Fern rolled over his in his bed and checked his phone again. His binders and homework papers had long since fallen to the floor. He had a pencil pushed into his hair but he doubted that it was helping improve his situation at all. His phone buzzed as he received a text.

<Mother of My Unborn Child: How's your punishment going?>

Fern quickly sat up as soon as he saw the message and opened his messaging app. He questioned why he had chosen to sit up and laid back down quickly typing back a reply.

<Me: Pretty shitty and sore I'm being locked away & forced to do homework until I graduate>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: My poor Fernando :( I'm sorry that I got you in trouble.>

<Me: Whatever I had fun with u so it's ok>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: If it helps I didn't get away scott free, not as bad as physical labor though.>

<Me: What happened?>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: Well I tried to write it off as me trying to impress you because I liked you and I felt like you didn't like me back>

Fern blinked at the screen for a moment, he did remember Anakin saying that he liked him at some point.

<Me: Is that true though?>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: Eh not really, I did like you and I know you don't like me that way. But I really do just like hanging out with you as a friend.>

<Me: Oh cool. What did your parents say?>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: Oh lol well I guess that was the last straw because my mom told me that she wasn't surprised another guy wouldn't want to be with a cross-dresser. And that she's fine with me being gay or whatever but to stop trying to be something I'm not.>

Fern took a deep breath as anger made his skin feel like it was boiling. He couldn't imagine anyone being that cruel to someone, especially Anakin.

<Me: WTF?>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: I don't blame her. She's been tiptoeing around my issues for awhile so I guess this broke the dam. My dad jumped in on the I Hate Anakin bandwagon too.>

<Me: Please don't tell me he said something too>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: Oh just that he wished I was normal. And that maybe he wouldn't mind half as much if he didn't feel like he was raising two daughters. And that maybe I should spend the money I use on makeup to get a haircut, some new clothes, and a bottle of alcohol.>

<Me: Why the alcohol?>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: I guess that's an initiation to some stupid club at school idk.>

<Me: Did your sister at least stand up for you?>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: Nope the snake threw me under the bus. Either to make it seem like she didn't totally drive us there.>

<Me: What did she say?>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: Blah blah I shouldn't hold myself to the same standards blah blah try being a boy for once. Ectera ectera if I could only be an actual brother instead of whatever I am now. So it's going great here at the Begay household lol>

<Me: Ani I'm so sorry you don't deserve that you're so amazing and important I have no idea why they'd say that to you.>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: Well that's easy it's because I'm not amazing and important I'm shitty, and I'm a shitty person, and I'm a shitty lead actor, and a shitty friend and I can't do anything right. And I told them I had school-related anxiety because I just wanted them to be proud of me but they could give two shits about me. I'm just a problem and I'm sick of it.>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: I'm just worried I'll hate myself forever. I just can't seem to stop messing everything up. And I wish I could just, not? Not mess everything up, not be awful, not be me?>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: Omg I'm really sorry that was so long and annoying. I'm sorry I didn't mean to sound so depressing, you have it worse I'm just a shitty spoiled kid who can't be talked to like an adult. I'm sorry I wish I was a better friend, I'll stop now.>

Fern immediately regretted taking a long time to reply. He just couldn't think of a reason why someone as seemingly confident and just amazing as Anakin, could let a couple jerks get to him. He tried and failed to send a reply back but couldn't come up with anything not awful and cheesy. He doubted that Anakin's mood would be lifted by a couple cheesy words on a screen.

He sat up in bed feeling a bolt of determination. He packed up all his school work in his bag and slung it over his tired shoulders. He opened the door and closed the light behind him. He marched down the staircase and right to the living room where his parents were sitting watching a telenovela.

"Mama, Papa. I have to go out." He announced a serious look on his face. His father looked up from the couch his eyes landing on Fern.

"Fernando get back upstairs before we extend your punishment. We made our rules very clear, you chose to ignore them. You have to face a punishment." He put his arm back on his wife's shoulder. Maria chose to ignore Fern entirely.

"Well I am sorry Papa but this is incredibly important. I can bring my work to this person's house and get as much as I can do, but I have to go."

"Fern you don't have to do anything. You want to go to a friends house and you can't. Simple as that now go back upstairs." Sebastian said seriously. Fern felt like he was going to be sick, he had never had to do something like this before. When he thought he'd finally turn back and follow his father's orders, he imagined Anakin's face with tears streaking down it and his chest felt like it was being stabbed.

"I understand that I broke your rules, I understand that I should be punished. And I really, really don't want to have to go against you. But I have responsibilities as a friend. Right now Anakin really needs me and I will be there for him. Even if I'm never allowed to leave this house ever again." He went to the doormat behind the couch and began putting on his shoes, he had to clench his fists to keep his hands from shaking.

"Fernando, are you going to see that boy again?" Maria finally broke her silence and got on her knees peering over the couch. "Fernando takes one step out of this house and I will beat your culo raw." She threatened her eyes nearly slits. Her anger was what was unnerving Fern more than her threat.

"I'm sorry Mama," He opened the front door, "But I need to do thi-"

"Fernando!" She yelled, he quickly left and closed the front door behind him his entire body shaking. He went through the open backyard door to get his bike in the shed. He had a scary feeling that at any minute his parents would race after him with a knife.

Nothing happened as he mounted his bike, not even a face in the window. He began speeding off trying to concern himself with thoughts of only Ani to keep him riding right to his house. He could only imagine what awful thoughts could have been going through his mind with a whole day of not talking to Fern.

He rode until he found the house with the stone lions in front of them. There were a man and a woman working outside in the garden. Fern assumed they were Anakin's parents just by their faces. Looking at Ani's mother Fern could see where he got the femininity from, her face was incredibly soft a mix of different ethnicities that left one very beautiful women. Her hair was thick and brown but not curly like Ani's. Anakin's father was much darker, Fern could immediately believe the Native American lineage by looking at him. He wasn't without feminine traits, his eyes were a delicate brown. And his lips were pouty just like Anakin's. Under the current circumstances, despite their beauty, they'd only be 2/10's.

Fern went through their features in his head as he approached them, trying to think of anything other than the urge to punch them square in the face.

"But you don't understand, that was months of therapy gone in minutes. Maybe less than that, maybe the minute you started speaking to him." The man said he had one hand on his hip and one was holding a bucket of dirt. The women sighed and patted down the dirt with gloves.

"I just...I just have no idea what came over me. I just snapped, I couldn't...and I know he paid us back all the money but it was just everything. Having those pompous assholes at his school tell us we're putting too much pressure on him? We put none on him! We just tell him to do whatever makes him comfortable now we're the bad guys?" Fern cleared his throat loudly enough for them to finally hear him.

They both turned looking him over. It occurred to him that they had never formally met before. He wondered if Anakin had mentioned anything at all about him.

"Hello, my name is Fern. I'm your son's friend." They both looked at him blankly until the name clicked.

"Oh! Fern, you're the boy my son snuck off with. Is that right?" Fern felt a blush coming on, he pushed it down trying to remember that they were the bad guy, them. He nodded and cleared his throat.

"Yes, I am. And I'm here to see Anakin because the text he sent me recently was pretty concerning and I wanted to make sure he was okay." He looked between the two of them. "I figured no one in the house was doing much of that." He tried to put as much venom in his words as he felt. Both of the Begay's began shifting uncomfortably.

"Um, he's upstairs. The doors unlocked." Mrs. Begay said softly, she avoided making eye contact with him. The air between the three of them was incredibly tense. For once Fern was proud of the awkwardness.

Fern nodded and walked passed them to the front door. He walked inside and took off his shoes at the door. He looked over towards the kitchen area. Dakota had her head down in her crossed arms, she was sitting on the island her phone next to her. Fern didn't bother saying anything to her and continued upstairs.

He felt like it was eerily quiet up on the second floor. The whole house felt like it was a place for the living dead. He found Anakin's door and lightly knocked on it. When he got no response he tried the doorknob. It was unlocked. He slowly turned the doorknob and crept inside, closing the door behind him.

Fern wasn't sure what he was expecting but he could tell this was the room of a person who had just had an emotional breakdown. A lot of Anakin's once nicely packed away thing were strewn on the floor, there were broken unidentifiable objects, clothes, and makeup threw around the room. The blinds were pulled all the way down and it was harder to see. The only thing he couldn't find was Anakin.

There was a slight shift in the heaps of blankets on Ani's bed. Fern slowly approached it, he noticed a large pair of scissors on the bedside. His stomach dropped and he prepared for the worst.

"Ani?" He whispered touching the blankets. There was no response. He swallowed and slowly peeled back the blankets. "Ani?" He tried again, this time there was a soft groan. He pulled back the covers until he could clearly see Anakin's head. He let out a sigh of relief, all of Ani's hair was intact. "Ani what are you doing?"

"It's called a depression nap," Anakin mumbled, he finally turned until he was lying on his back. He looked up at Fern, his face was completely serene.

"Are you real?" He whispered and reached up. There were a few stray beams of sun breaking out from outside. They illuminated parts of Anakin's face. There were tear streaks, and his eyes looked red and puffy. Fern touched Ani's hand and leaned down so that he was sitting on the bed.

"Yeah, I came to see you. I was worried."

"Worried? About me? I'm fine Fern." Fern squeezed his hand and pushed hair from Ani's face.

"You sounded anything but fine, and you look even worse." Ferns aid softly. Ani looked up at him then back down avoiding his face. Fern looked at him for a good while. Inspecting every aspect of him, taking him in entirely. He felt something small break in his chest. He leaned down putting his face close to Anakin's. He slowly pressed their lips together, he closed his eyes until he was fairly certain they were kissing.

Anakin's reaction was delayed at first, but soon he could feel Anakin's lips move back. They were timid, hesitant like he still wasn't sure if Fern was real. Fern was lightly touching a piece of Ani's hair, and for a moment he felt like everything was okay.

He pulled away from Anakin and opened his eyes. They looked at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time.

"Why did you do that?" Anakin asked quietly, there was something in his voice. It almost sounded like sadness, Fern was afraid he'd start to cry. Fern shrugged he had no answer.

"I don't know," Fern said just as quietly, he wasn't sure what was happening between them but his face was starting to burn up and he wanted to kiss him again. Anakin touched his lips gently and looked up at Fern. Ani scooted over in his bed, Fern was afraid he was trying to move away from him.

"Take a nap with me." He said softly, it was almost a question. Fern slipped his backpack off, it made a loud thud as it hit the ground. He took his sweatshirt off until he was wearing just a t-shirt like Ani was. He climbed into bed with him, already knowing his role. He pulled the covers over both of their heads, not caring about how close he was to him. He slipped his arms around Ani's waist until they were cuddled into each other. It was warm but comfortable. He could feel Anakin's breath against his chest. For once he felt completely relaxed, he felt Anakin's breaths slow until he was sure he had fallen into a sleep-like state. Fern felt his eyes droop, maybe he really did need a nap. He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep with him. 

 Fern could feel the bright light of the sun against his eyelids. He groaned under his breath. There was ruffling in the room behind his back. He took a deep breath and felt around the bed with his hand. There was just emptiness next to him, he rolled onto his back.

He slowly opened his eyes, the light from the window hurt. He turned again, the room was once again neat. All the makeup was packed away, there were no clothes on the floor, there were none of the previous signs of distress. Anakin's room looked as aesthetically pleasing as it usually was. Fern frowned and sat up, Anakin was no longer next to him. He began to wonder if he had dreamt everything. He slowly pushed the blankets off, then looked at the bedside. The scissors were still on the desk.

Anakin's door opened, inside stepped Anakin. He made eye contact and looked just as bewildered as Fern was. He was wearing cloth shorts and a flowy shirt, it was blue so Fern assumed it was masculine. Anakin's hair was tied back into a small ponytail. Anakin walked closer to him slowly, Fern could see he was wearing eye makeup. Just enough to cover the tiny bags that formed after crying.

"Hey." He said softly, he took the scissors on the bedside and placed them in the drawer next to him. Fern blinked at him, he suddenly became aware how awkward they both were feeling. Fern was lying in his bed, they had slept next to each other, and Fern had kissed him.

"Hey. Are you going to cut off your hair?" He asked suddenly, the worrying thought somehow pushing to the front of his thoughts. Anakin looked caught off guard for a moment.

"No," He shook his head. "I wouldn't pass as a girl well at homecoming."

"Do you want to pass as a girl?"

"Do you want me to?" They both looked at each other, Fern's heart quickened. He needed to do something about the awkwardness.

"I want you to be happy." Anakin's eyes searched Fern's expression.

"I won't cut my hair until homecoming then." He rubbed his eyes lightly, careful of the makeup. "My grandfather is coming."

"When? Do you want me to leave?" Fern began standing, Anakin extended his hand stopping him.

"The earliest he could come is at towards the end of dinner." Anakin bent down and picked up Fern's now opened bag.

"Did you know about this ahead of time?" Anakin shook his head and took out a folder from Fern's bag.

"No, but I kind of guessed. They always invite him over when they screw me over."

"Do they do that often?" Anakin shrugged nonchalantly and placed two folders on his bed next to Fern's leg.

"Every so often they snap, treating me like a glass butterfly must be draining." He pushed a bang away from his face. "So I figured you needed something to show for being here, so I did a couple of your papers. I tried to copy your handwriting the best I could." Fern took the folders and opened them up, he looked through the papers.

"The handwriting looks like shit." It was almost comically different from Anakin's usual small swoopy letters.

"So, perfect?" Anakin raised his eyebrow, Fern cracked a smile and chuckled.

"Yeah, it'll pass perfectly." He closed the folder and handed it back to Ani who placed it inside his backpack. "You could have woken me up."

"You've had a busy week with soccer practice, being social, and school work. You deserve the break." Anakin rested his chin on his bed and sighed. Fern shrugged and touched the top of Anakin's head, he pushed his hair through a few strands. "Messing up my hair jerk." He mumbled.

"Your hair can match your mood." Fern offered not yet taking his hand away from Anakin's hair. Anakin shrugged and let him touch his hair for awhile.

"I haven't washed it today, so you're touching hair grease. Just wanted to inform you."

"That's pretty gross, but I can't complain too much. I only wash my hair every few days." Fern said with a shrug, Ani lifted his eyes to look at his friend.

"You're disgusting." He said and stuck out his tongue, for a moment Fern wondered what it would be like to french him. His heart picked up and he suppressed the thought.

"Yet you deal with me, miraculously."

"I don't know why I do it. Instead of dealing with you I could be doing very productive things."

"Like what? Napping?"

"Napping, reading, eating, singing."

"You know for a theater kid, and the lead actress of a play I don't ever hear you sing. You barely hum, and you only mumble play songs. So what's the deal with that?" Anakin shrugged a bit and reached into his back pocket.

"I don't know...not many people know my music tastes. It's just always felt oddly personal."

"What? Do you listen to heavy metal or something?"

"Well..." Ani trailed off mysteriously. Fern's eyes widened, his hands paused in Ani's hair.

"Do you?" Anakin laughed out loud his chin moving as he did.

"No not often, I just listen to more...Indie rock, contemporary crap. Sometimes musicals. They're catchy but a lot of times my voice isn't right for the song."

"And you're too much of a perfectionist to sing along to a song that you know would sound bad if you attempted it. Why don't you do that musical thing that Mr. Seppe is always talking about, raising and lowering octaves and shit." Anakin scoffed under his breath.

"So not a perfectionist, and if I sing it at different octaves it wouldn't sound as good. Just...shut up and listen." He pulled up something on his phone, he placed it on the bed face down. High guitar riffs began playing followed by drums and another lower guitar.

Fern made a soft sound and relaxed against Ani's bed frame. He closed his eyes as he listened to the music, his fingers gently massaged Ani's scalp. As he listened he also combed through his situation. He had no idea how to bring up the kiss, he also had no idea how he would explain his motivations. He also had no idea how to explain his want to kiss Ani again to himself. He was at least thankful Ani decided to lie his head on the bed and not Fern's leg a few inches away. He was afraid how quickly his thoughts would go south and how quickly it would take to get a boner.

"Do you like it?" Anakin's' voice was hopeful but still cautious. Fern opened his eyes to see Anakin look up at him. He had been barely paying attention to the music, but he did appreciate the interesting sounds that could be made with a guitar.

"Yeah, it's really cool." He offered Ani a supportive smile.

"We can listen to more later, I think I should start making dinner." He took his phone shutting off the phone before the next song began playing.

"Dinner? Why are you making dinner?" Before Ani could reply there were three small knocks on the door. Ani's face instantly became dull again, he took a deep breath.

"Come in." The door opened up and Dakota's head peeked through. She was dressed relatively nicely, but to Fern, despite her resemblances to Ani she only looked about a 2/10 at the moment. "What do you need." He asked formally.

"Well...we were going out to go out for dinner. We just wanted to know if you and Fern would like to come with us?" Her voice was unsure, it held none of the sarcastic malice that it usually had.

"No I don't want to go out."

"You sure? We're going to that pizzeria you really.."

"I said no Dakota, thank you for the offer. Fern and I are staying, make sure you tell our parents that Fern is staying over dinner." His voice was harsher than usual and he has chosen to actually use Dakota's name. She nodded slightly and retreated outside of Ani's room.

"What a strange coincidence, going to your favorite pizzeria on this specific day?" Fern said sarcastically, he was actually surprised when he saw Ani smile slightly.

"I know right, it's like they decided to plan ahead when they wanted to be shitty people."

"I mean that's what I do," Fern pretended to take something from underneath the blankets. He used his hands as a book and flipped through. "Well it says here that I'm going to be a jerk to the teachers at school around ten Monday morning." Anakin chuckled a bit and pulled himself from the floor to the bed.

"I might as well not look too suspicious, either my mom or my dad will be coming to talk to me soon."

"Are they going to offer the same thing?"

"Yeah, they'll offer to go out to eat, then they'll say that we can go somewhere else if I want, then we'll make a surprise stop to a pricey store, then they'll offer to get me what I want." Anakin's voice became quieter as he continued to speak. Fern wanted to look on the bright side, maybe comment on how at least he got cool things. But it dawned on him how emotionally damaging it had to be each time it happened.

"Jerks." He mumbled, he looked around Anakin's room. He wondered if the contents of the room where a product of other times Ani's parents were assholes. There were soft knocks on the door, the knob turned and a head peeked through. The light brown hair of Ani's mom could be seen first, followed by a perfectly makeup face. Her smile was soft and each move she made seemed to be calculated.

"Hey pumpkin, Dakota said you didn't want to come to the pizzeria with us."

"Yeah, I'm not interested. But thank you, mom," Anakin's words sounded forced, like even talking to her was enough to bring back all his previous emotions.

"Are you sure? You really loved that place when we went there before. You can choose somewhere else if you want, if you bring Fern it can be twice the amount of fun." Her voice was incredibly light like she was talking to a toddler rather than an almost of age teenager.

"No thank you."

"Maybe if you come we can make a little stop, and shop at that music store you like. Or...Sephora maybe? At the mall we can go wild, you need new foundation right?"

"I'm fine if I need something I'll tell you later. Have fun without me." Anakin's voice sounded deader with each reply. His mother took a deep breath and nodded slightly.

"Okay pumpkin, your grandfather is coming later tonight. If we're not here by then just make the bed for him in the guest room."

"Okay, I will." His mother's eyes looked shifty, she leaned inside the room than thought better of it and leaned back out.

"I um, I saw the money you left on my bed. I'm sorry that I didn't see it before...this afternoon. But I really don't need it, if you want it back you can go and take it at any time." Anakin shrugged, he tilted his head away from her so that half most of his face was turned towards Fern. "You and Fern have fun." She closed the door quietly. Anakin didn't take a breath until her footsteps were far away.

"Personally I would have taken the offer for the foundation." Fern said after a moment of silence, Anakin turned to him and cracked a smile.

"No no, you're skin is already perfect. You have nothing to hide, I have very unsexy acne."

"Acne can be sexy."

"Uh huh? Tell that to my long line of boyfriends."

"I have co-" Fern paused and realized what he was about to say. "You have a line of boys waiting to date you, I'm not surprised I'm just..."

"It's a joke Fern, no one in our school wants to date me." His mouth puckered after like the sentence left a bad taste in his mouth. "Big surprise there." He stood up from the bed, he grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled it over his head. "I'll make you dinner."

"Yeah, sure. Do you have anything in mind?" He pushed down his guilt for not trying to ease Anakin's doubt. He reconciled himself with the fact that he was still new to the comforting game. Anakin shrugged and went to the door.

"We have some rice, soy sauce, I could cut up some vegetables, grill some steak." He opened the door and stepped through. Fern stood up and walked after him.

"You don't have to do all that for me." He closed the door behind him, he watched Ani walked down the steps. As he took his usual look at his backside there was an extra hungry feeling in his stomach that he hadn't felt before.

"I know, I like spoiling you." He said from the bottom of the steps. Fern blinked a few times then quickly came down the steps. He followed Ani to the kitchen. "Do you know how to cook?" Fern shook his head and sat on one of the stools connected to the island in the kitchen.

"No, my mom insists on cooking every meal for us. You should see mothers day, it's horror show." Fern could see Ani smile before turning to fridge.

"We usually go out to a restaurant for Mother's day. I guess she doesn't trust us not to fuck it up." He began pulling out ingredients.

"Maybe we should try that, I swear one of these days we're going to poison that poor woman." Ani chuckled slightly and took out a chopping board. He brought all his supplies to the island and placed them neatly in front of him.

"I wish I could have met your mom under not so bad circumstances. Do you think she'll ever end up liking me?" His voice was soft again, Fern was beginning to feel on edge whenever Ani's voice dipped.

"I'm sure she will." Fern said slowly thinking about how he didn't even bother lying about where he was going to his parents. Ani's shoulders dropped as he began cutting up the vegetables.

"So no then." His eyes stared intently at what he was doing, like the way the vegetables were sliced would keep him together.

"That's not what I said."

"That's what you meant." He sliced a broccoli in half with extra force. Anakin mumbled something about cross-dressing under his breath too quietly for Fern to hear. It dawned on Fern that even though Anakin wasn't sobbing he still wasn't feeling like his usual self. Or whatever self he chose to portray on a daily basis.

"What I meant was I'm sure she'll like you if she meets you again and sees how wonderful you are. Then she'll understand why you're my friend." Ani hesitated in his next cut, he nodded slightly and continued.

Anakin worked in silence for awhile. He finished cutting his vegetables and went to boiling rice and defrosting steak. Fern's mind hopped from different Ani related topics like wildfire. It was getting harder to figure out what to do. It certainly didn't help that his brain still had enough power to imagine Ani in compromising situations in the kitchen.

"So I know you said you didn't have a line of boyfriends, which I think is pretty unlikely first of all. But have you ever been involved with other guys, or girls I guess." Fern asked slowly, he didn't want to sound too nosey but he had been curious for a while. Anakin stood up with a small mini grill and placed it on the stove.

"Kind of, nothing too serious. Most of my mini relationships that I had freshmen year where short, confusing, and messy. I didn't know what I wanted, what I wanted to be. And most of them either wanted me to be a guy or pretend to be a girl while we made out. A lot of them were secret, I was an emotional mess a lot of the time. And took every break-up seriously, my family must have hated me more than usual."

"You were just figuring yourself out. Did you have any positive relationships?"

"Well towards the end of freshman year, and the summer between freshman and sophomore I made out with a lot of my sister's friends. She'd bring home guy friends, and I'd wear cute things. Then they'd make some excuse to leave for a few minutes, then...you know." Fern felt like he was choking on air, he never would have imagined Ani would have done things like that.

"Aren't all of your sister's friends above 18?"

"No she was a senior back then, a couple of them were 17."

"Elaborate how this was beneficial to you in any way?"

"Besides them being amazing kissers? Well, they'd call me pretty occasionally." Ani blushed and turned on the grill. He poured a few seasonings into the rice and mixed it up. "That helped me. I guess I figured whenever I dressed like a girl that I was uglier than when I dressed normally. A lot of them didn't care that I was actually a guy." He placed the two steaks on the grill, he looked thoughtful. "Well that's if they figured it out." Fern nodded slowly, he had never really had his feelings this mixed. He was happy someone had made Ani feel special and comfortable, but at the same time, he had the urge to fight all of those guys.

"You never wanted more from them? Not like, texting, or a date? Or anything?" Anakin grabbed a large fork and knife. He began cutting the steak into smaller bits.

"No, I have low standards. I don't expect much from anyone."

"But...you texted me. Did you think I wouldn't text back?"

"That's exactly what I thought." Fern didn't enjoy the apathetic way Anakin said his statement. Fern was becoming more worried by the second. Anakin looked over his shoulder and gave him a small smile. "Don't look so down it wasn't all bad. I made with pretty good outcomes from the way I function. Like Quinn."

"Quinn? What Quinn?" Fern asked quickly.

"Tall, good at soccer, pretty cute?"

"What happened between you and him?" Fern knew he didn't know many people in the school but he knew everyone on the soccer team by name. There was no other Quinn on the team.

"Well, Sophomore year before major puberty I could entirely pass as a girl. Like there were no second looks if ands or buts about it." Fern wanted to point out that it was still really hard to tell his gender at times, but he wasn't sure how Ani would take it.

"So? And what does this have to do with Quinn?" He watched as Ani turned off the stove.

"Well he thought I was cute, so we did this sort of dating thing. But he didn't want to be exclusive, and I was okay with that. We made out constantly, went on dates, made out more. And through whatever strange occurrence he didn't find out that I was a guy until he wanted to go steady." Ani sounded more amused than upset. He took the steak pieces on plates and added a side of rice. "We tried making out one more time. He said after that he liked me and thought my lips were soft, but he wasn't sure he could make himself go any farther with me. We broke up, but he felt bad so we stayed really good friends." He said all this while flipping over the various pieces of steak. Fern remained quiet for a while processing the information, the occasional helpful imagery from his brain popping up. Ani looked over his shoulder. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." He said quickly, he took out his phone and pulled up Quin's contact number. He thought better of it and put his phone away, instead he assured himself he'd talk to Quinn tomorrow about it. "So you've never been in any long-term, happy healthy relationships. Where the other person knew you were a guy and was comfortable with the fact that you wear makeup and feminine clothing. Supports you in all your endeavors, makeouts with you because they like your personality not just your mouth, and strives to see you smile every day?" Ani shut the stove off and took out a few plates, pausing every now and then as he thought.

"Nope, maybe I should try women." He brought the plates and utensils to the island.

"Maybe you should, guys are obviously really dumb." He looked up at Ani locking eyes for a moment.

"Yeah...they are dumb." He swallowed and pushed the plates towards Fern. "Hey could you put this on the dining table?" Fern nodded and picked up the plates. He located the dining room, he was met with a nice looking mahogany dining table. He placed the two plates next to each other. He put the utensils and cups down.

He gripped the top of his chair. He couldn't help but feel an irrational anger towards most of the men in Ani's life. Even the innocent ones. Ani came back with a tray, there was a bowl with cut grilled steak, a bowl with salad, a bowl with soy sauce covered rice, a smaller cut vegetable bowl, and a pitcher of lemonade. Fern whistled in surprise and helped Ani put the bowls in front of the two of them.

"Sorry, my mind was scattered I would have made some sort of bread."

"Ani you spoil me too much." He pulled out Ani's chair and pushed the chair back in as soon as Ani sat. "If you don't let me wash the dishes, I'll sue."

"If you didn't wash the dishes I'd punch you," Ani teased, his smile was genuine for the most part. Fern sat next to him and loaded his food with a lot of each bowl. Anakin's plate was more moderate but still a decent amount.

As he ate he became aware that neither of them was speaking. Mid-Chew he wondered if he should start a conversation, or say something to make Ani smile. He turned his head slightly to look at Anakin. Ani was humming very quietly to himself as he ate, he looked relaxed and more at ease then he had looked before. For the first time, it dawned on Fern that he didn't have to make dumb conversation to feel comfortable with Ani. He felt at ease just being next to him. He ate more slowly straining his ears to listen to whatever Ani was humming under his breath.

Fern pulled out his phone and placed it between Ani and him with the screen unlocked. Ani and he made eye contact again, his heart felt like it was beating faster. He felt the same unexplainable feeling as he had earlier on Ani's bed. He repeated a mantra of not doing anything stupid over and over again in his head.

Anakin picked up his phone and typed for awhile. He placed the phone back between them, a song playing by a band he had never heard of. He recognized the tune of the song as whatever Ani was just humming. They continued eating, Ani tapped his foot occasionally. Fern could tell that they both felt extremely comfortable, but he couldn't tell if they were both having the same thoughts that he was. 

 "Fern you have absolutely no rhythm!" Anakin chuckled, "You're just swaying aggressively that's not dancing." Fern smiled and rinsed off the last dish.

"Oh I'm not even trying. And that's not even dancing music, that's just jumping around like an idiot music." He rinsed his hands off and dried them on the cloth near him.

"Well what do you want me to put on? A nice salsa?" Ani teased taking his phone and sitting on top of the counter. Fern thought for a moment and shrugged.

"Sure, I know a few moves. Do you?" Ani looked mildly surprised and shrugged back.

"Not really but I pick up quickly." He typed on his phone and put his phone back on the counter. Salsa music began playing, there were a lot trumpet and excessive drums. Fern let himself smile as fond memories of his childhood began to surface. Ani began clapping in time to music for him. Fern blushed slightly and tapped his foot to the beat.

"You better not laugh." He grumbled under his breath and began moving his feet to the music. He tried remembering the way his mother taught him to dance at family events.

"I would never." Anakin said still clapping, he was moving the top of his body to the music. Fern put his hands on his hips and moved his upper body in tangent with his lower body. He did the best he could, the longer he danced the more comfortable with the song he felt. He could pre-empt the different changes in the song and move accordingly. He moved the best he could, letting the music dictate the way he danced. Near the end of the song the music kicked it up a notch, it repeated the chorus repeatedly with louder and more complicated trumpet solos. Fern put his hands behind his back placing them just above his waist. He let his right foot lead him into quick circles, he'd pause at a completed circle to do a tapping move that he made up, then repealed the movement. He'd look up to see Anakin smiling more as he clapped, he'd even repeat the chorus in a poor attempt at Spanish.

When the song ended Fern struck the most dramatic pose he could. Anakin was cheering for him at the counter calling his name like he was the star of a show. Fern felt incredibly energized by the dancing, the soreness of his arms and shoulders were forgotten more with each turn of the music. He approached Anakin and extended his hand towards him as the next song began to play. Ani played at fake shock and gingerly took his hand. Fern pulled him off the counter, he used the hand not holding Ani's to hold onto Anakin's back. Fern spun him onto the center of the kitchen floor. He took both of Ani's hands and moved in simple patterns. True to Anakin's word he picked up on them fairly quickly.

Fern pulled a few more daring moves and held Ani's hand as he danced forward. Ani couldn't see his feet but moved in a surprisingly fluid motion in time with the beat of the music. At the edge of the kitchen tile, Ani began dancing backward making Fern dance with backward with him. Fern became aware of how close Ani's ass was to his crotch. Fern bit his lip and put the feeling he was beginning to feel in his dance moves. He turned Ani around so that they were facing each other. He only held onto Ani with one hand and pulled him in and back out. He let go of Ani's hand letting him gracefully spin to a stop.

There was a part of just clapping, like latino women in a movie Ani stopped and began tapping his foot. He raised his hands to the opposite side of him and began clapping. Fern smiled and took that as his cue to slowly dance over to Ani in time with the music. He moved until he was next to him. He bumped Ani's hip with his own. Ani danced a bit and bumped him back, they began bumping each other back and forth until the tone of the song became more energized.

They were both quickly becoming tired, but their smiles never wained. They resorted to moving their arms from side to side and leaning out then back in towards each other. There was a sound of a door closing but Fern didn't register it until a voice spoke.

"What is this? Teaching my grandson the way of your people?" An older raspy voice said. Fern and Ani got closer to each other and bumped heads, both of their attention gone.

"Shit." Ani mumbled and moved his head away, he rubbed the spot and turned looking scared for a moment. Fern turned and saw an elderly man standing on the other side of the island. He was decently tall, his hair was pure white, his skin was even darker then Ani's father, and he was a spitting image of Mr. Begay too. His voice came out strained but his face looked warm and inviting.

"Edudu!" Ani cried and ran over to him, Fern finally recognized the face from Ani's phone lock screen. Ani wrapped his arms around the older man and kissed his cheek. Fern stepped forward and turned the music off.

"Dancing with a Spaniard? I thought I taught you better." As serious as his voice came out his face was a different story. Fern shifted from foot to foot not sure whether to be terrified or offended.

"Oh hush, I'm pretty sure his mother is Puerto Rican anyway. This is Fern, I told you about him." Fern quirked an eyebrow, curious why he had been mentioned before.

"Oh! In that case hello, I'm happy to meet one of Anakin's friends." He began walking slowly towards Fern with his hand extended. Fern quickly met him halfway and shook his hand. Fern got a feeling that making a good impression on Ani's grandfather was even more important than trying to be polite to Ani's father.

"I'm Fernando Olivarez, I'm Anakin's friend and I've heard a ton of good things about you."

"Did Anakin tell you about my amazing potato pancakes?"

"Oh yes! Of course! Delicious, soft, I've heard all about them." He could see Ani roll his eyes behind his grandfather shoulder. His grandfather looked mildly amused at Fern.

"That was a test, I don't make potato pancakes. Or pancakes for that matter." Fern froze feeling like an idiot.

"Um..."

"Relax." Ani's grandfather chuckled and pat his shoulder. He let go of Fern's hand and looked over at his grandson.

"You have a real character here, I hope I get to see him in the future." There was something loaded about his words, Fern couldn't tell what it meant. Fern looked at the clock and began to become nervous, it was half-past eight he was definitely overstaying his welcome.

"I um, should start heading out. I'll let you two...do bonding stuff." Anakin looked a bit worried and approached him.

"You don't have to leave now."

"No really, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. And now with your grandfather here I'm sure you will be." He gave Anakin a sincere smile.

"Are sure you'll be okay? It's getting dark."

"I'll be fine I'm a fast rider." He found himself almost hugging Anakin goodbye. "Bye, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah...I'll see you later dude." Fern went back upstairs to Anakin's room and grabbed his bag. When he came back down he waved at Anakin and his grandfather again.

"It was really nice meeting you!" He said before opening the door and walking outside. He heard a muffled goodbye as he closed the door. He found his bike resting against the side of the house. He pushed it away and climbed on.

"Time to face death." He mumbled as he began his ride to his house. 

It was almost nine by the time Fern arrived at his house. He climbed off of his bike and slowly wheeled it to the shed. He took a deep breath and slowly walked to his front door, with every step he was saying goodbye to one of his liberties.

Before he could knock on his door it swung open. He first saw his mother's stern face, for a woman shorter than him she could always make him feel small. She stepped to the side of him and he slowly walked in. His head was tilted downward and he was waiting for the house to explode with yelling.

"You're back." It was his father's voice. He looked up for a moment then back down. He nodded slowly. He could hear his mother walk from behind him to in front of him. "We almost went after you. But we didn't." Fern raised his head slowly, it was taking a surprisingly long amount of time for him to be screamed at.

"Why not?" He asked softly.

"Because, you've been a relatively good kid. You don't try nearly as hard as you should in school, but you're docile and you obey the rules to an alarming degree. So your mama and I reasoned that if it was that important than maybe we should let you go." His father stepped closer to him. "Was the person you went to go see important enough?"

"Yes." Fern said simply, he looked up and into his father's eyes. There was a mutual understanding between them.

"Fine, then no punishment added. But keep that dramatic crap to a minimum, next time we won't be as lenient." His father crossed his arms and fell silent, his piece was done. He looked to his mother. She looked much less relaxed than his father.

"Did you eat?" She asked. He nodded his head, a part of him was in complete disbelief. "Who fed you? His mother?"

"No, he made me dinner."

"Well...I supposed the least he could do is feed you. Especially knowing he potentially got you killed." She mumbled the last sentence under her breath. She approached him slowly, she put her hands to the sides of his face. "You're growing up and I hate that. But...at least I know you'll be a good man." She looked emotional and let him go.

"You can go to your room." Fern's father said quietly, he went to his wife and hugged her to himself. Fern quickly nodded and quickly nodded the tense and emotional scene.

He fled to his room and closed the door shut quickly. He threw his book bag to the floor and flopped onto his bed taking up as much room as he possibly could. He took a deep breath, he felt like he had just gotten away with murder. His phone dinged in his pocket. He slipped it out and checked the notification.

<D: Hey, thinking about gracing me with a reply today?>

Fern almost ignored it in favor of doing what he usually did and make up an excuse the next day. He opened the message and began typing.

<Me: Maybe, I'll think about it>

<D: WHOOOOOOO!!!!!! I feel so blessed, maybe today is my day!!!>

<Me: Maybe idk>

<D: So what have you been up to how was your day?>

Fern paused as his brain quickly flew through the ups and downs.

<Me: Tbh? I've had one of the weirdest, most dramatic, up and down filled days ever, not to mention I've been feeling this really weird sexual tension every time I interact with Anakin and I don't know what the fuck is going on>

He felt exhausted just looking at his message, he didn't want to imagine how confused Dillian must have felt.

<D: First of all take a breath. Second of all, tell me what the hell happened today. Take your time I have to put on my best friend thinking hat lol>

Fern smiled slightly and began slowly texting out what he had gone through in the day. It dawned on him that he really took Dillian for granted.