-Troy-

I had no idea if I did the right thing by letting Stephanie take care of things for me, but I just couldn't even think about my options. I spent the entire weekend quite literally under Luke's arm, and suddenly I was unable to even decide what candies I wanted. Luke had to pick them for me. Every time I needed to decide on something, I started feeling nauseated. I did get to write "Property of Tap Dancer" on Luke's cast, which made me ridiculously happy, so the weekend was good, nonetheless.

Stephanie called me at least twice a day, but all we talked about was how my day had been, or what she had been doing. She was already looking for an apartment and a new job, and apparently things were looking good for her. We didn't talk about how my case was going, so I had no idea if things were looking good for me, but since I didn't even want to know, I never asked.

We had school on Monday, which was kind of a relief. Luke had permission to stay at home for the week, but he wanted to come to school, anyway. Gwen gave us a ride, so Luke didn't have to stress about using the bus, and promised to pick us up afterwards. Once we arrived at school, Max and Sky were already waiting for us, and they appeared in the parking lot while we were pulling Luke out of the tiny car.

"There always must be a handicap in our group..." Luke muttered as we started walking to the main entrance.

"It's probably going to me again once you're fully healed," Sky giggled, and Luke laughed shortly.

"Don't say stuff like that," Max spoke worriedly.

"Please – you know me," Sky said cheerily.

Max wasn't happy about his reply, but at least Luke seemed cheerier once again.

A lot of people came to us to ask Luke how he was doing. Everyone seemed bummed about our loss, but no one blamed Luke. It would've felt nicer if they hadn't basically accused that the rest of the team simply sucked.

We managed to get rid of the excess crowd on our way to our first class. Luke followed us since he didn't have any classes, and once we arrived there, he sat down on a bench, letting out a quiet grunt. It was clear that he was in pain again. I knew it wouldn't be a good idea for him to come to school, but no one stopped Luke Frost from doing exactly what he wanted, and right now, he wanted to keep me close. I wasn't complaining, of course, but I was still worried that the day would be too much for him and his knee.

I sat down next to him and leaned against his shoulder. "What are you going to do while we're in class?" I asked just to start a conversation.

"I'll head to the library and try to study," he shrugged. "Or read a book. I'm not really in the mood for studying..."

"Another chick lit?" Sky asked.

"A what now?" I chuckled, looking at Luke, who was squinting his eyes at Sky.

"Whoops..." Sky muttered, looking genuinely apologetic. "I overheard a conversation once – but you were tricked into reading it! Of course you wouldn't like chick lit..."

Luke only rolled his eyes, but when he noticed half of the hallway was staring at him, he opened his mouth. "Yeah, I read chick lits. Got a problem with that?"

I held back my laugh when the guys in the hallway started shrugging and shaking their heads, retreating away from us. Luke wasn't done, though.

"Yeah, that's right. It would do you good to read one – you could learn a thing or two about how to treat your girlfriends," he spoke before finally turning his attention back to us, while the girls in the hallway were snickering at his words. They all seemed to like Luke's idea.

And suddenly, I was hit with a thick cloud of perfume.

"Is that why you're so great with girls, Luke?"

I turned my head to see Lisa standing right behind me with an obnoxious smile on her face. She was definitely here to flirt with Luke again. I did not like that at all.

"When have I ever been great with anyone?" Luke asked her, and people around us laughed lightly in agreement.

Lisa ignored his words completely and took a look at his cast. She definitely read the words on it. "You poor thing, your leg must hurt really bad. Is there anything I can do to... ease your pain?" she asked with a wink.

"Oh boy," I laughed, and stood up. "You might want to back off now," I told her.

She did take a step back to see my face. She seemed confused when she gave me a questioning look. "Do you mind? I was talking with Luke."

"No," I said slowly. "You were offering to suck my boyfriend's cock."

Complete silence fell in the hallway. Lisa stared at me with wide eyes. No one said a word. I wasn't sure if anyone believed me.

"So yeah, I do mind," I added, sitting back down next to Luke, who immediately wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

She still continued to stare at me. At us. I think everyone did.

"You may go now," Luke said, gesturing for her to piss off with a wave of his hand.

"You... You're joking, right?" Lisa suddenly snapped. "That's really immature."

"I really don't care what you think as long as you leave me alone," Luke told her. "Bye!"

She didn't move a muscle at first. She was boiling, that was for sure. I was sure she really believed we were just joking.

"Oh, you guys came out now?"

Boy, did Ronny have perfect timing or what? He stopped right next to Lisa, giving her a smile. "I know right, when I first found out Troy and Luke are dating, I was shocked. I mean, I guess I should've seen it coming, because Luke sure is one hell of a diva, but still..."

"Hey!" Luke scoffed at him.

"...that does make sense actually," someone muttered close by.

Lisa gave us an ugly glare and let out a frustrated growl before she marched away. I waved after her. I was enjoying this way too much.

The bell rang at that point, thankfully. I could tell people had questions, but now I didn't need to bother answering them. I squeezed Luke's hand before I stood up from the bench.

"I'll see you later," I told him. We were still holding hands, and I loved it.

"I'll find myself a quiet corner in the library, so you need to drag your asses there once the class is over," he told me.

"Sure," I said, and reluctantly let go of his hand. I was about to turn to leave, but I stopped. "I didn't know you like reading books."

"Everyone has their secrets," Luke chuckled. "But yeah, I read books."

"That's good," I said, walked back to him, and leaned in to kiss him without caring about who saw it. "My sweet, hot, beefcake nerd who likes chick-lits and puppies."

"You're ruining my image," he chuckled quietly.

"You're welcome," I said just as quietly.

*****

A couple of weeks passed before I even knew it. People at school took their sweet time starting to believe that Luke and I really were together. For a moment, Luke was basically bombarded by disbelieving girls who were having hard time understanding that he really was full-blown gay with zero interest in girls. Not even the fact that the two of us were being openly affectionate towards each other seemed to help at first.

Eventually, things started settling down at school, but everything else was giving me an increasing amount of stress. I still had no place to go. We had gone through every relative I still had on my mother's side – all three of them – but they all lived in completely different states, so I didn't want to think of them as real options. I didn't even consider contacting anyone on my father's side. I didn't want to have anything to do with them.

I once asked if I could live on my own, but Stephanie refused to let me even finish that question.

But I learned soon that I wasn't completely alone. It came as a surprise how many people were willing to help me. My aunt called me a few times, asking me how I was. She reassured me that if we couldn't think of any other option, she would gladly take me under her wing, so at least I didn't have to worry about that. Luke's parents and Max's parents were considering giving me a permanent home as well. I cried when I learned about it. The second our coach found out I was homeless, he immediately declared he would take me in. I knew he mostly wanted to keep me on the team, but it was still nice to hear.

My father was still kept in custody because somehow, in the most peculiar way, some really sensitive paperwork about my father's company had appeared out of nowhere in the mailbox of some famous journalist. Funny coincidence, the day before the news broke out about the rotten company, Stephanie had taken me and Luke out for dinner, and she kept smiling like a maniac the entire evening.

My father was not getting out anytime soon. That became clear to me soon after that. His parental rights over me were taken from him as well, so there was no way he could ruin my chances to have a good home. Wherever it would be. It was great, of course, but since now I didn't have a parent or a legal guardian, we were running out of time.

Almost three weeks after the incident with my father, Stephanie called and asked if I wanted to go grab something to eat. It had gotten pretty normal for her to take me out to eat or grab a cup of coffee or something, so I said yes. Luke didn't come with us – he rarely did because he was often in a lot of pain after school and he also wanted to give us some privacy – so when Stephanie parked her car on the driveway, I left the house alone.

The second I sat down in her car I could tell she was excited about something, but she refused to tell me what was going on, until about five minutes later, when she stopped the car and turned off the engine.

"Okay, here's the deal," she started with a big smile on her face. "I got a job interview tomorrow – it's a small company, and it's a boring job, but the pay seems good."

"Oh, that's great! I hope you get it," I told her, feeling genuinely happy for her.

She nodded a few times, but then her smile grew smaller. She seemed like she was about to say something, but lost her courage. My happiness was quickly running out when she didn't speak. I suddenly had the feeling that this was it. She came to tell me she was moving away.

"Well, I wish you luck for tomorrow," I said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Would you like to go for a walk with me?" she asked, basically blurting out the words.

"Sure..." I nodded, and we excited the car.

There was a short moment of awkward silence between us as I started following her. We walked slowly while Stephanie was building up the courage to say what she had in mind. I didn't rush her. Once again, I was unable to speak.

Soon, she stopped and took a deep breath. "Troy... I should have paid a lot more attention to you. I'm so sorry I didn't see what was going on."

"It's fine," I said automatically. "I wasn't any of your concern."

"You should've been," she said. "I wanted us to be a family, but I was afraid you hated me."

"I didn't hate you. Why would I hate you?" I asked.

"I don't know... because I was taking your mother's place? Because I was stealing your father? Because I'm black?" she shrugged, sounding like these things had been often on her mind.

"Well, for one, my mom has been dead for years, so there was no taking her place. And stealing my father? Yeah, no," I laughed at that point. "And I'm not a racist."

She gave me a small smile and wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm actually shocked that your father wasn't a racist on top of everything..."

"I was as well when he brought you home for the first time," I said truthfully.

"Anyway," she sighed. "I hate myself for not being there for you. I was such a fool, thinking we could be a family while not trying hard enough to get to know you..."

"You did more than my dad," I said. "You always left me money and asked how I was... At least you tried. That's all I care about."

She smiled and patted my arm. "You are an amazing kid," she said quietly. "You deserve the best in life. And I am happy that you have found happiness with Luke. His parents have been so good to me as well and every time I remember thinking badly of them..." she shook her head. "I want to be a better person from now on."

"That's good," I said, and took a deep breath before I continued, "but I doubt this is why you wanted to see me today."

"No," she said quietly, taking a breath as well. "I just needed to get that off my chest. There's actually something I want to show you."

"Yeah?" I asked, and she smiled at me.

"Come," she said, nodding her head toward a white, two-story house right next to us, behind a big, green lawn. "I wanted to show you this."

"You... what?" I asked in confusion.

"I bought this house!" she nearly squealed, doing a little victory dance. "I really need that job, though. I spent all my savings and had to take a mortgage to get this, but it's mine!"

I stopped in awe. Here I thought she would be moving away, but instead, she bought a house ten minutes away from Luke's. That was a big relief.

"You didn't tell me anything about buying a house," I chuckled as I followed her to the door.

"I had so much competition I didn't want to jinx it," Stephanie explained, opening the lock. "Want to take a look?"

I nodded and followed her in. The house was really pretty. A bit small, but pretty. It was certainly much, much better than our old home.

"There's a bathroom behind that door on the left," Stephanie started the tour. "And as you see, the kitchen is on the right..."

I peered into the kitchen. There was a small area for a dining table with big windows, and the fridges and counters were at the other end of the room. As we walked deeper, we passed by a staircase just after the bathroom, and ended in the living room. There were huge windows and gray wooden floors, and I could see a small backyard outside with big fences.

"Come," Stephanie said and started climbing the stairs. "I love the bedrooms in this house. They're so big and spacious and the windows are huge...!"

Once we were upstairs, she stepped through the door that was right on our left. The bedroom really was big, and there seemed to be a walk-in closet on our right. I could see the forest behind the windows.

"This is really great," I said.

"I'm so happy I got this," she sighed contently. "It already feels like a home."

"I'm happy for you," I said quietly.

She turned to look at me. "Come – there's one more room I want you to see."

I followed her to the second bedroom. It was shaped like a big L, and there were windows with wide window sills everywhere. The sills were wide enough to sit down and stare outside. The floor was made of the same light-gray wood as it was in the rest of the house, and there was a big row of closets on the left, right next to us when we stepped in.

"This place sure looks great," I whistled as I walked deeper into the room. "Congratulations," I turned to tell her.

She smiled. "Imagine the bed here," she said, walking to the farmost corner, and faced the end of the smaller part of the L-shaped room. "A big computer desk there at the back, and big shelves here..." she pointed at the wall where the door was. "Or a big TV, and a couch under the windows..."

I listened in silence while she spoke. I could almost see the room as she described it. Then she turned to look at me.

"You know... If I get the job, I'm..." she hesitated for a moment, before she found the courage to say whatever it was that she had been trying to tell me this entire time. "If I get it, I become eligible to become your legal guardian. Well, Joseph says that if I get it, I have better chances in court, so it's not necessarily a deal-breaker. The judge needs to be sure I can support you financially. But now I have a home, so my chances are better now..."

I didn't say a word as she rambled on. She was clearly nervous. I, on the other hand, had no words to speak. I just stared at her until she finished talking. She stared at me for a moment, waiting for my reaction, but since I didn't say anything, she continued.

"I understand if you don't want me to be your guardian, but I want to help. You could think of this place as a home base. You're soon old enough to move on your own so this way you wouldn't need to move to your aunt's, and I would, of course, pay for your food and clothes and everything, and this would be your room and–"

"Yes," I managed to say, interrupting her.

"W...What?" she asked almost timidly, like she never thought I would like the idea.

"Yes," I nodded, feeling suddenly way too emotional to form a proper sentence. "I'd like that."

"Oh," she sniffed, and practically ran to give me a hug. "Really?"

"Yes, definitely," I said, hugging her back, feeling calm at last.

*****

"So you'll get your cast off tomorrow?" Sky asked.

I munched away on my gummy bears, watching TV – my TV – without paying much attention to it.

"Yeah, thank God," Luke muttered right next to me, with his legs stretched out on the couch. My couch.

"Well it needs to get checked first, but it's been two months already," I joined in the conversation, taking popcorns from Max, who was sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch.

Sky was sitting next to him, playing with Bella, who was being as energetic as ever. We were having a movie night, and since it was Friday, they would all be staying at our place for the night. Well, no one was really paying attention to the movie.

"I can't wait to start jogging again," Luke muttered.

"Oh hell no! You still need to be careful with your leg!" I told him sternly. He bared his teeth at me as a reply. I rolled my eyes in return.

"Okay guys!" I heard Stephanie walking upstairs, and a few seconds later, she stepped into my room. "I'll be going now, so don't burn down the place while I'm at the party, all right?"

"Yes, yes," I said reassuringly. "You can count on us!"

"I'm counting on Max to keep you guys out of trouble," Stephanie said.

"I'll do that," Max chuckled. "If I can."

"Ehh," Stephanie breathed out sympathetically. "How do I look?" she asked, and twirled around. She had a bright-red shirt and black pants on her.

"Glamorous," I replied, and she smiled. "Your co-workers will die of jealousy."

"Oh, you," Stephanie said, waving her hand at me with a smile. "I'll get going now, or I'll be late – I'll see you guys in a few hours!"

We told her our goodbyes and continued watching the movie. I snuggled under Luke's arm and wrapped my own around his stomach. I couldn't have been happier. Luke was now seeing a psychiatrist, and he was doing better already. He had new medication, and he was now even taking it regularly – it was a bit of a fight to get him to take the pills in the beginning. I was so proud of him.

"Is it too cold for a camping trip next weekend?" Sky asked.

"Yes," we all said at the same time.

"It's snowing already!" Luke protested, and Sky giggled.

"We can have camping trips here in my room," I said. I loved saying my room. I moved in only a month ago after Stephanie was appointed as my legal guardian, but I already loved the house. My home.

I felt Luke's hand caressing my shoulder slowly, making me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"It's probably for the best if we don't go camping yet," Sky nodded. "Your leg wouldn't be able to handle it yet," he told Luke.

"Fuck the leg, it's cold outside!" Luke grunted at him.

"It's fine – there's winter camping equipment we can get," Sky said.

"Is he serious?" Luke asked me and Max.

"Yeah..." Max breathed out, patting Sky's shoulder. "He loves snow."

"Yes!" Sky grinned.

I laughed at his expression and snuggled closer to Luke – even the thought of camping outside in the snow gave me the chills. We all knew we would have to go camping with Sky once Luke was well enough for it. I just wished it would be spring when that time would come.

I felt Luke's breath on my face, so I turned to look up at him. He was smiling, looking as handsome as ever. I pushed myself up to press my lips on his, enjoying our kiss.

I loved this life I had now. I loved every second of it.

The End...

...for now