Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

"Oh my gosh, seriously? That's so cute!" Marissa gasped. It was lunch once again, and Alex was telling his other friends about the day he had spent with Jack. Monday morning had been particularly slow, but Jack had continued to make eye contact with and smile at Alex all throughout math, so that was nice. The girls had been especially interested in what Jack and Alex had built in the woods, and each one of them had something different to say about it.

"It's totally an excuse to see you again," Sam said, "You're going to have to meet up again to finish it sometime again soon. I bet he did that on purpose."

"I don't know, maybe." Alex shrugged. "i don't know why he would, though."

"Oh, please, Alex. You need to stop acting so surprised that Jack's interested in you. It's not even just him, you know. I heard some girls in history talking about you, too. People like you," Natasha explained, as she flipped through the papers in front of her.

"I guess," Alex mumbled in response, and Natasha went back to her homework.

"Did anything else happen? Did he make a move? Did you?" Sam questioned, and Alex could not help but to smile at the girl's curiosity. Her neverending questions had become the norm by that point, and Alex could only embrace them.

"Uh, sort of? He held my hand."

"I'm so happy for you two," Marissa grinned, "You obviously like him and he obviously likes you, too."

Keeping what Natasha had said in mind, all Alex could do was smile in response, a tint of blush rising on his cheeks. He appreciated their interest, but he was a bit tired of always being the topic of conversation.

"What about you, Natasha? I think it's only fair that you explain what you mentioned a couple days ago, too," Alex reminded, satisfied when Natasha let out a huge sigh.

"He's just some boy I met at a summer camp a couple months ago," Natasha muttered, "We tutored little kids, and stuff."

"Cute," Alex mocked, laughing as Natasha waved him off.

"So what are your guy's plans for after school?" Marissa asked. Natasha shrugged in response, while both Sam and Alex replied with, "Nothing."

"We should do something," Sam suggested, and Marissa and Natasha nodded their heads yes in response. Alex was just about to answer, ready to ask what they would be doing, when he noticed Jack heading toward their table out of the corner of his eye. He took a seat between Alex and Sam, smiling at the girls before turning to Alex.

"Hi, Lex," Jack greeted him. He did not know how it was possible, as they had been talking for almost a week, but every time Jack first spoke to him, Alex completely froze up. He swore whatever came out of his mouth next sounded totally twisted up, although it sounded just fine to his friends. He almost felt stupid about how jumbled up Jack got him, but he reasoned that it was better to sound like an idiot, rather than to not talk to Jack at all. Maybe one day, if their friendship continued, Alex would actually be able to feel relaxed around him. It was certainly a desirable idea, but at the same time, Alex could not imagine any situation where Jack would not be the cause of the enormous eruption of butterflies in his stomach.

"Uh, hey," Alex tried, cringing at how unsure he sounded.

"Are you busy after school?" Jack asked, eyes flicking over to Marissa as she said, "No, he isn't."

Alex figured that Marissa had seen the worried look on his face, and decided for him. He was grateful that she had, because he had no idea if he would be ready to blow off the girls that had been so nice to him, right in front of them.

"I guess not," Alex mumbled, which brought a smile out of Jack.

"Great, do you want to come watch my game?" Alex was ecstatic over how much interest Jack put into him. He nodded his head yes, and Jack replied with, "I'll see you after school."

With that, Jack was up and leaving, and Alex was turning to Marissa.

"You didn't have to do that, you know. I promised you guys, first."

"Nonsense," Natasha answered for her, "We hang out all the time. Besides, you're totally glad that he asked you to go. Don't feel bad about it."

Relieved, Alex said, "Thanks, guys."

"No problem, 'Lex,'" Sam raised her eyebrows with a laugh, "You know the drill, though. You have to tell us what happens tomorrow, right away!"

P.E. had been particularly strenuous that day, and Alex was glad to finally be making his way to his locker. Since it was so cold outside, he was no longer sweaty, but he sure was tired. Closing the door to his locker, he fumbled with the lock as he tried to get his bag onto his.

"Need some help?" A voice from behind him asked, a voice that he immediately recognized as Jack's.

"No, I'm alright," Alex denied, finally being able to lock his locker properly. Jack motioned for Alex to follow him, so he fell in step beside the taller boy, listening as he explained what was going to happen.

"Today we're playing our rival school. It's still a regular season game, so nothing's really on the line, but we'd get ahead if we won. The game starts in half an hour, but I can take you there with me now, if you'd like?"

"Sure, I guess."

Alex followed Jack outside to the field, and over to the bleachers. They stopped to the side of the bleachers, and Jack turned to face Alex.

"Thanks for coming."

"No problem, good luck."

Jack was just about to thank Alex once more, words already on the tip of his tongue, when he noticed Alex shivering the slightest bit once again. His grin turned into a frown, and he tugged his hoodie out from underneath his arm, handing it to Alex.

"Take this, I don't need it." Jack urged, unsettled by the fact that Alex was here, and freezing, because he asked him to be.

"Are you sure?" Alex asked, and Jack nodded in response.

"Yeah. I've got to go now, but I'll see you later, okay?" Jack said, leaning forward to press his lips to Alex's cheek quickly, and turning around to head towards where he could see his team gathering on the other side of the field immediately afterwards.

Alex climbed up the bleachers, his heart fluttering. He watched Jack and the rest of the soccer team start to practice, as the bleachers began to fill up. Alex could tell Jack kept sneaking peaks at him as he practiced, trying to judge Alex's reaction. The blond just simply smiled back at him in response, head resting in his hands which were covered with the sleeves of Jack's sweater, which he had decided to put on underneath his jacket. Eventually, the bleachers were full, the sun was setting and the park lights were turning on, and the game was beginning. Alex noticed quite early on in the match Jack played a forward position, and was probably the one who was going to do the most scoring. He had been right, since Jack scored only several minutes into the game. Everyone on the bleachers erupted into cheers, including Alex. The rest of the game went on in a similar fashion, until it came to an end. Jack's team had won 3-1, with Jack scoring the last goal, as well.

Alex waited on the bleachers for Jack, not really sure where else to go. He figured Jack would come looking for him there, and he was correct. Almost everyone was gone once again when Jack appeared, jogging up to Alex. He had changed out of his cleats and some of his other gear, and Alex was jealous of the fact that he did not appear to be the least bit cold, regardless of the fact that night had already fallen.

"Nice job," Alex commented, glad with the way Jack lit up at the compliment.

"Thanks, Lex," Jack chirped, wrapping the shorter boy up into a hug, as they stood at the foot of the bleachers.

"You stink," Alex chuckled, to which Jack scoffed in reply.

"That's not very nice," Jack commented, stepping back from their hug, and allowing his right hand to slide down Alex's arm and hold the blond's hand, instead. "Thank you for coming." Jack said a little bit more seriously, and before he knew what was happening, Jack was leaning toward Alex, his eyes fluttering closed.

"Um," Alex stuttered, stepping back and letting go of Jack's hand, "I have to go home, now."

"Oh," Jack coughed, "Actually, one of my friends is having a party at his house. It won't run too late, do you want to come?"

"No, it's alright," Alex breathed, not wanting to hang around Jack any longer. He felt bad for what he had done, and could only imagine how embarrassed Jack might have felt. "I'll just call my mom and ask her to pick me up."

"Uh, alright, then. See you soon, I guess."

"Yeah, bye."

Notes

i'm getting very ahead with this which is nice

thanks for reading friends