Only Fools Rush In

Waking up early on Saturday morning to the sound of the alarm he had forgotten to turn off the night before, Alex loudly groaned out a few cusses directed at the irritating device. All he wanted was to sleep the day away.

But as much as he tried, he just couldn’t find the dark, dreamy place he longed for and his only choice was to get up. When he had made his way into his posh, clean kitchen, he cooked some pop tarts and watched cartoons.

Even though it was pretty early, and what he was doing could be considered boring, he couldn’t imagine a better way to spend his weekend.…until a memory of his student moaning his name while riding the teacher flashed in his mind. Alex gulped and shook the image away before he thought about it too much.

He didn’t need those thoughts right now, no matter how much they tried to cloud his head. Yes, Alex wanted the boy badly. But he didn’t want to get too attached.

The teacher was rarely strongly attracted to people, though when was, he fell for them hard. And with this risky relationship, that really wasn’t a safe outcome.

As the day wore on and his thoughts kept drifting to a certain Lebanese charmer, Alex chose to get out of his apartment for awhile, grabbing his coat, scarf, phone, and wallet before making his way out the door and into the elevator.

Passing the usual weekend staff, including a couple women who always swooned at the sight of him, Mr. Gaskarth left the building and strolled in the direction of the shopping mall. He didn’t need to buy anything in particular, it just seemed like a good place to hang out.

While walking to his destination, Alex tried to fight the burning urge to text Jack, but the simple message was soon sent and the craving he felt was replaced with anticipation. This kid made the teacher feel so many things; things that he really liked but knew he shouldn’t.

A few minutes later, the student replied.

Hey! I’m good, you?
I don’t have much planned, maybe
start that homework you set us
last week :P xx

Alex felt as giddy as a schoolgirl and had to roll his eyes at himself, then he took in the information, the educator in him shining through.

That’s due on Monday, Jack! :o
I expect a well written essay and not
some shitty thing that shows how
little effort you put in to it xx

As soon as he pressed ‘send’, he heard a chorus of his name being called from behind him. Turning on his heels he saw Matt, Vinny, Evan, Danny, and Colussy walking towards him.
“Hey fucker!” Vinny greeted in his usual blasé way.

“You guys are always together. Why do I never get an invite?” Alex said with faux hurt.
“You’re just not pretty enough to be seen with us, Alex.” Colussy replied, patting the teacher’s shoulder with a sincere smile.

Stomping his foot and folding his arms in an attempt to look like a butt hurt teenage girl, he huffed, “fuck you! I’m beautiful and sassy and I don’t need you guys anyway!”
Their little sketch didn’t last much longer as Evan burst out laughing, setting the others off.

“Come on, let’s get some coffee,” Danny urged, pushing Flyzik and Colussy in the direction of the café. While they strolled and conversed, Alex took a moment to check his phone, finding Jack had responded.

Don’t get all teacher-y on me! I’ve
been busy doing stuff xx

‘Teacher-y’? Wow, Jack, I didn’t
know you were so great at English…
and what stuff have you been doing? I
didn’t think you had a life ;) xx

Looking up from his cell with a smirk etched on his face as they entered the coffee shop, he found Flyzik to be watching him carefully. But when his friend softly smiled at him, he shrugged off the confusion he felt.

Once their order had been taken and they had paid, they found a booth big enough for them to all sit in. They settled into their usual good-humoured banter that showed off how close they all were to each other.

It was obvious they had been friends for many years as they brought up stories from the past and inside jokes that would sound like complete gibberish to anyone else. They weren’t just best friends to Alex; they were his family.

When the flustered waitress stumbled over to the group of attractive men with their hot beverages, she grabbed the interests of most of the males around the table. The elder had glimpsed up and found her to be pretty but nothing compared to how attractive the raven haired boy was.

Checking his phone after it had vibrated, alerting him to a new text, his attention was no longer paid to his friends’ antics.

0h im da b3st @ 3ngl1sh h3h3h3h3 =]
And if you must know, I class you as
‘doing stuff’… xx

The teacher couldn’t stop the giggle that slipped past his lips and the blush that tinted his cheeks. As his coffee was set down in front of him, he looked up and caught his friends staring at him curiously, causing him to clear his throat and nonchalantly text back.

You don’t cease to amaze me,
Barakat. Hmmm I rather like when
you’re ‘doing stuff’ in that case xx

The conversation in the booth picked up again, yet Alex wasn’t involved in it.

So am I let off the hook? You
know I’ll get the work done, Lex xx

Alex loved it when Jack called him Lex or Lexie. It was only the younger male who called him that and it somehow made it seem more special.

“So…?” Vinny
“…what?” Alex replied, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
“Who are you fucking?”
Spluttering on his coffee, the teacher’s eyes widened in shock and embarrassment. “Blunt much?”
“Come on, we all know there’s something going on. Spill it,” Matt spoke, a smirk on his face.

All of his friends’ eyes were on Alex, causing him to feel uncomfortable as they pressured him into revealing the truth.
“Ugh, well…we‘re not just fucking. We‘re together.”

“Who?!” they guys all asked simultaneously, the question louder than anticipated as the whole café went silent.

“Jack.”

“Jack?!” they all, again, said simultaneously though their tones varied from awe to mystified.

Colussy was first to speak his thoughts. “Who the fuck is Jack?”
“Jack Barakat, my neighbour,” Danny answered.
“Who?”
“The kid from the party!” Matt replied before Alex could get a word in.
“The one in the photo?” Vinny queried.
“Yes! The tall, lanky, cute guy,” Evan chirped.

“Oh my fucking God! Alex, you’re a cougar!” Vinny snorted loudly.
“Jack’s not that much younger than Alex, so I don‘t think he can be classed as one,” Danny said knowledgably.

And that was them for at least 20 minutes; speaking about the new ‘it’ couple while Alex sat and tried to keep up with them. Most of the time they spoke as if he wasn’t even there. They could have easily been compared to gossiping old ladies.

Taking his phone out of his pocket to reply to the boy, his friends’ chitchat was cut as they looked at him inquisitively.

“So is that who you’ve been texting?” Evan quirked an eyebrow and it was the teacher’s blush that gave away his answer. “God, you’re so smitten it’s unreal! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this before.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever…Wanna catch a movie?” Alex said, trying to dismiss the subject.
“Shut up and ask him to meet up with us. I wanna meet this kid with some clothes on,” Vinny snickered, the sound being echoed by everyone else around the table.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…”

But with the guys pushing him to do as they said, he finally gave in and sent a message back.

You’ll be let off the hook if
you do me a massive favour;
come meet my friends please?<3xx

***

“Hey there,” Alex greeted with a nervous smile as he walked up to the very attractive young male who was just as anxious, playing with the zip of his hoodie. It took a bit of persuading, but the brunette managed the task his friends set him.

“Hey,” Jack replied, his voice small and his view to the ground while a shy grin spread across his face. The teacher found Jack to be more adorable than usual and he loved it.

Though for some reason, an awkward silence due to nerves hovered around the two boys, making them grow uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by. Taking a chance to calm one another down, Alex took hold of the teenager’s chin and crushed their lips together.

The action took the younger by surprise though he didn’t stumble. Jack was quick to kiss back, his hands finding their way up the teacher’s body to his hair where he pulled at the tufts gently.

Alex moved his hands to the lanky kid’s shoulders, smiling into the kiss as he felt their stress being washed away. He wasn’t caring who was watching because when he and Jack were together, nothing else mattered. The care-free spirit Jack provided was something he wasn’t used to, yet relished in.

“What was that for?” Jack hummed when he pulled back from the kiss, his eyes fluttering open.
“You seemed nervous; I thought that would help.”
Chuckling, he replied, “well, yeah, it did help. But I’m always nervous around you, Alex.” by giving the boy a quizzical glance, Jack continued. “I never know if I’ll do or say something wrong and I’ll either scare you away or…or ruin everything.”

It made complete sense to the teacher but he didn’t want Jack to feel that way. Yes, there was the obvious danger to when they acted like a real couple in public, but Alex required that sort of affection.

“I want you to be yourself around me. Do whatever you want and say whatever comes into your head. That’s what I do, anyway,” he chortled, running a hand through his tousled hair. “I want you to feel happy and safe around me.”

The teen’s answering smile was a good enough response for Alex. Taking a hold of the kid’s hand, they wandered off in the direction of the coffee shop that housed the group of friends.

Sauntering into the shop and over to the booth, all eyes were on them.
“So this is your boyfriend, Alex?” Matt asked, a grin spread across his face as he took in the sight of the couple. Though the ‘b’ word lingered for a moment.

“Boyfriend?” Jack questioned the teacher with a shyness, filling Alex with alarm. They hadn’t officially called one another that and he wasn’t sure if that’s what they were. Panicking about what to say, Alex stuttered out some nonsense.
“Ugh…well, I said we, eh, we’re together…and I g-guess-”

Letting out a gentle laugh, which quietened the teacher, Jack bit his lip to hide the bright smile that was begging to break free.
“It’s okay,” he stated, squeezing Alex’s hand before looking back at the full table. “And yeah, I’m Lexie’s boyfriend. Nice to meet you all…again.”

And as those words fell delicately from the adolescent’s mouth, Alex’s stomach was swarmed with butterflies and a shy grin spread across his face. It felt momentous to him for some reason. They had been together for a few weeks and admitting their relationship to his friends made it seem more real.