The next two weeks flew by, taking us into May. Everything was perfect. George and I were doing great, and it felt normal. We decided to not say anything except to Nick of course, just for our own privacy. Nick's mom knew as well, and she was very excited for the both of us.

School was normal, the regular classes and fun discussions at lunch never stopped. The three of us hung out at Nick's house on weekends and Fridays, Nick cracking dumb jokes about George and I every chance he got. Neither of us minded, and we always laughed along.

George kept drawing the same smile on my hand whenever it faded away. His delicate hand holding onto my palm as he scribbled the simple design down. We agreed that once we turned 18 we would both get it tattooed. I only agreed to it since he would do it with me.

One day it was raining and George had "accidentally" forgotten to take a hoodie to school. I knew he just wanted mine, but I didn't mind. I took it off and handed it to him at lunch and his face lit up. It was a couple sizes too big for the petite boy but it was cute. I wouldn't be getting that back anytime soon.

Having to refrain myself from kissing him or even touching him an excessive amount at school was difficult, and I found myself making an effort to even touch his hand slightly. Whether it be our fingers brushing past each other while walking or just poking him out of nowhere. I stole a few pecks in the bathroom at school, just because I couldn't help myself.

Life was getting better. I wasn't at home much and my mom even stopped drinking as much, although there were still occasions when she was absolutely wasted on the couch, but it was understandable. Especially after such a long period of time when she was addicted. My dad remained the same, still the asshole that he was. I got a few slaps here and there but nothing too bad. I tried to cross our paths as little as possible.

It was a beautiful Friday, and the three of us had been eating lunch. The sun coming in through the tall windows next to our table made all of us squint. George and I had matched accidentally, both wearing a blue shirt with black shorts, although mine was plain and his had a random logo on it. Of course, the matching bracelets George had made us as well. We had noticed the outfits as I picked him up, a smile spreading across both of our faces instantly. We decided that we had been on the same 'wavelength' and carried on.

Nick on the other hand was wearing a white adidas t-shirt and black shorts, along with a black baseball hat that he had been yelled at to take it off at least three times. He took it off temporarily and right after the class he rested it on his head yet again.

"I need to go to the bathroom. Don't let anyone steal my backpack, there's valuable stuff in there." Nick said, pointing to his backpack slumped against the chair and walking away, phone in hand.

"I wouldn't consider a shit load of Gatorade to be 'valuable'." I made air quotations with my fingers and looked over to George, who smiled with a mouthful of pasta, probably leftovers from his dinner the night before.

"Me either. Wanna grab me one?" He covered his mouth with the back of his hand as he finished chewing, nodding his head in the direction of Nick's backpack.

I reached down and unzipped the main pocket, reaching in and grabbing two bottles, both blue. I slid one to George and kept the other in front of me before zipping the bag back up.

"Thanks. You're still good to come over after school right?" He unscrewed the cap almost all the way before flicking it off at me, hitting my chest and landing back on the table.

"Nice shot. Yes i'm good to come over." I unscrewed my own bottle and took a long sip, chugging half of it. George and I didn't get much alone time, and Nick needed a break from us anyway, so we decided today would be a good day to hangout at George's.

"I think I wanna tell my parents today. Like about us." He stabbed his fork into a few pieces of pasta and brought them to his mouth while I almost choked on my drink. "Is that alright?" He added.

"Yea," I began, coughing a few times, "how do you think they'll react?"

"I'm sure they'll love it. They probably suspect it already anyway."

Nick walked back into the cafeteria, eyes glued to his phone. He almost ran into someone, but they were able to dodge just in time.

"Hey you stole my Gatorades! Give them back." He tried to snatch George's from in front of him but missed as George held it with an extended arm.

"We already drank from them. Unless you want our backwash I don't think you'd want them. Plus you have like 3 more in there." I laughed as Nick sat back down.

I wiped my hands on my shorts after taking the final bite of my sandwich. I had to admit I was a little nervous to tell George's parents, even though they would most likely be very supportive. George seemed to notice my uneasiness as the bell rung and everyone stood up to leave.

"Are you sure you're alright with it? I won't do it if it makes you uncomfortable I promise." His pinky wrapped around mine briefly as we walked behind the crowd heading towards the cafeteria doors.

The little gesture made my heart flutter, and my face heated up a bit. "I'm ok with it, I promise."

—

We arrived at George's house after dropping Nick off first. Simba greeted us at the door, nuzzling his head against our legs.

"Hey buddy." George said in a quiet tone, kneeling down to scratch behind the cats ears a few times. I dropped my backpack on the ground next to my shoes and followed George up the stairs.

He flopped onto his bed and extended his arms, inviting me to join him. I smiled and happily accepted, letting his arms wrap around me and my head rested on his chest. His hand ran through my hair. I lifted my head up and kissed him, letting him lead the movements of our lips.

We pulled away as we heard the door from the garage open.

"George i'm home!" His mom called from downstairs.

"Hi mom! Clay is here." He called back, opening his bedroom door and motioning for me to follow. I stood and pulled my shirt down a bit, following him to the bathroom. "I need a cute background for my phone. I saw yours so I need one now." He whispered, closing the bathroom door. "Get behind me."

I stood behind him as he pulled his phone out and swiped to the camera. "There's gonna be flash so put your head down a bit." He flipped it so that the camera was facing the mirror in front of us and bent his arm to take the picture.

I let my head rest on his as I looked through the phone with him. My right arm went under his bent arm and rested on his hip. He tensed up slightly as my hand slid to the front and stopped on his hip bone. He took the picture, the flash blinding me at first.

"Thank you. Look how cute that is." He said, holding the phone up to me. I nodded and smiled, watching over his shoulder as he turned the picture to black and white and set it as his lock screen. I followed him out of the bathroom and down the stairs to greet his mom, who had been putting groceries away.

"Oh hello boys. How are you Clay?" She asked, looking up briefly from the bags on the floor.

"I'm good, how are you?" I let my body lean against the cold marble counter as she dug through the brown paper bags and set the groceries on the center island.

"I'm good thank you." She responded. Her facial expression lit up as she reached her hand in the bag. "Oh right, look what I got for you guys!" She held a bright box of cookies with Easter bunnies on them. Nick and I always used to get excited whenever his mom bought us the Halloween ones from the store.

We always ate them all quickly, having to deal with the scolding from his mother afterwards. The cookies seemed to be a highlight in the weeks leading up to a holiday for kids. Except Easter was a few weeks ago, yet the cookies were still exciting.

"They were on sale!" She exclaimed, placing them on the counter. "You guys can make them after dinner, which of course you do not have to stay for if you don't want to, Clay."

"I would love to stay." I said back, earning a bright and happy smile from George. I noticed a hair on the back of his head sticking up, and it bounced when he walked over to help his mom with the groceries.

"When will dad be home?" George asked, placing a bottle of orange juice into the refrigerator.

"Should be any minute now." She handed George a bottle of coffee creamer to put in the fridge as well. I walked over to help, but was stopped by her palm. "It's ok honey. You don't need to help." I tried to protest but was shut down immediately, sending me back to the counter where I stood beside earlier.

Simba mewled at my feet, looking up at me. I bent down and scooped him up, holding him against my chest. Light purrs were the only noise in the room besides the shuffling of groceries being put away.

The door from the garage then opened, revealing George's dad in his suit. The nerves started to settle in as George turned to me and gave me a nod. Simba licked my chin, startling me. I put him down as George made his way over to me.

"Hey um," He began, itching the back of his head, "can I tell you guys something?" His parents attention immediately shifted towards us, a look of concern across both of their faces.

"Sure honey, go ahead." His mom said back, placing coffee filters on the counter next to her.

A moment of hesitation filled the room, George swallowing hard before opening his mouth to speak. "Well um, Clay and I, we're- we're um,"

"Dating." I finished the sentence for him. He gave me a quick smile before turning to see the reactions of his parents.

"I knew it!" His mom exclaimed, making her way towards us, arms extended out. She pulled us in by the shoulders, and I let myself hug back. George couldn't stop smiling.

His dad also made his way over, a smile plastered onto his face as well. He hugged George and stuck his hand out for a handshake. I grinned and shook his hand with a firm grasp. George's mom hugged George tight behind us, swaying back and forth.

"I'm so proud of you boys. Thank you for telling us, really. If you need anything please don't be afraid to ask." She said, smoothing George's hair out.

"Thanks mom, and dad." George said back, wrapping his arms around my waist. I hugged back, resting my chin on his head. My heart was full.

The smile never left our faces as we continued on with our day.

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