Thanks for the comment Actor87! (I wanted to PM you earlier, but will do that soon). As far as how many parts are in the story, I have no clue. I know where I want to go, and a basic estimate is around 15-20 parts. I started to write my next ATWT story, so when it comes time to put that up, I'll have a set number of parts for it.

Until then, here's part five in the current saga. It was going to be much longer, but I cut the actual Luke and Kevin confrontation out and decided to make that part six all by itself. Anyways, here goes...

AS THE WORLD TURNS

"The Luke and Kevin Story" part 5

Holden and Lily got home just after Luke and the girls came in from riding their bikes. "I promised the girls a horseback riding lesson for today," Holden said.

"Oh yeah," Luke said, "they've been reminding me all day long. I think you better get them over there before they contact the Coast Guard!" He seemed to be in a happier mood this time around. Holden liked that and returned his smile, going up the stairs.

"I think I'll go feed my cravings," Lily quietly commented as soon as Holden left the room. She didn't want a repeat of the scene from the previous night.

"No, Mom, wait," Luke said, stopping her from going to the kitchen. "Look, I'm...I'm sorry for how I acted with you last night."

Lily looked at him and knew he was being real. She didn't want him to feel guilty for her. "It's okay, Luke, it's all okay."

"No, it's not okay," he said, turning away from her. "You've been trying hard to live with who I am and to accept me and I make it harder by always giving you an attitude. And on top of it all, you have a baby to worry about. You don't deserve that."

"And you don't deserve a mother who is too stubborn for her own good," Lily said, carefully approaching him from behind. "I mean, I'm glad that you can see where I'm coming from, but I think that we both need to be better understanding of each other."

Luke turned to face her. Lily gently rubbed his face. "I'm proud of you," she said. "I'm proud of the way you've handled all of the things in your life. You're my son, my first-born, and I love you with all of my heart."

"I love you, too," Luke said, and they hugged.

They broke apart, and with the most serious face ever, Lily looked into his eyes. "Luke, if you really love me, you'll let me go to the kitchen and get a nice big bowl of French vanilla ice cream."

"Of course!" Luke exclaimed, laughing.

"I may be your mother, but I'm still pregnant, and I really, really need to eat," she joked.

"All right, then, go on ahead. I think I'll pay a visit to Grandma's."

"Oh, I don't think that's such a good idea. She's hell-bent on restoring Worldwide to greatness, I don't think she'll even notice you're in the room."

"Actually, she invited me. She wanted to spend some time with me. We haven't had any good quality time together in a few weeks and I've missed her."

"Good, then. It's always important to keep your friends and family close. I hope that you and I can rebuild what we had."

"I hope so too," Luke said. "Now go get that ice cream!"

Lily scurried out to the kitchen, leaving Luke alone to think about what he was going to say to Kevin. He didn't want to seem as if he'd been in love with him for years and years, even though that was truth. He knew that if he acted naturally, he might come across as an obsessed, stalker-type. He also wanted to let Kevin know that there was in fact love between them. He didn't want to miss the chance to have exactly what he wanted.

~~~~~~~~~

"Where exactly are you going?" Mr. Davis asked his teenaged son as he grabbed his car keys and headed for the front door of their home.

"Out," he rudely said.

"I hope you're not going out with that Luke Snyder kid," Mr. Davis replied.

"What do you have against Luke?" Kevin asked.

"I told you over and over again that if it wasn't for that damned grandmother of his, we wouldn't have to live like we're in a third world country!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. I was laid off from Worldwide two days ago. Ever since that old bitch got cancer, I've been working my up to the top. I wasn't going to be a low-level assistant for long. But no, she came and ruined everything. She had no good reason to fire me and as soon as I can meet with my lawyer, I'm going to file a lawsuit so big - "

"No!" Kevin exclaimed. "You can't sue Luke's grandmother!"

"I can and I will, little boy!" the aggressive Mr. Davis yelled. He got up and started to intimidate Kevin. "You know, you're starting to act more and more like your mother, and I don't like it. You're running around here, cooking up and cleaning like some housewife."

"Is there something wrong with not wanting to starve to death and trying to make things look nice around here!?" Kevin yelled. Here it was, he thought. He's going to call me that name again, and it was going to hurt just as much as it did all of the other times he did it.

"All I know is that my son better not be a faggot, do you understand? Because if that's the case, you can walk out that door and don't come back. Your mother might like the idea, but I won't put up with it."

Kevin stormed out without saying anything. He wanted so desperately to get out of there. He wanted a better life for himself. He needed a change. But he knew that the second he moved out and went to live with his mother, that would be the end of it all. To begin with, if he lived with his mother, he wouldn't be able to attend Oakdale Latin with Luke and his friend. And of course, if he moved, it would be like telling his father "Yes, you're right, I'm gay." He couldn't deal with that.

The only thing that kept Kevin Davis going that afternoon was the thought of being alone with Luke. That was all he needed. That was all he wanted. To be alone with the guy that made everything wrong go away, the guy who would smile and be there. The guy who would never leave him.

~~~~~~~~~

When Luke walked into Lucinda's living room this time around, she was strutting around on her cordless phone. She saw him when he came in and motioned for him to sit down and take advantage of the pastries that she had on the coffee table. She continued to talk as if no one was in the room with her. Whatever she was talking about, she was in a rage. "Honey, you tell them that I want them to take their best shot! Low-level assistants have nothing on me! Don't they know that I can make all of their lives a miserable hell!? How dare they!"

Luke was cheering her on in his own subtle way.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she said to the phone. "Look, I have an important appointment right now to tend to. We'll speak more about this later. Oh, and if you didn't know, yes, I am pissed!" She put down the phone, ran a finger through her hair, sat down next to Luke, and put on a smile. "Hello, darling," she said.

"You know, you are amazing," he said. "Able to contend with things like that and then listen to me come here and whine and complain about everything."

"Oh, please, it's nothing. It's my job. Getting Worldwide out of the incredible MESS that those people put it in, that's my job. Helping you out, it's my job. Everything's my job in this world!"

Ah, Grandma, Luke thought.

"Now come on, come on, when is your gentleman caller coming over?" Lucinda enthusiastically inquired. "I had the guesthouse cleaned from top to bottom just so you would make a good impression on him. There's even a scent of jasmine in the air and tea and pastry on the coffee table."

"Thanks, but I think we're a little bit pass first impressions."

"That's not true, my dear! I know, when you've known someone for a long time, and then you find out something brand new about them, it changes everything. Your mother, when she found out that she was adopted, she was furious with me. We had to start all over again. I have no doubt that you and your friend will start all over again and head off in the right direction."

"You know," Luke began, with a dreamy look in his eyes, "I've dreamed the same scenario every night for so long. Just the two of us together, by ourselves. Grandma, I know that maybe he's not the right one for me, but I just need to find out. I need to have that experience. I mean, I've been gay all my life, but I don't know anything about having a boyfriend. This is all still so new to me."

"Just hang in there, kid, you'll be okay. Now, go, go! Get yourself down to the guesthouse, and pretend to be asleep. He'll come in and find you there, all sprawled out on the couch. Lord knows what he would do!"

"Grandma, we're not going to get that far," Luke said, smiling at the very thought of it. "We're just going to talk about things and sort this whole thing out. He's probably going to apologize for leading me on, he'll leave, and that'll be the end of that. I'll never be able to face him again."

"Honey, you have to get some confidence. Now, you have to prepared if this young man happens to be really in to you! I mean, you're good-looking, you have a good personality. You give the best kisses on the cheek. What more could he want?"

Luke stood up and started to walk around. "It doesn't matter. If Kevin's straight, then that means no matter how good I am to him, he'll never be interested in me."

"For God's sakes, you'll never know until you confront him face to face. Now go, so I can try to prevent my company from being the laughing stock on America. Go."

"All right. Goodbye, Grandma. Thank you so much for everything," Luke said, giving her a hug. He felt that he was giving too many hugs lately. Would seeing Kevin end up in another, more sensual hug? He could only hope so, but even if it did turn out like that, he'd be confused beyond belief. Nevertheless, like coming out, this was something he had to do.

TO BE CONTINUED...