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“Charlie, I’m gonna get killed if my father finds out-!”
“C’mon, Neil! Live a little,” Charlie’s grip on Neil’s wrist tightened as he pulled his friend away from his car. Neil always loved nights like this; brisk summer nights where the air nips gently at his cheeks and nose. Not cold enough to warrant a jacket, but it felt nice to cozy up to Charlie under the cloudless, star-sprinkled sky for some extra warmth. Neil was used to Charlie’s crazy ideas to sneak out and do mischievous things Neil could never imagine doing without his friend, like smoking or drinking. Tonight, Charlie didn’t bring booze. Just his usual pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
“Where are we even going?” Neil asked, catching his breath from running behind Charlie. “Do you know where we’re going?” He chuckled. Charlie had this wild look in his eyes, complimented well by his messed up hair. He stayed quiet for a bit before grinning.
“No,” Neil looked at his friend wide-eyed, shock plastered on his face.
“‘No’? W-What do you mean ‘ no ’?” Neil stammered out.
“No. I have no clue where we’re going.” He said, still smiling. He turned around to get a sense of where they actually were. The breeze blew softly against Charlie, messing up his hair a little more. “I might have an idea, though.” He turned back to Neil, who was looking at him with expectant eyes. “Do you trust me?”
Of course Neil did.
They didn’t go far. They ended up on the outskirts of town, a large clearing surrounded by pine trees and perfectly illuminated by the full moon bathing it in a soft white glow. Charlie was ahead of Neil, he stopped. Neil admired the scenery of the clearing and caught up to Charlie, who was lighting a cigarette.
“It’s really pretty, Charlie. How’d you know about this place?” Neil stood next to Charlie again, closer than they were before, it was getting colder. He watched Charlie take a drag of his cigarette before answering.
“I don’t know. Sorta just guessed.” He said, offering the cigarette to Neil. He refused and Charlie shrugged. “Suit yourself.” They stood in silence for a couple minutes until Charlie spoke up. “There’s a rock over there if you wanna go sit down?” He flicked the ash off the end of his smoke and gestured towards the middle of the clearing.
The rock was cold. Neil wished he brought a jacket on this little excursion of theirs, but he settled for curling cat-like up by Charlie’s side, resting his head on his shoulder. The boys did this a lot. Charlie would knock on Neil’s window and convince him to sneak out, to “have real teenage years”, as he said. They liked sitting in silence. They never really did anything when they snuck out, other than smoke and occasionally drink. Neil pushed closer to Charlie, who welcomed it and put his arm around Neil’s shoulders. Normally, they’d be more discreet, but here they didn’t have to. Nobody was around to judge them, unless he counted the moon, but she minded her business. She provided the light Neil used to look at Charlie. The gentle white light and the fiery red of his cigarette melting together on his face made him look so beautiful. Neil never really took the time to look at Charlie like this before, so focused on finding the beauty in the shape of his nose or his dark brown eyes, or how those eyes reflected colour. Neil knew they became this pretty honey colour if the sun hit them just right, but they somehow looked more pretty like this, only being illuminated by his cigarette.
“When’s your dad shipping you off to summer school?” Charlie asked. He leaned into Neil a bit, who’d stopped staring at him and opted for snugly pressing his head into the space between Charlie’s shoulder and neck and shutting his eyes, almost trying to absorb all of his friend’s warmth and comfort into his own self.
“Mm, soon.” He replied sleepily. “Next week, I think.” He bit back a ‘ I’ll miss you ’ as to not sound too sappy, almost ignoring their current position. Neil suddenly became very aware of how close they actually were, with Charlie’s head resting atop his own and his hand on his back keeping them squished together. “You’re lucky you don’t have to go,” Charlie sighed.
“I guess. But if I was going, I’d be able to see you more.” He said. Neil smiled at the comment.
“You’re acting like I’ll never see you again, Slick. We’ll probably be roommates next year anyway, don’t get so soft on me.” Neil rebutted. He chuckled into Charlie’s shoulder before continuing, “I wish I could see you more at normal hours of the day.” He loved what they had, though. How the night was only theirs, and nobody could disturb them.
“Well, that could be arranged if your father didn’t hate me, Neil.” Charlie said, readjusting himself before pulling Neil close again.
“I don’t wanna talk about him, Charlie.” He felt his eyes flutter shut and all the warmth from Charlie wash over him like a blanket. He’d give anything to fall asleep like this every night, warm and comforted. “Let this be about us, yeah?” Charlie murmured a quiet “mhm” against Neil’s head. Neil wanted them to be frozen in time, so he could fall asleep with Charlie by his side with the moon as their witness. Oh, the moon. How Neil loved the moon. He loved the night, not just because it brought him and Charlie together, but it was just so peaceful and quiet. Neil never got peace or quiet at home or at Welton. He knew Charlie did too, because the night belonged to them; it always had since they were younger, the nights they’d stay up talking under Neil’s blankets until the sun rose and its morning rays invaded their nighttime endeavors. Now, though, it was slightly more poetic than that. It was just them in the middle of a field, and the moon. Curled up in each other's warmth, fighting away sleep as the moon shone bright above them, as if she knew they needed her.
Neil wouldn’t have the night any other way.