57 Hilton Street

Jack and Andrew came out to the rest of the school two days later during Monday lunch break. Rian already knew.

Alex watched them wide-eyed across the room as Andrew slipped his arm around Jack's waist.

Alex heard May grumbling under her breath and turned to look at her.

"What was that, baby?" Alex asked, removing her hair from her face.

"I said, trust me to land the gay brother!"

Alex looked back across the room at Jack, who was close enough to sitting in Andrew's lap. Even Alex couldn't deny they looked adorable.

And he could've been mine...

Alex frowned to himself, shaking his head as if to remove the thought from his brain.

"What're you doing?" May asked, trying to distract herself from the fact that her brother was eating another guy's face less than three tables away.

"Nothing." Alex lied. He couldn't feel anything for Jack.

Certainly not after all of this.

*

A few days later, it was annual 'Mom meets the boyfriends day' in the Barakat home.

Which meant Alex, Jack and Andrew all in the same house, in the same room, around the same table for at least an hour. Armageddon was surely coming.

Jack and Alex were seated opposite each other at dinner, with their respective other halves beside them. Mrs Barakat was sat at the head of the table, watching Andrew and Alex’s every move like a hawk.

“Mrs Barakat, your soup is amazing!” Andrew gushed, patting his mouth with his napkin.

“Don’t be silly dear, call me Carolyn.” Jack’s mom smiled, glad to see her eldest child was with such a charming sweetheart.

“Okay, Carolyn, your soup is amazing!” Andrew repeated, smiling widely.

“Thank you, dear.” Carolyn smiled back, raising to her feet and beginning to clear the bowls from the table.

“Jack, May, give your old mom a hand.”

The two Barakat kids grumbled something but got up and proceeded to help their mom anyway.

“Suck-up.” Alex mumbled under his breath across the table at Andrew.

“At least I don’t go around a whole family!” Andrew hissed in return “Jack told me what you did to him.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Alex retorted, shouting in whispers.

“Because that’s really believable!” Andrew replied, glancing to the door as Jack and May appeared side by side in the doorway.

The siblings exchanged a quick glance before disappearing back into the kitchen.

“I knew they’d fight.” May sighed dejectedly. Jack couldn’t think of anything else to do except hug her tight.

“For God’s sake!” Alex sighed quietly.

“Just let Jack be happy, for once!” Andrew whispered “Who knows, maybe May might stop blaming PMS for all her bad moods!”

Alex folded his arms but didn’t respond.

The Barakats appeared in the doorway once again, this time with cake.

“I hope I haven’t overdone it.” Carolyn laughed as she set down the plates in everyone’s places.

Jack sat back down beside his boyfriend and the older boy gently rested a hand atop his knee.

Carolyn’s cake - much like her soup - was delicious, and everyone had it eaten within minutes.

“You got a little something…” Andrew said, looking at Jack, who had the tiniest spot of cream attached to his top lip “Let me get it.”

He lowered his head slightly and kissed Jack’s lips softly, catching the littlest taste of cream and raspberries from Jack’s mouth.

“Ew, guys.” Carolyn laughed “Get a room, Jesus Christ!”

Upon seeing the evil glint in Jack’s eye, she laughed again.

“Wait, on second thoughts, don’t. No sex in my house, thank you.” She giggled.

Jack laughed, resting his head on Andrew’s shoulder.

“You think I’m joking? I am not washing those sheets any time soon, Jack!”

May and Andrew laughed too, this time. Alex was too busy over thinking things to pay attention to Carolyn’s pun.

Everyone saw Andrew kiss Jack square on the lips, a gentle, prolonged kiss that could’ve lasted a lifetime if they’d have wanted. Alex paid special attention.

And Alex felt something stab at his heart that really shouldn’t have been there. He didn’t want to dignify the pang with a name, but he knew there was only one real name for it.

Jealousy.