Josh Stevenson didn't see himself as the most popular of guys, nor even remotely attractive. To him it was only a stroke of luck that he'd managed to strike up such a good friendship with Finn Sharkey, and that then some more people had followed. He had never been entirely sure if they really did like him though, or if they just put up with him because he was Finn's mate. And of course everybody liked Finn.

Josh sighed, crouching down slightly to look in the mirror and sort his hair out. He spent a few minutes pushing strands of hair into different places, trying to push his fringe back and at one point just messing it all up to see if that improved it at all. He groaned to himself; in his opinion he could never do anything to make his hair look right.

He had never cared so much about his appearance in the past, he'd always changed his personality rather than his looks to try and fit in. Although that had always been a disaster; the first time he'd liked Lauren he'd acted like a complete idiot towards her, just because everyone else was. He hated who he'd become sometimes, but his friends had always been everything to him, he felt so insecure without them.

Things had been better since the new school year had started. Things had finally settled down at home, and life before he'd met his father seemed like another world. Life couldn't have been more perfect, but then suddenly his feelings had changed for Finn. He'd hardly noticed it at first, he thought it was just normal that he always wanted to see him, or that he couldn't help but smile whenever Finn was around. It was the sneaky glances at him that Josh always stole when they were changing for PE that first worried him, but he'd pushed them to one side. He never thought it would grow into something so big.

The day everyone found out that he was gay was one of the worst of his life. He hated how everyone had just assumed that he was, just because he'd tried to kiss Finn. Josh hadn't even been sure himself, he hardly knew what to think, and that confusion had continued for months after that event. His sexuality had always been a grey area. At least, it had been until Nate had turned up.

Josh pulled on his tie, still staring at himself in the mirror, wishing that he could do something to make himself look slightly more presentable. He sighed, lifting a hand to play around with his hair again before something distracted him.

The doorbell gave three buzzes for every one time that someone rung it, Josh had opened the door by the end of the second. Nate turned around as the door opened, his face lighting up in his perfect smile.
"Where were you? I've been waiting here for ages," he said teasingly, his comment accompanied with a small chuckle.
"Well, sorry," Josh replied sarcastically, stepping out of the house and shutting the door behind him. He knew his father still wasn't completely comfortable with the idea of him and Nate, even though he pretended that he was.

Nate laughed in response, glancing back out towards the road. Josh took a second to examine him, his eyes running over every inch of his face, his body, right down to his feet. He was so jealous; Nate just looked perfect all of the time. He particularly envied his hair, every strand stayed in perfect position, even all the girls commented on how great it looked. He lifted a hand up to his own curly locks again, glancing back into the window to check it. Everyday he tried in vain to make it look just half as good as Nate's, but it still always looked like knotted animal fur or something.

"Hey," Nate's voice cut through the silence, his face crinkled in confusion as he watched Josh, "What are you doing?"
"Just checking my hair," Josh sighed, not wanting to draw any attention to how bad it looked.
Nate only shook his head, reaching out and softly squeezing Josh's hand, "It looks great. Come on, we'll be late otherwise."

…

It was break, and Josh was walking through the corridors alone. He smiled at people as they walked past, praying that someone may return it, or even just say hello. A few people did and his smile grew, he was just grateful that nobody had any issues with him anymore. With his father being a teacher at the school and his sexuality he had expected half the school to be against him, he considered it again to be just a stroke of luck that it seemed to be the complete opposite.

His attention moved away from the rest of the students in the corridor as he arrived at the music department. His eyes scanned the classrooms as he walked past, only interested in one person.
"Nate," he smiled as he saw him, calling through the door before he'd even had a chance to step inside. His friend looked up, beaming at him and beckoned for him to hurry inside.
"Hey," Nate replied, "I was gonna text you, but I thought you might guess I was here."
He looked back down at his guitar, plucking a few strings and twiddling the tuning pegs.
"What you doing?" Josh asked casually, slinging his bag over his shoulder and pulling up a chair next to Nate.
"Nothing much," he replied quietly, obviously trying to concentrate on making the notes sound just right.
Josh turned away, not wanting to disturb him. Unconsciously his hand crept up towards his hair again, combing his fringe through with his fingers.
"Will you stop fussing about it?"
Josh's head shot back round to look at Nate, his eyebrows furrowed, "About what?"
"Your hair," Nate gave a small laugh, "It looks fine."
"No it doesn't," Josh answered quietly, glancing downwards.
"Don't be silly," Nate frowned, standing up and stepping quietly towards the boy, "You always look great."
"Not like you," Josh muttered, "I look an idiot next to you."
He felt a warm hand wrap around his and gently pull him up to his feet. Reluctantly, Josh obeyed, standing up and twisting his head so that his eyes connected with Nate.
"Is that what you really think?" Nate asked, his eyes full of concern.
Josh hesitated, nodding slowly.
"You don't look like an idiot," Nate tilted his head, stepping closer to Josh, "Quite the opposite really."
"Really?"
"Of course," he gave a small laugh, "You look great."
Josh couldn't help but smile, he turned back towards Nate, whose eyes were flickering down towards Josh's lips. They both paused for a second, which for each of them felt like an eternity, before Nate finally made the contact. Immediately everything just made sense, Josh's arms crept around Nate's waist, holding him close as their kiss deepened. He felt a hand creep through his hair, fingers exploring through separate strands. Suddenly it was all over and his eyes fluttered open, Nate's perfect smile appearing in front of him.
"What am I gonna do with you?" Nate smirked, nudging Josh gently in the shoulder, "Least you're a good kisser, eh."

As soon as Josh had first seen Nate all the confusion had vanished. He had never felt like this, even the first time when he'd liked Lauren. It was like his world was completely focused on him, and suddenly he was all that mattered. Not only had he finally accepted that he really was gay, but he was happy about it too. Nate made everything perfect, even the most desperate of situations. Love, that's what it felt like. Although Josh was reluctant to say it, in case he looked stupid or Nate just laughed at him. He didn't know what the future might hold for the pair of them, but for once he wasn't worried about what was to come. Because the present was perfect enough, nothing else mattered.