjects made these conversations fun and interesting. It was a stark contrast to the grievances of a stubborn, depressed teenager, or even Gary's curiosities about the lab. The boy knew exactly what happened in the lab from day to day, making it obvious to Tracey that these instances were either a desperate attempt to distract himself from whatever troubles were ailing him that day or an attempt to engage Tracey in conversation.

Over the course of the months, Tracey had come to recognize the fact he did, in fact, have a crush on the younger teen. It didn't bother him in the slightest – crushes happened, there wasn't anything he could really do about it. What did bother him was knowing that his crush was, for once, gay and also liked him but had worked himself into such a state of agony over the situation that there was no chance of acting on the mutual attraction.

Not publically, at least, Tracey thought to himself as he absentmindedly fed some of the grass pokemon out on the ranch late one morning. He shook his head, semi-amused by the thought.

"The last thing you want is a secret relationship," he chastised himself lightly. A confused squeak came from the ground near his feet and Tracey looked down at Marril with a soft smile. "Yep, I'm talking to you, buddy," he said, kneeling down to pet his little pokemon. "I know all about your secret relationship with Pookie," he continued, referring to May's irritable little meowth. Marril wrinkled his nose and gave his trainer a disgusted look that make Tracey burst into laughter. "I'm kidding."

From his place on a hilltop, Tracey could see a familiar Jeep pull into the driveway and he couldn't help but smile while he wondered vaguely what Gary was doing home from school so early. Marril gave an unhappy squeak that made Tracey roll his eyes and give the blue mouse a stern look. For some reason, Gary's attitude seemed to rub the normally sweet pokemon the wrong way.

"I don't know why you hate him so much, Marril," Tracey sighed as he straightened and picked up the bucket of food that he had brought with him out to the hill that they were standing on. "He's always been nice to you, he even gives you his leftover food… Well, when Umbreon and Arcanine aren't around, at least."

From the driveway came the sound of a car door being slammed rather hard. Marril looked towards the direction of the sound and then looked up at Tracey with a smug expression.

"Maybe the car was being mean to him," Tracey told the pokemon lightly. An indignant squeak was the response. "Come on, Marril, he's just going through a rough time right now. Of course, he wouldn't be if he hadn't locked himself in the closet and thrown away the key…" Marril peered up at him, looking perplexed, and Tracey smiled a bit grimly. "It's just a figure of speech, buddy; I know he's not locked in an actual closet."

An unbidden thought came to Tracey's head. Being able to act on his feelings would make him happier.

He pushed the thought out of mind and started heading towards the back door of the house, intent on grabbing a snack from the kitchen before starting on the next set of chores.

… … …

The front door slammed loudly, the sound quickly followed by the sound of breaking glass, a frightened hiss, and a curse all from kitchen. May sighed as she kneeled to pick up the glass that she had dropped before turning her attention to the shaking meowth that was now cowering under the kitchen table.

"Why couldn't I have been an only child?" she muttered to herself, pulling a can of tuna out of a cabinet to coax her pet meowth out with.

The little cat crawled out from under the table and rubbed it's face against her calf before streaking back under the table as Gary entered the room, tossing his backpack onto an empty chair before dropping into another chair. May rolled her eyes and placed the tuna can back on the counter, giving up on the cat.

"Good morning, sunshine," she greeted sarcastically. Gary barely spared her a tired glance in response. "How were your exams?" she asked as Tracey came in through the back door with Marril at his heels.

"I think I failed calculus," Gary admitted miserably.

Tracey and May both rolled their eyes.

"That's what you said about chemistry, too," Tracey pointed out, pulling a can of soda from the refrigerator.

"And, let me guess, you got an eighty-nine in that class and you're annoyed that it won't be rounded up to an A?" May asked sardonically.

Gary's silence served only as a confirmation to her comment.

"I'm sure you did fine," Tracey reassured Gary.

"Well, let's hope so, or else you'll be hearing about it from Grampy for next ten years."

Tracey suppressed a groan at May's offhand comment. Mentioning the ever-so-slight decline in Gary's grades was just one of the many things that could set the teen off these days. Simple comments, like May's, could so easily lead to an irritable outburst, which would likely lead to an even more depressed mood for the remainder of the week. It was something Tracey had seen all too often lately.

"Oh yeah, because I have nothing better to do than spend my entire day practicing derivatives," Gary snapped.

"Really? Are you sure about that, squirt? You've been spending a lot of time doing absolutely nothing lately."

Gary hesitated, eyes narrowed as he considered his sister for a moment. Tracey reached under the table to pick up Marril before he could cause any mischief with May's meowth; his hand accidently brushed Gary's leg as he did so and the move was enough to jerk Gary out of his thoughts and respond. "I've had things on my mind," he admitted with a shrug and a half-glance at Tracey.

"Like the fact that all of your friends have girlfriends, except for you?" May asked a bit too sweetly. Gary's eyes narrowed further and Tracey wondered briefly if he was going to have to step in and break this up. "Of course, I'm not at all surprised that Mike has managed to hook such a pretty little thing. That boy's so damn insecure about his sexuality that he just has to outdo everyone else. I'm telling you, he's a fairy in disguise."

Gary looked to be on the verge of shooting some nasty response at her but Tracey cut him off before he could even open his mouth. "Hate to break it to you, May, but my gay-dar does not go off around him," he spoke up lightly.

May smiled. "Maybe it's broken."

"My gay-dar is infallible, May," Tracey replied with a laugh.

The girl laughed at that and left the room without another word, her brother rolling his eyes at her retreating form. A moment passed while May's footsteps sounded on the staircase and Tracey waited until he heard her bedroom door close before turning to Gary.

"We've been over this already," Gary sighed, seeming to know what Tracey had been about to say.

Tracey sighed and remembered the most recent conversation between him and Gary. Indeed, they had been over it many times.

"You could always tell May. She has gay friends: you know she wouldn't care."

"Right. There's just that little issue with her not being able to keep her mouth shut. She would tell Amanda, who would tell Darren, who would tell Wyatt –"

"Gary, do you really think they would be so bothered by it?"

"You don't understand, Trace! We've been friends since we were two!"

"That's the point! Darren and Wyatt wouldn't betray you, and I can't see Adrian or Chase betraying you –"

"You have no idea how Mike is, Trace, and Brandon always follows him with whatever he does. Chase usually goes along with him and then Wyatt –"

"You're just trying to find excuses –"

"I'm scared, Tracey! It would tear the whole group apart – I can't be responsible for that…"

Tracey smiled, but it was grim and forced. "I stand by what I've said but you know I would never force you to tell anyone," he said reassuringly. He paused for a moment, taking the chance to look over Gary, who looked rather pale and tired. There was a sort of tension that told Tracey something had happened that had been upsetting in some way. He didn't doubt that it was related to the reason why Gary had been ready to snap when May had mentioned the other boys' girlfriends. "What happened?"

"Wyatt got drunk and had sex with Darren's sister last night," Gary said with a strange, bitter smirk.

Surprised as he was by how easily Gary answered the question, it took a moment for the response to sink in. "Wyatt?" Tracey asked in disbelief. Gary nodded. "The crazy little blonde boy that doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut or when to stop drinking?" Another nod. "How drunk was she?"

Gary laughed at that and his smirk became a touch less bitter. "Drunk enough that she puked on him afterwards… Not that it kept him from bragging about it all day. I'm so glad it was a short day; I might have killed him otherwise."

"I take it this led to some sort of fight between him and Darren," Tracey spoke up after a moment, a statement rather than a question. Wyatt's antics always seemed to lead to quarrels, which always led to an irritable Gary.

Of course, this just had to happen during the week of exams at school, when Gary was already visibly stressed from his extra classes. Gary sighed and Tracey noticed for the first time today how tired the other boy looked.

"Darren beat the absolute shit out him; I've never seen him so angry. It was such a complete fucking fiasco: even Adrian got involved, and he never gets involved in these sort of things." Tracey raised his eyebrows in surprise. He was so used to Adrian being quiet and kind and couldn't possibly imagine him getting involved in a fight amongst friends, other than the occasional bickering. Gary began speaking once more right when Tracey was about to ask how Adrian had gotten involved. "All he said was that it was out of line for Wyatt to screw around with Darren's sister and then come in and start bragging to everyone about it. Brandon tried defending Wyatt by saying that he was just drunk and couldn't help it but, when Adrian said that he knew what he was doing, Mike jumped in and started calling him a faggot."

An ugly sneer formed on Gary's face at the word and even Tracey felt an angry grimace appear on his own. "I hate hearing that word," he admitted quietly. It was one of those few things that could absolutely make Tracey's blood boil.

"So do I. At least you can defend yourself when someone says it around you."

Tracey frowned. "Don't give me that, Gary. You're more than capable of defending yourself, you just choose to sit there and take it." Once it was out of his mouth, he regretted it. The comment sounded harsher than he meant and he certainly hadn't meant to vocalize that particular thought in the first place.

Gary pursed his lips slightly, as though about to retort but, to his credit, ignored the comment and spoke as if Tracey hadn't said it. "He has such a screwed up sense of reality; he honestly thinks Adrian is gay because he's so quiet. Mike wouldn't know an actual gay guy if he gave him a blow job."

"You know, whenever I tell you that you should just come out and tell them, I don't expect you to be that straight forward. Really, a simple 'I'm gay' is sufficient, no oral sex required." Tracey sighed and leaned back in his seat when Gary remained silent. "Note to self: Gary cannot take a joke," he commented lightly, folding his arms behind his head and shooting a grin at his friend.

When Gary still didn't reply, he dropped his arms and began to fiddle with a pen that was lying on the table between the two boys. Something in the conversation had set Gary off; Tracey could tell that the other boy now had his defenses up. He knew better than to pry so he didn't say anything, instead choosing to do what he had come into the kitchen to do in the first place – find something to eat before starting on the afternoon chores out on the ranch.

Gary said nothing as Tracey puttered around the kitchen but Tracey could feel his eyes on him. It didn't bother him, knowing that Gary was watching him, rather, he felt flattered that someone found him interesting enough to watch his every move.

While it didn't bother Tracey, it did bother Gary. It seemed as though he couldn't get enough of watching the other boy; Tracey-watching had simply become a habit whenever they were alone and Gary couldn't help it. Everything the older teen did seemed to drive him crazy in some way. The way his fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the refrigerator door while he searched for something was an image that had seemingly become etched into his mind. Tracey had long fingers that always seemed to move with a sort of grace and lately it seemed as though they haunted Gary's fantasies, something that made him grateful that he didn't talk in his sleep, lest he somehow gave something away while spending the night at a friend's house.

Just imagining one of his friends finding out that he was gay because he had been talking in his sleep sent a jolt of fear through Gary and it was enough to force his eyes away from Tracey's hands. Unfortunately, every other place that his eyes sought out caused uncomfortable thoughts. He couldn't help focusing on the way Tracey's shorts rested so neatly on his hips and he couldn't help the mental image of those shorts being unzipped and then gently tugged down by his own hands. Tracey turned away from the refrigerator and headed towards the pantry on the opposite side of the room with a small half-smile gracing his lips. Gary could just imagine how that wonderful smile would look with Tracey gazing down at him as he slid those shorts down Tracey's legs…

A sudden jolt of desire rushed through Gary and he forced down a groan – he positively ached with the desire to make the small fantasy come true. Shifting his weight uncomfortably, Gary tried to force the thoughts out of his head but the fantasy was already too far along… Tracey was fiddling with the radio on the counter, trying to find the classic rock station that he was so fond of, and again those fingers caught Gary's attention. He could imagine those fingers sliding through his hair with those smiling lips pressed against his own. He could picture those hands guiding his own, slowly pushing down those dark blue boxers that he caught the slightest glimpse of when Tracey reached for something on the top shelf of the pantry, and then his mouth lowering towards Tracey's naked flesh as those damn fingers slid through his hair again –

"Oh, my god!" Gary groaned loudly, rubbing his temples and shaking his head a bit to get the images out of mind. Tracey turned and peered at him quizzically and Gary stopped what he was doing. "Headache," he lied quickly.

Tracey gave him a sympathetic smile, pulled a bottle out of one of the cabinets, and placed a couple of aspirin tablets on the table in front of him. "If you had your calculus final today, then that's pretty understandable," he said as he turned back to the cabinets, but Gary barely heard him. His hands had already worked their way back into the fantasies and Gary couldn't help but wonder how those fingers would feel entangled in his hair or running over other places...

A small sigh escaped Gary as he considered the pills in front of him… How much aspirin would it take to get rid of these fantasies? Exactly how much aspirin would it take to kill a person, for that matter? We are not going there! he scolded himself for the thought as he picked up the pills and swallowed them dry before quickly leaving the room, a cold shower being his main concern at this moment.

… … …

The early afternoon had faded into evening without notice once Tracey went back to working in the lab and on the ranch. Gary had disappeared for the afternoon, presumably to hide out in his bedroom, and Tracey hadn't bothered looking for him. Regardless of how much he would have enjoyed spending the afternoon with the younger boy – he had work to do. Now done with work, fed, and freshly showered, Tracey headed towards his bedroom, changed his mind and walked instead to the open door at the end of the hall. He could hear the television in Gary's bedroom and, beneath that, the sound of Umbreon and Venonat playing.

The bedroom seemed crowded when Tracey entered: Gary's arcanine was curled up between the bed and the television with Gary laying back against him, playing a video game, while Umbreon and Venonat bounced on and around the bed, the canine barking and yipping excitedly. Gary barely glanced up, even when Tracey sat down next to him.

"Please don't tell me that you've been sitting up here playing video games all day," he said quietly.

Gary shook his head, eyes still on the screen. "I just woke up a few minutes ago," he admitted.

Tracey let his eyes rake over Gary for a moment, taking in the adorably mused hair and the sleepy eyes. He couldn't help but smile at how cute he looked. "Don't tell me you stayed up all night studying."

"I didn't. I stayed up most of the night because everyone was fighting and I had to make sure no one got killed… Like I just did," Gary sighed and tossed down the game controller. "I hate this game," he said flatly. "I can never remember how to get past this part…"

"This is the first time I've heard of you acting as peace-keeper between your friends."

Gary snorted and rolled his eyes. "That's because we normally don't need one; I mean, we'll argue and beat up on each other, but there's a limit. It's just that Wyatt doesn't normally do anything this stupid, none of us do." He picked up the controller, un-paused the game and returned his attention to it.

"Well, it's understandable for Darren to mad at him – you would be, too, if it was May he had slept with," Tracey pointed out reasonably. Gary nodded and Tracey continued after a moment. "It's kind of interesting though… He wasn't mad at you at all when you kissed –" Gary tore his eyes from the television and glared at Tracey, silently daring him to finish the sentence. With a small shrug, Tracey fell silent for a moment. He met Gary's eyes calmly for a moment but looked away after a moment, his gaze landing on the television. "Um, Gary, you're about to… Never mind," he finished lamely when Gary cursed as the character died again. He glanced at Gary for a moment before looking back at the screen; the game seemed familiar for some reason…

"Is this the second Resident Evil game?" he asked suddenly.

Gary frowned, still glaring at the spot on the television where the character had just been killed while he had been too busy glaring at Tracey to notice. "How did you, of all people, recognize this game?" he asked incredulously, finally turning to look at Tracey once again.

Another small shrug. "My little brother used to love video games when we were younger. Whenever there was bad weather, I would stay inside and play too. This was his favorite game; I've played it and seen it played so many times… Actually, I know how get past this part," Tracey added as an afterthought, nodding to the screen. "I could do it for you," he teased.

"No, I'm doing it myself this time, for once."

"For once?" Tracey echoed. "You need your friends to beat video games for you, Gary?" He grinned, unable to keep from picking on his friend. It was incredibly rare that he found an opportunity to tease Gary but he took every opportunity he could. Gary reacted differently to teasing from Tracey than to teasing from his other friends; with Tracey it was narrowed eyes and a small, irritated smirk that barely hid a smile. A laugh usually followed, which was something that Tracey loved to hear.

Sure enough, that adorable expression appeared on Gary's face. "No, Chase did it the first time I played and now no one ever lets me do it myself."

"Because you can't do it, right?" Tracey pressed, still grinning and trying desperately not to laugh.

The smirk on Gary's face cracked and he smiled, about to reply when Arcanine gave a low growl as May's meowth wandered into the room. Gary groaned and stood, leaving Tracey with the controller, which he picked up in the other boy's absence. Tracey un-paused the game, tried his best to remember how to play this particular game, and set to work as Gary scooped up the cat and took him out of the room. He could hear Gary calling to May – something about keeping the cat out of his room – while she yelled a less-than-polite response. Tracey rolled his eyes at the bickering and focused on the game, quickly remembering the details; by the time Gary had returned to the room, sometime later, he had already passed the difficult part and was making good progress.

Tracey glanced up when Gary slammed the bedroom door and sat down next to him with a sigh, too busy examining a large scratch on his arm to pay attention to Tracey, who was still playing the video game. "Little bastard scratched the hell out of me," he observed, sounding only mildly annoyed.

"You should know by now that he only likes your sister," Tracey pointed out, pausing the game. The only response his comment elicited was a roll of the eyes while Gary continued to examine the fresh scratches on his arm with bored interest. "You know," Tracey began after a few short moments had passed. Gary glanced up to show that he was listening. "They make you look less gay. All fierce, manly, and straight with your battle wounds from rescuing a wayward kitty for a damsel in distress."

This time Gary laughed, though he still said nothing in response. He took his attention away from the mild injuries and leaned back against Arcanine, lazily running his fingers through the canine's thick fur. After a moment, he realized that Tracey was holding the controller. A glance at the television screen showed that the game was now past the part that had been giving him trouble and he shot the older boy a small glare that was only half-serious.

Grinning, Tracey offered him the controller, only to pull it just out of reach when Gary reached for it. Gary narrowed his eyes and held his hand out, silently demanding that Tracey give it back. Tracey started to hand him the controller before pulling it out of reach once more.

"Tracey…" Gary warned softly, sitting up and reaching for the controller again.

"You owe me for beating that super hard part," Tracey informed him solemnly, trying to keep from laughing. He was careful to keep the remote out of Gary's reach, even when he pushed him playfully.

Another playful shove and the two boys suddenly found themselves wrestling on the floor with Tracey laughing as Gary tried to pry the controller out of his hands. Arcanine watched on lazily, not bothering to move, no matter how many times someone accidently kicked him or rolled on one of his massive paws. After a few seconds of watching silently, Umbreon jumped down from the bed and joined in by licking Tracey's face until he was laughing too hard to keep his grip. Gary finally snatched the controller from Tracey and returned to the game with a triumphant grin while Umbreon barked happily, apparently thrilled that she had been able to help out.

Still laughing softly, Tracey sat up and straightened his clothes. "You still owe me," he teased.

"And what do I owe you? A night of endless passion?" Gary replied with a small smirk, obviously joking.

Tracey hesitated, wondering whether or not he should respond with the first reply that had come to mind. If Gary was joking around like this then maybe it wouldn't go over too terribly…

"A kiss," Tracey finally said.

He saw a glimmer of uncertainty in Gary's eyes, even as the boy stayed focused on the video game. Another smirk quickly replaced it.

"But I thought you said that you didn't have a vomit fetish," Gary pointed out, remembering another joking conversation from months before – the day after he had kissed Darren's sister.

"Maybe I've changed my mind," Tracey said with a laugh, remembering the same conversation. By now, he knew that the reason Gary had gotten sick immediately after his first kiss had to do with a combination of drinking too much alcohol and imagining that the girl was any one of his friends. He was sure that, should he and Gary ever kiss, vomit would not come into play.

At least, he hoped not.

"Sure," Gary replied sarcastically. "I think you're dying for that night of passion but just don't want to admit it." He paused the game and carefully set down the controller, leaning closer to Tracey so that they were nearly face-to-face. "Is that the case?" he teased.

Tracey wondered for a moment if this was the same teen he had comforted so many times regarding sexuality, the same boy that was so uncomfortable with liking other boys that he tried desperately to like girls – even kissing his sister's best friend in his efforts; the same person that was so terrified of his family and friends' responses to his sexuality that he was willing to push them away to avoid them finding out. Being this close to Gary, he could still see a faint glimmer of uncertainty in his eyes but it was nearly concealed by a challenging arrogance.

"Maybe I just want to kiss you," Tracey said after a moment. He somehow managed to keep his voice light, with that joking quality that had been there for the past few moments.

Something softened in Gary's gaze, the cockiness and challenge seemed to drain away, and Tracey could suddenly see every insecurity present in his eyes. Yet, beneath this, beneath the searching gaze that Gary fixed him with, there was something – a spark, perhaps. Somehow, Tracey knew that he had said the right thing. He leaned forward and began to close the distance between them…

Suddenly, the door opened and the two boys jumped apart as Wyatt burst into the room. Gary bumped the game console, causing the game to freeze but neither seemed to notice in light of their discomfort over what had just nearly happened. Tracey lowered his gaze to the carpeted floor, embarrassed by the fact that he had taken advantage of the situation and had nearly kissed the other boy.

"Will you please tell Darren to stop being so crazy?" he asked loudly, seeming rather distressed.

"I already told you, I'm not getting involved." Gary replied, not looking away from Tracey. "You screwed up and he's pissed at you because of it. I have nothing to do with it."

Wyatt groaned, a sound that bordered on obnoxious and ended in a near-growl. "You kissed Amanda and he didn't freak out!"

Gary finally looked up at his friend, eyes narrowed. "I don't know if you realized it or not, but there is a difference between kissing her and having sex with her! The only reason I even kissed her was because you just had to get involved."

It was an uncomfortable situation for Tracey, sitting so close to Gary when his anger towards his friend was so apparent. After only two comments from the blonde boy, the waves of rage coming off Gary were nearly palpable; it was obvious to Tracey that this situation amongst his friends had bothered Gary greatly. Tracey raised his gaze from the floor to chance meeting Gary's eyes in the hope that it would calm him down a bit.

He was mildly surprised to notice the subtle changes that occurred along with the anger. Of course, Tracey had noticed the narrowed eyes and the slight shrillness that crept into Gary's voice, but there were other things that he hadn't noticed before. The color of his eyes had lightened just enough for Tracey to see the flecks of gold and green that he had never noticed before. It was an attractive change; he had always loved the other boy's dark eyes but they were far prettier than usual now. The slight flush that just barely darkened his cheeks was cute, Tracey decided quickly. With the way Gary's hair was still mused from his earlier shower, Tracey could easily imagine how he would look immediately following a make out session.

A small smile formed on Tracey's face after the last thought but he forced it down, figuring that this was not the best time to appear particularly happy. Gary may not have noticed it by now – he was too busy arguing with his friend – but Tracey would not put it past Wyatt to notice that smile while Tracey was checking out Gary, not even bothering to hide what he was doing.

Gary stood unexpectedly and walked to his desk, straightening the school notebooks that were scattered across it. His hands were shaking, but not from anger towards his friend. It was what had just happened with Tracey that got to him. Not just the closeness, the way they came so closing to kissing. It was everything – the way it felt to simply be in the same room as him, the comfort he felt when they talked, even if he was just venting a bit about some stupid thing that had happened between his friends. Worst of all, in his eyes, at least: the way it felt to have the other boy beneath him as they laughed, as his hands touched Tracey's, trying to pry that stupid controller out from between his fingers… Those damn fingers, again…

He suddenly felt helpless, utterly alone, ashamed of what had happened just before Wyatt's surprising entrance. He hung his head and released a slow sigh, trying to calm down before he ended up lashing out at Wyatt, or worse, Tracey.

"Wyatt, please leave," Gary said softly, once he was sure that he wouldn't snap at the blonde boy.

"Are you fucking serious?" Wyatt asked loudly.

"Wyatt…"

"You're taking his side! I don't believe it, Gary, what the hell?"

"I already told you, I'm not getting involved – get the hell out of here!" Despite being a bit embarrassed by the outburst, Gary couldn't stop at that. Every bit of frustration that he had been feeling towards his friends in the past months threatened to spill out of him at the provocation. "I'm so sick of everyone's drama, and I'm sick of you being such an idiot! Maybe if you would use your brain for once, then you wouldn't get into these situations!"

Surprised by the outburst, Tracey stood slowly, ready to step in if needed.

Wyatt started to retort but Gary cut him off. "If you would stop getting totally wasted every night, maybe you wouldn't be failing every class, maybe your parents wouldn't be about to kick you out, and maybe Darren and Adrian wouldn't be so pissed at you!"

"Gary…" Tracey said softly, hoping to diffuse the situation before it could worsen.

Wyatt, who had paled dramatically at Gary's words, interrupted him. "And you think you're so much better than the rest of us? Because you get to skip class so that you can play around in the lab, because your grandfather spoils the fuck out of you, because your family is actually normal? Is that why you're such an ass to us now?"

By now Tracey could see that Gary was visibly shaking with suppressed anger and he worried for a moment that if Wyatt pushed him any further, Gary might end up admitting why he had been so moody since moving back home. As much as he wanted Gary to come out and tell his friends what was going on, he didn't want it to happen like this. There was no way it would end well if it came out in a burst of anger, in the middle of a fight.

"Forget it," Wyatt suddenly deflated, seeming to give up on the argument. "I'm done… All I wanted was to ask you to help me fix a mistake that I made, but obviously whatever's going on with you is more important than your friends." With that, he turned and left the room. A moment later, the front door slammed and Tracey and Gary were alone again.

"Gary," Tracey started.

"Go," Gary cut him off, his voice dangerously low.

Despite wanting to stay and calm him down, Tracey simply nodded, gestured for Venonat to join him and left the room. After a glare from their trainer, Umbreon and Arcanine left the room as well. Tracey watched from the doorway of his own room as Gary closed the bedroom door harshly; Arcanine started to head down the hallway but stopped when Umbreon whined and scratched at the now-closed door.

The fire dog turned, slunk back down the hall, and nudged the other canine with his snout until she turned away from the door and began to walk away. She stopped in front of Tracey and looked up at him with large scarlet eyes, her ears drooped sadly.

Tracey sighed softly and reached down to rub her ears. He knew that Umbreon was well aware of the affect he had on the pokemon's trainer – he could calm Gary down when he was irritated, he could cheer him up when he was down, he had even discovered the best ways to break up the arguments between the two Oak siblings. Somehow, though, he knew that going and talking to Gary now would do more harm than good, for both him and Gary. He was certain that their near-kiss had something to do with the outburst in the other room and he didn't want to press his luck with the other boy.

"Sorry, girl, he's got to do this on his own today," he said, gently stroking Umbreon's sleek fur while Arcanine watched from a bit further down the hall. Umbreon stared up at him reproachfully until Arcanine barked at her, urging her to follow him down the stairs at the end of the hall. "He has to do this on his own," Tracey repeated firmly.

It was apparent to him now that he couldn't stay involved in this situation – it seemed that he was only making things worse and he felt terrible for it.

… … …