ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴇʏᴇꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴋɪꜱꜱ ᴍᴇ

ᴏɴᴇ

It was relatively early in the morning, and it took Alex longer than it should have to realise he wasn't in his room.

Then were was he?

He glanced down. He was sitting on a plush grey sofa. Fully clothed. Okay, good. He stood and smoothed his slightly-too-big hoodie down, running a hand through his messy hair as he looked around at his surroundings.

Light was streaming in through the window shutters, illuminating the room before him: a single bed, a nightstand, a desk and chair, and assorted posters and Post-Its stuck onto the walls. 

Alex's phone vibrated in his pocket, and he fished it out.

Dad

The word flashed on his screen and before he could even register what he was doing, he accepted the call.

"Alexander, where the fuck are you?" Dad was angry. Alex could hear him fumble with his car keys and cuss as he started up the engine. "You missed curfew last night, and you swore you'd be home for dinner."

Alex blanched, "I...I fell asleep at Max's place. I-I don't....I'm coming home." He stumbled back, grabbing his backpack and swinging it over his shoulder as he exited the room with panicked, clumsy movements.

"No, you stay right where you are," His dad growled into the phone, "I'm coming to get you now." He hung up and Alex hurried down the stairs and into Max's kitchen.

Max sat at the kitchen counter eating his breakfast quietly, eyes fixed on the bowl of cereal in front of him. 

When Alex stumbled down the stairs frantically, Max glanced up, a radiant smile lighting up his face at the sight of him. "You're up."

"Yeah, sorry. I need to go now. My dad's pissed because I stayed over without telling him." He blinked, "Again." 

Now that he thought about it, it was the eleventh time Max had invited him over to help with his homework this month and he had missed his curfew.

If he hadn't known better, he'd have thought Max was inviting him over for reasons other than helping with his homework. Was he....hitting on him? His face flushed and he mumbled a goodbye before fleeing the room and shutting the door behind him. No....No. Max was straight as a ruler. There was no way...

A horn honked behind him, and he spun around to see his dad's fuming face appear behind the glass, mouthing get in as he pointed to the back of the car.

Alex lowered his head and opened the door and climbed in, closing the door behind him. His dad didn't speak during the drive home. He was in a bad mood, alright, but it was a silent kind of rage. For now, at least.

Then they pulled onto their driveway and the car rolled to a slow stop. Mr. Love (yes, his last name is Love) got out first, opening the door for his son with a scowl. He slammed both doors when Alex stepped out and pulled him inside.

Alex was scared--Not because his father might lash out at him, it wasn't like him--but because he was scared his father would ban him from hanging out with his best friend.

Normally he wouldn't have cared very much, but Max was different, he was radiant, like a ray of sunshine slicing through a murky darkness. Alex would do anything to hold onto their friendship.

His dad finally spoke when they were inside. "What the fuck was that about?" He growled, his voice quiet but terrifying. Alex knew he wasn't meant to reply, so he just stared at his feet.

Fine, thought Alex. Fine, let him do whatever. It's not like it'll affect me too much.

"You're too young to have sex."

Whatever Alex had expected, it wasn't that. "Wh-what?" he had no words........did his dad think...............Max? He turned dangerously red. "What do you mean?"

His dad looked even sterner as he repeated, "You're too young to have sex." He went on, "You're barely sixteen, Alex. You can't just go over to some chick's house and do this."

"Some...some chick?" Alex blinked, unsure of what his father was talking about. Then he remembered. Max had an older sister, Janet, who was seventeen.

"Oh, hell no." He choked on his spit. "Ack--Dad, I'm not having sex with anyone."

His dad raised an eyebrow.

"I was up late working on homework with Max, then we fell asleep."

Dad sighed, seemingly satisfied with this answer. Alex deflated, relieved his dad hadn't come to any ridiculous conclusions.

Then his dad opened his mouth. "You fell asleep...in separate beds, right?"

Oh lord. "Oh, my god, Dad. You're crazy."

His dad laughed. "Kidding, kidding. But you can't do that. Let me know if you're staying over, you almost gave me a heart attack."

Alex shrugged. "'Kay."

His dad's anger was now completely gone, and he smiled as he ruffled his son's hair. "It's just hard for me to watch you grow up. Soon, you'll want a girlfriend and alcohol and freedom, and I won't be able to stop you."

Alex pursed his lips at the word girlfriend. He opened his mouth to speak, but his dad's loud ringtone cut through the air before he could say anything.

"Oh, crap. I gotta take this." His dad took the phone out of his pocket and walked out of the room. "Yell-o? Yeah, uh-huh."

Alex sighed. It wasn't time, he told himself as he got up and walked up the stairs to his room.

Maybe another day.