< Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Graduation day at Lincoln High was always an event to behold. The school grounds had been transformed into a beautiful setting, with tents, flowers and a few hundred people, all sitting uncomfortably in and around the football field. The graduation committee outdid themselves every year, in an attempt to not only top the year before, but at the same time make it hard for the next year to top them. They couldn’t have asked for better weather as the sky as a clear, breathtaking blue, without a could to be seen anywhere. The sun shone brightly, illuminating the decorated field. It most definitely was a warm June morning, it wasn’t to a stifling degree and there was a brief hint of a breeze that danced over peoples’ skin. It would be a day that people would talk about for years as quite possibly the best Grad Day in decades.

Justin had phoned Nick that morning at nine, wondering what to wear. He didn’t want to go all dressy, but at the same time wanted to look good. After going through a few dozen outfits, finding fault with each, he finally decided on light thread khaki pants and a light tee shirt. Nick, on the other hand, had opted for a button down shirt with khaki shorts, feet clad in sandals, his usually dark blonde hair had been lightened naturally by the sun and was styled in his usual messy disarray. Neither boy could deny that they looked good.

AJ, knowing that he needed the car later that day to go to the party, had driven his mother to work early in the morning for her usual Friday double shift. It would allow him to leave the ceremony when he needed to for his three o’clock shift. He and Lance were at Justin’s house by a quarter to ten, Nick’s at ten to pick their friends up.

With graduation in 60 minutes, Nick was alternately thrilled and depressed at Kevin’s departure. He was happy that Kevin would be going on to do what he wanted to do, as Nick could hear the excitement in the older boy’s voice on Wednesday night when he was talking about the courses he wanted to take and what he was going to learn. The moment that Kevin began to explain to him about UCLA’s Environmental Resource Studies programme, his eyes started to twinkle and he began to tremble with excitement. Nick could recall how many times in the past he’d spoken about going to medical or law school and it had always been with a lack of enthusiasm and resentment that Nick pretended not to see. But now, Kevin was genuinely excited about what he was going to do after high school and Nick loved to see the way Kevin’s whole face would light up.

But, with the feeling of elation at Kevin following his dream, came the depression with knowing that he wouldn’t get to see Kevin every day, in between classes, at lunch or after school. There would be no more morning sightings at his locker where they would engage in small talk or share meaningful glances. Sure, he still had his friends, but there had always been a thrill in going to school and knowing that Kevin would be there. And Nick had to admit that he was relatively jealous that where Kevin was going away to school, Chris would still be in town and Justin would be able to see him any time he wanted to. With a heavy heart, Nick relaxed into the back seat of AJ’s car and sighed as he looked out the window.

Justin could feel the mixture of emotions coming from Nick and he reached across the seat, taking his best friend’s hand in his own. They didn’t speak, but Nick gave him a smile of thanks for the support. They weren’t sure how early to arrive at the school grounds or how many people would ultimately be attending, but as they pulled up down the road to find the street lined with cars already, Nick and Justin feared that they’d gotten there too late.

"What if there aren’t any good seats left?" Justin asked, biting his lip nervously. "I want him to be able to see me."

"Don’t worry J," Lance said gently. "We’ll find good seats."

Once they were finally able to find a parking spot, relatively close considering the amount of people already there, they headed into the football stadium and looked around in awe. Nick and Justin had brought their cameras and had them around their necks, surprised at how different the yard looked.

"Look," AJ said pointing to a section of bleachers next to the stage. It was off to the side, but had a perfect view of the stage. "How about there?"

Nick nodded and sprinted towards the seats, he wanted to get there before anyone had a chance to steal them. There was still over a half an hour before the ceremony was supposed to start, and as the seats started to fill quickly, Justin, Nick, AJ and Lance passed the time by talking about the Anti-Prom on Wednesday and the party they would be attending that night.

"So, we didn’t get to talk much Wednesday," Lance said as he nudged Nick’s foot with his own. He’d been wanting to talk to Nick about it, but had been so busy that he hadn’t had a chance to. They were going to have to come up with some sort of plan for the summer for getting together. It seemed that when there was nothing planned, all Lance did was plop himself in front of his TV and not move for hours on end. From what Nick had said, he and Justin were doing just the same, but it didn’t make sense for each of them to be doing the same thing at their own houses, when if they were just going to watch TV, they could be doing it together and having more fun at the same time. "How was your night?"

Nick’s whole face broke out into a grin and he shrugged. "You know."

Lance smiled and he wiggled his eyebrows. "No, I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me." He snickered as Nick did a seat shimmy. It was good to see Nick so happy, knowing when any thoughts or mention of Kevin in the recent past had resulted with him being upset to the point of anger or tears. "I’m serious Nick, how did things go with Kevin? I mean, I know what I saw ..." It had been a surprise when he and AJ had watched from their chairs as Kevin walked across the patio to where Nick and Christina were just ending their dance, as they were both curious why he was approaching them with his face set in determination. But it had been even more of a surprise when he’d asked Nick to dance, only to spend the next hour wrapped up in each others’ arms, barely moving to the music that was playing. From their vantage point, it looked as if Nick and Kevin were hanging onto each other for dear life, afraid to let go for fear of losing one another.

Or it might have been the opposite, that they were hanging on for dear life because they’d recently refound one another. But he could see the mirroring smiles on both of their faces, the relief in their eyes to be with one another again and collectively, they had all agreed to leave the two teens alone until Justin finally had to interrupt them because it was time to go home. Lance had an idea that if Justin hadn’t interrupted, they probably still would have been there in the corner of the Aguilera’s patio, unaware of anything beyond each others’ arms.

"It was amazing," Nick sighed. Lance looked at Justin who was staring at something off in the distance. He figured that the two best friends had already picked apart the events of the night, hence his wavering attention. "We had the best talk at the bowling alley."

"Oh yeah?" Lance was curious as to what they talked about, but didn’t want to be too pushy. Finally, he asked knowing that if Nick didn’t want to share, eh could just not answer. "What about, if you don’t mind me asking."

Nick shook his head. "No, we just talked about what his plans are in the fall. He’s not going out East like he’d been talking about before. His parents always have wanted him to go to medical or law school, become a doctor or a lawyer and then get married, to Gretchen, and start a family. But he’s always said that’s not what he wanted. So finally, I guess he got tired of living their life which was why he broke up with Gretchen and he applied to the schools HE wanted to go to without telling them. He applied and got into UCLA for Environmental Resource Studies."

Lance’s eyes widened, as did AJ’s. "Really?" AJ said, genuinely curious.

"Yeah," Nick said with a laugh. "He’s going to UCLA in the fall, they offered him a full scholarship for football. His parents had said that if he went there, they wouldn’t pay for it. So he said fine and applied for grants and scholarships." Nick then went ahead and told them what Kevin had said about his brother and his parents almost disowning them. Lance and AJ sat on the edge of their seats, listening intently until Nick was finished. "And that was it."

"What about you?" Lance asked.

"What about me?"

Lance shook his head. "No, I mean, the two of you. Did you guys talk about that?"

Nick wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "Not really. I mean, there was a lot going on behind the scenes, you know? I knew he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. And I so wanted to say something, but I was afraid. You know what happened the last time I did."

AJ shrugged. "I don’t know Nick, I think things are different this time. I mean, he just wasn’t ready for it then, but now ..."

Lance looked at his boyfriend with a humorous expression on his face. "Now?" Just two days ago, AJ was saying he didn’t know if Kevin deserved a second chance, now he was Kevin’s biggest supporter. He caught his boyfriend’s eye and watched as AJ blushed and glared at him.

"Oh, shut up."

Lance’s laughter rang through the beautiful late morning air. "You’re such a romantic."

"What?" Nick had gotten lost in the conversation somewhere. He looked back and forth between AJ and Lance who were sharing a private look.

"Nothing. AJ just is a lot softer than he’d like to admit to anyone," Lance answered with an eye roll. "But he’s right. Kevin’s different, something’s different. I mean, you guys were dancing for an hour, without even moving."

The sigh was out before Nick could stop it and he grinned at the memory of being in Kevin’s arms. He could still feel his arms around him, could still smell the cologne lingering on his dress shirt and his body was still warm from the heat of Kevin’s body. It had been the closest to pure happiness Nick had ever gotten, all from just being in Kevin’s arms.

"Plus he walked you to the door," Justin said as he joined the conversation. "And if your mother hadn’t had come out right then, ya’ll were so gonna kiss."

"I would have kissed him," Nick agreed. "Kevin wasn’t making a move at all."

"But he wasn’t leaving," Justin voiced his observation. Nick looked at him and he nodded. "Yeah, I think he was hoping you would. He looked like he wanted to kiss you, but didn’t want to make the first move. So if he wasn’t going to kiss you, he should have made a move to leave, but he didn’t. He waited and then YOU were going to kiss him and he stepped in closer, like he was hoping for it, but your mom turned on the light and you both jumped back so fast." Justin broke out into laughter at the memory of Kevin and Nick’s faces.

"You saw all that?" Nick said, surprised. He figured that Justin and Chris had been locked at the lips, unaware of anything going on. At least they had been the whole time they were in the car, to and from Christina’s.

"Duh! You don’t think I’m gonna miss the moment where Kevin takes his head out of his ass and tells you how he feels, do you?"

Nick’s smile would have to be his only answer as their principal walked across the stage to announce the start of the ceremony.

~*~*~*~

For the tenth time in as many minutes, Kevin adjusted his robe and cap. He knew that it was going to be hot outside, but it was sweltering with the heavy robes on. And as much as he wanted to wear shorts underneath, it looked stupid with the robes and bare legs. So for that reason, he wore dress slacks and a short sleeved dress shirt, which wasn’t as bad as it could have been but was still too hot.

"Stop fidgeting," Howie scolded. "You’re going to make it worse."

"But it itches," Kevin whined, tugging on the rough, scratchy material again. "It’s too hot for this shit."

"Stop complaining," Howie laughed. "You’ve got less than three hours left before you’re a free man. Suck it up and deal with it like a man."

"How quaint," Chris said joining the conversation. "Howie giving instruction on how to be a man. What? Did you read a book on it?"

Howie’s lips formed a scowl as he growled at Chris. "I so won’t miss you Kirkpatrick!"

Chris snarled back before grinning. "Yeah you will."

Howie growled again before exhaling and nodding. "Yeah, I will. But not enough to wish for more time here. God, I won’t miss this place."

Both Kevin and Chris agreed. "I hear that. The noose is officially loosened and off. I will no longer be Lincoln High’s bitch."

"Well Mr. Kirkpatrick," a voice boomed from behind them. They turned around to see Vice Principal Delany staring at them with raised eyebrows. "Sorry to interrupt, and if I may be so candid, you will be Lincoln High’s ‘bitch’ for three and a half more hours, so if you could make your way through to the Ks, and take Richardson with you towards the Rs, that would be greatly appreciated. Mr. Dorough, you are surprisingly in the right place, so I just ask that you remain here. Thank you, your nooses will be removed shortly."

When they were once again alone, Kevin, Chris and Howie all burst into laughter, their cheeks red with embarrassment. "See you guys out there," Kevin called as he headed towards his spot in line. Along the way, he was stopped by his ex-girlfriend of three years.

"Kev?"

"Gretch," Kevin greeted as he stopped. Over the past few weeks they’d begun talking again, surprised at how easy conversation came to them now that they’d been able to put their past behind them. They shared a brief hug before pulling away. "How are you?"

"Nervous," Gretchen admitted. "I leave for this orientation thing next week. It’s a week long seminar at Columbia for us to get to know New York City, as well as the campus. So when we get there in September, we’re not completely lost."

Kevin had been surprised one night when Gretchen had phoned, needing to talk. Before things had started to go sour, they had found they were very close, not able to go to anyone except each other for a lot of things. They could admit to each other things that no one else would understand, so when she had called in the middle of the night, needing to talk, he knew it was important. While he had decided not to follow his parents’ master plan, Gretchen had and was going to Columbia to pursue a career in law, something that had overwhelmed her to a stifling degree. They had spent hours on the phone, Kevin reassuring her that she was doing the right thing and that once she got there, she would see that. She, in turn, had admitted that she was jealous that Kevin would be going to UCLA for four years to follow his dreams. That night had marked the beginning of their renewed friendship, breaking the ice for them to discuss other topics that had been considered off limits.

"Are you excited?" Kevin saw the look in her eye and knew that underneath her nerves and fright, she was eager to start the next phase of her life. When she nodded he smiled.

"So excited. It’s so different from here, you know? New York is serious. And I’m going to be a part of that."

"You’ll have to call me when you get back, let me know how things go." Kevin found that he was genuine in his request, that he really was interested in how she was and what she did. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vice Principal Delany glaring at him and he flashed him a smirk and curt wave. "Shit, I gotta get in line Gretch, Delany’s about to shit all over me."

His stomach fluttered at the knowing smile she gave him. "You always did like to test his patience."

Kevin nodded. "We all have hobbies." He gave his ex girlfriend a hug and winked at her. "Good luck, see you on the other side."

Just as Kevin slid into line, Principal Lane stood before them, holding his hands in the air. They were under a tent on the lawn, a short ways away from the football field. The plan was for them to walk from their holding tent to the field, up onto the stage to their assigned seats. A few words were to be said before hand.

"Well Grads, it is a beautiful day today and there is excitement in the air. I just wanted to remind you that until the end of the day, you are still students at Lincoln High and you are to behave in the manner that is expected of our students. That is respectful, mature and proud, which you all should be. Proud that you have completed this journey of your life. You all have used your potential to see you through high school and onto the next phase of your life, whatever that may be and wherever that might take you. This school will not be the same without you, and the staff, your parents and friends are honoured to be able to celebrate this joyous day with you. So lets make each other and ourselves proud and head inside. Follow in a double file line, you all have your placements and the name of your ‘partner’. Today will go exactly as rehearsals have, so there’s nothing to worry about. You’re all pros at this by now."

Principal Lane turned to Vice Principal Delany, said a few words and nodded his head. He was to go in, say a few words of welcome to their guests and the music would start to play as they entered the stadium.

Kevin’s stomach was flipping as he watched the train start to move. He gave his ‘partner’ Nigel Rideaux a nudge, "I swear, I can’t wait to get this robe off." Nigel and Kevin had been partners in everything that called for an alphabetical seating or partnering since arriving at Lincoln High and were comfortable in their quasi friendship.

"I know," Nigel growled. "My girlfriend bought me this shirt for grad right, well it’s long sleeved and black, which is hotter than hell under this robe, and I thought I could get away with bringing it and changing into it after the ceremony, but she warned me last night that she’d know if I wasn’t wearing it, so I had to put it on."

Kevin flinched at how hot he knew Nigel must be. "Ouch, that’s harsh."

"I know," Nigel nodded. "And I was going to still not wear it because she’s bull shitting right? But I don’t want to risk it because she is mean when she’s mad."

"Dude, she better be making that up to you huge later!" Kevin laughed as they started to walk. "Because I know how hot I am, and I’m in short sleeves." He received a growl in response.

"Quiet gentlemen," Mrs. Edwards scolded. "You’re entering the stadium now, get rid of any gum and stop all conversation."

"I thought this was supposed to be OUR day," Kevin said discreetly. Nigel broke into laughter.

"Yeah right, it’s their day. Every single time, we’re just pawns in their attempt at staying young."

Kevin followed the two people ahead of him until they reached their seats where they were instructed to stand until the ceremony started. There were hundreds upon hundreds of people in the stands and he couldn’t make out anyone’s faces he recognized. He was on the far left, his left, and a few rows up, to the right, Kevin could see the back of Chris’ head. Just like he was, Chris was looking in the crowds to find people, probably his family and Justin. Kevin watched Chris wave and looked in the direction he was waving to see Chris’ mother and all of his sisters, all watching with smiles on their faces. He caught Chris’ mother’s eye and waved, grinning as she waved back.

"Kev," Gretchen hissed from the next back. "Your parents are at about two o’clock, behind the woman in the bright orange dress."

Kevin looked to his right, his eye catching the bright orange dress almost immediately. Just as Gretchen had said, his parents and brothers were right behind her. He waved and they followed. Now that he’d found them, he just needed to find where Nick was sitting. Before he could look any further, Principal Lane started to talk. Five minutes later, they were allowed to sit and the guest speakers started.

Half an hour into the ceremony, Chris turned around to catch his eye. Kevin had almost gone bug eyed trying to find Nick in the crowd and he was getting a stiff neck from turning it.

"Kev!" Chris mouthed.

Kevin felt Nigel nudge him. "What?"

"Chris is trying to get your attention."

Kevin looked up at his best friend. "What?" He mouthed back.

He watched Chris point to his left and mouth, "Justin and Nick are sitting there."

Kevin couldn’t make out what Chris was saying and scrunched up his face in confusion. "WHAT?"

Chris rolled his eyes and pointed again. "NICK!"

Kevin understood that word and felt his stomach flip. He turned his head to the side, slowly as to not bring attention to himself. Chris rolled his eyes and turned back around in his chair. Kevin’s eyes roamed around the area to his left and he smiled when he finally saw Nick sitting with Lance, AJ and Justin. Nick was focusing on whatever the speaker was saying and the sight of him took Kevin’s breath away.

Nick was wearing a dark blue button down shirt which only made his golden tanned skin glow even more. His nose and cheeks were a dark pink, an indication that he’d forgotten sunscreen and was getting burnt from exposure to the sun that day. His hair was a very light blonde, nearly white in places and reflected the sun even more. Kevin’s pulse was racing wildly and he couldn’t take his eyes off of the blonde. He knew, in that exact moment, that he wasn’t going to wait anymore. Once the ceremony was over, he needed to get Nick alone to tell him how he felt. There was a lot that Kevin wanted to say to him, and he couldn’t go another day without getting it off of his chest.

Justin’s eyes roamed over the stage. They first went to Chris who was bouncing in his seat nervously. He couldn’t help but snicker at Chris’ short attention span and endless amounts of energy. He then searched for Kevin, surprised to see him staring directly at them. Or more so, at Nick. Justin’s face broke out into a grin and he waved, catching Kevin off guard. Kevin gave a shy wave back and Justin giggled.

"What are you laughing at?" Nick asked curiously. The speaker wasn’t exactly that funny, actually, he was bordering on boring and Nick was ready to fall asleep.

"The way Kevin’s staring at you."

Nick turned his head to see Kevin watching them and he grinned and waved, repeating Justin’s actions. "Yeah!" Nick mouthed to Kevin, doing a seat shimmy for him. He watched as Kevin laughed silently. Kevin looked up at the speaker before turning back to Nick.

"Wait for me afterwards?" Kevin mouthed. He could see that Nick hadn’t understood what he said, so he repeated it again, slower this time and using motions for Nick to stay where he was when he was finished. Again, Nick shrugged.

Justin snickered and nodded to Kevin. "He wants you to wait here afterwards."

Nick turned to Kevin. "You want me to wait for you?"

Kevin nodded. "Yes." He made talking motions with his hands. Nick nodded.

"Kev," Gretchen whispered. "Cut it out, Delany’s about to bust your balls."

Kevin snickered and rolled his eyes as he turned towards his ex girlfriend. "What’s he gonna do? Fail me? Fuck it, I'm not the only one talking."

"Right on," Nigel agreed in a whisper. The group of teens surrounding them all started to laugh and loudly cheer. Surprisingly, so did everyone else calling them all to attention. The speakers had finally finished talking and they were that much closer to being free.

The awards ceremony went by much faster. Everyone got up and cheered for classmates who won various awards and scholarships to be put towards continuing their education in the fall. Not surprisingly, Kevin won an athletic award as well as an award for excellence in his contribution to the continuing betterment of student life at Lincoln High. Although there were a lot of people cheering as he walked across the stage to accept his awards, he was certain that he could hear Nick’s voice above everyone else’s.

And finally, it was nearing the end of the ceremony. Principal Lane said a few more words to the graduates, wishing them luck in their future endeavors as well as the wisdom to be able to look back on this journey as a stepping stone to their futures. It was during this speech that Kevin became wistful for his times at Lincoln High. He teased at how much of a drag school was and how glad he was going to be to get out of Lincoln, but at the same time had enjoyed every minute of his time there. High school had been an enjoyable experience for him and he could only hope that college would be the same.

"Dorough, Howard Dwayne..." Vice Principal Delany called. Howie walked across the stage, accepted his diploma and posed for a picture while shaking Principal Lane’s hand. When the flash went off, he turned the tassel to the other side and waved to the cheering audience. He headed to the end of the stage as the next name was called.

"Kirkpatrick, Christopher Alan..." Chris jogged across stage and did a cartwheel. He accepted his diploma and instead of shaking Principal Lane’s hand, he took him in a big hug. The crowd all started to laugh and Principal Lane shook his head.

"Christopher, you never cease to amaze me!"

Chris grinned and nodded. "Thank you sir. It was nice knowing you!" And with that, he jogged to the edge of the stage before one last wave to his mother and sisters and Justin, blowing kisses the entire time.

Justin was on his feet, jumping and screaming as loudly as he could. He had the best friends ever because Nick, Lance and AJ were up too, screaming and hollering for Chris so loud that the people around them were laughing in good nature with them.

"Do you know him?" One elderly woman asked kindly. Justin smiled down at her and nodded.

"Know him? I love him ma’am!"

"Saunders, Gretchen Elizabeth."

Nick held his breath as Gretchen Saunders crossed the stage, her long blonde hair curled specially for that day. He had noticed Kevin and Gretchen talking intermittently through the ceremony and felt that familiar feeling of jealousy bubble up inside of him. Justin held one hand while Lance took the other.

"Bitch," Nick whispered. Justin and Lance snickered.

"Richardson, Kevin Scott." Kevin swallowed down his nerves and strode across the stage. He turned to look at Nick and winked at him before focusing on the path ahead of him. He stopped to take the diploma with his left hand and shake with his right.

"Congratulations Kevin," Principal Lance said warmly. "You are truly an exceptional individual."

"Thank you Principal Lane," Kevin nodded.

"Good luck in September, I know you’ll do well at UCLA."

"I hope so Sir."

Kevin posed for one more picture before heading off of the stage and back towards his chair. He waved up at his family and shook the fake diploma in the air. They had been instructed that their real certificate would be presented to them upon return of their robe. It was to ensure they didn’t ruin the diploma but at the same time, to ensure that they got the robes back. Like the students really wanted to keep them. As he passed by the side of the stage Nick was sitting on, he saw the blonde put his camera up to his eye and take a few pictures. When he lowered it, Kevin waved and grinned at him. Nick and Justin cheered for him again which caused him to turn red and rush back to his seat as Nigel was coming up behind him.

"Move it or lose it Richardson," Nigel teased. "Less than twenty minutes left and we’re outta here."

The last half hour was torture because they could taste their freedom, but it seemed as if there were a never ending string of last minute speeches and announcements. Cocktails to be had under the tents for all graduates and their guests. Pictures could be purchased by Jostens's Photographers. Please be safe when leaving the parking lots as there were a large number of people leaving at the same time.

Kevin could care less. He just wanted to be out of the robe and at least a little cooler. Plus, he wanted to see his parents and send them off before finding Nick.

Finally the time had come. The graduates were asked to stand as they were given one last word to the wise. And then they were presented as Lincoln High’s newest graduating class. Kevin grinned at Nigel, looked up at Chris and tossed his cap in the air, cheering with the rest of his class. People were hugging, girls were crying and everyone was dying to get out of their robes and to their diplomas to make sure it was their name on the certificate.

Kevin made his way to Chris who was laughing with Howie about something. "Lets get rid of these things," Kevin said, pulling his robe off. He had grabbed a cap and nodded towards the exit where the tents were.

"Yeah, I told J to meet us afterwards at the refreshment tent, so we can take our time," Chris followed Kevin, Howie and Nigel towards the long line up to return their robes. It was there their parents found them.

"Not yet darling," Ann Richardson said warmly. I want pictures of you all in your robes."

Bev, Chris’ mother, nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, it’s so wonderful to see you all grown up and graduating."

Out of the corner of his eye, Chris saw Joey and Brian weaving through the crowds. "Hold on, there’s Bri and Joe."

"Oh, of course, we need the other two members of their gang in here," Beverly nodded. "Get over here."

They took pictures until finally the line had dispersed and the now graduates could safely get in without being mauled. Kevin felt a sense of relief as he handed over his cap and gown and was given a cardboard frame, holding his Lincoln High School Diploma in it. He opened it up, relieved to see Kevin Scott Richardson in perfect cursive.

"Here," his father said kindly. "Let me see it son." Kevin handed it over, not surprised to see his mother start to cry.

"I’m so proud of you, Baby," she pulled Kevin in for a hug and held him tight.

"Thanks mom."

"So, what did you want to do tonight?" His father asked. "Do you have plans?"

Kevin nodded. ‘Actually, I do tonight dad. I was thinking we’d do the graduation thing tomorrow. Is that okay?"

"Actually," Ann Richardson said. "You’re all having that party tonight right?" Kevin nodded. "We’ve talked to a caterer earlier today and we’re holding a graduation brunch tomorrow morning at around noon. So tonight, tell everyone that they’re welcome to the house tomorrow at noon for a grad brunch."

Kevin’s jaw dropped in surprise. It wasn’t like his parents to out of the blue organize something. "What?"

"Well, I was talking to Jackie Littrell and she said that no one was putting on a graduate brunch, and that is just horrible. Had I known earlier..." Kevin’s mother shook her head in disgust. "But I know now, and so I got up this morning and made a few calls. A friend of mine knew someone and they are spending today throwing together a menu for a brunch for your class tomorrow. So spread the word. We’ll do that and then tomorrow night, you and your friends are invited to dinner with us. Our treat."

"Are ....you sure?" Kevin asked, slightly surprised. His mother patted his cheek lovingly and nodded. "Of course. I know this year has been hard, for all of us. But we’re trying. And we know that tonight the last thing you want is to be out with your mother and father, so you do what you have to do tonight, go to your party, have fun and then tomorrow, we’ll do the brunch, then dinner."

Kevin grinned at his parents, hugging his mother and shaking his father’s hand. "Thank you both." He said genuinely. "I don’t know what to say."

"Don’t say anything," Chris said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "If you do they’ll change their mind."

The group started to laugh and Beverly smacked her son’s arm playfully. "Christopher, mind your manners."

"Oh they know me, mom. They know I have none."

"Well, we’re off to the refreshment tent to get a drink or two and then home. We've got a lot of planning to do for tomorrow."

"We’re off too," Beverly said with a kiss to Chris’ cheek. Kevin had given his mother his diploma, while Chris gave his mother his. "You behave, and if you need anything, I'll be home for the rest of the day."

Chris nodded. He gave his mother and sisters all a hug. "So, what now?" Joey asked with a yawn.

"Now, I have something I’ve been putting off for too long," Kevin said as he motioned towards the refreshment stand.


~*~*~*~

"It’s two," AJ said with a pout. "I should go now so I’m not late."

"You have an hour dude,’ Justin said. AJ pointed to the hundreds of people leaving the football field.

"And there are hundreds of people who are leaving right now. It’s called traffic, Junior."

Justin blushed and Nick laughed at his embarrassment. "We’ll see you at Craig’s right?" Nick asked.

Both Lance and AJ nodded. "Yeah, we’ll be there."

"What are you going to do now," AJ asked Lance, pulling him close and hugging him.

Lance shrugged. "Hang out with these guys until they don’t want me around anymore." He rolled his eyes at Justin and Nick’s protests. "I might go home and relax for a bit, I'm a little tired and the sun has given me a bit of a burn."

AJ nodded and kissed Lance’s nose. "Pink." Lance bit the tip of AJ’s nose in return.

"Red."

They broke out into laughter before giving each other a good bye kiss.

"Call me when you’re leaving."

"Come by to see me tonight?" AJ suggested. Lance smiled.

"Yeah, I’ll see if mama and daddy want to go for dinner there. I know Stacey will want to go."

"Awesome," AJ kissed Lance one more time. "I’ll see you guys later."

When AJ was gone, Justin nodded towards the refreshment tent. "I’m so thirsty, lets go get something to drink."

"I was supposed to wait for Kev.." Nick protested. He wasn’t sure if Kevin meant for him to wait there for him, or somewhere else. He didn’t want to miss the other boy.

"I told Chris we’d meet them in the refreshment tent, so he’ll tell Kevin. Don’t worry."

They were in the cool shade of the tent for about twenty minutes before Lance saw Brian and Joey enter.

"There’s Brian and Joey," he said, pointing towards the entrance. Following close behind was Howie, Gretchen, Nigel, Chris and finally Kevin, all five graduates looked happy with permanent grins on their faces.

Nick’s pulse raced at the sight of Kevin, but the feeling was dampened by the fact that Gretchen was with them. Chris noticed them standing at the side and nodded in their direction. Nick watched Kevin look over and the smile on his face intensified. Nick forgot all about Gretchen Saunders.

"Hey you," Chris said to Justin, hugging him tightly.

"Hey," Justin replied with a laugh. "Nice cartwheel."

"I know." Chris nodded at Nick and Lance. "Bass, Nick."

"Chris," Nick and Lance greeted him with smiles.

Kevin approached Nick. He was about to say something when someone caught his arm, grabbing his attention. "Kevin?"

He turned around, Gretchen was at his side. "Hey."

Gretchen looked at Kevin and then to the boy she knew Kevin was about to talk to. She flashed the blonde a shy smile and apologized. "I’m sorry to interrupt, I’ll be just a minute."

Nick nodded mutely, surprised that she had not only looked him in the eye while talking to him, but was polite.

"I just wanted to say good bye. We’re leaving, my parents wanted to get some last minute shopping out of the way now before we go to dinner tonight. Are you going to Craig’s?"

Kevin nodded. "I’ll be there." He pulled Gretchen in for a tight hug, ignoring the inquisitive look he knew Nick was giving him. "I’ll see you tonight."

"Okay, thanks again Kev." She then kissed his cheek and smiled at Nick again. "Sorry, he’s all yours."

"Bye Gretchen," Chris sang sarcastically.

"Fuck off Kirkpatrick," Gretchen gave him the finger as she headed off towards the entrance. He only shrugged when Kevin gave him a dirty look.

"What?"

"Fuck off Chris," Kevin growled. He then turned his attention back to Nick, who was watching him curiously. "Can we talk?"

Nick nodded, not trusting his voice. Kevin slid his hand in Nick’s, pulling him towards the open area of the tent, bringing him outside. They walked to a tree that wasn’t too far away in silence. Nick wasn’t sure what to say, and Kevin didn’t know how to start. Finally, he took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves.

"I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while, but I’m a chicken," Kevin admitted. "I don’t know if what I'm going to say is going to come out right, so let me finish before you say anything."

Nick nodded, not speaking was perfect.

"I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I used you, and I know you said that it wasn’t using because you didn’t mind, but I still used you. I knew you weren’t going to ask for more, so I didn’t feel guilty for what we were doing, but I'm sorry that when you did ask for more, I wasn’t strong enough to admit I wanted it too. I did, I did so much, but I wasn’t sure what my parents would say, how it would be when I left, and I thought it would be less painful if I let you know from the beginning that more wasn’t possible. But the more time I spent with you, the more I realized that the impossible was possible."

Kevin took a deep breath and looked around. There were still a lot of people milling around. He focused once again on the crystal blue of Nick’s eyes and the way his skin was glowing, kissed by the sun. He was so trusting, so loving and sometimes Kevin still wasn’t sure if he deserved Nick, but he wasn’t going to deny himself any longer for fear of the consequences.

"And then I realized how much I fucked up. It took losing you to realize what I had, and I thought I would be able to handle not having you, but I couldn’t. So I decided I wanted to be your friend, if nothing else, but even that isn’t enough."

"What are you saying?" Nick asked softly. His hands were trembling and he was afraid to read too much into Kevin's rambling in case he was misinterpreting him.

"I’m saying that I know I'm going to UCLA in the fall, but it’s not that far and I can come home whenever I want because I'll have my car. And you can come up to visit me anytime you want, but I'm tired of being afraid. I’m tired of wanting you from afar and wishing that things were the way they were before. I want to be with you, like really be with you. Boyfriends, that’s what I want. I don’t even know if you want that anymore, or if you wanted it in the first place..." Nick snorted and caused Kevin to stop talking.

"Uh, that’s totally what I wanted all along." Nick admitted. "I knew it wasn’t possible, but that’s what I wanted." Nick was too ashamed to admit that even though they weren’t going out, when they had been making out and spending all that time together, he secretly pretended that Kevin was his boyfriend. In his mind he would refer to Kevin as his boyfriend.

"Do you still want that?" Kevin asked, voice full of hope.

Nick shrugged, causing for Kevin’s stomach to fall. "Are you serious?" Nick asked softly. "I mean, is this for real? Because if you’re just playing, I’m going to be so mad."

Kevin couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up in his chest. He could tell by Nick’s facial expression, by the way he was talking that he did still want that, which gave Kevin hope. "Of course I’m serious. I ...I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a while now, but wasn’t sure if I should."

Nick stepped in and put his hands on Kevin’s hips. He looked up at the older boy and stared deeply into his eyes. "And you’re serious? You want me?"

"So much," Kevin said. He cupped Nick’s face in his hands and gently stroked his cheek with his thumbs. "I always have."

"But ..." Nick said, his eyes fluttering shut. He could feel Kevin’s breath against his face and shivered at the intimacy of it. So many memories came flooding back to him and he was overwhelmed at the emotional avalanche it produced. "I can’t have you hurting me again Kevin. Not the way you did, because ..." Nick took a deep breath before continuing. "...I couldn’t bear it."

"I’ll try my best not to," Kevin promised. He rest his forehead on Nick’s and closed his own eyes.

"You’d better treat me good," Nick warned. He stepped into Kevin’s embrace and sighed as his body was enveloped by Kevin’s arms. He pressed his cheek against Kevin’s chest and inhaled his cologne which sent his pulse racing.

"The best," Kevin promised again. He pulled away to brush his lips against Nick’s jaw. "Besides, I know that there will be a line up of people ready to kick my ass if I do."

Nick giggled and nodded. He looked up at Kevin, "yeah, and Justin is the first."

"I don’t know," Kevin said. "Chris would fight Justin for top spot. He’s been kicking my ass since Lance’s birthday."

"God, they’d fight it out then end up making out instead."

Kevin laughed, knowing how true that statement was. He relaxed against Nick’s body, enjoying the feel of the blonde in his arms. "So is that a yes? You still want to be with me?"

Nick grinned, nodding enthusiastically. "I thought you’d never ask."

Kevin leaned down and pressed their mouths together in what felt like their first kiss in forever. It had only been a little over a month since the last time they kissed each other, but it had been too long, mixed with the fear that Kevin would never get the enjoyment again, so he made a mental note to enjoy every second of it. His tongue pressed against Nick’s lips, and he shivered as Nick not only opened his lips, but darted his own tongue out to taste Kevin’s mouth. They kissed for an undetermined amount of time until finally they broke apart, gasping for breath.

"I love you," Kevin whispered against Nick’s mouth. He swallowed the gasp that resulted and smiled against Nick’s lips.

"Iloveyoutoo." Nick said quickly before kissing Kevin again.

They stood under the tree, holding each other until Kevin realized that there were people he knew he still wanted to talk to. Pulling away, he thread his fingers through Nick’s. "Did you want to go out tonight? For dinner?"

Nick’s lips broke out into a giant grin. "Like a date?"

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, a date. Our first date." He gave a shy smile as Nick jumped up and did an extended shimmy.

"Yeah I do."

"Good, we’ll go out for dinner, and then to Craig’s party."


Nick nodded, squeezing Kevin’s hand in his. "Okay." They could talk about the summer and the fall, and what the hell was going on with Gretchen Saunders later. Nick didn’t care about anything except the fact that Kevin had told him he loved him and they were together. He looked at the tent, not surprised to see Chris, Justin, Lance, Joey and Brian all talking, pretending not to watch them. They approached and Kevin kissed Nick’s cheek softly.

"I’m going to go and talk to a few people, don’t leave without me."

"Okay," Nick whispered giddily.

"I’m gonna go with him," Chris told Justin. He flashed Nick a knowing smile and headed off with Kevin, Joey and Brian not far behind. That left the three friends alone, Justin and Lance dying for Nick to say something.

"You watched the whole thing," Nick stated and not asked. Justin shrugged, unembarrassed.

"I told you I wanted to be there when he pulled his head out of his ass." Justin grinned and nodded his head. "And it was about damn time. If he didn’t do it soon, I was going to do it for him."

Nick appreciated his best friend’s loyalty, but at the same time he was glad that Kevin did it on his own terms, at his own pace. It had been a long wait, but now that Nick knew that Kevin loved him, it had been worth the pain and heartache to get him there. Not that the whole four months had been horrible, he had enjoyed his time with Kevin and with the exception of their argument at the Shake Shack, he wouldn’t have changed anything. He had two whole months before Kevin had to go away for school, and even then he knew they would work something out while Kevin was gone.


"He said he loves me. We’re together." Nick knew exactly what they wanted to know, and rather than make them wait, he wanted to share his news. Just as he expected, Justin and Lance jumped up and hugged him.

"Awesome!" Lance cried. He was so relieved that things had been resolved between Nick and Kevin. He looked at Justin whose face was serious.

"He’d better be careful this time," Justin warned. "Or else he’ll have me to deal with."

Nick snorted and hugged his best friend. "I’ve already warned him. He knows."

"Good." Justin’s serious face vanished and he grinned, hugging Nick again. "This is going to be the best summer ever. I can’t wait."

Nick looked at Lance and Justin and then across the grass to where Kevin was talking to a few of his teachers. His gaze then landed on Chris who was talking to Joey and Brian. In that moment, he had everything he ever wanted, everything he ever needed and he was excited to find out what was in store for him next.

Finis - sequel is already announced


back to Fresh Meat Lane: Introduction and TOC >