Craig wasn't usually a fan of cold showers, but this time, he welcomed the spray of freezing water with open arms. This Thursday marked exactly two weeks since summer break began, but also two weeks since he's been haunted by different variations of the same dream. He found it strange that he was snapping nude women near a stream in his fantasy, but given that what he was doing was done in a professional context, he didn't mind it too much. That didn't keep him from waking up in damp boxers, though.

His girlfriend, Ashley, also tried to find her own explanation for these odd dreams. She assured him that nudity was never meant to be sexual in the first place and that it was society's fault for being so repressed. Even though it was normal for boys and even girls to have wet dreams, especially at their age, she still refused to believe that her boyfriend was dreaming about other girls. However, if he were to tell her that she sometimes appears in the "stream dream", as they came to call it, she'd call him a pervert and be more restrained in her affection towards him during the summer holidays. This frustrated Craig to no end; he adored Ashley and owed his mental and emotional stability to her after his abusive father's death technically left him an orphan. She always comforted him whenever he'd beat himself up and call himself a freak, but he often wondered what their future would hold after this summer.

Just how far could this comfort take them before it ended up being half-hearted? Would she keep sticking around when things will inevitably get worse for him? Would she eventually stop caring about a guy that she still didn't know that well? Craig never even told her about his father's true nature yet. It was still too much for him to stomach to the point that he still hasn't even told her that he loves her yet. He knew that even when he'd be older, he'll still be unable to confide that secret to anyone. Therefore, there's one fact that will never change: the only people who knew about his abuse were his childhood friend Emma, his stepfather Joey and his best friend Sean.

Sean was the main reason why Craig was tormenting himself with this cold shower in the first place. It was one thing having Ashley and some nameless girls show up in the stream dream, but at some point, naked guys entered the equation. Then, for the past few days, it was only them. Again, he told himself that it was just an innocuous photoshoot; nothing more, nothing less.

Wednesday night was when Sean finally showed up in his dream. There wasn't supposed to be a problem with that; artists like Craig tend to have an aesthetic appreciation of both the male and female forms. It wasn't that simple in this case, though. Sean's nudity aroused Craig more than the latter felt it should have. Even the thought of his girlfriend sweating from the summer heat, her shimmering body completely exposed to him couldn't match up to last night's dream.

Feeling the cool water cascade down his hot body, Craig closed his eyes and was almost immediately brought back to his last dream. What he viewed in his mind's eye was just as vivid as before; he saw the droplets of water all over Sean's face, more of them drizzling down his muscular chest as he slowly began to rise from the creek. Craig felt himself rising too as he lingered on the images of his friend's pecs and stomach, parts of him that he had already seen in waking life during their casual basketball games. His hand creeped down his slim body, the tips of his fingers resting on his swollen sex. They rubbed his head in a circular motion, making his toes curl and his heart beat faster. Just as the top of Sean's pelvis came into view, his light blue eyes suddenly met Craig's and licked his lips. They curved into a mischievous smile as the amateur photographer came all over his hand, moaning while the sharp contrast of heat and cold on his naked body increased the intensity of his orgasm. Catching his breath after some time, he opened his eyes and saw strings of his own semen between his long fingers, some sliding down and breaking off. Looking up, he saw streaks of cum dripping down the shower wall.

"Sean..." Craig's voice cracked as he whispered the boy's name.

He hated the way he made him feel, but couldn't help it. It was more than arousal when it came to Sean, despite his undeniable sex appeal. He hated how he couldn't have him. Deep inside, Craig knew that he loved him, even more than he loved his own girlfriend; no one else but Sean truly understood him, made him laugh, helped him forget the pain and made him feel like he mattered to someone, like he deserved to live. He wished he had told him about these feelings before Snake and Spike's wedding; before Sean got back with Emma, kissing his girl by the water. He wanted to be happy for him, but was hurting inside more than anything and hoped to whatever god was heartless enough to take his mother away from him that Manny didn't notice his tenseness when they waltzed. Spinner, Jimmy, Marco and especially Ashley distracted him from his heartbreak, but from the looks of his latest dream, it wasn't enough. People's subconscious had a way of creeping up on them and sucker punching them like that, especially in the realm of dreams.

"Almost done there, Craig? Come on, partner," hollered Joey from what Craig imagined to be the staircase, "these flapjacks aren't gonna eat themselves!"

Craig's arousal gave way to self-pity, disgust and finally, emptiness as he grabbed the shower gel and soaped himself. He had to get out of this place. Alone.

It was a clear and bright day outside. There was no better time than today for Craig to go out and snap away, especially since he needed to take his mind off what happened in the shower earlier. He felt that he had gone to the park too often, so he decided to switch things up and head to the ravine near Degrassi. There'd be much less people there than at the park, especially since he imagined that most people who spent their time in the ravine during the school year would be catching up in summer school. Craig may have been one of the newer students that year, but that didn't mean that he wasn't aware of the ravine's less than savory reputation.

Sitting against a tree, he shuffled between the various lens in his bag before installing the one that he was satisfied with onto his camera. Genuinely smiling for the first time since school closed for the summer, he took a deep breath and laid down on the ground. Closing his eyes, Craig took in everything nature gave him in that exact moment: the chirping of jays and their young, the bright sun warming his pale skin, the gentle swaying of leaves seduced by the same breeze that played with his curly hair. He felt like he was becoming one with the ravine. Getting back up, he got to work. After a while of taking pictures of trees, he shifted his focus to a smattering of mushrooms by a stump, followed by some earthworms peeking out of soda and beer cans; the grand finale was a chipmunk carcass being fed on by maggots.

The morbid link between most of his photos wasn't lost on Craig. This wasn't working out for him. In fact, nothing was working out for him since he woke up.

"Dammit," he yelled to no one in particular.

Craig then crushed a can with one of his feet, blood jutting out of it and sullying his sneaker. He lost his balance and fell to the ground, scraping his elbows, knees and face on rugged earth. Looking at the pink and red mess that he made pouring out of the container caused him to nearly vomit on the spot, so he grabbed his things and ran away, losing himself deeper in the ravine that he once marveled at. He eventually found himself near a clearing of pines, gasping for air as he tried to clear his mind. As he tuned back into reality, he froze upon focusing on the clearing.

There was a naked guy stroking himself against one of the pines, occasionally stopping to look around before continuing. Craig didn't know what perverted force compelled him to take a closer look, but there he was, edging his way towards the stranger. Just as he realized who it was, he stepped on a twig.

Sean's eyes met Craig's, just like in the stream dream, but he looked more unsettled than his fantasy self. Craig tried desperately to shift his mortified gaze elsewhere than his nude friend.

Clearing his throat, Sean broke the silence: "You..."

"What?"

"You look like shit."

"What do you...?"

Sean waved his finger in a diagonal line near his cheek; Craig brushed the back of his hand against his own cheek and it collected dirt and blood. Looking down, he saw that his knees were covered in the stuff.

"Look, Sean, why the hell are you-"

"What, naked?" The shorter boy quickly reverted to his disaffected self.

"Well, no shit!"

Sean calmly explained his reasoning to his shocked friend: "I always do this when I need to get away from everything for a while."

"What happened?"

"Emma and I got into a fight. Yeah, again. She's telling me all of this shit about how I'm "immature" and "irresponsible". One second, she's telling me how proud of me she is and then she's humiliating me the next."

Craig stayed quiet, assimilating what he was saying; "the perfect couple", his ass. He always knew that something wasn't quite right with those two.

Sean suddenly yelled: "I mean, she can't even take the time to realize that I'm trying my best to be a better person! She knows almost everything I've been through and the bitch still judges me like I'm a normal person with money and a family that isn't fucked up! I'm not some pet project! I'm not just a welfare case!"

"Emma's the one who's not normal for treating you like a dog."

"...Look, I'm just making a bigger deal out of this than I should be. It's not like that-"

"She never deserved you in the first place!"

"Craig, she's your friend!"

"You're so much more than all of that," continued Craig, ignoring Sean's statement. "I know you are. You're the greatest guy I've ever known, man! I mean, you saved my life and you didn't even know me for more than a week!"

Sean's eyes were downcast as he sighed, his dark eyebrows furrowed.

"I... I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For pushing you away like the dumbass I am."

Craig didn't even care anymore about the fact that Sean wasn't wearing anything; his expression was that of determination as he walked towards him.

"Craig, what are you doing?"

Ignoring Sean's question, he wrapped his arms around his waist and brought his lips to the other boy's, brushing against them. Craig listened to Sean's breathing before pulling him into a deep kiss. His hand crept up his exposed back, resting on his neck before pulling away.

"You're dating Ash," murmured Sean, "and I'm dating Emma. Look, Craig, we can't do this, man."

"I know, but they're obviously getting sick of us. We don't need them, neither. I mean, would they even get mad if they saw us like this?"

They searched each other's eyes after that question, almost as if trying to find the answer there.

Sean kissing Craig back spoke for itself. The taller boy closed his eyes and gave in to him, his tongue seeking Sean's as his embrace around him tightened. He felt his cheeks flush as he moaned in Sean's mouth. Its chocolatey taste mingled with that of his own blood, but he couldn't care any less about that; nothing else mattered than being with the one he loved. Sean broke the kiss, a string of saliva connecting their lips and breaking off as they both gasped for air.

"You know, I expected kissing a guy to feel different, but you've got such girly lips that it pretty much felt the same."

"Screw you," said Craig, laughing.

"They feel really good, though. You're not a bad kisser, neither."

"That was... I've never kissed anyone like that before."

"Looks like you're a fast learner, then."

Craig looked down between them and his heart skipped a beat. Sean's cock was throbbing, precum sticking to his dirty jeans.

"You're hard," he whispered.

"Take off your clothes. Now."

It didn't take much convincing for Craig to comply to Sean's demands. He did as he was told and tossed his clothes and bag over to the other pile. His slim body was almost completely hairless in contrast to Sean's hairier, muscular one. The real thing looked even better than he expected; he licked his lips in anticipation.

Sean grabbed his arm and dragged him down to the ground, kissing him again while his hands roamed his body and groped his bubble butt. Craig caressed his pecs and nipples as he felt himself growing against his sex. Both boys spent several minutes touching, kissing and licking each other all over, the smell and taste of their combined sweat increasing their arousal.

"Sit on my face," the shorter boy breathlessly ordered as he laid down.

Craig's cock jumped, his heart beating even faster. "What?! N-no!"

"Look, it's okay, just... Just do it, alright? You're gonna be okay."

He gulped as he lowered himself onto Sean's face and nearly screamed when he felt a wet pressure on his hole. Sean plunged deeper, eating him like a pro; he couldn't get enough of the taste of Craig's most intimate area. The latter wanted to make him feel good, too; so, he pumped his cock with one hand and held on to one of his arms with the other, arching his back as Sean switched between his ass, balls and dick with incredible ease.

Sean pulled away momentarily to speak to his best friend: "Suck me off, too."

"How? I've never done anything like this before," moaned Craig.

"Take your time and don't push yourself too far if you can't take all of it in. Whatever you do, don't use your teeth, okay?"

After a few seconds, Sean felt his cock being delicately kissed and licked before being partially engulfed by Craig's full lips; the same lips that haunted his wet dreams ever since they met. He suddenly felt a finger slip into his ass, causing him to thrust violently and cum in Craig's warm mouth. As he swallowed his friend's load, he heard Craig gag and pulled out of his throat. The paler boy continued to cough, drooling a mix of saliva and semen as Sean kneeled close to him and patted his back.

"You alright, man?" Sean couldn't help but laugh at Craig's blunder.

"Besides you trying to choke me, sure!"

"Sorry about that, I kinda lost control there."

"Tell me about it! Geez. Never realized how weird this stuff tastes until now."

"Looks like you're still hard... Here, lemme try something else."

Sean gently brought Craig to the ground again, but laid on top of him this time, staying still so he can feel his body warmth and his hot breath against his lips. He began to grind his sex against Craig's and kiss him, biting him as lust invaded his mind.

Craig had never felt more alive than at this moment, practically becoming one with the boy who was once forbidden fruit. His sweat was Sean's sweat, just as his heat was Sean's heat. He surrendered his body and mind to the experience; he wanted to stay like this forever, panting within the pines with Sean and feeling like he mattered to someone who deserved to be loved after suffering as much as he did. He humped Sean back, kissing him even harder and burying his fingers in his hair. His heart was pounding in his ears and he felt his scratches rub against Sean's slick skin, making him feel an oddly pleasurable pain.

He didn't care that they were in a public place. Nothing else mattered at the moment. Fuck whoever heard them. Fuck whoever saw them. Fuck whatever Ashley or Joey or Emma or Tracker or just about anyone in the world would say about this. He was moaning at the top of his lungs and didn't regret a single second of it.

Squinting through his blurry vision, Craig saw Sean's face twisted by sheer ecstasy, glistening with sweat as he groaned. The idea that his crush was getting just as much pleasure as he was out of his first time and seeing him in such a state caused him to wrap his arms and legs around Sean.

"Oh, Sean! I'm gonna...!"

"Craig, I lo-"

Both boys screamed as they simultaneously climaxed, cumming on each other's stomachs. Craig then proceeded to pass out.

Craig woke up to Sean laying next to him, smiling and brushing his curls from his damp face as he came to.

"Yeah, I can definitely tell that was your first time."

"Shut up," said Craig with a chuckle. "So, I wasn't your first?"

"Nah, I did this shit for a living in Wasaga. You're the first guy I ever enjoyed fucking, though."

Craig's expression became serious as he stayed silent.

"You're the first guy who's ever given me a chance, too," Sean continued. "Someone I can actually call a friend. I'm just surprised that you haven't given up on me yet."

"Why would I give up on you?"

"Because I'm a piece of shit. I pushed you away as soon as I got back with her. Some friend I am!"

"Yeah, you kinda screwed me over with that. It's okay, but what were you going to say before I passed out?"

Sean shifted his gaze away from him.

"Look, I love you, okay? There, I said it. You mean a lot more to me than you think you do and... I don't wanna lose you. That's why I never said anything. I thought that if I dated Emma, I'd get over you, but I never did. Craig, you're my best friend. Thanks for making me feel like I'm worth a damn. I... I wanna keep feeling that way with you."

"I love you, too..."

Craig gently tilted Sean's head towards his and kissed him.

"Hey, Sean?"

"Yeah?"

"Would it be cheesy for me to say that I almost feel... reborn after doing this with you?"

"Yeah, that's really fucking cheesy. Thing is, I think I feel that way, too."

Craig embraced Sean, both smiling as they let the sounds of nature lull them to sleep. They'd worry about the time, their soon-to-be ex-girlfriends and the fact that they were still in their natural state later. All that mattered for now was that they could finally be with each other after holding back their feelings for so long.