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Bill and Josh found themselves sitting on the roof of Bill's house, both pairs of spectacled eyes locked onto the stars. They both refused to look at each other— it was already gay enough, being alone on a roof.
But then again, stargazing probably made it gayer.
It was just after the end of the Eltingville club's weekly meetings. Or, at least, Bill thought it was the end. Turns out, one of its members had to stay overtime for ridiculous reasons (Bill thought they were ridiculous, anyway); Josh's mother was coming home too late, and with no one in the house, she asked Ms. Dickey's permission for her Josh to stay the night. To Bill's horror, his own mother said yes.
So here they were, sitting on Bill's roof, looking at the stars.
"Tell me why again we have to be out here...?" Josh mumbled, rubbing his shoulders from the cold. Bill scoffed, you'd think the whale would be warm with how much blubber it has.
"Because I don't want Jane to see you," Bill muttered, practically spitting on the name of his sister. "She'd call me weird for sleeping with a guy tonight."
"It's not as if we're sharing the same bed," Josh huffed. "And Tommy?"
It took Bill a moment to recall the brat that was his younger brother. "He's just annoying. Barges into my room whenever the fuck he wants."
"He doesn't have a bedtime?"
Bill scoffed. "As if we do. Then again, you probably still do."
"I do not!" Josh bit, but in the way that made Bill realize he was right.
Bill's roof was tiled and slightly tilted, but just flat enough to sit upon with the right angle. Bill had to demonstrate to Josh said angle before the boy could practically roll off. They had arrived only a few minutes earlier, and aside from the occasional conversation, the air was filled with silence. And the sky was filled with stars.
Bill stared up at them, knees close to his chest, and suppressing a groan. Of all nights, he thought to himself. Why the hell did Josh have to stay over for this one?
He had planned to stay up and browse his usual adult websites, perhaps later than he usually would. With Josh around, however, he obviously couldn't without seeming like a major creep.
So, he opted to conduct the only other solitary activity he had, and one that he could do around others; sitting on the roof by his window. He wasn't all that sleepy, anyway, and guessed Josh wasn't either.
Though it was hard to tell with how silent they both were.
After a long, awkward silence, it was finally broken. Only, Bill hadn't expected Josh to break it first.
"Orion's belt," he said.
Bill looked at him weirdly.
Josh only pointed upwards. "The, uh... constellation."
Bill looked up and squinted, trying to find the so-called "belt" Josh had pointed out.
"I don't see any belt," Bill said. "The fuck are you on?"
"The fuck are you on?" Josh retorted, sounding offended. "Do you seriously not know what Orion's belt looks like!?"
"Uh, no." Bill rolled his eyes. He wondered if Josh could even properly see them in the dark. "I'm not a nerd, dumbass. Looks like you are, though!"
"It's literally basic knowledge," Josh huffed. "Christ, Bill, we were taught this in seventh grade!"
Josh suddenly moved closer to Bill, and pointed up at the sky. He pointed to three stars in particular, forming a jagged line, and spoke.
"That's Orion's belt. And that's..." He pointed again, but to a larger group of stars around the initial one. "Orion."
Bill hummed, unimpressed. "Nerd."
"The Big Dipper! Cassiopeia! Cygnus! Delphinus! Ursa major— Ursa minor, even!" Josh exclaimed. Bill resisted the urge to slap a hand over his mouth, shutting him up. "Everyone knows them, Bill, everyone!"
"Okay, okay, quiet down, Dumbo, stop trumpeting at me!" Bill shushed. "But half— no, all of those aren't even real things."
"They're constellations. Constellations are real!"
"Says who?"
"Astronomers."
"Ha! Haven't heard of them."
It was an obvious lie, but Josh was an easy one to bait. "You imbecile! Bill, you're a grade-A idiot!"
"You're an idiot if you think stars look like anything," Bill went on. "They're big balls of gas. They don't look like anything at all!"
"But combined, they do!"
Bill had a thought. "Yeah... combine two, and you got yourselves two, big balls— literally!"
Josh stifled a laugh. "That was a cheap shot, Bill."
"Or two big ass cheeks," Bill snickered. "Take your pick."
Josh stifled another one. "So juvenile!"
Bill scooted closer towards Josh, elbowing him on his plump side. "Hey, look at that one."
Despite himself, Josh followed Bill's gaze, even when Bill began pointing upwards. His finger landed on a group of stars that, if looked at the right way...
"Doesn't that look like a dick?" Bill whispered devilishly.
Josh prevailed, the laugh stuck just at his throat. "It's too small to be one..."
"Sorry, let me rephrase," Bill said, clearing his throat. "Doesn't that look like Pete's dick?"
Then, finally breaking, Josh laughed.
The whole affair lasted longer than either of them would care to admit, seeing as they spent the entirety of it making up constellations while trying (and failing) to keep their laughs at a reasonable decibel.
"Those there— those ones—" Josh pointed at a set of stars, aligned but curving downwards. "Don't they look like—?"
"Iron Jaw's braces!?" Bill cackled, which made Josh cackle along with him. "And that one! Oh my god, it looks just like—"
"Joe's receding hairline!"
And, like hyenas, they laughed into the night.
They were interrupted twice, once by Bill's mother, and another time by Bill's sister. Ms. Dickey was an easier target to appease than Jane, but after a well placed bribe, the emo girl let the grudge go.
It was a good thing, too, for just right after, they began joking about her too.
"She's as short as that constellation!" Josh laughed, pointing at a cluster of stars barely the size of his thumb.
"Yeah? And she's as bright as that star!" Bill said, pointing to the dimmest star of the bunch.
They sat side by side at that point, stifling their laughter by covering their faces, biting their hands, or even biting their shirts.
Bill didn't truly believe his comparisons— stars don't look like anything, after all. Still, it was fun to make fun, and Josh proved to be a surprisingly good sport (when the butt of the jokes weren't about him, after all).
After Bill made another joke that sent Josh into a laughing frenzy, he paused his own laughter for a moment to look at his friend.
Josh had the biggest grin Bill had ever seen, and for a moment, their gazes locked. Josh's eyes were barely slits, threatening to close by the sheer force of his laughter, but in that gaze, Bill could see a glittering in his eyes.
It was then he had the terrifying thought.
Shit. That's what stars look like.
His good humor quickly faded after that, and he only waited for Josh to quiet down.
When the laughter was over, Bill looked at Josh again, only to turn away just as quickly. He couldn't stand the light in his eyes— blindingly bright. It was odd; Bill knew he didn't deserve to be looked at in such a way.
"Uh. We should go to sleep now," Bill offered awkwardly. Then, with more confidence. "You'll wake up the whole damn neighborhood with your cackling."
"As if. You're the one who sounds like the Joker!"
Bill couldn't help but smirk. "Yeah? Well, you sound like Romero's Joker!"
"Then you sound like Nicholson's!"
"Well, you sound like—"
A third voice interrupted them, feminine and furious from a downstairs window. "You both sound like Joker! Now shut the fuck up and go to sleep!"
They stared at each other for a moment before murmuring, "Jane."
They were inside in bed quickly after that, Bill on his bed, while Josh was on an air mattress on the floor. It took Bill quite a while to get comfortable; Josh, meanwhile, looked like he was ready to sleep within minutes.
"Goodnight, Bill," Josh said kindly. Then in a whisper, he added. "I hope you get sleep paralysis."
Bill scoffed. "Goodnight, Joshzilla. With your fatass, I wouldn't be surprised if you deflated the bed."
They soon slept soundly— even Bill, for he decided to watch the stars just outside his window to fall asleep.