Taylor and Will were sitting in Taylor’s car, watching the second movie out of three. The drive-in was hosting a horror movie marathon. So far, they had seen Scream and were now watching The Ring.

When the girl started to climb out of the TV, Will began to laugh. Taylor, not being a big fan of horror movies, was pretty sure that wasn’t supposed to be a funny scene.

“You know, when you laugh like that at a scene of somebody getting killed, it’s scarier than the movie,” Taylor said, making Will laugh so hard that tears flowed from his eyes.

“Haha… no… I just remembered something,” Will said, trying to catch his breath. “What could a dead girl climbing out of a well through the TV remind you of?” He pressed his palms to his face, still trying to breathe through his laughter.

Will let out a long breath. “Most of my father’s family are veterans,” he started to tell Taylor, who looked confused.

“One of my cousins always wanted to be an actor—I'm getting there, I promise—so she went to crazy auditions all the time. One year, on Veterans Day, we all gathered at my grandpa’s, as usual.”

Will giggled again as the flashback played in his mind. “Picture this: over thirty army guys and veterans, enjoying themselves, sharing memories, having a BBQ, and suddenly a white figure coming out of the bushes.”

Will guffawed. “Her face was all white with black bags under her eyes, and she was wearing a white nightgown. I swear, it’s a miracle none of the older guys had a heart attack. When she came out, everyone screamed, and a few even pulled out their guns.”

Taylor laughed too. He tried to see the story through comedy movie eyes and found it pretty amusing.

“Why did she come out of the bushes?” Taylor asked.

“She said she was in too much of a rush to the audition, so she took a shortcut.” Will shook his head, still amused.

“She sounds fun. Your cousin,” Taylor smiled.

“She is,” Will turned in his seat to face Taylor. “I don’t have any cousins. My parents are only children, so it’s just me and my sister.”

Will didn’t know why, but he loved learning new things about Taylor. It made him laugh and his eyes twinkled.

“You must be close. Who’s the older one?” Will asked, looking at a far spot outside Taylor’s window.

“I’m two years bigg—” Taylor stopped mid-sentence.

Will suddenly rose from his seat and sat down on his lap. Will’s legs were to the side, so his knees were on both sides of Taylor’s hips. One of Will’s hands held the headrest, and the other held Taylor’s shoulders.

Will leaned in, and Taylor could feel his breath. He caught it in his throat; his heart started beating so fast and hard he could hear it in his ears.

“Are you okay?” Will asked in a husky voice.

Taylor felt his face heat up. They locked eyes—brown and green piercing each other.

They stayed like that for a long minute before a sudden knock on the window broke the moment. Taylor jumped and looked toward the window.

Will felt disappointed, even though he had planned the whole thing.

Outside the window stood Morgan and Megan with popcorn and big cups of beverages. Taylor opened the window.

“Hey, sorry to disturb you, but we thought you might need a refill,” Morgan said as he bent down to the level of the car window. He had an amused look on his face, while his girlfriend didn’t look as happy as he was.

“Thanks,” Taylor said in a husky, low voice and reached to take the cups and the popcorn bag.

Will didn’t move from Taylor or try to help with the stuff. Instead, his hands held Taylor’s shirt beneath his ribs. Taylor found it difficult to breathe and talk. After Morgan handed him all the drinks, Taylor nodded goodbye, and Morgan laughed and left the lovebirds alone.

As they walked back to their car, Megan turned her head to look back at them, also holding back her laughs. Will gave her a wave and closed the window.

Will turned to Taylor. Taylor was still holding the cups in his hands. And although Will knew what he was doing, he felt like he had crossed a line.

They held their gaze again, and then Will slid back into his seat. He took one cup from Taylor and drank half of it in two big gulps.

“I guess it was pretty convincing,” Will said quietly, his voice still hoarse.

Taylor looked at him, his green eyes dark and confused. He really didn’t know what to do in this situation. To be true to himself, he had never given much thought to his sexual orientation. He had gone on dates with girls a few times, but it had never gone further than kissing. For him, all the blood rushing and heart pounding was just for movies and books.

The rest of the movies passed in a blur for Taylor and Will, as Will crossed the line that hadn’t been crossed before. Will was very aware of his own sexuality, but Taylor’s response left him confused. He knew the feeling of someone being attracted to him — and he felt it from Taylor in waves. Yet, it had never crossed his mind that they could be more than friends.

Will nibbled on the popcorn while Taylor bit the rim of his cup. Every few minutes, they glanced at each other, silently trying to read the other’s thoughts — wondering if what they felt was more than just in their head