What I Left Behind (boyxboy)

Tent City

We pulled into the campground about 3pm. It was almost 3 hours north west from home.
It was stunning. There was this lake, the main feature of the campground. It was massive. It almost seemed as an ocean. The far shoreline was miles away. There was a small harbor where the beach was situated.
My parents dropped me and Nick off on the way to the site so they could unpack.
"This is awesome" I exclaimed, looking over to Nick

Have gave that half smile, we ran for the water.

————

We followed the map back the site thanks to my amazing map reading skills.

I noticed a tent set up next to our camper.

"What's this mom?" I asked as she walked down the steps of the camper.

"George! The boys are here let's tell Flynn about his gift" she yelled down the hall of the camper.

"Here we go" I mumbled under my breath. I knew what was coming.
Nick gave me this confused look.

"Flynn!" My father exclaimed
"This is your new tent, when I was your age my father gave my first tent and lantern, and me and your mother would like to pass that along to you" he sipped his beer and lit a cigarette.

"Thanks guys!"
Me and Nick walked over to the tent. It had an air mattress inside and a brand new lantern.
"Awesome"
We ate dinner and I decided to drag Nick along for one of my walks.
He seemed okay with it.

We must have walked every road in the campground five times, we walked until it was well past 3 o'clock in the morning. Just talking about life, high school, cars, dirt bikes, the past, present and future.

We got back the site and the fire had burned low, there were about fifteen empty cans on the table next to my parents chairs.

"Hey I'm going to use the bathroom, mind setting up the sleeping quarters captain?" I said in a mocking tone.

"Aye" he replied as he entered the tent.
I grabbed some clothes out of the camper and got changed.
I made my way back out to the tent.
I unzipped the door and entered to Nick standing there in his underwear.
"Oh fuck I'm sorry man" I spun around, facing away.
"It's cool man your good" I turned around slowly as he was pulling a shirt over his head.
We climbed onto the oversized air mattress and under the covers.
I passed out within seconds.

—————

I awoke suddenly, I felt something. I didn't move.
Trying to figure out what was going on, I blinked a few times and got my bearings.
Holy. Shit.
is the only thing I could think.

Nick lay next me, we were face to face, both laying on our sides.
His knees were pulled up to mine, his forehead touched mine. Our noses were mere millimeters apart.
I could feel his breath across my lips.
His hand was placed on my ribs.
I was frozen.

I can't fucking move.
Is this really happening?
Fuck.

I laid there still and quiet as a church mouse until the sun came up.
My heart was screaming out of chest.

Finally, he woke up. He gave my ribs a little squeeze and rolled over. I remained frozen.

He got up out of bed and exited the tent. I lay frozen, still trying to get my 14 year old brain to understand what just went down.

I think I like him.
What if he just rolled over and we just ended up like that?
I swear he is straight.

"You awake?" His voice scared the day lights out of me.

"Now I am!" I tried to calm myself down.

"Let's go fishing" he motioned for me to come out of the tent.

My brain screamed

We're not even going to talk about what just happened?! We were fucking cuddling in the same bed!

The rest of the day went off perfectly normal, not a strange or awkward moment, no words discussed about the night before. I was starting to wonder if he even knew what happened.
I just played it cool and acted like nothing happened.

Soon enough nightfall came, we roasted marshmallows and had conversation with my parents. Nick was very talkative with them, which was interesting, he was always quiet around those he didn't completely trust.

We crawled into the tent.
My heart began to race.
We looked up, the reflection of the trees against the tents ceiling looked like the silhouettes of buildings.

"That looks like the skyline in Boston" Nick pointed to the shadows.

"Yes, it does actually, I'd call it tent city" I replied quietly, trying not to let him hear the shake in my voice.

He laughed and took a deep breath "Goodnight Flynn"
He rolled over onto his side, now facing me. My eyes stayed pinned up at the trees, my face turning red. Thank god it was dark.
"Night, Nick." I was frozen.

After some time passed and much deliberation. I rolled onto my side too, now facing him.
I was positive he was asleep. It had been like an hour and he hadn't said a word.

Almost immediately, he slid closer, his knees met mine, his forehead brushed into my long hair. My heart was racing out of my goddamn chest.

Holy fucking Christ it's happening again. My brain screamed.

I opened my eyes slightly, I glanced down to his face, his eyes were closed, slowly, his arm came over my side and onto my ribs, again.
That half smile appeared on his face. He took a deep breath. So did I.

This boy...