Parachutes

The blaring music from the other room could be heard, though the sound was greatly muffled by the walls. The only person in the relatively small space was Jonny, staring at the ground beneath his feet and absentmindedly running his hand over his beard.

The door creaked as it opened, and though the room was well lit, some of the light from outside spilled in as a person made their way through. The music was louder now.

"This is like deja vu or something," Chris said, closing the door behind him. He remained standing where he was. "Are you trying to repeat the past?"

Jonny didn't answer. For a few more seconds he stared at the floor, then he lifted his eyes to Chris. Chris walked over and took a seat beside him on the empty cushion of the couch.

"Sometimes I wish we could go back," Chris quietly confessed.

"To before all of this ridiculous partying bullshit?" Jonny asked. "It was definitely a lot easier when we didn't have to appear everywhere all the time. It's straining, you know?"

Jonny looked at Chris for a few moments, then laughed quickly. Chris was on the verge of frowning.

"Of course you know," Jonny said. "You probably know better than the rest of us, huh?"

"It's not so bad. I like that sort of stuff. Otherwise I wouldn't do it."

"It's just..." Jonny sighed. "I wake up in the morning and it feels like I've only just gone to sleep. I'm constantly exhausted."

"Me too," Chris said. "I think it's because I stay up all night, thinking."

"I can hardly ever think. It feels like everything's cloudy..." Jonny turned his head, gazed blankly across the room for a while. Neither of the two men spoke, and the only sound in the room apart from the dull music was their breathing.

"I can't believe it's been ten years," Chris finally said. "Do you remember the party we had that night? It basically was the same as this one, huh?"

Chris looked over at Jonny, and his stomach flipped. He wanted Jonny to agree with him, so that maybe then he could use this as a second chance, a do-over. And this time he would get it right.

"I guess so," Jonny replied, which Chris deemed to be a worthy answer. Now all he had to do was prepare- but last time, he had tried to prepare, and he had over thought it all. This time, he decided he wasn't going to do that. He was just going to get it over with while he had the chance.

"Jonny-" Chris began, but something happened that Chris hadn't accounted for; his nerves bounced into overdrive and he found himself unable to say much more. Then Jonny's wonderfully green eyes were staring expectantly at him, and he felt like he'd messed it up again. There was no hope.

Jonny waited a few moments, then looked down at the floor. His hand was running over his chin again, his mind hard at work trekking through the foggy haze his thoughts were buried in.

"I don't want this to be like last time," Chris said, though he hardly realized that the words came from his own mouth. "That night wasn't so good for me."

"Oh yeah," Jonny dully responded, "didn't you get totally pissed and almost went home with that transvesti- no. Wait, I think that was Guy."

"I didn't drink at all," Chris told him. "Maybe I should have."

"It was really that bad? I thought you looked like you were having a great time."

"I failed, Jonny. It's nothing new, but that time..." Chris was fidgeting with his hands, wondering why he was saying all of this, when clearly it was of no use. "I just want to know that there's at least one thing in this world that I can not screw up."

"Hey, you managed to keep us hanging around for ten-odd years." Chris slowly looked up at Jonny, who shrugged. "I think that's a pretty big feat."

After a long moment of silence, Chris opened his mouth and the words just tumbled out. "I'm in love with you." He wasn't even sure that it was what he had intended on saying, but it didn't matter much. He had said it, and there was no taking it back.

Jonny's eyes shifted around the room for a while. Chris watched him, more anxious than he had ever felt before, stomach acid rising and burning in his throat. But he had a feeling that it was all going to be fine.

Jonny sat back in his seat. Everything made sense to him now. He crossed his legs, and his right foot brushed against Chris's leg.

"Yeah. I'm in love with you, too." He folded his arms across his chest, took a few deep breaths. Then he looked at Chris. "I feel like we should... never mind." He ducked his head, trying to hide the faint flush that colored his cheeks.

"You want to kiss me, don't you?" Chris asked in a completely serious tone, but when Jonny turned to him, he was laughing softly. "I think that's a really good idea."

For a few moments they simply stared into each other's eyes, then Jonny repositioned himself a bit. They slowly began to lean towards each other, and just as they were inches apart, the door flung open.

"HEY, it's about time I found you guys!!" came the slurring voice of Guy. Chris and Jonny stayed still, waiting for Guy to continue or make some sort of remark about the compromising position he had found them in. But he was too busy downing what was left in the beer bottle in his hand. Chris decided to continue as he had been before they were interrupted.

"Chris, maybe we should wait," Jonny said in a slightly bewildered tone. Chris shot Jonny a blank expression, then turned to look at Guy. Guy had finished drinking, and was now staring back at them with glassy eyes.

"Jonny, I've been waiting for this moment for ten years. I don't care about Guy."

Chris went the rest of the way, and while Jonny was still hesitant when their lips met, he gave up the fight and kissed Chris back with as much passion as he could.

A few minutes later as they broke apart, they found that Guy was sitting on the floor beside them, eerily staring.

"Duuuude, that was hot! Do that again," Guy said with wide eyes. Then suddenly, he frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. "Did I just say that? What the hell is wrong with me?" Guy quickly scrambled to his feet and stumbled towards the door. "Jesus... my fucking best friends... I can't even..."

Chris and Jonny both stared, unblinkingly, even after Guy had long gone.

"OK," Chris slowly began, "maybe we should have waited." He turned back to Jonny to find that Jonny was looking at him, an expression in his eyes that Chris had never seen before. "... What?"

"Nothing," Jonny plainly said. "I just like staring at you."

On the inside, Chris felt like he was melting, but he chose to narrow his eyes at Jonny. "Jonny, I'm supposed to be the cheesy one. You're taking my thing."

"Well, then, what's my thing?" Jonny asked.

"Your thing is... being really nice. No matter what, you're always nice. Even when you say jerk-ish things, you're just being nice, if that makes sense. And you have the greatest laugh in the world," Chris said with a tiny smile.

"Right. I think your thing is safe, Chris," Jonny said, and he couldn't help laughing, which made Chris smile wider. Then he shook his head a little.

"Ten whole years... Jonny, in the next life, if I do love you then, will you please tell me to hurry the hell up telling you?"

"Yeah," Jonny said, nodding, "I'll make sure you get the message."