Separated

We switched clothes quickly and I sent Raine and Zeke out first because I had to 'pee'. I hit the button for my mom on speed dial and counted the rings.

1...2...3.."Hello?" She answered in her 'work voice'.

"Mom I have a problem." I said urgently. "It's Hillary."

"Is it really a problem or are you being shallow." She sounded unimpressed.

"She got in here somehow and while we told Zeke about us, well..er.. showed him she took a picture of it. Is there anyway you could get it away from her?"

"What is she threatening?"

"S-she." I felt tears come to my eyes. "W-wants him to leave, and g-go back to f-f-foster care!" I started sobbing at the thought, Raine would be gone, and I'd never see him. I can't live without him, I just can't. I'll go back to not caring, to just letting what happens happen. Now that I know what living and loving was like, I don't think I could live without. I know I sound, shallow and vain but it's the truth.

"I'll try to see if the satellite will work on phones; we've never tried. I'll text you if it doesn't." She abruptly hung I turned the phone on vibrate and stuck it into my pockets. I took a deep breath and tried to find my inner Raine. I walked out onto the couch and snuggled into Raine's chest. He wrapped his arm around me and tugged me closer.

"Welcome back, Raine." She said, she didn't sound suspicious. "Are you ready to leave forever?" Instead of answering I thought about Raine really leaving and never coming back and I felt the tears brim in my eyes. Then they finally started to fall. Raine kept his face as hard as stone, and I started balling and clutching his sweatshirt. Zeke looked, amused. I knew why... I never cried. Ever. The last time I cried was 10 years ago when my dad died, but I was only 6, I had an excuse. But ever since that day my eyes have remained dry; as if they were the dessert. But now I let them fall, all of them. From the times when I wanted to cry but would not allow myself, like when I was 7 and broke my leg, or when the jocks pushed me into the lockers, or threw me in trash cans. The truth is my sexuality hurt me more than I would ever admit, to anyone, and now was the only time I'd be able to get it out.

"Shh." Raine said and rubbed my back. "It's okay." It sounded like he wasn't just talking about Hillary, like he understood exactly what I was crying over.

"Suck it up, cry baby." Hillary said and I sniffled and tried to stop. But i couldn't; the tears just kept coming. I suppose that's what happens when you bottle them up for ten years. When I finally managed to calm myself Hillary, looking very impatient, sighed and stood back up from her sitting position.

"Hale." She looked at Raine. "Why did you leave me for him?" She gestured at me. I looked over her shoulder and saw Zeke having trouble keeping a straight face.

"I didn't leave you, per say." He shrugged. "I got angry at you trying to use me like a puppet like you always do, and cause my brother to run off like that. He was going to lay there until he froze to death!" Raine was a very convincing me...

"You called me an idiot and asked me to listen to you 'one fucking time'." She raised an eyebrow. "If that's not leaving me. I don't know what is..."

"Really?" He shouted. "I can't believe you are so shallow! I can't have any other friends besides you?"

"That's exactly it!" She said exasperatedly. "I mean I let you have Zeke cause he's cool, but Raine... Raine is so... I don't know he's not cool. And I knew he wasn't you right from the start." That's when I started laughing, really hard.

Zeke joined in seconds later and Raine just looked at me like 'great now she'll figure out.' And Hillary had this 'what the hell' look on her face.

"What are you doing?" She raised an eyebrow.

"You had no idea I wasn't Hale, you liar! I can see why Hale wouldn't want to be your friend. You're a dirty rotten liar!" She seemed to accept that then she turned to Zeke?

"I just heard the funniest joke! This guy is hilarious." He chuckled some more.

"Who?" She asked skeptically.

"Oh you don't know him but he's hot." He shrugged as if it was nothing. Suddenly my phone vibrated and I jumped. I pulled it out of my pocket.

I can't do it, honey. I tried everything, she's got it protected beyond our satellite's hacking capacity. I'm really sorry. It was from mom. I felt my heart shatter in my chest and I just sat there staring at my phone; willing the message to change, but not having much luck. I felt my eyes begin to prickle and tried to push back the tears but I couldn't stop them this time.

"What?" Raine said quietly. When I didn't say anything or move he came over and looked at my phone. He froze as well, Zeke came over and looked I heard him gasp and we were suddenly all frozen. My life is over. It's probably over dramatic, but it really is over. I'll have to be 'friends' with Hillary again, I'll close myself off from reality, and I'll be lonely. After feeling how great it is to have someone you love by your side, then lose them abruptly, it would kill me.

"What's going on?" Hillary asked trying to lean over the little balcony upstairs to see what we were about. Suddenly Raine was gone from my side and hopping up the balcony at lightning speed. Hillary stood in awe and tried to back away slowly. He got up and faced her; she was against the wall.

"This is why he didn't want to be friends with you!" Raine said while he stomped towards her. "You're a self centered bitch who doesn't deserve to even get to know Hale's name! You have to threaten him to stay his friend when all you had to do is say sorry!"

"R-Raine?" She whimpered. "H-how could I not tell it was you, and not really Hale?"

"Because you are a stuck up bitch! You don't care how happy your friend is, you only care how well they follow your instructions!" He stopped suddenly, his chest was rising and falling rapidly as he panted.

"One more step and I'll send it." She said with a sudden amount of courage in her voice.

"How did I ever think being your friends was I good idea?" I muttered and shook my head. Her eyes snapped to me.

"Wh-what?" She sounded heartbroken again.

"You heard me." I said. "Now that I look back at it; Raine is right, never once did I question what you asked me to do or even have an emotion for myself. I was a puppet. Then when you left and I finally got your hand out of my ass I met someone else. Someone, better." I looked at Raine. He looked at me, and in that brief second our eyes connected and I felt a surge of power inside of me. I stood up and let my phone drop to the floor.

"Sending it won't help it." I said. "Go ahead, tell the whole school I love my brother, do it." I offered. "I won't care and it won't make you my friend again. It'll make you some bitch I had the displeasure of knowing. Besides, we graduate in two months, I'll never have to seen any of those people again. So just do it. Send it." She burst into tears.

"You really h-hate me?" She sobbed.

"I've said it multiple times already." I said quietly. "Now leave, and never come back again." She got even more choked up and ran out.

"She still has the photo." Zeke said.

"I know." I said quietly and fell to my knees. We could be exposed at any moment. I couldn't even imagine what the jocks would do to us if they found out. I started quivering.

"Are you okay, man?" Zeke asked but he seemed so far away. I was in my own bubble where there was only pain, only worry as I waited for my life to come crashing down around me. Then there was Raine.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to his chest. I could hear his heart beat in a monotonous and rhythmic pattern. All I wanted to do was stay there forever. I managed to make my arms wrap around his torso and hug him even closer.

"It will be okay, we really will make it." Something was missing in his voice. He was trying to hide something! He's going to do something and I don't know what it is!