- 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 !

12. 𝑆𝐸𝐶𝑅𝐸𝑇𝑆

" chapter twelve "
.SECRETS.

☆•. 12. | HENRY lay rolled up in his bed, head under the covers as he tried to pretend that didn't happen. But it did. The moment kept repeating over and over in his mind as he lay there. The voices in his head telling him that the boy told everyone. He squeezed his eyes shut before rolling over and facing the wall, trying to push away the thoughts. At some point, he heard his dad enter the room. He pretended to be asleep.

"Hey, I know you don't want to talk about it." He heard his dad whisper as he sat down on his bed. "I just want you to know that me and your mother are both here for you... if you ever want to talk. I'm always here for you, son."

He felt his dad press a kiss to his head before walking toward the door and exiting. Henry couldn't help but let out a silence sob as he pulled his cover closer to his body. Charlie and Louis had decided to stay a little later, letting Henry have some alone time. At some point, Henry's eyes fell heavy forcing him into a deep sleep until morning.

The soft rain hit his window as the light shone through his curtains and onto his face. With a sigh, the boy leaned over grabbing his phone. With tired eyes, the boy checked his messages only seeing one from Louis asking him if he was okay. Gently, the boy sat up, no shirt but with his pyjama bottoms on.

He walked toward the bathroom with a yawn, going to the sink and brushing his teeth. He listened as the rain hit the window before spitting out the remaining toothpaste in his mouth. He stared at the mirror. He felt the embarrassment rush through his body as he thought of the moment once again but only this time, it was 10x worse.

A loud knock made him jump lightly.  "Henry? Could you get the door please?" His mum asked meaning the knock came from the front door. "It's probably the postman."

"Sure, mum." He shouted back as he washed his hands and exited the bathroom. His feet took him down stairs with a tired yawn, he reached forward opening the door to find Nick Nelson. "Nick?" He questioned. The boy was soaked from hair all the way to his shoes. The boy stood out in the pouring rain.

"Hi." Nick greeted.

"Hi." Henry greeted back awkwardly. "What... what are you doing here?"

"Um... I'm sorry for not texting you." Nick panted as the rain poured down. "Uh... I just wanted to talk in person."

"Okay..." Henry looked at the boy. He carefully grabbed the boy's arm, dragging him inside. "Just come in, you're soaked."

The two boys stood in the doorway of the house. "Yeah, good idea." Nick agreed as he looked at him.

"Did you forget to bring a coat or was this some random decision you made?" Henry asked causing the boy to look down at his own outfit.

"Oh, uh... yeah, I didn't check the weather before I left." Nick panted. "Uh... so, about last night. I just wanted to say—"

"Nick." Henry's mum walked through to the front door, spotting the boy. "I didn't know you were coming round."

"Um..." Nick and Henry shared a look. "Yeah. Sorry, yeah."

"He's just picking up something he left last time. A jumper." Henry shrugged looking at his mum with a smile. His mum nodded looking at the two boys with a small smile.

"Right. Uh, well, don't forget we're going to Grandma's this morning, Henry." His mum went to walk off but looked at her son once again. "You could at least change out of your pyjamas."The other boy looked down at Henry's attire and his mum walked off. No T-shirt and a pair of red pyjama bottoms.

"You told me to answer the—" Henry tried to speak but him mum was already gone. "Never mind. Let's just... go up to my room. I'll get you a towel or something."

Nick walked up and into Henry's room, Henry not far behind him. The boy pulled off his soaking wet jumper before turning to the bow behind him. "Uh... so—"

"I'm so sorry." Henry interrupted. "I'm so fucking sorry. I just... I was- I wasn't thinking right, I wasn't thinking about what I was doing and... it was so stupid! I don't want you to feel awkward or anything. It was all my fault."

"Hang on." Nick walked forward.

"I shouldn't have kissed you." Henry closed his eyes looking down. "I-I bet you felt pressured to do it.. I had came out to you and then I asked you and you probably won't talk to me anymore but... I had to say sorry. And I'm hoping that there would be a chance, even if it was a tiny chance, that we could still be friends?"

"Henry—" Nick had walked closer to the boy.

"I don't want to lose you or this friendship because of something stupid and selfish I did." Henry rambled before feeling Nick's hands on his face.

"Henry." Nick called once again before kissing the boy with his eyes squeeze shut. Henry couldn't stop himself from kissing the boy back, his feet almost rising to their tippy-toes as they kissed. It lasted a few seconds. The second it ended, Henry missed it.

"Uh..." Henry mumbled shocked and confused.

"God." Nick sighed, tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, I..." the boy walked and sat on Henry's bed. "I'm just so sorry I ran away last night. I was just freaking out because, uh... I was confused and surprised and, like, honestly... I'm having a proper, full-on gay crisis." Henry walked forward, looking at the boy.

"Take your time, it's okay." Henry muttered to him.

"And it's not that I didn't want to, you know... kiss you. I just..." Nick squeezed his eyes shut for a second. "I was just so confused. I've just been so, so confused." Henry carefully sat next to the boy on his bed. "I just think I need some time to... figure this out."

Henry placed a hand on the boy's shoulder causing Nick to hug him tightly as Henry hugged his shoulders. "Take all the time you need." He muttered to him. Nick, slowly moved his head away from his shoulder looking at the boy, who smiled at him. A small look appeared on Nick's face before he hugged him again, sobbing into his shoulder.

They stayed like that for a moment before Nick spoke up. "Don't you have to go to your grans?" Henry let out a small curse as Nick let go of him.

"So, if you ever, I mean ever, need to talk, I'm here." Henry spoke. "If it's just something simple, I'm here."

Nick smiled at him slightly causing the boy to smile back as he tilted his head toward the door. Nick grabbed his hoodie, pulling it back on as the two reached the front door. "At school... is it okay if we, like..."

"Keep it a secret?" Henry finished, putting his hands in his pyjama pockets. "Of course."

"I just don't really know if I can, uh... you know." Nick looked at him. "Come out as anything."

"Yeah, no, I get that. It's fine." Henry shrugged before pulling an umbrella off of the coat hanger. "Here. So you don't catch even more of a cold."

Nick smiled at him before opening the door. Carefully, he stepped out into the rain, pulling it open and holding it above his head. "Bye." Henry smiled at him as he leaned against the doorway.

"Bye." Nick smiled back before walking off. Henry thought for a second before shoving on his shoes and grabbing his t-shirt which sat on the stairs. In a Rush, The Boy shoved on his shirt, following after the boy in the rain.

By the time he had gotten out of his front gate, the boy was soaked from hair to shoes. "Nick!" He yelled causing the boy with the umbrella to stop. Henry came to a stop under the small umbrella with a smile.

"Hi." The two greeted each other. "Did I forget something?" Nick asked.

"Uh... maybe." Henry shrugged before kissing the boy who almost let the umbrella fall to kiss him back. Nick watched the boy in slight shock as Henry glanced behind him. "Okay. Bye."

He watched as the boy rushed off toward the door which he had accidentally left open. Nick shook his head with a smile that wouldn't leave his face.

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