Cameron turned off the car after they pulled into the driveway. “…Why do you have a nation peace flag?” asked Harper, pointing to it as he looked out the windshield. “My moms one of those activist people. She wont use the American flag till we get rid of Guantanamo and stuff like that.” Harper nodded as he got out of the car. He stopped. “Is that… Serj Tankian she’s listening to?” Cameron laughed. “Yeah. She likes him a lot, he’s very much the same beliefs.” Cameron walked in the door, cautious of his mom. “Cam!! Help me with this—“ they heard a loud thud from upstairs. “Cammy… Can you come hang this up?” she yelled. “Mom, I have people over.”  She looked out of a room and down the stairs. “People?” he nodded. “Harper.” Harper forced a smile. “Hey Harper hon. I’m Cameron’s mom, Corin.” She smiled. “Please can you help me hang this up really really quick?” she pleaded to Cameron. “Why can’t you?” he asked, taking Harper up the stairs. “Because It’s too heavy.” He looked in at her American indian painting from a few mothers day back. “Fine. Where to?” he asked, picking it up by the frame. “There.” She pointed to some nails in the wall above her bed. “And if this thing falls and crushes you in your sleep?” he asked, climbing onto the bed and lifting it up to the nails. He felt to cord hook, so he let go. It stayed. “There.” He got off the bed. “Come on.” He beckoned for Harper to follow; he did. Cameron shut his bedroom door behind them. “Your moms okay with me being in here?” he asked, looking around at the boxes. Cameron shrugged. “Shes pretty lenient.” Harper smirked. “Cammy.” He said. Cameron stuck his tongue out at him. “Yes, Cammy. She calls me that. Just like your mom might call you Harp or something. One of those stupid nicknames.” Harper looked at the ground. “My moms dead.” Cameron shrunk back a little. “Sorry.” Harper shrugged and picked up a porciline chinese gesia doll Cameron had on his dresser. “I don’t mind.” Cameron hesitated. “You… said youre single… right?” Harper almost dropped the doll; he set it back on the dresser. “y…eah.” He cleared his thoat, not looking at Cameron. He stepped closer. “Then.. if you don’t mind… will you go out with me? Be my boyfriend?” Harper put his hand on the dresser, blushing. “…yeah.” He said after a while. Cameron smiled and stepped up to him. “Do you mind?” he asked as he turned Harpers face to him. He shook his head. He felt  Harper tense as he pulled him against him, put his hands on his hips, and kissed him. Harper went with it, his whole body rigid. Harper parted his lips slightly; Cameron slipped his tongue in. Harper quickly pushed him away, putting his hand to his mouth. “That.. feels funny.” He said, still covering his mouth. “How? It’s kissing.” Harper nodded. “Yeah I know. Just… the whole tongue in my mouth. It feels weird.” Cameron gave Harper his space and didn’t touch him. “Sorry.” He said quietly. Harper straightened up. “For what?” he looked at Cameron. “You… didn’t like it.” Harper shook his head. “It wasn’t that as much as it was just… different.” He said with a shrug. Cameron looked around. “What your dad does to you… who else knows?” Harper sat on the computer chair. “Just you.” He unzipped his backpack and pulled out some discs, then opened a drive on the computer. “Can I tell my mom?” He put a CD labeled QU into the drive and spun around in the chair. “No. You even said it was bad and your mom would tell, wouldn’t she?” Cameron shrugged. “She’s… not like other parents.” Harper laughed. “I’ve noticed.” Cameron frowned. “She wouldn’t tell. She’d probably offer you a place here, or something like that.” He paused. “Not like as living with us, but just a place to stay afterwards.” Harper looked at him. “Are you sure she wouldn’t tell? I know she’s not like everone else…. But everyone is told that its wrong and to tell the athorities.”

“Whats wrong? What about police?” Harper jumped, noticing Cameron’s mom leaning into the room. Harper looked up at Cameron, hesitated, then nodded. “Hey mom, can I talk to you for a sec?” he ushered her out of the room and into the hall, closing the door behind him. “What? Whats going on?” she asked, worried. “Um… well you know what dad did to me when he found out?” she furrowed her brow. “What does that have to do with anything?” he looked at his feet. “Harper… his dad does it to him. Often. But he doesn’t know…” he trailed off. “Know…?” she urged. “He… lets just say he swings the other way too.” She played with her hair in thought. “Is it serious? Like Hospital serious?” she asked. “Well… I don’t know. I just found out today…” he paused. “He doesn’t want you to tell anyone. I wanted to tell you because I thought maybe he could come here after…” he stopped. “That’s fine. But if it ever gets too serious, I’m taking him to a hospital, okay?” Cameron nodded enthusiasticly. “Thanks.” He said, before going back into his room. “So?” asked Harper, starring aimlessly at the download bar, at 50%. “She wont tell. Its fine if you come over, but if its ever to serious, she wants to take you to a hospital.” Cameron looked over Harper’s shoulder. “…How serious does it get?” Harper didn’t say anything. “Harper. How serious?” He clicked on the minimize option. “…Sometimes I can’t go to school. Sometimes because I’m hurt, sometimes because he tied me up.” Cameron looked at him in disbelief. “He ties you up?” Harper nodded. “In the basement to some pbc pipes. Those really thick ones.” He demonstrated size with his hands. “He filled them with cement so I cant pull them out or anything. And you know how at some of the parks where they have rubber over the chains of the swings?” Cameron nodded grimly. “He uses that to tie me.” Harper turned back to the computer like it was nothing. “What does he do to you when he ties you up down there?” Harper shrugged and typed in a code to finish installing the program. “Depends on his mood.” He put his hands in his lap. “He’s one of those guys whose all perfect at work, but he has a really sick mind. When he ties me up, sometimes he burns me, just to hear me scream. Or he’ll cut me with a knife to watch the blood. He has a metal bar down there too…” he stopped, feeling sick. “Harper… Maybe you shouldn’t go back?” Harper vigorously shook his head. “No. I have to go home. I didn’t even tell him I was coming over after school, and he’s already sent me a few texts.” Cameron put his arms around Harper. “It’s not right. He ties you up in a freaking basement. Harper seriously you should—“ Harper pushed him away. “Just drop it, okay? I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to think about it. I hate missing school, because it takes my mind off it. Being involved with computers takes my mind off it. I just don’t want to think about it, okay?” Harper sent him a death glare when he didn’t respond. “Okay?” he repeated. Cameron nodded.