Having spent the first half of his life in Mumbai, Kavan Varma never quite understood the whole "Halloween" thing and why Americans were so obsessed with it all; From the creepy house decorations all the way down to the horror movie marathons, Kavan simply didn't see the appeal of any of it. Even when the Varma household had migrated to the states, the family never really made an effort to participate in the holiday as the rest of the neighborhood did. They never passed out candy to the kids who came knocking on their front door, never set up any decorations or carved any pumpkins, and horror movies were the very last choice whenever Kavan managed to convince his sister to watch a movie with him. All of this explained why Amoli Varma was highly surprised when her younger brother came rushing down the stairs in his last minute costume; she couldn't help but crack an embarrassed smile as she watched the young man hurriedly search around for something in the living room. "I think Jack Sparrow would've been a more fitting Halloween costume, baby brother. You know, so you'll have a valid excuse to wear your guyliner," Amoli said jokingly from the sofa. "What's all this for, anyway? You're going trick-or-treating?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Kavan said, his voice oozing with sarcasm. "It's for a Halloween party at Kavi's house. I'm supposed to be meeting Archer there, but I... can't seem to find my keys."

"Going because of Archer, huh?" Amoli said with a raised eyebrow, "You two seem to be getting pretty close now that you've finally aired everything out." As the young woman spoke, she stood from her spot on the couch and began to help her brother search the room for his keys. "I'm glad everything worked out."

"I'm not going because of him, Amoli," Kavan said with a roll of his eyes, "It's a house party. I'm going to have fun."

As always, Amoli simply put on a knowing smile and shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever." After a few more minutes of hopeless searching, Amoli finally took an exasperated breath before grabbing her own keys from off the coffee table and making her way towards the front door. "Come on, I'll just drive you there," the young woman said. "Maybe I'll even stick around for a bit... I've always wanted to go one of these high school Halloween parties."

---

---

The Varma siblings arrived at the party a little bit later than Kavan had originally intended, but at that point he didn't really care. At least his sister had been nice enough to give him a ride; though, he knew that she'd use this against him in the near future whenever she needed another favor. After the car was parked, Kavan and Amoli made their way to the front door. It wasn't until after they'd been let inside that they decided to go their separate ways. "I'll text you when I'm ready to leave," Amoli yelled to him over the music, "I'll give you two minutes before I make you take an Uber back home." Kavan simply offered his sister a curt nod before turning on his heel and making his way to... well, anywhere away from his sister.

Soon, Kavan found himself at the drink table; unlike the majority of those in attendance, Kavan filled his cup only with some Dr. Pepper. He'd never been much of a drinker, and decided that he'd much rather wake up the next morning without having to worry about nursing the world's most painful hangover. With his red solo cup in hand, Kavan began to aimlessly roam the room once more, his eyes searching the crowd of people for a familiar face... the familiar face. What he saw instead, however, was something that he certainly hadn't been expecting to see. In fact, Kavan had to double check his cup and then do a quick double-take to make sure that his eyes weren't deceiving him.

"Sonny, is that you?" Kavan said to the boy, a smirk making its way to his lips as he took in Sonny Drake's costume. "Or should I call you Sonia instead?" Of course, the young man didn't mean any harm when he spoke to Sonny. He did, however, take great pleasure in poking fun at the boy; he thought of it as his way of getting back at him for whatever snide remarks he'd made in the past. "I've gotta say man, this whole thing you've got going on kind of suits you. Maybe now you can hang with Chanel and the rest of her little fashion crew now that you're into skirts."

As soon as she got home, Stella was busy at work for her costume. Everything was customly made by her and Winnie. Her cousin came down from New York just so she could ensure that Stella’s costume was the best that it could be. Granted it was as simple as one could get for Halloween, but there was a lot more to it than just met the eyes. At face value, it was a black pantsuit, some heels, and half-skull mask., but what nobody, not even Oliver or her parents if they didn’t ask, was that the mask was stitched by Stella herself.

For everything she might’ve failed at, Stella grew up learning how to sow and since Kavi had initially paraded around King’s, announcing he was having a party at his house, Stella knew this was her chance to wow everyone.

So for the past two weeks, when she wasn’t doing homework, she was putting everything together for her and Oliver’s costumes. It was hard work and she required all the help that she could receive. Whether it was from her parents, who knew how to do _some_ of what she needed to get done or her cousins who lived nearby, Stella slaved over it all. For the first time, they saw a different side of her. Sure she had her usual cheery self, but for the first time, she showed a more dominant side to her personality. She wasn’t barking orders like some slave-driver but she was passionate and on top of things. Not even her mother, who was one of the most dominant woman in the Monroe-Lambert family could get a word in without Stella getting ten more in. In the end, Melissa agreed to follow her vision.

And then came the day of the party. It being Saturday, she still had a lot of finishing touches to do, mainly on Oliver’s costume. She had to finish the wig styling, which she had Winnie to help with. Given that she did a lot of her own wigs for her own costumes she wore when she did her sets as a DJ. It was a chaotic mess at the Lambert-Monroe manor.

Around five or so, there was a knock on the door and Stella immediately ran, remembering exactly who was supposed to come over around this time. She just didn’t realize it was that time already.

As she would open the door, she saw Oliver. “Oli!” She gave him a hug, then jerking him inside. “I’m so sorry! It’s just so busy here.” Stella didn’t need to gesture towards all the running back and forth those inside were doing. Employees from her mother’s work were around, working around the clock. “You see, when I told my parents about what I told you about last week, she went above and beyond. She actually employed HartCorp’s designer department to help with the costumes. I’m sure they’re done or close to being done but it might be a little longer than I had hoped,” she sighed out disappointedly, the teen being completely out of breath as she hunched over onto Oliver’s form.

Oliver had never been the most enthusiastic about Halloween; come to think of it, he wasn’t that enthusiastic about any holiday. When Stella had asked if he was going to Kavi’s party, Oliver had almost said no. Instead, he found himself saying yes. The last few days before the party had been a blur. He had tried to decide on what to wear, but when he had brought up the topic to Stella, she had insisted that she had it covered. Oliver didn’t mind her enthusiasm, but going in blind made him a little nervous. However, he trusted Stella, and her fashion choices had proven themselves in the past.

Making his way over to the Lambert residence, Oliver didn’t know what entirely to expect. His first and only time here, he was greeted by the whole pack - not that Oliver had a problem with that, it just surprised him. Knocking on the door, it appeared that Stella was as happy as ever to see him. He returned her hug enthusiastically before being pulled through the door to the scene before him. Oliver recognized one or two familiar faces from Homecoming night, but his names slipped his mind. They’d come back to him soon - hopefully.

”Don’t be sorry, Stel. I told you I could have done my own costume,” he said, eyes bouncing from one fast moving person to the other. He offered Stella an encouraging head-pat. ”Don’t worry about the time. We can be fashionably late.” He paused once more, thinking of what question he should ask first. ”So what are we going as anyway?”

Stella had an expression of absolute relief and joy when Oliver asked about their costumes. It was like all of the stress and pressure from the environment was soon lifted when his curiosity into all of her and her mother’s hard work was going to pay off. So Stella wouldn’t waste any time with a stuttering reply because her excitement was that high. Instead, she took Oliver by the hand as she led him upstairs, nevermind the fact this was the first time a boy was in her room.

She propped the door open and though it was wildly chaotic in her room when they (they were her mother’s employees) saw Stella, they stopped what they were doing and smiled. “Oh, Miss Lambert, you’re just in time. We just finished!” One of them said, stepping to the side.

Stella, which she was so unlike herself, tugged on Oliver to reveal a matching set of Tate from American Horror Story and his skeleton bride. While Oliver’s was textbook to Tate, Stella’s was improvised. She had herself a black pantsuit and a half-skeleton mask with a black wig. In addition, she had black flats to complete the outfit. “So, what do you think?” Stella asked, a look of approval on her face as she turned to Oliver for any sort of comment.

Oliver wasn’t used to being grabbed and tugged on so much in such a short period of time. He was in the right mind to protest, but the fact that Stella had the best intentions made everything more than okay. It was clear to see that Stella and everyone else involved had been busy. The living room was turned upside down, but Stella's room was even more of a wreck (not that Oliver was judging). Another thing that was apparent was how much thought was put into these costumes. Not only was there care put into the costumes, but there was also proof that Stella had actually listened to what he had to say during their conversations.

The young man had mentioned his current favorite TV series once or twice, as well as his favorite character. Any doubts that Oliver had in his mind about letting Stella take over the whole operation were now completely out of his mind.

”They’re amazing!” he responded, a wide grin plastered on his face. ”Honestly. What made you think I wanted to go as Tate? Not that I’m complaining,” he replied as he held up his hands in a ‘no offense’ sort of gesture.

As Stella went to open her mouth, one of the HartCorp employees stepped forward. “That was actually my idea.” A woman said. She was about ten years older than Stella and Oliver. “You see, Stella wanted something to match for her skeleton costume and, well we stalked some of your social media and saw you mentioned American Horror Story a lot. Tate fit your general shape and your hair really was the selling point.”

As she stood there, Stella nodded when Oliver would look to her. “Basically all of that. I love the idea of my skeleton and your Tate. Something about it just made sense,” she admitted, smiling at Denise, giving her an inaudible thank you for saying what she probably would have stuttered through.

He simply nodded, trying to hide his own excitement as best as he could. ”Makes sense, but, uh… when do we get to see how fabulous we look in them?” he asked no one in particular.

“You heard the man! He wants to try them on right now!”

As Denise clapped her hands, those in the room rushed both Stella and Oliver. The two teenagers were victims in the rushing assault of being dragged behind two individual changing sections. While it was set up like a professional fashion room where there was around the clock workers to do the makeup and hair, it was still Stella’s room in her parents house, so curtains were set up to protect both from getting any sneak peaks at something that neither of them should be (at least not in her parents’ house).

In the time of under ten minutes, it would have allowed both Stella and Oliver to just test out the outfits. Makeup would take some time to apply, but since they were still a fair amount of time before the party actually started, there was plenty of time for both of them to see how each other (and how they themselves) looked in their respective costume.

And then, as both stepped away from the bum rush of their changing areas, Stella’s mouth dropped when she saw Oliver in his tate suit. She felt such a rush of emotions that the girl immediately hugged him, resulting in a harmonious “aww” from everyone in the room. And then, when she realized just what happened, she took a step back. “I’m so sorry! You just looked so cute and, okay! Do you like it?” Stella asked, turning both of them to the standing mirror that showed the couple standing next to each other. She had her arm connected with his, smiling at him through the mirror.

More being tugged around. At least the smile on Stella's face was worth it. Changing as quickly as he could, Oliver stepped out from the changing station as he attempted to finish buttoning his cuffs. He returned her hug once more, as he felt his face turn a slight shade of pink. ”I love it actually. It fits great!” He took a moment to get a better look at Stella’s outfit. ”You look pretty good yourself.”

Stella was thankful for the mask that hid most of her cheek or else Oliver would have clearly seen her blushing cheeks. If she wasn’t in the high of her own handiwork (well the handiwork of her and her mother’s employees), she might’ve let out a high pitched squeal like she usually did. Instead, she took a long moment to remove the mask and look at Oliver directly and not through the mirror.

“Thanks! I wasn’t sure how they would look on us. Things don’t always look the same as they do on mannequins,” she said, finding some humor in it as she let out a low giggle. “Do you like the way it fits? I mean, it’s not too tight or anything, is it? I think there’s still some time to make adjustments if it is.” Stella lightly patted Oliver’s shoulder, making sure it was even and fit for his frame.

Moving to stand in the mirror beside Stella as to get a better look at himself, Oliver fixed his collar before doing a bit better exam of the suit. The shirt and jacket fit surprisingly well. The only thing he could even find wrong was how long the pants were. ”I really hate to be ‘that’ gay, but the pants are a little long. Not by much, though,” he quickly added. ”I can just roll them up if it’s too much trouble. Really.”

Stella pulled out her phone to see what time it was and she noticed that it was barely seven. She had wanted to get to the party on time, but there was still enough time to make some adjustments to his pants. “Well, I guess we will have to be fashionably late then,” Stella mused just a bit quietly to herself.

And then an hour would pass, during which time, while Oliver would likely just wait, Stella and Denise led the charge of doing the necessary edits to his pants. After getting it the right length, Stella put them on the mannequin to make sure they were aligned perfectly with the ankles. The mannequin itself was as tall as Oliver was, so it was the easiest, not to mention the quickest way for them to see if anything else needed to be done. With just a sigh of relief by everyone in the room -- most notably from Stella as she exaggerated her sigh of relief -- she saw that it was perfect and she responded by giving a celebratory hug to Oliver, letting go only a long moment later.

Soon Stella and Oliver were finally in their costumes, the time escaped them though. It was already eight but they had already agreed to be a bit late, so it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Besides, this was probably the first time that Stella Lambert felt proud of something in a long, long time. Her radiating smile beamed through her face, into the mirror as she clung to Oliver’s arm with such pride. “I just love it. Don’t you love it?”

Feeling a little bad about complaining about the pants, Oliver waited patiently until they were finished. Makeup on, pants fixed - everything was officially in the right place. While he would never be the babe Evan Peters was, he still thought he looked pretty damn good. ”I can honestly say that I haven’t been this pleased with something in a bit. I’m not really a suit kinda guy, but you might just change my mind, Stel. You’ve outdone yourself,” he said, turning to look at the staff. ”You all did!”

Yeah, it was entirely impossible for Stella to contain her delighted squeal when Oliver had, yet again, complimented her on a job well-done. This was one of the few times where she was really able to go as in-depth with her vision as she wanted. She honestly felt so grateful that her mother believed in it enough to lend her some of the best designers from HartCorp’s fashion department. All of the hard work she put into designing and even being allowed to be in charge of it all with Denise as the one to take over when she had to leave for whatever reason, it all was worth it to see the smile on Oliver’s face.

Had it not been for the arrival of her parents, Stella probably would have given Oliver a giant kiss. Instead, she settled by just grinning widely at him. “Wow babygirl, it all looks great!” Francis exclaimed, immediately taking a picture.

Yeah, as if I wasn’t blushing enough. Thanks a lot, dad!

Stella wanted to roll her eyes at him but she had to look presentable for the pictures. With the best support system of the HartCorp employees clapping (more so congratulating themselves on a job well-done), Stella and Oliver posed for the next fifteen minutes for pictures from both her father and the employees. Eventually, they were allowed to leave and were out the door within another fifteen minutes.

Stella and Oliver were now in his car and Stella was free to let out a sigh. “Oh my God!” She exclaimed in only the most dramatic way.

She leaned against Oliver’s shoulder, not really caring at this point. She was on a high right now and honestly, Stella felt something was happening right now, so she went for it. She removed her mask as she took Oliver’s face into her hands and for the first time in her life, Stella was finally making the first move. And as their lips met and time froze, Stella wanted it to last forever. She leaned in closer, almost hovering over Oliver while still partially remaining in her seat. She realized just how far she was going and she immediately let him go, backing off as she recoiled back to her seat.

And in that moment of the afterward, at the moment that came after she stopped kissing him (yet her hands remained), Stella didn’t know what to do. Her hands were shaking and as a byproduct, Oliver’s head was vibrating somewhat as well. She didn’t know if it was from her hands or if it was caused by the car engine being revved up but Stella felt something come alive from within her chest. It was frightening for her but at the same time, she was enjoying it. This was the sort of thing Stella felt when she drank a little too much or how she kissed Lucas Anderson at Diablo’s party.

“We-we should get going. I don’t think we want to be too late to the party,” Stella said, suddenly and without warning turning to face in front of her. Again, she was thankful for the mask because her face was blushing like a ripe tomato and she didn’t know how to cope with it. God, what has she done?

Stella didn’t do anything to poke the bear, well the teddy bear that wanted more love because believe it or not, Stella wanted to just forget about the party and kiss him again and again. For reasons unknown to her, she couldn’t help but think about the kiss again and again. The taste of his lips, the rush she felt when she took that leap of faith, and every butterfly flapping away in her stomach. Honest to God, she was at a loss. Yes, she adored Oliver like no other. He treated her like an actual human being (unlike some people) and she felt like she could be herself around him. If nothing else, she was extremely attracted to him for that. And also because he was so gosh-darn cute!

And that’s when Stella fell into the pit of temptation yet again and briefly brought her brown eyes to gaze upon Oliver’s face as he looked like a total cutie-patooty. She watched him until they stopped. Being so focused on Oliver, it didn’t even register in Stella’s mind why Oliver had stopped driving. Only when she saw him turn around and startle her, she remembered and she gasped a tad louder than she intended to. “Oh!” She chirped, nervous laughter following as she smiled, hoping Oliver didn’t see her practically stare at him while he was driving. ]"We should go announce ourselves then!”

As the horror duo left the car and made their way through the intricately-designed walkway, Stella couldn’t help but adore Kavi’s attention to detail. It honestly was amazing how all out he went for the party. “I guess if he’s going to host a themed party, might as well go the whole nine yards,” Stella commented with a wide smile. Almost as soon as those words left her lips, the Dracula doorbell rang as Oliver had pressed it and the devil whose name she just spoke met them with a smile as he let them in.

It was safe to say the party was off to a great start. In just the first hour alone, no fights have been started, nobody was on edge or starting problems - or at least none that Kavi saw. For all he knew, some were getting on each other’s nerves, but if he didn’t see it happen, there wasn’t much he could do about it until it exploded out of their control. But even then, through the high fives and “bro hugs”, Kavi kept an observant eye and/or ear on those who walked by him and those who were coming and going from the main house and the back patio, where it appeared like a couple of people were assigning teams for Beer Pong. He kind of wanted to join them, but Kavi had more important things that needed his attention, or rather that demanded his full attention, not even the frustration of spotting Santiago was enough to pull him away.

Truly, it was as though some divine entity was on his side. For all of the trouble he caused this year to Nadia, to Ariel, to even Santiago Fernandez, karma had not yet decided to get back at Kavi. Even with the arrival of the Unholy Trinity and Astraia (separate entities but equally dramatic), Kavi wasn’t stressing one bit, not when his best girl (and only girl for the immediate and somewhat distant future) was by his side looking as fiery — and hot — as her temper.

“Damn Ari, if you were to do that, well..” Kavi paid no mind to those around him and wrapped his arms around her waist and just gave her a slightly suggestive eyebrow wiggle while laying a kiss on her. “I might not be able to keep my hands off of you.” He told her without hesitation. The red hair did something light a fire inside him that just made him kiss her again, then again and again until Kavi had to forcibly remove himself from her or else they would get it on right there by the stairs.

He soon apologized to her, but at the same that happened, Kavi heard someone call his name from behind him — well, not to him directly but someone who was asking who the hell Kavi was (he was paraphrasing). He turned around, holding Ariel’s hand since now it was pretty much okay with her that he touched her. She trusted him, unlike a certain jackass. Soon Kavi and Ariel would be right in front of the person who he thought was calling his name, but when he saw ...them, Kavi was a little perplexed. Her certainly heard a female voice, but when he found the source, who still was asking around for Kavi, she--he--didn’t really look all that feminine.

“Are they supposed to be Snoop Dogg?” Kavi asked Ariel briefly before tapping Snoop Doggy Dogg on the shoulder. “So, I heard you were looking for me.” Kavi would say, half-uncertain what to expect and half-wanting to put on Drop It Like It’s Hot.

The glances and stares that came his way had Sonny, for the first time, feeling like how he always imagined himself if he one day woke up as a woman: adored and cherished by those around him. He had always stood out but in the worst of ways (someone else’s words, not his). Whether it was his so-called ‘rat face’ or ‘the face only a mother could love’ comments that he had always felt were the same thing (yeah like be original at least). But, since he arrived, either he received harsh spanks on his ass, resulting in either a glare or a smirk as if he played up to the joke among those who hit his rear.

And in the midst of all the laughing and otherwise inappropriate jokes initiated by Sonny, yet another person approached him. Had it not been for the remnants of a high he was experiencing from some people he barely knew joking around with him, Sonny might have recognized the voice.

As he turned around and came to the sight of Kavan, he just sighed. “You must really be enjoying this, huh?” Sonny refused to acknowledge the costume Kavan chose to wear despite him smiling as he eyed Kavan head to toe. Oh, the comments he could make.

"Oh, enjoying it?" Kavan said with a chuckle after taking a quick sip from his cup, "I'm relishing in it. After all, it's not every day that I have the pleasure of running into Sonia Drake." Of course, Kavan knew that Sonny probably had millions of his usual snarky comments bottled up inside, just waiting to come tumbling out of his mouth. And although he didn't quite understand why the cork had yet to be popped, he didn't really think much more of it before he decided to continue on.

"Raided your mom's closet, I assume?" Kavan asked with a smirk, "Or did Mari help you out with this whole... transformation?"

He smiled almost pleasantly at Kavan. “Actually, it wasn’t neither of those things,” he said, correcting the great and honorable pharaoh. “I phoned in the big guns: my sister.” He declared proudly, flipping his hair from one side to the other.

Sonny had come a long way since a few months ago. Hell, in the past month alone Sonny has found more personal growth than maybe in his entire time knowing the bunch of misfits he regularly hangs out with. A pettier Sonny might’ve clapped back at Kavan almost immediately. In fact, had this been September, he would have already made a few Arabian jokes simply because he knew it got to Kavan, but Sonny was turning over a new leaf.

“So make all the jokes you want, Kavan.” Sonny leaned a little closer, offering Kavan a sneak peek of his goods. As he did, a hand rested on Kavan’s shoulder. “After all, it’s not every day you see quality prosthetics outside of Hollywood.” Suddenly, he reached into his shirt and pulled out a silicon breast. “Seriously, just look at these. They’re actually the real deal. I don’t know how Drea did it, but she managed to get me actual breast implants!” The shock in his voice was just as genuine as when Drea had whipped them out for him when they were picking out his costume. “Just touch them! Go on, it’s okay. I’m giving you my consent to touch my tits, Kavan!” He winked at Kavan.

Almost instantly after Sonny had pulled the silicon bag from his shirt, a wave of confusion and slight discomfort passed over Kavan. The young man forced a half smile and let out a nervous chuckle in response. "Uh... thanks for the offer, buddy. Glad to know how excited you are to have boobs." Kavan said with a shake of his head. It was in that moment that Kavan had idly begun to search the crowd for his boyfriend once more. His eyes had finally landed on the back of brown-haired boy's head just as he opened his mouth to say, "But I think I'm gonna go ahead and pass on this one."

Sonny shrugged disappointedly, reaching back into his blouse to align the silicon bag back where it was so he didn’t look like one of those girls who had misshapen breasts. He had to maintain the illusion that he was a girl, after all. As he did, he couldn’t help but notice Kavan scan elsewhere and in an obvious manner, too. Usually when people who were forced to endure Sonny’s company, they at least did something to feign interest, not flat out turn their back to him. And given this was Kavan, the nicest guy that Sonny knew, he knew something was definitely up with the great pharaoh.

“So what’s up with you?” Sonny asked hoping to get Kavan’s attention. “You looking for someone? Am I not woman enough to keep your attention?” Sonny followed it by shaking his upper body jokingly.

Kavan's eyes suddenly flashed back to Sonny when he heard the boy ask him what was wrong; he simply offered him an apologetic half-smile as he turned back around to face him. "Sonny, I actually think you're a little too much woman for me, man," Kavan said with a chuckle and a quick shrug of his shoulders. "And I guess I'm just still trying to get used to this whole American Halloween thing. That, and I may have been looking around for my uh... boyfriend." That word still felt weird coming out of Kavan's mouth. Boyfriend. After all, it wasn't like he'd been open about that sort of thing before in the past, so it would surely take some getting used to. "Just figured I would've run into him by now."

It was safe to say that this came as a huge shock to Sonny. Granted he and Kavan weren’t ever especially close and the only one that he seemed to even remotely enjoy the company of was Archer, but still, it did send waves of surprise through Sonny’s body. He had to jerk himself around to face Kavan when he heard the word boyfriend. “Damn look at you. And here I thought you wouldn’t ever find yourself a man.” Sonny jokingly punched Kavan’s shoulder. “So who is the lucky guy that nabbed our favorite pharaoh? I’m gonna need to get this man a drink!”

With a slightly sheepish grin and a quick glance in the boy’s direction, Kavan subconsciously fiddled with the rings on his fingers. “It’s Archer.”

“Say whaaaaaat!”

Sonny had only stared at Kavan. He tried to speak, but nothing coherent came out. It was as though the reveal did more to silence Sonny Drake than anything could, even more than Marisol’s Carrie Underwood moment. And what was most surprising for him was that he didn’t know why he was speechless. It wasn’t like he was ultra close to the two. Aside from lunch hangouts, Sonny wasn’t around them much. And sure he joked about the two ending up together but that was more him being an asshole rather than actually thinking they would finally hook up.

“Well shit..” Sonny mouthed out trying his best to break the awkward silence. “I mean, alright, so you and Archer..” He rubbed the back of his head, still trying to find the right words for this. “Congrats? Like, hey I’m happy for ya. I know it might not seem like it, but I actually do care for ya two. It’s hard being out like that. Major props to you bro for taking a risk like that.”

"Oh, wow..." Kavan said, unable to hide his surprise. "That's... really nice of you to say. Thanks, man." To say that the words that Sonny had just uttered came as a huge shock to Kavan would be an understatement; The young man simply couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sonny and Kavan had never been close, and every time Kavan seemed to come around the other boy, he had to be mentally prepared to take whatever asshole-ish comment Sonny had ready to fire at him. But for the first time since he'd met him, Kavan actually found himself genuinely appreciating something Sonny had to say to him.

And who knew? Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.