“A date?” I asked, my jaw dropping open.

                “Yes. A date,” Gage repeated, pushing my chin up so that my mouth shut.

                “With Alex?”

                “Yes. With Alex.”

                “Alone?”

                “Yes. Alone.”

                “What? No! Gage, I can’t take Alex on a date!” I cried in horror.

                “You don’t have to take him anywhere. He doesn’t even have to know it’s a date. Just invite him over and hang out. But, I don’t know, be all cuddling and stuff,” Gage said with a shrug. “You guys can’t stay at this awkward friendship-dating limbo forever.”

                “Invite him over. Hang out,” I said. “Yea, I can do that. Right? Can I? GAGE, CAN I DO THAT?”

                Gage slapped me and I whined and rubbed my cheek. “Not if you keep freaking yourself out for no reason!” Gage snapped in annoyance.

                Gage rubbed his temples, trying to get a hold of his temper before he killed me. “Look, just invite him over and hang out. Watch some movies. Put your arm around him. You don’t have to ask him out tonight. Just move your relationship forward a bit more. Show him you’re moving on from Gav. Let him know you want a relationship with him.”

                I gulped and nodded, my chest hurting at the thought of Gav and the video. “Yea. I will,” I whispered. “I better go find him before the buses leave.”

                “Good luck you idiot,” Gage said before strolling away.

                I went to the freshman hallway in search of Alex. I spotted him at his locker and went up to him, forcing a bright smile.

                “Hi Alex!” I said as I stepped up to him.

                “Hi Trav,” he said shyly, shoving a notebook in his bag and shutting his locker. “What’s up?”

                “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight?” I asked cheerfully.

                He blushed and nodded. “Sure. Where?”

                “My house?”

                He nodded again. “Yea, sounds like fun! Collin could drop us off, if you wanted,” he suggested.

                I paled, but realized that Alex would have more respect for me if I faced his brother. If I tried to make peace with his brother. Collin meant the world to Alex, which meant I at least had to make an attempt at getting on good terms with him.

                I knew it would never happen. Collin was too big of a homophobe and too protective and possessive of Alex for it to happen. Plus, I was secretly plotting against him so that I could be in a relationship with Alex. But, hey, it never hurt to pretend.

                “Sure!” I said. “That would be great!”

                Alex smiled a little and motioned at me to follow him. I did so, resisting the urge to hold his hand. I didn’t want Collin to kill me just yet.

                Alex led me to the main lobby, where Collin and Josh were standing and talking. Collin was playing with his car keys and Josh was laughing at whatever he was saying.

                Alex approached them and tapped Collin on the shoulder. Collin turned to him with a smile, but the smile dropped as he spotted me.

                “Can you drop me and Trav off at his house? We’re going to hang out for a little. Please,” Alex said quietly.

                Collin glared at me and reluctantly nodded. “Fine Alex,” he growled. “But I’m picking you up at 8. No later than that.”

                Alex nodded and I followed them outside and down to their car. Alex and I got in the backseats and I shut the door, trapping myself in the most uncomfortable car ride of my life.

                Collin turned the car on and backed out of the parking lot. Josh turned up the music, trying to break the awkward silence in the car.

                Cobrastyle by teddybears began to play and I awkwardly looked out the window. Alex was twirling a piece of hair around his finger.

                “So, you’re going to the senior ball, right Collin?” Josh asked.

                “Yep. I asked Bri last week. We’ll be there,” Collin said, his eye flicking to me before returning to the road.

                “And will you tell all your friends you’ve got your gun to my head?” the radio screamed.

                I tried to ignore the looks Collin kept shooting me. Alex was in the car, so Collin wouldn’t do anything. I had to keep reminding myself that.

                Collin pulled into my driveway after several incredibly uncomfortable minutes. We moved to get out of the car, but I realized that Collin hadn’t unlocked the doors.

                He turned in his seat and glared at me. “Don’t you two dare do anything you know would piss me off,” he snarled, the threat clear in his voice.

                “Collin, calm down. We’re just hanging out,” Alex protested. A sad look crossed over his face. “I thought you wanted me to hang out with friends? Why are you being so mean about it?” He sounded upset, and I almost felt bad for him. Alex had never had any friends before. Just Collin and Josh.

                Guilt entered Collin’s eyes as he turned to Alex. “I’m sorry Alex,” he said softly. “Have fun. I’ll be here at 8. I love you little brother.” He reached out and ruffled Alex’s hair.

                Alex gave him a small smile, but that sad look was still in his eyes. I could tell by Collin’s expression that he hadn’t missed it.

                We got out of the car and Alex hesitated. “I love you too Collin,” he said before shutting the car door and following me into my house.

                “I’m sorry about Collin. He’s always so mean to you. He’s really not a bad person,” Alex said as I shut my front door.

                Not a bad person my ass. He had physically hurt Gage before, and had threatened us so many times I could even count. Collin Radke was a horrible person to everyone except his brother.

                “It’s okay!” I lied brightly, not wanting to upset Alex farther. I just wanted to wipe that sad look off of his face.

                “Want to watch a movie?” I asked after we had taken our shoes off.

                Alex nodded. “Sure,” he said, following me upstairs and into the living room.

                We sat down on the couch next to each other and I pulled up Netflix. I began to scroll through the movies, looking for one for us to watch. I wanted to find something that was somewhat scary. It would be the perfect chance for me to do what Gage had told me to, and cuddle with Alex.

                “We could watch It?” I offered.

                Alex nodded and I put on the movie. I turned off the lights and leaned back against the couch next to Alex.

                The movie began to play and we watched. I noticed Alex becoming increasingly nervous and uncomfortable as the movie continued.

                “Are you alright?” I asked.

                Alex nodded, twirling his hair around his finger and not meeting my eyes. I bit my lip but continued to watch the movie.

                As Pennywise began to attack George, Alex buried his face in my shoulder, trembling. I looked down at him in surprise. It really wasn’t a scary movie.

                I put my arm around him comfortingly. He looked up at me, his face red in embarrassment. He dropped his gaze guiltily.

                “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m…I’m afraid of clowns!”

                “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked in surprise.

                “You wanted to watch it,” he mumbled nervously.

                I kept my arm around him and turned the movie off. “Hey, if you don’t want to watch something, just let me know. I was suggesting it. I wasn’t going to force you to watch it!” I said.

                Alex blushed more and nodded. “S-Sorry,” he said.

                “It’s okay.” I smiled down at him. “You’re cute when you’re scared.”

                He looked up at me and the sadness from earlier cleared from his eyes, replaced by joy. “Thanks,” he said quietly, resting his head on my shoulder comfortably.

                I took his hand in mine and squeezed it, keeping my other arm around him. I put on The Princess Bride and we sat in the same position in comfortable silence, watching the movie.

                My back began to hurt from sitting up after about an hour, and I had a feeling Alex’s was hurting him too. I shifted and Alex copied me.

                We laid down together, my back against the back of the couch. I wrapped my arms around Alex’s waist and he snuggled his body against me. His back was to me, but I didn’t mind. I was just happy to be in this position with him.

                He placed his hands over mine and I rested my chin on his shoulder lightly. We watched the movie play for a while until it was over.

                “I like that movie,” Alex announced as the credits began to show.

                “Me too,” I said, smiling.

                I pulled my head away from his shoulder. “Hey Alex?”

                He turned to face me. “Yea Trav?” he asked curiously, his minty breath blowing in my face. This close to him, I realized that Alex smelled lightly of vanilla. His golden hair was gently tumbling against his forehead, making his eyes look bright blue instead of the soft blue I knew they were.

                I gently brushed his hair away from his face and smiled at him. “I like spending time with you,” I said, placing my arm back around his waist.

                He returned the smile. And for the first time since I had started talking to Alex, the smile touched his eyes. It was a truly happy smile. I had a feeling that Alex didn’t get many of those. I also noticed that he had a dimple.

                “Me too Trav,” he said sincerely. “I’m so glad we’re going to the senior ball together.”

                I nodded, looking into his eyes. I suddenly became aware of how close our lips were. All I had to do was lean forward a little, and I would be kissing Alex.

                My heart began to hammer inside my chest as I swallowed down my nerves. I leaned forward, and Alex copied. Our lips were nearly touching now and-

                DING-DONG.

                We jumped away from each other in surprise as the sound of my doorbell exploded throughout my house. We laughed nervously and shifted so that I could get up.

                “I’ll be right back,” I said apologetically before heading downstairs to answer the door.

                I unlocked the front door and pulled it open. My heart leapt into my throat and I had to swallow it down.

                “Hi Trav!” Gav said joyfully.

                “Gav, what the hell are you doing here?” I asked in surprise.

                My emotions rushed back to me and my head began to throb a little. I had almost kissed Alex, having forgotten completely about Gav, and then the kid freaking shows up at my house! It’s like he knew or something. Knew and didn’t want me to be able to move on.

                “Well that’s a rude way to greet someone,” Gav whined, stepping into my house and shutting the door. He kicked his shoes off and grinned at me. “I thought we could watch some TV together or something!”

                “Gav, I’m busy right now,” I said awkwardly. “Can we do this another time?”

                Gav frowned. Usually, he just came over and we instantly started hanging out together. He wasn’t used to me telling him no.

                “Well…what are you doing?” he asked.

                “Alex is over. We’re hanging out,” I said, trying to act calm and not like I had been about to kiss Alex. Nope. Not me. Nu-uh.

                “Oh,” Gav said, looking confused. “Okay. Sorry. I didn’t know.”

                “It’s okay,” I said.

                As Gav and I stood there staring at each other, I felt myself growing nervous. I could’ve reached out and hugged the awkward.

                “Well, I better get going,” Gav said, throwing me a joyful smile. “Sorry to interrupt you two!”

                He waved to me and exited my house. I shut the door and took a few calming breaths before heading back upstairs and sitting next to Alex.

                I sat down next to Alex and wrapped my arms around him. “Sorry about that. Gav wanted to hang out,” I said, praying my voice sounded normal. “He didn’t know I was with you.”

                “Trav…do you love him?” Alex asked, barely audible.

                I opened my mouth to say no. To tell Alex that I didn’t love Gav. That I only cared about Alex. I wanted to assure him that Gav would never cross my mind. That my feelings for him were in the past, and that Gage’s video had convinced me to just move on already.

                Instead, the truth came out.

                “Yes. I do love Gav,” I said, not meeting Alex’s eyes. “But I know he’ll never love me back. I understand that. I accept that, even if I don’t want to. But I swear you’re not a rebound Alex. I do have feelings for you.”

                “They’re just not as strong as the feelings you have for Gav,” he said and I nodded, even though it hadn’t been a question.

                Alex took my hand in his. “I still want to be with you Trav. I know you’re telling the truth. About everything. And I admire your honesty. You could’ve lied to make me feel better, but you didn’t. I would rather face the truth than be comforted with a lie,” he said, resting his head on my shoulder.

                I hugged Alex to my body. “We could be good together Alex,” I said.

                Alex looked up at me and nodded, a smile coming to his face again. It nearly touched his eyes, but not quite. I realized that I wanted to make him smile like he had earlier. A smile that touched his eyes and showed his dimple. A truly happy smile.

                I leaned down, wanting to kiss him in that moment. Wanting to let him feel that we would work, instead of just saying it.

                DING-DONG.

                Fuck you too doorbell. Fuck you too.

                I sighed impatiently and gave Alex an apologetic look before going downstairs. I pulled the door open in annoyance.

                “What the hell are you glaring at?” Collin demanded.

                My annoyance wiped clean of my face and I gulped. Shit. I had been about to kiss Alex when Collin had made it quite clear that doing so would result in my death.

                “Where’s my brother?” Collin asked.

                “A…Alex!” I called. “You brother is here!”

                Alex came down the stairs and blushed when he saw Collin. I hadn’t even realized that it was already 8. Jeez, time flew when you were trying to fucking kiss a guy.

                Alex pulled his shoes on and began to move towards Collin. He paused and turned to me, wrapping his arms around me tightly. I hugged him back.

                He gave me a small smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow Trav,” he said before kissing my cheek.

                I saw fury explode throughout Collin’s whole body. I really thought steam might come out of his ears as his face turned bright red.

                Alex turned and, not meeting Collin’s gaze, left my house. He grabbed Collin’s hand on the way out and dragged the shocked boy with him.

                I shut my door and locked it in case Collin tried to come kill me. I realized that by kissing my cheek, Alex was taking a huge risk.

                Collin could get furious enough to forbid Alex to go to the senior ball with me. Even just a little kiss on the cheek was too much for such an intense homophobe as Collin. He didn’t want to see his baby brother show romantic affection towards any male in any way.

                And what a rebellious move for Alex. He knew it would upset Collin. But maybe he was finally starting to realize that he couldn’t let Collin dictate his love life, especially considering the fact that Alex was gay and Collin was a homophobe.

                Regardless, I moved upstairs, only to be called back down by the doorbell a few minutes later. I went downstairs and pulled the door open.

                Gage shoved me out of the way and let himself into my house. He shut the door and dragged me upstairs.

                “So? How did he go?” he asked, dropping onto the couch.

                “Make yourself at home,” I grumbled sarcastically, sitting down next to him. I sighed and told him everything that had happened.

                Gage groaned. “I could just kill both of them,” he said. “How could you get so close to kissing Alex and not follow through with it? Why are you so stupid? Why didn’t you just, oh I don’t know, KISS HIM BEFORE YOU ANSWERED THE FUCKING DOOR?!”

                I winced. “Don’t yell,” I said defensively. Aw man. I should’ve just kissed Alex before I answered the door.

                Gage took a deep breath. “Okay, Trav. The doorbell rings. You and Alex are like this.” He shifted so that his face was in front of mine. “You just do this quick.” He leaned in and pecked my lips quick. He raised an eyebrow at me. “Not hard at all.”

                “I was nervous!” I said miserably.

                Gage shoved me back on the couch. He crawled on top of me and pinned my hands above my head, his lower half resting on mine.

                He smirked at me seductively. He leaned down so that his lip brushed against my ear as he spoke. “Are you nervous now?”

                “Gage,” I said, trying to tug my hands free of his iron grip.

                “I like it when you say my name,” he said, his hot breath blowing down my neck. I shivered at the feel.

                “Gage,” I repeated, unsure of what else to say. I just kept trying to pull my hands free.

                “You like it Trav. Admit it,” he whispered, connecting our lips.

                I turned my head, breaking the kiss. “Stop! I want to have a relationship with Alex!” I said, finally finding my words.

                Gage chuckled and released my hands, sitting up and pulling me with him. “I know. I was just testing you,” he said smugly. “Congratulations Trav. You pass and fail. You pass for not giving into me because you want to be with Alex. But you fail for being an abnormally non-horny teen boy.”

                I rolled my eyes at him. “You take things way to far!” I whined.

                “Well, I have to enjoy myself too,” he said with a shrug, getting up. “Anyways, I already have a plan to get Collin away from your two at the dance for a few minutes. So, when you get the signal, you’ll know it’s safe to kiss Alex.”

                “Wait, what’s the signal?” I asked in confusion.

                “Oh, you’ll know it,” he said, smirking at me.

                I walked him to the door and watched as he pulled his shoes on. He stood up and moved to leave, pausing.

                “Oh. I forgot to tell you. We’re sleeping over Gav’s tomorrow night,” he said. “Gav told me a little while ago. He asked me to tell you because I told him I was going to stop by. So…get your emotions in check.” He clapped me on the shoulder before leaving my house.

                I stared at the door as it shut. Sleeping over Gav’s house.

                Normally, I would be excited at the thought. Sleeping over Gav’s house meant a fun time with him and Gage. But considering the circumstances, I had a feeling all it was going to do was play with my heart.

                And Gage…

                He hadn’t been testing me. He had really been trying to have sex with me. He really wanted me to sleep with him. And hell, the look in his eyes said that maybe he wanted more.

                Great. So tomorrow night I was going to be stuck with the straight guy I was in love with who was completely oblivious to my feelings, a midget who wanted to fuck me and possibly date me, all the while thinking about my sort-of boyfriend and his homophobic brother who was going to try harder than ever to ruin our relationship before it really even started.

                Whoever said relationships were easy was a fucking moron.