Disclaimer: This is a story about gay people...if you can't read it or

Don't like gay people, leave. Go...bye. But if you like it, read it and

Write to me.

I opened the door to see Davis, who looked at me oddly. He looked as if he was about to ask me a question, but stopped.

"I have something to tell you." I said slowly, my face showing the bad news ahead.

"What is it baby?" Davis asked.

"I..." Say hate 90210, say hate 90210, "...kissed Ballard." I said, "But I love 90210."

Davis looked at me oddly, "When you say kissed...you mean..." he said.

"I mean, we kissed." I said, "I was drunk and you were mad and he was there..."

"You kissed Ballard?" Davis asked.

"No..."

"He kissed you?" Davis asked, "He kissed you." He said to himself, turning and leaving.

"Davis!" I yelled after him.

Chapter 37: One Step at a Time

After my shower, I sat on my bed, my arms crossed, looking off into space. I couldn't shake the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. My dad was gone, my relationship was potentially spoiled, and here I sat, watching the wall change colors, which it didn't, at all.

"You okay?" Eric asked.

I looked up at him, my face contorted into a frown as I looked up at him, then emotionless.

"I guess that was a dumb question." Eric said, coming and sitting on the edge of my bed, "It was a shock...a real shock, not like when you see it, this was the shock of it happening."

"That's obvious." I said.

"So, you're going to make sarcastic jokes? That's..."

"I screwed everything up." I said, "I did something bad, and then I came down on dad for doing the exact same thing."

"The exact...same..." Eric looked at me, "Oh, bro, you..."

"And the worst part is that I'm the one who's always coming down on people and it just doesn't stop." I frowned, "It was a kiss, a stupid kiss and it didn't mean..."

"It's not the same thing." Eric said.

"Isn't it?" I asked, "They have been together for so many years, if they couldn't make it work, then how am I supposed to?"

"You're not them." Eric said.

"This is the second time we've been together and it's still...I keep messing up." I said.

"So, you're going to sit in this room alone?" Eric said, "Just, feeling sorry for yourself? Mom's out there and she's barely keeping it together and we have to be strong for her."

"I can't." I said quickly, "I'm tired of being strong."

"You're the strongest one of us, we need you." Eric said, "Think about Hope."

I thought about it, "I'm so tired." I said.

"I think maybe you should find your boyfriend." Eric said, standing.

"What about you guys?" I asked.

"We'll be here." Eric said, "We're not going anywhere."

I nodded, "Thanks." I said.

-           

Ballard sat in Ryph's with Christina and Kendall. Ballard snacked on his half-eaten burger as the two women shared a plate of curly fries. It was a nice day, the sun was out, kids were playing on the street, and life went on outside Ryph's.

"So, he's getting married?" Christina asked, sipping on her drink.

"Yes." Kendall said, "Yes, and it's freaking eating me up."

"Because he's getting married, or because he's not getting married to you?" Ballard asked.

Kendall took a minute, "The bastard." She said.

"There are far too many guys out there for you to be hung up on this guy." Christina said.

"But I wanted him to come back for me." Kendall said, "We broke up because of distance, not because we were incompatible."

"Does it really matter?" Ballard asked, "He's getting married, and not to you."

Christina punched him on the arm, "Stop!" she said, "Ignore him."

"He's right." Kendall said, "In his own harsh, asshole-ish way, he's right."

"Hey, there goes Davis." Christina said.

Davis didn't miss a step as he made his way over to the table. As he came upon the table, Ballard rose to meet him, but Davis punched him in the face! Ballard fell back on the table and Davis held him down.

"Davis, what the fuck!?" Ballard gasped.

Kendall and Christina looked on, with the rest of the diner, with shock.

"Did you kiss my boyfriend?" Davis asked angrily.

"What? He..." Ballard said, "Who told you that?"

"Did you?" Davis asked, tugging on Ballard's collar.

"Yes." Ballard exhaled, trying to breathe, "Yes."

Davis let go of him, "You're not my friend." He growled, "You stay away from him, you hear me?!" he said leaving.

Ballard stood, straightening himself up.

"You kissed Adaen?" Kendall asked.

"Not now." Ballard said.

"You made out with your best friend's boyfriend, Ballard!" Kendall persisted.

"Shut the Hell up, Kendall." Ballard said, leaving.

"That was surprising." Christina said.

Just then, I came in and walked over to the table, looking at the mess all around the table.

"Davis was here?" I asked.

Kendall and Christina just stared at me.

I shifted uncomfortably, "I'll take that as a yes." I said.

"He just sort of hemmed up my brother." Kendall said.

"Right. Any idea where he went?" I asked.

"He left." Kendall said.

"I'll follow." I said, leaving.

Kendall followed me outside, "So, for all the moral superiority, you were screwing my brother?" she asked.

I stopped and turned to her, "I kissed your brother. It was a drunken kiss!" I said.

"I guess you're not so perfect after all." Kendall said.

"You know what, Kendall, you're working my last nerve. I never said I was perfect...I just make way less mistakes than you."

"Excuse me?" Kendall asked.

"What is it? Jealousy? That I've got a boyfriend and even though you've been around the block several times, you don't even have a boyfriend." I said with little regret.

Kendall looked at me, her hurt and anger at its boiling point, "You know what, stay away from me and my brother." She said, walking back into the Ryph's.

§   

Davis stood outside Adaen's front door, betrayed and angry. He couldn't get the picture of Ballard and Adaen making out in the middle of Eric's nightclub. It was burned into his brain, the emotions he felt, the pain he endured, and the question of what would happen next. When the door opened, what would he say? Was he really ready to forgive Adaen? No. Adaen betrayed his trust. The door opened and instead of Adaen, Hope stood at the door.

"Oh, hey Hope, is Adaen here?" Davis asked.

Hope looked as if she had been crying, but wiped at her eyes, "No, he left a little while ago." She said.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Just a thing." Hope said, "Family thing."

"Oh. Well, can you tell Adaen I was here?" he asked.

Hope nodded, "He did something bad, didn't he?" she asked.

"Yeah. Real bad." Davis said, "How'd you..."

"I overheard him and Eric talking." Hope explained, "I overhear a lot."

"Well, don't worry. We'll work through it." Davis said, trying to believe it himself.

"Davis?" Mrs. Lawrence asked, "Come in." she said, ushering him into the house. They headed to the living room and Mrs. Lawrence and Davis took seats while Hope climbed the stairs, still sniffling.

"Is she going to be okay?" Davis asked, noticing that Mrs. Lawrence's eyes were puffy also.

"Yes, it's just a very trying time right now." She said.

"What happened?" Davis asked.

"His father just left." Mrs. Lawrence said.

"Oh." Davis said, "When?"

"Just before you showed up the last time." She answered.

"How long's this been...has he known?" Davis asked.

"It must have felt it coming." Mrs. Lawrence said.

Just then, the door opened and I walked through to find Davis sitting in the living room with my mom. I was shocked and just looked at them for a second.

"Hi." I said quickly.

-           

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please give me some feedback because that's how I get started. So, I want you guys to tell me how I'm doing.