Chapter Text
Ryan chose Kaitlyn.
Of course he did. Why the hell would he choose him? Why the hell would anyone choose him?
Dylan exhaled a frustrated sigh. God, why was this so important to him? It was just a stupid game of truth or dare. Emma had dared Ryan to kiss either of them, and he did. He'd fulfilled the dare. Nothing more, nothing less.
This night certainly wasn't heading in a fun direction. Just why did the van have to break down this particular night? He could have been spared from all this mindfuck. Plus, he most definitely could have lived without the knowledge that Ryan didn't want him.
That's why he had decided to leave the bonfire to go wander off alone somewhere, anywhere was better than over there. He needed some alone time to process that, guess what, he fell for another fucking guy that didn't fucking want him.
And then Dylan finally arrived at the boathouse. For some reason, he always liked spending time there. It sort of had a peaceful vibe to it. No drama, no people, no stupid kisses, just the quiet wind, the beautiful moon and the soothing sounds of the lake.
But, as expected, his alone time only lasted momentarily. Jacob was also here, sitting on the edge of the dock with his feet dangling above the water. Great. So much for peace and quiet.
Although, he couldn't blame the guy. Seeing your crush kiss someone else right in front of you could definitely fuck with your brain. Dylan would know.
Hey, maybe this could be a cool bonding thing, Dylan thought. Jacob and him bonding over getting rejected by their crushes? That sure sounded like a fantastic time.
And so Dylan made his way over to the other teenager. Once he got closer, he could hear Jacob rambling about that mess with Emma, but there was also something else going on... wait, was he crying?
"Hey, bud," Dylan greeted, trying his best not to come off as an asshole. "Looks like I'm not the only one trying to escape, huh?"
"Oh, hey," Jacob turned around, clearly startled by the other guy's presence. He quickly tried to wipe away the salty tears that stained his face. "You scared the shit out of me, dude."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Dylan apologized as he sat down next to Jacob. "But seriously, you do not look okay."
"No, I'm fine, man," Jacob looked away dismissively, as though he couldn't muster up the courage to look Dylan in the eye. "Just a lot going on."
"I can imagine." Dylan licked his lips. This was a little awkward. "You know you don't have to hide your tears from me, right? We all cry sometimes. It happens. No shame in that."
"That's not---" Jacob cut himself off and whatever he wanted to say turned into silent nothingness. "Thanks, bro."
"Don't mention it," Dylan could feel the corner of his lips twitch into a lopsided smile. "You know, if you wanna rant, go for it. I'm listening."
Truth is, he was kind of interested to see where this was going. He had never seen Jacob this emotionally devastated before. Maybe this was what he needed. Maybe this was what they both needed, in a weird way. Just two heartbroken teenage souls pouring their hearts out to each other.
"Fuck, I don't know how to word it without sounding like a complete moron," Jacob started, voice already growing hoarse. "I thought that I was gonna be okay with it, you know? With her and me not being a thing anymore. Well, turns out I'm not. And she knows this and still decided to fuck with my head like that. I mean, why the hell did she have to kiss Nick like that in front of everyone? I know it was just a fucking game, but fuck! I just wish things were different..."
Wow, Dylan knew that Jacob had a soft spot for Emma, but this? This sounded like he was genuinely in love with her.
However, Dylan could see both sides. Emma wasn't interested and that was okay. Jacob had to respect that. But then again, it looked like Emma wanted to make it as rough as possible for him to get over her.
Now that he thought about it, maybe he was grateful that Ryan and him hadn't gotten further than just barely flirting.
"Do you feel the same way about Ryan?" Jacob suddenly asked, the question causing Dylan's heart to literally skip a beat. "Now I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but I did see the disappointment in your face when he kissed Kaitlyn."
Dylan shifted awkwardly. Was he ever going to get a chance to forget about Ryan?
"There's not much to talk about," Dylan mumbled under his breath. "Seems like he's just more into the sassy type. Nothing wrong with that. Just wish I didn't have to find out."
Dylan let out an uncomfortable laughter before deciding that staring off into the distance to avoid having to face Jacob sounded like a really nice idea right about now.
Which, of course, didn't last long.
"Hey, can I ask you something?"
"Uhh, sure, what is it?" Dylan tilted his head a bit to look at Jacob. He had a very strange feeling about this.
"You're gay, right?"
Oh. Dylan's eyes immediately widened and his heart seemingly skipped another beat. One more of these questions and it might just be enough for him to die of a heart attack.
"Jesus, that's one hell of a question," Dylan took a deep breath. "But yeah, I guess I am."
"You guess?" Jacob asked.
"No, man, I mean, fuck," Dylan stumbled over his own words. "I know I am."
Jacob just slowly nodded in response. And after that, just plain silence. Well, so much for hiding behind a persona. Now it was out in the fucking open.
"Is there any reason you asked or do you just like putting people on the spot?" Dylan hissed, the words not having any real bite to them, though. He was merely confused as to why someone like Jacob would even care---
"Can I kiss you?"
At first, Dylan thought he misheard the other man. But no, he really did ask that. However, it was probably just Jacob being Jacob, Dylan figured.
Or was it? Jacob didn't exactly appear to be in the mood for jokes...
Regardless, Dylan couldn't help but start chuckling because of the sheer absurdity of the situation.
"What?" Jacob frowned in offense.
"Alright, got it, very funny," Dylan snorted. "Kick a man while he's down, why don't ya?"
"I'm being serious," Jacob looked him straight in the eye, not a hint of insincerity on his face. "You really think I would joke about that after I just got dumped the other day?"
He was being serious? But how?
Dylan was so fucking confused. Fuck, what was he thinking? No. The answer had to be no. Jacob wasn't even in the right mindset for any of this. This wasn't him talking.
"You're aware that this is wrong on so many levels, right?" Dylan scolded him. "Jacob, I get that you're bitter over Emma, but this won't help you. It'll just make things worse."
"Things couldn't possibly get worse," Jacob muttered. "Listen, man, it was just a question. And I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a dick about it. But right now... fuck, I just need a distraction. Try out something new. Anything that helps me forget about her. Maybe it could also help you... you know, forget about Ryan."
Dylan shook his head. This was so wrong. So fucking wrong. And yet a small voice in his head told him to just do it. It was the last day at camp and they weren't going to see each other for a while anyway, if ever. What harm could one kiss cause? At least Dylan could say that he officially got to kiss a guy for the first time. And if it could help Jacob as well, maybe this wasn't too morally fucked up.
Dylan's heart immediately started beating faster, despite him not even having agreed to anything yet. But he knew one thing, his body was already getting prepared for this. It had already made the decision for him. There was no backing out now.
"Okay," Dylan finally spoke. "Okay, let's do it."
And then it actually happened. Jacob hesitantly moved in closer to Dylan, who could already feel the other man's soft breathing against his lips. And without any second-guessing thoughts, Dylan closed the gap between them and gently pressed his lips against Jacob's.
It wasn't as romantic as Dylan had imagined his first kiss to be, but it was an experience. Speaking of experience, Jacob seemed to have plenty of those as he greedily deepened the kiss. He knew what to do, Dylan didn't. But that was okay. After all, this was just a weak moment between two desperate teenagers in search of validation.
Although the kiss suddenly broke again when the two heard a scream in the distance. Both counselors came to the conclusion that the horrified and panicked scream belonged to their friend Abigail. They immediately got up from the dock and decided to check out what was happening.
Shit was definitely going to get hot, in more ways than just one. They were fucking doomed.
Especially Dylan.