Here you are! New chapter! It didn't take too long, did it?

Enjoy!

Even though Jeff and Tyler were grounded from just about everything entertaining for the summer, they were still allowed to leave the house.

Thankfully! Jeff hated being home now. Or, at least when his father was home. He spent as much time out as he could just to avoid his dad.

Jeff didn't tell Nick about his dad's reaction to the party. He didn't want to burden his boyfriend with his home troubles. And besides, his father hadn't even hurt him this time. Just drove him against a wall and terrified him a little.

Fear wasn't something Jeff liked to admit.

All Nick needed to know was that Jeff was grounded, and Jeff was even a little light on the details there. All he said was his dad found out about the missing alcohol, not the party itself.

When Tyler suggested a double date with his girlfriend and Jeff and Nick, Jeff didn't hesitate in agreeing. He hated the tension at home. He wanted to forget all about home. Namely, his father, of course.

Apparently, Tyler had been dating some girl named Vivian. Exclusively. Something very unusual for the older Griffin brother. He'd never been in a serious relationship with anyone before. Jeff almost couldn't wait to meet this girl, figure out what might be so special about her.

They decided to go to Breadstix, where they would most definitely get a decent discount on their food, thanks to Nick. None of them had all that much money to spare.

They all met up outside the Italian restaurant at around 5pm where Tyler very happily introduced Nick and Jeff to his girlfriend. "Hey, guys! Meet Vivian," he greeted them cheerfully, motioning to the girl beside him. "Vivian, this is Jeff, my brother. And that's Nick, his boyfriend."

She smiled at them. "Hi! It's nice to finally meet you guys," she greeted brightly, shaking each of their hands. "Tyler has told me a lot about you, Jeff."

Jeff smiled awkwardly, unsure if that was a good thing or not. You never know with Tyler. "It's nice to meet you, too," he greeted politely. "And, um, Tyler has told me a lot about you as well." That was a lie. Jeff hadn't even known Vivian existed until today.

Vivian was pretty, like all of Tyler's old girlfriends, but in a different way. Jeff couldn't really place it, but she seemed…unlike the girls Tyler normally dated. She was kind of tall, reaching almost to Nick's height. Her black hair was long and straight. Long bangs fell over her forehead, almost covering her light brown eyes.

Maybe Jeff was just used to all the week-long flings Tyler used to have back in high school with thin and beautiful blonde haired and blue-eyed girls. None of those relationships had been serious in the least. Perhaps Tyler had matured, in the sense of who he dated.

Of course, Jeff had been practically the same way before he got together with Nick. Maybe Vivian was 'the one' for Tyler?

They went inside and were seated at a booth by a window in the corner of the restaurant. They ordered only two plates of food, each couple splitting one. Nick was too health conscious to accept an entire plate of food. He said he'd be content splitting whatever Jeff got, and since Nick's favorite food was Fettuccine Alfredo, Jeff ordered that. Tyler and Vivian got Chicken Cacciatore, which Jeff thought was slightly odd since Tyler hated mushrooms. Wasn't chicken Cacciatore made with mushrooms?

Oh well. They chose to split a meal because Vivian claimed that she wasn't very hungry. For some reason, Tyler didn't seem to like that too much and told her he would split a meal with her as long as she promised to eat at least half.

Yet another odd thing for Tyler to say and do. Tyler was normally such a pig when it came to anything he ate. Sharing was like torture to him. At least, that was how Jeff remembered it.

The meals were huge here at Breadstix, though, so no one really had to worry about not getting enough to eat.

While they ate, they got to know each other.

"So, how long have you and Tyler been together?" Jeff asked Vivian first off.

"Well, we met in the first few weeks of college," Vivian answered. "We both take Business Administration. We got together a few months after we met…So almost a year, I think."

Well, that was probably a new record for Tyler. Jeff was a little surprised. Maybe college had changed Tyler? Even though he seemed pretty much the same on the outside, there were a lot of smaller differences in him now, at least when it came to Vivian.

"What about you two?" Vivian asked, motioning to Jeff and Nick. "How long have you been together?"

"We just recently got together," Nick answered before Jeff. "It's only been a few weeks now."

"But we've been best friends since 6th grade," Jeff put in.

"Wow, that's a long time," she said with a smile. "What took you so long to get together?"

"Um. Let's just say it took me a long time to realize that I was bi," Jeff said simply. "Coming out isn't easy, either."

Vivian nodded understandingly. "Oh, I know. I have a cousin who's gay, and he had a pretty rough time about it in high school. People can be really mean sometimes."

Nick nodded solemnly at that one. He knew that was true from experience. Jeff had yet to experience anti-gay harassment. Or, at least, from someone other than his father.

All in all, the double-date went well. Vivian was one of the nicest girls Tyler had ever gone out with, and she was completely open-minded about Jeff and Nick. Jeff got to know her well enough to decide that he approved. Plus, Tyler acted like a totally different person around her. He was more socially aware, losing his inappropriate nature all together with her around, which was a nice change.

Tyler had a bit of a problem with that. He never seemed to realize when he said something offensive or inappropriate about or around someone. Sometimes, Jeff wondered if Tyler's brain was actually wired correctly. He never meant wrong, but he could insult someone right to their face without realizing it. He'd called Nick 'weird' before, he told one of Jeff's old friends that they should 'lose some weight,' and he gave his honest opinion on things like bad haircuts and clothing styles.

Needless to say, not too many people were willing to put up with him. People often misjudged him as a jerk, when he honestly never meant any harm. It was just the way his mind worked.

Somehow, though, he wasn't acting like that at all around Vivian. Jeff couldn't help but wonder about that.

The date ended on a pretty good note. Jeff found himself actually liking one of Tyler's girlfriends, so that was a plus for him. They all paid their share and then Tyler took Vivian home.

Nick decided to stick around Breadstix for the remainder of the night to help around the kitchen and catch a ride home with his parents. The two of them kissed goodnight before Jeff left for home.

It occurred to him that this date had only been his second one with Nick, and it had been a double-date. The first one had been in a library's coffee shop before Jeff had even come out. Maybe next time, they should try for a real date…

He got home just before 8pm. His parents were both home, so Jeff went straight for him room. His father was still angry with him about the party, and Jeff didn't really want to face him.

Tyler arrived home shortly after and crashed in their room as well, on Jeff's bed. He had long taken over Jeff's room, and the blonde was now forced to sleep on a makeshift bed on the floor.

Tyler sighed dreamily. "So, what'd you think of Vivian?" he asked Jeff. "She's amazing, isn't she?" He smiled at the ceiling.

"Yeah, she was nice," Jeff agreed. "You seem to really like her," he pointed out.

"Are you kidding?" Tyler said, looking at Jeff. "I think she's the love of my life. She's perfect. I've never met anyone like her before."

Wow. Tyler had never sounded like such a hopeless romantic before! Jeff smiled slightly. "I noticed you act really different around her," Jeff commented.

"I figured you'd notice that," Tyler mumbled. He sat up straight. "I've been working on my…social problems, I guess you could call it?" he said. "It's not as easy to 'just deal with' in a world of people who don't know me as it was back in Dalton."

"Oh," Jeff said. He could see where that would be a problem. Tyler functioned too well too pass his awkwardness off as a mental disability, so most of the time, he simply came off as a big jerk. His friends understood his odd social skills, but complete strangers probably would not. That would likely cause a few problems in his personal life. "So, are you seeing a therapist or something?"

"A counselor," Tyler told him. "Only once a month. Basically, I just have to learn 'social norms' so I can fit in better."

"How's that going for you?"

"It's…going well, I suppose. It's something I probably should have worked on before college, but better late than never, right?"

"I guess so," Jeff agreed. "What made you decide to do this?" Jeff asked. The Griffin's were known to be stubborn people. None of them like to talk about what they were feeling, let alone admit they had any sort of problem. Counselor was probably an easier-to-use term for Tyler to admit to since it had a slightly more positive connotation than therapist did.

Not that they had anything against therapists or people who needed a therapist. Just that they themselves were too…proud…to admit a problem, let alone try to work it through. So, in a way, Jeff was kind of proud of his older brother for actually managing to take this step. He wasn't sure he himself would ever be able to do that.

"Vivian was a huge part of it, actually," Tyler admitted. "I love her, and I don't want to mess anything up."

Yep, Tyler was definitely in love.

Looked like both of them found someone they'd do anything for. Tyler had Vivian, who he was willing to actually see a counselor for, in order to work out his social awkwardness. And Jeff had Nick, who he had been willing to practically change his whole life for, just to be with him.

And everything really was different. Jeff was out of the closet, which was a huge change from his very normal teenage life before. That alone had a lot of consequences. While he could be with the person he truly loved now, he was subject to a whole new kind of treatment. He had to deal with homophobia from strangers, friends, and even his own family.

Not to mention he had to live in fear of his very own father.

Review, please! I would love any input.

So far, it looks like the next chapter will be a lot better. So if this one was a disappointment, bear with me :)