Chapter 29

The sound of the loud eruptions of the firework along the chants of everyone on the beach filled the air, though Carter perceived very little of it. His eyes were closed as he felt Josh's lips on his own, but the panic hadn't left his mind.

When Josh pulled away, he opened his eyes again and looked up at the blond, with the sight of the colorful firework right behind him. The way he looked at him did something to him. His playful eyes were filled with compassion and love. That look made Carter's heart melt and he would have kissed him again if they weren't out in public. And as soon as that realization hit him, Carter turned to the rest of his friend and he could feel worry rising up when they all looked at him and Josh.

Though to his surprise, they didn't look angry or disgusted at all. Christ already knew, of course, but he wasn't sure about Paxton and Melanie. He had figured Chris had most likely told Melanie about their relationship beforehand, but had yet to see how she would react to actually seeing him and Josh together.

Carter's eyes went to meet with Paxton's and he could tell that the shock was most definitely in his eyes.

"...What the hell was that?!" he said eventually.

Carter started to feel uneasy within his lower stomach again and his eyes flickered to Josh, before going back to Paxton.

"Pax," Josh said, looking over at him. "Carter and I are dating."

This was the first time Josh has said out loud that he was dating Carter, and it gave him that same feeling he got when josh looked at him after they had kissed.

Carter cleared his throat and looked at his friend. "We're gay, Pax," he added, a little hesitatingly.

Paxton still looked confused, his eyes averting from Carter's and his eyebrows furrowed. "So it wasn't a dream...?" He looked back up at Carter and Josh. "You two really kissed at the Christmas dance? I thought I had dreamed it."

It was a little hard to understand Paxton through the fireworks, but it was understandable enough for Carter.

"No, you didn't dream that," he said. He tried to read Paxton's expression, wondering what was going through his head right now. Sometimes, Paxton could be so unpredictable that it was almost nerve-racking. Especially when it came to serious subjects like these.

Paxton raised his eyebrows and looked rather bewildered. He parted his lips but didn't say anything. Or he did, but Carter couldn't understand him through the firework.

"It doesn't matter, though, does it?" Chris then spoke, who had his arm around Melanie. "It doesn't change who they are."

Paxton gave a glance at Chris and shook his head. "What? No... no, it doesn't change anything, of course. It's just.... I'm really surprised. I mean, how long has this been going on? Why didn't you tell us sooner?" he asked, turning back to Carter and Josh. "If this is the reason why the two of you have been acting so strange lately, it does explain a lot."

Josh chewed the inside of his cheek Carter could tell that he was a little lost for words as well. "We wanted to tell you guys," he said, "but didn't know how you'd react. How anyone would react."

"Dude, seriously? What kind of assholes do you take us for?" Paxton said. "I mean, sure, it's a bit of a shock, but it's not like we'd beat you guys up for it. And sure, it would take some time to get used to... this, but if you just give us that time then there's nothing to worry about, right?"

Paxton's response had Carter smile and he gave a glance at Melanie, who seemed to be in agreement with Paxton. Though seeing as she wasn't shocked at all, Carter knew that Chris most likely already told her.

"So, is this why Alyssa had been acting so strangely as well?" Paxton asked, taking another sip from his beer.

The mood had gotten a lot less tense and Carter couldn't be happier with that. He looked up at the fireworks and listened to Josh and Paxton's conversation.

"Yeah... She told us she had found out about us during the Christmas dance. Of course she was furious. She hasn't talked to me since," Josh replied.

Paxton let out an audible groan and looked up at the fireworks. "Don't take her too seriously. She'll come around eventually. And if she doesn't... well, that's her problem."

Josh rubbed the back of his neck and gave a sad smile. "Yeah, well, she has every right to be furious, honestly. I mean, I used her, lied to her and made her believe I returned her feelings. Anyone would be angry if I did that to them." The blond let out an audible sigh. "I've done really, really stupid things." He gave a glance at Carter and flashed him a faint smile. "I'm really sorry for them. I thought that I'd try to make everything right again now that the new year is starting."

Carter returned his smile. He knew that despite his good New Year's resolutions, he knew that it also must be really scary to suddenly be so open about it. He thought back of everything Josh had done. From the moment he first saw him again after five years with Alyssa, the horrible things he had said, the times he had pushed him away, how he had told him to move away again, how he made him feel so very confused and hurt. Even though all these things weren't pleasant, Carter knew that Josh had done it out of fear. Fear of his father doing something horrible to both of them.

"Dude, who doesn't do stupid things?" Paxton said. "As long as you don't do them again."

Josh gave him a nod and looked back up at the fireworks. Carter could see the colors erupting in his blue eyes and his smile was so genuine and happy, that he couldn't help but smile along.

"Happy new year," Carter told Josh, while lacing their fingers together again.

Josh looked back at him and leaned in to press a kiss to his forehead. "Happy new year."

+++

When Carter opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sun rays warming up the skin of his face as it shone through the small window. He was surrounded by a familiar warmth and he blinked a few times, with furrowed eyebrows, to let his eyes adjust to the bright light. As he woke up little by little, last night's events slowly but surely came back to him. He thought back of how Josh kissed him when the clock hit midnight, how they came out to their friends, and how happy Josh was.

He shifted a little to turn around and found Josh, already awake, lying next to him. He was looking up at the ceiling but his eyes went to Carter's when he had turned around.

"Good morning," he said.

Carter let out a yawn and went to lay with his head on top of Josh's chest, listening to his calm heartbeat. "G'morning," he mumbled sleepily. "How long have y'been awake?"

"Since a few minutes I think," Josh replied. He placed a hand on Carter's head and slowly tangled his fingers in his hair. "You should probably go home to see your family," he said. "I don't want to keep you from seeing them. They probably want to wish you a happy new year as well."

"I know..." Carter sighed. "You should also see your father."

"Hm. Knowing him, he's either still asleep or has a hangover."

Carter sat up a little and looked at Josh, feeling a little troubled by his answer. "Why doesn't your father stop drinking? I thought he had gone to rehab."

Josh bit his lip and ran his hand through the other's hair. "I think he still uses it as some sort of a painkiller against his sadness from my mother's death," he answered. "...He'll quit someday, I'm sure. He's already been drinking a lot less, compared to a year ago."

Carter wasn't satisfied with that statement. It has been years since Josh's mother had passed away. If Steve Marson would stop drinking, he would have done so a long time ago.

After Carter had gotten dressed and had breakfast, he kissed Josh goodbye to head back to his home to wish his parents a happy new year. On the pavements, there were still firework left-overs and empty beer bottles. He felt sorry for the street cleaners.

Once he had arrived home, he closed the door behind him and took off his jacket.

"Mom! Dad! Happy new year!" he called out. He heard footsteps going down the stairs a few seconds later and his mother walked up to him.

"Happy new year, honey," she said before she pulled her son into an embrace. "Did you have fun with your friends?"

Carter hugged his mother back before pulling away and nodded his head. "Yeah, I had," he answered. "I, ehm... came out to my friends with Josh." Carter smiled up at his mother. "Everyone was so acceptive. It was... really amazing." He felt happy thinking back of the reactions of his friends, actually now only letting it sink in that his friends were accepting him and Josh. Frankly, he couldn't be happier right now.

"Really? Honey, that's great!" Mrs. Raymore said, her hands placed on Carter's shoulders. "I had always been sure they'd be supportive of you. Your friends have always been great people, haven't they?"

"Yeah, they have. I was just always a little worried. I could never be absolutely certain, you know?" he said, running a hand through his hair. Right now, he was just really glad that everything had turned out well.

"I understand, honey. I also wasn't entirely sure if Steve knew about you dating Josh when I called him. He did sound really surprised when I told him, so I guessed he didn't."

Carter gave a yawn as he walked to the couch. "Mhm. It was all very-" He stopped in his tracks when he began to realize what his mother had just said. His eyes widened and he whipped around to face her. "Wait...What?!" he exclaimed. "You told Josh's father?!"

His mother, obviously surprised by his reaction, looked back at her son. "Ah, yes, I did. I wanted to wish him a happy new year and ask if maybe he wanted to have diner with us again sometime. When he asked why, I told him that you were going out with Josh."

Carter felt a sudden panic rising up, and knew that this was very, very bad news. He was certain that Mr.Marson was absolutely furious upon finding out.

And it was then that Carter realized Josh was going back to his house to see his father again.

"Shit!" Carter rushed back to the front door and grabbed his jacket.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Raymore asked confusedly. "Carter?"

"You shouldn't have told him that! What have you... shit!" Carter quickly pulled on his jacket before he rushed out of the house.