By the time Rayne Stella was seven, she knew five things for certain.

1, Her mom was adamant that she stay away from the next-door neighbors.
2, Mrs. Stella was also sure that the relationship Mr. and Mr. Woods-Reed had was 'sin.'
3, 'Rayne' was absolutely, undeniably a guy.
4, He was also completely gay.
And 5, the most important, was that if his mom ever found out, he'd be in some deep shit.

So by the time Ray Stella was seven, he knew how to keep a secret, how to put his short hair--thank God his mom let him pick his haircut--up so it looked like a regular guy's with the help of the baseball cap his dad sent him, and how to use the blue hoodie he had gotten for his sixth birthday--that thing was way too big, though Ray didn't mind--to make any girly chest features he might ever require from view. By the time Ray Stella was seven, he was practically grown up.

On the other hand, by the time Skylar Woods-Reed was seven, he was aware that 'Rayne's' mom was--quote-un-quote from his dad Jeff--"batshit crazy", and that he wasn't even allowed to mingle with Crazy Lady's single 'daughter', not that Crazy Lady would have let him. Skylar Woods-Reed also knew that he liked guys, and nothing could tell him otherwise.

The two kids never even met until 9th grade.

(I will probably edit this later but I'm too lazy right now)