Alaska Love

Leif and Reed

A/N: this was written a while back for my best friend, so sorry if it sucks but I was proud of it when I wrote it.

The air hung heavy with the smell of pine and woodsmoke, a familiar scent that always brought a sense of calm to Leif. He sat on the worn wooden steps of his family's cabin, watching the sun sink below the horizon, painting the sky in fiery hues of orange and purple. He loved the quiet solitude of the woods, a stark contrast to the bustling city life he'd left behind just a few months ago.

Suddenly, a twig snapped behind him, followed by a surprised "Whoops!" Leif whirled around, his hand instinctively reaching for the small hunting knife tucked in his belt. He found himself face-to-face with a boy his age, his hair as dark as the woods themselves and eyes that sparkled like the setting sun. The boy was holding a basket overflowing with mushrooms, a wide smile on his face.

"Hi! I'm Reed! Nice to meet you!" said Reed. Leif couldn't help but laugh. He was overjoyed that Reed was here, but wondered why he would introduce himself that way, like they didn't know each other. Leif replied,

"Why are you introducing yourself, Reed? I already know you." Reed shushed him.

"Your parents don't know that, Leif." Leif realized just before it was too late. His mother walked out.

"Oh! Now who is this boy here, Leif?" She asked him.

"He's some random kid. I don't know him, but he just came up and introduced himself," Leif told her. Reed looked a little hurt by that comment.

"He's really nice though, do you approve of me being friends with him?" Leif asked with a hidden sympathetic face for Reed. His mother thought for a moment.

Reed was definitely not the best dressed kid. He wears a matching sweatsuit and hat Every. Single. Day. Leif had eventually cracked the code. It seemed that he had a different one for every day of the week. Monday was back; Both of them are deppresing. Tuesday was green; no clue why. Wednesday was yellow. Obviously. Yellow was happy, so was Wednesday. The rest of the week was a mixture of blues, grays, and blacks. Leif hadn't cracked that part yet.

Leif didn't do so well either. He didn't have many pairs of pants, and was extremely picky about them, so he only wore cargo shorts, and it was mostly cold so he always wore some kind of sweatshirt.

Lief's mother was extremely picky about who leif could be friends with, so when she met Reed, she was skeptical. He had a knack for charming people though. He easily charmed her this time.

Reed looked really mean and buff, but he was actually really a sweet guy. Leif had longish hair. Everyone always mistook him for a girl. Everyone said he needed to cut it, but he thought it gave him personality.

Reed loved his long hair. Reed loved everything about him. If Leif asked Reed what his favorite part about him was, he would list everything about him.

The truth was, Leif and Reed were secretly dating. Both of their parents were extremely homophobic. Not even their best friends knew about them. The only place they could meet together was the bridge. It was the place they had first held hands, the first time Reed kissed Leif on the cheek, and their first real kiss.

Just thinking about this made Leif blush. The bridge was both of their favorite parts of the day. Every day after school, they would walk back home together, stopping by the bridge to give each other a little kiss where no one would see them, and then make their way back to their houses.

On the weekends, right after lunch was their parents' relaxation time, so they kicked the kids out. That was when they would spend hours together, cuddling, stealing kisses, and napping under the bridge.

Leif's mom decided and told him it was okay if they were friends, as long as they were nothing more than plain friends. Not best friends. And not boyfriends. Guess that won't be happening, Leif thought with a smirk.

"Run along now, you two." Leif's mom told them. Leif and Reed left both knowing where they would go; the bridge.

Once they made it there, Reed started a fire, and they cooked the mushrooms from his basket. The chanterelles were the best ones. Even though they had no seasonings, they were the best ones.

"So, your mom approves of me being your friend," Reed said.

"Yeah, I guess so," Leif agreed. "But nothing more, not best friends," He mimicked.

"I wonder if anyone knows about us," Reed said.

"I do!" Yelled a voice from above them. Leif spun around and grabbed his small hunting knife and thrust it forward.

"Hey! Watch it! I wasn't gonna hurt you or anything!" Said the voice. Leif recognized that voice. It was Hazel, his best friend. "Hazel?" Leif asked. "Yeah, sheesh, I was not expecting you to try and murder me! Jesus Christ!" She answered. Leif was both relieved, and absolutely terrified at the same time. "How long have you known about us?" Reed demanded. "Since like a month or two ago," she answered casually. Leif was flabbergasted. How had she known all this time? Had she followed them? Why would she care what Leif did after school?

"Hey, chill dude. I wasn't trying to be nosy, but I saw you two and you looked adorable, so I kept watching." Hazel told him. "At least we didn't do anything weird." Leif thought.

"Get lost Hazel," Reed told her. "And please,don't tell."

Hazel promised and left them alone. Reed turned to Leif. He looked at him in a way that said: "I promise" Leif gave him a little peck on the cheek, and went on cooking the rest of the mushrooms.

The next day was monday. Reed was wearing a black sweatsuit and hat, as always, and Hazel was bugging Leif all through the day to tell her more.

"When did you guys first get together? When was the last time you guys kissed? When was your first kiss?" She would ask. Leif ignored her.

After school, Leif and Reed met back at the bridge. As soon as they got to their secret spot Reed kissed Leif and gave him a huge hug. "Hazel would not stop bothering me today," Reed whispered in his ear. "Me neither," Leif whispered back.

They sat down on the ground, still hugging each other, Leif sitting on top of Reed. (*Like the way all couples sit when hugging*) Leif buried his face in Reed's neck and hugged him tight. They stayed like that for a while, Just cuddling.

Eventually Leif decided that it was getting too late to be out and he lifted his head to check the sky. He saw that the sun was getting about midway to the treeline which meant it was about 5:30. He looked back down to see Reed with his head shoved in Leif's neck, snoring softly. He gently shook him awake.

"Reed, it's getting late. We should probably start back home now," Leif said. Reed groaned,

"I don't want to get up. You're too comfy and warm."

Leif chuckled at that. "I know you don't, but our parents will be mad if we stay out too late.

Reed groaned louder. "Shh!" Leif whisper-yelled, "people are gonna hear us!"

Reed looked up at Leif. Leif could see the tiredness in his eyes. There was just over 3 inches of space between them. Leif leaned down and closed that space with a small peck on the lips. He gave Reed a small smile.

"You know if Hazel saw that she'd be squealing like a pig, right?" Leif chucked at Reed's remark.

Reed leaned up and kissed Leif on the tip of his nose. *I LOVE WHEN COUPLES DO THAT it's sooo cute*

Leif got up from on top of Reed and stretched his legs out. Reed stood up and did the same. Leif came up behind Reed and gave him a hug.

"I love you, Reed."

"I love you too."

And with one last hug and kiss, they set off to their (sadly) separate houses.

By Ama/Alex.