Monday morning, Riley sat at his desk staring off into space. He rested his chin on his arms which were folded on top of the desk.

Jay entered the classroom and greeted him, "Hey."

Riley flashed a smile but didn't say anything.

Jay crouched down at the side of Riley's desk. "Are you mad?"

"About what?"

"That we called Eran? You were just so plastered and we didn't really know what to do..."

"Oh, it's okay."

There were a few seconds of silence.

Jay spoke again, "So... Now that you're sober..."

"Where's Tony?"

"His mom found his fake ID. He's on house arrest. He told her we weren't involved, and blamed it on Dirty Derrick, since his mom already knows Derrick and how dodgy he is."

Isn't he around Eran's age? Derrick was one of those Uptown kids who stuck up their middle finger to their parents after graduation and left for their own adventure. His nickname was Dirty because, besides the nice alliteration, he did dirty business. He was how Riley and his friends had gotten cigarettes, and access to 19+ clubs, amongst other things.

The first bell rang.

"Lunch. Start thinking of excuses now," Jay said before going to his own desk.

Lunchtime had finally arrived.

"Now, about Friday night-"

"Can you at least give me until I put my straw in?"

Jay rolled his eyes, but waited for Riley to slide a straw into his beverage. As soon as he put the straw in his mouth, Jay continued, "Do you remember everything?"

"If 'everything' is me getting drunk and acting pitiful, then you calling for Eran to pick me up, then yeah."

"You started acting weirder when he came. We really... He's reliable..." Jay glanced at Riley's body. "I don't see any bruises... Did he kick your ass?"

"Noooo. Eran..." Eran was acting so vulnerable and honest. Seeing that side of him... He really hates being alone now.

"Riley." Jay punched Riley's arm gently to stop him from spacing out.

"What do you think of gays?"

"HUH?" Jay dropped his jaw and furrowed his brow in a pure 'WTF are you talking about?' expression.

"How do you feel about homosexual relationships?" Jay stared at him silently, trying to decipher the meaning in Riley's question. "Just answer."

Jay sighed, then shrugged. "I care just as much as I care about straight couples. Unless it involves me, I really don't care."

"Ah." Riley nodded in contemplative understanding.

"Is Eran maybe g-"

"What do you think about Eran?"

"Hmm... He's dependable, cool, and even though he looks like jailbait, he's mature."

Did he just call Eran 'jailbait'? "'But'?"

Jay looked at Riley. "There is no 'but.' He's nerdy and violent, but that's not necessarily bad. I mean, you seemed consenting."

Although Eran had definitely lessened the physical attacks, it was true that Riley still wouldn't mind being stepped on. Literally. There was another silence.

"Now back to me asking you questions." Riley nodded slightly in consent. "What happened the last time you'd seen Eran, before we went drinking?"

"I went to the university on a whim to hang out with him. But when he came out of class, he was with this girl. And they kissed."

"So, he's not gay...? What'd you do after you saw them kiss?"

"I felt sick so I lied down on the metal benches by the courts for a while. Then I texted you and went home to change."

Jay nodded slowly. "Ah, I think I get it." He nodded again. "Heh, if something like that happened to me, I'd probably want to get drunk too. What happened after we called and he picked you up?"

"It's not completely clear, but..." Riley tried to recall what he could. "He started looking really vulnerable. He told me that the chick was a colleague who likes him and that she kissed him and he rejected her."

"And you believed that?"

"Yeah... He's never lied. You know, when you're drunk to the point where secrets come pouring out?" Jay nodded. "I admitted that I was being selfish with him, and he admitted that he has spoiled, selfish feelings too." Riley wondered if he should tell Jay the truth. If Eran and I are going to be dating, I've got to try for at least one ally.

"Um... I've actually been fighting against it for so long... Repeating it in my mind, but never doing it. He hugged me, so I tried to get away and leave. I told him that if I stayed, I would definitely kiss him. For months I've been suppressing the temptation to even touch his hand when he's always teasing me without knowing it. I'd gotten to the point where I was so happy even if he only hit me. I was surviving on those little bits of physical contact."

"Damn it, Riley. You dealt with that all by yourself? Why didn't you tell me? Or Tony? We could have helped you get through all of that; it could have been less painful. Why didn't you depend on us? You thought we'd hate and abandon you because you like a guy?" Jay looked at Riley incredulously.

Not the reaction I was expecting, even if he was okay with it. "I guess so. That and the age gap."

"How could I abandon my friend just because of who he likes? You're still you. Don't belittle me again."

"...Oh." I have great friends, Riley realized.

"So, what happened after you said that?"

"He said 'So?'" Riley paused, remembering it.

"He seriously said that?" Jay looked up and to the side as if he was trying to imagine it.

"Seriously. So I kissed him. And he looked completely indifferent. But he had started to close his eyes. So I kissed him again and we made out for a bit. He admitted he liked me. The next morning, he made me breakfast and acted like nothing had happened. But then... he said we couldn't be together because of our age gap."

"What the hell's up with that?"

"That's what I said! But... uh... something I said after that... somehow I convinced him that it doesn't matter... and he kissed me." Riley blushed. "Like, kissed me. And we made out, and he was cute, and we spent the day together, and I'm going to meet him at his lab after school."

"Then, it's a happy ending! So, why do you look so dull?"

"I'm happy but... it seems like it came out of nowhere. That he likes me. Could he just have agreed to my feelings just so I won't leave him?"

"'Leave him?' ...That night it happened?"

"Uh... surprisingly, he has always had some possessive thoughts. Ah, I remember he even said he didn't realize that he was lonely until I came along."

"That seems like the truth. He lives alone, doesn't have a girl---Uh... was single, and didn't seem to have any close friends. I don't think he's lying. But... he could still just have... a Platonic attachment."

"He's pretty hard to read."

"Well, I doubt he's that desperate for company---enough to make out with a guy six years younger."

"So he really does love me...?"

Jay shrugged. "There's one way to know for sure."

"How's that?"

"Take him to bed."

"Can't."

"Grow some-"

"No, I mean, he said he won't have sex with me until he's ready, and that we can't go do... you know," Riley made a circle with one hand's thumb and finger and poked through the circle with the index finger of the opposite hand, "until I graduate and get accepted to a university."

Jay laughed and asked bluntly, "You mean anal?"

"You're so crude."

Raising an eyebrow, Jay chuckled and said, "That gesture was way cruder. Anyway, that's just like him. I can believe it. But shouldn't he start mentally preparing?" He looked at Riley meaningfully. "Your birthday's next month, isn't it? Is he still going to have problems getting dirty with a 19-year-old because if your dad hadn't taken you overseas a few years ago, you'd be a university student right now."

Riley smiled. "Yeah. I don't think that makes a difference."

"There's another way. Hear it from a friend. There's that guy he went to the party with, and didn't you say there's another guy who owns a restaurant?"

"What am I supposed to ask them? I'm sure Eran wouldn't tell even them about us."

"If they really know him, they'll be able to tell you Eran's feelings, just by watching. I could tell you really liked Eran, though I didn't expect it to be romantic."

Riley thought about it. Asking someone? He seems closer to Bubba but he's around Elias more often. "It feels kind of sneaky."

"No relationship can stand without some sneaking around for secrets. If Eran ever asks me, I'll tell him everything. After all, I'm on your side." Riley was sure he could again see those fangs within Jay's smile.