Trophy Eyes.

Andrew is unceremoniously trying to squash the entire day’s supplies into his backpack when Jack shows up at the locker beside him. He looks suitably annoyed.

Andrew opens his mouth to ask what’s wrong but Jack tells him before he has chance.

“Joe hasn’t stopped complaining all morning that Alex has to come over on Saturday.” Jack sighs, rummaging through the rubbish in his locker to find his math book.

Andrew looks up at him, holding a water bottle in his mouth, and stares at him. He takes it out of his mouth and shoves it in his bag.

“But that’s a good thing, right?” Andrew asks, trying to zip up his bag “I mean, he’s not gonna be stoned or drunk or anything.”

“True.” Jack replies, shutting his locker “I guess I could talk to him then.”

*

Jack’s pacing around the kitchen when Alex arrives on Saturday. May’s already left for Cassadee’s house or something, so there’s just him and Joe. He’s supposed to be doing something productive, but he’s so nervous about talking to Alex that he daren’t.

He freezes when there’s a knock on the door. Joe hollers to him to answer it, and Jack gnaws on his lip as he opens the front door. Alex is standing there; backpack slung over one shoulder and hands buried in his pockets. A small smile spreads across his lips when he sees Jack standing in the doorway.

He fumbles in his pocket for something as he enters, and as Jack shuts the door, Alex slips something into his free hand. Jack looks at him as he feels a smooth sheet of paper pressing down into his palm. The elder boy closes his hand around the paper and smirks, before making a beeline for Joe’s room. Jack watches him go, hand still closed around the paper.

As soon as he’s out of sight, Jack glances down at the paper in his hand. It’s folded intricately into a triangle. He unfolds it gently, careful not to rip it. He stares at it in shock when it reveals what Alex has written.

His cell phone number. And a winking smiley face.

Jack roughly crams it in his pocket and pulls out his cell, throwing open the front door.

“Andrew? I’m coming over.”

Within five minutes, Jack and Andrew are seated on the elder’s bed, the note between them.

“And what’s this supposed to mean?” Andrew asks. Jack hasn’t exactly explained himself.

“Alex gave me it.”

Andrew’s eyes widen and he looks over at Jack.

“Have you text him or anything?” Andrew asks. Jack shakes his head, pulling out his phone with every intention of typing in the number and texting Alex to ask him what the fuck is going on.

Andrew gets out his cell too, and calls Aled and Daniel. They arrive within twenty minutes and sit on the floor beside Andrew’s bed.

“Any reason why I have an audience?” Jack asks hesitantly as he types a quick text to Alex.

“We want to know if he does like you.” Aled says bluntly, looking up at Jack. The American frowns, but reads out his text anyway.

“What the hell are you trying to achieve, Gaskarth? Does that sound okay?” Jack asks, glancing around at everyone.

“A little too harsh.” Daniel answers, and Aled nods in agreement.

“Fine. Alex, what do you actually want?” Jack sighs, rephrasing his text and reading it out again.

“That’ll do.”

Jack presses send.

Alex receives the text as Joe is midway through reciting something he should be writing down. He smirks to himself and replies with one word.

You.

Jack freaks out when he gets the text. When Andrew sees it, he just sighs and rolls his eyes.

“Damn, that boy is a whore.” He mumbles. Aled hears him, and smiles weakly as he nods in agreement.

Jack punches in a reply that he doesn’t have to run by everyone else.

You have a girlfriend.

Alex frowns at his phone when he reads Jack’s response.

Hayley’s not my girlfriend.

Jack in turn glares at his phone, and Aled glances at Daniel nervously.

What the hell is she then? Fuck buddy? Personal whore? Because, Alex, it sure looks like she’s your girlfriend!

Alex has to resist throwing his phone at the wall when he gets Jack’s next text. He doesn’t, simply because it’s Joe’s wall and he doesn’t think he’d appreciate phone debris all over his floor.

She’s none of those! She’s seriously just a friend!

Jack does throw his phone at something when he gets Alex’s defensive reply. Except it’s Andrew’s mattress, so all it does is pop the battery out. He quickly reassembles it and texts him back again.

Yeah. Right. Just a friend who you happen to fuck when you get high.

Alex swears he’s going to punch Jack next time he sees him when he reads the reply.

For God’s sake, Barakat! I hardly think she’s attractive! If anything, that bleach blonde hair makes her look like a whore!

Jack doesn’t even have to think about what to respond with.

That’s because she is a whore.

Alex smiles and replies quickly.

Now I remember why I like you.

Joe’s yelling cuts through his thoughts and a Spanish textbook flies across the room at his head. He just ducks out of the way and avoids serious injury.

“Would you stop texting for five goddamn minutes!”