Two totally inconspicuous kids who are so not causing trouble { { C L O S E D } }

It took so much strength for Taleis to not turn around when he heard Aidan. The fact that Aidan had followed him meant so much to him, the fact that he actually cared enough, and Taleis knew it wouldn't be long before he gave in. He could never say no to Aidan.

"Yeah," he whispered, his voice cracking. "Yeah, okay." He turned to look at Aidan and f***, he didn't think he could ever do anything to hurt him again. Not when Aidan was shaking all over and looking at him the way he was, and all because Taleis was just being an idiot. No, he definitely couldn't leave Aidan, even if he did have a girlfriend or he didn't feel the same way Taleis did or he was straight. Heck, Taleis couldn't even leave if Aidan never wanted to talk to him again. Not now, that he'd seen his face.

Taleis couldn't help himself from taking Aidan's hand as he walked back to the shore, gripping it tightly. He didn't want Aidan to leave him again. "I'm sorry," slipped through Taleis' lips, his voice a mere whisper, and he was so tempted to add, 'I love you,' but he didn't. He didn't because he was afraid of scaring Aidan off, and he desperately didn't want that to happen.

"No, Taleis, I'm sorry," Aidan said, following Taleis. He squeezed Taleis' hand back, and bit his lip hard until he could taste the blood in his mouth. "It's all my fault, okay?"

Aidan cursed himself. That wasn't an apology. But how was he supposed to explain it to him? Aidan was a coward, more than anything. But he figured he had to tell him, to explain to him why he did all that. But it was just hard and Aidan couldn't bring himself to forget either.

"B-but you're shaking, Aidan. F***, I'm such an idiot," Taleis said, although he muttered the last part, because, yeah, Aidan knew about most of Taleis' problems, but not really the self loathing thing. That was more recent, and he never really bothered telling Aidan that because Taleis knew he wouldn't understand and he'd just tell Taleis he was being stupid, and that he was great and all that. Sure, having Aidan think he was great would probably help, but it just...it didn't seem like that would be enough for Taleis.

It didn't matter to Taleis that he was still clutching Aidan's hand once they got out of the water, he didn't care if it came back to bite him later. He didn't want to let go of Aidan's hand, because he had no idea when he'd be able to hold it like that again. Taleis would just deal with any consequences later, because he couldn't bother thinking of them then.

Taleis could feel a fresh wave of tears, and his vision started to blur up all over again. It took everything he had to not start making those stupidly heartbreaking noises again, but he kept making these embarrassingly loud sniffling noises, and Taleis could think of a million situations he'd much rather be in. He was okay with Aidan still being with him, but it was all just so awkward, because Taleis was clinging to Aidan's hand like it was the only think keeping him on the ground and he was making those stupid sniffling noises, and gods, he just felt like such an idiot in that moment.

"It's just cold..." Aidan mumbled. He wasn't shaking. He was just cold. That was all. Yeah. "Let's just... Just get back to a cabin, alright?" he sighed. He heard Taleis' sniffles and couldn't stand it. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Aidan didn't want to let go of Taleis' hand. He felt as if he let it go, Taleis would disappear and leave him alone and cold. He had to stop myself from just hugging Taleis and sob into his shirt. He couldn't do that, as much as he wanted to. He didn't want to let go of the hand.

"What can I do?" he asked suddenly. It was like he wasn't attached to his mouth.

Taleis sighed and stared down at his shoes, nodding slightly. He wished he would stop making those sniffling noises. He wished that Aidan would stop apologizing. None of it was Aidan's fault, it was all Taleis'. If Taleis had never hurt Kassidy, none of the things that had happened would have happened. It all could be traced back to Taleis hurting Kassidy, so all of it was Taleis' fault.

Eventually, Taleis glanced over at Aidan and realized his lip was bleeding. "Hey...you're bleeding," he murmured, the tremble gone from his voice. He knew it wasn't that bad of a cut, possibly because Aidan bit his lip too hard or something, but Taleis couldn't help himself from worrying. He found himself stopping and turning so he was facing Aidan, bringing his free hand up to wipe the blood off of Aidan's lip.

It took Taleis a second to realize that he had just wiped blood off of Aidan's lip. That wasn't something that friends did. Was it? Taleis didn't know. He didn't think so, at least. Taleis felt like he was frozen in place, just standing there. His hand was stuck in place, resting on Aidan's cheek and, gods, it felt so right to him, and he didn't want to move away. Taleis found he was hardly breathing, just these really soft half breaths, and he didn't think he even could breath correctly, not even if he tried.

"Aidan..." Taleis whispered, although he had meant to ask if this was okay but the words just refused to come out, and he figured he had the rottenest luck ever. Seriously, only someone with luck as bad as Taleis' would end up kissing his best friend while out in New York, then seeing his best friend kiss someone else, end up running off to the beach in the middle of winder to try and drown himself, and then end up where Taleis was just then, unable to ask a stupid question.

Aidan sort of stood there, frozen. Maybe it was because he was cold, maybe it was shock, maybe it was because Taleis had his hand on Aidan's face. Maybe it was because Taleis had actually wiped blood off his lip. Maybe because he knew he was reason Taleis was shaking and breathing all weird.

Aidan wasn't breathing all that well, either. He admit, he was shaking. Taleis' hand burned on his cheek, and he couldn't help from closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. He had barely acknowledged that Taleis had spoken his name.

He couldn't trust his voice enough to speak, so he merely opened his eyes and nudged his head towards the cabins. They would die if they were outside with wet clothes any longer. But also wanted to keep the moment for a little while longer. He liked it, a lot.

Taleis could feel the words burning in his throat, fighting to get out. He knew there would be consequence. Aidan would never talk to him again, or yell at him, or punch him, or just something like that, but Taleis needed to say it. Still, he fought the urge to say the words for as long as he could, even though he knew he would go goofy if he never said them. All he was doing was putting it off until he felt like he might burst.

"Iloveyou," he practically breathed, closing his eyes tightly and thinking, 'Oh sh** oh sh** I've screwed up, I've really messed it up this time,' because he knew that there was no way that could be mistaken for anything else. All Taleis could think about was the consequences of his actions of Aidan heard and understood what he had said.

Still, it felt like such a relief to say it. Taleis felt like he was lighter than he had been in ages, almost as if he were floating on air. He felt himself smile lightly, although his heart was thudding and his cheeks felt like they were on fire.

And then Aidan stopped breathing. His face burned and he could feel a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Taleis had just said that he loved him. At least, what's what he hoped he said, because he was pretty sure there was no one around. Still, he wanted to look around and make sure. Though he couldn't. He seemed to be stuck in place, without breathing and with a huge grin on his face.

But then he started to think. Surely Taleis said he loved him as a friend. After all, they'd been friends for seven years, how could they not? But a part of him hoped. It hoped, and he felt like ripping his brain out. Aidan was weird. A day ago, he had been simply waking up, eating, training, sleeping and repeat. He wasn't kissing everyone in sight, he wasn't doing anything. He was boring, he was born boring. He wasn't exceptional, but he wasn't a bad kid, either. He had average grades, an average amount of friends who did an average amount of activities. Everything about him was average.

Taleis, on the other hand, was interesting. He had a history, he had a reputation, he had stuff to do, he was hot. If you were compare their two lives, Taleis' would make a better story than Aidan's. By far. So Aidan could never understand why Taleis would choose to be around someone so boring.

But Taleis had said he loved Aidan. Like he actually wanted him around. That blew Aidan's mind. In the end, Aidan managed to take one shaky breath and stammer out, "I-I l-l-love y-you, t-t-too..."

Taleis swore his heart stop when his brain processed what Aidan had said, but it wasn't anywhere close to a bad feeling. It was odd, because Taleis normally associated that with a bad thing, like when he heard about Kassidy or the police showed up at his house and told him his daddy was in jail and finding out he had to move from San Diego to London. But now, now he felt like he was soaring.

Taleis couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he wrapped his arms tightly around Aidan. "You-oh gods, thank you," Taleis breathed, burying his head into the area where Aidan's shoulder met his neck. He simply hugged Aidan and just breathed in his scent, because he just couldn't help himself. Taleis had wanted to do it for ages, and, well, he finally could, so why not?

But Taleis started feeling cold, so he lifted his head up and said, "Uh, should we go in now...?" kind of letting the question hang in the air. His face was bright red, but he didn't exactly mind. How could he at a time like that? Taleis figured someone would have to be crazy to care about something stupid like blushing when they were in the situation he was in.

Aidan nodded his head slowly. He wanted to say something, but what would he say? His mind was just a blob. A blob of gooey lovey feelings and consciousness. He was happy, he was confused, he was scared. Scared of what, he didn't know. He just knew that Taleis was there, cheeks turning red, and he knew that all those green eyes were seeing was Aidan. And he loved the feeling.

"Uh, yeah, um, yeah, totally," Aidan's mind was broken, too. He couldn't seem to talk correctly. Was that supposed to happen? He was cold, but he didn't want to move. He was on top of the world, and loved it. Camp was warmer, with more people, and he just liked the two of them standing on that beach, freezing and possibly getting hypothermia, but it was surreal.

What surreal meant, he didn't know. He just thought the word fit. Perhaps astonishing? No, that doesn't quite sound as nice as surreal did... And amazing was such a common word. Marvelous? Serendipity. They're all synonyms.

But he was cold.

Taleis couldn't help but chuckle a bit at Aidan's stuttering. It was just so cute. "C'mon," he said as he started walking to his cabin, leading Aidan by his wrist.

Taleis couldn't help but glance over at Aidan every now and then. He could hardly believe what had just happened, and it felt like at any moment the nightmare would begin or he would wake up or something, but Aidan was always there. Never injured or being stolen away from him or just randomly vanished.

Aidan was the only concrete thing in Taleis' life. He was the only person who didn't come and go and never changed, he was always just Aidan. There were no weird personality changes like there were with Taleis, and he liked that. Taleis liked having something stay the same for once; he liked having something to hold on to.

Aidan felt like such a girl, doe-eyed and blushing, and being led by Taleis. But he didn't care. How could he?

In the back of his mind he wondered how long the feeling would last. It came on fast, and strong, and really, when did feelings like that ever last? But he didn't want to think about that.

He liked that moment. He didn't want to think about the past, or the future, or anything besides the two of them. He learned that if you spent your time thinking about the future, you're not enjoying the present all that well. Or something like that.

Aidan looked up at Taleis' smiling face and decided that nothing else mattered. Taleis was happy, and that was all that mattered. If Taleis was happy, Aidan was happy.

It felt like ages to Taleis before he and Aidan finally arrived at the cabin. It could have just been because he was so eager, or maybe because he was so cold. Taleis didn't know. He was just glad to be finally inside, where it was warm and he could finally get out of his soaking and freezing clothes.

Slipping his hand down from Aidan's wrist and into his hand, Taleis started digging through his trunk to find something to change in to. He ended up settling for a pair of sweats, a white t-shirt, and a grey hoodie. Glancing up at Aidan, Taleis said, "Uh, do you need to borrow something?" Taleis asked, feeling his cheeks heat up again. He didn't know why they did, but it was starting to irritate him. But then Taleis just reminded himself that Aidan said that he loved him, that he loved Taleis, and he found that he couldn't be annoyed anymore.

Aidan was still blushing furiously when he shook his head slowly, "No, uhm, I think I'll be okay," he mumbled, "I'm not all that wet, really."

He found his voice growing softer and softer and he didn't know why. His stomach was full of butterflies. And slugs. And spiders. At least, that's what it felt like. He suddenly took up an interest in his wet shoe, but didn't let go of Taleis' hand.

He felt uncertain of himself. He couldn't quite place the reason. He loved Taleis, he did, but he felt so weird about it. Weird, like... It wasn't real. Stuff like that didn't happen to Aidan. Aidan didn't like people. But one day, he decided he loved Taleis. Maybe he had loved him for a while, but didn't accept it. Maybe it was a subconscious thing. He didn't know.

He felt like such a comic relief character, which made him want to laugh, as his real mother was the muse of comedy and all... That was stupid. But he was so... Plain. He didn't have conflict, and he hated that. The biggest thing at happened in his life was Taleis and moving to camp. He knew what came to simple comic relief characters, Hunter's friend, who Hunter treated more like a little sister, had ranted on and on about it, taking little bouts of breaths in between paragraphs. He kind of missed that, hanging out at lunch, with people he didn't even really know.

Taleis looked at Aidan for a moment, trying to decide whether or not he'd insist on having Aidan borrow a dry pair of pants. With a sigh, he decided against it, but he still pulled a towel out of his bad and said, "At least take your shoes off and dry your feet, okay?" before he stood up and added, "I'm going to go to the bathroom to change."

Taleis changed as quickly as he could, but it was difficult to do that when he felt like his legs were going to fall off at any moment because they were so cold. He was grateful for the change of clothes, because not only were his soaked (at least, his pants and a bit of his coat), but it felt like the day was over to him. Taleis normally associated changing into more comfortable clothes with getting ready for bed, and why wouldn't he just want to crawl into bed after the day he had? Well, except for the part about kissing Aidan (but definitely after) and Aidan saying he loved him.

As soon as Taleis' legs were dry and he was changed into his change of clothes, he walked out and sat down on the edge of his bunk, gazing at Aidan. He couldn't get over the fact that Aidan had said he loved him back, because things like that just didn't happen to Taleis. The only person he'd ever said 'I love you to' was his dad, and he wasn't even sure his dad could return that to him. He never had said it to his grandparent; he knew he didn't love them. He was grateful to them, because he'd have to go into foster care if they didn't take him in. Still, he certainly didn't love them, and he was positive they didn't love him, either.

So it was somewhat of a miracle that Aidan said he loved Taleis back, especially what with the curse on his father. He was almost sure something was going to end up going horribly wrong, but Taleis would just enjoy what he could get. If Aidan was going to slip away from him, Taleis sure wouldn't let it happen easily.

Aidan slipped off his damp, red Converse and his ridiculous yellow socks with his toes. He bent down momentarily to pick up his shoes and set them near Taleis' bunk before sitting down gingerly on the bed, stretching his legs out in front of him. His pants were only wet from the mid-thigh down, and he figured they would air-dry eventually.

As he waited for Taleis to come out of the bathroom, he thought more of the day's events. He replayed every scene, from trying to talk to Taleis at breakfast until that moment, and let out a bitter laugh as he began to think that maybe he should take naps in the afternoons instead of going outside.

When Taleis emerged and sat at the edge of the bed, Aidan smiled at him. The butterflies were back, and there was one question lingering on his mind. "So, uhm," he started, averting his eyes back at his feet, which were regaining colour. Maybe he shouldn't ask the question, maybe it was too soon.

"Hmm?" Taleis said. He was unsure of what exactly to do, but sitting on the edge of his bed felt kind of awkward. Taleis wanted to do something like rest his head on Aidan's shoulder, which he had been wanting to do for years so it wasn't anything new, but he didn't know if it would be a bit much seeing as, well, all that stuff had only happened moments ago.

If Taleis were to be completely honest, which he hardly ever was (but that's besides the point), he was feeling a bit like a teenage girl. Obsessing over wondering if Aidan really liked him or if he just said it to make him feel better, if it was okay to hold his hand or if that would be too clingy, stuff like that. Taleis wasn't used to it, not at all. He was usually the one who knew exactly what to do, what to say, and when. Taleis hadn't had to think about that stuff since...well, he didn't want to think about it, in case it ruined his mood.

"Uhm, okay, Aidan stuttered, wringing his hands in his lap. "Are we like, do we have like a thing? I mean, like, are we together, or, uhm, is this going to be awkward, or, I mean, are we going to have to hold hands and like, kiss, and stuff? I mean, like," he blabbered. His face burned, and he knew his whole face was a bright crimson. "I mean, I just. I don't know. Sorry, uh, I mean, um, you get it?"

It should have been a simple question, but Aidan's head had to mix it all up and have him stutter every word. Sometimes he really felt like his mouth wasn't attached to his brain. It enraged him how he couldn't ask a single question without the rambling or the second guessing aloud. It had always been that way, and he was often told to clear his head before asking again. But he couldn't! He just thought too much, and even more so now.

His eyes darted up to Taleis' green, then back to his feet. His heart stuttered a bit, and he felt like his face would melt. He shut his eyes tight, waiting for Taleis to laugh at his stuttering. It was kind of funny, when he thought about it.

Taleis supposed that Aidan's stuttering was kind of cute, but he was more caught up in what he said. Well, not so much what Aidan said as the subtext of it, especially the 'are we going to have to hold hands and like, kiss and stuff?' "I mean, if you want to," Taleis said with a slight shrug, but all he could think was, 'Does he not want any of that?'

Taleis forced himself to smile, although it felt a bit odd. It was meant to be a happy smile, but it came across as more unsure, possibly a bit nervous, because that was how Taleis felt at the time; unsure and nervous. He had never had to bother classifying whether or not he was going out with anyone, it was just, "Hey, do you want to go out?" and that the end of it. Still, he had never steadily dated anyone, except for Kassidy, but he supposed that didn't even count because he messed everything up. He didn't want to mess everything up this time, he prayed to the gods that he didn't.

It was nerve wracking, Taleis decided. It was no wonder he had never done it before. Everything was so much easier when all it was was just asking the person to go out and then dropping them by the time three days had passed, but Taleis knew he couldn't do that to Aidan. If it meant anything, that is. If Aidan wanted something more than friendship, then Taleis wouldn't f*** it up. He promised himself he wouldn't.

Aidan nodded slowly. "Uhm, yeah, alright," he said. That was normal, of course. Holding hands, kissing, it was all regular with couples. They were a couple, right? Yeah.

Aidan fell back on the bed and looked up at Taleis, then to the bed above. He didn't really know what to say.

It wasn't that he didn't like holding hands or whatever, he was actually pretty touchy-feely with his friends. But this was also something new.

It was with a guy this time. And yeah, he had an accidental boyfriend once that he held hands with, but that was because he held hands with everyone. But then that guy accused him of cheating on him with Taleis, which left him a bit confused. Very confused, actually.

Taleis felt his smile become more comfortable with Aidan's words. "So, what do you want to do?" Taleis asks after a little bit. "Not that there's anything wrong with this, I mean, if you want to do this."

Taleis felt his cheeks heat up and he ducks his head down, feeling embarrassed. He really had no idea of what to do, or what to say, or anything really. He definitely didn't like it. But still, there was no way Taleis would mess it up. Not when it was Aida, who he had fancied for the past several years. All he knew was that he just wanted to be around him all the time, and to be able to hold his hand and hold him and kiss him. Yeah, it made Taleis feel like a girl. Like some teenage girl who was pining over some celebrity or something.

It felt kind of humiliating, having someone see him like this. Taleis worked so hard on building up this image of himself, so people thought he was cool and collected, that he didn't care what people thought. Aidan was the only person who knew he wasn't like that, and before it felt totally fine. But now it was just...different. Taleis didn't know what it was, but he felt like he was cut open and all of his secrets were out on display, for everyone to see.

"Well," Aidan said, drawing out the 'L' sound, "There's dinner? Unless you want to do this, then we can do this, like you said." Aidan looked up at the bed above again, lightly tapping his finger on his chest.

Oh, gods, Aidan, you're sitting with your new boyfriend and all you can think of is food? Maybe you would have some if you didn't waste like forty bloody dollars on food you dumped all over the place. I wonder if the movie's over. Dude you were so stupid, couldn't you wait for the movie to be over? Ah, well, this is nice, too, Aidan thought, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Was Taleis his boyfriend? Aidan liked the idea of that... Taleis and Aidan.

"I'm fine with doing anything," Taleis said, looking up at Aidan from behind his hair. Taleis had to admit, he felt a bit odd looking at him like that, but he didn't exactly care that much.

Taleis was happy, but he couldn't deny the ever looming presence of the big question: what did this make them? Taleis didn't know if Aidan wanted to be his boyfriend, or just what exactly. He wanted to know, but he didn't want ti ask out of fear of ruining the moment. The whole actual relationship thing was pretty confusing, especially starting this way. He had never done anything like it, and Taleis expected that the fact that he loved Aidan more than a friend was something that would die with him. Not once did he ever consider that he might end up where he was.

Pushing the hair out of his face, Taleis smiled at Aidan. He shifted so he was sitting closer to Aidan, close enough for him to rest his head on Aidan's shoulder. It felt all warm and nice and it just smelled like Aidan, and Taleis thought that he could get used to this. He could get used to resting his head on Aidan's shoulder just because he felt like it, that definitely wouldn't be a problem.

Aidan placed a tentative hand on Taleis' waist and smiled a bit. "I think I'm okay here," he mumbled, nuzzling his nose into Taleis' hair, breathing in his scent.

It felt good, he decided, holding Taleis like that. Something about it felt.. Satisfying, like he had been waiting to do it his whole life. Maybe he had.

He did love Taleis, he realised. He felt his heart swell to the point that he felt it would burst. But it was a good feeling at the same time. He loved Taleis and Taleis loved him. That one fact made Aidan content. He bit down a grin. He loved this feeling.

Taleis couldn't help but blush when he felt Aidan's nose nuzzle into his hair. It felt nice, he decided. Really nice. Taleis couldn't help himself from wrapping an arm around Aidan, pulling them just a little bit closer together. "This is really nice," Taleis murmured, smiling lightly. Besides, Aidan was warm, and not to mention comfortable.

A few moments later, Taleis tilted his head up to look at Aidan. "Is it okay if I kiss you now?" Taleis asked softly, feeling a blush spread over his cheeks. It just seemed like the type of thing he should ask, because, well, it was Aidan. The person who he had been best friends with for seven years. It just wasn't something Taleis felt like he could do without asking.