"Do you think we can see the cherry tree from up here?" Gil wondered out loud after they enjoyed the view on the mountain in silence for a while.
"It's probably somewhere hidden in the trees," Jay answered while looking around. Gil sat down beside Jay. He still had the same bright, calming smile on his face.
"This has to be the best part of Auradon," he said still taking it all in. "Even though I miss the cherries hanging around everywhere."
Jay chuckled as he looked at Gil. He still couldn't take his eyes of him. The questions kept burning inside of him, while making sure his hand was close enough to Gil for him to grab it. The desire to touch the other guy seemed to grow with every second. Suddenly Gil turned towards him, and Jay quickly looked away.
"You think we could have a picknick up here?" Gil wondered out loud. Jay looked up in amazement, not sure he understood it correctly. "You know, we could carry a basket with food up here. Put down a blanket and eat the food."
Jay couldn't help but laugh, as he looked back at Gil. "You just don't stop with amazing me," Jay said still smiling.
"What do you mean?" A frown had appeared on Gil's forehead.
"I just…," Jay stopped for a second as he took a deep breath. It seemed like he just couldn't set his mind straight.
"Are you okay?" Gil asked after a while. "You seem different today. Kind of reserved."
Jay widened his eyes. He had been sure he was hiding it pretty well, but somehow Gil had still noticed it. "Why did you give me the red rose?"
The question came out before Jay had realized it. He never meant to ask, but it had been running through his mind an entire day and night. Gil had to think about the question, but then his face lit up with excitement.
"Oh, you meant the roses from yesterday. They were really pretty."
"Yes, but why did you give me the red one?" The words came out harsh and unkind, but Jay needed an answer now that the question was out.
"Why? You didn't like it?" Gil suddenly seemed hurt.
Jay could slap himself in the face. Last thing he wanted was to ruin this day for Gil. He was so happy a few moments ago. Jay tried to calm his nerves, while he took a deep breath.
"I did like the rose. Believe me, I did," Jay said truthful. He knew if he truly didn't like the flower it would not be standing on his night stand. "I just wondered why you gave me a red rose. And not yellow or orange like the others."
"Oh," Gil said softly. He smiled shyly as he softly replied. "Well, Ruby said I should give the red rose to the one I'm dating. And Harry keeps telling me we're dating, so I thought…"
Gil stopped in the middle of his sentence. Jay didn't look at him, but listened carefully to every word he said. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat as he slowly started to realize he had been right all along. It had been a Gil thing. All of it. The smiles, the hugs, the compliments, the lovely gestures, the red rose. All of it was just Gil being nice and utterly clueless. This was why he shouldn't have brought it up in the first place, to avoid unnecessary heartbreak.
"Should I give you a yellow rose next time?" Gil asked softly. Jay smiled and slowly nodded. That would be for the best. He couldn't believe he had been so incredibly stupid.
Gil looked away as well. He had been sure something was going on between them. The happiness he felt when Jay was near. The strong desire to be with Jay again when they were apart, even when he had left for just a few minutes. It was the way Jay made his heart race with just one smile, but also calmed him down by standing next to him. It all felt a lot like love, or at least a lot like how others described it.
Gil knew he wasn't suited for love, a lot of people told him so. He would end up as his dad, using and devouring women. Gil believed this was the truth, except for the fact that he had no interest in women at all, let alone devouring them. For years he had been questioning what that even meant. Until he met Harry. Harry! Gil lit up again, he suddenly knew how he could break the painful silence.
"You want to know how Harry reacted when he got his rose?" Gil asked to Jay. Jay turned his attention back to Gil. He had been lost in his own thoughts, but he stood by his decision that he would not ruin this day for Gil.
"Sure," he answered and faked a smile.
"So I was handing out roses to everyone on The Lost Revenge," Gil began his story. "I gave the blue one to Uma. She was really happy with it, dancing around and all. But then Harry came and at first he looked really disapproving. So I gave him the white rose and he actually smiled. He even smelled the flower." Gil smiled at the memory as he told the story. "But then I told him the white rose stood for innocence and his entire face changed again. From confused, to discontent and back to confused again. I wish you had been there."
Jay laughed with Gil, while imagining the distress on Harry's face.
"But then he suddenly looked mischievous," Gil continued his story. "He said; 'I'll show you how innocent I am.' So he kissed me and…"
"Harry kissed you?" Jay interrupted Gil. He sighed frustrated. He suddenly felt the urge to climb down the mountain, go to the pirate ship and punch Hook in his face.
"Yea, he does that sometimes," Gil answered calmly. He frowned as he noticed Jay's sudden distress.
"So what… You and Harry are together?" Jay could feel his anger rise. Gil had been talking about the two of them dating and suddenly it seemed that he had been dating Harry all along.
"You mean…," Gil slowly replied while thinking about the question. "Like a couple? I don't think so. Harry kissed almost everybody in our crew, but honestly, I believe he is only really set on Uma."
"And you?" Jay continued asking.
"What?"
"Well, what do you think about it?"
"I don't really mind when he kisses me," Gil said shrugging. "It is nice."
Jay couldn't help but laugh. His anger had faded away a little bit. It was clear Harry's kisses didn't mean much to Gil.
"Just nice. I don't know if I would describe Harry's kiss like that," Jay responded laughing.
"Wait… Harry kissed you as well?" Gil asked surprised.
"That was a long time ago," Jay sighed. "But well, let's just agree that Harry's kiss is just nice."
"Is it supposed to be more than that?" Gil asked confused, looking at Jay.
"It's supposed to be amazing," Jay answered. "It's supposed to cure every curse."
"You mean like true love's kiss? You believe in that?"
"Not really," Jay said shrugging.
"Me neither," Gil responded. "Even though Uma told me she had seen it with Evie and Doug. Apparently Evie kissed Doug and Doug woke up from the sleeping curse, or something."
"I've seen it happen myself," Jay answered looking at the view again. "Mal kissed Ben and he was cured from the love spell Uma had put on him. It still sounds really dumb to me."
Gil looked back at Jay. Maybe if he could move in just a little closer…
"Come on, it's time to climb down again," Jay said. He stood up and gave a soft pat on Gil's shoulder. "The sun is starting to set already and we have to go all the way back to Auradon. It won't be smart to ride through the woods in the dark."
Gil stood up as well, but didn't show any signs of leaving. Jay looked back at him as he had been noticing Gil was staring at him. They stood rather close together, since the little mountain top didn't offer too much space. It was just like in the cherry tree, but this time it wasn't so hard to keep their balance.
Jay was holding his breath, only hearing the wind around them and deep down the rustling of the trees. He looked into those two beautiful hazel eyes, wishing he knew what was going on in the mind of the other guy. Gil just kept staring at him. Just a few seconds had past, but for Jay it felt like ages. Just when Jay wanted to turn around and started to climb down, Gil moved up on him. He laid his hand on the back of Jay's neck, pulled the other guy closer to him and made their lips finally touch.
For a moment Jay tried to step away from the sudden movement, but quickly calmed down as he could feel Gil softly pressing his lips on his. Gil could feel how Jay laid one hand on his shoulder and the other hand on his waist. The wind seemed to push them even closer as Jay took a step forward till their bodies almost touched. Gil felt as if they could melt into each other, as if they could become one. Their lips parted and they both opened their eyes. The wind blew through their hair, while they still stood close together on the lonely hill top. That was amazing.
Jay stared at Gil in disbelief. Gil quickly looked away, a nervous laughter escaping him.
He wasn't sure why he did it. He had been secretly dreaming about kissing Jay for a pretty long time, but he was never sure what it actually meant. It had felt so right, though. It felt so incredibly right. But he still couldn't shake the feeling that he had done something wrong. Gil decided to step back, releasing Jay from his touch. But then he could feel how Jay grabbed his hand, softly squeezing in it. Gil looked up, causing Jay to sigh in relief. He didn't want those beautiful eyes to go away. He didn't want for the moment to end. Jay moved in again and softly pressed another kiss on Gil's lips. Gil answered the kiss happily, holding Jay's hand a little tighter.
After that Jay stepped back and cleared his throat. "We should go now. Before it gets dark."
Gil opened his mouth. He wanted to say so many things, but he didn't seem to find the right words. He was still unsure about what just happened. He only knew that he had never felt so invincible before. As if he could take over the world from this little mountain top. He saw Jay smiling back at him as Jay still held his hand tight.
"Come on," Jay softly said to him.
Gil was still lost for words to say, so he just nodded and smiled. "Yea, don't want Harry come looking for us."
The climb back down was easier than up, but Jay was still glad Gil stayed close by. Jay was the first one to reached the plateau with the bench again. He walked towards the fence and looked over the outstretched forest before him. He could see the sun shining brightly on his left. It wouldn't take long before the sun was completely set.
Jay turned around and saw Gil standing behind him. He had been rather quiet while climbing down. Jay had to admit that he was kind of lost for words as well. He wasn't sure if small talk would cut it for this moment. He had still many questions going through his mind, but for now he just wanted to see the other guy smile again.
"You were right," Jay started a little hesitant. He still forced a confident smile on his face, not willing to show Gil that he was actually really nervous.
"About what?" Gil asked confused. People normally pointed out that he was wrong. To hear he was right about something was actually very unusual.
"The view on the top of the mountain was much better," Jay continued. "Climbing up was a good call." A smile appeared back on Gil's face and Jay didn't have to force himself to smile back anymore.
"It was, wasn't it," Gil said still smiling.
"Next time we're going to have a picknick up there," Jay said pointing up.
"Yes, and we should bring grapes and cherries. Oh, and some sandwiches as well," Gil happily added.
"Probably something to drink too," Jay added as he started their walk down the mountain.
Gil quickly walked beside him. He still smiled at Jay as they talked about what they could bring on their mountain picknick. The ice had been broken once more.
It was almost dark when the two boys were back in Auradon and stopped their bikes in front of Auradon Prep. Gil stepped off and took his helmet off. He loved the bike, it was a shame he had to return it. Again the idea popped up in his mind to buy his own and surprise Jay to go on a ride with him. Gil looked up and saw Jay stepping of his bike as well.
"I could also bring you back to the ship," Jay suggested when he looked up at Gil. "It's not that far and you'll be there a lot quicker."
"I'll be alright," Gil answered. "Besides it would be a lot of hassle to get both bikes back here."
For a second it crossed Jay's mind to suggest to take just one bike. So they could sit close to each other like some kind of couple. Gil putting his arms around his waist. Jay quickly shook his head, he was getting way out of his mind.
Jay looked around. A lot of people were still wandering through the park, enjoying the last bit of sunlight and the cool evening breeze. He even recognized some people, realizing probably more people knew him by watching him playing tourney. If it wasn't for them he would kiss Gil again. Maybe even taking him back to the cottage and let him stay there until the morning light.
That didn't mean they were a couple, but a lot of the others would think it was. Two guys together, that was just ridiculous. But still, he couldn't deny how his heart kept racing and how right it felt when he kissed Gil on the mountain top.
"Do you have tourney practice tomorrow?" Gil suddenly asked and interrupted Jay's thoughts.
"Yes," Jay softly replied.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Gil asked.
Jay nodded while a smile creeped on his face. He would love that. It would also give him some time to think everything over. Gil smiled back at him as he walked over to Jay. The urge to kiss the other guy grew stronger, but Jay already took a step backwards. Gil leaned in, his hand already placed on Jay's cheek. Jay quickly put his hand on Gil's chest and pushed him away. He walked towards the bike, acting as if he needed to check them. In the meanwhile he looked around, wondering if anybody had seen that.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Jay said, still trying to look busy with the bike. Gil stood their defeated, not sure if he had done something wrong or not.
"See you tomorrow," he softly replied, walking pass Jay. Gil turned around to look at Jay for a last time, but Jay didn't look back.
Gil quickly looked ahead of him again, walking back towards the ship. This was it, he was sure about it, that thing that people called love. He knew it for a little while now, every time that he looked at Jay. But Jay did not seem to agree with it. Gil fastened his pace, trying to figure things out. The words of his dads kept spinning through his head. His dad would definitely disapprove of what he just did. Uma and Harry would probably disapprove as well. Gil didn't know why, but it was clear Harry did not seem eye to eye with Jay.
Gil stopped walking when a sudden thought came up in his mind. Jay himself probably disapproved. It was clear, he had been keeping his distance the entire day. But somehow Gil had still pushed to kiss him. Twice… Gil gasped for air, realizing who he acted like. Gil had tried to be like his dad his entire life. Tried to live up to his expectations. Trained to be just as strong, as fast, as charming as his dad. Tried everything in his power to be that man. But he could not make the same huge mistake as his dad had made. Gil sighed. Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe he could still make this right.
Wow, finally! ^^
I don't know why, but I always like to take it slow with these kind of stories.
Thank you for reading and supporting the story. It means the world to me. ^^
