SECRETS: PART III - A CALEB MCLAUGHLIN A.U. STORY

PREVIOUSLY ON 'SECRETS'

PREVIOUSLY ON SECRETS

On July 4, 2023, Jacob Stevenson, a young man, 22 years of age, a suicidal one, one with severe depression, who self-harmed, had no friends, lived alone, and was planning on ending his own life... Met Caleb McLaughlin.

At the time, Caleb, also 22, was mostly a model, and only had two film roles, Concrete Cowboy and Shooting Stars.

Seeing that Jacob was depressed, lonely, and committing self-harm, Caleb quickly began a close friendship with Jacob.

However, Jacob, upon seeing Caleb... Quickly fell in love with him. When he looked at Caleb, he felt as though he saw perfection.

But he knew he could never be with Caleb that way.

In Jacob's family life, he had a mother he loved and always got along with, but he also had an overall mean, homophobic father, as well as a legitimately psychotic brother Cameron.

Two days after meeting Caleb, Jacob was forced by his parents to go out to dinner with them and Cameron. Jacob and Cameron got into a fight, it was recorded and went viral. Caleb saw the video, and they went to Cameron's house. They got into a physical fight... That Caleb won easily.

However, Jacob's father wasn't happy, and angrily approached Caleb. Jacob finally broke down to his father and told him that he hated him his whole life. Angry, Jacob's father initially attacked them both, even punching Caleb in the face, but eventually left. Caleb let Jacob stay at his house for a few days to calm down while he went to do fashion shows. During that time, Jacob questioned his future with Caleb. He decided that he had to accept that he would never be with Caleb in the way and realized he had to be just friends with him.

However, when Caleb finally returned, he did so with his girlfriend Sarah, and Jacob went into a catatonic state for two months.

After snapping out of it, Jacob then began to write a novel, 'The War To End All Wars', which was published in early 2024. It quickly became a best-seller, and in the Summer of 2024, after Caleb married Sarah, a film adaptation was filmed.

Also during this time, Caleb finally landed the role of Lucas Sinclair in Stranger Things, which released in July 2024 and quickly became a global sensation.

Also, on the day of his wedding with Sarah, Caleb announced Sarah was pregnant.

In October 2024, after wrapping filming on 'The War To End All Wars', Caleb told Jacob that his child was going to be a son named Reginald, named after Caleb's middle-name.

Caleb told Jacob he was about to be super busy, and was expecting a child in April 2025, so it might be a while before they see each other.

Cut to October 2025, it's been an entire year, and Jacob hasn't seen Caleb since.

Over the past year, Caleb's child Reginald was born in April 2025, and the film adaptation of 'The War To End All Wars' released in August 2025. Caleb wasn't at the premiere, as he was too busy with Reginald.

Also in October 2025, Jacob's father attacked Jacob's mother, giving her a black eye, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

After an entire year of not seeing Caleb, Jacob begins to finally realize that, as hard for him as it will be, he needs to move on from Caleb.

And then, Caleb finally arrives at his doorstep...

He tells Jacob that the reason why he was avoiding Jacob for a year is because he didn't want Jacob to see in his current state. Tired, physically and mentally exhausted, and realizing everyone thinks and wants him to be this larger than life person, but not knowing if he can be.

Caleb also tells Jacob he knows that Jacob is in love with him... And with this knowledge, he doesn't know if they can be together, even as friends.

Caleb then decides to let Jacob and his mother go to his Indiana lake-side house to spend a few days, have fun... Then they'll decide their future.

Jacob, his mother, and Caleb hop on a plane to Indiana and arrive at Caleb's home... Only to see it's been broken into, and that Sarah and Reginald are gone...

Little do they know that Reginald is with Cameron, Jacob's older brother...