In Season 2, Brandon works at the Beach Club, and Dylan is there most days. One night, after everyone else has gone home, their friendship becomes something more.
By fall, Brandon is dating Emily Valentine and Dylan is with Brenda. The four of them go on double dates. Afterward, Brandon and Dylan meet in private, in Dylan's hotel suite or parked in the Porsche on a dark street.
The pressure keeps building. Emily's behavior draws attention to Brandon. Jim Walsh does not trust Dylan. Then Dylan's father is arrested, and his world falls apart.
Brandon cannot risk being found out. They end it quietly and tell no one.
At the end of the season, Dylan and Brenda plan to run away to Mexico together. Brandon watches them go and says nothing. He is the only one who knows why it hurts.
This is a storyline that never aired. In 1991, it could not have been written, because mainstream audiences would not have accepted it. That is the reality.
And so I am writing it today.
Part of the Ken Doll Gay Neighborhood series. Digital collage.