Author's note:

I've had this done for forever, but didn't even think to put it up here. Sorry. Elizabeth's story and Phillip's story do coincide eventually, but first I have to establish their separate lives. The prologues were done in first person because...well, I just like first person, okay? 3 For now, 3rd person and alternating chapters. enjoy!

He looks down at the other boy, decision in his eyes. His mouth opens, and before the other can think if filling it with his tongue or some equally perverted thing, syllables come tumbling out. "Jounichirou."

"Jo-what?" Philip asks unintelligently. Looking up from Johnny's lap, where his head is resting at the moment, he sees a shy smile slide across his boyfriend's features.

"Remember? The day we started going out, you asked me about my real name. It's Takeda Jounichirou."

"Jo-uuu-chi-" Philip stumbles over the foreign sounds. He shakes his head and complains, "Man, that's way too many syllables. No wonder everyone calls you Johnny."

"Yeah. My little league coach started it. He was probably just disgusted by how non-American my name was, and bastardized it." The other watches a sigh drip from his boyfriend's lips, and wonder just how long he's been holding it in. And suddenly, it hits him.

"AWW! You remember the day we started dating," Phillip coos and snuggles closer to him on the park bench. He chuckles as Johnny's face turns a deep crimson. It had only been a week, but Phillip still found it adorable.

Johnny taps his coffee cup with a nervous finger as he looks away. "You know, you're really good at ignoring serious moments, Phil."

"It's my special skill, Jounichirou," Phillip mumbles, distracted by the cup of cappuccino in the folded hands. The bit of foam kinda looks like a bunny. With big floppy ears. Suddenly, the boy with onyx hair smiles down at the blonde. Mildly frightened, he asks, "Whaaaat?"

Johnny smiles and reaches over to grab his hand and Phillip lets him. "Thanks," he whispers as he leans down and the other angles his face upwards and they kiss. It's a short kiss, just gratitude expressed in a sweet manner. After they seperate, Johnny head nervously turns this way and that, looking for spies.

Trying to ignore the agitation settling in his stomach, watching his boyfriend search anxiously for any witnesses, Phillip sits up. He plasters a convincing smile on his face and says, "C'mon. We're going to be late for biology." He doesn't reach back for Johnny's hand, not wanting that disappointment that always comes when Johnny spots someone else walking down the same path and drops his grip. iWhy does he do that? What is he afraid of?/i he thinks furiously. Looking up, he freezes as a person comes around the bend in the path, previously hidden by prominent holly bushes. iOr, probably who.../i

"Phillip!" comes the eager shout. Flinching at the sound of the voice, Phillip is frozen to the spot by sheer fear and despair. "Honey," a flash of brown hair and hugging arms greets.

"Ashley. Hi," Phillip speaks lowly, controling his revulsion to the situation.

"Why haven't you called me lately?" she whines, stepping back. Her face is deceptively sweet looking, heart shaped and expressive. Eyes the color of the sky implore him, lips stained pink pout. "You're just about the worst boyfriend ever, you know that?!"

"Sorry-wait what?!" Phillip's eyes jump between Ashley's puppy dog eyes, and Johnny's face, full of disbelief, and something worse. He looks hurt. "When did I-"

"A couple of days ago, don't tell me you've forgotten!" Phillip imagines for a second that she's holding back a triumphant smile. She can't have guessed their relationship. It had to be his imagination. "When we were walking to class together."

"Oh. Ooooohhh," Phillip cooed. "I remember." And he did. It was right after a particularily wonderful bit of 'alone time' with Johnny. Phillip was barely paying attention to things around him as he left for class. He remembers seeing Ashley along the way, or rather smelling her obnoxous perfume, which was strong enough to bring him back to reality enough to mumble a few assents to her babbling speech. "See here's the thing-" As the blond began his explanation, he realized that Johnny was leaving. "Johnny, hold on!" Phillip followed his first instinct, following Johnny abrupt pace. Ashley was left alone on the path, confused as to why her boyfriend had just walked away with her cousin.

"Phillip, if you wanted to date her," Johnny said lowly when his previously thought boyfriend caught up with him, "why did you come over that day?"

Grasping handfuls of his own hair, Phillip seethed, "I idon't!/i I think I must've agreed to it when I wasn't really listening to her! She talks about such stupid stuff most of the time, I kinda just nod here and there and ignore her."

Johnny glared at him, then averted his eyes. Phillip felt something in him twist as he caught sight of a glimmer of dampness on Johnny's cheek. "I know you lose focus on things really easily, but you expect me to believe you unknowingly agreed to date the person who...to date her?!" His sudden change in sentence direction alerted Phillip to his lover's anger.

"Wait, Johnny, what were you about to say?" When Johnny ignored his question and just kept walking, Phillip's patience snapped. He reached out and grabbed Johnny's arm, intending to make him pause long enough to face him. "Stop for a second, all right?!" Johnny did stop, but refused to look at him. "I understand that you're angry. But I can't quite grip why. Why does it piss you off so much to think I left you for her?"

Johnny ripped his arm away, using it to block his face. "Look, I...I'm just too angry to talk about this right now." He turned sharply to the left, cutting across the dying grass.

"What about class?" Phillip called after him.

"Fuck class. I'll see you after," Johnny mumbled, his back receding farther away from Phillip's vision.

----

"So wait, wait, wait," Lilly emphasized her confusion with hands waving lazily. "Johnny's pissed because of something that Ashley said?" She and Phillip had connected when they had been in some class together. Now they occasionally shared lunch together. Since Johnny had stormed away, Phillip hadn't seen him.

"Yeah, but he knows she's full of shit like 99.9 per cent of the time. So why did he believe her this time?"

"Well, you said so yourself," Lilly said serenely, her dark green eyes seeming bored, "you did actually agree to-"

"Oh God, don't even say it!" Phillip shouted, throuwing his face into his crossed arms. It horrified him to even think of himself as her boyfriend. "Just...no. Just fucking no."

She didn't chuckle or laugh. It wasn't her style. Her shoulder length red hair was pulled into a high ponytail, short bangs bouncing on her forehead as she nodded in agreement. "So your cat's out of the bag, not that you knew the bag even had hold of the cat, but still. And Johnny's feathers have been ruffled pretty badly. So what are you going to do about this?"

Holding up a finger dramatically, Phillip opened his mouth and let out a loud, "I...don't know."

Reaching over and patting his head condescendingly, Lilly stood up. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just go and break up with Ashley then go talk to Johnny. Sitting here feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to-" she stopped in the middle of her sentence, then walked around the table determinedly. "Ashley, I have some bad news." Phillip jumped to his feet, spinning around in time to see the honeyed smile drip off of the brunnet's face. "He's gay."

----

Exhausted, Phillip slumped on the ratty couch that took up most of the room in the shared living space of his and Zach's apartment. All of a sudden Zach burst from his room with a look of pure bliss on his face and not a thread of fabric on his torso. "Hey Zach," Phil mumbled.

"B'aw what's the matter with my favorite roomy?" Zach asked good naturedly.

Glaring at him, Phillip practically seethed "Y'know I think you're a little too cheery for me right now."

"Hey, I didn't mean to tick you off or anything. I'm just...I dunno." Crossing his toned arms behind his head leaning back on the cushions, the athelete smiled and closed his eyes. "I feel happier than I've been in a long time."

Being unable to stand it anymore Phillip stood jerkily. "I'm gonna go see if Johnny's still willing to talk to me." Going towards the door, it suddenly flew open, with the aforementioned young man standing in the doorway.

"What the hell did you tell her?!" he demanded.

Phillip froze on the spot, fear and anxiety taking over. "I didn't! Lilly just went and told her I was gay, and I tried to talk to her but she just ran off-"

"Yeah, off to tell my parents!" Johnny shouted.

"Johnny!" Zach shouted suddenly. Startled, the boy looks over at him. "You're not listening to him. Shut up for a second and hear him out," the taller student demanded.

Saying nothing, Johnny crosses his arms and fixes Phillip with an expectant glare. Taking a deep breath, the blonde began speaking softly, but with confidence. "Johnny, I understand that you're upset, but I don't want to be yelled at by the person that I care about." Stepping forward, Phillip reached out. "I'm sorry this has happened, I really am, but can't you tell me exactly why you're so pissed when you thought I was leaving you for her? You know I don't even like being around her."

"Because-" Johnny blurted, catching himself before his voice rose too loud. "Because she's ruined every relationship I've ever had. Some even before the relationship began. I just hoped that since you seemed like you weren't interested in her, it wouldn't happen again. Then she's all over you and you're flustered, like you were guilty or-" Johnny sighed, frustration oozing from him, evident in the way he fisted his hands at his sides.

Understanding now, Phillip walked toward him. Sensing that he was no longer needed, Zach retreated silently to his room, to let them finish talking things out. Closing his door behind him, Zach landed unceremoniously on his bed, waking the slumbering boy under the covers. "Mm, Zach?" Leonard mumbled.

"Good morning," the brunnet greeted, giving his lover a lingering kiss.

"Was someone shouting earlier? I thought I heard something, but thought it might have been a dream or somethin'," Leonard queried sleepily.

"Yeah, but it's alright. Phillip and Johnny are sorting some things out." Zach busied himself threading his fingers through Leonard's light brown hair, pulling the long strands away from his neck, fanning them out on the rumpled pillow.

"Oh. Okay," Leonard responded, having no clue who either person was. "Wait, isn't Phillip your roommate?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about them," Zach muttered, lips leaving a trail of sensation along the skin of Leonard's throat.

"Zach, I do have to go back to my school eventually, you know that, right? Neither of us should skip class for long." Leonard said lowly, trying to ignore the goosebumps Zach was giving him.

"Let's not talk about school yet, alright?" Zach insisted, rolling over to slip under the blankets with him. "Let's just make up for lost time, please Leonard?"

----

Okay, so that last little bit was really just fluff that I had to put in from another story of mine, my OTP. Love those two. ^.^