Brendon's parents were gone when he woke up the next morning. He'd spent the night crying on the phone to Dallon, who offered to come get him several times but Brendon turned him down. He didn't want to risk it, he didn't want Dallon showing up at his house while his parents were there.

When he realized he was home alone, he called Dallon to come get him. The taller boy was there in five minutes flat, pulling Brendon into a tight hug as soon as he saw him.

"I'm so sorry," he said, pressing kisses to the top of Brendon's head.

"It's not your fault," Brendon said.

They rode to Dallon's house, and Dallon must have told his parents what happened because his mom pulled Brendon into a hug as soon as they got inside.

"Honey, you stay here as long as you need," she said.

Brendon thanked her and Dallon took him up to the bedroom.

"So, what happened?" Dallon asked after they both climbed under the covers, pulling them over their heads. The blinds on the windows were closed, and Dallon turned on the fairy lights that Brendon insisted he hang around the room, imitating stars.

"My dad yelled at me and it scared me, so I yelled at them and went to bed."

Dallon chuckled, kissing Brendon's forehead. "Details?" He asked.

"My mother asked me if I liked girls, and I said no. I told them maybe they'd know that if they actually gave a shit about me. They yelled at me too, but I wasn't listening because I locked myself in my room. They were gone when I woke up," Brendon elaborated.

Dallon sighed. "Well, I'm proud of you for taking up for yourself," he said, "but.. what's next? Are they still mad?"

"I don't know," Brendon said softly. "I mean they can't help but be mad, they're Capricorns. It's not good to make them mad."

Dallon nodded. "So, I guess we'll never get to have a big family dinner with both sets of parents and all get along like a big, happy family."

Brendon laughed, shaking his head and grabbing the sides of Dallon's face, pulling him in for a slow kiss.

"At least we know my parents are not gonna burst in and fuck this up," Dallon said when they pulled apart, wrapping his arms around Brendon as the smaller boy lied his head on his chest.

Brendon sighed. "Don't you think that if there was a god that loved me, he'd give me a family who actually gave a shit?"

Dallon thought carefully about his answer, rubbing Brendon's back. "I think that people with lots of problems in their life have trouble believing in God. Because they think that surely if God really loved them, he wouldn't put them through that. But the thing is, you have to have faith. I think that all of the problems people have is only God testing them. Everything happens for a reason, and even the bad things make you stronger. And you're one of the strongest people I know."

Brendon was quiet.

"That's just what I believe. I'm not trying to convert you or anything," Dallon said.

Brendon smiled softly, shaking his head. "Don't worry, you're not gonna convert me."

"So, if you don't believe in god, then how do you... explain everything?" Dallon asked. "Like your stars, for example, how did they get there?"

"How did god get there?" Brendon countered.

Dallon shrugged. "Alright, that's fair."

The smiled and giggled a little bit at each other, and Dallon kissed Brendon's neck.

"Y'know.." Brendon said, "I've told you all about Caleb, and everything I've done before we got together. But you've never told me about any of your exes."

"I didn't think they mattered," Dallon said, "but if you wanna know I'll tell you."

Brendon nodded, a curious smile on his face.

"Alright, well there was this girl called Breezy."

"Girl?"

"Yeah, a girl," Dallon confirmed.

"Continue," Brendon said after he laughed.

"Alright, so I met Breezy when I was in seventh grade. And back then I was so confused, I only dated her because I thought all boys had to date girls. It was pretty awkward, like all middle-school relationships, but we were together for like, almost two years. She was my first kiss. We broke up before high school. She was pretty, she had long brown hair and blue eyes, but.. it just wasn't right. At the time I didn't exactly know what wasn't right about it, but.. once ninth grade started, I figured it out."

Brendon listened, his head resting on Dallon's chest.

"So, in ninth grade I decided I was going to like, reinvent myself. So I started hanging out with the 'popular' kids and all, and I was at this party. So everybody was playing spin-the-bottle in this room, and I joined in with them. I ended up having to kiss a boy, and it was this huge deal for everyone. This boy's name was William, and he was kinda cute, but nowhere near as cute as you."

Brendon rolled his eyes and kissed Dallon's neck, the closest thing he could reach from his position.

"Everyone thought it was such a big deal because it was funny, but I thought it was a big deal for another reason. Something about kissing that boy felt like.. it was supposed to be that way. So when I went home that night, I did some serious soul searching, and I realized I was gay. My mom was my best friend, and the first person I told. And as you know, both my parents were super supportive. I didn't tell anyone else though, except for William when I saw him the next day. So he and I started dating, like secretly. Cause we were both so afraid, since both of us were 'popular', we didn't want to ruin our reputation. We ended up getting found out though, but since everyone was friends with us, they didn't really mind."

"Can't relate," Brendon joked.

"Anyways," Dallon continued, "he's the first person I ever had sex with, in tenth grade when I was sixteen."

"Young," Brendon teased him. Dallon rolled his eyes.

"I dated two more people after William, the next one's name was Jacob. He was a total tool, and the only one of my relationships that really ended badly. Then was Tom, he was nice. We ended things months before I moved, cause we just.. grew apart."

"Did you have sex with them, too?" Brendon asked.

"Yeah," Dallon said, "but it wasn't as good as you."

Brendon smacked his chest playfully, and Dallon laughed, one of his hands moving down to Brendon's ass and squeezing, making the smaller boy gasp and roll away.

"Did you love them?" Brendon asked.

"I don't know. I told them I did, but I don't think I knew what love meant back then," Dallon said, "I never loved any of them like I love you." He rolled over to Brendon, pulling him close again and kissing his lips.

"I can't tell if that was cheesy or just really, really sweet," Brendon said, giggling as Dallon's fingers poked his ribs.

"It was probably really, really sweet," Dallon said. Brendon rolled his eyes.