Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Alex woke up the next morning to his phone ringing beside his bed. He picked it up off of his night stand, noting that he could not get mad at anybody for calling him because it was past ten o'clock, before answering the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Alex! Happy birthday!" A familiar voice registered in Alex's head, a grin taking over his features as he realized it was Marissa who had called him.

"Thanks, M'riss. Why'd you call, though? You're comin' later tonight, right?" Alex asked, voice sleepy as he questioned his friend.

"Oh, yeah, definitely. I was excited, though. I have a feeling I woke you up, so I'll let you go now. See you later!" Marissa laughed, and Alex bid her goodbye, hanging up as well. He set his phone back down, about ready to get back to bed, before his phone was ringing once again. Groaning and sitting up this time, Alex answered it once again.

"H'llo?" He mumbled, eyes shutting as he moved to cross his legs. The voice that spoke in reply sent a swarm of butterflies through his chest, which was something common when it came to the older boy.

"Hey, sweetheart. Happy birthday," Jack greeted, and he could practically hear Alex's smile over the phone, what with the light laughs he got in reply.

"You didn't have to call, Jack. You were here last night, you already said it." Alex yawned.

"I know, but you're important to me. Did I wake you up?" Jack questioned.

"Nope, don't worry about it, love. And thank you, by the way." Alex hummed, playing with the edge of his sheet in his fingers as he awaited Jack's response.

"You're liking calling me love, aren't you?" His boyfriend chuckled, making Alex nod, even though Jack could not see him.

"Mhm. I'm likin' it very much. It suits you, 'cause I love you." Alex explained.

"I love you, too, babe. What time do you want me to come by?" Jack asked.

"Whenever you like. Everyone else is coming at five, so maybe a bit before then?" Alex suggested, hoping Jack would be willing to help him with food and other necessities.

"Sounds good, I'll come over around two, then. That's just about enough time to give you enough birthday kisses, no?" Jack laughed, imagining the way Alex would be rolling his eyes on the other end of the phone, which he was, in fact.

After saying goodbye to Jack, Alex finally got out of bed, and made his way down stairs. His parents were lounging around in the living room, and they both shouted out celebratory greetings as he entered the room, coming up to each give him a hug.

"There's pancakes on the stove, Alex," Alex's mother told him, "I made them earlier, because your father was hungry, and I didn't want to wake you. Go help yourself."

Bounding into the kitchen quickly, and grabbing a chair to steady himself from falling once he finally slid into the room, Alex grinned at the stack of pancakes that met him. He rarely ever had the chance to eat them, since his mother had to make them from scratch, so this was quite a treat.

Alex spent the rest of the afternoon doing what he did best; absolutely nothing. He lay in practically every room he could lay in, ate almost every snack he could eat, and avoided pretty much every responsibility he could avoid. It was his birthday after all, and he could do whatever he wanted... That was, until Jack knocked on the door at precisely two o'clock, and Alex was still in his boxers and the T-shirt he had slept in. Deciding it did not matter, he answered the door anyway, greeting Jack with a giant hug.

"Hi," Jack smiled as Alex finally released him.

"Hey." Alex nodded in response, taking Jack by the hand and pulling him inside. "Come in, it's cold." Upon doing so, Alex noticed a medium-sized bag with strong handles woven between Jack's fingers. Specifically, it looked like a birthday present, and it looked like it was for him.

"Oh! Oh, right. Here!" Jack laughed, when he noticed Alex eyeing the gift.

"I told you you didn't have to," Alex sighed, as he accepted the bag from Jack.

"You told me that after I bought it, not that it would've made a difference. Please stop saying that, we're dating, I'm getting you presents. No 'buts,'" Jack said, watching acceptance wash over Alex's features slowly, until he was once again only focused on the bag he was carrying.

"Can I open it now?" Alex asked, "Or should I wait?"

"Whenever you want," Jack responded, knowing the answer.

"Now!" Alex cheered, running up the stairs and motioning for Jack to follow him. Jack's guess was absolutely right. He jogged after Alex, making it into the room just as the shorter boy had opened his present. Pulling out several items from the bag, Alex looked intently at the variety of paints, pencils, and papers Jack had given him. His smile soon left the art supplies, moving to instead flash at his boyfriend. Alex shuffled over to the door where Jack was standing, and wrapping his arms around him, squishing him as he thanked him.

"You're welcome, hon," Jack grinned, pressing a kiss to Alex's forehead once the blond finally pulled back a bit.

"Why those, though?" Alex wondered suddenly, as he walked back over to his bed where he had laid his new gifts.

"A couple months ago, you said you were wanting a hobby. You mentioned how much it was bothering you, and I guess it sort of bothered me too that you were so unsettled by it. So, I thought you could try art?" Jack confessed, hoping Alex did not think he was too creepy for remembering that. Alex did not, of course, and the result of Jack's small speech was another tight hug.

"Thanks, Jack. It'll be fun." Alex decided, letting go of his boyfriend once again. Jack leant in to give him a kiss on the cheek, before proposing a question.

"What're we going to do now?"

"I don't know," Alex shrugged, "You can come down stairs and help me take out some food, if you want. I'm going to get dressed, now."

"Okay," Jack followed Alex out of his room and down the stairs afterward, greeting Alex's parents as they passed the living room.

"It's good to see you, Jack," Alex's mother greeted, receiving a laugh from him father.

"We see him every day, what are you talking about? He's either here, or he's taken Alex somewhere else with him!" Alex's father expressed, flashing a smile at Jack to make sure he knew he was joking.

"Sorry, Mr. Gaskarth," Jack chuckled, "I can't disagree with that."

"It's alright. The doors always open, son." Peter said, "Alex talks very highly of you, so you're welcome here any time."

Jack simply laughed again in reply, while Alex raised an eyebrow at his father.

"S'that true?" Jack turned and said to Alex quite smugly.

"I, uh-" Alex laughed, a blush rising on his cheeks, "Yeah, sort of, I guess."

"Cute. Let's go to the kitchen now," Jack voiced, nodding goodbye at Alex's parents, before having Alex follow him down the hall.

"Who'd you invite, again?" Jack asked, as he and Alex were busy putting snacks into bowls.

"Just you, whoever you invited, Marissa, Natasha, and Sam. I don't have that many friends." Alex listed, catching Jack's eyes as he looked up.

"I only invited Zack and Rian." Jack smiled softly, "I figured you wouldn't want me to invite people you didn't know." Alex nodded in a approval, and Jack continued. "By your next birthday, you'll have tons of people to hang out with, I bet. You've only been here for four months. It's pretty cool that you've already found your own group of friends,"

"I know," Alex smiled, "And a boyfriend, too."

"Because people like you," Jack finished up with what he was doing, walking around the table and fixing Alex's waist between his arms. "You're likable."

"Am I?" Alex pressed on, grinning up at Jack.

"Definitely," Jack confirmed, and although Alex could tell he was flirting, he could also sense a great amount of truth in Jack's words.

"Y'know," Alex began, keeping with the tone of the conversation. It was something he had wanted to bring up for a while, and it was also decidedly something that would work best in a more light hearted conversation. "That makes a lot of sense. We certainly do spend a lot of time together."

"Do you not like that?" Jack asked, head tilting to the side in the same sort of way a puppy's would, confusion flashing across his eyes.

"No!" Alex shook his head, "No, no, I love it. It's just that, we've been acting so coupley lately, that we haven't even done anything other than touch each other for the last month or so. I mean, it's great and all, but I miss hanging out with your friends-"

"Our friends,"

"Our friends," Alex rolled his eyes, "As well."

"I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing," Jack countered, and Alex nodded in agreement.

"Definitely not."

"But, I suppose we could hang out with other people more, instead of just bangin' in our rooms."

"Jack!" Alex's jaw fell open, and he peaked his head around the corridor to see if his parents heard. "Please don't say stuff like that. You're right, but oh my gosh, don't."

"Calm down, babe," Jack laughed, "It's alright. And we're not alone tonight, so that's good, too." He hummed, trapping Alex between his arms once again, this time with the younger boy's back to the counter.

"And that calls for some 'us' time now?" Alex figured, watching the way Jack's eyes locked in on his own as he spoke.

"Does it not?"

Lifting his boyfriend up by his knees, Jack surprised Alex by placing him on the countertop, lips immediately pressing kisses to the blond's cheek and down his jaw, before finally settling on his lips. Alex used his arms to pull Jack closer, while Jack used his own hands to cradle Alex's face.

"Alex," both boys heard Isobel's voice from down the hall, "Have you finished with your-"

Notes

HAHA HI WHAT'S UP

so i've been off school for this week and i'm finished exams and stuff for this semester! things are going well, and hopefully they stay that way, because maybe i can get even more ahead with writing this week. my birthday is on tuesday too which is fun and i'm 6 away from 100 subs on this story which is SICK and also fun

let me know how you guys are doing!!! and what you think of this blah blah just comment hmu tell me how ur day's goin

thank you to ApathyForSympathy, Alltimegabi, and Alex_thelion99 for commenting on the last chapter and thanks for reading ily :^)