Pulling Down Heaven

The gayest chapter so far

On Thursday, roughly an hour after Proctor had arrived home from school, the doorbell rang. He and Hale had texted through Tuesday and Wednesday, but Proctor was looking forward to talking face to face again. He opened the door to see Hale wearing jeans, a light blue shirt with a large grey cardigan, and, to his surprise, Proctor's beanie. He had a backpack over one shoulder and was looking down the street to his left.

"Hey," Proctor said, and Hale turned around quickly.

"Hey," Proctor opened the door wider so Hale could step in, "sorry, I thought I'd got the wrong house for a second."

"No worries- our street can be confusing," Proctor replied as he closed the door, "the kitchens to your left but be careful- my dad might be in there,"

"What are you saying about me?" His dad called from the kitchen, but he laughed afterwards, which meant  he was probably in a good mood. Proctor followed Hale into the kitchen, listening to him talk with his dad.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr Proctor,"

"And it very nice to meet you too young man," Proctor walked in just in time for his dad to make the comment, "Now John, why can't you be more polite like your friend- I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name?"

"Oh," Hale looked apologetic for a moment, as if he was personally responsible for their shared name, "I'm afraid I'm called John too, but our teacher normally addresses us by our surnames when we're together, so, um, I'm Hale."

"Well it's been a pleasure talking to you Hale, but now I've got to go and collect groceries and do other boring adult things. Hopefully you can teach my John some manners while you're here." With that he picked up 2 sets of keys and left the kitchen. They heard the crash of the door closing behind him as he left.

"Do you want a drink?" Proctor asked, and then when he realized Hale looked a little shaky he added, "You ok?"

"Yeah- yeah, just, meeting new people is pretty stressful. Um," he pushed up his sleeves to his elbows, "I'd love a glass of water, if that's all right?"

"Of course," Proctor got down 2 glasses and filled them with water as he continued to talk, "I think we'll study in my room- I found my bible and some snacks- I think there's some crisps and stuff already in there,"  he turned around with a full glass in each hand, "anyway: follow me,"

They waked slowly up the stairs, Hale following gingerly behind, and then Proctor pushed open his bedroom door with his foot and entered. Hale took in the monotone colour scheme slowly: the faded posters on the walls, the shelves of books with creased spines and the desk covered in scraps of notes and some open textbooks. There were a couple of cans of sprite and some supermarket brand crisps on the bed. Proctor put the water on the desk and sat on his bed, so Hale followed suit and sat next to him, pulling his bible out of his backpack.

They revised together for a couple of hours, gradually making their way through the snacks and drinks.

"Wow," Proctor looked up from his bible, "I think all the stuff about David actually makes sense now,"

"Well, you aren't a stupid as you seem to believe- you picked it up really quickly," Hale replied, " what do you want to look at next?"

"What does the Bible say about homosexuals?" This was a deliberate move on Proctors part- he liked Hale but he needed to test the waters first.

"Well, it's not mentioned a lot, but it's generally quite derogatory-"

"Do you agree with it?"

"I- no, um... I don't personally-"

"Good, because I like you a lot," Hale had gone from a slight blush to an alarming shade of tomato throughout the conversation, and he looked up sharply.

"What?"

"I really like you- you're funny, and smart, and not to mention pretty good looking. I was hoping your beliefs wouldn't make you opposed to-something more?" Proctor waited nervously. He had only known Hale for a few weeks, but already he couldn't imagine life without him.

"Is this you asking me out?" Hale didn't want to impose himself on the situation- perhaps Proctor was just being polite, and it wasn't like he had considered the prospect of them dating before. Although, now he thought about it, he was rather fond of Proctors messy hair and wild eyes, and he loved when they spent time together.

"I guess it is," Proctor admitted, as much to himself as to Hale- he had a massive crush, and he couldn't hide it any more.

"Well, then... yes," Hale looked away as he answered, and so was surprised when Proctor launched into his side, knocking Hale into his back. His hair fanned out over the black and white checked sheets as he grinned up at Proctor.

"Thank God," proctor muttered, and then bent down to kiss Hale. Now, Proctor had kissed people before, girls and boys, but Hale was so unsure that it almost felt like his first time all over again. For Hale, on the other hand, it was his first kiss. He wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do, but he knew it felt amazing, so when Proctor pulled away for breath he tugged his hand through Proctors hair in order to pull him down so their lips could meet again. Proctor smiled into the kiss, and reciprocated eagerly. Their legs tangled beneath them, and their bibles lay forgotten to one side; they were completely engrossed in each other and in sharing their newfound romance.