"And for you sir?" The waitress inquired, looking up from her notepad to take the boy's order.

Matthew studied the menu, his eyes scanning on what he wanted his meal to be. He finally settled on the Salmon dish, sprinkled with rosemary.

"I'll have the Salmon," He began, looking back down for a split second to see the drinks menu. "Along with a Mojito." The boy flashed her a charming smile, to which she notified him of the time their orders would take.

Matthew looked over to a nervous Eric, furrowing his brows at the boy's anxious behavior. It seemed like every date the two went on, he was always a nervous wreck, constantly looking out for a white Mercedes C-Class that his step-father owned.

"Are you really going to be a nervous wreck tonight as well?" Matthew bluntly questioned, checking his phone for any notifications.

"I'm sorry," Eric spoke faintly, looking at his boyfriend apologetically. "But you know how he feels about this."

"So what?" Matthew looked up at him from his phone. "It's not like you're planning to live here for the rest of your life anyway. Once you get away from him, you can be openly gay."

"Bisexual." He mumbled in response.

"Whatever it is – it isn't straight, right? Anyways, if he finds you with me, I'll take care of it, don't worry."

Eric nodded, feeling slightly relieved that his boyfriend always had his back. Since they started dating a week ago, he's happier than he's ever been, not remembering a time where his life was as good as it was right now.

"Have you been taking your pills?" He asked, returning his attention to his phone yet again.

"Yeah, I have." Eric replied nervously, feeling bad for having to lie to his boyfriend about something as simple as medication.

He didn't see the point, he'd still feel anxious from time to time, even when he was medicating. Along with that, people around him made a big deal out of one panic attack, but he himself knew he would never let it happen again, thinking he'd have everything under control. In addition, he was thankful for the majority of his friends who were addicted to pills, so every time he would get a new prescription, he'd simply just give it to them.

"Alright, but I'm just saying – you should probably go back to your therapist if you're feeling on edge. I love you, but I really cannot deal with you constantly having a heart attack every time you see a white Mercedes." Matthew chuckled, locking his phone and giving Eric his full attention.

He nervously swallowed the lump that had been forming in his throat since they arrived to the restaurant. The boy felt like a burden to his boyfriend, having to deal with taunts about his mental health, but he would always brush it off, thinking it was just another one of his sarcastic remarks.

Out of boredom, Eric's eyes scanned the room, trying to absorb the aesthetics of the interior. His eyes eventually landed upon a girl who'd been leaning against the 'TAKE-OUT' counter, looking bored – probably an indication of how long she'd been waiting. The boy narrowed his eyes, trying to see who she was.

"Just wait here," Eric mumbled, gaining a puzzled look from Matthew who turned around to see where he was going.

"Oh for fuck sake." Matthew sighed, rolling his eyes as he began to become irritated. It wasn't a secret that the stray cats had begun to grow a disliking for April, lying to her boyfriend, letting out her psychotic tendencies on her ex and slapping her best friend? Was there a reason left to entertain her bullshit?

April leaned against the counter, beginning to get heavy-eyed at the bright, red neon sign which said 'TAKE-OUT'. However, her hunger woke up her, causing her to curiously look over the counter, checking on the progress of her order. She felt a light tap o her shoulder, making her turn around.

"Hey," Eric nervously greeted, shoving his hands in his pockets as he pursed his lips.

It had been over two weeks since the two of them had a proper conversation. Eric had heard everything that happened between her and James, but he was stuck on whether he should be taking sides or staying neutral. He felt upset at the fact that the two of them went from being the best of friends, to walking past one another in public without saying a single word.

"Oh hey," April sat up, looking over at him unconcernedly. "I see you're still alive." The girl stated, the hint of bitterness being very clear in her voice.

He nervously chuckled at her comment, not knowing whether it was the right time to be defensive. Since the confrontation, he pitied her, his statement about her pathological lying clearly bothered her. Although he still believed Chad, the rumors around Brighton would never stop. If anyone knew what it felt like to be the new kid in town, it was Eric. His first few weeks in Brighton weren't exactly spent being greeted with open arms. It took a month for Chad to come back from Monaco, while Eric stayed cooped up in his room, too anxious to socialize. Once Eric became part of the Brighton Boy squad, he was more than delighted to be a part of a group.

"Yeah, about that," He tightened his lips, looking down as he sighed at the thought of apologizing to her. Of course he felt bad, but he would have never imagined himself apologizing to someone as stubborn as April Fenning. "I just wanted to say I was sorry, I think even if I wanted to be neutral, which I am, I could have done it in a less emotionally damaging way."

"I think Hitler could have gotten his message across in a less emotionally damaging way." April's tone seemed monotonous, flashing Eric a 'too bad' facial expression. "But its fine, you were sticking up for a friend, can't really judge you for that."

"But you're also my friend, April. I was friends with you before I even knew Chad."

"Whoa, calm down." She calmly said. "Nobody said you weren't my friend. I just said I'm glad you stuck up for your friend, that's all.

He simply nodded, mentally slapping himself for saying too much and sounding like a paranoid idiot.

"Anyways, what brings you here of all places?"

"I'm on a date."

Her brow jerked as her interest peaked, beginning to scan the restaurant for a lonely, teenaged girl sitting on her phone in hopes that her date would stop making himself look like an idiot and come back to her. But everyone else seemed preoccupied in talking to the people sitting opposite to them, expect one guy who was busy on his phone. April narrowed her gaze on him, realizing it was Matthew Franc. She looked back at Eric in surprise.

"Glad you could finally accept yourself, Jarder." April added, giving him an encouraging nod. "How does it feel to be openly gay?"

"Bisexual."

"Same thing, you're with a guy anyway." April rolled her eyes, finally looking back at the server who approached her with a brown paper bag, apologizing for the delayed delivery. "Oh, could you get me one large Coke as well, no ice." She called out, averting her attention back to Eric.

"It feels good, don't have to hide it around others." Eric sighed in relief, thankfully everyone in his life accepted his choice to openly love who he wanted.

"Even your step-dad?"

He pursed his lips, shaking his head in disappointment at his father's backwards mentality towards same-sex relationships and a bunch of other socially important issues.

"Well, I've got to go now." She looked over to the server, mouthing a 'thank you' to her as she held her drink. "Say hi to Franc for me, and your homophobic daddy." April giggled, to which Eric reciprocated, taken aback by her sudden cheek-to-cheek kiss.

Eric walked back to his table, being greeted with a pissed off Matthew.

"Did you really have to go and talk to her, of all people?" His stare was cold, probing his boyfriend for a reasonable answer.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I just felt bad for her...with what's going on." Eric sighed, a little uncomfortable at how Matthew was jumping on the bandwagon, despite never speaking to the girl.

"Whatever it is, she brought it unto herself." The boy bluntly spat, rolling his eyes at Eric's kindness.

Meanwhile outside, April sat staring at the two boys sitting together, Mark eyeing her with a face full of apprehension.

"What's wrong?" He asked, ready to drive out of the restaurant parking.

She had her camera held up as the two boys leaned in, giving each other a quick yet passionate kiss on the lips. Her Polaroid camera clicked, a blank stare still plastered across her face.

"Nothing." She simply responded.