57My late night conversation with Justin still weighed heavily on my mind when I woke the next morning. I knew what he was doing. It was textbook self-destruction. I just hoped that he had the good sense not to ruin the great thing he had with Katy over something so silly.
But, as I rolled over to spy Trey snoring lightly next to me, I realised I had more important things to fret about. Today was the day he would come out to all our friends. While I had no doubts that they would all accept and love him just the same, and that nothing at all would change, he was still going to need all the support he could get.
"Gooood morning," Beau said chirpily, bursting unannounced into my room. "Well, what's going on here?" he asked, eyeing Trey's sleeping figure.
I rolled my eyes. "A whole lot of sleeping, and nothing more," I told him, getting out of bed to kiss him good morning.
"Well, I should hope so. Though I can't say that things were the same across the hall," he said, winking at me. "Things got pretty ca-razy last night, if you know what I mean." He flashed me a devilish grin.
"If you mean that the two of you stayed up till ridiculous hours of the morning playing stupid video games, then yes, I know exactly what you mean." I poked my tongue out at him.
"Oh, how well you know us, young Wilson. Breakfast?" he offered.
"That depends. What's on offer?
"Well, I make a fabulous pizza," he boasted.
"Oh really?" I asked, playing along.
"Yep. Get it out of the box, pop it in the microwave for a minute or so, and bam, you have yourself a nutritious breakfast."
I widened my eyes. "You truly are a culinary genius," I whispered in awe, bowing to him.
"I know," he told me as he led me down the stairs. "I should be on Masterchef. I'd win for sure."
I just laughed. "You're such a dork. What time is it?" I asked, changing the subject abruptly.
"Just past eleven," he said, checking his phone. "Why?"
"Just wondering," I said, shaking my head. I'd wake Trey up after breakfast. The sooner he made his announcement, the better it would be for him. Besides, the sooner he made his announcement, the sooner I could call Jenna back and organise for Jason and Trey to go out.
I won't lie, part of me loved playing matchmaker.
When we got downstairs, I found Matt sitting in the kitchen. Emma was keeping him company.
"About freaking time!" she greeted me. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to wake up?"
"You've only been here like half an hour," Beau pointed out.
"Still!" she pouted. "That's a long time!"
I laughed. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, that's lovely," she said, faking hurt. " 'Hi Emma, it's nice to see you. How are you today?' 'Oh, well I'm just fantastic, Anneliese, thank you for asking. How are you on this fine day?' "
I rolled my eyes. "How are you?"
She grinned. "I'm fine. I just want something to do today. Shopping?"
"Actually," I said, accepting the pizza and coffee Beau thrust at me. "Trey has something planned for all of us today. Maybe after?"
"What's he got planned?" Matt asked curiously.
"Yeah," Beau added. "He didn't say anything yesterday."
"It's not really my place to say," I said, deflecting attention away from myself. "You guys will just have to wait. Actually," I checked the time. "I'll go see if he's awake."
I placed my half eaten pizza and coffee on the table and headed up to my room. Trey was still sleeping soundly.
"Trey," I whispered, shaking him gently. "Honey. Wake up."
He groaned and rolled over, covering his eyes. "Go away."
I laughed. "It's eleven thirty. You need to get up. Emma's here, and if you get all the others here soon, you can get your announcement over and done with."
I pulled the blanket half off him, and giggled at his pouty expression.
"Alright, alright, I'm up," he muttered. "I'll be down in a bit."
I left the room happily, closing the door behind me. I ran into Justin in the hall.
"Hey," I said gently. "You talk to Katy yet?"
He nodded. "A little, when I went back up last night. I think we'll be okay."
I smiled and pulled him into a hug. "That's great, Jus. Really. I'm so proud of you."
He managed a small smile back. "I think you were right. I'm destroying myself, and I can't. I always do it, you know that. I'm finding any reason I can to not let her in, and I can't let myself do that anymore."
I shook my head in awe. "When on earth did you get so mature and wise?" I asked jokingly.
He laughed. "Too much time around you. It was bound to rub off on me eventually."
I grinned. "Oh, you," I said, shoving him gently. "You want breakfast?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Let me just grab Katy, we'll be down in a little while."
"Sure thing."
I headed back down to the kitchen.
"You wake everyone else up?" Beau asked, coming over to wrap his arms around my waist.
I nodded. "They'll be down soon."
There was a knock on the door.
"I'll get it!" Emma said, jumping up from the table to get the door.
She returned with Steph, Jess and Imogen in tow.
"Look what I found on the doorstep," she said happily.
"What are you guys doing here?" Matt asked, confused.
"We got Trey's text," Jess said, taking a seat next to him. "Said to meet him here, apparently he's got some news or something. We came straight over. What's going on?"
"You know about as much as we do," Beau said, his arms still wrapped tightly around me. "Although," he said thoughtfully, nudging me with his head. "Anna seems to know something."
"Anna?" Imogen asked curiously.
I shrugged and shook my head. "Like I've told the others, it's not my place to say. You'll find out soon enough."
"Ooooh," Steph said, breaking the brief silence. "Pizza." She darted over to the table to steal a piece.
We all laughed at her predictable behaviour. Chat resumed idly after that, conversation ranging from the dance to Emma's parental problems, to Jess' driving test next week.
"Hey," Beau murmured into my ear, from his position behind me. "Come here." He tugged on my hand and led me into the kitchen.
"What's up?" I asked, hoisting myself up on to the counter to look at him.
"I just wanted somewhere away from everybody, so I could do this," he said as he came closer, eyes sparkling. Within seconds his lips were on mine, his hands gently cradling my neck.
He broke away, smiling lazily. "Good morning," he murmured, his hands still on my neck.
I smiled back. "You've said that already," I pointed out.
He shook his head. "Not properly. So good morning."
I beamed. "Well. Good morning to you too in that case." I reached up to pull him gently back down to me, and kissed him lightly on the lips.
"God," I said, more to myself than anything. "Why did it take us so long to do this?"
He laughed, coming over to nuzzle into my shoulder. "Because you are far too stubborn for your own good, that's why."
"Oh really? I thought it had something to do with the fact that you were just such an insufferable jerk, I didn't want to be around you."
I felt, rather than heard, him chuckle to himself.
"Well regardless," he said softly. "I'm glad we're finally doing this."
"Mm," I agreed, resting my head on his. "Me too."
He wrapped his arms around my waist loosely, and shifted me closer to him.
"You guys," Emma interrupted our moment. "Trey's up. We're all in the lounge."
"Sure thing." I jumped down off the counter. "Come on," I said to Beau, grabbing his hand and leading him out to rejoin the others.
The couches were all occupied by the time we got in there. I offered Trey a small smile of support as we entered the room. He smiled back nervously.
Beau took a seat on a vacant bean bag, and pulled me down to him. I settled comfortably in between his legs, and nodded comfortingly at Trey to begin. He was standing in the middle of the room, all eyes focused on him.
He swallowed nervously and cleared his throat.
"Well, okay," he started unsurely. "First I want to thank you all for coming, I really appreciate it. I... well..." he walked over to take a seat on a stool. He ran his hands over his face. "I have something I want to tell you all," he continued. He wasn't meeting anyone's eyes. "I've sort of been wanting to say something for a while, but I could never find the right time, or the right way to bring it up. The most important thing is..." he sighed, and raised his gaze a little, thought still kept it on the floor. "I don't want this to change anything. I don't want anything to be weird, or awkward, or different between any of us, I just... I need to share this."
He ran his hands over his face again, exhaled deeply, and brought his eyes up to meet the curious looks of the others. Nodding his head, as if affirming to himself that he was doing the right thing, he spoke.
"Guys. I'm gay."
Silence followed the announcement.
Finally, someone spoke.
"Wait... you like guys?" Jess asked slowly.
He nodded.
She lobbed a cushion at him. "All this time, I could have been talking to you about boys as well, and you wait to tell us until now?"
I released the breath I hadn't even realised I was holding, and smiled to myself. Trust Jess to lighten the mood.
Trey laughed. "Sorry, sorry! It won't happen again, I promise."
"Better not," she muttered jokingly.
With the silence broken, the atmosphere in the room lightened noticeably.
Emma, Steph, Katy, Jess and Imogen walked over to hug Trey, all chatting happily. I got up to let Beau go over – he, Justin and Matt did the whole 'cool guy' thing and just clapped Trey on the back and fist bumped to cement their friendship.
I was the last one to talk to him. He looked at me happily, and pulled me into a comfortable bear hug, which I returned without hesitation.
"Go on, say it," he told me, rolling his eyes.
I poked him in the chest. "I told you so," I said, gloating. "Didn't I tell you nothing would change?"
He nodded grudgingly, admitting defeat. "Yes, oh wise one, you were correct. Your wisdom is matched only by your radiating beauty. You are truly a goddess among women."
I beamed. "And don't you forget it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a certain blonde girl to ring about a certain friend of hers who is interested in a certain friend I have. Important business, you see."
He laughed. "Well by all means, attend away! Let me know how it goes," he called after me.
"Duh!" I yelled over my shoulder as I walked into the hallway to make the call.
"What's doing An?" Matt asked on his way back from the kitchen.
I held my phone up. "I need to call Jenna. Matchmaking business."
"Ah, I see," he said, with a facial expression that contradicted his words. "Well, have fun with that." He wandered back into the lounge.
I dialled Jenna, and waited.
"Hey," Jenna answered cheerily.
"Hey, Jenna. How's things?"
"Not too bad, actually. What's up?"
"Well, I was actually calling about that thing you mentioned the other day. About Jason, and... "
"Trey?" she guessed excitedly. "Please tell me it's Trey. What did he say? Did he say yes? I hope he said yes, how cute would that be!"
I laughed at her enthusiasm. "Jenna. Calm down. Take a breath." Over the phone, I heard her inhale obligingly. "Yes, it is Trey," I confirmed. "And, well... he said he'd like you to let Jason know that he is most definitely interested."
I literally had to hold the phone away from my ear, so as not to go deaf from her resulting scream.
"Oh, Anna, that's great! Jason will be so happy! I can imagine he's just been moping around waiting by the phone to hear what was happening, oh my goodness this is adorable! We're like little Cupids!" she squealed excitedly.
This girl would be the death of my ear drums, but I couldn't help but share in her excitement.
Though we couldn't see each other through the phone, I had a feeling we were both grinning as wide as each other.
"I know," I agreed with her. "I couldn't be happier for either of them."
She sighed happily on the other end. "I'm so glad. Jason deserves a nice guy for once, and Trey is about one of the nicest I've ever met. Can I grab his number off you? Just so I can give it to Jason, so we don't have to be the in between women all the time." She giggled.
"No problem," I told her. "Got a pen?" I waited for her to confirm before continuing. "Okay. 0425, 232, 776."
"0425 232 776," she read back to me questioningly.
"Got it," I told her. "Now these boys can sort out their own love lives, haha."
She giggled. "Oh, come on Anna. I know you loved being a part of this just as much as I did. It's nice to be a part of two people finding love. It always makes me feel like I've got a purpose."
"You do this frequently?" I asked as I headed into the kitchen to find something to drink.
"Like you wouldn't believe," she said. "It's crazy, the amount of people who can't sort their own lives out. Sometimes they just need a little push."
I heard a commotion in the background, and someone yelling.
"Oh, Anna, I have to go, sorry," Jenna said apologetically. "My, um, dog's got loose. I'll see you at school on Monday, bye."
"Yeah, see-ya," I said, confused, before hearing the 'beep' that indicated we'd been disconnected.
I didn't know Jenna had a dog.
Beau came up to me the second I reached the kitchen.
"I have to get going, babe. Mum's going out and there's nobody else to watch Seb. I'll see if I can come over a little later though, okay?"
I smiled. "Sure. I'll see you then. Say hey to Seb for me," I told him, giving him a quick kiss before he rushed out the door, waving on his way out.
"Where's Beau off to?" Jess asked curiously, as she, Trey and Emma joined me in the kitchen. "I was just about to challenge him to a Tekken tournament."
I rolled my eyes. "Babysitting. There's no-one to look after Seb. Your lame tournament will have to wait for another day," I teased. "What a shame."
She poked her tongue out at me.
"How'd it go, Anna?" Trey asked impatiently. "With Jenna. What did she say, is everything cool?"
I turned to him with the biggest grin imaginable. "Everything's sorted. I've given her your number to give to him, so now it's in your hands."
He came over to hug me. "Ugh, Anna, I cannot even begin to tell you how much I appreciate this. You're an amazing person. I'm so lucky to have you."
I shrugged. "I know. I'm wonderful."
He shoved me playfully. "Oh, god, don't go getting a big head, now."
"Moi? As if. I'm as modest as they come."
"Of course you are," Emma said, coming over to join us. "And I'm the Queen of England."
I formed my mouth into a large mocking 'O'. "Your Majesty," I said, bowing deeply. "Might I offer you some tea? Crumpets, perhaps? Do take a seat."
She just giggled, slapping me half heartedly. "And this is my best friend," she said mournfully. "What on earth have I gotten myself into?"
I grinned. "Well, there's no getting rid of me now," I told her matter-of-factly. "And besides, you luuuuurve me."
She sighed dramatically. "Well yes, I suppose we do. So what are we doing today?" she asked as she hoisted herself up on to the kitchen table. Her feet dangled daintily above the ground.
I looked at her exasperatedly. "You do know we have chairs for that sort of thing, right?"
She grinned innocently at me. "I know. So, what are we doing?"
I shrugged, and looked at the others. "What do you guys want to do?"
"Shopping," Emma answered, before anyone else had a chance to.
I raised my eyebrow at Jess and Trey, asking for their input. They both shrugged, nonplussed.
"Could be nice," Jess said.
"And I could do with some new clothes," Trey added. "Now that I have someone to wear them for," he added, unable to contain his smile.
"So I guess it's decided," Emma said happily, sliding off the table. "Excellent. I'll go tell the others."
Trey grabbed my wrist gently before I could follow her and Jess into the lounge room.
"Anna."
I turned to face him. "Trey?"
"I just... I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you've done for me. I mean, it's way beyond what I could have ever expected of you, and you just keep doing things, and doing things, without me ever even having to ask for it, and, yeah. I just wanted to make sure you knew that I really do appreciate everything." His eyes were glistening, on the verge of tears I guessed.
I smiled gently at him, and grabbed both his hands in mine.
"Honey," I started softly. "It's my absolute pleasure. It's just what I do."
"Oi!" Emma's voice interrupted our touching moment. "We're leaving soon, hurry up!"
Trey and I laughed as he took my head and led me in to join the others.
-Happy Valentine's Day!
So I figured I could either continue to sob quietly into my iced tea (don't worry, that never actually happened haha), OR I could finally upload this chapter, seeing as it's been sitting here for ages, as a nice little Valentine's gift for my favourite children of the internet. I hope you like it.
Also, on the topic of gifts, I am finishing up a couple of nice Valentine's oneshots, one of which is an awfully cute, extremely fluffy Beau/Anna one, so if you're into that, make sure to keep an eye out for it in the next couple of days.
The next chapter should be up within the week if all goes to plan, maybe the week after, it's all planned out and just needs to be written up which shouldn't take long, and you get to meet a new character, which I feel is kind of exciting.
Anyway, as always, pretty please review, and let me know what you thought about this update!
xx.