Steve stared at himself in the mirror, adjusting his hair and t-shirt. He actually felt a bit nervous; he wasn't sure what Danny had in mind for them tonight. He had laughed it off earlier but it got him thinking as the afternoon went on. The doorbell rang. Steve felt flutters in his stomach, just like a few days ago when Danny came over to do homework. At least Steve could be himself more tonight, and not make a complete fool out himself. He headed out of his room, and saw Mary-Ann had bet him to it, with answering the door.
"Hello," Mary-Ann said with a sweet tone.
"Hi," Danny said.
He looked good, he had a t-shirt on too, but he looked really formal and confident. He gripped onto a backpack that was around his shoulder. What is he up to? Steve thought. Steve approached both of them and smiled at Danny.
"Do I need to bring anything?" Steve asked.
"I said I had it covered," Danny said with a smirk.
"What are you guys up tonight?" Mary-Ann asked with her hands on her hips.
"I don't know," Steve said.
"You'll see," Danny replied.
Steve stepped out the door, ready to head out.
"Oh, I thought that was you Danny, how are you?" Doris said, peeping out from the kitchen.
Steve rubbed his cheek hard and took a deep breath, he was still annoyed with his mother from this morning.
"I'm good thanks," Danny said politely.
"That's good; I was going to ask you if you'd like to sleep over here tomorrow night? Your Mom told me that she is spending the night with her sister, and didn't want you home alone," Doris said.
Steve widened his eyes, he couldn't believe how nice his Mom was acting, let alone think about the other implications of having a sleep over.
"Yeah, she half mentioned that to me. That would be good, I'd like that," Danny said with a straight face.
Steve turned to Danny and stared at him, he couldn't believe how relaxed Danny was, Steve thought he would freak.
"Great. Well you boys have a nice time, whatever you're doing," Doris said and headed back into the kitchen.
Steve took a deep breath and stormed out the door, "Let's go."
"Bye guys," Mary- Ann said.
"Bye," Danny said, confused and rushed out to Steve.
"What was that?" Danny said.
"I can't believe her, she was too nice, it was weird. And you, you were so relaxed, I thought you would have jumped out of your skin when she said that," Steve said.
"Your Mom kinda scares me, so I just sort of zone out and agree with her," Danny admitted.
"Oh," Steve said, nearly calmed down by the whole thing.
"Well, now we've got a sleepover to look forward to," Danny said happily, and clapped his hands enthusiastically.
Steve smiled at Danny, "Well first things first, what are we doing tonight? Where are you taking me?"
"Get in the car and I'll show you where to go," Danny said sternly.
Steve broadened his eyes, "Yes sir."
Danny directed Steve to a spot a bit out of the city, to a lookout high on a cliff. Danny's aunt had told his Mom and him about it a couple of days ago. She used to go up there all the time before she was sick and think about things. She said it was always quiet and no one ever went up there, which is what peaked Danny's interest. They both got out of the car and walked around the spot.
"I've never been here before, it's cool," Steve said, taking in the view.
"It can be our secret spot if you like," Danny mumbled under his breath.
Steve turned away from the view to smile at Danny.
"That was too much wasn't it? I thought it might be," Danny stuttered.
Steve approached Danny and put his hands on his shoulders, so they were face to face.
"Not at all," Steve said with a grin.
Danny smiled at Steve and loosened his shoulders.
There was a park bench in the middle of the viewpoint, with a large boulder in front of it, perfect for a foot rest. Danny sat down, and Steve soon followed.
"Sorry, this is all I could get," Danny said, grabbing two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a bottle of coke out of his backpack.
Steve smiled sincerely at Danny, he loved all the thought Danny had put into this, even though it was just a couple of sandwiches.
"It's perfect," Steve said, as he received his sandwich.
They began to eat their sandwiches in silence, while looking out to the ocean. Steve actually felt comfortable in the silence, as long as he could spend time with Danny, he was happy. Steve shuffled down on the bench to be hip to hip with Danny. He smiled at Danny with a mouthful of food, and reached his arm around Danny's shoulder. Danny stared at Steve for a moment, before resting his head onto Steve's shoulder.
They gulped down their sandwiches, and then took turns in taking a swig of the coke bottle, like it was a bottle of whiskey. Both of them stretched their legs out to the boulder in front of them, and wrapped their legs together.
"You know I had no idea what you had in store for tonight, but I'm glad it was this. It's amazing," Steve said honestly, turning to fully face Danny.
Steve leaned in for a slow and tender kiss, gripping his right hand on the back of Danny's neck. He pulled away quickly, with his teeth still gripping onto Danny's bottom lip.
"What?" Danny asked, confused as to why Steve had stopped.
Steve pressed his forehead against Danny's and grinned, "Nothing."
Danny laughed under his breath, as he was happy, "What is it babe?"
"It's lame," Steve said, still pressed against Danny's forehead.
"Most things you say are lame," Danny joked.
"Is that right?" Steve replied sarcastically.
Steve moved his forehead away and quickly thrusted Danny closer to him, so that Danny was sitting on top of him.
Steve sighed, "I just feel like I've known you forever, like I can completely be myself around you."
Danny placed both of his hands onto Steve's cheeks, "That was lame."
Danny grinned and fell straight back in for another kiss, a longer one this time. He squeezed his hands into Steve's cheeks for more pressure, as Steve's hands ran up and down Danny's arched back. Danny slowly moved his hands up into Steve's hair, while moving his tongue deeper into Steve's mouth. Their tongues moved around together in circles, completely in unison. Steve grabbed onto Danny's hips and pulled him in closer towards him. Their chests heaved together, in quick successions. Danny pulled at Steve's hair, as Steve pushed Danny up and down in his lap. The friction was causing them both of moan and groan within their kiss. Being so closely bound to each other, was getting the better of Danny, he could hardly handle it anymore, he felt like he was going to explode. He slowly pulled away from the intense kiss, placing his hands flat on Steve's heaving chest.
"Wow!" Steve said and closed his eyes.
"I feel the same, I feel like I've known you forever," Danny said, out of breath.
"Now you're being lame," Steve joked, also out of breath.
"Well now we are lame together," Danny said and poked his tongue out.
"Lame forever," Steve said sarcastically.
Danny rolled his eyes at Steve and smiled. He lent in slowly for another kiss.
At the end of their date, Steve headed back towards the car with Danny behind him. Danny grabbed onto Steve's hips and moved him so he was leaning against the car door. Danny thrust himself against Steve and intertwined their hands together.
"What are you doing?" Steve said, intrigued.
"Well when we are back at home, we won't be able to have a goodnight kiss, so I thought I should do it now," Danny replied.
"Oh, well carry on then," Steve said with a smirk.
Danny lent into to Steve's lips very slowly, but passionately. He pressed hard into Steve's lips, never trying to gain entry into Steve's mouth, simply, touching their lips together, in a long intense moment. Steve enjoyed it all the same, his hands squeezed hard with Danny's as the kiss grew longer. Danny quickly pulled away, eager to see Steve's reaction. Steve slowly opened his eyes, and looked straight into Danny's eyes.
"Good night," Steve said, almost breathless.
Danny grinned and moved off Steve and around the car to the passenger side. Steve remained in the same position for a while, to compose himself, before shaking it off and jumping in the car. Steve drove them back to their houses, just in time for curfew.
"See you tomorrow for Kono's party?" Steve asked, as he pulled up.
"Yeah, of course," Danny replied.
Steve gripped his hand with Danny's, "Should we tell people yet?"
Danny squeezed Steve's hand, "No, not yet, a little more time, I think."
They both jumped out of the car and each headed towards their houses.
"I had a great time, Daniel," Steve said honestly.
"So did I, Steven," Danny said and headed inside.
Steve, Danny and Mary-Ann arrived at Kono's party together. It was at Kono's house, which was about 30 minutes away from the boys' houses. It was a big family house, with large patio area, made especially for outdoor parties and occasions like Kono's birthday. It was pretty much directly by the ocean, so Kono could always go surfing early in the mornings. The whole setup was outside, with heaps of tables covered in food, lots of food. Kono loved the colour green, so there were lots of green balloons and streamers decorations everywhere. Chin had made her a dance floor, with a big piece of wood, so all her friends could dance together.
Steve, Danny and Mary-Ann headed over to where everyone was, and noticed Kono dancing with some friends; it looked like she was having a great time already. Mary-Ann ran straight over to Kono and joined her in the fun, while Steve and Danny went over to Chin.
"Hey guys, thanks for coming," Chin said.
"No problem, anything for Kono," Steve said, sincerely.
"Grab some food, there is plenty of it, my aunt went a little over board," Chin said.
Danny nodded and headed straight over to the buffet full of food. All three of them ate at one of the tables, watching Kono have a good time. Kono saw them, having not noticing them arrived. She stopped dancing and bolted over to them.
"Hey guys!"
"Happy Birthday," Danny said.
"Thanks! You guys should come dance later!" Kono said and winked at Steve.
She subtly nodded at Steve to see if he had confessed his feelings towards Steve. Steve shook his head a little, to cover his tracks. He couldn't really see the whole point of not telling anyone about Danny and him. He did think it was a good last night when everything was completely new to him, but he quickly found himself growing more comfortable with it all, and really didn't care what everyone else thought.
"Hey Chin, would you be able to get my Mom for me? I want her to come dance!" Kono asked.
"Of course, princess," Chin said and rolled his eyes.
Chin headed inside to the house while Kono rushed back to dance with her friends. Danny placed his empty plate onto the table and turned directly to Steve.
"I want to show you something," Danny said.
Steve looked puzzled as to what it was, but complied with Danny regardless. Danny stood up and guided them to the side of the patio area, where they were completely alone.
"What is it?" Steve asked.
Danny pushed Steve against the wall and kissed him. He gripped onto Steve's cheek and pressed his lips deeper into Steve's. Steve opened up his mouth and connected their tongues together. They were both still quite new to all this, but they both enjoyed it all the same. Steve moved his hands slowly down Danny's back before settling onto Danny's firm ass. Steve could feel the grooves of the weatherboard wall as Danny pushed them closer together.
All of a sudden, someone approached them at the side of the house.
"Hey guys we are about to open the presents…Oh…" It was Chin.
Without hesitation, Danny pushed himself off Steve, and pushed Steve away from him in a violent way. Danny looked straight at Chin, completely ignoring Steve.
"Steve, what the hell are you doing?" Danny yelled. He wiped his face, as to get any remnants of Steve off him.
Steve had trouble catching his breath; he could feel his fists tensing up. What was Danny pulling? It looked like Steve had taken advantage of Danny, and their whole relationship was nothing.
"What?" Steve said, confused out of his mind.
Chin stood there, looking at both of their reactions, he had no idea what to think, all he wanted to do was to find them both and let them know to see the presents get open.
"What were you doing? You pulled me over here, to kiss me? Are you gay or something? It's disgusting!" Danny said, using his hands to gesture to Chin that what he was caught doing was in no way his doing.
Steve couldn't believe what was happening. In just a short moment he had lost any trust or respect for Danny. The last day clicked with him, as to why Danny wanted to keep them a secret. It was his idea to lie to their friends on the beach the night before. He obviously wasn't comfortable with it, that's why he made their first date in the middle of nowhere. Sure, Steve was still coming to terms with it all, but he wasn't at all ashamed by their relationship. He really liked Danny, or so he thought.
Steve didn't know what to say, he was lost for words. Instead he just motioned his hands, to suggest to Chin he didn't understand what was going on. Danny shook his head at Steve before bolting back to the party. Chin remained with Steve with his eyebrows turned down, confused and concerned at what just happened. All he hoped for was an explanation.
"Forget it," Steve said under his breath. He was so angry; all he wanted to do was to get far away from the place.
Steve returned to his place alone, hoping that Mary-Ann could get a ride home from one of her friends. He was so mad; he raced to the ocean shore at the back of his house. He stared at the water, trying to process everything. He still couldn't believe that Danny could even do that, he thought he knew him. Maybe he had jumped into it all too quickly; he had only known him for less than a week. But it had felt so right until now, he felt like it was going to be something special. Now, he could hardly bear to think how he would be able to see or talk to Danny again.
A thought hit Steve; tonight Danny is supposed to stay over. Steve gripped at his hair and took a deep breath. There was no way he could see Danny tonight let alone have him stay the night. His mother had insisted on it so much though. A few hours ago he was looking forward to it, now he couldn't dread it anymore. He tried to remain positive and strong, and stared at the ocean, watching the waves flow in and out.
Steve knew that Danny was arriving at 7pm, so he made sure he scheduled his run for then. Any chance to prolong seeing Danny was his main priority. His mother wanted him to be there for when Danny arrived, but he simply ignored her and went off on his run.
As he ran down his favorite beach spot, he was able to think about what he was going to do. He had to remain somewhat civil, so he wouldn't spook his family. Some parts of him wanted to yell and fight with Danny, but he wasn't ready yet, he wanted it to sink all in, so he could knew what he could say. Maybe the run calmed him down, but his final thought was to just stay silent and avoid the whole situation for the night.
He arrived back home to hear from his mother that Danny was here, but he was tired and had already headed to bed. His bed was a spare mattress that was set up in Steve's room. He could have stayed in the living room, but they had already planned earlier to stay in the same room. Steve nodded to his mother, not saying much to her either. He headed down the hall to the bathroom, to wash the day off him. Mary-Ann came out of her bedroom to approach Steve.
"Whats up? You left the party early," Mary-Ann asked Steve.
"I don't want to talk about it, just leave it okay?" Steve tried to say without snapping at her.
Steve slowly walked to his room after a much deserved shower. He took a deep breath and entered his room. His bedside lamp was still on, so he could see Danny lying on the mattress. Danny sat up as Steve entered, trying to say something.
"I don't want to get into anything tonight, so just leave it til tomorrow," Steve said sternly, not looking at Danny.
"But I…"
"Okay?" Steve said.
Danny lay back down and sighed. Steve jumped into bed and turned off the light. The light of the moon shined through his bedroom window letting some light into his room. He turned on his side and could see Danny with his eyes closed on the mattress. Steve couldn't help but smile at Danny has he laid there. He hated that he still liked him after all that he done. He sighed and closed his eyes to try and sleep.
A few hours later, both Steve and Danny were woken by the sound of Steve's parents fighting upstairs. Steve rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. Why did they have to fight tonight, he already had enough on his plate. A little knock came from Steve's door. The door slowly opened to show a scared and tired looking Mary-Ann. Steve switched on his bedside lamp and prompted Mary-Ann to climb in with him. She snuggled up next to and placed her head on his shoulder.
"They are extra loud tonight," Mary-Ann whispered.
Steve ran his hands through May-Ann's hair to console her. He looked over to Danny, who was smiling at the both of them. Steve was so good to Mary-Ann; they were a great duo together. The best thing about their parents fighting, if there was one, was they it brought them closer together.
The fighting slowly started to get quieter, before stopping for good. Mary-Ann was dozing off in Steve's arms, while Steve was still wide awake, still registering the crappy night he had had. He lifted up Mary-Ann from him and carried her back into her own room. He came back into his room, to see Danny sitting crossed legged on the mattress, with a concerned look.
"And this happens every night?" Danny said, finding it unbelievable.
Steve sighed and nodded. He went back over to his bed and sat down on the edge of it. He placed his elbows on his thighs and his hands cupped his face. Danny could sense that Steve was feeling down, so he slowly got up and approached Steve. Steve didn't seem to oppose to Danny's movements, so Danny sat down next to him. He placed his hand on the back of Steve's back. He had no idea what to say, so he just decided to stay close to Steve for as long as he needed him.
Steve was beginning to feel sleepy, yet he liked the closeness of Danny. Even though he still couldn't look him in the eye, he was always the one to look after Mary-Ann when his parents fought, he had never had someone looking after him. Steve grabbed onto Danny's hand, and slowly started to lie down on the bed, prompting Danny to be with him.
Danny wasn't sure if Steve was really allowing him to be with him, but complied anyway. They both lay together, with Steve spooning Danny. Danny pulled the covers over them and nuzzled himself into the pillow. Neither of them spoke another word, but Steve grabbed onto Danny's hand and pulled them close to him.