My Only One (Jalex)

Jack's POV:

A few weeks had passed since the extremely close call that Alex and I had and finals were just next week. Nothing bad came out of it really, apart from us deciding that we should reduce my 'counselling sessions' to only once a week. It wasn't that bad though, since I was now practically living at Alex's, apart from the odd night I'd stay with Rian to try and keep suspicion to a minimum. Rian wasn't stupid though, he knew that I wasn't just staying with a 'family friend', as I'd told him. He wasn't oblivious to my constantly texting Alex and sneaking out into the garden late at night to call him: he'd caught me on several occasions and he'd always ask me why I was grinning like a fool at my phone pretty much all the time. I still hadn't come out to him though, that was something that I was reluctant do to. It wasn't that I didn't trust him because I did. It also wasn't because he was homophobic. It was my own fear stopping me. I didn't think that all of my other so-called friends back in my old school were homophobic but they turned out to be, what was stopping Rian being the same? I didn't think that he would be because he's never said anything homophobic and he hasn't had a go at any of the kids in school that are openly gay but that doesn't mean that he won't turn. It was just my paranoia and lack of trust getting to me again.

Today was Friday and I was getting ready to leave Rian's to head over to Alex's house.
"Wait, Jack. Have you got a few minutes? I need to speak to you."
"Yeah, what's up, man?"
"I don't really know how to say this so I'll just come out and say it. It's been playing on my mind for a bit since that whole thing about you and Gaskarth came up...Are you gay, Jack?"
My heart seemed to stop beating. All kinds of worries ran through my head, flashbacks of past memories flashing through my brain, the comments that were made were being screamed at me again by my own mind.
"No one likes a faggot."
"I'll catch the disease, fuck off, faggot."
"No one will ever love you."
"You deserve to rot in hell."
"Fucking queer."
Countless others followed them. I was shaking, my brain blocking out every other noise apart from the loud insults. I could see everything though. Rian was looking at me, saying something so quickly that I couldn't even make it out. I felt a pair of strong arms on my shoulders, shaking me in an attempt to get me to snap out of the trance I'd fallen in to. Everything stopped, the voices stopped, Rian stopped talking. It was only then did I notice the stinging in my cheek. I brought my hand up to the skin, it was red hot and tingling.
"You slapped me, Ri! You fucking slapped me!"
"What else was I supposed to do? You were going into some fucked up sort of trance."
"Sorry..."
"It's okay, Jack. I'm sorry I asked you that question."
"Um, no it's okay. I am gay, yeah."
Rian was silent, his face emotionless. Panic started to rise inside of me again, it was like I'd relived this very moment several times beforehand.
"I'm sorry, Rian. I'll just get the rest of my stuff and I'll leave. You wouldn't want a faggot hanging around you. You might catch the disease."
I turned to go up the stairs to shove the very small amount of belongings I had at Rian's house. I'd made it up about three steps before I was stopped by someone grabbing my wrist, Rian probably. I spun around, preparing myself for the punch that always followed.
"Jack, I don't care. I'm not homophobic! You should be allowed to love who you love and no one should stop that."
I let the breath out that I had been holding, relief washing over me.
"A-are you serious?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"It's just, when I came out to my other friends they called me a faggot and basically disowned me and made my life hell until I moved schools, just for the same thing to happen again. I always used to get expelled from the schools for fighting but I was just defending myself from them, the school never saw that though. I just thought that when you went silent, you were disgusted so I just assumed-"
"Shut up, Jack. Just know that I really don't care. I still like you for being you, sexuality doesn't change that. Now go! Go to your boyfriend."
Rian smirked at me, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Wha-how?"
"Come on, Jack! I'm not dumb, I'm actually quite clever. However, I'm not clever enough to work out who 'Lex' is."
"You saw?"
"Your phone only flashes with notifications from me, your sister or this Lex guy. I'm guessing he's your boyfriend though. I want to meet him, I need to make sure he's not a douche."
"Ri, you're acting like you're my mother or something. You'll meet him one day soon, I promise."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, Ri. Now can I go?"
"Yeah, yeah but use protection, Jacky!"
"Piss off, Potato!"
I walked out of Rian's house with a massive grin on my face. I made my way over to Alex's, playing idly with the promise ring he'd got me a few weeks ago, it was certainly the most important material thing to me.

-

"Lex? It's me."
I could hear talking coming from a room, a male and female voice, but Alex didn't answer me. The male voice was a lot deeper than Alex's and it was British, the female voice was British too.
"Lex? You home?"
I heard movement coming from upstairs, it sounded like feet rushing around quickly, a lot of swearing and draws opening and closing. I stood in the hallway, confused and worried, for a few minutes. I pulled my phone out and was just starting to type out a text to Alex, asking him where he is when I heard feet thunder down the stairs. I looked up to see Alex dressed in smart jeans and a decent-looking t-shirt.
"Thank fuck for that, Lex. I was getting worried!"
"You're going to be worrying a lot more in a minute, Jay."
Alex stood on his tip-toes to peck a kiss on my lips.
"Lex, what's going on?"
"My mom and dad are here, Jay. They came to see me and, well, meet you."
My eyes went wide, my heart beating out of my chest.
"What?! Lex, is this a good idea?"
"Yeah, it'll be fine. They know the situation anyway because I can't keep my mouth shut. They were cool with it when I explained though."
"Oh. But what if they don't like me, Lex?"
"Jay, that's the biggest load of bullshit that has ever come out of your mouth. They'll love you, trust me."
"Hmmm...why are you all dressed up though? Should I go and put something better on?"
"No. Let them see who you are but at least you're wearing something. I answered the door in my boxers..."
I tried my best to hold back a laugh, failing pretty much straight away. Alex took hold of my hand and led me through to the kitchen, mumbling for me to shut up laughing.

Through the door sat his mom and dad. His mom had shoulder length brown hair, a little darker than Alex's. Her skin was pale and it was obvious that he took after his mom on his looks. They had the same face shape and the same features, including his eyes. His dad was rotund, balding and slightly more tanned. They looked nice enough though.
"Mom, Dad, this is Jack."
Both his parents spun round in their seats, their eyes settling on myself and Alex. His mom immediately got out of her seat and came over to me, engulfing me in a tight hug. I stood there frozen, overwhelmed by the gesture.
"Mom, stop. You're smothering him."
His mom let me go and turned to Alex.
"I wanted to welcome him into our family, Lex. I like him already. At least he greeted us with clothes on, Alexander."
"Shut up, Mom."
"Whatever, Alex. Now, Jack, it's nice to meet you."
I felt Alex tighten his grip on my hand for some reason.
"I'm good thank you, Mrs Gaskarth."
"Oh, honey, call me Isobel and call him Peter. You're with Alex so you're a part of our family now."
I just smiled in thanks in her direction. In all fairness, I wasn't used to all of this affection and being welcomed into a family. Hell, I wasn't even welcome in my own.
"Hello, Jack. I'm Peter, Alex's dad."
"H-hello, Mr Gask- Peter."
Alex led me over to the table where Isobel and Peter were sat, pouring himself and me a coffee, Isobel and Peter already having a cup of their own.

As the night went on, I was feeling more and more at ease with Isobel and Peter. Peter didn't talk much but he always had something hilarious to say whenever he did speak. Isobel was quite the talker, but she was really nice. They made sure to include me in the conversation, asking me questions and allowing me to speak. I felt like I was finally welcomed into a family. My life was finally starting to work out for me and I was glad.
"Jack, what do you plan on doing once you leave school?"
"Oh, um, I've not really thought about it, to be honest. Gosh, that sounds really bad, doesn't it?"
Isobel chuckled, reaching over the table to rest her hand on top of mine.
"Not really, honey. Alexander didn't know what he wanted to be when he was at your age. He didn't want to go to college but I wanted him to have qualifications that would get him somewhere in life. You'll figure it out soon, don't worry."
"Thank you. There's just been so much happen so quickly and I've just never really had the opportunity to sit down and properly think about it."
"Yeah, we heard about most things from Alex. You're strong, Jack. I really am sorry about your mother, it sounded like you two were quite close. You've been through so much, so has Alex in that respect, I'm just so glad that you've found each other and you're happy- you deserve it."
I wiped away a lone tear that had ran down my cheek, smiling back at Isobel. Alex pulled me into his side and kissed my temple, sending tingles down my spine.

-

Peter and Isobel had just left. It was around 11pm and Alex and I were both exhausted.
"Come on, let's leave the clearing up until the morning. I want to cuddle with you in bed."
"I agree, Lex. Come on."
I dragged Alex up the stairs by his hand. We both brushed our teeth, stripped down to our boxers and climbed into bed, cuddling into each other instantly.
"Jay, have you really thought about what you want to do?"
"No, not really. Well, kind of but not in much detail."
"What do you want to do then?"
"I kind of want to have a gap year to just not have to worry about things and to get my head straight but, then again, I want to be able to pull my weight around here. I don't want to scrounge off you my entire life."
"Jay, you don't have to worry about that. I'm not boasting here, but I earn enough for you never to have to work and if that's what you want to do, that's what you'll do because I'm not going to stop you. Same if you want to go to college, I'll support you fully."
"Thank you. If I do decide to go to college, I'll not go to one far from here. I want to still be with you."
"We'll never break up if you go to a college further away though, Jay. I won't let that happen because I love you too much."
"Thank you, Lex."
"No worries. Are you settled on the gap year then?"
"Yeah, I think so. I think I need it."
"It'll be good for the both of us. We could finally go on dates then and go out without the worry of people seeing us. If anyone does, we'll just say we got together after you graduated, there's no evidence to go against that."
"True. Fuck, I love you so much, Lex. I'm just so happy that I found you when I did."
"Ditto. I love you too, Jay."
Alex captured my lips within his own, moving them gently. The kiss was slow, full of love and just...perfect. I lived for these kind of kisses. They weren't heated or lustful, they were just full of pure love. They were magical.

I was the first to pull away, needing to breathe.
"You'd have been proud of me earlier," I mumbled against Alex's lips.
"Yeah? I'm proud of you anyway but go on."
"I came out to Rian today...and he was okay with it. He said he didn't care and he still likes me for who I am, not my sexuality."
Alex's face broke out in a massive grin, his eyes glinting in the moonlight that was illuminating the room, giving the room a soft glow.
"Jay! I'm so proud, baby! I'm happy, too."
Alex kissed me once again, only making my mood go up even more.
"He kind of asked me though...he straight-up asked me if I was gay. I kind of panicked and then he slapped me, saying it was the only way he could think of to snap me out of it. I said I was gay and then panicked again before he said he wasn't bothered. I told him that I had a boyfriend, not mentioning any details. He wants to meet you, to 'approve'. I put him off though so don't worry for now."
"You make it sound like it's nothing, Jay! You make it sound like coming out is easy and it's not. I'm so fucking proud of you, you know that?"
Alex hugged me tighter, his head now buried in the crook of my neck.
"I love you, Lex. Don't ever forget that."
"As if I would, Jack. Night."
"Night."

Notes

Hi,

Okay, I think I'm slowly getting there now. Writing this is starting to become more enjoyable and I'm starting to fall back in love with writing again.

Thank you for the 7k reads, that's incredible and the last time I checked this was 3rd on the popular page so, wow, thank you so so much.

Follow me on the twitter machine if you want :) @Em__McFly__ATL_

Thanks,
Em x