"Okay. Um, well, I don't know if you remember him or not, but, uh, my friend Jason. He was the singer, at the, um, at the dance?"

Of course I remembered him. He was the guy who had (unkindly) introduced me as Anneliese (and, actually helped me win over Beau), and of course the boy Trey had revealed he had a thing for. How could I possibly not remember?

I nodded, waiting for her to go on.

"Well, um. Well, he's gay."

I nodded again, slower this time, unsure exactly where she was going. "So, what… you want me to do… what about this, exactly?"

She laughed. "No, that's… I'm not done yet. See, he, um, yesterday, after the dance, he… well he kind of asked me for a favour."

"Jenna. I am so lost right now. If you don't hurry up and spit it out, I'm going to end up in Antarctica. Come on."

She smiled. "Sorry. I just… I don't want to offend anybody. It's… well it's kind of a weird thing to ask for. And you can't tell anybody."

"Alright. Well, when you eventually tell me, I'll make sure not to let it slip. Now, out with it!"

"Okay, well, Jase, he… he kind of likes Trey, and he was sort of hoping that maybe you could help him, well, get him? I mean, he doesn't even know if Trey's into guys at all, and we figured that we should ask you first, because you guys are so close, and, well, if you could find out if Trey's interested?"

I had to fight to keep my grin under control. I nodded. "I could try and find out for you, sure."

There was no need to tell her that I already knew. I knew I had to run in by the boy in question first. There was a high probability that he wouldn't be okay with me saying yes straight away. Especially as he was only just coming to terms with things himself.

She beamed, before pulling me into a hug. "Thanks Anna! You're the best, really. Jason's gonna love you."

I laughed.

"Anna!" Matt's voice interrupted from downstairs. "Food!"

"Thanks!" I called back down. "I'll be there in a sec!"

"I guess that's my cue to leave," Jenna said, standing.

"You sure you don't want to stay?" I asked. There's plenty."

She shook her head. "Nah. It's getting late, I should probably get home. Thanks, though. Some other time, maybe."

I nodded. "Sure thing."

"See you at school," she said, descending the stairs.

"Yeah, see ya," I said, heading towards Justin's room.

"Guys?" I said softly, knocking on the door. "Food's here."

Justin opened the door, looking worn out. Past him, I could see Katy on the bed, her eyes red and puffy, the makeup she hadn't removed from last night in trails down her cheeks.

I looked at him questioningly as he came out into the hallway, closing the door gently behind him. "She just wants some time alone, to process it all. She didn't know how bad it was, with Dad. I think it was just a bit of a shock to her."

"She didn't see the bruises or anything?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I mean, she knew it happened, but she didn't know how bad it was. I'd always cover up, or make excuses why I couldn't see her if it was that bad. If I couldn't move." He laughed bitterly.

I nodded in understanding. "You up for pizza?" I asked him.

He grinned, a true smile that I remembered from the first time I saw him. It gave me hope that he was starting to get back to his old self. "Always."

I laughed as he slung his arm around my shoulder casually, and ruffled my hair.

"I see you're in a good mood," I giggled, as I attempted to swat his hand away from my hair.

"What can I say Anna? I feel good. That was a long time coming." He grinned at me again, breaking through my defences and flicking my hair.

I scowled at him, and laughed when his tongue poked out at me. "Loser," I said, shooting him a mock-scornful look.

"Takes one to know one."

"Hey! Get your hands off my girl!" Beau yelled jokingly as we entered the lounge room. He got up and stormed dramatically towards us, yanking me from Justin. "You wanna go dude? Huh? You feeling tough?"

"Bring it, buddy," Justin replied, trying not to laugh. I rolled my eyes. This probably was not going to end well. I laughed outright as they did some sort of ridiculous chest bump, and started rolling around on the floor, in what I assume was an attempt at wrestling.

I stepped over them and collapsed down on the couch next to Matt, stealing a piece of his cheese pizza.

"Hey! Get your own!" he exclaimed, trying to grab it back off me.

I licked it, and held it out to him. "Still want it back?" I asked, with a cheeky grin.

He rolled his eyes, and sighed in defeat. "Fine, keep the damn pizza, I'll just steal some of yours."

"Win."

"Only because I don't want to get infected with whatever creepy, gross, annoying sister disease you have," he retorted.

I laughed. "Oh. Ouch. That, oh, that really cut me. Cut me deep."

"Shut up."

Matt and I sat there for at least ten minutes, watching them wrestle. Or at least, attempt to wrestle. Neither of them was very good.

Beau sat up straight. "Oh my god," he said, turning to Justin. "We've been wrestling while they've been eating all the food!" he exclaimed, pointing at us accusingly.

Justin gasped dramatically. "That must have been their plan all along! Turning us against each other so they had it all to themselves!"

I laughed diabolically, playing along. "Yes! And you two fools walked right into it!"

"It was just too easy," Matt chimed in. "There was really no effort required on our part."

"Traitors!" Beau yelled, jumping off the ground and launching himself at me.

I giggled (yes. Giggled. I'm in love, give me a break) as he pinned me to the couch.

"Now what?" I asked him, looking up into his eyes. They really were pretty.

He smiled. "Well. I think that the most appropriate thing to do under these circumstances," he murmured, "would be…" He leaned down and kissed me. It still felt the same way it had when he'd first kissed me at the dance. It still made me dizzy, and light headed, and full of butterflies.

"I love you," he whispered, resting his forehead on mine. I could drown in those eyes, I really could.

"I-" My reply was prematurely cut off, by a cushion thrown at my head. I moved my head to glare at Justin and Beau.

"What?" Matt said innocently. "It was him!" He pointed at Justin.

"It was not!" Justin defended himself. "In fact, I told him not to throw the cushion. He didn't listen, obviously."

I knew it was Matt. He always got the same guilty look on his face when he was lying about doing something he shouldn't have. Like that one time when we were kids, and he fed my chocolate chip cookies to the neighbours' dog. And I had been really looking forward to those cookies…

But anyway. I was snapped out of my flashback by a knock at the door. Wow. This day was just getting to be a day of visitors.

"Anna, door," Matt said from right next to me.

"You're right there, you lazy moron, you get it."

"But it's so far away…"

"Are you kidding me? It's not far at all! You're not even going to break a sweat!"

"Annaaaaaaa, come oooonnn. Just answer the door."

Whoever it was knocked again.

"See?" Matt said. "Now they're getting impatient. If you had just opened the door in the first place, then none of this would have happened."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, I'll get the stupid door. Lazy bum," I added under my breath. I nudged Beau to get off me. He sighed reluctantly but slid off me onto the couch. As I left the room, I saw him knock Matt in the head with the cushion he'd thrown at us, and smirked. Good.

For the second time in the day, Trey was standing in my doorway. He looked… happy. I was glad for him, whatever it was that was making him smile like that.

"Hey Trey," I greeted him. "Ha. Rhyme." I grinned.

He rolled his eyes. "Hey Anna."

"What's up?" I asked. "You seem very chipper this fine evening."

He laughed. "Chipper?"

"Yeah, you know. Happy, positive, in good spirits, cheerful. Chipper."

He looked at me oddly. "Um, alrighty then."

I laughed. "So? Why so chipper?"

"I told my parents. After what you said to me, I just… I went home, and I sat them down, and I told them I was gay."

"Oh. And? What'd they say?" Obviously, from his bright mood, I could tell it went well, but I wanted to know specifics.

"They said that they'd had their suspicions, but they wanted to wait for me to talk to them myself. And they told me that they didn't care, and that it would never change who I was to them, or how they saw me, or how much they loved me. They said if anything, this made them love me more, because it meant that I loved and trusted them enough to talk to them about it and tell them, instead of living a lie and pretending to be someone I wasn't just to please them. And then they told me that they loved me, and will always love me, no matter what." His eyes watered, and a few tears slid down his face.

I pulled him into a hug. "Trey, honey, that's so great! See? I told you that there was nothing to worry about. It doesn't change who you are, not at all. We still love you just the same as we did before."

He grinned. "I know. I think I was just worrying too much about what they would think of me, that I forgot to remind myself that they were my parents. And that they've been there through the worst times of my life, and the best. And once I faced my parents, I decided something."

"What?" I asked, intrigued.

"I'm ready."

"Um, that's… that's great Trey, really. I'm happy for you."

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

I shook my head. "Not a clue."

"I want to tell everyone else. I'm ready for them to know that I'm gay."

"Really?" I asked. "That's awesome."

"So, I was thinking, could we do it here? I mean, I would do it at mine, but I kind of want to give my parents space, you know? To process, or whatever."

I smiled. "'Course. You know I love being the centre of attention."

He laughed. "So, it's cool then?"

I nodded.

"Awesome. Tomorrow good?"

"Sure. You want me to call everyone, or are you okay to do it?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I can do it. You've already done enough." He smiled gratefully, and pulled me into a bear hug.

"Alright then, tomorrow it is. You wanna stay for a bit?"

"Uh, that was something else I wanted to ask you about… is it alright if I stay the night? Just, wanting to give the parents space and time, you know. You don't have to, it's just, well I thought it would be nice."

"Yeah, sure, no problem hun, come in." I moved out of the doorway so he could actually get in the house. "You know I love having you here. Beau can just go home. Or sleep in Matt's room, he won't mind."

"I won't what? I heard my name," Beau walked into the hallway. "Hey Trey."

Trey smiled. "Hey Beau."

"You're sleeping in Matt's room tonight, if you're planning on staying. Trey's sleeping over," I told him. "And we have a lot to discuss."

"Um… ok? You alright man?" he asked Trey.

Trey nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just have a lot to talk about."

"Well, as long as you don't cut into my time with my girl too much, then go crazy," Beau said, putting his arm around me. "I'm gonna get a drink, you two want anything?"

We shook our heads simultaneously.

"Who was it?" Matt asked, still in the lounge.

I pulled Trey into the room with me.

"Oh, hey Trey," Matt said lazily. "What's going on?"

"Not much, man, you?"

Matt laughed. "About the same."

"Trey's staying the night, Matthew, so you've got a roommate for the night," I told him.

"Oh, sure, no problem. You don't mind the floor, do you?" he asked Trey.

"Not him, idiot. You're sharing with Beau, Trey's sharing with me."

Matt raised his eyebrow at me. "Alright… well, as long as Beau's cool with it…"

"Cool with what?"

"Sharing a room with little old me," Matt said. "While these two have a sleepover?"

We all headed over to the couches where Justin and Matt were still sitting, eating pizza. Trey took the armchair, and I sat down on Beau, who'd taken up the entire other couch.

"Are you kidding me?" Beau asked. "Babe, I look forward to it, spending all night long with a sexy man like you? Dream come true, hot stuff."

I laughed, and slapped his arm lightly. "Are you sure you're with the right Wilson? Cos, you know, I'd rather know early on in this relationship, before we get too far in."

He wrapped his arms tightly around me, and pulled me into his chest. "I am one hundred percent correct that I picked the right Wilson, Anna, completely positive."

I giggled, and wriggled into him. "Well, good."

"Ugh, you guys are so cute it's sick," Trey groaned. "Get a room."

"Well, if you insist…" Beau stood, picking me up as he did so. I squealed.

"Hey! Put me down!" I protested.

He just laughed, and went towards the stairs.

"Hey! You bring my sister back or…well, okay, I got nothing." Well, at least he tried.

"I'll bring her back when I'm done with her," he joked, heading up the stairs. We'd gotten to the top when we saw Katy, heading back to Justin's room from the bathroom. She looked so sad.

"Hey, can you…?" I started to ask Beau to let me down, but he was two steps ahead of me. I was on the ground before the sentence was past my teeth.

"I'll be downstairs," he whispered, kissing me on the cheek and heading back down the stairs.

I followed Katy in to the room. She was curled up in a ball under the blankets at the top of the bed.

"Katy?" I asked hesitantly, perching on the edge of the bed.

She lifted her head slightly, turning to look at me. Her eyes were wet, and there was mascara, and eyeliner, and god knows what in tracks down her cheeks. All I wanted to do was hug her.

She attempted a smile. "Hey Anna," she said in a small voice. "What's going on?"

"I just wanted to check how you're doing," I said. "So… how are you?"

She sighed. "I wish I knew. God, I just, I don't even…" she sat up, leaning against the headboard. "I just don't even know how to begin to start dealing with this… everything. I mean, I knew that there was something going on, with him and his dad, I mean, I knew that his dad hit him sometimes, but… I didn't know it was that bad. And it's not even that he was abused so badly that's the worst, it's that he didn't feel like he could open up to me about it. I'm sure you knew, way before I did, didn't you?"

She looked at me, her eyes just looking for answers.

I couldn't bring myself to lie. I nodded.

She closed her eyes, and exhaled.

"I mean," I tried to clarify. "It's not like he wanted to. I more or less forced him to tell me, he didn't have much choice."

She scoffed. "How could he not have a choice? It's not like you forced the words out of his mouth."

"Well, he didn't really even say anything. When he first got here, I saw… something, in his eyes. A really familiar kind of hurt. I pretty much just made him take his shirt off, and once I saw… well… everything, there was really no reason for him to hide it anymore."

"Wait…you've seen it? What his dad did to him? He let you see?" She looked hurt.

"Well, I sort of made him, but, yeah. He hasn't shown you?"

She shook her head. "I just can't believe that he showed you and he won't even talk about it to me, you know? I mean, no offence, but I'm his girlfriend now, not you. I should be the one who he comes to, and talks to. I should be the one who comforts him, and it's just sort of… what am I doing here, if that's not going to be what happens? What use am I? What good is it doing?"

Her voice broke on the last word, and the tears spilled over. I moved closer and put my arms around her, letting her sob into my shoulder.

"I just- I want-I just-I don't-" she was crying so hard she could barely form a sentence. She stopped trying for a while, just crying silently. After a while, she'd calmed down enough to speak. She took a deep breath.

"I just don't know what to do anymore," she said miserably, wiping her eyes. "I mean… I, I try, I do everything I can to be there for him, and to support him, and look after him, but, I don't know. Sometimes I feel like it's not enough. Like he'd still rather be with you." She looked at me guiltily. "Sorry."

I smiled. "It's ok. I know what you mean. But, honestly, he doesn't want me anymore. And really, being closed off is just how he is. It took him so long to open up to me, I'm talking years, here. And when he did, it was still in progress. I honestly don't think this is anything to with you personally. It's really just how he is. I actually can't think of anybody else he talks to about anything, apart from me. If he's saying even a little to you, it's a good sign."

She looked hopeful. "You really think so?"

"Definitely." I passed her a box of tissues. "Just give him time. Make sure that he knows how you're feeling, but give him time to process, and work on it. The thing about people as broken as Justin, it takes a long time for them to learn how to trust. Time will work it out, trust me."

She sniffed, taking the tissues gratefully. "Thanks." She laughed. "God, I feel so stupid," she said, more tears sliding down her face. "Just breaking down like this, over nothing."

"Hey," I put my arm around her. "It's not nothing. You can't help the way you feel, and honestly, I was sort of the same way. I hated that he wouldn't talk to me, that he would try to hide it from me, but it started to get better. And it will for you. He really cares about you, Katy, I can tell. Just wait it out."

She rested her head on my shoulder. "I know. I know that's what I should do, but, I don't know. It just gets hard sometimes, when I see how comfortable he is talking about things with you. But I'm glad we talked. It kind of… well it put everything in perspective."

I laughed. "Well I'm glad I could help. Anything else you want to talk about while I'm here?"

She shook her head. "No, that's about it, really. Anything on your mind? Beau related, perhaps?"

I grinned. "No, actually, we're pretty amazing. It's like we've been together for a whole lot longer than we actually have. It's great. Totally and completely unexpected, but, amazing."

"Aaaw," she teased. "Young love."

I rolled my eyes, and hit her half-heartedly with a pillow. "Oh, quiet you."

I flopped backwards on the bed, and Katy followed suit. We just lay there for a while, idly chatting about nothing in particular, and everything important in the world. We lay there talking, until I heard her stomach grumble.

"Oh my god, I totally spaced out. You must be starving. Are you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, a little. I haven't really eaten much all day…"

I jumped up off the bed, and pulled her up after me. "Well, come on. There's pizza and boys we love downstairs, and we can't keep them waiting forever."

She smiled, an actual smile. "You know, you're right."

And so we headed downstairs, to the comfort of food and men.