I called Phoenix to tell him to come straight over and not look at his phone until he got here. He was - understandably - confused by my request, but agreed nonetheless. I knew Sam would try and tell him everything as soon as she got the chance, but this was my secret. My story. My explanation. It was my duty to tell him.

My family came home shortly after Theo left, and Phoenix's knock at the door echoed through the house only a few moments later. I waited for someone else to answer and send him upstairs, and a couple of minutes later, my bedroom door flew open without any warning. "What's going on?" Phoenix asked the second he'd shut my door behind him.

I started pacing back and forth, my hands interlocked, my fingers weaved together as I tried to untangle my messy thoughts. I was at a complete loss as to how I was going to break this to him. Did I ease him into it? Did I just blurt it out? What's the right way to do this stupid thing?

"I'm not ready to tell you." I started abruptly, the words spilling from my mouth before I could stop them. "But Sam...Sam found out and if I don't say something, she will." I sighed heavily. "Promise not to freak out?"

He stared at me skeptically, his brows twitching into a frown as his ocean eyes watched me intensely. "Okay..."

"Theo and I are dating." I spat out. "And no, I'm not gay. I don't know what I am, I'm just me. Just...just Luca. And I'm dating a boy. That's all there is to it, okay?"

He surprisingly didn't look too fazed. Merely curious. "Why are you telling me this?" He asked calmly.

I opened my mouth to retaliate before shutting it swiftly, "Well...because-"

"I already know, you twat." He rolled his eyes dramatically.

"D-Daya told you?" I asked, gnawing on my lower lip.

He rose his brows quizzically, "Daya knows too?"

"Oh, shit, Tommy told you-"

"Tommy knows?" He asked in exasperation. The similarity between his and Theo's reactions to that news nearly made me laugh. "I'm the last one you've told?"

"No, it's not like that!" I hastily corrected. "You're the only one I've told. The rest found out on their own! I came out accidentally to Day and Tom, and Sam...well, Sam walked in on us making out." I tried to explain. "So...how did you know?"

He collapsed onto my bed, taking a deep breath as if preparing for a long speech. "Remember ages ago when my friend spotted you guys practically cuddling at the bowling alley?" He reminded me.

My eyes widened. I'd completely forgotten about that. "We weren't even together back then." I tried to justify.

"Okay, but then there was the lube in his locker." He added. "That was such a classic Luca Bakker joke, you could spot it a mile away." He scoffed at my expense. "And the whole thing about Teddy liking foreign boys. Come on, you're practically the definition of a sexy foreigner stealing a local's heart."

"This doesn't make sense, you couldn't possibly use any of this to conclude that we were dating." I huffed, folding my arms tightly over my chest. I was just pissed off. I thought we'd done a good job of keeping our relationship a secret, but clearly not.

"And I have a friend who works at the cinema-"

"Fucking hell, d'you have friends everywhere?" I groaned in frustration.

"You guys have been spending all your time together." He shrugged. "You haven't slept with Sam in months and the pair of you are always covered in hickeys."

"They could be from anyone." I argued.

"I saw you leaving chocolate in his locker when he was off sick." He pointed out. "Plus, I accidentally saw the texts on your phone - his name has a heart after it." He chuckled, causing me to blush violently. "And your lock screen is a selfie of you and him."

I tried desperately to argue with every point he made, but he was right. It was all too obvious. We hadn't been as discreet as we thought we had. "Fuck you." I grumbled.

"I figured it out, dude." He rolled his eyes.

"Why didn't you say anything?" I asked angrily.

He shrugged, "I was waiting for you to tell me. I didn't wanna make you feel uncomfortable thinking that I've known this whole time."

I flopped back onto the bed beside him, staring up at the ceiling, "Are you angry?"

"Well, yeah, kinda."

I glanced at him in concern. If I had to lose Sam over this, then so be it. It wasn't nice, but I could spare her. But not Phoenix. I couldn't lose him. "Really?"

"Yeah, for not fucking telling me, you prick." He nudged my leg playfully, letting me know I wasn't in any serious trouble. "Did you seriously think I'd give a shit? Luca, I have two Mums."

"Shit, I completely forgot." I chuckled lightly to myself. He was right - I knew Phoenix wouldn't be bothered about who I liked. "Thanks, man." I grunted. We were football players, jocks, 'tough guys'. We never showed affection. Now, it just felt awkward. "Sam freaked out."

"What did she walk in on exactly?" He rose a brow suggestively.

I shoved him jokingly, "Not much." I shrugged. "We were in bed-" I started, but was cut off by an obnoxious scoff. "And I was shirtless...Theo was wearing some of my clothes." I sighed heavily. Maybe this did look worse than I'd initially considered. "We were just kissing, okay?"

"What did she say?"

My blood boiled all over again, just thinking about her razor sharp words. "She called Theo a skank..." I trailed off, my mind fogging over, "She used the word faggot, too."

"Holy shit." He gasped. "Is she for real?" He demanded lividly. Phoenix had always been more animated with his reactions, especially when it came to homophobic comments. He'd grown up around discrimination due to his parents, he'd learnt to deflect it. "Is Teddy okay?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Hopefully." I sighed. "But this came at a pretty shitty time for him, he's only just started feeling better after..." I trailed off, clamping my jaw shut abruptly. Phoenix noticed my mistake, but didn't try and press it. "You know, I wouldn't even fucking care that much if she talked to me like that!" I decided. "But she can't talk to Theo like that, it's not fair."

"You love him."

"What?" I laughed, "No. I don't."

"It wasn't a question." He declared.

"I don't love him, okay? That's a strong word."

"You're just scared, Luca. You've never loved anyone before. You don't know what it feels like."

"That's ridiculous. How do you even know when you love someone anyway?"

"When you ask that question."

I rolled my eyes, "Bullshit."

He shrugged his shoulders, deciding not to press the matter any further, "Have you guys fucked yet?"

I was ready to deny the accusation, but my blushed cheeks and lack of eye contact would've given me away. So, instead, I merely confessed to the sin. "Yes. Today, actually."

His face fell as he leapt off of the bed like it had scolded him, "Ew, gross!"

"Relax, we changed he bedsheets." I waved him off.

He let out a sigh of relief, bashfully perching on the end of the bed once again. "So, what's it like shagging a dude?"

"I'm not answering that."

"Oh, come on, you always tell me about your sex life."

The way he worded it made me cringe, but I didn't question him. "This is different. Theo's my boyfriend-"

"Boyfriend? Wow, fancy word. Wasn't expecting that one. You guys are serious then?"

"Pretty serious." I agreed.