Roomies (boyxboy)

The Day After That

Monday morning, the alarm went off. Cameron raised his head groggily, pushed his arm through the cage of Ryan's arms and slapped it off. Then flopped back, snuggling closer to Ryan who was dead to the world. Cameron knew they could laze here for about ten minutes before they really had to get moving. He decided to not wake up the boy holding him, and just spend those few moments enjoying this new sensation. Cameron never really thought he was a physical person. His mom was great, but she was definitely not affectionate. It just wasn't her style. Cameron can't remember the last time they really hugged.

Now he realized after these last two days with Ryan, that he craved physical closeness. He pushed his head under Ryan's chin, putting his mouth on his neck. Ryan's eyes popped open.

"Hey," Cameron said quietly. All of a sudden anxiety flooded him. Would Ryan be ok this morning or would it be weird?

He shouldn't have worried.

Ryan stretched luxuriously and wrapped his arms around Cameron, drawing him close, squeezing him until it was almost uncomfortable. Then nuzzled his head repeatedly against Cameron's cheek.

"This is just the best. You know?" he said. He captured Cameron's eyes and held them, his fingers tracing Cameron's jaw.

"Yeah. It really is." And it was. It was so amazing to be in someone's arms, to be held and know that the other person felt the same way, the same surprised contentment.

They continued to murmur sweet words to each other, comparing hand sizes, ruffling each other's hair, drowning in the glow of their newfound happiness. But eventually Cameron sat up, the covers falling from his naked chest, the light from the window spilling onto his hair, lightening it.

Ryan, still laying down, placed his hand on Cameron's lower back, caressing.

"Maybe we should just stay home. We can say we felt sick. Jess won't even know or care." He sat up and kissed Cameron lightly on the nape of his neck. "You know you want to. We can spend the whole day together. It's supposed to rain. We could stay in bed, just listening to it." He bit his lip and gave the other boy sad puppy eyes.

Cameron squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them and sighed.

"You have a test today. So do I."

Flopping back on the bed, Ryan put his hands in his curly hair, covering his face. His voice was quiet, no longer teasing.

"I think I'm afraid if we leave the house and go to school, something will change. Like this will all be a dream. Like it'll end." He took his hands away and scooted over to Cameron, wrapping his arms around him again, tucking his chin close to Cameron's neck. "I don't want it to end."

"Nothing has to change though, does it." Cameron asked nervously.

Ryan knew what Cameron was asking.

"I don't want other people to know. I still barely understand myself. I just...I don't...it feels so fragile...and it's just for us, like your spot by the river. I'm not trying to be a dick, you know? I just don't want other people to talk about it, it's none of their business."

Cameron turned so they were sitting cross legged in front of each other, the blanket covering their laps. "I'm so totally ok with that. I'm not in a place where I need to declare myself to the world. Anyway, who would I tell?" He grinned.

He stood up and grabbed some corduroy pants and his Kylo Ren shirt. "Let's just go to school. The sooner we go, the sooner we can come home. Cool?"

"Cool."

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They stood at Cameron's locker. Cameron shifted his feet and Ryan kept pulling on his hair.