Clumsy Little Heart

Not working this summer turns out to be one of the best things Zack did for himself, he decides. He could have gone back to work at his dad’s office in Brooklyn, helping with filing and phone calls and other useless shit like that. It would “be good preparation for the real world” his dad had told him and Zack wanted to tell him he was an idiot but since he’s never been one to even think about talking back to him, he kept quiet. But he did tell him that he wanted to be able to spend his summer with his friends before college started, and that’s how he finds himself here in Martin’s house, watching TV with Jack who is almost definitely texting Alex.

“Does Alex usually offer a blowjob on the first date?” Jack asks, fingers typing something on his phone at an alarmingly fast rate, confirming Zack’s suspicions.

"If I said no, I'd be lying."

"Oh."

Zack watches as Jack frowns and tosses his phone onto the couch cushion beside him, knowing that he totally just ruined any plan Alex had to get in Jack's pants. He doesn't care though, because Jack is a nice guy and he doesn't want him to get screwed by Alex - in every sense of the word.

"He's a good guy...he's just a slut," Zack explains, "One day he's gonna meet someone he really wants to be with and he'll change."

Jack seems to consider this for a moment, before grabbing his phone back and resuming with his texting. "Maybe I can give him a run for his money."

Zack wants to tell him that the likelihood of that happening is slim to none but he refrains, because he could be wrong. And how awesome would it be to have Alex begging for someone's attention? John and Matt and Sierra would love it, and Zack is about to give him advice on how to go about it just as he hears the front door open.

"I'm back!" Martin shouts and they can hear his footsteps coming towards the living room and he appears in the doorway in his CVS t-shirt and a plastic bag with the store name on it. He grins when he sees Zack exactly where he left him earlier that afternoon. "Thought you might have gone home by now."

"No, I've been hanging out with Jack and watching Superbad. This is a terrible movie."

"And yet you've insisted on keeping it on when I offered to change it," Jack teases as he gets up, stretching his arms in front of him. "I'm going to meet up with Jill at Applebee’s. Want me to bring anything back?"

Martin tells him no, that they'll probably just order pizza or something, and Jack shrugs and pulls on his sneakers. "I am coming home, so don't have sex on the couch or somewhere that I can walk in on you. Got it?"

Martin blushes hard, cheeks turning a vibrant red and Zack just rolls his eyes and goes back to watching the movie. Jack is always saying things like that - they hardly bother him at all anymore. But Martin is easily flustered and embarrassed so of course Jack is going to keep doing it.

"He's so embarrassing," Martin mutters once Jack is gone, "Why do I even deal with him?"

"He's your best friend," Zack reminds him, "By the way, who's Jill?"

"His sister. They hang out once or twice a week. They're pretty close. Anyway, I'm going to go change. I'll be right back."

He tosses the plastic bag he brought home with him onto the couch beside Zak and Zack grabs it, opening it up to find bags of peanut M&Ms and Hershey kisses. He knew he liked Martin for a reason other than…well. Everything, apparently.

He’s already opened up one of the bags of candy when Martin comes back into the room, slipping into the seat beside Zack and curling up close to him. He smiles and relaxes against the older boy and offers him some M&Ms, and that’s when he notices what he’s wearing.

“Are those my baseball sweats?” He asks, still smiling. He tugs at the material of the pants and he feels Martin shrug.

“You left them here last week, so I washed them but they’re really comfortable and I decided to wear them.”

That’s all he says and he goes back to watching the TV and eating Skittles out of the bag that Zack is holding out and Zack feels a sudden rush of affection. The image of Martin wearing his clothes is hot and adorable and sexy all somehow combined and Zack kind of just wants to bring clothes over just to leave here one purpose. Is that weird? He finds himself not caring.

He’s falling in love with this guy, he realizes halfway through the next movie. It brings both a happy and a terrible feeling. Happy for obvious reasons – he’s finally found someone he can be himself around and hang out with and laugh with and just generally be happy with. But then those happy feelings are quickly subdued, because he’s leaving in a month or so for college. Sure, it’s not more than an hour by train but seriously? Who wants to be tied down for that?