Pride

Chapter 1

"Boy, if you kiss that little faggot again I'll kick your ass"

"Lower" Arran rolled his eyes but couldn't suppress his smile. "And try to sound a bit more... I don't know? Growly? Like a half sober man who just drank a handful of sand and saltwater"

"My voice doesn't go that low" Emrys reminded him with a pout. "If I went any lower I'd sound like a five-year-old girl trying to imitate her creepy Tio" Arran snorted at that. Emrys was good at impressions... So when Arran was in a mood or just angry at the world, Emrys liked to mess around. Today's victim was Arran's dad. "I can do my Elmo impression if that would make you laugh"

Arran and his dad had always had a strained relationship. But it only got worse one Summer evening when Emrys and Arran had been staying the night up in Emrys' old treehouse. They had a weird relationship after their first kiss... They'd kiss on the occasion, but never talked about it or even mentioned it. It was just a thing that happened and both liked to pretend it didn't.

But that night was different... It wasn't just a stolen kiss, Arran had actually been enjoying himself a lot more than he thought he would. And that was terrifying. But then the shouting started and Emrys took off running per Arran's request. Ever since then, Arran had had to keep whatever he and Emrys were as quiet as possible. The only person who even had a clue they were still seeing each other was Christian and that was because Christian was a master at reading body language. Arran couldn't keep something from him if he tried.

"Fuck no. That thing is creepy as hell" Arran scoffed. If Emrys wasn't on his skateboard he would have shoved him for even suggesting that. Emrys wore light blue jeans, cuffed at the ends with a white collared sweatshirt. His curls were neatly styled and... Fucking hell. "What the fuck, Em?" Arran hissed. Emrys looked over at him confused, hopping off his skateboard and coming to a complete stop.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Emrys scoffed. Arran grabbed the boy's wrist to show him his painted blue nails as if Emrys would forget he had them.

"I told you to scrub that shit off before school..."

"You also told me you liked it" Emrys scoffed before yanking his hand away. "I can make my own decisions fine... Although it's cute to see you worry" The brown-eyed boy chuckled.

"You're going to get your ass beat" Arran muttered. He glanced down at the ground to avoid Emrys' teasing gaze and the bright smile he could never say no to. If he avoided eye contact, Emrys couldn't convince him to not put up a fight. If he avoided eye contact, Emrys couldn't make him blush with those stupid compliments.

"Not if I say my sister did it" Emrys rolled his eyes before glancing around. He grinned before stealing a quick kiss. Outdoors. In public. Arran was going to kill him when he got the chance.

"Emrys knock it off" Arran hissed. "If this gets back to my dad he will put me in the grave" And he wasn't lying. He had never felt true fear until a drunk man had held a gun to him and screamed slurs at him until Christian stepped in and settled things down. Emrys was lucky... His grandparents didn't care. But Arran's family did... Christian was there for Arran, but it was only to make sure nobody killed him unless Christian did it himself.

"Relax. I checked. Nobody's here... I'm allowed to kiss my boyfriend" Emrys rolled his eyes before climbing back onto his skateboard and pushing off.

"I'm not your boyfriend" Arran deadpanned as he followed his best friend down the road and toward their school. Arran and Emrys kissed, they shared a bed and cuddled if they were staying at Emrys' house. Hell, they even fought like an old married couple. But they didn't sleep together and they didn't label what they were... They were just best friends that were really into one another that occasionally made out. That was it.