Drama By Name

On Friday morning, the weather was miserable. The rain lashed at the windows as Alex got ready for school. Autumn was well and truly here, so Alex dug out his warmest hoodie from the back of the wardrobe and, thankful that his leg was a whole lot better than yesterday, barelled out of the front door as soon as Rian arrived, still getting soaked by the time he leapt into the backseat. The journey to school was spent mostly in silence as the pounding of the rain on the old Trans Am drowned out most of the short lived conversation.

When they got into the parking lot, they parked as close to the school as possible, which was more than half way down the lot as everyone else had parked as close as they could, too. The three boys jumped out of the car and ran as fast as they could to the doors, Zack and Alex with their hoods up and Rian with his leather jacket up over his head. None of them liked this weather. Zack liked being outdoors where there were no walls or confines; Rian just didn't like getting wet, and Alex liked Autumn, but not when it decided to piss it down, because that's when he got ill.

Alex had to go the rest of the day soaked to the skin. He needed to waterproof his hoodies, seriously.

By lunchtime, thankfully, the rain had eased up, but due to long-term dampness, Alex's nose was beginning to run and his head felt heavy. Deciding against sitting outside, Alex, Zack and Rian, accompanied by Cassadee, spent their lunch in the cafeteria sitting as close to the radiator as possible. Cassadee was sat on Rian's lap wearing a thick raincoat with a fluffy lining over her cheerleader uniform, her knees tucked up and head resting on Rian's shoulder. Alex sat on Zack's lap in a similar way, feeling thouroughly miserable, wrapped in Zack's hoodie rather than his own wet one. Thankfully Zack had worn a jacket over his hoodie today so he wasn't cold himself. The fabric felt like a blanket around him, and it smelt comfortingly like Zack, and he soon felt himself dozing off, wrapped tightly in Zack's arms.
It felt like only seconds after Alex had closed his eyes that the bell went off for fifth lesson, and the shock made him yelp and fall to the floor. He felt so ill he decided to just lie there, regardless of the other students walking past to their next lesson.

Cassadee laughed, but was silenced by a "Not funny, Cass, he's ill." from Zack.

Ales felt a big hand around his wrist and Zack pulled and called out "c'mon, we need to go, Alex."

"No, leave me here to die. Go on without me, I'm too weak..." Alex groaned from the floor, pulling the hoodie up over his face, hoping that if he couldn't see them, they couldn't see him and jsst let him be. This, however, did not work, and Alex felt a gentle arm under his own as he was lifted to his feet. He couldn't physically protest so he just allowed Zack to pick him up whilst groaning loudly to show his dislike.

"C'mon Princess, stop being such a drama Queen!"

"I'm not a Princess, Zee, you are." Alex huffed from beneath the hood.

"Yeah, come one, I'll walk you to English." Zack planted a gentle kiss on the top of Alex's head and began guiding him to the English block.
As they walked, Alex could hear Cassadee talking to Rian behind them.

"Are those two... You know..."

"You know," said Rian in a hushed tone, "they say they're not, but I don't know..."

-

Alex fell asleep in English, but thankfully he sat in the back row and went unnoticed until the bell. He stood up and more or less dragged himself to Dramatic Arts, literally bumping into Zack half way and being half carried down the corridor.
When they got to the classroom, Alex walked to the back and slumped into his seat, moving the chair as close to the wall as possible and leaning against it. He had nearly fallen asleep again by the time Mr Barakat called the class to attention.

"Good afternoon everyone! Lovely weather we're having!" Mr Barakat practically chirped at the class. "Right, today I'm going to keep it simple again. We're just going to carry on making notes on your performance. Scripts are in the box at the front, away you go!"

Everyone got up from their seats and shuffled towards the front to collect their annotated scripts. Everyone except Alex, who stayed at the back, head resting against the wall, arms tucked inside the warm sleeves of Zack's hoodie, eyes half closed.

Mr Barakat had obviously spotted Alex and made his way over, crouching next to the desk and gently resting a hand on Alex's shoulder.
"Heya Alex, you alright under there?" he said, peering up into Alex's face half hidden beneath the black hood.

Alex could not handle Mr Barakat right now, he was looking to good, as usual. Alex pulled the hood further down over his face and groaned. "M'ill."

"Oh dear... Well, you just rest, alright?"

"Thanks, Jay."

Although he couldn't see him, Alex felt Mr Barakat freeze before quickly saying, "Hey, it's Mr Barakat in school, Lex."

Alex managed a smile, "Whatever, Sir."

He heard Mr Barakat chuckle as he walked away, and closed his eyes again.

The next thing Alex knew, the classroom was alive with chatter and the sound of chairs scraping on the floor as the bell for the end of school rang. Alex sat up and stretched, his back clicking and his mouth widening with a yawn. Zack came over and put a hand on Alex's shoulder. "Hey, Alex?"

"Hmm?"

"Rian's going into town with Cass and I need to go home asap, are you going to be alright walking home?"

"Mmm... Yeah, I'll be fine. Do you want your hoodie back?"

"Nah, it's fine, you need it more Alex. I'll see you on Monday, yeah?"

"Okay, see ya, Zee."

"See ya." Zack planted another delicate kiss on Alex's head and walked out of the classroom, glancing over his shoulder at Alex and smiling.

Sometimes, Alex really wondered where he would be without Zack by his side, he couldn't wish for a better friend.
Alex knew his mom was working later today to cover for Brenda again, so there was no point in calling her to ask for a ride. He really would just have to walk home. Just at that moment, the rain started up again outside. The water lashed at the window and all Alex could do was sigh and pick up his bag. Just as he reached the door, he heard Mr Barakat clear his throat behind him.

Alex turned to find Mr Barakat stood awkwardly by his desk, biting his lip nervously.

"Yes, Sir?"

Mr Barakat smiled, his eyes glittering. This wasn't Mr Barakat anymore, this was Jay. "I, er... I just wanted to, um, talk about yesterday..." Jay looked so nervous. He looked at the floor, his gaze flickering up to Alex for a second or two, before returning to the floor again.

Alex couldn't help but smile at the memory, but he couldn't talk right now, his head was too cotton-woolly. "I'm sorry, Jay, but I have to go. Another time."

"Oh... okay, sorry." He looked so sad, like a kicked puppy.

Alex felt terrible, emotionally and physically. He had to do something. Alex walked over to him and hugged Jay, his head just resting on the man's shoulder. Jay froze for a second, but soon relaxed and wrapped his arms around Alex, resting his chin on the top of his head.
For Alex, this felt so natural, so right. They fit together perfectly, the right shapes, angles. It was right. He could have stayed there forever, but he needed to get home as soon as possible. He loosened his grip, then let it go completelyaand unwillingly.

"Have a good weekend, Jay."

"You too, Lex."

Alex smiled and walked out of the classroom, his head feeling slightly lighter.

The light headed feeling did not last long as Alex ventured out into the rain. He tried to stay as warm as possible, wrapping his arms around himself and hinching his shoulders over, the hood as far up over his head as it would go, but to no avail.
Not even halfway home and he was once again soaked to the skin. He thought of his own hoodie hanging in his locker at school. It was not going to dry properly in there and wasn't going to smell too good on Monday.
Alex sighed and trudged onwards, turning a street corner and ended up walking into the wind, the rain pelting his face with full force. This was not going to be a fun weekend. Two weeks back at school and two weekends being ill at home. Great.

Just then, a car went past Alex, splashing him with a puddle at the side of the road. Things really couldn't get any worse, Alex thought, until he saw the car slow, stop, and reverse back towards him. Shit. This couldn't be good, no one ever stops in this weather to apologise for splashing someone. Alex stopped as the car stopped next to him and the driver rolled down the window.

"Get in, Lex." Said a slightly bedraggled looking Jay, his wet hair hanging across his face. Alex hurried around to the passenger side and jumped into the warmth of the vehicle. "You really don't look well, Lex'"

Alex pulled down his hood and looked at Jay. Though the car was warm and cosy, Alex was still shivering in the soaking wet hoodie. He must have looked dreadful as Jay's eyes widened and his face fell to an expression of pity. "Come on, let's get you home..."

They sat in silence for the few minutes it took to get to Alex's house. Alex was actually a little surprised when they pulled up inside his house, realising that Jay hadn't needed instructions.

"You remembered where I live?"

"Er... Yeah," Jay said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck in a gesture of awkwardness, "I live just around the corner. It's on my route home."

"Oh okay..." Alex went to open the car door, but Jay reached across and put his hand on Alex's knee.

"Alex..."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about yesterday, okay?"

"It's fine. I mean, I kissed you first..." he trailed off, mumbling slightly.

"Yeah, I, er, noticed that." Jay laughed nervously.

"I... Don't know why I did that okay? I'm sorry. I mean, you're my teacher and-"

"No, Alex, it's fine. I didn't mind. But, it's not something that can happen again." Jay began speaking like he was warning a student, and Alex felt like it had all been one big mistake.

"Okay, I'll just go then..." He reached for the handle again.

"No! Wait, Lex..." Jay's hand moved from Alex's knee to his other hand, linking their fingers together. "I meant, it's not something that can happen again in school..."

Alex looked up into Jay's face, his eyes shining, almost begging for a chance. His heart melted, and burst, and froze, and raced all at once, or so it felt. He didn't even need to think about what he did next. He leaned forward, towards Jay, and pressed their lips together. It was just as perfect as last time, maybe even more so because it was just them, alone in Jay's car, their fingers intertwined. It only lasted a second, Alex not wanting anyone to spot them, not wanting to give himself to Jay right away. They barely knew eachother, but he knew that there was something there. But that something needed to grow on it's own and not be rushed.
Alex moved out of the kiss, staying only inches away from Jay's face, and watched his eyes flutter open, the irises almost glowing a golden brown. Alex had never seen eyes like Jay's before, and he never wanted to lose sight of them again. They both blushed, Alex feeling the colour rising in his cheeks as he gave Jay's hand a gentle squeeze and softly said, "One day at a time, yeah?" before escaping out into the rain again and running up the garden path. He fumbled with his keys before unlocking the door and stepping inside. He turned back around to look at the black car still sat at the side of the road. He waved at Jay, who wound down the window and waved a hand back.
Alex stepped right inside and closed the door, leaning against it and sliding to the floor. He sat there for a few minutes, his head swimming with sickness amd euphoria, shivering from the cold and excitement.

In that moment, Alex was sure of two things. Firstly, that he was as sick as a dog. And secondly, he had a chance with Jay. And he wasn't letting that chance pass him by.

Notes

SO MUCH FOR TOMORROW, HUH

But woo, Jalexness ^^