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James always came up with the worst and best ideas. So when he proposed the idea of leaving their dorm rooms to walk to a 24-hour drug store to buy a quart of ice cream, Keith wasn’t sure if it was good nor bad.
He found himself agreeing anyways.
They were walking along the cold cement that were decorated with leaves that had fallen from nearby trees. Keith found simple joy in stepping on them, loving the sound of the crunch. James beside him had his hands tucked in the warm pockets of his letterman jacket he had since high school, a smile visible on his face and his cheeks a little pink from the cold air nipping at them.
Keith inhaled the fresh air and hummed. Cars passed by and the occasional motorcycle engine roared in the distance. Keith always loved the sounds of the night.
“I’m surprised you even agreed to this idea.” James spoke. Keith flinched at the sudden words he said. The black haired boy snorted.
“I’m only coming to make sure you don’t get kidnapped.” Keith replied, his tone playful.
James gently shoved him with his shoulder and laughed softly. “Nice to know you care.”
“Always had.” And with that, they fell into a comfortable silence.
James let his hands hang down his sides after taking them out his pockets since they had started to sweat. He played with the sides of his jeans and tugged at his jacket, unsure to what he could do what his hands.
He wanted to hold Keith’s hand so bad.
They soon reached the store. It’s red sign lit up like a beacon and the doors swished open for them to walk in. Side by side, both boys headed towards the freezers located at the back of the store.
“What flavor?” James asked, looking at every ice cream flavor.
Keith shrugged. “Should we be lame and get chocolate? Boring with vanilla? Basic with cookies n’ cream? Safe with strawberry?”
James shrugged as well. “Or,” James started. “Funky with cotton candy?”
Keith hummed before speaking. “Maybe weird with orange?”
James quickly shook his head. “Orange flavor is only good coming from the push pops you buy from ice cream trucks.”
Keith agreed with that. They went with cotton candy.
As James took the tub and walked to the front, Keith went on a quest to find spoons. He couldn’t find two pieces of spoons, but a whole pack of 100.
With a box of 100 spoons and a tub of cotton candy ice cream, they situated themselves against the wall outside the store. Their bodies separated a small distance that felt too wide as the tub was in between them. Their feet bumped against each other in a little game as they licked their spoons.
James’ wavy hair danced in the wind as it blew. Keith had always liked it when James left his hair natural.
“Decided not to put your hair through hell today?” Keith asked from around his spoon, eyebrow raising.
James subconsciously ran his hand through his brown hair, messing with the chocolate waves. A soft laugh left his mouth and a smile found a way onto his pink lips, tinted blue from the ice cream.
”Complaining?” questioned James.
Keith shook his head. “I like it like that.”
The butterflies made themselves known in that moment.
Their spoons dived back into the plastic container. As they started to suck and lick at the treat from their white spoons, an alarm from Keith’s phone rang, startling them both.
“What’s that for?” Keith had always admired James’ curiosity. It got him into trouble sometimes, but he loved it. His eyes would widen and his pupils would dilate.
Keith tapped the orange circle on his screen to stop the alarm. A sheepish smile formed on Keith’s pale face.
”It rings at 11:11 pm, every night.” James was silent. “It’s silly I know, childish even. But I like wishing for things, even if they wouldn’t come true, I still hope.”
Crickets in the distance sang.
“What do you wish for?” James asked. Keith turned his head to already find the other boy gazing at him.
A wonderful fire burned Keith’s cheeks.
The black haired boy shrugged as he shook his head dismissively. James encouragingly bumped his foot against Keith’s.
“Anything, I guess. Kind of like a prayer, but not to a God. Talking to the moon and stars.” Keith replied, his tone shy. Keith’s violet eyes looked away from gray and up to the freckled black sky above them.
James didn’t look away.
Instead, James continued to stare at Keith’s side profile. Studied the slope of his nose, the curve of his lips, his red cheeks, the shape of his eyes, and the sharp lines of his jaw. He couldn’t look away.
James finally did. He licked his lips, tasting the artificial sweetness on his mouth, and looked down at his lap.
He opened his mouth, but he could felt his throat physically restrict. A choked word came out in a hushed whisper as his heart beat against his ribcage. The words were stuck in his throat, aching in their place, desperate to reveal themselves and confess.
His ears burned and his heart beat faster and harder. He felt himself start to shake, not because he was cold, but because he was scared. Afraid. But that all ended after the words erupted from his throat.
“I like you.”
An audible hitch of Keith’s breath sounded in the silent air of night. Keith tore his eyes away from the sky to look at the boy next to him.
He stared. Absolutely dumbfounded.
“What?” The natural answer left Keith’s mouth even though he completely and utterly understood and heard what James said.
James repeated himself. “I like you.”
Keith exhaled a sigh, the corners of his lips turning upwards.
“I like you too.”
All of James’ worried melted away like the ice cream between them. The brown haired boy couldn’t stop smiling and the boy next to him let out a nervous chuckle of relief. Both in shock, unable to process that they had just confessed outside a drug store near midnight.
James ran his hand through his hair and sighed out. “I can’t believe we just did that, holy shit.”
Keith laughed as he leaned his head back on the bumpy wall behind them.
“Voy a vomitar.”
“No!” Keith quickly shouted through his infectious laughter. “Don’t because I won’t kiss your nasty barf mouth.”
A blush painted James’ cheeks. “You were going to kiss me?”
Keith bit his lip and nodded.
James leaned over and cupped Keith’s cold cheek and finally connected their lips in a swift movement. Keith made a surprised noise then let himself relax into the kiss.
They broke away with a wet smack, breathless.
“I wanted to do that for so long.” James panted and Keith rubbed his nose against James’.
“How long?” Keith teased.
”Too long,” James answered. “Make up for lost time?”
Keith most certainly agreed.