Music - Fake Happy by Paramore

•••

Tony

I stretched my limbs as soon as I hopped out of the cab. It was already half past eleven when I arrived from work. I still hadn't had time to know most of my co-workers yet they all chipped in on throwing me a little surprised party. It felt nice and it made me feel welcome. Even Adam, who I expected to be unamused with me leaving my work so early, seemed equally supportive. ROY G'BIV had better dancers anyway compared to me who was all looks and had wooden hips.

I had finally resigned from the club after saving up enough so I could spend the remaining days with my sister before leaving for New York.

When I reached the apartment, Joanne and Chris were at the dining table drinking tea. "I invited him over," Joanne said before I could even ask. "I n-needed some assistance."

"Long time no see, Chris" I acknowledged Chris' presence and he nodded. "How's it going?"

"I'm doin' great, man," He replied and sipped on his tea. "School's been eating me up alive but it's all good."

"We really should've had a landline a long time ago. It's really handy," Joanne stirred her drink and stood up to get to the fridge. "I'm m-making a dress that I'm gonna wear this Saturday at the charity ball. Hol's dad sent me an invitation a-after Hol showed him the gown I m-ma-made."

"At least that's the kind of party I approve of," I said. We decided to finally get a landline so I would be able to call Joanne outside the state. I almost missed the opportunity of getting cast because we didn't have any means of communication and it was only reasonable to get one in this day and age. "It's already late, Chris how are you getting home?"

Chris stirred in his seat nervously. "Uhm soon, after this practice question," he pointed to the book in front of them.

I sighed, thinking to myself if I could trust him with Joanne. I had no one else to ask for help, and while we had grandparents, they already made it clear they didn't want to do anything with us anymore. Had they been, I definitely wouldn't have ended up streetwalking or dancing for money. Chris was my bet right now.

"Chris, are you serious about Jo?" I asked causing him to choke on his tea.

"Jesus, here we g-go again," Joanne rolled her eyes and facepalmed, not wanting to further hear the conversation.

He looked at my sister and smiled before he returned his gaze on me. "Yeah, of course."

"I know I might be asking too much, but is it alright if you can come pick up Jo from work and drive her home while I'm gone?" I asked earning a scoff from Joanne and she sent me a disapproving look. "I'll take care of your gas allowance."

He faced my sister and nodded with a small smile. "That sounds like a great plan."

"T, he d-doesn't have to," Joanne held Chris' hand on the table as she looked at me. "I can always take a cab."

I shook my head and shot a glance at Chris. "It's really late, check in with your parents and take the couch. It's dangerous out there." I added as my sister groaned in annoyance. "No one's getting pregnant on my watch."

Joanne sighed and scratched her head in an aggressive manner, letting out a little whine. "Chris is my boyfriend, not my nanny, T," She protested. "I'm a little clumsy b-but I'm not fuckin' dumb."

With a shrug, I continued, "Maybe I'll ask Todd too. That way he can return tutoring you on Saturdays."

"I'm d-doing fine with my maths already," Joanne replied, sounding already defeated. I had to make sure there would be someone by her side all the time while I was gone. We'd be heading to the neurologist that Doctor Jones told us to go to next week so they could perform tests on Joanne. We didn't have a diagnosis yet and I was a little paranoid that something would go wrong if she was left alone. "I'd really a-appreciate it if you'd stop tr-treating me like an imbecile."

I quirked my brows and crossed my arms as I leaned on the wall beside me. "Quit being so overdramatic, Joanne."

She scoffed and sent me a glare of disbelief. "Look who's talking."

"I'm off to bed now," I yawned making my way to my out of there before Joanne asked me to hold up as she scribbled something on a piece of paper. When she handed it to me.

"It's the Hitchers' landline n-number, Todd's probably still awake." She said.

I stared at her in confusion "And?"

"Well, stop di-diverting all your attention on me and give some to your b-boyfriend." She rolled her eyes and Chris shot a glance at me, a shy one at the still. He seemed intimidated by me and as far as I knew still didn't know I was gay. Joanne sighed and clarified "Boy friend, Chris. A guy friend."

Joanne wasn't lying though. Although Todd wasn't discreet on his attraction towards me, the fact was, he was simply just a friend and I wanted a serious relationship with someone mature. Besides, I wasn't planning on settling down yet anyway. He had to be willing to wait if he wanted to pursue me, but I didn't want him to do that. Todd was just not ready yet.

"Well, good night, kids."

•••

Todd

As soon as Gray changed into a fresh pair of pajamas from my drawers that looked baggy on him, we went back downstairs to talk to my parents.

Mom finally settled on her chair after handing each one of us a mug of hot chocolate. Dad had to go to work early in the morning but he always slept late anyway so he wouldn't mind having a visitor at midnight. By the looks of him, he didn't even look like he had just woken up. He must have been still working when I knocked on their room. Mom, on the other hand, did not even bother fixing her bed hair. "Sweetie, what happened?" She asked as Gray and I sat on our chairs.

Gray turned to look at me before returning his gaze to my parents. From under the table, I held his hand. With a sigh, he answered, "My parents disowned me."

Mom covered her mouth "My God, that's awful," She looked at dad with worried eyes while dad had his eyes on the table. She continued "Whatever reason they may have, they can't just do that. Is that even legal?" she looked at Dad.

Dad shook his head and said, "It's not. Unless you're eighteen and older, they have no right to do that."

Mom then asked, "Do you mind telling us why, sweetie?"

"I..." Gray was hesitant as his gaze fell to the table. "I told them I'm gay."

Dad who seemed lost in his thoughts and wasn't really paying attention to the conversation looked up at Gray, and as much as I wanted to know what was on his mind, it was rather impossible to do so just by looking at his unreadable expression.

Mom scoffed and told Gray, "Oh honey, your parents are trapped in the sixties." She looked at dad but he preferred to observe what was happening rather than say anything. I wouldn't lie and say it didn't faze me. I was just glad mom seemed supportive. "I'm just appalled that they would do that."

"Can he stay here for a while?" I asked, but Gray was quick to disagree by shaking his head.

"No, I can go to my aunt. Maybe she'll take me in temporarily." Gray told us.

"Not tonight though," Mom insisted and held onto Dad's shoulder. I noticed he was avoiding my gaze and ignoring my presence. I guess he was still upset about my vice. "Stay here. Todd, sweetie, you don't mind sharing your bed with Gr-."

"No, he can sleep in the guest room." Dad cut my mom's words off as he sent her a stern look. He cleared his throat and said, "I'll talk to them tomorrow if they don't let up. Law is on your side."

It wasn't at all fair for the Parkers to disown their child just because of his sexuality. I never understood why some parents thought it was justifiable to leave their child homeless for that reason. There should be no reason really. I knew my parents were not like that but I didn't want to take a risk and only end up being kicked out of the house. I had this feeling that if I came out to them, they'd react differently. It was Gray's optimistic approach to the future that made him believe everything would be alright, and it turned out it wasn't at all like that. It could be just paranoia, but I didn't want my parents to hate me purely for my sexuality. I just wasn't ready yet.

"I'll go prepare the guest room." Mom excused herself going upstairs.

"I'm gonna go to bed," Dad finally stood up as he prepared to exit the dining area.

"Dad, wait-"

"Still grounded, Hitcher."

•••

It was almost midnight when everyone finally settled in their rooms including Gray who had settled in the guest room that was almost never used since we rarely had visitors over. The only other time I can remember it being used was when dad had been thrown out of the bedroom by mom after an argument.

My eyes were droopy with sleep when the telephone rang, causing me to instinctively grab it so its annoying sound would stop. "Hello?"

"Uh, Todd?" I knew who it was just from the tone of his voice. It was Tony. He had always been soft-spoken without even trying. I could remember him threatening me with a knife yet he sounded rather calming than frightening.

"Tony?"

"Oh, wow, you knew that was me?" He chuckled over the phone, making me giggle. It was rare to hear him laugh that whenever he did, I could only grin and worse.

"That's how you know you're special to me," I bit my lip, suppressing a massive grin from breaking out. I could already imagine him rolling his eyes behind the phone. "I see, you have a landline now."

"Okay, cute, I get it," He said but sounded nonchalant, which was pretty usual for him. "I just called to try it out. Jo said you sleep late anyway so I don't have to worry about disturbing anyone."

"That's awesome. You needed that a long time ago anyway," I said and there was a long pause on the line before Tony began to speak again.

"Todd?" He whispered my name, asking if I was still on the line. I didn't realize I was quiet for more than ten seconds and we were only waiting for someone to begin speaking. "I kinda wanna see you, wanna meet tomorrow?"

If it weren't chills that ran down my spine, then I didn't know what were. Tony wanted to see me and there was no way a friend would say it that way. I could almost feel the corners of my lips reach the tip of my ears, still amused by what I just heard. "Of course, I want t-"

I just realized I was grounded, I shut my eyes closed and took a deep breath as I tried to calm my boiling anger down. "I'm sorry, I can't," I said and the words tasted bitter in my mouth. "I'm grounded."

"Grounded?" He seemed surprised at the news. "Damn, what did Mr. Goody-two-shoes do?"

I sighed as I scratched my balls that were getting irritated from the tightness of my briefs. I bought them last week. "Dad found my cigarettes in my drawer," I replied. As I heaved a defeated sigh, I thought of a plan that could work for the both of us. "Wait, I could sneak out tomorrow."

It wasn't loud but I heard Tony scoff. "No way I'm letting you do that." He said. "You do that, I'm gonna tell Keith. Remember, we just got a landline."

"But you said you wanna see me, I wanna see you too!" I flirted. "Besides, you're leaving next week. I wanna spend time with you more since you're gonna be gone for months."

"No can do, Todd," He already made up his mind and I suddenly wanted to throw tantrums outside my parents' room. "I don't want Keith and Sally to be mad at me."

I rolled my eyes and scrunched my pillow in annoyance. What a perfect time to be grounded. "I see, you're trying to impress your future in-laws."

"Sure, I won't stop you from dreaming." He chuckled and finally told me he would drop the call. "See you when I see you, Todd."

Upon bidding his goodbye, I heard knock on the door before it opened as Gray peaked in. "Hitcher?"

"Gray? Come on in." I invited him in and he entered with a pillow in his arm. "What's up?"

"Can I sleep here?" He asked, his voice seemingly weak. Gray had been vulnerable the entire evening it was almost painful to see him that way. "I don't want to feel alone right now."

"Of course, my bed's pretty spacious anyway," I told him and he sent in a small smile as he got on my bed, occupying the space near the wall. I went to turn the lights off as well as my lampshade and returned to my bed.

It was pitch dark but I knew Gray was facing the wall instead of me. It hadn't been a minute since he lay on my bed so I assumed he was still wide awake. I asked, "How are you?"

He heaved a deep sigh and said, "I'm fine. I have to be."

"Gray, I'm always here to listen, okay?" I reassured him.

"Dad was angry, Todd. There's...there's no room for a fag like me in the mansion, he said," Graytold me. "I never expected it to hurt so much when it's my dad that was saying it...right to my face. We're not even that close but somehow, I still care."

He continued, "Mom? She was behind dad the entire time, not saying anything at all."

I knew he was trying to talk as if he had already got over it, though it was apparent that he was trying hard to hold back his tears. I shifted closer to him and snaked my arm around his waist for warmth. "They're gonna accept you soon, Gray. They just got caught off-guard. Give them some time."

"They took away everything I own. Dad said I'm no longer a Parker to be getting some of his money." He said and snickered a humorless chuckle. "I never felt like a legitimate Parker anyway. I was rather invisible to them before I came out."

"Just don't think about it right now." I rubbed his arm, calming him down with my words. Gray had everything planned and each and every part of it didn't go the way he wanted it to be. Had his boyfriend actually came to get him, all the words and things his parents did to him wouldn't matter. Giorgio was his one small glimpse of hope and the bastard never came.

If I ever walked past that guy, I'd make sure to leave a mark on his face. Aside from basketball, I knew there was another reason why I was using the school's gym equipment.

"I feel so stupid, Hitcher," He said as his voice finally cracked. "I should've listened to you. I shouldn't have believed his lies. All he promised me were just sweet nothings."

"Come on, you're not stupid, Gray," I told him. It wasn't as if I wanted to tell him I told him so. I never wanted my skepticism about Giorgio to actually have a meaning. I would have preferred to be proven wrong than right in this scenario. "It gets better, don't worry."

"I wish I wasn't gay," He muttered under his breath but the silence made it audible enough for me to hear him. "Life would have been so much easier."

"The silver lining is that you're free now," I tried to cheer him up but I knew it wouldn't work. The entire night was rough for Gray, I wouldn't expect him to be in a better mood. "Just think about the people who love you. You still got your friends, you still have us. You have me."

I didn't know if he heard what I just said, but when I checked to see if Gray was still awake, he wasn't anymore.

--- End of Chapter 22 ---

Author's Note:
This chapter has been reuploaded. I have added some dialogues and scenes here that I thought I missed on the first draft. I would like to thank @stDelicate for helping to edit the chapter and telling me some possible plotholes. This chapter is so much better now!

Anyway, whataya guys think of this chapter? Comment down below and let me know!