It's All Fun and Games

Chapter 10: Slow and Steady

Curled up against James' chest, it was almost too easy for Aleks to forget about what happened. James seemed to have that effect on him-- It'd been that way ever since their first clumsy encounter back at the Creature House. Just being around him lulled Aleks into a comforting sense of safety, and now was no different, despite the anger and fear that had overwhelmed him but a few hours ago. Here, with James, it felt like nothing could get to him.

"Aleks?" James was the first to break the silence, tugging the younger back into the moment. "How the fuck are we going to explain all of this?" Though what he said about ignoring everyone else was exactly what he wanted to do, in all reality that would be nearly impossible. With the amount of attention the two received, between the fans and the other Creatures, there was no way they could just evade any questions about their relationship.

Chewing on his bottom lip, Aleks shrugged weakly, pulling away from James before rising to his feet. "I don't know." How could he know? There weren't a damn instruction books conveniently titled 'What To Do When You Fall In Love With Your Best Friend', let alone one made for relatively popular YouTubers.

At the loss of Aleks' warmth, James sat up, rubbing the back of his neck as he continued. "We're gonna have to deal with it sooner or later. It fucking sucks, but I think the most we can do is either be open or hide this shit better, you know?" Personally, he didn't really want to be open about something that he didn't even understand yet. At the same time, after the incident with the hacker, it'd be insanely difficult to convince everyone to think nothing of it. Everything was so complicated now, leaving him with a quickly growing headache. Hell, a while ago, he even considered moving on and ignoring his feelings for the Russian, though by now he had realized that there was no way he could even dream of doing that.

"James." 

"No no, absolutely not. We can't admit anything, now that I think about it. If we did--"

"James."

"We'd be fucked," He continued on as if Aleks hadn't said anything, too immersed in his own thoughts to listen. "We don't got a choice anymore."

"For fuck's sake, James, shut the fuck up for two seconds and listen to me!" Kneeling in front of him, Aleks grabbed his shoulder, lips pursed hesitantly. "Stop obsessing over that shit, dude. One thing at a time."

Drawing in a deep breath, the older Creature nodded. He hadn't even realized how worked up he'd gotten; He was so immersed in stress that he forgot that they were working through this together. "Right, sorry." It was a weak apology, but Aleks wouldn't hold that against him. They were in the same boat, after all. "What should we do, Aleksandr?"

"Well," The Russian began, letting go of James to instead pace around the room, dragging a hand through dark locks as he thought. "First things first, we should tell the others tomorrow morning. And I mean actually tell them. Not let them hear from some goddamn hacker."

Another nod, this one slower than the one before. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Maybe one of them will know what to do."

"Exactly." Halting, Aleks froze, a look of concern flashing across his features before he collapsed onto the couch, kicking off his sneakers as his head fell back against the cushion. "More importantly, get your ass over here. I'm fucking freezing and this is so much more comfortable than the floor."

A wide grin blossomed James' face, happily complying and making his way to the couch, where he slid off his own shoes. Brow raised high, he shot the younger an incredulous look as he turned on his side, scooting forward until there was just enough room behind him for another person. "Are you fucking kidding me? I'm not gonna crawl over you-- Get up, you asshole!"