My Little Secret [Discontinued]

Part Six

"Are you gay?"

"What?!"

"I said, are you-"

"I heard what you said. I'm just... Where did that come from?" Ty stared at Jason with wide eyes, moving away from him. The two, like usual, had been curled up on the couch, watching a movie. It was pretty late at night, and they were alone.

"Just asking for someone." Jason shrugged.

"For what reason...?"

"It's a simple yes or no question, Ty. I don't understand why you're making it such a big deal." Jason sighed, tilting his head and giving Ty a long look.

"It is a big deal! You don't just ask that!" Ty squeaked. His face was starting to burn, his breathing speeding up.

"I'm just going to take that as a yes, since you're obviously not denying it." Jason sat up, stretching. "Mitch wanted to know if there were anymore 'f*gs' in the house." He looked at Ty again, his gaze intense. "Are you? Answer carefully, Ty. I have to tell him whatever you say." Lie, dammit. Come on Ty. How hard is it to just say no?

Ty took the hint. "U-Um. No! That's gross! I like girls!" He stuttered out. Every word was forced. "I'm not a f*ggot." That term left a nasty taste in his mouth.

Jason let out a breath. "Good. Because, Ty, if you were..." He lowered his voice, glancing around. He grabbed Ty's shoulder, leaning in close so he could whisper into the boy's ear. "Don't tell anyone I told you this, but they're kicking Matthew out. Don't worry, he'll be fine. But Tyler, if it's not obvious... They really don't like gays."

Ty couldn't breathe. He couldn't move.
They were kicking Seto out? Just because he was gay?

He could only imagine what would happen if someone saw him and...

"You two be careful, okay?" Jason pulled away, giving Ty a grim smile. He stood up and left the room, leaving Ty motionless on the couch.

Jason knows?! Oh my god... if he knows... anyone could... His heart was pounding, anxiety spiking his mind. The air was thick and hot, and he was suddenly burning up. He needed to get out of here...

Ty managed to stand, almost falling back down. He staggered over to the door, each breath ragged and painful. His vision was getting hazy, going in and out. He was on the brink of a panic attack, triggered by Jason's not so carefully chosen words.

Right as he grabbed the handle, the door swung open. He threw himself at the person, clinging to them with hoarse sobs.

They stumbled back in surprise, wrapping their arms around Ty, gathering him in. "Woah! Tyler? Buddy, you okay?" When they didn't get an answer, they just sighed, lifting him into the air easily. Ty held on tightly, his face buried in their shoulder. He couldn't recognize who this was in his state, but he honestly couldn't care less.

He felt himself being laid down on the couch, the person starting to move away. With a panicked whimper, he grabbed at them again. They stopped moving away and sat down next to him. "Hey. Ty. Shhh. You're okay." They sounded really worried. "Yes, yes. I'm right here. I'm not leaving you. I can't understand you while you're crying, Ty. And if you don't tell me what's wrong, I can't help."

Ty wasn't listening. Sighing again, the person gave up on talking, and just ran their fingers through his hair, humming softly. They stayed like this for quite some time, until Ty's sobs had quieted to soft sniffles.

"You good now?"

Now that he was calmed down, he could put the voice to a name. He knew exactly who this was, and was both embarrassed and surprised that they were here. "Yeah. Thanks Ethan." He mumbled, sitting up.

"No problem, buddy." Where the fuck is everyone? Who had the brilliant idea of leaving him alone? Ethan forced a tight-lipped smile. "Scared me, Tyler. Thought you had hurt yourself. Uh... This probably isn't a good time to ask, but it's the reason I came over, so..." Like he had been doing, Ethan glanced around the room quickly. He seemed quite paranoid. "Have you seen Sub or Sketch lately?"

Ty was happy to change the subject, a distraction from his freakout. "No. Why?"

Ethan's shoulders sank. "We were having an argument, the three of us. Sub started crying and ran out, and Sketch ran after him. I was hoping they might of come here." His concern was genuine.

"You should keep looking for them." Ty muttered, down-casting his eyes. "Maybe they're at The Pack house. Might wanna check there, yeah...?"

"Mm. I'll do just that, once someone gets home. I'm not leaving you alone."

"Why not? I'm old enough to be by myself." Ty protested. "I'll be fine."

Ethan gave him a long look. "Uh huh. Like I said, I'm not leaving until someone gets here."

"Jason's here."

Ethan narrowed his eyes, a sudden anger lighting itself inside those steel grey hues. "He's here?" He repeated slowly. That son of a bitch didn't even come out to check on Ty? Ethan tried to keep a hold of his temper, he really did. "Jason!" He yelled, making Ty flinch. "Get your ass in here!"

Silence.

"JASON!"

"WHAT?" A faint yelling came from the stairway. Loud footsteps, then Jason appeared, blinking at them with bright blue eyes. "When did you get here?"

Ethan looked like he was about to start screaming, so Ty quickly put a hand over his mouth. "No yelling. No arguing. Please." Ty let out a shaky breath. "Go look for Isaiah and Cole. Please."

When Ty pulled his hand away, Ethan gave him another one of those looks. Silently, he stood up. With a stiff nod at Jason, he turned and walked towards the door. His fingertips had barely skimmed the knob when it swung open.

"Ethan? Holy shit, man, where have you been?" Ian's voice echoed from the doorway.

"Move, Ian." Ethan grumbled, pushing past him and the others.

Everyone filed in, holding takeout boxes and whatnot. Someone tossed a bag at Ty, almost hitting him in the face

"Thanks." He muttered half heartedly, putting the food to the side. Ty was exhausted, and he wasn't in the mood to deal with everyone right now.

But nobody seemed to notice. They all flopped down on the couch and started channel surfing.

"You okay?" Adam sat down next to Ty, giving him a sideways look.

"I'm fine." He replied softly, not meeting Adam's gaze. His heart was drumming again.

"No, you're not." Adam shook his head with a small sigh. "Hey, you guys? We'll be right back."

"Where you going?" Jerome asked, his eyes glued to the tv screen.

"Find Ty some medicine. He said he has a bad headache." Adam stood back up, pulling Ty as well. "We won't be long." Still holding onto the boy's hand, he led him over to the stairwell.

Instead of going to Ty's room when they got upstairs, Adam brought him to his own room. "Go lay down."

Ty did what he was told, climbing into the bed without protest. He pressed his face into the pillow, pulling the covers over his head. The blankets were warm and soft, and smelt like cologne. And apples, for whatever reason.

"Try to get some sleep for me, okay?" Adam's voice was a bit muffled. "I'll come up to check on you later."

Ty squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his lips together so he wouldn't reply.

"Night, Tyler." A pause. "I love you." The door closed with a soft thud.

I love you.
He held onto those words, repeating them over and over inside his mind, which soon lulled him to sleep.