Falling | zaylor ✓

Idiot

The following morning, Taylor woke on Hayley's couch. Many of the events of the previous nights had slipped his mind, but one moment stood out more than any others.

He groaned as he sat up, a killer headache being felt.

"Hey, sleepy head," Hayley spoke as she filled a bowl of cereal with milk.

"Why am I here?" the guitarist asked in complete confusion. He remembered Hayley being there, and he remembered crying. But he definitely didn't remember being brought into Hayley's house.

"I didn't want to leave you alone last night. You had fallen asleep in the car, and you were barely awake when I pretty much dragged you inside. Just getting you on the couch was a struggle. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling pretty shitty. My head hurts. Hey, Hayles?"

His friend's head turned in the direction of him as he rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah?" the girl responded.

"Did I tell Zac I'm gay?" he asked, wanting to be sure that the memories he had of the previous night weren't actually parts of some wild dream. He had a feeling it was all real, but he didn't want it to be.

"You did," the vocalist replied plainly. Taylor groaned as he rested his head back down. He had really hoped it was just a dream.

"I need to see him," the guitarist replied, voice quiet, yet still loud enough to be heard from within the kitchen.

"T, I don't think that's best."

"I need to talk to him."

Hayley felt bad for telling him that he couldn't see Zac and explain the situation. So she drove him back to his (no longer secret) love's house, after he'd spent a good time with his head just above the toilet. He'd have to return to Zac's house sooner or later in order to get his car, so he figured it didn't matter much anyway.

"If you need me, you can just call me," Hayley reminded him for the fourth time since the two of them left her Nashville home. Right after reminding him, she pulled out of the driveway and made her way back to her house.

Taylor slowly walked to the front door of Zac's house. His index finger met the doorbell, the ringing and its echo being able to be distantly heard from his spot on the front porch.

After about a minute and two rings of the doorbell later, Zac opened the front door with an expression of obvious exhaustion evident on his features.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, squinting and shielding his eyes from the sunshine that slipped into his home.

"I need to talk to you," Taylor said, not as exhausted as he thought he would have been. With a step back, Zac allowed Taylor into his home.

While Zac prepared himself a cup of coffee, which he hoped would help him stay awake, Taylor sat nervously on the couch of the younger male's living room. His legs couldn't stay still, nor could his hands. His right leg bounced up and down as his hands patted his upper legs.

The drummer returned to the room a moment later, his lips and most of his nose hidden behind the mug of coffee that occupied his right hand.

"What?" Zac finally spoke after he sat beside his former bandmate.

"I meant what I told you last night."

"But dude...Baylie..." he started, only to be quickly cut off.

"Baylie isn't important to me. A lot of gay people date people of the opposite gender just because they don't realize how they truly feel. Or because they're in denial. And anyway, bisexuality, and pansexuality, and a bunch of other stuff exists, ya' dummy."

Zac chuckled. Taylor smiled. It felt right. Even though they were talking about such a serious subject, they still managed to smile and laugh and joke around.

"So...are you bisexual?"

"I told you what I am."

"Gay?"

"Yes," Taylor replied, fighting the impending urge to roll his eyes.

"So you only like boys?"

"Yes."

It was really like Zac was rephrasing his question, asking it again, and just received the same answer each time.

"Who else knows?"

"Hayley. That's it. I didn't tell Jeremy, and don't exactly plan on it, because things aren't exactly going so great with him. I almost told Justin, but ended up being too afraid to do it. I hope you don't view me any differently."

"Of course I won't view you any differently. It may take some getting used to, so just be sure to slap me in the face each time I say something offensive or say something that makes it sound like you're straight. D'you know what I mean?" Zac asked. Taylor nodded.

"Good. Uh...one more question."

"Go ahead," Taylor answered simply, his hidden nervousness being caused by his fear of what question was coming his way. Who wouldn't be? He just came out to one of his very best friends, and hearing words that are even similar to that phrase could get the nerves of anyone going.

"Was you telling me to kiss you just the alcohol talking?"

Believe me, Taylor wanted to say yes, that he by no means wanted to kiss his adorable friend that he'd had a crush on for years. Say that he was just kidding around. Say that it meant nothing, just dudes being dudes. No homo. But something in him was screaming. That something in him probably being the internal, flamboyant gay man he had hidden within. But because of that imaginary creature, he was being a little more ballsy than usual.

"No, it wasn't."

And Zac's eyes went wide. And Taylor's heart seemed to stop. And he felt like he was about to vomit, something he did enough of at Hayley's house after waking up.

"So...do you like me?"

"Yes."

And he felt worse. The little gay man within him was screaming, he could practically hear it screaming I didn't think you were gonna do it.

But his unaffected exterior remained, and it showed that he was proud of his sudden bravery.

"Oh," was all Zac had to say.

He didn't know what to do. Neither of them did. They sat there in silence for a moment. But then the stupidest thought came to Taylor's mind, but he wasn't so sure he was against it. So he let his little internal gay tell him what to do.

Taylor quickly moved just a little bit closer to Zac, close enough to allow their lips to meet. It was all so sudden, too sudden for Zac to have noticed his actions before they happened.

Taylor's hands were on Zac's cheeks, keeping him close. Zac didn't kiss back, but he didn't exactly fight it. In fact, his tense figure loosened up a little, calming down.

But after a moment, their lips had to part. Taylor was just about out of breath.

"What are you doing?" Zac asked breathlessly.

"Kissing you, you idiot."