Leo walks back to the living room looking a bit upset about what just happened to Mike over the past hour or so. He walks over to Jay that's sitting on the sofa looking like he's deep in thought about something, but as soon as he sees Leo, he snaps out of it and puts on his big brother face for him. Leo joins him on the sofa laying his head on Jay's shoulder, sighing deeply.
"Leo, are you okay? I know this is scary, but we know that this will all be okay, right?" Jay says as he rubs Leo's back, trying to comfort him.
"Your right on it being okay, but I'm crying for two reasons, one for Mike and all that has happened to him this week, and because now I know he will be safe here with you and not somewhere off on the streets all alone." Leo says now with tears rolling down his face and dripping down his chin.
Jay thinks for a second then hears the piano from his room start playing, so he listens for the shower hearing meaning that Mike is out of the shower and is now in the room playing it. The boys can hear Playing the song 'Addict with a Pen' by Twenty One Pilots, so Jay looks to Leo with a smile knowing that Mike will be okay after all this is over. After a few minutes, Mike comes out of Jay's room and comes to the coffee table with a notebook and paper with a smile on his face. The other two just stare at him, trying to figure out his change of mood, but they soon snap out of it, ready to hear what he has to say to them.
"Guys, we need to make a plan as to how to get my stuff back from my mom's place… I know that tomorrow is the first day of middle school, but I understand if you don't want to help." Mike says with the sound of confidence in his voice.
"Okay, Mike, what do you have in mind?" Jay asks, sitting up, letting go of Leo.
"Okay babe, let us hear it." Leo says moving over to Mike so he is sitting next to him now.
All Mike does is smile and starts thinking about his plan. "If I know my moth- Margret well enough, she will probably put my stuff on the front porch in a box or something along those lines. But she will probably forget to put my more important items in the box, so I will need to get in there are grab them myself from my room. Any ideas?"
“What about the broken window that leads into your room? We can use that to get in then got the front door to unlock it.” Leo says after thinking for a few seconds.
"I think that will work; Jay, will your parents be okay with us doing this?" Mike asks looking at Jay.
Jay looks like he's about to say something, but his parents walk in and Jay's dad instantly goes to Mike and hugs him tight. He pulls away a bit and looks at Mike with a look of pride and sadness. "Mike, you are such a brave young man who doesn't deserve this to happen to you… You also don't need to ask if you can live with us. You are already apart of this family, so there is no need to ask."
All Mike could do was sit there in shock from what was just said to him. He held Jay's dad close without hurting himself, and after a few minutes, he pulls himself away and recomposes himself fixing his shirt.
"So how are you going to get your stuff here, or do you want new stuff? It is completely up to you Mike." Jay's dad asks with a smile on his face.
Mike thinks for a second before speaking. “I want my stuff, they mean a lot to me and there are a few important things to me that are irreplaceable.”
"I think that's a good idea, have you come up with a plan as to how to get said items?" Jay's dad asks sitting at the kitchen table
Mike and Leo join him at the table, then Leo starts talking. "Well, we know of a broken window that never locks in Mike's room, so we were going to go in through there and then open the front door to get the stuff out." Leo says holding Mike's hand under the table.
"How about I go there with you tomorrow Mike and I will talk to your mom about letting you get your stuff. How does that sound?" He sips the coffee that Stephanie brought to him.
"Thank you so much, sir! You have no idea this means to me for you to help out this much." Mike says with a real smile.
"There is no need to thank us, Mike, we are a family here are we will help each other no matter what, and we have always loved you as if you were one of our own, and that goes for you as well Leo." He says looking at the boys with pride.
"Do you think Leo and Jay can come with us tomorrow to help me? I know it the first day and all but I could use their help with getting my stuff and to keep me calm through it."
"I'm not sure about Leo, but as for Jay, I don't want him to miss the first day of school… I will call someone to come help me keep your mom away from you. Is that okay?" Jay's dad asks, sounding a little down.
"That's fine, sir… And I was wondering if it was okay if I could call you dad?" Mike asks, wanting this to be approved.
“You could have started calling me dad years ago kiddo, I understand that your mom raised you to say sir and everything but here you could have called me dad.”
"Thank you, dad! So where should I sleep tonight? I know that the guest room is open but not ready and that Jay's room is not made to hold two people at the same time for a long period amount of time." Mike asks now, calmed down a bit.
"Well, how about you and Jay get your room ready tonight, and this weekend we can go to IKEA to get you some new stuff for your room to make it even more yours." Jay's dad suggests.
"I love that idea! I can't wait." Mike says excitedly now.
"Alright boys, follow me into the guest room." Jay's dad says getting up going to the guest room sounding very serious now.
When they walked into the guest room with the bed empty with no bedding and the walls filled with just a few pictures of the boys growing up but one stands out to him. It was taken the summer before the start of the 5th grade of the boys at the pool. He remembers the day nicely because they all spent the night at Jay's and after Jay went to sleep, he and Leo snuck out and went to the backyard to talk about life.
"Take a seat on the bed, boys." Ben says with a bit of command in his voice, so the boys sat on the bed away from each other just to be safe. "So boys, you understand that I will have to set some rules for when Leo spends the nights on the weekends right?"
"We understand dad, but I think we know the rules already from when Jay's sister used to live here… If we are in the same room we need to have someone in the room with us and if in my room the door needs to be open no matter what, right?" Mike says almost in a questioning tone.
"Okay, so that is pretty much it when it comes to the rules, but I hope that you boys follow the rules even if we leave you home alone. Got it?" Ben puts out as a real dad would.
"Yes sir, but I have one question…" Leo asks holding Mike's hand across the bed a little too tight.
"What's up buddy?" Ben asks.
"Can I call my mom to tell her that I'm gay?" Leo asks with his hand now shaking so Mike gets closer to him to calm him down.
"Babe, I thought you already did that when I was asleep," Mike says looking Leo in the eye with a bit of surprise as well.
"I have been too busy looking after you to call and tell them that I'm gay."
Leo pulls out his phone and his hand starts to shaking so Mike takes the phone and holds him close as Leo did for him to calm him down. “Babe, your parents love you and are not like mine and will accept you for who you are.” Mike says rubbing Leos back.
Leo nods and kisses Mike on the cheek as he calls his house phone putting on speakerphone. As the dial tone rings Ben exits the room closing the door to give them some privacy for this call. When the phone answers they are greeted with a little girl.
“Hello?” The little girl answers with.
“Samantha? its Lelo, can you get mommy and papa for me please?” Leo asks in a calm voice.
"Okay!" She runs off and a minute later an older woman comes to the phone. "Hey Lelo, do you need me to come to pick you up?" She asks over the phone.
"Yes, and I was hoping to talk to you when you get here for a little bit." Leo asks as his body shakes in Mike's arms.
“Ummm, sure? Is everything okay? Is Mike getting worse?” She asks with a little bit of worry in her voice.
"We are all fine ma'am." Mike says to ease her worry a little bit.
“I just need to talk to you about some important things that have come up.” Leo says now calmed down a bit.
"Do you want me to get your father? He's at work right now" She asks.
"If he's at work it's okay, I will just tell him the next time I see him."
"Okay Lelo, I will be there soon to pick you up!" She hangs up and all Leo could do is sit there holding his phone and holding onto Mike's hand with his free hand shaking a little bit still. Mike takes the phone out of his hand and holds him close rubbing his back trying to calm him down. Leo just looks at him with his green eyes with tears now forming making his eyes shine.
“Take a deep breath babe, it will all be okay and if anything happens I will be here at your side just as you and Jay were for me when I needed you.” Mike says now playing with Leo’s hair knowing that he likes that.
“I know they love me no matter what, but this is still a very scary thing to do. Now I know how you felt when you came out to us.”
They both giggle a little bit from the tension that has been building. They look into each other's eyes and they get lost into them. Mike notices something new in Leo’s eyes and that they have flecks of blue in them and Leo notices that Mike has flecks of green in his.
“When did you know?” Leo asks
“Know what?”
That you liked me this way.”
"Ever since that time we camped out in your backyard that day during spring break this year and we decided to share a sleeping bag because it was cold that night. After that, I felt a weird but good connection to you that I never wanted to end." Mike says all this trying to hide his blush with his hair.
"Haha, that is so cheesy babe! But it's perfect for us because we are both cheesy. Like with what happened so I almost think we are in just some book." Leo says with a smile but is blushing as well.
“What about you babe? When did you start liking me this way?” Mike asks now curious.
"Let me think for a moment… I think the day you were sleeping on the sofa and you had this peaceful look on your face but you had a look of sadness as well. It made me feel so helpless so I stayed by your side to make sure you were okay." Leo says playing with Mike's hair.
“So you stayed with me that entire time I was passed out? You are such a dork you know that?.”
“Of course I stayed silly, I needed to make sure you were okay.”
After that was done there was a knock at the door so they separate so fast that there was almost a flash of lighting from the friction on the bed. They see its Jay and they go back to being relaxed. Leo cuddles up to Mike and with Leo being smaller it was like a cat crawling into Mike's lap.
"Wow, you guys get a room already." Jay states with a mocking tone.
"We had a room but you walked in on us, so you need not just to knock and enter. What if we were naked?" Leo says in a mocking tone as well.
“Okay then, but Leo. Your mom is here to pick you up.”
"I and Mike are going to tell her about us. So can you bring her here?" Leo asks with the fear setting in now.
"Umm… Sure just give me a moment to get her from my mom because my mom just can't stop talking about the new baby boy you're going to have." Jay says as he leaves the room.
As soon as the door was closed Leo gets up and starts pacing the room now shaking his hands as if to shake the nerves out of his body. He starts looking at the photos on the walls but the same one that stood out to Mike is the same one that stands out to Leo as well and all he could do was smile at the memory for a second. Mike watches as his boyfriend has an internal meltdown but clams down looking at an image of them from when they were younger.
After a few moments, Jacklin walks in and she sits next to Mike on the bed and kisses him on the cheek. “You okay Mike? I heard what happened and if you need an ear I’m here for you.” She fixing a few loose strands of hair on his forehead.
“I’m fine now ma’am. But you should focus on your son right now.”
She looks over to Leo now worried that something else has happened and that it cant be good besides what happened to Mike. Leo stops pacing and sits on the bed in between Mike and his mom and holds her hand tight. "Momma, I know you know that Mike is gay because of the posts online, but that's not the whole story that happened the past few days… Mom, I'm gay and I and Mike are dating." He tells her as he grabs Mike's hand tight.
"Okay? And that should change how I love you in what way? Lelo you are my son and I love you no matter what." She says looking at her son with the love as she rubs her belly almost looking like it's going to pop.
"So you're okay with me dating Mike and being an open couple?" Leo asks in a second but in a calm voice.
"Of course I'm okay with it son! But the way I look at Mike will need to change from a second son to my son's boyfriend. I will have to talk to Steph and Ben about the sleepover rules… But besides that, I have no problem with it." She says with a smile.
"We already got the talk from his parents so we understand the rules of the sleepover for when it's us." Mike says
"Well you're going to hear it again from me and Allen, okay?" She says in a stern voice with a smile.
“Yes ma’am!” They say in unison both sounding a bit scared.
"Good now go get your stuff together Leo, it's late and you have your first day of school tomorrow." She states with a smile on her face.
“Okay momma, and be nice to Mike while I get my stuff.” Leo says as he leaves the room leaving the door open.
She moves closer to Mike and holds his hand. “Thank you Mike, I can tell that he has had something weighing him down for a few months now and with you coming out helped him come out to me naturally and not forced out outed.”
“I should be thanking Leo for saving me a few days ago from Kyle and for being a shoulder to cry on when I need it.” Mike says scooting closer to her but being careful of her belly.
She opens her arms up to him and she holds him as a mother should hold a son. "Just know that if you break his heart I will break your legs. Understood?" She states while she holds him a little too tight to get the point across.
“Yes ma’am.” He says in a short breath.
“Good now that you understand that you can go help your boyfriend pack.” She says letting him go.
"Yes ma'am." He says as he gets up off the bed and heads to Jay's room to help Leo get his things together.
As Mike is walking to Jay's room he goes to the guest bathroom and he sits on the floor with his back against the wall as he holds his ribs. As he sits there he goes over everything that has happened and in his head to make sure this is all real or not. After a few moments, Mike gets up from where he was sitting but holding his ribs still noticing that they are hurting more as he walks over to Jay's room to help Leo. "Babe, are you almost done? Your mom is waiting for you." As he says that he sees that Leo is asleep holding onto his old teddy bear that he left here as a kid to help him sleep at night.
"5 more minutes mom…" Leo rolls over onto his side facing away from Mike.
“Will it always be like this when I wake you up?”
"Yes, always and forever." Leo says rolling over and pulling Mike into a cuddle.
“I hope so, I really hope so.” He says as he lets out a relaxing sigh.
“You okay babe?” He asks as he looks at Mike.
“Yea! Never better. Why?”
“Something seems off about you right now but I don’t know what it is yet.”
“Anyway… Babe your mom is waiting for you so we cant cuddle long… I’m sorry but I don’t want to make your mom mad at us on such a huge day for us.” Mike says as he looks Leo in the face and plays with his hair.
"Fine, but she won't really get mad at us for being in love, hehe." Leo says smiling and kissing Mike on the lips to calm him down.
Mike relaxes into the kiss and they stand to slowly make out for the first time in their relationship. Leo holds onto Mike close as he deepens the kiss and holds him close and tighter as Mike relaxes more into the session and he holds Leo just as tight. "Babe… I hope this moment never ends and that we were the last people on earth so we don't have to worry about other people or no wars and that there are no people like kyle in this world." Mike says stopping the kiss resting his head on Leo's shoulder crying.
“Are you sure your okay babe? Where is this coming from? If something is bothering you, you need to tell me what is bothering you and when.” Leo says petting mikes head trying to calm him down.
"How can I be okay after all that has happened to me! I have been beaten up and kicked out of my house by my mother after being called a faggot by her!" Mike sits up sitting next to Leo holding his knees as he did in the shower. "I thought your parents were supposed to love you no matter what and not drop your son because they fall in love with someone of the same gender. I'm sorry baby, I shouldn't fall apart on you like that as soon as we start dating… This is like something that happens in like the fifth month of the relationship." Mike says now crying into his knees.
“Mike you need to understand that I love you no matter what and I will no matter what happens… Do you understand me?” Leo says moving to sit in front of Mike so they are face to face.
“I understand babe… I just needed to let it all out before I lash out at someone at school or my new family. So thank you babe for letting me talk to you about it I think I’m gonna go back and see Dr.True.” He says now looking at Leo.
"I agree with that babe, After everything that has happened, you will need to see him and talk to him about your feelings and things you need to work out." Leo and Mike go silent for a few moments to just relax and absorb everything that was just said. After several minutes Jay walks in and sees them like this he just smiles.
"Guys, I know you're in love and all right now but Leo your mom is waiting for you in the car," Jay says
“Sorry bro, but we got carried away and just needed a moment alone to our bearings right,” Mike says looking a Jay now.
"It's okay, just hurry up."
"Okay brother… that's strange to say now because I'm dating Mike and he's kinda like your actual brother now," Leo says with a little smile on his face.
"Anyway let's get you packed up so you can get home today because I know you miss your bed, Leo," Jay states as he starts to pack up the rest of Leo's stuff into Leo's bag.
Leo and Mike get up and join him and they get it done rather quickly because no for a few seconds later Jay's mom walks in to see what's taking so long but when she sees that it's done they all exit the house together. Leo does not let go of Mike's hand because he held it very tight. “Babe you need to let go of my hand so you can go home,” Mike says holding onto Leo’s hand tight as well as they walk to the car.
Leo eventually lets go of Mike's hand and gets into the car with his mom. He rolls down the window and he starts playing Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Hero's singing to it pointing at Mike the whole time they drive away.
"Let's head inside little bro and get some sleep." Jay says as he comes from behind the tree and takes him inside the house going and when they get into the house they see all the lights are off so they go to their respective rooms quietly after saying good night to each other.
When Mike gets to his new room he sits on the bed after stripping down to his undies holding his knees again thinking about everything that has happened. “I hope this will all blow over and things can go back to somewhat normal where I’m living here and Leo is my boyfriend still.” He lays down pulling the covers over his head as he passes out hard not just from physical exhaustion but from mental as well.
In the middle of the night, Mike got a strange from call from an unknown number leaving a voice mail because he slept through the call.