Where have you been?

What would you do if...

The next morning, Adam woke up with the usual headache and guilt. How did this happen again? He'd given Maaz his debit card and cash so he couldn't go get alcohol and yet, he'd gotten his hands on a bottle. He remembered being so hesitant to take it, but he'd been weak. He'd given in. Again. Part of him wanted to stay in bed all day, but he knew it'd only hurt more if he was left with his thoughts. He'd tried animating to distract him from the pain, but it didn't help. There was only one thing that helped.
'No!' He said out loud to himself.
'You gotta stay strong. You can't give in every day over and over again.'
He eventually got up and went downstairs, not really knowing what to do with his day. Was it even a day worth living without James. Without the James he used to know. The kind boy that would never cheat. But how long had that thing with Caleb already been going on.

Adam was only snapped out of his thoughts when he saw three unfamiliar boys about his age sitting on the couch when he entered the livingroom. For a moment he just stared at the boys, unsure of what was going on.
'Adam! You're awake.' Maaz said as he entered from the kitchen with a bowl of cereal in his hands.
'These are Michael, John and Jack. They're here to... maybe they should explain themselves.'
Adam hesitantly sat down in a chair near the couch.
'Hi, so you're Adam. Nice to meet you. We're old friends of James. All the way back from his time in the orphanage. I'm not sure if he ever mentioned us.' John said.
Adam shuffled uneasily is his chair. James had told him about his old friends, but he didn't remember him mentioning Jack. A part of him wanted to walk away again, not wanting to meet James's old friends. After all, they were James's friends, and he didn't wanna have anything to do with James anymore.
"Than why do you still miss him every day?" A voice in the back of his mind asked. He shook it off. The only reason he didn't leave, was because of Maaz. The Australian boy had sat down in another chair, watching the situation. He wouldn't have let them into the house without a good reason.
'We heard about what happened and the thing is that it's hard for us to believe that the James we knew would do something like that. So we hoped we could talk to you about it to get some answers.' John continued. Adam nodded. He definitely understood what the boys meant. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it either. He didn't really wanna talk about James though. It'd hurt. But a part of him felt like pouring out his heart again, might make him feel just a little better, if only for a couple minutes.
'Can you tell us what happened?' Jack asked.
Adam took a deep breath before taking out his notepad.

I was with James at my brother's house to help him out because he broke his foot. We were in the back yard, but then I went inside to get drinks and when I came back I saw them kissing.

Adam was trying hard to hold back tears, but failed. The memory alone hurted so much.
'What happened then?' John asked.

I ran home and grabbed my stuff before coming here. I couldn't really go anywhere else than where my friends were. The appartment my dad lives in is too small.

A moment of silence passed between all of them before Michael was the one to speak.
'Adam... what would you do if I were to kiss you right now?' He asked.
Adam shuffled a little further away from the boy, awkwardly staring at him.
'It's hypothetical, don't worry. I have a girlfriend, I'm really not interested. I just wanna know what your reaction would be.' Michael explained.

I don't know. I would pull away I guess.

'But what would happen if timing was so poor, that before you actually get the chance to pull away, your boyfriend walks in and sees?'
Adam stared at him. He had a feeling he knew where this was going.
'And if said boyfriend assumed you were cheating, even though you never wanted this to happen in the first place.'
Adam glared at them. This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to talk to James's friends.

I knew you were just here to defend him.

Adam got up and tried to walk away, but Jack grabbed his arm to stop him.
'Listen! I wasn't in school with James! I barely know him and literally only just met him yesterday for the first time in my life! Wanna know how that meeting went? He walked in looking awful! Messy hair, pale face, dark circles around his eyes and a smile that couldn't be more fake! As soon as you were brought up, he started crying! I know that this whole situation hurt you, but don't think for only a second it didn't do anything to him! He's heartbroken, depressed, barely still passable for a living human! However much you're hurting, he's hurting even more! I want you to take a moment to shut off your feelings about the whole situation and use the brain you were given to think reasonably! What is more likely, James cheating on you or this whole thing being a misunderstanding? You dated him for five whole years for crying out loud! Are you telling me you don't know him enough to figure out that he wouldn't do that? I've met him ONCE and even I can see how this breakup is destroying him!' Jack shouted.
Adam stared at him, taken by surprise by the sudden anger. Yet, if he thought about it, he couldn't help but feel as if he had a good point. Tears started to escape his eyes again at the thought of a heartbroken James. What had he done?
'It's true. He needs you, Adam.' Michael added softly.

I wanna talk to him. Just him and me.

'I'll call him.' John said. Seemingly a little relieved that they finally got their message through.

They all waited in silence, everyone's mind racing and wondering what would happen next. The doorbell disrupted the silence, startling everyone a bit. Maaz got up to open the door and came back with James following him. Adam felt his heart sting when he saw the blonde. Jack was right. He looked awful. He had dark circles around his eyes, his hair was messy and his face was pale, but the worst part was the look in his eyes. The look of pain and heartache. Adam could see it even though James's gaze was locked on the floor. Jack was right. He had suffered just as much.
'We'll leave you two alone for a bit...' Maaz muttered and James's old friends followed him outside.
Neither of the boys spoke for a while. Eventually James looked up at Adam. The dark haired boy didn't look that good either. He seemed exhausted and while his glasses hid it pretty effectively, he had dark circles around his eyes too.
'Is it true? What they said, is it true?' Adam asked after a long time of silence.
'I don't know what they said exactly, but if they told the story I told them than, yes. It is true.' James replied. His voice was a little hoarse from not using it that much the past month and suddenly needing to have conversations for two days in a row.
'They said Caleb kissed you, but you didn't like him back...'
'Ofcourse I don't like him back. You're the only one I love, Adam. I thought you knew that.'
For a moment they were silent again.
'When I saw it, I immediately jumped to conclusions before I took the time to think about it and after that I let my emotions stop me from thinking reasonably. I've been blaming this whole breakup on you for the past month, but in the end, it seems like it was my fault. I should've given you a chance to explain yourself. I should've thought about the situation reasonably and I should've known my little angel wouldn't do something like that.' Adam said.
'I probably would've done the same. That's how your mind works in such a moment. But I'm so happy that you understand now. I'm so happy you know the truth and I hope we can put this behind us and continue right where we left off.' James replied, his eyes tearing up and a smile appearing on his face. A real smile this time.
'Can you forgive me, James. If I had just listened to you, we both would've been saved a lot of pain. I'm so sorry, Angel.' Adam said.
James couldn't help it. He ran up to the other boy and pulled him into an embrace, holding him as closely as possible.
'I've missed you! I've missed you so much!' He cried.
'I missed you too! I love you, James!'
'I love you too!'
They pulled away from each other, just long enough to look deep into each other's tear filled eyes, before they pulled each other into a passionate kiss, holding each other close as they did. Holding each other for the first time in so long.