I can't find Whittney after school and instead, bump into Bradley. To my surprise, his eyes are red and he's blinking away tears. He pulls me into a hug, holding me tightly. I return the hug and rub his back to comfort him. When we finally part, I keep a hold of his arms.

"What's going on?" When he doesn't say, I squeeze reassuringly. "You can tell me."

A heavy sigh leaves his lips when he finally looks back at me. "I told Rodney . . . about us."

"Wow. Really?" My eyes widen in surprise. I pull him to the side to sit on a small bench. "What did he do?"

"He didn't do anything. That's the problem." He lets out a shaky breath. "It would have been better if he shoved me, yelled at me, something. He didn't even look at me before getting up and walking off."

"Maybe he needs some time?" I suggest, hoping to ease his distress. "Sometimes people just need a moment to adjust. It changes someone's whole perspective on who you are, you know?"

Bradley snorts. "It shouldn't. It's not something the ones closest to us have to come to terms with. That's bullshit. If they really care about me, it shouldn't matter who I like. Honestly, it isn't even any of their business."

I've never heard him so cynical, but I can't agree more. It's kind of nice to see another side of him instead of the perfect golden boy who seemed to never truly speak his mind.

"You're right." I smile at him. "It is bullshit."

He returns the smile and grabs my hand, giving it a light squeeze. Then he leans in to kiss me before standing up. "Did you need a ride home, babe?"

My cheeks heat up. It's the first time he's ever called me that. "No, I'm okay." When his smile drops a little, I add, "Did you want to hang tonight?"

His face immediately perks up. "Yeah. Actually, I made sure that my family would be home tonight, because I wanted them to meet someone special." All the color has probably drained from my face from the nervous look Bradley is giving me. "I mean, you don't have to come if you're not ready for that. Shit. I should have asked you first."

"No." I shake my head with a growing grin. "That actually sounds like fun."

Even though my stomach is in knots thinking about how his parents and siblings will react, I'm so excited that Bradley still wants to go through with it when it went so poorly with Rodney. It's a relief to know he hasn't given up after one bad 'coming out' experience. Especially since Rodney was the first he told, Bradley must have really trusted Rodney if he'd told him before his parents, or a sibling. The first person I ever told was my sister, and she's the one who convinced me to be honest with Amber.

Instead of scoring a girlfriend, I had found my best friend.

"Let's say my place at six?" Bradley smiles widely.

I nod. "Yeah, six sounds great."

Bradley pulls me to him by my torso and kisses me deeply before pulling away. "Til' tonight."

A goofy grin pulls at my lips.

The whole rest of my afternoon is consumed by trying on outfit after outfit. I've never been too style coordinated, completely breaking the gay stereotype of 'fashion icon', so nothing I try on is the least bit jaw dropping.

At a loss, I sit on my bed with a sigh. This is the first time I'll be meeting the parents of someone I'm dating and I want to make a good impression. Bradley has always had a great sense of style while I mostly stuck to my safety net of hoodies and t-shirts. I just look so bland next to him.

The sound of the doorbell goes off and then a heavy knock on the door follows. My mom and little sister are at grandma's for the weekend and Charlette is having a sleepover with her friends so none of them can answer the door. I sigh and hustle down the stairs. When I open the door, I take a step back

"Whittney?" I frown as I look him up and down.

He looks terrible. Red dominates the white in his eyes and there are bags underneath them. His skin is sickly pale and shiny with sweat. He almost looks even worse than he did yesterday.

"We never had a chance to talk this morning." He sounds completely exhausted, almost faint.

Suddenly, he's slumping towards the ground, but I react quickly enough to grab a hold of him. "Oh god. Let's sit, okay?"

I help Whittney to the couch and right once we're sitting, tears spill from his eyes. His lips quiver a little when he grabs my hand. "Harry, what I did . . . I was an asshole. I fucked up, more than I've ever fucked up in my life." His voice is shaky. "If you hadn't of followed me last night I would have—"

"But I was." I squeeze his hand. "And you didn't."

"Harry, I'm so sorry." He lets go of my hand and pulls me into a hug. "Please, forgive me."

I wrap my arms around him tightly. "I forgive you. Of course I forgive you."

When we finally pull away, after what seems like a long time, our cheeks brush and when I look him in the eyes, our lips are a mere inch apart. Neither of us move for a second, but then I feel myself drawing closer to him like a magnet. My eyes flicker from his mouth to his eyes, but the sound of the door slamming breaks my trance and I quickly turn to the front door.

Austin stands there a moment, seemingly taking in the scene before him. I stand up from the couch and so does Whittney, who gets a murderous look from Austin.

My heart starts racing when he marches into the living room, heading straight for Whittney.

"Austin, wait!"

Ignoring my pleas, he walks right past me. He then grabs Whittney by the hoodie and slams him against the wall. "What are you doing here, huh?" When Whittney just stares at him with wide eyes, Austin shoves him into the wall again, but harder. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

I want to step in when Whittney flinches, but Austin's so angry.

"S-sorry!" Whittney whimpers, his. "I'm sorry!"

When Austin lets go, Whittney slides down to the ground, his face twists in panic and tears start to fall again. He hugs himself tightly as he cries.

"What's wrong with him?" I look to Austin. I've never seen Whittney like this before and it's terrifying.

"Withdrawal." There is pity in Austin's voice for the first time as he runs his hands through his hair; his biggest tell for when he's stressed. He's deep in thought for a moment before he sighs. "Shit. Help me bring him downstairs."

I have one of Whittney's arms draped over my shoulder, and Austin has the other. His tears stain my shirt when he leans his head against me. I resist the urge to kiss his forehead.

There's a couch in the basement where we lay Whittney down and I drape a blanket over him. I make sure he's tucked in since he's suddenly shivering. I want so badly to hold him tightly and not let go until he's better, but I can't with Austin right here. It's killing me seeing him like this.

I pull Austin into the kitchen. "What are we supposed to do with him? I mean, we can't take him to a hospital. Jeremy will go off on him if we do."

Austin frowns and looks like he's contemplating it for a moment before nodding. "You're right."

They would want to know where Whittney got the drugs in the first place, which would lead them back to Jeremy. His older brother would kick the shit out of him. Especially if the cops came and searched his place.

"But we have to do something. He can stay here. I'll take care of him." I glance at Whittney, who groans before laying on his stomach. "He'll be safe here with me."

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea." Austin's uncertainty draws my head. "There could be complications. Withdrawal can be intense. He'll be irritable and could get violent. Or worse, he could have a seizure, or something."

Whittney's cries turn our attention back to him. He's clutching his stomach and moans loudly in pain.

"Oh god," Austin grumbles before grabbing a small trash can that's by the sink. He's just in time.

As Austin places it next to Whittney, he grabs it and heaves into the trash can. He chokes on his own spit as he gets it all out. I grab a washcloth and kneel next to him so I can wipe his mouth. When he's cleaned up a little, I move the trash can to the side and I help Whittney onto his back. I run my hand through his hair soothingly before looking to Austin.

"Could you get me a new one of these and run it under cold water?" I hand him the dirty cloth and feel his clammy forehead. "He's burning up."

Austin grumbles something under his breath before going into the kitchen again. With his back turned, Whittney grabs my hand and our eyes meet. His are still bloodshot. I squeeze his hand, but quickly let go when Austin clears his throat. He hands me the wet cloth and I start dabbing Whittney's forehead with it.

"I should, uh, I should get going." Austin turns to leave.

"Wait," Whittney pleads, his voice weak. He tries to sit up a little and I help him. "I shouldn't have . . . I shouldn't have done what I did. I'm sorry."

"Are you?" Austin turns back with a low growl.

"Austin." I cut in. Whittney at least deserves the chance to apologize. "Please, hear him out."

"Are you?" He asks again, slightly calmer.

Whittney nods. "I did awful things to you. To Harry. The worst shit I've ever done and I'm sorry for all of it. I shouldn't have helped Berkley set you up, or lied to Sabrina." He then looks at me. "Or hurt you like I did."

Austin runs his hands through his hair again, and sighs when their gazes meet again.

"I'm not asking for you to ever talk to me again." Whittney's eyes have never been full of this much sincerity. "All I want is for you to forgive me." He means it. All of it. "Please?"

Austin's eyes are emotionless, distant. "Fuck you."

Whittney breaks down after Austin disappears up the stairs. He curls up on the couch and I lay next to him, wrapping my arms around him as he cries. I pull him closer, my forehead resting against his back. Whittney needs me more than he ever has. Nothing else matters right now.

Not even whoever keeps blowing up my phone on the kitchen counter.

***

This chapter took a little longer to post than I may have wanted, but it's finally here! Thanks to everyone who has stuck around through my spotty updating record. Hope you all liked the chapter!

As usual, if you feel the chapter deserved it, tap that star in the corner! 

Until next time,

TheWriterD