After The Storm

Soldier [I/II]

Before he – or rather, either of them – knew what was happening, their arms were around each other, bodies pressed close.

*

Neither boy could look at their friend at the wheel straight in the eye after needing to be honked at thrice to get into the car.

II.

 "Um, Dylan? Would you mind coming over to pick me up a little earlier?"

"Not at all...what's up though?"

They'd talked about it, so it really shouldn't have been difficult to bring up the matter, but Max still felt nervous. Would Dylan misunderstand him? When he'd told him about his parents wanting to meet anybody Max would date, he'd nodded thoughtfully and said it made perfect sense, but that had been months ago! They'd been talking regularly ever since...would Dylan take this to mean that he still didn't trust him?

He didn't want to admit why the thought bothered him so much.

"Hey, just spill it out."

"The thing is," he bit his lip – he really didn't want this to go badly – and at the same time, there was no  other way out, "my parents kind of want to meet you before we go out on our first date."  He tried to sound nonchalant.

"Oh, yeah! I'd totally forgotten about that...what time do you think I should come over? An hour earlier than the plan?"

Relief. He'd sounded completely unfazed – that was good.

"I guess. I mean, I don't think they're going to have that much to ask, but then we can hang out or something if we're too early."

"Alright then. I'll see you then!"

*

It was then that the other thing came to mind. Their first date!

Technically, it wasn't even the first time, because they'd hung out a few times in the week since Dylan's return – mainly as the latter re-established himself in his house and then started the packing for university – yet none of it counted to Max, because the time they'd spent together had been...casual. For most part, anyway. Their hugs lasted a little longer than they would if they truly had been just friends ; although to Max, the fact that they even embraced each other meant something. But besides that, there hadn't been anything tangible. In fact, the only other 'thing' would be how the air around them seemed a little heavier than normal.

Either way, Max thought, things with this evening would be different. They'd openly, officially, given a name to what the time they'd spent together would be: a date. It was just going to be a movie followed by dinner, but it was still a date.

Max tried to get his heartbeat to slow.

He was borderline petrified.

This would be his first date in a long time – his first real date if he took into consideration the intent with both parties involved the first time – and it felt daunting. He knew there wasn't anything to be afraid of, and that he'd been completely honest with Dylan about how he actually felt, including the part where he was afraid that the possibility of him never reciprocating Dylan's feelings was real, but the pressure was still there.

But then he remembered Dylan's voice when he'd told him so confidently that there was nothing to worry about, and the way he'd felt when they'd met, and it was alright again.

*

"Come on in. You must be Dylan."

Max's heart skipped a beat when he realized that his mother had gotten to the door before he had. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I should have just been waiting downstairs! Now what will Dylan think? I couldn't even get the door for him?