How to Fall in Love in Three Easy Steps

Chapter 3

Later that evening, Jack lay down on his bed, staring at the poster covered ceiling of his dorm room. What the hell had been wrong with him earlier? Every move Alex made caused Jack to feel like a worm was trying to escape out of his belly. Each time Alex leaned forward to write something down, his hair would flop over his eyes, making Jack's hand twitch from wanting to brush it off of his face. Jack still was unsure what was wrong with him, but he wasn't sure he wanted it to be fixed. The strange, warm feelings he'd been experiencing had stopped all of the bad feelings from coming back. Like the constant urge to shoot up or smoke. Ever since he had met Alex, everything in his life had felt more beautiful and stable, like he had been given some calming drug that made the world peaceful. It was quite odd, but Jack enjoyed it immensely.

Lost in his own daydreams, Jack didn't hear the knocking on the door.

It was incessant and hurried something Jack hadn't noticed until he stopped thinking about Alex's smile. He sprang up from his bed, rushing to open the door. As Jack pulled the door open, he felt his cheeks warm as he saw Alex outside of his door. Alex rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly.

"Hey."

"Um, hey, Alex."

There was a small package in Alex's hand, but Jack was far too busy getting caught up on Alex's mouth, which was curved into a small smile.

"We're all watching a movie in the lounge if you, um, want to come."

"Oh, um, what movie?"

"I think it's Napoleon Dynamite, but I'm not sure."

"I'll be out in a minute, I guess."

They stood there, just looking at each other for a brief moment. Alex's eyes brushed over Jack's figure for a split second. At the same moment, Jack had been staring at Alex's eyes, watching them admire Jack's best features. Every inch of his body felt fuzzy and he wanted nothing more other than to kiss Alex in that split second.

"My god," he thought to himself, "I must be losing my mind!"

Alex's eyes lit up as he seemed to remember something.

"I brought you something," he explained, handing over the package.

Jack opened it up carefully to find a tattered, worn copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. Obviously it had been read numerous times; the pages were a beige color and the edges were soft from being held for so long.

"It's my copy, so be gentle with it."

"Wait, I don't want to ruin your copy or lose it or something."

"Just keep it, Jack. You need to truly experience this book. It's amazing."

Each word uttered from Alex's mouth left Jack entranced. This was one of the kindest things anyone had ever done for him; his old "friends" would never have done anything like this. This book was very special to Alex; that had been made apparent. Now Jack couldn't help but feel like he was important to someone, anyone.

Jack's fantasies now got the best of him as he imagined himself leaning forward and smashing his lips into Alex's. He pulled Alex into his room and shoved Alex against the door. Alex's hand glided up and down his sides before snaking around Jack's waist, pulling him closer. Their lips were feverish for each other, the gentle feeling of tongues licking against each other s lips. Jack let out a small groan as Alex pushed him over towards Jack's bed and lay him down. He smirked while he admired Jack's amazing body. Just as Alex's hand trailed up Jack's shirt, Jack was sucked back into reality.

"Jack? Jaaaaaack? Hello? Anyone home?" Alex joked, while waving his hand in front of Jack's face.

He touched Jack's shoulder, making him flinch. His eyes widened as Alex cocked an eyebrow at him.