At Twilight

Alex had been planning this for days. Weeks. Months. Tonight was going to be the night, whether Jack Barakat knew it or not. Tonight was going to be the night that Alex finally plucked up the courage to kiss his best friend Jack.

Why had it taken him so long? Well, for starters, not many people knew he was gay. Sure, Jack was included in those few people but that didn’t make it any easier to choose the right moment. Also, there was the whole I-don’t-want-to-lose-my-best-friend thing. Y’know, should Jack run off screaming instead of kissing him back. And then there was the whole being a wimp thing. Because Alex totally was a wimp.

But not any more. Tonight he was finally going to snap out of his funk and kiss Jack, regardless of the aftermath. He couldn’t wait any longer, not with the longing that had been building inside of him. It was eating him up inside and he hated it. One way or another, he had to do it.

So here he was, waiting down at the local park for Jack to join him, sitting by himself on a bench, having texted his best friend 15 minutes ago. Jack should be here any time now. At least, that’s what Alex’s rapidly pounding heart and sweaty palms told him.

“Yo, buddy! What’s up?”

Alex inhaled sharply and turned around at the loud voice. Jack had arrived. Jack was actually here. Shit, he really had to go through with this now.

“What’s wrong, Lex? You look like you’re going to piss yourself,” Jack frowned, sitting down next to Alex on the bench.

Charming, really. But here’s goes nothing.

“There’s something I need to tell you. Something I should’ve told you a long time ago,” Alex mumbled.

“You’re not a girl, are you? Because that would make getting changed in front of you totally awkward,” Jack grinned.

Alex groaned, “Jack, can you be serious for like, one second?”

Jack held his hands up in surrender, still smiling.

“Sure, whatever you want,” Jack nodded.

Well that was better than nothing.

“I just…I’ve been thinking about myself a lot lately, and what I want, and it’s taken me a long time to admit to myself what I want, let alone to admit to you…”

“Dude, you’re rambling. Just spit it out,” Jack mused.

Alex narrowed his eyes slightly. Fine. If Jack wanted him to be blunt, then…fine.

“Alex?” Jack asked, confused at Alex’s annoyance.

Alex just grabbed Jack’s face between his hands and pulled his best friend towards him, pressing their lips firmly together, Jack squeaking in surprise. But Alex couldn’t bring himself to pull away. If he didn’t take this chance now, he never would. And now he was kissing Jack, he might as well go for it, right?

And it only took a couple of seconds for Jack to start replying to Alex’s lips.

Holy shit, this was so much better than he’d imagined. Jack’s lips were so soft, so warm, and the way his hands shakily held onto Alex’s hips just made this even hotter. As Alex nervously teased his tongue past Jack’s lips, Jack’s grip on his waist tightened, urging Alex on. This was okay, right? Jack wasn’t stopping him? That meant he liked it, right?

But eventually, Alex had to break away. He needed air to breathe, unfortunately. He smiled hesitantly at Jack, nervous to see the boy’s reaction. Jack looked dazes, which was understandable. But he also wasn’t smiling. Shit. Jack wasn’t smiling. Not even a little.

“I-I’m sorry, Jack. I’ll go now,” Alex whispered.

All his courage had been for nothing after all.

But Jack’s arm shot out to stop him when he stood up, igniting a small burst of hope in Alex.

“Why did you do that, Alex?” Jack asked softly.

Alex chewed his bottom lip for a couple of seconds before looking up at his best friend.

“Because I like you. And I’ve liked you for a while. I had to take this chance, even if it meant losing you,”

“You like me?” Jack asked, shocked.

Alex just nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Jack leant back into the bench, letting out a long breath. Alex watched in silence, not knowing what else to do. Normally he could read Jack like a book but he couldn’t read him at all right now.

“Please say something, Jack. Even if it’s to tell me that you hate me,” Alex eventually whimpered.

Jack smiled sadly, shaking his head. “I could never hate you,”

“Then what are you thinking?” Alex asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what I feel or what’s going on or even what I want to do about it…”

Ouch.

“…but I do know that I kinda liked kissing you,”

Alex inhaled sharply, eyes going wide. D-Did Jack really just say that?

Jack smiled at Alex’s surprise, lightly resting his hand over Alex’s.

Alex melted, right then and there.

“You did?” Alex asked hopefully.

Jack nodded.

“And I don’t know what that means yet, but I do know I’d like to do it again?” Jack said.

“I can do that,” Alex said shyly.

Jack smiled and leant forward, pressing his lips back to Alex’s. Alex just grinned, eagerly kissing him back. Looks like his courage had paid off after all.