“Collie! Wake up before we’re late!”

                I cracked my eyes open, looking up at Colin’s impatient face. I looked over at my alarm clock and realized that I was running late for school.

                I got out of bed and Colin left my bedroom. I changed and combed through my hair. I slung my bag over my shoulder and left, heading up to the living room.

                “Finally!” Colin said, coming out of the kitchen and tossing me a granola bar.

                I followed him out to the car and we got in together. I sleepily ate my granola bar as Colin drove us to school.

                We got out of the car when we reached school and went inside together. I followed Colin over to Ant and Zane.

                Colin hugged Ant tightly and smiled, kissing him. I dropped my gaze. It was way too early in the morning to deal with this mixed emotion shit.

                “Do you want to come over tonight Collie?” Ant asked me as Colin wrapped his arms around Ant’s waist.

                “I can’t. I’m going to a party,” I said.

                “Guess Colin and I will just have to have some alone time then,” Ant said, grinning at Colin and pecking his lips.

                But Colin frowned at me. “Party? Where? With who?”

                “What are you, my mother?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. I brushed my bangs out of my face. “Don’t worry about it Colin. It’s none of your business.”

                “Holy shit Collie! Your hand!” Ant said, his eyes going wide with concern.

                I looked down at my bad hand and mentally cursed. The swelling of it had gotten even worse overnight. I had forgotten to ice it.

                “It’s fine,” I said dismissively.

                The bell rang and I hurried away from them before Colin could say anything. I walked around until I was in the nearly deserted junior hallway. I sighed and leaned against a locker, looking down at my hand and observing it carefully. Maybe I should get it looked at…

                I stumbled to the side as someone shoved me. I used my good hand to catch myself on a locker. I looked up and glared.

                “Vance. Jake. Drew,” I said flatly.

                The three boys standing in front of me had been good friends with my brother. They blamed Ant for my homosexuality, and blamed me for Colin’s. Colin had threatened them away from Ant after he found out they had beaten him unconscious.

                But the three kept shooting me dirty looks. They never said anything to me, though, because I was almost always with Colin. They were terrified of Colin. And the hated me for “turning him gay”.

                “Hey faggot,” Vance, the leader of their little homophobic gang, said, smirking at me.

                “Wow, I’ve never heard that one before. I think I might just have to go cry my eyes out,” I said, shaking my head at their stupidity. “Calling me a faggot or a cocksucker or whatever isn’t going to hurt my feelings, Vance. You of all people should know that I’m not exactly a sensitive guy.”

                His gaze dropped to my hand. “That looks painful,” he said.

                “It’s not that ba- AH!”

                He grabbed my hand, causing me to yell in pain. He twisted it until I had stumbled to my knees, desperately trying to pry his hands off of my injured one.

                “Listen up you stupid faggot; we know you’re the reason Colin is confused. He thinks he’s gay because you got in his head,” Vance snarled, not letting go of my hand.

                “None of us ever liked you Collie. Emma and Colin were the only ones in our group that liked you,” Drew said, watching us with a smirk.

                “You better do something about Colin’s confusion. Remind your big brother that he’s straight. Or else we WILL hurt you, and bad. Remember Anthony? We’ll beat you even worse than that,” Vance threatened, finally releasing my hand.

                I cradled my hand gently, gritting my teeth. I yelped as Vance kicked me in the chest, knocking me onto my back.

                The three laughed at me and walked away. I propped up on my elbows and watched them until they were out of sight.

                I got to my feet and hurried out of the junior hallway and into a more crowded area. Those stupid homophobes.

                But I couldn’t tell Colin that they were threatening me. He would think it was his fault, and I didn’t want him to feel guilty.

                “Collie?”

                I jumped a little and turned to face Colin. He frowned and came over to me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

                “Come on; you’re going to be late for class,” he said.

                I shrugged his hand off. “Yea, sorry. I got talking to someone,” I said and followed him to first period.

                When it was time for lunch, I sat down at the table. I put an earphone in, turning up my music as Evanescence played.

                I looked over and saw that Vance, Jake, and Drew were watching our table. I ignored them and turned my attention back to my friends.

                “My mom texted me earlier. I thought you might like to read this,” Emma said, handing me her phone. I scanned over the message.

                From: Mom

                Today, your brother asked me if he could go to a party tonight. Then he asked me if he was allowed to drink, and how many beers he was allowed to have at the party. He also wore a bowtie to present in class today. As much as I love having a dorky virgin for a son, please have Collie convince him to get absolutely hammered tonight.

                I snorted and laughed at the message, handing Emma’s phone back to her and shaking my head. “He’s such a freaking dork,” I said.

                “Aw, but he’s kind of a loveable dork!” Emma said, giggling.

                “Emma, you know who Collie’s talking to?” Ant asked eagerly.

                I looked up in surprise, having forgotten that Ant and Colin were there. I instantly relaxed as I realized that Colin had gotten up to go buy himself a drink.

                “Don’t tell Colin,” Emma said, blushing a little. “I don’t want him to question me about it. It’s not my business to tell.”

                Ant shook his head. “I promise I won’t tell him! I’m sure you guys have a good reason for not telling Colin,” he said.

                “He’ll know when the time is right,” I promised.

                Colin came back over and sat down with us. The rest of the day hurried by until Colin and I were entering the house together.

                “Collie? Honey, I need to talk to you for a minute,” mom said, coming downstairs.

                “Joy,” I grumbled as she followed me into my bedroom and shut the door.

                I took a seat on my bed and gestured at her to speak. She sighed and pulled a chair so that she was sitting across from me.

                “I talked to your father. We’re both still mad about you sneaking out, so you’re grounded for this week. School, home, and that’s it. But starting next week, we don’t mind if you hang out with Emma, since you spend a lot of time with her. As for Colin…Collie, please understand. You put a bad idea in his head,” she said gently.

                “I didn’t put anything in his head. All I did was encourage him to tell you guys. He figured it out for himself,” I said, praying she could read the honesty in my eyes.

                “Okay, okay. I don’t want to fight. We can talk about this later. Do your homework, and I’ll call you up when dinner is ready,” she said, standing up and leaving my bedroom.

                I worked on my homework until she called me and Colin out for dinner. I went upstairs and sat at the dining room table with my family. I looked at them, and suddenly felt isolated.

                “Nah, Supernatural is definitely better than Being Human,” Colin was saying to dad.

                Dad laughed and shook his head. “You’re out of your mind, kid!”

                I swallowed down my jealousy. Of course dad could smile and have a good time with Colin. Colin wasn’t the original gay son. Oh no, he was the poor victim, tainted by his gay brother.

                I hid my bad hand under the table as we ate, remaining silent. My parents happily talked with Colin.

                “Collie, you’re being really quiet. Is everything okay?” Colin asked me with a frown.

                “Yea. Everything’s fine. I’m just tired. I’ll probably head to bed really early tonight,” I said with a shrug.

                I finished eating and put my dishes in the sink. I went down to my bedroom and locked the door. I did the cliché but oh-so-effective trick of stuffing my blankets so that it looked like I was asleep in my bed.

                I pulled out my phone and opened it, not surprised to see a text from Misha. It was almost seven.

                From: Misha

                I’m on my way Collie! I’ll pull into your neighbor’s driveway so that your parents don’t get suspicious.

                I checked myself in the mirror and nodded, satisfied with my appearance. I pushed my window open and pulled myself up, carefully sneaking around the side of the house.

                Spotting Misha’s car pulling into my neighbor’s driveway, I hurried over. I got in the passenger seat and Misha hurried off up the street.

                “Hi,” he said with a smile.

                “Hey,” I said with a nod.

                “Just remember that if you want to leave this party, we can leave whenever you want,” he said, reaching over and holding my hand.

                “Gee, should I call my mommy and ask her how many beers I can have?” I asked him innocently.

                He blushed. “Emma,” he groaned. “I could just strangle my sister sometimes.”

                I snickered at him and squeezed his hand. “Now, don’t do that.”

                We fell into comfortable silence. I turned up the radio and leaned back against the seat, still holding Misha’s hand.

                After a little while, Misha pulled over on the curb and shut the car off. We got out together and he led me into a crowded house.

                He grabbed my hand and pulled me down to the basement of the house, which was less crowded than the upstairs portion. He released my hand and led me over to a fairly attractive boy.

                “Collie, this was my roommate last year. Darren, this is Collie,” he introduced.

                “Hi Collie,” Darren said. He looked between us curiously. “Are you two dating?”

                I shook my head. “Nah,” I said with a shrug.

                “Oh, alright then. Here, have some beers.” Darren reached into a cooler near him and handed us each  a beer. We thanked him and opened them.

                “Collie is an interesting name. I’ve never heard it before,” Darren said, sipping on his beer.

                “His name is actually Collier. It means coal miner,” Misha explained.

                I stared at him and shook my head. “Only you would know that. You dork.”

                Darren laughed and slung an arm around Misha’s shoulders as Misha blushed. “That’s Misha Redner for you. The biggest dork I ever knew,” Darren said, grinning at him.

                “Hey! Darren! Why don’t you, me, Misha, and Misha’s friend play beer pong?” a guy asked, coming over to us.

                “Sure thing Richie. You guys up for some beer pong?” Darren offered.

                “Uh…I don’t know,” Misha said nervously.

                “Aw, lighten up Misha. We’ll play,” I said firmly.

                “Sweet,” the guy, Richie, said. “Just give us about two minutes to set it up!”

                He grabbed Darren and they went over to a table set up in the middle of the basement. I watched as they set up plastic cups and began to pour beer into them.

                “Collie, that’s Darren’s brother Richie. The brothers always play at least best two out of three, and they rarely lose,” Misha said with a frown. “We’re going to bombed in a half hour.”

                I shrugged. “I’m okay with that. We can have Emma come pick us up if we get too drunk to drive,” I pointed out.

                “I guess. But Collie…uh…I don’t usually drink,” he said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck and dropping his gaze.

                “Calm down Misha. I’ll handle it,” I promised, patting his shoulder.

                “Alright! Come on Misha and Collie!” Darren called, waving us over. Breathe Carolina was now blasting out of speakers that must have been upstairs. The whole house seemed to be vibrating with the music.

                Misha and I stood together across the table from Darren and Richie. Darren effortlessly tossed the ping-pong ball into one of our cups, Richie sinking the other ping-pong ball.

                We took the balls out and both drained the cups of beer. We rolled the balls back to Darren and Richie. Darren sank his ball, while Richie missed and cursed.

                I drank the cup Darren had landed. Misha and I aimed and shot, one after the other, both making it. The brothers rolled the balls back to us as they drank.

                Our game continued on until Misha and I had lost. Misha frowned at the two remaining cups across from us.

                “Drink ‘em up boys,” Richie said, sliding the cups over to us and beginning to fill up the others for another game.

                “Collie, we don’t have to play again if you don’t want to,” Misha said after he had finished drinking the cup.

                I finished the other cup and shook my head. “Nah, I think it’s fun. Plus, I don’t really like to lose. Let’s win this one Misha. If we do, I’ll let you kiss me.”

                “Come on, can’t you fill those cups up any faster Richie?!” Misha said impatiently, determination on his face. I nearly started laughing.

                We played another game, this time coming down to one cup left for each team. I shot at the brothers’ cup and cursed as I missed.

                Misha eyed me before carefully aiming at the remaining cup. He released the ball and I swear fireworks exploded out of his eyes when it sailed into the cup.

                He turned and, without saying anything to me, tilted my head up and pressed his lips against mine. I could taste the beer on his mouth, and kissed him back hard.

                We pulled away from each other, Misha blushing at the Darren and Richie’s wolf-whistles. He shrugged and put his arm around my waist, giving me a small smile.

                “Alright, tie-breaker game,” Darren announced as he poured beer into the cups.

                “Oh god. I think I’m going to be hung over for the rest of my life,” Misha groaned, burying his face against my shoulder.

                “You’re such a light-weight dork,” I said with a hopeless sigh.

                He picked his head up and frowned. “Any motivation for me to win this game?”

                “I’ll let you make out with me?” I offered, unable to think of anything else.

                I couldn’t tell if the red on his face was from blushing, or from all the beer we’d been drinking. But he nodded and picked up a ping-pong ball, aiming and throwing it into a cup.

                “Well damn! You two actually beat us!” Darren cried a few minutes later, as I sunk the ping-pong ball into the last cup.

                “Maybe we need to motivate each other the way Collie and Misha do. Darren, if we win next time, you can touch my tits,” Richie said, pulling his shirt up and winking.

                “We’re not even brothers anymore. There is a fine line, and you just crossed it Richie,” Darren said miserably.

                “Let’s give those lovers some alone time Collie,” Misha said, laughing when Darren flipped him off. Misha took my hand and led me upstairs and into the living room.

                I instantly went deaf as we entered the living room. The room was shaking and the music was impossibly loud. The smell of smoke and liquor was so potent that I almost gagged. The room, fairly large, was packed with dancing people. A few people were on the couches, making me. One guy was passed out in the corner, and some people were using the opportunity to draw on him in sharpie.

                Misha led me over to a less crowded part of the living room. He and I drank and danced around together for about an hour before he led me out of the living room and down a hallway.

                He led me into an empty bedroom and locked the door. We sat down on a bed together and he brushed my bangs out of my eyes.

                “I believe you owe me a make-out,” he said.

                “Don’t put it like that,” I groaned, face-palming myself. “That sounds so lame.”

                He opened his mouth to protest, but I put my hand on the back of his neck and pulled his head towards me until our lips were touching.

                Misha closed his eyes and deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around my neck. I licked his bottom lip, and he opened his mouth, letting my tongue in. I let my tongue explore his mouth, my hand sliding from his neck into his hair.

                Misha pushed me back gently, crawling on top of me. He moved his hands down to my hips as our tongues danced together.

                Misha pushed his hands up under my shirt, briefly breaking his mouth away from mine to pull my shirt off. He tossed it on the floor, putting his mouth back onto mine and letting our tongues meet once again.

                He let his hands explore my chest as my own hands moved down to his ass. Misha’s hands slid down my chest to my jeans, and his hands trembled lightly as he fumbled with the buttons on my jeans.

                The light fog of alcohol cleared from my mind and I carefully pushed Misha off of me. I propped up on my elbows and met his eyes.

                “I promised a make-out,” I reminded him. I bent down and retrieved my shirt, pulling it back on and fixing my pants.

                “I’m so sorry Collie,” he whispered, horror and embarrassment creeping into his eyes. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I just took that way too far. Oh god. I promise that I’ll never do that again. I’m so, so sorry. I had no right to do that. I feel terri-”

                I put my finger on his lips and shook my head at him. “Just stop talking Misha. I’m not mad. I let it go too far. Too much alcohol, I guess. Hell, too much for both of us. I’m going to call Emma. It’s getting late, and I have school tomorrow.”

                He nodded and dropped his head in shame as I texted Emma to pick us up. I forced him to pick his head up and kissed his cheek.

                He laid down on the bed and curled up, resting his head in my lap. I played with his hair, running my hand through it.

                “Your hand looks so bad Collie. You should get it looked at,” he said in concern, looking at my bad hand.

                I looked down at it and frowned. It looked even worse, probably from Vance twisting it like the coward he was.

                “It’s fine Misha. Don’t worry about it,” I said.

                “I’m really sorry I took it too far Collie. I just…I have such strong feelings for you. I can’t really control myself.” He blushed.

                “Hey, don’t worry about that either. We’ve both been drinking for about two hours, and things happen when you have alcohol in your system,” I said.

                My phone buzzed with a text from Emma, announcing that she was here. I helped Misha up and went outside, getting into the car.

                “We’ll pick your car up tomorrow Misha,” Emma said as she took off down the street.

                Misha rested his head on my shoulder as Emma drove, the only noise being the music coming from the radio. I put an arm around Misha and pulled him closer to myself.

                “I hope you had fun tonight Collie,” Misha mumbled.

                “I did. I had a lot of fun. I always have fun with you Misha,” I said honestly.

                “I wish we could hang out tomorrow, but I have class and work all day,” he said with a sad sigh.

                “It’s alright. I have something to do tomorrow anyways,” I said as Emma pulled into my neighbor’s driveway.

                I kissed Misha’s cheek and offered him a smile. I thanked Emma and got out of the car, carefully sneaking back over to my window. I jumped down into my room and shut the window.

                I stripped out of my clothes and tossed them into the washing machine to hide the smell of beer. I showered and brushed my teeth before crawling into bed.

                I have something to do tomorrow anyways.

                I sighed and rolled over, checking the time. It was past two in the morning. I had less than three hours of sleep before my alarm went off.

                I did have something to do tomorrow, and it was something that involved Ant Andrews. And I just prayed that I wasn’t about to make the biggest mistake of my life with what I did with Ant tomorrow.

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A.N.- Mwahahaha cliffhanger! >:3 What do you guys think Collie's gonna do with Ant?? ;D