Joey's P.O.V.

"Hello Joey and Mrs. Graceffa," Mr. Preda says as I open the door. Daniel is behind his dad where I can't see him. Why?
"Hello Mr. Preda and Daniel. Please come in," my mom says to them pointing to the living room one room down from our foyer.
"You two boys talk in Joey's room for a minute," Daniel's dad says. I nod and walk up the stairs. I haven't looked at Daniel yet but I can sense something is wrong. So wrong.

We make it into my room and he bolts in before I can look at him. I close the door and lock it, habit I guess. But Daniel is still faced away from me.
"Daniel why won't you look at me?" I asked him because now he is kinda scarying me. And then he turns around. A dark bruise is spread across his nose, a little bruise on his forehead, and his undereyes. I stand there in shock, probably with the most horrifying face ever, just starinf at him.
"I got home after my dad did," Daniel said in the most defeated voice ever. Usually Daniel sounds so strong and confident. I guess his dad beat that out of him.
"I'm sorry," I whisper as tears begin to fall down my face and I walk towards him. I take him into a hug and rest my head in his neck, although I should be the one conforting him right now.
"This is not your fault Joey. Please don't apologize. Please don't," he says into my ear. He has lifted his hands to my upper back and my neck holding me tight. He always holds me as if I am broken. It is like he thinks if he lets me go I will fall apart and break.
"I don't deserve you. I keep getting you hurt," I say trying to contain myself and not shed anymore tears. Daniel pulls from the hug and looks me in the eyes and runs his hands through my hair.
"Listen to me, don't think of yourself like that. You're amazing. So incredibly amazing. You aren't getting me hurt. It is my dad's stupidity. Okay?" he says softening his eyes even further.
"Okay," I say finally steadying my breathing and calming down. I just, I don't know. I care about Daniel so much and I feel like he is just too good for me. Maybe I should break it off and let him find someone better. Someone way more perfect for him. But my thoughts are cut off.

Daniel fits his hand to my cheek and kisses me softly on the forehead, the tip of my nose, both cheeks, and then my lips. He holds his lips on mine for what feels like a minute and then pulls away.
"You mean alot to me. You know that right?" He says with his cute little smile curled up on his cute little face.
"Yes. And you mean alot to me," I say looking down because I can feel the redness flowing to my cheeks.
"Why do you blush around me so much, Joesph," Daniel say to me as he takes his fingers under my chin and lifts my face to make me look into his eyes.
"Because no one has ever made me feel as special as you have," I say. I guess my words made him flustered because he blushed. He actually blushed.
"You are special to me," he says trying to conceal the fact that he is blushing.
"Um excuse me? Is the Daniel Christopher Preda blushing?" I say kinda sounding like an annoying fangirl.
"Maybe. Or maybe it is just hot in here," Daniel says while quirking his eyebrows.
"I have a question. What do you think we are going to talk to them about in a minute when they come and get us?" I say now kinda feeling a little anxious about the conversation to come.
"You know what, I really don't know," Daniel says sitting down on my bed. I sit on a chair that is across from him.
"That's kinda scary huh?" I say looking down at my feet.
"What's scary, Joey," Daniel says looking at me with all of the concern in the world.
"Just how homophobic our parents are. And the fact that he threatens you and abuses you all because he is scared that you are gay," I say releasing a breath that I wasn't even aware that I was holding.
"Well, he can't change me. I already have done it with a boy," Daniel says causing both of us to go into a fit of laughter. And then we hear a knock. I give Daniel one last quick kiss before going to the door.

"We have decided to go ahead and eat dinner and we can talk over dinner," my mom says looking back and forth between me and Daniel. She looked a little longer at Daniel. Probably because of his bruised face.
"Okay. We will be down in one second," I say to my mom and then shut the door as she walks off.
"Let's do this thing," Daniel says giving me very passionate kiss and holding it there for a second. And then we walk out basically into a battlefield that we don't know the terrain of. This should be great...

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Authors Note:
Okay so I decided that they would just talk over dinner. Ya know, for the added dramatic effect. And next chapter will be them eating dinner. I wanted to spilt it up. I gotta keep y'all wanting more ;) Anyways, thank you guys so so much for reading. I really do appreciate it! I will see y'all next update xoxo <3