-Sky-
I was still high above the clouds when I turned the ATV on and started driving us back to the meeting point. Max had his arms wrapped around my waist, but this time I could feel his hand caressing my stomach now and then. I think he was sitting a lot closer to me than last time.
I loved it. I still couldn't believe it, but I truly loved it.
Up until I started having doubts. As the time passed by, and we were getting close to the meeting point, I wondered what would happen after we left the forest. What if it all happened out of a whim? I was serious with Max, but was he as serious with me?
"Stop it," I told myself quietly.
"What?" Max spoke loudly.
"Nothing," I hurried to say. "I was just thinking out loud..."
"Do you do that often?" Max said, and I could tell that he was amused. "I think that's just ador– cool. I think it's cool."
I laughed lightly at his words. I kind of started to like being called adorable, but only by him. I wouldn't let anyone else call me that, but since it was Max, I was actually quite fine by it.
I stopped wondering about what would happen next. I still had a few minutes with Max, and the whole weekend had been more than I could have ever wished for, so I had nothing to complain about.
And then we passed the last trees, and the sun shone brightly down at us. I had to blink a couple of times to get used to it after spending so much time in the shadows of the great forest. When I could see again, I noticed Luke and Gwen waiting for us. I had called them just before we left the farm so they could come and get their ATV. After that I had called my dad to come pick us up, but he wasn't there yet.
I stopped the ATV right next to the Frosts and took off my helmet.
"Did you guys have a nice trip?" Mrs. Frost – Gwen – asked with a bright smile.
"Yes! It was really awesome!" I chirped, while Max took off his helmet.
"That's super," Gwen said.
"Look, Luke!" I said cheerily. "Not a scratch, like I promised," I continued proudly.
"I can see that," Luke said. "Looks like I can let you use it next time as well."
"Great!" I smiled at him.
"Thanks, Luke," Max spoke while standing up. "You saved our project."
"I only did it so you guys would stop whining about the damned thing," Luke spoke, but I could tell he was happy.
He really was a great guy after all, but I was still curious why he had been so mean to me at first. I decided to ask him about it someday, but perhaps it was for the best if we were alone and no one else was listening. Luke seemed a bit troubled all the time, and I wasn't sure if he would explain anything to me, but I wanted to try. He had let us use his ATV, so the least I could do was try to make friends with him.
I put that thought aside for now and turned to look at Max. He gave me a smile before he helped me climb down from my seat. Gwen asked about the trip, and if we saw the owls. Max did all the talking while I just watched him unloading our stuff. There were no words to describe how wonderful and amazing the trip had been. I could only wish that things would stay as amazing and wonderful from now on.
Only a minute later, my dad arrived and parked his car right next to us.
"Hey guys!" he smiled at us when he stepped out and walked to me. "I would ask if you guys had fun, but I know that look."
"What look?" I smirked.
"That look," he chuckled and tousled my hair. "That's the one you have when you can't wait to tell me everything about it."
"Daaad," I whined and pushed his hand away. "You messed up my hair..."
"I think you look cool," Max smiled, handing the crutches to me.
I knew he meant adorable. Cool was the new codeword for it.
"So, how was your first night camping outside?" Dad turned to ask Max.
"It was great – I had really fun," Max said and flashed a smile at me. "I can't wait for next weekend so we can do it again."
"Yeah..." I breathed out with a cheesy smile – I couldn't stop melting when Max looked at me like that.
"Is that so?" my dad chuckled. "Hey! I got an idea – if you liked it that much, maybe I can ask your parents if they'll let you come with us, when we go for our week-long camping trip later this year. I happen to know that Sky would love to bring a friend with us."
I wasn't quite sure what happened at that moment. It was kind of like a fit of overcharged excitement. I felt like I could explode.
"YES! Oh please, yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! That's going to be so much fun! Max, you'll come right? Right? Right?! A whole week! Camping! Swimming! Fishing! Fishing Max! I'll teach you...!" I ran out of breath and started to feel dizzy, but sadly, that didn't stop me. "You have to come! It's going to be so awesome!"
Luke and Gwen stared at me with wide eyes; my dad just laughed cheerily, but Max placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me another smile.
"I'd love to come," he said quietly.
"YES!!" I screeched and hugged him tightly.
"But you need to breathe," he continued.
"Okay!" I said and took a deep breath. "It's going to be so much fun!"
"Just breathe," Max laughed lightly and rubbed my back. "You'll faint if you don't. Take a few deep breaths and let them out slowly."
"I know how to breathe..." I pouted, but then I got excited again. "Yes! You'll come with us on the camping trip! That is so AWESOME!"
"We still need to ask if his parents will let him come," my dad tried to calm me down.
"I'm sure they will," Max said. "My mom has been begging me to hang out with my friends."
"See, Dad! He's coming!" I spoke, jumping up and down. Dad just shook his head in amusement. Then I remembered that I wasn't supposed to be jumping around. "Ouch!"
"Sky!" Max grabbed me immediately and looked down at me with worry in his eyes – in his beautiful eyes. "Don't hurt yourself."
"Huh? Oh – it's just my ankle..." I muttered.
"Just...?" Max repeated and sighed. "Seriously... Someone needs to tie you down or your ankle will never heal."
"But...!" I gasped dramatically, but my dad cut me off.
"You should listen to him – your leg needs rest. I'll get you a wheelchair if you don't stop stepping on it," he said playfully.
"Daaaad..." I whined again.
He just laughed and tousled my hair again. Max gave me a stern look before he grabbed our bags and helped my dad carry them to his truck. I moved away so Luke and Gwen could start preparing the ATV to be loaded on their trailer, and blushed when I realized that they both thought that I was a complete nutcase.
"I – I uh... I'm really thankful that you let us borrow it, Luke," I said quietly. "It was really kind of you."
"Don't mention it," he said. "If you're going on next weekend, you can have it again, if your leg is still hurting."
"That would be so awesome," I said with a stronger voice. "I promise to bring it back without a scratch."
"Was it easy to drive? It's quite big and clumsy in the thick forest," Luke spoke.
"Yeah – it's really great. We had no problem with it," I said, and Luke surprised me with a small smile.
"Then you must be a pretty good driver," he said.
"No, I'm not," I blushed. "I was just trying to be extra careful."
"And that, dear boy," Gwen smiled, "that's what being a good driver is all about."
"O-oh..." I blushed.
"I'm happy to see Luke has friends like you. And Max. He never brings anyone home, so I've been worried he doesn't have any friends," Gwen said.
"I'm right here," Luke grunted.
"Well, you know I'm worried!" Gwen said to him. "I know you're embarrassed of me, but–"
"I'm not embarrassed," Luke sighed, and it sounded like they'd had that conversation many times before.
Gwen seemed like she wanted to say something, but I guess she decided it wasn't the time nor place to have such a private talk.
"Well – I'm just glad to see I was wrong," she said to me instead.
"Luke has a lot of friends at school," I said reassuringly. "He's really popular!"
"Is he now," Gwen smiled. "That's great to hear. Maybe I'll get to meet the others as well."
"Still here," Luke said in annoyance. "The trailer is ready."
"Okay," Gwen said to him before turning to look at me again. "I hope you and Max come visit us someday. I bought a big TV and a gamebox-thing for Luke, but he hasn't played with it that much."
"I am trying to study for the college entrance exams," Luke noted. "And it's called PlayStation."
"Oh, you," Gwen waved her hand at him. "Always with the sarcasm."
"Yep," Luke rolled his eyes. "Will you help me with the ATV or not?"
"I'm coming, I'm coming. It was really nice to meet you, Sky," Gwen told me, before she patted my shoulder and went to help her son.
I stared at the two of them for a moment before Max stepped right next to me.
"Are we ready?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said, feeling suddenly really sleepy.
Max thanked Luke and Gwen once more, and then he helped me sit down on the backseat of my dad's truck. I was really feeling drowsy, but that was a familiar feeling for me – spending the night outside in the forest was really tiring, especially since I hadn't been camping in a while.
But it really was an amazing weekend, and I was really looking forward to the next time.
Max sat down next to me while my dad was firing up the truck. We all waved at Luke and Gwen, who had the ATV already up on the trailer and ready to go. Dad drove off from the parking lot, and I let out a deep, content sigh. I was so happy that I felt like bursting.
And I nearly did when Max placed his hand on mine.
-Max-
Leaving the forest felt like leaving a really good dream. It was kind of sad that it was over so soon, but thankfully, we still had seven more weekends ahead of us.
And when Mr. Jenkins suggested I should come with them on their camping trip, I felt ecstatic. I had never thought that I would enjoy camping, but I had to admit that being in the wild was really fun.
Especially with Sky.
I turned to look at him. He seemed like he was about to fall asleep in his seat, but he had a small smile on his lips, and it didn't seem like it was going away anytime soon. I had never met a cuter guy than him, and it was really hard for me to stop staring at him. I wasn't sure if he was going to tell his parents about us, so I needed to keep my hands off him when there were people around.
I wasn't sure if my parents would take the news lightly, but I knew I needed to tell them sooner or later. They would find out at some point, and they would probably be pissed after realizing that I had been lying to them.
But I wasn't going to do that yet. I just wanted to enjoy the fact that I had finally found the courage to tell Sky how I felt about him, and that he had felt the same about me! I hated to think that if Sky hadn't mentioned the gay bats, I most likely wouldn't have found the courage to tell him I was attracted to guys. We both had been crushing on each other, and both had decided to keep it as a secret.
That was a scary thought.
Too soon, we arrived at my home. I wasn't going to see Sky until the next morning. I swiftly moved my hand away from him when Mr. Jenkins turned to look at us.
"Do you need some help with your bags?" he asked.
"I think I'll manage," I said politely, and turned to look at Sky. "I'll see you tomorrow at school."
"Yeah. We still need to write down the notes for the project," Sky said, and he looked a little sad, too.
"Let's do that tomorrow at school," I said.
Sky nodded and brushed my hand with his fingers, kind of like he was saying his farewell. I looked briefly at Mr. Jenkins, who wasn't looking at us. When the coast was clear, I leaned towards Sky and pecked his lips shortly and silently before I quickly returned to my seat. Sky gave me a wide smile that melted my heart.
"I'll see you tomorrow," I said quietly, before I got out of the car.
Mr. Jenkins followed me, and for a moment, I thought he had seen us, but apparently, he just wanted to help me get my stuff out of the trunk.
"I am happy that Sky has found new friends," he said. "If you really want to come with us on our camping trip, I'll talk to your parents about it."
"That would be great," I told him and took my bag from the trunk. "Thank you."
"Take care now, and thanks for taking such good care of my boy – he really needs it," he smirked.
"No problem," I said awkwardly and waited for a moment if he was going to continue.
"Off you go then," Mr. Jenkins said with a smile and returned to the driver's seat.
I waved at Sky before they drove off. I had a smile on my face when I watched after them until I couldn't see them anymore. Then my smile vanished, and with a heavy sigh, I turned to walk to the front door.
I already missed Sky's bright smile.
*****
When my alarm clock went off the next morning, I basically jumped out of my bed. I had spent the previous night studying and reliving the trip to the barn. Sky, the owls, Sky, building the tent, Sky, the bunnies, Sky, the baby deer... And Sky – that was pretty much everything I had in my mind, and around ten in the evening I realized I hadn't actually studied at all.
And, for the first time in a long time, I didn't even care if I got good grades or not. I knew that I should have, but I didn't. I felt free. I felt like I had nothing to worry about, and I really didn't have anything to worry about.
I still wanted to do my best, but I didn't feel so pressured anymore. I wondered if it was because of the night out in the forest, or because of Sky, or both, but I really enjoyed that feeling. I wasn't going to die if I didn't spend all my free time studying. It was more than fine if I let myself be a kid now and then.
I took a shower before dressing up and made my way downstairs and into the kitchen, where my mom was already making breakfast.
"Good morning," she chirped. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah," I said. "Better than in a long while, actually."
"I bet," she said with a smile. "I'm happy you enjoyed the camping trip."
I sat down in my usual seat right next to a window and looked outside. I was counting the minutes until I was able to see Sky again.
"Your dad and I talked about that big camping trip with the Jenkins', and if you really want to go with them, we're OK with it, if you don't have school."
"I need to ask about it, but Sky has school too, so maybe they're planning on going during the Thanksgiving holiday," I guessed.
"It's going to be cold in November," mom said, placing a plate in front of me.
"I don't mind," I said with a smile. "I really want to go."
"Look at you – I've never seen you so excited about something else than architecture," she said with a smile. "You were lucky to become friends with Sky."
"Yeah," I blushed lightly. "I really was."
By the time I had eaten my breakfast and was ready to leave for school, my stomach was twisting in anticipation. The bus was late for a couple of minutes, and I almost started thinking something had happened, but then I finally saw it and relaxed a little.
Once I got in, I searched for the familiar blond hair and spotted Sky at the back of the bus. I felt a twitch of jealousy going through me when I saw him sitting next to Troy. I wasn't a jealous guy, but my smile wasn't the friendliest when I stopped next to their row.
"Troy," I spoke his name calmly.
"Max," Troy smirked. "Sky was just telling us about the fawns."
"Did you tell them about the baby rabbits?" I asked Sky.
"Nope – it's a boring story," Sky said with a smile.
"What about the baby rabbits?" Troy asked.
"Oh – we just found their nest. They were so cute," Sky explained, and I loved him more for leaving out the part where I screamed my lungs out.
"That's my seat," I told Troy.
"I don't see your name on it," Troy joked.
"Yeah – the seat doesn't have my name on it," I replied.
Troy frowned at my words. I looked at Sky and leaned against the backrest of the seat in front of them.
"Then what does have your name on it?" I heard Troy asking, but I ignored him. I couldn't get my eyes off Sky for long enough to pay attention to him. Then Troy seemed to understand. "Oh! He...!" Troy said and pointed at Sky. "And you...! My bad, bro, my bad," he said and stood up.
I patted his shoulder and sat down next to Sky. I rested my hands on my legs and moved my left hand closer to Sky's. I felt really happy when he moved it closer to mine, so that our fingers were brushing lightly against each other.
"So, fawns?" Troy smirked, sitting down in front of us. "That's the interesting part of your camping trip?"
"Yup," Sky said with a wide smile on his lips.
"All right then," Troy chuckled. "I hear you."
I knew I was probably staring at Sky too much, and that someone would soon notice it, but at that moment, I really couldn't care. I was too happy to care.