Break All the Rules (LGBT) ✅

Break All the Rules 11

Part 11

It wasn't the first time someone had said they liked Alex.

It wasn't even the second or third time. He'd become somewhat used to letting people down easy, insisting it wasn't them but him, and telling them he couldn't date while he was waiting for his soulmate. It meant people called him a romantic instead of an asshole.

He'd never dated before, never been in love with someone, and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel now. Most people would be happy, he should be happy, because this was his soulmate. This was something he'd wanted as soon as he knew what a soulmate was but he never thought it'd play out like this and he never wanted anyone to get hurt.

The easy option, the cowardly one, was to ignore it. After all, drunk confessions weren't real confessions and he'd been brushing off his friends' drunken behaviour for years. This wasn't any different, not really.

It worked to a certain extent. There was this underlying tension to every interaction Alex and Freddie had together and the things they had done so comfortably before were somehow less easy. With the academic year ending, it meant they had more free time than ever and their group of friends was going out for dinner and movies and nights out. Things were hard.

"Hey, Alex, are you listening?" Jessica asked, waving her hand in front of his face. "What do you think?"

"What do I think about what?" he asked.

"Going to the ice cream place and trying out the new monster shakes with me."

Alex liked sweet things, and he wasn't going to turn the opportunity down. "Yeah, that sounds really good. I haven't hung out with just you for a while."

"Great," she said, pushing herself off his bed, "I'll get a jacket and we can go."

They walked to the bus stop near their halls because it was starting to rain and the Met Office had forecasted it'd only get heavier later. It wasn't the best time to go out but, then, the English weather was always terrible. And Alex had long learnt that cancelling plans because of the weather led to them never doing anything. If there was one good thing about it, though, it was that the place was empty and they were served immediately.

"Why are you getting the strawberry one?" Jessica asked. "I would've thought you'd go for chocolate instead."

"I'm being healthy."

She looked at him. "You do know what a monster shake is, right? It's never going to be healthy."

He shrugged, "I'm still going to say this contributes to my five a day."

The atmosphere in the store was pleasant and the lack of other customers meant they weren't rushed and could take their time eating and talking. He hadn't been kidding when he said he hadn't had much one on one time with Jessica recently and it was good to talk to her outside of the flat. Even without the monster shake, it was a really good day.

And then he got the text.

We need to talk. City centre at seven.

It was Freddie, of course. Alex tried to ignore it and focus on Jessica but it'd put a dampener on his mood and he couldn't enjoy himself anymore with a talk looming over him. Jessica, ever observant, noticed and they didn't end up staying for much longer.

"We should probably go home before the weather gets worse," she said.

"I actually have something to do first," Alex said, picking up his phone and coat. "You go back and I'll catch up with you."

"What are you doing?"

"Just meeting a friend in the city."

He wasn't lying, technically, but he wasn't telling the whole truth, either. There was a real chance his talk with Freddie would go badly and, if it did, he didn't want anyone associating any change in Freddie's mood to him. All three of his friends were scarily perceptive. They could put the clues together.