Skylar offered Alex's mom a soft smile when she put a plate in front of him. His attention didn't stay on her for long before he heard Alex's dad speak again. "Although the pay is nice, I love horses sir." Skylar spoke, swallowing thickly after. Sky wanted to visually react to the type of questions Alex's dad was asking, but he couldn't. Biting his tongue, he looked down at the food on his plate. He didn't know when it got there, but it was there. Grabbing his fork, he took a bite, glancing over at Alex.

Alex chewed at the inside of his cheek as he listened to his father's subtle interrogation of Skylar's character. He could practically hear the silent questions his father was asking. When he heard Skylar's answer, he smiled faintly and then let his gaze shift over to his mom when she spoke. "They are magnificent creatures." She agreed with a nod. Honestly, Alex was pretty sure he'd gotten his love of horses from his mom. Before moving here in middle school, they'd lived with his grandparents on the large family ranch that they owned. It was there that he'd learned how to ride, to take care of horses, and to work on a working ranch. But most importantly, it's where he'd learned how to show jump. He'd fallen in love with it when his grandmother had taken him to go see a competition, and after that, he hadn't been able to keep his mind on anything else. He took another bite of his food as he recalled his grandparents, the ranch, and the horses that lived there. If his father hadn't had a falling out with his mother's parents, they'd likely still be there, and although he didn't know what had happened, he knew it had been bad enough for his father to pack up the family and move without much notice. Even now, despite how much time had passed, he wasn't allowed to speak with his grandparents. "If you love horses, you must ride then?" His mother's voice cut through his memory and returned him to the present. Alex found himself smiling faintly and nodding. "He does." He interjected and glanced toward Skylar. "He's good at it, too." He added with a nod as he turned his gaze back to his mother.

Skylar kept eating his food while he could. When he heard the next question, this time his mother asking, he quickly swallowed his food. As he opened his mouth, he was cut off by Alex answering for him. He appreciated it, since he couldn't really speak all too well. Chuckling softly at Alex's praise, he threw a glance at him. "Oh, shush." Skylar said quietly, his cheeks getting slightly red. He couldn't help it. Looking down at his food, he poked at it nervously before taking another bite. Sky wanted to kiss him again, but of course, he couldn't. Getting lost in the lasagna, he ended up finishing his food pretty fast. "That was amazing." Sky said softly, looking over at Alex's mom. He wanted to apologize for eating so quickly, but he didn't want to test his luck. He threw another look at Alex, this time his gaze lingering. A small smile rested on his lips as he leaned back in his chair.

Alex's mom raised a brow in interest when Alex spoke. "Oh? You must be quite skilled if Alex is vouching for you." She said with a soft laugh. Alex gave a nod and then glanced at Skylar when he heard him. "What? You are." He said with a nod. He meant it to, though Skylar might not have entered any competitions, and although he likely only rode because he enjoyed it, he was good. A small laugh escaped him, a little of his tension easing at how well this dinner was going so far, when he noticed how quickly Skylar had finished his food. "I'm glad you liked it. If you're still hungry, you're welcome to help yourself to more." His mom said. Alex glanced towards his father, who had been so quiet. It was unlike him, and while anything unusual with his father normally raised red flags, he couldn't help but hope this time would be different. That maybe, this dinner would conclude without a hitch. "Alex used to ride all the time before we moved here. Won plenty of first-place ribbons in the show jumping competitions he entered." His mother continued.

Skylar shook his head softly at Alex's mom's offer. "It was good, but I'm full," Skylar said, chuckling softly. He threw another glance at Alex. He was looking at him quite a lot, perhaps for comfort, but he wasn't supposed to be looking this often. Sky couldn't help it, being drunk and so in love with the man sitting next to him. His attention turned to Alex's mom once again, which was probably for the better since he was staring at Alex. "Oh really?" Sky questioned before looking back at Alex. "Cute." Skylar then said quietly, immediately regretting it. Panic rose in his face, but he brushed it off, looking back at Alex's mom.

It had been embarrassing, hearing his mom talk about his time show jumping. Alex hadn't ever discussed it with Skylar before, mainly because he wasn't sure what he'd think of it. Despite the mild embarrassment he got, he couldn't stop the faintest of smiles from tugging at his lips when he looked over at Skylar and met his gaze. The smile didn't linger long, though; instead, it disappeared almost instantly when he heard Skylar call him cute. His heart stopped, breath caught, and he was pretty damn sure all the color drained from his face. Cute... a word that Skylar had used to describe him several times, and while he had loved hearing it before, he couldn't be more horrified than he was in that moment. At first, he thought it was his imagination, that this feeling of hell freezing over was simply him assuming his father would read into that instead of brushing it off, but it wasn't his imagination, and his father wasn't going to ignore it. "Cute? I'd suggest you watch what you say about my son... otherwise people might start getting the idea that that's the kind of boy he is." His father's voice was cold. He was saying more, a lot more. Alex could hear his voice, but the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears seemed to drown out what it was he was saying. Not that it mattered, he didn't need to hear exactly what his father was saying to know that he was making his hatred and disgust for homosexual people clear. Guest or no guest, his father wasn't one to keep from being or saying volatile shit when it came to talking about lgbtq people.

Skylar's head turned to Alex's father when he began to speak. Sky's brows furrowed almost immediately. "Excuse me? He is cute, and what if he is that kind of boy huh?" Sky asked, slightly raising his voice. His words were slightly slurred, but he didn't care after what he had just heard. Getting up, he slightly slammed his hands on the table. "Would you disown him for loving someone, even if they weren't YOUR preferred gender?" Sky asked again, his words laced with annoyance and anger. He raised his brows, expecting a response from the man. Sky couldn't believe what he said, but now he knew just what Alex had to deal with.

Alex felt as if his blood froze, his heart stilling as fear and horror took over. When he heard Skylar's voice, his blue eyes flew to him, and he quickly wanted to shake his head, to tell him not to say anything. But before he could even open his mouth, Sky was talking back, suggesting that he was the kind of boy that his father hated. His stomach flipped as tension, nervousness, and fear took hold. He felt like he was going to be sick. In fact, he was pretty fucking sure he was going to be sick. One look at his father told him he was beyond pissed. He couldn't recall a time he'd ever seen the man so... angry. His eyes were as cold as ice and yet held a raging fire of fury within them as he looked at Skylar. His silence was terrifying, and then he was moving to stand up, his lips drawn into a thin line. "If he were to have such vile and sinful tastes, then he would not be my son." His father snapped. "Alex." His voice was sharp, a blade that had Alex nearly jumping. "I've warned you against surrounding yourself with rot." He said and flicked a disgusted glance at Skylar. "Get your... friend out of this house. He is not welcome here." He said coldly, all but spitting the word friend as if it were poison on his tongue. Alex stiffened, remaining frozen in his seat until his father's gaze hardened, and he soon found himself quickly moving to stand up. "Skylar... I'll walk you home..." He said, his voice thick with tension.

Sky's mouth dropped after hearing such vile words from Alex's father. "You are a fucking terrible person." Skylar spat back at Alex's father, nearly stumbling over. Sky was beyond angry. He couldn't imagine Alex living with such a human. Alex's words flew right over Sky's head. "Terrible." Skylar managed as he stepped away from the dinner table slightly. Turning to Alex, he grabbed his face aggressively and kissed him. Quickly, he released his face and turned to look back at Alex's father. "How does that make you feel, huh?" Sky asked, anger in his tone. Raising his brows, he waited for his next response. Chuckling to himself, he shook his head. He couldn't believe Alex's dad. "So what if he's gay or I'm gay, or anybody else you know is gay. It shouldn't hurt or affect you." Sky said, scoffing.

Alex doubted that this situation could get any worse... His father was angrier than he had ever seen him before. His face was red with rage, furious at the fact that he'd shared a table with either a gay person or someone who sympathized with them. "Skylar..." He started, his tone almost pleading. He wanted to get him out of there before this situation escalated, but before he could respond, he found his face being aggressively grabbed, pulled in, and then he was being kissed. His eyes widened and his face paled. What the fuck... what the actual fuck. He was horrified, no, he was beyond mortified. Just as quickly as he'd been kissed, he was let go, and Skylar was turning back to his father. This wasn't how tonight was supposed to go... none of this was supposed to happen. All he'd wanted was for Skylar to meet his parents... and for his parents to meet Skylar. His chest tightened, his lungs burning for air he found himself unable to get enough of. The world seemed to be spinning, spiraling out of control, and yet both Skylar and his father were in clear focus. He couldn't take his eyes off of them, couldn't move to try and pull Skylar away. He was frozen, on the verge of a panic attack, terrified, and unable to do anything about it. And when his dad turned to him after hearing what Skylar said, Alex straightened. He could see his mother standing, moving to try to calm the situation, but his attention was solely on his father. "Is that right? Are you part of the filth, Alex?" He said his voice was cold. "Are you part of the fucking rot eating away at this country?" He questioned. For a heartbeat, Alex was frozen, and time seemed to slow. Despite himself, he found his gaze flicking to Skylar, and then he was shaking his head, taking a step back. "N-no..." He said, hastily and panicked.

`

"Alex." His mother's voice cut in, breaking through the storm just long enough to pull his gaze. "Take your friend home. We'll talk more when you get back." She said, and Alex found himself giving a nod. Swallowing thickly, he looked at Skylar. "Lets go..." He said, silently begging him not to say anything more.