Sonny Kiriakis returns home to attend college. Having paid his way travelling around the world by working construction jobs, he jumps at the chance to renovate his Uncle Victors rental property in exchange for a place to live. Will Horton is a smart and hard working young man from a broken home. What some see as arrogance in Will is really a sense of independence and distrust cultivated from parents who never wanted a child. His own failed relationships of his those of his parents have left Will guarded and wary of others love. When Will agrees to help his new friend Sonny renovate his house, can he learn what real love is? Can Sonny heal Will and break down his walls?

"But Sonny, you've been gone for four years and I've only had you home three days, are you sure it's not too soon?" Adrienne asked her son.

Sonny fussed with his hair in the bathroom mirror, pinching and twisting each strand, trying to get it just right. "It's right off of the town square, I won't be too far away." he reassured her.

"But why?" Adrienne questioned him. "There is plenty of room here; you can have your own wing if you want."

Sonny walked past his mom, back into the bedroom, "Mom, I'm home for good now, I need a place of my own."

Adrienne knew Sonny had made up his mind, "Fine, Cookie. If that's what you want."

"Mom, I'm 23, please don't call me that." He picked up the two shirts lying on the bed, examining them carefully then held them up to Adrienne, "Which one?"

"Where are you going again?"

"I'm meeting Abigail and some of her friends for drinks, someplace by Salem University."

"Casual, huh? The blue one then."

Sonny pulled the shirt over his head and walked back to the bathroom to check his hair again. He turned and kissed Adrienne on the cheek, "Thanks, Mom. Don't wait up." then grabbed his wallet and phone from the dresser and rushed out of the house.

Sonny stood at the entrance of the noisy bar searching over the mass of heads for his cousin, but could not find her among the large crowd. He pulled out his phone texted her, "I'm here. Where are you?" He looked around the bar again, waiting for her to respond. A little bit into the crowd in front of him he noticed a good looking blonde guy talking with a tableful of guys, chewing on the red straw from his drink. Sonny was staring a little hard and quickly averted his eyes when the guy looked over to him. "Shit, busted." he thought, smiling to himself as the phone is his hand buzzed. "In the back, by the bar." Abigail texted him back. Sonny looked up over the crowd again and saw Abigail standing above everyone waving at him. He navigated his way through the crowded tables toward the bar where Abigail and her friends were sitting, when he caught the deep blue eyes of the same blond guy staring him down. Sonny knew when he was being checked out, and blondie was definitely checking him out. He walked past the guy's table at a deliberate pace, just close enough to intentionally graze the side of the guy's arm with his hip, never letting his eyes stray from the other boy's gaze, and smiled coyly from the side of his mouth as he passed the blonde's table. Sonny felt the blue eyes at his back as he walked past, and turned quickly to catch him mid-stare; blonde guy smiled back a toothy grin, biting down on the red straw.

"Sonny!" Abigail screamed, jumping up and embracing him tightly. "I'm so glad you're home again, I missed you, Mr. World Traveler."

"I missed you too, Abs." he replied, picking her up and hugging her close.

"Sonny, these are my friends." Abigail started, "This is my boyfriend Chad."

Sonny shook his hand, "Nice to meet you, Chad."

"And these are the Lisa's…", she said pointing to the two dark haired girls, "…Lisa H. and Lisa B."

"Hi." Sonny said, shaking their hands.

Lisa B. held on to Sonny's hand a little too long, "Hi yourself." She said, blinking her eyes playfully.

"Take it easy, hot stuff." Abigail told her, "He's gay."

"Really?" Lisa B. asked, clearly disappointed.

"Guilty." Sonny admitted, shrugging. He ordered a drink from the waitress, rum and coke with lime and lots of ice, and sat down next to Abigail.

"So, Abigail tells me you just got back from Australia." Chad said.

"New Zealand, actually," he corrected, "I was in Australia about 3 months ago."

"Sonny's been all around the world." boasted Abigail.

"Not quite, Abi, but I have been a lot of places."

"Like where?" asked Chad.

"Um… Canada and Mexico, most of the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, and…oh, and Bruges."

"Bruges?" Lisa H. questioned.

"It's in Belgium." Sonny told her.

"Wow," Lisa H. said "that's amazing. Where are you going next?"

"Well, I'll be home for a while because I'm going to get my degree, but I would still like to go to South America." Sonny took a sip of his drink through the red straw.

"You mean like Texas?" Lisa B. asked.

Sonny choked on his drink, coughing to catch his breath, "Uhm…" He looked to Abigail trying to figure out if Lisa B. was joking or if she seriously thought Texas was in South America.

"No, sweetie, not like Texas." Abigail rolled her eyes to Sonny, shaking her head at Lisa B. "So, Cousin, how do like living back at home with the parents?"she asked him.

"Well, luckily it's only a couple days." Sonny laughed, "I'm moving out tomorrow, actually. Uncle Vic has an old rental property just off the town square that's in pretty rough shape. I told him if he let me live there while I'm going to school that I would fix it up for him. Uncle Vic's going to pay for the materials and I'll do the work."

"You know how to do that?" Chad asked him, "House repair and stuff?"

"Yeah, that's how I paid my way travelling, working odd construction jobs wherever I was."

Lisa B. reached over and rubbed Sonny's forearm with her fingertips, "Construction, huh? That's sexy." she said flirtatiously.

"Sorry, still gay." Sonny teased her.

"God, Abigail, what are all your hot cousins gay?" she whined.

Sonny looked at Abigail quizzically, "All your cousins?"

"My cousin Will is gay too."

"You should totally hook them up, Abi!" Lisa B. cried excitedly. "I would so watch that." She winked at Sonny and bit her lip, suggestively.

"No, no… no." Abigail protested. "Will is not Sonny's type."

"How do you know my type?" Sonny mocked.

"I just mean, you're grounded and together. You're a relationship guy… and Will. Well, Will's not. Will is…"

"A slut." Chad interjected, eliciting a laugh from Sonny.

"Chad!" Abigail slapped his shoulder. "He's not a slut, Sonny; he just likes to have fun, he doesn't want to be tied down. Will's a really great guy."

"And way hot." Lisa B. added.

Abigail continued, "… he just doesn't do relationships well, he can be a bit… guarded. And believe me, if you met his parents you'd know why. Will's only had one serious boyfriend since I can remember; it didn't last long and ended badly."

"What happened?" Sonny inquired.

"I'm not sure. He doesn't really talk about it."

"Will isn't a big sharer." Chad told him, "But you guys do have something in common, he worked construction with his uncle for a few summers."

"Well, it doesn't really matter anyway; I'm not in the market for guys right now. I need to focus on school and fixing up the house." Sonny waved the waitress down to order another drink, "This round's on me." he said. They ordered their drinks and as the waitress left Sonny noticed the blue eyed blond guy from before was smiling wide at him and heading over.

"Will, over here!" T called out, when he saw Will enter the bar.

Will nodded to T and headed over to the table, greeting T and his two friends with bro hugs. He sat down in the seat facing the entrance, and they all ordered drinks from the waitress.

"So, are you ready for the semester to start?" T asked Will.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm not crazy about my classes this term, except for the American Architecture class." Will replied, leaning back in his chair as the waitress came back.

She set T and the other guy's drinks down on the table; then smiled at Will, "Here you are cutie, rum and coke with lime and lots of ice." She placed a napkin on the table with her phone number on it and put Will's drink down. "I get off at 11…" she leaned down and whispered in Will's ear, "…and so can you."

Will smiled politely as she walked away then picked up the napkin and handed it to T. "Here you go, maybe she won't notice your ugly face." Will teased him, laughing. He took a swig from his drink and sat it back on the table, pulling the red straw out and placing it between his teeth.

T folded the napkin and put it in his pocket. "Dude, it is such a waste that you're gay. She is so hot!"

"How could it be a waste that Will is gay?" a patronizing voice called from over Will's shoulder. "He's so good at it."

Will felt the familiar hands of his ex on his shoulder; causing him to cringe. Spite filled in his blood and his fists clenched without thinking. He turned and came face to face with Cole Connors in all his conceited glory. "What the hell do you want, Cole?" he asked, crossly.

"Well, I've thought about it and I decided to give you a second chance." Cole said.

"Hah!" T blurt out, "Didn't Will dump you, you dick? Get over yourself."

"It's okay T. I've got this." Will put hand up to calm T down. "Cole, what makes you think I want to get back with you?" The memory of him discovering that Cole was cheating on him during their entire relationship was playing on a loop in Will's head and his hostility grew with every second that Cole stood in front of him.

"Come on, Will, we were good together remember? You know you want to be with me again."

"No thanks." Will replied coldly, turning his face from Cole and downing the rest of his drink, trying to suppress the rage coming to the surface.

Cole put his arm around Will and whispered menacingly in his ear. "Come on, Babe; just let me at your ass one more time." Will fumed inside as Cole went on; the spark of anger in his belly was now burning. "You know you want it Will, I remember the noises you used to make when my cock was in you." Cole's spiteful breath on his ear sent Will over the edge and he burst up from his seat, shoving Cole forcefully into the next table. He lunged after Cole again, only to be stopped in his tracks by T.

T immediately jumped between Will and Cole, pulling Will away. "Easy, bud. He's not worth it." T shook Will from his rage, "Come on, man, relax." He sat Will back down on the stool and directed his attention to Cole. "Why don't you just bail, Cole? Seriously, this is just going to get ugly."

Cole spoke to Will again, talking over T's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Will. I didn't mean to piss you off." he condescended, "What's it going to take to convince you I'm serious when I say I want to get back together, huh? Some big romantic gesture?"

"Cole, just fuck off okay?" T pushed him along, forcing him away.

"Fine, I'll leave, but I'm not done, Will." Cole called to him as he walked off.

Will seethed at the table as T sat back down. "You alright?" T asked, "What did he whisper to you?"

"Don't worry about it," Will said dismissively, "He was just being a prick. It's nothing new." Will waved the waitress down and ordered another drink.

"Seriously though, Will, I never realized how much of jerk that guy is. Is that why you broke it off?"

"Yeah, among other things." Will told him. The memory of him walking in on Cole getting head from another guy in the bathroom of the same bar he was now sitting in, came crashing back. "Can we just drop it?"

"Sure, bud. What do want to do? You want to leave?" T asked.

"No, I'm good." Will took a sip of his drink, and put the red straw between his teeth. "I just need a distraction." He said, staring toward the entrance of the bar and smiling as something, or someone, caught his eye.

T noticed Will's smile and turned his head to see what Will was looking at. He watched as the dark haired guy in a tight blue shirt smiled back at Will, heading toward the table, never taking his eyes off Will as he passed and casually rubbed his hip against Will's arm.

Will kept his gaze on the dark brown eyes of his prey in the blue shirt as he passed, turning to admire the back of him when he walked by. Blue shirt turned again to catch Will staring and flashed a toothy flirtatious smile at him; Will returned the gesture, biting down suggestively on the red straw.

"Will?" T called to him, trying to get his attention.

Will spun around back to the table and grinned at T, motioning toward the guy in the blue shirt. "He'll do."

"A distraction, huh? Is that what gay guys call it?" T teased him. "Holy crap, it that your cousin Abigail he's with?"

Will turned and watched as the guy greeted Abigail with a hug, "Oh, man. This is going to be way too easy."

Abigail watched Sonny's eyes wander across the room and saw a smile cover his face as the waitress left. "What are you looking at?"

"It's nothing." Sonny replied, keeping his eyes on the approaching blond.

"Liar, tell me." Abigail smiled at him.

"Okay, but don't turn around." Sonny instructed, "I was flirting with this cute guy when I came in and now he's heading over here." She turned her head to look as soon as Sonny finished. "Real subtle, Abs." Sonny said sarcastically, as Abigail turned back to him.

"Oh my god, Sonny, you can't. Do you hear me?" Abigail said sternly.

"What? Why?" Sonny asked.

"Hey, Abi." Will called out, coming up behind her.

"Will!" Abigail got up from the table to greet him, "What are you doing here?" she questioned, giving him a hug.

"Having drinks with T" Will told her, hugging her back and keeping his eyes fixed to Sonny over her shoulder, "Who's your friend?"

Abigail sighed heavily, "Will, this is So…"

"Will Horton!" Cole's voice called out, echoing over the bar noise through the loudspeakers, interrupting Abigail's introduction. "Where is Will Horton? There he is over there, can you put the light on him?"

Suddenly Will was illuminated by a spotlight as he turned around to the see Cole standing on the small stage in the corner with a microphone in his hand.

"Make some room." Cole instructed, stepping down off the stage. Everyone between Cole and Will took a step back, creating a path on the bar floor between the two. The music stopped and the entire bar hushed as Cole started walking slowly toward Will. "Will Horton, I know I don't deserve a second chance, but I want to be with you. I'm so sorry I messed up, you deserve better. But I've changed, I promise. My love for you has made me a better man." A collective "Awe" came over the crowd as Cole reached Will.

Sonny stood there with Abigail, watching in amazement as the scene in front of him unfolded. He couldn't help but think thought how romantic it was, and found himself a little bit jealous of such a declaration of love. He looked over to see the expression on Will's face and was surprised that Will did not seem to share Sonny's feelings. Will's body was tense and rigid, arms folded obstinately and his cheeks were tinged with embarrassment.

Will could taste the bile in the back of his throat as Cole came to a stop in front of him. His whole body pulsed with anger and resentment, growing greater with each lie that Cole spit out. Cole might have the rest of them convinced of his sincerity, but Will knew the truth, this was just another manipulation, another lie of many.

Will and Cole stood in the middle of the bar, with the spotlight shining down on them. "Will, I'm so sorry. I love you, please take me back." Cole finished. Will forced a half-hearted smile across his lips as Cole leaned in and hugged him, whispering arrogantly in Will's ear, "I told you I wasn't done." Cole stood back and smiled at Will as if he had just won some sort of game.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" the crowd chanted.

Cole cocked his head smugly, "Well?" He asked Will, "Should we give them what they want?"

Will forced another smile at him, clenching his fists. Cole leaned forward and closed his eyes, waiting for his kiss. Will grit his teeth together and lunged forward, head butting Cole forcefully, and causing him to stumble back.

"OOOHHHH!" rang out through the crowd.

Cole grabbed his head, opening his eyes to Will. "What the fuck, Will?"

Will swung again, this time catching Cole on the chin with a hard right hook, sending him crashing to the ground. Rage flowed through Will's veins and he could see or hear nothing but Cole. He wanted Cole to feel the pain he felt, but not the emotional pain of finding out you're being cheated on, but physical pain. He wanted to hurt Cole. Will flung himself at Cole again, only to be stopped by T, pulling Will away.

T grabbed Will, pulling him off of Cole. "Come on, man. Time to go." T tried pushing Will toward the exit. Will shoved T aside and charged at Cole again, connecting with glancing blow to the side of Cole's head. T grabbed Will again, pulling him back as Will struggled to get free and attack Cole again.

"Will!" Abigail screamed at the top of her lungs, finally breaking Will's trance.

Will shook his head from his stupor and saw the look of fear on Abigail's face. He looked down on the ground to Cole holding his jaw, blood dripping down his face from a gash on his forehead above his eye. "What happened?" he asked T, confusingly.

"We need to leave. Now." T told him, motioning to the bouncers heading their way.

"Okay." Will said to him, turning to Abigail. "Sorry, Abs." he said regretfully.

Will turned to leave and once again caught the brown eyes of Abigail's friend staring at him with a shocked look on his face. Will met his gaze momentarily then turned his head in shame and left the bar with T.

Sonny watched Will leave, trying to absorb what had just happened. What would make Will attack that guy like that? Was this the ex-boyfriend Abigail talked about? He didn't know Will at all, but he saw something in the last look will gave him. Regret, pain and longing… innocence maybe. He walked over to Abigail being consoled by Chad. "Are you okay, Abs?

"Yeah, I'm fine." she reassured him.

Sonny looked to Cole lying on the ground being attended to by the bouncers, then again to the door where Will just left. "So, that's Will, huh?"