Hello agian!

Thank you all who wrote such positive reviews for the prologue! I didn't expect that at all!

Well, here's the first chapter... hope you all like it! 3

Chapter One - Before the Party

Jeff pushes his hair out of his eyes as he walks up the front steps to Nick's house. He knocks on the door and hears the doorbell ring inside. He laughs to himself as a happy shriek comes from within, and small feet run to the door. The front door is thrown open by a small, dark haired girl, dressed in a princess gown, with a tiara sitting crookedly on the top of her head.

Katie looks up to meet his eyes, beaming widely, until she realizes who he is. She frowns and crosses her arms. "You're not Abby's mommy." She whines, having obviously been hoping the person at the door was her friend Abigail and her mother.

Jeff laughs. "No, I'm not. I'm here to see Nick. Is he here?" He asks sweetly. He always thought Katie was the most adorable little girl on the planet, and he often found himself wishing for his own little sister because of it.

"Uh huh." Katie nods, and runs back into the house, leaving Jeff on the front step. Smiling to himself, Jeff steps into the house and closes the door behind him. He knows the Duval's wouldn't mind if he did. He was over at their house almost as much as he was at his own, their parents being best friends and all.

He hears voices coming from the living room, and looks up to see Nick walking towards him, a huge smile on his face. "Hey, gorgeous." He greets, kissing Jeff square on the lips.

Jeff ignores the heat from his rising blush and kisses back for a second before smiling "Hey, yourself." He instinctively looks back into the house to make sure no one saw them. They still haven't told anyone yet.

Nick notices and starts leading him further inside by the hand. "Don't worry. Mom and Dad are out getting last minute food because she didn't trust me not to eat it beforehand, and Katie is busy watching Tangled."

Jeff smiles and nods happily. He intertwines his fingers with Nick's, kissing his knuckles as they enter the living room to find Katie engrossed in the TV.

Katie doesn't even turn around when they come in, and Jeff chuckles quietly to himself. He leans on the back of the couch and looks at Nick. "So what are we going to do now?" he asks playfully.

Nick smiles and shakes his head. "Well, unfortunately, my mom has given us fun duty. It's our job to keep the kids occupied for an hour or so outside before they bring out the cake and presents. So we have to set up the games now and supervise when the kids get here."

Jeff raises his eyebrows. "And where will you mom be during all this?"

"Probably inside talking to the other kids' mothers." Nick sighs. "I'm sorry you had to get roped into this, but Mom only just told me this morning, and I couldn't get out of it."

Jeff laughs and pulls Nick closer; making sure Katie was still watching the movie. "As long as I get to spend the afternoon with you, I'm happy."

Nick blushes and grins, tilting his chin up and kissing Jeff quickly on the lips. "We better get started then, because Mom should be back any minute."

Jeff nods and lets Nick step away. "What kind of games did you have in mind?" he asks, putting his hands in his pockets and walking with his boyfriend to the glass doors leading to the back porch.

Nick shrugs. "I don't know. I asked Katie, and she wanted to play princesses with Abigail and Trent. They're her friends from school." He adds, and Jeff nods. "So I don't think we'll have to do much for that. But Mom said that might get old pretty fast, so we should think of something else. Any ideas?"

Jeff walks out the open door to Nick's spacious backyard. It had a good sized patio, a large lawn, and a built in pool to the right of the yard. "Uh, I don't know. Don't kids like to play tag or hide and seek and stuff like that?"

Nick sits down on the soft, green grass, Jeff following suit. "Yeah, that sounds good. Hey, do you remember last year when someone started a huge game of tag at school?" he chuckles.

Jeff throws his head back and laughs. He did remember. Some senior got half the school to start an enormous game of tag at Dalton, with at least ten taggers, with each having a different condition. If John tagged you, you froze. If it was Ryan, you had to lie on the ground until two people lay down on either side of you. For Henry, you had to sit on thin air until someone else sat on your lap and imitated using the toilet before flushing to set you free.

"Yeah, but I don't think it would end well if we tell them to pretend to use each other as toilets. They might take it too seriously." He jokes, and Nick laughs.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." he leans back on his hands. "But I think they can handle the freeze tag, don't you?"

Jeff nods. "Yeah, I think so. And maybe that game where you hold hands with the tagger when they tag you, and you run around and make a big long string. You know the one I'm talking about?"

Nick nods. "Yeah, I know it. That sounds good. And if they still need more entertainment, we can improvise."

Jeff smirks. "Or just put on a movie."

"Yeah, that sounds easier." Nick concedes, making Jeff laugh.

"Boys!"

Nick and Jeff turn around to face the door to see Mrs. Duval waving them in. They stand up and walk towards her. "Hello, you two. It's great to see you, Jeff. You are so kind to come help Nick with the kids. Would you two mind helping with the groceries?" she chatters, leading them into the kitchen.

"Sure." Nick says, though he knew it wasn't really a question. He follows her and takes a bag from the counter, starting to put the things away while Mrs. Duval mysteriously disappears.

As Nick is putting away the eggs, his father comes in, arms full of plastic sacks. "Hey Jeff!" he smiles widely in his jolly way. "How are you?"

Jeff smiles back and takes two bags from his arms. "I'm good, Mr. Duval. How are you?"

"I'm doing just fine, Jeff. And please, call me Bob."

"Er, sorry, Bob." Jeff responds, still feeling awkward calling his boyfriend's father by his first name.

"Hello to you too, father!" Nick calls sarcastically from across the kitchen, much louder than necessary.

Bob laughs happily and crosses the room, giving Nick a tight, one armed hug. "Hello, son. And how are you doing?"

Nick laughs. "I'm good, Dad. When do you think people will start getting here?"

His father sets down the rest of the groceries and checks his watch. "Oh, in about ten minutes. Terri's mom called while we were out, and is bringing Terri over a bit early because she forgot she has to go to yoga or something." He makes a face, causing both boys to laugh.