“Rian, I need to talk to you, pick up your damn phone!” I almost shouted into my best friend’s voice mail, as if that was going to make him magically answer his phone before tossing my cell to the other side of the bed. This was just typical. I finally have good news and nobody to share it with. I let out a sigh as I flopped back down on to the bed, looking back up at the ceiling. I didn't know how I was supposed to sleep when I had hanging out with Alex to look forward to tomorrow.

The minutes continued to tick by, and I was finally starting to drift off to sleep when my cell phone began to ring, causing me to jump before I scrambled for my phone and checked the caller ID, answering, “God damn it, Rian!” I groaned. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“I almost gave you a heart attack?” Rian demanded. “What was I supposed to think when I got that voicemail? I thought you were dying!”

“That’s not my fault,” I said indignantly. “You should have answered your phone.”

Rian started to talk again, but I cut him off. It was probably just going to be a lecture about how I should choose my words more carefully in the future, and there are more important matters to discuss right now anyway. “I have the most amazing news ever!”

“Yeah? Well, it better be good news. You know how late it is, right?” Rian asked, but I knew that he wasn't really mad at me. In all the years I've known him, I don’t think I've ever seen him become mad for real.

“Alex is my boyfriend now!” I blurted out. “He even has a pet name for me already, and I think we’re going to be hanging out tomorrow. Isn’t that awesome?” I asked, not giving Rian a chance to reply before I started to talk again. “He even wants me to meet his friends. I can’t really introduce him to you and Zack since you already know him. Do you think he'll find it weird that I don’t have many friends?” I asked, starting to panic. “What if he has second thoughts when he realizes how weird and uncool I am? Maybe this isn't a good idea.”

“Whoa. Whoa, stop,” Rian said calmly. “Slow down.”

“But Ri—"

“No buts,” he insisted. “I don’t know how you scored Alex Gaskarth as your boyfriend when you could barely bring yourself to tell him your name this morning, but it’s awesome. He’s also not going to care if you’re as popular as he is. He wants to be your boyfriend; he isn’t going to care about who you are or aren’t friends with,” he reassured me.

I took a few moments to think before nodding in agreement even though he could not see me. It wasn’t like Alex had asked to meet my friends anyway. He'd only been interested in me. “Thanks, Ri.”

“I’m just telling the truth,” Rian told me. “But you are hella weird.”

“Shut up, don’t be an ass,” I whined.

“Love you, too, Jacko,” Rian replied, and I could just tell that he was wearing that smug smile.

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” I said finally. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight. Get some sleep,” I heard Rian say before I hung up the phone. I laid back down in the bed, pulling the blankets up over myself before closing my eyes, deciding that I really should try and get some sleep. I knew I wasn't a morning person at the best of times, but subjecting Alex to what I’m like when I’m suffering from lack of sleep probably wouldn't be the best way to start the relationship.

---

I actually managed to get to school early the next day, which had to be some kind of record for me. Managing to get to my locker before my first class was not a regular occurrence. I couldn't help wondering whether this might be the start of something new, something better. I mean, it was kind of relaxing to not be rushing at the last minute for once.

“Hey, Jack,” Alex smiled, bursting my thought bubble and bringing me back down to the real world. “You okay?” he asked me. “You’ve kind of been staring in your locker for a while.”

“I have? Sorry, I guess I’m still a little tired.” I yawned, rubbing my eyes. “Hey, ‘Lex,” I added quickly, suddenly realizing that I hadn't bothered to say hi. “Wow, I’m really not good at this whole ‘boyfriend interaction’ thing, am I?” I mumbled, looking down at my feet.

Alex let out a small laugh before reaching his hand out, placing it under my chin. He tilted my head up, forcing me to look at him again. “You’re doing fine,” he told me, his voice soft and reassuring. I don't think I’ve ever seen Alex up close like this before. I mean, yeah, we kissed yesterday, but it was fleeting. I didn’t get much of a chance to look.

“You still with me, Jay?” Alex asked, once again pulling me out of my thoughts. I could see he was smirking.

“Yeah, sorry. You um, you just look... I-I-I mean. Damn it, Jack,” I cursed.

“I look like what?” Alex grinned, looking at me expectantly.

“You’re just really pretty, okay?” I divulged. “And your hair sits perfectly all the time, and I like your eyes and wow, I’m sorry. I should shut up,” I babbled, I was pretty sure at this point that my cheeks were burning red.

“See, I was right.” Alex smirked.

“You were right?” I asked, feeling confused. Did I miss something?

“Yeah. You do get cuter everyday.” Alex smiled, and the next thing I knew, he'd closed the gap between us and kissed me again. It took me a couple of seconds before I finally reacted, kissing him back. Alex smiled against my lips, wrapping his arms around my waist and I’m pretty sure if it were possible to die from happiness, it'd be around now that I'd be struck down.

Alex pulled away when he heard the sound of a hand smacking against the lockers beside us.

“Alright, ladies, break it up!” Josh grinned. “Or you better get a room, or even a classroom. That could be hot. Do you ever think about making out with Jack in a classroom, Lex? Maybe in detention?”

I could feel my cheeks turning red again. I didn't even understand what was going on. Yesterday the only people who ever stopped by my locker were Rian and Zack. Now it seemed to have become the meeting spot for the popular kids.

“Franceschi, I swear to God, I don’t even know why I allow you to live.” Alex glared, but his tone was playful.

“You love me, Lexy,” Josh said simply. “Besides, I had to meet the new boyfriend!”

“You met him yesterday,” Alex replied. “Remember? You decided it would be a good idea to declare my feelings for him at the lunch table?”

“Who? Me?” Josh smiled, looking innocently at Alex. “I don’t know what you're talking about. Besides, he wasn't your boyfriend yet. There’s a difference.”

“I was going to bring him to see you guys later. Damn, I can’t get any privacy with my boyfriend when you’re around,” Alex complained.

“Oh, yeah? The school hall was totally the most private location,” Josh rolled his eyes. “Might I suggest the janitor’s closet?”

“Fuck you,” Alex laughed because damn, he did have a point.

“Um, I’m still here,” I piped up, looking at both of them. I wasn't exactly the biggest fan of my boyfriend and his best friend publicly discussing where the best place for us to kiss, or even make out, in school would be.

Josh smiled, turning his attention from Alex to me. “I just wanted you to know that, as Alex's boyfriend, I now consider you a friend. That also means I have your back if anything ever happens.” He paused for a moment. “But as Alex’s best friend, standard best friend rules apply that if you break his heart, I’m probably going to have to hunt you down.”

I swallowed nervously, unsure whether Josh was joking or not. Although if I had to bet, I would put all my money on the fact that he was most likely not joking. “I-I-I—” I stuttered again, wishing that my nervous habit of stumbling over my words would just disappear.

“Just ignore him,” Alex said, glaring over at Josh, mouthing a threat of violence at him which was promptly ignored.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, “I would never try to hurt Alex.”

“Good.” Josh grinned and extended his hand towards me. “Then like I said, we can be friends and I’ve got your back.”

I looked at him for a moment before reaching out, shaking Josh’s hand.

“Well, the bell is about to ring, so I’ll leave you guys to it,” Josh smiled. “See you both around.”

“I am so sorry,” Alex apologized as soon as Josh was out of sight. “He can be a little... full on.”

“It’s okay,” I murmured, still trying to comprehend how all of this had happened so fast.

Alex nodded. “If it makes you feel better, Dawson totally cornered me on my way into school. He’s made it clear on no uncertain terms that hurting you is not allowed.” He paused for a moment. “Y’know, Rian can be pretty scary when he wants to be,” Alex added as an afterthought before shrugging as the bell rang.

“Come on, I wanna show you off more.” A smile was sent my way as Alex reached out to twine our fingers tightly together, pulling me down the hallway and into our first period.

“Kissing me in the hall in front of everyone wasn’t enough for you?” I whispered, letting go of Alex’s hand and flopping down into my seat. I allowed my gaze to drift lazily to the front of the classroom. My senses were barely registering anything going on around me.

My hand was taken once more, being lifted up to Alex’s mouth. A kiss was pressed to the back of it before he gently turned it over in his grip, lips touching to the center of my palm before he nuzzled the spot sweetly. “Do you know how long I waited to be able to do sappy shit like this with you?”

“Not a clue,” I replied, shrugging casually.

“Well, it’s been a really long time,” he retorted, leaving another small kiss on my palm before placing my hand back on my desk and turning to the front of the room as the bell rang again. All of the other seats in the room had been filled while Alex and I had been talking.

Tuning out Burgess, I let my mind wander to how the last twenty-four hours had played out so god damn perfectly.

---

When the bell rang again to dismiss us from our first periods, Alex had grabbed my hand as he had before, tugging me along behind him and into the hall. The smile on his lips seemed almost painful, and he kept glancing over to me at his side, brown eyes sparkling.

“Don’t you have to get to your class?” I asked after he inquired about where my second period was.

“I’m important,” he retorted, rolling his eyes playfully. “As long as I win the games, no one cares what I do.”

“Won’t they still fail you?” I pushed, subconsciously tilting my head to the side in thought.

“I’m not gonna fail,” he assured, stopping in front of my second period and pointing to the door, eyebrows scrunched in a silent prompt for a yes or no. When I nodded, he grinned in triumph.

“Well, I’ll see you at lunch,” Alex smiled, pressing another brief kiss to my lips before heading off in the direction of his own class.

I watched after Alex before heading into my class as usual. I didn’t pay much attention during my lessons. I was partly thinking about how I definitely had to have a word with Rian when I saw him next about not cornering my boyfriend, but I was mostly thinking about how amazing Alex was. It was halfway through third period when I received a text from him.

Sorry, Angel. I’m going to have to skip lunch. Coach wants me out on the field. The text message read.

Oh. That’s okay, I understand. I replied, keeping my cell under the desk, out of sight of the teacher. I did understand, but I couldn’t help feeling a little bit disappointed. Everything about Alex was so exciting and new to me. Right now, I feel like I just want to spend as much time with him as I possibly can. Just to be able to get to know him better rather than simply crushing on him from a distance.

What do you say to coming over to my place after school? We can work on our project and you can stay for dinner. We’re having pizza. I couldn't help smiling. Alex actually wanted to spend time with me outside of school.

That depends, Pumpkin. I texted him back, starting to feel a little more confident that I could be myself around Alex and stop being so guarded. Besides, I was usually doing something stupid. I was sure that he would figure out soon enough what kind of guy he was dating.

Depends on what? The reply came almost immediately. It made me wonder whether Alex had been waiting for my message. That thought made me smile.

Does it count as a date? I text back, smirking to myself. Even if Alex said no, in my head it was going to be a date. These things don't happen to me every day.

Angel, it’s definitely a date. Alex replied and I couldn’t help grinning. That Gaskarth kid is going to be the death of me. I couldn’t help thinking about how stupid I must look smiling down at my desk.

I’ll see you soon. I replied quickly before putting my cell phone away.

Notes