The Story of Us

"Hey, Jay?" Alex asked from where he was cuddled into my chest. I looked down a little awkwardly at him to see that he was already peeking up at me through his eyelashes.

"Yeah, Lex?"

"Can you tell me a story?" he questioned shyly, averting his gaze down to our tangled legs.

"I don't know, what kind of story?" I mused. Of course I'd tell him a story; I'd do absolutely anything for him. I just didn't really know what he wanted to hear.

He shrugged as best he could before saying, "Tell me a story about us."

"Of course," I said with a nod. "I know the perfect one. This is called... Well, it's called The Story of Us, and it goes a lot like this..."

------

Seven years ago:

"Alright, come on now, shut up," Mrs. Took, my chemistry teacher for the past half of a year, called out, effectively halting the conversation floating lazily around the room. "Alright, good, so we have a new student, and he's going to introduce himself," she said, stepping away from probably the most gorgeous boy I'd ever laid eyes on.

"Hey, I'm Alex Gaskarth, and I just moved here from Essex, England," he said smoothly, sending a crooked grin around the room. His gaze flickered to mine and I would've sworn that his eyes widened and he'd bitten his lip before he turned away to face Mrs. Took.

"Is there anything else you'd like us to know about you, Alex?" she questioned, to which he looked back out at us again.

"Well, I just turned seventeen, I absolutely love music, and I'm gay," he said, with a shrug of his shoulders.

Everyone in class turned to face me as soon as the words 'I'm gay' left his mouth, their eyes burning into me from all directions. Being the only openly, and possibly only at all, gay student doesn't really have its perks, but I guess right now would work in my favor.

Granted, what would he see in me? He's so damn, and I'm so... Well, I wouldn't say that I'm a bad looking guy or anything, but he's definitely out of my league. His nose and ears aren't insanely huge, his body isn't obnoxiously proportioned—though he can't be much shorter than I am—and his voice is better than a pile of all of the Home Alone DVDs in the world.

"Well, alright then," Mrs. Took said a little awkwardly, attempting to pull the room's attention back up to her. "Thank you for the introduction, Alex, now why don't you go and sit next to Jack?" she suggested, pointing over to me, who was the only one sitting alone at a lab table.

Alex smiled and nodded, immediately beginning the slight walk over to me. He plopped down next to me and brought his chair as close to mine as the laws of physics would allow.

"Hey," he said, sending a grin my way, "so why was everyone staring at you just then?"

I simply shrugged, averting my gaze to hide behind my skunked-hair. Why do I always have to be so fucking awkward around hot guys?

"Oh, come on, Jacky," he whispered, causing my heart to melt just that little bit. "You can tell me; everyone else seems to know as it is."

"It's nothing," I mumbled back, attempting to focus on whatever Mrs. Took was saying. Something about nuclear bonds decaying or other, I'm not really too sure. This isn't my best subject in school, to say the least.

"Please?" he begged, and when I glanced over at him, he threw on a pout and puppy dog eyes.

"It's nothing, Alex," I said a little firmer, before I sighed. "I'm just, like, the only gay student in this school and everything."

"Really now?" he mused as he leaned away, not saying another word to me for the rest of the period.

No matter where I went that day, it seemed like Alex was always two steps behind. The only class I didn't have with him was French two, which gave me some time to talk to my friends Rian and Zack about him.

"So he's gay and has, like, all of your classes, what of it?" Zack pondered, not even trying to be discreet about his talking. Sometimes he never utters a word, others he won't shut the fuck up. It would just be my luck that today would be the latter.

"Well, y'know, I'm kinda gay, too," I reminded him, "and he's really cute and hot and wow." I began to zone out slightly, just thinking about how damn attractive he was. I didn't know people that good-looking even existed in the real world.

"So maybe you should just go for it, man," Rian said quietly, gently clapping me on the shoulder as the bell rang.

"I don't know, maybe... I'll see you guys tomorrow," I said as I gathered my things and began the walk from campus to my home. I was definitely not the best driver around, and I had to walk to and from school each day. I didn't mind or anything, but having a car would've been easier.

Actually, I'd've probably already lost my life had I owned a car.

I hadn't even made it twenty steps from the school's front gates when a car slowed down next to me. My first instinct was to hightail it the fuck out of there, but when I glanced over, I noticed Alex to be in the driver's seat.

"Hey, you need a ride home or something?" he asked, smiling as he waved his hand at the passenger seat.

"Uh..." I stuttered, feeling the color rush to my cheeks.

"Come on, think of it as a sort of thank you for being so welcoming to me today," he said, pouting slightly. I sighed and nodded, heading around the front of his car to hop in the passenger seat.

He didn't force me into conversation, nor did he attempt to start any. The ride home that day was more or less completely quiet other than my occasional muttered out directions and the soft sounds of Blink-182 coming from the radio.

When we reached my house, I thanked him for the ride and attempted to jump out before he could say anything further. I was a little too slow, however, and he offered to pick me up the next morning since I was 'on the way'. I said he didn't have to, but he insisted. I didn't really have much of a say on the matter, but when he flashed me a semi-pleading smile, I couldn't say no.

The rest of that night was spent thinking about—you guessed it—Alex Gaskarth.

When the next morning rolled around, Alex was parked in my driveway waiting for me, as he said he would be.

"Morning, Jacky," he chirped as I climbed into the passenger seat, grinning widely.

"Hey, Lex," I replied, and I'm pretty sure he started blushing just a little bit before he regained his composure.

We were silent from then on out, up until he asked me if the radio, which was playing New Found Glory, was bothering me at all. In response, I reached out to turn the volume up, singing along rather obnoxiously to the lyrics.

He laughed for a second before he started singing as well, and I could hear my breath hitching in my throat as I turned to gawk at him.

He stopped and blushed, focusing his gaze on the road, "Sorry, I'm not good or anything, a—"

"You're right, you're not good," I said with a nod of agreement. "You're fucking perfect, holy shit." I pretty much forgot how awkward I felt around him for a moment, but it came back full force in no time at all.

"Thanks, Jay," he said, blushing a little deeper.

With that, we arrived at the school's parking lot. The bell would be ringing in five minutes, so we headed inside, splitting up to go to our separate lockers.

There was about two minutes before the bell rang when I decided to head over to the bathroom. As I was washing my hands, the door opened. Of course, it'd be Alex to walk in. I saw him grin in the mirror before he walked over to me.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and hooked his chin over my right shoulder. My heartbeat was out of control, and my thoughts were spinning. He leaned in to nuzzle his face in my neck before he pulled back to place a feather-light kiss on my cheek, murmuring a quiet, "We'd make a cute couple, don't you think?" as he pulled away.

My heart and thoughts stopped in their tracks completely before kicking into overdrive. I could feel the color drain from my face. Why was I freaking out so bad?

I turned in his grip, and he backed up a few feet, just watching me curiously. "Are you okay, Jacky?" he asked, the concern peppering his voice.

And then I threw up, all over his damn shoes. Before I knew what was happening, his fist was connecting with my nose and he was storming from the room, most likely leaving campus altogether.

I followed in his footsteps, figuring someone else could deal with the mess because I sure as hell wasn't. I left campus and began the walk home, that time not being interrupted on the way.

A week passed and Alex wouldn't even send a second glance my way. It kind of sucked because I really did have a huge crush on him, which is probably why I freaked so bad.

One morning about a week and a half after the incident, however, he was parked in my driveway. I walked outside, wanting to just get whatever the reason he came to be over with.

"Come on, Jay, we're gonna be late if you don't hurry up," he said with a smile, gesturing for me to get in the car.

Despite my better judgement, I got in. It felt weird, to say the least, but I had to know what had caused the sudden overnight change.

"Why are you bothering with me... again? Be honest," I blurted, feeling my cheeks turn a decent shade of beet red.

"Quite honestly, you're gorgeous. If you want honesty, I thought you were amazing the first time I saw you, and that's why I'm 'bothering with you'. You're pretty fuckin' cute, you listen to good music, and you're not a douche," he answered with a shrug. "I'm just kinda hoping you develop a crush on me or something now."

"Well I've had a stupidly massive crush on you since I threw up all over your shoes and you punched me in the face. Sorry," I muttered, avoiding his gaze.

"Really now?" he mused, more or less ignoring my apology, as if it didn't even matter. "Y'know, I still think we'd make a cute couple."

"So... What now?" I questioned shyly. He reached over the center console of the car and linked our hands together as he shrugged.

"I don't know. What do you want?" he pushed, sending me a sideways glance as he pulled into an empty parking space in the school's parking lot.

"I'unno," I mumbled, looking out the window.

"We could give this a try?" he suggested lightly, and after a few moments of contemplation, I nodded, my bottom lip held firmly between my teeth.

I turned to look at him and he smiled. "I have a good feeling about this already."

------

"And they lived happily ever after," I finished, squeezing his waist a little.

"So they stay together forever?" he asked playfully, turning his head to bury his face in my chest.

"Of course. They love each other forever and always," I confirmed with a nod.

"Hey, Jay?"

"Yeah, Lex?"

"When did forever start?" he questioned, so quietly that I almost didn't catch it.

I smiled and reached to tilt his face towards mine, leaning down to connect our lips softly, "Forever started the day I met you."