Everybody's Got a Dream

five

ok not gonna lie i've taken a HUGE hiatus and i apologize so so much to y'all who have waited patiently for the update! i'm so sorry this is going so slowly, but i'll try to make time to finish this book for you all!!

***

"Okay, one. If that's the best clothing you've got, then we have some serious problems, darling." Jefferson pointed at Alexander's suitcase, which was dumped out messily onto the bed. "You know what this means?"

"I need to develop better packing skills?" Alexander said nervously, catching a glint of mischief in Jefferson's eyes.

"No, idiot. It means that we get to go shopping!"

--

Alexander was tugged unwillingly through the mall by the sleeve of his hoodie, which Jefferson had earlier denounced as an atrocious scrap of fabric. "Really, Alexander, how have you survived more than 2 decades of your life living with this terrible fashion sense? " Thomas had said when Alexander had rolled his eyes at Jefferson's shopping suggestion. 

(Jefferson later realized that coffee was Alexander's best friend, so, once he dragged the shorter male into a coffee shop, ordered an Americano with two shots of espresso, and stuck the hot beverage into Alexander's hands, the man was as good as new.)

As they strolled past a display with deep magenta suits and dress shirts, a loud "crash!" echoed from the opposite store. Immediately, Alexander and Jefferson's heads whipped around only to come face to face with a pile of clothing that had been overturned. 

There was a muttering of curses, and a familiar, blushing, curly-haired head poked its way out of the clothing pile. 

Alexander felt his jaw grow slack. "Shit." He muttered, glancing anxiously at Jefferson next to him. 

To his surprise, Jefferson rolled his eyes and strolled forward casually, as if he was along a scenic nature route and the jumbled men were just a mild entertainment.

"Long time no see, huh," Jefferson smirked, sticking his left hand out for John to grab.

"Uh," John cleared his throat and glanced between Jefferson, the hand, and Alexander (who hovered in the background anxiously, desperate to not screw this up). "Thanks, man."

"It's no problem at all, really. Fancy seeing you and your two buddies here! What a coincidence!" 

Alexander almost face-palmed at the insincerity behind Jefferson's words, so he rushed forward to put space between the two men. 

"Hey, John. It's been a while, yeah?" Alexander could've sworn that John's eyes flickered between his eyes and his lips. Probably a trick of the mind, he told himself. Focus.

Focusing was harder said than done, as Alexander found his own eyes drifting down John's well-defined cheekbones and his slightly crooked nose from when he got in a fight in the 8th grade and his soft, kissable lips and--

Almost as if Jefferson knew what Alexander was thinking, a sharp elbow caught him in between his ribs, jolting him from his daydreams. When Alexander turned to glare at the offending male, Jefferson only gave him a look of "Shut up you idiot. I can tell what you're thinking and it's not good."