"Hey, stranger!"

"Hey," Carter replied as Mel fell into step next to him, walking down the hallway from their AP Calculus class to the gym locker rooms. "I haven't been a stranger."

Mel smiled wittingly. "Sure you have, but it's okay. Hope it at least means you're finally fitting into the new family."

Carter smiled. "Yeah, I guess I am," he admitted. It had been gradual and subtle. He was hardly a full-fledged Santoro, but he somehow felt a little less like an odd piece out of the whole. "The whole Bella and Seth thing kind of forced us to get along," he added.

Mel raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, I was completely blindsided by that," she confessed.

"I think they surprised themselves too, to be honest," he told her.

Mel laughed. "Anyway—I'm afraid I have an ulterior motive for this totally casual conversation," she mused.

Carter shot her a curious look.

"My mom hasn't let go since you told her you'd come over for dinner, before homecoming. She keeps asking me when I'll invite you," she said. "So I thought I might break the ice and ask if you're available this Friday."

Carter took a moment. "I guess..."

"I promise my dad is over the whole ex-boyfriend thing," Mel said promptly, as she probably noticed the apprehensive look on his face. "Brianna got a boyfriend over winter break and his attention has been all on that."

Carter laughed, remembering Mel's quirky younger sister. "Good," he said. "In that case, I'd love to."

That seemed to please her. "I'll tell my mom. That means you can't turn back now." She pointed a warning finger at him.

"Understood."

Mel slowed down as they reached the locker rooms. Carter stopped next to her, noticing the look on her face. Like she meant to say something more. They stood in the hallway, face to face, for a couple of seconds until she spoke.

"You know, if you can find the time between all the family bonding, you could come hang out with us every other day," she suggested. "Jenna, Joey and I. We've been at Jenna's after school lately, because her mom is travelling. You and Seth could show up some day. Bring Bella, if she wants."

Carter nodded. "Sure."

Although he did mean it, Carter didn't show up at Jenna's to hang out with his friends on that Monday. Instead, he sat with Johnny in the library, after school, at their usual table. 

Since winter break, they spent a lot of time there like before, though not always over books and homework. On that day, Johnny had his laptop in front of him, but his eyes were on his phone. Carter looked up from his English homework as he heard the other boy breathe out a silent laugh at the screen.

"Who're you texting?"

Johnny eyed him, without fully looking up. "Why do you ask?" He copied Carter's deliberately casual tone.

Carter shrugged. "Just curious. You don't have to tell me."

Johnny smiled slyly. "It's my side piece. He's jealous because I'm always with you now."

Carter shot him a dry glare. "You really shouldn't neglect him like that," he mused.

Johnny snorted, before rolling his eyes. "It's just Lydia," he said, putting his phone on the table, screen dark. "She wants me to take her out this Friday night, so my parents can have alone time."

"Oh." Carter understood, though he wasn't thrilled to think of Coach having alone time with his wife. He was still struggling with meeting these new layers to a man whose relationship with Carter, until this year, had been so uncomplicated.

"I just don't get why we're the ones who have to leave the house," Johnny continued. "My dad could just take my mom out to one of the nice restaurants downtown she's always dropping hints about."

"Maybe your sister wants you to take her out somewhere nice," Carter suggested.

Johnny tilted his head as though considering that option. "Wanna come?" He asked. "It would be more fun if you were there too."

Carter knew Johnny had no qualms in spending time alone with his sister; it was obvious they were close. It was the implication that he wanted to spend time with Carter and someone who was somewhat aware of their relationship that made him smile.

"I'd like that," he said. "But I already have plans this Friday."

Johnny raised his eyebrows. "Your side piece?"

Carter laughed, without bothering looking around to see if he was disturbing anyone. There was no one else in the library.

"No," he answered. "I have no side piece. I'm completely committed to you."

Johnny's teasing smile grew a little more honest. "You are?"

"I guess. I am."

Johnny sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. "It's just... We never talked about it."

"We didn't," Carter agreed.

"Like, labels and stuff..."

"Are we talking about it now?" Carter asked.

"We don't have to," Johnny said instantly.

"I'd be into being your boyfriend," Carter muttered through a smile, ignoring Johnny's statement. "If you want that."

Johnny seemed caught in a mix of awe and contentment. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Carter grinned.

Johnny leaned over the table, licking his lips around a smile. "In that case, I'm gonna need to know where you're going this Friday, mister."

"Dinner at Mel's."

Johnny looked surprised. "Dinner with your ex-girlfriend?" He asked flatly.

"And her family," Carter clarified.

"Okay..."

"Her mom invited me before homecoming," Carter explained, leaning forward as well.

"And you're going now," Johnny shot back.

Carter shrugged. "Her family was always really nice to me, especially her mom," he said. "They were always there, whenever my mom and I needed a hand. Plus, Mel and I are friends. We hang out, it doesn't mean anything." He tried to convey a tone of simplicity, because that's really how he saw the situation.

"It means something," Johnny countered.

"Not that, though," Carter assured him, placing his hand over Johnny's.

Something akin to amazement flashed in Johnny's eyes then, before he did a quick take around. There was no one in sight. Mrs Lewis was away at her desk and they were practically alone. But the school's library was still a public place. Carter knew it, and he chose to do it still. Johnny knew it too, and he seemed to let that thought and Carter's touch soothe him.

On Tuesday, Carter and Seth did hang out with the others, at Jenna's place. They learned Jenna's mom was in Paris until mid-February, which would normally mean recurrent parties at her place, but Jenna had apparently started seeing someone. All she told them about the girl, though, was that she was a freshman at FIU, which meant Jenna was going to college parties on weekends. 

Feeling left aside, Joey decided he wasn't going to tell them about the girl he'd started seeing as well, then. Before he told them absolutely everything he knew about her, down to blood type and genealogy, that is.

Hearing Joey gush over his new girlfriend, or even Jenna talk about her new fling, however cagey she might have been, made Carter feel a little bad. He'd just had a conversation with Johnny about their status, and that somehow increased the feeling that he was hiding something from his friends. Something he should be proud to share. Like Joey was.

By the time Friday finally rolled around, Carter found himself standing at the Joneses' doorstep, empty-handed and nerve-riddled. 

It was Mel's dad who opened the door for him, after he rang. The man wore a red tartan shirt tucked into a pair of khakis, which meant he probably hadn't changed after getting home from work. Mel's dad was a science teacher at a different high school in Miami.

"Hi, Mr Jones," Carter greeted politely.

"Carter. Come in."

Carter smiled as he stepped inside a house that had once felt as familiar as his tiny apartment.

"I'm still finishing up dinner, and Mary hasn't left work yet," the man said. There didn't seem to be any trace of the hostility Carter felt in his voice in the beginning of the year. "I trust you can show yourself to the living room. Melanie should come down in a minute."

"Uhm, okay."

With that, Carter walked into the Joneses' living room, where Mel's younger sisters sat, on the couch. Joanna and Brianna, the twins. Carter used to be able to tell them apart, not that long ago.

One of the twins looked up from her phone to give him a grin.

"Carter! Hi," She exclaimed, standing up to wrap her arms around him in a hug. As she did, Carter could see the Seattle Reign t-shirt she was wearing, with Megan Rapinoe's number.

"Hi, Brianna," he greeted. She didn't immediately let go, though.

As Carter stood there, with Mel's little sister's arms wrapped around his own, the other twin looked up from the book she was reading. Carter got a glimpse of the title on the cover, Wuthering Heights.

"Hey," she saluted much more tamely. That was definitely Jo.

Mel came walking down the stairs at that point, smiling when she saw him.

"Why are you holding him hostage, Bri?" She asked, making her sister let go.

"Maybe if you had, you two wouldn't be broken up," Brianna muttered.

Mel shot her a glare. "Carter just got here. You couldn't have held that in for a little longer?"

"No, she couldn't. Because mom will get here in a while and she'd never say that shit in front of her," Joanna mused.

"Language," Mel rebuked.

It wasn't long before Mrs Jones walked in through the front door, still in light pink scrubs and with her thick dark curls tied away from her face. She looked a little tired, but her face lit up once she saw Carter and she pulled him in for a hug too.

Mel helped her dad set the table, while her mom went upstairs to change and Carter offered to help, only to be ordered to sit down by the twins.

"I know fish fingers isn't a fancy meal, but I assume you won't take it personally," Mrs Jones said as she came down to sit at the table with her family and Carter.

He smiled politely. "Fish fingers sounds great."

Mrs Jones looked pleased. "This is why I always liked this boy. Your mother raised you with the right manners."

Across the table, Carter met Mel's gaze and she shot him a wink. He smiled.

It stopped being so awkward after that. Mrs Jones asked him about school and Carter told him it was going well. Joanna asked him about football and he asked her about lacrosse. Nobody had to ask Brianna about soccer for her to give them all the official and non-official info on her team.

"So you think you can do better next year?" Jo asked Cater, after her twin finished venting, stirring the conversation back to the topic of football.

"We hope so," Carter said. "We're proud of our performance this year, but the goal will always be state championship each year."

"Excellence should always be the goal," Mr Jones agreed. Carter should have known that was his way to open way for the new obvious topic. "That's what we've always taught our children, either be it in life's average affairs or future aspirations."

"In case you're wondering what that's about, Dad's gushing because Mel's planning on applying to all these fancy places for school next year," Joanna explained. "Washington, Yale and Cambridge were at the top of the list, I think."

"Have you chosen where you want to apply?" Mrs Jones asked.

"I haven't thought about it much yet," Carter admitted. "Probably a D1 school though," he gave the obvious, ambiguous answer everyone expected.

"That's wise," Mr Jones concurred. "You have the potential to go far with football if you liked."

Carter didn't answer that, because he didn't know what to say. He really wished someone could bring up another topic. Any topic, at all.

"Are you and Mel back together or not?" Brianna blurted.

Okay. So, maybe not any topic.

"Bri, I told you we're not," Mel chided.

"I thought maybe you were lying." Brianna shrugged.

"Brianna Monique Jones," Mel's mom warned.

Mel sighed as her sister pouted. "Carter and I are not together," she stated firmly. "We're friends."

"Do you have a new girlfriend?" Brianna asked, recovering from her sulking quickly.

"Bri," Mel exclaimed.

"Does Mel have a new boyfriend?"

"Stop being annoying," Joanna said.

"I'm just asking," Brianna shrieked. She turned to Carter with a giddy smile. "I have a boyfriend," she told him excitedly. Mr Jones sighed disapprovingly from the head of the table, but it didn't deter his daughter. "His name is Anthony and he plays football too. He's gonna play in high school next year, when we go to your school."

"Carter, why don't you help me take these inside and bring the desert to the table?" Mrs Jones spoke up, standing up. Carter stood too, mimicking her actions as he started collecting empty plates from the table.

"He's a guest," Brianna complained.

"Nonsense. He's practically family," Mrs Jones dismissed.

Carter was happy to help. He was glad for the excuse to leave the table without being impolite. As he followed Mel's mother to the kitchen, she shot him a knowing look over her shoulder.

"Thought you needed a rescue," she whispered.

Carter smiled.

After they came back with desert, the conversation stayed on safer themes. Carter brought up Mel's older sister, Kendra, who was a college sophomore in Washington state, and everyone seemed happy to talk about that. 

After dinner, Carter offered to help with the dishes and Mrs Jones sent him away, loading the chore on the twins. Mel dragged him up the stairs to her room then, away from her family.

Inside, there were still two beds and two desks, making the space a little crammed. It looked a little like a college dorm, actually. The second bed and desk belonged to Kendra, before she moved out.

"So..." Carter mused, sitting down on Mel's bed, over the green comforter. "Yale, Washington and Cambridge?"

Mel sat down over Kendra's pink comforter across the room. "I'm actually only including Washington, because that's where Kendra goes, and it might be nice to live with my sister," she said. "Yale was my initial end goal, but now I think Cambridge is what I'd really like."

"You know the weather is nothing like Florida there, right?" Carter teased.

Mel smiled. "I'll put on a coat."

Carter tried to smile, but it felt forced. He pursed his lips, looking down at his feet. Deciding not to think about it too much, since that was something he'd been trying lately, he gulped. 

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Back when we were together," he started, "did you ever... Was there ever anything... Did you ever notice anything strange about me?"

Mel shook her head like she didn't understand. "Strange how?"

Carter shrugged, looking up a little. "Just off."

"No. Why?"

Carter inhaled. "I guess what I'm trying to ask is—" he held that breath in. "Did you ever think I might... be... gay?" His voice cracked a bit on that last word and he looked down at his shoes again.

Without looking, he heard Mel stand from Kendra's bed and walk over to sit on her own bed next to him. 

"Is there anything you want to tell me, Cart?" She asked softly.

He turned his head to the side to look at her. "I guess."

Mel scooted a little closer and lifted one hand to rest on his shoulder. "There was never anything strange about you," she said plainly, rubbing her hand down to his back in circles.

"But did you know?"

She chewed on the inside of her cheek for a second. "Know what?" She asked, barely above a whisper.

Carter gulped. "I'm gay."

It was the first time he said it. He had talked about it, he had implied, he had even heard Seth say it. But Carter had never said that out loud, to himself or somebody else.

"I didn't know," Mel said, answering his previous question. There was not much of a reaction to his confession though. "Sometimes I thought maybe I was more into you than you were into me. Back when I was actually falling for you."

"I did like you, though," Carter said. He felt like that needed to be said. "I cared about you a lot, Mel. I still do. I guess that's partly why I was so confused for a while."

Mel smiled kindly. "I care about you too, Cart," she said. "But that doesn't mean I'm in love with you," she added with a shrug. "Doesn't this feel more right since we went back to being friends?"

"I guess."

"There you have it then," Mel concluded.

Carter let out a silent laugh. "You're not mad." It wasn't even a question. It was clear that she wasn't.

"Why would I be?"

"Your first boyfriend was gay," Carter said. "That usually turns out to be a sore spot."

Mel smiled. "My first boyfriend was a wonderful guy who always treated me incredibly well," she stated. "No sore spots."

Carter returned the smile. He had always known Mel to be the girl with just the right thing to say at each moment. And, right then, every word she had spoken to him had been the best thing she could've possibly said to him.

***

So, after taking twenty-something chapters to take my characters on a date, I took forty-two chapters to actually make them boyfriends...

Oops?

I hope you liked this chapter. What do you think of Carter's new 'less thinking' mantra? And Mel's reaction?

Thank you so much for reading!