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Cole didn't want to go to prom. He really hated the idea of putting on a suit and spending the whole night with probably drunk, dancing (Cole wasn't sure he could call it dancing, it was more of random moves that are trying to imitate dancing) teenagers. Of course he was a teenager too, but he was quiet and not really outgoing, maybe with a bit of social anxiety. BUT THERE HE WAS in his friend's car, dressed in a black suit, going to prom.
“I'm telling you it's going to be fun” Vania tried to convince Cole to have a better attitude towards the party, which was supposed to be the greatest moments of their teenage years.
“If by 'fun' you mean eating cake then yes, it will be lots of fun” although he was on a diet he convinced himself taking a one day break wouldn't hurt anyone. Besides his dad, but he didn't need to know. And even if he would find out, it won't hurt his feelings more than the fact he wasn’t going to study dance at the university. They just got to the school and Vania was looking for a parking spot.
“I told you multiple times you don't need to do this. I could get some other boy to convince my dad” As Cole was mentally preparing himself, he started wondering how did he agree. He hates parties, but he loves his best friend more, so he had to agree for her to be here. Vania's dad was a strick man and there is no way she could go to prom without a date or as he liked to put it an escorte. Cole sighed as the girl stopped the car.
"Yeah, sure, because your dad just loves people he doesn't know" Cole said sarcastically. Vania only rolled her eyes.
“We look like we are getting married” Vania looked down on her long off-white dress and then on her partner's suit. Cole wasn’t looking as impressive as she was since he didn’t want to stand out. And well, Vania was really, REALLY RICH, so it was more than natural for her to get beautiful, expensive dresses and professional makeup. Honestly, if Cole wasn't gay, he would be totally and absolutely in love with her. She was such an amazing person and she was also SO pretty. He actually sometimes wondered how different his life would have been if he was straight. Cole chuckled at the thought
“A lesbian and a gay man, how ironic” She giggled as they were making their way to the gym where the prom was hosted. They could hear loud music the moment they walked through the front entrance and Cole knew he was going to get a headache at the end of the night. The hall was crowded, so was the gym. Because the prom had just started people were rather talking than dancing. Vania started to look around hoping she would find one of her friends, while Cole was standing behind her looking at his shoes and thinking how better of a DJ he would've been. Not long time had passed when Vania grabbed Cole's wrist and pulled him in an unknown direction. The boy quickly realized Vania had found her friends and was taking him with her.
“Hi guys” Vania greeted everyone, so did Cole. He smiled thinking that this night may be better than he expected.
“I would think you are a couple if I didn't know you two are gay” Plundar said and Cole knew he was not going to hear the end of it.
“That was the worst insult I’ve ever heard” the girl near him laughed and he smiled. It was a well-known fact that their friend group was queer, but Cole often didn't think of himself like a part of it, mostly because he was only close friends with Vania. If not for her he wouldn't even know the rest of them. His friends were talking about something but he couldn't concentrate on the topic. Bright lights and loud music were distracting enough on their own, not to mention the amount of people per one meter squared.
“...Cole…Cole, are you ok?” Vania was trying to get his attention by waving her hand in front of his face, which worked.
“Yeah, I was just thinking. What happened?” Cole raised his eyes to look at the faces of his friends.
“You’ve been awfully quiet. Do you need something, water or chocolate cake?” she joked while being a little worried.
“You know what, I will actually go get that cake, that's what I’m here for” then he just turned around wanting to go to the buffet but he realized he had no idea where it was located. He studied the room. Thanks to his height he noticed the table across the gym pretty quickly. Getting through the crowd was time taking and when he finally got back, with 4 slices of chocolate cake, to the place he left his friends at, he noticed (which wasn't that hard) that they weren't there. So he did what any other person would do - he went outside and found the quietest place on the grass where he could enjoy his cake in silence. The weather that night was nice, there was no wind and the sky was clear. And Cole really liked looking at the stars. For some unknown reason he found them mesmerizing. The chocolate cake turned out to be pretty awful but Cole enjoyed it since he couldn't eat one in so long. Peace for eating his third slice was disturbed by no one else but his dear friends.
“GUYS LOOK THERE HE IS TOLD YOU HE IS HIDING HERE” now he felt guilty for not trying to find his friends, but to be honest, it is impossible to look for anyone in the crowd. Cole took another big bite out of the cake “OH COLE I'm so sorry we left you but you see, Mr. Johnson wanted to take pictures with us and we kind of lost you, I'm so sorry” Vania started to mumble and Cole couldn't interrupt her because his mouth was filled with cake. So he just shook his free hand to show her that it's not that big of a deal. After he swallowed the contents of his mouth he could finally speak again.
“Literally nothing happened and honestly, I'm also to blame. But it doesn't matter now, since you found me, are you having plans on what to do?” At his words Vania blushed and guys started to laugh.
“Dude, she wanted to find you so desperately she turned THE redhead down”
“YOU DID WHAT?! NOOOOOO!!!!!! You are going to go there and ask her- no, actually beg her for forgiveness REALLY I WAS FINE WITH MY CAKE. THERE WAS NO NEED TO PANIC”
“OKAY BUT YOU ARE COMING WITH ME SO MAYBE YOU CAN FIND SOME FRIENDS FOR ONCE” they did as they said. With smiles on their faces and Cole’s mouth full of cake, the whole group was going back to the gym. The only difference was the fact that Cole wasn't planning on befriending anyone except the rest of the chocolate delicacy.
So Cole and his friends parted ways once again. Cole found himself drinking abnormally sweet punch because it was prom so they couldn't just provide them water, it must be something, so sweet that Cole could feel his sense of taste disappear. He watched people on the dance floor, secretly judging them for their ‘dance moves’. His intrusive thoughts were telling him to go up there and show them what real dancing looks like, but his anxiety was effectively telling him to stay where he was.
“Hi Cole” If Cole wasn't so stressed he would open his mouth in shock, because the guy that just put his arm around him was the straightest guy Cole knew. And he could presume the guy was dared to talk to him but Cole wasn't sure if Kai was even popular enough to do such a thing (we all know only popular people take dares at the party), since the only class they shared was history. And honestly, until now, Cole was thinking the guy didn't even know his name. “Has anyone ever told you, you are a handsome fella?” As he was saying it he leaned closer to Cole’s ear, almost making him shiver. Cole was stunned, he didn't know how to respond. And he started to doubt his perception of Kai Smith because what straight man goes around whispering to other men how handsome they are. It felt too personal to be a dare or a prank. “If you agree to dance with me I could be telling that all night” Cole started to think about what would be the best strategy to make him leave.
“Well, then you won’t. I don’t do dancing” he lied quickly. Or maybe lie is a wrong word, because he said the truth, he doesn't dance in front of other people, with the exception of his trainer and dad. He didn’t even remember when was the last time he was taking part in some sort of competition or a talent show. And yet he is considered really good at dancing.
“Come on, with that hot body of yours you could be the king of the prom” Cole started to question if he really didn't wanna agree to dance with Kai, because he may not have another opportunity to dance with a guy again. Then he gazed at the dance floor, where he noticed Vania dancing with a girl Plundar mentioned before. He was happy for his friend. Cole turned his head to Kai and god his face was close. He automatically turned all red and he looked up to avoid eye contact, because he was SO HOT. Kai chuckled at his reaction.
“Okay BUT just one dance” Cole said, but before he finished Kai was dragging him to the dance floor. First and as Cole initially thought, the only song they danced to was fast. He tried not to look at the boy in front of him, but when he did, he could read in his eyes that he was really impressed with Cole's dancing skills. It wasn't as bad as Cole anticipated, especially when his attention was fully focused on Kai.
Then the worst thing happened, well not the worst but it was something Cole wasn't prepared for. The song changed to a slow one. And before Cole could walk out of the dance floor (he promised one song not more) Kai put his arms around Cole's neck. He panicked. Anxiety rushed over him, his muscles tensed up. He didn't know what to do. He was terrible at making choices when he was stressed. That's why instead of taking Kai out of the dance floor he decided to put his hands on the other guy's waist and dance with him to the slow song. Cole was leading the dance as he always was in his dance lessons. He was looking at Kai's face since they were too close to each other to see anything else. He noticed that Kai had a scar across his face. It was really dull and probably old, but it was there. Cole didn't know why he liked the scar so much or maybe he was just attracted to Kai because Kai was a really attractive guy. Or it could be just delusional Cole who had never experienced another guy being attracted to him.
“Can I kiss you?” Cole wasn't sure he heard correctly. He blinked twice while looking at Kai. Was he messing with him? Because Cole was pretty sure it was a joke. He almost tripped over his own shoes. But his mind still couldn't make any rational decision so he nodded. Few next seconds felt like eternity to Cole. Kai moved his hands up and placed them on Cole’s cheeks, then slowly pressed their lips together. How could Cole not realize? Kai. Was. Drunk. He could feel the taste of alcohol on his lips. Cole stopped Kai from kissing him again when he pulled off to take a breath. He noticed that Kai’s eyes appeared to be sad or disappointed.
“We are going home” he whispered, grabbed Kai's hand and walked him out of the dancing crowd. Cole was feeling a lot and he didn't like it. It was making him tired. Kai was making him tired because he wasn't sure if Kai was just drunk and that's why he was hitting on him or was it a genuine feeling or attraction.
“You want to take me home when we didn't even have a proper makeout session” Kai laughed and changed the position of his hand to align better with Cole's hand.
“You are drunk. How did I not notice that” Cole wanted to scream. He was having a pretty good time and it could be just because he was drunk “Do you wanna walk or should we find Vania so she can drive us to my place?” Cole was absolutely touched starved and it was funny how he noticed it just now when he realized Kai’s hand was helping him calm down and think rationally. which was ironic because the same person was responsible for his confusion.
“A walk could be like a romantic date under the stars” Cole sighed, but then he smiled as both of them were walking out of the building. He had to accept the fact that Kai was just a flirt.
At first he didn’t know how to start a conversation, but then he got curious and his curiosity was growing as they walked in the dark “Are you gay? Of course, you don't have to answer, but, you know, I was always thinking you were straight” Kai was quiet for a second, looking at the sky. Cole got nervous. what if he said something wrong.
“I think I’m bisexual, though every woman I’ve ever got a crush on turned out to be lesbian” he chuckled, and again there was silence between them, although it wasn’t as uncomfortable as before “I’m sorry for destroying your prom”
“Honestly, I didn’t even want to be there, so I'm glad something nice happened to me” Cole glanced at their hands and smiled to himself. How stupid all of this is, he didn’t even know him, and they kissed, and now they are holding hands “Are you hungry? I have a lot of leftovers. Honestly, they are disgusting” Kai giggled. “My father is a strict man and he is trying to keep us on a diet, so I don't get fat from eating chocolate cake all the time. Because that would mean I can no longer be a dancer…”
“SO I WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOUR HOT BODY” Kai interrupted him “Sorry, and also I promised you I would tell you how handsome you are” Cole growled in his words.
“I think you’ve shown me that enough. Also, we are here.” They were standing in front of a big modern looking house. The walls were painted white and the roof was black. Front yard looked like it was designed by an architect. Kai wasn’t aware how rich Cole is. He knew there were some really rich students in his school but he didn't know that Cole was one of them. Kai was silent when Cole was trying to get inside his house, because it turned out that Cole forgot keys from Vania’s car. Luckily Cole's dad wasn’t sleeping so he let them in. They went straight to Cole's room. Kai was awfully quiet the whole time and Cole noticed that.
Cole’s room was big, Kai could say it was 3 times bigger than his, one wall was covered in movie posters and on the other was Cole's vinyl collection. In one corner Cole had drums and 4 guitars on the wall above it. Kai also noticed that Cole has a lot of CDs and cassettes. Cole opened one side of the wardrobe and took out two sets of more comfortable clothes.
“This one's for you. I’m going to make us food and you can shower. Bathroom is first door on the right and towels are in the cabinet under the sink” Cole instructed and went to the kitchen, leaving Kai on his own. When Kai finished showering Cole was already in his room with two plates with pancakes.
“I hope you like them, I poured my heart into them” Cole laughed, hoping it would make Kai less stressed or sad. Kai took a bit out of the pancakes.
“Are you angry at me for kissing you?” That was a fast turn of events Cole didn't expect. and honestly he didn't know what to say. Not because he didn't want to hurt him, he didn't know himself. Cole took another bite of his food and slowly turned his gaze to Kai.
“I don't think so. I think I’m angry at you because you were drunk when we kissed'” Kai looked relieved when he heard him. On the other hand Cole was more nervous because of his confession. They quickly ate their supper in silence. “Do you want to sleep downstairs on the couch or on my bed?”
“Can we share your bed? I'm kinda scared of your dad” Cole giggled for some reason. A lot of people were scared of his dad.
“If you insist we can but I'm going to take a shower first” Cole again left Kai alone in his room. Kai didn't know what to do with himself so he turned off the lights and laid on bed, trying to fall asleep before Cole returned. He actually managed to do that and when Cole came back from the bathroom Kai was sleeping under the sheets of his bed. Cole, trying not to wake up the other, laid down and turned his back to Kai. He felt the other guy shift in bed and then warm hands around his waist. When Kai felt Cole was relaxing he moved closer so their bodies were touching. Like that they both fell asleep.
Cole woke up the next morning. He was a little dizzy at first, but then he started to recall last night's memories. He slowly got up trying not to wake up Kai FUCKING Smith, who he kissed last night or, to be more precise, how kissed him (not to even mention the fact they were sleeping in one bed last night). Cole wanted to scream. He didn’t know if that was from happiness, sadness or anger. He walked out of his room to get to the kitchen, which turned out to be a great mistake because his dad was standing in front of the kitchen counter making breakfast. His dad was the last person he wanted to talk to.
“So that boy?” Cole’s dad asked as soon as he noticed his son. Cole wanted to growl. He didn’t want to explain to his dad he didn't even know him “Is he your boyfriend?” at that question the boy turned all red for no reason. HE KNEW HIM FOR ONE DAY.
“No. We have history together” Cole answered as he was opening the fridge to find something for him and Kai to eat. “Listen, Dad I don’t really wanna answer questions about him and me. Just ask me later, ok?” He only heard a sigh from his dad. He was glad his dad dropped the topic. His eyes were looking at the ingredients in his fridge. He decided on cutting some vegetables and taking some weird diet stuff that was not successfully trying to resemble bread. He put it all on to the plate and, with a bit of anxiety rushing through him, he went to his room with the plate in his hand.
When he walked to the room his classmate was still asleep, which was causing more anxiety for Cole. He didn’t want to wake up Kai, because firstly, he didn’t know how the boy would react to the memories of last night, and secondly, he didn’t know how he would react at the pure act of waking him up. Also Cole was hoping that Kai won’t say that he was attracted to him just because he was drunk. He didn’t know if it was because he and any other person hated to be rejected or was it because he was secretly (or not even secretly) attracted to the guy. Cole already admitted to himself that he thought that Kai was attractive but for him that was just an objective truth, not his opinion, so he didn’t count it as being attracted to the boy.
“Kai” Cole tried to wake Kai up but his voice was too quiet to do that, so he tried louder. Still Kai showed no reaction to his name. Cole decided that maybe better would be if he shook Kai’s arm. That caused the boy to change his sleeping position and nothing else. Cole sighed. He didn’t really want to scream into the boy's ear or take the blanket he was sleeping under. That felt wrong to Cole. He took a quick glance at the clock. It was 9.30. Cole had no idea when they had fallen asleep but he knew that Kai had enough time to get proper rest. He tried again, now combining calling his name and gently shaking him.
“Nya stop, it's too early and I’m hungover,” Kai said with a deep morning voice. Cole would totally melt at the sound of his voice if not for the fact that he told the name of some girl he clearly wasn’t.
“Who’s Nya?” Cole asked quietly knowing the boy was drinking last night. Kai jumped on the sound of Cole’s voice. He quickly turned to face Cole. He was blushing which was an understatement. His face was as red as a tomato Cole was cutting a few minutes ago. Kai was silent, which made Cole so stressed he started to shiver. They were looking at each other. Kai could find words because he was sitting at his crush’s bed. He had been convinced he would never even talk to his crush, not to mention sitting on his bed while said crush waited for Kai’s explanation about last night that he couldn’t even remember. Brunette’s head was empty and the only emotion he could feel was embarrassment. After a few seconds Kai covered his face with his hands. “Sorry, did I make you uncomfortable? It’s ok if you don’t wanna talk” Cole smiled and took the plate with food and put it in front of the boy “I made breakfast. I hope you will eat it. I don't want you to walk around and talk about how the handsome boy you kissed last night was starving you” Cole joked, but soon realized he made a mistake when Kai fell face down on a pillow. “Are you ok?” Kai took a deep breath and started talking, still facing the pillow.
“Nya’s mmm sister” he mumbled. He couldn’t look at his crush. He felt so embarrassed he could die from it now. “I’m so sorry. I-” Kai felt something stopped him from talking. He felt so useless, so bad, so anxious, SO GAY AND IN LOVE WITH THIS GUY THAT MADE HIM BREAKFAST FOR KNOWING HIM FOR ONE DAY. He wanted to cry. He wasn’t a person that cries easily. He was sure the last time he had been crying was in kindergarten. But the fact that he was hungover and convinced he just ruined chances to be with Cole (not like he thought he ever had one) made him so emotional he started sobbing like a baby. And Cole didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t great at comforting people. He put the plate on his desk so it won’t get all over his bed when he will sit next to the crying boy to try comforting him. Cole put his hand on top of Kai’s head and started playing with his hair.
“There is no need to cry, pretty boy” Cole was aware it was sounding better in his head than it did when he actually said it. Either way Kai chuckled on his words and turned his head so he could finally breathe normally, which made Cole happy because now he was facing him. He wanted to mock him for not being so smooth as he was after alcohol but he resigned from that idea. Cole smiled so warmly it made Kai get butterflies in his stomach.
“You think I’m pretty? Does that mean you don’t hate me after yesterday?” Cole was taken back by that statement, he thought they established that yesterday. He started laughing uncontrollably.
“I thought you hated me after yesterday” he said finally after Kai had hidden his face in the pillow again “Well then hot stuff, what about you eat breakfast with me and then I treat you to coffee” Cole offered. Kai was quiet for a second and then he raised to sit in front of Cole. He was all red and Cole thought it was funny how smooth Kai was last night.
“If it’s a date then yes”