Knowing Me, Knowing You

I've Been Waiting For You

Carrying a small box containing two slices of raspberry cheesecake, Dante unlocked the front door and called out to his dad that he was home. Simon instantly appeared in front of him and took the box, skipping to the kitchen as he grabbed forks. Dante followed him, dragging his feet to the kitchen stools and dropping his head on the island counter.

Simon stared at his son, eating his slice of cheesecake while he waited for Dante to finish sulking and look up at him. By the time Dante did, Simon had finished his slice and slid the other in front of his son. "I know you're still heartbroken over breaking up with Trevor, but I think you did the right thing."

Dante quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I feel really bad for Trevor. I mean that from the bottom of my heart, but I don't think that amount of fear he had warranted him leading on this poor girl for years to the point of her believing she was going to marry him one day."

"It definitely went too far," Dante nodded.

"That being said, I've been afraid of many things in life, and I know firsthand that fear can overrun your life to the point that you do whatever you can to protect yourself, and with his situation, he needs to be safe. So, I don't blame Trevor for what he went through, despite the fact I believe it was morally wrong."

"I know."

Simon patted Dante's shoulder and smiled, leaning against the counter. "It's just a few more months. Once you all graduate, and if you two still want to be together, then you'll get to be with him. Sometimes a break is nice. It helps you really put into focus what you want from your relationship and clear your mind. It's going to suck for a little bit, but I promise it will get better."

"Trevor broke up with Jessica tonight," Dante whispered.

Simon blinked blankly at him. "How do you know?"

"Jessica was waiting in line behind me, and I saw she'd been crying, so I asked what happened, and she said Trevor broke up with her. Dad, I had to comfort her and make her feel better," he groaned as he slapped his hands over his face.

"What did you say to her?"

"She was talking about how she thought it was her fault he dumped her, but she didn't know what she did wrong, and I blurted out how it wasn't her fault, and she grew suspicious, so I told her it might have been because he didn't want to hold her back from Notre Dame," he rambled.

"Notre Dame?" he deadpanned.

"She was accepted on a cheerleading scholarship, but she told me the other day that she would go to school in Chicago instead if Trevor proposed to her. I couldn't tell her why he really broke up with her, because that would crush her even more. It was the best I could come up with."

Nodding, Simon said, "Smart."

"Dad," Dante groaned. "I'm the reason he broke up with her. I'm going to hell for being the one to comfort her."

"Okay, no. Stop it. You are not the reason he broke up with that girl, okay?" Simon forcefully stated.

"But I-"

"Yes, you may have told him to choose between her and you, but Trevor is gay. No matter what, he was going to break up with her. It was better that he did it now instead of later, because this girl is now going to finally be able to move on with her life and find someone who will truly love her. All you did was stand your ground, and I am so proud of you for doing that. But you have to understand that you are not the reason those two broke up. If you and Trevor never dated, he still would have broken up with her eventually. You should not be feeling guilty because of that."

"But I should feel guilty for everything else."

"More Trevor than you, but yes," Simon smirked. He squeezed Dante's shoulder and laughed. "On the bright side, at least you know you mean a lot to Trevor that he would risk his safety to stay with you. Now that's true love."

That was another aspect Dante felt guilty over: because of him wanting to stop hurting Jessica, he forced Trevor to choose being safe or being with him. No matter what, Dante knew he was right for wanting Trevor to break things off with Jessica. He couldn't imagine how much trauma she would face if she knew the real reason why he dated her, but he hoped she would at least be able to move on one day and find someone new to love.

But now Trevor faced a risk at home the two had been afraid of ever since they began dating. There may had only been roughly three more months left until graduation, but those were still three months of walking around on eggshells. He didn't know how Trevor covered himself at home when he came over to his house or how often he used Jessica as an excuse for whatever the two of them were doing. He knew Trevor's parents adored Jessica because dating her prompted the stereotypical straight jock couple that proved Trevor was not like Kennedy. Whatever his reason was for breaking up with Jessica may have worked on her, but there was no guarantee it would work on his parents, too.

As Dante nibbled at his cheesecake, not having much of an appetite anymore, he couldn't stop thinking about Trevor. Had he already talked to his parents about the breakup? Did his parents see through the whole charade and kick him out? Was he currently homeless with nowhere to go? Did he have to go out and find him?

All the panicky thoughts consumed his brain, and he couldn't sit still. Dante jumped up from the kitchen island and ran towards the door, prepared to drive around and look for Trevor. He opened the door. Trevor stood on the front step, his finger on the doorbell. The bell rang behind them as Trevor jolted back in surprised.

"I broke up with Jessica," he stated.

Yanking Trevor into the house, he slammed the door behind him and hugged him tight. Trevor leaned back against the door, sliding down to the floor and planting Dante in his lap. He buried his face in Dante's hair, both boys crying tears of relief.

"I'm so sorry I put your safety at risk. I thought you would have waited longer."

"I told you that I love you, and that I would do anything for you."

"I shouldn't have made you do this before we knew it was okay."

"I'd rather be outed to my parents than lose you. I love you, Dante."

Dante wrapped his arms around Trevor's neck, murmuring, "I love you, too," before kissing him.

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