Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Alex woke up early on Sunday morning, at around nine o'clock. It certainly was not exceptionally early, but it was pretty good for him. He figured Jack would not be awake yet, so he took his time getting ready. He ate breakfast, too, before he finally decided to ask his mother about the supplies he would need to take Jack.

"Mum?" Alex asked, after finding the woman in their living room watching morning talk shows, "Do we have any epinephrine that has gone bad?"

"Yes, honey, they're kept in the drawer near the fridge. Why do you need them?" Alex's mother asked, turning her head from the T.V. to her bouncing son waiting at the door.

"I'm going to teach Jack."

"That's good. Be careful, and take one of the bruised apples from the back of the fridge, if that's what you'll be doing."

Nodding, Alex went to go fetch what he needed, finding one of each items in the kitchen and throwing them into his bag. Checking the time, he noticed it was almost ten in the morning, now. Along with this, he discovered he had a text from Jack from only a few minutes prior, as well.

Jack Barakat, 9:53 AM: Meet me at our place in around 20? I haven't eaten anything yet today, btw, and I brushed my teeth AND used mouth wash this morning. Bring me a snack. And your lips :*

Alex Gaskarth, 9:57 AM: See you there :) Thank you, J, and sure. What do you want?

Jack Barakat, 9:59 AM: You're welcome, baby, and it's up to you

Alex Gaskarth, 10:00 AM: Alrighty, I'm leaving now

Jack Barakat: 10:01 AM: Same

Alex slipped his phone into his pocket, running into the kitchen for the last time and slipping a bag of cereal and another apple into his bag. He jogged back to the door, slipped on his shoes and a jacket, and made his way over to the small forest. It was fairly chilly out, so he walked as fast as he could. Navigating the route that he now knew by heart, Alex arrived into the clearing shivering the tiniest bit, the features on his face all tinted pink.

"It's September," Alex whined to Jack, who was sitting on a log outside of their small shelter upon his arrival. The building made of logs and sticks was functional now, but it was certainly not sturdy enough. It was also too little and too boring, and the pair had agreed they would need to get some more supplies soon to make it a bit more permanent. For now, though, it had four walls built up to only where their heads ended, with a flat roof. The roof was not anywhere near being full coverage, but it was temporary, and Alex and Jack barely had any usable materials left in their area of the forest without having to travel inconveniently far away. A couple of sticks would do for now, though. "Why is it so fucking cold?"

"Isn't it always cold in England?" Jack asked, and Alex nodded.

"It is. I'm just a baby."

"Well, come here," Jack murmured, standing up and offering his arms out to Alex. Alex shuffled over to the other boy immediately, feeling himself become wrapped up in Jack's arms. "I brought blankets."

Alex grinned into Jack's shoulder, pulling back and tugging him over to their mess of branches. Jack had already laid a blanket down over the grass, and he pulled another out of his bag as they settled in, laying it over their laps. Meanwhile, Alex fished the food out of his bag, handing over the apple and the bag of cereal to Jack.

"Ooooh, these are my favourite."

"I'm glad."

"So, what're we doing?"

"This first," Alex said, pulling out another, slightly less appealing, apple, as well as something else that Jack really was not sure what it was. "I'm going to teach you."

Jack sighed in response, but took the items Alex was holding out for him.

"I don't know what to do. Why are you giving me these?" Jack sighed, pouting at Alex.

"Just be patient, I'll help you. Take it out of the container." Jack did as Alex asked, giving the blond a quizzical look as he continued with, "Now, take off this safety cap."

"Are you sure?"

"it's gone bad already, don't worry. You're going to stab the apple, so point the orange end to it, and just take it off."

"Alright," Jack agreed, following Alex's instructions. "The blue one?"

"Yes, now just push down, until you hear it click."

Jack sort of jumped as he did it, the popping sound made by the thick needle spooking him. Alex giggled in response, proud Jack at least did it correctly.

"There, now you know how to use these things. Hopefully you'll never need to, though."

"This is fucking scary. Have you ever had to use one?"

"A couple times, yeah."

"Damn." Jack commented, and Alex simply nodded in response, leaning his head on Jack's shoulder.

"I'm alright."

"Mmm," Jack hummed, rubbing Alex's hip from where his arm was thrown around his back. "C'mere, now."

"Aren't you hungry?" Alex asked in a rush, searching around for the food he had brought Jack.

"Later, babe. Just come here." Jack nudged Alex, and the younger boy moved to kneel beside him. He accepted the hands Jack held out for him, and he was tugged over once more, until he found himself straddling Jack's lap. "Don't look at me like that,"

"Like what?" Alex asked, but he knew very well what he was doing.

"You know." Jack chuckled, before pausing for a second. He then asked, "You've never kissed anyone before, have you?"

Alex shook his head.

"Makes sense. Do you want to, then? We don't have to." Jack suggested, but Alex nodded his head instead, his smile also confirming that he did, in fact, want to do this. Alex moved his arms to rest them around Jack's neck, and Jack's fingers continued to massage around Alex's hips, as they had been before. "Okay."

Jack leaned forward first, and Alex backed up the tiniest bit, before he realized he was not really helping. He stayed stationary after that, trying not to seem to nervous as Jack closed the rest of the gap between the couple, starting off with a simple peck to Alex's lips.

"It's not a scary thing," Jack breathed, "You don't have to be scared."

"I know, I'm just-"

"Nervous. I know," Jack nodded, before he inched closer to Alex again, this time slotting his lips between Alex's own. It lasted longer than the last one, but Jack still pulled back after only a few more moments.

"This is nice," Alex commented, and Jack chuckled in response.

"It'd be even nicer if you kissed me back, too." Before Alex could protest with a comment about how he did not know how to, Jack added, "Just follow what I do. You can't mess up, don't worry."

Alex nodded along, and before he knew what was happening, Jack's lips were connected to his again. This time, though, he tried to mirror Jack's actions, and he realized the older boy was right. It was much better. He made himself more comfortable on Jack's lap, sitting up straighter and moving closer. Their kisses still were not movie scene worthy, but it was a start for Alex, and that did not bother Jack at all.

After various more attempts and experimenting on both sides, Jack announced that he was hungry, and Alex moved off of him to curl up on top of the blanket. As Jack ate his apple and both boys snacked on the cereal Alex had brought, they learned more about each other.

"Y'know," Alex mentioned, "They teach me that people like you rarely exist in real life, and you learn that people like me are often works of fiction, as well."

"What do you mean?" Jack puzzled, not really understanding the point behind what Alex was saying.

"Well," Alex continued, "You know, before you, I'd never kissed anyone, so you can imagine I've never done anything else with anyone, either. Isn't that a shock to you?"

"Somewhat," Jack nodded.

"Exactly. And it's not even because I'm from an entirely different continent. It's just what happens in schools. Funny, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's kind of weird."

"I swear, I only knew, like, a couple people like you back home, and everyone kept tabs on them. But here, it's normal. Not that it's bad at all, it's just odd how other people affect each other."

"What exactly do you mean by people like me?" Jack asked.

"Um," Alex paused, looking Jack up and down. "You know. I'm assuming-"

"Yes, Lex," Jack laughed, "I've had sex. Only with girls, though. I've done other stuff with both, but I haven't gone all the way with a guy yet."

"Oh," Alex hummed, and Jack nodded.

"So, what do you want to do now? We've been here for a couple hours now, and honestly, I'm still hungry."

"Want to come over to my house for lunch?"

"Uh," Jack began, but Alex cut him off with a soft smile.

"My mum's out, don't worry. You don't have to meet the parents, yet."

Notes

it's me, updating relatively on time! let me know what you think :^)