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Clouds float across an impossibly blue sky. Summer is almost over but the sticky heat lingers on throughout the North Carolina countryside. Link is anxious about starting middle school in a few weeks which shows in the mounds of shredded grass surrounding his long, sun-kissed limbs. He looks over at his best friend laying next to him in the middle of the cow pasture and he reaches out to intwine their fingers, something they've done a million times in the six years they’ve known each other. Rhett glances over at Link before quickly gazing back up, a look of concern flashing across his dark brow. Rhett lets his hand linger in Link's for a moment, tracing his thumb gently across Link’s skin, before he slowly removes their fingers from each other to rest his hand on his bare chest. Link is still watching the changing light across Rhett's face but the soft smile he was wearing before slowly fades away. Link can tell something has been changing between them but he doesn't quite know what it is. Rhett looks at Link from his peripheral and takes a deep breath.
"I think I'm going to ask Leslie out when school starts back up." Rhett states quietly.
"Oh. Okay… Why would you want to do something like that, bo?" Link innocently asks.
Rhett takes another deep breath.
"Because, we're both twelve! We should be going with girls by now, Link! We shouldn't be holding hands and we shouldn't be calling each other bo anymore. It's time to grow up!" Rhett shouts a little louder than he intends. He looks over quick enough to see the injured look on Link's face before it turns to anger. Rhett knows he was harsher than he needed to be but he also knows that he doesn't want people to look at them like they're weird anymore. He doesn't want Cole to call him queer just because he prefers Link's company over everyone else's. He just wants to be normal and he knows that what he and Link have is definitely not normal. He's not quite sure why it's not but hearing his dad's hushed whispers about him and that 'Link boy' worries him. He doesn't want anyone to have any reason to make them stop seeing each other.
Link sits up quickly then starts to push up to leave. Rhett reaches out and grabs his arm to stop him, regret painted across his face. Link doesn't look at him but he also doesn't run away and Rhett wishes he could articulate all the fear that is flowing through him in that moment. All he can say is "I'm sorry, Link, I didn't mean it like that."
Link still won't look at him but Rhett can see the tears sliding down his cheeks. Tears start to well up in Rhett's eyes too but he releases Link's arm and rests his hand back on his chest, settling into the grass once more. He looks back up at the changing clouds while Link sits beside him, silently weeping. Rhett wants nothing more than to just wrap Link up in his arms and tell him everything is going to be okay but the world they live in tells him this isn't the right thing to do. Rhett envies Link. All he has is his kind, supportive mother who accepts anything Link thinks and feels. Rhett lives in a world where men are men and they don't talk about things, they suck it up and do what needs to be done. Rhett knows that this is what needs to be done even if he doesn't understand why.
Link is upset but he also knows they can't leave things like this. He tries to search for some way to bring the normalcy back to this painful and confusing situation but all he can focus on are Rhett's words. Why shouldn't they be holding hands? Link holds hands with his mom. He holds hands with his nanny and his aunt and even with his stepsister for the short time she was around. Suddenly, it dawns on him. They're all girls. It's weird because Rhett and Link are both boys and church has taught them that being too close with another boy is wrong. He didn't think that applied to him and Rhett but he begins to see where Rhett's anxiety is coming from and he starts to calm down little by little. Link roughly wipes his face and gets to his knees. As he looks down at Rhett laying in the grass, Link can't help but smile. He doesn’t care what anyone else wants to call it, all he knows is that he is going to stand by this boy’s side for the rest of his life.
"Race you to the river?" Link forces the emotions away as he playfully nudges the taller boy’s arm.
Rhett instantly looks relieved and pushes himself up but Link is already sprinting away before Rhett can even get to his feet. Rhett knows his legs are longer and he can easily catch up but something about seeing Link fading away makes his heart suddenly drop in his chest. Rhett desperately scrambles to close the distance.
As Rhett gets closer to Link, he reaches out to grab his shoulder. The sheer velocity of their movement and the sudden interruption of that momentum causes both of them to collide violently into the ground. Rhett lands on top of Link and Link immediately starts squirming and jabbing anywhere he can, giggling wildly at Rhett’s clumsy attempts to subdue him. They wrestle for a few moments before Rhett eventually gets Link turned over onto his stomach. Rhett knows he's bigger but he also knows Link has strong arms and shoulders and the only way Rhett's going to win this fight is if he uses his weight against him. Rhett starts to relax his entire body onto Link's back, effectively pinning him to the soft ground beneath them. He can feel Link tense against his chest but he seems to have finally stopped struggling.
"Wha- What are you doing, bo… Rhett, I-I mean Rhett?" Link's words have a hard time escaping his lips with Rhett's full weight pressed against him. Rhett is gasping for air from the exertion and Link can feel every breath reverberate throughout his entire body. Their heartbeats slowly start to sync as they lay motionless in the sprawling pasture.
"I'm dead." Rhett exhales into Link's ear.
"What?" Link sighs, suddenly more comfortable than he knows he should be with his face shoved into the ground.
Rhett relaxes even more against Link and they both melt into the warm grass underneath them.
"I'm dead." Rhett whispers.