"So, were exactly are we going?" Nate asked, obviously displeased that they were yet again climbing stairs.
"Were almost there." Erik called over his shoulder, pausing as he reached the top landing to the final flight of stairs. A few seconds later, Nate joined him, completely out of breath.
"Having a bit of difficulty, are we?" Erik asked, an amused look on his face as he took in the sight of Nate gasping for breath.
Nate glared up at him, his hands on his knees as he fought to catch his breath. "Oh shut up."
Erik chuckled, pushing open the door and holding it open for Nate. "I wouldn't want to strain you anymore than you already are."
Nate scowled up at him, but proceeded forward through the open door. They were....on top of the roof? Holy crap, they were up high. Like, seriously drop-to-your-death high. There was only one building higher up than they were, the lot of brick apartments to the right lying parallel to them. At least he thought they were brick. It was pretty hard to make out in the dark.
He heard Erik follow after him as the door closed with a light click.
"What the hell are we doing up here?"
Nate flinched as Erik's hand passed over his shoulder, pointing to the right. Nate squinted, trying to make out what Erik was pointing to. It was so dark out by now Nate couldn't see worth shit.
"Here." Erik said, sensing Nate's confusion as he led the way over to the area he'd been pointing to. There was a large feather down blanket spread out neatly across the rooftop, and a basket sitting to its left.
"Uh....?" Nate stared down at the blanket, not really sure what Erik expected him to do with some blanket in the dark while they were on a rooftop.
"Sit..." Erik said, making Nate jump slightly. Holy crap. He hadn't realized how close he was.
Nate swallowed hard, wanting to ask questions but deciding it'd be best to just sit down and see what the hell Erik was up to this time.
He could hear Erik's footsteps sound behind him as the darkness engulfed him. After a few short clicks, Nate turned his head, realizing some type of image was being projected on the wall of the brick building parallel to the rooftop.
The familiar Disney icon flashed across the building before the title appeared....Finding Nemo? Oh shit.
No. He. Hadn't. This was both Nate's all time favorite movie and dirty little secret....well, this and his piggy slippers. He knew Amber must've blabbed. She was the only one he'd ever dared to tell. A teenage boy should be into something more...appropriate, like The Matrix, or The Gladiator. Not this. Not something made to entertain 5 year old girls.
His only saving grace had to be the darkness that would hide his blush, at least for the most part. The castoff light from the projector might give him away, though. Crap.
"Don't tell me you've had a sudden change of heart." Erik mused, taking a seat to the left of Nate as he picked up the basket and put it between them.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Nate fibbed, biting his lip. There was no way he was willingly going to admit his embarrassing fondness for Finding Nemo.
"Would it make you feel better if I told you my favorite movie was Bambi?"
"Really?"
"No. But I could pretend it was."
Nate rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smile. It was sweet, in Erik's own little way.
"Here." Erik said, opening the basket he'd put between them. It was filled with all the little goodies you'd expect to see in any movie theater, ranging from m&m's to twizzlers to popcorn. So, this was their first date as an official couple.
It was nice, Nate mused to himself as he reached for a bag of twizzlers. He could've just taken him to some jam-packed movie theater where they wouldn't have any privacy, and would probably end up seeing the latest over-rated, lame-ass slasher movie.
It did, however, create one little problem.
Nate had seen this movie, like, a gazillion times. He knew every line by heart, and could've probably even recited them in his sleep. There was something, or rather someone, however, he found much more interesting than whatever was flashing up on that brick makeshift screen.
Erik was sitting right next to him, the two of them alone, on the rooftop. The starry night sky really wasn't helping. Nor was the moonlight, or the way it seemed to illuminate Erik's face at just the right angle.
And what made it worse, Erik didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that they were sitting here, alone, actually watching the movie instead of having a little hormone fueled fun. Nate could feel his fingers curl inward as his body tensed. Gah. This was absolutely killing him.
Why the hell did he have to be such a gentleman about all this? For once, Nate wished Erik could be like a normal teenage boy, and take advantage of the fact that him and his date were alone in the dark with no one to see where hands wandered and lips explored.
He tried to keep his eyes on the screen, he really did, but willpower wasn't exactly his strong suit, especially when it came to Erik.
He really did have nice arms. Not too big, but just toned enough. And his hair was definitely run-your-fingers-through worthy. Nate wondered absentmindedly if it would smell like whatever shampoo he used. Probably some sort of clean scent, like-
"Nathaniel."
Nate snapped his head away from Erik and back to the screen. Crap. He'd so been caught.
"Are you not enjoying the movie?"
Nate blushed furiously. "No-I mean yes. I am. I'm enjoying the movie."
Nate could feel Erik's eyes on him, studying his face for a second before averting his gaze back to the screen. He had to know. I mean, c'mon. He could always tell every other time he lied. Nat wished, just this one time, Erik wouldn't believe his lie.
It wasn't like he could just come out and say Yeah, so I'm horny. Can we mess around now?
65 torturous minutes later, the credits rolled in front of them, Erik still the same distance away from Nate he'd been at the movies start.
"I suppose I should take you home now-"
"Why haven't you kissed me yet?" Shit. Had he really just said that?
Erik turned his head to the side so that he was facing Nate. He could barely make out a suggestive smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "Well, I'll definitely have to remember that Finding Nemo turns you on for future reference."
Nate shot Erik a frustrated glare. "Finding Nemo does not turn me on. You do."
Oh man. He really needed to keep his mouth closed, because he was digging himself a grave here.
"Do I?"
"Oh please, like you don't freaking know. Do you get off on seeing me squirm, Erik, because I'm really starting to think it might be some sort of sick fetish of yours?"
"Well, I wouldn't go that far."
Nate stood up, too flustered to remain sitting. "Stop it! I'm serious. You think it's funny that I'm sitting over here wanting to make out or whatever while you're sitting there with just about as much interest in me as you'd show reading the freakin' newspaper!"
Erik stood up at that, raising an eyebrow at Nate. "And what exactly has led you to this conclusion, Nathaniel?"
"You haven't even touched me once."
"Neither have you."
"Yeah, okay. Well you haven't even freakin' looked at me this whole time!"
"I'm looking at you now."
"Yeah, but not like that."
"Are you sure about that, Nathaniel?"
Nate flushed, crossing his arms in front of him. "If you wanted to kiss me, you would've done it by now."
"No. I wouldn't have."
"Yes you would have. You'd have no reason to wait."
"Really now? Did it ever occur to you that I may be trying to refrain from doing so because of what happened between you and Zack? I didn't want you to feel pressured, like I'm sure you did with him. I wanted to allow you to take it as far as you were comfortable with, and no further."
Nate blinked, his face going lax. Well, didn't that just make him look like the biggest asshole in the world. Nate let out a heavy sigh, feeling like a total jerk.
"I'm sorry- I didn't- I just."
"What? You thought I asked you out with no intentions of pursuing a romantic relationship with you?"
"No. I mean..." Alright. So maybe he was a little right. After all that had happened, Nate still found it hard to believe Erik was interested in him like that. Which, of course, was why he'd reacted so strongly.
"It's just, everyone knows your hot and everything, Erik. When people see us together, you know what they'll all probably think. What the hell is Erik doing with him? He could do so much better."
Erik took a few steps forward, covering the distance between him and Nate. "Nate, I think we both know that the problem isn't that that's what everyone else is going to think, though I strongly disagree with that. The problem is that this is what you think."
Well, wasn't this just great. He was sexually frustrated and had an inferiority complex, all of which he was dumping onto his new boyfriend on their first date. Yeah, that would totally set the mood. He'd officially blown it, gone and ruined the whole night with all his baggage.
"I'm sorry...alright..I'm just-"
Nate's words were cut off by a soft, warm touch as Erik's lips brushed against his. It lasted only for a split second, but that was more than enough to make Nate's stomach do a back-flip and his heart skip a beat. He felt a dizzying sensation that made him feel week in the knees, but in a good way that he'd never felt before.
Nate found himself leaning forward, his body wanting more of whatever had just happened. If only he could wipe the silly grin that had spread across his face from his lips.
"Nathaniel."
Erik had pulled away slightly, so that he was still close enough for Nate to feel a warm wave of peppermint wash over him but far enough so that he could look him in the eyes.
"I need you to do something."
Nate nodded his head. At this point, he would have agreed to just about anything. That kiss had him on some kind of euphoric high he'd never felt before. It has been so much better than the kiss he'd had with him back in the closet.
Maybe it was because this time he knew it was Erik, or maybe it was because this time, it actually meant something. Erik wasn't being forced or dared to do it. He was doing it because he wanted to. Because he wanted him.
"Trust me. Believe me when I tell you I want nothing more than to keep you up all night having fun the way lovers do. I want to do this the right way, though. Because you are important to me, not just what you can give to me."
Nate swallowed hard. There he went again, saying shit that made Nate all the more sure he didn't deserve him. But hell, maybe it was like winning the lottery. You didn't decline the money because you hadn't earned it and were undeserving. You cashed in and acknowledged the fact that this was probably the luckiest you were going to get in your entire life.
"Alright. I mean, I'm going to try. Really hard." And he meant it, too. If anyone was worth trying to let his guard down and make himself vulnerable, it was Erik.
"So, I suppose we should probably take you home before your mother calls the cops on me for kidnapping." Erik mused, a small smirk spreading across his face.
Nate laughed, knowing his mother was probably just crazy enough to do that. "Well, she doesn't exactly know I'm with you. I haven't called her yet."
Erik raised an eyebrow. "Then I suppose we'll have to make up some sort of believable story on the way there."
Nate grinned. It was nice to be in on one of Erik's lies for once. They were finally working as a team....no, not a team, a couple.
Sean glanced over at the whole he punched in the wall moments earlier, then down at his bloody knuckles. He had to have some way to channel his anger after he'd gotten that nice little text from Zack.
Nate and Erik had apparently gone back to Erik's apartment after school...and stayed there. His mind was reeling with all the possibilities of what they might be doing. Lucky him, his mind kept going back to the same thought. They had to be fucking. What else would keep them entertained for that long?
God damn it! So much for Zack's stupid little plan. Looks like he needed to go back to his past time of breaking bones and intimidation and blackmail. Or maybe he'd just fuck that stupid little blonde voice box that had gotten in between him and Nate earlier.
Yeah, that would be a nice little touch. If Nate was going to fuck his best friend, than what could Sean do but return the favor.