Shaun wasn't kidding about the early start, just after a 7am surf and having a quick shower, he got into the tent and slipped back under the covers, kissing Andy's neck softly as he carefully got on top of him, pressing soft kisses to Andy's lips. Andy stirred, opening his eyes to find instant trust in Shaun's aura.
"Hey" Andy croaked, quickly clearing his throat
"Good morning" Shaun smiled, kissing Andy on the corner of his lips.
Andy felt like he was dreaming, giggling and smiling as his arms looped around Shaun's neck, kissing him deeply with so much effort which he usually wouldn't do this early in the morning.
Shaun's hands gripped onto his hips as Andy's feet eagerly slid up Shaun's thighs so he could hold him as if he were some sort of koala. The kissing continued, slow and passionate, again, more loving than lustful. Andy just liked the feeling of kissing Shaun. There was something so different, he didn't know if it was the fact he was a man, his best friend or the fact after only two days his soul has literally been sold to this stupid idiot of a man. It still terrified him, but like drugs, he was addicted.
Shaun pulled away slowly and smirked down at the half-asleep Andy
"Told you you'd have every day to kiss me"
Andy cupped Shaun's face, kissing him again once more slowly before pulling away "I didn't expect morning kisses though"
Shaun laughed, carefully getting up "Nice surprise?"
"I didn't mind it" Andy chuckled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes "What time even is it?"
"Pretty early, 8ish?" Shaun estimated
"What the fuck" Andy yawned "no wonder I'm so tired"
"Well come on, you can sleep in the car"
"No, no, no" Andy quickly got up "No way, I'm driving" he insisted
"Why?" Shaun frowned "You let me drive here"
"Yeah that was before, this is now" He told him, taking off his pants to quickly get his jeans on
"What's the difference?" Shaun whined, hands in the air and all
"The difference is that I was in a really bad place and didn't give a shit about what was happening. I also don't want you driving through places we've never been" Andy replied honestly, instantly shutting Shaun up, causing him to change the subject.
"Well I've packed up pretty much everything. Just your stuff now" he informed him
"Yeah that's cool. I'll put my shit in there soon" Andy smiled, pulling his shirt off
Shaun grabbed Andy's arm to divert his attention to him. Shaun gently held Andy's chin, kissing him softly on the lips, confusing Andy further.
"Sorry" Shaun mumbled
"Sorry?" Andy chuckled, looking in Shaun's bright eyes "Don't get soft on me"
"That's the last thing I am around you" Shaun joked flirtatiously with a grin
"Fuck off" Andy shoved him "You're gross"
Shaun winked before laughing and packing up their bed stuff. Andy just shook his head, putting on a new shirt.
They packed up pretty quickly, half-assing most of it and hoping they could squish everything into their small trailer. It worked eventually. Andy was sad to leave the campsite, considering in only a few days so many good memories were made, but he felt good, he hoped that this honeymoon phase wouldn't leave too soon, he knew it would eventually, and if he's still crazy for Shaun after that phase has faded, then it must not be infatuation. It had to be love.
The word scared him a little, but he did love Shaun, he is his best friend and now, he's his lover of some sort. If he were to read months ago that Shaun and him were 'lovers' he'd cringe, he'd feel all the fans cringe too, but now, being alone with only him. Being 'lovers' didn't seem too bad. They only had each other after all.
Andy drove through a few towns, it wasn't as empty on this side of Victoria as it was towards New South Wales. It was pretty interesting, some towns were empty, and others crowded with people. Most of the time on the drive they just talked bullshit, as they always did. Talking about stupid things on Facebook that their friends said, or that one thing that Bradie did that one drunk night with a bottle of vodka…They weren't supposed to talk about it, but they did anyway.
After heading on the freeway it was pretty much bumper to bumper because they had clearly caught morning traffic. This is why Andy could never have a 9 to 5 job. This shit was pissing him off. Inching slowly closer after each person merged onto the busy freeway.
Andy groaned, hitting his head on the seat "fucking mooooove"
"You know you yelling at them won't make them go faster?" Shaun told him with a laugh, leaning his head against the window
"Shut up—" a car swerved across three lanes, causing Andy to slam the breaks "LEARN HOW TO DRIVE YOU FUCKING SHIT STAIN!"
Shaun let out a loud laugh "Oh man I love your road rage"
"Shut up, I really gotta piss" he squirmed in his chair "I'm getting off next exit. Stupid GPS system always going on the freeway" he muttered under his breath, Shaun laughed, reaching his hand over to grab Andy's hand, linking their fingers together. Andy smiled slightly.
"You need to relax" Shaun laughed "Honestly though, I need to pee as well"
"Fuck it then" Andy muttered, letting Shaun's hand go so he could steer onto the exit, he needed to get out of there.
They arrived to a larger town, populated with so many people you could call it a small city. It kind of reminded them of Newcastle, but no beaches, and more multi-cultural people. The place was clearly done up, all new buildings and buildings being redone. It was gentrification, everything was expensive looking, and no one in town fit in. Then again, they don't know what this town was like, but with places suited for every type of culture available, they figured they were okay with it
Lucky for Andy, there was a shopping centre placed almost right in the middle of town, he pulled into the closest car park he could see and almost sped through to find a spot near the door that was big enough for the car and trailer that came with it.
After he found one, they quickly ran in and followed the signs to the bathroom.
Andy finished first, after washing his hands quickly, he read a couple of advertisements and posters put up in the public bathroom. He raised his eyebrows at one.
"Movies are only $10 here" he told Shaun as he finished, going to wash his hands.
"Yeah? Still bit of a rip off, Newcastle has them for $8.50"
"I know but that's pretty good since most places are like 25 bucks a ticket" he told Shaun in a hinting tone
"You want to see a movie?" Shaun asked as if it were a joke
"We have time to kill" Andy informed him "and I still want to see that Paper Towns movie"
"Because that kid stole your face?"
"Yes exactly"
Shaun screwed up his nose "hmm..." He thought about it "fine. We have nothing better to do"
Andy grinned "well let's go see when the next show is on, and get some food"
"Food sounds good, I'm starving" Shaun laughed, opening the door for Andy to lead him out.
They came out to the food court where the cinema was right ahead of them, they made their way through the surprisingly busy shopping centre and down the steps to walk through the almost empty cinema to the front desk. They realised why the tickets were only $10 now, no one came here or could afford to see movies for $20.
"Hi, how are you?" the girl behind the counter asked with a smile
"Good thanks" Andy replied with a smile as Shaun looked up at the TV with the movie times
"What can I get you today?" She wondered kindly
"The next session for Paper Towns, when is it?" Shaun asked
"10:30" She smiled
"What time is it now?" he asked again, they must've looked stupid considering they don't have a watch or phone to check what time it was
"Uh, let me check" She looked at her computer "10:21" she laughed
"Oh awesome, easy then. Two tickets please" Shaun chuckled, pulling out his wallet. The girl pressed the buttons on the computer before asking
"Anything else?"
Shaun thought about it "Did you want anything?" he asked Andy. Andy looked at the boards with the menu
"We could settle for a combo deal?" he suggested and Shaun nodded
"Alright, we'll have the Best Friend combo" He told the girl who politely smiled
"sure thing" she replied, tapping in the remainder of the order "Alright, so, two tickets for Paper Towns, plus a Best Friend combo that includes a large popcorn, two large drinks and two choc tops?"
"Yep" Shaun confirmed with a smile, pulling out the remainder of the money as she read out the cost. She took it and handed the change with the tickets.
"I'll just get the drinks and stuff ready. What flavours did you want your choc tops to be?" She wondered
"Choc Mint" Andy told her with a smile
"I'll have Chocolate" Shaun told her afterwards, she went off to get the stuff, Shaun smiled and put his hand on Andy's back, sliding his hand down his arm to loosely hold his hand as he spoke in his ear "I haven't had ice cream for breakfast since I was 21" he snickered
Andy laughed, stroking his hand with his thumb "I had it for breakfast a week ago"
Shaun let out a loud laugh, leaning his arm on Andy's shoulder now, poking his nose with his pinkie finger, making Andy screw up his nose "Looking forward to seeing yourself on the big screen?" he wondered with a grin
"Very funny" Andy chuckled, shoving Shaun off to grab the drinks that were waiting for them on the counter
The girl placed the rest of the stuff on the counter with a smile, Shaun picked up whatever Andy couldn't hold
"Enjoy the movie guys" She smiled
"Thank you" the boys replied, turning away from the counter, Andy brooded to see the girl in the line looking stunned. He just ignored it, following Shaun into the theatre.
They sat right at the back in the corner. When the kid who looked like Andy came on they almost gasped, the kid (Ben) even acted similar to Andy. Andy was into it though, he was enjoying the movie. As for Shaun, he was getting over it, he didn't have a good attention span and kept saying little facts he knew about Cara Delevingne.
"Did you know she's dating a 32 year old woman?" He whispered
"Sh!" Andy told him off "I don't care"
"I told you this movie would be shit" Shaun told him
"Shut up Shaun" Andy told him, keeping his voice low "I like it"
"How? It's so typical 'guy works hard to get the girl of his dreams' I bet they don't get together in the end"
"Don't crush my dreams"
The continued to bicker quietly before Shaun gave up, slouching into the chair after being told to shut up for the fifteenth time.
After about 15 minutes of climax, the movie slowed down and got boring again, Shaun slurped on his coke before wrapping an arm slowly over Andy's shoulders, kissing his head softly. Andy smiled to himself and shook his head slightly, looking at him.
"You can't keep your hands of me for ten minutes can you?" He flirtatiously grinned at Shaun who removed his arm from around his shoulders to hold his hand, the other hand grabbing a couple popcorns before eating them.
"Nope" he smirked, swallowing the food down with more drink. He let out a quiet burp, watching the movie.
Andy looked at Shaun with a smile, admiring him in the light that radiated from the screen. He leaned in, kissing Shaun's neck softly. He could tell Shaun was getting needy for them to kiss or something—considering that's all they did for the last two days.
"If we make it to a hotel room tonight, I'm totally keen for anything…" He whispered softly into Shaun's ear. Shaun instantly felt butterflies spread throughout his body, smirking as he looked down at Andy.
"Better make sure we get there then"
Andy smiled brightly, looking back to the screen as the movie continued. He was hoping it was over soon. Adelaide was a while away. Maybe they'd stay in a town just over the border instead, they'd be halfway at least.
They walked out of the cinema when it finished. Andy was dissatisfied with its ending, he didn't understand what the point in the movie was if they didn't get together in the end, it seemed stupid, especially in a teen movie, he was also angry at Shaun. He jinxed the disappointment.
"I hate you" Andy muttered, putting their rubbish in the bin
"You only hate me when I'm right" Shaun grinned
Andy rolled his eyes, walking ahead of Shaun to get back to the car.
They got into the car and Shaun pulled out his phone, turning it on.
"What are you doing?" He wondered in confusion as the phone flashed suddenly with notifications.
"You said I could when we left camp" he replied with a hint of insecurity
Andy bit his lip and didn't say anything else as he put on the seat belt, starting the car, making his way out of the carpark.
Shaun's phone was full of text messages from nearly every single one of his family members, saying they missed him, that he was stupid, that they hoped he was alright and that he comes home soon. He let out a frustrated sigh that caught Andy's attention.
"That bad?"
Shaun read a text out "'Hey Shaun its mum. Just want you to know everyone is missing you'—I also have six voicemails"
"Well play them out" Andy told him simply and Shaun did, holding the phone on speaker as the messages played from his siblings and Bradie. Most were the same, saying that they're really annoyed and worried, then the last one played from his mum. That's when it really hit Shaun.
"Shaun!" His mum yelled "We just read the note Andy wrote. Running away? You two aren't 15 anymore, you're both heading towards thirty, why would you do this when Bradie needed you most? I'll never understand you boys" She let out the same kind of frustrated sigh Shaun had a moment ago, Andy kept his eyes on the road "Shaun, we love you so much. Just come home"
It hung up, the car fell quiet and empty as "No new messages" spoke through the speaker. Shaun hung up, slouching in his seat.
"…Don't touch your phone anymore and don't back out on me" Andy told him, reaching his hand over to hold Shaun's, breathing in deep. He had to distract Shaun from his family. He couldn't have the strong one becoming weak, Andy couldn't deal with it.
"Why?" Shaun asked distastefully, holding onto Andy's hand in a way to seek comfort, although his voice gave off a different vibe "You never told me you wrote a note"
"Because we're in this together, right? You help me out of my shit all the time, I have to get you out of yours for once, too" he almost mumbled, Shaun smiled slightly "And I wrote the note in case they got so concerned they broke into my house, which they have"
"Alright, I get it" Shaun sighed "Is this childish though?"
"No" Andy abruptly replied "Because we are adults, we can make these decisions, we are independent. We don't live with our parents or live by their rules. We are whoever we want to be and their opinions shouldn't change that. And that shit about Bradie is such trash, he dug his own grave"
"Yeah, I just keep forgetting what we're doing" He replied, and he was right, they were getting lost in their own little world where it was only them two and no one else.
"We're travelling" Andy smiled wide in attempt to make him feel better, he made Shaun laugh, looking at his phone as he went on twitter, instantly he had mentions and his Twitter was flooded with fans talking about Shaun and Andy being in a relationship.
"Shit" Shaun muttered "Everyone thinks we're in a relationship"
"What do you mean?" Andy asked, hoping it wasn't what he thought he meant.
"Some sneaky fan got a video of us getting tickets to the movie. She posted it saying 'Shaun and Andy are at my local movies seeing Paper Towns and they held hands?' Fucking hell" Shaun swore in frustration
"Are you joking?" Andy didn't know how to feel, all he knew is that it would make it harder for them whenever they got back home, with people knowing of what they were doing, how would they be able to return to normal?
Shaun opened the video and watched it, he was scared that he and Andy would look wrong together, but they didn't. They looked happy and that was the truth, they were happy together and that made him feel better in a way, because it reminded him that Andy is the only person who has ever made him feel this happy.
"I'm not mad" Shaun told him "We look good"
"We do?"
Shaun replayed the video, showing it to Andy who glanced while Shaun watched the road for him. Andy smiled now, looking at the road.
"I actually saw that girl who recorded it when I turned around, no wonder she looked like she was caught"
"Really?" Shaun asked in shock "Oh man I really better turn my phone off. I don't want to know anymore" he continued, mostly speaking to himself as he turned it off. Andy made his way onto the freeway, and away they went again on the next part of their adventure.
Shaun ended up falling back asleep after about an hour which was fair enough. Andy had no clue when he had woken up if he had a surf and was almost completely packed up by 8am. Andy continued to drive, trying to keep his thoughts away from the feelings he's continuing to hide from his best friend, everything they are is so physical and his mind just couldn't put the right words together to describe how he felt, but the last word he wanted to use was Love. It would be too soon, even though seconds felt like days and days felt like weeks, it would be too soon. He would scare Shaun away, the ride home would be awkward, filled with silence.
"Shit" Andy muttered, realising he wasn't focussing as he missed the exit. The GPS automatically corrected and Andy kept driving.
His mind couldn't be diverted, he couldn't stop thinking. He thought about the future, if they decided to be together when they returned home. Andy imagined Sunday mornings hungover, naked in Shaun's bed where Shaun would come in with leftover pizza. He imagined Wednesday nights filled with walking to the beach, listening to songs he wrote for him. Andy felt so dumb being so infatuated by him. He wished he would stop feeling romantically towards him, he wished it was all physical. But it wasn't. It probably never would be.
About an hour later, Shaun woke up after Andy accidentally went to fast over a bump in the road. He sat up and stretched, wiping his eyes.
"How long was I asleep?" he wondered with a yawn
"About an hour and a half" Andy told him "I was going to wake you up soon anyway, I'm doing a detour to Great Ocean Road. We can stop at a lookout to stretch our legs and switch drivers"
"Sounds good man" Shaun agreed before changing the subject "I had the weirdest dream"
"What was it?" Andy wondered
"I can't remember everything but you were there and we were in bed and our album was number 1 on the charts and we were throwing a party to celebrate it and then Bradie showed up and he told us he was pregnant—it was really messed up"
"It sounded good till the Bradie part" Andy laughed
"Yeah" Shaun laughed with him "Lucky I woke up"
"Definitely" Andy agreed
Andy followed the signs to what seemed to be the most popular lookout along Great Ocean Road. Shaun stayed occupied, singing along to the CD that was playing loudly on the stereo system. Andy found the road to go down, following the bumpy dirt road that lead to an empty car park where you could already see the ocean in the distance.
He pulled into a spot and parked, the two getting out, being shocked by the cool wind, they quickly grabbed their jumpers from the backseat and put them on before heading down to the trail that was built out of sturdy wood. The two walked down the steps and around to the end where it opened up to the look out, the sound of the ocean was so calming. Shaun admired how the ocean crashed into the rocks and Andy just loved the smell of clean, ocean air. The sea was such a deep blue too, different from what they're used to, Shaun leaned against the wooden fence, looking out and Andy followed, leaning in and just admiring the view, the chilly wind making his cheeks numb. It was so nice though, he would've taken photos if he didn't leave his camera in the car.
Thinking everything over, Shaun felt uneasy. People knew about what he and Andy were doing, Bradie would know by now, which meant the whole family knew. He got the sudden feeling of just taking off even further, leaving everything behind and just taking Andy to some foreign country where no one knew English and they'd have to start over. He wanted to go somewhere where they would be nobody's…but they didn't have that kind of money. He and Andy were doomed, no matter how the trial goes.
Shaun breathed deeply "I don't know how we'll come back from this"
Andy furrowed his brows, looking at Shaun "What do you mean?"
"I mean all of it" Shaun tried to explain "Especially this, it just hit me that everyone knows"
Andy figured by this he meant whatever they had "Depends" he cleared his throat "We can always say we were just being stupid, there was nothing romantic about it. Besides, we aren't together anyway."
Shaun looked down at his hands, rubbing them together. Shaun contemplated, what if they were together? It would be tough, but these days with Andy have been the best of his life.
"No one has to know what we do" Andy continued softly, putting his hand on Shaun's back "We'll be okay"
Shaun turned and looked at his best friend who trailed his hand to his cheek
Shaun couldn't help but smile "I don't know why, and this could sound really freaking stupid…But you make me so fucking happy" he admitted with a soft laugh
Andy felt himself warm up instantly from his confession, he smiled, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss against Shaun's lips. Shaun inhaled his scent, exhaling as his lips kissed back gently, his hands gliding to his best friend's cheeks so his lips couldn't leave his. They continued kissing slowly, Andy's cold hands sliding around the nape of his warm neck, they rocked as their lips motioned. Shaun teasingly pressed his tongue to Andy's. Andy pulled away slightly, grinning at Shaun who had a cheeky smile on his face.
Andy chuckled, grabbing Shaun's hips and pushing him into the corner of the fenced lookout, causing Shaun to let out a small grunt. Shaun's hands gripped onto Andy's hips as Andy's hands slid to Shaun's cheeks, kissing a slow, sensual tongue kiss that drove Shaun crazy, his hands sliding lower to tug him onto his crotch. Andy inhaled at the sensation, the two continued to make out in that sensual fashion for god knows how long until Andy pulled away, leaning himself onto Shaun, their heads touching as Shaun's hands glided up his back.
"We're so messed up" Andy started to chuckle and Shaun did too
"I'm not complaining" Shaun told him, kissing him lightly
The sound of people coming down to the lookout caused Andy to kiss Shaun quickly before pulling away from him.
"Come on, we should get going so we can make it to a motel" Andy smirked hintingly. Shaun bit his lip and the two instantly made their way past the tourists to get back to the car. Tonight would be the night that they got completely intimate, that tension was swarming within their blood.
They got in the car and embraced the warmth now that they were out of the cold.
"I don't think we'll get to Adelaide in time" Andy told him as he looked at the GPS "I can stop at Mt Gambier which is just over the border"
"Oh yeah?" Shaun looked over at the GPS
"Do you want to call a motel and book a room?" Andy suggested, Shaun nodded, grabbing Andy's phone from the glovebox
"I'll do it now before reception cuts off"
Andy nodded before remembering what he said before "We'll stop at a servo somewhere and you can drive from there"
"Sounds good" Shaun smiled, resting his feet on the dashboard as Andy started the car, making his way back onto Great Ocean Road.
They drove for about half an hour before they saw a Petrol Station, Andy slowed down, indicating and pulling in. The place was empty, no surprise. He pulled into the correct section, making sure the car was lined up to the pump.
Andy switched off the car and looked at Shaun "did you want to go in and get some snacks while I fill the car?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea" he agreed, undoing his belt and opening the door "I'll pay for the petrol too"
"You've paid for literally everything!" Andy whined, taking his wallet out "Take this" He insisted, handing Shaun his card
Shaun rolled his eyes "It's literally not a big deal"
"Just take my card!" He whined further, putting it in his hands
"I don't want it!" Shaun whined back, giving the card back
"Just take my card!" Andy repeated and shoved his hand back "we're number two, by the way"
Shaun shook his head and laughed, getting out of the car "You are so fucking stubborn"
"I am not stubborn!" Andy yelled as Shaun shut the door. Shaun turned around and watched Andy get out of the car.
"You are!" he continued the petty argument
"Oh my god Shaun I will choke you" Andy threatened as he shut the door
"Oh yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you?" Shaun smirked, laughing at his flirtatious joke
Andy just shook his head, undoing the fuel cap before grabbing the pump and putting petrol into the car.
"Make sure you get something for dinner I don't think we'll be stopping anywhere" Andy replied, ignoring the choking comment.
"Got it" Shaun nodded, finally walking away before turning back "By the way, thanks for the card, I can spend as much as I want!"
"Pay Pass only goes up to $100 you dickhead!" Andy shouted back
"Shit!" Shaun muttered loud enough so Andy could hear. He couldn't help but laugh, watching the price of the fuel go up and up.
Andy filled the car and closed the cap, getting back into the passenger side of Shaun's car. He watched as Shaun went up to the counter, grabbing a few things from the counter to put in as well.
"What the hell is he doing" Andy mumbled to himself, watching as Shaun thanked the guy and walked out with two bags full of stuff. Shaun raised his arms in the air and made a stupid face at Andy. Andy just laughed, watching him make his way to the driver's side. He got in and put the bags by Andy's feet.
"$97.50. I was close" Shaun informed him, putting the card in his hand and taking the keys.
"You didn't—"
"Petrol was over 50 bucks, don't blame me!" he instantly defended himself, putting the keys in ignition
"What the hell did you buy?" Andy asked as he was already searching through the bags of crap food that they shouldn't be living off
"Lots of stuff" Shaun shrugged, driving away "Not freaking out?" he wondered, talking about his driving.
"We're in the middle of nowhere now, we'll be fine" Andy assured (mostly) him(self) before looking in the next bag, instantly freezing "You didn't…"
"I didn't what?" Shaun asked as if he didn't know, chewing on his bottom lip to contain his smirk.
Andy grabbed the items out of the bag "Condoms and lube?"
Shaun let out a laugh "At this point though, they are more important than food"
Andy just laughed, looking at the box of condoms. Only Shaun would do this.
Shaun glanced quickly, pointing to a sentence "They're ribbed too!"
"Holy shit!" Andy let out a loud laugh now "What did the dude at the counter say? Wouldn't he think it was weird you were buying these with your best mate in the car?"
Shaun raised his brows "He probably realised we're more than just mates"
Andy couldn't help the grin on his face, but there was reality, they were more than just mates, and tonight, they were most likely going to take whatever they had a step further.
