“Hey Alex,” I greeted, going up to him.

                “Hi Trav,” he said shyly. “What did you need to talk to me about?”

                I looked at this adorable boy. He looked so much younger than he actually was. No, he wasn’t Gavin. But maybe I could be happy with Alex. He was adorable, and I really did enjoy being around him.

                “Uh…Are you going to the senior ball?” I asked.

                Alex looked at me in surprise and shook his head. “No. I’m not a senior. I’m only a freshman, remember?”

                I nodded. “Of course I remember. But if someone invited you as their date you could go,” I said casually.

                Alex blushed and shook his head again. “No, no one wants to go with me,” he said, barely audible. He reached to grab that lock of hair, and I grabbed his hand to stop him.

                Alex stared at our hands in shock, his face turning a brilliant shade of red. He shyly dropped his head and began to chew on his lip.

                I grabbed his chin and gently tilted it up so that he was looking into my eyes. I offered him a small smile, still holding his hand.

                “I don’t understand how you don’t have a date. Do you like anyone?” I asked.

                He nodded timidly. “Y-Yea…but they don’t like me back,” he mumbled.

                I noted with satisfaction that he said “they”, not “she”.

                “She’s a lucky girl if you like her,” I said, wanting him to admit to me that he was gay. I needed to hear him say it.

                Alex remained silent, still looking into my eyes. I mentally sighed, deciding I should just flat out ask him.

                “Alex, would you like to go to the senior ball with me?” I asked seriously.

                Alex’s face did a weird combination between paling and blushing. I felt his body began to tremble and I gripped his hand a little tighter in case he fell.

                “I’m straight,” he whispered, choking a little on the word “straight”.

                “Are you really?” I asked, now positive that he was lying.

                “Collin can’t know!” he whimpered. “He can’t know I like boys! He’s so homophobic! He won’t accept me anymore!”

                “Alex, if Collin really loves you, he’ll accept you no matter what,” I promised sincerely. Collin was a homophobic prick, sure, but he really seemed to love Alex.

                “I can’t risk it Trav,” he said miserably. “I love my big brother too much to risk it. I can’t even imagine if he looked at me with that disgust in his eyes. It would kill me.”

                “You can’t stay quiet forever,” I said. “I didn’t want to come out either, because I was afraid to lose the closeness I shared with Gav. But Gav and I are basically like brothers, and he accepted me. He cared about me too much not to. Collin may not be happy about it, but he’ll still love and accept you.”

                “I really l-l-like you,” Alex whispered.

                “Hey, there are still a few weeks before the dance. You have time to think it over Alex. I’m not going to force you to come out. But I will encourage you too,” I said gently, giving his hand a squeeze before releasing it.

                I paused before handing Alex my phone. “Give me your number. In case you need to talk,” I said. He nodded and shakily put his number in my phone before handing it back to me after texting himself so that he would have my number.

                “Will you at least think about going with me?” I asked.

                Alex nodded wildly. “Of course!” he said.

                “Alex…I really think you should tell Collin,” I said, knowing how much it hurt to be so secretive about your sexuality.

                “I can’t!” Alex cried, his eyes watering. “I can’t disappoint my brother like that! I never want him to look at me the way he looks at you and Gage! I never want to hear him call me a faggot!” He wiped at his eyes furiously. “I can’t let Collin down,” he choked out.

                I pulled Alex into a tight hug, my heart breaking for this poor kid. Damn Collin. If he wasn’t such a homophobic asshole, Alex would have probably come out by now. He was just too terrified of his brother’s reaction.

                I pulled away and gently pressed my lips to his forehead before straightening up. “Text me if you need anything Alex. Just think about it over the weekend,” I said, giving him a small smile before slowly walking away.

                Alex didn’t follow me or try to stop me, so I left the hall and searched around until I found Gav and Gage in the main lobby. They glanced at me, Gav curiously and Gage expectantly.

                “Come on before we miss the buses,” I said, motioning at them to follow me.

                We got on the bus and got off at my house. We went inside and up to the couches, sitting down and turning on The Walking Dead on my TV.

                “So what took you so long to meet up with us?” Gav asked curiously.

                “I got caught up,” I said with a shrug, trying not to be too suspicious. Gage shot me a look that said I was going to explain everything to him as soon as Gav was gone.

                “Well, I have good news for you!” he said eagerly.

                “And that would be…?” I asked.

                “I asked rose out…and she said yes!”

                The look on his face killed me inside. It made my heart throb in jealousy and depression. Because I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen such joy and pure happiness on Gav’s face. I had never made him that happy before.

                “You ass! That’s nothing to be happy about you son of a bitch! I don’t want you guys dating! What if you get married? Then we would be related!” Gage cried in horror.

                “YAY! WE’D BE COUSINS!” Gav cried, jumping on Gage and pulling him into a hug.

                “Ack! Get off me you fat piece of shit!” Gage cried, trying to squirm out of Gav’s arms.

                “Oh Gage you’re so small and adorable and aggressive! You’re like a little puppy! MY FUTURE COUSIN COULD ALSO BE MY DOGGY!” Gav gushed, hugging Gage tighter.

                I watched them silently, secretly glad that they were preoccupied with each other. I didn’t want to have to put on a fake happy act for Gav.

                No, no, no. Dammit Travis. I had to stop being selfish like this! I was moving on to Alex, just like Gage said. Gav was straight and was obviously head over heels for Rose. He and I would never be, and I had to accept that already and just be good to Alex.

                “I’m not a damn puppy!” Gage snapped, finally managing to get free from Gav. “And quit acting like I’m small!”

                “Well…you are small Gage,” I pointed out. “You’re, like, 4 feet.”

                “I AM NOT FOUR GODDAMN FEET! SAY THAT AGAIN AND I’LL RIP YOUR MOUTH OFF AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS UNTIL IT OOZES OUT OF YOUR FUCKING EYES!” Gage exploded.

                “Boys, dinner is ready,” my mom said, watching us from the doorway curiously. “Oh, Travis, don’t be so mean about Gage’s height. Small people are sensitive.”

                She turned and disappeared in the kitchen as Gage’s face heated up, both in fury and embarrassment. He crossed his arms and glared at the wall.

                “I’m not short,” he grumbled.

                “Well, now that the wall knows that, let’s go eat,” I said, hopping up and going to the dining room.

                Gav and Gage followed me and we all sat down together. Gav gave me a huge, happy grin and laughed.

                “I can’t stop smiling! I’m just so happy! I really like Rose,” he said, his grin getting bigger.

                “I’m happy for you Gav,” I said, trying my hardest to be sincere about it. I wanted to be happy for Gav. I really did. But that part of me that had been infatuated with him for long was fighting against that sincere happiness for him.

                “Who are you going with Gage?” Gav asked, turning to face Gage.

                Gage shrugged, looking unconcerned. “I have time. I’ll find someone. What about you Trav?” he asked with a smirk.

                I rolled my eyes and shrugged. “I asked Alex,” I mumbled.

                “You did? AWWW TRAV!” Gav cried, wrapping his arms around me. “Yea, yea! Good for you!”

                I shoved Gav off of me and rolled my eyes. “I don’t know if I’m going with him. I just said I asked him,” I pointed out. “He’s afraid to come out because of Collin.”

                “Collin is such a prick. I hate him,” Gage said with an annoyed sigh. “Making such a hot boy stay in the closet.”

                I nodded. “Collin is a prick. It’s not fair that Alex has to be tortured with secrecy just because his brother is a homophobe.”

                “Well, I doubt this kid is a homophobe,” dad said, sitting down with mom. “The translation of homophobe would be an irrational fear of homosexuals. I’m just spit balling here, but I don’t think the boy you’re talking about is afraid of homosexuals. He’s probably just an asshole.”

                “Oh he is,” Gage growled.           

                “So, for the dance, where are we going before and where are we ending up after?” Gav asked curiously.

                “You boys and your dates can come here before for pictures,” mom offered.

                “And after we can go to a party or a restaurant or something,” I said.

                My friends nodded and smiled at me. My eyes rested on Gav and my heart ached again. But I tried to fight it off, knowing that we were destined to only be friends. I actually had a chance with Alex.

                                                                                ***Alex’s POV***

                “I don’t like you talking to that faggot,” Collin growled.

                I remained silent, sitting on his bed. He was sitting at his desk, working on some homework. He glanced over at me and scowled.

                “Alex, just trust me. Don’t talk to him,” he said sternly.

                I began to twirl my hair around my finger, still staying quiet. I couldn’t believe that Travis had actually asked me to the senior ball with him!

                I had crushed on him ever since I had seen him last year. The 8th graders had come up to the high school to observe a class, and I had sat behind Trav and Gav in an English class.

                But I couldn’t say yes to him. Collin would look at me with those disgusted eyes. He would call me a faggot. Maybe he would even threaten to hit me.

                “Are you going to the senior ball with a date?” I asked, changing the subject on him.

                He shrugged. “Yea, I’ll probably go with Bri. Why? Do you want to go? I can hook you up with someone if you want to go.”

                I shook my head. Trav arose in my mind again and I dropped my head so that Collin wouldn’t see me starting to blush.

                “N-No. I was just asking,” I said quietly.

                “Well, I’ll finish up my homework and then we can go outside and play catch. Mom isn’t getting out of work until late, so if you get hungry just tell me and I’ll make us dinner,” he said, turning back to his homework.

                I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. My thoughts kept turning back to Trav. Gavin Drake was so…so…so stupid! Trav had obviously liked him, maybe even loved him, and he never even noticed. How could he be so oblivious to Trav like that? I would kill for Trav Blake to like me the way he had liked Gav.

                I mentally sighed and glanced at Collin. My heart sank and I hung my head again. If I came out, I ran the risk of my big brother hating me. But if I didn’t, than I was going to lose the guy I liked.

                I felt myself beginning to tremble and gulped. I would talk to Trav tomorrow. Maybe he could help me tell my brother I was gay, and then we could go to the dance together. It would make me so happy to go with Trav.

                “You okay Alex?” Collin asked, frowning at me.

                I looked up and nodded. “Yea. I’m fine,” I lied silently.

                “You can talk to me if something’s wrong Alex. Now come on; let’s go play catch,” he said, getting up and offering his hand to me.

                I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet, handing me a baseball glove. I followed him out to our front yard and we began to toss the baseball back and forth to each other.

                My mind stayed on Travis the whole time, though. Tomorrow I would talk to him about finally coming out to my brother. If I didn’t take hold of this opportunity, I would lose it. And who knows; maybe I would lose Trav to Gav.

                It was obvious that Trav still liked Gav. But he was trying to move on. I admired his strength to move on like that. So I would get some strength and say yes to his offer.