Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

"Dude, where's Alex?" Zack threw an arm around Jack's shoulders, patting him on the back. Jack had chosen to walk alone to the party, texting Zack for the address and beginning his journey not long after. He had waited off to the side until he was able to see Alex's mother's car pull up, and then he made his way to the get-together that was being held basically because of himself. The house was not filled with tons of people, maybe only the soccer team and an equivalent number of extras, so Jack was able to find his friends quite easily in the fairly unfamiliar house.

"Yeah, weren't you going to bring him?" Rian puzzled, motioning for Jack to take a seat at the kitchen table. "He was at your game, wasn't he?"

"He was there," Jack confirmed, "But he chose to go home after."

"How come?" Zack pressed on, noticing the disappointed look in Jack's eyes.

"Don't tell anybody, okay?" Jack really did feel quite stupid for what happened earlier, stupid for trying to kiss Alex, and stupid for thinking the blond would like him, anyway. "I tried to kiss him, but he freaked out and got his mom to take him home, instead."

Zack tried to suppress a laugh, while Rian gave Jack an empathetic look. "Shut up, you dick." Rian nudged Zack, glaring at him before turning back to Jack. "That sucks, man."

"Are you sure he's even into guys?" Zack asked, finally able to tone down his laughter enough to be serious about the situation.

"I think so," Jack leaned his head down onto his crossed arms atop the table, "At least, I thought."

"Is this the first time you've tried anything with him?" Rian asked, trying his best to help Jack out. He knew how excited Jack was about the new boy, and he could even go so far to say it crushed him to see Jack so crushed.

"No, not really. We've held hands, and I've kissed his cheek. He seemed fine with those," Jack mumbled.

"Maybe he doesn't consider that couple stuff. He's from Europe, right? Don't they kiss each other over there all the time?" Zack offered, receiving a shrug from Rian.

"He's from England specifically, so I'm not so sure about that." Rian said, kicking Jack's leg underneath the table, and causing him to look up. "Don't be so down about it though, bro. Cass wouldn't let me kiss her the first time I tried, either."

"Really?" Jack piped up, interested to hear the story, and what it might mean for himself.

"Yeah," Rian nodded, "She said she wanted to get to know me better, first. She wasn't ready for that, yet."

Jack nodded in thought, as Zack said, "If Alex isn't ready for a kiss yet, how is he supposed to deal with dating Jack?"

"Quit it," Jack glared at his friend playfully, "I can be a gentleman."

"Sure you can," Zack mumbled, before Rian spoke up again.

"Maybe he just likes to get to know people, first. For all we know, he could like sex even more than Jack does." Rian suggested, and Jack flashed a triumphant smile at Zack, before nodding along to what Rian said next. "Invite him to eat lunch with us tomorrow, okay? I want to meet him. Don't give up, Jack."

The next afternoon, Jack caught Alex by surprise as he caught up with him in the hallway, on the way to the cafeteria.

"Alex!" Jack called, realizing he had no idea what to say next when the shorter boy turned around. Alex did not look nervous, though, so that was a good sign. He almost looked relieved, which made Jack the slightest bit confused, but he decided to throw hat to the back of his mind as he strode up next to Alex.

"Do you want to join my friends and I for lunch today?" Jack asked, then thinking about how what he had said made it sound like Alex was not already one of his friends. Deciding to shut up, he looked to Alex and willed him to speak, embarrassed that he had not even let him say hello. He was excited, is all.

"Sure," Alex chimed, and Jack was glad to see that he was willing, as well as excited about Jack's offer, as well. Together they walked through the cafeteria doors and over to where Zack and Rian were sitting, and Jack motioned for Alex to sit down, before taking a seat next to them.

"Guys, this is Alex," Jack introduced, "Alex, this is Zack, and this is Rian."

"Sup," Zack greeted, while Rian went for a more presentable, "Nice to meet you."

"Hi," Alex nodded at the two strangers, before looking back at Jack. He looked sort of like a lost puppy, or maybe a child being introduced to their parent's big, scary co-workers. Jack could not help but to grin at the look Alex was giving him, reaching down to attach their fingers underneath the table. Jack then deciding to deter the conversation away from Alex, which the younger boy was thankful for. It was not until a few minutes later, when Zack acknowledged Alex again, that he was forced to speak.

"So, you do anything cool? Like hobbies, or something?" Zack asked, trying to include Alex in their conversation. He could sense that Alex felt uncomfortable, and could not help but to feel a tiny bit sorry for him.

"I, uh," Alex stuttered, and Jack could feel him squeezing his hand the tiniest bit, "N-no, not really."

"You don't have to be so scared," Jack then leaned over, whispering in Alex's ear. He knew the main reason for Alex's reserved attitude was how intimidating his friends were. They were not like Jack, they were both much bigger dudes, and Jack could see Alex was afraid of making a bad impression. He nuzzled his nose into Alex's hair the slightest bit, and without thinking, he pressed his lips to the other boy's temple. Realization struck in not longer after, though, and Jack tried to keep it cool in front of Alex as he sat back up straight. Both of his friends caught the worried look that took over Jack's face, but they, as well as Jack, were pleased when Alex showed no signs of resentment. Instead, only a small smile appeared on his face, and they were able to get back into their conversation without a hitch.

After school, Sam caught up with Alex at his locker. She had already invited Marissa and Natasha over to her house, and she told them she would meet up with them in a second, after she went to go get Alex. She found him exactly where she thought she would, at his locker, and Alex nodded along with a smile as Sam gave him his plans for the afternoon. The four friend would just lounge around and match movies for a few hours, and this was decided before they even began their walk to Sam's house.

Once they arrived at Sam's house, Alex realized he would have to go through the painstakingly awkward process of meeting a friend's parents. he was pleasantly surprised, though, when Sam announced that her dad would be working late that night.

"I don't have a mom, if you're wondering," Sam said to Alex, noticing how the news of an empty house had made him seem physically lighter, "Which means you won't have to meet anyone else if you eventually do meet him, except my little sister, Miranda."

"Good to know," Alex remarked, looking at the pictures on the walls as he walked toward the living room. Just as Sam had suggested, there was literally no mother in the pictures, and Alex felt a pang of guilt. Here he was, wishing he would not have to meet someone's mom, when she did not even have one. As he moved down the hallway, Alex could hear voices coming from upstairs. The first voice was much higher, saying something like, 'You're not allowed to gay boys over,' while the second voice replied, 'He's gay, so it doesn't matter.' Alex chuckled at the exchange, glad he would be welcomed in Sam's household.

"Don't worry too much about her," Natasha said, as she hung back in the hallway with Alex. "David's a good enough parent to take care of the both of them on his own."

"You call each other's parents by their first names?"

"We've known each other for a while."

As per usual, later on, when the girls were bored of the movie they had chosen, they began to pester Alex about Jack. Their snacks were finished, and even Natasha, who had chosen the film, was done with it. Instead, the three friends all turned to Alex.

"So," Marissa said, "Fill us in."

"I don't-"

"No, don't play dumb. You know what we're talking about. Spill."

"Fine," Alex huffed, "He's kissed me on the cheek a couple times."

"Cute," Sam commented, as Alex considered telling his friends about the other thing that Jack almost did. Reasoning that's what friends did, he chose to tell his friends the embarrassing story.

"He also tried to kiss me, but I kind of sort of maybe dodged it." Alex shrugged, not wanting to see the girl's expressions.

"Oh, Alex," Marissa hummed, "How come? I thought you liked him?"

"I do... It's just, I can't, remember?" Alex gestured, frustrated when his point was obviously not getting across. He knew he would have to elaborate on that as soon as possible, so Alex launched into an explanation that a certain boy not too far away would have died to hear. Though they were not that certain boy, Alex's friend's were very understanding of his answer, just like he hoped Jack would be.

"You'll figure something out, Alex," Natasha responded, "I don't doubt it. You're Jack's first serious boy relationship, yet he's still going pretty fast with it. I don't think one small refusal would have dulled his hopes."

"I hope so," Alex sighed, pulling his phone out of his pocket and taking a look at it. During their conversation, he had received a text from that certain boy not too far away, which confirmed everything his friends had predicted.

Jack Barakat, 5:12 PM: Hey, Lex! I know we didn't talk about it today, but I'm really sorry about yesterday. I understand maybe you weren't ready, but I do want you to know that's how I feel about you.

Notes

hey guys!! let me know what you think of this chapter :^) thanks for reading!!!