Sick Little Games

Alex's POV:

I sat there completely and utterly dumbfounded. Who can he get out of his head? Me? No, surely not. Who else though? Rian was still sat next to me. His jaw practically on the floor. Zack was stood in the door way, his muscular stature filling the frame, wearing the same expression as Rian- I'm sure my face held a similar picture too. We'd been stood/sat in the same positions for around ten minutes, all obviously trying to figure out what exactly happened back there.
"Shouldn't we go and look for him? I mean, it's getting cold and he just ran out and I'm pretty sure he was crying." I spoke, gaining the attention of Zack only, Rian was completely zoned out beside me. I turned to Rian and Zack must have caught on to what I was thinking. I waved my hand in front of Rian's face.
"Yoo hoo, anyone in there?" I sang whilst Zack was chucking at the scenario in front of him.
"Wha- huh?" Rian seemed to have snapped out of his daze and came back to reality.
"Dude, Alex was asking if we should go after him. I think no but you've known Jack the longest so I guess it's your call."
"Nah, leave him. He'll need space and if we go after him he'll just flip out at us. Does anyone want pizza? I'm starving."

-

Zack, Rian and I were all sat in a circle on Rian's bedroom floor with a box of pepperoni pizza in the middle of us. We were talking about anything and everything, from bands to which Batman film we liked most, mine obviously being The Dark Knight Rises. Our chatter was soon interrupted by Zack's phone ringing, Rian and I laughing obnoxiously at his dumb ringtone.
"Hi, Mum...yeah...no, but-...but...oh fine...yep, bye" Zack shoved his phone into his pocket and stood up. "Queen Merrick wants me home. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

It was now just Rian and I. The conversation soon dwindled down to an awkward silence. I still wanted to know who Jack couldn't get out of his head- it was really starting to bug me.
"Rian?" He turned his head and hitched an eyebrow, silently telling me to continue. "What did Jack mean? You know, when he said he couldn't get 'him' out of his head?" Who was he referring to?" Rian sighed and turned his body so he was facing me.
"I guess you should know this- it does kind of involve you...Two years ago, when Jack was fourteen, he was really close to this dude called Oli, you'll know him if I pointed him out to you. They were inseparable and pretty much everyone envied their friendship. One day though, they just stopped talking. Instead of high-fiving each other as they passed in the corridor, they would literally glare at each other. Fights broke out between them and everything. Oli started to spread rumours that Jack was gay and he had a massive crush on this guy called Vic Fuentes, you don't know him: he moved back to Mexico before you came. I guess my gay-detector kicked in because I started to notice that whenever Vic and Jack were near each other, Jack's mood would brighten and he'd get a spark in his eyes. Since Vic moved away, Jack has been picking on anyone gay, calling them faggots and, well, you know the rest." Why was he telling me all this? It doesn't answer my fucking question! "When you came, Jack got that sparkle in his eyes again. That hadn't been there since Vic left. After the whole fiasco of Jack, Oli and Vic, Jack and I became good friends and soon after Zack became friends with us. I've always had my suspicions about Jack being gay- I mean, come on, he dyed blonde streaks in his hair, he dressed in drag for halloween one year and I'm certain he wear ladies' jeans. As to who the person is that he can't get out of his head: I think it's you." My eyes widened at this and I shook my head.
"It can't be me. He hates me, you saw what he called me a week ago. You see how he treats me in form. It's definitely not me." I shook my head once more, just to emphasise my point further.
"You see, Alex, that's where I think you're wrong. He stares at you, a hell of a lot. Last week, when you were off, he looked like utter shit and in form, his eyes never left the door, almost as if he was waiting for you to walk in. He was relieved when you walked in this morning, trust me. You're gay, correct?" I nodded. "Do you like Jack?"
"What? He's been an absolute dick to me and you're asking me if I like him? It's pretty obvious that I don't."
"No, I don't mean like that. I meant, like, do you find him attractive?" Was I really going to admit my crush for Jack to Rian, a guy I've only properly hung out with today? Fuck it.
"Well, ermm, I guess I do. I mean, yeah, he's pretty hot and stuff but he's been nothing but a bully to me. So yes, I do find him attractive, very attractive, but no, I don't like him." I felt my cheeks heat up as I confessed.
"But what if Jack changed? Would you like him then?"
"I don't know, maybe. Wait...if Jack is actually gay, why does he bully gay people? Why was he calling me a faggot when, he's gay?" Rian chuckled a little. Was this all a big joke?
"It's because of what happened between him and Oli. He doesn't want people to know he's gay so what better way than to appear homophobic?"
"Well, yeah, I suppose so. I just don't see why he'd like me though. I'm just...me. He said so himself, I'm pathetic."
"No you're not Alex. Don't say that about yourself, okay? And, listen, if you ever need to talk about your, you know, I'm here." He said, gesturing to my hip and stomach.
"Thanks, Ri. You're the first person to ever say anything like that." Rian gave me an awkward shoulder hug and smiled. It's nice to finally have a friend. "I better get going, my mum will be worrying and we've got school tomorrow."
"Yeah, no worries. I'll see you tomorrow and Alex? Don't worry about Jack, okay? He'll sort himself out." I got up, grabbed my bag and left, throwing a quick wave to Rian over my shoulder.

I walked home feeling...happy? It's been a while since I've truly felt happy. Maybe moving to Baltimore wasn't as bad as I first thought. I got home, said a quick hello to my mum and walked up to my room. I really need to get some posters for here. It's so bare. I stripped down to my boxers and climbed into bed. I fell asleep with a small smile on my face, knowing that my life was on the up. Fucking finally.

Notes

Heyy,
Ohhh so Alex knows...idk, I feel like this is moving a little too quickly. I'll try and hold it back slightly but I'm having too much fun writing this so who knows what'll happen.

thanks for the really nice comments and the subs, it's awesome
Em x