“Anyway, should we... go to sleep? It’s late, and we have plans tomorrow with those morons if they haven’t died,” he said as he got under the covers.
“Yeah...” Noah agreed, tucking himself in bed beside Kaj, back-to-back. The bed was a large single mattress, and they had always slept together. Though, right now, it was awkward feeling Kaj’s warmth against him, knowing that touching him was off-limits.
Noah was already confused about his sexuality and his lack of interest in any type of physical interaction. Since his attention was usually drawn to pretty boys instead of girls, he also suspected he might be gay. But how could he say any of this out loud when there was so much prejudice in this town? How could he admit his best friend was the one he liked?
This... it changed everything.
Four
Kaj and Noah nevertalked about their kiss or the impromptu boners they’d popped that night. Never mentioned it to Val or Theo, either. They’d simply acted weird around each other, shifting back to normal after a couple of weeks, like nothing had ever happened. And honestly, it was for the best. He was already worried all the time about his body, his laughter sounding too loud, or having something in his teeth that made him look even dumber in Kaj’s eyes. He didn’t need the extra discomfort.
New year. New life.
Between acne flare-ups and music lessons with Val and Theo, time sped up quickly. Before they knew it, spring break arrived.
After months of teaching his friends the basics of the guitar and bass, they were finally ready to practice together as a band, or at least try. Kaj had been attending classes since he got his drum kit, too, but apparently, he had been an undercover geniusall this time. His percussion teacher was so impressed that he’d said Kaj could be the next John Bonham if they encouraged it.
“Okay, let’s see what we have here…” Nikolaj trailed off as he sat on the couch between Kaj and Noah, dropping a pile of old vinyls on the coffee table.
They were in the Larsens’ garage. It was a place big enough for two cars, but since Nik only had one, he’d made room for them to rehearse, adding homey touches like the sectional he had gotten on sale. He’d also paneled the walls closer to their area with acoustic foam to improve their sound. Apparently, he’d had a band of his own back when he was in school, too. It was just for fun, so they’d never performed live, but Nik loved it and learned a lot about music, something he was more than pleased to pass on to his son and his friends.
Noah had no idea what it was like to have an actual father, not that he needed one—Trine was the equivalent of three parents—but with this man, he felt like he had one. When Noah messed up, Nikolaj called him out. When he needed advice on something and was too embarrassed to ask his mom, Nik was there for him. He always let them stay up late on weekends and sometimes even joined them when they jumped off the cliff at the beach.
Nikolaj was a father, strict and serious when he had to be. He was also a firefighter who adored his job. But most of all, he was kind, fun, and a steady rock Noah never knew he needed. Kaj was lucky to have a dad like him, who was so devoted.
“What about Nirvana?” Nik asked, showing them theNevermindalbum.
“They’re cool,” Theo said. “We could try.”
“‘Seven Nation Army’ by The White Stripes is also a fairly easy song to start with,” Kaj’s dad continued. “And, oh! It’d make me super happy if you gave ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ a chance. That’s one of the songs we always played when I was a kid.” He chuckled.
“So, like a thousand years ago,” Kaj quipped.
Nikolaj smiled and tapped his head with a Deep Purple vinyl before passing it to Val. “‘Smoke On the Water,’” he said, pointing at it. “Another super easy classic you could try is ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ by The Ramones.”
“Punk-ish,” Val said with a grin as he grabbed the album.
Nikolaj nodded, nostalgia shining in his eyes. “If you’re feeling a little bold, you could add some Metallica to the mix. With that and a song or two from The Beatles, I think you’ll be covered and more than busy for a few weeks.” He handed Noah a greatest hits record.
They stayed there for the rest of the afternoon, talking about Nik’s school rock band and all things music, downloading the tabs for the songs he’d suggested, and simply enjoying their time together.
Life was good.
For the next few weeks, they’d struggled to find their groove. Synchronizing with each other wasn’t as easy as the big bands made it look. But by the beginning of June, after hours and hours of practice, magic happened.
At the start of ninth grade, the four of them transferred schools. It was uncommon to switch to another institution in the middle of primary education, but with some ongoing verbal bullying alongside a decline in teaching quality under the new committee, the boys’ parents didn’t want them learning in such a toxic environment. Add this to all their extracurriculars, and they didn’t have as much time to hang out as before. But they still met to rehearse every Thursday and on weekends, getting a little better every day.
Val had learned all the songs they’d been practicing by heart and didn’t need to look at the tabs anymore. Theo’s bass sounded more aggressive and determined, like he wasn’t afraid to strum its strings. Noah’s voice had improved considerablysince he’d enrolled in singing lessons during the summer. And Kaj, well, he’d jumped straight to the next level with musicandgirls.Of course.
It was a nightmare for Noah that he’d already screwed someone because some days that was all Val and Theo wanted to talk about with him—pussy, tits, the sounds she made.
Noah was a month away from turning fifteen, but he was still trying to figure out why he wasn’t like the rest of his friends. He didn’t care about the opposite gender. That much was obvious, and he was okay with it. Still, he worried about his lack of sexual attraction to anyone, which seemed to be abnormal at his age. Just the thought of getting physical with anyone was revolting. But somehow, his best friend awakened something in him.
Since the night he’d kissed Kaj, he couldn’t stop watching him, noticing things he never had before. Like the way his nose crinkled when he laughed, how soft his lips looked, his body—it really turned Noah on. It was a sensation he didn’t experience regularly, but he easily recognized when it ignited—a perk of not being a walking hormonal wreck.
Not that any of it mattered. Kaj liked girls and there was no changing that. The conversation they’d had after his first time with Emma was still vivid in Noah’s mind, rattling his insides every time he thought about it…
“So, how did your journey into manhood feel? You know, with Emma,” Noah asked as they stepped barefoot into the water. He didn’t really want to hear the answer, but they were friends, and Kaj had been so excited it seemed rude not to ask him.
