A week had passed since Hunter had left him, and with each day that went by without hearing from him, the reality of it became much more palpable to Archer. To his relief, his heart seemed to have disconnected itself from the traumatic sever it had gone through from a piece of itself. The excruciating feelings that Archer had faced during that first night had been quashed, leaving him to drift like a ghost that had become numb to everything that had once been living inside of him. The morning after Hunters departure from him, his parents had sat him down and carefully asked him if he wished to go back to France, a question that hed spent some amount of time with, before deciding that hed be putting too much on his parents shoulders if he asked them to pack up everything they owned and ship it back to France, only months after theyd gotten to Ohio. Like he always did, Archer chose to remain silent and stick out the fate that hed brought onto himself.

With the days left before he had to return to school, Archer had busied himself with resuming the life he once knew, a mocking sham of what he could have had with Hunter. He scrolled carelessly through many lists of colleges that all seemed to do the same thing, before landing on Gaffe University, a college that offered many majors, but specialized in the arts. Archer would do as was expected of him, and hed take the dance classes to the best of his ability, and then he would get a ten-year contract with a theatre, where he would perform as someone he wasnt. At the time that Hunter had left, Archer had almost drawn up the courage to tell his parents about what he really wanted, but now that he, and Archers only happiness, were gone, he didnt see a reason to try for what he could only call a tolerable life, if Hunter wasnt there to share it with him. To his surprise, his parents hadnt even smiled when hed come to them with the news that hed settled for the plan theyd always wanted him to follow, and his pére had merely squeezed his hands and nodded his head.

Two days before he went back to school, the New Year was coming in before Archer was ready for it to. Like every other year, Archer would be spending this night without anyone to kiss his lips when midnight struck. He remembered all of the New Years that had gone by when he was young, and how he had felt so proud of himself for staying up until midnight with his parents, who always turned on the TV and let him watch the ball drop from the peace and warmth of their home. Archer was thrilled as he watched the crowds blow their horns and wave at the cameras, sipping on his grape juice as his parents nursed glasses of wine. But his favorite part of the night was always at the very end, when the ball would fall from the sky and crash to the ground, and everyone on the TV shared kisses with those around them, and his parents would wrap their arms around each other and peck kisses. After they pulled away from each other, they would hurry over to Archer and scoop the giggling boy up, showering him in kisses as they swooped him off to bed.

Three hours before midnight rang in, Archer lay on his bed, toying with the ear of the stuffed teddy Hunter had given him so long ago. He heard his parents and uncle moving around above him, calling out words he couldnt make out. Now that they lived in Ohio, they had been invited to the party that his grandma hosted each year for the surrounding neighbors. Along with his uncles, his parents had gladly accepted, and were going to be out the door in less than a few minutes. Suddenly hearing tapping at his door, Archer twisted his neck around and eyed his pére, who poked his head into the room. "Archer?" He peeped softly, descending the stairs on clicking heels. He worked to clip a diamond, fringe necklace around his neck, his pale skin showered in tiny, white jewels. He was donned in an hourglass, deep blue dress that clung to his curvy figure. Bunched fabric fell from the collar of the dress, accentuating his long neck, while the back of the dress plunged to the small of his back. Ropes of diamonds fell around his wide hips, swaying with every step that he took. An image of elegance and beauty, his pére would have made a flower wilt in comparison. "Were going to be leaving soon. Are you sure you dont want to come with us?"

His pére sank onto his bed, reaching out to smooth a gloved hand over Archers untamed curls. Archer stared blankly at him, noticing a dark figure creep into the room behind him, having followed the trail of his flowery perfume. Although he knew he would just have to bite his lip and deal with being around others when he went back to school, he didnt want to subject himself to it if he didnt have to. This party would just be a place where he would be looked down upon by pitying eyes, where he would have his hand patted gently, and where his cousin, Dillon, could rub it in his face that hed been right all along. Archer moved his head from the pillow, laying it in his soft lap. The cool material of his dress instantly became hot as Archer smeared his face over it. "I dont want to see anyone tonight, Pére."

"Okay." His pére stroked a hand over the side of Archers head, pushing his heavy curls out of the way, "You wouldnt rather us stay here, Archer?" Archer knew how much that statement meant from his pére, who, along with being a bad host, never wanted to come across as a bad guest, who showed up late, or didnt show up at all.

Archer shook his head, even though he secretly wanted his pére to keep holding him, "No... I want you and Daddy to have fun."

His pére bent over Archers head and pressed light kisses to his cheek, "What a selfless boy you are. Alright, well be out of your hair. Get some sleep tonight. We love you so much, Archer."

When his daddy came to hover over his husband, he eased Archer into his own arms and nuzzled his forehead, "Happy New Year, Archer. Well see you in the morning." He laid Archer back onto his bed and took a step back, and he pulled at his husbands waist, "Honey, weve got to get going."

"I know." His pére sighed, as if he resented that they were leaving Archer, who he didnt want to go through his first heartbreak alone. That wasnt what he had wanted for himself.

His parents slowly meandered from the room, leaving Archer to fold the blankets back over himself, as his arms swallowed his teddy bear and drew him against his chest. This was his first New Year that hed be spending alone, and as he heard the front door open and shut, he almost wished that he had pleaded with his parents to stay with him. Silence filled his ears as he squished the teddy to his chest, his eyes brimming with more tears that he somehow hadnt shed over the past week. Pulling the teddy bear away from himself, Archer patted his hands over its round, white belly, and over its big nose. He twisted the teddy bear around, trying to look over all of it to figure out which parts some young child-possibly Hunter-had chewed off so long ago. Besides a tail and an ear, everything seemed to be in place, or hanging by a thread.

As he studied the teddy bear, his eyes came to a screeching halt on the foot, which was dirty from being dragged over the ground. He brought the foot closer to his face, squinting at words that had been stitched into the fur. Most of the letters were smothered in brown mud, but he could make out, To K rt. L ve Mom y. Scratching his fingernail over the covered letters, Archer found that the dirt was too embedded into the fur for any of it come out. "To... To Kart? What does that say?" He scrubbed a little harder, finally peeling a tiny chunk of dirt up. "To... Kurt. Love Mommy."

Archers skin crawled as he gazed at the words on the bottom of the bears foot, trying to make sense of what they meant, or who Kurt was. That was the name of his pére, but this couldnt have once been his teddy bear. There were a thousand Kurts in the world. Besides, his pére had given him the only teddy bear he ever owned, one that he hadnt seen in years after that woman had taken Hunter away while he still held it in his arms. Archer suddenly stopped thinking, and let go of the teddy bear as if it had burned him. This wasnt coming together in his head. Maybe he was trying to force all of the facts together, just to have the answer that he wanted. "Hunters dead." He reminded himself shakily, rolling away from the teddy bear. "Hunters been dead for thirteen years. Youre being ridiculous, Archer." He threw himself onto the pillows, shutting his eyes and thinking about how hed never gotten to celebrate the New Year with Hunter before hed been hidden away.

Hunter spent his New Year with only one person, and a person who was the opposite of the one he thought hed be sharing this night with. He lay, tucked beside of his dads slumbering form, in a quiet room, glad to have him back from the hospital and home again, where he belonged. Hearing the humming song of crickets outside of the window, Hunter burrowed deeper into his dads vibrating chest. He slid a skinny arm around the middle of him, drawing him closer into the curve of his body. Suddenly, a cacophony of horns blaring and people shouting and bottles smashing echoed through the bedroom, making Hunter press Karofskys face deeper into the pillow so it didnt wake him from his deep sleep. Hunter assumed that midnight had come, so he pressed a tender kiss into his dads pudgy cheek as tears trickled down his face, "Happy New Year, Dad." He whispered hoarsely, brushing a strong hand over his dads shaved head. "I wish you were awake to get to see it with me. Im sure that its beautiful."

He wondered how many more years he would have to be stuck with his dad, who would have rolled himself onto his death bed by now had he not had Hunter. Hunter felt all of his dreams, of being a writer and a painter, and a husband, and a dad, all washing away as he held snugly onto his dad. Shutting his eyes, Hunter balled up fistfuls of his dads smelly shirt, "Nothing will ever come between us again, Dad. Youve proved yourself to me. You need me. And Ill be here... I wont abandon you." He kissed the lobe of his dads ear, "Well be alright, just the two of us." Hunter snorted noisily as soon as those words were out, because they made it that much more real that hed had to give up the love of his life so he could keep his dad from killing himself. But he reminded himself that Archer would be fine, because cats had nine lives, and he would land on his feet, and then mark another man as his territory. Because Archer wouldnt spend forever seeking him out, like a cat hunting his mouse.

Archer stepped out of the car, waving his parents off before he braced his shoulders, facing the school that seemed larger than ever before. Glad that his parents had given him the ten-minute respite of not having to deal with any of his cousins, or his uncle, or, worse, Dillon, he thought about the next time he had the potential to run into any of them, and then mapped out shortcuts to avoid seeing any of his family members. He walked through the school doors, an unnoticed apparition among his chattering classmates, who treated the day as if it was something to be cheerful about. Shuffling down the hallway, Archer held his bag to his chest, as if that would protect him from something he couldnt see. He felt very small as he wandered through the hallways, a little speck that anyone bigger than him could step on.

His parents had offered for him to take another week off of school, but Archer knew that putting it off would do nothing more than give him a large workload that he would have to get done all in one or two nights. He didnt know how Hunter would handle their first encounter, and while Archer could imagine that he would square his shoulders and act like he had everything put together, he knew that he would probably flush with unwarranted emotion as he fumbled to get away. Padding by the office, where his relationship with Hunter had first started to sprout, Archer paused at a voice he could have recognized in his sleep. His face drained of color, and while he knew it would have been smarter for him to run away, rather than risk getting caught, he slid over to the door and peered through the smudged window. It was harder than he thought it would be, seeing Hunter for the first time after their breakup. He stood taller than Archer remembered him being, and was much wider than he seemed when he didnt intimidate Archer any more. He looked the same as he had over Christmas break, but had gone back to his attire of black jackets and tight pants, with boots that looked like they could crush someones head. He was gesturing frantically at the woman behind the counter, and Archer, curious as to what he was saying, cracked open the door an inch.

He heard Hunter rapidly speaking, "But I cant fail out of high school. I have to graduate next year, so I can get some kind of job to support my dad. Please... hes sick. You dont understand. I have to stay here."

The woman showed him no mercy, keeping her voice flat, "Hunter, you have kept one of the lowest grade point averages Ive ever seen for three years straight. Youre failing two of your classes right now. Youve shown no effort to pass high school by anything more than the skin of your teeth. And I know for a fact that youve been smoking on school property. What makes you think that I should keep you in this school?"

Hunter shook his head, coming up with no reason other than his dads illness, "Ill do anything. Ill go to summer school. Ill take extra classes. You dont know how much I need my diploma. Its going to be the only thing that can give my dad a good life."

The woman rolled her eyes, but the figure of a slender man suddenly peeled off of the wall. "Mrs. Pidgins, be reasonable. Give him one more chance to straighten up." Raising a brow at him, Pidgins considered what he was about to say. "If he gets his grades up... lets say, to an average standing, and he helps out with the school musical, will you let him stay?"

She shrugged her plump shoulders, "I dont see why not. But he has to keep his hands clean."

Hunter nodded emphatically, "I wont let you down. Thank you." Before the faculty members could get in another word, he whipped around shortly and strode toward the door, making Archer leap backwards. He stood inches away from Hunter when he flung the door wide open, his chest heaving as he watched Hunter turn toward the English room, and then pause. His head turned toward Archer, whose eyes widened to the size of saucers as he reached up for his hair, which smelled strongly of shampoo. Before Hunter stepped closer to him, the bell blasted through the room, and he jumped like a cat that had its tail pulled.

He strode away from Archer, who blew out through the thin gaps between his teeth. "Damn." He muttered, picking himself up from the locker hed smacked his body against. He gathered his composure before he followed in Hunters footsteps, getting to the English room a minute before he wanted to. He hated that hed been raised on French language, or else he could simply be in the upper level of the English course, and wouldnt have to see Hunter for the entire day. Thumbing the door open, Archer swept his eyes over the few students that had piled into the room. He counted three, besides himself, and two of them were gossiping into each others ears while the other sat near the back of the classroom, rifling through his bag. If he tried to sit across the room, someone would undoubtedly yip at him for taking his seat, which would just cause a commotion that he didnt need. He would just have to take a deep breath and sit next to Hunter, treating the breakup as if it had happened years ago, and he had finally started to laugh it off. If anything could keep him from crying at the first sign of acknowledgment Hunter gave him, it would be the fact that his ex-fiancé didnt seem perturbed by what had happened over the last week. It was like he had never known Hunter.

Slinking over to his seat, Archer felt his skin crawl as he bumped into the edge of Hunters desk. Because he was so clumsy, it was something hed done before, an action that had made Hunter chuckle as he playfully pinched Archers butt, but now Hunter withdrew the hand that had been resting on the wood surface. Archer sat down hard at his own desk, busying himself with sorting through the items in his bag and figuring out which ones he needed for todays class. By the time the second bell went off, Hunter still hadnt spoken to him, something that Archer was torn over, both wanting Hunter to at least treat him like a good acquaintance now, and wanting Hunter to forget about his existence. Hunter seemed to have settled for the latter.

Archer looked at the front of the room when his teacher started rambling words that went into one ear and out the other, "I want all of us to return to our senses today. I received your paragraphs describing the senses each of you wanted to write your paper on, and I approve of many of the intriguing choices. There are a few of you who seemed to have missed the point of the assignment. I do not want papers turned in about the way a burp smells. Today, youre going to start on your papers, and describe one of your senses over our camping trip. Use vivid words to make me feel the way you did when you noticed something. You have a week to finish these papers. Get started with whoever your partner is."

Flushing as he remembered what hed spent most of the camping trip doing, Archer tried to tune out the sounds of Hunter ripping out a sheet of paper. Images flashed through his mind, of him crawling onto the muddy shore with Hunter, and flinging his head back as Hunter choked around his shaft. He remembered waking up to his fingers tracing the outline of his body, and blinking sleepily as Hunter fed him bites of his breakfast. He remembered the sharp burst of pain as his back smacked a tree, followed by every bone in his body melting as Hunter scooped him up, kissing him so feverishly that his lips bruised. He jolted from the deep recesses of his mind when a gruff voice muttered in his direction, "How have you been?"

Archer peeked up at Hunter from under the hood of his lashes, feeling his cheeks color as he quickly ducked away, unable to look at him. "Ive... Ive been okay. And you?"

"Good."

"Thats... good." Archer said lamely, chewing his lip as he tried to come up with something else to say, "Um... is your dad... okay?"

"Hes better."

Archer squeezed his eyes shut, glad that Hunter couldnt see the heat in his face. A bubble of saliva slimed the inner walls of his throat, making his words sound sticky, "Um... I decided on a college. Its in France. Im going to keep taking dance classes, and then Ill spend a couple of years on Broadway."

"Oh." Hunter mumbled, making Archer flick his eyes back up to his face. "Youre going back to France." When he lifted his head from the pencils that he had been staring steadily at, Archer saw that his lips were tight and his eyes were wet. "I knew that you would do great things, Archer." Hearing his name from Hunters lips was like a kick to his stomach, and Archer bit back a sob, smothering his mouth with his hands. "Archer? Whats wrong?"

Archer sprang from his seat when Hunter held his hand out, as if he was going to put it on him, and he yelped, "Dont touch me!" Stumbling out of the row of desks that seemed to be pushing him closer to Hunter, he whirled around to his classmates, who had all whipped upright at the sudden noise. "I-Im sorry. I cant do this."

Bolting from the classroom, Archer hurried into the nearest bathroom, which cleared out so quickly that he assumed everyone thought he was going to throw up. He locked himself into one of the stalls and fell to his knees, sobbing into his balled up hands. When he stopped heaving violent breaths, and his tears slowed, he called his parents to come back for him, apologizing profusely, and saying that he thought he could handle it, but really couldnt. No questions were asked before his daddy hung up the phone, and then called back ten minutes later, telling him that they were outside, and that they were going to take him out of school for the rest of the week. On the ride home, Archer sank into his seat, not daring to look back at his school, even though it was absurd for him to think that Hunter had followed him.

Hunter clambered from his seat, feeling watchful eyes on his back as he hobbled from the room. "Shit." He said as soon as the classroom door shut behind him, "Shit. Archer." Jerking his head from side to side, he listened for the sounds of his quick footsteps, but he was already gone. "Archer!" Hunter made a broken noise, sliding his muscular hands into his hair and yanking hard. He thought that it would be easier than this. Hed broken up with so many people that hed thought he could just go on coexisting with Archer as if nothing had ever passed between them. Hed been naïve to doubt that Archers very presence could have him curling his hands into tight fists just to numb the ache of wanting to reach out and touch. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes as he wandered aimlessly, trying to calm himself down enough that he could return to class, but knowing that, because hed upset Archer, hed himself spend the rest of the day feeling the worst for wear. He knew he should have backed down and let Archer go without following him, but the thought of leaving Archer to cry without his arms there to comfort him drove him crazy. "Hes not mine anymore!" Hunter shouted at himself, slamming his foot into a nearby locker. The crunch of metal was satisfying to Hunters ears.

Shaking his head, he stumbled forward and leaned his forehead against the cool surface of the damaged locker. He sank to his knees, his eyes shedding the shimmering diamonds that hed never been able to buy Archer. Wrapping his arms around his stomach, Hunter took a shaky breath, "Archer... Id give anything if I could love you the way that you needed me to. I wanted to be your husband so badly. No matter what I had done, someone would have gotten hurt."

The crack of footsteps on the tiled floor jarred Hunter from his reeling thoughts, and he immediately sucked his lips in, knowing he probably sounded crazy to whoever had witnessed him muttering to himself. "I was right, you know." Hunters mouth sank at that jeering voice, and he kept his head down, not wanting to spend a moment of his time on his prideful ex-girlfriend. "I told you what would happen... and it did. Archers life is in France, on the stage, and you finally realized that a life like that couldnt include you. Youve always belonged in Lima. Youre a poor boy without a plan for his future... I dont know, maybe some fulltime job at a rundown bar is the place for you. Anywhere that can pay for your dads drinking problem."

Hunter blinked away the tears that betrayed how much her words really stung him. She had reversed what hed said months ago, about him not wanting to hurt her with the truth of how shitty her life actually was. He flinched away when she sank to her knees beside of him and draped a light hand across his back, "How did it feel, living in his world for a few months? Did you feel better than everyone else? Did you think you werent actually a friendless freak who drank away his problems? You really thought you loved him, didnt you? You were going to marry him, and live a peaceful life, and have ten children, werent you? Thats not how things work, Hunter. He belongs in the arms of a rich man, who actually knows what the fuck hes doing. Who knows, maybe hell invite you to the wedding, and youll get to meet the man who is right for him. And as youre driving home that night, youll be stewing with jealousy as you think that, at that very moment, his wealthy husband is flying him off to some private island, where theyre going to fuck fifteen times a day-"

"Stop!" Hunter shouted, raising one of his hands and bringing it back in an automatic reaction to protect himself. When he felt the soft part of his palm brush her cheek, he immediately lowered it, hearing it hit the floor with a thud.

Beth chuckled darkly, "You couldnt hit me if you tried. You dont have it in you. Youre weak, Hunter. He softened you up. Thats why youre choosing to be the nice guy, and stay with that fucked up dad of yours. You cant bring yourself to leave him to his death bed." She rubbed her hand over his trembling shoulder, "Its hard to watch you like this. My mom went through it. Love made her its bitch, and then it stomped on her. He was a little fantasy of yours... the innocent daddys boy. Any man would be tempted to protect him and nurture him. I didnt expect it out of you. But now youve learned your lesson, havent you? People like us belong together, Hunter. Its just how things work. It makes sense. Neither of us gets hurt because weve both become immune to the pain. Theres no love involved. Its an easy relationship. We call each other up and fuck and smoke, and there are no feelings attached-"

Hunter listened with only one ear, remembering a time that felt so distant when he had lived exactly as she was saying, a life that no longer sounded desirable to him. Even though he didnt understand exactly what it was, there was some kind of happiness that came from being in love, an emotion that hadnt come along with the drugs and the sex. "I dont want to live like that anymore." He said flatly, pushing himself up onto a pair of shaky legs and knocking the dust off of his knees. "I cant be with Archer anymore, but that doesnt mean I want to come back to you. I wouldnt spit on the ground that you stood on." Thudding away from her, Hunter unsurely drifted from hallway to hallway, not knowing where he wanted to go. He debated spending the rest of the day in the library, writing out his paper. Hunter was trapped between two worlds, the one he used to be a part of, and no longer fit into, and the one he wanted to belong in, but couldnt, no matter how much he strived to be like the Hummel-Anderson family, because of his dad.

Archer hiked his leg into the air, his pointed foot resting next to his head, before he bowed to the ground, swinging it out to the side. Letting it whack the ground, he tramped a few steps to the left, before he raised both of his legs in a straight line. His body hovered above the ground, a few seconds when he was completely detached from the world, and then he crashed back to the floor. The impact of his foot hitting the floor at an awkward angle made him yelp as he tumbled over, landing hard on his butt. Gasping, Archer folded over himself and grabbed at his throbbing feet. He weakly laid his head against his quivering knees, which had melted into mush over the past three hours that hed been bending and flexing and maneuvering them in ways that he hadnt had the urge to before. If he ever wanted to make it on Broadway, he would have to be a mirrored image of his pére and his méme, two examples of the perfection that was required of anyone who wanted their name in lights. Archer simply wasnt perfect, a thought that dragged a shuddering breath from his lips.

He heard his pére, who had been observing his frantic lunges toward something similar to perfection, click the music off. His light feet padded over to Archer, who turned his wild gaze up to his expressionless face. His pére, no matter how Archer thought it would please him to see him get back into his lessons, gave him nothing more than a disapproving frown. Before his pére could say anything, Archer yipped, "Pére, I need the music. I have to get this leap down. I cant land it. My foot keeps twisting at the wrong angle-"

"Yes, and if you try one more time, youre going to snap a bone." His pére chided, his voice surprisingly tense as he leaned over Archers swollen foot and applied the melting bag of ice to it. "No more of this, Archer. You cant keep going on like this-"

"Pére, I cant give up-"

"Theres nothing of importance to give up, Archer." His pére informed him, ignoring the way that Archer mouthed silent words of pleading. "Youre not doing this to prepare for Broadway. The only thing youre accomplishing is wearing yourself down to nothing more than skin and bone. As your parent, I cant condone this."

"You want me to be good at dancing!" Archer accused.

His pére shook his head at some unknown thought that went through his head. Sinking beside of Archer, his pére kept his head down to Archers foot, which he started untying his shoe from. Archer didnt argue with his pére, watching the shoe fall off and reveal his reddened foot, which had lines from the edges of the tight shoe creased into it. The side of it was discolored with blues and purples from being banged so many times on the floor. His pére drew his foot onto his lap, gently wiggling each of his toes, "Archer, my feet have never looked like this. I know what my limits are. If you cant do a certain move, then you simply cant. I dont ever want you to do anything like this again."

Archer blinked at his pére, feeling his eyes become wet as he frowned reproachfully, his blue eyes flickering off to the side as if he didnt want Archer to see his expression. "Archer... sweetheart, its time to be honest. Youre not doing this for yourself. I remember when you used to. You used to smile when you danced... and then youd rest when you got tired. Why are you doing this?" He swallowed thickly when Archer kept staring at him, and he wiped at the moist corners of his eyes. "Archer, talk to me. Your dad and I have never wanted things to come to this. What is going through your mind?" He took a brief pause, and then he raised his concerned eyes to Archer, whose gaze fell to the floor. "Do you want to go to this college?"

A weak sound burbled from Archers lips, and he slowly shook his head back and forth. "I dont want to take any more dance classes, Pére. I hate them. And I dont want to be on Broadway." It took his pére several seconds to answer, so Archer slowly lifted his eyes to his face. His pére was looking directly at him, glittering tears rolling down his cheeks. "I dont like being told how I should dance. When I was little, I loved dancing so much because I thought that... the man who had killed Hunter had taken away his ability to move. I danced for him, Pére. When I told you and Daddy how much I wanted to dance, you made me take all of these lessons that took away my ability to move freely. But I didnt say anything because..." a hoarse noise broke out of him, and he felt his pére scoot closer, bundling him in a pair of warm arms. "I didnt say anything because you and Daddy are so successful. I didnt want to disappoint you if I told you that I didnt really know how to make a living off of what I wanted to do. I always hated how all of those colleges were bargaining for me, because I know that Im not very good at dancing. I only do it because I love it so much. They only wanted our family name at their school. They didnt want me. Pére, I want to be my own person. I want to live my own life. You followed what Méme did, and Daddy took inspiration from you. But I dont want to live the same life that the last two generations of our family have. I dont know what I want to do. Ever since Hunter left, everythings been so confusing. The world seems so much bigger."

"Shh..." his pére soothed, smoothing his hand through Archers sweaty curls. "Its alright. Archer, your dad and I never meant to make you so upset. We thought we were doing what was right, by giving you a space of your own, and set times, to practice your dancing. He and I never had any idea of what you were thinking. I suppose... I was being naïve, because theatrical dancing is the only kind Ive ever known. I didnt take into consideration that you might love a different kind. You dont have to do this anymore, Archer. I dont know what you want, or what can give you a good future, but I dont want you to have to force yourself to dance the way you thought we wanted you to. You are your own person. Youre a strong, independent boy. Just because a couple of your family members lived lives that werent exactly simple doesnt mean you cant. I was nearly the same way, Archer. I spent years pursuing Broadway and modeling, but neither of those things made me as happy as staying home with my family. And your dad is a part of the Warblers... but he isnt the Warblers. He works with others to accomplish the amazing things that his company does. He would never want to do that singlehandedly. I dont think you realize, but your dad was once as shy and uncertain as you are. He didnt have a clue of what he wanted. He finally got up the confidence to take a job with a major company, but he still doesnt sing nearly as much as I ever wanted him to. Our family name isnt all that people think it is, and its certainly not what makes you the person that you are. Youre just Archer... our sweet, unsure son. Youre only sixteen. You still have time to make these choices, and to figure things out. The world is new to you. It is big, but I have no doubt that you can conquer it exactly the way that you want to."

Archer sniffled, throwing his arms around his slender neck, "I love you, Pére." His pére held him against his soft body, where Archer buried his head and wept violently, finally feeling like he could do anything, except love Hunter.