Nathan didn't bother with any kind of disguise or subtlety that day, and neither did Jonathan. Nathan drove to school and followed Jonathan to his locker, ignoring the group of girls that wanted his attention.
"I'll come around by lunch, okay? We can eat in the library if you want." He mumbled. Jonathan nodded. "Don't be sad, it'll be okay." Nathan gave his shoulder a gentle pat. "I mean it, don't worry about it." Nathan put two fingers under Jonathan's chin and tilted it up.
Jonathan gave a weak smile and nodded. "Okay." He said. "I'll see you later."
They walked their separate ways. The girls from before caught up with Nathan and followed him, like usual. He did talk to them and smiled a lot, mainly because he thought of Jonathan the entire time.
Nathan was surrounded by people all day, but he barely noticed them. The girls didn't notice how he didn't pay them much attention, and kept chatting, flirting and giggling around him. Nathan was simply smiling, and being generally nice, too tired of ignoring the girls who tried so hard to be noticed by him.
"Hey, Nathan." One of the girls tugged at his sleeve, gaining his actual attention. "Is it true that you were on a date last week?" She asked.
Nathan was a little taken aback by the question, but smiled softly. "Yeah, I was." He said.
Some of the girls gasped, and those who didn't started whispering to one another. "With who?" The same girl asked with a curious glint in her eyes.
Giving the girls a shy smile, Nathan blushed and cleared his throat. "Um..." He scratched the back of his neck. "It's kind of a secret." He mumbled awkwardly.
The girls all seemed to shriek in unison. "He's so sweet!" They whispered, loud enough for Nathan to hear it.
It was difficult to get to class when he was followed by a group on invasive girls but it was surprisingly easy to get rid of the during lunch, and head to the library even without his disguise. He was surprised to find that he'd arrived before Jonathan, since it was always Jonathan that waited around for him.
Nathan sat down and picked out his phone, checking for messages but found nothing of interest. He didn't want to send one already and just as he was about to put his phone away, a pair of hands covered his eyes.
"Guess who?"
Nathan chuckled. "Is it..." he left the sentence hanging and Jonathan let out a long sigh.
"It's me, dummy." He frowned.
"I know, Jonathan. I'm messing with you." Nathan grinned, ruffling Jonathan's hair.
"I knew you were." Jonathan smiled and sat down, leaning his head against Nathan's shoulder.
Nathan smiled. "I was thinking earlier. Um... You liked the date things, right? If you want... we can go out today, I have a few things in mind."
Jonathan lit up into a smile. "Really? Yeah, I want to!" he nodded.
"We can head out after school. But." He said, giving a serious look. "We might be out late."
Jonathan looked thoughtful, and furrowed his eyebrows. "How late?" he asked.
"I don't know. It depends." Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "You still wanna go?"
"Yeah I do." Jonathan smiled.
They ate together and then they went to their classes. Nathan had basketball practice too, but he managed to be let out early by the coach. The other players apparently needed more work. Nathan went to shower and change and then walked to Jonathan's locker and leaned against it, waiting for Jonathan.
He smiled when a few girls that walked by waved at him, and said hi to a group of guys from the football team. Then there he was. The blond boy with the weird yellow-green eyes. Nathan smiled and looked down at his feet when Jonathan came walking.
"You come here often?" Nathan asked when Jonathan stopped in front of him.
"Can I get to my locker? You're kind of in my way." He gently pushed Nathan aside.
"Yeah, it's nice to see you too." Nathan chuckled. Jonathan smiled to himself and got his bag. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah, sure. Let's go." He said, walking towards the door.
There was no people out on the parking lot, so Nathan reached down and grabbed a gentle hold of Jonathan's hand. The little simple act of affection made Jonathan blush, and he gave Nathan's hand a squeeze.
When a group of guys walked by, Jonathan quickly yanked his hand out of Nathan's grip and looked away. Nathan frowned and looked over at his car.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to." Jonathan took Nathan's hand back in his.
Nathan shook his head. "It's okay. We don't have to tell anyone if you feel uncomfortable." He said with a comforting smile that Jonathan returned with some hesitation. "Come on." Nathan got into the car.
"Where are we going, Nathan?" Jonathan asked.
"It's a surprise." Nathan said, patting the blond's shoulder. "You'll have to see when we get there. I think you'll like it." He said and looked at Jonathan before reaching over Jonathan and fastned him with the seat belt. "You need to use this."
"Right." Jonathan chuckled nervously.
"I don't want you to get hurt." Nathan said.
Jonathan smiled crookedly. "I guess I just feel safer with you around." He said with a shrug. "It's like... I don't know, forget that."
"Just don't forget your seat belt. I really don't want you to get hurt." Nathan gave Jonathan's hair a good ruffle.
Nathan started up the car. He noticed that the longer he drove, the more nervous Jonathan seemed to get. When he pulled out on the highway out of town, Jonathan turned to him with a frowned. "Where are we going?" he asked again.
"You'll see." Nathan repeated.
Jonathan shifted in his seat. "I've never been this far out of town before." He confessed when they passed a large green sign. "You're not gonna take me out into the wilderness and kill me, are you?" He joked stiffly, but clearly part of him was actually wondering.
"I'm not." Nathan laughed. "It's still quite a drive. Why don't you rest up before we get there? You'll love the place. I'm sure of it." Nathan said.
Jonathan looked worried. "I don't know. I'd rather stay awake and see where we're going." he mumbled.
Nathan gave a smile. "Do as you want." he said.
It didn't take long before Jonathan fell asleep. Nathan kept driving in silence, occasionally throwing Jonathan a glace or two. When he finally stopped the car and turned the engine off, he gave a quiet sigh and turned to the blond next to him. He hated having to wake him, he was so cute when he slept.
"Jonathan." He whispered, nudging Jonathan's shoulder. "Jonathan, wake up. We're here." He gently shook the smaller boy. Jonathan stirred and woke up. "Morning, sleepyhead." Nathan grinned at him.
Jonathan gave him a confused smile. "Where are we?" he asked, looking around. They were parked in a little open space between some trees.
"We have to walk a little, come on." Nathan said and opened the car door. "It's not far, I promise." He said when they were out of the car. "It's that way." He nodded towards the trees as he opened the trunk and got a bag.
Jonathan frowned again. "Where-"
"Don't worry, you'll love it." Nathan put an arm around him. "And best of all. Here, no one knows Nathan Bone." he grabbed Jonathan's hand and gave it a squeeze.
Smiling carefully, Jonathan followed him. "It smells funny." he wrinkled his nose.
"Yeah. You get used to it." Nathan chuckled. "This way." He let go of Jonathan and pushed him in front of himself. "Go on."
Jonathan glanced over his shoulder up at Nathan. "It's not a cliff or anything behind those bushes?"He asked.
"No, Jonathan." Nathan laughed.
"J-Just making sure." Jonathan gave a stiff chuckle before pushing the leaves to the side and walked past the bushes. "Oh." He got out, mouth hanging open.
Nathan walked up to stand behind him. "What do you think?" He asked, leaning his chin against Jonathan's shoulder.
For almost a whole minute Jonathan couldn't stop staring. "I-Is..." he stuttered looking up at Nathan. "Is that the ocean?"
"Yeah it is." Nathan smiled.
Jonathan's eyes widened and he turned to stare at the water again. "I-I've never seen the ocean before." He said.
"Take your shoes off. Let's go and feel the water." he suggested and tugged both his shoes and socks off. Jonathan did the same and hurried after him down to the water. "Come on." Nathan rolled up his jeans and stepped into the water, holding out a hand for Jonathan to take.
Jonathan grabbed the hand, but hesitated before stepping into the water. "It's not cold, right?" He looked worried. Nathan shook his head and the blond took a careful step into the water. "It is cold!" He whined.
Nathan chuckled and pulled him closer. "Yeah, but if I'd told you you wouldn't have gotten in." he grinned. "It's not that cold." He said.
"I guess..." Jonathan mumbled.
"Let's find somewhere to sit instead." Nathan said. He had a blanket in the bag and spread it out on the sand, patting the spot next to himself. "I could live with this." He smiled and stretched his legs out onto the sand, and wrapped an arm around Jonathan.
Jonathan nodded, and leaned his head against Nathan's shoulder. They watched the waves for a while, not speaking since words didn't feel necessary. Jonathan enjoyed it. He'd never seen the ocean in real life before, only in pictures and in movies. Pictures didn't make it justice.
He glanced over at Nathan, that too stared out towards the horizon. "Hey, Nathan." Jonathan mumbled.
Like he'd been deep in thoughts, Nathan took his time to answer. "Hm?" he hummed, without taking his eyes off the sea.
Jonathan sank his teeth into the inside of his cheek. "I'm just gonna... try something. D-Don't freak out, okay?" He said.
Nathan smiled tiredly. "Okay." He nodded, still not looking.
There was a pause, and Jonathan shifted where he sat, nervously fiddling with his hands, as if he didn't know what to do with them. Then he leaned forward and pressed a kiss on Nathan's cheek. Nathan felt his whole face grow warm.
"What was that?" he turned to Jonathan, that was flushed red.
"Y-You said you wouldn't freak out!" He whined. "A-And it was nothing. I just thought..." He pouted his lips and looked away, crossing his arms over his chest.
Nathan just stared at him for a while before he began to chuckle. Jonathan glared at him. "You're too cute." Nathan pulled Jonathan into a hug, and gave his cheek a kiss. Jonathan looked away and tried to repress a smile.
"Shut it." he muttered.
They held hands as the sun started to wander down the sky. It would set soon, and part of Nathan really wanted Jonathan to see the sun set. Another thought hit him and he cleared his throat, turning to the blond. "Hey, Jonathan... about your mom..."
"I know." Jonathan nodded. "She needs me, but she's so angry right now."
"I don't want to force you to leave her or anything. You do whatever you feel is the best." he gave Jonathan's hair a kiss.
Jonathan frowned, leaning closer. "I wanna stay with you." he said, pressing his forehead against Nathan's shoulder.
Nathan hugged him, frowning when Jonathan let out a sob. "Hey, don't cry... Please, don't cry, Jonathan. Of course you can stay with me. Don't worry about it." He said, and smiled when Jonathan looked up at him. "Don't be so sad. We'll go and get your stuff, and say hello to Maria. I'm sure she'll understand. She's probably calmed down, too."
"All right." Jonathan nodded. "Let's go." He got up and wiped his eyes. "I'm such a crybaby." He snorted.
"You're not alone." Nathan chuckled, thinking about when his dad left a week or so earlier.
"Yeah, you just might be worse than me. Don't worry though, I won't tell anyone." Jonathan smirked and grabbed a hold of Nathan's hand when they walked back tot the car.