Two Boys Learning

12. He's Straight

When Ash woke up, the first thing he noticed was how warm it was.

The second thing he noticed was the breathing of something who was distinctly not him.

He yelped, then realized who he was and relaxed. Then he realized who it was and yelped again.

Will mumbled something in his sleep.

Ash stared at him, his eyes darting over his face. It was peaceful in sleep, without the usual scowl. His breath caught when he realized that there was a light pressure on his waist.

Slowly, he looked down.

He wasn't entirely surprised when he saw will's arm slung low across his hips, but he wasn't exactly expecting it, either.

He squeaked.

A muted light was pouring in through the window, and the clock on the bedside table said 8:37 A.M.

He'd never slept in this late before, not since he started having the nightmares. But come to think of it, he hadn't woken up a single time since he agreed to let Will sleep next to him. 

God, that sounds weird, even in my thoughts.

Ash swallowed hard and returned his eyes to Will's face. His lips were parted slightly, his black hair streaked with blue sticking up in a raging bed head. Before he could stop himself or think about what he was doing, Ash reached up and smoothed away some of Will's hair, almost on instinct.

Will's eyes snapped open,

Ash jerked his hand back as if he'd been stung. Will blinked a few times, then focused on Ash's face and inhaled sharply.

"What were you doing?" he asked quietly. He didn't sound angry, Ash decided, just curious.

"I--um. I'm not sure." Ash shoved Will's arm away from his waist and pushed himself to his feet, wrapping his arms around himself. "I--uh. I think they wanted us down in the lobby by ten, so that gives us an hour and a half to get dressed and...stuff."

Will yawned and sat up, dragging a hand through his hair and returning it to it's messy state. Ash blinked, mesmerized by the way the light danced on his hair.

Will noticed his stare. "What are you looking at? Ash?"

Ash blinked again and tore his gaze away. "Nothing. Sorry. I--I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Okay...?"

Ash puffed out a breath and nearly ran into the bathroom, chucking off his shirt and closing the door behind him, turning the lock and gripping the edge of the sink with white-knuckled hands.

You don't care that I'm gay?

Of course he didn't. Why would he, besides the fact that he himself was a guy? It didn't matter, because Ash was straight. HE knew that with absolute certainty.

Or...he did.

Had he ever actually had a crush on a girl before? Here he was, seventeen-going-on-eighteen, and he'd never had a girlfriend or a passing crush.

He could always be asexual, he supposed.

How did you really know if you had a crush on someone? Did you think about them all the time, their face and voice occupying every waking moment of your day even when they weren't anywhere near you? That had to be it.

A shiver traveled the length of Ash spine.

If that was what made a crush, then he was falling hard for a certain black-and-blue haired boy with gray eyes and a never-shown, beautiful smile that lit up his entire face and made him look as if--