fly | madderton

TEN

It was Richard's final day in Wales.

Three weeks had flown by, and it felt like hardly five minutes since they'd shared their first hug at the festival. Taron was yet to tell Richard his feelings, and it had kept him up the night prior worrying over it. The clock was ticking, and he'd be accompanying Richard to the train station the next morning with no knowing how long it would be until he could see him again.

Still, though, he wouldn't let it ruin his night. One of their friends from secondary was having a party, after having celebrated their birthday a few days earlier. Taron had managed to bag everyone an invite, after deciding it would be the perfect end to Richard's stay. Jamie and Charlie were usually more on the reserved side and would often not go to parties, or only go to keep a slightly sober eye on Taron, but he'd managed to talk them into having a good time, for Richard's sake. Richard was completely up for the idea, having been starved of any social interaction up North. He was excited to see some of his old school friends again, even if he wasn't particularly close with any of them.

Richard was in the spare room, checking he had everything packed, other than a change of clothes for the next day and his wash bag. Taron was in his own room, stood in front of his mirror with his face just inches away from his reflection. He had to ensure not a single strand of hair was out of place, and he was looking his absolute best. The past few days he'd been super conscious of his appearance, and he couldn't even pretend to be confused as to why. He'd been quite conservative with his outfit choice, but he didn't want to come across as trying too hard. Rather than go too left-field, he'd opted for a simple white t-shirt and a pair of black jeans, as well as Richard's jacket. He was assuming Richard would take it back home with him, so was making the most of having it whilst he did.

"T?" A knock at the door startled Taron into dropping the comb, letting it clatter down onto the wooden flooring by his feet.

"Yeah? Come on in," He said, crouching down to pick the comb up so he could set it back down on his bedside table. Richard pushed the door open and smiled at his friend, leaning his shoulder against the door frame.

"Come on. We've got to go. Ready?"

———

The night was progressing, and the clock was ticking. Taron had lost his friends in the crowd, and was instead just mingling with whoever would talk to him. The other three were probably off sat by themselves somewhere in their own little socially inept circle, quietly sipping lagers whilst trying to not draw any attention in their direction.

Still, Taron knew he couldn't just dance around with distant acquaintances that he almost recognised all night. Whilst he was definitely happier doing that, he knew the alternative had to be done. So, it was with a heavy heart that he excused himself from the circle and tried to find his friends. Well, he had a short glance in one other room before hurrying to fix himself another jack and coke in the kitchen.

Such a confrontation would require a lot of artificial confidence.

"Hey, Taron, you okay?"

Taron whipped around at the sound of the voice, a little relieved to see Charlie stood behind him, smiling from ear to ear.

"God, Charlie. You gave me a heart attack. Yeah, I'm fine. I was just looking for you guys, actually. You want something?"

"I'm alright, just grabbing another bottle." He stepped around Taron to get two bottles of beer from the counter, cracking the lid off of both and dropping the bottle opener back on the side. "Come on, we're in the back lounge."

Looking like a lost dog, Taron followed Charlie through the crowd and to the back living room, where he instantly noticed Jamie and Richard, dancing together to the blaring music, beside a crowd of similarly moving bodies. Jamie was the first to notice the pair arrive, quickly waving them over. He took one of the bottles off of Charlie, offering his thanks before taking a sip. Richard lifted his empty bottle, pouting at Charlie.

"Exclusive offer?" Richard asked, pointing the end of his bottle at Charlie's new one.

"Sorry, mate. Didn't realise you were low. Would've got you one, otherwise."

"Yeah, yeah. Likely story." Richard laughed, tipping his head right back to dramatise drinking the last few drops remaining at the bottom of the glass bottle.

"Here, have some of mine." Taron held his cup out, earning a raised, questioning eyebrow from Richard. "Jack and coke."

Richard took the cup, precariously having a sip. He paused for a moment, before his face screwed up and he shoved the cup back towards Taron. Taron couldn't help but laugh, taking the cup from his now coughing friend's hand. "It's not that bad!" He said, taking a sip for himself as if to prove his point.

"Disgusting. Absolutely rank."

Taron laughed again. "Come on. Let's go get some fresh air, it's boiling in here. And, I... I need to talk to you. About something."

"Something? That's ominous," Richard said, that stupid grin on his lips as he let Taron lead him to the back door, and watched the boy struggle with the handle. He offered no help, just laughed at Taron trying to figure it out.

Soon enough, they'd made it into the cool evening air and shut the door behind him, stumbling over to the patio furniture and picking a chair each. They were pretty fancy, plush chairs for garden furniture.

"So, something?"

Richard's words made Taron's breath catch in his throat. His gaze drifted across the garden, taking in all the small details as he looked for his own words. The bright, colourful flowerbed was in full bloom, full of thin metal sticks with little bobble animals wobbling on the end. A little further along there was a small paved area with a pond planted in the middle, and a little rocky waterfall trickling into it. It was cute, and certainly was providing absolutely no inspiration for Taron's speech.

"Yeah, something. You see, Richard. I..." He looked over at Richard, trying to hold sincere eye contact but feeling too intimidated under his friend's gaze. Instead he chose to look down at Richard's feet, deciding it was better than letting his eyes wander around the green garden.

As everyone says, the best thing to do is just rip off the plaster. So, Taron lifted his head and, once again, locked eyes with Richard.

"I'm gay. And I think I have feelings for you."

There was a long pause, and Taron just wanted the ground to swallow him up.

"Wait... What the fuck?"