Drama By Name

Alex was ill. As in ill-ill. For the whole weekend he didn't bother to get out of bed unless it was to go to the toilet. Whenever he woke up, there was food next to his bed, whether it be a sandwich or a warm bowl of soup, his mom made sure he was okay. He barely saw or heard of her until Wednesday afternoon when she came gently knocking at his door.

"Hiya, sweetie," she cooed from the doorway, "How're you feeling?"

Alex rolled over slightly from his blanket bundled position, facing the small TV in the corner of the room, to look at his mom. "Hi mom. I'm feeling a bit better, but still kinda shit." He managed to sleepy half-smile, the duvet pulled up to his chin.

"Okay sweetie. Well, one of your friends is here to see you, shall I send her up?"

"Who is it?"

"Hang on..." Alex's mom disappeared from the doorway and Alex heard her call down the stairs, "Sorry honey, I didn't get your name..."

There was a muffled reply that Alex couldn't quite make out, but he had an idea of who it was. His mom reappeared around the doorframe.

"It's Tay, shall I send her up?"

"No mom, I'm too ill, I don't want to make her ill too. Tell her to text me instead yeah? And that I'm sorry."

"Okay sweetie, I'll do that. You just rest, okay?"

"Okay mom, tell Tay that I'm sorry."

"Will do."

He heard his mom go downstaors, muffled voices, then the front door shut. A few moments later, Alex's mobile buzzed on his nightstand. Of course, it was Tay.

From; Tay Jardine
- hey alex u ok?

To; Tay Jardine
- could b better :/

From; Tay Jardine
- aww poor alex :( how ill r u?

To; Tay Jardine
- pretty ill, stupid weather, i get ill 2 easy

From; Tay Jardine
- aww :( anyway u missed the best thing in art today!

Alex and Tay texted for a while about what Alex aad missed at school and the TV shows he'd been watching, until about an hour later,Alex dozed off, swamped by blankets and fluffy pillows.

-

The rest of Wednesday and the whole of Thursday flew by due to Alex's messed up sleeping pattern. It was only on Friday that he woke up at an almost normal time. Glancing over at his phone, he saw he had a few texts; two from Tay, three from Zack and one from Rian. He checked the time. 11:34am. Alex sat up and stretched. His head felt normal, he wasn't achy anymore, but his nose was still stuffy and his throat a little sore. Overall, he felt a lot better than he had done yesterday. He decided that the texts could wait because he hadn't showered in a week, and he seriously needed to shower.
About an hour later, after Alex had washed and changed into something clean, he picked up his phone and checked the text.

From; Tay Jardine
- haha yeah i saw that one too! did u c the old batman returns?

From; Tay Jardine
- you there??

From; Zack Merrick
- hey u gonna b in skl today?

From; Zack Merrick
- hope ur feeling ok buddy x

From; Zack Merrick
- let me know when ur feeling better x

From; Rian Dawson
- hey, dont die!

Alex laughed to himself. Typical Tay, typical Zack, typical Rian. At least everyone was themselves but Alex thought he ought to check on Zack anyway. He'd wait until lunchtime to call him, not wanting anyone to get in trouble. In the meantime, Alex wandered downstairs in search of food.
He pattered downstairs in his clean boxers and clean-ish Green Day t-shirt and into the kitchen. Natural instinct guided him straight to the coffee. He put on a fresh pot and headed over to the fridge where he found a note attached to the door.

Alex,
Pasta in the fridge, soup in the cupboard. Don't go overboard with the coffee. NO ENERGY DRINKS. I'll be back around 3pm
Love, mom xx

Alex took the note down and looked at it. She must have been leaving these whenever she went out to work in case he got up long enough to come downstairs and find food for himself. He loved his mom, he really did. He appreciated everything she did, even if he didn't always show it. She was a parent with a teenage son and a husband who was always away on business trips, and Alex was proud of her.

He opened the fridge and found a Tupperware of his mom's vegetable pasta on the middle shelf where he could easily see it. He had a quick look and saw that there were, in fact, no energy drinks anyway. Either he'd drunken them in his attempts to stay up long enough to watch a whole film rather than the first half hour and then the end credits, or his mom had moved them. It could have been either, but it didn't matter becasse at that moment the coffee machine went off. He grabbed the pasta, closed the fridge and took a mug from the cupboard. He filled it almost to the brim and, not caring about the temperature, took a sip. Fuck, he should have cared about the temperature.Alex set the mug down on the side and put the pasta on to a plate and into the microwave. While he waited for the coffee to cool down and the pasta to heat up, he switched on the TV and put on the news for background noise. Alex walked back into the kitchen, grabbed his coffee and took the pasta out of the microwave, and walked back into the living room, settling himself on the sofa. He tucked into his pasta, but stopped mid-mouthful when he heard the news report on TV.

"...arrested after being found to have had a relationship with a student. Thomas Walker, 32, had been secretly dating a student from his school for 5 months and had planned to run away together on the student's 18th birthday. The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, accidentally shared her plans with a classmate who immediately contacted the authorities. Walker will remain in custody while the case is looked into properly, but at this point, all evidence points to a long stretch behind bars..."

Alex went cold again. It had been a week since he'd seen Mr Barakat... No, he needed to stop thinking of him as a teacher if he wanted to have a chance with him. But that news report.. that's what could happen to Jay if they weren't careful. Alex had thought about telling Zack, or even Matt, but now he really couldn't tell anyone. It was even too much of a risk letting Jay and his mom talk to each other for too long... Alex now realised how badly things could go. How much shit they could both get into. He won't let that happen. Alex was nearly 18, and Jay was only a temporary stand-in anyway. In a matter of months everything would be fine. Could they hold on that long?

Alex rushed the thoughts away. He was ill and didn't need to work himself up and make himself worse. Everything would be fine, so right now Alex just needed to concentrate on getting better. He finished his pasta and coffee, went back upstairs to get a blanket, and then curled up on the sofa where he sat and watched CSI. He called Zack at lunchtime to check he was okay, and everything was fine. Turns out they were hanging out with Tay, who wanted to come round Alex's after school,which was fine. He got up once to go to the toilet, and to get more coffee, then around 3:30pm his mom came home.

"Lexy, I'm home!"

"Heya, mom!"

She stuck her head around the doorframe to the living room. "Oh hello, you're up!"

"Yeah I am. I'm feeling a lot better now."

"Oh that's great sweetie! Well, if you need anything just ask."

"I know mom... You're a fucking saint, you know that?"

His mom smiled at him, placing a hand over her heart. "Oh Alex, you're too kind, but less of the swearing!" She laughed at her son, knowing that he would never stop cussing.

"Haha, you wish!"

"Yeah, yeah... I need to go to the toilet so..."

"Oh okay, sorry... Hang on," his mom reappeared in the doorway, "I've got a friend coming over later so could you let them in when they get here?"

"Sure thing, sweetie."

Alex sat and watched TV for the rest of the afternoon until there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" His mom called, trotting towards the front door.

Alex was greatful, seeing as he was still lounging in his t-shirt and boxers, and really didn't want Tay seeing him like that. Even though he was gay, it would still be awkward.

"Hello! He's just in the living room, go on through."

Alex sat up a bit, trying to not look so much like a slob. "Hey Ta-"

That wasn't Tay. At all. The skunk haired man shuffled into the living room, hands shoved in the pockets of his coat, black hair hiding his face.
Jay looked hot. Alex had never seen him in anything other than a shirt and tie, now he looked completely different in and old leather jacket and Glamour Kills t-shirt. Still the same jeans though. Alex stared, but quickly regained control and smiled up at Jay.

"Hey, Jay."

"Heya."

God this was awkward, especially as Alex could see his mom peering into the room from the kitchen.

"Hey, mom?"

"Yes?" She called innocently, as if she hadn't been watching.

"I'm going up to my room, okay?"

"Okay sweetie, be sensible."

"Oh God... Okay, mom!"

Alex stood up, blanket wrapped around his shoulders and grabbed Jay's hand. As they walked up the stairs to Alex's room, he gently stroked the back of Jay's hand, feeling how soft and cool his skin was against his thumb. He glanced over his shoulder and looked Jay in the eyes, watching them sparkle as his mouth twitched into a smile.

They reached Alex's room and shut the door, so as to keep away from Alex's mom, and sat down on the bed. Alex looked at Jay properly now, taking him all in. He really was beautiful. Seeing him in normal clothes made him look even younger, even more innocent. Alex couldn't tear his gaze away. Thankfully though, now he didn't have to.

"Why are you here, Jay?"

"I... I've missed you. You have no idea how much I'm risking being here."

"Then why did you come?"

Jay stared down into his lap, playing with a loose thread on his t-shirt. "I wanted to see how you were... I was worried."

Alex couldn't help but smile. Jay really did care. He was risking his job and freedom to check that Alex was okay. No one had ever cared about him this much, apart from maybe Zack, but this gave him butterflies.

Alex reached over and took Jay's hand again, interlocking their fingers. "I'm a lot better now, thanks. I probably would have been even more ill if you hadn't given me a lift home last week."

"Oh yeah..." Jay looked up, smiling a sideways smile at the memory.

"You know... Well,I think we could, you know, really have something..." Alex mumbled, trying to keep eye contact and failing. He was too embarrassed. Jay obviously sensed this and gently squeezed his hand, making him look back up.

"So do I, Lex." He smiled. He leaned forwards slowly, then stopped. Alex could sense what he wanted, so he leant forwards too, and met him halfway.

The kiss was very gentle, their lips barely brushing, but the sensation sent electricity through Alex's body, sending the butterflies wild in his dizzy head. This was all he needed to make him feel nearly well again. He sat back on the bed, still holding Jay's hand, and looked him straight in the eyes.

"I really think we could have something, which is why I want to take things slow... Well, that and the fact that you're... That I'm..."

"I know, I know. I totally understand." Jay smiled at Alex, and quickly leant forwards and kissed him on the cheek. This made Alex blush to no end. No one had ever been so sweet to him, even before he knew he was gay and still dated girls.

"So, erm, do you want to watch a film, or...?"

"Er, yeah sure... What have you got?" Jay smiled, kicking off his shoes and shuffling backwards on the matress to rest against the wall. Alex stood up and wandered over to the small stack of DVD's he had by the litte TV in the corner.

"I have Nightmare Before Christmas, Kill Bill, old Batman cartoons and-" He was interrupted by a small giggle from behind him. He straightened up and turned around, smiling at the man on his bed.

"What?" He laughed.

"You...erm..." Jay looked down and nodded his head towards Alex's lower half.

Alex had forgotten that he was only in his boxers. He immediately pulled down the hem of the oversized t-shirt and drew his legs closer together. He could feel hi face glowing red, sure that he must look ridiculous.

"Shut up..." he said to Jay, who was now failing at hiding his laughter, eyes crinkled and hand over his mouth, shoulders shaking. He couldn't hold it in and burst out with musical laughter that Alex couldn't help but smile at. Alex just stood there, waiting for the giggles to subside.

"Oh, Alex. I'm sorry!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

"No, no! I'm sorry... it's actually kinda cute." Jay smiled.

Alex just blushed again, shook his head and put on some old zombie film. He walked back over to the bed, where Jay took his hands and pulled Alex into his lap and wrapped his arms around Alex's middle. Alex grabbed one of the blankets bundled up at the end of his bed and draped it over their legs, leant back and let the rise and fall of his chest fall in time with Jay's.

They stayed like this, watching the old horror film, and it felt perfect. The way Alex's slightly smaller frame fit perfectly in Jay's arms, fit perfectly in his lap, it was like it was meant to be. Like two pices of a very easy puzzle, they fitted with eachother, making each other's pictures a little more complete. Alex rested his hands over Jay's forearms and stroked his thumbs over his smooth pale skin. Jay shifted a little, tightening his grip slightly in a gentle squeeze.

Alex looked over his shoulder at him, taking in the beauty of the man who held him so tight and looked at him with such love filled eyes. At the same moment they moved their faces closer, until their lips met. Again, it was soft and gentle, but this time, something clicked.

Alex moved his lips against Jay's, making the older man move his in time with Alex's. The kiss stayed gentle though, sweet, romantic. Alex's heart was beating out a samba in his chest, the blood pounding in his ears.

He was so caught in the moment that he didn't hear the knock at the front door. He didn't hear his mom call out that she'd get it. He didn't hear his mom tell her to 'go right on up'. He didn't hear the knock at the door. What he did hear though, was Tay opening the door and laughing in disgust.

"Ew! Alex don't..." But her tone soon changed as Alex pulled away and turned to face her, giving Tay full view of Jay's face.

"Wha- Mr Barakat! What the fuck. Alex?! Holy shit!"

Notes

This chapter is relevent because I'm also ill. Me and Alex are sick buddies. Yay.