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The small alarm clock on the bedside table read 5:04, its dull red glow barely making a dent in the surrounding darkness. The sound of waves pounding on the shore some distance away was the only discernable noise. Black curtains kept what little sunlight there was out of the room.
Inside and out, the whole world was quiet.
Cody stirred and opened his eyes. The plain cream ceiling was the first thing to greet him. The second thing was the sleeping face of the guy in bed next to him.
Noah was on his side, facing Cody, one arm lazily slung around his waist. His face was relaxed and peaceful, and his lovely soft hair was sticking out at various angles. Cody couldn't help but smile just looking at him.
So it was real, after all. It hadn't been a dream.
Last night had been monumental. Sitting around a campfire, the others drifting inside to turn in for the night, one by one, until just Cody and Noah were left. The warmth of the flames was nothing compared to how hot his heart burned. Burning for Noah.
He'd always had a tendency to fall hard for someone. Noah was no exception. On Cody's end, it had been love at first sight.
As soon as Noah had stepped onto the dock and kept calm even as Duncan held onto his lower lip, Cody was hooked.
Soon, the boys developed a fledgling friendship, bound primarily by their shared interest in video games. But it quickly became obvious that they liked each other beyond that, as even the whole ear kiss incident didn't stop them from hanging out together.
Cody saved Noah from a possible elimination by literally dragging him out onto the dodgeball court and forcing him to participate. Noah, despite his constant insistence that sports weren't his forte, still performed well enough that the others decided not to vote him off, after all. Lindsay, who could barely understand what was even going on, was eliminated instead.
They stuck together after that, doing the challenges side by side. Noah gave a few subtle hints to Cody about how to diffuse a time bomb, and Cody whispered words of encouragement when Noah had to face his fear of needles. They paddled the canoe to Boney Island together. And they hid together during the paintball deer hunt.
Well, that was until they got separated and Cody was mauled by a bear.
Noah tried to convince the Gophers not to do it, but they weren't to be swayed so easily. Noah had walked him down the Dock of Shame and wished him a speedy recovery.
But Noah didn't last much longer himself. He was unceremoniously booted during Chef's boot camp for getting on his nerves. His teammates weren't too pleased with him, either. Cody was secretly glad, because this meant more time to hang out.
And hang out they did. They spent all day, every day together, whether it was playing video games, watching movies, or simply chatting by the poolside. Their relationship slowly progressed into sharing their secrets, and other tidbits they could only trust another with. They became each other's rock. They were two skinny geeks against the world.
Whenever Noah accidentally brushed against him, Cody felt his skin tingle. Noah was amazing: funny, cool-headed, and pretty kind once you got to know him. His sarcastic one-liners never failed to get a smile or a laugh out of him. Cody wanted nothing more than to confess, and hoped Noah felt the same.
And that was exactly what he did, last night by the bonfire.
Noah had returned his feelings.
Then they kissed, slow and awkward and bumping their foreheads together, but sweet all the same. They tried again, with a little less forehead bumping this time, then again. Noah holding onto Cody's waist, Cody holding onto Noah's shoulders. They were one, now. They were together.
Which led to the following morning.
Cody gazed lovingly at Noah' sleeping face, then leaned in and gently pecked his cheek. Noah stirred and opened his eyes, those gorgeous chocolate brown eyes that Cody had come to love so much. Noah shifted around, getting into a more comfortable position, still keeping his arm around Cody's waist.
"Morning," he said, voice crackly with sleep.
"Morning," Cody whispered back, brushing some of Noah's wayward hair out of his face.
They stayed like that for a few moments, just staring at each other. The gaps in the curtains yielded several weak rays of dawning sunlight, filling the room with a gray haze. In the distance, the muffled roar of waves was still the only thing that could be heard. It was rare for Playa des Losers to be this quiet. They were going to enjoy it while it lasted.
"I love you," Cody murmured.
"Love you too, Codester," Noah responded, then pulled him down on top of him for a slow, sweet kiss.
It was so unlike Noah to be this affectionate, hell, the other campers would probably think Noah had been replaced, or something. But really, he was just very private about it. He was a closed book most of the time, but he'd chosen to open his pages to Cody.
And Cody was going to cherish this moment, cherish him, forever.