Title: Falling

Author/pseudonym: Caroline Crane

Fandom: Dead Man on Campus

Paring: Josh/Cooper

Rating: NC17 (just the one scene, and just barely)

Status: new/complete

Archive: yes to list archives

Series/Sequel: Part 3 of the "Senior Year" AU series, follows "When In Rome". Other parts can be found on my site.

Disclaimers: God bless MTV and Viacom for this inane, sophomoric little piece of film that I watched by accident and haven't stopped slashing since.

Notes: This is more or less a series of phone calls in the interim between winter break and the next time Josh and Cooper see each other again.

Summary: Josh deals with the morons at school, Cooper deals with family issues, and they both get a little more serious about each other. Awww. That's such a lame summary. Sorry.

Warnings: uh...nope

Falling
by Caroline Crane

He kept telling himself he should be used to the sound by now, but every time Josh’s new cell phone rang it still made him jump. Maybe it was anticipation at the sound of the voice he knew was on the other end of the line; after all, Cooper was the only person that had the number. He’d thought about giving it to his mom in case of emergency, but then he’d have to explain to her why he had a cell phone in his possession. Of course he’d come clean with her about Cooper, but regardless of the fact that she’d taken that news pretty well he had a feeling she wouldn’t be so understanding about some stranger bankrolling a private phone line for Josh.

Not that Mr. Frederickson knew he was paying for Josh and Cooper’s rather obsessive phone habit, not yet anyway. Chances were he’d notice the sudden increase in the charges and launch an investigation that would lead him straight to Cooper, but in the seven days that Josh had actually had the cell phone in his possession nothing had happened. Aside from the persistent ringing coming from the front of his backpack, that was. He stepped out of the press of students hurrying to their fifth period classes and leaned against a row of lockers, digging the phone out of his backpack and pushing the ‘talk’ button. "Hey."

"God, that’s sexy."

Josh smirked in spite of his nervousness at actually talking to Cooper during school hours, glancing around to make sure no one was paying any attention to him before he focused his attention completely on the call. "What is?"

"The way you know it’s me before you even answer."

"Cooper, you’re the only person that has this number."

"I know, that’s what makes it so hot," Cooper said, and Josh could practically hear him rolling his eyes at the obviousness of that particular line of logic.

He decided to forgo the usual ‘you know you’re a very strange person’ commentary and let it slide, deciding that the hallway outside his Biology class wasn’t the best place to get into a discussion of Cooper’s kinks. "Cooper, I’m in the middle of school here. What’s up?"

"There are so many ways I could answer that question."

This time Josh rolled his eyes, willing his body not to respond to the smoky quality of Cooper’s voice. He knew his boyfriend was going for deliberately sexy, but he wasn’t about to react to Cooper’s teasing in a crowded hallway, especially not when he had to be in Biology in…three minutes, a quick glance at his watch told him. Besides, the fact that the mere sound of Cooper’s voice could make him hard just wasn’t fair.

"Cooper, come on, I’ve got class in like two minutes. Why aren’t you in school?"

"I am," Cooper answered, and Josh listened a little harder and found that indeed he could hear voices echoing in the background. "I’m supposed to be in English right now."

"Well then why are you calling me?" Josh asked, lowering his voice and casting a furtive glance around the now nearly deserted hallway. He stifled a relieved sigh and let his backpack drop to the ground, pressing himself a little further into the space between the end of the row of lockers and the janitor’s closet.

"Because it’s been seven thousand, two hundred and ninety…" He paused and Josh smiled at the image of Cooper checking his watch for the exact time, "…seven minutes since the last time I kissed you and I’d rather listen to you breathe than sit through a boring lecture on A Tale of Two Cities."

"You’re counting minutes now?" Josh asked, his smile fading as he glanced across the hall at the door to his classroom just as the late bell rang. "Shit. Cooper, I’ve gotta go, I’m late for Biology."

"Of course I’m counting minutes," Cooper said, his tone telling Josh exactly how insulted he was that Josh even had to ask. "Come on, can’t you just skip one class with me? I bailed on English for you."

Josh let out a sigh and glanced around the hall again, satisfying himself that there weren’t any teachers wandering around looking for stragglers to bust. "I can’t skip class."

"Yes you can. Just until the battery dies."

"As we learned last night these batteries last awhile," Josh reminded him, smiling in spite of himself as he leaned over and picked up his backpack. "I might as well just go home right now."

"See, that works out great for both of us," Cooper answered, his enthusiasm clear in his voice. He paused and listened for a few seconds before he continued. "What are you doing?"

"Finding someplace less obvious than the hall outside my class to talk to you," Josh answered, a rush of adrenaline hitting him as he realized that he really was going to skip class. It wasn’t that big a deal, at the most he’d probably just get detention. Still, he’d never done anything like this before, and he couldn’t help being a little nervous about getting caught. He picked up his backpack and started back down the hall in the direction of his own locker, finally deciding that if he was going to get detention anyway he might as well just blow off his last three classes.

"Oh yeah? Where are we going?" Cooper asked.

"Outside," Josh answered as he pushed the door open, shivering as a rush of cold air hit him. He fished his keys out of his backpack with his free hand and hurried toward the parking lot, thankful that his mother was working nights so he could take the car to school while it was cold out. "Where are you, anyway?"

"Third floor bathroom, hardly anybody ever comes in here," Cooper answered. He listened while Josh unlocked his car and slid into the driver’s seat, his breathing slightly elevated as he turned on the engine. "Hey Josh?"

"Yeah?" Josh asked, shivering a little against the cold as he waited for the heat to kick in.

"How was it today?"

The abrupt shift to serious in Cooper’s tone didn’t really surprise Josh, he’d figured that was why the other boy was calling in the middle of a school day. They’d talked every day since Cooper went home, but it was always at night. He knew Cooper was worried about what was going to happen when he went back to school, and the truth was he’d been nervous about it himself. The rest of his break after Cooper went home was uneventful only because he hadn’t really left the house, but he’d gathered from a few things his mom said that people were already talking even at the hospital.

"It hasn’t been that bad," Josh said, thankful that he didn’t have to lie. "Whispers, weird looks, that kind of thing, but I haven’t seen much of Scott or Randy or those guys. The one time I passed them in the hallway one of the teachers shut them up before they got started."

A soft sigh and the sound of rustling were his only answer for a long moment, then a deep breath and a much softer voice than he was used to hearing. "Josh, I’m…"

"Don’t."

"But…"

"No." Josh closed his eyes and leaned back against the door, wondering vaguely if he’d remembered to lock it before he pushed the thought out of his mind and focused on the sound of Cooper breathing. "I’m glad it happened, Cooper. Maybe I was too chicken to do it on my own, but now that everyone knows I don’t have to watch everything I do and say anymore."

"No, you just have to spend the next six months looking over your shoulder," Cooper said.

"Nine months, really," Josh amended. "College doesn’t start until the end of August."

"You’re not staying there all summer."

Josh laughed almost nervously, his heart skipping a beat at the conviction in Cooper’s voice. "I live here, where else would I go?"

"I don’t know, come stay with me," Cooper said. Josh could almost picture his excited grin on the other end of the line, and he guessed this was the first time Cooper had entertained the idea. It was impossible; the thought of spending the whole summer with Cooper made his pulse race and his mind was already reeling with the possibilities, but it was just Cooper talking. He knew better than to take it seriously, because even if Cooper was serious his parents would never go for it.

"Very funny."

"Who’s kidding? Come on, Josh, it would be great. You could stay here."

"Cooper, be serious. Your parents would never go for it and you know it. Not to mention my mom, she’d have a cow if I told her I wanted to go spend my last summer before college in New York." He wasn’t sure the last part was true, in fact it was possible his mother would think it was a good idea. Considering the rumors that were already flying about him around town it might be easier on her if he left sooner rather than later, but even if she wanted to get rid of him there was still the issue of money. "I couldn’t afford it anyway."

"What’s to afford? My folks aren’t even around that much during the summer so it’s not like there’d be a big dent in the grocery bill. And I’ve got a big bed."

Josh smiled at the idea of sharing any bed with Cooper for three whole months, but as soon as the smile surfaced it faded again. The more he argued the more determined Cooper seemed to be that he could change the other boy’s mind, but Josh wasn’t about to get his hopes up. It was one thing for Cooper to volunteer his parents’ house as a hotel, it was another thing for him to actually talk them into letting his boyfriend spend the summer. "We’ve spent a total of six days together, what makes you think we could stand each other for three months?"

The silence that met him on the other end of the line let Josh know that he’d said the wrong thing, and he instantly regretted being so logical about what most likely amounted to Cooper thinking out loud. It wasn’t like it was actually going to happen, the least he could have done was humor him. "Cooper, I didn’t mean anything…"

A low, almost forced chuckle warmed the blood in his veins but it felt wrong because he knew Cooper was just trying to laugh it off, and he wondered how he could have missed the sensitivity at the core of this person he couldn’t stop thinking about. And it still didn’t make any sense to him that he could be in love with someone that he didn’t really know, but it was there and no matter what he did he couldn’t shake it. Didn’t want to, not really, because getting over Cooper meant that he’d go back to life before Cooper crashed into it and he could barely remember what that was like anymore except that it was a lot more empty.

"It’s alright, I know I get a little hard to take after awhile," Cooper finally said, and his voice was so low that part of Josh wanted to drive himself over a cliff just for hurting Cooper’s feelings. "But I still think you should come. Tell you what, when you get really sick of me you can just go hang out at Nick’s house. They’ve got four sons, they’ll never notice another one."

"I want to," Josh said, his heart in his throat as he stared out at the parking lot without really seeing it. "I just…I don’t think it’s gonna happen, that’s all. But I…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded." He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, his cheeks flushing as he listened to himself stammer his way through an apology.

"Josh," Cooper said, his voice sending a chill down the other boy’s spine as clearly as if Cooper had been in the car with him and not just some disembodied voice over the phone, "I know what you meant. I just want to see you whenever we can."

"Me too," Josh managed to whisper around the lump in his throat. "I wish I didn’t have to go to France for spring break."

"What’s the story with that trip anyway?" Cooper asked, his tone shifting back to normal. Josh took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, willing his heart to slow down before he dropped dead in his mom’s car during school hours. "I mean is it like a bus tour thing, are you gonna be going all over France or what?"

"No, we spend the first day on some train and then we’ll be in Paris. We end up missing a day or two of school because of the flights."

"Huh. Long trip."

"Yeah, I know." Josh paused and glanced back toward the school, stifling a sigh at the thought of what they were going to say to him when he showed up for classes tomorrow. "I could try to get out of it, my mom might understand considering."

"No, you should go," Cooper said, and Josh had to remind himself not to imagine that he could hear reluctance in the other boy’s voice. "When’s the next time you’re gonna get to Europe, right? Besides, I don’t want your mom blaming me for holding you back or something."

Josh laughed in the silence of the car, leaning against the door to watch as thick, sticky snowflakes fell and melted against his windshield. "She wouldn’t blame you. I don’t think so, anyway. Maybe she would, who knows."

"How’s she handling the whole ‘gay son’ thing?"

"She still hasn’t actually said it out loud," Josh answered, doing his best to keep his frustration at the situation out of his voice. Cooper asked him how things were going with his mother every time they talked, and for the most part Josh could tell him the truth. He didn’t want to bother the other boy with too many details about rumors and gossip, though, partly because it was embarrassing and partly because he knew Cooper would blame himself. "I think she just needs some more time to get used to it, you know? She pretty much already knew but knowing and having to hear people gossiping about it are totally different things. She said she wished she would’ve talked to you more."

"Yeah?" The bemused grin was evident in Cooper’s voice as Josh listened to him breathe over the line, his own grin mirroring the one he could picture on Cooper’s face. Maybe he’d end up with detention for blowing off school – or even worse, maybe he’d be suspended. It didn’t matter, though, not when he could hear that slightly awed tone in Cooper’s voice. "I guess I didn’t really think of it that way."

"Yeah, well, she likes to know the people I care about. Parents, go figure."

"I wouldn’t know," Cooper said, his words flooding Josh with fresh regret.

"I shouldn’t have said that."

"Don’t worry about it, Josh. I’m glad your mom’s being so cool. I mean it’s not like anybody else is gonna make it easy for you," Cooper said, his good mood returning instantly. Josh couldn’t help wondering if the sunny tone was for his benefit, but he let it go for the time being. "So you blowing off the rest of the day?"

Josh glanced down at his watch and realized that he still had almost ten minutes before Biology ended. "I guess I could go back for my last two classes," he answered. "I should probably put in an appearance in English at least."

"Yeah, I can’t blow off Trig or my teacher’ll get me suspended and my dad will ground me for the rest of the year." Cooper sighed and Josh could hear him climbing down from wherever he’d been sitting while they talked. "I told Nick I’d go with him tonight, he’s having dinner with his uncle. I’ll try to call you later though, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Josh answered, his heart speeding up again at the thought of hanging up the phone and going back to his life. At least when he was talking to Cooper he didn’t have to think about the rest of his life, but he knew the minute he walked back into school things would seem just as bleak as they had before his cell phone rang. "Cooper…"

"Yeah?"

Josh bit his lip at the expectant quality of Cooper’s voice and shook his head, telling himself not to be stupid. If he said anything Cooper didn’t want to hear he’d just end up pushing him away, and he knew he couldn’t stand to lose Cooper right now. "Thanks. For calling."

"No problem. I’ll talk to you later," Cooper said. Josh listened until he heard the line click and then go dead, then he closed the phone and dropped it back into his backpack. He glanced over his shoulder at the front door of the school and sighed, his heart sinking at the thought of going back inside. He’d already skipped one class, two more weren’t going to do any more damage. Finally he turned back to the road and shifted the car into gear, pulling out of the parking lot and heading in the direction of his house.

~

Fingertips ghosting down his spine, more gentle than any touch he’d ever felt. Almost tentative, maybe awe but fear too and it made him feel almost as though he was spoiling something innocent. He wondered if he should feel guilty for the thrill he got from that thought, but before he let his mind wander too far down that path he forced himself to focus on the feeling of lips on his shoulder blade. He shifted minutely, just enough to turn his head so he could watch hands sliding across his skin. And maybe it was just the feelings overwhelming him that made it all seem so much more intense than anything else he’d ever experienced, but weren’t the feelings what this was supposed to be about? That’s what he’d always heard, what it said in the books and the movies and what he was finally starting to believe after a string of meaningless less-than-relationships.

A hand landed on his arm and he turned into it, but the touch was less gentle than he was expecting and he realized that whoever had a hold of him was shaking anything but gently, trying to get his attention. "What?"

"Quit daydreaming and pay attention," Nick hissed somewhere in the vicinity of his ear. "Or at least try to look like you’re not mooning over you-know-who."

Cooper scowled and cast a furtive glance at the other men, but none of them were watching the quiet exchange at the end of the table. He knew Nick’s uncles and cousins didn’t really want to hear about his sex life; they only tolerated him because Nick and his parents had made Cooper more or less one of their own. If Nick’s mother hadn’t taken it upon herself to pretty much raise Cooper when his own mother showed a definite lack of interest he knew his family wouldn’t have any use for him, in fact being openly gay could have gotten him in a lot of trouble if it wasn’t for the people he called his aunt and uncle.

The truth was he wasn’t even that closely related to Nick’s family – his father and Nick’s father were cousins, which made him and Nick some more distant version of cousins that he’d never quite been able to figure out. That never stopped his best friend from treating him like one of his own brothers, though, and along with that came the understanding that Cooper went with Nick pretty much everywhere.

"I wasn’t mooning," he whispered when he was sure no one was listening.

"Yeah, right, those big cow eyes are because the antipasto’s so good," Nick shot back, his gaze fixed on the older man at the head of the table. "Now shut up and pay attention."

Cooper managed not to roll his eyes as he turned back to the conversation at the table, trying to focus on whatever Nick’s uncle was droning on about. He knew it had something to do with family business, but he just didn’t care about this stuff as much as Nick did. He’d never really have a part in any of it, after all; as far as everyone at the table was concerned he was only there because he and Nick were practically joined at the hip. He’d proven himself trustworthy so no one really minded when he tagged along, but it wasn’t his scene. Most of them assumed the same way his father did that he’d be carrying on the Frederickson plumbing empire eventually.

As soon as he was old enough to realize that his father expected him to go into the family business he’d resented it, but for the first time since he could remember he was starting to see a way he could use that in his own favor. The idea had first occurred to him on the way home from Indiana, but he hadn’t said anything to anybody yet. He wasn’t planning to say a word about it to Josh – for one thing he didn’t want to get either of their hopes up and for another he was a little worried that Josh wouldn’t be as excited about the idea as he was. Nick would probably make fun of him, but he’d go along with it anyway and maybe he could even help. The problem was how to bring it up without coming right out and saying it.

Which definitely wasn’t going to happen during a dinner meeting with half Nick’s cousins and two of his uncles, not if he wanted Nick to take him seriously. He stifled a sigh and turned his attention back to whichever one of Nick’s cousins was telling a story about his trip to Italy to look into his father’s wine imports. "I’m telling you, it was the best time. And the women there…"

The whole table laughed knowingly and Cooper carefully looked away, waiting for yet another in a long series of moments he couldn’t appreciate to pass. "I keep trying to talk Pop into letting me go," Nick said, drawing Cooper’s attention back to the table. He raised his eyebrows as he registered the sparkle in his cousin’s eyes, a new idea forming. "One of these days he’s gonna give in and let me go visit the family."

Cooper’s brain shifted gears instantly, the plans he’d been making for after graduation on hold as he focused on using his cousin’s interest in Italy to his own advantage. He barely heard a word of the rest of the conversation, his leg bouncing excitedly under the table as he waited impatiently for Nick’s uncles to dismiss them. It was a long wait, but he was so wrapped up in the best approach to what he wanted to ask Nick that he managed to get through the whole meal.

Finally they said their goodbyes and headed for the car, Cooper trailing behind Nick as he wracked his brain for the right words to get his cousin thinking without raising any suspicions. He slid into the passenger seat and tapped his fingers against his thigh absently, staring straight ahead as he waited for his cousin to get in and start the engine.

"Alright, out with it," Nick said when he slid into the driver’s seat.

"With what?"

Nick rolled his eyes and shot a glare at Cooper that told him he wasn’t fooling anybody. "Whatever you’re cooking up in that pea brain of yours. If you think I’m driving you back to Indiana any time soon you can just forget it."

"Not everything is about Josh, you know," Cooper lied. He knew Nick would just laugh at that anyway, but with any luck he could get his cousin to think he really was as interested in seeing Italy as Nick seemed to be. "How come you never told me you’ve been trying to talk your dad into sending you to Europe?"

"’Cause he’ll never go for it," Nick answered, shrugging as he eased the car into traffic and pointed it toward Cooper’s house. "He still has this thing about me going to college and getting away from the family business. You know how he gets. Like he’s gonna let me take a year to hang out in Italy."

"Jesus, Nick, have you ever heard of compromising?" Cooper shook his head when his cousin shot him a look, talking a little faster so Nick wouldn’t interrupt him. "Your dad wants you to go to college, right? So you tell him that you’ll apply to a few schools if he sends you to Italy for spring break. You only get a week there, but it’s better than nothing and it’s not like you actually have to go to any of the schools you apply to, right?"

"Why do you care?"

Cooper ignored Nick’s suspicious expression, doing his best to keep his features blank. "Maybe I wanna go to Europe too."

"Who invited you?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow as he turned back to the road.

"Come on, Nick, you know my dad’ll never go for it unless you’re there. You won’t even know I’m there, I swear."

Nick didn’t answer, but from the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth Cooper could tell he’d gotten his point across. His cousin didn’t need to know the real reason he wanted to go to Europe, or why Cooper could guarantee that he wouldn’t get in Nick’s way. He’d break it to Nick on the plane that he was planning to catch the first train to Paris, by that time his cousin couldn’t do anything about it even if he wanted to. Once they got Nick’s dad on board there was still the problem of Cooper’s father, but he was sure he could talk his parents into it if for no other reason than to get rid of him for a whole week.

He waved as Nick dropped him off outside his house and pulled away from the curb, taking the steps up to the front door two at a time. He let himself in and headed for the second floor before either of his parents stopped him to lecture him about some imagined offense, closing his bedroom door and switching on the lamp next to his bed. Once his coat and shoes were off he threw himself down on his mattress and dug his cell phone out of his pocket, glancing at his alarm clock to make sure it wasn’t too late as he listened to the phone ring on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" The voice was muffled and groggy, and his heart twisted in his chest as he pictured Josh stretched out on his bed.

"I can’t believe I woke you up. It’s not even 10:30."

Josh yawned and Cooper heard the sound of sheets rustling as he stretched. "Fell asleep reading my History homework. It’s okay, though, it’s been snowing hard all afternoon so I’m guessing they’ll cancel school tomorrow."

"If we went to the same school just think what we could do with a whole snow day." Cooper closed his eyes and let himself picture the possibilities, all of them starting and ending with Josh in a lot less clothes than he was probably wearing. "What are you wearing?"

"Jeans, why?"

"Just jeans?" Cooper’s brain immediately conjured up an image of Josh in just a pair of jeans, his bare feet hanging over the edge of the bed and his lips wet and parted. It seemed wrong that someone could look at once so innocent and blatantly sexual, but then again he’d never met anyone quite like Josh before. He was beautiful, from his dark eyes and smooth, perfect skin to the way he whispered Cooper’s name in a low, breathy voice whenever he couldn’t find the words to ask for what he wanted. A low groan escaped his throat and he wondered if it was his imagination or if he could really hear Josh’s heart beating on the other end of the line. "Unzip your jeans."

"Cooper, I am not having phone sex with you."

He smiled because he knew the color Josh’s cheeks were turning right now, smiled a little more when he reminded himself that he was the only one that knew it was an all-over blush. "I’m just working on a visual here," he said, deliberately dropping his voice to barely above a whisper. "But there’s nothing wrong with phone sex, you know. You jerk off by yourself, don’t you?"

"Of course, but…geez, Cooper, can we not talk about this?"

"Talk about what, phone sex or masturbation fantasies? It’s just me and you, Josh, nobody else can hear. What do you think about when you’re getting off? I know you’re not as innocent as you look, you picked me up pretty fast."

"Hey, you picked me up," Josh protested, but he could hear the hesitation in Josh’s voice as his resolve began to falter.

"Yeah, okay, maybe I picked you up. But you didn’t put up a fight, so you must have some kind of kink about anonymous sex. Or maybe it was just the thrill of doing something forbidden in the big city. Is that what you think about? Or maybe you’ve got a thing for gay porn. Got any magazines stashed under your mattress where your mom won’t find them?"

Josh laughed nervously, accompanied by the sound of rustling as he shifted on his bed. "I think you’re forgetting where I live. It’s not like I can just run down to the store and pick that stuff up."

"Well you can check out my collection when you come visit," Cooper said, smiling as he pictured the look on Josh’s face. "Are you gonna tell me or should I keep guessing?"

A labored sigh on the other end of the line, but when Josh spoke again his voice was breathy. "I don’t know, mostly I think about…you know, us. And I don’t think I want to hear about your porn collection."

The defensive tone of his last sentence made Cooper’s heart skip a beat, and he wished even more than usual that he was back in Indiana so he could show Josh that there was no reason to be jealous. "I’ll throw it all away if you want, but I’ll wait until you look at it. I think after you actually see it you might kinda like some of it. God, Josh, I’ve been thinking about you all day."

"You have?" Defensiveness replaced by a familiar vulnerability, and Cooper’s groin tightened as he reached for his waistband and eased his zipper down.

"All I ever think about is you," he said. It never occurred to him to worry how Josh could hurt him with his own honesty, somehow it just didn’t cross his mind that Josh would do something like that. Anybody else he’d have his guard up with, but with Josh he could just say whatever was on his mind and not worry that he was going to feel stupid about it later. "I had to sit through this boring dinner at Nick’s uncle’s bar, and the whole time all I was thinking about was the next time I get to touch you."

"Cooper…" There it was, his favorite way to hear his name. Long and drawn-out and breathy, with a hint of desperation because either Josh couldn’t say or didn’t know what he was asking for.

"It’s okay, I’m right here," he answered. "Just close your eyes and pretend it’s me touching you. I want you so bad."

"Cooper, I can’t…" Funny how the same word could sound so completely different when Josh was nervous.

Cooper hadn’t really thought about this before, not in any specific terms anyway. When he’d called Josh it had just been to hear the sound of his voice, but knowing that he was alone in the house and as turned on as Cooper was made him that much more determined to at least make Josh feel good for a few minutes. If they were stuck spending the next few months six hundred miles apart he was at least going to make sure Josh knew that he was still going to want him when they finally got a chance to be together again.

"Just relax," he said, his voice low and soothing as he closed his own eyes and slid a hand under his waistband. He squeezed his hard length through his boxers and let out a hiss, thankful for his vivid imagination as he pictured Josh there with him. "You don’t have to say anything, just close your eyes and think about the last time we were together. Remember what I said?"

He waited patiently while Josh conjured up the memory, hoping that Josh hadn’t already forgotten what he said less than a week ago. It was the first time he’d ever admitted something like that out loud, and it was the closest he’d ever come to telling someone that he loved them. Of course he’d never felt for anyone what he felt for Josh, no matter what fantasies Josh had come up with about his social life.

"You said you’ve never felt this way before."

"Yeah. I meant it, Josh, I think about you so much I think I’m starting to go crazy." The slow stroking motion of his hand increased as his voice got a little more uneven, and he pictured Josh on his own bed mirroring his movements as he listened to the other boy’s erratic breathing. "I can’t stop thinking about that amazing mouth of yours, you don’t know what it does to me when you suck me."

Sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line, and he knew even though Josh wasn’t saying anything that he was getting close already. The idea that he could get Josh to lose control that fast made the desire at the pit of his stomach tighten more urgently, and he fought for breath as he increased the pace of his strokes.

"I love your mouth. When I see you again I’m gonna spend a whole day just kissing you, and then I’m gonna fuck you until we can’t remember our names anymore." He paused long enough to savor the sound of a low whimper escaping Josh’s throat, followed by even more erratic breathing on the other end of the line. "The next time I see you I wanna watch you touch yourself, Josh. I can’t wait to watch you come again."

A low moan that sounded suspiciously like his name was the only warning Cooper got that Josh had lost control, and he tightened his grip and stroked himself to his own release as he listened to Josh panting. He opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling, the cell phone gripped so tightly in his hand that he was surprised he hadn’t crushed it. He waited patiently while their breathing returned to normal, smiling as he pictured Josh lying in the center of his bed flushed and sticky. "Josh, you still with me?"

"Yeah, I’m here."

The edge in Josh’s voice killed a little of his euphoria, and he frowned as he pushed himself into a sitting position and reached for the towel he’d tossed on the floor that morning. "You okay?"

There was a long pause, and he was starting to wonder if he’d completely fucked up by pushing Josh into doing something he obviously wasn’t comfortable with when finally Josh cleared his throat to answer. "I’m fine. A little embarrassed though."

Cooper took a deep breath and wiped off the mess on his stomach before answering, hoping that he hadn’t ruined things between them by wanting Josh too much. "It shouldn’t be embarrassing, Josh. I miss you like crazy and it’s only been a week. I can’t get through five minutes without thinking about the next time we see each other. And if we’re gonna spend the next few months jerking off we might as well at least do that together."

He heard a heavy sigh, then silence as though Josh was turning the logic of the statement over in his mind. "I guess I didn’t think of it that way," he finally admitted. "I miss you too, Coop. I just…"

"Hey, I won’t tell anybody. And if you never wanna do it again that’s okay." It wasn’t really, but he wasn’t about to guilt Josh into doing something he didn’t want to do. He planned on making good on all his promises about the next time they saw each other, though, and he could think of a few more things he wanted to do when he finally got Josh alone again.

"No…I mean it was kinda…I like listening to you," Josh finally choked out, making Cooper wonder if he was going to have a permanent blush after their phone call. Not that he’d mind, he liked the way Josh looked when he was blushing.

"I like listening to you too."

Josh cleared his throat again and Cooper grinned at the image of his boyfriend struggling for something to say. "Shouldn’t you get going? I mean unless it’s snowing as hard there as it is here you’ve got school in the morning," Josh said.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"No, I just…"

"Relax, I was kidding. You’re right, I should probably call it a night. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing going on tomorrow so I’ll talk to you after school."

"Yeah, okay," Josh answered. "Coop, I…"

"Yeah?"

Another long pause was followed by a frustrated sigh. "I’m glad you called."

"Me too. Goodnight, Josh."

"Goodnight."

Cooper hung up the phone and dropped it on his nightstand, closing his eyes and folding his arms behind his head. He didn’t think it was possible to miss Josh any more than he had a few hours ago, but now just the thought of the next three months made his chest ache. He wondered vaguely if it was possible to get used to that dull, gnawing feeling, not that he had much choice in the matter. It made him even more determined to find a way to convince his parents to send him to Paris for spring break, though, because if he had to go six whole months before he saw Josh again he knew he’d never make it.

Part Two

Josh groaned as he finally made it to his bedroom and shut the door, dropping his backpack on the floor before he reached for the hem of his shirt. He thought about taking a hot shower, but as soon as he lifted his arms and the sharp pain hit him he changed his mind. His shirt hit the floor as he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth against the pain, reaching out to steady himself against the wall as he waited for the blinding flash to fade back to the dull pulsing he’d started to get used to. When he thought he could stand again without falling over he pushed himself back off the wall and unzipped his jeans, letting them fall to the floor and stepping out of them.

He didn’t bother looking in the mirror on the way to his bed; he could see the bruises on his arms and stomach and he didn’t need to look to know he had a black eye forming already. Automatically his hand went up to gingerly touch the tender skin around his eye, a low hiss escaping him when he made contact with the bruise. Finally he sank onto his bed and carefully lowered himself onto the pillows, wincing with each flash of pain as his bruised ribs protested against the movement.

Maybe he should have called his mom and gone to the hospital, but all he really wanted to do was go to sleep and forget today ever happened. If he was really careful he wouldn’t even see his mother until the weekend, and by then hopefully at least his black eye would have started to fade. The last thing he wanted her to do was worry about him; she had enough going on at the hospital with her coworkers gossiping about her gay son without him showing up bruised and bloody. He could just imagine the rumors that would come out of that, it was bad enough that people at school were going to be talking about what happened.

The sound of his cell phone ringing infiltrated his thoughts and he groaned, shifting on his mattress as he realized he’d left it in his backpack all the way across the room. For a second he considered ignoring it, letting Cooper think he’d forgotten to turn it on or something. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk to him, but he knew he wasn’t going to be able to pretend that everything was fine. Cooper asked him practically every day how things were going with the guys at school, but he’d always managed to gloss the whispers and the threats and change the subject. If he picked up his cell phone right now he knew Cooper would be able to hear in his voice that something was wrong, though, and he wasn’t sure he had the strength to deal with it.

"Alright, alright," he groaned as the phone rang again, pushing himself off the bed and crossing the room as carefully as he could. He found the phone and opened it, pressing it to his ear and heading back to his bed. "Hi."

"Josh? What’s wrong?"

Well that was fast, Josh thought as he eased himself back down onto the bed and slowly laid back against his pillows. He gritted his teeth and sucked in a sharp breath as his ribs protested against the movement, waiting until he could breathe again before he answered. "I’m okay, Cooper. Don’t freak out."

"Freak out? About what? Josh, what happened?"

"I had to stay late today," Josh answered, closing his eyes as he remembered what happened after school. "I had some stuff to do for French Club. Anyway I was on my way to my car when Scott and Randy stopped me. I don’t know if they were waiting for me or if they just happened to be there, but I guess they wanted to teach me a lesson about bringing my boyfriend to Randy’s party."

"Jesus," Cooper muttered, anger and fear mingling in his voice and making Josh feel even worse. "Are you okay? Did you tell your mom what happened?"

"No, I don’t want her worrying about me. The money’s better on swing shift, I don’t want her switching back to days to babysit me. Besides, it wasn’t that bad, they were just making a point." He ignored the twinge in his shoulder from Randy shoving him hard against the wall, telling himself it wasn’t dislocated. He was fine, just a little bruised.

"Josh," Cooper said. Josh could hear the guilt in his voice as clearly as if Cooper was standing right in front of him, and a sob caught in his throat as he wished suddenly that Cooper was there. "Josh, I…those bastards, that was over a month ago. If they’d wanted to do something about it they should have done it that night."

Josh smiled in spite of the way he felt, thankful that he’d answered the phone after all. Even though he’d had to tell Cooper what happened just hearing his voice made Josh feel better, and it was nice to have someone to talk to about what went on at school. "Cooper, don’t worry about me. They’ve been making threats since January, I’m surprised it took them this long to get around to it."

"I can’t help worrying about you, I left you there all alone and there’s still four months left of school. What happens the next time they catch you by yourself?"

"There’s not going to be a next time," Josh answered with a lot more conviction than he felt. The truth was that it probably would happen again, and there wasn’t a lot he could do about it except try to stay out of their way. They both knew it, but it didn’t hurt to try and make them feel better.

"Josh…are you sure you’re okay?"

"I’ll be alright, I promise. I just need to get some sleep," Josh said, congratulating himself on sounding more convincing than he felt. He realized for the first time how dry his throat was and he licked his lips, startled to taste the coppery flavor of blood on his tongue. Okay, so his lip was split too, at least he didn’t have to worry about Cooper seeing him looking like somebody’s punching bag. "Tell me again what we’re going to do this summer."

"I thought you were going to get some sleep."

"I will in awhile," he answered, his heart in his throat at the thought of Cooper hanging up so soon. He knew as soon as they hung up he was just going to relive Scott holding him while Randy pounded on him, and he really didn’t want to think about it anymore.

"So does that mean you’re coming here for the summer now?"

He smiled as he remembered all the times they’d gone back and forth about that over the past few weeks. "Yeah. Yeah, I think it would be good to get out of here for awhile. If you still want me to."

"Like you have to ask." Cooper laughed and Josh could tell he was trying to sound casual, but he could still hear the fear and concern in the other boy’s voice and it made him love Cooper just a little more. "We’re not getting out of bed for the first week, and after that you’re still gonna be seeing a lot more of the inside of my bedroom than you are the rest of Buffalo. We’ll take the train down to the city and give Pop’s credit card a workout before he figures out what happened to it, after that I’ll probably be grounded though so we should do that right before you have to leave for school."

Josh laughed and did his best to ignore the pain even the slightest movements caused. He wouldn’t be this sore forever, and he just had to keep reminding himself of that and then avoid Scott and Randy as much as humanly possible. Either that or learn how to fight, which wasn’t such a bad idea now that he thought of it. "I don’t really care what we do, I just want to see you."

"Yeah, me too," Cooper said. "I gotta see you before June, though, Josh. I’m going crazy here."

"I know." Josh let out a frustrated breath and told himself he wasn’t going to cry, no matter how much hearing Cooper’s voice made him miss being in the same room with him. "I guess if I can’t stay after for French Club anymore I won’t get to go to Paris after all, so there’s always spring break."

"They can’t do that, can they?"

Josh shrugged before he remembered that was a bad idea, wincing against the pain that shot through his shoulder. "I don’t know, probably."

"Well either way I’m gonna find a way to see you over break," Cooper said, the determination in his voice stopping the laugh that had started to form in Josh’s throat.

"How?" Josh asked, his heart in his throat as he waited for an explanation. There was no way Cooper could see him if he actually went to Europe, but he sounded so serious and Josh really, really wanted to believe him.

"I haven’t worked out all the details yet," Cooper said. "I gotta talk to my dad about it, but I’ll make it work. I have to."

Josh swallowed the words ‘I love you’ for the second time in that conversation alone. It was becoming a habit now, it felt almost natural to want to say it and he’d caught himself almost every time they talked since Cooper kissed him goodbye on his front porch. He had no idea what Cooper’s reaction would be, though, and he didn’t want to ruin things between them before they saw each other again. Besides, it wasn’t something you just blurted out over the phone, was it? "I’d give up Paris for the chance to see you again, Cooper."

"I told you, either way I’m gonna see you in March. Think you can keep yourself out of trouble that long?"

Josh smiled and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to steady the pounding of his heart. "I’ll try."

"Good. You sure you don’t want me to put in a call to my uncle? He might know some people in Indianapolis that could take care of those losers for you."

"Are you offering to put a hit out on Scott and Randy?"

The sound of Cooper’s soft laughter sent a shiver up Josh’s spine, and he knew that if Cooper was serious he wouldn’t be able to say no to him. It was a scary thought, knowing how much power Cooper had over his common sense, but it wasn’t as scary as the thought of never seeing him again.

"Just get some sleep, Josh. And if anything else happens let me know, okay?"

"Okay. Bye, Cooper."

"Goodnight, Josh."

Josh hung up the phone and set it in the charger before he settled back against his pillows and tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in. He knew he was probably going to lie awake all night and think about spring break, but at least he wasn’t reliving what happened in the hallway across from his locker anymore. He shuddered at the memory and pushed it as far back in his mind as it would go, focusing instead on the memory of Cooper’s voice and how much better his trip to France would be if Cooper somehow found a way to meet him there.

~

"Dad, would you just listen to me? It’s not like I’d be going alone, Nick would be there. We’ll stay with his family, the whole thing’s already worked out."

Cooper groaned inwardly as his father held up his hand, silencing his son as he reached for his cell phone. Somehow Cooper managed not to fidget while his father took the call and barked instructions at whatever unfortunate employee was on the other end of the line before he turned back to his son again. "Forget it, Cooper. You’ve wasted enough of my money running around with that lowlife, I’m not bankrolling a trip to Italy. You can stay here and work for the company during your vacation, earn back some of the money you charged up on my credit card."

"I already paid that back," Cooper said, his fists clenching at his sides as he struggled not to lose his temper. He knew the minute he lost it his father would win, so all he could do was pretend it didn’t bother him and hope he could convince his father that getting rid of him was in everyone’s best interest. "I’d be gone for a whole week, you wouldn’t have to worry about me getting in your way or messing anything up. Mom would love it."

"Forget it," his father said again, glancing up at his son long enough to scowl at him. "Now get out of here, I’ve got work to do."

That went well, Cooper told himself as he pushed open the door to his father’s office and made his way down the hall toward the elevators. He hated coming down to his father’s building; all it did was remind him that he was going to be in charge of the business someday. He knew it was inevitable, no matter how hard he tried to pretend it wasn’t going to happen he knew someday he’d be right back here running his dad’s company. Still, that didn’t mean he had to stop living his life the way he wanted to, and he wasn’t going to let his father stop him from seeing Josh even if he had to charge a plane ticket and sneak out of the country.

He let himself out of the building and reached for his cell phone to call a cab, giving the driver Nick’s address when he finally showed up. He was pretty sure his cousin wasn’t even home, but he didn’t feel like going home to face his mother and the thought of waiting around for his father to come home and scream at him some more was too depressing. It wasn’t like he needed to be reminded that he was a constant disappointment to his parents, they’d made sure to drill that into him practically since birth.

When the cab pulled up outside Nick’s house he paid the driver and got out, forcing his legs to carry him up the steps to ring the bell. He stood on the front step for what felt like forever, and he was starting to think that no one was home when finally the door opened and his aunt appeared. "Cooper? Honey, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you with Nick?"

"Hey, Aunt Amelia," Cooper said as she stood aside to let him in. He followed her into the kitchen, sinking heavily onto one of the bar stools lining the island. Once he was seated she went to the fridge and started pulling containers out, covering half the counter before she finally closed the fridge and reached for a plate.

"Okay, out with it. Why the long face?"

He sighed as he watched her piling food onto a plate, realizing for the first time since Nick had dropped him off at his dad’s office how hungry he was. "I just talked to my dad. You know how Nick’s been after Uncle Tino to let him go to Italy?"

"Sure, I think it’d be good for you boys to see the old country," she said. "Tino’s just worried Nick’s never gonna take his life seriously if he doesn’t go to college."

"Yeah, so I thought we could go during spring break. That way we’d get to see Italy and Nick could still go to college. I mean a week’s a lot shorter than a year, but at least it’s something. Anyway my dad said no. He called Nick a lowlife again and says he’s not wasting any more money on me."

Part of him almost felt guilty for using his aunt’s low opinion of his father to get his way, but he’d learned over the years that sometimes the only way to get anything done in his family was to play people off each other. It wasn’t something he was really proud of, but he was good at it. Better even than Nick at manipulating both their parents, maybe because Amelia had always felt so sorry for him. She and his mother had never gotten along, and once he was born she stopped speaking to both his parents any more than she had to.

She took the plate of food out of the microwave and set it in front of him, patting his shoulder reassuringly before she turned to the fridge to pour him a glass of milk. "You don’t worry about it," she said, leaning back against the counter to watch him eat. "The trip will be good for you boys. I’ll talk to Tino."

Cooper grinned and reached for his milk, swallowing a mouthful of chicken before he answered. "Thanks, Aunt Amelia," he said. "You mind if I stay here tonight?"

"Of course not," she answered. "Paulie’s room’s all made up for you, you know that."

He smiled again and turned back to his dinner, pushing away the guilt at not telling his aunt the real reason he wanted to go to Italy. He thought she’d understand, but if she mentioned Josh to his uncle it was possible he and Nick would both be spending their spring break stuck at home. The only chance he had of actually getting his plan to work was if Nick’s father strong-armed his dad into coughing up the money for a plane ticket, and he stood a much better chance if he didn’t admit that he only wanted to go to Europe to see his boyfriend.

After he finished his dinner he sat in the kitchen and talked to his aunt for awhile, but when he heard his uncle come home he excused himself and headed for Nick’s oldest brother’s old bedroom. He’d spent plenty of nights in Paulie’s room since he moved out; in fact it was more his room now that his cousin hardly ever came home from the city. Part of the reason he’d gone to bed early was to give his aunt a chance to plead his case while it was still fresh in her mind, but the rest of it was that he wanted to call Josh before it got too late.

He kicked off his shoes and lay back on the bed, digging his cell phone out of his pocket and flipping it open. He was about to press the speed dial button that would dial Josh’s number when the phone rang, and he smiled as he recognized the number on the display. "I was just about to call you," he said as he lifted the phone to his ear.

"Yeah?" He could hear the smile in Josh’s voice, and he shook his head to chase away the voice in the back of his mind that told him he should warn Josh that spring break might not happen after all.

"Yeah, I just picked up the phone. So how are things going at school?"

He heard the heavy sigh on the other end of the line and he knew what Josh was about to say, but he wasn’t sorry he’d asked. When he wasn’t trying to figure out a way to get to Europe for spring break he was worrying about Josh, and no matter how many times Josh told him not to it wasn’t going to stop him.

"Everything’s fine," Josh answered wearily. "It’s been three weeks and Scott and Randy haven’t even looked at me, I guess they got it out of their system or something."

Cooper doubted it had so much to do with them getting it out of their system as it did a few phone calls he’d made, but Josh didn’t need to know about that. As long as they stayed far away from Josh he didn’t care what they did, and anyway he didn’t feel like arguing with Josh about two guys he’d probably never see again. "You still going to France next month?"

"As far as I know," Josh answered. "I haven’t dropped out of French Club or anything. Do you still think you can meet me?"

He stifled a sigh and closed his eyes, telling himself he wasn’t lying. Chances were that his uncle could convince his father of the benefits of sending him to Europe, it wouldn’t be the first time his uncle had talked or threatened or bribed his father into doing something he didn’t want to do. "Yeah, I think so. I’m still working on my dad."

"It doesn’t matter if he says no."

Cooper’s heart leapt into his throat and he told himself that he hadn’t heard Josh right; there was no way he could have heard right. "What?"

"I mean if your dad won’t let you go I’ll just blow off France. We have a layover in JFK, I’m sure I could get lost in the crowd. You think you could meet me in the city?"

"I…yeah, of course…Josh, are you serious?"

"Of course I’m serious. I already told you I’d rather see you than go to Paris. I mean Paris is gonna be there forever, right?"

Josh laughed at his own joke, but Cooper could hear the nervousness in his voice. He couldn’t believe that after all this time Josh was still nervous about whether or not Cooper wanted to see him. Granted he’d never even kissed anyone before Cooper, but after four months he’d just assumed that Josh would get over some of his insecurities.

"Yeah, I’m pretty sure Paris will be there for awhile, but you shouldn’t give up something like that for me." He hated it when their conversations turned serious, but Josh was the most intense person he’d ever dated and the distance between them probably had something to do with it too.

"Don’t say stuff like that," Josh said, and Cooper couldn’t be sure but it almost sounded like Josh was trying not to cry. "You’re wrong, Cooper. You think some dumb school trip is worth more than me and you? Maybe to you but not to me."

Okay, definitely the wrong choice of words; Cooper seemed to be developing a talent for that lately, so he decided to just go with the truth. "Josh…no, I mean yes…I mean there’s nothing more important than you. I love you."

For a long time Josh didn’t say anything at all, making Cooper wonder if he’d said the wrong thing again. Maybe it was too much too soon, but it had been four months and he’d been in love with Josh pretty much since he tripped over Nick that first day. He’d never said that to anyone before, though, and he wasn’t sure how to take it back if it was the wrong thing to say. So he just listened to Josh breathe on the other end of the line, his eyes squeezed shut as he prayed to whoever might be listening that he hadn’t just ruined everything.

Finally, after what felt like hours but couldn’t have been more than a minute, Josh cleared his throat and this time Cooper was positive he was trying not to cry. "You what?"

Damn it, this was not going well at all. He wasn’t supposed to have to repeat it, was he? At least not before Josh said it back, unless of course he didn’t love Cooper. He couldn’t really blame him if he didn’t, but he’d been so sure…"I said I love you."

"Yeah, that’s what I thought you said." Another agonizing pause, then Josh finally started talking again. "I didn’t think…I mean I hoped, but…geez, Cooper, and you’re trying to talk me into going to Paris without you? Are you crazy?"

"Josh." Cooper rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to point out that he’d already established that he was, in fact, crazy.

"What? Oh. I love you too, Coop."

"Good. You were starting to scare me, I don’t know how this kind of stuff is supposed to go."

"I don’t think there’s a rulebook." The amusement was back in Josh’s voice, and Cooper smiled in spite of himself as he realized that things were going really, really well after all.

~

Nick let himself into the house Cooper had grown up in, swallowing a surge of irritation at his cousin for taking so long when he heard screaming coming from the second floor. He rolled his eyes at the sound of glass breaking, counting backwards under his breath. At the precise moment he got to ‘1’ The Hag appeared, and he grinned at his nickname for Cooper’s mother as she tore down the hallway and practically threw herself down the stairs.

"Walk much?" he muttered just loud enough for her to hear as he watched her stumble over the last step.

"You." She turned on him with dark eyes flashing, and he noted with some amusement that she was flushed from her latest shouting match with Cooper. "I suppose you and your meddling parents think you can keep this up forever. It’s not going to work, you know."

Nick rolled his eyes and turned his back on her, striding toward the stairs and leaning forward in a vain attempt to look down the hall. "Cooper! Come on, man, get a move on."

He could feel her still standing behind him, but a few seconds later she let out a frustrated growl and turned on her heel. He glanced over his shoulder as he watched her disappear into the study, no doubt to further preserve her liver for scientific experimentation. He liked to think of it as her little contribution to the world; after all, that and Cooper were the only things she’d ever done for anyone besides herself, and Cooper had only turned out decent because she’d had nothing to do with him after he was born. He shuddered at the thought of what Cooper could have grown up to be and started up the stairs, only to stop halfway when his cousin finally appeared.

Cooper ran down the steps two at a time, not even acknowledging Nick’s presence until they were out the front door and headed toward Nick’s car. Once he was settled in the driver’s seat Nick turned on the engine and cast a curious glance at his cousin. "What’s up her butt tonight?"

Cooper let out a frustrated sigh and Nick had a weird flash of The Hag making nearly the same gesture a few minutes ago, but he shook it off and hoped that it was just some kind of weird genetic trick. "She’s pissed because Dad’s actually considering letting me go to college. You’d think she’d be glad to get me out of the house, but she doesn’t want him spending the money. She wants to know why I can’t just go to SUNY or something."

"Man, with the amount of money your grandfather left her you’d think she’d be done squeezing all the blood out of your dad’s money." Nick shook his head and pulled away from the curb, his wry grin hiding the pity he knew his cousin didn’t want. He’d made the mistake of offering sympathy to Cooper one time when they were twelve years old, and it had resulted in the worst fight they’d ever had. Granted they argued a lot about stupid stuff, but that one had resulted in a week of silence and only when his mother finally intervened could he get Cooper to talk to him again. "So what’d you tell her?"

"What do you think? I told her to mind her own fucking business. She’s gonna ruin Europe for me, and now she’s gonna ruin this too." He sighed again and ran his hands through his hair, shaking his head as he turned to stare out the window. "It’s not like I can tell them the truth. Uncle Tino told Dad I’m all jazzed about Daleman’s business program so I have to act like I give a rat’s ass what school I go to."

"Yeah, I can just see the Hag’s face if you told her you wanted to go there because your boyfriend’s got a full scholarship." Nick fished his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and tapped one out, pushing the lighter in as he savored the image that thought conjured up. "Man, I’d pay to see that."

Cooper laughed bitterly, glancing over at his cousin before he turned to stare out the window again. As hard as he tried to erase it from his memory, he kept seeing his mother screaming at him over and over about how he was just throwing money away on his stupid notions about college. The worst part was that in a way she was right – he wanted to go to college for two reasons, to get away from his parents and to be near Josh. Neither of them would probably count very high on the admissions committee’s list of good reasons to admit him to Daleman, but thankfully his uncle had friends in interesting places so admission wasn’t really a problem even this late in the year.

Still, no matter what she said to him about college, that wasn’t really what he was so angry about. Somehow his aunt and uncle had strong-armed his father into agreeing to let him go to Italy with Nick, and now his mother was trying to undermine that too by complaining to his father about all the expenses he kept racking up. He sighed and forced himself not to think about it, making a silent promise to himself that he wasn’t going to let Josh throw away his trip to Paris just to spend the week with him. No matter how much he wanted to see Josh, he couldn’t let him do that. Especially if it meant sneaking away at the airport, there would be cops and missing persons reports involved and Josh’s mom would never let Cooper near her son again.

"She can’t find out the truth. Uncle Tino doesn’t know, neither does your mom. If that got back to the old man he’d have me scrubbing toilets until I killed myself just to relieve the boredom. I’m not risking the one chance I have to get out of this town."

Nick took a long drag off his cigarette, his gaze focused on the dark road in front of them. "Yeah, well, if Pop’s gonna make me give college a try the least we can do is go to the same one as Farmboy, right?"

That got him the first genuine grin out of Cooper since he’d pulled up at his house, and he reached into the pocket of his overcoat and pulled out an envelope. "Here, this should cheer you up."

"What is it?" Cooper asked, eyeing the envelope warily as Nick held it out to him.

"Well it’s not a letter bomb, moron. Open it."

Cooper frowned and tore open the envelope, peeking inside as though he really thought it might explode. When he realized what was inside he looked up sharply, then back down at the envelope. "No way. How’d you pull this off?"

"Pop ordered them from the travel agent yesterday, I just picked them up this afternoon. So next time you see the Hag you can tell her where to stick it. We’re going to Italy and there’s not a goddamn thing she can do about it."

Cooper’s grin rivaled Nick’s triumphant smile as he tore his gaze away from the plane tickets long enough to look at his cousin again. "I could kiss you."

"You do and I’ll call Uncle Angelo and tell him to shred your passport application." Nick tried and failed to look serious as he shook another cigarette out of his pack and pushed the lighter back in. "And I checked with the travel agent, she says there’s a train that leaves Milan the night we get there, it’ll get you to Paris by late the next morning. But you have to be back in time to catch the plane back home or you’re explaining that one to your folks all on your own."

"Now I could really kiss you." Cooper looked down at the tickets again as though he was afraid they might disappear, but as soon as Nick’s words sank in he looked up again. "Wait a second. How’d you know?"

"Please, what do I look like? You only whined to me like a million times how Farmboy was going to visit the homeland on some lame school trip. Like I can’t see right through your little plans. You’re just lucky I wanted to go to Italy anyway or you would’ve been screwed."

Cooper laughed as he tucked the plane tickets back in the envelope and reached for his cell phone. "He’s not actually from France, you know."

"Whatever."

He shook his head as he listened to the number dial, smiling as his favorite sound in the world filled his ear. "Hey, Josh. What hotel are you staying at in Paris?"

The sound of papers rustling was all he heard for a minute, then Josh came back on the line sounding a little breathless. "Vieux Saule on the rue de Picardie. Why?"

"I’ll meet you there the day you get into Paris," Cooper said, grinning into the darkness as he listened to Josh’s sharp intake of breath.

"Are you serious?"

"Josh, would I kid about something like this?" Cooper asked, all the amusement fading out of his voice. It had been three long, difficult weeks around his house since he’d told Josh he loved him, and pretty much the only thing that had kept him from killing one or both of his parents was the thought of seeing Josh again. He’d assumed they were past all the doubts and questions about his level of commitment. "I told you I’d find a way to make it happen."

"I know what you said, it’s just…you and Paris…it just didn’t seem possible."

"So you think your teacher’s gonna freak when I show up at the hotel? I mean I’ll get my own room, but do you think whoever they make you share with will be cool about keeping their mouth shut?"

"Cooper." The tone of Josh’s voice made Cooper shut up instantly, but he could hear the barely disguised amusement behind Josh’s stern tone. "I don’t give a damn what anybody thinks. What are they gonna do, confine me to my room the whole time I’m there? That’s pretty much what I plan to do anyway so they wouldn’t be punishing anyone. I love you, Cooper. It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks."

Cooper was sure he was going to hear about the idiotic grin on his face as soon as he hung up, but he didn’t care what Nick said to him about the way he acted wherever Josh was concerned. "I love you too, Josh. I gotta go, we’re doing something for Nick’s dad tonight, but I’ll talk to you tomorrow."

He smiled as he listened to Josh say goodbye, closing his phone and dropping it back in his pocket before he looked over at his cousin. Nick was still staring at the road in front of them, but the look on his face let Cooper know that he was dying to say something. "Fine, get it over with already."

Nick just shook his head and cast a quick glance at Cooper before he turned back to stare out the windshield. "Nothing, man. I think it’s cool that things are working out for you."

"You’re not gonna make fun of me?"

"Nope." He finally quit fighting the grin that was threatening to form and reached for the plane tickets on the seat between them. "Hey, you and your boyfriend got me my trip to Italy, even if it is only a week. So I’m not saying a word." He tucked the tickets back in his coat pocket and turned into the driveway of his house, turning off the engine and leading a bewildered and slightly dazed Cooper toward the front door.

The End