:January 20th, XX47; Monday.

:BRING ALL STORYLINES TOGETHER.

•~~~~•

"Hey, do you know where Sage is?"

Joe blinked as he sat down at his usual lunch table- except, it wasn't usual, because Sage wasn't there. The first day Joe had come back after being absent, that previous Thursday, Sage wasn't even at school, but all the days after that he was just avoiding them both. Which... that made sense, Joe supposed.

"Uh, no, I don't," Joe shrugged. Him and Oliver laced their hands together, the latter looking around the room with a frown.

"He seems sad lately... I mean, he'll talk to me in class sometimes if I start the conversation but he's not very willing to converse."

"Hmm." Joe was probably a horrible person.

"Have you tried talking to him?"

"Uh... no, I haven't," he shrugged. "Seems to want space, might as well give it to him."

Oliver smiled a bit, and then he raised an eyebrow. "Joe, did you two get into a fight or something?"

That was an understatement. "What? I- no, of course not."

"Sure," he chuckled. "Well, whatever happened, he's your best friend, so... it'll probably be fine."

"Yeah... probably."

"Was it that bad?"

"No, no, I- nothing even happened, really, Oli. I don't know what going on with him."

"If you say so," Oliver shrugged, before beginning to eat his lunch. Joe stared at him for another moment, debating just telling him everything that had gone down, but he just decided to eat, too.

...Maybe Oliver deserved to know.

No- well, yes, he did deserve to know, but should he? Ugh, thinking that thought just made him feel like his parents. Hiding stuff from him even though he deserved to know the truth. Except, would Joe's relationship with his parents really be damaged much further at this point? If Oliver found out what happened, everything could just come crashing down. And that would just suck, wouldn't it?

Suddenly, Oliver frowned and leaned against Joe, slowly, phone in his hand. Joe glanced down to the screen and frowned a bit when he saw someone had messaged him the the link to another school's website- one he had never heard of before.

"What's that?" He asked.

"My dad just sent me the website for the school he says I'll go to if he gets custody," Oliver rolled his eyes a bit. "An all-girls private school, in Nevada, because that's definitely the best option there is for me."

"Jeez. Where do you think you'll go if it's with your mom?"

"Someplace similar, probably. Or maybe she just won't bother to enroll me. I don't know anything at this point."

Joe wrapped an arm around Oliver's shoulders and rubbed his side comfortingly. "I've really been trying to figure out if there's anything we can do to convince them not to force you to move but... I don't know if there is."

"Yeah... it's a lost cause at this point."

"Well, but-"

"But?"

"-Technically, if you just wait it out until you turn eighteen then I could just convince my parents to drive up there and pick you up on your birthday. You'd legally be able to leave, and then you can just come back to this school or get your GED or something, right? Maybe I should actually get my license first, or you, but y'know, that all could work."

The two stared at each other for a moment, and then Oliver began to smile, quickly pecked Joe's cheek. "That could work, Joey."

"Then let's plan for it," Joe smiled back. He was in love with this man... he'd do whatever it took to keep them together.

Or- okay. That's bad wording. He already did and it didn't work out. That's... ugh. Words are dumb.

•~~~~•

Walking home from school these days was awkward.

Joe considered just texting his parents to come pick him up every day, but he honestly didn't wanna bother them or spend more time around them at that moment than he needed to. His relationship with them at that point was odd... he loved them, sure, but he didn't really like them. Regardless, Sage would always speed-walk some feet ahead of Joe and wouldn't make eye contact with him during that walk or during any of the rest of the day. And so Joe would just be left to walk some paces behind him, no one to have a conversation with to entertain his boredom.

Life was so much better before he did what he did... but he wasn't even sure if he regretted it, truly, or not, and that was the worst part of it all.

After Sage reached his house, Joe soon reached his own, opening the front door with a quiet sigh, glancing around to see his dad in the living room and his father in the kitchen, who quickly walked out of said room upon seeing him to greet him.

"Hello Joe, how was school?"

"It was okay," Joe started to try and rush past him up to his room, not wanting to talk to him, but his father suddenly placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, startling Joe in the slightest.

"Joe..."

"I- What?"

His father sighed. He was staring at him with a weird expression, like pity and confusion or something all in one.

"Did you tell Oliver?"

Joe groaned. "What do you think?"

"You did not. That's what I thought you'd say. But-"

"Father, you're not gonna convince me, I've already made up my mind and-"

"Joe."

His father suddenly kneeled in front of him, and he placed both of his hands on his shoulders. Joe blinked in surprise, having a sudden flashback to when Remy did nearly the same thing that last Wednesday when they were in the bathroom together. Déjà Vu- freaky.

"...What?"

"Just listen to me for a moment. I understand what you're going through right now, even though I know you don't believe me fully. But, son, the fact is that if you don't tell Oliver all that happened now, he's going to find out somehow in the future and that will make things much worse. You keeping this huge secret from him could affect him down the line as well, and- frankly, I know how much you love him, I'm sure you don't want to see him suffering."

"Well... yeah, but, what's your point here?"

"You have to get it over with, Joe. It'll be better for both of you in the future."

Joe furrowed his eyebrows, and he looked down to the ground as his dad came into the foyer and stood behind them. Was... was Joe legitimately considering this?

But- no, this was the thing: Remy gave him this kind of advice in this same format, and he didn't take it, and that didn't turn out so well. So maybe he should actually listen for once..?

"...I'm scared," Joe mumbled, looking at both of his parents. Maybe that was the real reason he didn't want to do any of this. His dad stared back at him sympathetically, and walked closer, also placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Of course you are, sweetie, that's normal. And Oliver might be really shocked at first, but... either you get it over with, or it gets worse over time and then you tell him. He is going to find out eventually."

"...Yeah."

"And once again, Joe, if you really do think he won't take this well at all, you don't have to tell him. We just... we are strongly encouraging you to take this option, alright?"

Joe sighed. They were probably right.

"...Alright. I'll text him."

His parents blinked a few times in surprise, and then they both sighed a bit in relief. His father pulled him into a quick hug, which his dad quickly joined, and they all hugged for a good few moments before Joe pulled away from them and glanced up at the stairs with a gulp.

"I really, really hope this is gonna work out," he mumbled.

"We're proud of you, Joe," his father said. "You'll be alright."

"Okay. I'll, uh, I'll be upstairs, then, I guess."

"Good luck," His dad smiled a bit at him and patted his shoulder. Joe took a deep breath, and then he looked to the stairs again, adjusting his backpack on his shoulders, and he walked up them.

He walked up the stairs and to his bedroom, hand fiddling with his phone in his pocket already, trying to figure out how exactly he should go about this. Maybe a FaceTime call would be better? No- he didn't need to see his boyfriend's disappointed face. God, maybe it wasn't a good idea. But then again, he did do it all for Oliver. So...

With a sigh, Joe pushed his bedroom door open, and sitting on his bed was none other than a ghost he hadn't seen in a very long time.

"Wh- ...Uncle Janus?"

"Joe, please do not do this."

Joe blinked a few times, glancing around the hallway before slowly stepping into his room and closing the door behind him. "What... uh, hi, Uncle Janus. Why are you here-?"

Janus sighed and stood up. "I know what's going on. I know what happened. And I came here to tell you it's a stupid idea to tell Oliver what happened. Unless you, of course, want him to break up with you, but I sincerely doubt that's what you're going for here."

Joe let his backpack drop to his bedroom floor, and he moved to sit on his bed. "But- I mean, my- your brother- my parents said, that-"

"I know, Joe. But here's the thing that you have to understand about your parents- they've been through some situations, in which this is what they think would've solved all their problems. But they are wrong."

"They are?"

"Yes. I'll just try to explain it by, uhm..." he snapped a few times "ah- so, what they expect to happen by telling you to do this is that Oliver will eventually forgive you, you'll stay together and everything will be perfectly fine and dandy. But Oliver is, well... he's Oliver. And your parents are your parents. When your dad found out some information about your father some years ago, the only reason they stayed together was because your dad had been through the exact same situation."

"Huh?"

"I really don't want to tell you anything they haven't told you yet, but... your dad was only able to accept some of your father's actions because he also performed them. If he hadn't, they wouldn't be married today."

"Oh. So... what are you saying, then?"

"Your parents believe that if they would've known this stuff when they were in high school, their relationship would've been better. But they're wrong. Your dad would've broken up with your father then and there, and that would be the end of it. Now- I don't condone murder, Joe, what you did was unacceptable. But if you want to keep your own sanity and peace of mind straight for even a little bit longer, either wait or don't tell him at all."

Joe let out a sigh, looking down into his lap. God- there were so many decisions he had to make today, weren't there?

"...But what if Oliver turns out worse because I didn't tell them?"

"There's a realistic chance he actually won't find out, you know. If Sage never tells him, I doubt it would ever come up in conversation, just because Oliver is not nearly as dependent on you as you are on him."

"Well, I- I'm sorry, Uncle Janus, but I just don't want to hurt him, y'know? He deserves to know, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he does. But telling him now could have significant impact on both of your mental health states right now. You need to focus on yourself before you focus on him, and then if you still really want to tell him, then do it. But I'm still advising you don't."

Joe sighed.

"...I already made up my mind. I think it's gonna be okay, really."

His uncle stared at him for a few moments, before furrowing his eyebrows, adjusting his bowler hat, and sighing.

"Well then. It's your funeral, Joe. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

And with one last fleeting glance, his uncle had disappeared into the wall. Joe stared at where he had gone into for a moment, before furrowing his eyebrows and blinking, staring down at his phone.

...His parents were right. Oliver deserved to know. He had to tell him.

And so, with one last gulp, Joe opened up his contact in his messages app.

Oli🥺🥰💞
3:56 PM

Hey, Oliver? Can we talk?>

<Yeah ofc! Everything okay?

Yeah I just wanted to talk
to you about something>

<Well, I'm listening

Just please promise you
won't be mad at me?>

<Are you sure everything's
okay? Why would I be mad?

I just don't know how
you'd react to hearing this>
I didn't like cheat on you or anything
btw I would never I promise>

<Well if it's not that I doubt
it would ever be anything bad
<Don't feel pressured though

So you promise you won't
be like extremely pissed at me?>

<I mean I don't wanna be
cheesy when you're trying
to have a serious
conversation here lol but
<Like I mean I've liked you for
a really long time idk what could
possibly change that
<You're really important to me❤️

You're really important
to me too, Oli❤️❤️❤️>

<Soooo what's going on, then?

Okay well>
You remember how Sage
like won't look me in
the eyes lately?>

<Oh it's about that? Yeah
what happened there?

Gimme a second this
is a lot to type uh>
Okay>
Sorry>
So he told me like a week
before I found out about your
parents that he used to have
a crush on you like last year
and I guess it kind of shook me up
and I was like just really uneasy
when I found out about your
parents and I kinda connected the
two events so when he was over at my
house for my dad's birthday
party I told him about your
parents like you wanted me to do
and he didn't seem all
that sad to me so (and I really really
regret doing this btw like with all my
heart it was the wrong thing to do)
I guess I just thought he would
be better off not being able
to talk to either of us and like
as you can see he's clearly alive
because you've seen him at school
and he lived but yeah that's
pretty much what happened sorry>

<I'm confused what
did you do? Wdym alive?
<Oh
<Wait no you're joking right? lol

I'm really sorry oliver>
I really regret it>
I just thought you deserved to know>

<Wtf so you tried to kill him
<You're serious?

I really do regret it but I am serious>

<No Joe it doesn't matter
if you regret it you still had
the thought and you
went through with it
<You have to be joking

I'm sorry okay>
He's alive though, isn't
that what matters?>

<Well yeah thank
goodness he is, holy shit
<But you still did that
<And you didn't question
yourself in the moment or
before it? Joe literally wtf
<Why?

I said I'm sorry>
And I am>
It wasn't right>

<We're past whether it
was right or not.
<You're clearly not right in
anything if you even thought
for a second this was
an okay thing to do
<Joe what kind of sane person tries
to fucking murder their best friend

Im really sorry>

<You being sorry isn't
going to fix anything.

Okay look I didn't want to say
this so soon into us dating
but I really love you oliver>
Im serious, ive really fallen
for you and I've loved you
for a long time now>
I was really just
trying to protect you>

<Why did you think that
would be a good thing to
say to me right now?
I'm not just gonna magically
let it go because you're
in love with me
<I never told you to go murder
someone for me that's so creepy
why would you ever think to
do that?

Sorry>

<You're really scaring me,
Joe, this is fucked up

I don't want to scare you!
I just want to have a normal life,
just the two of us>

<You're still scaring me,
I said I don't want you to
kill people for me, that's not
okay and that will never be okay

Just think about it, please?
I know it seems really bad
but he's still alive. It's okay.
It's really not that bad I promise>
Please, bubbles?>
please respond>
it's been a few minutes>
sorry>
ily>

<okay look

Yes?>

<I'm not gonna tell anyone
about it, I promise

Thank you so much>

<But you really gotta
stop calling me bubbles.

Wait>
[!]MESSAGE NOT DELIVERED
We can talk more about this>
[!]MESSAGE NOT DELIVERED
Oliver hold on>
[!]MESSAGE NOT DELIVERED
Oliver>
[!]MESSAGE NOT DELIVERED
Did you block me?>
[!]MESSAGE NOT DELIVERED

Joe turned off his phone, and it fell out of his grasp, tumbling into his lap with a thud.

"...Oh."

•~~~~•
Pro tip- always listen to Janus

See ya in the next chapter!😐
~Maxx(SanderShipper)