(Mature content below.)

"Your father is coming here tomorrow. We are going to court to sign the divorce papers."

"Finally. It is about time you two sign the divorce papers and get everything over with," Seth muttered, loud enough for Holly to hear across the table as he ate his dinner.

Holly's eyebrows rose, "I thought you were going to throw a tantrum like you usually do when things don't go your way."

"I have already thrown enough tantrums about you and dad's relationship as it is," Seth said, "I think it is time I finally accept the fact that you two can't get back together anymore. Cheating is hard to forgive. I completely understand where dad is coming from."

Holly ignored the jab as she smiled, "Great. We are finally moving on then. This crisis has taken a toll on all of us. It's time we bury the hatches, don't you agree?"

Seth gave a nod. He didn't care about his parent's divorce anymore, not like he used to in the past. A year of only speaking with his father over the phone and not being able to see him in person, he can say confidently now that he has gotten used to his absence. Not that it didn't hurt he wasn't here with him, it did but the ache has become more bearable now that he had Becky. She filled the void in a certain kind of way. It wasn't just her love and her constant support but it is the trust and confidence he has in her that made it easy for him to confide in her about anything. He feels at peace and safe with her and if anything, he doesn't miss his dad as much as he used to before. She makes his world a better place.

"So how is school," Holly asked, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Sorry I haven't been home much these days. Work has been hectic. A couple of girls were fired so I had to fill in the void they left at the supermarket. We haven't been able to talk much these days. Hope everything is well?"

"Yes, it is. School is great and in case you're wondering, I'm studying hard for the mid-term exams so you have no reason to worry. I will try my very best to pass."

"You're not studying for me Colby," Holly said softly, "You're studying for yourself and your future. I know I've been pressuring you a lot over your grades and I know it isn't fair because you're studying hard. But trust me, all I want is for you to succeed and become a better person. I'm your mother and that is all I wish for you."

Seth looked up at her, "I know." He said softly. Bitterness is something that has kept them apart for a very long time. Their relationship hadn't been the best in the past but at least it had been amicable unlike now. His father had been the glue that had kept them together and prevented them from tearing each other's hairs out when they didn't agree on something. When he had left, everything had come crumbling down and the fact that she had been the person that had destroyed the nice, little family they were back then made it all the more difficult for Seth to get along with her. But he had no doubts she loved him and he loves her too. "I know you do care about me. You don't have to repeat yourself each and every single time. I know you love me and want the best for me. I hope you know that. . . . even after everything that has happened. . . . I love you too."

Holly's eyes watered, her breath catching. She brushed a tear from her eye and laughed nervously, "Aren't we getting a little sentimental tonight? Is it just me or do you want something? Do you want me to do anything for you?"

Seth groaned, "Oh, come on. Now I can't tell you I love you without you thinking I want something from you?" Seth smiled despite himself as she nodded, "Fine. I know I made that reputation for myself but trust me I don't want anything from you this time. You never give me anything I want anyway so I will ask dad instead if I need anything."
Throughout the week, he had been contemplating on whether to ask his mom for help concerning the wrestling school when he couldn't get through to his dad. He hadn't asked his mother about his father for fear she might find out he needs help with the wrestling school's admission fees. Fortunately, his dad had called him on the next day and Seth had narrated everything to him; meeting Becky, befriending her, making her his girlfriend, the wrestling school and the problems associated with it. He hadn't told him the kissing part out of shyness but his father knew that was bound to happen eventually. It had been a long conversation, one that had kept him up all night and Rick had expressed his desire to meet Becky; his son's first ever girlfriend. He hadn't told him about the divorce part though but Seth suspected his father thought he might throw a tantrum if he knew just like his mother had been anticipating when she told him.

"Are you still hanging out with Becky?"

Seth's shoulders tensed, "Yes and you're not going to convince me to do otherwise."

"Just be careful," Holly told her, "I don't want you getting mixed up in illegal stuffs, especially drugs."

He sighed in exasperation, "I won't and please stop talking about Becky like that. She isn't a murderer or a terrorist or some kind of an evil monster I should be careful around. She is a good person, one of the most nicest people I've ever met. She doesn't bite."

"Have you talked to her about her life back in Ireland before she came here," she asked, adamant not to let the matter go. "The alcohol and the drugs?"

"No," Seth admitted, "I haven't done that and I won't. She will tell me once she is ready to. I won't pester her into anything she isn't comfortable with."

Holly let her fork slid from her fingers and onto the plate with a quiet clink. "Why? Are you afraid, is that it? Scared of making her uncomfortable enough that she will drift away from you? Is that what you're scared of?"

"Yes," Seth swallowed the thick bile in his throat, "I don't want to lose her. I can't and I won't lose her over something that had happened in the past. I'm sure she is trying to move on, to forget everything that happened and start afresh. She is giving herself another chance and I'm going to support her because I love her."

Holly rubbed her temples and took a deep breath. "Colby, that is not called love. It's called a crush. You just have a crush on her and we've all been in that situation at least once in our lives. You might think it is love but it isn't. What you're feeling isn't real."

"Of course it is," he jabbed a finger on his chest, "I know what I'm feeling right here and it's not called a mere crush. It is so much more than that. It is love and I have no doubts about it, unlike you."

"Colby, you can't fall in love with a person you've known for only two months. That is not how love works. You're too young to understand these things. Once you mature, you will realize there is so much more to love than you ever imagined. Fairy tales doesn't exist and crushes vanish as the years go by."

Seth sighed in defeat. There wasn't a single conversation he has with his mother where they will agree on a single thing. They will always end up fighting, yelling at each other for no apparent reason. Seth was tired and exhausted with all the fights they have been having. "You've no idea about what I'm feeling and if it is real or it isn't, that is my problem. All I know is that Becky makes me happy and she doesn't give me drugs for that to happen. I feel comfortable and contented with her and there isn't anything anybody is going say that is going to change that. Not even you and I'm so sorry we can't agree on this too and you still think Becky is some kind of bad influence that is going to ruin my future. She is not. She makes the future brighter if you must know."

Appetite lost, he stood up and headed for the stairs. He turned back to her when he was halfway to his room, "And just so you don't give Becky the cold shoulder when you see us kissing, she is my girlfriend now so we have the right to do whatever it is we want. Good night, mom."

He opened the window in his room and slid out of his room to Becky's house but not before turning on the music on his iPod and locking his door so his mother wouldn't suspect he was out of the house. There was light in Becky's room so he suspected she must still be awake. After three knocks on her window, he saw a silhouette before Becky opened the window and he found himself staring into her beautiful green eyes. "Hey girlfriend."

She rubbed her eyes and smiled, "Hey boyfriend, what are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to see you. It has been far too long."

"It has been," she looked back at the clock on her wall, "only five hours. You can't possibly miss me in such a short period of time."

He abruptly climbed into her room, taking her by surprise. She yelped and tried to back away but he caught her effortlessly around the waist. "The perks of being loved. Your boyfriend misses you all the time. I heard girls like that. I mean the attention and all. It can't be bad."

She rubbed her hair on his shoulder, "I should be jumping for joy then because my boyfriend loves me so much and looks at me as if I'm the only thing that matters. I will appreciate it more then."

Seth kissed her, lingering enough to make her shiver. They tumbled down on her bed, fondling and kissing and for a moment Seth even forgot why he was there in the first place. "I love you," he whispered against her lips before kissing her again, his hand sliding under her shirt, cupping a breast.

"Seth, we can't. Not here at least," she said but she made no attempt to stop him as he squeezed her breast.

Seth grunted and reluctantly moved his hand away. "My father is coming tomorrow and hopefully he might pay the admission fees for us. He is eager to meet you by the way."

"I hope he likes me. If I can't get your mother's approval, it will be great if I have your father's."

"My father will like you," he assured her, "He is not as difficult as my mother."

She took a long moment, palming his cheek before asking quite seriously. "Do you know why your mother doesn't like me? I mean she is friends with my mother and they seem to get along so well. She rarely talks to me when she comes to our house. At first I thought it was normal, that it is the way she is but yesterday, she was so nice to Mercedes when she met us. I can swear she will love it if you date Mercedes instead."

Seth silenced her with a kiss. He was aware of her insecurities concerning Mercedes. Her claim that she was so perfect in every way in the library when they had been caught by Mercedes two weeks ago made Seth cautious about how he react when the three of them are together. His attention shouldn't be questioned because he gave it all to her. But when Mercedes had lied for her at the wrestling school, Becky has been more nice to her ever since, talking to her about girly stuffs and even asking her where she gets the nice colour dyes she applies on her hair each week. They had grown a little closer these few days and Seth was glad Becky had gotten over her insecurities around Mercedes but his mother had to make her feel low of herself yesterday. "It's nothing, okay. Just forget about it."

She gently pushed him back to sit on the bed, leaning against the wall. "It bothers me, okay. She isn't as warm to me as she is to everyone else and it hurts because she is your mother. She doesn't even know we are dating because we're afraid she wouldn't approve which I'm sure she won't."

"I already told her we are dating," he said, reaching for her hand.

"When?"

"Earlier, over dinner. I made it clear to her that I love you and nothing was going to change how I feel."

She smiled and nodded, "How did she react? Did you two have a fight? Is that why you came here? To get away from it?"

Sometimes he wished Becky didn't know him so well. She could read him in ways nobody else did except his parents. He suddenly wondered how he will be able to keep it a secret from her if ever he wanted to propose to her. "She didn't take it too well. If anything she was quiet and shocked. I don't know but it doesn't matter."

"Seth, stop saying things like that," she scolded him like her mother usually does. It made him smile. "Has your mother ever. . . . I don't know. . . . has she ever said something about me? Something you haven't told me?" He hesitated, looking anywhere but her face. He felt her tug on his hand, almost desperately. "She has, hasn't she? What is it? What did she tell you? Why doesn't she like me?"

"It's not that she doesn't like you," he calmly told her, squeezing he hand. "She just thinks you're some sort of bad influence or. . . . fuck."

The light in her eyes dimmed. "She knows. Of course, she knows. She knows I was an alcoholic before, back in Dublin. She doesn't trust me," she said, her voice breaking.

"Rebecca please."

Her face fell into her hands, sobs racking her body. "I thought I had left everything behind. Back in Ireland, back in that forsaken school. All the bullies, all the insults, the alcohol. . . . hell Seth why didn't you tell me? You knew all this time?"

He gently drew her shaking body to him, letting her head rest on his chest. "I thought you were going to get angry if I ask. I didn't want to lose our friendship then and I sure as hell can't lose you now."

She hugged him tight, "I feel so ashamed of myself. You shouldn't have found out like that. I should have been the one to tell you and not your mother."

He shushed her and stroked her hair instead. "What happened? What made you turn to alcohol and drugs at such a young age?"

She sharply drew back to look at him. Her eyes were red and puffy and tears stained her face. "I didn't do drugs. Believe me, I never took drugs. Yes, I had some in my bags but I swear I didn't take them."

"I trust you. Just calm down, okay?"

She drew in a sharp intake of breath and exhaled. "I became addicted to alcohol at the age of fourteen or fifteen. . . . I don't know, I can't remember exactly. I don't how I got into such a mess but when I realized it, it was too late. I tried but I couldn't stop. We had a lot of problems back then and I know alcohol isn't the solution to problems but it helped me. My friends, the ones I used to hang out with back in Ireland told me I can forget all my problems by drinking. My father got diagnosed with lung cancer, my mother lost her job, I got teased at school for dyeing my hair orange and they said no matter what I do I will always be a boy because I acted like one. They called me chubby and fat. School became hard and home didn't feel like home anymore. I started hanging out with new friends—–they were mostly boys—–because my old friends had deserted me. I stopped helping them in exams and I failed multiple times in subjects I was once brilliant in so they said I was no longer useful to them and they cast me aside." She looked pleadingly into his eyes, "My new friends introduced me to alcohol and I swear I don't know when it happened but I just couldn't stop. It helped me a lot in forgetting my troubles and being stress-free. My mother found out and tried everything to stop me from drinking but I didn't take her advice. I should have stopped then but it was just too hard."

"What made you stop," he inquired softly, his voice barely a whisper.

She sniffed and frantically brushed the tears, "The boys brought in drugs one day. They said it was more effective than the alcohol. I said no but they insisted and called me a coward. They basically challenged me so I took it. I put it in my bag and said I was going to take it at home but I really wasn't going to. The next day, someone ranted us out that we were doing drugs. Our school principal found drugs in one of the boy's locker room and when they were mentioning names, they mentioned mine. One teacher called the police and my mother found the drugs in my room. I was taken to the police station along with the others and that cold night in the cell, that fateful night in that horrible cell, being confined and denied freedom made me think things over. My father was in the hospital at that time but he was able to talk to his contacts and the man that gave us the drugs was arrested. Our blood samples were taken but they found nothing in my blood. The principal put in a word for me, about how I was one of the good students in the school and along with my father's contacts, I was released. And here I am, trying to change and become a better person. I swear to you Seth, I don't want to go back to the life I was in before. I don't want to go to jail ever again. I'm trying to change. I swear I am."

He hugged her tightly, letting her sob for as long as she wanted. They stayed there for what felt like forever, crying together and hanging on to each other for dear life. When they pulled back, he kissed her long and slow and he just wished she could feel how much he loves her. "It's alright. That is all in the past now. This is the present. And in this present, baby it is just you and me and that is how it will stay even in the future."

He finally made her smile, "I was so scared that you will be wary of me if I tell you about my past. I love you so much. I can't bear it if I were to lose you over some stupid mistake I made in the past."

He shook his head, "Trust me when I say nothing will ever change the way I feel about you. I love you now and I will love you in the future. Not even my dog can tell me otherwise. May his poor soul rest in peace but he has been finally replaced."

Becky laughed, wrestling him down on his back until she was straddling his legs, keeping him in place on the bed. "Let's hope he won't rise from his grave to take revenge on us." She joked.

"I'm counting on you to fight for me as you said you will do if he eventually comes to take revenge on us." His hands rose on its own accord to her breasts as she lifted her shirt over her head, leaving her chest bare. "I still don't have condoms you know," he reminded her.

She moaned as he rubbed her nipples, "It has been too long. When will you finally gather the courage to buy them, you coward?"

"Maybe if you just remove your pyjamas and let me see the rest of you, I believe my courage will bounce back in full force. It probably needs. . . . a little motivation."

"Oh really?" She made quick work of her clothes and once she was naked, she laid beside him and beckoned him to lie on top of her. "Is this motivation enough?"

Seth let his eyes trail over her body, taking every curve in. "More than enough," he breathed before he also took off his clothes. Her arms wrapped around his neck lovingly as he came to lie on top of her. "Keep it in mind you're not getting through this week without getting ravished."

"As long as you gather up the courage to buy condoms, we won't have a problem if you decide to ravish me." She said between kisses. When she touched him and he growled loud enough for a person at the door to hear, Becky squeezed his cock too hard for comfort. He yelped. "Not a sound or I'm throwing you out through the window, naked and all."

"We will see if you will be able to say the same thing for yourself." He made good of his word and for minutes he pleasured her with his fingers, rubbing her clit deliciously enough to make her eyes roll back in her head. Soon she was screaming herself, biting the inside of her palm to muffle her moans as his fingers slipped inside her, curling and sliding back and forth, making her writhe beneath him. She came sooner than he expected and he behold the beautiful sight as her whole body shook.

When she took him in her mouth, returning the favour, he sighed. "Thank God, I locked my door." She was too absorbed in what she was doing to respond. He nearly went crazy as he felt himself hit the back of throat, her throat squeezing him in like a hot, tight vise. He came in her mouth, long and hard. She swallowed him, also licking a drop at the corner of her mouth.

"I'm so buying condoms tomorrow," he said before kissing her, tasting himself in her mouth. "I love you."

"I love you too, my handsome coward."

"Is that a nickname or something," he asked, laughing.

She drew lines on his chest, "Yes."

"I love you so much but goodness, that is such a demeaning nickname. What will people think when they hear you call me that?"

Becky chuckled, "Don't worry. You can redeem yourself when you finally buy condoms. I will give you a new one when you do. Coming to think of, I think this is your dog's doing. He stripped you of your courage and now you can't even buy condoms to have proper sex with your girlfriend. Perfect revenge I tell you."

"I won't let him succeed," he declared, kissing the top of her head, "I'm buying them tomorrow so that I can get rid of the silly nickname you've just given me."