Friday comes too fast – too fast for Rory to figure out what's going on, too fast for Rory to collect himself, too fast for Rory to really take in the fact that he's actually going to one of these parties. The part about it all that scares Rory the most is the fact that Dad doesn't even seem concerned about any of it. He just smiles at Rory and calls, "Have fun," as he walks out the door.

He doesn't even bother riding his bike, he just walks the two and a half short blocks to Renee Lister's house. He pauses on the sidewalk and looks up, as other kids climb out of their cars, chattering and heading up to the house. Rory doesn't even think he knows some of these kids, and he doesn't know how that's even possible in a town like Leadworth.

The last time he was here, he thinks, was Renee's eighth birthday party. It was the last time Renee's parents had forced her to invite everyone, the last time anyone's parents had forced them to do so. Rory and Amy had slipped out early because everyone else was boring and had rushed off to find another adventure somewhere else.

He takes a deep breath and tells himself nothing bad is going to happen. He tells himself he's going to go in there, to his beautiful girlfriend, and he's going to have fun, and nothing bad is going to happen.

He almost manages to convince himself.

The door is wide open, so he just steps inside with the flow of everyone else – and immediately, every single one of his senses is assaulted. There's music blaring out of speakers he can't see and everyone's trying to talk over each other. The lights are dimmed enough not to really be able to see where he's going, but there are bright flashes of color every now and then and he can't figure out where they're coming from. The scents of alcohol and sweat mix in the air, and there are people pushing up against him from all sides. There's a disgusting taste in the back of his throat. Eventually, he just forces his way through everyone in the direction of what he hopes is a more open area.

He emerges, gasping for air, in the kitchen, intensely grateful for the chill of the air conditioning and the mostly empty room.

"Rory!"

He's shocked by his sudden armful of teenage girl as Catherine throws herself at him and grins like a maniac. Her cheeks are flushed and her eyes are wide as she presses a kiss to his lips – a kiss that smells and tastes distinctly like cheap beer, a guess that's confirmed by the can in her hand. He pulls away as quickly as possible and gives her a weak smile.

"I'm so glad you came," she gushes. "I almost thought you wouldn't." She gives him another kiss on the cheek, and he has to wipe away saliva when she looks away so she can wrap herself around him.

He looks up then, and awkwardly meets eyes with Amy, who just sort of ducks her head and sniffs at the plastic cup in her hands. She doesn't seem very interested in it, though, because she sets it on the counter behind her, and crosses her arms over her chest, looking distinctly uncomfortable. Jeremy has an arm around her, but he's so engaged in a conversation with some kid Rory doesn't know to notice how awkward she's obviously feeling.

There's a tug on Rory's elbow just then, pulling his attention away. Catherine is pulling him towards the door, dragging him down so that she can whisper in his ear. "So Renee's parents' bedroom should be open. Or at least, that's what Renee told me. I hope you don't mind that I told her?" She bites her bottom lip, then, looking worried and confused and—

Shit.

Bedroom. Empty bedroom. With just the two of them. "What we'll need…" It all makes so much more sense now, and god, Rory's an idiot for not realizing sooner. He wasn't born yesterday, she'd made it plain as day, but…

Oh god, Catherine wants to have sex with him.

Her hand slides down from his elbow to grasp his hand, and she gives him a little smile as she tugs him toward the stairs. His heart is suddenly beating a million times faster and pushing at his throat, and there's a tiny part of him that thinks he might cry because he is so not ready for this. But they're heading up the stairs and she's pulling him along behind her faster and faster as they get to the top, and then they're stopped in front of a bedroom and she closes the door behind them and locks it and then she turns to him and oh dear sweet Jesus Christ he has no idea what to do now.

"Um." She pushes her hair back from her face. "Did you bring…?"

His face goes hot and bright red. "Uh, no. I…" He trails off. There's no excuse for this. He has no reason for being this dumb.

"Okay, okay, that's fine." He's not sure which one of them she's consoling, because she looks just… well, almost as nervous as he feels.

But then she steps forward and whispers, "Just… Um, sit down," so he does, and then, biting her lip, she slowly slips her shirt up her sides and over her arms and over her head and then it falls in a graceful arc to the floor. It's not until the folds have settled that Rory can look up, and then all he gets is an eyeful of breasts. She's wearing a simple bra, a shiny black bit of clothing that covers only what it needs to. His eyes flick up to her face as she slips out of her impossibly short skirt (he has no idea how she managed to get up the stairs without someone glancing up and letting out a catcall) and lets the bit of fabric fall to the ground with her shirt. Then, clad in nothing but the bra and a pair of skimpy panties, she steps toward him and slowly sits in his lap, facing him.

She stares at him like he's supposed to do something, but of the love of everything that is, was, and ever will be, he can't figure out what it is.

Eventually, though, she seems to realize this, because she grabs one of his wrists and lifts it slowly to place it on her breast. His eyes widen, and his gaze flicks up to meet hers, but she just looks at him with eyes full of… He doesn't even know what it is. It's part desperation, and part… want? It doesn't make sense.

She slides a hand down his chest, over his shirt, down to his belt, and then over that one area he's afraid to even let himself touch. He gulps as her palm closes over him through his trousers, bracing himself for…

Well, nothing really. He doesn't know what he expected. Some sort of immediate jump to attention, maybe, but that's obviously not how things work. She starts to rub him through his trousers, even as she gives him a push so he's laying back on the bed. She leans over him, and, slowly, presses a kiss to his lips, before letting her mouth ghost over his skin until she reaches his shirt and she works at the buttons one at a time. He holds his breath when she pushes the shirt out of the way and trails down his chest and stomach with her fingers. She tugs at his belt and has his trousers out of the way before he's really managed to gather himself, and then she's breathing against him through only a single layer of fabric, and then even that's gone and—

"Can't you give me at least something here?" she asks, sounding more desperate than she probably should. He sits up slightly, frowning at her, then glances down at himself, and—oh.

He blushes. "I can't just… Make something happen," he says, stumbling over the words, because for the love of god, he's got a girl about to give him his first blowjob, and she's wearing nothing but her skimpy little panties and a bra, and really, probably every guy downstairs would give anything to be in his place right now, and he can't even get it up.

"Is it me?" she asks, and oh god, there are tears in her eyes. Rory doesn't do tears. Rory doesn't do crying, and he especially doesn't do crying when he's naked.

"No, no, no!" He sits up quickly, and he wants to pull her into a hug, but that just doesn't seem like the right thing to be doing right now. "No, I just… I don't know." He bites the inside of his cheek so hard that it hurts. What is wrong with him?

She wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand and stands up. "Maybe we should just… not," she mumbles as she reaches for her clothes.

"Catherine, wait." He grabs her wrist. "Look, we can try, right? I mean, maybe if you just give it a little more time…"

"What's gonna happen now that hasn't already happened?" she asks, and pulls her hand away so she can put her clothes on, and then she turns and leaves and, thankfully, closes the door behind her, because Rory's still naked and really, he needs a minute to himself.

He doesn't go back to the party, even once he's dressed. Well, he does, but only so he can tell Catherine that he's going, and when he sees her standing in the kitchen with this sad little smile on her face and one of Jeremy's arms around her while the other is around Amy, who looks absolutely miserable, not that anyone seems to be able to tell.

When he comes home, Dad is sitting on the couch, and he looks genuinely surprised to see Rory, and maybe even a little disappointed, but he pats the seat on the couch next to him and says, "You wanna watch bad horror movies?"

He falls onto the sofa and stares at the screen for a long time before he says, finally, "Dad, can I ask you a… kind of serious question?"

Dad glances over at him, and something of his emotions must show on his face, because he mutes the movie before speaking. "Of course you can. What's going on?"

He runs a hand through his hair, feels a lump rise up in his throat. "I… If… You've heard about… the stuff kids at school say about me, right?"

"They say lots of things about you, Rory," Dad says slowly, and god, how he wishes that wasn't true.

"Yeah," Rory breathes out. "But I mean… You know. The gay stuff."

"Oh." Dad's silent for a minute. "Rory, did something happen at the party?"

Rory presses the heels of his palms into his eyes until he sees color and stars burst on the backs of his eyelids. "I, um. Catherine wanted to… Um." He chokes off, because how can he talk about this withanyone, let alone his dad?

"And…" He can feel Dad's gaze on him, even if he can't see it. "Did she say something? Did something happen?"

His throat closes around the lump, and for a moment he can't even form the words to describe it. "No. Nothing happened. I couldn't…" He chokes off.

"Oh, Rory, don't worry!" Dad gives his shoulder a squeeze. "That's nothing! It happens to everyone now and then. It's not like you could've done anything about it, you shouldn't try to force stuff like that, especially the first time." His voice goes deadly serious. "It was the first time, right?"

He barely manages to laugh. "Yeah, it was. But, Dad…" And shit, he had time to think about this on the walk home. He can't even pretend anymore. He can feel it beating in his chest like his love for his dad and his friendship with Amy. It's a part of him and if he tries to pretend anymore he's gonna explode.

He takes a deep, shaky breath to try to brace himself, and then says, as calmly as he possibly can, "Dad, I think I might actually be gay."

The silence seems to stretch on for years. Ages, even. But when he looks up, Dad doesn't look angry. He doesn't even look upset, or sad, or anything, really. There's no expression on his face, except maybe surprised, and even that is just barely there.

He eventually, finally, takes a deep breath and says, "I don't know what to say. I… I'm not sure if I really… I don't…" He rubs a hand over his face, and Rory's stomach clenches, but he goes on. "I wasn't exactly expecting this." He huffs out a breathy laugh. "But if you're sure…" And he looks up there, as if to make sure, and Rory bites his lip because he's not sure – he's not sure about anything, least of all this, but he's fairly confident in the idea , so he nods slightly and Dad closes his eyes.

When he opens them again, he holds his arms out and Rory scoots toward him the best he can. He knows most everyone else has moved away from the whole hugging-when-you're-sad thing, but he just kind of came out to his dad, and he's only sixteen for god's sake. He can hug his dad if he wants. So he does, and for a little, everything feels just that little bit better.

And it's a good thing, too, because the next morning is a horror. He gets to school and can immediately feel eyes on him from all sides. It makes him edgy all through his morning classes, and when lunchtime comes, it doesn't get any better, because there isn't a spot for him at the table.

He doesn't know what he's doing or why he thinks it's a good idea, but he approaches the table slowly, stops just behind Catherine, and clears his throat. He sees her back tense, sees Jeremy roll his eyes, sees Renee shake her head and Amy look away from him guiltily.

"Catherine?" he tries, and really, he doesn't know why he bothers.

Slowly, she turns to face him and says, calmly, "I don't think you should sit with us today. Or… at all."

He feels the blood drain from his face and whispers, "Is this about…?"

"Oh, don't bother whispering," Renee snaps. "We all know, okay? You can stop hiding it."

"Renee," Amy starts, and it's like a shock to Rory's system. It feels like it's been forever since he's heard that tone in her voice – that protective, slightly angry tone that makes him want to hug her and cry at the same time.

"No, shut up, Amy, I don't care how you feel about your stupid little boyfriend." Renee's eyes flick back to Rory, and she looks furious. "We all fucking know. Just get your gay little arse out of here, because no one wants to deal with it, all right? It was bad enough having you parade it around school like you just ingested a rainbow and fucked a unicorn, but then you try to force it on Catherine, and I'm not fucking dealing with it anymore. So just… Get out. Now."

Every word is like a sword going through Rory's gut. He nods slightly, feeling his throat clench up again, and he turns away and starts to leave and all he really wants to do is run away and hide in the bathrooms because he's only sixteen, for god's sake, he'll cry in the bathrooms and skip lunch if he wants to.

And then a miracle happens.

"Oh my god, Renee, you are the biggest bitch I have ever met!"

He turns back, shocked, because Amy is standing up with her hands clenched into fists and her eyes blazing and her hair forming a furious halo around her head. "Do you have any idea how much what you say hurts people? Do you even care? Or are you just doing it on purpose? Because I've got a news flash for you! The rest of us learned some fucking manners back when we were six, but apparently nobody ever taught you anything about that, because you are just such a bitch!"

"You can't talk to me like that!" Renee says, but it comes out more like a squealing screech, and if Amy's outburst hadn't drawn the attention of everybody else outside, this does.

"Oh, screw you, Renee!" Amy shoots back furiously. "This isn't about you, so just shut up. I'm sick and tired of listening to all of you trash talk everyone at this school. There is literally nothing that makes you better than anyone else. You can't even use the 'oh, but we have so much more money than them!' excuse because you don't. Every single one of you is just like every single one of them and I'm tired of there being a difference! The only thing that makes you any different from them is that you're louder about your opinions, and all your opinions are wrong and stupid and just mean. You've terrorized Rory since we were all six, and ever since then it's just gotten worse. If he's not gay, you've been making stupid jokes about something that's not even true, and if he is, you've made his life a living hell because of something he can't control. And I'm tired of it."

She looks over at him, and when their eyes meet, it's like she falters for a moment, like she doesn't know what to say, and then she takes a deep breath to steady herself and she says, "I made a really stupid mistake, and I'm probably gonna end up paying for it. Rory's a great guy, and if none of you can see that, then you don't deserve to have him sitting with you. Or me, for that matter." She looks over at Jeremy. "You can find somebody else to try to convince to sleep with you, because we're done." Then she picks up her tray, throws her backpack over her shoulder, and walks toward Rory like a woman on a mission, and then she's got his elbow in her hand and she's dragging him away from them, and it feels like every confrontation they've ever had with anybody about this only in reverse.

When they get inside, Amy carefully sets her tray down on the floor, straightens, looks at him seriously for a long time, and then throws her arms around him and starts crying into his shirt, and Rory loses it and buries his face in her hair. When the bell rings, they leave school on Rory's bike and go back to his house and he thinks it's gotta be the best day of his life.