just friends ; jalex

4

pizza arrives, as promised, around 7:15 pm, and it doesn't take long for jack and alex to devour it in jack's room. god bless teenage boy metabolisms, am i right?

alex lies sprawled out on the bed, cradling the unopened whiskey on his chest. his eyes are half-closed, his lips pulled into a smile. blissful. winning at call of duty is the best cure for depression.

"can you stop cuddling the whiskey and open it already," jack grumbles, bitter at losing call of duty. losing at call of duty is a big cause of depression.

"fuck off," alex grins, and stares up at the ceiling. what a good fucking day. "give me a couple minutes. i'm taking it in."

"taking what in?" jack demands. "cut the gay shit and open it." he crosses his arms and half-pouts, but one glance from alex and he lets a smile slip through.

"gay isn't a bad thing," alex murmurs half-dreamily, as if he's drunk already. "you know, sometimes, it's..."

oh, shit, fuck, back up. jack's looking at him. "gaskarth, what are you on about?"

(oh, nothing, just talking about how much i want to kiss you and shit.) "i dunno," alex decides, and sits up, unscrewing the bottle. the smell of alcohol is strong. he takes a whiff and winces. bad idea.

"hurry up," jack whines. 

alex glances up at him, then refocuses on the amber liquid. "someone's impatient," he says to the bottle. 

a huff from jack. "yes, now stop wasting time."

fine, alex thinks, and takes a big gulp. fuck. it burns his throat going down, and he leans over, wincing. shit stings.

as soon as it passes, he immediately takes an even bigger gulp. cause he's an idiot like that.

jack is laughing at him then, prying the bottle from his hands. "at least share, lex."

"ugh," alex groans, and rolls over onto his back. the alcohol roils in his stomach, and he's sure it's about to come out the way it came in. and then the feeling subsides, and he feels okay enough to sit up and crack open a beer.

-

3 hours later, flat out drunk. sitting on the floor in darkness, the door locked tight, the only light a phone flashlight somewhere on the bed. alex is hugging the bottle of whiskey, about half-empty by now.

"truth or dare?" he suggests half-heartedly, and jack giggle-snorts.

"what are we, twelve?" he demands, and alex shrugs. "that was... fuck, rhetorical." he tugs on his blond streak. "we are."

alex starts laughing, his face turning red. "hey, wanna know a secret?"

the words just kind of come out. he is drunk, after all. he leans forward, setting the bottle down, hands on his knees. jack nods, curious. he loves secrets.

"i've never kissed anyone."

it's hard to see in the dim light, but jack's face colors pink. he looks down and mumbles, "neither have i." there's a pause, and then he adds: "hey, maybe we should... um, you know, to know what it's like..."

he must be dreaming. alex's heart starts to race and it's his turn to blush violently. "i mean, i'm down. as friends, right?"

"as friends," jack confirms, and they both freeze.

well, alex thinks, might as well... and he leans in, just a little bit, waiting for jack to do the same.

he does. surprisingly, he does.

and then, their lips meet.

the kiss is brief; "as friends" is echoing in alex's mind. jack's lips are soft and taste like whiskey, sliding against alex's. he wants to lean further, to put a hand on jack's neck and pull him closer, kiss him deeper, and then jack pulls away.

he's smiling. "that was cool, i guess." he seems entirely unfazed, eyes sparkling.

meanwhile, alex's heart is racing. he felt fucking lightning in his body the moment their lips met, but he's scared to ask if jack felt it too. "yeah, i guess. don't see what all the... hype is about." he's never said a bigger lie in his life.

"well, now that we know what that's like," jack decides, "wanna play call of duty again?"

still weak, still reeling, alex nods halfheartedly. "be prepared to lose."

this is making me frustrated i feel bad for alex ksjdhsdf