Worry struck Chris' ocean eyes as they danced across the lit screen of his cell phone.
EMERGENCY! Come over NOW. -D
It wasn't often that Darren needed him to come over to his house so late. By now, the sun had rolled down, and the sky had gone dark, lit only by the faint stars and street lights. Chris was nearly running out the door and to the car. Slamming the car door, he fell into his seat and the engine growled.
Thoughts raced through his mind like threats, torturing him with what could be wrong with his friend. His conscience was becoming his enemy. He raced down the street with increasing speed, until he finally saw the apartment building that Darren lived in. He pulled into the parking lot and all but fell out of his car. He checked his phone for more unnerving messages as he stumbled to the door in the dark. He found one.
Hurry. -D
There was a twinge of worry in his gut as his phone looked like it was about to explode from all of the messages from Darren that read "Hurry!" and "It's an emergency!" Finally, Chris was running up the stairs and down the hall, not really caring if he was waking anyone with the loud thud of his boots. His knuckles pounded against his door so fast it could have caught fire. He kept knocking loudly until Darren opened the door wide, and nearly fell over. "Hi!" A grin cracked across Darren's face. "What's wrong? What happened?" Chris questioned, looking desperate for an explanation. "I got lonely. I missed you." He answered, with puppy eyes. Chris glared at him. "Seriously?". "Uh huh," he smiled.
Chris was not pleased. "You made me run down here just for that?" he said with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. "Yes." Darren's face brightened. Chris huffed a sigh, "I should slap you. You made it sound like someone was hunting you down, about to kill you." He turned to head out the door. "Don't leave!" Darren whined, "Come on, let's hang out." Chris turned back. The expression on his face made it clear that he was not impressed. "Pleeeaase?" he looked even more like a puppy now. "Fine." Chris grumbled, still not happy with him.
Darren flashed a blindingly gorgeous smile, and shut the door just before dragging Chris over to a very large collection of Disney movies. "Which one?" He asked. "Whichever one you want," Chris told him. "You pick, you pick, you pick." He said, almost bouncing. Chris rolled his eyes, and randomly chose a movie. The movie case in his hand was that of The Little Mermaid. Darren smiled at his choice, as he took it from Chris and popped it into the DVD player.
Chris couldn't help but smile. He was such a child, even though he was a grown man. It was actually very cute to him, but he chased that thought out of his head. They were friends. He wasn't supposed to think he was anything close to cute.
The previews began to play on the screen. "Wanna build a fort?" Darren asked, looking up at him. He couldn't help but laugh. Such a child. " What?" he asked, grinning again. "Nothing, sure." Chris replied smiling with glittering eyes.
Darren ran to get all of the blankets and pillows he could find, searching as fast as he could so he wouldn't miss any of the movie. He was glad Chris didn't say no to hanging out and just leave. He liked him. More than he thought he should. A lot more than he thought he should, actually.
He came back in to the room with a pile of blankets, cushions and pillows so large he couldn't see over them. Chris laughed at him again as he ran into another room to get even more, and came back once again. Darren started arranging couch cushions and Chris pitched in. Eventually, they were sitting in a rather impressive plush fortress, cuddled up with blankets. Almost as soon as they were settled and waiting, lying on their bellies, the movie began.
Without realizing, they became very close, almost touching. Darren looked into Chris' eyes as he watched the movie. His lovely eyes were like starlight. They were warm, yet a cool blue. His skin was like porcelain, and looked soft to the touch. His pink parted lips made it easy to imagine how soft and delicate they would feel on his own. He was so close, he could just lean over and- Stop. You can't do that, he's your friend. He would never like you that way. And he thinks you're straight! That would just freak him out. He turned back to the movie, trying to distract himself.
Chris felt it. He felt the side of Darren's hip against his now. He didn't even know how they got that close, but he tried to ignore it and watch the movie. He felt Darren's eyes on him every so often, but he tried to ignore it. He felt his heart leap every time his head turned in his direction, but he tried to ignore it, which was becoming exceedingly difficult.
His eyes seemed to have a mind of their own. They kept wandering off to look into Darren's wonderful soft brown ones, no matter how many times he told himself to look away. At that moment, he looked over and a panic rose in his stomach. Chris was terrified he would get a weird look from Darren for staring at him, but there was none. He smiled sweetly, calming what felt like a raging sea in his stomach. Chris smiled back.
Darren felt a building urge to simply lean over and kiss him. But you can't. He found himself looking at Chris' lips, and was about to look away until he noticed Chris' eyes on his. Maybe Chris was thinking the same thing. Maybe he felt the same way. Yeah right.
Darren's lips parted unintentionally. Chris felt the need to kiss him. To at least get closer to him. But that would be weird. For the last time, he's your friend. Nothing more. At the same time, they turned back to the movie. He doesn't like you that way, they both thought.
After watching the movie a while they found themselves looking into the others eyes once again, during the scene where the mermaid and the prince were under the weeping willow- just about to kiss. They kept fighting to keep their eyes away, but they were clearly failing miserably.
The television screen tinted the room blue. They were warm in the blankets, and excluding the sound of singing emitting from the speakers, there was silence. The moment was too perfect for Darren to ignore the fluttering in his stomach. He took a chance, and considered the consequences.
Darren leaned in just a bit closer, as if to ask permission. The other boy didn't move away, but didn't come closer. He decided that meant it was okay. He kissed him sweetly on the lips. This must be a dream, Chris thought. It was warm and soft, and glorious. All that talk of the feeling of butterflies and fireworks was a lie. The feeling in his stomach was far beyond that. Before he was ready for their lips to stop touching, Darren pulled away so that their faces were now only about three inches apart.
"I didn't expect that." Chris told him. "Neither did I," Darren smiled. Chris leaned in and kissed him again, and his stomach flipped at his own actions. Darren slid his tongue over his bottom lip to ask permission if he could enter, and Chris allowed him. They exchanged their hot breathes with closed eyes and smiles. Darren's warm palm held his face, giving them both goose bumps.
They let go of each other's lips, and held each other. They nuzzled their noses in the other's neck, snuggling for the remainder of the movie. By the ending credits, Chris had fallen asleep. Darren smiled at the innocence of his beautiful face. He looked like an angel. His eyes danced over him one last time before they began to slide shut. Slowly, the music faded away, and reality began to fade with it. They were both in dream land, now.