They sat in content silence, processing what just happened. Liam would look at Theo every few minutes to see if he looked regretful. See if he seemed shameful. Of course the silence wouldn't last long.

"Are you sure you're ok? Like with me knowing this?" Liam asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" Theo replied, eyes gazing at the ceiling in contentment.

"I mean... You're kind of... 'tough guy Theo'... So I didn't know if you're sure"

"Tough guy Theo'? Really?" Theo laughed like it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. "Yes, Liam. I wouldn't have told you if I didn't think I could trust you."

"Good. I don't want you to regret it. Trusting me. I haven't exactly made it easy."

Liam looked down at his thumbs intertwining. He felt happy that Theo trusted him. It was great.

"Well... now that I've told you something personal... I want something in return." Smirk on his face as he turned to face Liam.

Oh. Maybe the trust thing wasn't as great as Liam had hoped. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm not telling you about my dream, Theo. You'd have to kill me."

Theo chuckled lightly, "That's not exactly what I had in mind."

"Oh. Then what?" He twiddled his thumbs nervously.

"Why did you try to kiss me? The other night..." his voice cracked slightly. It was almost undetectable but Liam could tell he was a little nervous too. "I mean... you're straight, right?"

Liam's face turned red and he had a hard time breathing. It was like that day he ran out into the woods. He was having a panic attack. This was not what he wanted to talk about right now. Luckily, Theo was quickly picking up on Liam's body language.

"Hey. Liam- no. Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal. I was just curious is all."

Liam breathed a little better, but still not normal. Now he was embarrassed for a totally different reason. He couldn't not tell Theo now.

"I told you I was sorry..." Liam said, trying not to look at the other man. "I wasn't that drunk so I don't really have an excuse."

"Liam, if you're curious, that's normal. I mean especially when all the people you spend time with are gay. I'm actually surprised it didn't happen sooner." Theo laughed it off like it was nothing.

To Liam, this was everything. It was the reason he and Hayden fought. It was the reason they were away from each other more than they were together. It was the reason all of his friends were gay. It was what would change his life... it wasn't just about curiosity.

"How did you know... you liked boys..." Liam asked timidly, like he was afraid that asking the question was enough to change his world forever.

Theo looked at him seriously and just answered the best way he knew. "I don't really know how to answer that. I've always liked guys as long as I can remember. I mean... I can see a beautiful woman and I can acknowledge that she is lovely, but I don't get the same feelings for women."

"Oh."

"Think about it like this. You have male and female friends, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you don't always find all of them attractive, do you?"

"No."

"So. Have you ever felt those feelings about a guy?"

"Well... I mean some guys look better than others?.."

"Ok. So you find them objectively attractive. That's an everybody thing. Everyone thinks that one person is more attractive than another."

"Ok?"

"Now. Do you feel like you like any of your guy friends in the same way you have your girlfriends?"

Liam stayed silent. A blush spreading over his cheeks as he looked away from Theo again.

"I'll take that as a yes" Theo laughed and continued "that's how you know."

Liam took this in. He really hadn't thought about it like that. He thought Brett was attractive like that until he opened his mouth. Then there's Theo. Theo was the mysterious, yet open man that intrigued Liam to no end. He had many layers and of course he couldn't help but notice how attractive he was.

Theo's friendship wasn't like Mason's. Liam loved Mason, sure, but where Mason was very outspoken and protective and extroverted, Theo was very guarded. Theo wasn't the type to reveal everything about himself upon meeting someone for the first time and that was refreshing. Liam wished he was more like that. Liam felt like he was too naive sometimes. Himself and Mason.

They laid in Theo's bed for a while until eventually Theo fell asleep. He looked peaceful, Liam thought. More peaceful than Liam was feeling with this revelation.

Liam was propped slightly looking down at Theo's sleepy face, wondering how he could go through this and face people. Not that he was doing anything wrong, just wondering how he could go through everything with Brett and not break down from seeing him.

He technically became the person that Brett accused him of being and the fact that Brett knows had to hurt a little. How did Brett know anyway? Liam wondered to himself.

He looked back down at Theo just as Theo had draped his arm around Liam's torso. If nothing else, I'm definitely gay for this man.

Liam was scrolling through his phone after laying like this for an hour, completely restless. He eventually texted Erika, his manager, and told her he wasn't feeling well and that she'd need someone to cover his shift.

He sat his phone down on the table facedown and paid his full attention to Theo. 'That's how you know'. Theo's words going through his mind with every glance Liam took.

At one point Liam decided it would be a good idea to run his fingers through Theo's hair while he was asleep. Nothing criminal about that, right? He'd just been wondering if it was as soft as it looked. Theo then started to hold Liam tighter and then tangled a leg over his. Liam knew Theo was asleep, but it still made him blush.

'That's how you know.'

Liam started nodding off finally during the early hours of the morning. He had gone from playing with Theos hair to lightly rubbing various parts of Theo's face. So light that it almost couldn't be felt, but Theo seemed to enjoy it. It was something Liam's mother used to do when he had a hard time sleeping or when he was sick. He thought maybe no one had ever done that for Theo.

'That's how you know.'

The words rang through his subconscious even as he fell into blissful sleep. He knew that given the chance, he would absolutely fall for this man. That thought both terrified him and excited him to no end. This man saw himself as broken, but Liam saw him as if nothing could hurt him. He was steel. He was all the good in the world.