124 - Relationship with Kieron - spring summer 08

The day after he sleeps with Kieron, John Paul tells Kieron

 that he does not want to pursue a relationship with

 him, because

 he does not love him as much as he

 loved Craig 

Dean and the relationship is not worth the 

risk of being an

 outcast again. Kieron becomes angry that John Paul told him this after he broke his vow of

celibacy and 

moves out of the McQueen

 household and into Niall Rafferty's flat.

After some time avoiding each

 other, John Paul and Kieron are forced to work together in the pub quiz at the Dog, during which Kieron saves John Paul

 from humiliation in front of the whole Pub. John Paul talks with Kris.

 After some stern advice, John Paul finally confronts Kieron and tells him he cannot stop thinking about him. 

After an initial blunder, John Paul and Kieron come to an understanding of the

 relationship's special situation due to Kieron being a priest, and begin to see each other in secret.

In mid May 2008, John Paul and Kieron are 

nearly caught by Myra when petting in the McQueen residence. Despite this, Kieron later says that he is the happiest he has ever been with John Paul. Just days later, the couple go back to Niall's flat, believing that Niall would be out, only to be discovered by Steph and Niall. Steph and Nial agree to keep the relationship a secret, with Steph pointing to her earlier

 support for John Paul and Craig as proof of her trustworthiness.

John Paul tells Mercedes that he and the Priest have had sex. However, Kieron has overheard the conversation and abruptly ends the relationship. The next day John Paul tries to make amends for his actions but Kieron, though no longe

r angry, feels that he must choose between the Church and John Paul, and chooses the Church. 

Michaela overhears this conversation between John Paul and Kieron, and has tape-recorded it. She had been sent to Kieron's flat by Niall, who knew that she would find Kieron and John Paul talking there. She later sees Kieron talking to

 Kris and misconstrues this conversation as she thinks Kieron is cheating on John Paul with Kris. 

She wants to tell John Paul, but after he brushes her off, she writes an article for the Chester Herald on the Catholic Priest "two-timing" a teenage boy with a crosdressing bisexual. The following day, John Paul is sorry for snapping at Michaela and after he apologizes, she retracts the article. In the mean time, however, their other sister Mercedes - who

 thinks Kieron has been cheating on John Paul - calls him a

 hypocrite and hits him. John Paul, after hearing all that has happened, thinks he has lost Kieron, especially when Kieron shows up at the McQueens sporting a black eye given to him by Mercedes. Unexpectedly, though, Kieron tells John Paul that he is not angry, that John Paul means everything to him and that he loves John Paul more than he loves the Church, and that he is willing to take the risk.

John Paul and Kieron become an official romantic couple, and John Paul wants to tell his mother about their relationship. After drinking in some courage at SUBar, he

 heads home to tell her. But Myra confides in Father Kieron, still unaware of his relationship with her son, that she has

 given birth to a baby boy when she was 14 and given him up for adoption at birth by abandoning him at a Catholic church on the behest of her mother. Unbeknownst to anyone, this secret older McQueen brother is in fact Niall - who has been plotting to drive the McQueens apart and will use his knowledge of the secret relationship between Kieron and John Paul to separate John Paul from his family.

John Paul and Kieron meet outside the McQueen residence by chance, just after Myra's confession, and Kieron 

(unable to tell John Paul what Myra told him) convinces him that this is not the right moment to tell his mum about their relationship. A few weeks later, Niall convinces Myra to get the vows for Steph and Max's wedding, that Kieron 

"left" at home (Niall stole them from his jacket). Myra finds the vows next to a note from Kieron to John Paul. When John Paul enters Kieron's bedroom, fresh from the shower, she puts two and two together. Unable to speak to him, she rushes off to the

 church but John Paul follows her. In the middle of the wedding, unable to keep still any longer, 

Myra gets up, accuses Kieron of being a hypocrite and announces to the whole church that Kieron has been sleeping with her son. John Paul rushes home after his mum, trying to explain, while Kieron is in shock and does not know whether he can go on with the wedding. However, Kieron decides to finish the service after Steph, Max and O.B. ask 

him to. Myra tells John Paul that he is not her son if he carries on with Kieron; John Paul then leaves the McQueen house turning up at Kieron's (and Niall's) flat with bags.

After Tina gives birth to baby Max in dangerous circumstances, Niall convinces Kieron to leave Hollyoaks before he does any more damage to their family. He does temporarily, but returns a week later and is reunited with

 John Paul. Kieron then surrenders his position as a priest. At the naming ceremony for baby Max, Myra finally begins to warm to the idea of John Paul and Kieron's relationship, and invites Kieron to the party. An 

argument, however, between Mercedes and Russ over their divorce puts him in an uncomfortable position, and he leaves shortly afterwards.

John Paul, recognising the huge sacrifices Kieron has made to be with him, asks Kieron to marry him, and after a moment of surprise, Kieron accepts.