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Farren walked in the door of Kaden's house, closing the door behind him.

"Rowan took that really well." He stated, taking off his jacket as he spoke.

Kaden mimicked his actions, looking over at him with a slight smile tugging at his lips. "Apart from the fact she wants us to get married within the next week, it went really good."

"True." Farren said, the corners of his mouth quirking into a small smirk.

They made their way into the sitting room, flopping on to the couch. They were a tangle of limbs, with Kaden laying his head on top of Farren's chest.

"So tell me," Farren began, running his hand through Kaden's brilliant blond hair. "What's happening with your parents?"

"They're moving back here. But not until the week after next, I want it to just be us until the game." Kaden replied, nuzzling his hair into Farren's hand.

"Oh god the game, I completely forgot about that." Farren said with surprise, letting out a small laugh.

"Had bigger things on your mind?" Kaden asked, and Farren could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Mhmm." Farren confirmed with a cheeky smile.

Kaden moved his head up and repositioned himself until he was lying on top of Farren completely, their noses almost touching.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" He said seductively, and Farren gulped.

"Getting myself a hot boyfriend." He whispered back, their lips centimetres apart.

"Really?" Kaden challenged, eyes flicking down to Farren's lips. "What's his name?"

Farren licked his lips before bringing them up to Kaden's ear. He brought his face as close to Kaden's as possible without actually touching, before breathing out a reply.

"Luke."

He pulled back, laughing at Kaden's unamused expression. "Really? You had to kill the mood like that?"

Farren just laughed more, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, it's not my fault he's got some serious good looks." He joked, and Kaden gave him a glare.

Before he could process what was happening, Kaden curled his fingers around his hair and slammed their lips together in a open mouthed kiss. Kaden attacked Farren's mouth with his own, rendering Farren speechless and in shock by the time he pulled away.

"Luke who?" He whispered with a wink, hopping off Farren and leaving him high and dry.

Farren tried to calm his pulse for a moment, before burying his hands in his face. The effect Kaden had on him was beyond surreal.

***

"What about that place?" Kaden said, pointing at a quaint Italian restaurant on the Main Street.

Farren looked at the restaurant wearily. If people saw them together in there they may get the wrong idea. Or, the right idea in this case.

"I don't know Kaden. It's a bit..." Farren trailed off awkwardly, looking for the right words to say.

"It's okay. I get it." Kaden said with a small sigh, and Farren could hear the annoyance laced in his words.

"Kade-" he began, but was once again cut off.

"Seriously Farren, it's fine. Whenever you're ready." Kaden said with a bit more conviction in his voice this time.

"You sure?" Farren said, looking over at Kaden hesitantly.

"Yeah, I'm sure. McDonalds again I guess." Kaden looked over at Farren as he spoke, a forced smile etched across his face.

Farren felt guilt pool in his stomach but decided to ignore it, instead taking a left towards the McDonalds which was the social hub for the teenagers in the town. The one place him and Kaden could eat together in Sinclair without suspicion.

He could tell Kaden's patience was wearing down, but he just wasn't ready yet. Kaden understood anyway. At least he seemed like he did.

XXXXX

Kaden stalked into his house without waiting for Farren. He let out a frustrated sigh as he ran his hand through his blond hair.

It had been a week since they went to McDonalds, and in that time Kaden had been growing more annoyed at Farren's refusal to acknowledge him as his boyfriend publicly.

He heard the front door close, then the sound of footsteps heading towards the sitting room where he stood with his back to the doorway.

Farren's footsteps stopped at the doorway. "Kade-" he began to speak, but Kaden cut him off before he could continue, whipping around to face him.

"I can't do this Farren." He stated simply, his voice and manner filled with dejection.

He could see Farren's face pulled back in shock. "You're breaking up with me?" He asked after a minute of silence, his voice merely a whisper.

"No, of course not." Kaden said, earning him a sigh of relief from Farren. "At least not yet."

"Not yet?" Farren asked, panic building in his voice. "What do you mean by that?"

Kaden closed his eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath in the hopes of calming both himself and Farren.

"Look Farren, I tried to be okay with it. Really, I did. But I can't be your secret. It's just not who I am, I can't sit around making excuses for you when other guys ask me out. I can't pretend to be your rival or whatever, when all I want to do is be with you."

Farren's face fell, as he threw himself onto the couch, shoving his face into his hands. "You are with me Kaden. You're still my boyfriend."

"Your secret boyfriend." Kaden corrected, sinking down onto the couch opposite Farren. "Look, first round of state is in five days. I get it if you don't want to say anything before the game, but after this week it'll all have changed. You really need to take these five days to ask yourself if I'm worth it. Because if not, then you need to tell me." He said with a tired sigh, looking up to meet Farren's conflicted eyes.

"This isn't fair. Making me choose like some sick ultimatum." Farren said hotly, standing up and glaring at Kaden.

Kaden mimicked his actions, moving closer to Farren until they were only a meter apart.

"Really Farren, you want to talk about what's not fair? How about the fact that every time someone we know sees us together in public, you move slightly further away from me. Even if we're doing something as harmless as walking in the mall."

Farren opened his mouth to protest angrily, but Kaden cut him off before he had the chance.

"And how about the fact that I've had to make excuses as to why I can't go out with the multiple guys who've  asked. Nice guys, good dudes, who would be more than willing to be my boyfriend publicly. All for a boy who I'm not even sure really likes me!" Kaden was seething at this stage, his fists clenched in anger.

"You're not sure I like you?" Farren fired back, just as mad as Kaden. "Is that some sort of sick joke? I was straight Kaden, until I met you. You think it was easy for me to come to terms with the fact that I had all these urges to kiss you. You think it was easy for me to go against everything I thought I knew about myself, to be with you?"

Kaden let out a bitter laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry that being with me is such an inconvenience for you."

"That's not what I said Kade, stop fucking putting words in my mouth." Farren spat back, rolling his eyes in frustration.

"Whatever." Kaden retorted, his eyes cold. "Besides, it's not like you were the only one who had to come to terms with your sexuality. You still like girls, you just came to realise you like boys too. But I had to figure out that all this time, all these years I spent presuming I would just marry some girl, that I was gay all along."

"What, and that's my fault?" Farren exclaimed, throwing his hands in the hair in agitation.

"Now who's putting words in who's mouth." Kaden shot back, voice still raised.

Farren opened his mouth to reply, but Kaden cut him off before he could speak.

"Look, this is pointless," he began​ with a sigh. His voice was softer now, tired, more than anything. "It's up to you Farren. You need to decide whether or not I'm worth coming out. And until you do, just leave me be. I'll take the guest bedroom on the third floor."

With that he turned and walked away without waiting for Farren to reply. Although, with the exhausted conflict on Farren's face, he doubted he would get a reply even if he had stayed.

At the doorway he paused, looking back at Farren. "And just so you know Farren. If it was the other way around, I'd choose you. Every single time."

XXXXX

Okay what was this chapter no thanks not so good. Idk, nearing the end and I'm just basically winging it at this stage, deciding the storyline as I go... Oh well...

Anyways!! THANK YOU GUYS FOR 4K READS!!!!!! Also, 500 votes and almost 1k comments!!!! Love you the mostest guys!!

Qotc: If money, education and opportunities weren't a factor, what would your dream job be?

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