Rodney had just settled in on the old sofa when the doorbell rang. He glanced at the clock; it was getting late, and he didn't really want to talk to anyone at that moment. Dragging himself up off the couch he made his way over to the door, he opened it to discover Derek standing there, a casual grin on his face.

"Hey, man," Derek greeted. "I thought I would deliver the good news in person." Derek dangled his dad's van keys in front of Rodney's face. "We are good to go for the cottage."

"Really!? That is amazing," Rodney breathed a sigh of relief, before giving Derek a confused look. "You know you could have texted me, it would have saved you the trouble of coming all the way out here."

"I could have," Derek observed, as he slipped past Rodney and into the house. "But I heard a rumor that you needed some downtime since all the planning has pretty much been dumped on you."

"I wouldn't say dumped, I mean I volunteered to help Ally out after all," Rodney said, looking up to meet Derek's unimpressed gaze. "I take it Matt was to source of this rumor?" Rodney placed the word rumor in air quotes.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss my sources," Derek made his way toward the living room. "I'm just here to hang out and talk if you want to." Rodney nodded, he was kind of excited to just game with Derek even if it did mean talking about why he ended up planning the entire trip.

The familiar start screen of Destroy All Humans illuminated their faces, and they dove into the game with practiced ease.

"Y'know," Derek said, thumbs dancing over buttons as he blasted virtual towns folk, "Ally should be the one planning this trip. It's her family's cottage and she has been acting like she has planned the whole thing." He paused, just long enough to take out an approaching military tank. "I know Ally has been your dream girl since, well forever. But I think you should talk to her about just how much you are taking on here."

Rodney felt his heart rate increase, yes he was taking on a lot but he had his reasons for that. "Yeah, I mean I don't really think I am doing all that much, Matt may have exaggerated a little." Rodney knew Derek meant well, but he felt a knot beginning to tighten in his gut.

Derek rolled his eyes, deciding to press a little farther. "I just want you to know that just because you love someone doesn't mean you do everything for them. It's a partnership, you both have to put in the work. I am not saying you shouldn't help out, I am just saying I know how you can get when you trying to prove yourself."

"Trying to prove myself," Rodney repeated, Derek was right but not for the reason he thought. "I really don't mind doing this for her, it's not like this happens every day. Ally meant well when she invited us all, she is just Ally. She doesn't always think everything through to the end." Rodney wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Derek or himself.

"Ok," Derek smiled, reaching over and placing a hand on Rodney's shoulder. "As long as you are happy Rod, that is all that matters."

Rodney nodded, but his mind focused on that final statement, was he happy? He had been so focused on making up for kissing Hunter, that he never paused to think about whether he was really happy. He swallowed hard as he thought about telling Derek about the kiss. But after everything that Derek had gone through with Marcy, what would he think of Rodney for doing something like that? On the other hand, the secret was killing him, and avoiding Hunter was becoming harder than he thought. "Derek I...."

"Your what?" Derek asked trying to read Rodney's expression. "Whatever it is you can tell me."

"I'm happy," Rodney finally said, feeling almost nauseous. "Honestly Ally has been the one since grade school. She may not be perfect but she is perfect for me."

"Ah, man," Derek said, his voice softening as he set the controller aside. "That's about the cheesiest thing I have ever heard."

"Shut up," Rodney laughed, giving Derek a shove. "Aren't you the one who is always talking about how Ally and I are meant to be?"

There was a silence, punctuated only by the music of the game's virtual world. Derek stared off into space; making sure to choose his next words carefully.

"Look I'm not saying I don't think you and Ally are meant to be. I am saying that after this year I've realized meant to be might just be something you find in a romance novel," Derek suggested. "The real thing takes time and work."

"Sounds complicated," Rodney exhaled, staring at the static screen, his thoughts still turning back to his kiss with Hunter. At the same time, he thought of Ally, of how long he waited for her to love him back. How could he tell Ally to do it herself after betraying her like that?

"Hunter kissed me," Rodney finally said, picking up his controller again. "At the science fair during the storm."

"I'm sorry what?" Derek asked, setting down his own controller and turning to face Rodney.

The glow of the screencast a flickering light on Rodney's face, as he felt his cheeks start to burn and his tears begin to well. He wanted to explain but he couldn't, he felt disgusted with himself, and he could feel himself start to shake.

Stolen novel; please report.

"So that is what this has all been about," Derek's voice was softer than Rodney had expected, he reached out for Rodney and pulled him into a hug, "So you are doing all of this to make for it, right? That must have been so stressful, I can't believe you didn't tell me."

Rodney chewed on the inside of his cheek, not sure why Derek was being so nice. "He asked me not to tell anyone, I didn't want to make things worse, I just wanted to forget it ever happened" His voice trailed off as he replayed their moments together, the way Hunter would look across the desk at him while they studied. "And I felt like even though I shut it down, I still cheated on Ally. And after everything you went through with Marcy, I thought you would hate me for this."

"Rodney, he kissed you. this is nothing like Marcy and me," Derek said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "Marcy made the choice to kiss someone else and I was able to forgive her. I think I can forgive my best friend for being so irresistible that even the most popular guy at school threw himself at you. Honestly, as long as you shut it down, you haven't done anything wrong,"

Rodney nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess you are alright. I felt like I had to prove to myself I am still worthy of being Ally's boyfriend." His thumbs twitched over the controller buttons in absentminded thought. Their relationship had never been perfect, first with Matt, then with her uncertainty about him. But it all seemed to work itself and he needed to hold on to it.

"Ok," Derek said letting Rodney go. "I think you've proven just how much you care about Ally. Maybe now it's time for her to prove how much she cares about you. isn't that part of the deal."

"Right." Rodney exhaled, his indecision dissipating slightly at Derek's reassurance. Maybe he should have told Ally that he was feeling overwhelmed by everything she was asking him to do.

"Well that got deep," Derek said, flashing a grin that seemed to chase away some of Rodney's unease. "I've missed all the drama you get tangled in."

"Ha-ha, very funny," Rodney retorted, a small smile tugging at his lips. He resumed control of his alien, he started blasting Derek's character. "And thank you."

"Any time," Derek replied, racing back to his controller to return fire.

An explosion rocked the digital landscape as Rodney's character lobbed a perfectly timed grenade at Derek's avatar. With a triumphant whoop, Rodney watched as the points tallied up in his favor.

"Ouch! Man, that was cold!" Derek cried out, feigning outrage as his character respawned.

"Please remember when you left locked in the house in Phasmophobia," Rodney replied, "Drove away while I was killed by that banshee." The pair stared at each other before bursting out in laughter.

The sound echoed through the room, genuine and carefree. For a few hours, Rodney forgot all about the drama and the stress he had been feeling, Derek always seemed to know exactly what he needed. They played into the night, sticking to talking about the lighter subjects, the last time their teachers acted too weird for words, and what they were looking forward to most about summer.

---

The fluorescent lights of the high school cafeteria flickered over the usual crowd of students, the usual lunchtime chatter filled the air as Rodney scanned over his note preparing for finals. He sat alone at a corner table, his brown hair falling into his eyes as he muttered the different scientific theories to himself. He hadn't even noticed that his friends had left the table, heading back to their own classes. It wasn't until the screech of a chair being pulled out beside him, did Rodney come back to reality.

"Mind if I join you?" Hunter's voice reached his ears before he was able to make out who it was, as casual and self-assured as ever.

"Uh, sure," Rodney mumbled, closing his binder. He watched from the corner of his eye as Hunter plopped himself down in the chair and settled in with his own set of textbooks. Rodney watched and waited as he tried to figure out exactly why Hunter was talking to him for the first time in weeks, but Hunter simply opened his textbook without another word and began scanning the pages.

At the sound of the bell, Hunter reached into his backpack with a small grin and produced a glossy black and gold invitation card. He slid it across the table to Rodney. "It's for my annual birthday bash this summer. The biggest party of the year," he said, placing the card carefully next to Rodney.

Rodney hesitated, his fingers brushing against the cool, smooth surface of the invite. "I—uh, thanks, but I can't. It would be weird wouldn't it?" Rodney stammered out, sliding the card back toward Hunter without looking him in the eye.

Hunter let out a louder laugh than expected, the sound bouncing off the empty walls and drawing some attention to their table. "Chill, man. What happened between us meant nothing. Heat-of-the-moment thing. We agreed we would forget about it didn't we?"

Rodney's face turned red, he felt a little embarrassed thinking Hunter was still into him. "I'm sorry, I just, I think..." He trailed off, unable to put a cohesive thought together, still feeling weirdly uncomfortable around Hunter.

"Look, you don't have to come if you don't want to. All I am trying to do here is say everything is cool between us," Hunter reassured him, leaning back in his chair with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Sorry," Rodney said, finally lifting his gaze to meet Hunter's. "I'll think about though, I mean it does seem fun." He said.

"No worries, Just make sure to RSVP by July 12th so we can get your order in for the six-course dinner," Hunter explained as he packed up his books.

Rodney began to do the same, telling himself that Hunter had no ulterior motives for the invite and he was just reading too much into it. He picked up the invitation once more, before sliding it into his backpack. "Okay, then. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to make it," he decided, not wanting Hunter to think he didn't appreciate the gesture.

"Awesome!" Hunter said with a wide smile, he shot up from the chair. "Oh, and you should bring your friends too, we are renting a massive fairground this year so there is room for everyone. But it's up to you."

"I think they might find that a little weird," Rodney said, "I don't think they even know we hang out."

"They don't have to come. I just don't want you to feel like you don't have anyone to hang out with while you are there," Hunter replied with a smirk. "I don't think you will know most of the people there, they are mostly from my old boarding school. So I was just thinking..." He paused, looking earnestly at Rodney. "You should have another friend there for when I can't be there with you."

Rodney felt warm, thinking about how much Hunter seemed to care about him feeling comfortable at the party. He knew all too well that Hunter was reaching out in the only way he knew how. "Thanks," Rodney said softly, meaning every word.

Unseen by them both, Erica, phone in hand, lingered at the edge of the cafeteria doors. A sly smile played on her lips as she zoomed in on Hunter's hand as it softly grazed Rodney's before he left the table, she had been watching the pair for weeks—and now she believed one thing was clear, Rodney was cheating on Ally. She had all the proof she needed.