The Party Scene (Jalex)

23. High

[ A l e x ]

I wake up alone.

My eyes scan Rian's basement. There's no note left to tell me where Jack, Rian, and Zack went. They left their phones on the couch.

"Hello?" I say, listening for a response but there is none.

I slowly walk up the stairs, hoping to hear them talking in one of the rooms. Still nothing.

"Guys?" This is getting a little creepy. My voice cracks "Where are you?"

Did they leave without me? Where could they have gone? I look at the clock, there's an hour until Rian's parents get home.

I make my way through the house, there's no sign of anyone. From what I can see they're not in the front yard or the backyard.

What if something happened to Jack?

I return to the basement and tug on my hoodie, pulling the sleeves over my hands. That's become somewhat of a security thing for me. Oh god I'm alone. Tears fill my eyes and I don't bother to wipe them away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[ J a c k ]

"Do you think Alex is awake yet?" I ask, walking into Rian's house.

"I dunno" Zack says

I run down the basement stairs, careful not to drop what's in my hands. "Hey, Alex, look I caught a frog!" I smile, extending my hands towards the boy. His eyes are watery and puffy "You okay?" I carefully hand the frog over to Rian.

I wipe Alex's tears away with my sleeve and pull him into a hug. "Y-You were gone and I thought something happened" He takes a deep breath "I didn't know w-where you were and I got really s-scared"

"I'm so sorry. We were just in the woods behind the house. I tried to wake you up before we left but you swatted my hand away and rolled over. I thought you would still be asleep when we got back. Everyone's okay"

He nods and continues to hold onto me. I feel awful for making him cry like this. I rub his back and after a minute or so he calms down.

"Umm, I'm gonna put this little guy back outside before he hops out of my hand" Rian says, heading back up the stairs. Zack silently follows him.

"You okay?" I ask, playing with the ends of Alex's light brown hair.

"Yeah" He sniffles, lightly holding onto my sweatshirt.

I stare down at him, taking in all of his beautiful features. The little sparkle in his amazing eyes. His messy fringe. The way he nervously plays with his hands. His thick eyebrows that put mine to shame.

He looks up at me with watery eyes and an expression still full of worry. I lean down and kiss his forehead. His grip on my sleeve gets tighter as Rian and Zack return to the basement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rian's parents call and say they wont be home for another few hours. He hangs up the phone and smiles "Hey, you guys wanna meet a good friend of mine?"

"Oh, I know what's going on. Sure, why not" Zack chuckles

"What?" I ask, looking to Alex for an answer. He just watches Rian.

He walks over to his bookcase and opens up a book. It must be hollowed out because he pulls out a bag. He holds it up and says "Guys, this is my very good friend, Mary Jane"

"Of course" I say to myself. Rian holds out the bag and motions towards me.

"You ever done this before?"

"Man, I used to be party king, of course I've done this before"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[ A l e x ]

I'm not sure how I got talked into this again but I'm glad I was. Zack lays back on the couch and giggles. "Dude this is fucking great, it's been a while since we've smoked. I almost forgot what it feels like"

"I should probably spray some air freshener in here or something to cover this up" He shrugs "Whatever"

I don't know exactly how much we smoked, but I think it was a lot.

I look over at Jack, his brown eyes surrounded by glassy pink instead of white. A dopey smile on his lips. "Alex, are you staring at me?" He says slowly. I shake my head, no, but he nods.

"Yeah you were"

"Noooope" My cheeks heat up and I look back at him. We're both sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch. He smirks

"You're still staring"

A smile spreads across my face and I look up at the ceiling.

"Hey, Rian, man, can I make some mac 'n cheese?" Zack asks

"Sure" They both head up the stairs "I gotta make sure you don't destroy the kitchen. And I gotta clean up the air down here"

Zack giggles again, almost tripping on the stairs  "Dude how the fuck do you clean air?"

[ J a c k ]

Alex doesn't look anxiety-ridden right now. He looks really calm, it's great. He's got a look I've never seen before on his face.

He pulls off his hoodie and I catch a small glimpse of his stomach. My heart stops. There's lines.

White scars and new red ones.

I sober up really fast.

"Wha-at?" He stumbles through the word, raising an eyebrow "Jack, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Your stomach..."

He shakes his head and stands up. "Oh, that's nothing. I'm... Gonna go upstairs and help Zack make something to eat"

"Alex" I say sternly, he stops and sighs.

"Jack, please it's fine, I'm fine. You don't need to get upset about this... Please... Don't worry about it"

I grab his hand and he turns around. There's tears in his already red eyes. He looks down to avoid my gaze.

Slowly I lift up the bottom of his shirt. There's a lot. There's a whole fucking lot. My thumb traces the white scars, careful not to touch any recent cuts. He takes a deep breath then his lips crash onto mine. Holy fuck. I lose my grip on his shirt, moving my hands up to his hair. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me much closer than I already was.

As much as I hate to admit it, Alex and I wouldn't be doing this if we weren't under the influence of something. It just doesn't feel right.

I pull away and rest my chin on top of his head. My face is too red to look at him right now.

"Please don't tell anyone about what you saw" He whispers against my chest, his breathing is heavy and rugged.

"Trust me, I wont" I sigh, and after a long, drawn out silence I finally work up the nerve to ask "Alex?"

"Hm?"

"Why did you kiss me?"

[ A l e x ]

Come on. Three simple words.

I. Love. You.

My lips just wont make the sound.

I shrug, my face heating up again.

Without thinking I stutter out "It's the drugs"

Shit.

I'm so fucking stupid. It's extremely difficult to resist slapping myself across the face.

[ J a c k ]

"It's the drugs" He says

My heart sinks. I nod slowly, unable to respond. I knew it, but hearing it from him is just different. Fuck. That hurt.

"I didn't mean it like that" He nervously bites his lip

"No it's okay. I got it" I sigh, walking past him up the stairs.