It's almost one in the morning when there's a knock at my bedroom door. I haven't gotten any sleep since my parents confronted me and very clearly informed me that they know about my relationship with Nash. I get up to answer it, finding my brother on the other side. He looks like he's gotten about as much sleep as I have.
"Axel," he breathes, reaching out to pull me into a tight hug. I hug him back, wanting to just break down but forcing myself to stay together. "I'm so sorry. I tried to call you when they got here, but you weren't picking up your phone. And then I had to wait for them to go to bed before I could come check on you."
I pull away, tugging him inside and closing and locking the door behind him. "My phone was off. I was with Nash."
"I figured that much." He slumps onto my couch, sighing deeply. "It was a trap. Their business trip. They wanted you to bring Nash here- they put a camera in the library. And the basement. And your room. As soon as they came home, I could tell they knew just by the way they asked me where you were, so I looked around and found the cameras. I removed them, obviously, but it's too late now."
"What am I supposed to do?" I whisper, falling onto the couch beside him. "Run away? They're going to kick me out anyways. It's just a matter of time, and how much they can hurt me beforehand."
Jason grabs me by the shoulders, giving me an intense look. "Hey, no. Don't go anywhere. I'm going to talk to them, okay? I'll figure something out. And I'm not going to let them talk to you alone again. Even if they do try to kick you out, they're going to have to go through me first."
I relax a little, blinking back tears. "Okay. Thank you, Jase."
"Of course, you're my baby brother." He puts an arm around my shoulders, giving me a comforting squeeze. "Now. Tell me everything about your boyfriend. I need the facts if I'm going to defend you."
I could make a joke or say that he doesn't need to know everything, but knowing my parents, he probably does. So I tell him everything- when I first started liking Nash, when we got together, how Kiera and Daily found out, the resulting month-long break, and then after that. With extra detail for everything our parents will definitely know about- yesterday in the library especially. I'm not really embarrassed telling all of this to Jason, for a few reasons. One- Nash and I haven't really done anything that embarrassing or private. We haven't honestly had the chance to. Two- Jase is my brother and I trust him more than I trust anyone else on the face of this planet. And three- because this is a really terrifying situation and I'm not feeling a whole lot of emotions aside from sheer terror and dread.
"Okay," Jason says once I've finished. "Okay. That's... not terrible. Only two people knew, other than me? For sure?"
"I'm pretty sure. I mean, we tried to keep it under wraps as best we could, because of this exact thing. But. You know me. I've been ready to come out for years. It's tiring to sneak around, so some of my other friends might have picked up on the flirty smiles and stuff."
He gives me a grin, wiggling his eyebrows. "And stuff? Like the swollen lips and-"
I smack him. He laughs, and I do my best to glare at him instead of smile.
"Alright. Well, none of that sounds too bad. I'm sure I can work something out with them. Try not to worry- well. Just don't let them get too far inside your head."
"Okay," I say quietly, giving him a small smile. "Thank you so much, Jase. You're the best."
"I know." He gets up, giving me a wink. "Get some sleep."
I nod. "I'll try."
"Good." He pauses at my bedroom door, looking back at me. "This is all going to work out, alright? It'll be okay."
I take a deep breath. "Okay."
He gives me a small smile, then opens the door and leaves.
I sigh to myself, then crawl back into bed and try to sleep.
I wake up Sunday morning to a text from Keira, telling me that a bunch of our friends are planning to hang out at the mall, and asking if I want to come. I say sure, and, after receiving the time and place details, she asks me if I've heard anything from Axel today, since he's apparently not answering his phone. I tell her no, shoot Axel a quick text mentioning the group outing, and then go downstairs to have breakfast.
The group outing is supposed to take place around one in the afternoon, and when Axel doesn't reply before eleven, I decide to just head over and see him in person to ask. If he does decide to come, I can hitch a ride with him, and if not, then at least I'll be closer to the mall than my house is.
Plus, I think as I'm knocking at his front door, his parents are still supposed to be gone. So maybe we could hang out for an hour or so before-
The door opens to reveal his mother. Oh. Great. She gives me a smile that makes me feel more scared than welcomed. "Ah. Nash, right?"
I give her a polite smile in return. "Yes, ma'am. I'm looking for Axel? Our friends are getting together this afternoon, and he hasn't been answering his phone."
"Ah, I see. Come with me, I'll take you to him."
Something about her tone makes me feel like she may be more likely to take me to a secret dungeon in her basement instead, but I follow her anyways, because. Well. Axel.
She leads me deep into the house, past the library and the staircase to the second floor. Finally, we stop at a door, which I can hear a heated argument through. Axel's mom gives me an acidic smile before opening the door, gesturing for me to go in.
I do.
I'm not at all prepared for what I walk into. Axel's dad is sitting on a very fancy chair, and Jason is standing in the centre of the room, basically yelling at him. Axel is sitting on a couch at the back of the room, hugging his knees to his chest as he watches the scene in front of him. His cheeks are wet and his eyes are wide with fear, and before I know what I'm doing I'm beside him, one arm around his shoulders. "Hey, hey. I'm here."
He looks at me, still wide-eyed. "Nash- they know. They planted cameras to spy on us. The trip was a trap," he whispers, looking more terrified with every word. I put my other arm around him as well, holding him tightly.
"So your brother is trying to convince them not to throw you out?"
"No." He chokes. "He's trying to convince them- not to-" his breathing speeds up, scaring me. "They want to charge you with trespassing."
"What?!"
He dissolves into sobs, clinging to me. "I'm so sorry, I never should have gotten you involved in this-"
"No, shh. We'll figure it out." I look up anxiously, seeing Jason already looking at me.
"Don't worry, Nash," he tells me. "It's a ridiculous charge. They wouldn't win a court case. And they don't like to start things they can't win." He says this last part with a vicious glare in his parents' direction. His mother has come to stand beside her husband, still smiling in that awful way.
"Of course," she says sweetly. "We wouldn't do that, Nash. It was simply a miscommunication. We never explicitly allowed you into our house, so seeing you here in our absence was an obvious concern. But seeing as you were brought in by our son, we have no reason to pursue that course of action."
The words by themselves might be innocuous or reassuring, but coming from her mouth, they sound like a threat. I guess I'm missing what it is, though because Axel, still in my arms, shudders with a wave of fresh sobs. I run my fingers through his hair, trying to calm him down but knowing nothing I do will be enough right now.
"We do have our image to think of, after all," their father continues. "We wouldn't want to cause a scandal over nothing."
Axel tightens his grip on me, trembling almost convulsively at this point.
"Then don't make it into a scandal," Jason snaps. "Just let him come out. If you support him, it won't be scandalous. It would be good for your image. It makes you look like good parents and half-decent human beings. If you try to cover it up, it'll be bound to come out at some point, and then it'll be a scandal."
"Of course, of course," his father replies, seeming completely unfazed by this revolutionary idea, probably because he wasn't even listening. "But really, Jason. We have to think about the family line. If your brother is gay, he clearly can't carry it on. Do you have a solution for that, too?"
"Aside from the fact that he can carry on the family line? Gay couples can have kids. Surrogates, adoption, there are a number of options here," Jason spits, and I kinda get the feeling that they're not having the argument that it sounds like they're having.
"Jason. Be reasonable. With the amount of money we have, heirs are a very important business," his mother says calmly, smiling.
Jason grits his teeth, setting his jaw. He holds a staring contest with both his parents for a few moments. Axel and I watch as both parents stare down their son, unblinking and still wearing those genuinely unpleasant smiles.
My heart falls as Jason's shoulders lower slightly, that small action serving as his retreat and surrender. Axel curls in on me, burying his face in my shoulder.
Jason turns to me, his expression dark. "Nash. Take Axel to the library."
I nod and do as I'm told, wrapping an arm around my boyfriend and helping him stand up, tugging him out of the room and closing the door behind us. The air around us feels deathly silent as we walk to the library.
Axel sits on one of the couches and curls up again, trembling and sniffing. I sit next to him, rubbing his back and feeling useless.
We sit there for a long time, before Axel shifts and turns his head to look at me. "Can you play something?"
"Sure." I stand up, going to the piano bench. Axel slides in beside me, leaning against my shoulder. "What do you want me to play?"
He's silent for a moment. "Not a love song. That'll just make me feel worse."
"Okay." I think for a second, then take a deep breath and start playing a piano cover of Imagine by John Lennon. By the time I finish the song, Axel's breathing has evened out.
"Thank you," he whispers. I turn my head to press a soft kiss to his temple.
"Of course."
There's a quiet knock at the door, and then it opens to reveal Axel's parents. The terrible smiles are gone, to be replaced with almost completely neutral expressions. And then one of them moves aside, and Jason comes inside, wearing a gentle smile, and closing the door behind him, cutting his parents off.
And wow, apparently his parents don't even need to say super vague things for their children to understand their hidden messages, because Axel suddenly stands up and practically launches himself at his brother, sobbing and hugging him tightly with a smile on his face.
"They're letting me stay?" Axel asks, his voice trembling with hope.
"Yeah," Jason says, grinning and hugging his brother back. "And you get to be out, have open relationships if you want. You can even go to Pride parades."
"Thank you," Axel says, still crying with relief. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"Of course." Jason pulls away from him. "I am the best, after all."
"So... what are their terms?"
"Just that you're a responsible gay. It was a super homophobic conversation, and I'm not repeating any of it back to you in their words, but you're basically not allowed to get drunk, high, or particularly touchy with guys in public."
"Wait- does that mean I was allowed to get drunk or high in public before? Or- like, at all?"
Jason snorts. "No. But you know them. Now that you're going to be publicly gay, they want your public profile to be flawless."
"Otherwise flawless," Axel corrects. "The gay thing isn't ideal for them."
"But they're bigots," Jason tells him with a teasingly patronizing smile. "And we don't listen to them."
Axel grins. "Fine, whatever. Thank you again. You're the best."
"I know, and that's why I'm going to leave you two alone now," he says, smiling as he goes to the library door. "Go on a date or something. I'll see you later."
"Okay." Axel shares one more smile with his brother before Jason leaves, quietly closing the door behind him. I press my lips together, turning to Axel.
"So."
"So," he echoes, coming over to me. "Now that that's over..."
I grin, wrapping my arms around him. "Yeah?"
He leans down to touch the tip of his nose to mine. "Will you come out with me?"
I turn my face to peck his lips once before I answer. "Gladly."
"Fantastic." He moves away a little bit, taking my hand in his and starting for the door to the library.
"Wait." I pull him back towards me, hooking an arm around his neck to pull him down for a firm kiss. "I love you," I whisper against his mouth, and he reaches up to cup my cheek as he kisses me back just as intently.
"I love you too."
THE LAST CHAPTER!!! (don't worry, there is still a short epilogue) What do you think? Thoughts on Jason's conversation with Axel at the beginning? And the showdown Nash walked in on? How about the resolution? Let me know all your thoughts!
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