Chapter 6

"C'mon, gimme a hint," Blake slurred his normally perfect speech, already effected by his two drinks.

"Nope."

"What if I guess?"

"I'll just deny it," Carl admitted, with a shrug.

"Well, can you at least tell me how many people you've had a crush on?"

"Technically, one, I guess."

"Boy, or girl?"

"I'm not helping you narrow down list of your suspects."

"For every question you answer, I'll answer one of yours," Blake hesitantly offered, well-aware of the risk he was taking. "We can play twenty questions."

"Man, you're persistent." Carl sipped his drink, as he contemplated Blake's offer, before finally accepting it, with a sigh. "Deal," he said, "but your first question was of how many people I've had a crush on, so it's my turn to ask one, now."

"Fine." Blake rolled his eyes, as he took a sip of his own drink.

"Okay, so, do you still like this person? Also, how many people have you had a crush on?"

"That's two questions."

"The second doesn't count... We have to answer our own questions, too."

"You've gotten pretty into this game, for not even wanting to play," Blake pointed out, suddenly feeling as though the tables had been turned, for he was now the one reluctantly going along with his own idea. "To answer my own question, I've only ever liked one person." Carl's heart skipped a beat, when his brain yelled at him to 'wake the fuck up!,' and the words, 'he likes you!, dumbass' echoed throughout the back of his mind. At the very idea that Blake could possibly be obsessed with another boy, more than he'd always been with Carl, the latter felt oddly jealous. "To answer your question, yes, I still like this person... Do you still like whoever you had a crush on?"

"Yes," Carl admitted, to Blake's immediate jealousy.

"Okay, it's my turn." The blonde quickly attempted to sweep his friend's last answer under the carpet. "Boy, or girl?"

"Boy," Carl admitted in a tiny voice, as blush crept back over his face. Clearly, he wasn't totally comfortable with his sexuality, yet.

"Oh," Blake said, somewhat surprised by the fact that Carl's only crush hadn't been of the opposite sex. More importantly, Blake felt even more jealous. Ironically, after he'd resigned himself to the idea that Carl would never see him, that way, specifically due to his gender, Blake had to now come to terms with the fact that, not only could Carl find himself attracted to guys, but that the one guy he had found himself attracted to, probably wasn't Blake himself.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I don't have to ask you that question," Carl quipped. "Lemme see... Do I know this guy?"

"Yeah..." Blake shifted uncomfortably next to Carl. "Do I know who you like?" The redhead nodded. "Are we friends with him?"

"Well, I am," he emphasized, "but that's not exactly the term I'd use to describe your relationship to this person."

"Good Lord!" Blake's eyes widened. "It's not Hoodsey, is it?!"

Carl immediately burst into laughter, which brought tears to his eyes. "Ew, no." He wiped a stray tear from his cheek. "Dude, Hoodsey's, like, my brother. Also, totally straight." Quietly, Blake breathed a sigh of relief, as one of his worst fears was put to rest. Despite the fact that he'd always assumed Carl to be straight, Blake had been paranoid of how much closer Hoodsey had always been to Carl, as was still rather jealous. "Same question, back at ya, though."

"Same answer, I suppose." Blake paused, to sip his drink. "By the way, I don't want you to think I meant that I don't consider Hoodsey a friend. It's just, you're a lot closer with him, so..."

"Don't worry about it, Blakey-boy." Carl dismissively waved off Blake's concern. "Anyway, do you know if this guy likes guys?"

"I think I can say for sure that he does."

"Holy shit," Carl's eyes widened, as he suddenly considered the only openly gay guy at their school, who he probably should've considered as an option, "is it Higsby?"

This time, it was Blake's turn to laugh, though his was more of a giggle, than Carl's hysterical cackle. "I wouldn't date Higsby, if he were the last gay guy on the planet."

"Phew," Carl mock-sighed in genuine relief. "For once, we agree."

"Anyway, do you know if you're crush likes guys?" He nodded. "Is he in any of the classes we share?"

"Yeah, all two of them," he deadpanned. "Is your crush in any of my classes, or just your AP classes?"

"He's not in any AP classes."

"So, is he more around your age, or mine?" Carl wondered, because there was an age difference of a year-and-a-half between himself and Blake, who'd been lucky enough to skip first and second grade. "Like, what grade is he in?" With each question, Carl could feel his anticipation mount, as he seemed to get increasingly closer to the answer he was hoping for.

"I'd say those are two separate questions," Blake pointed out, "but he's your age, and in our grade." Hopefully, he thought to himself, this information was too vague to give himself away with. After all, it could be anyone in their sophomore year. "What about your crush?"

"Um, he's in our grade, but he's a little younger than me," Carl hesitantly answered, quite sure that this information was too specific, and would probably give him away.

Predictably, Blake raised an eyebrow at Carl, who felt his face instantly heat. "How long have you had your crush?"

"Probably, longer than I can remember." Carl sighed rather wistfully. "How 'bout you?"

"Um," Blake himself blushed, as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "like, third grade...?"

Carl raised an eyebrow, as he considered the fact that that was the year he'd met Blake, who would've been in only first grade, had he not bravely chosen to skip ahead. "It's not me, is it?" There was a hint of nervous laughter in Carl's voice, as he tentatively allowed himself the half-joke. He probably shouldn't have been as surprised as he happened to be, when Blake reacted by turning his increasingly red face away from Carl, and proceeding to shake like a leaf. "Holy shit," Carl's eyes widened, "I'm the one you like?!"

"Sorry, I shouldn't have talked you into playing this game," Blake quickly apologized, though it was himself that he felt sorry for, and he was thoroughly embarrassed. "Forget I said anything..."

In disbelief, Carl could only stare wordlessly at the boy who apparently returned the former's newly realized affection. After taking a moment to process, Carl forced himself to finally admit aloud, not just to his friend, but himself, "I like you, too, Blakey-boy."

In response, Blake whipped his head back around, and locked his wide eyes onto Carl's. "Wait, really...?" Blake himself was in apparent disbelief, as he raised an eyebrow. "I'm the one that you have a crush on?"

The two proceeded to stare at each other, as though making a contest out of it, before they erupted into a simultaneous fit of euphoric laughter. Once they'd started, it seemed they couldn't stop. They both felt high on it, and unable to come down, even as their laughter wore off.

"So, third grade, huh?" Carl smirked at Blake, with half-lidded eyes.

"Longer than you can remember, huh?" Blake shot back, with a roll of his eyes, as he felt his face burn.

"Honestly, I think I've been in denial, for a few years." Carl blushed even more deeply. "I lied earlier, when I said that I couldn't pinpoint any time that made me first question my orientation." Blake simply raised an eyebrow, so Carl proceeded to explain. "Well, I first started questioning myself in junior high, because I started noticing that I always felt frustrated around you." The redhead smiled bashfully at his stunned friend. "And, like I said, I've probably liked you even longer than I can remember, so... I've probably liked you since fifth or sixth grade."

"But..." Blake appeared to be at a loss for words, and could only blink at Carl in confusion. "But, you didn't even like me as a friend, then."

Carl's eyebrows knitted in concern, and his face dropped into an instant frown, as he stared at Blake with hurt in his eyes. "Of course, I did," he said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, that Carl had even platonically liked Blake, when the latter had always felt that he'd had to work his ass off for the friendship he'd eventually achieved.

"No, you didn't." Blake shook his head. "I tried to be your friend, but you always rejected me."

Carl averted his eyes in shame, as he proceeded to explain himself. "I'm sorry I made you feel that way, Blakey-boy. I never really disliked you." His voice was gentle, as he spoke. "I mean, I thought you were kinda annoying, when we first met, but I quickly warmed up to you. Maybe, I warmed up too much, because I always felt the need to keep myself at a distance. Like, I only picked on you, and played pranks on you, as an excuse to interact with you, because I didn't know how to let myself be your friend. It took years, to finally reach that point." Carl finally looked back over to Blake, who seemed to have been crying. "Woah, are you okay, Blake?" The redhead gently rested a hand on the other boy's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Blake's voice cracked. "More than okay." A delirious smile spread across his face, as he wiped away his tears. "I just can't believe that you've liked me back, all this time, when I'd thought you'd hated me."

"I really am sorry," Carl apologized, as he removed his hand from Blake's shoulder, and brought it to the underside of the latter's chin, to lift up his face. Their eyes met, and they lost themselves in each others, for what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a matter of seconds, before they were simultaneously pulled in by the force of the gravity between them. Their lips collided, as they squeezed their eyes shut, and grabbed for each other. Blake gripped at the collar of Carl's plaid flannel, as Carl ran shaky hands through Blake's wispy hair. Finally, Blake parted his lips, when Carl's tongue licked over them. Sighing into Carl's mouth, Blake's whole body shivered, and felt as though it were melting into putty, in the other boy's hands. Their kisses were sloppy, but hot, and all the sexual tension that had built between them, over the years, was about to finally reach its climax.