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A/N: So this story is going in a different direction than I planned but I'm actually excited by the change. This'll be fun.

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"Oh my god, Will you've been gone for like three hours, where the fuck have you been?!" Liv yelled, racing down the beach once she saw Will approaching the party. She threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Will stood stoically, still not very impressed with the antics she and the other girls had pulled earlier to try and get him and Oliver alone.

"I was up on Commodore Point," he said flatly, unconsciously squeezing Ryan's hand that he still had a grip on.

Liv pulled back once she'd noticed the icy mood her best friend was in. "What's the matter? And why are you with Ryan?" she asked, eyeing the linked hands between the two boys. The other girls, having noticed Will's return, raced down to join them.

Will sighed, not really in the mood to deal with any of this. "Ryan's gonna take me home. I'm tired and not in the mood, ok?" he answered, beginning to walk away.

Liv wasn't having any of that, however. She reached out and gripped on his arm to pull him back. "No, you're gonna stay here and tell me what's wrong with you," she demanded, beginning to be irritated by Will's attitude.

"Things between Oliver and I didn't go well and I'm not very happy with any of you, to be perfectly honest. So let me go, give me some space for a day or two, and we can discuss it later so this doesn't all turn out into some huge fight, ok?" Will replied bluntly. He knew he should've spoken in a softer tone, but at that point, he was tired and just wanted to have some space to himself.

Liv bit her lip, the three girls behind her silent as they'd never seen Will act this way. Liv conceded, letting go of his arm. "Fine, but we will all definitely be speaking about this," she warned, motioning the other girls to follow her back to their spot.

Kimi lingered. "I guess I should let you know that Oliver came back and made a beeline for Stacey. I saw them being all cuddly and stuff earlier," she warned.

Will's face dropped as he heaved a deep sigh. He didn't really trust his voice at that point so he just nodded. "Thanks for letting us know," Ryan piped in for Will, giving his hand a squeeze. Emmie was confused by the sudden closeness of Will and Ryan but she nodded anyway, giving the two a sad smile before returning to the other girls. "You ready to go?" Ryan asked, his question met with just a sad nod.

The two walked up the rest of the beach, edging along the outskirts of the party. Will cursed his luck when Oliver unseeingly walked backwards into them while trying to catch a flying volleyball. Ryan huffed as Oliver's elbow connected with his sternum, knocking the breath out of him. Ryan fell on his butt as Oliver turned around after hearing Ryan's huff. Will squatted down to check on the winded boy who was rubbing his chest with his free hand.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry, I should've looked where I was going," Oliver rambled in apology before his eyes saw the other boy who was squatting next to the guy he just winded. "Oh, uh, Will," he said in surprise, waiting for some kind of acknowledgement but Will stayed focussed on Ryan, rubbing his thigh comfortingly (he wasn't sure what else to do, really).

Realising that the two guys sitting in the sand weren't going to give him any notice, he turned to leave, but not before hearing Ryan calling him an asshole. "What was that?" he challenged, turning back to the boy on the ground.

"Asshole. I called you an asshole. What are you gonna do about it, kiss me then run off?" Ryan countered provokingly. Oliver tensed, gritting his teeth at the other boy's goading.

"Stop it right now, Ryan," Will warned, standing up and pulling the other with him. "Let's go." Will sent Oliver a glare to tell him not the start anything either. Oliver looked on, completely confused as to what was even happening.

As Will and Ryan began to walk off, Oliver noticed their interlocked hands. Jealously got the better of him and he coughed "fag" under his breath. Ryan, having heard the dig at the boy next to him turned to start a fight but Will continued to pull him away, telling him to forget about it. It wasn't the first time he'd heard someone call him that.

"You can't just let him get away with calling you that," Ryan wittered on as they neared the car park. "I'm definitely not gonna let him get away with it. Who does he think he is calling you that word. What a total asshole!"

"Oh shut up, Ryan, just unlock the car and let's go," Will demanded, successfully shutting up the other. Will wasn't sure where this change of character in Ryan came from. But he liked it, way more that Ryan's usual demeanour, that's for sure.

Ryan started the car as Will jumped into the passenger's seat. They sat silently during the hour trip back home, Top 40 humming softly from the radio.

"Thanks for the car ride home," Will muttered softly about half an hour later. Ryan took a hand off the wheel and searched for one of Will's, giving it a squeeze once he found it. Will smiled at their linked hands, not entirely sure what to feel about it. They hadn't let go of one another until they got to the car and it was only half an hour later until they held onto each other again. "Why do you keep holding onto my hand?" he asked, feeling the urge to.

"You don't want me to hold it?" Ryan asked back.

"No, I like it. I was just wondering, is all," Will blushed at his admission.

"I feel like you need it," Ryan answered with a shrug. "And I like holding it too," he added with a smile, not taking his eyes off the road.

"How would your girlfriend feel about all this hand-holding with another guy?" the redhead asked, suddenly remember that she existed, and wouldn't be happy with her boyfriend holding someone else hand, a guy's no less.

"Mia broke up with me this afternoon, actually," Ryan admitted with an awkward cough. "Oh," was Will's only response as he rubbed his thumb back and forth along Ryan's in comfort. "Nah, it's fine. We were growing apart for ages. Plus, she's been sleeping around with a ton of other guys," he continued bitterly.

"Did you ever sleep with her?" was the only question Will could think to ask.

"No, we had plans to wait and lose it together when we both felt ready. But after I found out she'd cheated on me and was lying to me about it, I didn't want to touch her," Ryan answered, hand gripped tightly on the steering wheel.

"Why did you stay with her if you knew she was cheating on you?" Will knew he was pushing his luck but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

"We dated since Year 6, y'know, so I guess she was so familiar to me, and I wasn't ready to let her go, even if she was really hurting me," Ryan confessed, admitting something he hadn't told a single other soul. He blinked away the impending tears. He did not wanting to start crying over the bitch who'd caused him so much pain for over a year.

Will sat in shock, not sure how to proceed from here. "So, is that why you would always flirt with me? To get back at her?" the redhead asked after a few minutes. His tone wasn't accusatory, more inquisitive than anything else.

Ryan stayed quiet, thinking of a way to express exactly what he was thinking. Will didn't mind, sitting idly as he hummed along to the songs on the radio. He didn't feel the need to push for an answer.

It wasn't until Ryan was pulling into Will's driveway that he gave him an answer. "Can I be entirely honest with you?" he asked hesitantly, parking the car.

"We have been all night."

"Part of me did flirt with you just to mess with her, I have to admit. But to be completely honest, I've had a small crush on you for quite some time," he confessed with a small blush.

Will was shocked, to say the least. He didn't think any part of Ryan's advances were genuine, but apparently they had been. Ryan held on tighter to the redhead's hand, afraid that he would run off. He was really putting himself out on a limb here.

"What does that mean?"

Ryan took in a deep breath, steeling himself up for possible rejection. "It means: would you like to go out on a date some time, Will?" he asked, holding his breath for the other teen's response.

"I, umm, yes," Will replied, honestly surprised that his answer was genuine. Sure, he knew they were both rebounding and he didn't even know Ryan would ever actually be interested in dudes, but the last couple hours they spent together was truly great and he kinda did want to see him again.

"Really?" Ryan asked, not believing what he'd heard. Will nodded, a smile slowly growing on his face. This was nuts, and totally crazy and unexpected, but Will was excited. So was Ryan too by the enormous grin on his face.

"Damn, I need to get home. I was supposed to be back like an hour ago," Ryan pouted. Will pouted too, not wanting the night to end. But he knew it had to.

Ryan sighed, leaning over to give Will a quick peck on the cheek. Will smiled. No-one had ever been this sweet to him, not that he could remember at least. Will reluctantly untwined their hands and hopped out the car. "We'll talk about the date Monday, yeah?" said Ryan before he pulled out of the driveway. Will waved him off before heading inside.

What a weird, weird day...

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