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Dakota dragged William up the stairs leading towards the roof. He held onto William’s hand tightly, keeping him from trailing to far behind. He shut the door behind him as they stood upon the roof. Dakota led William towards the edge, quickly sitting down and letting his legs dangle off the edge. “Fresh air!” He exclaims loudly, letting go of William's hand.
William stood behind Dakota, confused by his sudden want to go onto the roof. “Why’re we up here again?” William questioned. “Why not?” Dakota asked, keeping the same energetic tone. William stared down, considering the question in his head. “Guess you’re right” He shrugged.
Dakota kicked his feet against the stone, tapping to a silent melody. William plopped next to him, wincing slightly at the hard feeling. “Your shoes are gonna be damaged if you keep hitting them against that.” William said, nudging Dakota slightly. “Nope! My shoes are indestructible!” He exclaimed, kicking his feet quicker to spite William.
William rolled his eyes, ignoring the smile tugging at lips. Dakota smiled, staring up at the sky as light purples and dark blues wavered in a small dance. The stars flickered against the sky like fireflies. “The stars look like they’re dancing..” Dakota states suddenly, almost mesmerized by the stars. William quizzically scooted closer to Dakota, leaning over to see from his view. “Huh, I guess they do” He said shortly.
Silence rang heavy as Dakota stayed lost in thought for a moment. “Do you ever think about how small we are?” He asked in a half whisper, still carrying the mesmerized tone. “Compared to the stars?” William asked, turning towards Dakota who nodded in response. “Makes the world feel big.” Dakota continued. William turned back to the sky, leaning forward slightly. “I guess I’ve never really thought of it like that.” He replied, blinking at the flickering lights from below. “I kinda like to imagine they’re reflections,” William started.
“Reflections?” Dakota asked, tilting his head with a furrowed brow. William nodded, looking towards Dakota with a small smile. “Yeah! Like…uh, reflections of us, people, everyone I guess?” He chuckled, “Like our hopes or dreams? Maybe the stars are made of little pieces of us.” He said, looking back to the sky. “Does that sound weird?” He turned his attention back to Dakota, watching his reaction.
Dakota squinted, staring at William for longer than comfortable. ”not really,” he shrugged. “I mean, I think it’s nice to think that all the stuff you go through, some else has been through the same.” He trailed off, “Like, it’s like when you find someone who gets it, y’know? Feels like the world isn’t as big.” He shrugged again, trailing away from William’s gaze.
William stared at Dakota, only slightly surprised by his comparisons. His chest tightened as he absentmindedly moved closer, watching Dakota with a furrowed brow. Dakota turned back to William, tilting his head. The space between them shrunk more and more the longer they sat in silence, both last in thought.
William could feel Dakota’s breath against his skin. He wasn’t sure if he was uncomfortable or confused by this, even if he was the reason they were this close.
“Yeah,” William said quietly, flashing a glance at his hands. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was responding to, but it felt right to say something. William shifted into a crisscross position, his body turned towards Dakota and his head towards the stars. Dakota must’ve noticed a change in William’s demeanor. He turned his body completely towards William, sitting in the same crisscross position. “Wiwi, you look like you’re gonna fall asleep.” Dakota teased softly, poking William’s knee.
William flinched slightly at Dakota’s teasing, yet he smiled softly. “I’m not falling asleep, Kota.” He said, his voice quiet, “just, thinking.” He continued, fiddling with his hands. “Abouuuut—?” Dakota asked, his eyes focused on William.
He looked about, pondering his words for a second. “I don’t know, just.. how much we haven’t figured out,” He shrugged, “and now we can just sit without having to think about it..” Dakota's eyes softened, “I get that.” He said quietly, with a steady voice. Dakota stayed quiet, his eyes lingering onto William for a second too long as he fiddled with the strings of his pants, an unreadable expression on his face.
“But y’know what—I don’t think about that a lot!” Dakota exclaimed, cautious of his yelling. Dakota watched William’s small and tentative smile turn into a large grin. Small sharp teeth poked through as he laughed loudly. His eyes sparkled with the moonlight as he looked back up at Dakota. “Yeah?” He laughed, smiling at Dakota. “Yeah,” Dakota nodded, his smile growing wide.
They stared again, this time Dakota scooting closer. William’s eyes widened at the sudden close contact, to which he scooted closer. Dakota stares at William, his brow furrowed, in thought? William felt his face heat up at the realization of Dakota’s hands in his, they were warm, blanket kinda warm.
William turned away with a nervous laugh, ignoring the loud thumping in his chest. “Why’re you laughing like that?” He asked, half teasing. “It’s nothing..” William avoided, his voice stammering. Dakota squinted again, tilting his head. “Hm..” He squinted harder, almost studying William. “Why are you looking away?” He asked, coated in genuine concern. He scooted back, giving William room to turn back.
“I wasn’t laughing at you, I—just—uh, the stars are funny—! No not funny, I just—“ Dakota put a hand over his mouth, stopping his nervous rant. He pulled it back quickly, his eyes now locked on the incredibly interesting ground. His ears burned red as he looked back up, his finger tracing the cracks in the ground.
“Sorry…” He muttered, “you were, er.. rambling.”
William blinked, his face still red. He let out a quiet huff, more out of embarrassment than annoyance. “I wasn’t rambling.” He protested weakly, his hand nervously tapping against his leg. “Just like—speaking..and stuff.” He explained.
Dakota laughed, the sound soft and comforting. “You do that a lot” He blurted out. William tilted his head, “Do what?” He asked, confused by his words. “Talk like you’re trying to hide something.” Dakota said, his brow furrowing one again. He glanced at William, the same studying glare on his face. “Like you have so many things you want to say, but you don’t say them.”
William froze slightly under the weight of both Dakota’s words and his stare. “I mean…most of them are pretty stupid when I try to put them into words.“ He laughed shortly, avoiding Dakota with every word. “I don’t think they’re stupid,” Dakota replied, almost too quickly. His voice cracked, as if he didn’t mean to say it out loud.
He looked back up at Dakota, startled for a moment. The silence stretched heavy, as William swallowed hard. He leaned closer, hesitanting slightly. Dakota leaned in as well, his lips brushing against William’s. He tilted his head comfortably pushing against William.
William squeezed his eyes shut, leaning into the soft feeling. He could feel as Dakota scooted closer, pulling William in by his cheek. The air between them quieted, only the sound of the rustling audible in their ears. Dakota pulled back slowly, his lips lingering onto William’s for a moment. They both turned back, looking at whatever was farthest away.
William’s heart skipped a beat and his breath was heavy. He slowly turned back to Dakota, tapping him on the knee to turn back as well. They stared at each other, matching the still wind. They were both extremely excited and terrified at the same time, it was conflicting.
Dakota’s hand reached back up to William’s cheek, carefully tracing the scars on his face. William’s eyes flickered between Dakota’s lips and eyes, and suddenly, they were there again. Inches apart, breaths mixing.
William barely had time to process before Dakota leaned in again, this time, with a steady kiss. A quiet promise that maybe, some things could wait to be figured out, and some mysteries can be left unsolved.