And sometimes… sometimes he couldn't take it anymore.
The quiet.
The distance.
The weight of everyone's expectations pressing down on him.
It became too much.
So he would rush to Jay.
Not to apologize.
Not to explain.
Not even to talk.
Just to exist near her.
And she… she let him.
At first, it was just closeness. Sitting in the living room, shoulders brushing, hearts thundering in a silence that said more than words ever could.
Then one day, one desperate evening…
Keifer leaned too close.
Jay didn't pull back.
Their lips met.
Softly.
Then harder.
Then like they were trying to make up for all the lost time, all the stolen moments, all the aching silence.
It became their secret.
Whenever he felt no one could comfort him…
Whenever the house felt too cold, too silent, too full of judgment…
He would find her.
And they would make out.
Not for fun.
Not for play.
But because it was the only place he could breathe.
The only place he could be himself.
The only place that felt like home.
And every time he pulled away…
He hated himself a little.
Because he was with someone else.
But every time he pressed closer…
He couldn't help it.
Jay was the only warmth he could trust.
The only comfort he could let in.
The only choice his heart had ever truly made.
And the worst… the most unbearable part…
Was that no one else knew.
No one could understand.
It was just him.
And Jay.
And the quiet, forbidden pieces of love they couldn't claim… publicly.