Bentley parked his car behind his mother’s and wasted no time getting out. One of his neighbors shouted hello to him and he gave a friendly wave. He was making good time, and that was important. Bentley wanted to find out what his mother wanted to talk to him about, but he also wanted to see the game with his friends. And with Kit. He felt bad for how he handled things.

Using his own key this time, Bentley went into the house and shouted out for his mother. She called out from the kitchen before tiredly coming out to meet him. Bentley smiled when he saw the exhausted woman.

“Jeez.” He closed the door behind himself. “You’ve gotta get some sleep, woman. Stop letting that hospital run you into the ground.”

Clarissa laughed, allowing her eldest to kiss her forehead before she gestured to the couch. “Well, I actually did the opposite.”

Bentley sat down in his favorite recliner and looked curiously over at his mother who’d taken her normal spot on the sofa. She sipped closely from her mug of tea.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

She smiled. “I’ve been promoted to Nurse Manager. My hours will change substantially which is great, but I’ve got a bit more responsibilities.”

Bentley’s eyes went wide. “What? Oh my God.” He jumped out his chair and almost tackle-hugged her. Clarissa laughed, allowing him to squeeze her tightly. “I’m so happy for you, Mom! You know you deserve this more than anyone,” he finished.

“Thank you, Benny. We could use the money, and it’ll be great having normal hours again, you know?”

He pulled back and smiled. “I’m happy for you.”

“I wanted to tell you that with the extra money, I was thinking about us coming to a compromise.”

Bentley looked at her with slight confusion. He didn’t know where she was going with this. “Uh…?”

Clarissa stroked his cheek and smiled. “I know things are going well with you in BMX world. That’s great. Trust me, I’m proud of you.”

Bentley nodded. “…But?”

“But I do want you to get an education at the same time.”

He sighed, falling back against the couch. “Mom, I’m sorry, but I forfeited that scholarship when I decided not to play for UCLA. I just won’t be able to do that and ride – ”

“I know all of that,” Clarissa told him. “But, you’d be able to manage just BMX and your studies, right?”

Bentley looked over at her curiously. He figured that having his career and going to UCLA would likely be doable. He’d always been a good student, and as long as he scheduled any tour dates around classes, he’d probably be able to make it work.

“I suppose so…”

She took his hand. “Then in the spring, you do your mother a favor and get your ass back in school. I’d be willing to pay your tuition.”

Bentley began to smile. He didn’t realize how much he wanted to finish until his mother even made the suggestion. Getting the chance to be back in school with Jonah, Noah, and Kit? That’d be awesome.

“I think I can make that work! No – I know I can. I’ll try registering for the spring semester as soon as registration opens.”

His mother hugged him this time, squeezing him tightly. Bentley laughed as he reciprocated.

“Thanks so much, Mom. I don’t know if you understand how much it means for me having you in my corner.”

She kissed his cheek and pulled away to look him in the eyes. “I love you, Bentley. And I’m proud of you. I always want you to do your best.”

Bentley nodded. “Yes, Ma’am.”

Clarissa took another sip from her tea. “Aren’t you supposed to go and hang out at UCLA today anyway?”

He stood to his feet. “I should get going. I messed things up with Kit and I’m hoping to fix it at all the game today.”

She sighed. “Benny…”

“I’m going to fix it.” Bentley vowed.

“Well, don’t let me hold you up.”

He kissed her cheek, gave her another hug, and thanked her again. Clarissa smiled as he hurried out the front door.

??

Kit knew he needed to let go of Tawny, but it wasn’t about to happen. He had her in a bear hug, and she was laughing and complaining about not being able to breathe, but he didn’t care. He missed her like hell these past few months.

Eventually, she fought her way free and demanded to be introduced to all of his friends. Kit smiled and dragged her over to the group as they stood outside of the football stadium. Ariel had a huge grin on her face.

“The guy with the green hair and tongue piercing is Jonah. The beautiful girl who he has his arm around is his girlfriend, Bella. You know the guy with the long hair because he always jumps in the background of our video chats…”

Tawny laughed. “Mr. Noah. Yes.”

Noah smiled; hand-in-hand with Ariel. “Hey, Tawny. Nice to meet in person. This is my girl, Ariel.”

Ariel took Tawny’s extended hand. “You’re the one who made the friendship bracelet!”

They all laughed. “I am. I’ve heard great things about you all, but someone is missing…”

The smile fell from Kit’s face. “Yeah.”

Jonah rushed to speak. “I spent the night at Dumbo’s place. He’ll be here.”

Tawny leaned in to kiss Kit’s cheek. “I’ve got to get inside and change, but I’ll meet up with you all after the game! Go Buckeyes!”

“You mean Bruins,” Noah replied.

Kit shrugged. “I’m neutral. May the best homerun hitter win!”

Jonah laughed. “Dear Lord.”

“We’ll be here afterwards,” Ariel confirmed. They all waved goodbye. Ariel turned to Kit and gestured to the entrance. “I’m guessing you know all our seats are together? You and Benny are going to have to talk like big boys at some point today.”

“Ha.” Kit walked in line with his friends. “We’ll see.”

??

Bentley checked the time as he walked up to the stadium entrance. The game was only about 15-minutes in when he arrived, but it took him so much longer to get where he was going because students and visitors alike would stop him. Some people wanted photos, some people wanted to let him know the school missed him, and that they’d be winning if he were still around. Others wanted to congratulate him on going pro with BMX. Bentley took a little bit of time with each person, but he couldn’t deny that he was anxious to get to his seat and see Kit.

Jonah came out to meet him since he had the tickets. They walked together up to the second level, and Jonah called Bentley out for his pace.

“Are you good bro? You’re walking slower than my grandfather.”

Bentley nodded. “Sorry. Just nervous.”

“You should be. You’ve been ignoring him for days. Come on.” Jonah pushed him along. “The Bruins had the ball when I left my seat, and if they actually score and I miss it, I’m fighting you. I know I’ll lose said fight, but I don’t care.”

Bentley smiled. He quickened his pace and took a deep breath as Jonah led him over to their section.

It took no time at all for them to reach their seats. Bentley found his friends split between two rows. Ariel sat with Noah and Kit on the higher row, and Jonah and Bella were on the bottom. Ariel smiled at him when they made eye contact.

“Oh! My favorite idiot has arrived.”

Kit looked away from the field and found Bentley. Bentley’s eyes felt like they were glued to him. He told himself to smile, to at least say hello, but all he could do was stare. Kit had cut his hair so that it faded low on the sides, but the top was long and curled. He wore a plain mustard t-shirt with the sleeves cuffed, and acid-washed ripped jeans. Bentley thought he looked too good for words. He looked undressable. Bentley had to make up a word for how good he looked.

“Hi Bentley!” Bella said. “When someone says hi, you say hi back. It’s common courtesy.”

Bentley finally pulled himself away from staring at Kit and smiled at her. “Hey, Bella. Hey everyone.”

Noah slurped loudly from his straw. “Hey Bro.”

Kit looked at him for a moment longer before saying hello, but then he turned back to the field. Bentley knew he probably deserved that. He licked his lips and told Jonah to scooch over on the bleacher seat so that he could sit beside him. Jonah obliged, though Bentley could tell he’d rather him try and sit next to Kit instead.

The score was 14 – 6. OSU Was up. Paulie was the quarterback on the field now. Bentley focused on the game for a bit, noting that Paulie wasn’t all that bad. He really did wish the kid the best – after all, he was afraid to come out because of how the public would react. Bentley could understand that. He himself didn’t care what people thought, but that was because of the support system he had. Not everyone had that.

The Buckeyes scored yet again as the tight end caught a ten-yard reception. The crowd wasn’t pleased. One of the super-seniors a few rows in front of him began to boo. He glanced back at Kit and hoped that he’d be looking at him, but he wasn’t. Kit was busy taking selfies with Ariel. He thought for a moment, then leaned in close to Jonah, distracting him from the game.

“When halftime comes, offer to go get snacks and ask Kit to go with you.”

Jonah turned to look at him. “Whatever you want, bro.”

As planned, halftime came a few minutes later. Jonah stood to his feet and turned to everyone. “I’m going to go get some nachos. Who wants?”

Noah and Ariel raised their hands. Kit, being extra, said he wanted chicken tenders and fries.

“Come with me, Kit. Pretty please,” Jonah said.

Kit smiled at him. “Fine.”

When Kit stood up, Bentley did, too. He cleared his throat before speaking.

“You know what, I’ll get it. Snacks on me.”

Jonah turned to him and shrugged. “Really? Cool. Then you and Kit can bring me back nachos and some pizza for the lady and me.”

Kit stared at Bentley and then Jonah, likely realizing it was all planned. He stepped past Noah and Ariel anyway. “Anyone else want anything?”

Noah looked at Ariel, but she shook her head. “Nachos will do fine. Maybe a coke if you guys can carry it all.”

Bentley nodded. “Okay.” He walked past Kit and up to the concession area. Kit quietly followed behind him. He looked around once they reached the main floor, dodging UCLA students and trying to find a good place to order from.

“You look really good,” Bentley said. “I love what you did with your hair.”

Kit turned to face him and nodded. “Thank you.”

Bentley placed his hands at his sides. “Can we talk?”

“I’ve been trying to since Tuesday night,” Kit said. He then took a deep breath. “And I really don’t want to argue today.”

Bentley followed behind him. “I don’t want to either. I just want to apologize.”

Kit kept walking. “I believe you. I just don’t think it’s fair you get to show up here today after keeping me on the back burner all week, and I’m just supposed to hear you out.” He wrapped his arms around himself, scanning through the stadium. “You didn’t give me the same chance, Benny.”

This was what Bentley didn’t want to hear. He knew that Kit was right and he had no excuse. “I fucked up. I’m sorry.”

They found a nacho place and Kit got in line. After a few moments of silence, Kit turned to look at him. Bentley was grateful for the eye contact.

“I didn’t know if you were okay, or if you hated me, or what. For four days. You were mad, okay, but four days?”

Bentley shook his head, moving in closer. “I wasn’t mad at you. I was dealing with some things internally –”

“You could’ve said that and I would’ve understood. I promise.”

“There’s nothing I can say besides I’m sorry. I was stupid.”

Kit was about to speak, but the girl behind register called them up. He looked at her and turned back to Bentley.

“How about we just order the stuff and go back and enjoy the game? We can talk about this later.”

Bentley nodded. “I just don’t want you to be mad at me.”

His boyfriend gave him a small, sympathetic smile before walking up to the counter. Bentley took a deep breath. Kit was right; it wasn’t fair for him to believe that Kit would just open his arms with a wide grin and that they’d skip off towards the sunset. He had been denying his calls, ignoring his texts; all of the above. Hopefully they would discuss everything soon, because Bentley was ready to fix this.

??

UCLA got their asses handed to them. Kit listened to everyone complaining about the game. He didn’t particularly care, but he felt for his friends who were die hard Bruins. It must’ve hurt.

Eh, it was a stupid football game. They’d get over it.

His mind was on something else; after their blow-up in his dorm, he and Bentley were finally in the same space again. Bentley was much more docile today, kind of lingering at his side like a lost puppy. Kit didn’t like seeing him so sad, but he also didn’t want to just forgive him for that stunt within the first two minutes of seeing him again. Bentley could stand to stew for a little while.

They were back in the spot they told Tawny they’d meet her. It was getting darker now – much darker than Kit expected it to be at seven. A breeze kissed him as he stood listening to his friends’ conversations. When he wrapped his arms around himself, Bentley immediately pulled off his cardigan and wrapped it around him.

“Here you go,” he said.

Kit smiled at him. “Thanks.”

“So, where are we going to eat?” Jonah asked, probably forgetting the fact that he’d eaten most of a pizza pie not all that long ago.

“I wouldn’t mind some tacos,” Ariel answered. She playfully yanked at Noah’s ponytail as she continued. “Let’s go to that place you took me to last week.”

“How are you not tired of tacos?” Noah complained. He turned around and wrapped an arm around her. “You must bleed salsa at this point.”

“How can you be tired of tacos? They’re so good. Oh, let me guess – you want Chinese food?”

“Maybe I do want Chinese food.” Noah smirked, pulling her closer. “And if I want Chinese, we’re getting Chinese.”

“You thought.” She laughed, trying to avoid the kiss he placed on her cheek. “You only get to kiss me if we go out for tacos.”

Kit looked away from Jonah as Noah and Ariel – seemingly forgetting anyone else was around them – continued to bicker. It wasn’t only that they were bickering, but they were bickering between cute little pecks on the cheek while mentioning that they went to a taco place last week. Kit took a chance and glanced back at Bentley to see his reaction.

Bentley looked like his soul left his body.

Bella cleared her throat. At the noise, Noah glanced back at her. He then realized that they were all looking, but more importantly Bentley was looking.

Kit noticed that Bentley had yet to blink.

Ariel pulled away with a guilty smile. Noah looked between her and Bentley before shoving his hands in his pockets.

Bentley only stared.

“So,” Jonah said, trying to redirect everyone’s focus. “Maybe we can go to a wing spot? Have you tried Anna’s Hot Wings, Kit?”

Kit shook his head no, pulling Bentley’s sweater tighter around himself. “Sounds good to me!” he turned to Bentley. “Would you like wings?”

Bentley was still quiet. He was taking turns between giving Noah his patented death-glare, and giving it to his sister.

Noah looked to Kit for help.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake. We’re together, okay?” Ariel stepped forward. “Wouldn’t you rather me be with Noah than some guy you don’t really know?”

Kit looked to Bentley hoping that he’d show some sort of emotion at this point. No such luck. He was damn-near red.

It was a good thing that Tawny showed up when she did, because her presence totally shifted the focus from an unpredictable ending, to their visitor.

“I thought UCLA would be more of a challenge,” Tawny began, now out of her cheerleading outfit and in a comfortable pair of shorts and a bright pink tank top. Her red hair was up in a messy bun. “We really destroyed you guys – wait a minute…” she trailed off, smiling when she laid eyes on Bentley. “He’s here and you two are standing side-by-side. Can I take this to mean you got your heads out your asses?”

Bentley was now looking at Tawny, and he slowly began to smile.

Kit took this to mean that Noah and Ariel hadn’t completely broken him…

“Hey,” he said. “If it isn’t the legendary Tawny herself…”

“I could say the same thing about you,” she took his hand and shook it. “It’s nice to finally meet the boy who got the friendship bracelet I slaved over.”

Kit chuckled to himself. She was never going to get over that. “You have the best timing. We just decided on a wing spot if you’re hungry at all.”

“I’m down for wings!” Tawny turned to look at everyone. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Jonah began. “Bentley just found out my little bro and his little sister are dating and we thought he was going to have a nervous breakdown.”

Ariel rolled her eyes. “He’ll get over himself. We’re old enough to make our own decisions.”

Bentley looked away from them. “I’ll deal with that later. You guys enjoy the wings, though. I’ll meet you afterwards.”

Kit looked at him quizzically. Where was he going? “Where are you going?” he said, echoing his thoughts.

“What the fuck is he doing coming over here?” Tawny asked. Her question caused the group to turn and look in that direction. Fans were still leaving the stadium, but Kit knew exactly who she saw approaching. His stomach dropped.

He did not invite him over. Bentley would probably assume that he invited him over here after everything that went down. This was not going to end well. “I didn’t –”

“I’ll handle this,” Tawny said.

Paulie looked nervous as he tentatively approached. His eyes scanned the entire group, and Kit could tell he was considering staying where he was, but for some reason, he continued to move closer. Once again – this was not going to end well. Kit didn’t need Bentley to think he invited him to hang out with them, especially after the argument they had over this very guy.

Tawny jumped out in front of them, ready to defend his honor as always. “I don’t know what the hell you’re up to, but I’m not afraid to spray mace in your eyes, Paulie. Get the hell out of here and we can forget this ever happened.”

He froze, and Kit almost died when he saw Paulie stare directly at him and then at Bentley. What the fuck?

“It’s fine,” Bentley said. He walked around the group and stood face-to-face with Paulie, looking him in the eyes before facing Kit. “I asked him to meet me here. Word on the street is that he needed someone to watch his back when he goes out to party, and I figured I’d help him out. It’ll be my good deed for the year.”

Kit’s jaw must’ve dropped, because he felt Jonah tip it closed. He licked his dry lips and then turned to Tawny. Was Bentley for real?

Paulie smiled at Kit. “I’ll hang out over there… give you guys some space.”

Bentley nodded to him. He then walked over to Kit and took his hand, leading him away from everyone else as they whispered.

“Are you …? I’m confused.”

Bentley smiled. “What are you confused about? Painkiller reached out to me and explained the situation. He… told me his struggle, and let me know why he sent you that message. I thought if I could show you that I’m mature and could watch out for him while he figures his shit out, I’d score some brownie points. And it’ll keep him from hawking you.”

Kit looked over his shoulder at Paulie. He was talking to some other OSU students before they went their separate ways. Bentley suddenly wanting to hang out with him brought up some red flags. “And you’re not taking him somewhere to kill him?”

Bentley laughed a little too much for Kit’s liking. He eventually shook his head no. “None of that. I figured I’d be nice to the kid, you know? When he messaged me, he said something that struck a chord. I didn’t have to deal with what other people deal with when it comes to the fear of coming out, or facing any backlash. I don’t give a fuck. You’re either with me, or against me, and God help whoever is against me.”

Kit was quiet.

“But he doesn’t have the luxury of not giving a fuck. His family is bigoted and would likely disown him. He’s confused. Do I give a fuck about him? Fuck no. But at the same time, that has to be hard. I want you to see that I’m not a heartless asshole.”

Kit slowly began to smile. “I’m … shocked. That’s awfully big of you.”

“W-I-N-G-S!” Jonah shouted. “Wrap it up, fellas.”

Bentley glanced back at him for a moment before giving Kit his complete focus. “I will never forget what he did to you, though.”

“You’re being the bigger person,” Kit said. “That’s amazing. Just remember that we do have to talk about us and what went down at some point this weekend.”

“We’ll do that tonight,” Bentley said confidently. “Let me get out of here. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“We’re going to be on the beach.”

“Alright.” Bentley took a few steps back and turned away. Kit watched in awe – almost terrified as Bentley walked towards his car and Paulie rushed over to follow him. He could not believe what he was seeing.

Tawny came over to Kit with a confused look on her face, too. “Boy, what the fuck?”

Kit shook his head. “My biggest fear is that I’ll see Bentley’s mugshot on the news tonight.”

“He’s too fine to get anything more than 15 years with an option of parole,” Tawny replied. “That’s not too long to wait.”

Kit turned to look at her, and though he wanted to deadpan, he couldn’t help but laugh. She joined in, and eventually the pair watched Bentley pull off with Paulie in his car.

Jonah walked over with Noah closely behind. Noah’s beautiful, tan complexion had gone a stark white. He looked like he witnessed the death of a loved-one. Kit felt for him.

“Can we go get those wings or what?” Jonah asked.