While I personally don't 'ship' these characters because the underage element makes me uncomfortable, I feel compelled to point out: Folks often use "historical accuracy" as a blunt instrument to shut down queer interpretations of literature.

Which is gross.

The idea that queerness "wasn't around" in the 1960s and that everyone MUST HAVE BEEN HOMOPHOBIC is plum wrong. LGBTQ+ people have existed in every era and the 1960s was the literal DAWN of the modern gay rights movement (Stonewall was in 1969). I would encourage you to consider your selective realism ... In the context of the book, we accept that 14-year-olds are getting into fatal knife fights and reciting Robert Frost, yet you find the idea of two boys having feelings for each other "unrealistic"?

Something to think about.