"This is so stupid…" Sean sighed heavily, taking another swig from his bottle of liquor. Noel and him were sprawled across the floor of Noel's vacant barn, drinking one too many bottles of strong alcohol and rambling on about their shitty ex-girlfriends. Hanna had dumped him for the handsome, older detective, and Aria was probably whispering Gatsby quotes in the English teacher's ear. Noel had called Sean, already totally drunk, and begged him to come over. Sean had reluctantly agreed, but only because Noel was his fucking idiot friend and friends had to help each other out. Bros before hoes, as Noel had shouted over the phone.

But then Noel offered him a drink and then Sean was wasted as well.

"C'mon, Seaaaan. When in doubt, drink!" Noel chuckled, slurring more with each word and rolling on the floor as his lame joke. He threw an empty bottle across the room and collapsed his head on the hay. "Aria and Hanna are bitches and all we have are each other. You're better without her and I'm better without Aria." Noel could barely keep himself steady as he continued, but Sean grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him up.

"You're right." There was a moment of silence before Sean spoke again. "Noel and Sean forever. Best friends. No girl can ever come between us." Noel laughed throatily and clinked his bottle with Sean's.

"I'll drink to that!" Noel gulped down the rest of his liquid gold and let the glass roll to the other side of the barn. Sean's eyes drooped warily, as Noel had called him over at midnight and the blonde was sleeping heavily for the next morning's Real Love Waits meeting. The annoying chirp of the crickets outside were the only sounds for awhile until Noel's head collapsed on Sean's shoulder and his drunken words filled the empty air.

"You know… You look cute when you sleep," the brunette slurred, his eyes slowly closing. Sean, however, propped up. Even drunk, he could still understand what Noel had just said. But he couldn't believe it.

"Wait, what?" He let out a laugh, turning to face his best friend. Noel smiled in his near-sleep, and repeated his previous statement, only a little louder that time. Maybe it was the strong alcohol, but Sean had began to look way more attractive than he ever had that night. Besides, nothing would leave the barn. Sean knew that.

Sean's eyes widened in shock, peering through the darkness to see a joking grin or a roll of his eyes, but he was met with only the dreamy smile on Noel's face. He thought about it for a minute while the other male was resting on his shoulder, decidedly concluding it wasn't so bad. Sure, he was a super religious Christian, but that doesn't necessarily mean being gay was a sin. It was his best friend, someone he knew his whole life. Just because he liked another guy didn't mean it was a bad thing.

Maybe he should have figured it out sooner though. He and Noel always had an unusual relationship, being abnormally close. He thought it was just Noel's clingy and needy behavior, but he had never acted that way with the other guys. Or the girls. He supposed Noel had made some passes at him in the past, but they were usually forgotten.

Except for one incident when Noel had wondered aloud about how it would be like if they were dating. In an (stupidly) instantaneous reaction of disbelief, Sean had given him a dirty look and Noel quickly mumbled something about his medication.

Sean had harbored secret thoughts about Noel too, but he never once shared them out loud or kept them in his head for long periods of time. Romantic thoughts about Noel only briefly passed through his mind and he would ignore them until his next one.

Sean nudged Noel harshly to wake him up, but the other male's head still laid peacefully on him. "I'm going to try something, okay? Don't freak out." He mustered up three seconds of courage before guiding Noel's chin up and kissing him on the lips. The kiss was fervent and wet, but it was better than any one the two boys had gotten from any girl. Sean was the first one to break away, voicing a question he deemed important. "What happens in the morning?" he asked simply.

"Whatever happens, happens. We'll be best friends, lovers, boyfriends. Whatever it is, it'll always be Noel and Sean. If it turns out to be something good, good. Now shut up. You ruin everything."

Sean processed his response for a second before letting out a laugh and pulling Noel in for another kiss.