“What happened out there?” Heather questioned, watching Kipp walk into the room speechless. “Kipp? Hello?”

Kipp said nothing as he just walked towards the couch and took a seat. He just seemed to stare off into the room as he thought deeply.

“I can’t believe that prick,” Heather sighed disgusted as she paced back and forth between the room, “He thinks he could treat me like that. Better yet, he thinks that he could talk about me like that. I am just so interested on what he has said about me before when I am not here.”

“Heather, shut up,” Kipp yelled, his body still a little shocked at what had just happened, “Better yet Heather, get out of my house right now.”

“What?” Heather questioned with a gasp, seeing the look in Kipp’s eyes letting her know that he was being serious. “But why would you want me to do that?”

“I need some time to think to myself Heather,” Kipp declared, shaking his head slowly as she watched him intently with a worried look behind her features, “I can’t think clearly with you here talking my head off.”

“You can do all the thinking you want Kipp,” Heather decided with a small laugh, shaking her head slowly, “but I am not leaving. I am staying here with Charles and that’s final. I am not going to leave my son.”

“Fine,” Kipp nodded slowly, standing up from where he was sitting. He walked towards the door before turning around to face Heather. “Then I am going out for a while, but I swear to you when I get back you better have Charles here with you or else I will hunt you down and kill you.”

“Hey now Kipp,” Heather held her hands up in the air defensively as her eyes got wide at his comment, “I have no other plans than to be here with my son. I know he is here with you right now and I am okay with that.”

“Good,” Kipp nodded slowly before folding his arms out in front of his chest, “If you need anything…”

“Yeah, I have your number,” she pointed out with a small frown, “I think I will be okay for a while because the baby is sleeping. Like me, he likes to take a long nap. I think he won’t need attention for a while.”

“If he’s like you, he might need a lot of attention,” Kipp decided with a small laugh before turning towards the door to walk out of the house.

“What in the world is that supposed to mean?” Heather questioned with a small frown before shrugging her shoulders and walking back towards the baby’s room. Whatever was on Kipp’s mind had to be really important for him to even think about leaving her alone with Charles.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I can’t believe that Kipp would be that dumb to let Heather into his life just like that,” Kellen declared, closing the front door of his house after he walked in.

At most times, Kellen would probably freak out at what he had just done. Things like that aren’t small, but he didn’t care. Kipp needed to get some type of clue and Kellen wanted to give him somewhat of a push.

“Oh well,” Kellen shrugged with a small sigh as he sat down on his couch, “If Kipp wants to act the way he is about Heather, then he doesn’t deserve my opinion or my help. It’s not like it even mattered anyways.”

Kellen’s cell phone began to ring as he reached into his pocket--maybe it could be Kipp changing his mind. It was very unlikely there, but some things could happen.

“Hello,” Kellen answered quickly, not even caring to look at the number on the id.

“Kellen,” a familiar voice came over the receiver as Kellen nodded to himself, “I don’t know if you remember me or not, but this is Drew, Drew Boi.”

“Oh, hey Drew,” Kellen coughed, leaning back into his couch as he spoke, “What do I owe you for this call. I haven’t heard from you in forever.”

“I know and I was hoping that could maybe change between us,” Drew stated with a sigh, “You see, I am having this party tonight and I was hoping that you would be able to make it. It’s been a while, but I am sure that you will have a good time. I know it’s your kind of party, plenty of people and…”

“Say no more,” Kellen cut him off with a small laugh, “If it’s a party, I am so there. Just give me a few and I will be there as soon as possible.”

“Really? That’s cool Kellen,” Drew decided with a small smile, “I hope to see you real soon. We can hang out once you get here, just like the old times.”

“Sounds great,” Kellen grinned before looking down at his watch to see how long it would take him to get there, “I’ll be there in a little bit. See you later.”

Kellen grabbed his car keys before walking towards the door. He shouldn’t be running off like this, but it was the only way to get things off his mind. If Kipp wasn’t going to be here with him, then he was going to forget Kipp--forever.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Guy entered the apartment dropping his keys on the table as his heart sank. He thought back to dropping Gabe off at the hotel room and still it felt wrong. There was nothing right about their ending things, yet Gabe had been firm in his resolve to end the relationship.

“I’m sorry Guy, but there’s no other alternative in this situation. Until you can be true to the man you are, there’s no way that you and I can ever be with one another. Even then, I still don’t know if it could work,” Gabe’s voice echoed in his mind.

“But Gabe after everything we’ve been through together, how can you say that? How can you just walk away from this relationship after all that we’ve shared,” Guy had asked of him.

“This is anything but easy for me, but at this point there’s nothing more that I can do. I have no choice. I can’t live this way,” Gabe had blurted out delivering the final blow to their relationship.

Even now Guy could remember the pain he’d felt in watching Gabe walk away. He hadn’t wanted to take him back to the hotel as he’d wanted to stay and work things out, yet Guy knew nothing he could say would change Gabe’s mind. He’d already made it up and Gabe wanted to end the relationship. What more could Guy do?

“Mindy,” Guy questioned waiting to hear if his other roommate was around. Maybe in talking to her Guy could clear his head and get some thoughts and suggestions on what he should do to fix things. Maybe it wasn’t too late to convince Gabe that their relationship could still work, but right now Guy didn’t have the first clue on how to accomplish that goal.

Guy walked around the apartment noticing a piece of paper on the center of the kitchen table. Reaching for it, he noticed it was a sloppy note from Mindy alerting him that she wouldn’t be around for a while, but that she’d made way too much macaroni and cheese and it was in the refrigerator if he or Gabe was interested in it. Sighing Guy put the note down and looked around the apartment.

“So this is what breaking up feels like,” he groaned inwardly realizing it had been such a long time since he’d been in this position. Sure he’d been single once living up the life, but once he’d met Gabe, it had all changed for him. He hadn’t found the need to go out and pick up random stranger one after the other. Gabe had brought a sense of peace and clarity into his life and now…

“I can’t just sit back and do nothing,” he decided making his way over to the phone. He reached for it ready to dial Gabe at the hotel when he heard a silence on the line. Uneasily he spoke up, “Hello…”

“Guy, is that really you?” a thick male voice questioned in to the phone.

“Who is this?” Guy replied uneasily feeling as if he should recognize the voice speaking to him.

“It’s Drew. Drew Boi,” the man replied as Guy suddenly remembered his longtime pal.

“Drew, hey how are you?” Guy questioned with a small smile, “Long time, no talk.”

“Tell me about it,” Drew laughed heartily. “It feels like an eternity.”

“So how did you get this number,” Guy couldn’t help but ask surprised to hear an old familiar voice.

“When I’d heard you were in town, I thought it might be fun to look you up there. I called around and then I ran into Mindy at the grocery store. We got to talking and she mentioned that you two were staying together, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask if I could call sometime,” Drew explained matter of fact, “I guess I probably should’ve mentioned it when you said hello, but I figured that you wouldn’t mind my calling.”

“I don’t,” Guy admitted taking a seat on the arm of the couch, “I guess I was just surprised to hear from you that’s all.”

“Well since I’ve already surprised you, how about one more?” Drew suggested with a playful tone, “I’m having this little gathering at my place…okay it’s more than a little gathering and I was hoping maybe you and Mindy might be interested in showing up.”

“Well Mindy’s not around but…” Guy began uneasily.

“Then why not you? I mean what do you have to lose? It’ll be good conversation, good company and plenty of hot men here if you’re up for it,” Drew added with that same cocky tone that Guy fully remembered.

Drew was one of the first people that knew about Guy’s being gay and up until the point in time when Guy had left Coral Valley, Drew had been one of the only other gay guys that Guy had known. They’d had long talks with one another and even snuck off to clubs together during their senior year of high school. In being Drew’s friend Guy had almost felt normal during his time in town.

“So what do you say? Interested yet?” Drew added suggestively, “Because I’m telling you now this is one opportunity that you don’t want to pass up.”

“Well I…” Guy paused thinking about Gabe. Here was the point in time he should just say that he was in a loving, committed relationship, yet as he remembered Gabe’s dumping him, he felt a moment of betrayal over him. Here fate was planning to let Guy have a chance to have fun after Gabe had walked away and Guy would be a fool to just let it pass him by. Still Guy couldn’t imagine that there would be any other guy out there who would entice him nearly as much as Gabe always had.

“Oh come on. Don’t flake out on me yet. Please Guy. You know how killer my parties always are,” Drew insisted further, “Plus I haven’t seen you in like forever man. It’s been too long.”

“That it has,” Guy nodded decidedly, “So why not?”

“Seriously,” Drew practically squealed.

“Yeah sure why the hell not? I’ll be over in a little bit,” Guy decided with a firm nod figuring that at this point he had nothing left to lose. Gabe had made up his mind and now Guy was going to make up his. If Gabe wanted them to be apart, then so be it. Guy wasn’t going to sit around waiting for a way to fix things when it was clear that Gabe wasn’t looking for that. It was time to move on and tonight was the right time to do it!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I can’t believe you two,” Diego laughed as they walked out of the movie theatre, “Do you know how many times you two almost got us kicked out? You shouldn’t have popcorn fights with each other, let alone other people.”

“Hey, what can I say?” Cori questioned with a small laugh. “We were having fun, whether you wanted to have fun or not. If other people can‘t have fun, then they are grouchy. Right Kayla?”

“Right,” Kayla nodded slowly before smiling widely, “You weren’t having fun Diego. You should have just played along--you would have liked it.”

“I did sort of play along,” Diego pointed out shaking his leg and watching as some popcorn came out of his pant leg, “I think I still have more popcorn in my pants.”

“How in the world did you get some in your pants?” Cori questioned, arching her eyebrow in shock at him. “I don’t believe I poured popcorn down your pants.”

“Well, you know,” Diego shrugged easily, hearing Kayla laugh in the background, “You guys were throwing popcorn everywhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had some in my shoes too.”

“He probably put that there himself,” Kayla insisted with a small chuckle, “You really like popcorn, don’t you?”

“I love popcorn,” Diego replied, picking Kayla up in his arms with a small smile, “How about us three play a video game together? Does that sound good?”

“Yeah, I would love to play a game,” Kayla declared pointing towards one of the games in the lobby, “I want to play the car racing games right there.”

“Who do you want to help? Me or Diego?” Cori questioned with a small smirk as Diego let her down slowly. “Do you want to be my driver or his?”

“His,” Kayla replied with a small smile, grabbing Diego’s hand in hers before leading him towards the game, “I’ll drive and you can be the pedals because I am not that tall yet.”

“Sounds great,” Diego laughed, sitting down in the seat before she sat on his lap. He looked over towards Cori who was getting in the seat and smiled. “We are going to whoop your butt.”

“Let’s just see about that,” Cori smiled with a small shake of her head before putting the money in. “Here we go.”

“Push the pedal down,” Kayla ordered as Diego pushed his foot down and she began to turn the wheel.

“Kayla, she’s getting ahead,” Diego pointed out with a small smile, pointed his hand towards the right, “Turn the wheel this way.”

“I got it,” Kayla replied, turning the wheel which made their player run into something, “Good job Diego.”

“Looks like I am going to win,” Cori pointed out with a small smile before noticing Diego and Kayla’s car pass her up to win. “How did you do that?”

“We are magic,” Diego insisted with a wink before noticing someone coming up with Ken. Ken rested his arm on Cori’s shoulder making her turn around.

“Ken, hey,” Cori got up slowly, seeing Ken smile as she rose to her feet, “Is there something you need?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to come over here and apologize for acting like a jerk that one time,” Ken apologized with a small frown, “You see, I was sick back then and I’ve changed now. I just wanted to make sure that you knew I was sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Cori assured him with a small shrug, “it really didn’t cross my mind. There is no tension between us, it’s all good.”

“Thanks Cori,” Ken smiled, leaning out to hug Cori in his arms lightly, “Oh, I want you to meet someone. This is someone very important to me. This is Michelle Sprite.”

“Nice to meet you,” Cori shook her hand as Kayla came out behind Cori looking up at Ken and Michelle.

“Who are they?” Kayla questioned, seeing Ken smile down at her before bending down.

“I’m Ken, you can call me Kenny if you want,” Ken reached his hand out to hers, “This is Michelle Sprite. How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Kayla replied looking up at Ken with a small frown, “Sprite? As in the soda?”

“What a cute child,” Michelle smiled with a small chuckle, “Is she yours?”

“No, we are just babysitting,” Cori replied with a sigh, “I am not old enough to have a child yet, but Kayla is a fun one.”

“So, Kayla,” Ken nodded slowly before letting out a small smile, “You like ice-cream? I own this really cool ice-cream place and I was wondering if you would like some.”

“I would love to,” Kayla giggled, looking up at Diego, “Can we go Diego? Please?”

“Of course sweetheart,” Diego agreed slowly before thinking everything over for a second. He wasn’t sure about Ken being this nice, but if Kayla wanted to go it was fine.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Where could he be?” Sarah questioned to herself, coming out into the lobby once more. Avery and Sarah had split up to look for Kyle and Grady for a while, but Sarah was out of luck. She couldn’t find Kyle or Grady anywhere.

“Oh, I am so sorry,” Kevin apologized, bumping into Sarah after walking out of one of the rooms. He caught her in his arms before she could fall. “I didn’t know you were there. That was my fault.”

“It’s okay,” Sarah assured him with a small laugh as he helped her stand up, “I shouldn’t have been standing right in front of the door, it was my fault.”

“No, it was me,” Kevin insisted, shaking his head slowly, “I should have slammed the door open so quickly. I should have been more careful.”

“Believe me, you didn’t know anyone would be behind the door,” she went to go on before shaking her head, “Let’s just say it was both of our faults so we don’t go on a on about whose fault it was.”

“Sounds good,” Kevin smiled, nodding slowly before taking in a deep breath, “So what are you up to? Where is your boyfriend?”

“Kyle?” she questioned seeing him nod slowly before she shrugged. “I don’t know, he just kind of walked out of here upset and I can’t find him. Did you see him around lately?”

“Not since earlier,” Kevin stated, thinking it over for a second, “Maybe he just needed some space. I know that is how I felt a while ago, I just wanted to be alone for a while. You’ll find him don’t worry.”

“I know I will,” she replied with a small sigh, “but enough about me, how are you doing? Are you okay?”

“Well, I guess you could say I am holding up,” he shrugged, thinking back to Cameron before going on, “I just feel bad you know. It’s like this isn’t even happening. Like it’s a…”

“Dream,” Sarah finished, seeing him nod slowly, “I know how it feels. I think Jade would be very proud of you Kev, you seem to be taking it strong for Seth. I look up to you.”

“Thanks,” Kevin half smiled before shrugging his shoulders, “It’s a little hard doing this, but I have to go through with it.”

“It seems like life will never loosen up, but it will,” Sarah assured him, seeing him lean forward to hug her lightly.

“Thanks for coming today Sarah,” Kevin whispered, feeling her pat him on the back lightly, “I appreciate you coming.”

“It’s no problem Kevin,” she assured him with a small smile as he let go of her, “I wanted to be here.”

“I know,” he nodded before looking around the lobby, “You should probably look for Kyle a little bit more. I’ll be sure to let you know if I see him.”

“Okay Kevin, I’ll see you later,” Sarah said her goodbyes before walking out towards the front. Hopefully Kevin was right, Kyle just wanted some time to be alone and that was all.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Avery walked through the church after having looked around the front and back with no signs of Grady. Frowning, she wondered where he could’ve drifted off to as it didn’t seem that he’d go too far away from the memorial given that it was for Jade. Spotting Seth and Blake up ahead she rushed over to them.

“Hey guys,” Avery cleared her throat uneasily. “You haven’t seen Grady around here, have you?”

“Not since I pulled him off of Cameron and he walked out,” Seth replied with a simple shake of his head, “Why?”

“It’s not like him to just disappear,” she frowned before scanning the room once more.

“No it isn’t,” Seth added turning to Blake, “You didn’t see him did you?”

“No,” Blake replied thinking about the turn of events leading to this point in time, “I mean I saw how upset he was and I can’t say I blame him one bit after Cameron just showed up like that, but…”

“But it’s not like him to just go away and not return,” Avery added spotting Cheryl and Elliot up ahead, “Maybe his parents have seen him.”

“When you find him let me know Avery. I’d like to talk to him for a few minutes,” Seth reached out to touch her arm stopping her from leaving just yet.

She nodded, “Of course. I’ll tell him you want to see him.”

“Thanks,” Seth replied worried himself as Avery walked off to talk to Cheryl and Elliot.

“Avery,” Cheryl rushed over to her, “Have you seen Grady?”

“No,” Avery shook her head, “I was hoping that you had.”

“I looked out back and I haven’t been able to spot him,” Elliot added worry evident behind his dark eyes, “I know he was upset, but…”

“But it’s not like him to just up and leave like that,” Avery finished for him her own worries tangling up in the pit of her stomach.

“You don’t think that he went after Cameron, do you?” Cheryl turned to her husband with a worried expression, “After he was so upset about what that man had done, do you think it’s possible that he went out to finish what he started?”

“I would hope that he wouldn’t do that, but given how upset he was,” Elliot began unable to mask his own concerns about his son’s mental stability at a time like this.

“I’ll go look for him outside one more time,” Avery suggested hating to think that Grady gave into his rage again. Of course as she thought back to how he’d attacked Cameron, she feared that Cheryl could be onto something about where Grady’s motivation was. Knowing that had Avery even more desperate to find Grady before it was too late and he did something that he couldn’t ever take back.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Kellen, open up,” Kipp yelled, knocking on Kellen’s front door. “Kellen, please. Open up. I need to talk to you.”

Kipp began to pound on the door with his fists, feeling his hands begin to sting. He kept trying to get Kellen to come, he really had to talk to Kellen--now.

“Hey, crazy knocker,” the neighbor yelled from the next house, catching Kipp’s attention. “Are you trying to get Kellen to come out of his house or something?”

“Yeah, I really need to talk to him,” Kipp replied, walking up to the fence where the woman leaned against, “Do you know how to get into the house?”

“I do, but it wouldn’t be worth it,” the woman replied, nodding towards the house, “Kellen isn’t home. He has been gone for quite a while now.

“Who are you again?” Kipp questioned with a small sigh seeing the woman before him nod.

“I am Sylvia,” she reached out to shake Kipp’s hand in hers, “I am Kellen’s friend. We go to the movies and stuff together and just to let you know, Kellen went to a party a while ago. He seemed to be really angry about something for a while.”

“Was he really that angry?” Kipp wondered seeing Sylvia nod slowly. “Well, you said he went to a party?”

“Yeah, it’s a big party,” Sylvia replied with a small sigh, “He asked me to go with him, but I was busy with my own things. It’s a block away if you really need to see him that bad. Just keep driving around and you will find it. Drew always throws huge parties and you will definitely notice it.”

“Alright, it was nice meeting you,” Kipp waved goodbye before going towards his car, “My name is Kipp by the way.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sylvia waved goodbye before stopping again, “When you get to Kellen, make sure you tell him to come and pick up his dog. That dog is too hyper for it’s own good.”

“Will do,” Kipp chuckled before getting in his car and pulling out of the driveway, “Now I have to find my way to this party.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Guy sat on the roof looking up at the stars and wondering how in the hell he wound up at this place--at this party where he knew next to no one and didn’t mind keeping it that way. Even now he tried to find one good reason why he’d walked away from the truth Gabe was forcing him to face. The fact to the matter was that he didn’t want to be here--he didn’t want to be in such a state of randomness, yet as he lifted his beer to his lips for a drink, he stared up at the stars above realizing that he’d come to this pathetic point nonetheless.

“Have room for another body up there,” a voice beckoned Guy from his state of misery. Guy glanced over to the window he’d crawled out a few minutes earlier only to see the face of a handsome, blue eyed man before him.

“Sure, why not,” Guy shrugged his shoulders aimlessly, his mind traveling back to Gabe again, “It’s not like I can tell you no.”

“Well, I suppose you could, but I’m glad that you didn’t considering that I’ve had about as much as I can stand of Snoop Dogg goes retro in there,” the man explained with a shake of his head, “Honestly when someone mentioned it was going to be a blast from the past tonight I was thinking a little Donna Summers, some Boogie Fever and more retro classics, not Gangster Rap of the nineties. That’s just so last decade.”

“You’re telling me,” Guy agreed curling his finger around the long neck of the beer bottle once again before taking a swig. He glanced over at the new arrival seeing that the man was staggering a bit in an attempt to move in beside him all the while gracefully keeping his cosmopolitan in hand. “Need a little help?”

“No, not at all,” he shook his head with a wide smile before wiggling the glass in his left hand, “I’ve perfected the art of keeping a drink tastefully in tact while creeping in and out of tight places,” he paused, “well you know what I mean.”

“Not really,” Guy laughed lightly holding a hand out to help the man nonetheless, “Here let me take the drink. I promise I won’t spill it.”

“Somehow with fingers like yours I would seriously doubt that you’d have any kind of problems with your hands,” the man replied taking a seat beside him. He got comfortable before reaching for his glass once again. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem,” Guy held his drink over feeling his companion brush his fingers in against his.

“Thanks so much,” the man paused with an air of questioning in his voice.

“Guy,” he smiled back at him, “and you are?”

“Kellen,” the man piped in cheerfully, “Though some people call me Kel, but I say Kel, Kellen, Kelly, it’s all the same to me.”

“Well Kellen,” Guy couldn’t help but laugh, “the pleasure is all mine.”

“No sweetheart, it’s all mine,” Kellen gave him very thorough once over. His grin expanded a bit more before Kellen looked out to the night above, “It’s beautiful out there, isn’t it?”

“It’s nice,” Guy shrugged his shoulders, his mood fading back to the thoughtful contemplations that he’d been experiencing earlier in the night when he’d been alone outside.

“Nice huh,” Kellen gave him another long look, “Okay spill it.”

“Spill what?” Guy questioned.

“Whatever it is that has you being a sourpuss. Obviously you’re upset about something, so why not get it off your chest so you can enjoy the night?” Kellen suggested.

“I wish it were that easy, but it’s not,” Guy frowned wishing that it was that simple.

“Man troubles, eh?” Kellen noted sipping his drink.

“That obvious?” Guy replied with a strange expression.

“Oh honey I could spot them a million miles away and I’ve got to tell you that someone as gorgeous as you shouldn’t be out here fretting about the small things--especially about men unless of course the man in question is anything but small,” Kellen teased with a small wink.

“Far from it,” Guy couldn’t help but grin thinking about Gabe, “He’s amazing.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Kellen tipped his head to the side.

“I’m the problem,” Guy took another long swig of his drink, “Tonight he asked me to stop beating around the bush about something pretty serious for us and instead of being a man, I decided running away was easier.”

“It’s always easier to run initially, but one day you wake up and you see there’s no where left to run,” Kellen shrugged his shoulders, “Sure it sounds like a nice idea, but in the grand scheme of things, well it only winds up making you more miserable.”

“You’re telling me,” Guy groaned glancing up at the night sky once again, “and the worst part about it is that he’s the one. I mean yeah I’ve spent a lot of my life looking for Mr. Right, but I’ve been too damned repressed to really admit to that.”

“Well, then take advice from a fool like me when I tell you that having Mr. Right is something well worth holding onto. Trust me because in my search for Mr. Right, I’ve repeatedly found Mr. Right now and sure, they’re fun--lots of fun for short periods of time, but after the sex is over and done with, well there’s not a whole lot to be said about the type. Mr. Right however, well he’s the guy that comes around once in a lifetime and if that’s happened for you, then I’ll be the first to admit I’m beyond envious.”

“I don’t know if I would be if I was in your shoes considering that well, while it happened for me, I could’ve blown it tonight by behaving like the ignorant morons we’ve both claimed to detest in the world,” Guy shuddered at the memory of his blow up with Gabe.

“Well, take it from me, it’s never too late to fix what’s wrong. No, I take that back. There is a point when it’s too late and if you don’t do something to fix it, well you never know where life will take you. You might spend the rest of your days thinking about what if and about the man you let walk away,” Kellen added with a small sigh. He lifted his glass to his lips again before he focused on a car driving by beyond the house they were on.

“Spoken like a man who knows what he’s talking about? Experience it yourself?” Guy questioned taking in Kellen’s words.

“More times than you would believe,” Kellen replied flippantly with a wave of his hand, “but those days are soon coming to an end. I mean hey, like I said when you meet Mr. Right, it’s forever. I’m just waiting until that day comes along. Until then I’m going to shop around and have a little fun along the way. Unfortunately the yummy ones such as yourself are already taken.”

“Believe me if I wasn’t, then I would definitely take you up on whatever offer you might’ve had when you first stepped out here on the roof with me,” Guy replied with a knowing expression.

Kellen brought his hand up to his face before a laugh spilled from his lips, “Was I that obvious?”

“Just a little,” Guy pinched his fingers together, “but I’m very flattered.”

“Well, I’m flattered that you’re flattered considering that I didn’t even get to laying out my deliciously wicked indecent proposal, which by the way you wouldn’t have been able to refuse,” Kellen boasted with a wink.

“A few more of these and I very well may have beat you to the punch,” Guy confessed reaching out to pat Kellen’s leg, “If it wasn’t for Gabe, I can say that I wouldn’t have hesitated to offer up my own indecent proposal.”

“Hmm, well that’s always refreshing,” Kellen teased with a playful laugh. He leaned in closer to Guy, “and just for the record I can promise you that the sex would’ve been phenomenal there.”

Guy laughed lightly, “I’ll bet it would’ve been.”

“Oh it would’ve been more than phenomenal, but then again it would probably only amounted in a rebound fling for the both of us,” Kellen sighed turning his eyes to the street below them once again.

“Men troubles?” Guy replied knowingly.

“You could say that,” Kellen let out an ironic laugh, “I thought I met Mr. Right as well, but guess what…joke’s on me. He’s not gay. I mean all the signs were there, but, well what can I say, even someone as sexy as myself didn‘t seem to turn his head.”

“His loss,” Guy patted Kellen’s leg gently.

“I know,” Kellen beamed with an electric smile, “believe me I know that, but I mean what a bitch…”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Guy raised his beer bottle to a toast with Kellen before both men took a drink, “Although are you really sure about that?”

“Unfortunately it worked out that way,” Kellen frowned back at him, “I mean all the signs were there, but…”

“Well let me give you a piece of advice now. Sometimes when the signs are there, well, it doesn’t mean that you’re reading him wrong. I’ve spent most of my life in denial of who I am--about what it was that I wanted out of life and hell, that’s part of why I’m up here tonight complaining to you instead of being with the man I love. He asked me to just be honest with myself and the world around me about where my heart was, but I was too afraid of disappointing my mum. As stupid as that sounds I was terrified of what would happen when she discovered the truth.”

“I see,” Kellen nodded listening to Guy’s confession.

“I spent all these months, hell years wasting time with my life--with my heart and now, well now in my inability to be honest I could lose everything,” Guy dropped his head down looking to the in ground pool in the yard beyond where they sat.

“Well, if it means as much as you say it does, then you can’t keep hiding in the shadows. I mean yeah, there’s always a chance that someone won’t be happy with the way you live your life, but if it’s who you are, then who the hell are they to judge?” Kellen threw back at him pointedly, “I mean sure I’ve been called just about every name in the book. I’ve been beat up, ridiculed and practically disowned from my family for more than half my life, but I never ever tried to hide who I was. I never wanted to be something I wasn’t. You know maybe that’s what you need to think about. Maybe this situation isn’t about you and your guy, but more so about you being comfortable with you.”

“I am comfortable with me, but with my mum,” Guy began feeling his stomach tied in knots.

“Guy, if she can’t accept you for who you are, then obviously she’s not half the person that you are,” Kellen patted his arm supportively, “You have to be true to yourself and until you do, you’re never going to be happy. You and Gabe are never going to be able to make it with one another. Deep down you know that until you finally free yourself of the world’s expectations for you, you’re always going to be miserable destined to be doomed in relationships. As I said earlier it seems easier to run at first, but after a while, you get tired. It’s not worth giving up on happiness to live in a world of deception.”

“You know,” Guy paused really thinking about what Kellen was saying to him, “You’re right. You’re absolutely right.”

“Of course I am sweetheart,” Kellen replied boastfully, “If nothing else I’m usually right and of course I have a mean fashion sense as well, but still.”

“Thanks Kellen,” Guy smiled back at him.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Kellen patted his leg once again, “thank me when you and your sexy man are reunited because then I’ll feel like I’ve done a job well done. By then I won’t be bumming about what could’ve been if I hadn’t played Mother Theresa tonight in saving your relationship.”

“Trust me, it’ll win you good karma in your quest for Mr. Right,” Guy reminded him with a bright smile.

“I sure as hell hope so because at this rate I think I’m hitting a major dry spell,” Kellen groaned inwardly wishing like hell he could forget what it was that he’d started to feel for Kipp. Maybe Guy was right though. Maybe one day karma would lend a hand in guiding him to where it was he belonged. Until then perhaps it was about having a little fun in the process. Maybe that would ease the pain of rejection for a while.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Please don’t cry,” Heather pleaded with Charles as his tears were getting the best of her. She heard his screams and as she tried to figure out what was happening with him, she held him over her shoulder. Reaching for the phone she dialed the only person in the world who could help her at a time like this.

“Hello,” Diego’s voice answered in his usual cheerful, sunny voice. Before Heather could speak up Charles let out a long wail of protest.

“Diego thank God I found you,” Heather hugged her son closer to her finding herself on the verge of tears, “I need your help. Something’s wrong.”

“Heather, what’s going on? Is that Charles,” Diego couldn’t help but ask hearing her son’s fit.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him Diego. Kipp left me alone with him and he’s upset--really, really upset. I tried feeding him, but he doesn’t seem to be hungry. I changed him, but that didn’t work either. He doesn’t feel like he’s got a fever or anything, yet he won’t stop crying. I tried rocking him, holding him, singing to him which probably made him cry a bit harder since my singing voice leaves much to be desired, but still…”

“Heather hold on a minute. Calm down,” Diego urged hearing the desperation behind her voice. “Just take in a breath and try to relax.”

“Diego, can you hear my son? I can’t relax with him being this upset. I’m new at this and while I hate to admit it and I never would to anyone, but you the truth is I’m not sure what I’m doing. I don’t know if I’m holding him wrong or…” Heather continued frantic.

“I’m sure you’re doing just fine Heather. If you just try to comfort him and then…” Diego suggested hearing Charles let out a shrill cry again.

“Diego please I’m desperate. I need you,” she pleaded with him not really sure who else to call at a time like this, “Please.”

“Heather, I don’t know what I can really do for you considering that…” he began not quite sure why she called him of all people.

“You’re good with children. You told me yourself that you helped raise your niece and nephew. I’m sure that if you came over and saw Charles, then you would be able to tell me what was going on. You could help me fix whatever is wrong and…”

“Okay, okay,” he interrupted realizing that she was on the verge of a breakdown herself, “Heather where are you?”

“We’re at Kipp’s place--at his new house here in town,” Heather explained in a quick voice rambling out the address the best that she could.

“Okay, stay there. Keep doing what you’re doing with Charles. Try rocking him again and I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Diego promised putting her mind at ease.

“Thank you Diego. You have no idea how much this means to me,” Heather replied grateful for the friend she had in him.

“I do,” he added in a thoughtful voice before Heather hung up the phone and tilted her head to look down at her son again.

“Don’t worry baby. Mommy’s got help on the way,” Heather promised kissing the top of her son’s head as worry flooded over her. She just hoped and prayed that somehow Diego would know what to do. Hearing her son cry like this broke her heart into pieces and she just prayed that nothing was truly wrong. She kissed him again before humming a tune in the hopes that something would help Charles find a way to relax somehow.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Blake turned the lights out in the apartment thinking about the day that Seth had behind him. While some would say that things were bound to be easier after Seth had said his final goodbye to his sister, Blake knew better. She was well aware that this was only the beginning of the nightmare for him. He’d tried to be strong--having held himself together reasonably well during the memorial, but Blake could see how broken he was on the inside. He’d let traces of that show, but not enough for him to truly admit to his heartache.

Blake rounded the hallway stepping into the bedroom only to discover Seth seated on the bed. He had a book in his lap and he seemed to be staring at the pages as if they would spring to life upon his silent urgings. Carefully closing the bedroom door behind her, she moved in beside him.

Tipping her head down she saw the first photo staring back up at her. There was a young girl on the page, her sparkling eyes and smile so wide that you couldn’t help but feel the happiness she had inside of her radiating off of the page. It was behind that joy that Blake could recognize the face before her.

“She was so happy back then,” Seth broke his numbing silence to explain. His finger tip traced over the page as a sigh erupted from behind his lips, “It was the summer before our mother died and we really believed that life was perfect. Jade was so carefree and so full of life…”

“She was beautiful even back then,” Blake slid in closer to him, bringing her arm around his shoulders supportively. “You two looked so happy.”

“I was,” Seth wrinkled his nose at the awkward looking picture of himself, “of course Jade used to drive me nuts with all of her energy. Even then I never understood how she could have so much. She was always bouncing off of the walls and ready to start up something. It was amazing how much she wanted to do with her life.”

Blake said nothing, just turned her eyes towards the man she loved. She could see the tears glistening behind his eyes and she reached out to touch his leg supportively.

“I just wish that she could’ve been able to accomplish all of those things she’d dreamt about--that she would’ve had more time,” Seth confessed in a low, tight whisper, unable to hold back on his emotions a moment longer.

“Oh Seth,” Blake pulled him into her arms feeling his strength fade away into his sorrows. He lay his head in her lap leaning into her for support as his heart shattered into pieces.

“I just don’t understand how this could’ve happened--how I could’ve lost her like that,” he confessed broken by his tears, “For so long we were all that we had in this world. We had each other to lean on and nothing else. I tried so hard to protect her--to keep her safe from harm’s way, but in the end I failed. I failed her Blake…”

“No, you didn’t Seth,” she shook her head unable to hold back on her own tears. She ran her fingers through his dark hair as she held him silently rocking him in her arms as she prayed that Seth would one day be able to find a way to forgive himself. “Jade loved you with her whole heart and she knew what a great brother you were.”

“But it wasn’t enough. It’ll never be enough,” he replied in a small bellow, “I should’ve been there. I should’ve waited that day when we left to go to court.”

“Seth we couldn’t have known. None of us could’ve known. Even now we both know that there was no indication that any of this could’ve happened,” Blake tried to soothe his pain, but with one look in his eyes she knew that was something that was never going to happen.

“I just wish…” he started finding himself at a loss as he lay his head in her lap again, “I guess it doesn’t matter what I wish.”

“I love you,” she whispered squeezing her arms around him as she sat on the center of his bed.

“I love you too Blake and right now I just need you to hold me. Just be with me,” he asked in a small voice trembling in her arms. She watched him transform from the strong and serious man she’d known and loved to a fragile, child-like version of himself. He was a man who had lost one of the most important things in his life.

“I’m right here,” she whispered massaging her fingers over his spine gently. Now as she held him she made a small promise to herself that she’d never let go. She’d be everything Seth needed even if it took forever for him to cope with this situation.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Avery moved through the parking lot in the hopes of finding Grady, but much to her dismay neither Grady nor his car were still in the lot. She walked briskly towards the church once more in the hopes that someone--anyone had a clue about where Grady had gone off to. If he was going after Cameron like Cheryl had anticipated he might be doing, then Avery was well aware of the trouble that would follow.

“Avery,” she heard a voice call out to her. She spun around to see Sarah approaching from behind.

“Sarah hey,” Avery took a step towards her catching the worried expression on Sarah’s face, “Have you seen Grady?”

“No, have you seen Kyle?” Sarah questioned anxiety evident in her tone, “I’ve been looking for him all over, but I can’t seem to see a trace of him. I just came out here and saw that his car was gone, but…”

“Grady’s car has gone missing too,” Avery paused thinking about Grady and Cameron’s altercation once again, “Sarah, when was the last time you saw Kyle?”

“I don’t remember,” she confessed with a pause, “He got a phone call and then…”

“Then what?” Avery searched her eyes.

“Avery, I don’t know. I mean one minute he was here and then the next,” Sarah rubbed her palms together, her brow creased as she thought about Kyle. “Given everything that he’s gone through on top of what we were doing here today, I’m not sure where he could be. He was upset over what Susan had done to him, but now that she’s killed Jade…”

“Grady was upset too,” Avery explained further, “I don’t know if you saw him and Cameron before but…”

“You don’t think that Kyle and Grady went after Cameron do you,” Sarah questioned in a panic, “You don’t think that they went to try to bully some answers out of him, right?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Avery confessed openly, “Given Grady’s frame of mind when he attacked Cameron anything is possible at this point.”

“Same with Kyle,” Sarah bit back on her fear. She suddenly remembered what Kyle was like when he’d attacked Diego at the hospital. Yes it was the drugs in full effect, yet…

“Sarah what is it,” Avery asked catching the expression on Sarah’s face. There was no denying the fear burning beneath the surface, “What did you remember?”

“It’s nothing, well not really,” Sarah lied trying to convince herself that Kyle wouldn’t be stubborn enough to try to shake the truth out of Cameron as to where Susan might be, but then again given that no one could really say what it was that was going on inside of Kyle after he’d been drugged, she realized that there were a lot of uncertainties about him. She glanced over at Avery once again, another shudder passing over her.

“Sarah, if you know something or you think that Kyle and Grady are off together getting into trouble, then you need to clue me in. Please,” Avery begged of her reaching out to her, “It’s the only way we’re going to be able to help them.”

“I just don’t know. Kyle never said anything, but Avery after what Susan did to him, I’m worried what could happen. He hates that Susan was responsible for Jade’s death--that she was the one who set up the airport bombing and after she pushed Kyle over the edge,” Sarah paused dramatically, “I think Kyle might be willing to do whatever it takes to find a way to stop Susan’s reign of terror even if it means compromising his principles.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Avery bit down on her lip nervously, “If he and Grady are together right now, then that spells trouble--big trouble and we need to stop it before they both wind up crossing one too many lines.”

Sarah nodded, “You’re right. We need to find them and stop them before they do something stupid. I’ll go back inside and check one last time…”

“Okay, I’ll call for a cab,” Avery decided knowing full well that if Kyle and Grady had teamed up to take Cameron down, there was nothing but disaster ahead for everyone. Even though they might have the best of intentions, they would only wind up making things worse in their quest for retribution.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You okay?” Ria questioned, coming up to take a seat next to Kevin who was sitting on one of the stairs outside. “You have been out here for a little while.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Kevin replied, loosening the top of his shirt before pulling his tie out, “I have just been thinking about a lot of things for a while. I guess I just have a lot on my mind right now and I just needed some time to think.”

“I understand,” Ria sighed, resting her head on his shoulder lightly as he rested his head on hers lightly, “I know that you aren’t feeling good right now and I figured that you would probably want to be going soon.”

“Yeah, I should probably get going soon,” Kevin decided, pulling himself up slowly, “I should go say goodbye to Seth and everyone. You coming with me?”

“Of course,” Ria sighed, grabbing his hand in hers as he helped her up from the stairs, “Let’s go.”

“Wait one second,” Kevin motioned her to wait as he watched Sarah walk outside with a woman. “Who is that Ria?”

“The blonde one is Sarah,” Ria stated, looking up at Kevin awkwardly, “I thought you already knew her Kevin.”

“No, the other one,” Kevin pointed out looking towards the dark haired woman right next to Sarah. He swore that she looked just like Angie. He had to be imagining things. “The dark haired woman. What’s her name?”

“Oh, that’s Avery Morrison,” Ria answered with a small nod, seeing Kevin blink and look forward at Avery once more, “Is there something wrong?”

“No, I just think I am seeing things,” Kevin sighed, shaking his head slowly, “I don’t know why, probably because I have some guilt or something, but…I don’t know.”

“It’s okay,” Ria hushed, grabbing his hand in hers lightly, “Come on Kevin, we’ll go say goodbye and then we will go home. I think you need some rest.”

“I think you are right,” Kevin decided, looking back behind him to get a last glance at this Avery Morrison. He pinched the bridge of his nose lightly before shaking his head. Something was seriously going wrong with his head right now.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Grady kept his car close enough behind Kyle to keep his eye on where he was going, but not too close for Kyle to realize that he’d been being followed. Of course judging by the way Kyle was driving the car, Grady seriously doubted that Kyle had anything on his mind other than meeting up with that witch Susan. Grady inhaled slowly thinking about what he’d overheard when he’d stepped out of the church. He wasn’t quite sure what angle Susan was about to play, but Grady would make sure that this was her final game.

“She’s not going to get away with any of this,” Grady promised watching Kyle pull off of the main road and head out beyond the city limits. Grady continued to stay close to him, but not too close as his own thoughts of revenge and retribution consumed him. If there was a chance that Susan was bold enough to show her face in public, Grady would make sure that she knew full well the power of his fury before she met her maker. She’d done all in her power to destroy Grady from murdering his brother, to Jade and attacking Grady’s best friend. Now Susan would learn what it was like to lose everything.

Grady thought back briefly to when he’d thought he was in love with Susan. Things had felt so simple back then--life had felt like it was as it was meant to be, but now Grady knew better. Susan had deceived him from day one and now it was time for her to pay for her crimes.

“You’re not going to get away with this Susan,” Grady vowed eyeing his glove box for a moment before following Kyle into the woods. He wasn’t quite sure where it was that Susan was leading Kyle to on this wild goose chase, but one thing was for certain. This was the last time that Susan would ever have the opportunity to screw around with any of them ever again. Grady would make damn sure of that!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kipp pulled the car up in front of the house that had tons of people in the front yard and entering the front doors. This had to be the place, there was no other place with more people than this house. This was definitely where the party was.

“Where are you Kellen?” Kipp asked himself, running up to the front door, pushing his way through the people.

“Watch it,” some person yelled as Kipp ran into them. Kipp hopped up and down looking around the room to see if he could find Kellen.

He pushed his way through the people and towards the kitchen where he found one guy sitting on the counter.

“Hey, do you know where Kellen Meloni is?” Kipp questioned with a small frown as the guy looked up at him with his glazed over eyes. “Kellen, he is about six foot five and had tattoos.”

“Oh, you mean pretty blue,” the guy nodded slowly as he saw Kipp look at him awkwardly, “You know, he has really blue eyes. Pretty blue.”

“Right, pretty blue,” Kipp sighed, nodding as the guy thought it over for a second, “Do you know if he is here? Better yet, do you know where he is?”

“Dude, calm down,” the guy motioned him to take it easy before running his hand through his hair, “I know that blue is here today, I just saw him a second ago. I think he was upstairs with Drew or something. He got his drink and was annoyed with something so he went upstairs.”

“Thanks,” Kipp replied with a small sigh, going to turn around before the guy called out to him.

“You want a drink man?” the guy wondered seeing Kipp shake his head slowly. “Why not?”

“Because look at you,” Kipp laughed before walking away from the kitchen and up the stairs.

What was he going to say to Kellen? Better yet, what was he even thinking? Kellen was mad at him, he wasn’t going to give Kipp the time of day. Or would he? He heard Kellen’s’ voice before smiling to himself, this was it.

“Kellen, I,” Kipp began before he was cut off by the picture that he saw in the crack of the door. Some guy had his arm wrapped around Kellen’s shoulder and he had Kellen into a kiss. It was too late.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

...to be continued...