Zay slumped in his seat with a grimace. "That is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen."

Alyssa looked over her shoulder across the cafeteria. "They're a very cute couple."

"I hate you," Zay muttered.

"Hey, you had your chance," she told him.

"Still hate you," he grumbled. "Not like he tried very hard, one kiss, and then he gave up and started dating Marlow."

"Zay, you shoved him off, what did you expect? He wasn't going to wait for you forever."

"He didn't even wait a week," he snapped and grabbed his things. "Right, I'm out of here before I puke."

Alyssa watched him go with a sigh before she glanced over to where West sat with Marlow, their heads close together, smiles on their faces. "Right, excuse me for a minute," she told Josh.

He groaned. "What stupidity are you planning?"

"I'm insulted that you believe I'm going to do something stupid." She stood and stalked across the room to where West sat. "I need to speak to you."

He frowned. "About what?"

"Just come with me."

He rubbed a hand over his face. "If you want to discuss him too bad, there was nothing there and there never was going to be. He made his choice and I've moved on."

"You crushed him, West. He's really upset. He feels like you abandoned him."

Marlow was looking between them with a frown. "Uh, West ... did I miss something?"

"No, you didn't." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Lyssa, but I can't change things. Like I said, he made his choice and I wasn't a part of it. Let it go."

"I can't because I know him and he won't let it go and he'll do something stupid in response."

He snorted and stood. "Right, like get wasted at one of Josh's parties and hook up with the entire cheer squad to prove he's as straight as they come? I'm sorry about the way things turned out but it's in the past now. He'll get over it." He, stoop, spun away from her and left her standing there.

Marlow looked from her to West before he jumped to his feet and went after Weston.

She made a frustrated sound and grumbled her way back to the table where Josh waited.

"Nice, job, that went well."

She slumped into her seat. "Yeah, fabulous. I was hoping that he'd at least agree to talk to Zay. I don't know what idiotic thing Zay will do, but I know it will be bad when it happens."

"What makes you think he'll do something stupid?" Josh asked with a frown.

"Between Freshman and Sophomore year his parents forced him to go to some summer camp thing sponsored by their church. He hated it, but he refused to tell them because they were so happy about him going so he kept it all bottled up inside until they announced they'd signed him up again for the following summer."

"And?"

"He rebelled as any good teenager does."

He arched a brow at her. "Your point is what exactly?"

She propped her elbows on the table and put her face in her hands. "You've never seen Zay when he's super stressed about shit. He lets it fester until he can't handle it, he doesn't talk about things he holds it all in. When it finally explodes, he doesn't think shit through he picks the craziest, most unsafe thing to do and does it. That night after his parents told him he was going to that camp again he accepted Darrel Kootz's offer to join him and his crew."

Josh sucked in a breath. "He joined up with that thug?"

She shrugged. "Guys who ride motorcycles aren't only attractive to girls. Darrel and his buddies hit a convenience store, luckily no one was hurt but they did shoot up the place. I think it was at that point Zay realized he'd made a mistake and he protested. Instead of taking him home, Darrel left him in the middle of nowhere on the side of the road. Zay called me to come pick him up."

Josh whistled. "Kootz is such an ass."

"It was really late and he knew his parents were going to flip out over him missing curfew so we told them we were watching movies at my house and fell asleep on the couch. They bought it, but it was a close thing. If he had been arrested I doubt they would have bailed him out. He won't admit it but this situation is beating him down. He wants to come out but he's still afraid of what his parents will do, even if he knows we're there to help him. They're his parents and he doesn't want to disappoint them. It's only a matter of time before it becomes too much for him. When that happens I worry what he'll do."

"He knows we're here for him. I'm not sure there's much else we can do," Josh told her. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her.

***

Marlow hurried after West and caught him in the courtyard outside the cafeteria. "West, hold up. What is going on? If there's someone else then you need to tell me."

West dragged a hand through his hair. "There isn't, Low. The guy won't admit to his feelings, he's afraid of how his parents will react if he tells them he's gay so he'd rather keep hiding it than admit to it. There's nothing there and I doubt there ever will be. I never would have agreed to go out with you if I thought there was a chance with him." He reached out and drew Marlow into a hug. "I'm sorry if you thought anything different."

Marlow pushed him back slightly. "West, we both know it isn't easy to come out, especially if you're worried about how your family will react. I put it off for a while for the same reason. My dad is this big macho, blue-collar football-watching guy, I thought he'd freak out but he was very accepting. I felt stupid for putting it off for so long."

"Yeah, well my dad was the opposite of supporting. I can understand why the guy doesn't want to tell his parents, even if I can't condone it. If he continues to hide who he is he's going to be unhappy for the rest of his life. He'll probably marry some woman and make them both miserable."

Marlow chuckled. "Maybe he will or maybe he just needs more time. Look, if this guy is who you want to be with—"

West bent and kissed him. He pulled back with a smile. "You are who I want."

Marlow turned red and nodded. "All right."

"Come on, let's go back inside." He took Marlow's hand and tugged him back through the door.

Zay slumped against the tree he was sitting near and blinked back tears. He didn't need to witness that, he really didn't. Knowing what West thought of his decision hurt. The guy didn't trust him to break away from his parents. He held in a hysterical little laugh because he could see the future West had described. Could see himself marrying some woman simply to please his parents. It would be a disaster. His entire life would be a disaster and the next time he picked up that Exacto knife he wouldn't put it down. He buried his face in his hands and sucked in deep breaths to avoid bursting into loud, angry sobs.

"Hey, you okay, man?"

Zay's head snapped up and he frowned. "Seth?"

"Yeah, haven't seen you since ... well you know," Seth said as he took a seat beside Zay.

Seth Bradford. Zay sighed. Seth ran with Darrel Kootz's crew, he didn't need another experience with Darrel and his guys.

"Well, that wasn't exactly a stellar night for me. Guess I'm not hardcore enough." He shrugged.

Seth chuckled. "Me either."

Zay sent him a startled look and Seth shrugged.

"I mean, I still ride with them but I don't go out on their little adventures much. I'm not keen on ending up in prison. I wouldn't have to worry about getting the death penalty because my mom would murder me before I was even sentenced." Seth grinned.

"My parents would lock me away for the rest of my days and make certain I prayed for the salvation of my soul every second of every day."

Seth burst out laughing. "So, why are you sitting here alone hiding behind the shrubbery?"

"No offense, but my problems are mine."

Seth nodded. "Gotcha. Hey, can I ask you something?"

Zay shrugged. "Sure."

Seth shifted to face him. "Okay, like, I don't want to freak you out but I've kinda wanted to tell you for a while. Um ... well, would you want to catch a movie or something with me sometime?"

Zayden stared at him. What in the hell? Was everyone at this school gay now? He shook his head. "Seth, I'm flattered but I ..."

Seth held up his hands. "Hey, you don't have to say anything I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. If you don't swing that way no problem. Man it's no big deal, honest."

"I'm sorry."

Seth shrugged and stood. "Hey, seriously it's no big deal. I'll see ya around, Walker."

Zayden sighed and watched him go, hands in his pockets, and head down. Seth may have told him it was no big deal but it didn't appear as if it had been no big deal. Is this what his life was going to be? Rejecting any guy who asked him out because he didn't want to upset his parents, a lifetime of empty relationships with girls he wasn't attracted to. It was a bleak future to think about.

He stood and went back into the cafeteria and straight to where Alyssa and Josh sat. "I'm going to tell my parents. I can't keep this up."

Alyssa squealed and jumped up to hug him. "I'm so happy for you! I'll be right there by your side. You won't be alone."

Josh grinned at him. "Yeah, dude, we'll both be there. Your room is waiting at my place if you need it."

"You don't know what it means to me to have your support."

Alyssa hugged him again. "When do you want to do it?"

With a deep sigh, he took a seat at the table and waited for her to sit back down. "As soon as possible. If I wait I'll chicken out."

"Today after school?" she asked.

He pressed his lips together and nodded.

"Cool, we'll follow you home." She reached out and put her hand over his. "Zay, we're here. No matter what."

He flipped his hand beneath hers and wrapped his fingers around her hand and squeezed. "Thanks."

Josh grinned. "This will be fun."

Zay snorted. "You've met my parents, fun it will not be. Tragic. Scary. Maybe horrifying. But definitely not fun."

"Okay, not fun for you, but fun to watch them freak out and try to shove the Devil from your body."

Zayden couldn't help but laugh at the image those words put into his head. "Maybe that bit will be funny."

"This is what I'm here for, comic relief."

"You do know the comic relief usually dies right after the blond, big-breasted cheerleader in horror movies?" Lyssa told him.

"You are so mean to me, why are we together?"

She batted her eyelashes. "Because I'm so irresistible you can't bear to be without me."

He leaned in and brushed a kiss over her lips. "Oh, yeah."

"You two are gross," Zay told them.

"You're just jealous you have no one to smooch in the middle of the cafeteria," Josh told him.

"Yeah, right that's totally it. Dork." He rolled his eyes.

Alyssa laughed. "Okay, enough, let's discuss plans for after school."

Zay nodded and told them the basics of what he'd like to say to his parents. They gave suggestions and helped him work out exactly what he should tell them and how to handle any protests they might make. Despite the fact he knew his parents were going to react badly to his announcement, he was looking forward to finally telling them. To not hiding who he was anymore.