just friends ; jalex

10

he swears off drinking again. that promise'll last until next friday. 

the rest of the night is palpably awkward, to the point where alex goes to sleep early, curling up in a ball with his fingers resting on his lips, remembering the feel of jack's mouth on his. 

they don't talk the rest of the weekend... alex is too nervous to initiate a conversation, and jack has other things on his mind, apparently. or maybe he's ignoring the boy, thinking about the kiss. maybe he'd hated it. maybe alex is a bad kisser... or maybe jack is just straight.

but— a straight boy wouldn't talk about having a boyfriend, wouldn't ever kiss a boy (even if he wanted to "see what it was like"), and ... well .... in all honesty, alex can't believe for a moment that jack is straight.

and okay, he finds that kind of hilarious and unbelievable. because, well, it's his friend of over ten years... what are the odds that both of them aren't straight? toss zack and rian into the mix, and you have a completely unbelievable scenario... that, of course, is occurring right under alex's nose.

monday morning is awkward. unlike the time after their first kiss, jack seems... not uncomfortable, necessarily, but off. again, awkward. their eyes don't meet once that day.

rian notices, because rian notices everything. "did you two fight?" he asks them at lunch, and lisa turns her eyes onto her quiet boyfriend. "or something? you're too quiet. normally, i have to pray to get you to shut up."

"thanks, rian," alex responds tiredly. "and no, we didn't... right, jack?"

the other boy stares at his lap, fumbling with his hands. "yeah, no, we didn't. fight. or anything."

oh, yeah, that's a totally believable tone of voice, jack. they're so convinced now.

lisa puts her hand on alex's arm, curling around his bicep. "you do seem quieter than usual," she comments, and he resists the urge to roll his eyes. as if lisa knows anything about being quiet. "really, babe, if something's off, you can just tell me... us, i mean."

when lisa says the word 'babe', jack stiffens up almost visibly, and his lips thin into a line. he's stewing, obviously, in a concealed sort of anger, but... at lisa? at alex? he can't say for sure.

"don't worry," alex says to lisa, in the softest voice he can muster. "just a bit down today. nothing on you, baby." and to top it off, he adds in a stroke of her hair, curling a lock around his finger. she giggles and blushes, leaning against him.

their little moment is interrupted when jack slams his hands on the table and stands up. "i'm leaving," he announces to no one in particular, "i don't feel well." and with that, leaves the table.

alex has to wonder if there's something going on. 

it's not his fault, is it?

-

quite surprisingly... or maybe unsurprisingly, all things considered, jack doesn't text alex later that day. he actually, literally, went home after... whatever the fuck happened in the cafeteria. faked being sick. alex has no idea how he convinced the nurses, but that kid's got balls.

the next day, jack doesn't look at him. doesn't talk to him. so, what is this, over ten years of friendship down the drain, all because alex got drunk and kissed him?

he's a little upset, to say the least. it only gets worse as the week wears on, and jack only speaks to him when completely necessary.

it's friday when the next major event occurs. alex is torn between heading to jack's house or blowing him off for the first time ever. 

the second school gets out, he spots jack, and an idea forms in his head.

"jack," he calls, and the boy whirls around. but as soon as he sees alex, his expression dulls and he ... sighs? fucker. "wait for me."

surprisingly, jack does.

they walk around the back of the school in perfect silence, when suddenly alex grabs jack's shoulders and pushes him against the brick wall.

still, jack doesn't say a word, only stares at him in sudden terror.

"what did i do wrong?" alex asks, more upset than angry. he'd been mad all week, but looking at jack's terrified eyes now, he feels it melting away, being replaced by guilt. "you won't talk to me." there's a few beats of silence. "answer me, dammit!"

jack's eyes dart to one side, then the other. he tenses his shoulders and alex, getting the hint, drops his hands.

as soon as he does, jack bolts. he fucking books it out of there, running as fast as his long legs can take him, which is pretty fucking speedy. he's around the corner before alex can even comprehend what just happened... and then, he continues to stand there, behind the school.

silently.

realizing that... maybe... he's the one who fucked up.

and then the moment passes. alex takes a deep breath, makes sure he's not crying, and looks up. the sun's bright as fuck in his eyes, and he winces momentarily, then shakes his head and starts walking.

when he gets to his car, his phone vibrates.

jack: come over. now.

puzzled, especially considering recent events, alex types back a quick reply.

alex: i have a date tonight

jack: and? i know yall are together 24/7, but it's time to detach for a night, gaskarth. we need to talk.

we need to talk. cliche, but it scares him. talk about what? 

well, that settles it, alex decides, and texts lisa instead, canceling the date and apologizing profusely for doing so, promising to hang out with her tomorrow, as soon as possible... "this better be good," he mutters as he starts the engine, "better be worth canceling my date for, you fucking asshole."

he's lying. it's obvious. in what world would alex ever prefer to hang out with lisa over jack? you'd have to be delusional to think it's this one. 

besides, lisa's about ready for him to meet her parents, and he's really not ready to take it that far... especially since, you know, he doesn't actually— ahem— like her...