It was far too early to be up on a Sunday morning, but being a good vlogger friend came with its sacrifices, and it would all be worth it, so Alex continued on his way walking down the busy highway to Dan's house. It was a familiar path, even though they'd only met at the beginning of this year they were already firm friends- perhaps not quite as close as he'd once misinterpreted them to be, but now that they were clear of this misunderstanding, Alex felt as though he was one of his very best friends. Well, perhaps that's excluding-
The loud trill of his phone interrupted him mid thought and as he checked the screen to see who it was, he broke into a smile at the irony.
'Charlie!' Perhaps a little too loud.
'Hey man? What's so exciting?' Charlie's voice met his ears with the softness and joy it always held.
'Oh, nothing, just funny- I was just thinking of you!' Alex tried to keep his voice steady and hide the excitement that always came with a call from his other best friend.
'Right. Well I'm lost. Help me, please?' Charlie. Fantastic with doctor who episode names, utterly hopeless with street names.
'Where are you now?'
'Just at the corner of Wattle Street and Arcomb Avenue.. Am I going the right way?' For such a bright bit, he sounded so helpless that Alex had to stop himself from giggling
'Thats completely on the right way! Look, I'm just a few minutes ahead of you, wait there and I'll pick you up so you don't get lost again, yeah?'
'Thank you so much! I'll be sitting on the low brick fence thing! Thank you thank you!'
Walking backwards was completely worth it just to hear the gratitude in his every word.
—
'Charlie!' Alex waved as he jogged the last hundred meters towards his friend.
'A few minutes? It's been half an hour!' Charlie didn't look annoyed, more confused.
'My mistake, I thought you were really close but turns out I confused two streets, but google maps saved me! You should really get a smart phone!' Charlie slid off the wall, brushing the seat of his brown pants to remove the dust and— Alex suddenly noticed he was avidly watching his best friends butt and quickly turned away, furiously telling his face not to turn red.
Charlie hadn't noticed. 'So we all good to get going?' Alex nodded, 'it's a bit off my usual path but seeing as we have Mr Google Maps handy,' he slid his phone out of his pocket and his face fell. 'Ah. No battery left.' He tried to stay calm, no point looking like a blithering idiot in front of.. Charlie. 'Well I just walked here, it can't be that hard to get back!' Charlie smiled encouragingly and he felt better already.
*two hours later*
'I'm sure we've been here before.'
Alex looked around, and spied a taunting familiar green fence.
He sighed, 'More than once now, how can it be so difficult to get onto the highway!' Charlie placed a hand on his shoulder, 'it's okay, it's not your fault, I'm the one who got us out here in the first place!' His hand was warm and Alex wanted to stay, just as they were then, for hours.
Fate however seemed to have other plans, and before he could reply, the clouds above them clapped with thunder and sheets of rain came falling down, soft at first, then suddenly heavy and bucketing.
Alex barely had time to scream into the downpour, 'the playground!' Before lighting flashed across the sky and both boys sprinted through the muddy grass of the park next to them to take refuge in the small plastic tunnel that was in the middle of the playground.
The tunnel is small. Very very small. The two of them can barely squeeze into the space, legs curled up and bending up and around the plastic curve and squished up right against each other, neither wishing to be caught in the pelleting rain passing by either end.
They sit there in silence, looking out at the rain, both of them unsure what to say. Finally, after some minutes have passed, Charlie coughs and manages, 'I think we're going to be late.'
Alex giggles, more because of the predicament they're in than the joke, and shuffles a little closer to Charlie and blurts out, 'Well if I am going to be trapped in a tiny space for a furious storm, I can't imagine anyone I'd rather be stuck with.'
No sooner have the words left his mouth than he realises how inappropriate that sounds and claps a hand over his mouth, disturbing his balance. He is about to go toppling out of the slide onto the tanbark but Charlie swiftly grasps his shirt, two fists over his chest and pulls, keeping him safe from the rain.
The heavy drops fall loudly against the plastic as Alex looks up, Charlie's face only millimeters from his own. The brown eyes, whose intense gaze always seems to penetrate his mind, the soft lines of his cheeks, his warm and calming smile- wait, smile? Alex is unsure what is going on, but Charlie seems confident, and pulls a little firmer on Alex's shirt, closing the distance between them and pressing his lips against Alex's.
Wow. His first thought is he wishes he used lipbalm like Charlie did, he is sure his lips must be dry and flaking compared to Charlie's, but that is quickly overcome by the realisation of this is Charlie and he is kisisng him and it feels really good, and their lips are suddenly very warm compared to the chill of the storm, very warm, he thinks, as Charlie's tongue slides gently into his mouth, as polite as his friend has always been, curious but not forceful.
They cling to eachother in the sanctuary of their tunnel and kiss softly, embracing at an awkward angle but hardly even aware of it, overwhelmed with the extraordinarily pleasurable sensations created and the addictive nature of their kisses, neither one wants to stop ever.
They never made it to the vlog filming. When Dan asks about it on monday, Charlie waves his hand and proclaims something about storms and catching colds, starting a whole debate about whether you can actually get a cold from cold weather and rain. But if anyone was watching closely, they might notice Alex's hand slip beneath the table to grasps Charlie's, and the identically idiotic grins they've been wearing all day.