As Austin got to school, he kept wondering how he was going to be able to avoid Sam the whole day. They had all classes together and sat next to each other in all of them.

How was he going to last a whole day without looking at his best friend sitting next to him while not talking to each other.

The events that transpired last night were still a shock to Austin. Never in his wildest, darkest dreams, would he have expected Sam to kiss him. They had always been more like brothers and Austin had never seen or suspected anything otherwise. Sam was always just his platonic, silly best friend.

He couldn't possibly count the number of times they had shared a bed during sleepovers or walked around almost naked in the presence of each other -they were just too many. Austin began to wonder if there had been any non-platonic thoughts going through Sam's head during those times. If so, then Sam was a damn good pretender or Austin had been too ingenuous to notice.

He was trying to come up with an excuse of why Sam had kissed him.

Maybe he was drunk.

There was no alcohol in his breath.

Maybe he was temporarily insane.

Really!?

Perhaps he was just confused by the recent changes in Austin's life and decided to experiment for himself.

Plausible.

Still, if Sam felt that way, why wouldn't he just come right out and say it instead of hiding?

And shouldn't Sam's odd behavior, if there had been any, have been perfectly palpable to Austin, having been his best friend for as long as he could remember?

He kept wondering if Sam had been having intimate thoughts and still kept it from him. Perhaps Sam had been sneaking peeks whenever Austin wasn't looking during those times he walked around in only in his underwear. That sounded creepy and unsettling.

It made Austin a little angry and he started to question a lot of the things he thought he knew about his best friend. Yea, having your best friend stick his tongue down your throat suddenly certainly does that to a guy.

Whatever was going on, Austin was not ready to know about it yet. He was still spooked about Sam kissing him out of nowhere. That was so hard and confusing to get over that he would need some time to come to terms with it -which meant that he would have to avoid Sam at all cost for the whole day. Easier said than done !

The dust from yesterday's scandal had not settled completely. There were still whispers here and there and kids still laughed or chuckled when he walked by.

"My, how admirable! Showing up at school fearlessly after what happened yesterday. I must say, it's inspiring." Somebody said from behind Austin as he stacked books in his locker and the tone of the voice didn't sound like it was coming from a friendly person.

"Who are you and what do you want!" Austin asked coldly without turning around as he shoved the books around roughly.

"It's me, your soon to be best friend." That had him turning around to see who the lunatic was and lo and behold, Jesse stood there smiling like a cat that just ate the very big canary.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Austin rolled his eyes violently as he stared down at Jesse.

"Good morning, Austin!" Jesse continued, "I've missed you, you know ...since we last saw each other! By the way, I had a great time." The sharpness in his voice was probably the worst thing about this conversation, Austin felt.

"Are you sure you wanna stand this close to me at this particular time?" Austin asked him.

"What's wrong Austin, are you still upset about the video?" Jesse asked innocently, "Don't worry, it will all blow over in no time. I'm here for you if you need me for support."

"I know you did it!" Austin fumed as he took a step closer to Jesse.

"Did what?" Jesse was still playing the oblivious card.

"Don't fucking play dumb with me!" Austin whisper-yelled as he pointed his finger close to Jesse's face.

"You know I would never hurt you. I like you, Austin."

"Wow, you really are crazy!" Austin said.

"Why...why would you say that?"Jesse asked. Tears were beginning to glisten in his eyes and he was blinking continuously ,trying to keep them at bay, "I'm just trying to be friendly. You don't have to be mean, you know!"

"On a scale of nine to ten, just how crazy are you!" Austin asked having seen the tears.

"You're hilarious!" And just like that, he was back to his calm self. The tears were gone together with any trace of them ever being there, "I get why Noah is into you. Too bad he is gonna lose you." He said the last part as a whisper but Austin caught a bit of it.

"Excuse me?" Austin asked.

"Nothing Sugarplum!" He responded sweetly.

"You need to get the fuck away from me before I snap you in half like a breadstick!" Austin was hyperventilating. The smug face of Jesse was making him angrier and he didn't want to deal with it while he was trying to deal with other issues -like figuring out how to deal with his best friend.

"You're just like Noah, always talking dirty to me and doing nothing about it. Are you trying to make me fall in love with you?"

"Ok, I'm gonna reiterated my sentence one more time, get away from my face or I'm gonna stuff you in my backpack and use you as a piñata." Austin spoke like he was talking to a slow person.

"Oh, piñata ..you think I'm sweet," he gasped dramatically. "You're sweet too!"

"Listen!" Austin shouted as he slammed Jesse's back hard against a locker, earning the attention of quite a few students who were around, "I am really not in the mood for your dumb remarks or your fucking stupid face and I never will be. Don't think a whack to the head from a stupid history book is the worst you're gonna get. I'm prepared to do worse, got it? So, fuck off!" The vein that was about to pop on Austin's forehead was enough to shut Jesse up and send him walking away hastily with his tail between his legs.

Austin went back to shoving his books around pointlessly, his mind too preoccupied to even see what he was doing. It was like ever since that stupid dare, a day wouldn't pass without something bad happening to him. It was messing with his head a lot more than he had expected.

"Hey, Austin, can we talk?" Sam appeared beside him. It was the first time Austin was seeing him since he ran out last night after the kiss and the long, awkward silence that had followed.

"Talk about what?" Austin asked, "It's not like we have anything to talk about or discuss. Life is all good!" Sarcasm was always his go-to when he lacked better words to use or didn't know what else to do.

"Come on, please. We need to talk." Sam sounded desperate and scared but Austin did not want to hear it.

"Do we?" Austin continued facing his locker or anywhere else but Sam's direction, "I don't think we do."

Sam took a step closer towards Austin and reached out to touch Austin's arm but then changed his mind, "Please, I know you're upset and ..."

"And what!" Austin still did not want to face Sam.

"There you are!" Noah suddenly said cheerfully as he also approached Austin. He had seen Sam try to touch Austin and from the looks of it, there seemed to be tension between them.

Noah had never been a fan of Sam's close friendship with Austin. He saw the way Sam looked at Austin but Austin never seemed to catch on to it. He would love to burst that bubble and expose Sam but he knew that it would be cruel and would inevitably end up hurting Austin.

He could not stomach the thought of that happening. Noah was somewhat jealous and worried that Austin might start noticing it, though, and go running into Sam's arms. If he were ever to write the script to the world's worst horror show, that would be the story line.

"I've been looking for you." Noah said as he leaned against the locker next to Austin's, completely ignoring Sam.

"And finding me by my locker is a surprise, how?" Austin asked sarcastically but he was smiling warmly at Noah, also ignoring Sam's presence.

"It's morning, which means I'm still stupid," Noah said. "My brain doesn't usually wake up until around noon."

"Really, noon?... That early?" Austin joked which made Noah chuckle. He loved Austin's sense of humor and how his eyes lit up when he smiled even slightly.

"Are you gonna kiss me now or are you not done dissing me yet?" Noah asked. He averted his eyes for a second and looked at Sam, who seemed extremely displeased by their conversation.

"Come here." Austin grabbed the front of Noah's shirt and pulled him close, giving him a short, sweet kiss which Noah responded to with enthusiasm. Austin kissed Noah with confidence in public because he had given up on caring about what people thought.

Sam eventually gave up on trying to earn Austin's attention and walked away.

"Ok, I love that I can kiss you whenever, wherever I want but..what's wrong?" Noah asked with concern as he noticed Austin's foul mood despite the sweet smile that was playing on his face.

"Nothing, I just don't care what these idiots think anymore. They can go suck it if they feel like they have a problem with me." Austin said dismissively.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about.. Something's going on and I get the feeling your pal, Sam, has a lot to do with it."

"What?" Austin asked in a slightly high-pitched voice in an attempt to sound genuine -it was not convincing, "That's crazy, Sam and I are all good" That wide, fake smile was not helping either.

"What did he do to you?"Noah was now more interested to actually find out what was going on. Something didn't seem right. Austin, on the other hand, did not want Noah finding out about the kiss. Somehow, he knew that would not end well for any party involved and the drama he had suffered lately was more than enough to last him a decade.

"Nothing..." Austin said but with a steadier voice this time, "I swear. You don't need to worry about anything." He said as he looked Noah straight in the eyes.

"Alright, I trust you. I guess I just get a little jealous of him sometimes."

"Come again?" That was new information for Austin. He had discovered yesterday that Sam did not exactly approve of Noah, now he was finding out the feeling was mutual.

"No big deal," Noah responded, "It's just that..he knows everything about you and I'm sure you would trust him with your life because you've known each other like all your lives. But the way he looks at you... it's like he's in love with you or something." Austin choked on his own saliva.

"What are you talking about?!" That was the most bizarre assumption Austin had ever heard. There was just no way that could be true.

"Come on," Noah pushed himself off the locker he was leaning on and stood straight. "You can't tell me you haven't noticed. And I mean no disrespect to your friend but I just don't like him.. he's got the hots for you, like..intense. His vibe is sketchy."

"What's with everyone not liking everyone's 'vibes' !" Austin snapped at no one in particular. He was just frustrated.

"What do you mean?" Noah asked with a frown.

"Nothing, I need to be alone." He slammed the locker door shut and walked away, leaving Noah hanging with absolutely no idea about what was up with Austin.

*******************

"So, does he like have those rock hard abs that you just wanna lick all day long or is he just lean but sexy all the same?" Max asked, "I bet it's a perfect six pack,he looks like he has them judging from what I see through his tight shirts. How often do you make him take off his shirt so that you can just watch them and get turned on?" She just hadn't stopped talking and enquiring ever since she found him seated alone at a corner in the cafeteria during lunch and joined him.

"Never done it." Austin responded in a dry tone.

"What do you mean never?!" She continued, "Noah is the cutest, sexiest, dreamiest guy in this entire god forsaken school. How do you date that and still do nothing about it?!"

"What are the rest of us, just bags of rocks?"

"Seriously, why haven't you jumped on that train and ridden it all the way to pleasure town!" Her doll-like eyes made her look so innocent, which made what she was saying seem cute instead of perverted.

"I don't know, you tell me." he said flatly.

"Here he comes." She said as her eyes travelled somewhere behind Austin, "How is he not a model! He belongs on the cover of everything!" She sounded like a crazed Justin Bieber fan girl. Austin turned his head and sure enough, Noah was approaching the direction he was at.

"Crap." Austin said silently so that Max wouldn't hear him. She had already almost bursted his eardrums with adorable talk of Noah. She was a few steps away from building a shrine and worshipping him.

"Hi Noah!" She shouted enthusiastically while fidgeting in her seat as if suddenly she had forgotten how to sit. She looked at Noah like he was the most interesting thing on earth.

"Hi... Max?" Noah greeted back unsurely.

"Oh my god!.. You remember my name!" It was like she had been told she had won the lottery.

"Of course, why wouldn't I ?" Noah asked as he sat down next to her, opposite Austin. She simply giggled at that. "Listen, Max, would you excuse us for a minute?"

"S-sure..anything for you!" She said, "Anything." She looked Noah straight in the eyes as she said that last part, which creeped both boys out a little bit. She then got up and left .

"I think she is in love with me." Noah said when she was gone.

"You think?" Austin asked, "She looks like she would kill me if that would somehow make you love her back! ...I'm starting to get scared." It was only partly a joke.

"I don't think she would go that far. Besides, I like her, she's adorable." Noah said, dismissing Austin's statement.

"Let's just hope you're right."

There was a brief silence before Noah said, "I'm sorry, Austin." He had been beating himself up inside since this morning when Austin walked away from him. He felt that it was too early in a relationship, or whatever it was that was going on between them, to say things that might end it.

"For what?" Austin asked.

"I overstepped when I talked like that about Sam. It was not my place to say that stuff about him and I hope you can forgive me. I'll try to keep my stupid thoughts to myself next time."

"It's ok," Austin liked that Noah cared enough to apologize even though he had not really done anything wrong. "It wasn't really your fault. I'm just dealing with some stuff right now."

"Anything I can help with?" Noah asked.

"I wish...but no." Austin responded, "it's something I have to deal with on my own."

"Ok," Noah said, "Listen, I just don't wanna be the jerk I was last week anymore. I really like you and I feel like I might screw it up at any time, that is, if we go by my previous track record."

"I like you too...huh!"

"What?"

"I knew I liked you but that is the first time I've said it out loud to your face!" Austin said in realization with a smile.

"I liked it, it felt right." Noah said as he reached across the table and laid his left hand on top of Austin's.

"I know we're having a moment right now, but this is getting a little too sappy." Austin said.

"I have a question."

"Sure."

"Why are you always so dismissive and half the things you say are sarcastic?" Noah asked.

"I don't know but it has worked for me so far, so..why change it!"

"Heads up, your friend is approaching." Noah suddenly said.

Sam looked a little disoriented and he had bags under his eyes like he hadn't had a good night's sleep. Even his clothes suggested he hadn't taken any effort to get dressed this morning, "Can we please talk, Austin?" He asked. "Please."

"I'm not in the mood." Austin said but his eyes were glued to the table, refusing to look up at Sam. He was afraid that if he looked, he would cave easily. He was also silently praying that Sam wouldn't let it slip that they had kissed last night.

"When will you be?" Sam was starting to get frustrated. Austin's reaction was killing him inside and he was afraid that he had made a huge mistake kissing his best friend. He loved Austin and losing him over a simple kiss would absolutely destroy him, "We need to talk about this, please. It's all I can think about and its killing me. I don't want you to hate me, ok? Just ...hear me out."

Austin wasn't looking at him but he heard the remorse and pain in that voice. He had hoped to ignore it but now, he was melting, "Fine! My house, after school. I Better like what I hear."

"Thank you, I'll be there." Sam said with relief before walking away.

"Ok, I am riddled with questions right now." Noah said as soon as Sam was out of earshot.

"It's nothing." Austin did not seem in the mood to talk about whatever it was.

"Really?" Noah pushed, "Didn't seem like nothing."

"It's none of your business, ok!" Austin snapped.

"Whoa, sorry. I didn't mean to."

"No... I should be sorry. I'm just under a little bit of pressure. I don't handle pressure well." Austin apologized.

"Wanna skip the rest of school and ...do something?"Noah suggested.

"Something like what?" Austin asked.

"I don't know...a movie,.. The Arcade.."

"Arcade sounds better." Austin said, "But ..skipping school on a Tuesday seems a little.."

"Badass?" Noah cut in with a mischievous smile.

"You're a bad.....bad influence!" Austin said lightly.

"I thought that's what you liked about me." Noah said smugly.

"You'd think that, but..no."

"Your lying is not what I like about you." Noah continued, "You're a terrible liar."

"Can you please get me out of here ..like right now, before I change my mind!" Austin picked up his backpack and food tray and started walking away.

"But you've not eaten anything on your plate yet." Noah said as he caught up to Austin.

"They can't serve me disgusting crap and expect me to eat it..that's not how it works." He dropped the tray in the bin and they both headed out.

"So, you ever gonna tell me what Sam did that's got you all worked up?" Noah pressed harder on the issue.

"Don't." Austin said.

"But I'm really curious." Noah whined like a baby.

"Here's my suggestion; find another way to deal with it," Austin retorted. "Don't ruin my day too. I hear yoga works!"

"Hot yoga?" Noah asked jokingly.

"Whatever tickles your fancy." Austin said dismissively.

"I would do hot yoga if you were there with me. There's just something undeniably sexy about watching someone you really like sweat it out while meditating, then watching as their clothes get soaked from all the work out while down on all f -"

"I almost forgot, you're a pervert!" Austin foiled Noah from finishing his sentence.

"Admit it, you actually like it."

"Remember when I threatened to drive off a bridge?" Austin asked.

"How could I forget ?" Noah asked, "That's the moment we practically bonded for life!"

"You're exhausting when you get all casual with me."

"That's what she said!"

**************************

Austin was alone at home and he was in the kitchen putting chips in a bowl. He had no idea where Nicole was but he had a fairly good idea where she was -which was most likely shopping. Hanging out at the Arcade with Noah had been a lot of fun. But it had also left him famished.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. He knew it was Sam. Time to face the music...or his demons, or ....whatever he was facing.

He was too hungry to leave his bowl of chips behind so he carried it with him, eating on his way to open the door.

Sam was standing there, hands in his pockets and from the looks of it, he was hyperventilating.

Austin was also nervous. It now felt a little different looking at that face. It was like looking at a completely different person..a stranger even.

"Can I come in?" Sam enquired.

"Sure." Austin left the door open for him so that he could come in. He walked back into the kitchen and laid the bowl on the kitchen island. Sam followed.

Sam stood on one corner of the island. As the two boys stayed in their positions, neither of them was sure of what to say to break the silence.

"So..." Austin finally spoke.

"Austin, I'm so sorry for what I did yesterday... I don't think it was a good idea to just kiss you out of the blue. I just...I got caught up in the moment and acted on impulse."

"Impulse?" Austin questioned.

"I know... I know..it sounds insane but I couldn't help it. I've been having a hard time lately."

"A hard time? ..what do you mean by that?!"

"It means ... that is why I kept my distance from you last week..and also why I convinced my dad to take us away for the weekend!" Sam said, louder this time, "I don't know if you've ever noticed, but I love you, Austin ...why haven't you ever seen that!" He sounded both upset and frustrated.

"What the hell are you going on about!"

"Now, suddenly, this stranger comes along and you look at him like he is some kind of a god or something. You don't call or even talk to me anymore like you used to! .. I leave you alone for one weekend and I come back and find you two are dating? Why couldn't you do that for me, huh... Why couldn't you see how I felt about you even for one second!"

"Whoa...whoa, slow down. What the fuck is going on with you, Sam ?"

"I thought you were supposed to be smart and somehow, up until now, you have not yet discovered the big secret!" Sam was now going full ballistic.

"What big secret!" Austin fired right back.

"I'm in love with you, Austin!" It was followed by a long, dead silence as Austin contemplated on what he had just heard.

"Wh-what!"

"I have been in love with you... ever since the forth grade and you've had.. no idea about it! I'm always there for you, even when you don't seem to notice it. I fucking care about you more than anyone and you never see how much I love you."

"This can't be happening." Austin started pacing while running his hands through his hair. In all his life, this was the one confession he would never have expected in a million years, "I am way over my quota of surprises for a lifetime."

"Well, it is happening and you're gonna have to deal with it."

"No...no!" Austin was clearly in denial and in a state of confusion, "you're delusional. You're not thinking straight, Sam."

"Actually, I am." Sam responded as he started walking towards Austin.

"What is going on with you." Austin asked.

"Nothing, I've just realized that if I keep sitting around, waiting for you to want me back.... I might wait forever. And I am tired of waiting, Austin. You're everything that I want." Sam said softly.

"Please stop, Sam. Just ... stop it." Austin demanded, "I only love you as a friend..you're like a brother to me and that's all.. I care about you, too and I would do anything for you. But I cannot be in love with you. It's not possible."

"I know it's difficult... and maybe you just need time to see me the way I see you. Austin, you are my whole world. I kept my feelings for you secret because I thought it would hurt you, I even pretended to be straight in the fear that you would run away from me and losing you is one thing I cannot handle. You have no idea how happy I felt when I saw how you looked at Noah the first day you saw him... I thought that you would start seeing me the same way but then I was wrong. I love you so much... It almost physically hurts," he was backing Austin against the island. "Which is why I'm not letting Noah have you without a fight."

And then, without warning, he grabbed a very confused Austin and put his lips to his in a rough, yet passionate kiss. For the second time, Sam was kissing Austin and Austin had no idea how to respond.

All of a sudden, he felt a surge of adrenaline and he pushed Sam off of him, "Get off me!..What the fuck is wrong with you !" He asked as he tried to get away from Sam.

"Nothing, Austin." Sam said calmly, "In fact, I feel like I'm finally living the truth. I wanna be with you and I'm gonna do anything it takes. I'm not gonna let my plan to break you up with Lucy and tell the world you're gay go to waste!"

"What!?" Austin exclaimed.

Sam looked taken aback. He clearly hadn't meant to say that last part.

"Did you orchestrate this whole thing?" Austin asked, "Was this all a plan for you to try and control me and get what you want?"

"N-no." Sam said but he was not convincing Austin.

"Oh. My. God! ... You?" Austin's throat was dry and his heart rate was speeding up insanely, "You mean to tell me that you ruined my life..my parents got separated because of this and now,you stand before me, professing your so-called undying love for me!?"

Apparently, he had been wrong about the one thing he had never anticipated to hear in his life. This was what he would never have expected. Sam was his best friend in the whole wide world and now he was discovering just how much of a monster he was, just like a few other people in his life he had blindly trusted.

"I didn't ..."

"I need you to leave before I change my mind about letting you live.. Because I'm seriously contemplating stabbing you with one of these knives."

"Austin.."

"Out!" Austin screamed.

Sam backed away slowly and left.

Austin was so angry, his entire body started shivering as his skin started to sweat. He was going to need like ten thousand years to come to terms with the fact that Sam had viciously stabbed him in the back.

***************************