Pulling Down Heaven

more awkwardly written romance

Hale moved round until he was sitting down and then nodded for Proctor to continue. Proctor took a deep breath and set down his coffee- his hand was shaking. "I guess Elizabeth already told you about Abigail? Well, when I was going out with Elizabeth I made a mistake. A horrible, awful, stupid mistake. And I- well, I kissed Abigail. But I've regretted it ever since and you have to understand that I've never cared for Abby like ... that. Not like I care for you." He swallowed loudly and twined his hands together, "Abby, she never really understood that- and she's somehow convinced herself, that if she can just get rid of or scare off whoever I'm with I'll magically fall in love with her. So yes, I made a mistake, but I would never repeat it. I hurt Elizabeth, and I could never do that again. Abi lied, she lied and Elizabeth believed her and it hurt you and I don't know what to do but you have to believe me, I didn't cheat on you." The last sentence came out in a rush, and Proctor hoped he'd remained coherent despite his overwhelming fear and anger. Silence returned and it hung tangibly in the air.

"So, it's not true? Any of it?" Hale spoke quietly, still cocooned in his blanket.

"No,"

"I'm sorry,"

"No, I'm the one who's sorry, its because of me that you got hurt and-"

"I'm sorry I believed Elizabeth," clarified Hale quickly, "when I know you would never do anything like that. I lo- I just, I let my anxiety get in the way of us. I thought I was so plain that no honest love could ever come to me." His voice wavered on the edge of tears as he blinked rapidly, "I'm sorry,"

Proctor found himself running to Hale's side and letting the smaller boy sob onto his shoulder. The rain still hammered against the kitchen roof, and soon Proctor was crying too. They held each other for a while, both tired and overwhelmed, their now diminishing tears drying.

In search of solace, Proctor's lips met Hales and Hale responded eagerly. The blanket had unraveled from around Hale's shoulders at some point, which allowed them to get closer to each other, until Hale realised he was having a teenage make out session in his kitchen of all places. He moved back gently, leaving his hands where they had been resting on Proctor's chest.

"Do you forgive me?" Proctor whispered.

"Of course," Hale replied equally quietly, resting his forehead against Proctors. "Do you forgive me?"

"I do,"

"Then will you let go of me long enough for me to get to my hot chocolate?" Proctor hummed as if making a decision and then shook his head.

"Nope," He grinned.

Hale sighed dramatically in response, drawing out the vowels of his words to childlike proportions, "Please?"

"Nope," Proctor stayed resolutely put, his smile stretching further across his face.

Hale huffed, almost genuinely annoyed now, but smiled good humourdly when Proctor took the hint and got up. Hale yawned widely, finally realising how tired he was. He picked up his hot chocolate and, gesturing for Proctor to do the same, carried it back upstairs to his room.l

Hales room was smaller than Proctors, but not by much, and had a lot more colour, clearly having last been decorated when he was still a child. Clouds had been painted onto the ceiling to give the impression of looking up at a summer sky, and some of the furniture had been hand painted in light blues and greens. In contrast to Proctor's pile of school books and loose sheets of paper, Hales school work was kept on shelves in neat, labelled rows. Hale moved a coaster to one side of the desk so he could set his mug on it and then sat down on his bed, stifling another yawn.

Proctor placed his now empty mug on a different coaster then sat next to Hale, "You tired?"

"Yeah," Hale rubbed his eye, "It's still raining outside- do you want to just stay over?"

Proctor thought for a second about how his dad didn't know that he was at Hales house, but didn't mention it. He could deal with his dad another time, for now he wanted to enjoy his time with Hale. "If that's ok with you?"

"Of course, all-though, we might have to share my bed," Hale looked sheepish but Proctor knew it wasn't a seductive move, Hale honestly looked as though he might fall asleep at any minute.

"That's fine with me," without waiting for further confirmation Hale lay down and after Proctor had done the same he rested his head on Proctors chest. When he woke up again at around 4:30 Hale realised he had been acting the part of the little spoon as they slept, but he felt no motivation to move. He was very comfortable relaxing with his entirely loyal boyfriend.