Emrys hopped off his skateboard as he neared the driveway to his house before bending down to pick it up. He began to make his way down the gravel pathway and past his Abuela's rose gardens she kept nicely trimmed. Or rather made Emrys, his Abuelo, or one of his sisters keep nicely trimmed. The sun was beginning to set and he was a walking ball of anxiety. The last night before pride. The last night before he was outted to everyone officially to the entire town on his own terms. He glanced down at the pink, green and blue flag still in its wrapping in his hands. The nylon fabric untouched and just the sight of it making him nauseous.

He pulled open his front door, expecting an entire circus like every night before dinner. His two youngest sisters, Pheobe and Maria chasing one another around the house, Elana screaming at them to be quiet so she can watch her show, his Abuelo doing his daily crossword puzzle to tune out the noise, and his Abuela waving around a spatula, threatening to beat the next person who screamed and interrupted her music. Pure and utter chaos, just how he liked it. Instead, there were just light murmurs from the kitchen.

"Hola!" Emrys called, his eyebrows creasing together in slight confusion. "Estoy en casa"

"Emrys, go to your room" His Abuela called. She sounded worried... She was never worried. He hesitated for a few moments as he walked down the hallway, past his Abuela's old heels. He could take a right and go into the dining room, see what was going on. He was eighteen and technically an adult. He could make his own decisions... But he also really didn't feel like getting his ass beat with whatever his Abuela found closest to her. If he was lucky it was a dishrag or something from the laundry. If he wasn't, it was one of her shoes or cooking utensils. He had once even been beaten with the remote for "giving her a dirty look".

"Emrys? He's here?" He froze at the sound of her voice. His heart dropped to his stomach and for a moment he thought he was going to puke.

"Uh-huh. You don't get to see him. I've been taking care of the boy since he was a baby, long before you left. You can sleep on the couch tonight but you don't get to talk to him or any of the girls" His Abuela snapped back.

"He's my son, Mama. You don't get to take that away from me" His mother shot back. He couldn't move. He was a statue and he wasn't sure he was even breathing. The sound of her footsteps and her voice made his head feel fuzzy. He didn't know if he wanted to see her... He didn't know if could face her. "Emrys!"

He didn't move as the small, skinny, and frail woman appeared around the corner and quickly threw her arms around her son's neck. He hesitated a few moments before skittishly hugging her back, still afraid to move or breathe.

"Um... Hola... Mama" Emrys mumbled. She pulled away and looked him up and down with a bright smile as if she hadn't disappeared for eight years. As if she hadn't abandoned him his entire life. As if he was something more than an object she forgot about unless she could flaunt him or needed a shoulder to cry on.

"Oh my goodness, Miho... You've gotten so tall" She gushed. "You look just like your dad did when he was your age" She grinned. Emrys decided not to remind her that he was eighteen and not sixteen as her last birthday card had said. "I've missed you"

"Rosita, if you don't leave him alone I will drag you out of the house by your ear" His Abuela threatened. "He doesn't need to be dragged into your messes"

"Emrys... You want me to stay, don't you?" She carefully asked. Emrys' throat tightened. If he could stand up to Arran, maybe he could stand up to his mother... But she had more to say. "I love you so much... Please don't make me go"

He was weak. He didn't get to hear that from her... That she loved him of was proud of him. That he mattered to her... Maybe it was all a lie or a way to manipulate him. But it was working because he wanted to hear it again.

"Um... We can talk outside if... You want" Emrys forced out the words as he nervously glanced over at his Abuela. She didn't seem angry... If anything she was heartbroken. Heartbroken that Emrys still hadn't learned his lesson. Heartbroken because she knew that he'd just get hurt again.

"Thank you, thank you" She grinned before placing a sweet kiss and grabbing onto her son's arm. "Come, I have so much to tell you... I can't wait to hear about school and I just know you have a girlfriend... A handsome face like that" She rambled. Emrys anxiously followed before they reached the porch and he took the seat beside her. "Tell me everything"

"Schools okay" Emrys mumbled after a few moments of silence. "I have a lot of friends so it's not terrible"

"Is there a special girl in your life?" She asked with a teasing nudge. Emrys hesitated for a few moments and he could already feel the corners of his lip tug up in a smile as he thought of Arran. Not of their last fight or awkward conversation, but of that awkward first kiss they had. "There is! What's her name?"

"His name is Arran" Emrys mumbled after a few moments. The conversation went on from there. His mother didn't even question the fact that he liked boys... He wasn't even sure he realized what he had said because she was already talking about herself again.

"Things have been hard... But we found this new investment opportunity that will give all of us the lives we worked for in a couple of years... Even you and Abuela" She grinned. "You have cousins and Tios and Tias back in Ecuador we can afford to fly over in a few years. Won't that be exciting?" Emrys hesitantly nodded, knowing exactly where this was going. "We need to invest about a grand... But we're a hundred short... Abuela won't give me a hand, but if there's anything you can do to help..." Emrys sighed and closed his eyes tight, his heart already beginning to break again.

"Yeah... Sure, Mama"

_________________________________________

Emrys sighed as he climbed up the latter to his old treehouse, just a few feet from Arran's property. He wasn't sure he could take being around his mother anymore... He didn't know how to say no to her or to turn her away. He didn't know how to do anything but cling to what little pieces of her love he could get. He groaned as he reached the top of the ladder and almost fell when he spotted the glow of a lantern inside.

"Um..."

"Shit... Hey...? Feeling nostalgic too?" Arran mumbled. Emrys' eyes darted over to Arran's fingers which were tracing the letters in their names they had carved in with Arran's pocket knife when they were eight. A lot had happened in the treehouse... They would play pirates in it as kids, hideaway to play Uno as pre-teens, it was where they first made out with one another in their early teens... Endless nights and sleepovers were spent there.

"Kinda... I guess" Emrys hesitated a moment longer. "I can go"

"I can" Arran offered.

"No... It's fine... You can stay, I guess" Emrys sighed before climbing all the way in and taking a seat on the opposite side of the treehouse.

"What's on your mind?"

"My mom's home... Wanted money, as usual," Emrys sighed.

"You didn't give her any, did you?" Arran demanded. His eyebrows shot up when Emrys fell silent before cursing under his breath and throwing his head back against the wall. "Shit... Em... Your mother is a leech, you know that" Emrys only shrugged and stared down at the wooden floorboards.

"When's the last time we were both up here?" Emrys asked instead, changing the subject. Arran thought about it for a few moments before a small smile reached his lips.

"The night we got caught" He admitted. "My dad was pissed... I still have the scar on my shoulder blade to prove it but it was so worth it" He chuckled. A small smile erupted onto Emrys' lips at that. He remembered that night... They had decided to stay up in the treehouse together for the night, it was about a month after their first kiss. Emrys had found himself on Arran's lap and they had been kissing... Winston was pissed.

"Yeah... I guess it was" Emrys half-heartedly chuckled. He wasn't sure how he felt around Arran. Sometimes all he wanted to do was just go back to how things were. Other times he wanted to cry and demand answers for all of the shit he put up with over the years. But mostly he wanted to shut down and let Arran see just how much their relationship had taken a toll on Emrys over the years...

"I remember a lot of things like that..." Arran sighed. "Things that were insignificant but just stuck... I used to hate frogs and one day you caught one and put it on my bike... I was so mad at you, but you just laughed and picked it up, made me hold it. Now I can't even listen to them at night without thinking of that..."

"Or how you used to drag me to the comic book shop in town. We'd sit under one of the records players and I'd always read the comics over your shoulder..." Arran trailed off with a small smile. "You helped me egg my brother once... He kicked both of our asses once he caught up with us, but the look on his face was worth it"

"I remember being thirteen and going to the middle school dance... You went with Jennie and I went with Elizabeth... I hated Jennie for no reason and was so happy when she went home early... I guess I was a bit jealous then too" He sighed. "You used to hold my hand on the bus... Do you remember that? The first day of kindergarten we were on the bus and you sat beside me... You told me I looked scared and you thought it would help..."

"I don't remember that" Emrys whispered, bringing his knees closer to his chest.

"It happened" Arran promised. "We used to race gardener snakes together... We'd catch them and put them in jars, see who caught the fastest one... I usually won" he chuckled. "I still remember our first kiss... I still think about it a lot too... You were wearing peppermint chapstick and my heart was racing the entire time... I was terrified when it ended, but the next day you kissed me again. And then again a few days after that... Then it just became something normal. I always expected to be pulled behind one of the cars in my yard after school for one"

"I came over a few days after that... We were laying on the couch and watching a show in your living room since your family was out... You held my hand then too only you wouldn't stop smiling like an idiot when I didn't push you away... I was freaking out the entire time. You kept getting closer and I thought you were going to try and kiss me again... But all you really wanted was to lay your head on my shoulder and cuddle... One of the best memories I have" Arran mumbled.

"Even before we kissed... I still remember thinking about you all of the time" Arran admitted. "Admiring your hair that day, taking note of how nice you always looked... I looked forward to spending the night at your house or just seeing you at school..." Arran sighed. "I've always been a little jealous of your dates to dances... Last year at prom, you looked really nice... I think I forgot to tell you that... I regret not asking you to dance"

"You used to sit outside the bathroom door when I took showers... You never stopped talking but I like that. I like listening to you... Or when you'd drag me to parties... I hated every second of them, but the one good thing that ever came out of it was getting to see you dance and just be happy" A small smile bloomed on Arran's lips at that. "I always used to get detention whenever you did... You were always goofing off in class and I was always guilty by association... We never were apart were we?"

"No" Emrys whispered. He wasn't sure how he felt about this. A small part of him wanted to list off his favorite memories too. To tell Arran all of the things he noticed over the years. But another part was wondering if this was just another trick. Emrys knew how to say no to people... He knew how to set boundaries for the most part. But he could never take hearing things like this. Being told that he meant something to them, or that they loved him like what his mother had said... That always broke him, and he couldn't push people away after hearing those things. People liked to use that against him. People like his parents... He just hoped to god Arran wasn't too.

"There was a boy named Justin Steel... He moved a few years back... You remember him, he used to wear sweater-vests and had an odd way of talking. He was the first kid I ever beat up... The first person I ever called a fag... It was the day after my dad caught us kissing... I was really angry and hated myself for a long time after that... He was walking down the hallway with a bathroom pass. I remember grabbing him and bashing his face into the lockers three, maybe four times... I broke his nose. I still feel bad about that... I still think about it often" Arran admitted as he carefully tugged at his hoodie sleeve to distract himself.

"I'm okay with who I am now" He finally admitted. "I wasn't for a while... But I think I'm getting better" He whispered. "The night I came to your house... The last time I was over... That was the night I realized I love you" Emrys' head shot up at that. "I thought I was going to die... There was a barrel of a gun against my head... I later found out it wasn't loaded but I was ready to die. Then when it all became real all I could think about was you... All I wanted was you... I didn't want to go without telling you that"

"Why are you always so confusing?" Emrys whispered. "I spent years waiting to hear that... Yet you tell me after so much shit has happened. After you had Christian tell me you wanted nothing to do with fags like me. After-"

"What?" Arran interrupted. "Bullshit, you were the one that was done with me. I wouldn't have called you that even if I didn't want to see you"

"Christian said-"

"Well Christian is a lying piece of shit... You should know that much by now" Arran groaned, throwing his head back against the wall. "I'm going to kill him in his sleep" Arran decided. Emrys didn't say anything after that. The two sat in silence for a few moments, listening to the frogs and crickets sing to the night. Emrys' mind racing with a million questions and his heart aching with even more emotions. Arran's gaze fixated on a small pebble that had made its way into the treehouse.

"Pride is tomorrow... Are you going?" Emrys asked.

"I don't know... I think I want to but Christian has been pretty persistent in me staying home... He thinks it's a bad idea" Arran admitted.

"I want you there... I'd feel safer with you there" Emrys mumbled. For as long as he could remember, Arran was always there. Always there to protect him from bullies or to keep people off of his back. Always there to keep him at ease during phone calls with his parents. Always there to make sure he didn't do anything stupid or to get him home safely from parties... He just hoped he could be there for Pride too.

_________________________________________

Scooter sat on their bed, anxiously scrolling through their millions of emails and triple-checking everything that Bay had already double-checked for them. Redoing every equation in their head, rereading every email from businesses and people to be sure they had the right date and time, and place. Everything had to be perfect. It was Scooter's job to make sure things were...

If Bay was staying over again, he would have told them to go to bed a long time ago. But they simply couldn't. If things went wrong tomorrow, they would be responsible for ruining Asper Hollow's first Pride. Things had to go right... Not for them but for the kids that deserved to not feel so alone.

They still remembered that feeling... That feeling of your first Pride. They still remembered feeling uncomfortable with themself and not being sure who they were. Some days they had thought they were a girl... That they were supposed to have long pretty hair and sweet smiles. That they were supposed to look pretty in dresses and makeup and be kind and witty like their mom. Other days they felt like a boy. That they were supposed to have short hair they could mess around with. That they needed a deep voice and a wide chest. That they were supposed to be laid-back and brave like their father.

They had gone to Pride because they thought they were bi or pan or maybe gay... They weren't sure at the time. That was when they met a person with a flag they had never seen and looked like how Scooter had wanted to look. That was where Scooter had discovered what a non-binary person was and was relieved to take the label. Relieved to leave their deadname and pronouns behind for Scooter and them/them because that was what made them comfortable. That was what made them finally feel like themself.

They needed Pride to go right for those reasons. They needed to make it a safe enough environment that one day, somebody might be stumbling through the crowds of people and discover who they were. That they could finally be happy and at peace with themself and find community and acceptance. Things had to go right...

Scooter forced themself to close the laptop and was about to go to bed when they noticed their bag on the floor. They hesitated as they thought over why it was untouched... It was untouched because Scooter had been waiting for that call since they arrived. The call from Andy that said he was wrong and told them to come back. It was untouched so Scooter didn't have to make Asper Hollows their home... Only, it was their home now. The moment they had begun to work on Pride it had become their home.

They walked over to the bag and carefully unpacked all of their clothes and belongings, putting a poster on the wall and putting their photos on the desk. Well, most of their photos... They took the remaining few that no longer had a purpose in their life before heading downstairs and into the backyard with a small metal trashcan and lighter in hand. They took one last long look at the photos of them and Andy... One last long look before they lit the first one and dropped it into the trashcan.

They watched the photo slowly shriveled up and burn away the last pieces of Andy. His face melted away, taken away by the flames and heat. The plastic covering some of the photos would scream as it melted away. Everything in Maryland was gone... They didn't want to go back to Andy or their old friends. They didn't want to go back home to their parents or to their old town. They wanted to stay in Asper Hollows with their new life... Because Asper Hollows was now their home.

Question of the chapter: Which side character is your favorite?