Crazy

[Eli]

Story Title: Crazy

Type of story: Oneshot (independent sequel to "Just mates", "U" and "End of summer")

Main Characters: Geoff and Aden

BTTB rating: G/A

Genre: Drama, Angst, Romance

Spoilers: No

Proof Read: No

Warnings: Mild (SC) I think

Summary: Has Geoff finally figured out how to move on?

Okay, I changed the name... It was kind of necessary after I rearranged a little bit between this one and the next oneshot.

Crazy

Another dark wave crashed in, washing salty foam and seaweed onto the wet, cold sand. Even though it was dark he could see a contour out there. First ducking under the surface, and then getting up again, shaking the water out of his hair and swimming back to land.

“Are you getting in or not?” Aden called. He could barely hear him through the sound of the wind and the waves, because he was still far enough out for the water to go up to his waist.

“I don’t know,” Geoff called back, “It’s cold; the water must be freezing!”

“It’s okay when you get used to it,” Aden replied. Geoff didn’t say anything, he just stared out at the dark, deep water.

“Do I have to come and get you?” Aden shouted, “Come on! Don’t worry!”

“You’re so going to get me into trouble with all your wild ideas,” Geoff muttered, even though Aden couldn’t hear him. Slowly he took off his watch and dropped it on Aden’s towel. It showed half past two, and they hadn’t seen a single person, it should be safe…

The cold wind and the excitement sent a shivering feeling down his spine as he let go of the towel and started running towards the water.

“This is crazy,” he laughed as he reached the same depth of water as Aden, “You’re going to get me arrested!”

“Just relax,” Aden grinned, “Getting arrested for skinny dipping in the middle of the night only happens in your world!”

***

Shaking and shivering they both dumped down on the sand, trying to shield themselves from the cold air with their towels.

“Okay, so we didn’t get arrested,” Geoff admitted, “But I’m probably going to get pneumonia!”

“Don’t say I never gave you anything,” Aden replied, in a fake, romantic tone.

“Okay, I’ll admit it, it was fun… Even if I no longer have any blood circulation in my legs…”

“Man, do you ever stop complaining?” Aden joked, “It was fun, okay, can we just leave it at that and try not to think about the fact that we soon have to go home to defrost our hair?”

“Okay, okay, so it was probably more fun than swimming in the middle of the day,” Geoff laughed, “But not even you can deny that it’s actually a lot more comfortable to go swimming when the water isn’t two degrees away from having ice cubes in it!”

Aden grinned, he barely noticed how cold he was anymore.

“Yes, okay?” he replied, “It is more comfortable to go swimming like normal people. You know, with swimming gear and a sun and all that stuff… But even if that means not getting sand in… Places I don’t want to get sand, I much prefer this!”

They both laughed, but then realized it was still too cold to laugh.

“I think I’m going to put on some clothes again,” Geoff said, “I feel like an ice cream.”

He pulled the t-shirt over his head and quickly gathered the rest of his clothes from the sand. Aden did the same thing, and neither of them said a word until they were fully dressed again.

“So, how did you come up with this anyway?” Geoff broke the awkward silence.

“What?”

“This idea,” Geoff continued, “Suddenly you come knocking on my window in the middle of the night and ask me to come swimming with you.”

He tried to sound casual, but his heart was beating a bit faster, because this wasn’t the first time he had gotten the feeling there was something unsaid between him and Aden.

“I don’t know,” Aden replied, shrugging, “I thought it would be fun. After all, you have proven to be surprisingly fun to hang out with over the last few weeks. When you loosen up and stop worrying about everything, that is.”

He smiled, and Geoff wasn’t sure if he was serious or joking.

“Yeah, how did that happen, by the way?” he said, deciding to keep the tone fun and casual, “The two of us hanging out?”

“Well, let me see,” Aden laughed, “Nicole had a crush on you, and she figured the best way to get to spend time with you without being too obviously desperate, would be for all of us to hang out together.”

“Well, too bad we forgot about Nicole then,” Geoff grinned. Neither of them had hung out with Nicole in over two weeks.

“Oh, she wasn’t any fun,” Aden smiled, “We’re better off without her. She was just slowing us down.”

Geoff laughed.

“Good point,” he said, “With her there’s always something to take into consideration. She’s a bit high maintenance; it’s so much more fun hanging out just the two of us. I don’t think I’ve had this much fun since-“

He stopped, suddenly remembering that part of the real story wasn’t exactly common knowledge.

There was another awkward silence, and Aden leaned back onto the sand, still looking at Geoff.

“Can I ask you something?” he finally said, and this time he definitely sounded serious.

“Sure,” Geoff muttered, still looking down, trying to pretend his little slip of the tongue had never happened.

“Okay, don’t get mad if I’m wrong,” Aden said, “But… You and Lucas… Were you…?”

Geoff bit his lip. Should he lie? Aden had been nice to him for weeks now, but he still could be a bit of a jerk, and there was no way of knowing how he would react if Geoff told the truth.

“Yeah,” he finally said, terrified of how Aden would respond to the truth, “I guess you could say we sort of… Had a relationship…”

Aden didn’t say anything, and the longer he didn’t say anything the more it scared Geoff.

“Look, please just forget what I said,” Geoff suddenly exclaimed when he couldn’t take the silence anymore, “It’s stupid, just forget I ever said anything. If this is going to cause any tension because you’re not okay with it, then it doesn’t matter, okay? Just forget it, it’s not important, it was just some stupid, confused, teenage riot thing.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Aden finally said, “I don’t have a problem with it. I kind of figured.”

“Because I basically told you when you were making jokes about me missing my boyfriend?” Geoff asked, and finally he had the courage to look at Aden again.

“Yeah… Sorry about that,” Aden muttered, “If I had had any idea…”

“It’s okay,” Geoff muttered, “You were right anyway.”

“So, Lucas was like your boyfriend?”

“Yep,” Geoff replied. There was no point holding anything back now.

“And he just left you to go to school in Perth? Just like that?”

“Yeah, pretty much…”

“That sucks.”

Geoff couldn’t help smiling. This conversation just seemed very surreal.

“You could say that,” he muttered, “But it doesn’t matter. It’s all in the past, I’m over it.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know,” Geoff sighed, “It’s getting easier. I’m getting used to it.”

“Well, if you ever want to talk about it…” Aden muttered, blushing a little when he saw Geoff’s expression of pure shock, “… Just don’t ever tell Nicole I just said that… If you tell her she’ll probably think I’m Mr. Sensitive, and she’ll be all over me.”

He tried to laugh, but it didn’t really seem to work.

“I thought you liked Nicole?” Geoff asked. Aden shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he muttered, “I like her as a friend, but that’s it.”

“You…” Geoff began, not sure if he should or shouldn’t, “You do like girls, right?”

Aden looked at him for a split second before he quickly looked down again. It was impossible to read the expression on his face.

“I’m sorry,” Geoff began apologizing again, “That was out of line, I’m sorry, that’s none of my business. Forget I ever asked.”

“I don’t know,” Aden finally sighed, shocking Geoff even more than when he invited him to talk about his feelings, “Sometimes I think I do.”

Geoff didn’t say anything. He really didn’t know what to say, this was just too weird. But at the same time; wasn’t this what he had been thinking so many times over the last few weeks?

“But I’m warning you,” Aden continued, “Don’t tell anyone I said that. I’ve never told anyone about that, and if you do I’ll probably kill you.”

Geoff quickly nodded. He didn’t doubt for a second that Aden would kill him if he told anyone about this.

“Well, don’t be afraid of it, that’s my best advice,” Geoff finally said, surprising himself with how sure he sounded, “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, if it makes you happy-“

He stopped when he saw how sad and uncomfortable Aden suddenly looked. That had been a stupid thing to say. Of course it wasn’t that simple! Not for Aden, anyway. He had heard Belle and Irene talk about Aden’s past; obviously this couldn’t be easy.

“Sorry,” he muttered, “That was kind of stupid…”

“You know, don’t you?” Aden almost whispered, looking down again.

“Yeah,” Geoff replied silently, “You know, I live with Belle and Irene, and they were both at your court case… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“It’s okay,” Aden muttered, “I’m getting used to it.”

“Well, if you ever want to talk about it…”

Aden looked at him.

“Jeez, I’m starting to sound like you,” Geoff joked, trying to break the tension.

“That’s okay,” Aden smiled, “Maybe we’re more alike than I thought when I first met you, Bible-boy?”

Geoff grinned.

“I’ll loosen up,” he smiled, “If you’ll still hang out with me.”

“Sure,” Aden replied, “But I won’t stop being a jerk. Someone’s got to teach you.”

“Absolutely,” Geoff smiled and took off his shirt, ready to get into the water again, “Plus, it’s what makes you fun to hang out with. Now, are you coming with me for another swim, or are you going to just lay here?”

“This is crazy,” Aden grinned, but he too took off his shirt.

“I know,” Geoff replied, “That’s why it’s so fun.”

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