I'm lying on the grass, slipping in and out of sleep, with my friends surrounding me in a circle. You would think I'm a sacrifice and they were the cultist. But really, this cult is bringing me so much happiness.

"Two months without you're boyfriend. You can manage this, you went three years crushing on him without anything," Rain says, grabbing my hand.

"Its differnt now..." I drift into a small sleep. My eyes opened when my name was called. I sit up and turn to look at the voice. "Gene?"

"Mac, how are you?" He looks guilty, his eyes red.

"How do you think?"

He sighs and sits on the ground next to Tim. His leather jacket is stripped off, revealing a cut-up muscle shirt.

"He tried to run away back to you when he snapped at his parents," He begins and scoots forward more to me, I turn my body towards him. "His father got hold of him, they roughed around a bit, his father hit him first. Jack hit back and gave his old man a black eye. They locked him in his room and then sent him away the very next morning. He told me everything the whole night, he was panicking, not worried about himself but worried about you. He didnt have time to talk to you, but he made sure to keep me in the loop of every little detail in case anything. He texted you just before his phone was taken away. He's at a military Bootcamp a few states over, for 'troubled teens', it's in the middle of the fucking woods. He told me and the gang to look after you. He told me personally to fuck up anyone that fucks you up... He also told me that you need to know he loves you and if he had a choice, if he wasn't forced onto the plane by his father, he'd be here with you."

My arms wrap around myself and I cry again, lightly because I have nothing left in me.

"I'm sorry, mac."

"I knew his family was fucked up, I saw he was scared when his father showed up at my house and demanded he goes home. I heard them fight on the phone," I bend over. "I just want him here."

I clench the hoodie close to me. I hear a shift against the grass then arms wrap around me.

"Dont touch him-" I hear Tim get closer, but then I grip back. I hear Tim sigh and then sit back.

"Trust me, every minute he's there he's thinking of you. He'll be back soon. Plus he can handle himself. He'll be okay, so dont worry. In the meantime, the gang and I are not gonna let anything happen to you. If we did Jack would kill us, and that's not a lie. He really does love you, Mac."

Hearing this is more reassuring than anyone else telling me. I guess it's because he and Jack are extremely close, like brothers, so he would know best.

"If I was worried about him there, I'd put myself in there to just be with him, but I know he's going to do just fine. Hell, this is probably gonna help him get some shit off his mind. It'll be good for him, like a type of therapy."

I laugh, knowing that's true. His phone starts ringing, He answers but doesn't let go of me. "Can't talk, currently with Mac. I'ma be a little late," I hear mumbling then he sighs and says we're at the park. He hangs up and then pulls away. "The guys want to see you," he gives me a sad smile.

"It'd be nice to see them too," I give a reassuring nod.

"I know you aren't happy about Jack being gone, but when he comes back he's never going to set foot into that house again. That's a promise I'm going to keep."

A few minutes pass, a small conversation between Gene and my friends, and then I see the rest of the guys hurrying over to us. Gene helps me stand and I hug everyone, well, more of them hugged me when seeing that I looked and sounded like shit.

"It's good seeing you," Nic smiles at me and sits.

Gene sits back down next to Tim, Tim looks offended and scoots over. Gene mocks him and moves towards him. Tim pushes him and tells him to fuck off, Gene laughs and scoots back to his place.

"You look like you're holding up," Lucas jokes and gives a frown, I shrug my shoulder.

"I've felt worse. Im just worried about Jack."

"You dont have to be," Lucas goes to grab my shoulder then decides against it, and pulls his hand back. "Sorry, I should've thought before reacting."

"It's okay, a small tap on the shoulder doesn't hurt anymore. I got too much weed in my system right now," I laugh lightly.

"That's what that vape was, right?" I pull it out from under my shirt with a questioning look. "Yeah! Jack grabbed it from your bag after the incident."

"It's my medical marijuana. It's an oil form. Not enough to get me high, just to take away the pain from my cancer."

"So, you really do have cancer?" Deren asks carefully.

"I do. Osteosarcoma, a bone cancer. A few years ago I had surgery, they removed my bone and put in a metal prosthetic. That wasn't enough though, it spread to my other shoulder. I'm lucky it doesn't become another type of cancer."

"That sucks dude. Jack knows right?"

"I didnt tell him for a while, but I told him a few days before he was sent away. I told him after we officially got together. I dont like or accept pity, so dont even think about it."

They smile at me, not in a pity type of way, a genuine understanding.

"We were about to wreak havoc at a local theater, wanna join us? We got booze, fancy shit too," Lucas offers.

"Luc, you dumbass," Gene smacks his head. "Mac is on meds, he cants mix beer with that shit. Plus, Jackson would kill us if we got his boyfriend drunk when we're supposed to protect him."

"Oww, asshole," Lucas grabs the back of his head and punches Gene softly in the abdomen.

Gene dramatically falls back against Tim. Tim shoves him off, Gene gives him a smirk and a wink. Tim flips him off as his face reddens lightly. I give Tim a curious look, he shakes his head.

"They dont have to drink," Deren steps in. "I mean if they dont want to. We got Vodka, Scotch, normal beers," he presses his fingers down as he counts. "I mean, Mac can't drink anything, but ya'll could."

My friends look at each other and shrug but agree, Tim is hesitant, giving me a worried look.

"I trust these guys, Tim. They are family to Jack, meaning they are family to me," I smile at him.

"Yeah, Timmy, let's go," Gene grabs his shoulders and hoists him up. I laugh, and Tim slaps him away.

I text my mom that we're going to the movie theater and I'll be back later than I thought. She was very happy for me and said it was okay. I smile and follow Tim to his car, Gene even drives with us, messing with Tim to get him annoyed. Gene catches my confused look and gives me a wink, and I laugh. We get to the theaters, and the guys sneak in the alcohol, Gene buys a ticket for himself, me, and Tim. Tim through a fit about not being able to pay, but when Gene flung his arm over Tim's shoulder and winked at him, Tim kept quiet. Pat pays for Sara and Em. Rain paid for xer ticket, Lucus paid for Deren, and Nicholas paid for himself. So, we got into the theater, which was mostly empty. Gene took Tim and Lucas took Rain, and the 4 of them bought snacks and popcorn, along with a lot of soda. The movie theater contained 10 of us and 4 other adults who sat up front. We sat in the back.

The whole movie, we dicked around, and threw popcorn at each other, Mixing our snacks inside the popcorn, we spilled one bucket while pushing each other around. Rain warmed up to Lucas, and it was obvious they liked each other. I watched as Lucas was very careful with the pronouns, in order not to mess up xier neo-pronouns, learning to pronounce and spell everything. He was very warm to Rain, it was obvious he cared a lot. He admitted he didnt know what he was, he just knew it wasn't straight. I found it cute. It honestly made me miss Jack more. I curled into his hoodie. I watched a mix of my friends and Jack's friends get drunk together, getting along well. All of Jack's friends wore jeans and matching leather jackets like they were in a gang, I've seen the same leather jacket on Jack when he went out. Honestly, I so badly wanted to steal it. Gene takes pictures throughout the night, he's completely sober and hasn't touched a drop. I asked him about the pictures.

"I'm gonna send some mail to Jack, send a few pics to show we're okay, that you're doing okay. Maybe you should write to him, it'll help you feel better. I know he'll appreciate it, he'll laugh his ass off and call us stupid, and hopefully cry a little," we laugh together. "Then I know for sure he'd write back."

"When are you gonna do it?"

"Sunday I'm gonna send it. I've got to print out some photos anyway. So, you wanna join?"

"Yes," I grin. "I do."

"Good," he smiles back then puts his phone away. He watches me settle back into the seat, then he nods and turns to Tim. He grabs Tim's shoulder. "Hi there, Timmy. Can I offer you some vodka?"

"I dont know how you dragged us into this."

"Hey, that was Lucas and Deren, not me," He smirks, his arm wrapping around his shoulder as he leans against Tim. "Come on, Tommy, have some fun. You always this gloomy?"

"I'm not gloomy," He turns to me with a 'help me' look. I laugh and put my hands up.

"Yes, you are. Come on, I know you can party. You act like you've never gotten drunk in a movie before?"

"How would you know that?"

"I saw you; you and your gang. I was watching a movie with Deren, and saw y'all leave drunk as hell."

"Well, I'm driving, so no drinking for me."

"Dont worry about it, I can take y'all home. I got to take care of Jack's baby anyways, I gotta watch out for him now that Jack's gone," he offers a genuine smile.

Gene gives up, his other arm wrapping around my chair, his legs spread wide, and he's leaned back facing the screen. I know Tim's holding back, I know he does want to drink and have fun, he just doesn't trust these guys. I give him a reassuring look.

"Fine, give me some Scotch."

"Ohh," Gene grins and sits up, he reaches across from me and takes the square glass bottle. "Not a vodka guy?"

"No, I like my vodka, but I dont ever drink scotch, it's never kept in the house."

"So, you steal alcohol from your parents?" He looks amused as he opens the bottle and hands it to Tim.

"Sometimes I do, but I mostly go buy my shit."

"Fake ID, lemme see!" He brightens up. Tim laughs and pulls out his wallet. He gulps the gold liquid and then takes out his fake ID, hidden in the secret pocket of his wallet. "Well done, did you do it yourself?"

"Yup," he takes it back and takes another gulp.

"Shit, you got some skill. Wanna make some more? I'd pay of course."

Time eyes him, then another gulp, and another, and another. Gene laughs and takes it away. Tim's building up his 'liquid courage'.

"Slow down there, Tiger," his voice is low and sensual.

Is he hitting on Tim?

"For you," Tim blushes and looks down. "I'll do it for free."

Gene smiles, then leans back and puts his feet on the chair in front of him. His hand finds Tim's back, and he lightly circles his back.

"You aren't that bad honestly," Gene admits. "I think we need to-"

I stop listening in. I smile at the two getting along, then find myself engaging back in conversation with the rest.