-Troy-

"Oh, God..." I whispered in the middle of the class.

"Mmh..." Max nodded.

"I feel sick..." I continued, and Sky turned around in his seat to see us.

"It's going to be fine," he mouthed, and quickly turned back around before our teacher would spot us not paying attention.

It was Friday.

The surprisingly scary and intimidating Friday.

That Friday.

I looked at Max, who was a bit pale. More than just a bit, to be honest. Even Luke had been really quiet earlier that morning. We were told multiple times that we shouldn't worry about the game too much, but we were apparently doing a lousy job.

And it was held today. The time had come.

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the nasty squirms eating me up from within. It didn't help, of course. I was too nervous. Last night I had gotten almost as nervous as I was right now, but last night I was with Luke, and he was really good at distracting me. I really wished I could go to him right now and let him distract me again.

But we were at school, and he was still reluctant about being seen together with me. He still didn't trust Ronny, which kind of pissed me off. Well, not the fact that he didn't trust his best friend, but the fact that he let someone intimidate him like that. If Ronny, or anyone else for that matter, were to reveal our secret, then so be it. I was just getting to really enjoy being in a relationship with Luke, and I already knew I hated hiding that fact.

I mean, I loved attention. I was man enough to admit that. I wanted Luke's attention, and it pissed me off that I couldn't just go to him and get that attention. We were still in the beginning of our relationship, and I wanted to be able to be openly happy about the butterflies in my stomach, and smile like an idiot whenever he smiled at me, and take his hand in mine in that cheesy, awkward way they always did in movies! I was now missing out on all of it.

What made things worse was that Sky and Max were able to do so, and no one was giving a shit about it – well, not openly at least. I knew there still were plenty of homophobes around us, in our own team even, but we weren't easy targets. Everyone knew that if someone laid a finger on Sky, Max and I would have our revenge. And if people didn't think we were bad enough, the thought of facing the wrath of Luke kept them from doing or saying anything stupid.

I crossed my arms on my desk and rested my head on top of them.

Luke. I found it funny that almost everyone else thought he was scary. He was just a big teddy bear. A teddy bear able to turn anyone into a smoothie, but a teddy bear, nonetheless. And he wanted to be mine. Oh, I was falling for him hard now. Now I couldn't even understand why I didn't just say yes to him when he asked me out last summer. Well... I was scared.

But not anymore. I wasn't going to hide my relationship with Luke for too long, but I had to have some kind of plan, or at least wait for a good moment to bring it up. Or then I wouldn't say anything to my father. How would he even find out, anyway? He didn't care about me, so he wouldn't listen to anything someone told him about me. If someone walked up to him and told him his son was gay, he would wave them off without actually listening to what they were saying.

I smiled at the idea of not hiding our relationship. The guys in our team would probably be surprised. The entire school wouldn't probably believe their eyes if we kissed in front of them. Oh, and I would love to tell Elisa to fuck off. I couldn't believe I'd actually said out loud I thought she was the one for me. How stupid was that? I didn't even love her! I didn't even know what love was when I was with her.

Before I even knew it, the class ended. The ringing of the bell made me jump in my seat, and I let out a short chuckle, shaking my head. Apparently, Luke didn't have to be in the same room with me to distract my thoughts.

"What are you smiling about?" Max asked with an amused tone.

"Nothing," I said while collecting my stuff.

"Yeah, right," he chuckled, and then sighed. "Is it possible to die from nervousness?"

"Noooo..." I groaned when I remembered the game. "I was in a happy place and now you ruined it!"

"Guys, it's just a game," Sky said.

I swear, everyone in the classroom gasped dramatically, turning to stare at him with wide eyes like he had just insulted everyone's god with one hit. I bit my lips, trying not to start laughing, when Sky turned to look around timidly.

"Yeah... just a game..." Max chuckled, putting his arm around Sky's shoulder.

I was still laughing when we walked out of the room. People were squinting their eyes at Sky, and I wasn't sure if they were just fooling around or not.

The day went by slowly, and I had only two chances to see Luke, which was a bummer. I was jealous that Max and Sky got to spend every class together. What made things even worse was the fact that Luke would be graduating soon, and moving on to college or something. He had told me he was trying to get into one that was only one hour away from where we lived, but I wouldn't be able to see him every day anymore.

It was just so annoying! We had so little time together and whenever we were in public, I had to pretend he was just a friend. And now he was acting like I wasn't even there because he was worried someone would rat us out!

"I really hate my father," I said out loud, trying not to get too angry.

"What?" Max asked.

We were waiting for our last class to start, and I was growing more and more frustrated.

"I really do. I want to move out. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself, and then I wouldn't have to worry about... you know," I spoke, keeping my voice down.

Max and Sky exchanged short looks, and I knew what they were thinking about: I was too young to live on my own. I would need money as well.

"Can't you ask your aunt if she'll take you in?" Max asked.

"She lives too far away. I would have to change schools, and I'm not even sure what she thinks of... you know... people like us," I said. I looked at them, and they both looked like they wanted to tell me I couldn't do that, so I continued speaking before they could. "I know I can't just pack my bags and leave. Let me just rant and be frustrated, okay?"

"Sure," Max said.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. I was frustrated. That feeling was growing stronger with each passing day. "At least I don't have to be at home next week."

"Yeah – that's great," Max said, patting my shoulder.

I nodded and smiled. Max and Sky were leaving for their camping trip tomorrow, and they would come back for Thanksgiving next Thursday morning. I would be spending the weekend at Luke's, since my dad was taking Stephanie to wherever, and I was sure he wouldn't care if I stayed Thanksgiving with the Frosts as well.

Thanksgiving had never been anything special to me, except for last year, when I spent it with Max and his family. Before that, I'd had no one to spend it with. Dad was never around, and the rest of my family seemed to have forgotten I still existed. If they had contacted me through my dad, I never heard of it.

But now I had a reason to feel excited about the holidays. I would stay the whole week at Luke's, with people who didn't want me to be alone on Thanksgiving.

"Aaand he's smiling again," Max chuckled, and I saw him looking at me.

"Shut up," I chuckled.

*****

Once school was over for the day, we all headed home, since we still had a couple of hours before our coach expected us to show up. Thankfully, the game was held in our own field this year, so we didn't have to travel all the way to the other side of the city.

When I finally got home, I went straight to my room to start packing my bags, so I wouldn't need to do that after the game. I was going to stay the night at Luke's, and I couldn't be more happier about it.

Both Dad and Stephanie were home, so I did my best to avoid both of them, but I wasn't sneaky enough, as it turned out.

"Troy! Are you excited?" Stephanie asked me when she spotted me in the kitchen, grabbing something to eat.

"About the game? Yeah, sure," I said shortly while making sandwiches.

"Maybe a bit nervous, hmm?" she asked with a smile, walking closer to me. "I... I'd like to come watch the game, if that's all right with you?"

I turned to look at her, freezing on my spot for a moment. That was unexpected. "Really?" I asked as nonchalantly as I could, even though what I really wanted to say was don't come.

"Well, yes," she said. "Your father has other plans for the day, but I want to come. It's an important thing for you. I think..."

"Steph..." I sighed. "You don't need to humor me or anything. Dad wants to marry you, so it doesn't matter if you and I get along or not."

It was her turn to freeze. She just stared at me and blinked a couple of times before she recovered from that. "But I want to get along with you!" she gasped. "I still don't know if you even like me, and... well... we're going to be a family... if you want that..."

It was clear to me she had no idea what to do with me. "Sounds great, but you really don't need to worry about what I think of you. I can see you're a nice person, but we really don't need to have anything to do with each other."

She seemed sad for some reason, so I sighed, putting my sandwich down. "You can come watch the game, if you want. But you really don't need to humor me."

"I want to come," she said quietly. "I want to get to know you better."

"Okay," I nodded, and grabbed my plate. "I need to go pack my bags."

"I heard you are staying with a friend of yours while we're away," she said timidly. "I was hoping you would change your mind and come with us to Singapore."

Change my mind? I almost started laughing. No one asked me to come in the first place, but I didn't tell her that. "Yeah well, Singapore isn't really my thing," I said and started walking to the door. "Oh, the game starts at seven."

"But I thought you need to be there earlier?" Stephanie spoke.

"Yeah, Luke is coming to pick me up," I told her.

"Oh... I can take you there," she said, and again her voice sounded hesitant.

I suffocated a sigh that was about to escape my mouth. "Sounds great. I'll let Luke know..."

"Okay," she smiled.

I faked a smile and left the kitchen. I passed by my father's study on my way up and heard him speaking on the phone. He lowered his voice as soon as he spotted me. I continued walking, and once I was in my room, I shut the door.

It had become way too easy to go along with my father's lies. Part of me felt bad for her, but then again, she couldn't be in love with my dad, so she was in this mess because of money and fame. The previous stepmom-candidates I had were the same. Stephanie did seem different, but I had gone through this same shit too many times already.

I stopped to stand in the middle of my room. For some reason, I felt a bit overwhelmed. Of course it was nice that Stephanie tried, but she really shouldn't bother. I preferred it that way. It was just too much trouble for nothing. She wouldn't stay in my life for long, anyway.

I took a deep breath, pushed back whatever I was feeling, and went to sit down on my couch to eat before I'd have to continue packing.

Later, when I was finally ready to leave, I went to find Stephanie. She was already waiting for me in our living room, watching TV. When I stepped in with my bags, she stood up and gave me an awkward smile.

"Are we ready to go?" she asked cheerily.

"Sure," I said, faking another smile.

I knew she wanted to give me a ride just so she could ask questions about me, and I wasn't wrong. The entire time she was driving, she asked me about school, my friends, my hobbies, even about the video game collection I had, and I tried to be polite and tell at least something. I couldn't stop thinking it was the most futile conversation I had ever had, but I tried.

"Is there anyone special in your life?" she then asked, but I was already prepared for it.

"With what time?" I said, letting out a small laugh.

She laughed as well. "I understand. You're still young. You'll have time later," she said.

"Yeah," I breathed out, and turned to look out of the window.

Soon we arrived at school, and I spotted familiar cars in the parking lot. I saw Sky's father with a biggest grin on his face – the same exact one Sky always had when he was going into his hyper state. Sky himself wasn't as enthusiastic as his father, but he seemed cheerful as well. I spotted Max getting out of their car with his family, and he waved at me when Stephanie drove past them, searching for free space. It was surprisingly crowded already, but we found a spot close by.

"Do you want to leave the bag in the car?" Stephanie asked while we were getting out of the car.

"I think I'll take it with me," I said, walking around the car to grab it from the trunk. "I'll ask the Frosts if they can put it in their car."

"Okay," she said, and waited for me to close the trunk before locking the doors. "I've been wanting to meet your friends," she said carefully.

I smiled and gestured for her to follow me to Max and Sky, who were waiting for me by the gates with their families.

"Now you'll get to meet them," I said.

"Great," she said, sounding genuinely happy about it. I didn't like that at all.

"Hey," I waved at Max and Sky when we were close enough. They both peered at Stephanie with questions on their faces, but I shook my head a little. "This is Stephanie, my dad's fiancée," I explained. Max had already met her, but it was the first time for Sky.

"Oh, hi," Sky said timidly, and Max nodded politely at her.

"This is Sky," I told Steph, and they shook hands awkwardly.

The adults made their own introductions. I spotted Luke and his parents driving to the parking lot, and my heart made a happy little flutter inside me when Luke waved at us. Soon, they joined our little group, and I kept my eyes on Steph. She stared at Gwen with wide eyes and took half a step back. My heart dropped a little when she did that. She introduced herself hastily and didn't even try to shake hands with either of the Frosts.

Yeah, this would be just great.

"Can I leave my bag in your car?" I asked Gwen, and Stephanie's already wide eyes got even bigger when she realized I was going to stay with them.

"Sure thing, honey," Gwen said. "Let me take it."

She took the bag from me and returned to their car. I turned to look at Stephanie, who wasn't saying anything, even though it was obvious she really wanted to.

"I'll be staying with them over the weekend," I told her, like I hadn't noticed how horrified she was about me staying in a transgender's home.

"O-Oh," she mumbled.

I couldn't believe how disappointed I felt. I already knew she would never accept me if she knew I was dating a guy. This was exactly why I didn't want to have anything to do with her. Or anyone else, for that matter. People couldn't disappoint me or hurt me if I forced them to stay away from me.

I turned to look at Luke before my own darkness could consume me. In my disappointment, I had almost forgotten not everyone was like that. At least now Stephanie would stop trying to be friends with me.

"Are we ready?" I asked Luke and Max, who gave me ugly sneers of nervousness.

"Sure," Luke muttered, and Max didn't say a word.

I turned to look at Stephanie for one last time. "There's a small cafeteria next to the field – I think the coffee there is drinkable. Thanks for the ride."

"Are you... sure you don't want to come home for the night?" she asked, and I knew that absolutely everyone in our small group already knew she didn't like Gwen.

"Yeah, I'm sure," I said harshly before starting to make my way to the locker room.

"Wait up," Luke emerged next to me as I walked. "Troy."

"I'm sorry. I hope she doesn't do anything to insult Gwen," I told him.

"Ma is an adult – she can deal with Stephanie if she decides to be a jerk," Luke said, grabbing me by my shoulder and stopping me. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "I'm just tired of people sometimes."

"Yeah, I get what you mean," he replied. "Everything will be fine. I told my parents to keep their mouths shut about us, so they aren't going to tell her anything."

"God... I forgot about that..." I sighed. "I should've told her not to come..."

"Troy – everything will be just fine. Let's just focus on the game for now, okay?" Luke spoke so gently I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, let's do that," I said, and I wished I could kiss him, but I was forced to settle with patting his shoulder.

We waited for Max to catch up with us. He stopped in front of me with a worried frown on his face.

"Don't say it," I told him in annoyance. "I'm fine."

"I wasn't going to say anything," he said.

I sighed and started walking. "Come – Coach is probably waiting for us."

"Sure," I heard their replies.

I took a deep breath, pushing Stephanie out of my mind.