We Won't Regret This

The look on Garrett's face encouraged John to muster up every bit of confidence he had. Taking Pat's hand in his, he let his gaze fall on their intertwined fingers. He lifted his eyes to meet Garrett's as he began speaking, "You guys... you guys are the greatest people I know and my best friends in the world. I hope this doesn't change anything. I'm still the same John, and Pat is still the same Pat. He and I have been together for months and I am so in love with him. You said you'd always be there for me, I hope that's still true."

No one spoke for a while, everyone's eyes surveyed one another as Pat rubbed comforting circles on the back of John's hand with his thumb. Jared was the first to speak.

"Well... I certainly didn't see that coming."

That seemed to break the silence as everyone began talking at once. Aaron next spoke up, "So, does this mean you're gay?"

John and Pat exchanged a glance and this time it was Pat who spoke, "Not really. I mean, John and I have talked about it and we've realized we're only attracted to each other."

Scrutinizing their faces, Pat noted how uncomfortable Kennedy looked when he snuggled closer to John. It was then that Kennedy spoke up, "I'm totally cool with all of this, but John, your face is grossing me out."

When John left to wash off his face, Garrett took his now-vacated seat next to Pat.

"You punched him in the face?" Pat asked incredulously.

"Hell yeah," Garrett replied, "he was being a total dick. Did you hear us yelling out there? He totally deserved it."

Pat nodded and Garrett smiled, "No one fucks with my best friend and gets away with it."

Jared approached the table and took a seat next to Pat.

"You knew about this?" he asked, nodded in the bassist's direction.

Garrett grinned, "Yeah, I kinda found out by accident."

Jared shook his head, "This is weird, dude. I mean, I'm 100% cool with it, but it totally came out of the blue."

Garrett shrugged, "I guess it was like that for me at first too, but now it's totally normal to me."

Pat stood up, "I'm sorry if this is weird for any of you guys," he smiled, "but if you're gonna be an asshole, Gary's gonna punch you."

Garrett laughed, "Fuck yeah, I will."

Nudging his best friend to move, Pat went to see if John was okay in the bathroom. He found his boyfriend staring at his reflection in the mirror above the sink, his face now mostly blood-free. Wrapping his arms around the taller boy's skinny waist, Pat stood on tippy-toe and pressed a light kiss to John's neck as he whispered, "I love you."

Smiling, John turned and leaned down to softly kiss his boyfriend, "I love you too."

"This is gonna be weird, isn't it?" Pat asked when they pulled away, "Everyone is gonna know. I don't know if I'm ready for that."

John nodded, "We can get through it, together. Nothing could make me want to be apart from you."

Pat's heart swelled at his boyfriend's words and he lunged forward, capturing his mouth in a heated kiss once more.

"It's gonna be hard," John whispered, "but we won't regret this."