"Are you gonna say something or what?"

Daniel didn't respond to the question, nor look up from his laptop screen.

Sem rolled his eyes, despite knowing his brother wouldn't see it. "You're just never going to talk to me again then? Finally."

Daniel's eyes kept gliding across the lines of text on his screen, as if he wasn't even there.

Damn it, if there was anything that made Sem's skin crawl, it was the silent treatment. He couldn't stand being ignored, and Daniel knew it. It was probably exactly the reason why he was ignoring him.

If looks could kill... Sem had been the recipient of many of his brother's glares, of glares from people in general, but the way Daniel had looked at him at the steakhouse, God, he wasn't going to forget that look any time soon.

Sem had expected many things to happen when Daniel got home yesterday night, after the incident at the steakhouse. When he'd heard his brother's footsteps on the stairs, he'd been preparing himself for a fight. He'd pictured how mom and dad would wake up as well, and everything would just go to hell. There'd be an explosion, implosion, something.

But nothing had come.

Daniel had simply passed his room, and went to sleep. Sem, on the other hand, had barely caught a wink. What did Daniel know? What was he thinking? Was he only pissed because Sem had showed up at his date with Lisa, or because he was on what suspiciously looked like a date with Connor? Both? Did he suspect? Was he going to tell mom and dad? And why did Sem even care? He'd always told himself he didn't give a crap about what his family members thought of him being gay.

Sem had honestly thought he didn't care, and would never care. But here he was, sitting at the breakfast table with nerves clawing his insides, when he found Daniel ignoring him. Okay, silence between them in the morning was pretty normal --if they weren't fighting, or making fun of the other of course-- but this tense silence definitely wasn't. Daniel never full-on ignored his existence.

"C'mon, give me something here," Sem tried again, "Talk, or yell at me. You're obviously pissed."

The only sound breaking the silence was the clacking of Daniel's fingers on his keyboard.

"So, you and Lisa huh?" Sem then tried, feeling himself getting more and more pathetically desperate for a reaction.

He was met with more silence. Daniel wasn't even blushing, like he usually did whenever Sem mentioned Lisa.

Sem took the seat opposite Daniel, trying to force his brother to look at him. "So, I was there having dinner, and I saw you with your porkers date. Big deal. Get over it. I didn't do anything. I walked right out of that steakhouse, and left you all nice and alone didn't I? What's your problem?"

Daniel's jaw clenched. The rattling of his fingers grew louder, but he wasn't caving.

Goddamnit. Sem was so, so done with this. The kitchen chair scraped across the floor as he stood up, and stomped to Daniel's side of the table. He reached out and pushed the laptop closed, nearly slamming it on top of Daniel's fingers in the process.

"Now are we going to talk?"

Daniel sat frozen in his chair for a few seconds, staring straight ahead to where his laptop screen was. When his brother finally looked up, his eyes were so cold Sem felt the little hairs in his neck standing up. Why did he get the feeling he'd just made a terrible mistake?

"You want to talk?" Daniel's voice was dangerously calm and low, "Funny. You should really wish for some less talking. Because everyone talks, including Dev."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Come on Sem, don't be stupid. You're supposed to be the 'social' one out of us. You know how these things work-- how rumours spread like wildfire."

Sem frowned in confusion. "What rumour? What are you on about?"

His mind was racing, trying to connect the dots. Since when did Dev and Daniel even talk? ... He was being stupid. Connor knows Dev, Dev knows Lisa, and Lisa knows Daniel. That easily explained the talking part. But Dev didn't know anything about him and Connor. Connor had said so himself; Dev thought he was taking out some girl from his faculty.

"Just tell me," Daniel said, "Please tell me you weren't Connor's date. You're not the one Dev was gossiping about when he said Connor was going to ask someone out to a restaurant."

Sem went rigid.

Connor had asked Dev about restaurants, and Daniel was the biggest math nerd in existence. He could easily put two and two together. Sem felt his hands starting to tremble. 

Still very aware of the way Daniel was staring at him, so intently Sem could hardly stand to look back, he made himself relax his shoulders. Then, he did the only thing he could do; he forced out a roaring laugh, fuelled by the adrenaline now pumping through his veins.

"Are you kidding me? Hell no!"

Laughter always worked on his friends. If he laughed and mocked the very idea, Daniel would also let up and come to the conclusion that Sem dating a guy was completely and utterly ridiculous.

Daniel didn't let up.

"Look at me, and tell me you're not actually dating one of my classmates," Daniel demanded, "One of my guy classmates. It's not true. You can't. You just can't."

Sem narrowed his eyes, anger instantly flaring up. "You don't tell me what to do. If I want to date your classmate, male or whatever, I will."

He'd spit the words out before he realised how they sounded. Daniel's nose wrinkled. His expression was an odd mix of incredulous and aversion.

"It's all true isn't it? You're gay," Daniel accused him. "You're gay, and you are actually dating Connor."

Daniel went quiet, and waited for Sem's reaction. He looked at him, quietly pleading with his eyes, as if he was hoping for an amazing retort; that Sem would somehow shake the perfect excuse out of his sleeve, and prove him wrong.

Sem's anger flared up again. Who the hell did he think he was? What made Daniel think he was important enough for Sem to even try to make up excuses for this. He didn't care about his opinion. He didn't care! Sem's hands trembled with a barely contained whirl of rage, anxiety, and lots and lots of more anxiety.

"Fine!" Sem yelled, "Fine! It's all true-- your little brother's a fag. I like cock! Happy now?"

After a few seconds of stunned silence, in which Daniel stared at Sem with eyes wide as saucers, and Sem breathed heavily, staring back with his chin up proud, his brother buried his face in his hands.

"Damn it Sem. You could've picked anyone to fool around with. Why not one of your party club people? Why does it have to be someone I know, and see in classes all the time? Why someone from Lisa's athletics group? I was actually making friends there."

"It's not just fooling around," Sem snapped, "I could pick anyone if I only wanted that, but I don't. Get it?"

"Yeah right. What are you even doing with Connor then? You hate 'nerds'." Daniel laughed, but it sounded hollow and humourless. "All creeps dug up from basements, just like me, right?"

Sem let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't hate nerds. I mean, I thought I did, but he is different. He's got a great personality, and I really, really like him. It's not just about hooking up, okay."

Daniel scoffed, clearly unconvinced. "Yeah, right, because Connor's such a spontaneous and outgoing guy. I'm sure it was his personality what reeled you in." Daniel's voice was dripping with acid sarcasm. "How long have you known him again? Three weeks? Be real. You're shallow, Sem. And you would've treated him like crap, just like other 'nerds', if he'd had an uglier face and you didn't happen to want to get in his--"

Daniel didn't finish his sentence. He shook his head rapidly, as if trying to physically shake out the image of Sem and Connor being intimate. He couldn't even say it. "This is just too weird, you and him." He threw his hands in the air. "You know what? I can't deal with this."

"Daniel--"

"No, stop," Daniel sharply interrupted, "Just stop. Look, I can tell you don't want people to know you're gay. Don't worry, I'll make absolutely sure I won't tell anyone about this."

Daniel snatched his laptop, and then he was gone, suddenly leaving Sem standing next to the breakfast table alone. His hand was still trembling lightly as he reached for a glass of water, sipping some to try and cool himself down.

He should be feeling better; Daniel had at least assured him his secret was safe, which had been his biggest concern earlier that morning. But the way Daniel had said it, that he wouldn't tell anyone... It was almost like he was ashamed of him, and Sem had never expected this would affect him as much as it did. That his stomach would feel like there was a stone in it. That he'd feel this terrible about his brother's rejection of something he was, and couldn't change.

Was this how Daniel felt, whenever Sem openly told his socially awkward nerd brother to leave the room when his friends came over, because he was ashamed of him? When he had refused to go to the same high school, because he didn't want people to know they were related?

Trying his best to push the uncomfortable thoughts away for now, Sem swung his school bag over his shoulder. He didn't care about his idiot brother, or what he thought. He didn't care.

He'd just have to keep telling himself that, until he believed it again.