Abroad

Five

"Guys," Alex yelled, throwing the door of Henry and Pez's apartment wide open. He was a bit out of breath from literally sprinting over from his dorm, so he had to take a moment to catch his breath. Henry, who was sprawled out on the soda with a book in his hand, looked back at Alex with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his face. Pez, who was making a cup of tea, grinned at Alex, clearly excited to hear what Alex had to say.

"I got us invites to a kick-ass Halloween party this weekend," Alex grinned. Pez squealed in delight while Henry groaned. Alex smiled back at Pez then frowned at Henry. "I'll be fun, H."

"I hate dressing up," Henry complained.

Alex rolled his eyes and walked over to the sofa, taking a seat by Henry's head, right on the armrest. "Says the guy wearing a fucking Burberry button-down to read a book."

"I meant in costume," Henry argued. 

"But I've already figured out a bitchin' group costume for the three of us," Alex pouted. At the mention of a group costume, Pez came over to the sofa for details. 

"I'm in," Pez grinned. "What's the costume idea?"

"Star Wars," Alex replied. Pez whooped. "I'm Han, obviously."

"I'll be your Chewbacca!" Pez said, nearly jumping up and down with unfiltered excitement. He turned to Henry, his dark eyes gleaming. "Hen, you can be Leia."

Henry turned bright red and slammed his book down. "Pez," he growled. 

Alex laughed. "Come on, H," he pleaded, "be my Leia."

"Certainly not," Henry said. "I'll be Luke, though, if I'm getting dragged to this party no matter what I say or do."

Alex and Pez cheered and shook Henry's shoulders as they roared with laughter. Henry pretended to be all bent out of shape about it, but Alex could see that unfiltered happiness in his blue eyes. 

Four days later, Alex brought his costume over to Henry and Pez's apartment. They had made a plan to get ready together and hang out for a bit before the party. As soon as Alex stepped into the space, he was affronted by the sound of the Star Wars soundtrack playing practically full volume. Pez poured drinks while Henry pulled a needle and thread through Pez's Chewbacca costume. 

"Hey, Alex!" Pez beamed from behind the counter, holding a ladle. "Want some rum rebel punch? I found the recipe on Pintrest."

Alex shot him a thumb's up and a smile. "Yeah, sounds good." Alex walked over to Henry and saw that he was sewing a strip of rainbow fabric over the ammo belt. "A rainbow?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "Pez insisted, I'm afraid. Claimed Chewbacca wasn't 'colorful' enough."

"And that he's out and proud!" Pez added, coming over with the drinks and some chips. He set them down on the kitchen table and threw his arm over Alex's shoulder, staring down at Henry's handiwork. Seeing Henry sew so well set something off in Alex, but he wasn't really sure what it was or what to do with it. He tried to change the subject instead.

"You know," he said, pointing at Pez, "not everyone is gay."

Pez rolled his eyes and collapsed on the sofa like he was exhausted from making the rum rebel punch. He threw an arm over his head dramatically and Alex couldn't help but laugh at the sight of it. "Everyone is, statistically, at least a little bit gay."

Alex folded his arms across his chest. "You realize that you're saying that in front of two straight guys, right?" 

Pez opened his mouth, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but Henry interrupted him by throwing the Chewbacca costume at him. "All done," Henry said. He stood and got himself a cup of punch.