Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

"Marissa kissed Zack," Alex informed Jack, since they had fell behind their two other friends in the trail. "I forgot to mention it, she texted me about it later last night."

"They're so cute," Jack commented, "Of course Zack wouldn't mention it, though."

"He doesn't have to tell us everything," Alex hummed, "I kind of even feel bad that I know because Marissa told me."

"I don't think he cares that we know," Jack reasoned, "He just just won't be the one to tell us."

"Oh," Alex grinned, "That's good. In that case, I am very happy about this."

"Same here," Jack squeezed his boyfriend's hand, "It's weird, we've all been single for so long, and now everybody's getting into relationships."

"Not Rian," Alex added, but looked at Jack, confused when the taller boy shook his head.

"I think he has plans to ask out Cassadee," Jack explained.

"Oh, that's cool. Have they talked since we first met her?" Alex asked.

"Nope," Jack chuckled, "That's his style. It's always been. Zack takes his time, I'm in the middle, and Rian just blatantly asks people out. Sometimes it works for him, and sometimes it doesn't, but to each their own, right?"

"I guess so," Alex hummed, "I hope it does work, though. She seemed nice."

"Yeah," Jack agreed, "We should go catch up to them now." Speeding up their pace, Jack and Alex reached Zack and Rian in just under a minute. The only reason they were able to do so was because the other two boys had taken a seat on a log, waiting for their doddling friends.

"What're you guys even doing?" Zack asked, "You're so slow."

"Just talking," Jack responded, his arm around Alex's waist as the others got up, the group continuing on their walk. "Is this the end?"

"We can go further," Rian said, as they approached a small viewpoint, "But I'm kind of tired." A chorus of agreement was heard all around, and the four boys took a seat on a bench, facing the valley filled with white draped trees. As Rian and Zack fell into a conversation about some sports-related event that Alex could not keep up with, he nudged Jack.

"'S'up?" Jack asked, turning his attention toward Alex.

"Can we take a picture?" Alex asked quietly, taking his phone out of his pocket and motioning over to the view with a nod of his head.

"'Course," Jack smiled, kissing his forehead lightly, before standing up. "Can one of you take some pictures for us?" Zack took the phone from Jack, and stood up to follow his friends closer to where the edge of the hill formed into a cliff. Alex decided to step onto some rocks, giving him a notable height difference over Jack of almost a foot, but scaring the older boy in the process.

"Be careful," Jack breathed, as he felt Alex steady himself by grabbing onto his shoulders.

"Relax," Alex chuckled, "The cliff's, like, six feet away, and it's not even very steep."

"Still," Jack remarked, "You could get hurt."

"I'll be fine," Alex smiled, leaning over to press a kiss to Jack's cheek, before positioning himself with his arms around the dark haired boy's neck, leaning into his back. "Smile," he whispered into Jack's ear, and Jack did as he was told, his own hands coming up to take hold of Alex's arms. Zack took a few photos, and was about to ask if they were finished, when Jack spoke.

"Wait," he grinned at Zack, as he spun around to face Alex. Laughing as Alex lost his balance once again, he helped his boyfriend to stand up straight, his hands going to his hips as Alex's arms hung around his neck. Keeping in mind that they would be photographed, Jack stepped to the side, giving the camera a clear view as he guided Alex's face down toward his, the back of his hand brushing his cheek. It returned back to Alex's hip just as their lips met, and Zack almost felt as if he was intruding as he took a couple more photos. As they broke apart once more, Jack lifted Alex down from the rock, which Zack also got a picture of.

"Thanks," Jack said to Zack, and Zack handed the phone back to Alex, receiving a smile from the blond. Jack watched from over Alex's shoulder as he flipped through the photos, unable to keep a smile off of his face. "These are actually really cute."

"I know," Alex grinned, "Thank you, Zack."

"No problem," Zack nodded, making his way back to Rian as Jack and Alex continued to look at their pictures.

Later on that night, Alex found himself warm in Jack's bed. He was wearing his boxers and one of Jack's hoodies, and he was cuddled up in his boyfriend's blankets, waiting for him to come back into the room. Jack soon arrived in similar attire, carrying mugs of hot tea with him, per Alex's request. He placed them on his nightstand, throwing back the covers and joining Alex.

"What do you want to do?" Alex sighed, glad when Jack pulled the blankets back up over them both. He certainly was tired, due to both their little hike, as well as the snowball fight they had on the way back down which had escalated rather quickly. It all started out with Jack casually tossing some snow at Rian's back, and it spiralled into the group of friends chucking snowballs at each other, stuffing it in each other's clothes, and pushing each other into snow banks. By the time they returned to the bottom of the mountain, all four boys were soaked, and he ride back down was certainly an uncomfortable one. Joe gave Jack shit about ruining his car, but Jack ignored his complaints, insisting that it really was an accident. After an hour of gross, soggy clothes and soaked seats finally passed, Joe dropped off Zack and Rian at their respective houses, before taking Jack back to their own. Alex accompanied them as well, and Jack was thankful that his older brother did not make any more comments about how inseparable they were. He was right sometimes, but Jack still did not like to talk about his boyfriend with his brother. For some unknown reason, he was much more comfortable sharing things with May, although even with her he kept some things a secret, for obvious reasons. May shared information about her dating life with him as well, and though she was not dating anybody at the moment, Jack would always have time to listen to her. He considered the fact that, maybe, Joe was a bit too old, and that was why he could never really talk to him about Alex. He knew that was not the truth, though, and considered the idea that he might just be scared of talking about boys with somebody close to him who does not also like boys. Jack knew it was sort of stupid, but he could not help it. No matter what, if was definitely something he could work on.

As they made their way up to his room, Jack asked Alex if he wanted to shower first, and Alex accepted the offer. As Jack sat on his bed, cold and bored, he debated if Alex would be bothered if joined him in the washroom. He decided against doing so, as it felt wrong to enter without Alex's consent. He was rather shy, and even then, it would still be extremely uncomfortable if his parents caught them in the washroom together, nevermind in the shower. Jack waited patiently on his own, a sigh of approval leaving his lips when Alex finally exited the washroom. He took his turn next, going as fast as he could as to not leave Alex alone with nothing to do in his room. Several more minutes later, and the two boys were cuddled together on Jack's bed, Alex fitting himself between Jack's arm and chest as Jack scrolled through his phone.

"Well," Jack thought, "Want to listen to a song? I've been meaning to show it to you for a while."

"Sure," Alex accepted the headphone Jack was handing out to him, putting it in the war that was not pressed to Jack's chest, and closing his eyes. The song that Jack chose to play was one he had never heard before, yet it was one that he felt he would never forget. "This is good. Where'd you find it?"

"I came across the artist around September," Jack explained, "About the same time I met you. It's reminded me of you ever since, and I thought it was about time to share it with you."

"You're sweet," Alex murmured, snuggling further into Jack. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Jack responded. No matter how many times he uttered those words to Alex, and whatever situation he was in, they always felt the same on his tongue. They carried so much meaning, yet it was surprising how he could say it in such a carefree tone. They reminded him that, whatever happened, he would always have the boy next to him.

Notes

can you guys believe chapter 50 is next??? it's been like 11 months since i started this story, holy! anyway, thanks for reading, and please go check out the new version of When the Day Met the Night that i recently added to that story. lastly, there's going to be a new part of Lady and the Tramp 1 1/2 tomorrow! thanks for reading, and thanks to Alltimegabi, Costati and ashleywinter for commenting on the last chapter :^)