Fools

Two

Ralph found himself knocking on Jack's front door, tapping his foot impatiently. It was a Saturday morning and the cold air nipped at Ralph's skin through his thin jacket. He had hoped that Jack would answer the door but he was poorly mistaken when it finally opened.

"Jack is up in his room, Ralph." Jack's cousin said when she answered the door. Ralph nodded and went up to Jack's room. The door was closed and he was almost afraid to knock. His palms were sweaty and his breathing was erratic. His hand shook as he raised his arm to knock softly on the door.

"Come in." Jack called through the door. Ralph pushed against the wooden door. Jack felt his heart beat a little faster upon seeing the smaller boy in his room. He smiled at Ralph and invited him to sit next to him on his bed. Ralph sat down and swallowed hard.

"Can we talk about something?" Ralph almost whispered. Jack furrowed his eyebrows at Ralph's uneasiness.

"Of course. Is something wrong?" Jack asked.

"It's ,uhm, a-about the island." Ralph stammered. "I just have a question."

"Okay." Jack said softly, failing to keep eye contact with his friend.

Ralph took a shaky breath. "Why did you try to kill me?" He rushed the words out as if ripping a bandage off.

Jack bit his bottom lip, his heart was pounding and he had no idea how to answer the question without spilling his feelings for him as well.

"I was being a stupid kid." Jack lied. "I wasn't thinking."

"That can't be it." Ralph said, standing up. "You can't just use that for an excuse. You tried to murder me after you murdered Piggy and Simon." He was almost yelling.

Jack stood up and towered over Ralph. "I was jealous!" He yelled. He was hurt that Ralph would say such things to him, even if they were true. He had never been good at handling his emotions, so he lashed out at Ralph,"I wanted to be close to you but I wasn't! I wanted to be your friend, but I wasn't. Piggy was! I was jealous, is that what you wanted to hear?" His tone was venomous. He was furious that they had to have this conversation, but he knew this day would come eventually.

"So you tried to stab me?" Ralph shot back. "You threw a spear at me because you were jealous? " This time, Jack didn't answer.

It was quiet. The only sound was their ragged breathing. They stood there, staring each other down before Ralph shook his head and turned to leave. As he grabbed the door handles, he felt Jack grab his upper arm. Jack spun the smaller boy around and pressed his back into the door. Jack pressed his chapped lips to Ralph's smooth ones. Jack's hand held Ralph's face as they kissed. Jack pulled away and rested his forehead against Ralph's. "Please don't leave." He whispered.

Their hearts were pounding. Ralph sucked in a breath, not looking at Jack. Jack's heart clenched. He watched Ralph's blank expression, silently begging for him to say something. He wanted to know how Ralph felt. He wanted him to stay.

Ralph finally looked up at Jack. Jack's eyes were glossed over with tears, some already had started to spill down his cheeks. Ralph gently brought one of his hands up and wiped away his tears with the pad of his thumb.

"I won't." Ralph whispered, cupping Jack's face. He stood on the tips of his toes and brought Jack into another passionate kiss. Ralph's cheeks turned red and he felt his stomach doing flips. Jack felt as though the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders as the fair boy kissed him.

All too soon, Ralph pulled away from Jack. They didn't say anything, both afraid of ruining the moment with an awkward statement. They both just looked at each other. Ralph took in Jack's features for what felt like the first time. He could see the light brown freckles that scattered across Jack's cheeks and the darker pink in his lips. His eyes were bright blue, and instead of them holding an intense glare they showed affection and kindness. Ralph almost couldn't believe it.