"You're WHAT?!" The horrified response of both of Danny's friends emanated from their mouths and collided with the ears of the reluctant teen. He immediately regretted his decision, wishing he had just kept he truth bottled up like he had originally intended to do. He looked between the two, hoping that at least one of them would say something, anything at this point. He would soon regret this wish, as Tucker had quite a bit to say.

"How could you do this, Danny?"

"What?"

"How could you do this to us?"

"Tucker, what are you talking about?"

"We go away for a month and come back to this?"

"You aren't making sense, Tuck."

"No, you're not making any sense. How could you just, how could you betray us like this?"

"Betray you? How did I betray you?"

"Danny, think about it, how can you just fall in love with some asshole who ruined your life for years?"

"You don't know Dash like I do, Tucker."

"I know him well enough. I know that for the first two years of high school he mercilessly tormented you. I know that he doesn't care about you and I know he doesn't give a shit about how you feel."

"What the fuck did you just say to me?"

"I said he doesn't care about you."

"Who the fuck do you think you are to tell me shit like that?"

"I don't know who you think I am, but I was under the impression that I was your best friend."

"Well what kind of best friend would say shit like that?"

"A best friend who doesn't want to see you get hurt."

"And just how do you know I'm going to get hurt? Have you so much as thought about how Dash has changed in the past few months? People aren't static; they don't just sit there and stay the same for their whole lives."

"But"

"And another thing, who the fuck do you think you are to tell me who I'm allowed to fall in love with? You say you're my best friend, but if you're going to act like this, then I don't want anything to do with you."

"Well if this is what YOU are like now, the feeling's mutual."

Sam had had enough of this ridiculous bickering, and finally found a spot to interject.

"Look, I don't exactly trust Dash, or like him for that matter, but shouldn't we give him the benefit of the doubt? People DO change. If Danny can learn to love him given his past, maybe he's not all bad."

"I knew I could count on you, Sam."

"That doesn't mean I'm happy with the news, Danny, I can't believe you kept this a secret for so long."

"Yeah, we're supposed to be your best friends, how could you not even tell us that you were gay?"

"Is that what this is about?" Danny turned to Tucker, seething.

"What-No, I don't care if you like other guys, I just…"

"That's what this is about. It's not because I like Dash, It's-How could you be this-You know what, I'm done here. Fuck you, Tucker; you're a hateful bigot and a terrible friend."

Without so much as a remorseful glance, Danny shoved his friends aside and stormed out of Sam's room, ignoring their pleas for him to wait. He couldn't believe what he had heard, or what his mind had told him he heard. Regardless of the actual meaning, he had his friends' opinions, and he couldn't accept them.

"You actually got to meet PSY?" Dash was astounded.

"Yeah, well I didn't get to talk to him or anything, but he shook my hand and let me take a picture with him really quick." Kwan said, flashing the photo in front of his jealous friend. Dash took the photo and held it up to the light, checking its authenticity.

"Man, next time you go you gotta let me come."

"I don't think I'll see him again, dude."

"It doesn't matter, I can't know for sure until I go myself."

"You're crazy, Dash."

"Whatever."

"So do you think he told 'em?"

"I don't know, man."

"Well he's got a cellphone, call him up."

"Right now?"

"Yeah, I mean he probably knows I know, so it's not like me being here matters."

"But"

"Just call him, dude."

Dash sighed and removed his phone from his pocket. He scrolled down his contact list and stopped on Danny's name, clicking a button. The phone rang a few times before going to voicemail.

"He isn't picking up."

"Maybe he's still with his friends."

"Probably. I'll call him later, I don't wanna bother him."

Denise was enjoying the peace and quiet, she wasn't expecting Dash home for a while, and that meant Danny wouldn't be around either. For a brief moment she noticed the solemn loneliness of the situation. She made a mental note to think about getting a cat, and went back to the TV program in front of her. Over the laughter of the talk show, hosted by a famous woman who enjoyed dancing and voicing animated fish in children's movies, she could make out a faint pounding. At first she thought it was her imagination, but as the noise persisted she realized it was someone at the door. The knocking was still present as she approached the door, and when she answered it she was taken back.

"I-Is Dash here?"

"No, Danny, he's still over Kwan's house. Dear, why are you crying?"

"Nothing-it's nothing. Can you tell him I stopped by?"

"Danny, I'm a mother, I know you don't expect me to believe your excuse. I'll ask you again, what's wrong?"

"I-it's a long story."

"Then come inside and you can tell me."

Sam and Tucker were sitting on the former's bed, silence surrounding them, suffocating the two teens. Sam couldn't bring herself to talk to her boyfriend about what had just happened, and Tucker didn't feel like talking at all. They would occasionally glance at each other, turning away when their eyes happened to meet.

"Tucker," Sam broke the silence, "We're going to have to talk about this."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Tough, time to start talking. What happened to you earlier?"

"I don't know, Sam, I just lost it. I felt so angered and betrayed and blindsided by this."

"But what you said to Danny"

"I MAY have overreacted a little."

"A little?"

"Okay, I overreacted, a lot."

"Did you mean all the things you said?"

"Not all of them. I don't have a problem with Danny liking other guys, but why Dash?"

"The heart wants what the heart wants, Tucker."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means that you can't help who you fall in love with."

"I think that's bull."

"It doesn't matter, Tucker, Danny wanted to tell us, he chose to let us know, and look how you reacted."

"How I reacted? What did you do?"

"Okay, I wasn't 100 percent supportive, but I didn't flip my shit on him."

"We gotta go talk to him, don't we?"

"What do you think?" Sam placed a hip on her hand, sassiness dripping from her voice.

"Danny, dear, I'm sure your friends just weren't expecting you to tell them that. I bet if you give them some time they'll come to terms with it."

Danny was about to reply when the door opened.

"Mom, I'm home."

Danny instantly registered Dash's voice and muttered a curse under his breath. He didn't want to be seen like this, so he made sure to keep quiet.

"Oh Dash, honey, would you come up here?"

"Hang on, Mom, I gotta call Danny and ask him something."

"I think you'll want to come up here first."

"But"

"Dash, get up here this instant or I swear to God I will"

Before she even got a chance to finish her sentence the sound of footsteps cut her off.

"Danny, what are you doing here?"

Dash took a few steps toward the raven haired male before he was able to make out something that worried him.

"What happened, why were you crying?"

"I-I told them."

"Oh?"

"They didn't take it well."

"O-oh."

"Yeah."

"Danny, I"

"No, it's fine. I was expecting them to react how they did, well not to that degree, but" The tears kept him from completing the statement, Danny stopping to let out a choking sob. Dash was by his side in mere seconds, arms pulling him close.

"I'll leave you two." Denise announced as she made her way out of the room. She knew she couldn't help at this point.

"I-I just never expected Tucker to react like that, Dash, he-he-he said that"

"What did he say?"

"He said you would never really love me, that people can't change, and he didn't trust you."

"What?"

"And I mean Sam was a little less verbal, she wasn't too thrilled that it was you, but Tucker just-God, what am I supposed to do?"

Dash was at a loss for words. He was worried that this would happen, he couldn't help but feel that he had just ended the only real friendships Danny had, and it made his heart ache. The only thought that came to him was to pull Danny closer, hold him tighter, and whisper to him that would be okay. He couldn't promise that it would be, in fact at this point he didn't know if it would be, but it seemed to quiet Danny a bit. Dash stroked the boy's ebony hair, feeling the shaking sobs stop.

"Dash?"

"Hmm?"

"Whatever happens between me, Sam and Tucker, it won't change things between us. If they can't accept you, it's their problem."

"Danny, you can't just let them go like that. I'm sure-I'm sure that they just need some time to get used to the idea."

"That's the same thing your mother said."

"Then you know it's gotta be right."

"You two are a lot alike, Dash."

"I can imagine." Dash sighed, blinking slowly. "Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't listen to Tucker."

"What?"

"I'll always love you; don't believe for a second that I don't."

"I-I love you too, Dash."