Let’s Write

When they left the restaurant and headed to the bar down the road, Ryan, Smitty, and Kryoz saw it next. Really, it was Ryan who pointed it out to Smitty, and Smitty had pointed it out to Kryoz, but there was no way that Smitty was ever going to admit it. If you asked him, there was an 100% chance that he would say that Ryan had only confirmed what he had suspected.

While the group walked along the road in one big pack, laughing and shouting, Evan and Jon seemed to lag a few feet behind. They spoke amongst themselves, smiling as if they didn’t have a care in the world. The antics of their friends in front of them didn’t matter. They looked wrapped up in each other, bumping while they walked, making eye contact that lingered just long enough that it was unusual, hands brushing. They would only look up from the other when someone else called their names, only for them to share a humored and soft look when they thought no one was looking anymore.

The bar was when Marcel, Scotty, and Anthony noticed. They’d looked up and Evan and Jon were at their own table, heads bent close together, enveloped in their own world, ignorant to everyone around them.

Brian noticed when Tyler and David started drinking shots and neither Evan nor Jon had watched them.

Tyler and David noticed when Evan and Jon had nothing to say when, somehow, David drank his shots quicker and won. They had been the only two who hadn’t made any jokes at either of them.

Lui noticed on the way back, when the entire group was trying to pile into not nearly enough cars for them all. Evan didn’t care that Jon had to sit on his lap for the ride, and Jon wasn’t nearly as embarrassed as anyone had assumed he would be.

Bryce noticed when Evan’s arms fit so naturally wrapped around Jon’s waist, and when Jon had leaned back against Evan’s chest like he’d done it a million times before.

By the time they reached Tyler’s house and piled into his living room, they all suspected something was up.

“Listen,” Tyler said to the group when both Evan and Jon had gone into the kitchen to grab something to drink. “Those two idiots are too oblivious to realize that they like each other, so we need to give them that little push, you know?”

“I don’t know. We should just let them manage their own relationship. They’re grown men.” Ryan said, sending Luke a look. In Ryan’s opinion, he didn’t seem near as worried about the interference about to occur in his best friend’s love life as Ryan thought he should be.

“Grown man-childs.” Scotty said.

“They need us, or they won’t get anywhere.” Brian shook his head in pity.

“Who won’t get anywhere?” Evan asked as he and Jon came back into the room.

“You two.” Luke said, grinning. “They think they need to set you up.”

There was a spluttering chorus of denials from the group that was interrupted only when Evan and Jon started laughing. In one smooth, comfortable motion, the two of them had intertwined their fingers.

“We wanted to wait until later in the trip,” Evan started.

“Because we didn’t want to drop a bombshell right at the beginning but,” Jon continued.

“We’re dating.” Evan said

“Have been,” Jon corrected. “For about six months.”

“So you don’t need to set us up.” Evan finished.

There was a silence while their friends took in the information. Luke stood there grinning like a maniac so Ryan assumed that he must have known. Of course he had known.

“Please don’t.” Jon said, breaking the silence. “Set us up, that is. It’ll be a waste of everyone’s time and probably super embarrassing for all of the parties involved.”

The group was still stunned. It was the first time any of them had been silent since they’d sat down at the restaurant and, while Evan and Jon were happy for some quiet, it still unnerved them. They had been so worried about getting together and how to break the news to their friends. They couldn’t stand for anything to change between them all.

“Congrats!” Brock squealed, throwing himself at the two of them to pull them into a hug.

It seemed that the dam had cracked and all of their friends’ emotions were flowing through. Before they knew it, they were enveloped in one large, happy hug while their friends babbled about how excited they were. In the midst of the chaos, Evan managed to peck Jon on the cheek.

“Love you.” he whispered. Jon smiled.

“Love you too.”

“Gosh, you two are gross.” Tyler grumbled. “And everyone get off of me!”

The group dispersed, yelling and be loud, as per the usual. Evan and Jon smiled at the each other, and Evan leaned down to leave a small peck on Jon’s red cheek. They wouldn’t have it any other way.