just friends ; jalex

9

date #2 is a breeze. 

really, it's much better than the first one. alex is damn good at faking his way through things. even asking someone to be his girlfriend.

lisa says yes, of course, because in what world would she ever say no? just wondering. for your information, there's isn't a world in which she'd refuse. you can say she's head over heels for alex, and that kid has perfect balance.

this also means that lisa is a new addition to the lunch table. you should've seen everyone's faces when she walked in the first time, sitting down and proceeding to chatter her head off. alex kept a painfully gritted smile on his face through all that, and it was obvious to everyone but lisa.

"you don't actually like her," jack scoffs later, "you've gotta be shitting me, dude."

and alex, who of course is shitting him, dude, shrugs and smiles and says, "what can i say? she's a cutie." 

he's not wrong on that note, but that's as far as his attraction goes. if lisa ever decides to go any further with alex, the boy better buy some viagra beforehand. that shit's not going up by itself, not for her.

anyway, he's been having trouble sleeping lately. nothing related to lisa's tendency to call him at eleven pm and ask to facetime. he's still thinking about jack, about that godforsaken fucking kiss. aw, damn it all, why doesn't he? it was only a kiss. if you're not thinking about mr. brightside, get out, cause that's the song stuck in alex's head 99% of the time during those sleepless nights.

losing sleep over a boy. who's cliche now, alex?

jack seems to be doing pretty well, on the other hand. he's making friends, talking to people, being the life of the party even when there's, well, no party around. alex is almost jealous, but, you know. he has it better, cause he has a girlfriend, and he shouldn't complain...

remember alex's fondness of whiskey? he's been utilizing that a lot, lately. especially during those friday nights, where jack practically has to wrestle it out of him two hours in.

"you budding alcoholic," he'll frown. "alex, is there something wrong, dude?"

alex, late to the sleepover due to another date, will cuddle his whiskey and curl up around it. "no, life's the shit, dude." change a word, and you get "life is shit," and at that point you've got a sentence alex would much rather say.

but that would lead to jack wondering why, and then alex would probably tell the truth, and boy wouldn't that be a... shitstorm...

he lies down with his head precariously close to jack's lap. jack's crotch. (shut the fuck up.) cuddles his fucking whiskey.

"how's lisa?"

completely uninteresting to me, alex thinks. "hot," his dumb fucking mouth answers instead.

jack laughs. "seems like your whiskey's a better girlfriend, lex."

yeah, that's true. he takes a long sip, like that's his way of agreeing. the burn is sweet in a familiar sort of way.

drunk.

he lifts his head and shimmies over to rest it on jack's thigh. it's surprisingly comfy, and jack doesn't immediately jump up and push him off, so he smiles to himself and stays there. 

"i think you've had a bit too much to drink," jack informs him.

"you just wan' it to yourself," alex frowns, and hugs the whiskey tighter. "well, i won' ha' that... i'm onta you, jack, i won' share it..." his words slur together.

jack half-laughs. "alright, you've really had too much now."

right as he says that, alex pops up, unscrews the whiskey, and downs as much as he can hold in his mouth. it practically stings going down, but the surprise on jack's face is well-worth it. plus, now he can't be held accountable for any decision that happens in the next couple hours. "wha'... wha'bbout now?"

"way too much," jack answers surely, and alex doesn't really fight back when the whiskey's pulled from his grip. it's about three-quarters full, and it stays around that, because jack's a slow drinker.

"you know..." alex giggles, and the room is spinning. jack's posters are melted pastels in the corners of his vision. "remember that one friday?"

"which one?"

alex giggles again. you know exactly which one, jack. round two? "the kiss."

there's a pause... seems jack is as reluctant as alex when it comes to talking about it. well, alex is drunk out of his mind and it's doubtful he'll remember anything, so go for it, why don't you? "yeah, i remember," the boy answers carefully.

"that was nice," alex sighs wistfully, not-so-subtly reaching for the whiskey. 

somehow, he manages to slip it out from jack's hands without too much protest— looks like jack is surprised enough at alex's words he's forgotten to focus. so alex takes the moment to down a few more sips of the amber liquid that he hates to love. 

"i, uh," jack says finally. "it was just playing around."

this sets alex off again, and he giggles into his hand. "what, like kids playing doctor?"

jack has to laugh too. "no, but— fuck, gaskarth, you know what i mean."

no, i don't; explain it to me, jack. alex shrugs. "jus' sayin', dude. for someone who's never kissed anyone... ya kiss pretty well."

jack is blushing, and it's visible even in the low light. that's fucking adorable. love it when he blushes. "alex, you're... really drunk."

"and you're cute," alex sighs out in a cloud of whiskey-tainted words. jack blinks.

"lisa," he says, like a half-assed reminder, and alex laughs.

"what, her? you think i really..."

and then he trails off, realizes what he's saying. jack's looking at him, the alcohol isn't hitting quite as strong as he'd like, and he's about to spill some shit it really isn't time to say.

so, in the sort of uncoordinated clumsiness only panicked drunkenness can pull off, alex grabs jack's face and kisses him, hard.

he doesn't know where that comes from; it's more surprising that jack goes along with it. only for a moment— but that moment is the best of alex's life.

and then jack pushes him off and it all shatters. 

"dude, you're fucking drunk," jack says, and he doesn't seem angry, surprisingly— but he's blushing. "you have a girlfriend. and you're straight."

that last sentence, coupled with the lie just before it, makes alex's giggles explode into full-blown hysterical laughter. "straight?"

jack blinks slowly. "...yeah?" after a moment, he guesses: "...no?"

"no," alex confirms, and laughs again.

the surprise on jack's face is almost worth the regret alex is going to feel later.