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Noah liked to sleep in. As much as possible. So you can imagine his irateness when he was abruptly awoken in his motel room, by a two hundred and ninety six pound glob of joy. Said glob of joy was his best friend Owen.
He groaned as he turned over and looked at the motel clock. "Owen its seven a.m."
"I know!" The blonde replied excitedly. "You've gotta wake up man, it's July fourth!"
"Owen, we're Canadian." He said tersely, turning over in the hopes of going back to sleep. Sadly for him, this wasn't an option.
"But we're vacationing in America and I wanna experience the festivities with you little buddy!" Owen insisted.
"What festivities could be going on at seven in the morning?" He frowned.
"Noah the motel serves free all you can eat breakfast until eight. After that you have to pay for it! Since its July 4th they're serving an all American continental breakfast! With pancakes, waffles, french toast, bacon, sausages and more! They have eggs Benedict Noah! Eggs Benedict!" The blonde explained.
Noah sighed. He should have known it had something to do with food. "You're not going to leave me alone until I get up are you?"
"Six words Noah. All. You. Can. Eat. For. Free." Owen repeated.
He groaned. "Fine, just remember-"
"I can only fill one plate at a time." The large teen interrupted.
"And?"
"The table decorations don't count as food." His best friend beamed at him, clearly proud he'd remembered. His heart fluttered at the sight.
"And?" He smirked.
"There was a third thing?" Owen frowned.
"No, I'm messing with you. Think of it as payment for waking me up early." With those words he finally got out of bed. "Now are we going or what?"
They headed down to the dining area, Owen happily chattering about things Noah couldn't really focus on. Not this early in the morning. As they approached the line for the buffet Owen said his name. Crap he hadn't been paying attention. "Can you repeat that last part?"
"Sure, I was wondering what you were getting from the buffet?" Owen asked him.
"Probably just a stack of pancakes, an egg, and a cup of coffee." He shrugged.
"That's it?" The blonde frowned.
"Well someone has to make up for all the food you'll be eating. Let me guess, you're having everything?" He chuckled.
"Yeah! You know me so well!" The large boy beamed as he stared at him. For longer than Noah would have expected. In fact the line started moving.
"Owen." He began.
"Hmm?" The big lug replied in askance.
"The line's moving."
"Great Gatsby!" Owen cried, breaking himself out of whatever spell he was under and moving forward quickly.
They went through the line and Noah got what he'd said he would. Though interestingly the pancakes had not only maple syrup but blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream next to them. Noah decided he'd had enough maple syrup and helped himself to the berries and cream.
When they made it through, Noah carried his breakfast to a nearby table. He turned to see if Owen needed any help. The blonde had piled his plate as high as he could get away with. The stack looked unsteady, but somehow Owen made it to the table with dropping anything. Looking at his plate he'd somehow managed to fit at least one of everything on it.
Noah took a drink of his coffee and started on his eggs. He enjoyed the silence that happened whenever Owen ate. His friend had learned not to talk with his mouth full. Which was good, because Noah really didn't want to try the Heimlich anytime soon.
Owen was already on his second plate, by the time Noah finished his first. He pulled out the book he'd brought down with him. It was going to take a while before Owen was finished. He was proven correct when eight A.M rolled around and he had to remind Owen he couldn't eat anymore.
"So what are we doing next?" Noah asked. He knew how Owen was, he'd probably planned the day out.
"There's a parade on main street!" The blonde told him. Together they reached the bustling crowd on main. There was nowhere to sit. Literally nowhere. The crowd of people in front of him were tall enough to block his vision.
"Great. A parade I can't see." He snarked. Not that it mattered, he was here to be with Owen, who he was sure would enjoy the parade much more. It was then he felt himself being picked up. "Owen? What are you doing?"
The blonde placed him on his shoulders and then answered. "You can see now right?"
He could. He could see really clearly. In fact he probably had the best view of anyone. "Yeah." The fluttering in his heart was back. He didn't understand what it was, and he hated not understanding things. So he decided to ignore it.
The parade was interesting. It began with police cars, clearly making sure it was safe to proceed. Then moved on to what he assumed was the American military. A couple were holding America's National Flag, while speakers blared America's national anthem. Everyone placed their hand over their heart, and out of respect he did so too.
After that there was a lot of different things. A few fire trucks came through blaring their sirens. They had several people on top with water guns. Noah could see several people waving to them, after which they were sprayed.
There was a lot of advertisements, which he ignored. A marching band came through at one point, as well as several girls on horses, with banners indicating where they had placed in the rodeo. Noah had never been to a rodeo himself, so he didn't know how hard it was to earn that kind of thing.
Several old American made cars were scattered throughout the parade. Noah found that interesting. Not that he was a car guy, but he did enjoy seeing pieces of the past. Eventually the parade ended with more police cars, clearly making sure the parade was safe.
After that the crowd dispersed. Owen started to walk to the next destination he had planned. "Owen, I'm still on your back." He reminded the blond.
"Oh, right." his friend said, Noah could picture his sheepish grin in his mind. "Sorry." He placed Noah on the ground and the two continued. Owen took him to the park, where they ate ice cream together. Then they went back to the motel and watched specials on T.V.
Finally it was nighttime. Owen wanted to go out and see the fireworks. Noah was tired, but he couldn't say no to Owen. Not when Owen was so excited. He didn't quite understand that himself. He'd been really nice to Owen all day. That was what best friends did. Yet somehow this felt like more? Noah shook his head. He was over thinking it.
/
Owen's heart was pounding. This was it. They were heading to a hill they could see the fireworks from. It was just like a romance movie. Except he wasn't sure Noah returned his feelings. That was why he had to ask.
He felt nervous as they walked up the hill. In movies you knew the person would say yes, because that's how the story went. Here in real life though? He didn't know that. Noah could say no. His heart fell at the thought. He really hoped Noah didn't say no.
They sat on the hill in silence as they waited for the light show to begin. Owen found the silence suffocating. He wanted to say something, anything to break it, but the words caught in his throat when he did.
"You okay chubby buddy? You're awfully quiet." Noah asked him. Of course Noah would notice that. He was so smart. That was one of the things Owen lo- liked about him.
"Who me? Yeah I'm fine! Totally fine! I just didn't feel like talking! No other reasons!" He spilled out all at once. He wanted to slap himself. He was really bad at lying. especially to Noah. The cynic stared at him suspiciously and Owen held his breath.
"Okay then?" his friend decided to go with. Owen let himself breathe again. Okay, he was letting him be. Good.
The fireworks started and they were spectacular. Glowing red, white, blue, green, and purple. some of them even changed color in the middle. Some were shaped like smiley faces. He really liked those. Sometimes there would only be one firework in the sky, and other times there would be multiple, of all different colors.
Owen looked to see if Noah was enjoying himself. His little buddy was so pretty illuminated by the fireworks. It brought out the highlights in his hair. A small breeze made the small teen's hair flutter, making Owen's heart beat faster. His friend was smiling. Not an ear to ear grin obviously, but a small genuine smile that made his heart soar.
"Here comes the finale." Noah called.
Owen didn't pay attention to that. This was it. The perfect time. He just had to get the words out. He grabbed Noah's hand bringing the cynic's attention away from the light show. "Noah?" He began.
"Yeah?" His crush replied. Owen's heart began beating faster. It seemed to get louder every second, until Owen was sure Noah could hear it.
"I like you." He blurted.
Noah looked confused. "Yeah, I like you too chubby buddy."
"N-no! Like I really like you." He stammered.
"I really like you too?" The cynic frowned.
"No! Like I wanna spend forever with you!" He tried to explain.
"Well I certainly hope we'll be friends forever?" Noah said. Owen wanted to scream How could someone be this dense?!
On instinct Owen leaned forward and kissed Noah on the lips. They were thin, but felt nice and warm. He's finally kissing Noah...He's kissing Noah?! Quickly Owen drew back from his friend. "I'm sorry i should have asked first!" Noah was going to be so mad at him. He didn't even get permission.
The cynic stared at him seriously. Oh he's mad. He's so mad. How could he have messed this up so badly? Now there was no way Noah- Before Owen could finish that thought the smaller teen was kissing him. Owen sat there in shock.
Noah was kissing him... his eyes shot wide open at the realization. He started to kiss the smaller teen back. It wasn't anything deep, not like the make outs he'd had with Izzy. It was basic, simple, and yet amazing.
They finally pulled apart. "So that's why you've been acting weird." Noah said.
"Y-yeah. I just didn't know how to tell you." He admitted.
"I think you nailed it." Noah said, and then he smiled. Owen beamed back.