Listen to the Thunder

Exams are over. 5 solid days of exams from the 22nd to the 26th of March. Five solid days of hell. I can’t remember the last time I had a decent night of sleep. Hell, I can’t even remember when I last ate properly. Everyone has been so stressed, so now that we’re all finished we’re just chilling out. Literally, we’re all lying down out on the front grass of the campus, like every single other student is. I can’t wait for Spring Break, I tell you now.

“I need to party. I need to get so wasted that I don’t even remember my own name,” Alex groaned, making me giggle.

“Don’t count on me bringing you back then – I plan to get just as wasted!” I pointed out.

“We’ll just have to find a sofa and crash there, won’t we?” Alex grinned, nuzzling my neck.

“Dude, we’re still sitting right here!” Danny protested.

“It’s not like I’d force you to watch,” Alex retorted playfully.

I laughed as Danny gave Alex a well-deserved punch in the arm, pecking a kiss to Alex’s pout before getting to my feet, confusing all three of my friends.

“Uh, Jack? Where are you going?” Matt frowned.

“Going back to the dorm,” I shrugged, smiling.

“Why?” Alex asked.

“Well all the alcohol’s there, and we’ve only got 5 hours until the party starts so…”

I trailed off when they all grinned. I knew they’d like my idea of drinking from now until the start of the party. Alex leapt to his feet and laced his hand with mine, waiting for Matt and Danny to stand up too before the 4 of us headed back to our dorm. In no time at all we were crashed out on mine and Matt’s sofas, Alex sitting on my lap, resting his head on my shoulder while he sipped his Jim Beam, while Matt had laid down on the other sofa, Danny sitting on a pile of cushions on the floor.

“So where is this party?” I asked, running my fingers through Alex’s hair.

“It’s only about a 15 minute cab ride from here, at this guy’s house I know. It should be a lot of fun,” Matt grinned, wriggling his eyebrows.

Danny whooped and high-fived Matt, the four of us laughing. Matt and Danny can fuck as many girls as they like – I’ve got Alex. Alex seemed to have the same thought as me because he started kissing my neck in a way that made me bite my bottom lip. Not in front of our dorm mates, Lex!

“Really guys? Really?” Danny snorted.

“How am I supposed to resist this sexy beast, huh?” Alex smirked, before returning to kissing my neck.

Shit, I can’t even stop myself from getting turned on. Alex is too good with his lips!

“Okay, how about the two of you go to Jack’s room, have a good ol’ fashioned naked make-out to get the hormones out of your system, and come back when you’re done,” Matt teased.

“And nothing more than making out. We all know how loud Alex gets, even when he’s jerking off,” Danny grinned.

Alex blushed lightly but grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet, making me laugh when Danny and Matt started hollering and catcalling as we made the way down to my bedroom.

“Don’t you want to save yourself for later?” I mused as Alex rapidly pulled his t-shirt over his head while kicking his shoes off.

“Dude, I might not be 18 any more, but I can still get it up pretty easily,” Alex retorted, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, well, I’m still 18, I can get it up just by looking at you,” I smirked.

I inhaled sharply as Alex firmly cupped my crotch.

“Prove it,” he whispered.

*

Let’s get it started, hah,
Let’s get it started in here,
Let’s get it started, hah,
Let’s get it started in here.

I pulled away from Alex’s lips when I recognised the song. I fucking love this song!

“Baby can we pleeeease dance now?” I parted.

“You know I don’t like dancing,” Alex replied, shaking his head.

Not even for me?

“Fine, I’ll go dance by myself,” I shrugged.

“You do that Jack,” Alex laughed, rolling his eyes.

The party is pretty fucking amazing, if I’m being honest. It’s just what I needed after all those exams, and Spring Break starts in two days so this party is perfect for just winding everything down. It’s in the house of a third year student that Matt knows, so there aren’t many college freshmen here, but I’ve got my friends so what more do I need. I shouldn’t really be dancing without Alex because I can barely fucking walk straight, but I don’t care. I’m here to party. I’m here to have fun. What’s wrong with that?

Everything, it seemed.

“Hey, Jack,”

I froze my grinding, recognising the voice immediately. Why can’t I have one night of peace?!

“W-What are you doing here, Kyle?” I mumbled, turning to face him.

Are those…bruises on his neck?

“Nick sells weed to the guy who’s place this is. I didn’t want to come but Nick can be…persuasive,” Kyle shrugged, rubbing his hand over the marks, looking away from me.

No, Nick couldn’t have abused him like that, right?

“Oh. You aren’t…uh…the weed…”

“Shit, fuck no. I don’t do that stuff anymore,” Kyle said quickly, interrupting me.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. So Alex was right.

“Good. That’s good,” I said with a small smile.

Kyle smiled shyly back, taking a sip of his drink.

“Do you want to dance?” Kyle asked.

Ah. “I probably shouldn’t. Alex, y’know,” I said with a weak smile.

“Mm, Nick would probably hunt you down and slit your throat if he saw,” Kyle agreed.

I bit my bottom lip, looking into the eyes of the boy I still cared so much about. What’s one dance?

“Okay,” I nodded.

The smile on Kyle’s face grew and he immediately started swaying his hips enthusiastically, making me laugh. He still can’t dance, bless him. A few dances passed with both our drinks downed, and I found myself holding Kyle’s hips and grinding lazily against him. To be fair, everyone around us was dancing exactly the same. It’s just because this is Kyle that makes it strange. But at the same time, it feels like I’m doing nothing wrong. It’s just dancing.

“Shit, I, uh…Jack, you might want to go after Alex,” Kyle said suddenly.

What the fuck?

“Where’s he gone?”

“I just saw him staring at us, and then he stormed out the front door,” Kyle exasperated.

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath.

I let go of Kyle without another thought and ran towards the front door of the house, and out of the building. Sure enough, Alex was walking down the road.

“ALEX! LEX WAIT UP!” I yelled.

Alex flinched at hearing my slurred voice, but didn’t turn around when he stopped. I swallowed heavily when I saw his hands clench into fists. Please don’t hit me. Please don’t hit me.

“Why did you leave?” I asked when I finally caught up to him.

“Well you looked so fucking cosy with Kyle I thought I’d just leave you to it,” Alex said angrily, slurring heavily.

“Lex, that was just dancing,” I insisted.

“Yeah fucking right. With Kyle, nothing is just dancing,” Alex retorted.

“Look, we’re both a bit drunk, let’s just call a cab and go back to our dorms and sleep this off,” I said.

“No, Jack, this isn’t because we’re both a bit drunk. Last week you nearly kissed Kyle and now you were grinding with Kyle! I watched you dry-humping him in the middle of the room! You wouldn’t have even noticed I’d left if Kyle didn’t tell you!” Alex spat.

“Everyone was grinding, for fuck’s sake! If I wanted him, I would take him somewhere where no-one could see us, not in the middle of the fucking room!” I snarled.

This is so stupid!

“If I hadn’t been there, you would’ve ended up in bed with him, don’t even deny it,” Alex scowled.

And I snapped. “IT WAS JUST DANCING ALEX! I WILL NEVER CHEAT ON YOU! WHAT DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THAT?!”

“EVERYTHING! I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ABOUT YOU AND KYLE BECAUSE AFTER EVERYTHING HE’S DONE TO YOU, AND EVERYTHING I’VE DONE FOR US, YOU’RE STILL GOING BACK TO HIM!” Alex roared.

I pressed my lips tightly together, eyes wide. Alex just stared at me, breathing heavily as he waited for me to respond. To be honest, I don’t know what to say to that. After a few seconds of silence, Alex shook his head and turned back around. I grabbed his shoulder and spun him back around, desperately pressing my lips to his. But Alex shoved me in the chest, breaking the kiss.

“Not this time, Jack. Your lips will solve nothing this time. I hate that I have to do this, but I have no choice. It’s either me, or him,” Alex said softly.

H-He’s really saying that? He’s making me choose? I swallowed heavily, looking down at Alex who looked like he was about to burst into tears, before looking at the house we’d just left. What shocked me was that Kyle was standing in the front doorway. He smiled sadly at me before walking back into the house, leaving me more alone than ever.

“Jack, answer me,” Alex said, his voice cracking.

I looked back at Alex, taking his hands in mine. Kyle’s ship has sailed. What I’ve got with Alex is the most important thing right now, and I can’t lose this.

“You, Lex. I choose you,” I said.

A relieved smile spread across Alex’s lips, letting me know I’d done the right thing. With a final glance back at the house, I pressed a slow kiss to Alex’s lips before throwing my arm around his shoulders.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” I murmured, kissing the side of his head.

Hopefully I’ve made the right decision.