Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer

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Where the Lines Overlap

Season 1 - Stuck on You

(No one is as lucky as us) We're not at the end but we already won

"I wanna make out…" I whispered mischievously in his ear.

Edward chuckled and turned his head to mine, which was resting on his shoulder.

"No problem with me, I do too. But, don't you worry about someone seeing us? Your sister already came here like…"

"Seven times." I completed in a huff and straightened up.

"In less than an hour." His tone was also frustrated.

"Do you think she suspects we're together?" I asked worriedly.

Edward looked at me with a loving, soothing gaze.

"I don't think so." He sighed. "She knows about my feelings but, apparently, she has no idea about yours."

"I'd like to keep it this way." I mumbled.

"Then I say we leave the making out for tomorrow ." He sighed and looked straight ahead. "If we manage to have some alone time, that is."

"You know we won't." I grumbled. "It's Saturday, everyone is gonna be there."

"I could tell everybody that Saturday's gathering is off until further notice." He smiled wickedly.

"And they'll find it weird since you've never done this before. Everyone will be curious and we'll have several pairs of eyes set on our every move."

Edward gazed at me with his brows furrowed.

"Paranoid much?" His tone was ironic. "How will they go from finding it weird that I called off our gathering to suspecting that we have something going on between us?"

I bent my head.

"I don't know…" I heaved a sigh. "I just think we should keep things as they've always been." I heard his huff and hurried to add. "For now."

I looked at him to confirm what I suspected. He had his free hand plucking the grass between his folded legs, his shoulders slumped, his head bent. He was not happy.

"I'm sorry for being such a coward." I said with a heavy sigh. He looked at me immediately, his eyes a little confused. "I just don't want my father to screw this up for me, and he has the power to do so, so we have to wait at least until we move out."

"Jay, it doesn't bother me that you need time." He affirmed firmly. "I understand what you're going through. It was different between me and my dad, but I've been there. I've been scared and hesitant, and I needed time to adjust. You don't have to feel as if I'm counting the seconds. I can wait for as long as you need. And I'm very aware of the Major's power to screw this up for us." He assured me. "I'm just fucking disappointed we don't have the freedom to enjoy this… it's so unfair…" He kinda whined. "If we were a heterosexual couple we wouldn't have to be worrying about any of this."

"Hum." I uttered, suddenly conscious of something I had not stopped to think about.

"What?" I heard Edward ask in a curious tone.

"It just dawned on me that we are…"

"A gay couple?" He completed interrogatively amid a huffed laugh. I nodded. "It just dawned on you now?!"

I looked at him very aware of the disturbed expression I was sustaining on my face.

"It's just… odd." I shrugged. "We're a gay couple, but I'm not gay." I affirmed, very confident in my words.

"You're dating a boy, so... you're not hetero either." Edward countered carefully.

We stared at each other in silence and I could easily read the hurt in his eyes. I simply didn't know what to do.

"So… what you're saying…?" He asked in a cautious voice after averting his gaze.

"I don't know." I answered with extreme sincerity. "It's just… I wouldn't be with a girl now, but not because the idea is not appealing to me. It's because I love you and I wanna be with you."

He was clearly holding back some emotions, and I guessed it was a mix of jealousy, indignation, and surprise, but I couldn't be sure.

He sighed heavily.

"Do you think you would be with a boy if you were not with me?" He asked tentatively, still looking elsewhere.

"I can't say for sure but, to be totally honest…" I took a deep breath and he followed suit. "I don't think so." His face fell just a little, but I could tell that he was beyond disappointed.

"The idea of being with a guy is not appealing to you…" He stated, but I chose to understand it as a question so I could explain.

I took a deep breath again, trying not to let myself be influenced by the obvious pain in his expression. I wanted to be a hundred percent frank with him. I owed him that much.

"Besides you, no, it's not." I replied in earnest.

Edward's shoulders slumped deeper and he bent his head as he exhaled. My heart ached 'cause I could see the pain he was feeling and it wounded me, but I couldn't lie to him.

I held his chin and turned his face to me.

"Edward, the only guy I've ever wanted was... is you. I've never even looked at another one, not even to test myself. So, as I just told you, I can't be sure. What I am sure is… being with you is very appealing to me."

He held my hand and took it from his face slowly, carefully. He held it as he sighed softly a couple of times before he spoke again.

"So if we were not together, you would probably be with a girl." He concluded in a steady, obviously controlled voice, without looking at me.

"I would probably still be pinning for you." I said seriously. "E, I don't like where this conversation is going."

He looked at me immediately.

"We're just talking." He tried to assure me.

"No, we're not. Not anymore." I stated. "I can see that you're getting hurt by what I'm saying."

"I'm not." He tried to smile, but it was too frail.

"Stop. Don't lie to me." I kinda pleaded in a soft tone.

He sighed and smiled sadly this time.

"Okay, I am. Just a little. It's just… everything you're saying kinda reinforces some of my fears, you know…"

"It doesn't matter if I am or am not gay, Edward…" I spoke softly, circling his neck with my hand. "Maybe I'm bi, or maybe I'm just a straight boy who fell in love with another boy… maybe I'm Edwardsexual." We laughed a little. "Why do we have to label ourselves, why is it so important? It doesn't matter our sexual orientation. I fell for you and you fell for me. That's it. Our feelings made us a couple, so what matters is what's in our hearts…" I made him turn his head to me completely. "And my heart is yours." I stated in a murmur. "Completely yours. Do you believe me?" He nodded. "You took it from me, as I took yours. I won't return it to you and I don't want mine back." We laughed again, subtly, as we joined our foreheads. "I wanna be with you, and only you, babe. I've told you that."

He nodded and sighed.

"I want so fucking much to kiss you right now…" He murmured.

Just then we heard the screen door squeaking.

We pushed apart abruptly.

"Never mind." He huffed as we turned to see my inconvenient sister coming for the eighth time.

We couldn't get a break.

.

.

.

We had it all settled.

Emmet and Bella knew about us, and they were kind of our honorary guardians. We had asked them to keep one eye on our other friends and one on us. They were supposed to warn us if we were too obvious and hush up any rumors in case they started to arise.

We also had Esme's and Carlisle's support.

They had agreed to keep our secret for the time being, both of them knowing pretty well what my father was like and wanting to protect me, and their son, from his wrath.

Of course, they warned us that this was a temporary measure and that we should prepare ourselves to come out. They were willing to give us time and guidance until the time came, nevertheless. They also were providing us a shelter, their house, that should be where we could be ourselves and try to enjoy our relationship.

There were rules, for sure, like "no foreplay or sex in any other room besides Edward's", "keeping the enthusiasm under an acceptable level and the door closed", and the most important one, "do not ever forget to use condoms and lube", among others.

Edward and I felt terribly embarrassed, to the point of wincing while hearing each of them as Carlisle, placidly observed by Esme, established calmly one by one. Well, at least he was offering a place for us to just be. Thanks to the universe, Edward's parents were against their sons, as they put it, fooling around anywhere.

So when Saturday morning finally arrived, we were prepared to face our new reality. At least technically.

The gang was gathered as usual. When I arrived at Edward's house everybody was already there, including Alice and my little sister, who had taken Lauren and some other girlfriends with them, a fact that made me immediately moody.

It was not like Edward and I could expose ourselves if it was only our group. We had to keep things normal or someone would be suspicious. The secrecy was for my benefit, after all, and the whole idea of keeping things as they were had been mine, I couldn't complain.

I sighed heavily as I left my flip-flops near the major table. I took my shirt off slowly as my eyes roamed around the pool area in search of my boyfriend. I could see everybody, Emmet and Bella talking to Jake, Alice and Rose in the pool giggling hysterically with three other girls I didn't know, Lauren and another girl sunbathing on the pool border... but I couldn't find Edward.

Suddenly, though, I could feel him, and I straightened up a little just before his body heat engulfed me.

"You're late, Hale." His voice came from right behind me and made me shudder discreetly.

"I'm sorry, Cullen." I replied without turning around, my voice low, my eyes attentive to the people in front of us. "I overslept."

I felt his knuckles grazing the skin on my lower back and closed my eyes involuntarily while gasping.

"I miss you." He whispered just before his touch faded and I opened my eyes.

He was right in front of me.

"I wish I could give you a morning kiss."

"I wish we were alone." I replied clearly frustrated.

We stared at each other for a moment, exchanging this deep meaningful silence, as if, with our eyes, we could touch and feel the energy vibrating between us.

"Hey, Jay!" I heard Bella's voice. "You're here!"

My eyes flickered back and forth between Edward and her as she came closer.

"Hey, sweetie." I greeted her once she was right in front of me, unwillingly ripping my gaze away from my boy to look at her.

We exchanged our customary peck on the lips before we parted. And I thought I'd seen something in Edward's eyes, a dark glint, the flash of an emotion that he contained quickly. Or maybe it was just an impression.

"Eddie, Emm wants the ball. Where is it? I'll go get it." Bella asked him.

"Garage." He said naturally, jerking his head towards it. "What are we playing?" His tone was joyful.

"Basketball." She raised an eyebrow in clear defiance. "You coming, Jay?"

I huffed skeptically.

"Do you really have to ask? You're playing my game."

We smiled at each other and I followed Bella as Edward went back to the pool after directing a proud smile at me and winking.

And I thought that maybe the day wasn't gonna be so hard after all.

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.

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When I'm on court I'm not Jazz or Jay. When I'm on the court, even if it's a half-court in someone's backyard, I'm the point guard, I'm number five, I'm Hale.

When I'm on the court my mind is a hundred percent in there, my eyes are at the ball, and my whole body is alert. I don't think of anything else besides the game, I don't see anything else besides strategy. I play. And I play dead-serious.

That's why it was so helpful to play that morning. It made time pass quickly, it took my mind off the fact that E and I were within reach the whole time but couldn't touch, hug, or kiss.

He had paired up with Jake, while I'd played with Emm as my mate. It's a good thing I never lose focus when I'm in play mode. The fact that we were on opposite teams could have made me take advantage of the several times I bumped into him, clashed my chest against his back, or cornered him to steal the ball. I didn't. And of course, Emm and I won.

By the end of the game I was feeling a little lighter, but still eager to have some alone time with my boy.

We spent the next few hours very close, but also, very far apart. He was just next to me the whole time, but since we couldn't touch each other, it didn't lessen my need. Not even a bit.

At some point, we were all together in the pool, and the girls, Alice's and Rosie's friends, started to unabashedly come onto Edward. I knew it didn't mean anything to him. I knew he wasn't interested in any of them, but I was jealous nevertheless.

The last straw was when Rose, probably annoyed because of all the attention Edward was politely directing to them, put an arm around his neck, lifted herself, and kissed his cheek with a loud smack.

I tried. I swear I tried not to be too revealing. But my jealousy spiked, my whole body got rigid, my hands turned into fists without my conscious will and my eyes narrowed. So, for me not to act like the possessive boyfriend I had just found out I was, I left Edward's side after a huff, got out of the pool, and went inside the house.

I just wanted to be alone for a moment, to calm down. I entered the kitchen and went straight to the fridge, grabbing a soda and sitting on one of the chairs at the dining table. I started to drink, slowly, focused on the patterns of the tabletop, tracing the wood veins with my index finger.

Yeah, he was right. He was so fucking damn right I was kinda angry.

It was unfair. Why was it so abnormal? Just because we were two boys in love, instead of a boy and a girl, we didn't have the right to be together? Shouldn't the feelings, the connection between us be what matters the most? Shouldn't our love for each other be the most important thing?

I had never given much thought to it, to be utterly sincere. Before I found myself in love with Edward, the concept of a relationship, and the relationship itself, between two guys, or even two girls, had never even caught my attention since it had never happened close to me. At school we knew about homosexual classmates, we saw them in the halls and cafeteria among friends or with their respective others, but it had never interested nor bothered me. I didn't know those people, I had nothing to do with their choices, it wasn't my business.

It was not that I was prejudiced. I had never been a narrow-minded person, even though I had definitely been born and raised surrounded by everything that could have made me one. I had a Texan military harsh man for a father, just to begin with. But for some reason that I really couldn't grasp, I'd always been nonjudgmental. It just had never crossed my mind that one day I would be living under this circumstance, so I simply had never considered it.

I had to admit that it had just come to my notice because I was inserted in the context. And if everyone and everything was different, if there wasn't so much prejudice, maybe I wouldn't be fearing my bigot of a father's reaction, and so I would be able to mark my territory and make it very clear to my sister and every other girl or boy that dared flirt with my boyfriend that he was mine and wasn't available.

That wasn't reality though...

I sighed and closed my eyes for an instant after sipping the soda. And that was when I felt his presence.

I straightened up on the chair almost unconsciously. His hand came in contact with my skin when he placed it on my neck, the touch so subtle that it made me shiver slightly and close my eyes in appreciation.

He ran his fingers slowly from base to nape, gripping the locks of hair there, at first softly, but soon tugging at them, pulling my head back and down.

I opened my eyes to find his beautiful face several inches above mine. As our eyes met my heart doubled the speed. We looked at each other, no words exchanged or needed between us. He leaned down and kissed me for a long while.

It wasn't a hungry, intense kiss, nor a sweet, soft one. This kiss was consistent and deep, for sure, and also full of tenderness and love. But mainly it was a serious kiss, real and meaningful, one of those that says much more than words could… and I understood perfectly what he was trying to assure me of.

"I love you." He said with all the words afterward.

Edward left a gentle and very brief kiss on my forehead before turning around and leaving the kitchen.

Needless to say, I was a panting mess as I turned my body to watch him disappear through the door.

"I love you more…" I murmured to myself with a goofy smile on my lips.

I sighed, turned back to the table, and almost fell off the chair.

"Sorry if I startled you." Carlisle said with a smirk.

He was leaning on the door frame, looking at me with this amused expression.

I cleared my throat, pretending not to feel embarrassed. I squared my shoulders just a little.

"It's nice to see you two together, you know." He stated while sitting in front of me, his intonation and way of speaking similar to Edward's…

I didn't answer, too timid to utter a word. That was the fucking second time he walked in on us. At least this time he saw just a kiss.

"Don't feel shy around me, Jay, please." His voice and his smile were as kind as the gaze he had over me.

"It's a little difficult, but I'll try." Surprisingly, my voice seemed calm enough as I replied after smiling in an automatic response to his gesture.

"Why are you here instead of out there with your friends?"

The heavy sigh I released said much more than I could, but I kinda wanted to unburden a bit. And since Edward's father was one of the people who knew about us, I let the truth slip out of my mouth without a second thought.

"I just needed a little break from the farce." My eyes roamed a little until they settled on the tabletop.

We remained silent for a minute or two, but it wasn't uncomfortable. I actually felt at ease around Carlisle, as much as I always had. And that was exactly why I simply let it out.

"And this is all to my benefit." I huffed. "I can't handle the lie that I created myself. I'm such a coward…"

"You're not a coward. Give it time, son." I could feel his caring for me through his words. "Everything will fall into place with time. You'll feel prepared soon enough, don't be so hard on yourself. Besides, you two are young, and have a lot of time to experience this relationship."

I shook my head dejectedly.

"It's all so unfair..." My eyes met the deep blue in his and the understanding and kindness I saw in it soothed me a little. "Especially to him."

Carlisle cocked his head to the side and squinted slightly.

"Why do you say that?"

"He had to wait two years for me…" My heart tightened in my chest with the thought of my boy hurting. "And now he has to wait some more just because I don't have enough courage to face my father. He'd suffered enough, he doesn't deserve to be a secret. I just wish I wasn't putting him through this."

"You love him." He stated softly out of nowhere, a hint of surprise permeating his tone, and I looked at him with a questioning gaze. "I'm just stating what I'm seeing." He answered my unspoken question. "I confess I thought your feelings for him were still developing."

The shake of my head was simply for denial this time.

"I really love Edward, Carlisle." I spoke respectfully but sternly. "I may have realized the nature and intensity of these feelings not so long ago but, believe me, it is love and it's strong." The faint smile on Carlisle's lips got broader. He leaned on the backrest of the chair and looked at me with what seemed pride. "And I think it's always been there, I believe that we've always loved each other, since we were kids. But the sentiment needed to mature, much as we had to. It had its right time to become what it's always supposed to be." I shrugged a little shy at the end because of the honesty with which I made my confession.

"And now I see it's the kind of love that lasts a lifetime…" His serious statement, said in such a steady voice, expressing such certainty, made me need to take a deep breath.

I nodded solemnly. Carlisle leaned over the table and took one of my hands in his.

"Just give it time, son." He repeated, firmer this time. "Just give it time."

I chose to accept his advice. After all, they say time is the ultimate solution for everything.

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.

.

After spending the rest of the day among our friends, which meant no more time alone at all, Edward and I agreed we needed an emergency escape to our spot. We decided we would be at the lake before dawn.

Explanation note properly left on the fridge door for my mother, a backpack with everything I would need for a day on my shoulder, and a smile plastered on my face, I left the house quietly on that Sunday early morning to pick up my gorgeous boyfriend, who was waiting for me, with a matching smile, in front of his house.

We kissed good morning for a long moment before I started the car and drove us to our place. We arrived at the clearing just as the first sunbeams crossed the sky.

The day was cloudy and a little cold, but it didn't stop us from swimming in the middle of the day, when the warmth of the sun reached us a little better. We spent our time talking and laughing as we had always done, but something was slightly different, a nice sweet difference, in our gestures towards each other.

It was still familiar, comfortable, easy. We still talked nonsense, laughed at the other's silly jokes, played pranks on one another.

We discussed some serious issues, for sure. I finally told him all about how I had found out about my feelings and how I dealt with them. But we also gossiped about our friends, especially about Bella's and Emm's obliviousness about each other's feelings. We agreed we needed to help them before we moved.

We did all this, and it was so normal… But behind each smile, each laugh, each touch, playful punch, and bump of shoulders, there was this subtle new sense of complicity, so different and much stronger than what we had before, and it warmed my heart.

We didn't hug or kiss much, which was a surprise given how eager to be together we had been. Of course we shared some loving moments but we basically had our normal alone time, when we allowed ourselves to be apart from the rest of the world, just the two of us, E and Jazz, the childhood best friends we'd been our whole lives, but now mingled with this new aspect of our relationship, the boyfriends we had just become.

Only by sunset time, when we were sitting side by side looking at the nature spectacle, our feelings overcame our easiness and the urge to be really together took hold of us.

We kissed slowly, enjoying each second of the contact, prolonging the bliss it incited. Then I rested my head on his shoulder while he surrounded mine with his right arm. We remained like that for long minutes, simply being close, looking at the sun as it was getting down on the horizon.

At some point I straightened up and took his hand, interlacing our fingers and looking at our joined hands, letting satisfaction fill me.

Edward turned his head to look at me and kept staring. The moment was overwhelming, the intensity of my feelings, and his feelings that I was able to feel through his insistent gaze, made me feel like I could explode. The sensation was pleasant, but it was too strong and it scared me a little, not really sure why.

"Why are you staring at me?" I repeated one old question of his, my voice betraying my repressed laughter.

I didn't expect him to, but I hoped he would remember the moment he had asked me that.

"Oh shit!" He murmured in mock surprise. "You're awake? How long you've been awake?" He perfectly impersonated my past reaction.

I looked at him and we burst out in loud laughs. I was the one to calm down first, after a good couple of minutes.

"You remember." I affirmed, looking at him with admiration.

He took a deep breath to control the laughter and nodded.

"I was ogling you while you were sleeping…" My confession came out in a spurt of bravery.

"Like I had done the previous morning?" He asked joyfully, arching his eyebrows.

"Kind of…" I laughed. "So you finally confess that you ogled me in my bathroom that day?"

He blushed a little and his eyes got bluer.

"Do I need to confess? I thought it was obvious."

I held his neck and pulled him to me, kissing his lips softly before joining our foreheads.

"What was that for?" He whispered between us.

"Do I need a reason for kissing my boyfriend?" I asked in a soft murmur, looking into his eyes.

"No." He answered sweetly. "But I feel there's a reason for it."

I sighed lightly and pulled away from him slowly, keeping our eye contact.

"That was the first time I felt clearly the urge to kiss you." I told him with intensity. "I was looking at you there, within my reach, and wondering what it would be like to touch your lips with mine. But I couldn't do it, or better saying, I thought I couldn't. Now I can, whenever I want to..." I shrugged. "So I did it."

Edward squinted a little before asking in a very cautious tone.

"You still don't remember…?"

I frowned.

"What…?"

Edward sighed calmly and I could see he was deciding something. His eyebrows were furrowed for an instant before his eyes lightened up and the gray shades in his irises faded, making the blue in them glow more.

"Our first kiss…" He spoke carefully. "It happened the night before, on your birthday."

I gasped.

"I thought you would remember eventually." He shrugged. "But it seems you really blacked out that day."

"Wait… so you're saying that…" I was speaking to try to assimilate what he was telling me. "I was daydreaming about kissing you when we had already done that just the previous night?"

He just nodded.

"How did it happen?" I practically inquired.

"Long story short? We kinda flirted playfully and then you… kissed me."

"I-I kissed you."

"Yeah."

"Tell me everything." I demanded with a smile.

"I will." He was looking at me mischievously. "If…"

"If…" I incited, suddenly anxious.

"If you agree to stay here with me tonight…" There was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

I took my time to answer, just because I wanted to provoke him.

"You should have asked me for something more complicated." I answered before winking. "I would have done anything for the information." I smiled wickedly, not disguising my enjoyment.

Edward laughed out loud, the strong sound filling all the space around us and eliciting satisfying chills all over my body.

"Can I change my condition, then?" He asked between giggles.

"Can I have some conditions of my own?"

He calmed down a little and held the nape of my neck with his right hand.

"You can, love." He answered simply.

It was the first term of endearment he'd ever used towards me. My eyes got locked in his passionate gaze, and I dived into the blue depths of his orbs. The love in them was so clear, so warm and embracing, so pure...

Leaning to me, he touched my lips superficially, making me so conscious of my love for him…

"I love you, babe…" I whispered into his lips before deepening the kiss.

Later that evening I learned about all that had happened on the night of my birthday, and we spent the night holding each other under the starry sky after some pretty hot making out.

It was all just the beginning. I was pretty scared of what waited for us ahead, but It didn't matter. I knew that if we had each other, everything would turn out fine. I knew in my guts that Edward was the one. And as long as we stuck together, I would be complete and happy. Crazily happy.

The end (or not…)

"Tracing patterns across a personal map

And making pictures where the lines overlap

Where the lines overlap

No one is as lucky as us

We're not at the end but oh, we already won

No, no, no one is as lucky as us

Is as lucky as us"

Where the Lines overlap - Paramore