Fire (H2OVanoss) ✔️

O n e

                                 • F r i e n d s •

"There's a fire tonight," Luke stated, not bothering to look up from his phone. "You coming?" Jonathan shrugged. He liked going to the fires, but he's gone to so many already that most of his wardrobe is starting to smell like smoke and burnt wood. "Evan will be there." He added and Jonathan looked up to find Luke already staring at him with one eyebrow raised. "So how bout' it?"

"Why do you always gotta bring him up?" Jonathan asked while picking at his cuticles. "It's not like we're friends or anything. ."

Luke rolled his eyes. "You and Evan not friends? Bullshit. So, are you coming or not?"

"I guess. ." Jonathan mumbled.

The fire was bright and it stood tall with grey-ish black smoke rising above it. Everyone stood around it, tugging on their coats and jackets as a cold gust of wind pushed between them. Couples were huddled together in blankets in the back of their trucks. The light from the fire lit up their faces as everyone stared mindlessly into it. Music was softly playing in the background, adding to the surreal effect that almost everyone felt when they came to these things. Luke nudged Jonathan's shoulder and nodded his head in the direction of someone walking towards them, he couldn't tell who it was, because they were facing away from the light. "Jonathan! Luke!" They called out, and from their voice Jonathan could tell it was Evan. "I'm glad you guys could make it! Come on!"

They followed Evan to his truck, where the rest of his friends sat, talking about god-knows-what. Jonathan pulled his beanie further down to cover his exposed ears. "Tyler! Wassup my man?!" Luke greeted as he left Jonathan standing there awkwardly by himself. He stuffed his hands into his hoodie pocket and started to play with his cuticles again. It was cold and he was starting to regret coming. "Jonathan." Evan called from behind him, he turned and watched Evan as he pat an open spot next to him in the bed of his truck. "Come sit." So he did, feeling the cold of the metal seep in though his jeans. Evan shifted so that their shoulders were flush against each other.

Jonathan was so god damn pretty that he was hard to not look at. He had the kind of face that could stop you in your tracks and make you do a double take. Evan guessed that Jonathan was used to that though, the sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they look his way followed by a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile. He has to force himself to look away sometimes. .

"So." Evan stated. "How long are you staying?"

Jonathan shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know. Depends on how long Luke wants to stay. He's my ride."

Evan hummed in response. He didn't know what else to talk about, so he didn't say anything at all. Unlike Jonathan, Evan was usually really talkative. There's just something about the dark haired boy that makes Evan's tongue catch in his throat. Maybe it was they way his eyes unknowingly raked over him or the way he held his broad shoulders. He didn't know.

"Who thought it would be a good idea to have a fire during one of the coldest nights of the year?" Jonathan suddenly asked with a smile present on his lips. Evan bit his lip to hide his own smile, but ended up smirking instead, making Jonathan's stomach do a flip. "No idea, I was only invited."

"Jesus," Marcel suddenly said as he made his way towards the two of them. "The sexual tension is real between you shits." Jonathan felt his face redden as he looked down. Evan glared at Marcel, causing the man to throw his hands in the air. "Sorry! I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking. ."

"Fuck off, Basically." Evan grit his teeth. Surly no one was thinking that. Jonathan and him were only friends, though sometimes he'd wish that they could be more. He didn't know about Jonathan though, like which way he swung. But given his looks, he probably preferred women. Marcel chuckled as he started to back away from them. "Seriously, I can feel it from here!" He mocked.

"God," Evan groaned. "He's annoying."

Jonathan shrugged. "I think he's alright, just has a little bit of a temper."

Evan chuckled, because he was completely right. "More like a huge temper. His fuse is the size of a grape seed." Jonathan threw his head back as he laughed. Maybe coming here wasn't so bad. Evan watched with amusement. His eyes quickly scanned over Jonathan's sharp jawline and his throat before landing on his Adams apple. It bobbed up and down and Evan had to bite his lip at the thought of leaving a hickey or two on it.

He was so sexually frustrated right now and Jonathan was extremely tempting.

Jonathan licked his dry lips after laughing and made eye contact with Evan, who seemed to be busy is in own world. He waved his hand in front of Evan's eyes and watched as the man snapped back into reality. "Sorry." He muttered, his eyes never leaving Jonathan's. Jonathan found his face warming again as Evan started leaning in. He felt his heart thump against his ribcage and a hard chill run up his back. Evan's breath danced across Jonathan's lips, causing him to let out a nervous gasp.

But as soon as Evan's lips were centimeters away from Jonathan's, he pulled back and played it off as a prank by hitting the bottom of Jonathan's nose with his finger. He forced himself to look away from Jonathan, feeling his stomach twist and turn at the thought of kissing him. He wanted to. He had the opportunity to, yet . . . he didn't take it. He swallowed thickly before looking back at Jonathan, who was already staring at him with a look of hurt filling his blue eyes. Evan felt bad and to make things worse, he didn't know what to say. How was he supposed to play something like that off as a simple joke. "Sorry." He finally mustered out, but Jonathan shook his head.

"No, I'm sorry." He said as he stood up. "You're obviously not interested, so I'll just leave you alone."

"No." Evan grabbed Jonathan's sleeve and stood as well. "It's— it's not like that!" He felt his mouth dry as he tried to find his voice and words. Jonathan eyed him down as the man struggled to form a simple sentence. "It's— I'm just— I've never—" He tried. Jonathan ripped his arm away and held it close to his body. "Don't bother."

Jonathan felt the corners of his eyes prick with tears as he turned around and scanned the crowd for Luke. He doesn't know why he ever thought that he'd be able to have a chance with Evan. After all, they're just friends.