Misunderstood

After school

   A young boy by the name of George. He was all Alex could think of. Not only was George his gang's leader, but his crush as well. Alex grinned down at the Math work in front of him. It wasn't the work that had him in such a good mood, but what his friend sitting right next to him was telling him. 

   "And then, when the three of us go to the skate park, we're gonna surprise him!" Will smiled. Will had also admired George, but not in the way Alex does. You see, James' birthday was right around the corner, and they felt the need to do something for their soft dad like friend. George had been out of town for the past few weeks and was finally coming back, leaving Alex nothing short of excitement. Will was the only one he told, which was quite a risk on his end. Will was also George's best friend. His second in command. Alex hoped one day George would think higher of him then Will and instead tell him everything. Or better yet , take him with.

   "Sounds like a plan." Alex smiled at Will.

   Will nudged Alex. "I know you missed him, but try not to sound too excited," Will rolled his eyes, picking on the youngest boy in the group. Alex hadnt really slept while George was gone, so his energy was pretty low.

   He smiled sadly up at Will, earning a sympathetic, gentle pat on the head. Alex was used to some sort of affection from his friends, being the smallest and cutest. "I know, I know," Will watched Alex. "He'll get here in..." Will's phone dinged. "Now." He grinned. The bell rang and Will pulled Alex up and slung his bag over his shoulder. "No time to waist!" Will grinned and ran with Alex.

   George grinned upon seeing the both of them, and held Alex after he ran into his arms. He gently brushed a hand through Alex's hair as he grinned up at Will. "Have you been taking proper care of him, Will?" He stared Will down playfully. He then looked down at Alex. "Hey, Squirt, how's it been going?"

   Alex smiled up at George. "Yeah, its been alright," he slowly watched George for any sort of expressions of interest in him. George displayed a few, making Alex's grin widen. "Lonely without you keeping James and Will on track. They've been running off without me!" Alex blinked in Will's direction.

   Will only shrugged.  "Maybe you should have joined us. James said he texted you." He sent George an apologetic grin. "'Sides, Alex, didn't your dad come into town?"

   Alex stiffened. "Uhm... Yeah... But I haven't been home a lot." Alex moved from George, deciding it'd probably looked weird to any by passers.

   In response to Alex, George rubbed his shoulder. "It's going to be okay, I'm sure you can stay with us until he's out," He murmured to the smaller boy. Will gave them a confused glare.

   "Right, hello, whats going on here?" Will asked, oblivious to Alex's daddy issues.

   Alex tilted his head back in a lazy manor, closing his eyes. "None of us do, but I don't exactly have the best home life. Dad's never home and when he is..." Alex cut himself off and glanced to the side, away from the older boys.

   Will clicked his tongue and nodded. "Understood, say no more." He gave a weak smile. "I can tell it's hurting you." Alex looked back to Will and smiled. He appreciated Will's mom like side. Will softly pat his shoulder and took a step away. "You're always welcome to stay with me," Will sent him one last grin before walking off.

   Satisfied with Will's answer, Alex turned to George. "We had a plan to-"

   "Surprise James?" George chuckled. "Will texted me. We have some time, wanna go do something together? Never got to spend a lot of time with you," Alex smiled and nodded, resulting in a small smile from George. "Alright. I got here by skate board, but I don't doubt we can't be on it together."

   The boys worked their way to the school's gates and grabbed George's skateboard from the rack. George placed it down and stood on it, signalling Alex it was okay to get on behind him. Alex placed one foot on the board as George took one off. He waited patiently for Alex to finish climbing up behind him. Once Alex placed his arms around George's waist, George pushed his foot against the ground. They were off to finally spend sometime together. The thought made Alex smile.