Max (Mace) and e l -illcallubymine

[[deleted user]]

Oliver knew what he was doing, too: he wasn’t doing anything and everything he could to avoid the studying they had to do for Friday.He was looking around Theo’s room aimlessly, glancing to his phone, whatever that could keep him away from the textbooks right by him. He was sitting on the bed beside Theo when he impatiently asked him to focus for once.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. Hold on,” he said with a wave of his hand, leaning over so he could be close right to the open textbooks and Theo, thus immersing him further in the work.
“Um. For- because of... I can’t. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention today really,” he admitted sheepishly, glancing over to Theo for not even a moment. And that was true, he had been a little spaced-out throughout the school day- more than usual, in fact. He scourged the textbook in front him so he could give his best friend the correct answer, index finger tracing the page quickly to signify that he was looking. And when he found the correct answer, he looked over to Theo to make sure he was right.
“I swear I’ll ace the test tomorrow though, Theo. Im serious,” he promised. He wouldn’t break that promise, too; Theo was always a good motivator for him because the boy did fairly well in school, at least somewhat better than Olly. He always managed to convince Oliver to do well in his classes and he did. But he was also the biggest procrastinator if that wasn’t already clear by their study sessions, especially today, though. He had just felt a little off recently, but he didn’t think much of it. Maybe it was his home life, maybe it was his excitement for the next party he would be at. He wasn’t too sure.

[Max]

When Oliver leaned over to move closer to Theo, Theo automatically moved back. It had become a subconscious thing of Theo's to move away from his best friend. Most of the time it wasn't really noticeable. Just a slight shift of weight so their shoulders didn't brush together, or putting a bag between them if they were sitting side by side on the grass outside of school. It was as though The thought that maybe if he could avoid touching Olly forever, nothing would ever happen between them by mistake. If he never held hands with his best friend again, he would never have to feel the betraying flutter of giddy nerves in his stomach when his best friend had kissed him. He knew that he should have forgotten about the incident by now, or at least stopped thinking about it as much as he did, but he couldn't help it. Every time he saw Olly and his girlfriend together he couldn't help but wonder about it all.

Theo waited patiently for Oliver to finally find the answer he was looking for in the textbook. He honestly couldn't care less if Olly didn't do well on the test, as long as he passed it. Getting above a 51% was perfectly fine for Theo. Of course, his marks ranged a little bit higher, 70% and 80% with the occasional lower or higher mark. He was pretty good at memorizing things and he could have gotten much better marks if he only put in a bit more effort. But he had better things to do than memorize the human anatomy so he was happy with his average marks.
"I noticed you haven't been paying attention. Is something wrong?" Theo asked warily. Olly's home life wasn't the best and sometimes it ended up effecting his grades. When this happened Theo always made sure he was there to support his best friend.

[[deleted user]]

Oliver’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion when zttheo opened his mouth to speak, not informing him on whether or not the answer from the textbook was correct. They knew it was, though, they both did. As long as they didn’t fail the test tomorrow, there would be nothing to worry about. Although the two friends had completely different philosophies on life, they considered school to not be the top priority. Olly planned to get into a decent college with a degree he wasn’t too sure on yet and then probably move away. Just to get out of the horrible town he had spent so much of his life in. He needed to get away for once.
Promptly shaking his head before shrugging, Olly turned to his best friend and assured him with a light smile.
“Nothing unusual,” he informed him simply. And it was the truth, too; his father had made his occasional appearance twice this week and his mother happened to be working lots. It was his normal in that household, and though it got frustrating, he was used to it. Luckily it wasn’t anything more than that. If it was, things definitely would’ve been affecting Olly. But it wasn’t, which was why it was strange for his behavior: he was just feeling rather off, more so than usual.
“Are you doing alright, though?” he quickly asked in return, now somewhat worried. He was still attentive, but more reserved, something Oliver hadn’t been introduced to in a while from Theo. He hadn’t forgotten the time the boy snapped at him that morning, and he wished he could. It was so unlike him and yet it spoke to Oliver so personally that it had made sense to him. Anpart of his mind was positive that Theo liked the closeness between them, but the other part rejected the fact that Theo took any appreciation in him.

[Max]

((I'm so sorry! I thought I replied to this!))

Theo had always had a natural inclination for the academic world. Even when he didn't study (which was most of the time) he always managed to squeak by with relatively good grades. It had been the one blessing he had been given. Most of the time he studied just to get Olly to study with him. He knew that his best friend didn't have the same gift and wouldn't study if he was studying alone. Theo was slowly realizing that he would do almost anything for his best friend. Even just being around him made him feel happy, and it was beginning to worry him. Wasn't that the feeling people got when they had a crush on someone? Back when Theo had a huge crush on Alex, he had always felt crazily happy when he even said hi to him or something. He was beginning to wonder if maybe all this time he had had a crush on Oliver. Quickly discarding that idea he turned his focus back to the pages in front of him.
"Alright, Just check in." He mumbled as he flipped though the pages to a part they hadn't studied yet. His hand froze on the page though at Olly's question. Was he doing alright? No, of course he wasn't. His head was still all jumbled up from the kiss, even though it had been almost a week ago. He just couldn't get it out of his head. Every time Oliver even brushed shoulders with him, Theo couldn't help remember his lips against Oliver's, warm in the clean air of the outdoors. He knew that he had been acting sort of weirdly despite the fact that he had been trying to hide the fact. It was useless trying to hide his feelings from Oliver though, after all they knew each other inside out. There were no secrets between them, there never had been.
"Yeah, yeah, i'm fine. Just tired." He had been saying that a lot lately. Tired was the only emotion he could possibly pretend to be without fully lying. He was tired, mentally though, not physically.

[[deleted user]]

((no worries, i just got back from camp! sorry this is short /: ))

Once Theo stopped in his movements when asked the question in return, Oliver questioned if he had made the right decision to ask. He had been more... careful when interacting with his best friend the past few days, and that was peculiar. A part of him was still more or less scared of the side of Theo that despised him, that didn’t want to fucking take care of him. Did he believe in that side of him? Maybe, but he certainly didn’t want to regardless. It was the other side that Oliver knew and loved, and yet felt so undeserving of. Theo was his closest friend: they were always besides eachother because he always felt like the happiest guy from having the opportunity of knowing him so well. He didn’t care about much else when he was in the picture because things were just always better with him and it was supposed to remain that way. He prayed that Theo felt something like that.

“Okay, good,” he started, and turned back to look to the page he turned to before catching himself. It was clear that his mind was in another place, but not in the same place as it was at parties.
“I mean, not good that you’re tired. But good that it’s only that, and nothing more,” he quickly stammered out to add on. A sigh of disapproval of himself before he shook his head and averted his attention back to the words on the page. Honestly, Oliver wasn’t his best in school. He was certainly smart, but applied it differently, so it was rather difficult to get the grades he aimed for in classes.

[Max]

((It's alright, I'm going to be gone from Monday for a week after this by the way))

That moment between he answered, and Olly excepted that answer was terrifying, but hopeful as well. He didn't know how he had wanted Olly to respond. He didn't want Oliver to ask what was wrong, to ask why he was tired so much. He didn't want to have to explain what he was feeling and he definitely didn't want to ruin their friendship because of it. Despite that though, a part of him still wanted Oliver to ask because he didn't know how much longer he could pretend to be okay for his friend. He didn't know how much longer he could go on jumping away every time they brushed hands, or just looked at each other. Luckily, he didn't have to decide because the answer wasn't his decision to make. He smiled dully at Oliver's distracted answer.

"It's alright. I dunno, I just haven't been sleeping well for the past few days." He murmured before looking back at the book because he couldn't bear to look at Oliver again. He still wanted to be with his best friend, to still have that connection they always had but he didn't know how to. Everything was just so weird now that he didn't know what Oliver was to him. He was no longer just a best friend, or a chosen brother, he could be more than that.
"Alright, i'm too tired to keep going. Want to go up to the roof?" He asked suddenly, standing up and shaking pins and needles out of his feet. The roof had always been a haven for the best friends, a place where no one could bother them, not even each other. Everything that was wrong in the world went away when you were staring at the sky and nothing else.

[[deleted user]]

Oliver frowned upon hearing about his best friend’s sleep, nodding in understanding. The two often called eachother in the middle of the night when one was restless, the other almost always answering, but he hadn’t received any of those the past week. Not that he was hurt or upset by that, but merely confused. He hoped it was only a temporary issue regarding Theo’s sleep, because he could tell the boy was different and Oliver hoped that wasn’t on his part in the slightest. He nodded understandably, watching as he turned his face away. He did look exhausted now that he thought about it, so he figured that was the problem.

His following quick words caused him to nearly jump because of how sudden they were. It was clear both of them had a lot on their mind, so maybe the roof was for the best. For years it had been their safe place, the moment they stepped out Theo’s window to rest there. It was where they spent so much of their time; they talked about everything and nothing up there, and it was the perfect place for them to be completely undisturbed. Olly wished life were always like how it was on the roof, Theo alongside him, facing the world together. That was how it always felt.
Oliver nodded quickly and sat up straight. “Yeah. Roof sounds nice right now,” he mumbled quickly in agreement, fidgeting with his hands a bit as he fully stood from the bed. He stretched and popped the joints in his arms before looking to Theo and heading to the window.
“Why’s your sleep schedule so off?” he asked curiously, just wanting to help look out for his best friend. Whenever one of them was off, so was the other. They always were there for eachother.

[Max]

Letting out a relieved sigh, Theo hopped to his feet and made his way over to the window. The window pane always got stuck and he had to put all his strength into opening it. The fluctuation in temperature hadn't helped and he had to shove his shoulder against it to manage to open it. Ruefully rubbing the the shoulder he had just used to attack the window he shrugged slightly at Oliver's question. There was nothing he could do to answer that without lying directly, which he didn't want to do to his best friend.
"I dunno Olly, okay? I just haven't been sleeping, stop asking." He snapped back, suddenly irritated again. He had been so easy to anger in the past few days. Theo had always been volatile, happy one moment, ferociously unhappy the next, but his moods had been getting more violent as the weeks had progressed. He knew that Oliver was used to dealing with his moods but not nearly as often as he was having to now.

"Sorry." he muttered automatically before slipping through the window. Getting up to the roof required a little bit of squirming and some upper-body strength but most people could do it if they put their mind to it. Right away Theo felt more relaxed, letting the wind wash over him, clean and cool.

((Should Theo tell him here?))

[[deleted user]]

((Ummm sure! Whatever you feel is best though of course haha. maybe they could start to fight and Theo could just blurt it out, over even just kiss him. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ))

Oliver felt obliged to apologize the moment he heard the words fly from Theo’s mouth. He knew he had been bothering the poor boy lately, and that certainly wasn’t his intent. He followed behind him to the window and watched as he tugged it open, a small frown settling over his lips. This just wasn’t expected, so Olly didn’t know how to handle it at all.
“It’s okay, you’re fine,” he assured warily, swallowing the lump in his throat and blinking quickly before nodding to confirm his statement. No, Theo shouldn’t be the one apologizing.
“I’m sorry for asking,” he mumbled as he followed after Theo. Once his best friend hoisted himself onto the roof, Oliver stepped onto the sill and fixed his balance before pushing himself up into the slanted platform. The cool air blew past, as if to remind them that things were at peace the moment they reached their safe haven. He settled himself on the roof before laying back and looking up to the sky, cutting a quick glance to Theo.

“We’ve....” He bit down hard on his lip, debating if he should say it. While this was their roof where they spoke of anything without limits or a barrier, Theo was just acting different and he wished he was able to reach him again in the way that he used to. It was subtle, but Olly had noticed. Scrambling away from his touch, becoming more closed-off with him, even snapping. It was just so peculiar, and he didn’t know what to think of it because it had never happened before. Did Theo just not like him anymore? Or was Oliver the one that had changed?
“We’ve been distant, yeah?” he asked the blunt question quickly, spurring it out fast so he wouldn’t lose his courage. And once it was said, a weight had been lifted from his chest and he wasn’t sure if he liked that. It almost sounded as if they were in a relationship. Oliver was sure he was ruining whatever was between them, but he wasn’t sure how to say that without worrying about Theo snapping once more. But maybe that was what he deserved to hear from his best friend, in order to knock some sense into him. “I don’t know.”

[Max]

"Damn it Olly, it's not fine." Theo muttered back, already half way through the window. He hated how Oliver just took his yelling, that he thought it was his fault. Oliver did not need to take responsibility for Theo's actions, but he did it anyways. Theo couldn't help but think once again that Olly was way too good to be friends with him. He wanted to be angry at his best friend for kissing him. Actually, he was angry but he couldn't not forgive him. He couldn't live like that and Olly was much too kind to not be forgiven. His best friend always seemed to be worried about how Theo had to take care of him at parties, but Theo knew that Olly took care of him all the time. He stuck through all the bad days where Theo's moods dunked below the surface into the dark. He refused to let go when the only things Theo had to say to himself and to anyone else were insults. Oliver dealt with all of his shit and still stuck it out. That's why Theo couldn't hate him for what he did.

A couple on bicycles flew past the house, their laughing sounding faintly with the wind that blew around the two friends on the roof. There was a natural flatter part of the roof that Theo immediately climbed over to and sat down, curling up tightly so that his knees were clenched against his chest with his hands circling his knees. He was about to tell Oliver that he didn't have to apologize when his friend started speaking. Theo's heart thumped in his chest, had Olly remembered the kiss? But no, his heart fluttered slightly before dropping.
"Yeah... i'm sorry Oliver. It's just..." He trailed off and looked over at his friend before reaching over for his hand. They had always held hands so it wasn't weird or anything. Staring down at Oliver's hands he gently traced the palm of his hand. His mom used to do that to him before she had gotten so busy at work and all that.
"I have a confession." He blurted out, also trying to say what he wanted to say before he chickened out.

[[deleted user]]

“Theo, it is fine,” he assured quickly, shaking his head. Oliver bit his lip at the response he received from his best friend and said nothing past that. What would he even say? He always knew how to deal with Theo’s mood swings, but these were severe and frequent. Olly wasn’t quite sure how to prevent them anymore, quite frankly, despite always being the one able to talk the boy down. Apologizing or accepting his apology didn’t seem to work at this point, so he just kept quiet in hopes of his best friend regaining his patience and speaking to him again. Though Oliver still felt sorry.

He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, finding peace in the breeze and the weather and everything around them while Theo got settled beside him. The roof was always their favorite spot. It was just far enough away from the rest of the terrible world so they didn’t have to associate themselves with it for a short amount of time. The faint sound of children playing basketball was far off, and some friends fighting and spewing nasty curses too eachother at the street corner. They were able to acknowledge it and yet isolate themselves from it all. And despite all the words they have previously shared to eachother up on the roof, Oliver was never anxious about it because Theo was his best friend and he wouldn’t want anybody other to share the roof with. He couldn’t even imagine having it to himself.

Theo’s words infiltrated Olly’s ears, causing him to reopen his eyes and turn in his direction at the following apology. Then mere Seconds passed before he felt Theo’s hand in his. He flinched, not expecting the feeling at first before smiling fondly, interlacing their fingers carefully. They always held hands and it was nearly like an extra amount of assurance. He softly ran his thumb over the back of his hand, and watched their restless motions into the others’ hand before he finished the simple sentence.
“What do you mean?” he asked cautiously, his eyes cutting from the overcast sky before to his best friend. He caught those pretty brown eyes quickly with his own dark, worried ones. Typically, they were direct with eachother and just said what was on their mind, especially on the roof. Their roof. So hearing this phrase felt so unordinary, almost as peculiar as the past several days had been for Oliver. “Is everything, um. Is everything okay?” he asked hopefully, rather nervous now.

[Max]

Theo sighed and leaned back, his back pressed against the bottom of the chimney. They didn't have a fireplace that worked but the chimney was still there. He knew that he had to say something to Oliver now, anything really. But he didn't know how to say it. He didn't even know what he wanted to say. Nothing he could do now he could do without ruining a part of their friendship. But he also knew that if he didn't say anything their friendship would be ruined anyways. He just couldn't see Olly every day and know that this was between them. Theo had never been good at lying to his best friend.
"So, uh." He stopped again before finally forcing himself to look at Oliver. Gosh, he had such pretty eyes. Theo had never really noticed before. He knew that his friend was attractive, but not like this.
"Damn it." he muttered to himself. He needed to concentrate on what he wanted to say. But he just couldn't seem to figure out what to say and he knew in that moment that no word was going to be able to say exactly what he felt.

"Olly..." He tightened his hand around Oliver's, feeling the comfortable feeling of their interlaced hands. Suddenly he knew that there was only one thing to do that could show everything. Leaning forward he looked Oliver straight in the eyes for a moment before pressing his lips against Oliver's. Right away his mind went blank and he pulled back suddenly. Why had he done that? What had made him think that that was a good idea? He was so stupid!
"I'm sorry." He ran a hand through his hair and looked away, skin flushed. He was so happy that it was dark because that meant Oliver couldn't see all the emotions running through his head and on his face.

[[deleted user]]

The more time that passed between Olly’s concern and Theo’s response, the more anxiety that filled his mind regarding what this said confession was. Was Theo okay? Did this have to do with their strange interactions that had been happening for nearly two weeks now? What the hell was going on in his best friend’s head? He was terrified regarding what this meant for the two of them, because it hadn’t felt the same in a while. Theo was sick of taking care of him ever since that party, that was what it had to be. And he truly couldn’t remember how things were before having Theo at his side, but he knew it was horrible. His best friend was always there for him; they claimed to be independent and yet directly depended on eachother daily. Without the other’s presence, it was unexplainably difficult to function without their guidance.

Oliver soon realized the condition his mind has spiraled into, and physically shook his head out of that state of mind. Before he knew it, Theo’s eyes were nearly above him (his eyes were stunning, even in the dark). He was sitting up and looking over to him, hesitating over his words as if he were about to say the most ridiculous words. Words that Oliver was begging to know and so reluctant at the same time. He didn’t know what news it would bring. Except words, ultimately, weren’t said. But Theo’s lips were on his and Oliver felt a spark light up in his heart that he’d thought he’d never felt before as everything else fell away and he returned the gentle kiss, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. This was all changed a moment later when Theo suddenly pulled away and then there was total silence on their roof. His cheeks were crimson and his motion was quick yet so tentative, as if he were able to break anything and everything around him if he were to touch it. And finally, after forever, Theo spoke.

“Oh, um, i-it’s okay, I...” he stammered, but he was at a loss for words now. Was it okay? He honestly didn’t know and couldn’t even pair it with context because all he was thinking about was how soft their lips felt on each other and how he kissed him back. But now he was worrying his lip frantically as he tried to think and tried to compose himself before he lost control.
“Sorry.” He shouldn’t have kissed him back, he wasn’t even sure why he thought it was okay too. He was his best friend and only that. Except everything in that moment felt so surreal and Oliver didn’t know how to handle it. And then he felt bad for apologizing because he was sure Theo would scold him for doing so as he always did. He didn’t know what to think at this point, how to react. How to understand what he felt.

[Max]

Theo leaned back with wide eyes. He didn't know what to say or do. In fact he was so confused by what had just happened that he completely froze. Back ramrod-straight against the chimney. He just stared at Olly for a good few seconds before looking away. So many things were going on his mind that he didn't know what to say. The strangest thing of all was that the first thing that had popped into his mind was he's a really good kisser which of course was the most idiotic thing to be thinking right now. Of all the things he should be thinking about, that was not one of them. But he couldn't help it. All he could think about were Oliver's lips on his, perfect and gentle beyond anything he had ever felt before. With the other boys he went out with it was different. With people like Alex, it was different. They were rough. Everything was pure desire rather than the familiar gentleness Theo had come to recognize with his best friend.

Noticing how Oliver was immediately biting the side of his lip like he always did when he was nervous, Theo regarded him with a stern look.
"Stop biting your lip." He said with a glare. That sentence was a very familiar one. He was constantly telling Olly to stop since he always ended up making his lips bleed. For a moment everything felt okay again. It was just a normal conversation with his best friend. But then their situation came crashing back down on him. He wanted to be alone to think. Just send Oliver away and try to process what had happened. It wasn't unusual for Theo to just suddenly want time alone. He was introverted and even though he loved having Olly around he sometimes still needed a break from people in general. But he knew that putting this off wasn't going to help anyone.

"I-Uh, two weeks ago." He murmured before stopping again to pause and run a hand through his hair nervously. They both had nervous ticks that they constantly did.
"Two weeks ago you kissed me. After a party... you were super wasted. I know it does't mean anything but I just, it changed things you know?" He ended in a rush. He was happy that he had finally gotten all of that out there, it was no longer a secret.

[[deleted user]]

Oliver was crimson as he watched Theo look away in embarrassment, and he was sure that he had fucked this up for the two of them. Theo had done nothing, but Oliver? Now he was afraid of losing his best friend that he practically depended on. He finally turned away from the boy sitting up beside him, looking to the night sky, his mind spiraling with thoughts. Too many thoughts, more than the stars above him. But the one thing that he couldnt get out of his mind was how Theo’s lips felt on his own. So soft and gentle, and yet so certain of his actions. It was then when Theo scolded him for his actions as he pulled on the skin on his lip worriedly, He obediently stopped biting his lip and rather brought a hand to his bottom lip, absentmindedly tracing where Theo’s lips were seconds ago. He didn’t know what he himself was thinking, nevermind Theo, so he kept quiet. Afraid to say something in the midst of this vulnerable situation that would ruin their friendship. What did this mean for the two of them? Was Theo feeling the same amount of contradictory feelings in his head as Olly? This was terribly wrong, wasn’t it?

Oliver froze upon hearing the words that followed; he was in near disbelief. Of course he had; with the number of things he had gotten himself into while drunk over time, maybe this was expected. What wasn’t expected, though, was the overwhelming feeling of moths flying in his stomach anxiously, or the dark pink that tinted his cheeks in fluster, or the extreme flutter of excitement and fear in his mind.
He picked up his head slightly so he could see the other boy’s face in the dark and he looked absolutely beautiful, that couldn’t be denied. The dark features on his best friend’s face were practically enchanting and drawing one in. He sucked in a sharp breath and side before picking his eyes back up his, afraid.
“C-Can I kiss you, Theo?” he whispered quietly, biting his lip lightly again absentmindedly. The moment he said it he feared what this meant and what it would lead to. If it was better to just stay quiet again.

((wait this is a cute small thing they can do: since they both do little things they do when they’re nervous, it’d be cute if oliver ran his hands through Theo’s hair to comfort him, or theo bit oliver’s lip when they kiss (; idk, it just came to mind and it made me smile))

[Max]

Along with telling Oliver the truth came a huge wave of relief that crashed over Theo. It had felt horrible keeping a secret from perhaps the most important person in his life. Before meeting Olly, Theo had always kept a diary. People used to tell him that it was girly and stupid but he knew that they just didn't have enough thoughts in their heads to have to write anything down. He needed to write his thoughts down because it helped him understand what was going on his life and made the answers to his problems more clear. Now his diary sat on the bottom drawer of his desk, untouched since he had become friend with Oliver. His best friend listened to all of his problems and offered much better solutions than his diary ever had. He never kept secrets from Oliver and as far as he knew, Olly didn't keep secrets from him. They were each other's real life diaries. People they could talk to without fear of judgement or of losing them. So keeping a secret from Oliver had been like trying to keep a secret from his own mind. Regardless of what happened now that the truth was out, Theo was so happy that he didn't have to keep this to himself anymore.

When Oliver's eyes flitted back up to look at him, Theo felt as though he were trapped under his friend's gaze. Olly was looking at him more intently than he ever had before. To say that Theo didn't know that he was handsome would be a lie. He knew that he was good-looking, but he also knew that Oliver was handsome too. It wasn't his physical features that made Theo hate himself so much sometimes. Many people looked at him as though he were a painting, meant to be stared at without shame. But he had never felt the nervous twinge of excitement in his stomach that he felt now that Oliver was looking at him. He felt like his friend was seeing everything about him, inside and out. His cheeks flushed brightly and he searched Oliver's eyes with a look of shocked excitement. Had he heard right? Olly wanted to kiss him again? Theo knew he shoulder. Oliver was his best friend, not to mentioned that he had a girlfriend. But there was not a single part of Theo that wanted to refuse so instead he just smiled softly at his best friend.
"Stop biting your lip!" He repeated with an admonishing tone, but then he leaned in and gently pressed his lips against Olly's. Shifting so he was a little bit closer to the other boy, he gently bit his bottom lip, exactly how Oliver did when he was nervous. What a hypocrite he was! But it just felt... right.

((That's so adorable! So romantic))

[[deleted user]]

Oliver searched the features across Theo’s face anxiously, afraid of his response and regretting the ounce of courage he used to ask that question for that reason. He kept on getting lost in Theo’s eyes, damn it. The seconds that passed between his question and a response were absolute hell as his mind was infiltrated with possible responses. However, after another moment, he was leaning closer and scolding him again. His face turned a darker red than it already was and he smiled, his dimples revealed and his teeth releasing his lower lip.
“I’m sorry!” he apologized softly and playfully, and for a moment he had forgotten why they were in this situation because it just felt like the two best friends messing around with eachother. But Theo’s lips were back on his and he knew it just felt right as he picked his head up from the roof and allowed their lips to connect once more. If it wasn’t certain before, it was certain now of their feelings towards one another. A small gasp left his mouth when Theo took his lip in between his own before he smiled sweetly on his lips. He raised a hand and carded it through Theo’s wispy strands before settling on the back of his neck, pulling him closer because his mind was telling him that this was exactly what he wanted.

Olly was straight. He wasn’t gay and he loved his girlfriend and his best friend in completely separate and different ways. He knew this and never questioned it. Except now his heart was thumping wildly in his chest and his face was burning red and everything around him was falling away the longer he was out here on the roof, kissing his best friend.

[Max]

Theo smiled against Olly's lips at his best friends little gasp. It was probably the cutest sound he had ever heard. Releasing Oliver's lip from his own, he shivered slightly as the other boy's hands reached through his hair, raking through it before stopping wrapped around his neck. Biting the boy's lip again gently, he pulled Oliver closer. He hadn't realized just how much he had wanted to kiss his best friend until it happened. All the self-restraint he had been showing disappeared and all he wanted to do was stay on the roof and kiss Olly forever. It sounded stupid because forever is a very long time, but for teenagers every moment was lived as though it was their last. People always made fun of teenagers for not caring about things that were really important, and they were right to do so. Because in that moment nothing matter more than Oliver's lips on his, and his hands on his skin and the heat between them. The whole world could have crashed down around them and Theo wouldn't have cared at all. Finally drawing back for a breath, he looked at Olly with wide eyes. In the starlight, shadows were thrown across his friend's face, making ever feature look almost ethereal. Oliver's already handsome features were only showcased even more in the darkness.

"I think... we need to talk about this Princess." He murmured so softly that had there been even a wisp of wind, the words would have been floated away. His words were serious and true, but his mind couldn't seem to focus on them. Instead he found himself reaching up and touching his fingers to Oliver's lips. He traced his lips softly before moving on to his cheekbones and then up to the arch of his eyebrows and his forehead. He was seeing every part of Oliver in a new light today. Things were different now and there was no way they could go back to what it was before. They had done something irreversible, and yet Theo felt so happy that they had done it. He had never entertained the thought that Oliver maybe really did like him. When he was sober too. He had always just assumed his friend was straight.

[[deleted user]]

The seconds their lips were together, everything had fallen away. Oliver kissed the boy gently, as if he would break if he were to go any faster or rougher, and in that moment, maybe they both would shatter like glass. He ran his fingers through Theo’s hair on the back of his scalp and pulled him closer because everything in his mind was telling him to. He let out a humored breath when Theo gently nipped at his bottom lip again and almost fluttered his eyes open and pulled away, but the kiss only continued in the best way. Everything on that roof fell away besides the two of them together, and Olly didn’t think he wanted it any other way.

Seconds passed until the kiss was finally broken, and Oliver was completely breathless. He pulled away by just centimeters and his eyes flitted open to immediately meet Theo’s dark ones. His best friend was beautiful. He didn’t know why moths were furiously flying in his stomach and his heart was thumping viciously in his throat in the moment, but they were and they didn’t seem to be going away by the time Theo called him Princess.

But he sucked in a sharp breath and his cheeks changed a darker crimson as Theo leaned close again and his fingers traced over his lips lightly. Almost leaning into the touch, Theo’s fingers dancing across his skin was the only thing he could think of besides his painfully thudding heartbeat that nearly overpowered Theo’s soft voice.
He eventually nodded his head shakily, but his mind was screaming otherwise. He didn’t know what to say anymore, what to think. He knew there was so much to talk about, but he didn’t know if he wanted to talk of it, or even had the ability to. He was nervous and afraid, wanting to drown himself away from the world again the moment their lips parted and the conflict needed to be addressed. Was it worth it to take that irreversible risk and lean into Theo again? He hoped so.

[Max]

Letting his fingers wander all the way down to Oliver's neck. He gently let let his fingers brush against Olly's collarbone and the hollow at the base of his neck. He couldn't believe he had never seen how handsome Oliver was before today. Of course he had known that his friend was handsome. But it had always been in the detached sort of way that friends noticed the other's looks. It was a fact that had never mattered much to Theo before. Now though he couldn't help but wonder how he had lived beside Olly for so many days of his life and never realized that he was possibly the most beautiful person he had ever seen. In reality of course Oliver wasn't the most handsome or cute or beautiful in the world. Models and actors and many other people were probably more attractive than the boy, but to Theo they did not compare. Because to Theo Oliver's eyes weren't just a colour, they were memories of nights spent together staring at the stars. His mouth, perfectly shaped was not just beautiful for it's physical appearance but also because Theo knew that was the mouth that had spoken him out of the darkest moods and had offered the brightest smiles when nothing else seemed right. Oliver was beautiful beyond the physical.

"Look... uh, I thought you were straight." He said, the words sounding blunt and stupid after their moment together. But he needed to ask. After all, Oliver had never dated a boy or anyone other than girls as far as Theo knew. Rory was proof of that. He had never given any hints to not being interested in Rory except for the occasional teenage grumbling about their relationship. Never had Theo suspected, not even once that Oliver might be anything else but heterosexual. Finally letting his fingers fall away from Oliver's skin, he leaned back to regard his friend with a questioning glance.
"I mean, what about Rory?" He asked. Not that he liked Rory but wasn't she sort of proof of Olly's sexual preferences? Unless of course even Oliver hadn't realized his own feelings yet. Theo still didn't quite understand how that could be (after all he had known from a young age that he was gay) but he was willing to figure it out with Oliver if that was the case.

[[deleted user]]

Oliver’s breath hitched as Theo’s fingers softly yet so particularly traced over his lips before trailing down his facial features and delicately crossing his collarbone. He looked up to meet his eyes from above him and he felt at home and yet so intimidated. His beautiful dark eyes loomed into his own, holding so much emotion that Olly didn’t quite know how to process. The words that his best friend said were blatantly obvious, and that was what made it so scary.He watched as Theo pulled away and retreated so they were barely touching anymore, his mind searching frantically for words to come out of his mouth. But he didn’t know what there was to say. He kept on finding himself glancing to Theo’slips before sheepishly turning away.

“I...” he began, but he was at a loss for words now if he wasn’t before. He felt choked by his own heart clogging his throat with the closeness he and Theo were exchanging. Maybe it wasn’t too far from what was normal for them, but it was now for Oliver. He was overthinking everything because of what had just happened, whether for better or for worse.
“Yeah, um, I don’t know,” he susserated carelessly, shrugging. He didn’t know. He didn’t know about Rory, he didn’t know if he was straight. All he knew was the adamant thudding of his heart in his chest and the warmth in his cheeks that wasn’t going away and the vulnerability that now settled between them in both the worst and the best way

“It’s getting pretty late,” he mumbled, glancing down at their interlaced hands before hesitantly letting go. They had always made a game of it, seeing how long they could go until one pulled away from the other, deeming them the ‘loser’. But Oliver couldn’t process any jokes when he was so confused on the rest of the situation in the moment. He sat up carefully and looked to theo once more. He knew the boy was handsome, that was why it was so easy for him to find some fun with another guy at parties. Had Olly ever let it get to him to this extent? He didn’t thinkso until now. He then turned to the window and began to gracefully work his way onto the sill, having done it numerous times before. The roof now felt nearly tantalizing and forbidden rather than their personal comfort. Oliver seemingly wasn’t slowing himself their comfort until he figured his shit out.

[Max]

"Olly..." Theo said sharply as his friend let go of his hand. He didn't want Oliver to leave now, but he didn't want to talk either. He just wanted to kiss his best friend under the stars and promise him that it was going to be okay, that they were going to figure things out. But Theo knew better than to make promises like that because more often than not, it wasn't going to be okay and Theo hated lying. Plus it was probably a good idea for Oliver to leave, Theo needed to do some thinking of his own. But despite all that he didn't want his friend to leave. Sighing softly he scrambled up to his feet and brushed debris off of his hands before following Olly over to the window.
"You're right. I guess you should go." He muttered, raking a hand through his hair yet again. A breeze had picked up and the night was turning chilly, ruffling Theo's thick hair.
"Goodnight Princess." He murmured almost hopefully. As though Oliver's nickname was going to help this situation. It was just so familiar that maybe it would help him get a grip of this situation. He knew that Oliver could let himself out as he always did. Theo wasn't sure if his mother was home yet as he worked odd hours at the hospital but if she was, she wouldn't mind seeing Olly wandering through the house. She was definitely used to it by now.

Letting out a deep breath he crawled back over to his spot by the chimney and curled up, staring at the stars. It was cloudy and he could hardly see any light coming from the sky now. Tucking himself further into his thin sweater he leaned back and watched the clouds roll by. It seemed like hours had gone by until he finally fell asleep, his head tilted back desperately towards the sky. Sometime during the night it rained, which woke him up with a start, shivering in his wet sweater. It was about 2 in the morning and he couldn't sleep. Usually he would have texted Olly to see if he was still awake, but this time he didn't think he wanted to talk to the other boy. Not now at least when he was still so tired. Instead he just blinked through the rain despite how cold he was. He didn't move, just let the rain soak him to the skin until he fell asleep again to the patter of rain.

((I'm thinking Theo gets really sick or something? something like a cold that becomes more serious?))

[[deleted user]]

Oliver looked back over to his best friend, and he felt at home. He saw the countless nights spent out here and the perpetual walks home and the memories that he was eternally grateful to share with Theo. A part of him didn’t want to leave; he wanted to wrap himself tightly around the boy and tell him everything and nothing, holding him close and kissing him. The tingling feeling of Theo’s soft skin ghosted onto Olly’s lips, still able to feel his gentle lips and his soft touch. But in aspur of the moment decision, Oliver was sure it was quite possibly the worst idea to stay and talk through it because that meant facing what emotions were going through his mind.

Another moment passed, a short and sweet gust of wind tugging at the thin hoodie he was wearing and tousling his hair. With his final ounce of courage, Oliver leaned back over to Theo and hesitantly reached for him. His fingers brushed across his jaw tenderly, barely touching his skin. He could feel the boy’s breath on his own warm cheeks, only inches away, and it was almost as if their lips would meet perfectly once more and maybe things would feel alright again. But all that happened was a small twitch of a crooked smile and glance down to Theo’s lips, once on his own, before looking away sheepishly.
“Goodnight,” he mumbled before starting his way back to the window. He didn’t want to say goodbye, yet it felt just like it. With his back turned to Theo, he worried at his lip with delicacy, if that was even possible, and descended carefully on the roof until reaching Theo’s window. It was such a familiar passage, yet so strange to be going about it without his best friend.

It was a long walk home but Olly wasn’t complaining. His heart was still thudding wildly in his chest as he shut and locked the door to his house for the night.

((i very much like that idea. sorry for taking so long with reply!))

[Max]

Theo woke up with the image of Oliver just behind his eyelids. He had been dreaming of his best friend, feeling warm and safe. They hadn't done much interesting in the dream. Just sat there and on their dream-roof, touching occasionally but mostly just sitting together. It wasn't an interesting dream but it left Theo feeling happy. The fuzzy warm feeling he got quickly dissipated though as he realized that he was shivering. His body ached and shivered violently in the cold morning air. His teeth began to chatter and he pressed his teeth together tightly until his jaw began to hurt. This wasn't the first time Theo had fallen asleep on the roof. He had never been afraid of falling off for some reason. But he had never fallen asleep in the rain. Slowly propping himself up on his elbows he took a deep breath and coughed slightly. His nose was totally stuffed up so he couldn't breath in too deeply. Noticing his wet clothing he stumbled tiredly over to the side of the roof and slid into his bedroom, peeling off his wet sweater once he was back in his warm room. Despite feeling lousy he wasn't going to miss school because of a cold and he slowly got dressed in clean clothing.

As usual his mom was already out of the house, having left a flurry of dirty dishes in her wake. Not feeling particularly hungry, and feeling anxious to get out of the house to talk to Olly, Theo skipped breakfast and grabbed his bag. He hadn't done any of his other homework the night before and was big looking forward to the day. He was rearing at the bit though to talk to Oliver. He was both excited and terrified to talk to his best friend. Maybe Oliver regretted their night in the roof. Despite the fact that their friendship might have been ruined by that nightmare though, Theo didn't regret it. It had felt so amazing to finally show Oliver how he felt. Tell him about the drunk night where they first kissed. Theo hated secrets and he couldn't stand keeping things from his best friend.

[[deleted user]]

Oliver got home fairly late, especially since the walk was lengthy and he wasn’t in a hurry to pick up the pace. Even when he came home, he couldn’t go to bed because his mind was buzzing rampant with thoughts that he didn’t expect. He was fully aware that he did stupid shit at parties once alcohol was involved, but this was next level. He never even considered liking zttheo. But now his lips were practically tingling from where Theo’s were and moths were flying in his stomach at the simple thought of his best friend. It was an early hour in the morning when he fell asleep and only a couple hours later did he wake up.

“Oliver!” Accompanied by a thudding on the door, his mother passed by his door and figured he had to be awakened to get to school on time. The boy brought thepillow up to his ears briefly before noddingto himself, garnering the motivation to get out of his bed.
“I’m awake,” he grumbled before standing, listening to the sound of his mother walking away from his door in disapproval, almost. The household was always pretty rocky, but never unusual, so this wasn’t new.

It didn’t take long for him to run a quick shower and change into some decent clothes before starting on his walk to school. It was cold out, especially for the time of the year, so his damp hair certainly did not feel nice as he walked through the overcast day. His house was far from the school, in fact he was supposed to go to the district one city over, but his mother was adamant on getting him into a better education in a better neighborhood, one they couldn’t necessarily afford to live in. He met Theo on the boy’s street corner, though, so it was always worth the walk to be able to spend almost half of it with his best friend.
But anxiety filled his mind today because he was worried about what Theo would say. Oliver had kissed him yesterday and he couldn’t even blame alcohol on it. And he didn’t know how to feel yet regarding what had happened, he still couldn’t wrap his head around it. Eventually he would have to face Rory too, and he wasn’t overall on edge as to how the day would turn out.

“Theo,” he greeted him as he saw his best friend at the following stop sign, smiling lightly. The boy was slouching more than usual and his eyes were more tired than Oliver’s. Olly soon frowned when he realized.
“You’re sick,” he said bluntly, looking over him worriedly. Not that he looked awful, not at all. But he was pale and he looked unkempt and tire seemed to overrule his physical appearance. He wondered what he could be thinking right now.

[Max]

“Hey…” Theo said softly when he heard Olly's greeting. A familiar warmth flooded him when Oliver was with him. The feeling that they could handle anything and everything that was sent their way. Oliver was his best friend, nothing could change that. At least that's what he had thought a while ago, now he wasn't so sure. Hunching into his jacket he looked up from above his collar at his best friend. He'd been so excited to see Oliver he hadn't really thought about what he wanted to say to him. it felt like his brain was stuffed with cotton and he couldn't think of anything. He'd never felt like he didn't know what to say around his friend before but it seem to be happening more and more often. He couldn't help but wonder if the night on the roof had ruined their friendship beyond repair. He wanted be more than just friends with Oliver now but he didn't want to lose what they had. Their friendship was a special one and that kiss could ruin it. Was it possible to be in love with your best friend? Would they still be your best friend than? In all the movies the characters had their best friend and their lover, they were never the same person.

He never cared before what he looked like around his friend, But now he couldn't help but feel a little bit self-conscious about how he looked. He knew that with his tangled hair, and pale cheeks he looks like an absolute wreck. He didn't really feel much better than he looked.
“ it's nothing.” He replied flippantly. It was probably just a cold and he'd get over it in a few days. What he was more worried about right now was talking to his best friend. coughing into his arm he took the deepest breath you could and looked down at his feet for a long while.
“ we need to talk about last night.” He said finally. shoving his hands into his pockets, he began to walk down the street. From his house it wasn't a crazy long walk to school but he didn't want to be late. Plus moving around made him feel less nervous about talking. All he could think about was Oliver’s lips on his.
“Do you like me?” he finally managed to get out.
“What about Rory?" He looked over at Oliver, his eyes looking glassy and tired.

[[deleted user]]

Oliver could tell that Theo was sick; he knew this because Oliver would always tease him for it, comparing it to how he must be if he were ever hungover. That was never the case, though, and was always rather a simply bug. Olly would always mess with him a bit about that before trying to nurture him better as the boy complained about being cold and tried to ignore the virus. Theo always made him feel better and he only hoped he did the same.

Walking alongside him, they began on their usual route to school, although it felt strange this time. Understandable. It was strange because Oliver was conscious of the distance between them and timing when his hand swung at his side to avoid touch. It was strange because Oliver was worrying if he looked okay in the appearance of his best friend and if he was acting his usual. Both of them knew that something had settled between them

Luckily, Theo managed to break the silence with words that needed to be said. Oliver’s head quirked up at the words, clearly surprised.
“What?” he queried, not prepared for what Theo has said. His cheeks flushed red as he processed his question and shook his head, not to answer his question, but to disguise the fluster from his face. It didn’t work.
“Oh, I don’t know, Theo,” he mumbled, wishing he could just dismiss it all. But he knew he couldn’t, not when it had been taking over his mind ever since yesterday on the roof. Hell, had he even questioned it beforehand? He wasn’t even sure at this point. Oliver’s lips on Theo’s felt more real than anything he had ever felt. It was different from Rory, he was sure of that.
Oliver turned to cut a quick glance to Theo and felt terrible for the absent response he gave the tired boy who was so eager to know. Honestly, Oliver was eager to know too. But his mind was running rampant with confused thoughts regarding his best friend that he could barely comprehend it all. He didn’t know, and he knew Theo deserved a better answer than that.

[Max]

Theo kept his arms tucked into his pockets, avoiding any contact with his best friend. He was honestly just doing that because he didn't want to get Oliver sick too, but he also didn't feel as comfortable with physical contact as he used to with Olly. Sniffling slightly he coughed into the collar of his jacket, wincing as the coughing hurt his sore throat. Trying to keep Oliver from getting sick when he was ill had always been a problem. His friend would always come over anyways with movies as distractions, boxed chicken soup, Tylenol, Advil and any other thing that could possibly nurture him back to health. The idea of "quarantine" obviously didn't work with his best friend. Right now though, Theo wasn't sure if he could spend time with his friend though without getting answers first. He needed to know what the night had meant to them, what it meant for them now.

The sidewalk was on a slight incline on the way to school and despite never noticing it before, Theo had to concentrate on walking up the little incline now. His stuffed up nose meant that breathing was a lot harder. He was beginning to suspect he had the flu, but his house was close enough that if he really did get sick he could just walk back home. So instead of turning back and going back to bed he continued to walk silently beside Olly, waiting for him to answer.

"That's not an answer Olly." His gaze flickered up to Oliver before shifting away as they reached the front of the school. The didn't have first period together but they usually parted ways at Theo's classroom. Today though, Theo spotted a few of Olly's friends approaching him and decided to slip away.
"Tell me when you have a real answer for me." He said, suddenly feeling spiteful and angry. Pulling open the school doors and disappeared inside.
"Hey Clark! Party at my place this weekend." A few kids came up, one of them thumping him on the back in that aggressive "dude" way.
"See you there." One of them crowed out before they headed into the school too. By than Theo was long gone, heading off to his chemistry class. He felt a little bit better when he finally got to sit down, resting his head on the table and he breathed out a silent breath of relief as a substitute teacher came into the class. That meant he wouldn't have to do any work.

[[deleted user]]

The entirety of their short walk felt entirely too elongated, which would have been preferred on any other day. Now the tension and isolation that was between them was invasive. Theo was short and blunt with him, even with his apparent sickness. It was so unlike him, and that was what made this problem so much bigger than it may be. Or maybe it was the biggest problem the boy was encountering because Theo was his best friend and he feared losing him now more than ever. Olly wished he had infinite time to think about the question for his best friend’s sake. But he didn’t know, and that was the exact problem. Oliver would do anything to fix that.

Theo’s words had Olly’s brows furrowed and his eyes crinkled, confused with the sudden and spiteful reaction that he pulled from his best friend. He shook his head and stepped in his direction as he quickly walked ahead.
“Theo-“ he started, wanting to pull him back in front of him and tell him what he was feeling, how frustrated and afraid and desperate he wanted to show Theo this confusion. That he wanted to do something to fix this but he was too stuck in the inbetween to think right. But the boy had weaved his way past the other exhausted students dragging their feet down the hallways, out of his sight in seconds.
It was only seconds later in midst of Olly’s defeat when some of his other friends approached him and the moment they did, he was met with the usual thud in between his shoulder blades and a welcoming voice that he knew all too well. He supposed they couldn’t see the emotion in his eyes because everything felt like a normal day, and Oliver’s should just treat it like that. He eventually smiled at the welcoming invitation and nodded, turning around and glancing up at them.
“Guess I’ll have to see you guys there,” he agreed. “I’ll crush your asses in pong again.”

First period was torture for the mere reason of Oliver’s mind on overdrive now. He couldn’t even convince himself to cut class; all he did was sit at his desk and think. Sitting alone with the apologies he wanted to say and the assurances he wanted to tell was absolute hell. So when the bell rings forty minutes later, Olly leaped out of his seat with his backpack sling around one shoulder, needing to get out of that quiet work environment.

[Max]

Chemistry had never felt more boring. The substitute was one of those teacher who didn't submit to the understanding that they weren't actually going to have any control of the classroom. She tried to keep the talking under control and actually teach them stuff, which always failed. Theo usually joked around in classes with subs since he knew that the teacher would just go over the same stuff when she came back. Today though he kept his head low, literally. He buried his head into his arms and closed his senses against the dull chatter of students and the bright lights of the class. He was shivering although the school was always overheated and he burrowed further into his sweater, trying to warm up. When the teacher called on him to answer a question, he had no idea what they were even talking about and stared at her dumbly until she chose someone else. Theo was always the kid who had the answer even when he wasn't paying attention, so a few kids snickered at his obvious inability to do so today. The clock ticked so slowly that Theo wasn't even sure the hands were moving, but eventually the bell rang and Theo dragged himself out of his seat. He had class with Olly now. He didn't want to see the other boy. He was dying to see him. He didn't know how he felt at all. He did know that he could hardly breath, his chest and lungs aching painfully every time he tried to breath.

Once he got into the hallway, everything got worse. The world swum before his eyes and he staggered down the hallway, running into people or tripping over his own feet. He couldn't see straight. He was almost at his classroom and he was desperate to sit down when the world suddenly spun before him. He put out an arm against a wall to brace himself from falling. He couldn't breath anymore, at all. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could he fell into a dead faint.

((Sorry if that was too soon. I didn't know what else to write.))

[[deleted user]]

((no, that was perfect (: ))

It was break to second period and yet the hallways were already buzzing louder than usual. It almost seemed like a typical school day besides that. Although a few people waved in his direction, Oliver’s hands remained clutched to his backpack straps as he searched for Theo. He usually met him beside the door of his classroom if they didn’t spot eachother before then, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. A twinge of hurt flooded through his mind — he probably didn’t want to be near him unless he had formulated his thoughts into words. But before he knew it, the taller boy was meters away and hope seemed to be restored.
“Theo,” Oliver called after his friend, anxious to speak to him now. Speak to him about who knows what and apologize for anything and everything he had done wrong. He didn’t even know what he was going to say, or how Theo would respond. Would he even speak to him? He had no clue and he realized st this point how far his mind has spiraled. He shook his head out of his thoughts, just as the boy collapsed on the floor meters away.

Oliver was at his side in seconds, muttering worried swears as he fell to his knees on the school floor and held Theo, fiercely protective of his best friend. He held his shoulders firmly and constantly made sure nobody was going near them.
“Hey, Theo?” he susserated, chewing on his lip as he looked over the features on his face. His eyes were flickering in and out of consciousness, it seemed. He was warm, his heat radiating off of him. Theo was almost always cool in comparison to Oliver’s warmth, so this was new.

“You’re sick,” he repeated, the same blunt way as before. But no worries it was different in a sense. Oliver’s throat felt clogged up, as if he were a kid again and punished for something, the same feeling you felt right before you began to cry. He certainly wasn’t going to cry, but his worry was begond what one would expect. Was he hurt, what was he thinking? Was he okay?

[Max]

The world continued to spin around him even though his eyes were closed. Theo felt like he was falling even though the floor was hard beneath his back. When his eyes fluttered open he just saw a blurr of colour above him and then back again. He kept slipping into darkness over and over again before waking up for a few seconds at a time. His head felt like it was on fire and his lips were dry and chapped. Finally his eyes opened for longer than a few seconds and he stared at the person above him. It was Oliver of course. His best friend was always there for him, no matter what. Always. In the back of his mind he knew that something had changed between him and Olly but he couldn't remember it. Tossing that nagging feeling away he groaned slightly before dragging in a deep breath. He still felt like he couldn't breathe. Like each breath was pulling water into his lungs. In, out. In, out. He focused on breathing, staring up at Oliver while he did so.
"I don't feel so great." He murmured finally once he had enough breath in his lungs to speak.
"Can we go watch a movie. We always watch movies when i'm sick." He said childishly, sitting up slightly. Managing to sit up all the way, he sat with his back against the hallway wall and rubbed a hand over his eyes. Dark circles surrounded his eyes and his cheeks were flushed with fever. There was a commotion around them, but Theo was too tired to look around. Students peered at him with concern but he had eyes only for his friend. Finally the school nurse arrived on the scene, crouching down next to Oliver.

"I didn't think I was that sick..." He explained to the nurse, becoming a bit more lucid in his thoughts. He finally was realizing what was happening and openly glared at the kids who were still trying to see what had happened to him. Unlike Olly he didn't like being the center of attention. Having people stare at him was not pleasant.

[[deleted user]]

If Oliver wasn’t worried before, he was certainly worried now. Snagging his lip with his teeth perpetually, he didn’t even notice when the taste of blood infiltrated his mouth solely because he was too focused on watching Theo slip in and out of consciousness for a minute’s time. Then the boy’s eyes fully opened and he groaned and Oliver couldn’t have been more relieved.

“Holy fuck, you scared me,” he sighed, his own eyes filled to the brim with worry. He kept his hands on his shoulders, afraid to let go. Afraid it would lead to the same thing happening all over again and he wouldn’t know what to do that time if he wasn’t okay.
A breathy laugh managed to escape Olly’s mouth through his worries as Theo offered to watch movies like they always did. He nodded, helping him sit up until he looked okay.
“Yeah,” he said, the quirk of a smile reappearing across his lips. Too many feelings surfacing in his mind when he saw Theo’s.“Yeah, we can go watch a movie.”
He began to notice Theo’s eyes shift, leading to Oliver quickly turn around to see what was bothering him. Sure enough, a crowd of students were standing over the incident. That caused a scowl to spread over Oliver’s expression, frustrated that this was what he had to worry about.
“Fuck off, will you?” he snarled, glancing up at them to show his utter annoyance at them. They weren’t helping, they had never talked to Theo and even Olly, so what were they doing standing there? The school nurse offered a stern look to Oliver, but he didn’t mind. It certainly caused students to scamper away to their next class.

“Can you stand?” he queried, offering a hand out when Theo sat up carefully. He still looked sick. Pale, discolored, exhausted, mussed. Still looked pretty.

[Max]

((I'm thinking that Theo has Tuberculosis? He would obviously get treated and he would be alright but the thing about TB is that it can flare up when someone's immune system is weakened because of stress or other things. It could add a little bit of tension to the rest of the plot))

[[deleted user]]

((good idea! i actually really like that))

[Max]

Theo frowned, his dark eyes filled with regret when Oliver said that he'd scared him.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you..." He trailed off before sucking in another deep breath. he felt like his lungs were filled with cotton and he couldn't breath properly. Taking another few breathes he steadied himself before taking Oliver's hand.
"Yeah.." He breathed out before squeezing his eyes shut for a long second.
"Okay." He groaned and stood up with another breath. The world spun and tilted with his movements and everything dotted black for a second before righting itself. Bracing himself against the wall he took in a few ragged breaths, forcing a smile when he looked at Olly. He didn't want to worry his friend. His head ached and he could feel his pulse in his temple but he could breath a little clearer now. He still felt like he wasn't getting enough oxygen into his lungs but it didn't feel like he was suffocating so that was a good sign.

Taking his arm away from the wall, Theo frowned in concentration as he regained his balance and then finally took a really long look at Oliver.
"I think I should, uh, go see a doctor." He mumbled, still feeling a little bit out of it. His mind was filled with fog and he couldn't shake it away. The nurse nodded slightly and gently moved between Oliver and Theo.
"I'm going to get Theo here to the hospital to make sure everything is alright." She said softly. She could see the worry in Olly's eyes. She didn't want to separate the two friends but the hospital probably wouldn't let the boy into the room anyways if they decided to give Theo some tests. Theo didn't say anything, just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. He was still too out of it to argue on Olly's behalf. Students were staring from windows of classrooms but no one stopped to look anymore, not after Oliver yelled at them.

((Should we timeskip to Olly maybe visiting Theo in the hospital the day after?))

[[deleted user]]

Before he knew it, Theo was standing and smiling to Oliver. It was peculiar: he was wavering on his own feet and he slouched to the point where they were the same height, but he had shot a smile in his direction and now Olly didn’t know what to do and how to react. He could just barely see through the smile and recognize the pain Theo was feeling underneath, causing his own heart to break and for the anxiety to fill his own eyes even further. He wanted to help him because he knew he was hurting, but he couldn’t do much, especially when the nurse wedged herself in between the two best friends and placed a hand gently on Theo’s back to keep him steady.

“Right,” he said, nodding slowly. He knew that leaving Theo like this was inevitable with how sick he appeared, but he wanted to deny it because he didn’t want Theo to feel this way. He didn’t deserve to get so sick and then feel obliged to hide it so nobody would have to worry. But Oliver could see and he was going to worry shamelessly about his best friend until he was alright.
“I’ll see you?” he said as Theo was guided by the nurse away from the remaining crowd, away from Oliver. He knew they wouldn want him in the hospital while they were treating him and hebrew was recovering with whatever he had. But that wasn’t going to rest his worry until he knew Theo was alright, and he’s certainly wasn’t with the way he was walking.

•

Two movies, a sprite, and takeout from the fast food place a couple streets down in his hands, Oliver had found his way inside the hospital immediately after school, even skipping the last twenty minutes of the school day so he could make the most out of his visit to Theo. He had never left his mind since yesterday. The woman at the front desk gave him directions down the hall to where Theo was being treated, and Oliver was beyond anxious to just see his face again and know that he was okay. Which was why he probably looked ridiculous with his missed but hair and plethoras if items in his arms as he shuffled down the hallway until he found the correct room number, the door already ajar.
“Hey...” he said softly, knocking quietly on the door as it opened further. And surely enough, Theo was there and awake and not looking a secret pale a smile he did the day before.

[Max]

It didn’t take long for the medical tests to spit out an answer to why he was sick. Unfortunately, instead of being diagnosed with a cough or something simple like he had hoped, the doctors told him that he had TB. One of Theo’s favourite subjects was biology, and they had vaguely touched on that illness but not really. What he did know about it though was that soldiers used to get it on the war front, and that most didn’t survive. That freaked him out. Dying had always been a sort of abstract thing for him. Sure, eventually you died. He had never been that bothered by the notion of death since it wasn’t like life was that great either but with death actually being a serious option right now, he was terrified. He has a lovely mom who worked like hell to keep them in their house. He had Oliver... he didn’t know what happened after you died, but the idea of being in a whole different world than Olly was scared him more than anything. Luckily all the freaking out had been for no reason and the doctors had promised that if there were no complications, some antibiotics would do the job.

When Olly came in, Theo assumed it was his mom at first. She had been worried sick about him but couldn’t afford to take a day off, but she had promised to visit right after work. When he realized it was Oliver though, a grin spread across his sharp features.
“Hey there stranger.” He said softly. He couldn’t talk too loud right now from all the coughing. Sitting up he patted the space beside him on the bed for Olly to come sit on. All the misgivings from the day before and his anger at Oliver we’re gone and he was just happy to see his best friend.

[[deleted user]]

The grin that bloomed across Theo’s face made Oliver’s heart melt. Even though he was pale with sickness and some curls stuck to his forehead from fever and his eyes were droopy with exhaustion, he still smiled brightly for him and it made his day. Olly couldn’t help but return his own crooked beam as he stepped further into the room, letting the door drop ajar behind him.

“You look much better than yesterday,” he commented simply, the words catching in his throat near the end because he realized that could’ve been interpreted badly. “I mean, not that you looked bad in the first place.” Great, that made things worse. His cheeks warmed but he ignored the feeling, walking over to his bed when prompted and sitting on the edge of the thin mattress. He was still guilty for angering his best friend the previous day, but he tried to vindicate the matter and just experience the present. Oliver was more relieved than anything that Theo was alright; he didn’t know what he would’ve done otherwise. Theo made up so much of him that he would practically be empty, yet Theo was also doc different from him and Oliver would never experience something new again if Theo were to be far from fine. Noticing the anxieties rampaging in his mind, he stubbornly shook his head to himself out of the thoughts and looked back to his best friend, a hopeful and sweet dimpled smile illuminating his face once more at the sight of him doing better.

“This stranger brought you food. I don’t know if you’re allowed to eat or anything, but I just grabbed some stuff from the fry place you like a few streets away,” he explained, displaying the fast food bag before setting it on the small cheap table beside the bed. Oliver had yet to actually drive legally— he was sort of waiting until he was 18 because he couldn’t afford driving school— so walking to the hospital was a bit of a hassle, but the half hour was worth it to see the smile across his best friend’s face.

“How are you holding up?” he eventually asked, dying to know. He already knew about the disease he had gotten and was severely worried when Theo first texted him about it, but it turned out all would be back to normal in a matter of weeks and he would be released from the hospital soon.

[Max]

Seeing Oliver smile was enough for Theo's mood to perk up a little bit. He was exhausted and woozy with all the medication that he had been given in the past few hours. He felt like he was half part human and half part drugs at this point. But seeing Olly rejuvenated his energy and he felt more awake than he had in hours. Leaning against the metal headrest of the bed he turned away suddenly, coughing violently. Most of the medicine he had been taking was to stop the disease from spreading. TB was extremely contagious and the first order of business was to make sure that Theo couldn't give it to anyone else. So, while he wasn't contagious anymore he was still coughing a lot. Grabbing a tissue from the side table he curled up almost in half. When he drew away there was blood on the cloth.
"Sorry." He said softly, crumpling it up in his fist. The doctors had told him not to worry about the blood, it was from a rip from coughing so much. It would heal eventually.
"You don't have to tell me I look good. I know I do." He said with a tired grin. Theo did actually know he was good looking but it was nice to know that Olly found him handsome. It made him blush when his friend complimented him now.

"Oh yes! Food!" Theo lunged over to the bag of fast food. He was allowed to eat whatever he wanted but his mom had brought only healthy stuff. He was looking forward to some greasy goodness. Opening the bag he eagerly unwrapped a burger and bit into it.
"You having any?" He asked, offering Oliver a bite while licking mustard from his fingers on his other hand. He was even more hungry than he had originally thought. Now that there was food in his system though he was realizing just how long it had been since he had eaten a real meal. He paused at Olly's question.
"I'm not dying... so that's good. They say that they can fix it... but it might come back later." He shrugged and took another more thoughtful bite of his burger. He didn't really understand what they had been telling him. All he knew was that he was going to be okay for now but that it could come back later. For now though the antibiotics would keep it at bay.
"I'm really glad you came to visit." Theo didn't have many other friends and those he had wouldn't have made the time to visit him. Leaning against Olly's shoulder he sighed softly, his breath hitching unevenly before smoothing out again.

[[deleted user]]

((im SO sorry for this taking so long. lack of inspiration really hit me hard. hope this isn’t too sucky!))

Theo smiled and Olly smiled, an indicator that everything was okay in life when they were both happy. But soon the tranquil moment and realization halted when the sick boy had to turn away sharply, a coughing fit beginning. Oliver soon swore under his breath and chewed on his lip, worried— who wouldn’t be? A glance of maroon splayed on the tissue was enough to upset Oliver more. He knew this was all part of the sickness that had found his way to Theo though, so he suppressed all of this to the best of his ability.
“Damn, good thing you already know. Thought you’d deserve a reminder though,” he teased, looking over Theo’s sick features. His hair was tangled, more so than usual. All of his mannerisms were as if he were about to fall asleep right then, and maybe he was. He could still see his best friend through the nearly-empty eyes, though.

“I’m okay. I figured you would be craving fast food more than me,” he teased, chuckling softly and looking back to him. Theo was scarfing down the food he had just given him as if he were being starved here, which obviously wasn’t the case with the healthy foods on the side table, presumably from Theo’s mother.

“I’m really glad to see you doing alright,” he replied, and things felt normal again for a moment. He forgot what that felt like, ever since the night on the roof where he felt his breath hitch as if someone caught it and where he felt butterflies reach up his throat.
“When do they have you getting out of here, huh?” he asked nervously, not realizing when his lower lip returned caught in his teeth. He wanted some quantitative assurance that Theo was okay after the sight of blood in the tissue, some relief as to when things would return to normal because it hadn’t felt like normal in so long.
His cheeks burned when Theo leaned in his shoulder, but it was a good fluster that made him smile lightly. Good thing the other boy couldn’t see. The little things were what worried him, like the slight tremor in his movement and the hitch of his breath and everything. Theo needed to be okay, if not for his own sake then for Olly’s.

[Max]

((It's totally fine!))

Theo's pale face flushed again at Olly's words. There was something different about Olly calling him handsome. It had never mattered to Theo what he looked like. Sure once and a while it was nice to be sort of good looking, it got you places in life. But now, when Oliver called him handsome it made Theo's cheeks feel warm and his heart flutter softly. He couldn't tell if those feelings were just from the meds he was taking, but he was pretty sure it was because of his best friend.

"Mhm. That was amazing." Theo announced as he finished off the last bit of his burger. Nothing like greasy food to make your day a little bit better. His mother would probably have a fit when she found out that he hadn't eaten any of her healthy food, but all of Olly's disgustingly fatty foods. She was a nurse and knew all about nutrition and all that.
"Oh they said a few days is all. They need to make sure all the meds are right and then I can go." He shrugged. He was restless to get out of here. He didn't like sitting around in bed all day.

"How have you been? Sorry for causing all that commotion at school." He looked up at Oliver with a worried look in his eyes. His gaze trailed down to Olly's lips where his friends was biting down on his bottom lip, a nervous trait.
"Stop it Olly." He said with affection.
"You're going to make your lips bleed." Sitting up he suddenly leaned over and kissed Oliver again, forcing him to stop biting his lip.

[[deleted user]]

“You don’t have to apologize,” he quickly insisted with a wave of his hand, pushing the thought aside. He didn’t want Theo to be apologetic for the sickness that came overboard him so suddenly and landing him in the hospital. But Oliver honestly did not know how he himself has been, considering so much going on mentally. It was difficult to solely focus on certain things anymore when everything’s yet nothing seems to matter.
Before he could open his mouth to actually respond to his true question, he wasn’t met with the softest, most gentle scold. He never noticed the lip-biting until he would bring a hand up to his face and there was blood on his fingertips. But Theo was there to reprimand him anyway, whether that be or a good or bad thing. Oliver didn’t know.

“They’re not gonna-“ Their lips connected once more and Oliver melted into the touch immediately. He relaxed and brought a hand up to cup his cheek before it carded carefully through his hair and let his thoughts run rampant. Kissing the boy was like finding out a secret you weren’t supposed to know, conflicted with both the pride and guilt in knowing. Knowing that Theo knew and vice versa.

His eyes were wide and his cheeks were pink when he pulled back suddenly, the same expression as the first and second and whenever time. He didn’t know when the feeling would fade away from his face, if ever. Not that he should be moving forward with his actions, anyway.

Sitting back up in his seat, Oliver rested his head against the chair and looked up at the ceiling. Boring old white with paint smudges spattering the tile. And yet the simple pattern wasn’t enough to distract him from what had just happened.
“Theo.”The tone in his voice was unsure, and even he himself didn’t know his intentions.

[Max]

Despite having kissed Oliver before, Theo was still surprised when Olly didn't pull away from him. He hadn't even known that his best friend liked boys until a little while ago and he wasn't sure that Oliver had known that either. He still expected Oliver to suddenly get angry and tell him to stop. After all, he still had a girlfriend. That made Theo feel horrible. He was sort of glad when Oliver pulled away. He wasn't sure that he would have been able to stop kissing him if he hadn't. Theo had kissed plenty of people, he fooled around all the time at parties. But this felt different, it didn't feel just fun, it felt right. He was so familiar with everything about Oliver that it just felt natural for this to happen.

The feeling of Oliver's hands through his hair and on his cheek made Theo want to melt into him. With people like Alex it was always just passion. Wild, but it was nothing more than that. They had their fun and parted ways. With Oliver, just touching his hand was enough to make Theo's heart flutter in his chest. But he didn't want to part ways at the end of the day, he wanted to see Olly every day for the rest of his life. He had always wanted that, as best friends but now he wanted it maybe as more than that. It all just depended on what Oliver wanted though.

"I'm sorry." Theo murmured, laying back down against his pillow. Hesitantly he took Oliver's hand and intertwined their fingers. They did that all the time. People always made fun of them for being so touchy together and sometimes they even teased Rory for it.
"You liked it though didn't you?" He asked, his big brown eyes boring into Olly's. He just wanted to know what his best friend was thinking. He had known Oliver for long enough that sometimes he could know what he was thinking without even saying anything. Sometimes they had entire conversations with just glances at each other from across the room, it came in handy during classes or busy parties. But now he had no idea what his friend was thinking and it scared him.

[[deleted user]]

The moment Oliver garnered the courage to look down from the hospital ceiling and look at Theo, he knew he couldn’t look away—light met dark as they stared at eachother expectantly, searching desperately for an answer to all of this. Oliver’s eyes had dissipated any affection that once filled them and were replaced with fear because he did not know how to manage everything happening mentally and even in front of him. Opened his mouth to speak, then shut it.

“It’s okay,” he eventually stammered in a mumble, glancing down at his hands which had finally resorted to fidgeting instead of his terrible lip biting, but he began to do that as well affer a while.

He flinched when Theo touched his hand and enlaced their fingers, but didn’t pull away. Doing that with his best friend was always second nature, but it began to feel much more isolated from the rest of the world. Olly didn’t like isolated.

And the question that followed killed him. His self-inflection was gnawing away at his mind ever since he first thought of the concept of liking the boy beside him. Now he was freaking the fuck out and at a complete loss for words. It was no wonder that the only response was one more loving kiss, leaning close and tilting Theo’s head and letting their lips press against one another for a second before pulling away again anxiously. It was like a dream he couldn’t wake up from. Time nearly froze until a sheepish admittance left from his lips. “I don’t know what to do.”

[Max]

If Oliver hadn't realized how terrified Theo was, the desperation in his dark brown eyes should have been enough for him to realize just how scared Theo was. Theo flirted all the time. Every boy he felt comfortable flirting with, he did. He didn't even care if they were straight or not, he flirted anyways. It was fun, like his version of an adrenaline rush instead of a roller coaster. But this wasn't flirting. This was Theo putting his heart out on the line. He had a very fragile heart whether or not people realized it and it wasn't often that he let someone so close. But Oliver was his best friend, he knew every quirk and every fault of his and Theo knew that he couldn't hide anything from him. Olly had the power to crush his heart right now. So when Oliver looked back at him with plain fear in his eyes, Theo could feel his heart break into pieces. He had been risking everything with trying to see what would happen with this new romantic spark. He had been risking his happiness, their friendship and worst of all, he had been risking Oliver's happiness. The contentment of his friend was the most important thing in Theo's life. He didn't care much about anything else as long as Olly was happy. Often he made a total fool out of himself just to make Oliver smile or laugh.

Theo looked away at the floor, the hand that wasn't in Olly's clenching tightly around the bed sheets when he saw his friend flinch. Never in his entire life had Theo imagined that Olly would flinch away from him. They were best friends, they weren't afraid of each other. Some days when Theo was in a bad mood, he could be a total devil. He was mean and sarcastic and sometimes physically pushy but Oliver had always seemed to know how to deal with that. He had never been afraid, but now he looked like a dear caught in headlights. Theo was sure that their relationship was ruined. They couldn't go back to being friends like before, it would be awkward and strange. But then Oliver kissed him.

He could feel the warmth coming off of his friend and Theo leaned in slightly into the feeling. He felt like he was melting, he always felt that way when they kissed. He looked at Olly earnestly when he drew away before cracking a small smile.
"You're so fucking confusing." He said in a laughing tone. He shook his head and curled his knees up to his chest and smiled again. Leaning in again he kissed Oliver slowly, savouring it. His friend could push away at any time but Theo was happy to take that risk now. Everything stopped for a second, and then Theo's mom walked into the room.

[[deleted user]]

Their brown eyes bored into each other while inches apart, and they managed to look so identical and yet so strikingly different. Oliver was so focused on those eyes, trying to decide which was more accurate. He must've gotten lost in them because Theo's words that followed their kiss made him jump again. Oliver smiled sheepishly in response and watched the boy shift in his seat for the sake of comfort.
This was not ideal. Oliver didn't plan on these confusing feelings to ever crash right in front of him, but that was exactly what was happening. And he had practically lost control.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, a similar laughing tone implied. He didn't know what to do with himself and that loss of inhibition was so unfamiliar and horrifying. "I'm sorry, Theo. I... don't know what to do," he repeated it, as if it meant something else to say it again. But they were still so close to each other and breathing the same breath and interlocking the same eyes.

Before he knew it, Theo shoved his face into Olly's and they were kissing again. Oliver was unable to open his mouth and fully express just how terrified he was, and he had practically given up trying. So he opened his mouth and kissed Theo back instead.
Oliver tilted his chin, wanting more of the kiss they were already sharing. He didn't give an inch as he was enveloped in a sweet and slow kiss. He wanted it to feel like home-- home wasn't where your heart raced 1000 miles a minute, though.

The moment the door swung open to the hospital room, the deer in the headlights image never looked more identical to Olly. And it wasn't long until Oliver grabbed Theo's shoulders and pulled away. When they broke apart, Oliver was frozen. And immediately hurt by the situation that had manifested before them. Theo's mother stood in the doorway expectantly.

[[deleted user]]

((hey b! i've missed you and our cute boys!))

[Max]

((Hey! Welcome back. Reading Catcher in the Rye for the second time btw!

I don't quite know how I want to continue this so I thought I'd ask you. Okay, here are the thoughts.

-One, Theo's mother is totally against their relationship. She doesn't want Theo to get romantically involved with Olly for whatever reason

-Two, something to do with Theo's dad coming to visit and absolutely hating Oliver.

-Three, something to do with Olly's family?

Let me know what you think!))

[[deleted user]]

((So glad to hear from you again! And so glad to hear that youre reading my absolute favorite once more ^-^ i picked it up again yesterday too!


And I really like two or three, those would have a lot of substance. I'm not too sure what it could be with Olly's family, but surely we could figure it out.))