Five minutes into a tedious road trip, Ashton casts his vision at his mother who is paying close attention to the road in front of her. His best friend is seated adjacent to him, playing air guitar along to an old Van Halen song. He meant to mention to his mother earlier that he was hungry and wanted to get something to eat, but he forgot after they picked Luke up, easily getting lost in conversation. Now his stomach is making deep and rumbly growls and it won't quit.
He leans forward and pokes the back of Anne's shoulder, "Mom, can we get something to eat? I'm hungry."
Luke hums in agreement as Ashton waits for his mother's response. She glances back at him through the rearview mirror but then quickly adverts her vision back in front.
"I guess we can stop at a gas station and get a few snacks, is that okay?" She asks, pausing the navigation set on the GPS.
Both boys nod their head in reply as they now head towards a gas station before they head towards their cabin in the woods. After their car is pulled into a parking space, they both rush into the store, running straight towards the snacks. Ashton immediately grabs multiple bags of chips as Luke stands in front of the shelves inquisitively, unable to decide what to choose.
Anne finally catches up to the boys, noticing all the junk food stored in her son's arm. She instantly snatches most of them from him, receiving a loud groan from Ashton as he glares at her.
"You can get three items each, that's it, got it?" Anne questions, gazing down at Ashton.
He nods in agreement and stands by Luke who is still indecisive about what he wants. The blonde then suggests that they get one bag of chips, one box of candy, and a drink. Seeing as though that was a brilliant idea, Ashton consorts and carefully picks the items he wants. Another ten minutes later and they're all finally at the checkout counter as Anne pays for their food.
Back on the road, the food is devoured within half an hour and both boys are tired, at least for the moment. They try and take a nap but they're unable to fall asleep due to their excitement. The majority of the trip is spent on the highway, going eighty miles per hour as old music plays from the radio. Luke and Ashton idly chat to pass the time, thinking of games to play while they're stuck in the car.
As another hour passes by and they have managed to play I spy, would you rather, the license plate game, slug bug, and others. They bickered throughout the car ride and complained of being bored, and constantly asked if they were there yet. But eventually, the travel there is over and they finally reach the cabin.
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Luke and Ashton race to the stairs at the side and run up to the front door, waiting anxiously for Anne to unlock the door. However, she has other ideas in mind. She yells at them to grab some of the bags in the trunk instead of just standing there.
Luke glances over to his best friend, flashing him a wide grin as they walk to the back of the car slowly. Ashton returns the smile, bumping their shoulders together as they grab a few bags and heave their way back to the cabin. The small weeds and flowers tickle their ankles as they saunter down the path to the stairs. Once they enter, Luke gazes around, staring in wonder at everything surrounding him. Ashton, however, has been to the cabin many times before, so he's quite familiar with it. This was the first time he took his friend.
Ashton leads them to their shared room, placing their belongings on the two small twin beds. He swiftly slides his shirt off him, giving Luke a look to do the same. They wander outside where his mother is getting the remaining bags from the car.
"Mom! Where's the water balloons?" Ashton questioned.
She ducks her head back into the car and grabs the container, handing it to her son. They both run off to the hose and attempt to fill the water balloons. Although, in the end they have to have Anne tie the ends off since neither of them were able to.
Finally, after a tortuous half an hour of filling balloons with water, they walk to the lake nearby and begin a fight by the shore. Bright, various colors soar through the air in attempt to hit the other. Neither of them had the best aim but they tried their best. They ended up just running close to each other and trying to defend themselves from the incoming water balloons hurtling towards them. They were absolutely immersed in water by the end.
Once all the balloons were used, they submerged themselves into the lake and swam around for a bit. The water ended up being colder than they had expected so Luke huddled himself impossibly close to Ashton, trying to gain any body heat since his friend wouldn't get out just yet, trying to prove he was brave.
Anne eventually called them inside, the sun was just near setting time and she had just finished making dinner for the three of them.
A few hours had passed and the sun transformed gradually into darkness, removing all illumination from outside. The stars were perfectly visible so they spent a few minutes gazing up at the sky. However, both nine-year-olds grew bored quickly and began to yawn. So they returned to their bedroom and got settled into their beds, getting tucked in by Ashton's mother.
Right as the door shut, Luke instantly got out of his bed and went straight towards Ashton's. It was a thing they have been doing since they were even smaller and it hasn't stopped since. The beds may be small but the comfort of each other's arms out-ruled the cramped feeling of squishing together on a small bed meant for one.
"I'm tired, Luke." Ashton whispered as they laid face-to-face.
Luke nods, "Me too. My eyes hurt from the water too."
Ashton simply brings Luke closer in response, shutting his eyes as he lays his head against the top of the blonde's. The conversation quickly ended as they both soon fell asleep.
It was definitely not unusual for them to fall asleep like this. And right now, neither of them realize that most boys their age do not snuggle close together at sleepovers, much less sleep in the same bed. But even when they do figure it out, they'll probably just shrug and return back to their normal ways. Being close by each other was their second nature. So why change their rituals just to fit with other's standards? Because they're just young boys who love each other dearly, a lot more than either of them know at the moment.
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tbh i just want them to get into their teenage years yO where they actually realize their love for each other. i have no clue where this takes place in but just go with it.
thanks for reading, let me know how the chapter was. have a great day/night wherever you are!
