Swim Team.

The night had come and Danny had spent about an hour trying to decide what to wear. He didn’t want to look overdressed, like he had picked out someone specifically for the party (which he totally did), but he didn’t want to look sloppy either. Maybe, just maybe, he would have fun tonight. Make some new friends, even. His were getting a little stale. He wanted something other than video games and pussy to talk about. If John said “dude, check out her tits!” one more time, he was gonna fucking murder that horny kid.

Biting his lip nervously, he knocked on the door. He took a second to look down at his clothing choices, regular jeans and a striped tee-shirt. Fuck, was his fly undone? He looked down further, trying to see without blatantly checking.

“Um, you okay?” a female voice asked sceptically.

His head shot up and before he could stop it, he was blushing. A pretty girl with a bow in her hair was looking at him like he was nuts. “Uh, yeah, I’m good. Um, hi.” He smiled awkwardly.

“Hi, I’m Jen, you are?” she asked, not too politely. She clearly thought he was a freak already and he hadn’t even gotten through the door yet.

“Oh, um, I’m Danny,” he said, feeling awkward and regretting he came. This was definitely not an ideal start.

But as soon as he said his name, her face lit up. “Oh, hi Danny! Chris told me all about you. Come on in,” she said, as friendly as could be.

He got suspicious again, but followed her into the hallway. “What did he say about me?” he asked, trying to sound casual about it.

“Hmm, what?” she asked, turning back to him.

“Um, I was just wondering what he said about me,” he said, suddenly nervous. Did he really want to know what this guy he thought was his friend was saying about him?

“Oh, nothing really. Just how you really have potential as a swimmer and he says you’re shy but you seem really interesting,” she said, with a wave of dismissal. “Did you find the house okay?”

But even as she remained super casual, he got a weird feeling that wasn’t all Chris had said about him. He wondered if he was just too paranoid. Chris seemed like a really nice guy, after all. “Yeah, I found it alright,” he responded, although he felt the question was a little odd. If he was here, obviously he found it.

“Good. I just know it’s a little out of the way, so I was debating putting up signs or something,” she said with a little giggle. “But since you found it, I won’t bother. Help yourself to any drinks or snacks in the kitchen.”

He knew a dismissal when he heard one, so he thanked her and moved into the next room. There were people he only vaguely recognized chatting on couches, but so far, it wasn’t crowded at all. It sounded like a lot of people had yet to arrive though. Feeling
uncomfortable, he moved into the next room, which happened to be the kitchen. He smiled when he saw Chris there, pouring a drink. At least it was someone he knew, then maybe Chris would introduce him to some of the other people.

“I hear you’re telling stories about me,” he said, his voice teasing.

Chris turned around, already grinning. “Hey, you made it!” he said happily.

Danny nodded, “Yeah, figured it could be fun.”

Laughing, Chris replied, “I’ll make sure you have fun. Then maybe I could even convince you to hang out with us again. Now, what was this about stories?”

“I hear you’ve been telling stories about me to Jen,” he said, smiling.

But Chris went white as a ghost, his eyes getting wide. “Um, listen, I can explain,” he said nervously.

“It’s okay,” Danny said, shrugging a shoulder nonchalantly.

“I...I was gonna tell you, but I was just waiting for the right time, you know? Listen, I totally understand if you hate me,” he said, the paleness of his face suddenly being replaced by a flush of red. He looked down at his feet.

“Chris, it’s okay. I don’t care,” he said, smiling and thinking ‘I didn’t know he would over-react like this.’

“Serious? You don’t mind?” Chris asked, looking hopeful. He bit his bottom lip, just enough for it to indent slightly.

“No, why would I?” he asked with a laugh.

“Well, some guys really freak out, ya know. I mean, the ones that find out. I don’t usually tell them I like them unless I feel like maybe I’ve got a chance or something,” Chris said, his smile turning shy. He gave a little laugh and glanced over at the drinks sitting on the counter, a witness to his confession.

“What?” Danny asked, confused and startled. He must have heard wrong or something.

“What?” Chris repeated, his smile falling. “I-she-you said-“

Jen walked into the kitchen then, causing both of their heads to turn. She took one look at their panicked faces, smiled awkwardly, then turned to leave. Jacob and Steph could wait to get their drinks, then. She was stopped by Chris grabbing her wrist. She turned to look at him, annoyed.

“You told him,” he said, insistent. The poor boy looked absolutely horror struck.

“Yeah, I did tell him what a great swimmer you thought he is,” she replied pointedly. She gave him a look: ‘what the fuck is happening?’

He went pale again. “Oh fuck.”

She glanced over at Danny, who just looked confused more than anything, then back at her silently panicking best friend. “Okay, I think you two need to go somewhere private and talk. You know, because this is where the drinks are and this is where people will be walking in and out of, interrupting you. So, get out of the kitchen and go to my room.” She gave him a stern look and a hand on his shoulder for comfort. Then, she forcibly turned him towards the stairs and pushed him. He stumbled a bit but kept walking. Danny looked between her and zombie Chris a few times, his expression unsure. So she gave him the same stern look and pointed to the stairs silently. When he started walking, she smirked to herself, proud. And who said boys were complicated.

Silently following Chris up the stairs, his heart racing, he wondered what the hell was happening. Chris liked him. Chris liked him. Chris liked him, Daniel Junior, the boy who hadn’t been kissed until the tenth grade and even that was a girl with braces and a tendency to snort like a pig. He didn’t know what was crazier, that Chris was gay or that Chris seemed to have very poor taste.

As soon as they got to Jen’s bedroom, Chris turned to him and talked so quickly it was hard to understand him. “Look, I like you. I was gonna wait to tell you but I fucked that up, so I’m just gonna do it now so I don’t spend the next week wondering what you’re thinking and if I maybe had a chance and fucked that up too. I know I probably don’t because I don’t think you’re gay or whatever, but I have to try because you are just so fucking cute and I want you to kiss you.” He took a deep breath, the first since he started speaking.

Danny was quiet for a minute, pressing his lips together and shuffling from foot to foot. He didn’t look at Chris.

“Please just say something, even if it’s you think I’m disgusting or whatever. I can take it. I just need you to say something,” Chris pleaded. To his shame, he felt tears start to prick the back of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Well, at least in front of Danny.

“I don’t think you’re disgusting,” Danny said quietly. He scratched his bicep absentmindedly, as he chewed his lip and stared at Chris’ shoes.

Taking a deep breath and thinking, ‘this is it, now or never’, Chris took a step closer. “You don’t?” he replied quietly. He tried to decipher any emotions on Danny’s face.

Danny shook his head a little from side to side, causing a piece of hair to fall to the middle of his forehead. He moved it away impatiently. “No, I don’t.”

“Oh,” was all Chris said, as he kept slowly inching forward. He knew Danny was watching him, but still the other boy didn’t tell him to stop or give him any hints. He was gonna need all his confidence for this. “Well, do you, ah, maybe like me too?” he asked, nervous and uncertain and feeling stupid.

Danny finally looked up at him then and the turmoil in his blue eyes was enough to give Chris hope. He took a final step forward, so he was only 5 inches from Danny’s face, close enough to feel his uneven breathes.

“Maybe,” Danny whispered, before he shrugged one shoulder and looked away. Like it was nothing, like he confessed to liking a guy every day, like he wasn’t completely confused and twisted up inside and scared, so fucking scared, because he knew, knew if Chris kissed him right now, he wouldn’t be able to pretend anymore and ohGoddadwillhateme...

“Hey,” Chris said, alarmed as Danny started to shake. He stepped even closer and hesitated before wrapping his arms around Danny’s lean waist, pulling him close and rubbing his hand down his back to comfort him. When Danny wrapped his arms around Chris’ stomach and sobbed into his neck, Chris just held him. A soft kiss on his temple just made Danny cry harder. So instead, Chris just kept rubbing his back and repeating, “I know, baby, I know...”