epilogue

Oliver was back here.

Again.

He was back to sitting inside of that stupid van parked on that quiet, suburban street. The one that had the bright pink ice cream cone sitting on top of it; the one that played that stupid little jingle as it cruised down the road. The one that he'd been sitting in every summer since his junior year of high school.

The embarrassment of it all had worn off by now, after four long years. It'd worn off once he tripped onto his face exiting his first college lecture, once he'd accidentally called his music theory professor a bitch while she was standing right behind him--all things classically Oliver; things that somehow always left him with an imperceptible flush across his face.

He quickly thumbed out a text to his friend Alya. They'd met at the beginning of freshman year and have been inseparable since--especially after he'd needed someone to replace Celia, who'd jetted off to Europe for college. Truthfully, he hadn't talked to her since.

As Oliver tapped his fingers melodically across the dashboard, he felt a strange sense of calamity flood through him. Yeah, it was true that this job sucked--and the fact that he hasn't gotten much farther from his high school self--but truthfully, this job was his one constant. It was here, waiting for him, after every final, every breakup and every moment of adult frustration. Sometimes, Oliver couldn't help but think that he needed this job--with its shitty wages, lack of AC, and mindlessly boring hours, Oliver hadn't submitted a single internship application because he needed to be here. He needed to be in the place where being an adult was completely unallowed; he needed to be in this ice cream truck.

Now that he was here, however, the heat was starting to get to him. He wiped his forehead before fanning himself with his hand. The rule was that he was supposed to stay parked ten minutes by a sidewalk and if nobody came after that, he should move on. His ten minutes were almost done. Maybe he could just....

Laughter. Loud, boisterous laughter--the kind he's definitely heard before. A group of adults rounded the corner, and Oliver squinted at them. They looked about his age, which made sense since many kids went home for the summer. As soon as they got closer, though, Oliver's heart fell to his stomach.

This was so not his day.

Walking there was Carson-fucking-Katsaros, looking almost exactly like he did when Oliver had walked away from him for the last time.

After the breakup, seeing Carson for the next year was awkward, to say the least. It was seeing each other and making quick eye contact before looking away, it was the one Facebook message from Carson's mom on Easter wishing him a "happy holidays!", it was seeing Carson walking across the stage to get his diploma and feeling a pang shoot through his heart.

Thinking back to the days when Oliver was a lost puppy just seemed... weird now.

Sure, he's had his brief share of endeavors since then--not that any of them had worked out. There was the guy who broke up with him because he was too brash, the one who broke up with him because he was bad with parents, the one who left on their first date because Oliver didn't look like his Grindr picture.

Whatever that meant.

All of them had been... different. Even thinking about the dating that went down that fateful junior year makes him roll his eyes at how utterly cringy it was.

But back then? Back then it felt like the end of his world.

He'd done nothing but lay in bed and cry for the next few weeks but now, seeing Carson Katsaros made Oliver want to laugh.

Which was exactly what the man in question was doing--throwing his head back and releasing a loud chuckle into the air. Looking next to him, Oliver noticed that Carson was walking next to Holden and Claire and.... that other girl that he hadn't bothered to learn the name of.

It was like he was having déjà fucking vu.

Claire, who had just finished giggling, caught sight of the truck before anyone else had. "Holy shit! Ice cream! Finally, I'm sweating. Hold on, I'm gonna get something--does anyone want any?"

Carson looked up, a furrow caught in his brow once he'd taken sight of the very obvious truck. Holden spared him a cautious glance but Oliver knew he'd been spotted the moment Carson's eyes widened. He murmured something, but Oliver wasn't close enough to hear what it was. They walked closer anyway.

Once Claire reached the window, she knocked lightly on it, not picking up on the tension. Oliver sighed, rolled his eyes, and stood up. Sliding the window open, he asked, "How may I help you?" through half-lidded eyes.

Claire looked shocked. "Oliver?"

"The one and only," he replied, not looking in Carson's direction. "What can I get you?"

"You still work here?" She questioned, astonished.

Oliver raised an eyebrow in response as if to say, obviously. "So do you not want anything or...."

Claire blinked. Sparing a look at Carson, she responded, "Uh.... I'll take an ice cream sandwich. You have those, right?"

"You betcha," Oliver said, even though it said it right on the menu. He looked over to the two boys who both looked incredibly uncomfortable. "Do you guys want anything?"

Holden shook his head. Carson looked frozen.

"Carson?" Oliver asked. The boy in question flinched as if shaking out of his reverie.

"No... uh... no, I'm good, thank you." He ran a hand across his studded jaw and Oliver couldn't help but notice how much more attractive it made him. Oliver turned back, getting Claire's ice cream sandwich from the tub when he heard Carson clear his throat, say,

"You know Nico's getting married? Well, he's engaged. To his high-school boyfriend--you remember Nicky, right?"

Oliver felt a smile come on at the thought of that. "Yeah, yeah I remember." He came back to the window. "It's nice to see that at least someone can make a high-school relationship work."

He hadn't meant it to sound harsh--Carson knew that. What was unexpected, however, was the big grin that broke out across his face.

"You're exactly the same, you know that?" He said.

Oliver smiled back. "I hope not."

"Why not? I kind of liked you."

Oliver laughed. "I hope you more than kind of liked me. Otherwise, I'd be devastated."

"Alright, alright," said Carson, "I guess I more than kind of liked you.

"Well," Oliver mumbled, "I guess I more than kind of liked you too."

There was a lull in conversation as Claire paid before Carson spoke up again.

"You're invited, by the way. To the wedding, I mean."

"You know, I don't think you're allowed to invite people to someone else's wedding."

Carson laughed. "Yeah, except Nico was always planning on inviting you."

"Damn," Oliver grumbled, "now I gotta invite him to my wedding."

Carson raised his eyebrows in response. "Have you got one planned soon?"

The dark-skinned boy unintentionally smirked. "Nope, I'm single. You?"

Carson didn't break eye contact. "Painfully single."

"Interesting."

"Interesting," mimicked Carson. "So you don't think you'll have a date then? For the wedding?"

"Not sure. I'm highly desired."

"Don't I know it."

Oliver smiled. "No, I don't think I'll have a date," he answered.

The other boy stuck his hands in his pockets. "Well, then maybe we should go together."

Oliver's heart stopped. There was still something about him--and, Oliver realized, there will always be. There will always be something about Carson Katsaros that makes Oliver Laurent feel comfortable, loved, valued. That's something that most definitely won't change with time.

He forced his heart to start beating again with a cough. "Jeez, Carson, at least take a guy out for dinner first."

Carson smiled at him, looking him in the eyes--with those eyes, the ones that could make anyone feel like they were the only person in the world. "You know Olly," he said. "I might have to do just that."

- - -

A/N: Not gonna lie, I was nervous about posting this. But I guess this is also just a thank you. Thank you for 3k reads, over 300 votes and over 1000 comments. Thank you to all my readers in:

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-g <3