Ben's POV
I think it took us both a little longer than we wanted to get back to normal. I guess it made sense when I thought about it. It took East a while to be okay with being physically close to me, and it took me a long time to finally just be at ease around him without worrying that I was causing pain. It took a long time before I could just randomly hug him again. But the time did come. We did heal, together.
We started studying together again. The first time Easton asked me if I wanted to come over, I cried. I cried about a lot of things relating to Easton recently. I just couldn't believe I had him back. For a while there, I thought we'd be separated forever. We never took each other for granted again.
For a long time, I didn't give any thought to my own chance at a relationship with anyone. I didn't want to hurt Easton more than I already had. So I waited until it looked like he was ready to move on, or showed interest in someone else. It took a long time, but one day, a few weeks before the end of the school year...
"East, you're staring." I said, almost in alarm, surprised at the fact that he really wasn't looking away from the other guy.
"I know. I can't help it." He blushed faintly, still looking past me, his lips parted slightly.
"You can't help it?"
"I mean I can, but—shit! He's looking at me!"
"Of course he is. You've been staring at him for a long time."
He had blushed and even darker shade of pink now, and was trying to hide behind me.
"Ben, move your head to the left. No! My left!" I moved my head, but apparently too late. Easton's eyes met mine with a look of pure astonishment.
"He just winked at me. He winked at me, and he's walking towards this table."
And that's how Easton met the man who completely swept him off his feet. As the best friend, I heard all the details of their dates, and saw maybe a little bit more kissing than I would have wanted, but I'd never been happier in my life. My best friend was happy, and that's all that mattered to me.
The End