Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:03:53 -0700
From: C.J. Kramer <all-star07@hotmail.com>
Subject: My One and Only

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction and is based off the lives of the
four men of 98 Degrees and the people in their lives. I in no way intend to
say that they live their lives like this, for this story is purely for
entertainment only. Also, the idea for this story came from an author who I
do not know, but have read the story once before and since I couldn't find
it again, I have re-written it to the best of my ability, so some credit is
due to this artist.

Dedication: This story is dedicated to all the men out there who, like me,
wish upon a shooting star every night for their true love, their `one and
only.' Don't give up faith; for we will find our true loves, though it may
be a while before we do, the wait is well worth while for the One.

Contact Info: For more information on stories to come, or to give a shout
out, feel free to contact me (C.J.) at all-star07@hotmail.com

And without further delay, read on and enjoy!

My One and Only

	It was cloudy and cold; rain came down from the sky in sheets and
pounded against the window as if in fury. The light was leaving the sky and
out side, it grew darker by the minute. The attic was a little chilly since
heat rarely radiated to it form the house, but Drew didn't mind, instead he
just pulled his legs closer to him and continued to stare out the window at
the puddles forming in the backyard. Things were different now, at least
that's how it felt. Nothing just seemed right anymore, not the singing, not
the fans, not the touring. It just seemed to him that things had lost its
meaning, and he felt somewhat... alone. He didn't feel happy anymore.

	Chastising himself for feeling as he did. He knew he had nothing to
be upset about. Anyone looking at his life would agree that he had it made:
Fame, fortune, thousands of people screaming his name when he went on
stage. The best of all, he had a husband who truly loved him, not like the
cheesy celebrity couples you see on the cover of People every week, but
something true and pure, that most people spend their lives trying to find.
So what was his problem? He only wished he knew the answer himself. Across
the room, he had a single suitcase packed, he was ready to go, but try as
he might, he couldn't get himself to walk out that front door. Looking
down, he stared at the wallet size picture he was holding ever since he
first set eyes on him, and a single tear ran down his cheek. The sound of
the front door unlocking and opening barely caught his attention.

"Drew?" Jeff's voice sounded through the house, the sound startled him
enough that without thinking, he replied "Up here!"

As soon as he said it, he wished he hadn't. He didn't want Jeff near him,
not right now. The sound of his footsteps drew ever closer as Drew waited
for him to appear in the door way.

"What are you doing up here?" he asked, his voice quiet with concern.

"Just thinking."

"About?"

"Just some things, nothing important."

Jeff crossed the room to join him at the window. "Kinda seems important,
you never sit alone up here unless something is bothering you."

Drew smiled, he liked the way Jeff knew him. "Please, tell me what's
wrong."

He gave a small sigh, but gave no sign that he was about to talk. Instead
he just sat there, twisting his wedding band around his finger, the picture
sitting by his side. Jeff looked down and noticed the photo.

"Ah man," he gave a small weak laugh. "I can't believe you still have this
photo."

"It's important to me."

"Why?"

Drew got up and stood in front of him, he took a breath before meeting his
eyes. "Because, when that was taken, that's when I realized... I loved
you."

Jeff looked dumfounded for a moment before glancing back down at the
photograph. It was just a picture of him, smiling, back when the group was
still new. That day, Jeff had just got a hair cut, and Drew being the flirt
he was, made Jeff pose while he took the shot. He never parted with the
picture since.

"What's going on? Are you alright?"

Drew took a moment before answering. "I don't know."

Jeff was still, waiting for him to continue. Drew was silent, unable to
think of a way to elaborate on the statement he just made.

Jeff rose to join him, taking a step towards him. "Talk to me."

"I can't," Drew's voice was shaken. "I can't do this anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Us, this, you. I just can't do it anymore."

The look on Jeff's face registered confusion. "What are you talking about?"

He glanced over Drew's shoulder and noticed the suitcase by the door. Drew
watched as recognition settled over Jeff's face. His heart began to race,
and a pang of guilt swept through him at what he was about to do.

"I'm so sorry."

He stepped away from Jeff, and started walking to the door, grabbing his
bag on the way. Jeff stood there for a moment, unable to believe what was
happening. He soon followed Drew out the door and paused at the top of the
stairs.

Drew had the door part way open and was about to walk out. "Drew..."

He paused, and looked up at Jeff, feeling his heart beginning to
break. Realizing he was close to crying, he turned and walked out the
door. Only when he was behind the wheel of his car, did he break down
crying before driving off.

"What did I just do?" he thought as he drove, knowing the one person he
could turn to for anything, and he knew that's where he had to go.

......

Jeff was sitting on the couch, trying to contemplate what he did wrong,
what he should have done. He jumped at the pair of headlights shinning
through the window and raced to the window, hopeful. He was only
disappointed to see Nick and Vanessa approaching the front door. He went to
open it as they reached the front step, opening the door to allow them to
come in, while he went back to the couch.

"Hey Jeff!" Nick said, smiling, happy. Jeff hated him right at that moment.

"Hey!" Vanessa replied, looking around the living room. "Where's Drew?"

Her and Drew had become quit close since Nick started dating her, it was
obvious that Drew liked her better than Jessica.

Jeff looked down, trying to say the words aloud. "He left."

"Oh okay, no big, where did he go? When's he coming back?"

"I don't know."

Vanessa looked at him puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Jeff sighed. "He's not coming back."

The instant he said those words aloud, he cringed, wishing he hadn't. Until
then everything felt like a bad dream, some nightmare he would soon wake up
from. But saying those words some how made it real, and for the first time,
Jeff began to cry.

Nick was completely taken aback. Not only could he even imagine his little
brother doing something like that, but to see Jeff like this was beyond
him. As long as Nick had known him, he never saw Jeff cry.

Vanessa went right to his side and wrapped an arm around him, trying as
best she could to comfort him. Jeff's sobbing only continued, the sound
muffled as Jeff held his head in his hands.

Nick wanted to comfort his best friend, but more than anything, he wanted
to find his brother and smack some sense into him or something. Vanessa
glanced up at Nick, clearly unsure about how to handle the situation.

"Stay here." He said, before turning to leave. He was going to find his
brother and he was going to get to the bottom of this.

...

Drew parked along the curb and glanced towards the house. Only one light
was on in the living room and he got out and began walking towards the
door. He paused briefly before knocking. He heard movement inside and soon,
the door swung open.

"Drew?"

"I left him." Drew said, looking into Lea's eyes. Again, he began to cry,
trying desperately to stop.

"C'mon," she said as she motioned for Drew to come in. He did and she
closed the door behind him.

"Alright, now why don't you sit down and explain to me what this is all
about."

She sat across from him in the living room, leaning forward, elbows on
knees, expectant. Drew sighed, and then began.

...

Nick drove, with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. He still
couldn't believe it. "What was he thinking?" He thought.

Gripping the wheel hard, he drove to all the places he expected to find his
brother, but so far, no progress. He was about to give up when he realized
there was one place he hadn't searched. He turned the car around and began
to race across town, hoping that he would find him.

...

"You know, he was the first guy I ever dated?"

Jeff had stopped crying, and instead was flipping through a photo album
Drew had put together. Catching up with Vanessa and filling her in on the
"glory days" as he put it.

"Really? Now that I did not know."

"It's true, I mean I dated a few girls here and there, and never suspected
I would be attracted to men."

"And then Drew came along?" It was more of a statement then a question.

"Yeah," Jeff said. "Then Drew came along."

Jeff turned another page in the photo album and paused. There was the photo
of all four of them at Disney Land. Nick on the left, Justin on the right,
and him and Drew in the middle. Jeff remembered that day as if it just
happened yesterday.

They were all walking around the park, laughing, and just hanging out
pretending they were normal guys for a change. They came across a gift
store and decided to buy a souvenir. Jeff found some Mickey Mouse ears and
couldn't resist. After purchasing them, he immediately placed them on
Drew's head, a huge grin on his face.

Drew looked up cross eyed. "Thanks." He said, before joining Nick outside,
Jeff looked to Justin confused. Justin just shrugged and walked towards the
door, Jeff soon followed.

As soon as Jeff took two steps out the door, he felt ice cold water pour on
to his head. Stunned, he whipped around and saw Drew, Nick and Justin all
laughing, Drew and Nick holding paper cups.

"Drew! Nick! What the fuck?!"

Drew managed to contain his laughter for a moment before saying: "I just
thought that if I had to walk around with these dorky ears on my head all
day, then you could walk with me looking a little...damp."

Him and Nick burst out with laughter again as Jeff just stared at Drew,
looking as if he were about to tackle someone. Nick then whispered into
Drew's ear: "I think you better run."

As if on cue, Jeff launched him self at Drew, who took off in a run,
desperate to put more distance between him and Jeff. He chased him all
around the park, Drew barely escaping Jeff's grasp again and again as Jeff
gained ground. Being taller, Jeff was at an advantage in speed, but Drew
had the advantage of slipping between the mobs of people who only slowed
Jeff down.

They ran all the way to the hotel, Drew blew through the lobby to catch the
elevator just as the doors closed. Jeff stopped short just in front of
them, breathing hard and trying to control his frustration.

Drew reached his floor, and after making sure the coast was clear, he made
a bee line dash towards his door. Once inside, he locked the door and took
a seat on the edge of the bed, trying to catch his breath and stifle the
urge to laugh. Within a few moments, Drew jumped as Jeff banged on his
door.

"Drew!" Jeff shouted, "open up, I know you're in there!"

Drew hesitated, then got up and slowly unlocked and opened his door. Jeff
pushed the door open and leaped at Drew who tried and failed to get out of
the way. Jeff pushed him onto the bed, trying to pin him to it, Drew
resisted, trying to throw him off.

"Jeff!" Drew exclaimed, "Calm down, it was just a joke!"

Drew tried again to throw Jeff off him, but his last attempt failed and
they both fell to the floor. Jeff rolled on top of Drew and within seconds,
had him pinned to the floor. Drew tried and tried to push Jeff off, but in
a contest of strength, Jeff had him beat. He looked up at Jeff and saw the
anger in his eyes, it was clear that Jeff was really pissed. Drew watched
as a drop of water fell down Jeff's cheek and collected at a pool on his
chin. Then, Drew saw Jeff's anger turn into something he didn't
recognize. Before he could say anything, Jeff leaned in and kissed him.

It was quick, and lasted only a few seconds. Drew looked up at Jeff, who
instead of being shocked or angry, had a smile on his face. Drew then
looked Jeff in the eye, thinking of how beautiful Jeff's blue eyes
were. Jeff then leaned in and kissed him again. It was long and passionate,
but Drew wasn't kissing him back.

"Jeff," Drew said, breaking the kiss. "I don't think..."

"Shh," Jeff said, cutting him off. "Just go with it."

And then he leaned in and kissed Drew again, this time, Drew was kissing
him back. Both of them didn't even notice Nick closing the door.

"Bout time they did that." Nick said to Justin.

"I know," Justin agreed. "I was getting tired of them flirting like school
girls, neither one of them not wanting to make a move."

"Tell me about it." Nick and Justin then walked back to their rooms,
deciding against going back out to the park and just watch some TV.

"That was the first time we kissed, the first time we did anything really."
Jeff set the photo album aside and looked at Vanessa, who was hanging on
his every word.

"I guess that was the time I realized I wanted him, that I loved him. After
that, things just escalated."

"That is so sweet!" Vanessa exclaimed.

Jeff smiled and walked over to the mantle, looking at the photo in the
center of it. He stared, remembering his wedding day. In the picture, both
he and Drew were holding each other, beaming at the camera with big grins
on their faces. Then, in a rush of anger, he through the picture across the
room, where it hit the wall and shattered into pieces. Jeff, slumped down
on to the couch next to Vanessa who was staring at the spot on the wall
where the picture hit.

"I miss him so much!" It was clear that Jeff was heartbroken, and she knew
that no matter what she said, she couldn't ease his pain. He made no move
to talk to her, so she got up and began picking up the pieces of glass from
the picture frame.

...

"So tell me something."

"What?"

"Tell me something about Jeff."

"What? You know almost everything there is to know about him, you've met
him."

"I know that, I mean tell me about how you two first met, romantically
anyways."

"I'm not following."

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed as she hit his arm. "Don't be so thick, Drew,
you know what I mean."

He giggled a bit. "Alright, I'll tell you something."

Drew paused, searching his memory for a good story to tell. He smiled as he
found one he hadn't told anyone before.

They were on the tour bus, spending days on the road to head to their next
big show that of course had to be on the other side of the country. Jeff
and Justin were at the front of the bus messing around, telling jokes,
doing some good male bonding time. Nick was in the back talking to Jessica
on the phone while Drew just stared out the window, laughing occasionally
at what Jeff and Justin were talking about.

The group had just gotten started then, they were on their first tour
promoting their first album, and Drew was still getting used to life on the
road. He watched as the lines on the road flew past him, thinking about his
previous life in New York, and how things used to be normal before he
joined the group.

With out warning, Nick hopped over the back of the seat and dropped right
be side him, setting his cell phone on the table. Drew jumped at the
unexpected arrival of his brother.

"Jesus!" Drew was clutching his heart with his hand. "Damn Nick, you gave
me a heart attack!"

Nick laughed. "Sorry, so how're you doin? You look bored."

"A little."

"So why aren't you listening to your music? You're practically inseparable
with it?"

"Eh, I dunno, I'm kinda tired of it."

"Right." Nick was staring at him.

"What?"

"So I got a question for you."

"What's up?"

"Do you like Jeff?"

Drew looked a little shocked by the question. "Of course, me and him are
good friends..."

"No," Nick interrupted. "I mean, do you Like Jeff?"

"Excuse me?"

Nick just stared at him, waiting patiently for a response. "I...I don't
know what you're..."

"Oh stop it Drew, I've seen the way you act around him."

"How do I act?"

"Like some love sick school girl talking to her crush, just waiting for him
to notice her."

Drew began to panic, he knew he'd been caught, and by his own brother too!
How was he going to talk his way out of this one?

Nick laughed at Drew's hesitation and stuttering as he tried to defend
himself. "Drew, calm down," Nick's voice was calm and quiet, making sure
Jeff and Justin didn't over hear.

"Look, it's totally cool with me, I really don't care, I'm just curious
really."

Drew sighed before admitting it. "Am I that obvious?"

"Yeah, you are!" Nick laughed again.

"How did you find out?"

"Well it was kinda obvious the first time I introduced you two, you just
stared at him, barely blinking. I had to nudge you in the back to get you
to speak."

"Whatever Nick," Drew said, relaxing a bit before realizing. "Wait, does he
know!?"

"Nah, he's clueless."

"Thank god." He couldn't have been more relieved.

"Look Drew," Nick was getting serious. "You're my brother and I love you. I
don't want to see you get hurt."

Drew was staring at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I don't know how Jeff feels about, you know, so I don't want to
see you set your hopes up so high and then get crushed if nothing
happens. But, between you and me, I think he might just be batting for your
team." Nick gave a wink.

"Oh shut up."

Nick teased him by grabbing his baseball cap and yelling, "Jeff, heads up!"
before tossing it to Jeff. Drew rolled his eyes, realizing this was about
to be a game of `keep away from Drew.'

"Give me my hat back."

"Come and get it." Jeff said with a teasing smile. Drew loved that smile.

...

"Wow, is that when you thought he was the One?"

Drew laughed, "No, he was just a crush then. For the longest time we used
to dance around the truth. Playful flirting and such, I was terrified to
make a move."

"But you did, right?"

"No, that was Jeff."

"Uh huh."

"I know I was a wimp back then."

"Back then? Hun, you're a bit of a wimp now."

"Lea!"

"What? I'm just stating the obvious, no need to take offense."

Drew just rolled his eyes as Lea surprised a giggle.

"Seriously though," she said, regaining her composure. "Why did you walk
out on him?"

"Because..."

"You want to continue that sentence?"

He let out a sigh. "Things just aren't the same anymore."

...

Nick drove slowly down her street and spotted Drew's car parked along the
curb up ahead. He swooped in right behind his car and threw it in park,
before getting out to knock at the door.

"Finally."  Nick thought, walking at a fast past to get to the door.

When he knocked, there were signs of movement inside and then a long pause
as the door opened a crack.

"Nick," Lea said, trying to keep the door closed as much as she
could. "What are you..."

"You know why I'm here, Lea, where is he?"

"Nick, now's not really a good time."

"The hell it isn't, Drew just walked out on his husband without so much as
an explanation," Oh yeah, Nick looked pissed.

"I demand to see him Lea."

"It's fine," Drew's voice sounded before Lea could utter a response. "Let
him in."

She parted, opening the door wider, allowing Nick to storm into the living
room to confront his brother. There was a bit of a pause before Nick spoke.

"Well?"

"What?"

"Cut the crap, Drew, what is your problem?"

Drew remained silent, so Nick went on. "Are you stupid? Do you have a brain
to use in that thick head of yours? What could you have possibly been
thinking? How could you leave Jeff like that?"

"Nick..."

"No! He is my best friend Drew, how could you do this!? What did he ever do
to you?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me; you'd be surprised at how understanding I can be."

"It's complicated."

"Well then explain it to me Drew, cause I'm not that stupid."

"Will you shut up and let me talk!"

Nick fell silent at Drew's sudden outburst. He crossed his arms and glared
at him, ready for him to explain. Then Drew told Nick everything, as best
as he could. Lea was listening intently, eager to hear Drew's explanation
as well.

When he finished, Nick's expression softened only a bit. "You really need
to talk to him."

"I will."

"Tonight."

"What? No, not tonight, I can't..."

"You can, and you will."

Nick was serious and forceful. He grabbed his brother by the arm and
dragged him out the door to Nick's car. Drew resisted, but Nick of course
was stronger than him. They were both silent on the way home.

"How can I possibly fix this?" Drew thought, as his home drew ever nearer,
and there, Jeff waited.

...

Jeff and Vanessa were still sitting on the couch; not saying much, for
words seemed to be pointless right now as they did little to comfort
him. Vanessa glanced out the window and noticed a pair of headlights flash
through the living room as Nick's car came to a stop.

Jeff hadn't moved; he didn't seem to notice or even care that Nick had come
back. It wasn't until he heard his voice that he finally looked up.

His eyes were puffy and red, Drew noticed. His hair was all messed up and
his cheeks were wet. Immediately, Drew felt an instant pang of guilt and
sorrow. Nick stood between Drew and the open door way, and gave a soft yet
firm nudge to Drew's back, urging him to talk.

"We'll be outside, give you two some time together."

Drew looked behind him at his brother, who gave a small nod and stepped
outside, Vanessa close by his side. When the door closed, Drew turned to
face Jeff, unsure of what to say to him.

"Drew..."

"Jeff, I...I don't know what to say."

Drew had never seen Jeff like this. He always knew his husband to be
someone strong and in control, able to take on anything. But the man
standing before him was different. Jeff was weak and crying, his eyes
almost pleading with Drew for an explanation.

"Why?"

"Things have changed, Jeff."

Jeff's sorrow quickly turned to anger. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Drew was unsure about how to continue. "What did I do?"

"Huh?"

"To you, what did I ever do to deserve this?"

Drew felt numb, but Jeff continued. "I have done nothing but be there for
you every minute of every day! I have always been true to you, Drew,
always!"

"Been there for me? Been true to me? You're the one I am talking about
Jeff; you're the one who's changed!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're never there for me, ever! I never see you anymore. It's always work
with you, and if it's not work, then friends, or parties, or what ever!"

"That is not true."

"It is true! Why do you think I left? Huh? It's because you're not faithful
to me."

"That is bull shit!" Jeff was pissed and Drew could tell. If there was one
thing Jeff couldn't stand was to be told he wasn't faithful. Jeff hated
cheaters, never once had he cheated, and he knew the pain that came from
being cheated on.

"I have never cheated on you Drew, and you know that!"

"I'm not talking about cheating! I'm saying that you're unfaithful to me
that you can't ever include me in your plans!"

Unsure of what to say, Jeff remained silent and Drew took full advantage of
it. "Ever since the group split, you've been different. You're never home,
you're always working, you had to go and launch a solo career, which you
know I fully support. But when did that career become your life!?"

"It isn't."

"It is, and you know it! You're always working on it, never taking a
break. We never do anything together any more. We used to do everything
together in the group and that was when we were happy, that's the Jeff I
fell in love with, not the one standing in front of me. You don't care
about me anymore; all you care about is getting yourself famous again!"

"Will you try to be fair here?"

"Why should I!?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE SUFFERING HERE, DREW!"

Drew fell silent as Jeff paced in front of the coffee table. "Look, I know
how much it hurts not to be a group anymore. I miss it every single day, I
miss the way thing's used to be, I miss being on stage with my friends,
dancing and singing in front of thousands of our fans."

Jeff took a step towards him. "Most importantly, I miss glancing off to the
side and seeing you there, next to me, singing and dancing with me. That
gleam you got in your eye every time we were about to go on stage, and at
the end of the show, when we were all tired, you still had the energy,
always wanting to do another performance in the next five minutes."

Jeff took another step towards him, reaching for his hand and placing a
hand on the side of his face, rubbing his thumb over his cheek.

"I miss touring all across the country with you, relaxing with you on the
bus, watching you practice the music over and over again, and doing your
best to be perfect and ready, even though you didn't need the practice."

Jeff leaned in to him, placing his forehead to Drew's and closing his eyes
for a moment as Drew did the same. Jeff then looked Drew back in the eye.

"I miss it all, you have no idea how much I want it all back. But most
importantly," he held Drew's gaze.

"I would give it all up and never return to that life, if it meant that I
wasn't with you. I love you Drew, I always have and I have never stopped. I
thank god every night for those days and am so thankful they happened. I
wouldn't have met you if it wasn't for 98 Degrees, and I can't imagine
living a life not being married to you." Jeff wiped a stray tear from
Drew's cheek.

"You are My Everything."

Drew laughed at Jeff's corny pun on their song, and leaned in to kiss and
hug him. Jeff wrapped his arms tight around Drew, not wanting to let go for
fear that he would lose him again. In that moment, being wrapped up in
Jeff's tight embrace, Drew knew that was where he belonged.

It was that moment that Drew fell back in love with him. All the reasons he
married and loved Jeff for came flooding back to him in an instant, and he
knew that what he did to Jeff was wrong. He never knew why he even
considered for an instant living life without Jeff in it.

"Jeff," Drew broke the embrace to look at him. "I am so sorry, I don't know
how I can even fix this, what I just did to you...I can't imagine the pain
you went through." Drew was rambling on, letting a few tears fall here and
there. Jeff just laughed and stopped him.

"Drew, stop it. You're here now, with me. That's all I want, that's the
only thing I'll ever want, is you next to me in bed, here in our home, safe
and sound. And as for fixing this, you could start with a kiss." Jeff
grinned.

Drew smiled and leaned in to kiss him. It was long and passionate,
seductive and romantic. Then, they pulled apart only to embrace each other
again, finding comfort that only they could bring to each other.

...


The rest of the night was somewhat of a blur. After Drew had returned home,
and the drama had settled, they all went ahead with the plans they had made
that night. Nick and Vanessa stayed for a while, and instead of watching a
movie or playing some sort of card game, they all relaxed and started
talking about old times, filling Vanessa in with information she had yet to
learn.

The tension from the previous hours seemed to completely dissolve as they
all laughed and joked. Drew glanced at his watch, announcing how late it
was and how tired he'd become. He excused himself to go to bed, saying
goodbye to Nick and Vanessa, thanking both of them for being there that
night, Jeff stayed in the living room and continued to talk to Nick for a
while longer. Drew heard them continue to talk as he climbed the stairs.

Standing in the door way of his room, he looked around, as if inspecting
the room before walking into it; everything was where it should be. After
turning down the bed and stripping to nothing but his boxers, he climbed in
bed and picked up the phone on the bedside table.

"Hello?"

"Hey, hope I didn't wake you?"

"Drew, hi, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good; things are good now, well kind of..."

"Well you can't expect it to all be good in just a few hours. You and Jeff
still have a lot to talk about and work through."

"I know, but I don't want to get into it anymore tonight. I'm completely
drained."

"Just don't put it off anymore than you have to, else it will escalate into
something that I doubt can be fixed."

"Right, I know. Anyways, I figure I'll be by tomorrow to get my car."

"Alright."

"Well, I guess I should be off to bed."

"Yeah, me too, and Drew?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glade thing's are working out, you two deserve each other."

Drew smiled before hanging up; he knew he could always count on her. Other
than Jeff, she was the one person to know him best, and he liked that
feeling. Turning around in the bed to lay down, he paused as he saw Jeff
standing in the door way.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Not too long, I didn't want to interrupt."

"Oh." Drew shifted a bit and began playing with the bed sheet in his
lap. He was a bit uncomfortable being alone with Jeff, feeling both ashamed
and embarrassed at what happened that night.

"Drew," Jeff left the door way and made his way over to sit next to Drew on
the bed. "I think we still have to talk."

"Ah man, I was hoping we'd said it all."

Jeff laughed. "Not quite." He took a long pause before
continuing. "Drew...I know we worked through why you left, and I can't
stress enough how glad I am that you're still here in my life. But believe
it or not, things are different now."

Drew was still beside him, wishing that they weren't talking, and not
liking how this conversation started out or where it might go.

"When you walked out that door, it really hurt. You broke my heart Drew and
I know that the reasons you had were partly my fault, so I know that most
of this I brought upon myself. But still, we are married to each other, and
the decision making can't be made by just one person. We have to be able to
talk to each other.

"Which is why I came up with this solution: Granted you might not like it,
but I can't think of any other way for us to pull through this and be the
strong couple we once were, so please just listen and be open to the idea,
even if you don't believe it's the right decision, I really think we should
do this."

Drew was still, and his heart raced a mile a minute. Scared of what Jeff
was going to propose, he managed to give a faint "Alright."

He drew a long breath. "I think that we should renew our vows, sooner
rather than later actually. Maybe that will remind us both of how much we
love each other and prevent anything like this from happening in the
future."

Drew released his breath and quickly strived for another, unaware that he
had been holding it this whole time. A wave of relief swept through him as
he leaned in to kiss Jeff. "I think its great idea."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

...

After alerting Nick, Vanessa, Lea, and Justin to their plans, they all went
down to the pastor who married the two of them the following
afternoon. Even though he'd been married to Jeff for eight years, Drew
found that he was strangely nervous, the same way he'd felt on the day of
their wedding. When they all made their way into the church hall, Drew had
to stop and catch his breath, for what he saw took his breath away.

The entire church hall was redecorated as it was on their wedding day and
at the end of the isle stood the pastor, and an enlarged picture on a
tripod stand. Walking closer, Nick, Vanessa, Lea, and Justin went to take
their seats; Drew noticed that the picture was the same picture they had on
their mantle: it was Drew and Jeff on their wedding day, looking sharp with
beaming smiles on their faces.

Drew felt as if he was in a dream, everything was perfect and as exactly as
he remembered it to be, Drew paused just before the pastor, looking at the
picture and taking it all in. Jeff then moved to grab his hand.

"You ready?"

"I've been ready since the day I met you."

Drew had to give a little giggle at their exchange, for it was the same
thing Jeff whispered to him while they were standing up there eight years
ago. Jeff kissed him and together they made their way up to the pastor.

Standing before his friends and family, reciting the vows he had spoken on
his wedding day, Drew couldn't remember a time where he had been happier.
He knew as he spoke his last words, their wedding rings re-applied to their
fingers, that nothing would ever go wrong between the two of them. They
would be with each other till death do they part.

And for the rest of their lives, that's exactly what happened.

...