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“Are you really gonna leave so soon? Gray’s still out, and it’s not that late.”
The foghorn blared off in the distance. Ghetto, seventeen, hesitated at the front door to Nick’s house. Nick’s pleading green eyes twinkled brighter as Ghetto sighed and removed his hand from the doorknob.
“You sure? I don’t want to get you in trouble for having a friend over without asking,” Ghetto said, and Nick waved it off.
“I’ll be fine! You can climb out the window if he comes home,” Nick giggled. Ghetto scoffed and nodded.
“Sure, I’ll stay. You owe me a peach though,” he said, walking back over to Nick and throwing an arm around him. Nick blushed and let out a nearly silent gasp that Ghetto didn’t notice. “And it better be the best peach in Seaport, hell, maybe the world. Your dad scares me sometimes.”
“He’s harmless! I’ll get you a peach, um, meet you in my room.” Nick leaned on Ghetto for a moment, taking in the physical contact, before running to the kitchen. Ghetto smiled and headed upstairs.
Nick placed a hand over his chest and took a deep breath. He was having trouble keeping composure; stakes were high after all! Ghetto Reid, Nick’s best friend and huge crush since middle school, had decided to stay for a few more minutes. This was precious time, time to give more Subtle Hints about his True Feelings! Nick whined and slapped his cheeks. “Head in the game,” he told himself. He grabbed a peach, washed it, and nearly sprinted upstairs.
Ghetto was looking out the window, hand fidgeting with the curtain. He was mumbling to himself, but jumped and stopped when he saw Nick in the doorway. “Hey,” Ghetto said, stepping towards Nick.
“Hey,” Nick repeated, tossing the peach. Ghetto caught it and nodded in thanks. “Um, if you’re worried about my dad— oh! We can sit on the roof! We can see him coming a mile away then, and he won’t be able to see us if we’re quick about things.”
Ghetto raised his eyebrows at this, and turned to Nick’s window as Nick jogged over and opened it, revealing a clear path onto the slanted roof the window rested upon. They both shivered slightly at the crisp night air, but then Ghetto snickered at Nick.
“Daredevil,” he joked, and he started to climb onto the roof. Nick let out a flustered laugh and followed suit, wobbling slightly. Ghetto held out his free hand for Nick to hold. Nick did, and Ghetto kept him steady as they sidestepped cautiously across the roof and found a place to sit.
“You good?” Ghetto asked, and Nick nodded. For a moment, their hands lingered, but then Ghetto cleared his throat and let go. Nick looked away and brought his knees to his chest. “Nice and quiet up here. You can see the whole neighborhood.”
“Yeah...” Nick glanced back at Ghetto as the taller teen took a bite of his peach. “Is it good?”
Ghetto nodded. “Yeah, thanks man. I’m glad I stayed,” he said.
Nick smiled and let out a disheartened chuckle. “For the peach,” he clarified, shrugging it off. Ghetto laughed.
“For you, silly,” he corrected, nudging Nick’s arm and taking another big bite. “You’re cool, I like hanging out with you.”
Nick stammered, cheeks heating up. “I’m— I’m cool?” he asked, pointing to himself. “Aw jeez— you’re the one who goes out with friends and stays out late at night and stuff, you’re the cool one. I’m not sure I’m like that, y’know. I’m not cool.”
“Sure you are, Nick!” Ghetto raised his shoulders and glanced away, voice quieting. “You’re smart, and— and you’re really good at art too. And I can talk to you about stuff, y’know? You’re a good friend. All that makes you pretty cool.”
“O-Oh.” Nick shouted internally and faked warming up his hands with his breath in an attempt to hide his severe blushing. Ghetto thought he was COOL...? Him? A few moments of silence passed as Nick overanalyzed Ghetto’s words and Ghetto ate the rest of the peach. He finally finished, and tossed the pit straight into an open trash can below. Nick let out a quiet “ooo” and clapped at the display.
“Hey, how about this. We’re both super cool alright? We’re the coolest kids in Seaport, you and me!” Ghetto held up a hand, and Nick smiled and high fived him. Ghetto gasped at the touch and laughed. “Oh my god, your hand’s so cold! And small, look!”
Ghetto kept his hand held up, and Nick held his own hand against it, painfully aware of his rapid heartbeat. “It’s— It’s cold out, y’know, I’m cold.” He stumbled over his words. Ghetto frowned.
“Here.” He took off his jacket, a big puffy one that had always seemed so warm to Nick. He draped it over Nick’s shoulders and scooted closer, wrapping an arm around him. Nick, now rendered speechless, let Ghetto take his hands and squeeze them to warm them up. “Let’s stay warm together.”
“Right,” Nick breathed, his poor soul beginning to enter another plane. “Staying warm.”
“Yep.” Ghetto sighed, eyes turning to the stars above, visible only faintly through the fog. “Always so damn cold here.”
“Do you ever think about leaving?” Nick asked. Ghetto raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh— I mean— y’know, with all our counselors talking about college and stuff recently. I can’t imagine leaving here.”
“I can’t either. This island may be kinda shitty—”
“Foggy, rainy, cold,” Nick listed. Ghetto grinned.
“But... my friends are here, my family. And you,” Ghetto said, leaning back a bit, his hand on Nick’s shoulder now. He looked into Nick’s eyes, and Nick looked right back, leaning very slightly forward.
Ghetto separated Nick. Why would he... Nick hadn’t even made any Subtle Hints yet! Was Ghetto about to...
“You... my best friend.”
Nick let out a quiet, pained squeak. “Best friend,” he said, voice cracking. He felt, in that moment, like digging a hole in his backyard and never coming out, but he figured he’d just force a smile instead. “Yeah, best friend. Best... wow. We’re best friends, Ghetto.”
Ghetto nodded and smiled, looking back to the sky. Nick pressed his head to Ghetto’s shoulder and tried to conceal his disappointment.
“I mean— um. Never mind.”
Nick’s head shot up. “What.”
Ghetto turned his head away and rubbed the back of his neck. “It— It’s nothing. It’s stupid,” he said, and Nick held his hand, pouting at that.
“Ghetto, nothing you say is stupid—”
“Okay I— I like you! I really like you,” Ghetto blurted out. Nick froze in shock, before sighing and leaning back. No way it was that easy.
“As best friends right?”
Ghetto blinked and shook his head. “No— like, like-like! Crush-like! I... I can’t even say we’re best friends anymore, it makes me cringe so bad! I’ve liked you for a long time, and we’re super close I just didn’t wanna mess it up y’know? But you— you’re sitting here all cute and shit— messing me up, man,” he explained, hardly able to look at Nick, who was staring blankly at him. “And now you’re not saying anything— this is a nightmare.”
“Hohh, hoo. Whoah.” Nick blinked and held up a shaky finger. A big bright red error code was flashing inside his brain, which made it quite hard to properly process. “Wait. Wa. Whuh. You— like me.”
Ghetto whined and nodded. “Since middle school,” he admitted, flinching.
Nick opened his mouth, managing to get a few words out in his daze. “Middle. Me. Too.”
Ghetto shook his head. “Wait— you like me too?” he asked, leaning forward.
Nick let out a strained laugh, finding himself in denial. “Um, depends on whether or not this is all a big joke, if so, I was also kidding. Very kidding,” he said, in a last ditch attempt to backtrack out of what was clearly meant to be a joke. A joke, right?
“Do you wanna kiss,” Ghetto breathed.
Okay maybe not a joke. Nick decided to nod and figure the rest out later.
Ghetto leaned in, and Nick’s eyes widened. Ghetto held Nick’s hand and kissed him. It lasted a fleeting moment before Ghetto broke it and looked at Nick. “You okay?” he asked, and Nick nodded, though his mind was racing and his hands were shaking and his face was incredibly hot.
“I’m good...” It was Nick who leaned in this time in a burst of dazed confidence, cupping Ghetto’s face and shutting his eyes as they kissed again, still short but slightly longer than the last. When it broke, they pressed their foreheads together.
“Can we agree that this is a trainwreck of a confession,” Ghetto chuckled. Nick realized he hadn’t even thought of it that way; but it definitely wasn’t the high school drama love confession he’d imagined.
“Yeah... definitely not how it goes in the movies, I think,” Nick sighed, smiling. “It’s okay. It’s us.”
“Very true. It is us,” Ghetto said. They kissed again, getting into the groove of things. “We’re still the coolest people in Seaport.”
Nick snorted. “Not quite sure about that one, Ghetto.”
They both laughed, Nick scooting closer so Ghetto could wrap his arms around him. Nick was so busy blushing that he hardly noticed the car rounding the corner of the street. He gasped. “That’s my dad! Damn, you should go!”
Ghetto sighed dramatically and kissed Nick on the cheek. “Okay— um— Nick.” He looked down. “Where.”
“Trampoline!” Nick exclaimed, pointing to the trampoline in the backyard below. Ghetto did a double take.
“TRAMPOLINE?”
Nick yelped and shushed Ghetto frantically, one hand on his shoulder. “You won’t be hurt! Go, I’ll see you at school on Monday okay?” he said, and Ghetto peered over the edge of the roof.
“You’re so, so lucky I like you,” Ghetto said, standing up and scooting towards the edge. “So damn lucky.”
Nick smiled and started scooting towards his window. Ghetto shook his head, smiled back, and let himself drop off the roof and onto the trampoline below, bouncing and stumbling unsteadily until he gripped the mesh net. Nick heard a faint “fuck” and snorted.
He climbed back inside his room and pretended to wave at Ghetto with a handkerchief. Ghetto rolled his eyes jokingly and blew Nick a kiss. Nick leaned on the window and watched Ghetto crawl out of the trampoline and sneak away, climbing over the fence just as Nick’s father’s car pulled into the driveway, missing discovery by a hair. Nick let out a breath of relief and collapsed on his bed, holding a pillow to his chest.
Ghetto kissed him. Ghetto Reid, Nick’s best friend and huge crush since middle school, had decided, in those few extra minutes together, to confess his feelings and kiss Nick. It had been precious time indeed.
Nick grinned, shoved the pillow in his flushed face, and kicked his feet.