Never Back Down

It's been weeks since Snowden and I started talking a lot again. It was nice to be talking to him again and even though we were friends I was perfectly okay with it.

Honestly.

Snowden was an amazing guy and being friends with him was great. I rarely had any romantic feelings towards him anymore. We were getting closer as friends and things were going great.
I was currently sitting on the couch in my parents’ house watching 'A Christmas Story' with them. It was a family tradition with us. Being home for the holidays was one of my favorite things out of the whole year. My mom was an amazing cook and I loved spending time with everyone. I rarely got to see my crazy family since I moved to L.A. So the time I got to spend with them was always welcome.

My mom came into the room then with hot chocolate for everyone. I took a long sip from my mug and sighed happily at its warmth.

"So Andy you going to be sticking around long enough for New Years. We got some great fireworks to set off this year. "

I looked at my dad and smiled. Hearing about our yearly tradition of fireworks on New Year's Eve made me want to stay but I had already promised to be somewhere else.

Before I could speak my brother did, "Nope Andy's gonna be going to see that guy in Ashwood that he's crazy about."

I looked at my brother with wide eyes and started to contemplate his murder. My dad laughed from the other side of the room before speaking, "Well maybe next year. Be safe in Ashwood now. "

My mouth opened and closed many times before I was able to speak.

"What! No Snowden and I are just friends! I'm only going for a day or two anyway. And it's mainly to see Ashwood at winter. I'm over Snowden!"

My brother just laughed before punching my arm, "Sure you are. You wouldn't be getting all defensive if you didn't like him still. "

I punched my brother in return before going back to drinking my hot chocolate and watching the movie.

Of course I didn't still have strong feelings for Snowden.

I didn't.



Today was the 29th of December and I was getting ready to pack up my car and drive to Ashwood.

I was excited to see Snowden again and to see if Ashwood was as beautiful as he said it was. My car was all packed up with gifts and food. My mom had insisted I bring food with me to Snowden's.
After saying goodbye to my parents and brother I got Keely strapped into her harness and seatbelt. This way she was safe in case we got in a wreck. I slid behind the wheel and started my car.

Right before I left I shot Snowden a text saying I was leaving my house and I would be there in a few hours.

The drive was long and tiring but I loved driving through the country and seeing the beautiful landscape. Sure, I loved being in cities too but sometimes I missed being back home and around nature so much.

The closer to Ashwood I got the more excited I started to become. I was happy to be seeing Snowden again and I didn’t know why my stomach was starting to get twisted around into knots. My feelings for Snowden had stopped a long time ago and they hadn’t come back so why were they coming back now? The entire drive my mind kept running back to him and I was really starting to hate it.

My family had been giving me a hard time over Snowden and my impromptu trip to Ashwood when I’ve really had it planned since Snowden and I started talking again. However, I did fail to mention how I was going to be staying at Snowden’s place and not at a hotel like I had told them originally.
If they had found out that piece of information I would have been in for it even more so than I already was. I had been getting enough of it from the guys in the band already so I just didn’t want to hear it from my family also. My parents had no problem with me being gay and wanting to see guys and everything. They just wanted me to be happy and though it took some getting used to for them they were able to finally come to terms with it around the time my band started to make it big.

My family was amazing and I loved them to death. They were all so supportive of me and whatever I wanted to do with my life that it made me feel bad to think how Snowden’s mom wasn’t. Snowden never really told me what was going on between him and his mom but I just have a feeling it has to do with Snowden being gay. I doubt he would ever tell me what it really was but I just knew it had something to do with that. That tends to be a sore spot between parents and their kids anyway.

Glancing out at the road signs I saw just how close I was to Snowden and my heart started racing. I hope he likes what I got him for Christmas. He said he didn’t want anything but I still wanted to get him something as a peace offering and a way to say sorry for being so annoying when we first met. I know how much Snowden likes hats so I got him a new top hat that I’m pretty sure he will love complete with a hat box for him to store his hats in. The guys all pitched in for a gift as well from all of them. They had gotten him some new indie cds that they hoped he’d like. Snowden was into a lot of that style music so hopefully he’ll like them and give them a shot.

By now the sun was starting to set and I was pulling into Ashwood. I smiled wide and glanced back at Keely to see that she had woken up from her nap and was looking out the windows, her tail wagging back and forth.

I followed the directions Snowden had given me and navigated my way through his small town. He was right though because from what I saw it was absolutely beautiful here. Ashwood was gorgeous during the winter. From the icicles hanging from the trees to the snow covered roads to the twinkling lights everywhere it was breathtakingly beautiful.

Thankfully I found Snowden’s apartment complex without any trouble and found a spot to park in. Once the car was off Keely was straining against her harness, ready to be out of the car. Smiling to myself I opened the back door and attached her leash to her harness before letting her free. She jumped from the car and immediately started sniffing around for a place to go. For now all I did was grab my messenger bag and my keys along with a bag of Keely’s water and food bowls along with some food for her. It was about time for her dinner anyway. I could come back out for my stuff in a few minutes.

Together Keely and I found Snowden’s apartment and I tentatively knocked on the door. Glancing around I wondered if anyone was going to recognize me if we were out and about town at all while I was here. I had chopped off most of my hair so I wasn’t even really that recognizable unless someone had seen a really recent photo of me.

Movement was heard on the other side of the door before it opened and I saw Snowden standing in front of me. He smiled at me to which I just smiled back. Snowden looked amazing and my heart skipped a beat after I had taken in everything about him.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

Snowden stood back and allowed me to walk past him and into his apartment. Once inside I took a quick look around and smiled at it. It was cute and small and exactly what I would have pictured Snowden living in. Everything just screamed Snowden and I felt really safe and comfortable here. So did Keely for she was already straining against her leash so that she could go over and lay down on the couch.

Snowden closed the door behind us and came over to stand in my line of view again.

“It’s really good to see you again Andy.”

My smile widened as I looked over at Snowden, “It’s really good to see you too Snowden.”