Mickey

“Alex, wake up! Today’s the day!” Matt Flyzik said excitedly, jumping onto the bed and shaking his boyfriend by the shoulder.

Alex groaned lowly, opening one eye to look at the older boy. He rolled over and fumbled around for his phone, then turned it and blinked a few times before he focused on it. Eight-thirty in the morning on September 18th – the day he had promised Matt he would take him to Disneyland. All Time Low had a few days off in California, so they booked hotel rooms and planned to spend a few days having fun. Matt had been looking forward to this day for months. Surprisingly, in the two years Alex and Matt had been dating, they hadn’t been to Disneyland together before.

“Let me sleep for a little while longer,” Alex mumbled, burying his face in the pillow.

“But the park opens at nine!” Matt whined, tugging on Alex’s arm slightly.

Alex chuckled. Matt was like a five year old when it came to Disney stuff, even though he was twenty-three years old. “Sucks to be you.”

“Alex!”

“Calm down, babe. Give me a few minutes to wake up and then I’ll get in the shower,” Alex yawned, rolling onto his back in defeat. Matt smiled happily and bent down to kiss him on the cheek before jumping off the bed and walking over to his laptop. Alex ran his fingers through his messy hair before rolling out of bed, trudging to the bathroom to take a shower.

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“We better not be going on any rides right away, or I’m going to puke,” Zack groaned, hand over his stomach.

“That’s your fault for eating so much,” Matt rolled his eyes, continuing to walk. Jack, Rian, and Zack had tagged along with the boys after much begging from Alex, who didn’t want to endure the day of Disneyland alone. Everyone had stopped to eat breakfast at a cheap restaurant before heading toward the park.

“I hear screaming children. We must be getting close,” Rian mused. Sure enough, they had gotten over to the line waiting to enter Disneyland. The line was pretty short compared to usual; they paid and got into the park within ten minutes. It was around 10:30 now, so the park was buzzing with people.

“We’re here later than I wanted to be, but that’s okay. We can just stay a little later,” Matt said absentmindedly, folding the map they had been given at the gate. The other boys groaned, but Matt didn’t seem to notice. “Here, Alex, put the map in your pocket in case we need it.”

“In case we need it? This thing is huge, why wouldn’t we need it?” Zack questioned.

Matt shrugged, “I basically have the whole thing committed to memory at this point.”

“That doesn’t even surprise me,” Rian chuckled.

“Let’s go to Frontierland first! No wait, Tomorrowland!” Jack said, eyes wide with excitement.

Matt shook his head, “Adventureland is first. Tomorrowland is last.”

“Aw, come on. I want to go to Tomorrowland and ride on Space Mountain,” Jack argued.

“Give it up, Jack. Matt already has the whole day planned out from top to bottom,” Alex said, smiling slightly at his boyfriend. “He spent fifteen minutes telling me about it last night.”

Jack sighed heavily, “Fine. We’ll go to Adventureland.”

“Come on!” Matt said, gripping Alex’s hand and tugging him through the crowd, the other boys following.

The park was less crowded than the past two times Alex had been here; it was mid-September, so most kids were in school and unable to vacation. Fortunately, that meant there were less children running around. That didn’t change the wait times of the lines much though. It was still a minimum twenty minute wait for each ride. The wait time was spent joking around and talking with each other in line.

“So, we’ve been on the Indiana Jones Adventure, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion... what’s next?” Alex asked, looking over at the others. They had been there for two hours already.

“Lunch?” Rian asked hopefully.

“We’ll get lunch later. It’s only a quarter to one,” Matt said, pointing at a ride farther away. “Splash Mountain is next. It’s gonna be a long line.”

“Finally, the ride I want to go on!” Zack said happily.

“Splash Mountain sounds awesome right now. It’s getting hot out – hopefully we’ll get wet on the ride,” Jack said.

Rian sighed, “I want to go on it too, but I’m hungry.”

“Can’t you wait?” Matt asked, pouting.

“Let’s just stop at a cart and get some churros, alright? I’m hungry too,” Alex said, bumping his shoulder against Matt’s lightly.

“That works,” Matt nodded quickly. The five of them got churros and then headed over to wait in the line for Splash Mountain.

“So... what are we supposed to do if any of us get recognized?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow at the others. A group of teenage girls had just walked by and a few of them kept pointing at the band.

Rian shrugged, “We take some pictures and hope there aren’t many fans here, I guess.”

“Or we could run. That sounds more fun,” Jack mused.

“You can run, but then you have to go to the end of the line,” Matt said with a laugh.

“Fuck that,” Jack said, eyes widening when a mother glared at him. “Oops, sorry!”

“Smooth,” Alex chuckled, ducking behind Matt when Jack tried to hit him.

It was another hour before they got to ride Splash Mountain, and when they got off the ride they were all wet from the water. Alex trudged up to his friends, glaring at them as they laughed. He had gotten drenched, and the others were only a little bit wet. The entire upper half of Alex’s body was soaked.

“Aw, baby, you’ll dry off soon,” Matt said, fighting back a smile as he looked at his soaking wet boyfriend.

“On the bright side, you probably aren’t hot anymore,” Jack said cheerfully.

Alex scowled, shaking his head out like a dog so it got his friends wet. “Fuck you all.”

“C’mon, let’s go eat some lunch. Maybe that’ll make you a little less grumpy,” Matt suggested, holding his hand out for Alex to take. Alex sighed and held his hand, silently walking along with the group. Why had he agreed to take Matt to Disneyland?

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The five of them ate lunch together in one of the Frontierland restaurants, but afterwards they couldn’t agree where to go. Rian and Zack wanted to check out Main Street. Jack still wanted to go to Tomorrowland. Matt wanted to ride a roller coaster. Alex didn’t want to do anything because he was full from lunch.

“Okay, how about we just split up? Then everyone will be happy. Zack, Jack, and I can walk around together and you guys can stay together, since you’ll probably want to stay later anyway,” Rian said.

“Sounds good to me! Let’s go!” Jack said, starting to walk away. Zack grabbed him by the back of the shirt to slow him down.

“That’s fine. I don’t mind spending some alone time with Alex,” Matt nodded, smiling at Alex. Alex smiled weakly. He had been hoping to go to Tomorrowland with Jack, but he wanted to spend some time with Matt too.

“Alright, we’ll see you guys later. If we decide to leave early one of us will call you,” Zack said, and the three of them walked away.

“So, do you want to go ride that roller coaster with me?” Matt asked, turning to face Alex.

Alex sighed, “Honestly, I want to sit down somewhere for a while. I ate too much for lunch and if I get on a roller coaster I’ll puke all over you.”

“Gross. That’s okay, I don’t want you to feel sick. Let’s walk around for a little while and see if we can find somewhere to rest,” Matt said, squeezing Alex’s hand and beginning to walk. They walked quietly, though the rest of the park remained loud around them. Matt suddenly let out a little gasp, and Alex raised an eyebrow.

“What? Did you see Mickey Mouse or something?”

“Cute,” Matt said sarcastically, and Alex smirked. “No, look! That’s where the Fantasmic! show is at night!”

“Cool,” Alex said, nodding.

“Can we-”

“I’m not coming all the way back to this side of the park at nine o’clock at night just to see something I know you’ve seen ten times before,” Alex shook his head.

“But-”

“Matt,” Alex said, the tone of voice warning his boyfriend to quit asking.

Matt pouted but stopped, knowing Alex was getting annoyed, “Sorry. Let’s go find somewhere to sit.”

The two of them made their way through the crowd and Matt led Alex to a secluded area somewhere behind one of the rides in Frontierland. There were two benches and neither one was occupied. They sat down and Alex sighed in relief. A few minutes passed and they were quiet, just sitting there together.

“Sorry I snapped at you, Matty,” Alex apologized, looking up at him.

A smile tugged at the corner of Matt’s lips when Alex used his pet name for him, “It’s fine, Alex. It’s hot out and I know that I’m probably bugging the shit out of you.”

“It’s cute watching you get so excited, actually,” Alex chuckled, leaning in to kiss Matt. Matt kissed back firmly before pulling away.

“As much as I’d love to continue that, there are parents and children around that probably aren’t as approving of gay couples as we would like,” Matt murmured, and Alex laughed softly.

“I love you so much.”

“Love you too,” Matt smiled. The two of them sat there quietly for a little while longer before Alex squeezed Matt’s hand.

“So, are you ready to go on that roller coaster? I think the food in my stomach has settled, so I probably won’t puke,” Alex said, smiling at Matt. He had regained some energy after sitting down for a little while.

Matt nodded, jumping up, “Let’s go!”

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After riding the roller coaster in Frontierland that Matt had wanted to ride, Alex and Matt headed across the park. “Tomorrowland is next right?” Alex asked hopefully.

Matt nodded, “Yup. Unless you want to go to Fantasyland and hang out with some Disney princesses.”

“Nah. Girls are not my type,” Alex smirked at Matt, who laughed. Alex faintly heard his phone ring and pulled it out of his pocket. He had a text from Jack.

From: Jack
Hey, we’re heading back to the hotel. Flyzik wearing you out?

From: Alex
More than you can imagine. I’m so tired.

From: Jack
Haha sorry bro. Try not to die. See you later.

“Who was that?” Matt questioned.

“Jack. The guys are heading back to the hotel,” Alex said, slipping his phone back into his pocket. They were just walking into the Tomorrowland area. “This is so cool. Can we go to the Star Tours?”

“Star Tours? That dumb Star Wars thing?” Matt asked, frowning.

“Star Wars isn’t dumb – you take that back!”

Matt sighed, “Sorry. It’s not dumb. But do we have to go?”

“Do you know how many things you’ve dragged me around to today? We’re going to this ride,” Alex said, crossing his arms.

“Fair enough. Let’s go,” Matt agreed, following Alex.

After the ride let out, it was almost six-thirty. Matt and Alex were walking around when Alex’s eyes suddenly widened, looking genuinely excited for the first time all day. “Can we go to the Starcade?” he begged, turning to Matt.

“That’s extra money down the drain,” Matt pointed out.

“So? I have plenty of money. I’m kind of in a band and can afford it,” Alex teased, patting the wallet in his pocket.

“It’s just a bunch of arcade games and kids everywhere.”

Alex pouted, “Come on Matty, I haven’t been to a real arcade in years. They tore down the one we used to go to in Baltimore.”

“So?”

“So you should indulge me for a little while. You can just sit and relax somewhere,” Alex suggested.

Matt sighed heavily, “Fine. But not too long, or we’ll be stuck in line for Space Mountain forever.”

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Matt let Alex play arcade games for an hour or so before finally dragging him out. It was 7:30 by now and both of them were exhausted, but there was still one ride left – Space Mountain. It was the longest line Alex had seen all day. Twenty minutes into the line, he was starting to regret his decision to ride this.

“You know, if you don’t want to wait in line, we could just head out...” Alex said, hoping Matt would get the hint.

Matt shook his head, “It’s only another hour until we get to the ride.”

“Only?” Alex muttered.

“There are kids here who are more patient than you,” Matt rolled his eyes.

“They have more energy than me!”

Matt didn’t respond and Alex sighed, leaning forward to lie his head on Matt’s shoulder. Only an hour or so left until they could finally get out of here.

The line for Space Mountain was slow and boring, especially because the “it’s a small world after all” song could be heard from nearby Fantasyland. Alex wasn’t sure if he would ever get that song out of his head. They finally got on the ride and it was definitely the best one of the day, but it left both of them even more tired than before.

“Time to go home now?” Alex asked hopefully, yawning.

“Yeah, we’ll take the Monorail back to the downtown Disney area so we can get a taxi back to our hotel,” Matt said, holding Alex’s hand. They got to the Monorail and Alex groaned loudly at the sight of the line.

“Seriously? This line is ridiculous.”

Matt shrugged, “There’s a lot of people who want to take this instead of walking. The only other option is spending forty-five minutes or more walking to the front of the park.”

“No thanks. My legs already feel like lead,” Alex mumbled, instead deciding to wrap his arms around his boyfriend from behind and lean his head on Matt’s shoulder again. They waited in line for at least half an hour before getting on the Monorail to head out of the park.

“At least there aren’t too many people in the back of here,” Matt said, trying to lift Alex’s spirits a little.

“Good. That means I can sleep on you without being judged,” Alex said with a yawn. Matt chuckled as his boyfriend snuggled up against him, leaning his head on his shoulder.

“Are you sure you don’t want to watch outside as the Monorail drives?” Matt questioned. Alex just grunted in response. The Monorail stopped in the downtown Disney area twenty minutes later and Matt shook Alex lightly. “Hey, wake up. We’re here.”

“Are we at the hotel?” Alex mumbled, stretching.

“No, not yet. We need to get off the Monorail,” Matt chuckled, pecking Alex on the lips before standing up. Alex sighed, stumbling out behind him sleepily. “Hey, there’s one more place I want to go before we head out of here.”

“What?”

“The Disney shop. Come on, I won’t take long,” Matt said, grabbing Alex by the hand.

Alex groaned, “Babe, don’t you go there and buy something every time you come here?”

“So? There’s different stuff every time,” Matt protested, still pulling Alex along with him.

Alex scowled but didn’t resist, letting Matt pull him. He would have waited by the taxi stand but he didn’t want Matt to walk around in the huge crowd alone. They finally got to the store and Matt opened the door, but Alex stayed put outside.

“Aren’t you coming in?” Matt questioned.

“No, I’ll stay here. Hurry up,” Alex said. He was exhausted and slightly annoyed with Matt for dragging him over here. It was already 10:15 and he just wanted to go home.

“Okay,” Matt said softly, finally catching on to the tone in Alex’s voice. He felt bad because he knew Alex was exhausted and probably mad at him. Matt had been to Disneyland a hundred times – he was used to the all-day activities. Alex wasn’t, especially with an energetic Matt in tow.

Matt emerged from the store after a few minutes, smiling, and Alex smiled tiredly. “What’d you buy?”

“I’ll show you when we get back to the hotel,” Matt promised, holding Alex’s hand. “Come on, let’s go catch a taxi.”

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“I’ve never been so happy to see a hotel room in my life,” Alex said happily, falling backwards onto the bed.

“Babe, you still have your shoes on,” Matt said with a laugh, walking over to tug the Converse off Alex’s feet for him.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. I’m gonna go wash up,” Matt said, kicking his own shoes off and heading to the bathroom. Alex rolled off the bed and stripped down to his boxers before crawling back into the bed. Matt walked back out of the bathroom before Alex had a chance to fall asleep.

Alex heard a bag rustling and rolled onto his back, looking up at Matt. “So what did you buy back at the gift shop?”

“Another keychain for myself, and a Mickey one for you,” Matt said with a smile, holding up little Minnie and Mickey Mouse keychains.

“Do you even have any more room on your keys?”

“Quiet. I got something else for you, too,” Matt said, holding something behind his back as he crawled onto the bed.

“What is it?” Alex asked, mildly interested now.

Matt held up a little six-inch tall Mickey Mouse doll, pouting slightly at Alex, “I’m sorry I made you put up with me all day. I got you a little Mickey to say sorry.”

Alex smiled, resisting the urge to “aww” at how adorable his boyfriend was being. He grabbed Matt by the waist to pull him close, kissing him softly. “You’re perfect, you know that?”

“So you’re not mad at me for being annoying?” Matt asked, leaning his forehead against the younger boy’s.

“Of course not,” Alex promised. He took the Mickey Mouse doll out of Matt’s hands, holding it close to him. “I’ll keep this little Mickey with me all the time to remind me of my Matty.”

Matt smiled, nuzzling his head into Alex’s shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Alex smiled and held Matt close, the Mickey doll between them as they drifted off to sleep.