Trigger

Ch. 7 - Teen Heart-throb

i have risen from the dead surprise

this fic is so old it still takes place in the creature house and im fully aware the office situation now

so here is a sorry excuse for a chapter if youre even still interested 

-kris

after an hour of awkward evasion of questions, accusations, and being the ends of jokes, james and aleks somehow managed to wriggle free of eddie and the apartment and get into james' car. aleks got in the passenger seat and slammed the door shut as hard as he could. 

james looked over at him from the drivers seat, annoyed but worried. "...you don't have to slam my fucking door." 

aleks' shoulders slumped as he exhaled deeply. james expected him to say something, but he was silent. 

putting his belt on and not being bothered to prod aleks about it, james shifted into gear and backed out of the driveway in silence. he would turn music on, but neither of them really shared music taste. 

they drove for about 5 minutes before the silence was broken. 

"thank you, james." aleks muttered, staring out the window. 

it was quiet for another few moments. then james smirked a to himself a little. "i didn't really do much. but, no problem i guess."

"but, this doesn't really change anything." aleks replied right after james' words. he sighed at the end of his sentence slightly. his arms still hurt terribly, and his head has been pounding since he woke up. 'irritable' would be an understatement.

"what do you mean?" james shot his eyes over at aleks for a split second and caught him fliddling with his bandages, which made him uneasy.

"i'm still a little bitch, sad and wanting to die. nothing changed, even after that speech. and then eddie talking to me like that... it just made me want to die even more for what i've done." aleks covered his face with his hands, muffling his words a little. "...everything is shit still."

james felt his heart sink in his chest. he didn't know what to say. 'it gets better?' or 'you'll be ok?' all he could think of were mediocre little phrases that are supposed to help but just become cliche. so he didn't say anything. he kept his mouth shut and tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he tried to focus on the road more.

he could feel aleks' gaze on him, expecting him to say something in return. 

a few moments of awkward silence later, they pulled into the driveway of the creature house. james felt the weight fall off his shoulders as he put the car in park and opened the door to get out. fresh air hit his lungs which made him feel a lot less lightheaded and heated.

aleks got out a few seconds later and slammed the door behind him again. james locked the car and shuffled over to the front door. he fiddled with his keys to find the right one and opened the door to go inside. aleks followed closely behind him. 

when he opened the door, james let out a sigh of relief. 

he stepped inside without hesitation and made his way to the lounge room. he sat down, still exhausted. aleks followed behind him, but stood awkwardly in the doorway like a guest who had never been over before.

james kicked off his shoes and let them lie wherever he felt. sighing again, he let himself meld into the couch a little. the day hadn't really been a long one, he slept most of it away, but he still felt tired. he felt like he could fall asleep at anytime, really.