Paper Hearts ▪ Lams

11

June 2nd, 2014

Lafayette's Living Room

Freshman Year

//hoping that you won't forget about it//

John sat on a couch in Lafayette's living room, drinking a can of Coke. Laf was hosting the freshman class' infamous beginning of summer party, and he had to admit: it was a lot of fun.

People were stripping down to their underwear and jumping into his pool. Some were playing beer pong, but with soda because of Laf's hatred towards alcohol. Then Hercules came around the corner and shouted, "Hey anyone that wants to play spin the bottle, come sit in the living room!"

John rolled his eyes, starting to make his way towards the kitchen. But, he was held back by someone's hand.

"Where do you think you're going?" Herc asked, raising his eyebrow.

John raised his eyebrow also, "I am going to get another drink and avoid all of this," he motioned to the living room, where a group of almost fifteen people were forming a circle on the floor.

"Oh no, mon ami! You are playing with us!" Laf came out from behind Hercules and pushed John back, making him fall on the couch.

"Really guys?" John asked, running a hand through his hair.

"Oui! This is your chance!" Laf squealed, beaming at John.

John tilted his head, "Chance for what?"

Herc rolled his eyes, "It is obvious that you are head over heels for Alexander," he pointed to the doorway, which showed Alexander entering with a can of Sprite in his hand, "If his spin lands on you, kiss him like you've never kissed anyone before!"

John's eyes widened, "How'd did y'all k-know?"

The two boys laughed, "It's pretty obvious, dude," Herc explained, sitting next to Laf on the floor.

Laf patted the spot next to him as an invitation for John to sit down. John sighed before taking his spot.

"Okay, thanks for that," John said sarcastically, "But could we not bring this up, like, ever again?"

Laf and Herc looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"It will be coming up again," Laf said.

"Just not with lover boy in the room," Herc finished.

John blushed as Alexander sat down next to him with a smile.

"Hey guys! What are we talking about?" he asked.

John's face reddened deeply, "Uh n-nothing much."

"Why is-" Alexander was cut off by Herc, who was the first to spin the bottle.

"And it lands on," he said with anticipation. The bottle stopped at Angelica Schuyler, who was surprisingly playing this game.

"Angie?" John asked, tilting his head. John had grown extremely close to the Schuyler sisters since he first met them. He even became close friends with Eliza, who Alexander was finally over.

Angelica shrugged, "This party was getting boring," she crawled across the circle and quickly pecked Herc on the lips with a smile before returning to her seat.

Laf was next. His bottle landed on Thomas Jefferson, the class dick.

"Ew, that's gay," Thomas said.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Peggy crossed her arms and shot Thomas a glare.

He turned red, "No, nothing wrong with that," he quickly kissed Laf before sitting back in his spot, fiddling with his fingers.

Alexander was next. John didn't want him to spin, because he knew that it would be someone that Alexander would kiss and fall in love with and shit and John would be repeating this same heartbreak cycle over and over again.

Alexander took a breath before spinning the bottle quickly. It seemed to spin forever in John's eyes.

As it slowed, John felt his heart rate pick up. He couldn't be hurt again.

It came to a stop and John found the tip of the bottle pointing at his knees.

It had landed on him.

John felt his breath hitch as his face grew a deep shade of red. He heard Herc and Laf trying to suppress snickers from behind Alexander. He slowly looked at Alexander, who had a light pink color across his cheeks.

"Well, I guess we'll really be best friends after this," he whispered. John simply nodded.

Alexander started to lean into John, his hands resting in his lap. John couldn't move; all he could do was watch as Alexander inched closer towards his lips.

Five years he had waited for this moment, and all he could do was stare.

Alexander hesitantly connected their lips, and all John could feel was complete bliss. He let his eyelids flutter shut.

The kiss was only supposed to be a small peck, but Alexander didn't pull away after a few seconds. He did the exact opposite.

John gasped as Alexander began to move his lips, his hand resting softly on John's cheek. John followed his actions and grabbed Alexander's hand tightly. To both young men, it felt like hours before they pulled away. In reality, it was several seconds.

John pulled away from Alexander's touch, only wanting more. He met Alexander's eyes, which were brought out by the red blush that was spread across his face. John smiled shyly, his face hot. Alexander copied his smile as he pulled his hand away from John's cheek.

They heard hollers coming from the circle, mainly from Laf and Herc, but also from the Schuyler sisters.

They both shyly turned back to face the circle and placed their hands in their laps. Their faces were shining a bright red as the next person spun the bottle.

John's heart was soaring and his soul was practically singing. It had been everything he dreamed it would've been, and more. He had only one thought as he watch the rest of the game play out with a goofy smile on his face.

Did Alexander feel that, too?