[Landon and Brandon (in that order)]

EIGHT:: when you discover his sexuality.

"Paul, we brought company!" I heard Landon yell as we made our way through the door of their apartment. He ran through flipping on switches until the place wasn't clothed in darkness.

And then I heard Paul's groggy voice, his shirtless body making it's way into the living room, his hair a mess as he rubbed at his eyes underneath a pair of black rectangular-rimmed glasses id never seen him in before.

And I swear, I'd never seen anything more attractive than Paul with bed head and crackly morning voice even though it wasn't even morning. And although, he didn't have a hint of a six-pack and he was slightly scrawny, his arms were a sight to see.

I watched as they flexed, him wiping the sleep from those deep brown eyes, "did you get me- Jules?"

The way my name rolled off his tongue and through his crooked smile, affected me in ways that weren't healthy. Hell, I'd just met the guy and my heart raced around him. My palms were sweating, I worried if my lips were chapped, and I suddenly wanted to fix my hair or readjust my soccer hoodie.

Was I too sporty? Should I have not worn this jacket? Did Paul want someone less... Like me?

Paul was a great guy, despite not being very athletic or inhumanly muscular. He was a piece of art, he was perfect regardless of his willowy stature and I couldn't help but stare. And his eyes, his eyes, although covered by a pair of glasses, were too fucking beautiful.

Paul ran a hand up to his hair, the disheveled mess still looking attractive as his small smile started to drop slowly. I watched as his hand came up to his glasses and then his eyes widened, ripping the frames off his face, red rising to his cheeks

Normally, Paul was extremely confident and he wasn't one to get embarrassed. But his ears tinted a light pink and he looked down at his glasses before sheepishly looking up at me, small flustered frown on his face, he looked human.

Hips, he knocked his hips to the side and nipped at his bottom lip — fuck, he's cute.

Did I just call him cute? Fuck, I called him cute.

"Yeah, man, we got it," Brandon broke the silence, tossing a pack of paintbrushes at Paul, we frozen in place. My gaze was still trying to memorize Paul's, "we got your boyfriend, too."

I felt the heat rising to my face.

A smile in the curly haired boy's voice and the confidence coming back to him, he cleared his throat, "he's not my boyfriend."

And things fell into a normal, Rilee somehow ending up with her legs tightened around Landon's waist as she tried to climb further up his back to grab the bra that she'd forced me to pick for her.

And even as the red-haired bottle of buzz was screaming like a banshee and more intelligent boy was trying pry her off his twin, all I could think about was the boyfriend comment.

Paul was older and creative and completely out of my league.

: : :

It was only around four-thirty later that day but soccer practice was at around seven. I was hanging around Paul's place with his friends and although we'd smiled and greeted each other, Paul and I had barely talked. He gave no indication of whether he was gay or straight or anything.

My palms were clammy, my calves were burning from the amount of times I'd ended up pacing across the floor. I'd been trying to work up the courage to go ask Paul if he had a girlfriend but the fear was preventing me. He was a great guy, why wouldn't he be in a relationship with some hot chick who I couldn't compete with because she's a girl?

My mind kept straying to the possibility of him being straight and I didn't want to believe it but... He didn't show signs of being gay or anything.

But then again, neither did I and look how that turned out.

It wasn't until Brandon made his way into the room, telling me to stop walking around too much. And then as he sat on the couch with a bowl of Frosted Flakes and turned on a pre-recorded Michigan State basketball game, mumbling something about me being 'an annoying man-slut', I found myself on the couch with him.

Brandon and I had brief encounters in the past and from that I could tell that he was the only one who wouldn't tell Paul about my little 'crush' on him. Not that I liked him that much anyways, I just found him attractive.

Really attractive.

And as the last quarter rounded, my jitters were back.

"Dude what's up with you?" Brandon was sipping on a beer despite the fact that he was nineteen and legally, it was illegal. Pausing the game, he turned his gaze toward me, the remote hanging loosely from his hand as he watched my lip being tugged into my mouth.

He wasn't even checking me out, just observing and that made me feel even more anxious, "Can I ask you a question without you being a judgmental prick? It's kind of personal..."

He sighed, lips pulled into a smirk as he laid his hunched body back in the couch cushion, arms spread out as he sat comfortable, "Lemme guess, it's Paul, right?"

My eyes were wide, "how'd you know I was gonna-"

That made him laugh, "you're easy to read. I can tell by your confused look whenever he hits on you and the way you nervously played with your ring when you were asking." I watched as Brandon shrugged, "Besides, it happens to a lot of guys we bring here, he's like a homo-magnet."

Stuttering out a reply, I found myself going to the old response, the one that used to be reserved for Calum when he caught me staring at his abs, "I-I'm not-"

Brandon rolled his eyes, "Are you seriously trying to go in the closet right now?"

"Fine, I'm gay..." He raised an eyebrow and I knew that he'd already known but it wasn't so bad to admit it anymore, "but, I don't like him. I've had enough bad experiences with guys who aren't attracted to me."

"Who said he's not attracted to you?"

He was even more aloof than Paul, a revelation that had me vexed.

I was frustrated, my mind in a mess as my hands rubbed over my freckled face, "I mean you hinted at it..."

He rolled his eyes with a sigh, turning to face me completely and looking at me as if I were stupid, "Listen, Paul doesn't like labels or the double standards that link with sexuality so technically he is gay but he'll never say it unless asked. And no, that's not because he's embarrassed, he just finds it stupid to actually have to come out."

I was confused for a second at how normal he was about things like this, "are you gay?"

"I mean, yeah? Cause it's like a spectrum?"

Brandon shrugged, sipping from his beer as if it was a question he'd got often, "I'm attracted to people, you know? I don't mind guys and if I really liked someone, I'd be with them regardless of their gender but I'm into this girl..."

I heard a snort from the kitchen, his twin's voice carrying, "Who goes by the name of-"

"Do you want to loose all of your teeth?"

Landon laughed at the hostility in Brandon's voice and how quick his mood changed, "don't be jelly because I'm in a commited relationship and you're not."

"Lanny, for the last time, Beyoncé is married!"

: : :

"Hey Jules."

I'd gotten all the way to his room, walked in, and at the sight of him, I lost my train of thought. He concentrated, sitting on his bed and trying to open his packet of brushes with his teeth, pouting when it didn't budge before he found a pair of scissors.

Landon just so happened to be running past the room, Rilee in tow as he started singing loudly, "Hey Juuuude-"

The ginger, seemingly annoyed with him, was trying to catch up, "Shut up, Lanny! Not everything is a fucking Beatles reference!"

She must've still been mad about her bra.

Taking a seat beside Paul on his bed, I watched as he organized his new brushes in a box from smallest to largest.

His tongue was slightly sticking out the corner of his mouth, him seemingly lost in a trance when he spoke. His voice velvety and lost in what he was doing but he still asked, "you changed your hair?"

"You noticed?"

It wasn't even that different, just a little trim.

"I notice a lot of things."

I watched Paul's calculating eyes as he placed the last brush, locking his case before looking up at me. And then he was sending me a smile, my mouth screwed shut in fear I'd say something I didn't need to say.

Somehow I'd ended up closer to him, his oversized sweater falling off his shoulder before he'd adjusted it. His protruding collarbones on show for only a second and this older boy had managed to look innocent. Innocent until I'd seen the hickey right on the part where his shoulder met his neck.

I licked my lips, resisting the urge to lean over and kiss him, my eyes navigating their way around his room instead of the memory of his hickey, paired with his slightly disheveled hair, looked like he'd had a rough night.

Paul tried to make conversation, "your bruises are fading."

"I could say the same for yours," I didn't mean for it to come out so hostile but, to be honest, I was a little jealous. My bottom lip becoming latched in my teeth prevented me from apologizing.

He chuckled.

And something in me was curious. Paul didn't seem like the type to sleep around. My eyes were bashfully focused on my hands as I cleared my throat, my mouth opening and closing before I was able to register what exactly I wanted to ask, "Boyfriend?"

"Just a friend of a friend, ya know, one time hook up."

I nodded my head, my heart sinking at the fact that he was exactly the type that slept around and he could get guys older and more creative and I was still in high school.

Stop it.

I wasn't prepared for his hand coming up to lift my chin lightly, his eyes were on mine as he tried to figure out what had me in a mood. He licked his lips, the fullness of them distracting me as he started to talk softly and comfortingly, "hey, what's wrong? Did that guy say something again or-"

"Fuck it," and then my lips were on his, it was a soft barely-there kiss. Paul hadn't reacted as my lips were pressed against his and I dreaded the moment I'd have to pull away.

If he wasn't interested and I had to face rejection yet again, I didn't know what would happen and i didn't want to find out.

When he hadn't responded for what felt like forever, I pulled away muttering incoherent apologies, his hands in the air where my chin had once been.

"I-I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to-" turning, I awkwardly started to stand up from his bed, not registering the look in his eyes or the embarrassment that was slowly creeping up my neck, "maybe I should go-"

And then he was shaking his head as I felt his hand on my shoulder, the other on the back on my neck, playing with the hem and bringing me towards him again. He led sitting on his knees, lips pressed against mine of his own accord and hands sliding from my neck to my shoulders as I ignored the door being wide open. Somehow, I'd pushed him back on his bed, hovering over, his head falling to rest on the crisp-white pillow behind him.

I didn't know what I was doing but somehow, I'd gained control, my lips fighting against his, tongue dipping to swipe across his bottom lip and hands fumbling with the hem of his shirt. He was slow with his movements opposing my hurried actions as he studied me like he'd studied art.

His hands were gentle, slowing my movements as he pushed his fingers in my hair, lips caressing mine and tongues battling as he tried to regain his control. It wasn't my first kiss with a guy but it was certainly better than I'd expected; Paul was skilled and he knew exactly how to keep himself in line. He was extra courteous and his hands didn't roam any further than needed, in fear that I'd be scared off. He wasn't rushed, he wasn't focused on himself but focused on making it worth something.

My head was pounding, my stomach in knots; the only thing I could register was the softness of his lips and the slight pulling of my hair that had my hands clasping onto his body for support. His teeth slightly bit my bottom lip as he repositioned himself, still taking it slow as if he were savoring it.

And then his shirt was on the floor and my hands were roaming across the plains of his chest and the v-lines that were slightly prominent. I was stuck at what to do next, I wasn't ready for any of that.

I wasn't ready and it took everything in me not to panic at the mess I made.

Paul was laughing breathlessly, resurfacing from the kiss, hands coming to grab mine before I got further than intended, "Whoa, slow down, you haven't even bought me dinner yet."

That caused me to laugh, collapsing beside him on his bed, he was understanding and he was careful.

My breathing was heavy, my eyes wide as I stared at his ceiling. I don't know what brought upon the impromptu make out session but I didn't complain nor did I ask, "I can't believe that just happened."

"Me neither..." We were both laughing, realizing how freaking sudden that kiss had been. And Paul seemed to be having a good time... until his eyes widened and he looked like he'd seen a ghost, "Wait, shit..." his hands were raking through his hair as he seemed to be trying to remember something, "how old are you?"

And it even took me a minute to remember, my mind still fogged, "seventeen, I'll be eighteen next month."

And that was when he looked over at me with a guilty smile, "you're still a minor."

Paul was nineteen and technically I was considered a minor but even then, he worried too much.

"I mean, yeah..."

"Look," he started, realizing some tension arising. Paul was good at that, recognizing situations and emotions. He always kinda had this wise aura about him, "it-it's not a big thing, it's just a little weird for me? I don't know."

I tried not to take offense to that and he was still talking. "I've only ever dated guys older than me so..."

"Well good thing we're not dating." That was weird, Jules.

Paul laughed though, it semi-stifled. I liked that he didn't take things so seriously. "You're blunt."

"Yeah."

"I like it." He assured. "A lot of people never just say what they feel."

If there was ever a time to be blunt it was then. "I wanna kiss you again."

And Paul laughed again, I decided I liked it. He threw his head back, looking at the ceiling before shaking his head. Brown eyes were on mine, wide smile. "You're gonna be really hard to stay away from, aren't you?"

"You don't have to stay away from me."

"I have a lot of eyes on me." He explained. "All the time, people would drag the hell out of you being seventeen. Especially if we're not actually seeing each other, you know?"

And I didn't understand that, mostly because I didn't think anyone would ever know. I wasn't ready for any of that. I didn't want to date Paul, I didn't want to date anyone.

"I didn't... I didn't wanna..."

"Not-not like that. Not like... I meant..." He must've noticed the confusion. "Seeing you hanging out with us, people will try to figure out who you are and if we hang out too much it's gonna be a thing."

"Not like I would mind it being a thing, just, I don't want you to be caught up in that, you know?"

Caught up in what? "We're just hanging out, right?"

"Right." Then I really didn't get where he was getting at. I tried to backtrack a bit, we didn't know anything about each other to be worried about all of these things. I hated getting too worked up over things and I could feel myself sweating.

"I don't think it's illegal unless I fuck you..."

"I don't mean, like, legality, Jules." He was brushing hair from my face though and something about him felt so comfortable. "I don't just wanna sleep with you either."

"I wanna be friends, you know?" And he was smiling. I didn't know what friends entailed but I didn't think you were supposed to kiss your friends or talk about fucking your friends. "I feel like we have some potential for something other than fucking, you know?"

And that felt very, very intense. He told me to be blunt, part of me still had no clue what was going on.

"You like me?" Fuck.

He was trying to hide his smile. His eyes dropped from mine and he dodged the question. "I'm not saying anything that might incriminate me later."

"Still, I'm not looking for pedo-status," He placed a kiss on the side of my neck, Paul was undeniably a very intimate person and I'd started to like that. Pulling away, he sent me a wink before sitting up and getting off his bed, pulling his shirt back on. He sent me a wink, "besides, I'm a top."

And even as he exited the room, I found myself trying to breathe again, my eyes shamefully glued to his ass.

A/N:

so... That happened.

um.

s'up babes?

Little makeout session in there for you so you better love me.

It was crap, I know it was crap.

but I changed the order of the twins if anyone noticed...

Finn- Landon
Jack- Brandon

Updated: Saturday, April 25.