Sonny placed a sippy cup of juice in front of Ari and a cup of coffee next to Will. Neither had asked for anything, Sonny just wanted to do something, anything for Will to acknowledge him.

Will woke and dressed Ari all without looking at Sonny. It was almost as bad as not having Will around at all. At least then Sonny didn't know Will was purposely ignoring him.

"I need to go check on the club today," Sonny revealed.

Will kept his eyes on his cereal. He didn't want to react.

Sonny's face fell.

"I, um, you and Ari could come by for lunch, if you want," Sonny suggested, hope infused in his tone.

Will didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. He had made his decision.

'I can't think clearly here,' Will knew. 'I need just a few days away. Nothing good can come of me staying here.'

Only, Will didn't know how to tell Sonny that. How does anyone tell their husband they can't be around him?

Despite all that Sonny had done, Will didn't want to hurt him.

"Please, Will," Sonny pleaded. "Please talk to me."

"I don't know what to say," Will whispered. "I don't know how to talk to you."

"We can learn again together," Sonny insisted. "I know we can, if we try."

"I-I can't do that now," Will closed his eyes. "I can't stop picturing it, thinking about it. Every time I hear your voice…," Will shook his head.

"Then I'll stay home," Sonny offered. "I'll find us a therapist. I'll do whatever it takes."

Will shook his head once more. He took a deep breath, slowly exhaling.

"I think," Will paused. "I think I need to get away for a while."

Sonny's heart stopped.

"No," Sonny breathed.

"I-I can't think here," Will explained. "I can't breathe. I-I need to clear my head before deciding anything."

"You can't leave me," Sonny begged.

"It's not forever," Will defended. "Just for a few days to see my mom."

'Oh god,' Sonny hadn't thought about Sami at all. 'She's going to kill me. She's going to literally kill me.'

All Sonny could think about was Sami's infamous behavior.

'She's going to murder me,' Sonny knew. 'Or convince Will to never come back to Salem.'

"Please, don't go," Sonny repeated.

"I need to," Will stated. "With everything that's happening and the article soon, I can't deal with it."

"Are you going to talk to me?" Sonny questioned. "If you leave?"

"I-I don't know," Will answered. "I'll make sure you talk with Ari, somehow. I wouldn't keep you two apart."

"How, how can we work on things if we aren't together?" Sonny begged.

"I-I don't know if I want to work on things," Will whimpered.

"Oh," Sonny responded blankly, heart stuttering.

"I love you," Will admitted. "But right now it hurts too much. Everything hurts. Looking at you, thinking about you. I can't ever heal from that if I still feel this way."

"But if you love me," Sonny argued weakly.

"You hurt me," Will firmly responded. "I need to do this, Sonny."

"Okay," Sonny sighed. "I said I'd do whatever you need. If-if this is what you want, I'll support you. Not, not that I have any choice."

"Thank you," Will said.

"Just, if you do go," Sonny urged. "Please, don't shut me out. I love you."

"That's the problem, Sonny," Will stood up. He moved towards the kitchen. "I don't know if I believe you anymore when you say that."

Ring Ring Ring

Paul groaned awake. He flopped his arm towards the nightstand, needing to shut up his stupid phone. It woke him from a beautiful dream. Strange, but beautiful.

Will was in it, of course. The details were escaping Paul but he was fairly certain Will was a mermaid. Paul might have been a human.

Now, Paul had the sudden urge to watch The Little Mermaid.

'Weird,' Paul thought as he looked at his phone.

The name Zoe flashed across the screen.

"What?" Paul grunted instead of answering. He didn't take too kindly to waking up so early.

Zoe frowned at the gruff tone.

"I just thought you might want to know your article is already published," Zoe proudly announced.

"Already?" Paul questioned. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He thought he would have had at least one more day to plan everything.

"Of course," Zoe responded. "I couldn't sit on such a hot bit of news. It could have leaked somehow. Anyway," Zoe continued. "It's up online. A hard copy will print at the end of the week."

"Okay, thanks," Paul replied. He did appreciate the heads up. He didn't want to be taken by surprise.

Paul hoped to already be out of Salem by the time the news broke. He had spoken with his agent about the news. Of course, she felt horrified. But at least she was prepared. Any and all statements would be coming through her.

"You're welcome," Zoe cooed. "I'll be sure to keep in touch."

"Yeah, sure," Paul rolled his eyes. "Goodbye, Zoe."

Paul stretched his arms over his head, joints popping. He felt a tight pulling sensation in his shoulder but it wasn't too bad. Once he felt more awake, Paul dialed Will's number.

"Hi," Will answered in a low, meek voice.

"What's wrong?" Paul instantly questioned. His good mood from before vanished just hearing Will's tone.

"Usual," Will replied.

"Well," Paul tried to distract Will. "The article is up online. That's good, isn't it?"

"Already?" Will frowned.

"Yeah," Paul confirmed. "I haven't looked yet but I will. I'll have to send a link to my mother and grandfather."

"I hope they like it," Will stated. "But, um, I want to leave, now."

"You do?" Paul reached for his IPad, ready to find a flight. "I thought you were still thinking about it."

"I did," Will said. "And I can't be here anymore. I-I want to leave."

"Okay," Paul agreed. "Whatever you want, anything you want."

"Please, Paul," Will sighed. "Just take me away from here."

"I'll take care of everything," Paul promised. "Let me make the arrangements and I'll call you back. Pack whatever you need or, or don't. I'll just buy you and Ari whatever you want."

"Don't be stupid," Will rolled his eyes. "I can pack a few bags. Just, hurry, please."

As Paul spoke with an airline, it hit him.

'I have to get Will out of here before Sonny reads that article.'

Will held up an outfit for Ari to see.

"Do you want to bring this one?" Will asked her.

Ari shook her head, long hair whipping across her face.

"Guess not," Will put the outfit back in the drawer.

Will shoved a handful of socks into Ari's little suitcase and a few more shirt. He threw in two pairs of shoes and the last of her diapers before zipping it closed.

"Ari," Will called her over.

Ari, stuffed bear in her arms, plopped on Will's lap.

"You and I are going to go on a little trip," Will told Ari. He looked at her messy hair before sighing. He started to fix the braid, pulling it tighter.

"Grammy?" Ari grinned.

"Yep," Will nodded. "You, Daddy, Mr. Bear," Will poked the toy in the stomach. "And Paul."

"Daddy'Son?" Ari wondered.

Will tied off her hair and took her hand.

"Daddy Sonny is staying here," Will explained. "Just like when we went before, remember? And you saw Sydney, Allie, and Johnny all the time. It'll be like that."

"Oh," Ari blinked before smiling again.

"Daddy needs to get away from Salem for a while," Will said. "But I'll make sure you get to talk with Sonny."

Ari nodded, squirming out of Will's lap and towards her toys.

'You're doing the right thing,' Will told himself. 'Right now, I can't focus on anything but this. I need to take a few days, clear my head, and then I can start to move on.'

'Sonny said he understands,' Will recalled.

Will moved into his own bedroom. He kept his eyes on the floor. He didn't want to see any pictures, any mementos that would remind him of Sonny.

Will grabbed his own suitcase out of the closet and threw it on the bed. He tossed shirts and pants into it, barely paying any attention to what he grabbed.

Will was so lost in his concentration, he banged into his dresser. The plastic case Will put the baseball Sonny gave him in fell over, catching Will's attention. Will righted the baseball until it showed off Paul's name.

Will wondered if he should do something about Paul. He wondered if he was using Paul, leeching off his comfort and generosity.

Will knew he felt something for Paul although he didn't know what. Something that caused Will to turn to Paul, wanted Paul nearby. He didn't know if it was love or lust or something between the two.

'Paul's the only one that's been there for me,' Will thought. 'He hasn't asked me for anything, he's trusted me. He encourages me and builds me up.'

'He's probably my best friend,' Will realized. 'As sad as that is. No one else has been around me since I came back from LA.'

Will didn't know what Paul expected to happen during this trip, if he wanted more than Will could offer or not. That wasn't going to deter Will though. Will trusted Paul.

'Paul won't do anything to hurt me.'

Sonny placed his elbows on his desk, head in his hands. He had been working nonstop since he arrived at the club. It was all he could do to keep from going crazy.

Sonny only stopped working when his stomach growled. Slinking out into the club, Sonny ordered something from the kitchen. He walked behind the bar to count the register while he waited for his lunch.

There were a handful of customers inside which made Sonny happy. At least he didn't have to worry about the club being dead during lunch time anymore. Only one customer sat at the bar. Sonny thought he looked vaguely familiar but couldn't quite place him.

Sonny counted out the register, pleased with the amount they had made that morning. Sadly, that was the only good thing in Sonny's life right now.

'And whose fault is that?' Sonny thought.

Sonny took the money to his office and locked it up. By the time he came back, Sonny's food was ready.

Sonny picked at his food while sitting at the bar. He wanted to call Will, text him, anything. Sonny was too afraid to do it. He was too scared that Will would ignore him, that he had already left town.

'He's going to leave and never come back,' Sonny thought. 'I'm going to lose him forever.'

'No, that isn't going to happen,' Sonny decided. 'If he isn't back in a few days I'm going after him. I'll prove to him that I love him. I'll prove it.'

The other man at the bar scrolled through his IPad with a chuckle.

Sonny, startling at the sound, turned to look at the man.

"Yeah, I bet it's a tell-all," Derrick, the bellboy from the Salem Inn, chortled.

Sonny tilted his head.

'Where do I know this guy from?' Sonny wondered.

Derrick glanced at the man sitting near him. Once he placed the brunette, Derrick smirked.

"Sorry, bud," Derrick gestured towards his IPad. "I think you were replaced a long time ago."

"Excuse me?" Sonny wrinkled his nose in confusion.

"I'm pretty pissed I didn't make a move sooner," Derrick admitted. He moved barstools until he was sitting next to Sonny. "You'll just have to tell me how good it was."

"What are you talking about?" Sonny sat up straight. He felt certain he didn't want to know.

"Come on, dude," Derrick rolled his eye. "I'm talking about your wild weekend at the Salem Inn."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sonny swallowed heavily. He stood up and grabbed his plate of food. He wasn't so hungry now.

"I got stuck changing your sheets," Derrick leered. "And cleaning out the waste bins, I'm pretty sure I know exactly what you were up to."

"Stop talking," Sonny hissed.

"Although I guess it couldn't have been that memorable since he already moved on," Derrick commented.

Sonny moved behind the counter. He tried his best to ignore the man. Sonny knew he couldn't make a scene. He didn't want anyone to know what happened between him and Paul. It would embarrass and hurt Will too much.

"Actually," Derrick continued. If he noticed Sonny wasn't interested he didn't seem to care. "The new one is pretty hot. Has that whole oblivious, dumb blonde thing going on."

Derrick looked at his IPad screen again.

"Well," Derrick said. "You tell me what you think."

Derrick showed the article to Sonny. It showcased a series of photos of Paul ranging from childhood to now. Underneath that, was a small picture of Will, marking him as the author.

Sonny, fork half-way to his mouth, paused when he saw Will's smiling face.

'No, no, god, no!'

Will grabbed Ari's hand as he walked out of the local jail. As soon as he finished packing, Will realized he had forgotten something important.

Will couldn't take Ari away from home without talking with Gabi first. Well, technically Will could do whatever he wanted with Ari, but he wouldn't. Despite being locked up, Will wanted Gabi to be a part of Ari's life in any way she could.

During their short visit, Will explained to Gabi he was going on a trip to visit his mom and siblings. He didn't feel comfortable telling Gabi the reason why. He didn't want anyone to know Sonny cheated on him.

Gabi, thankfully, didn't ask any questions. She knew how much Will's siblings meant to him and how hard it was that they lived so far away. Will only felt a tiny amount of guilt that he wasn't being completely honest.

While walking through the park back to the apartment, Will noticed he was getting some strange looks. At first, Will dismissed it. The article just came out; maybe people were curious about his private interviews with the Paul Narita.

The longer he walked though, the odder the looks became. Uncomfortable, Will hurried back.

'Paul was right,' Will knew. 'The publicity from this article is going to be too much.'

Will placed the suitcases near the door. He was thankful that Ari fell asleep on the walk home. Paul should be there any minute now to take them away. Will knew he should tell his dad and his grandparents where he was going.

'I'm just afraid they'll ask too many questions,' Will thought. 'Or try to talk me out of it.'

Knock Knock Knock

"That must be Paul," Will said out loud.

Nervously, Will swung the door open.

It wasn't Paul.

Sonny dropped his fork. It spluttered against his plate, spreading food everywhere. He reached out and plucked the IPad from the man.

"No, no, no," Sonny stated. "This can't be happening."

"It's not that big of a deal," Derrick gave Sonny a strange look. "I mean, you haven't even seen the guy in forever."

"No, that's not, ugh," Sonny groaned and put his head in his hands.

'Oh, god,' Sonny realized. 'Will said he got close to someone at work. That he kissed Will. It was Paul.'

Sonny hadn't given much thought to the man that kissed Will. It didn't seem to matter in light of his own betrayal. Now, it mattered.

'It was Paul,' Sonny knew. 'It has to be Paul.'

Derrick took his IPad back. He thought the man was overreacting. Who cared if Paul hooked up with someone else? It wasn't the end of the world.

Derrick, seconds away from locking his IPad, got a twitter notification.

'Thirty followers just liked a photo,' Derrick read. He clicked on the link.

"Oh man," Derrick laughed again. "And here I thought Paul only fucked around at the Inn."

Sonny looked up, hands over his face as Derrick showed him the screen.

There, for everyone to see, were skillfully taken paparazzi pictures. Pictures of Paul with his arms wrapped tightly around Will, nose pressed into his hair. Paul, cupping Will's face, while standing near an alley. Will walking into the Brady Pub at night, slinking out again the next morning.

'Will and my daughter,' Sonny glared. 'He brought our daughter around Paul?!'

It took Sonny a few seconds to recognize the hallway they were standing in, the staircase behind them.

Without another word, Sonny stormed out of the club, shaking with rage.

"Dad?" Will's shoulders slumped in relief. He didn't know why he was so nervous to see Paul. He wanted to get away from Salem. He did.

"Will," Lucas shoved his way into the apartment. His lips were stern and straight. "Where's Arianna?"

"She's napping," Will replied. "What's wrong?"

As soon as Will finished, Lucas exploded.

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" Lucas yelled.

Will jumped. He didn't expect the tone or the ire.

"Dad," Will frowned. "What are you-?"

"You lied to me," Lucas maintained. "I asked you and you lied. Now everyone knows how stupid you've been."

Will's face crumpled, taking a few steps back.

"What?" Will whispered.

"I can't believe you would do something so idiotic, Will," Lucas paced. "After everything in your childhood, how could you let this happen?"

"I didn't," Will shook his head.

Will didn't understand how his father could blame him for this.

'Paul said it wasn't my fault,' Will felt his eyes watering. 'Sonny said it wasn't my fault.'

"Will," Lucas ranted. "What the hell were you thinking? You're supposed to be better than this!"

Will leaned against the front door near the suitcases.

Lucas, mouth open, stopped mid-sentence when he saw the suitcases.

"I can't belie- are you leaving?" Lucas demanded.

Will sniffed a few times before nodding.

"I wanted to see Mom," Will quietly responded.

"Of course, you do," Lucas snorted. "God, I spent half my life praying for you to not turn into your mother."

"Why are you saying this?" Will asked, fed up. He had heard enough.

Will felt bad enough as it is. He didn't need his father telling him how awful he was.

"Damnit, Will," Lucas groaned. "First, you slept with Paul and now you're skipping town with him."

"Wh-what?" Will spat out. "I never slept with Paul!"

"I saw you," Lucas reminded Will.

"He slept on the couch," Will stated firmly.

"Really?" Lucas shook his head in disbelief.

"I've never had sex with Paul Narita," Will maintained. "Why is that so hard for you to believe?"

"Because it's all over the internet," Lucas shouted. "Everyone's seen the pictures!"

"What pictures?" Will threw his hands in the air. "What are you talking about?"

Lucas pulled out his phone, angrily jabbing at the screen.

"These pictures," Lucas shoved the phone in Will's face.

Will scrolled through the pictures with a frown. Granted, the pictures did look intimate. But Will didn't understand how anyone could believe he was sleeping with Paul from them. Let alone his own father.

"So, I've hugged Paul a few times," Will handed the phone back. "What of it?"

"Yeah, right," Lucas rolled his eyes. "Look at the time stamps, Will. You spent the night with him!"

"It was innocent," Will defended.

"You brought your daughter there," Lucas continued, disregarding Will. "How could you screw up this bad?"

"I didn't do anything," Will stood his ground.

"You ruined everything with Sonny," Lucas crossed his arms. "I thought you were better than this, Will."

Will stared at Lucas for a moment before covering his mouth, stifling a sob.

Lucas sighed. He didn't mean to make Will cry but Will needed to see reason.

"Will," Lucas reached out for him.

"Why are you yelling at me?" Will cried. "Paul's just a friend. He was comforting me," Will turned away from his father. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"How do you explain staying with Paul then?" Lucas asked in a gentler tone.

"Because he's the only one that knows," Will wiped at his eyes.

"Knows what?" Lucas questioned. Somewhere along the way Lucas lost control of the conversation.

"Knows Sonny cheated on me," Will confessed.

Bang Bang Bang

Paul turned towards the door.

'I thought I told Will I'd pick him up,' Paul mused. 'But this'll save us time.'

Paul greeted, "I thought we were-,"

Paul caught a glimpse of Sonny's murderous expression before getting punched in the face.

"What the fuck?" Paul stumbled back.

Sonny vibrated with anger. He shook his reddened fist, almost too infuriated to speak. He wanted to hit Paul again. Wanted to take out his frustration over everything out on Paul's stupid face.

"You don't know my husband?" Sonny mocked, eyebrow raised. "That's what you said the other day. I asked you," Sonny tried to control himself but it was difficult. "And you lied to me!"

"You wanna talk about lying?" Paul asked incredulously, hand on his jaw.

Sonny didn't hit him that hard. He didn't think there would be a bruise. But Paul was pissed.

"I didn't lie to you," Sonny responded.

"No," Paul cut him off. "You just lied to your husband, over and over and over again."

"Shut up!" Sonny screamed. "Did you sleep with him?"

"What?" Paul felt taken aback. He didn't expect that.

"I have been feeling like crap and you and he-," Sonny snarled. "God," Sonny paced. "You-he, how could this fucking happen?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Paul demanded. "I didn't sleep with Will."

"Don't," Sonny shoved his finger in Paul's face. "Don't say his name."

"What is wrong with you?" Paul shook his head and looked Sonny over.

Paul had never seen Sonny so out of control.

Sonny paced back and forth, head in his hands.

"Did you do this to hurt me? Get back at me? What?" Sonny rounded on Paul.

"What are you even-?" Paul tried.

"Why did you sleep with him, huh?" Sonny spat.

"Would you shut the hell up," Paul ordered. He looked down the hall in worry. "People downstairs can hear you."

"I don't care!" Sonny shouted.

"Well, Will does, you asshole," Paul growled. "Do you think he wants everyone hearing you spewing this crap?"

Now that Sonny had shut up, Paul got started.

"And you have some nerve," Paul glared at Sonny. "After what you did, how could you even think Will would cheat? You're the cheater-not him."

"I saw the pictures," Sonny stated.

"Pictures?" Paul asked.

"They're all over the internet," Sonny shouted. "You and my husband!"

Paul frowned, concentrating.

'How could there be pictures?' Paul wondered.

Suddenly, the strange man that he thought looked familiar came crashing down on him. The man always seemed to linger wherever Paul went.

'Oh, god,' Paul realized with a startling horror. 'I know where I've seen him.'

The man, the one with the camera and the cell phone, used to follow Paul around in San Francisco. He was infamous paparazzi.

'How the fuck didn't I notice him?'

Paul knew the answer. He had been so focused on Will, so distracted, he didn't notice his surroundings the way he would have. The way he always did when he was outside of Salem.

Paul knew though, there was nothing in those pictures that he was ashamed of.

"So, you saw some pictures and you thought what?" Paul shrugged. "That Will slept with me? Without even talking to him?"

Sonny looked away from Paul.

"Oh, no," Paul continued. "You thought I went after Will because of you. Because my life must revolve around you. Because, god forbid, someone do anything that doesn't have to do with you."

"Newsflash," Paul finished. "My decisions do not have anything to do with you. And how I feel about Will has nothing to do with you."

"How you feel?" Sonny caught Paul's eye. "Will interviewed you. He wrote an article. You do not know him."

"I think I know him better than you do," Paul fired back. "In fact, who do you think has been comforting him, hmm? Who do you think he trusts now?"

"You don't know Will," Sonny argued. "Not the way I do. You'll never know him the way I do."

Sonny noticed Paul react to that statement.

"In fact," Sonny smiled grimly. "You're never going to have him the way I do. He's my husband."

"You threw him away," Paul stated.

"He isn't yours," Sonny hissed. "You're never going to have him. In fact," Sonny laughed. "He probably doesn't even know about you, does he?"

Paul averted his eyes.

"Oh my god," Sonny laughed louder. "I'm the liar, huh? Do you think Will is going to look at you after he finds out what you did?"

"I'm not his husband," Paul insisted. "That's you. You're the one that broke him."

"Do you think he's going to let you fix him? After he finds out you slept with me?" Sonny caught Paul's eyes again. "I'm his husband. I'm the one he loves. I'm the one he has a daughter with. You are nothing compared to me."

"I guess we'll find out, huh?" Paul answered. He tried not to give anything away to Sonny. He didn't want Sonny to know how hard his words hit.

'I need to get to Will and Ari before Sonny does,' Paul knew. 'I have to get them out of town now.'

Paul reached into the apartment and grabbed his keys and phone. Without saying anything else, Paul pushed past Sonny and raced down the stairs. He knew he needed to get to Will first.

"Will," Lucas reached out his hands before drawing them back. "What do you mean?"

"Sonny told me," Will wiped at his eyes. "He-he spent the weekend with someone else."

"But, but Sonny would never-," Lucas couldn't believe this.

"Oh, but you have no problem imagining me, right?" Will rolled his eyes. "Why does everyone expect the worst out of me?"

"That's not true," Lucas defended. "Stop it. What the hell do you mean Sonny cheated on you? Why didn't you tell me?"

"What would I even tell you?" Will asked. "That I'm an awful husband and Sonny never loved me?"

"Don't say that," Lucas order. "Don't you dare talk about yourself like that."

Will turned away from his father. Concerned about the noise they were making, Will went to check on Ari. Satisfied that she was asleep, Will collapsed on the couch.

"It's true," Will argued. "He slept with his ex, spent a weekend with him. An ex he never told me about."

"Sonny loves you," Lucas sat down next to Will. "He's married to you."

"Because the other guy said no," Will laid his head on the back of the sofa. He stared at the ceiling, eyes watering. "I'm just the one that said yes."

"He asked this other guy to marry him?" Lucas questioned in surprise.

"Yeah," Will laughed sadly. "Here I was thinking I was special, that he only wanted me. When all along he wanted him."

"Who is him?" Lucas wondered.

"I don't know," Will responded. "I don't want to know."

Will blinked a few times.

"Better than me," Will snorted. "That's all I need to know."

Lucas was still having a hard time reconciling all this. The longer Lucas thought about it the angrier he became.

'When Will first started dating Sonny I thought he was using him,' Lucas recalled. 'I thought he was going to hurt my son and he said he wouldn't.'

'I trusted him with Will,' Lucas thought. 'I trusted him with my son.'

Lucas turned to look at Will. He took in his red eyes, red face. The constant blinking to clear his eyes. The exhaustion and defeat displayed across his features.

'This,' Lucas knew. 'This is what I never wanted for Will. This is what I've spent my entire life trying to protect him from.'

"What are you going to do?" Lucas asked in a gentle tone. He needed to make up for the mess he made of their earlier conversation.

"Paul said he'd take me and Ari to Mom," Will replied. "I-I don't know what to do."

"Okay," Lucas understood that. He too had been in this position before. He understood feeling like everything was out of control and needing to distract yourself.

"I didn't sleep with Paul," Will reiterated. "I didn't."

"I believe you," Lucas acknowledged. "But something did happen, didn't it?"

"He kissed me," Will confessed. "Before I found out about Sonny. I pushed him away."

"That's good," Lucas patted Will's shoulder.

"After-after I found out," Will looked around the room, trying to clear his eyes. "I threw myself at him, Paul I mean."

"Will," Lucas sighed.

"He wouldn't let me do anything though," Will continued. "Paul knew I was hurting. He slept on the couch and I cried myself to sleep on his bed. That's it."

"And he's taking you all the way to California," Lucas realized. "He must really like you."

"Yeah," Will sniffed. "I-I've tried to tell him I can't give him anything else. He said he just wants to be my friend."

"The pictures don't really support that," Lucas told Will. "They look a lot more damning."

"It's innocent," Will maintained.

"Do you think Sonny is going to believe that?" Lucas questioned. "Or is Sonny going to think what I did? What everyone else most likely thinks?"

"I don't care about everyone else," Will admitted. "And I don't care what Sonny thinks. He doesn't get to tell me who I can be friends with. He was friends with Brian even though that hurt me. He's still friends with a lot of guys I know he's at least kissed. He doesn't get to begrudge me this, not after everything."

"That doesn't sound healthy," Lucas commented.

"I don't care, Dad," Will angrily wiped at his eyes. "I'm tired of caring. I've spent the past few weeks hurting and alone and, and doubting myself. Sonny made me think I was doing everything wrong, that I couldn't do anything. I've been struggling with my feelings for Paul and I've tried to do the right thing. And Sonny, he-he," Will trailed off, bowing his head.

"I know, son," Lucas wrapped one arm around Will's shoulder. He guided Will against his chest.

It had been many years since Lucas had held his son while he cried. It was one part of fatherhood he hated.

"I know," Lucas repeated as Will sobbed.

Paul slammed out of the Brady Pub and into the street. He pushed aside some unsuspecting bystanders and could care less. He was singularly focused.

While running, Paul dialed his cell phone.

"Hey," Will answered, sniffling.

It was amazing how much pain Paul could hear in a simple word.

"I'm coming to get you," Paul huffed and puffed.

"O-okay," Will pressed his lips together.

"I'll be right there," Paul insisted. "Please be ready."

"I," Will took a heavy breath. "I'll be waiting for you."

"Thank god," Paul mumbled. "I'll see you soon."

Paul hung up and tried to focus. He still wasn't familiar with Salem's side streets.

'God, I hope I can get there before Sonny,' Paul thought.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Lucas asked Will.

Will, grabbing a few last minute items, shrugged.

"I just want to stop hurting," Will replied. "I think getting out of Salem will be good for me."

"I think so too," Lucas agreed. "I just don't think you should go with Paul."

Will ignored his father and threw the last of Ari's toys in a carryon bag.

"Are you listening to me?" Lucas questioned.

"Do you want me to stay with Sonny?" Will fired back. "Stay here," Will gestured towards the apartment. "In a home I don't think was ever meant for me?"

"You could stay with me," Lucas offered. "You could stay in Allie's room."

"I just," Will made several aborted motions and sounds. "I just can't be here."

Will and Lucas faced each other, standing on opposite ends of the couch. Before either could say anything more, the front door swung open.

Will jumped, finding himself facing Sonny.

"Will," Sonny disregarded Lucas entirely and left the door wide open. He knew he would get to the apartment first. Paul had no idea how to get around Salem yet.

Will averted his eyes, shying away.

Sonny didn't know what he should say first. A million new apologies were on the tip of his tongue. New words to breathe that could potentially make Will see how sorry he was. But that wouldn't be enough. It wasn't enough.

A million apologies might never get his message across. Sonny made his mistakes and if he could take them back he would. Unfortunately, he couldn't.

What he could do, was reveal the truth. The entire truth, before Paul could.

"Will," Sonny pressed forward. "I have to tell you something."

Lucas pursed his lips, eyebrows nearly touching.

"You know what, Sonny," Lucas crossed his arms. "Why don't you give him a break?"

"No," Sonny shook his head. "This is important."

"If it's about the pictures, you're wasting your breath," Lucas pointed out. "Will didn't do anything."

"I know that," Sonny growled, frustrations leaking over. "Will," Sonny focused. "Paul Narita was your big, secret interview, right?"

Will nodded, shifting nervously.

"And you couldn't tell me because of the confidentiality agreement?" Sonny continued.

Will looked at Sonny's determined face and nodded again.

Sonny took in Will's demeanor, the way Will practically cowered away. This news wasn't going to make anything better.

"You're friends with him?" Sonny asked. "He's the one that kissed you?"

"Yes," Will answered in a low whisper.

Sonny opened and closed his mouth.

"There's something I have to tell you," Sonny revealed.

"What?" Will could only imagine. What new crushing disappointment could Sonny have for him now?

"Will," Sonny's voice wavered slightly. "I know who Paul is too."

"What does that mean?" Will tilted his head.

Lucas narrowed his eyes, hackles rising.

"It means," Sonny closed his eyes for a brief moment. He gathered his strength. "Will, Paul's my ex-boyfriend. The ex-boyfriend."

"No," Will gulped.

"I, you have no idea how much I wish it wasn't," Sonny confided. "But it's true."

Paul slowly stepped over the threshold of the apartment, out of breath. He observed the scene in front of him, Sonny's determination, and Lucas' indignation.

'I'm too late,' Paul thought as Will stumbled backwards. 'I'm too late.'

Sonny, keeping his eyes on Will's crumpling figure, repeated, "I slept with Paul Narita."

Author's note:

Today would be Will and Sonny's second wedding anniversary. A bittersweet chapter for a bittersweet day.

Thanks for reading!