Maddox woke up quite early after the night’s activities, so it took him a bit for his eyes to adjust to the early light filtering through the curtains. He reached for the place by his side and found no one. Jonathan must be downstairs already, but why hadn’t he woken him up?
He was about to push himself up when his hand brushed against something. He turned on his side and blinked a few times as he saw the envelope. Jonathan really liked writing notes by hand, didn’t he?
He sat on the edge of the bed and opened the envelope. A few sheets of paper covered in neat writing were inside. Maddox felt his good spirits rise as he looked at the first phrases. Impatience made him jump to his feet, and his eyes moved fast over each page, until almost the end. He’d read every word later, but he needed to catch Jonathan first before he left.

He clenched his teeth when his eyes fell on the last page that appeared to have been written later than the rest, if he took into account the more distressed calligraphy, something unusual for someone as cool and collected as Jonathan.
This long letter was supposed to be about why and how much I love you. But recent events force me to turn this into a goodbye of sorts.
When winter break ends, I won’t be returning to Sunny Hill. The past has finally caught up with me, and it’s not my wish to drag you into the drama that tends to be my life. However, I want you to hear everything from me, before I become, once more, the butt of jokes for every living soul around.
The reason why I left early without seeing you after finals was because I received a peculiar message. People working for Xpress are blackmailing me by threatening to release a questionable video Drew took of us in what you can imagine as being a compromising position.
Maddox rolled his eyes and grimaced. Jonathan needed to update that fucking software that made him tick already. He sounded like he was from a different era. It was like being in love with a time traveler. He read further, and his anger boiled.
They threatened that they would release the video if I didn’t choose to leave Sunny Hill behind. I suppose that you’re getting mad at me right now, because that means I’m also leaving you behind.

Call me a coward, Maddox, but I don’t want to take advantage of your feelings for me. At first, you would want to stick with me, and I appreciate that, I really do. But that kind of thing, the constant mockery, the sneers, the gossip, it tends to take a toll on people. I speak from experience.
I have no doubt that they will release the video anyway. That is why I don’t want you to be exposed to something that you cannot prepare for. I’ll send the video to you – yes, it appears that a bit of experience with using search engines helps, and it wasn’t so hard after all for someone to stumble upon it at one point or another – and you are free to judge me as you see fit.
You told me repeatedly that I have the bad habit of running away. I’m only half-running away now, and it’s your fault. Watch the video and decide for yourself if you ever want to see me again or not. And don’t rush to catch me, because by the time you get that video, there will be many miles between us already.
I’m leaving you my address below. If you would ever like to pay me a visit, you’d make me happy… but that’s not the point. Come only if that’s what you really want, not because of obligation or pity. If you don’t come, I’ll understand. And even so, just know that, at this moment, you mean the world to me, and you’ll always have a place in my heart.

There you have it. Jonathan Hamilton, pathetically romantic, writing you seven pages of I love yous in different ways.
So, there’s no harm in adding one more.
I love you, Maddox Kingsley.
PS. If this letter somehow ends up in Xpress, don’t ever let me know. There’s only so much cringe I can subject myself to.
Cringe? Where the hell did Jonathan see anything like that? Clearly he had to be a visitor from two centuries ago, because he didn’t know the first thing about the definition of cringe. Maddox jumped to his feet and crumpled the papers in his fist. He was caught between two very different, quite opposing, feelings. One was of absolute happiness, because, hell, who wrote seven pages of I love yous in this day and age, and using pen and paper on top of it all?
The other was of scorching hot anger. For real, he was starting to see red in front of his eyes. How dared those assholes blackmail Jonathan like that? Sure, Jonathan was wrong to believe that Maddox would care about the gossip, as he had learned that lesson painfully, but it wasn’t his place to decide for Jonathan, too.
There had to be a way. Dammit, he wasn’t going to let Jonathan drop out of Sunny Hill just because of some scumbags with no lives. Xpress had just gotten themselves a real enemy.
He pushed against his forehead, trying to force a bit of order into his thoughts. First, he needed to go downstairs and see if Jonathan was still around. But just as he was about to grab some clothes so that he didn’t end up shocking an early riser other than his boyfriend, his phone chimed to announce that he had a new message.
Annoyed, he grabbed it, and then he stopped his frantic search for clothes. He sat back on the bed and opened the video. Jonathan had to be far away already.
The Jonathan from the video didn’t look that much different from the Jonathan he knew, but Maddox was well aware that he was staring at a different version of his boyfriend. The wariness was not there in the beautiful amber eyes, and he even looked slightly arrogant, but in a very sexy, very hot way.
He was looking out a window and had his shirt open in the front. For some reason, he looked pissed.
What crawled up your ass?
Maddox winced at the stranger’s voice, obviously belonging to the guy taking the video. So that had to be the infamous Drew. He was more than ready to hate the dude even more, with his phony accent, and low fake manly voice. Yeah, he sounded like a total douche.
On the screen, Jonathan threw an annoyed look at the speaker.
Put the phone down already, Drew. You’re not being cute right now.
Drew laughed and Maddox made a face when a naked cock sprang into view, obscuring Jonathan’s silhouette and blurring it out for a moment.
Look what I have for you here. All pumped up and ready. Come on, you know you always feel better after you suck me off.
What a fucking asshole. And his cock was weird, Maddox decided. Who liked that kind of ribbed thing? It looked like a freaking dildo.
Jonathan appeared determined to ignore the blatant invitation and continued to look out the window. As the camera moved, it seemed that Drew had gotten up from the bed and was now moving closer to his target.
Look, here are my two favorite things in the whole world.
Gosh, how he hated this dude. He sounded like such a major prick.
The camera shifted, and Maddox’s eyebrows shot up at the sight of the white powder. Drew seemed quite adept at drawing lines with a credit card, while still holding his phone. A few blond strands came into view for a moment, and the sound of someone inhaling deeply through his nose could be heard.
You should quit. Jonathan’s stern voice could be heard. One day, you’ll get into trouble over it. Is it really worth it?
You should quit busting my balls. Fuck, this shit’s so good. Come on, give me a kiss.
Jonathan didn’t look like he cared about what Drew wanted as the phone moved closer to his face.
You’ve never tried it, that’s why you’re like this. But you know, if you give me some of that thing you know I love to bits, I might just consider quitting.
Do you want me to suck your cock? Is it because that’s the only thing you want from me?
Don’t be like this, Jonathan. You’re the other favorite thing of mine, in case you were asking yourself.
Jonathan rolled his eyes. Drew kissed his cheek and then cupped his jaw.
Maddox had to stop himself from crushing the phone in his hand. The camera moved wildly, but it was hard to look at how the fucker was kissing Jonathan, anyway. Of Drew, he could only see a square jaw and strands of blond hair, but it still annoyed Maddox to no end just to notice those details. Good thing he wasn’t a blond; he would have had to dye his hair.
In the video, Jonathan seemed to relent as Drew moved his mouth to cover his. Jonathan’s eyes flicked open, and Maddox could read pure abandonment in them.
I dreamed about you last night, you know? Drew continued to talk.
Were we doing this together? Jonathan still wanted to keep his anger in, but his voice was dropping low as he pointed out of view, probably at the white powder on the table.
Drew caressed his face. No, but you were sucking me off.
Oh, screw you already.
Not so fast. You’re good at sucking cock, Jonathan. It’s not like there’s any shame in that.
I guess there is, because I don’t see you doing it.
I’m not good at it. But you are. And look at you.
Drew moved the phone to Jonathan’s crotch.
Yeah, true enough, he was pitching a tent.
Drew then used his free hand to feel the bulge and squeezed hard. I’ll make you come, too. Don’t be a wuss.
More kissing followed. Maddox felt an urgent need to skip, but Jonathan had asked him to watch it, and that was what he was going to do.
Drew continued to coax Jonathan into getting on his knees.
Could you at least stop filming? Jonathan asked as he finally knelt in front of Drew and was reaching for his crotch.
No. It’s just for me, don’t worry. I need something to jerk off to, you know. I’ll be home all of next week.
Can’t you just watch some porn like everyone else?
Drew moved his hand through Jonathan’s hair and caressed his cheek. His fingers rested on Jonathan’s mouth and his thumb snuck inside to make it open. Porn has nothing on you and what you can do with that mouth. Come on, show me your tongue.
Jonathan seemed to hesitate a little, but Drew was whispering small praises.
The part that Maddox hated the most was not Drew’s asshole behavior. No, it was how much in love Jonathan looked. And he seemed so innocent there, like someone who had never been betrayed before. For anyone who cared to look closely, it was evident that he was fighting to not let himself be manipulated. Still, it was clear which part of him was winning.
Maddox almost bit through his lower lip in frustration as Jonathan wrapped his lips gently around Drew’s cock.
Oh, yes, like that. You really know how to blow a guy’s mind, Jonathan. I’d totally quit if you gave me blowjobs like this every day.
At least, the fucker didn’t look like he had staying power. It didn’t take him long to blow his load.
Now look at me and show me. Fuck yeah. Drew moved one finger inside Jonathan’s mouth, playing with his own cum.
What a fucking disgusting pig, Maddox thought.
You had your fun. Now it’s your turn.
Nah, no way. I’m not sucking dick, I told you. I’ll give you a hand, though.
The video ended there. Maddox pushed the back of his hand against his forehead, and only then realized that he had really crumpled Jonathan’s love letter. He threw the phone on the bed and took the sheets of paper to his desk where he began to smooth them out, one by one. All this time, his mind was in overdrive.
From his point of view, the video was not as racy as Jonathan had painted it, but nonetheless, he hated that there were people, strangers, who had looked at his boyfriend doing those things and could still look.
The part with the drugs was the aggravating circumstance, and that was all on Drew. Sure enough, there was no evidence that Jonathan had gotten into drugs himself; quite the opposite. And yet, it still looked like Jonathan had been the one to get crucified for the whole thing.
He placed the love letter inside a book and then linked his hands together, resting his chin on top of them. He needed to think, think, think. No way in hell was he letting Xpress get the better of Jonathan like that. Sunny Hill wasn’t some stuffy old school with moldy professors and mean students. And an asshole like Drew.
Well, thinking could wait. Now, he needed to do just one thing, and he’d see how to proceed from there. Without a second thought, he put on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants and was out the door.
It felt so strange to walk through the front door, and unannounced on top of it all. A part of him, the one that had gotten a bit cynical lately, wanted to put his parents in a position where they just couldn’t send him away from their doorstep.
The butler, Mr. Simmons, walked down the stairs so quickly that Jonathan feared that he might end up tumbling down. “Jonathan,” he said breathlessly, “you’re back.”
Mr. Simmons had been with his family for as long as he could remember, and Jonathan was as fond of the old man as the butler was of him. He had always been the one to sneak him candy when he wasn’t supposed to have even one more, and the one who helped him with his homework after the tutors were gone, and most of all, the person who made that house feel like a home in ways that his parents didn’t appear to be able to.
“Why didn’t you call?”
“I suppose it won’t make this family go bankrupt if you add an extra plate to the table.”
Mr. Simmons gasped and then smiled. “Did you just make a joke? I suppose that place has been kind to you so far.”
Jonathan didn’t doubt that Mr. Simmons had eavesdropped enough to know where he had been all this time. He intended to surprise the old butler even more because he dropped his luggage, walked over to him, and gave him a hug. It took Mr. Simmons a few good moments to hug him back, and when he did, it was more like a pat on the back, but one that Jonathan knew was loaded with affection.
“Well, where is everyone? The prodigal son has returned, so we should have a feast, right?”
Mr. Simmons seemed to have some trouble recovering from that hug. “Well, of course. You’re staying for Christmas, right? Have you made plans for New Year’s celebrations? Your parents would be happy to have you over.”
“I’m here to stay,” Jonathan explained shortly.
“Really? That’s great news.” Mr. Simmons searched his face for a moment. “Isn’t it?”
Jonathan sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“I was about to make tea, anyway,” Mr. Simmons replied.
“I’m afraid it’s not the kind of story meant for respectable ears.”
“We might have different definitions of what respectable means. Talking of respectable or the opposite of that, your parents have visitors.”
Mr. Simmons barely had time to finish speaking. Jonathan sensed that there was someone at the top of the stairs and he lifted his eyes. “You must be fucking kidding me,” he let out without censoring.
Drew rolled his eyes and began walking down the stairs with his studied, devil-may-care, gait. “Nice to see you, too, Jonathan. Simmons, how about I take Jonathan’s luggage and you can see to more important things?”
Jonathan nodded at the butler who kept his back to Drew, ignoring him on purpose. While Drew moved closer, he had time to examine his former friend. Well, he definitely didn’t look like he was high, but it was still early in the day.
At a glance, Drew looked like the same confident, attractive, young man that had made Jonathan lose his head in the past. But now, Jonathan noticed other things, like the cruel lips curled in a smile, the aggressive masculinity Drew exuded, the firm way he walked as if he ruled the world. Before, he had used to think that was everything he wanted in a man. Not anymore. Maddox looked a bit rough compared to Drew, but his smile was warm, and his masculinity didn’t come from a place of brutal desires. No, he was like a giant cat, minus the bloodthirst, and he was such a marshmallow inside that the thought alone made Jonathan’s mouth water.
The expression on his face must have changed, because Drew quirked an eyebrow and smirked. Jonathan grabbed his luggage and walked toward the stairs. When Drew moved as if to take his luggage from him, he pushed his shoulder against the other’s. “I can manage, thank you.”
“Come on, Jonathan, it’s the least I can do for you,” Drew drawled and followed him up the stairs.
“The least you can do for me is to admit to being an asshole. Or maybe go back in time and not make that video? Oh, I suppose between the two, time traveling is the most doable in your case.”
“I apologized to your parents. And now, I want to apologize to you as well.”
“I heard you. Now, can you please stop following me? This is still my home, and I know the way to my room.”
Drew put a hand on his shoulder to stop him once they reached the landing. Jonathan growled on impulse, and Drew pulled his hand away. “What kind of school did you go to? One with wrestling midgets?”
“A normal school. Where people aren’t douchebags like here,” he said pointedly.
“No shit,” Drew said with a snort. “I heard what you told Simmons. You came back home to stay.”
“Well, my reasons are my business,” Jonathan said through his teeth. Finally, he had reached his room. “And this is my bedroom, where you’re not allowed.”
There was some satisfaction in slamming the door in Drew’s face. Yeah, that felt good. Still, he needed to face his parents, and he wasn’t much in the mood for that.
He threw himself on the bed, face down. He could still feel Maddox’s strong lovemaking from the night before. And he could use a nap.