“Collie? Want to come play Mario Kart?” Colin asked, stepping into my room.

                “Colin, how many times do I have to tell you to knock?” I asked with a sigh, turning to face my brother.

                He waved his hand dismissively. “We used to share a room, and I barged in all the time back then. So, want to come play?”

                “I can’t. I’m sleeping over a friend’s house tonight, and I should probably get going,” I said, checking the time.

                “Can you just tell me who Misha is already? I know that’s his name. Do I know him, Collie? That name sounds so goddamn familiar,” he groaned.

                “Maybe because you’re a Supernatural fan, and Castiel is played by a guy named Misha,” I said, not wanting to remind Colin that his best friend’s brother just so happened to be Misha.

                “I thought that was it, but it’s not. I know another guy named Misha. It’s not a common name, Collie!” he said, frustration slipping into his voice.

                “The little boy in Woman In Black was played by a Misha,” I said with a shrug.

                “Collie!” he whined. “Why can’t you just tell me? I’m your twin brother!”

                “Colin, just trust me, okay? I’ll tell you when I figure everything out. It’s a weird situation that I’m in with Misha,” I said honestly. “Let me figure out what’s going on between us exactly. I’ll tell you eventually.”

                “Fine,” he said with a slight frown. “I really hope everything works out for you though, Collie. You’ve seem kind of stressed lately, but you talk about seeing Misha, your eyes light up a little.”

                “How cliché. Anyways, I’m off to tell mother and father dearest, and then I’m out of here for the night,” I said, getting up.

                “Are you telling them the truth?” Colin asked in alarm.

                “Naturally. I don’t see why they would stop me when they let you hang out with Ant,” I said with a shrug.

                “Collie, no. Lie to them. I don’t like lying to mom and dad. Hell, I hate doing it. But they’re going to get angry. I’ve never slept over Ant’s house before!” he said, grabbing my arm as I moved to leave my bedroom.

                “Colin, they’re going to ground me if I sneak out. Just go in your room and let me handle myself,” I said sternly.

                Colin shot me a nervous look but nodded and went upstairs, like I had expected. He may be a little older than me, but he was clearly the dependent twin. If I was completely serious when I told him to do something, he would do it.

                I waited until I heard his bedroom door shut before heading upstairs and into the living room. My parents looked up at me curiously.

                “What’s up Collie?” dad asked.

                I hesitated for just a second. They weren’t in a bad mood. Hell, maybe I could just milk this rare normalcy, even for a few minutes. Just ask my dad if he wanted to play cards. Maybe we could get Colin and play a family game of pitch.

                But then reality came back to me, and I realized that we weren’t ever going to be truly normal. Not as long as they gripped their hatred so strongly.

                “Can I sleepover a friend’s house tonight?” I asked casually.

                Instantly, they narrowed their eyes at me in suspicion. I tried to keep a calm expression under their intense looks.

                “Whose house honey?” mom asked, trying to pretend that she didn’t have to be paranoid about me getting laid by a guy.

                “My friend Misha’s house,” I said.

                “Misha is a guy?” dad asked.

                I nearly face-palmed myself. Misha Redner had been to our freaking house before, and no one freaking remembered the guy. I was suddenly remembering that my parents always messed up his name and called him Michael.

                “Yes, dad. Misha is a guy,” I said.

                “This guy you’re…talking to.” He spat out the words as if they tasted disgusting.

                “Yes. The guy that’s nearly my boyfriend.” I met his eyes steadily, unashamed. Why should I be ashamed of what gender I preferred?

                “No. Absolutely not Collier. I will not allow you to stay over his house,” dad hissed.

                “Dad, please.” I forced myself to keep calm. “I just want to spend the night at his house. His parents are going to be there. I’m not going to do anything that you wouldn’t approve of. We were just going to get ice cream, play some games, and go swimming.”

                “The answer is no,” he said flatly. “I will not have my son sleeping over some faggot’s house. You’re confused, Collier. And I’m not going to risk you experimenting.”

                I bit my tongue against the reply that rose to my mind. Colin was the one out having sex with his boyfriend, but I was the one experimenting?

                But I would never use him to defend myself. I was going to protect Colin from our parents and their homophobia as much as possible.

                “Please. You can’t just keep me locked in the house all the time because you don’t trust me. I just want to hang out with a friend for the night,” I said, fighting back my slight desperation. Were they going to keep me caged in my room like an animal?

                “Collie, your father said no. Don’t you dare argue. Now go back to your room and don’t ask again,” mom said.

                “This isn’t even fair! Am I ever going to be allowed to hang out with anyone?!” I asked.

                “Of course. As soon as you’re not confused anymore,” dad said with a shrug.

                “I’m not confused, dad! I’m gay!” I said, nearly losing my patience. “I’m gay and that’s not going to change! So stop telling yourselves that it is!”

                Dad stood up and gripped my arm tightly, pushing me against the wall. He glared at me furiously.

                “Don’t you even freaking say that Collier! You’re not a faggot!” He slapped me across the face.

                “Jake! Let him go. He’s just confused. Don’t slap him,” mom said, slight alarm in her eyes.

                “I’m not confused,” I said, my face stinging. “Slap me all you want, but it won’t change anything. I’ll still be gay, and you’ll still be a homophobic asshole.”

                This time, I winced when he slapped me. I bit my cheek hard so that I wouldn’t gasp in pain as my cheek stung painfully.

                Mom got up and pulled dad off of me. “Stop it, Jake. You’re going to really hurt him,” she said nervously, inspecting my cheek. “Collie, you deserved that. You need to watch your language and your attitude, especially around me and your father!”

                “I deserve to be hit for being gay?” I asked, fighting off angry tears. I wasn’t five years old anymore. I would not cry.

                “If that’s what it takes to knock that damn idea out of your head, then yes!” dad snarled.

                “Screw you!” I snapped and stormed downstairs. I slammed my door and locked it, sticking a chair under the handle so that my parents couldn’t get in even if they picked the lock.

                I grabbed a bag and stuffed my clothes and my toothbrush in it. I grabbed the car keys off of my dresser, glad that I had brought them downstairs earlier.

                I went over to the window and pushed it up. I crawled onto my dresser and managed to pull myself out of the window. Being in the basement, I had to sneak up and out, unlike Colin who would just have to take a short drop out of his window to the bushes below.

                Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I went around to the driveway and got in the car. I pulled out of the driveway and took off down the street, turning my cell phone off and tossing it into the passenger seat.

                A few minutes later, I pulled into the Redner’s driveway and got out of the car. I went up to the front door and rang the doorbell.

                Misha opened the door, a smile on his face. His eyes landed on my cheek and the smile dropped off of his face.

                I mentally cursed, realizing that my face must be red from when my dad had slapped me. Misha grabbed my hand and pulled me into the house.

                “What happened to your face?” he demanded.

                “Colin came barging into my room and hit me with the door,” I said, saying the first lie that came to mind.

                “Really? So your door leaves a handprint on your cheek?”

                “Doors can have hands too you know,” I said defensively.

                “Did your parents hit you?” he asked.

                “Nah. Some assholes at school,” I lied with a shrug. “It’s not a big deal. They used to give Ant problems too. Don’t tell Emma. I don’t want her to tell Colin.”

                Misha nodded, still eyeing my cheek. “Fine. But if I ever see you hurt again, I’m not going to sit back.” He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to my cheek.

                “So, what are we doing?” I asked him, wanting to change the subject before he realized that I was lying.

                “Well, Emma really wanted to go swimming. So we can do that?” he suggested.

                “Sure. Let’s go change,” I said.

                I followed Misha through the house and upstairs. He banged on Emma’s door, telling her to change.

                I stepped into the bathroom and shut the door, setting my bag down and digging around for my swim trunks. I stood up and froze as I saw my reflection in the mirror over the sink.

                I gently touched the brilliant red mark on my face. It was in the shape of my dad’s hand, and had barely faded since I had left the house.

                “Parents of the year,” I grumbled sarcastically, stripping out of my clothes and pulling my trunks on.

                I turned on the cold water and wet a paper towel. I held it against my face, hoping that the mark would fade before Emma saw it. Surely Colin had heard our parents getting angry at me, but he most likely didn’t know dad had slapped me. I didn’t want Emma to tell him.

                After about five minutes, the mark had started to fade enough that you couldn’t tell it was a handprint. I left the bathroom and let myself into Misha’s room.

                “You can just put your stuff on the chair,” he said, gesturing at the chair in the corner of the room.

                I set my bag down and sat on Misha’s bed. He eyed my cheek and sighed, sitting down next to me.

                “You were putting water on it, huh? It looks a little better.”

                “Good,” I said, looking around Misha’s room. “But you should be more concerned about your room than my face. Oh my god Misha. Did you really hang up a poster of Stephen King? You friggin’ dork.”

                “I like Stephen King,” he said defensively. “And so do you. So don’t make fun of me!”

                “Well I didn’t hang up a poster of the guy in my room.” I rolled my eyes.

                “Are you guys ready?” Emma asked, opening the door and stepping into the room.

                “Yes ma’am!” Misha said, getting up and pulling me with him.

                The three of us grabbed towels and went out to the pool. Misha poked his toe in and smiled, apparently content with the temperature of the water.

                He went over and set up his speakers, playing We Are The In Crowd. He walked back over to the pool and winked at me before shoving his little sister in.

                Emma let out a little squeal as she hit the water. She broke the surface and glared at Misha, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

                “Misha Nolan Redner! I’m going to shoot you!” she cried.

                “You know what I don’t get? Misha has this interesting, rare name. And then there’s Emma Marie Redner. What the hell were your parents thinking?” I asked.

                “They put a lot of thought into me, and Emma they didn’t care about,” Misha said smugly, coming over to me and putting his arm around my waist.

                He suddenly lifted me into his arms and casually tossed me into the pool. I swam up to the surface and spit out water, glaring at Misha.

                He ran over and jumped into the pool, splashing me and Emma. He swam over to us and smiled cheerfully.

                “Hi guys!” he said, waving.

                “Hate you,” Emma and I said at the same time, splashing water at him.

                “Nah, you both know you love me,” he said smugly.

                “I think I liked you a lot better when you didn’t live at home,” Emma grumbled.

                “Aw, Em! You know you missed me when I lived in my dorm last year,” Misha said, slinging his arm around her shoulders.

                “And now you’re back home, living with your mommy and daddy and working at a clothes store. How cute,” I said, pinching Misha’s cheek.

                He smacked my hand off and pouted. “Hey, I get paid pretty well at that clothes store. And I already told you that I’m looking for an apartment!”

                “I’m totally claiming your room when you move out,” Emma said, smirking.

                “Hey! No way. My room stays my room, even when I don’t live there anymore,” Misha said, pouting.

                “Don’t mind me I’m just reaching for your necklace, talking to my mom about this little girl from Texas,” I mumbled along with the music.

                “Let’s just agree I’m right and swim,” Misha said, shoving Emma a little.

                The three of us swam around for about an hour before getting out of the pool. Misha dried his feet and ran into the house to grab money so we could get ice cream.

                “So, has my dork of a brother made any moves on you yet Collie?” Emma asked.

                I shook my head. “Nah, not really. Just paying for dinner, inviting me to sleep over, and using cheesy pickup lines.”

                Emma sighed. “That’s Misha for you. But I guess the fact that he’s a cheesy dork is what makes him charming. I can’t tell you how many friends I’ve had over that want me to hook them up with Misha. I’ve probably broken many of my friends’ hearts with the news that he’s gay,” she said, laughing a little.

                “I’m sure his friends hit on you too,” I said, taking in her appearance. Emma was an absolutely beautiful girl, especially now with her thin, fit body in just a bikini. Hell, both of the Redner kids could’ve been models.

                “Aw, no. Misha would kill his friends if they hit on me,” she said, rolling her eyes.

                “He never killed Colin for wanting to get with you,” I said.

                Emma stared at me in shock. “What? Colin wanted to get with me?”

                I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. “Whoops. I forgot you didn’t know about that.”

                “But…he’s with Ant,” she said in confusion.

                “Well, the thing about Colin is that he’s bisexual, not gay. He was head over heel for you for years. He always wanted to tell you, but you know Colin. He was too scared of how you would react. He actually did plan to tell you the night of the bonfire that Ant came to, but after he made Ant cry, he changed his mind. Then he fell for Ant.” I shrugged.

                “Aw, now I feel really bad! I never even knew that!” she said with a frown. She blushed a little. “But I’m really glad he’s with Ant. I love Colin to death, but only as a best friend.”

                Misha chose that moment to come out of the house with money, saving us from an awkward silence. I knew Emma was crushing on me.

                “Alright, let’s go!” Misha said.

                Emma pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank-top, and we all put on flip-flops before taking off. We walked up the ice cream place nearby, talking casually as we did so.

                As Misha ordered ice cream for us, I found my eyes roaming over his topless self. He was in shape and fairly fit, with a smooth chest. He didn’t exactly have abs of steel, but he was no weakling despite his dorky personality. I could see how muscular his arms were as he reached out to grab the ice cream from the girl working there.

                “Collier Archer, are you eye raping my brother?” Emma asked in amusement.

                “You bet your ass I am,” I said with an affirmative nod.

                Misha came over to us and handed us each our ice cream. We sat down together at a table outside and began to eat our ice cream.

                “So what do you want to do when we get back to the house?” Misha asked.

                “I have some things to work on,” Emma said. Misha glanced back as the person behind him laughed, and Emma took the distraction to wink at me. She was letting me and Misha have our alone time.

                “Alright,” Misha said, turning his attention back to us. “What do you want to do Collie?”

                “You should take Collie on the four wheeler,” Emma suggested.

                “Yea!” Misha said in excitement. “Okay! Do you want to go on the four wheeler, Collie?”

                “Sure,” I said with a shrug.

                We finished our ice cream and made our way back to the house. Emma waved to us and winked at me again before heading into the house.

                Misha handed me a helmet and I put it on as he got on their four wheeler and started it up. He pat the seat behind him, and I crawled on. My eyes widened a little as I realized just how genius Emma was. I knew I loved that girl for a reason.

                “Just wrap your arms around me and hold on tight,” Misha said.

                I put my arms around him, scooting my body a little closer to his. He took off towards their backyard, and I kept my arms around his topless self.

                We rode around for a little, both of us just smiling and laughing at the wind wiping against our bare chests. I kept my arms locked around Misha, and he would occasionally release one of the handles to hold one of my hands.

                We finally stopped as it started getting dark. Misha took our helmets and put them away. He led me into the house and the smell of chicken riggies hit my nose.

                “Hey kids. I was just about to come out and get you. Dinner’s ready,” Mr. Redner said as he finished setting plates on the dinner table.

                We sat down as Emma and Mrs. Redner came into the room. They sat down with us and Misha started scooping food onto our plates.

                “Hi Collie!” Mrs. Redner said with a smile.

                “Hi Mrs. Redner,” I said.

                “Why don’t you boys change out of your swim trunks?” Mr. Redner asked as he sat down.

                “We’re going to go in the hot tub soon. Right Collie?” Misha asked.

                “That was the plan,” I said with a nod.

                We ate dinner and went outside Misha grabbed us sodas and set them down next to the hot tub in case we got thirsty. Misha turned the lights in the hot tub on and slowly lowered himself into the steaming water.

                “It feels great!” he said, holding his hand out to me.

                I took his hand and stepped into the hot water. I slowly lowered my body into it, relaxing as my body adjusted to the temperature of it.

                Misha moved next to me and shyly put an arm around my waist. I rested my head on his shoulder.

                “Today was fun,” I said. I had almost managed to forget about my dad hitting me earlier.

                “Yea it was! It was a great day,” Misha said with a smile.

                I turned and reached my soda, making a face since it was just out of reach. I stood up and shook my head at Misha.

                “Way to put the drinks too far away you idiot,” I said.

                I moved to get out of the hot tub and put the drinks closer to us, but felt my foot slip. I lost my balance and started falling backwards, having a second to realize that I was probably going to crack my head open when I landed.

                Water splashed against me as Misha jumped up and wrapped his arms around me. He stumbled a little and fell back with me in his arms.

                He landed on his butt, his back hitting the side of the hot tub with a little force. I gripped his hands, which were locked around my waist.

                “Are you okay Collie?” he asked in panic.

                “I’m fine,” I said, trying to ignore the fact that I was basically lying on top of him now. “Are you okay?”

                “Yea. God, and you call me the dork,” he said.

                I rolled my eyes and shifted to get off of him. Misha tightened his grip around my waist, pulling me against himself.

                “No…I like this position,” he said. I could hear the confidence in his voice.

                I smiled a little. “Me too.”

                I snuggled against him, placing my hands back on his. I gently traced my thumb in circles on the back of his hand.

                We laid together like that for a long while, lost in comfortable silence. I had rested my head on his chest, and he still had his arms around my waist.

                “Collie?”

                “Mmm?”

                I turned my head so that I was facing him. He finally removed one of his hands from my waist, keeping the other there.

                He gently stroked my face with his free hand. “I really did have a great time today. I love spending time with you. You make me so happy,” he said. His gaze dropped to my lips.

                “I don’t know what’s going on between us Misha. I know I like you, but you know I still have feelings for Ant. I’d rather not hurt you with my mixed feelings,” I said, tilting his head so that his gaze was back on mine.

                “I know. But…I can’t wait to do this any longer. It doesn’t mean we’re dating. I don’t know what it means. I just want to do it,” he said.

                He brought his lips to mine. I shifted so that my body was curved with his. He let his hand slide from my cheek to the back of my neck, pulling me closer as our lips moved together.

                I placed my hands on his chest, pushing him back against the side of the hot tub. I shifted into his lap and wrapped my legs around his waist as we deepened the kiss.

                “Misha!”

                We jumped apart in surprise. I started to move off of Misha, but he put his hands around my waist and held me where I was.

                “Yea dad?” Misha called back, blushing heavily.

                “Don’t stay in the hot tub too long, alright? You guys have been in there for a long time,” his dad said, standing in the doorway.

                “Okay. We were just about to get out and go to bed,” Misha said.

                “Alright. Goodnight boys!” His dad waved to us cheerfully and disappeared back into the house.

                I got off of Misha and stood up, pulling him with me. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around both of us.

                We went into the house and upstairs to Misha’s bedroom. We changed into regular shorts and laid on Misha’s bed together.

                “Goodnight Collie. Today has been the best day of my life,” he said, tracing his fingers against my lips.

                I pulled the covers over us and nodded at him. “Goodnight Misha.”

                Misha turned the lights off. I stared around his room as my vision started to adjust to the darkness.

                The memory of my kiss with Ant was spinning around my head. My lips were still tingling from the kiss with Misha. My feelings for those two were messed up, starting to give me a slight headache.

                I sighed and rolled over so that I was facing Misha. He had already slipped off into a peaceful sleep.

                “Well Misha, you made your move. Now we just have to hope I can figure out my feelings before I hurt you,” I mumbled as I drifted off to sleep. 

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A.N.- Sorry for the slow updates! I've been busy aha :p But I hope you guys like this chapter! Especially the little Collie/Misha hot tub action ;D