He looked at her as if she'd just punched him. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

She shrugged, her lips pulling up into a smirk.

...

"Yeah," Lydia grinned. "He totally likes you. And you've already told me about how you're practically in love with him. You should ask him out."

Tommy smiled, hiding his blush in his pillow. "I'm not in—are you messing with me?" He mumbled.

"No," she grew serious. "I wouldn't joke about that kind of thing."

He bit his lip, looking up again. "Okay. I'll do it."

...

It was at lunch--when Leo and Lydia were talking amiably about great authors from the Beat Era--that Tommy approached their small end of the table, and sat down next to Lydia.

"Hi. Can I join you guys?"

"Sure," Lydia said and smiled. "Why aren't you with Schuyler?"

"She's absent. Do you not want me here?"

"No, no, stay. It's totally fine. There's no problem. It gets a little lonely here anyway," Lydia grinned back and glanced at Leo, who was looking down at his uneaten lunch.

...

Schuyler wasn't actually just absent. Her parents had forced her to move out of the school when they'd found out that her best friend was gay. It had struck Tommy as an incredulous overreaction, but he didn't have any say in it. He could still text her, though, and he texted for her to come to his house party--the party to which he invited both Lydia and Leo.

The party had alcohol, food, blue lighting, faerie lights, and glow in the dark stars pasted everywhere, but to Leo, it mostly consisted of Tommy. Lydia hung out with her boyfriend, and Schuyler hung out with hers, and Tommy was left to converse with Leo. He walked over to where Leo was sitting on the counter drinking cider and hopped up to sit next to him. But he sat just the tiniest bit too close for them to act like they weren't both blushing madly. Their shoulders were touching, but they weren't pressing against one another, and their knees were barely touching as well.

It had been three hours since the party had started, and everyone was a little drunk, even Tommy and Leo. Tommy had gotten a little drunk on purpose, just so he knew that the words would come out faster and because he'd heard a really famous saying.

"Hey, Leo. What's up?"

"I'm a little drunk, and I think I'm up," Leo said, looking at Tommy, his eyes twinkling in the faerie lights. Tommy's cheeks reddened further.

"I think I'm a little drunk too," he said, taking another sip of his apple cider. Leo bit his lip and looked down at his hands which were folded on his lap around his cider bottle.

There was silence between them, but the music overtook the silence and Troye Sivan's voice gave Tommy a spark of energy and put some words in his mouth. Leo leant forward, and gripped the edge of the counter, his knuckles turning white.

"Hey, uh, Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna hang out sometime and like get some coffee or something?"

Leo smiled. "I'd love to," he said, barely audible over the cranked music, and hesitantly, Tommy put his hand next to Leo's and their pinkies touched. Lydia was secretly watching as she saw Leo put his head on Tommy's chest, and she squealed a little bit to herself. Her boyfriend had left a few minutes ago, and she was lonely. Now, she turned away, not wanting to get involved, and sought out Schuyler. She'd seen his boyfriend leave, and she knew Schuyler didn't have too many friends here.

Tommy's fingers wove their way through Leo's and both of their hearts soared. Tommy leant his head towards Leo's and whispered in his ear; "Come with me."

Leo's heart thudded in his chest as he nodded. What was on Tommy's mind? He really hoped that he wasn't looking to hook up or anything. Tommy's hand was the one leading him to his bedroom, though, and Leo was troubled. Perhaps he only meant a hookup to Tommy. He stopped in his tracks.

"Tommy. Is that all I mean to you? Because if all you want is sex, I think I interpreted the situation wrong," he said and bit his lip looking up at Tommy.

But Tommy just giggled a little giggle and tugged on Leo's hand. "I'm not looking for anything like that. I just didn't want to... you know what, just come with me and I'll explain everything. I promise I won't try anything. I'm like super hardcore about the consent thing."

Leo nodded, and he let himself be dragged to Tommy's room. It too, was dimly lit, and faerie lights were strung on the walls, decorating the room in the stereotypical gay fashion. Tommy sat Leo on the bed and crossed his legs, holding Leo's hands in his.

"Are you serious about asking me out?" Leo asked shyly.

Tommy nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you're drunk, I'm drunk, we're drunk, we both said so ourselves. So why would you serious?"

"Well, there is a saying that I've heard about that. It's a really famous saying that I like to keep in mind when drinking."

"Oh? And what is that?" Leo asked looking slightly seductively at Tommy without knowing it, making Tommy's heart leap out of his chest, and making him bite his lip before answering.

"Drunk words are sober thoughts."

"Is that right?" Leo said, looking at Tommy's lips without realising it. And they were leaning in.

And their lips crashed together as Troye Sivan's muted voice made it to their ears, and suddenly, Leo's hands were in Tommy's hair, and Tommy's hands were wrapping slowly around Leo's waist. But they stopped just as their tongues were making contact.

"And I guess drunk actions play out sober thoughts as well?"

Tommy smiled and cupped Leo's cheek. "I guess," and pulled him closer, their tongues exploring each other's mouths. Leo got closer still, hesitantly sitting on Tommy's lap, and the latter encouraged him, his arms wrapping tighter around him, one hand going back and forth between Leo's back and thigh. Leo felt his legs slowly wrapping themselves around Tommy's waist, and Tommy responded with a kiss on Leo's cheek, then on his jaw, then one on the start of his neck, then lower on his neck until he found Leo's sweet spot, earning a groan from him.

He kissed and sucked on the spot until he couldn't resist the thought of Leo's lips any longer. And then they were making out again, Leo's legs still wrapped around Tommy's waist. But the door opened and they both looked up to see a shocked looking girl in the doorway. Leo quickly hid his face in Tommy's shirt his face growing way too red, but he felt better when it was Lydia's voice that said: "Okay, I never came in here..."

Leo looked up to see Tommy looking down at the floor and a grinning Lydia standing in the doorway backing out, her hand on the doorknob. She winked at him before walking out. Leo looked back at Tommy as the door closed again,  and his fingers glided across Tommy's cheekbones.

"I'm sorry about that," Tommy whispered but smiled as he looked at the beautiful brunette sitting on his lap, straddling him.

"It isn't your fault," Leo whispered back and kissed him softly again.

Tommy kissed back. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you out earlier."

"Me too, I'm gonna have another year of highschool without you."

"Yeah, but maybe we're going to colleges near each other?"

"Brighton."

"Me too!" Tommy kissed Leo again. "Thank goodness for that. Now we don't have to have a long-distance relationship."

"You think this is going to last that long?" Leo asked, blushing, and putting his head on Tommy's chest.

"I would hope so," Tommy said softly, picking Leo's chin up and kissing him again.

"I've had a crush on you since you moved to school here, but I would never have thought you would have said that to me after the first kiss we've had."

"First of all, would you call that just a kiss?"

Leo shook his head, hiding his face again, but he felt a kiss on his cheek, so he looked up at Tommy again.

"And second?" he asked hesitantly

"Secondly, drunk words are just sober thoughts, aren't they?"