the silence

fifteen.

eddy shrugged, focusing on the use of the word 'boyfriend.' was that what they were? or what they would be? brett had gotten stuck on that word, too, his mind racing. was he eddy's boyfriend? he knew he wanted to be, but that wasn't the same as actually being.

"anyways," brett sighed, "are you guys hungry?"

eddy nodded silently and so did jamie, who was watching the other two men closely. he was wary of eddy as he would be of anyone who had the power to hurt brett, but he'd decided he liked the shorter boy's demeanor and the way his hand absentmindedly rubbed brett's arms as they embraced. jamie knew everything about brett: his struggles, his idiosyncrasies, his likes, his dislikes, and most importantly how hard it was for him to care for anyone like this, especially after such a short time period. it was strange and almost impossible the way he and eddy's bodies fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle as they stood there in the small apartment. jamie could already tell that this wasn't some one (or two) night stand or a weird fling that brett would get over in a week. this was something else, something way more powerful than anyone in that room would ever imagine.

the three of them agreed on where to eat and made their way outside. jamie offered to drive himself and let the other two boys ride together to avoid leaving eddy alone in someone's backseat. eddy offered to drive brett and the shorter boy didn't protest, climbing into the passenger seat of his car. there was an unsettling quietness to eddy that brett had been dying to ask about. he opened his mouth to question it as soon as they got in the car, but no sooner than he could utter the first syllable did eddy grab his face and press their lips together. brett practically melted into the leather seat and grabbed eddy's shirt collar with his fists, their lips moving against each other slowly. kissing brett sent eddy to heaven and he relaxed as he ran his fingers through the smaller boy's soft hair. they pulled away finally and looked into each other's eyes.

"are you okay?" brett asked, the usual softness of his voice returning. eddy shivered at the sound of it despite how hot it was outside. he hoped that brett would only ever talk to him that way: tender and gentle, full of compassion and concern. the taller boy nodded.

"yeah. jamie's just, uh, kinda scary. and very tall," he chuckled awkwardly, shaking his head. brett smiled.

"now you know how i felt when i met you," he teased. eddy turned the air con on in the car and scoffed.

"no way."

"yes," brett argued, "way. you're tall, and, um... really handsome, almost too handsome. i was star struck."

eddy's cheeks reddened and he rested his large hand on brett's contrastingly small thigh, squeezing it gently. his fingers could nearly wrap all the way around it. brett put his own hand on top of eddy's and ran his fingertips over his protruding knuckles, looking over at him and smiling. god, eddy loved that smile. the whole room seemed to light up whenever brett flashed his teeth and squinted his eyes. breathing was easiest for eddy whenever brett wore his strikingly beautiful smile on his perfect face. the taller boy leaned over to give brett a kiss on his forehead.

the sound of jamie's car horn startled both of them right after eddy had pulled away. he was gesturing teasingly and brett raised his middle finger, sticking it out the window and waving it around.

"ugh, what an ass," brett joked, rolling his eyes.

eddy blinked as brett grabbed him and kissed him hard, tongue sliding into his mouth. jamie honked again and brett put the same finger up without pulling away, pressing his hand to the windshield. they pulled apart after the honking silenced. eddy couldn't take his eyes off of brett's swollen lips and the small amount of saliva on his chin. he and jamie were gesturing at each other again and a small smile formed on eddy's face as he watched. it was nice to see brett interacting with his best friend.