After Before and After

Phase 4: Chapter 111

Ralph and Jack arrived back at the Langley house after the Halloween party at Olivia Monroe's house. The implications of kissing under the streetlights left physical evidence. Jack's costume was tainted by the fake blood from Ralph's that rubbed off on him, and Ralph's face had hints of white facepaint on it. Only Laurie was awake when they entered the house, and as promised, she checked to see if they'd been drinking. Jack was quick to explain that Ralph got dosed, and that he even had another witness to call on if she needed further proof. Though, it was late and Laurie was tired so she decided to believe them, at least for the moment.

Before heading off to bed, Laurie requested that the boys each have a shower to clean off the makeup and fake blood before getting under Ralph's clean sheets. She then scurried down the hall to the master bedroom and joined Jeffery for the night.

"I think I should go first since I have the most crap to clean off" Ralph suggested in reference to the shower.

"I have a better idea" Jack rebutted, an amused grin on his face.

"We hose off in the backyard?" Ralph naively guessed.

"You really are innocent, aren't you?" Jack laughed a little, earning a confused head tilt from Ralph.

Ralph followed Jack when he took off down the hall and trekked into Ralph's bathroom. If one looked closely enough, you could still see a bit of the evidence from the mess of fake blood they made before the party. Jack immediately began stripping off his Michael Myers costume, and Ralph frowned at him from the doorway.

"When did we decide you're going first?" Ralph whined bitterly. He was getting itchy from all the fake blood dripping down his body. The effects of the accidental intoxication had mostly worn off, so the sticky blood was far more unpleasant now than it had been when Ralph was dizzy and sweating.

"We're both going first" Jack declared, now stripped down to his black undershirt and white boxer briefs. "C'mon, don't you wanna?"

Ralph stood still in the doorway, ogling Jack's half-clothed body. It took him a moment to realize that Jack spoke. He glanced up to meet the blond boy's amused eyes and nodded profusely.

Ralph then rushed to pull the torn, bloody baseball uniform off his body and undressed until he was wearing nothing but his boxer shorts, patches of his skin stained red from the sticky, fake blood. Jack started the shower and tested the water temperature with his hand before undressing the rest of the way. Once everything was ready, Jack stepped in first, then took Ralph's hand to help him in.

Jack grabbed the soap from the ledge as he stood under the warm, running water. He pumped some into his own hand, then gestured for Ralph to stick his hand out for some too. Ralph stood at the back of the shower, his eyes averted down and bouncing between different parts of Jack's body.

"Eyes up, man" Jack swatted at him as he held the soap out further. Ralph snapped his head up, his cheeks went red, and he finally got the cue and held his hand out for the soap.

Jack just chuckled softly with amusement. Ralph's obvious interest in him only heightened his already pretty big ego, and he couldn't force the smile off his face at the sight of Ralph gawking at him.

Jack was still quite tall and skinny, even after he'd gone most of the way through puberty. He didn't understand what it was about his body that made Ralph unable to breathe, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. Jack was still very nice to look at, and he was growing into his body very slowly. Perhaps, he needed to hit the gym more. It was Ralph who Jack thought to be built like a worthy god, his more muscular figure formed in all the right places. Ralph wasn't bulky, per se, but his arms had more definition than most fifteen-year-old boys, and his chest was larger and wider than Jack's. He was so easy on the eyes, Jack considered the possibility that girls might wet themselves just from looking at him. At least, Ralph had no interest in them or what they had between their legs.