#traeken

Hayden see’s the pictures, asks jokingly if there’s anything going on, and Liam instantly freezes up.

“Is there anything going on?

“No! Of course not!”

“Do you want there to be?”

“I love you, you know that!”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

After much prodding from Hayden and many blushes from Liam, he admits that, yes, he does have feelings for Theo, but that doesn’t change the way he feels about Hayden and he doesn’t want to break up.

Of course it doesn’t, she tells him. Love isn’t finite, you don’t have a set amount to give.

She says if he wants to hook up or date Theo, she doesn’t mind. She knows it won’t change anything between them, and she doesn’t want to be the cause of his unhappiness.

Liam’s shocked, not really sure what to think.

She ends up having to convince him to go for it, you’ll never know until you try, conveniently leaving out that Theo’s been making comments about him.

She coaches him to flirt with him the best she can, but she’s not a miracle worker.

Liam’s awkward and cringey, but Theo finds it endearing.

Hayden and Mason help Liam get ready and Tracy and Corey help Theo get ready and Josh goes back and forth making unwanted sarcastic comments to both.

The girls are texting them the whole time, asking how it’s going, if the other is a good kisser, they end up just shutting off their phones.

A few weeks later, Cory and Mason, who’s slowly joined the friend group but hasn’t been in any shoots yet, announce they’re dating and want to pose together.

Josh wholeheartedly agrees, begins to plan it out immediately.

Mason’s a natural and the two boys look amazing together.

It becomes a competition, who can take hotter pictures, Mason and Corey and Theo and Liam.

Tracy, who by this time has started dating both Hayden and Theo although none of them will put labels on it, are just like ‘we know we’re the best looking’.

Eventually, Mason learns how to use the camera.

He pretends he just wants to learn, but he actually wants Corey and Josh to pose together.

If it can work for Theo and Liam, it can work for those two.

Mason’s seen the way they look at each, the way they talk to each other.

He convinces Josh to let him direct the shoot and to pose with Corey.

Of course, they have to be shirtless.

“It’s for art!”

He directs them to stand close together, closer, closer, closer.

Move their heads together, closer, closer, closer.

Eventually they kiss and Mason captures it, as well as the look of surprise on their faces when they pull back a few seconds later.

“You two are beautiful together.”

Corey and Josh smile and laugh awkwardly, not sure how to act or what it all means.

But Mason just keeps taking pictures as if nothing’s happened, because nothing really did.

Nothing’s changed, besides that both Corey and Josh have someone new to makeout with.

Just like that, they’re together and even happier than they were before.

Just like that, they’re together.

Just like that, they’re all content.

Hayden:

She had a tough time coming out, she’s still not out to everyone.

She’s terrified her sister will find out.

She never told her parents, but her Mother knew. Hayden didn’t know she did and she would never tell her daughter, her sweet, sweet daughter, that she knew, but she did.

Her parents were older, they didn’t have Val until they were both 30.

Hayden used that as an excuse for them being homophobic and biphobic.

“They’re from a different generation, they don’t know they’re doing anything wrong.”

She never knew her Mother loved her just the way she was.

She still thinks they’d hate her if they knew the truth.

She believes in heaven and ghosts and all that, so even after they passed away she hid that part of herself.

She was afraid they were looking down at her or still there and would be disappointed in her, start hating her.

It was comforting to think they’re still watching over her, not completely gone, but also suffocating and terrible.

She knew she was bisexual, although she didn’t know the word for it, by the time she was seven.

All the girls were so pretty, all the boys were so pretty, everyone’s just so damn pretty, how could she decide?

She did a pretty good job of hiding it, not letting it show.

Sure, she crushed on girls, but she could control it, tell herself not to get too attached, not to be too into her.

That’s one of the reasons she doesn’t have many friends, she’s afraid she’ll start crushing on them.

One of her friends, really her only friend, is the first person she told.

Her best friend was completely accepting and Hayden almost cried from happiness.

The next person she told was Liam, a year or two after telling her friend.

He was shocked at first, not really sure what to say, so he didn’t say anything.

“Is it okay?”

“Hayden, I love you. This doesn’t change anything.”

Hayden lets out a deep sigh, snuggling even closer to him.

“Does this mean you’ll check out other girls with me?”

She laughs, then says sure, they can do it tomorrow, but he better not drool.

“What if you drool first?”

“Then you can drool.”

“Cool.”

Tracy:

She never really thought about it much.

She was too busy with her own issues to worry about her sexual or romantic orientation.

She never really thought about it and she was always surrounded by straight people, the conversation about other options never taking place, she just assumed she was straight.

She didn’t have so many issues she couldn’t notice the opposite sex.

She first had a crush on a boy in 8th grade.

Her mother died in child birth and she didn’t have any friends, so she didn’t really tell anyone.

She never even thought to think about a relationship with another girl until she was a senior in high school.

And then everything changed.

Then she met Hayden.

Then she didn’t know what to think.

She was so confused, not sure what was happening or what she was thinking.

Was this a side effect of the Dread Doctors? Did they make her a lesbian?

No, she still liked boys, she still couldn’t help but stare at Theo whenever he was shirtless or really ever.

Her heart still sped up when she saw him.

But her heart also sped up when she saw Hayden.

Maybe it’s just because Hayden was nice to her, that must be it.

But then why was she thinking of Hayden’s lips? Or holding her hand? Of being with her?

That’s one of the reasons she didn’t like Liam, she saw him as someone who stole Hayden away from her, even though Hayden was never hers.

Then she tried to explain it away as the connection between Pack members.

But then why didn’t she feel the same way about Corey? Or Josh?

She figured Hayden didn’t feel the same way, I mean she was Liam.

She wasn’t even sure what she thought or felt.

But then that night happened.

Hayden had talked to Liam before that night, explained that she loved him but she was also falling for Tracy and she didn’t know what to do, but she didn’t want to leave him.

He said it was okay, it was normal.

“Tracy’s hot, I can’t really blame you.”

“Liam! This isn’t a joke!”

“I know. But it’s okay.”

“It’s okay I’m falling for someone else?”

“Hayden, I love you. And one of the reasons I love you is that you’re so loving and kind. You have so much love to give, I’d be selfish to try to keep it all for myself.”

“What are you saying? Are you breaking up with me?”

“No! I will never break up with you. But I don’t want you to be unhappy because of me. Who’s saying you can only be with one person? Why can’t you be with both me and Tracy?”

“Y-you mean you’d be okay with me and Tracy being together?”

“As long as we’re together, I’d be okay with just about anything. But on one condition.”

“What?”

“I’m either there when you attempt to tell her or you video tape it, because I’m pretty sure you’d royally suck at telling her how you feel and it’ll be hilarious.”

“Shit. I have to tell her.”

And Liam can’t help but laugh, so Hayden hits him in the chest.

“Well, if you want help, I can always kidnap you two and then get you out. It worked for us.”

Tracy still hadn’t told anyone, not even Theo, especially not Theo, but he had figured it out.

The Night, Hayden went over to the Chimera Pack house, said she left a book upstairs when her and Tracy were studying, but wasn’t sure where, could Tracy help her look for it?

Tracy went up, a mix of nerves and excitement.

She both loved and hated being alone with Hayden.

So many times she’s almost leaned over and kissed Hayden, each moment with her like walking on a tightrope.

“So, which book is it?” Tracy asked Hayden, going to look under her bed.

“I don’t have a book here.”

Ice went through Tracy’s veins.

Hayden sounded so nervous, it immediately put Tracy on edge.

At first, for a split second, she thought Hayden would say that she likes her, wants to be with her, left Liam for her, but then she snapped back to reality, telling herself that’s crazy.

“Then why are you here?” Tracy asks, gulping.

Hayden explains it all, barely taking a breath the whole time.

She says how she likes Tracy, likes her a lot, more than she should.

Says how she’s thought about kissing Tracy, snuggling with her, holding her hand.

Says that she talked to Liam, he told her there’s no reason Hayden can’t be with him and Tracy.

Says that she wants to be with Tracy more than anything, more than she even wants Chipotle when she’s on her period, which you know is the only thing that makes me feel better, she didn’t think it was possible to like someone this much, especially when she wasn’t even dating them.

“Do you want to be with Liam more than you want Chipotle while you’re on your period?”

“Liam’s different. And he doesn’t have anything to do with this. My love for him doesn’t have anything to do with my love for you.”

“L-love?”

Hayden freezes, face as red as a Christmas light.

She had done so good with just saying like, not scaring her off, and now that all went to hell.

And then Tracy took three long strides over to Hayden, grabbing her face and kissing her.

Hayden was shocked at first, not expecting it, but she quickly started kissing her back.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Tracy started backing up and bringing Hayden with her.

They laid on the bed, kissing for a long time.

They didn’t try to go any farther, they didn’t need to.

They were too intoxicated just being together, knowing the other felt the same way, knowing they were actually together now, that was all the intimacy they needed.

Hayden stayed the night, the two of them finally falling asleep after a few hours of making out, cuddled together.

Neither of them knew they could be so happy, so purely content with their life just the way it was.

Tracy still had feelings for Theo, but she was happy with Hayden.

Maybe her, Hayden, and Theo could be like her, Hayden, and Liam.

But her heart was already so full, she was so happy, how could it ever get better than this?