Status: There'll possibly be a third and final part to this. Not quite sure yet.

Questions

Prom?

Jack stared back at his reflection trying to ignore the familiar knot in his stomach. It came every morning exactly fifteen minutes before, Rian was to pick Jack up for school.
School , the thought of it made the dark haired teenager shudder, sure he'd been going for twelve years of his life but it still put him on edge. All of the people there, even if their faces were familiar, they weren't familiar and that made Jack uncomfortable. The thing was, he suffered from a slight case of social ainxiety, not even slight, it was a very bad case of social ainxiety. Bad enough that he'd never made any friends on his own, ever and every morning he'd have the urge not to go to school at all. The only reason, Rian was his friend was due to the fact that their parents were close and the two had been around each other since birth. Otherwise, Jack was sure he'd be completely alone and he thanked god for Rian every day.
The dark haired boy heard a car honking from outside signaling Rian's arrival. He sighed and tried his best to mentally prepare himself for school as he left home and to Rian's car.
When lunch finally rolled around, Jack was relieved, class was more tense than usual for him that day. It seemed as though every teacher decided to pick on him and make him speak which wasn't exactly easiest for the boy.
The lanky dark haired teenager sat at his and Rian's usual lunch table,secluded in the corner of the lunch room far away from everyone else. Jack smiled at his friend who sat across from him, downing a bag of chips. He was really greatful that Rian had stuck by him for so long.
"That's really gross." Jack said, directing his statement at how quickly Rians chips had vanished.
"No, it's called eating. And you should do it sometime before lunch is over."
"Lunch just started, dipshit."
"Yeah, but you eat slow, ass hole." Jack merely rolled his eyes in response before picking up his apple and taking a bite out of it. They ate joking around for a few minutes tossing various items of their food at each other until a slight dirty blonde boy came up behind Rian resting a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, Ri!" Said the dirty-blond, something about him caught Jack's eye but he still tensed up at he close proximity of the boy.
"Oh, hey, Alex!" Rian said smiling up at the blond who pulled out the chair next to him, seating himself in it.
"Who's your friend?" Alex asked, turning to look at Jack.
"Oh, this is Jack. He's really cool but he's kinda shy...uhm...yeah." Rian bit his lower lip before sending Jack an apologetic smile.
"Well that's fine. I don't bite." Said, the blond. "I'm, Alex." He reached out a hand for Jack to take but the darker haired of the two only looked at Alex with wide eyes.
"U-uhm...I'm Jack." He managed to muster before looking away from Alex's carmel-colored gaze.
"Don't take offense or anything. He's just...really shy, right, Jay?" Said Rian in attempt to lighten up the awkwardness that had formed around the three.
"S'alright. I'm sure Jack will love me if he gives me a chance." The dirty-blond teenager said with a smile directed at Jack. Rian laughed, flashing a toothy smile.
"Good luck with that, Alex."
Jack glared at Rian 'good luck' what was that supposed to mean? He wasn't incapable of making friends he just didn't because it was hard for him. Nothing else. For that one comment Jack wanted to prove Rian wrong, he wanted to show his friend that he could make other friends.
"Jay are you okay if I go to the vending machine?" Asked, Rian, raising his eyebrows expectantly.
"Yeah, go ahead." Jack mumbled. Rian frowned a little bit in concern.
"You sure?"
"Ri, I'm fine." Jack said a little snappily, pulling at the sleeves of his hoddie.
"Okay. Want anything?" Jack shook his head in return, picking his sandwhich up, signaling that he was done speaking about the matter. Rian got out of his seat and headed towards the vending machines on the other side of the room, leaving Jack and Alex alone.
"You and, Rian are pretty close, huh?" Said Alex, attempting to make conversation.
"Yeah." Mumbled Jack with a nod.
"How do you know each other?"
"Family." Jack sighed and tried his best to speak clearly. "Our...our parents a-are friends."
"It's really cute when you stop in between words like that." Alex sent the younger boy a small friendly smile but it didn't stop the blush from crawling up to Jack's cheeks. The raven-haired boy looked down and tried his best to hide his face in his shaggy hair. "God, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to like scare you or anything...forget I said it?" Jack peeked from under his bangs at the other boy who was scrunching up his face in an uncomfortable manner. Jack did find it pretty adorable but he still needed a moment to regain the small sense of security he'd had previously.
"I-it's okay...I'm...uh...j-just not used t-to talking...I mean... not to anyone but Rian." Jack tried his best to look up and smile at Alex but he more of ended up smiling at the table.
"You really don't need to be nervous...pretend I'm Rian."
"I-I can't do that."
"I bet you can."
"N-no...talking to him comes e-easy...this...talking to anyone else...it's hard."
"But you're doing it, right?"
Jack smiled, he really was doing it, he was actually making conversation with someone other than Rian. It wasn't the best of conversations but he was talking to someone, and he was proud of himself for it. "Yeah...I-I guess I am."
"Well maybe you can keep talking to people other than Rian. I'm sure that beneath that mental shell of yours there's an awesome guy just waiting to be found." Alex shot another toothy smile at Jack making the younger boy only smile even wider.
Sure Jack wasn’t completely sure of Alex but he was warming up to the elder boy and making friends with him was worth a shot.
-
"Hey losers." Rian greeted both Alex and Jack who were already sitting at their lunch table.
"Hey Ri." Jack mumbled and rolled his eyes as he popped a chip into his mouth. Alex barely gave Rian a glance as he was typing something into his phone.
"So is this a thing now?" Rian asked addressing Alex who was sitting next to Jack on the other side of the table.
"Is what a thing?" Alex responded looking genuinely confused.
"You sitting here, its been what, three weeks now? Don't the other football players miss you at your usual table?"
Jack looked up from his lunch tray at that, yeah he still wasn't all that used to Alex being there but it sounded as if Rian was trying to get him to leave and quite honestly Jack wanted him to stay.
"I doubt it, besides I like hanging out with you guys. Jack likes having me here, right Jack?" The dark haired teen nodded his head and smiled. "See, I'm staying right here."
"Whatever." Rian muttered and began to open his bag of chips.
The group spent the rest of lunch with minimal chatter, Jack being particularly quiet that day.
"I'm gonna go to the vending machines, either of you want anything?" Rian said as he stood from where he sat.
"I'm good." Alex sounded out while Jack simply shook his head. Rian nodded and walked off. "Hey, you alright? You're a lot quieter than usual." Alex said once Rian was out of ear shot.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Jack said with a smile." T-thanks for asking though."
"No problem, hey while I'm asking questions...I was wondering if you'd wanna hang out this weekend?"
"Uh... Sure."
"Awesome, can I text you about it later tonight?"
"Y-yeah, I'll uhm give you my number." Jack managed to get out, he was clearly flustered...Alex had practically just asked him out so the way Jack saw it he had a right.
-
"H-hello?"
"Hey Jack. I know I said I'd text but I figured why not call." Alex said from the other end sounding happy as usual."So I can pick you up at around twelve and we can go catch a movie, yeah?"
"Uh, s-sure."
"Cool, uh can I get your address?"
Jack laughed awkwardly and fidgeted with his sleeves out of habit. "Y-yeah..."
Nearly half an hour later Jack was still on the phone with Alex mainly listening to the older boy speak. Although he really didn't mind in fact he rather liked Alex's voice, especially the little sound he made just before he laughed, Jack thought that sound was adorable.
"Hey Jack I've gotta go but I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for letting me talk your ear off though."
"S'no problem... I liked talking to you."
"I liked talking to you too. Bye Jack."
"B-bye Alex."
Jack hung up his cell phone and sauntered into the living room of his home where his mother and father were watching TV.
"Oh hey honey." His mother said, noticing his presence in the living room,motioning for him to sit down next to her."How's it going? Got any plans with Rian this weekend?"
"No, I'm uh actually hanging out with someone new tomorrow." He said rather softly as he settled into the seat next to his mother.
"Oh, that's good sweetheart. What's their name?"
"Alex. I'm actually pretty excited...I'm kinda scared too."
"If you're going to 'chill' with someone outside of school there's nothing to be scared about." Jack's father interjected.
"I just haven't hung out with anyone but Rian since like second grade...I can't help but be a little scared."
"Well you'll be fine sweetheart." His mother reassured him as she rested a hand on her sons shoulder.
"Maybe you're right." He murmured not entirely sure if he wanted to believe in his mothers words or not.
-
Jack sat on the front steps of his porch staying alert for Alex's car. He was still nervous as hell but it was too late to back out and he was also a little too excited to do that either.
Jack smiled as Alex got out of the drivers seat of the black four door that had just pulled up. Alex looked adorable as usual today, which only made Jack's stomach churn even more.
"Hey Jack." Alex beamed, standing right in front of the younger boy on the stair step.
"H-hey Alex."
"You ready to go? We've got a little time to kill before the movie starts."
"Y-yeah lets go." Jack stammered, smiling as he stood up next to the other boy.
Alex smiled and looped his arm with Jack's leading him to his car. The extra contact made Jack's cheeks swell but it was kind of...nice in a way. Yeah, maybe today wouldn't be so bad.
-
"What'd you think of the movie?" Alex asked, smiling at the younger boy as they walked to the pasta place a couple blocks from the movie theatre.
"It was good...I dunno the people dressed up like some of the characters threw me off a little." Jack admitted, smiling right back at Alex.
Alex only chuckled and the pair fell into a comfortable silence for a few moment until Alex broke it once again.
"Hey Jack...are you going to prom?"
"U-uhm, I dunno." He managed to get out before looking at the ground. If Alex was asking him to prom he didn't know exactly what he would do. He'd say yes, yes, he would say yes...but he'd never been to a school dance before. Hell he'd never even let anyone get close enough to ask him to a dance. "W-why?"
"Just wondering y'know. I haven't got a date and I thought it'd be kinda cool if you were going..." Alex paused and smiled as they stopped at a crosswalk. "Do you think maybe you'd go with me?"
"Y-yeah I'd go w-with you."
"Cool...so I guess you're my prom date."
"D-date?"
Alex's face fell for a minute before he was smirking lightly. "Yeah, date. I mean we could go as friends but what's the fun in that?" Jack shrugged and bit his lip, feeling his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. "It'll be fun I promise." Alex smiled and ran a hand through his hair and kept walking casually, leaving Jack to pause a few steps behind him before catching up.
-
"So I heard you and Alex went out today." Rian prodded.
He and Jack were in the younger boy's bedroom, both lying on the hardwood floor staring at the ceiling.
"Yeah. He asked me to prom."
"Prom? Alex?...like as his date or...?"
"As his date. I dunno I kinda like him."
"Wait, this is a lot to process here. Gaskarth is gay, you like him... And you're going to prom together?"
"Pretty much, but him asking me doesn't make him gay."
"But he asked you as his date, not his friend, but his date. He's gay and he's into you."
Jack shrugged and sat up from his lying position.
"Whatever, point is I'm going to prom and unlike someone I've already got a date."
"Oh shut up, I just don't know who to ask yet."
"Why don't you ask that girl in our trig class. Didn't you guys go out over break or something?"
"Cass? Yeah, I'm not good enough for her..."
"Not good enough? What happened to Mr. Confidence?"
"Nothing...I just...I dunno, hey are you and Gaskarth gonna wear matching suits?"
"Shut up Ri. I think you should ask Cass, she's into you and you like her back."
"Whatever. I'm going to go get some snacks."
Jack rolled his eyes and lay back down, barely paying attention to his friend stepping over him.
-
"Hey Jack!" Alex chirped as he sat down next to the dark-haired boy at their lunch table.
"Hey Alex." The younger teen mumbled and smiled as he looked at his friend. Jack wasn't entirely sure how to feel about Alex, especially after Saturday but he was pretty sure he wanted to be more than friends with the older boy. Maybe even date him, but he really didn't think they were at a point where he should even fathom the idea.
"So I was wondering if you'd maybe wanna eat outside with me today? I already talked with Rian and he's working on some Senior project right now so he won't mind us not being here."
"Uh-uhm sure." Jack smiled and got up grabbing his lunch bag letting Alex lead the way towards the courtyard.

Jack smiled and laughed at the joke Alex had just told genuinely enjoying himself. Although he had to admit that a lot of the lunch period he'd just been admiring the way Alex's hair gleamed in the sunlight and how cute his smile was and the way he moved his hands when he talked. Jack really liked the way Alex moved his hands like an overly excited little kid. Really he just liked Alex as a whole...but he still didn't know where they stood.
"Hey Jack can I talk to you about prom? I know it's like a month away but we need tux fittings done so I was wondering if this weekend we can go get them taken, yeah?"
"Y-yeah."
"So, Saturday?"
"S-sure." He mumbled with a small smile.
"The periods almost over we'd better get back inside." Alex noted looking at the large clock in the courtyard.
Jack nodded but stayed where he was, Alex patiently waiting for him to stand up.
"I-I've got astronomy next...we're in the planetarium today."
"Staying outside then?" Jack nodded once more blushing lightly for no reason in particular. "Can I meet you by your locker after school then?"
"Y-yeah."
"Awesome. See you then Jacky." Alex beamed smiling at the younger beginning to walk away before turning on his heel and coming back. The blond boy leaned forward pressing his lips lightly on Jack's cheek before pulling away just as he'd leaned forward. Before Jack could even respond coherently Alex was already walking off and opening the door leading into the cafeteria.
And if Jack thought he was confused about what exactly he and Alex were before well now he was definitely confused.
-
Three weeks past and prom was just a week away. To say the least Jack was nervous as hell. Sure he and Alex had been spending a lot more time together and he was much more comfortable being around the older boy. But none of that changed how he'd gotten butterflies whenever he thought of Saturday night being prom. It would technically be his first date with Alex and that scared him.

Jack sighed and sat down at their usual lunch table being the first one there today. Soon enough Rian was sliding into the seat across from Jack while Alex sat in the seat next to him.
"Hey guys." Jack smiled subconsciously shying away from Alex.
"You excited for prom?" Rian teased, looking from Jack to Alex and back.
"Of course he is." Alex interjected wrapping an arm around Jack's shoulders. "Right Jacky?"
Jack nodded and blushed looking at his hands, avoiding eye contact with Alex. "I-I'm kinda nervous about it too." He admitted finally turning to look at Alex.
"Theres no need to be nervous. You're going with me and Rians' gonna be there it's a totally safe zone."
"Alex is right. And since I don't have a date I'll definitely be there for you and making sure that theres no funny business." Rian eyed Alex who frowned back at him. But Jack decided to brush past that obvious tension between his two friends.
"Ri what happened to asking Cass? I talked to her and she doesn't have a date." Jack said frowning slightly.
"You talked to her?"
"Y-yeah..."
"How?"
"Well I kind of had Alex talk for me and figure out if she was going with anyone."
"You two are a piece of work." Rian muttered shaking his head.
"Hey, don't be upset. Jack was trying to look out for you and he couldn't himself, that's really not a big deal." Alex interjected, resting a hand on top of Jack's at his mention of said boys name.
"I'm not upset...I just mean you two...Jacks all introverted and shy and you're the popular wise guy but that like works for you two. You're an odd couple if I ever saw one."
"Well w-we're not really a couple." Jack stated wanting to rip Rian's throat out at that. Mentioning him and Alex being more than just friends...well it wasn't exactly a topic to be talked about.
"Things can change." Alex winked and squoze the younger teen's hand lightly.
"Alright on that note I am going to throw away stuff...I'm a little uncomfortable right now not gonna lie." Rian shook his head again and got up from his seat whilst collecting the groups trash.
-
Jack sat back on his bed picking up his phone to scroll through Facebook updates. Sure in real life he didn't have that many friends but every one in awhile it was nice to see what other people were up to, even if they didn't know he existed. He clicked on none other than Alex's profile. Jack had to admit he had just the slightest crush on the older boy. He scrolled through picture after picture of the older boy, he stopped at one that was a group photo, the entire football team still in their padded uniforms standing in front of someones house, Alex holding the state trophy a smug smile on his lips. Jack liked that picture, Alex just looked so happy and in his element. He just hoped that maybe he could make the older boy as happy as he looked in that photo. But he doubted it.
Alex was the boy everyone knew, he had everything. Looks, popularity, charisma, besides all that his family was well off and he did pretty well in school too. And Jack was...well he was just a weight to carry. Sure Alex didn't mind now but later on he probably would. Say he wanted to go to a party, Jack would break down if he tried to get him to come along, and after awhile it's pretty easy to get sick of that. But Jack just guessed he might as well enjoy it while someone as great as Alex was interested in him.
-
Eventually Saturday was there and Jack was up early, at the beauty shop his mother went to. She insisted he go and get his hair done since he hadn't properly had it cut in almost six months. And even though he liked his hair as it was, his natural color and wild, he didn't have the heart to tell her no.
"So what do you want?" The stylist asked with a smile.
"I-I think...uh, something w-wild. Different." He managed to get out, his stomach feeling sour at having to speak.
"What do you think about some blond in thid section over here?" The stylist asked as she gestured to a front section of Jack's hair going back. "And it can go off to the side or you could even wear it the way you have it now." She said smiling.
"S-sure." Jack said with a slight nod, feeling ridiculously stupid. And the stylist must've sensed that with what she said next.
"You know it's totally okay, I don't want to pry or anything but do you have social anxiety?" Jack nodded again. "I thought so. You're doing pretty good out on your own. My sister has it too, she has panic attacks a lot when we go out...Just keep it up."
"T-thanks." Jack mumbled, genuinely smiling at the stylist, if it weren't for his stupid anxiety he would've given her a hug then and there.
"It's no problem, now lets go and get you shampooed."
-
Jack finished adjusting his blue based and baby yellow accented paisled bow tie before making his way downstairs. To be honest he felt pretty great about how he looked. His hair was a little bit shorter but still wild with a huge blond section, which he liked and hoped Alex would too."Oh you look so handsome!" Jack's mother exclaimed as she walked over to meet him, clasping her hands at her chest.
"Thanks Mom."
"When's your date going to get here?"
"In about twenty minutes...I'm kinda nervous?"
"Don't be. You're friends with Alex, I'm just glad he was nice enough to ask you and get to know you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I'm glad he saw how great you are and stuck around long enough to let you open up. People like him are worth keeping around."
Jack shrugged and smiled lightly. "I guess he is...I just hope he doesn't mind keeping me around for a little while too."
"He'd be crazy not to." His mom smiled and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Let me go get your father. I want him here for pictures of you and Alex." Jack nodded and kissed his mother on the cheek.Soon enough Alex was there and he and Jack were posing in the living room for photos. Jack thought that Alex looked absolutely adorable when he showed up. His hair was a lot more blond than it'd been Friday at lunch and most of the brown was gone now. But Jack didn't mind, he thought it suited Alex.
"Mom, hurry up!" Jack whined getting tired of holding the smile on his face.
"Okay just a couple more."
"Its really okay Mrs. Barakat. I came over pretty early for pictures." Alex smiled, being the perfect gentleman that Jack's parents couldn't help but adore.
"Thank you Alex. See, Jack you two have gotten time." Jack just rolled his eyes and smiled for yet another photo. "Wait can I get one where you're fixing his bow tie, it is a little crooked." Jack's mother directed to her son.
Jack just smiled and as he and Alex turned to face each other. Alex stuck his tongue out at Jack making the younger boy giggle as he reached forward to fix hos bowtie that was the opposite of his, baby yellow based with light blue accents; paisley print of course. In all honesty he liked how much they matched, in a way it showed everyone they were together and Jack could get used to that. But of course he and Alex were only friends so he didn't have much to get used to.

"You boys have fun!" Jack's mother said to them as she waved from the porch, her husband waving with the hand that wasn't wrapped around her waist.
"Be safe, don't do anything stupid." Mr. Barakat said, smiling fondly at his son who was now stepping into Alex's car, the older boy getting his door for him.

"I really liked your parents." Alex said as they pulled off heading towards the pier.
"Really?"
"Yeah, it was cute how happy your mom was. They really care about you."
"They're my parents, they're supposed to care about me."
"I know, they just happen to show it. My folks don't do that often."
"I don't know why they don't...they've got a pretty amazing son." Jack smiled at Alex but quickly looked away, averting his gaze out of the window.
"Thanks Jack. You're not so bad yourself." Alex teased as he put a hand over Jack's that lay on the arm rest. The younger blushed at the extra contact but he didn't mind it at all. In fact it was just something else he could get used to.

Not much later and they were boarding the cruise ship that their prom would take place on until one in the morning. Jack wasn't exactly sure what they'd do after that but knowing Alex he was already one step ahead if Jack.
"Do you know where Rian is?" Jack asked, keeping close to Alex since he was the only familiar person around.
"No, he'll be here though. Just calm down. Tonight is about having fun okay?" Alex smiled and tangled his fingers with Jack's. "I wanna make sure tonight is perfect."
"As long as you stay close by I think I'll be alright."
"Good, cause I wouldn't dream of leaving you alone." Jack just smiled at that and squoze the older teen's hand lightly.

Within about ten minutes Jack and Alex were finally inside of the boat and it was fucking beautiful. The prom committee had gone for a night in Wonderland as their theme and they'd done a pretty amazing job. Each table had hand crafted flowers that didn't exist as centerpieces. There were lights hanging from the ceiling but no main lights on which gave the room a mysterious and enchanting glow. All around the color scheme of blues purples and pinks just clicked...Jack could've sworn he was actually in Wonderland and unlike Alice if given the choice he'd never want to leave. By the time Prom had officially started and people were finally all on the boat Rian appeared at their table. Which was great for Jack because he'd began to worry about the other teen not making it.
"You showed up." Jack said smiling at his friend from where they sat across from each other.
"Of course I did. You really thought I'd miss prom?"
"No, I just couldn't help but worry. You know how I am."
Rian shrugged. "I'm just glad you came...honestly if it weren't for Alex I don't think you would've."
"No, I would have just come with you. But I have to admit he's a lot of why I'm here now."
"Speaking of where is Loverboy?"
"He's getting us some drinks. He said he had to go talk to someone too." Jack looked away from Rian to see Cassedee and Alex walking back to the table. "Uh, incoming, Ri."
"Huh?" Rian said before looking up finding Cass sliding into the seat next to him and Alex doing the same next to Jack. "Oh...Hi Cassedee."
"Hey Rian." Cass said smiling at him, obviously interested in a more than friendly way.
"I hope you don't mind but I put Cass down for our table...that's fine, yeah?" Alex said smiling knowingly at Rian who just nodded. "Jack, lets leave these two alone, wanna dance?" Alex said as he stood up extending a hand out for the younger to take.
"Uhm, sure." He mumbled grabbing Alex's hand and standing up. The older teen led Jack tongue dance floor where a few couples had already joined, dancing to the relatively slow paced song, yet not slow enough for a slow dance. "I'm really not the greatest dancer." Jack admitted blushing.as he looked down at the floor.
"It's alright, just follow my lead, okay?"
"Okay."
After a few songs Jack had gotten the hang of dancing. Sure he was still following Alex's lead but he felt a lot more comfortable with it. Eventually the song was over and Alex was taking him back over to their table seeing as dinner would be served literally any moment.
After they'd eaten Jack and Alex were back on the dance floor opting not to get their pictures taken until after they'd announced prom king and queen. Jack liked this though, being close to Alex, seeing him in his element. It was a glimmer of the life he wished he could have. Although tonight he was actually somewhat a part of it as people greeted Alex and nodded at Jack, acknowledging his presence. And it surprisingly felt nice to have people say 'hi' to him while he was around Alex.
"When are they going to play a slow song?" Jack asked Alex, leaning forward so his lips were practically on the older boy's ear; he was nearly shouting because of how loud the music was.
"After they announce the king and queen." Alex said back, mimicking Jack's actions.

"Excuse me everyone, can I have your attention?" A teacher said into a mic where she stood on the platform where the DJ was. Everyone ignored her and continued dancing until the music was finally cut off by the DJ. "Alright guys! I've got the results for prom king and queen!" She said with much more enthusiasm this time, earning cheers from the riled up teenagers. "So by a landslide your king, a dashing musician and football player, won racking in ninety percent of your votes...could I get Alex Gaskarth up here to be crowned?" Jack looked to Alex who just smiled ear to ear at him before tugging Jack along with him towards the platform. When Alex finally stepped up there were cheers from their class, all happy about Alex's win. "And your queen is a lovely young lady who you can find singing and playing her guitar during passing periods making our days a little brighter. Cassedee Pope, come on up." From where he was Jack couldn't see Cassedee until she was walking onto the platform, her sparkling long gown swishing looking completely made for queen.
Two kids from student council came forward holding their crowns on plush blue pillows that matched the color scheme of the rest of the room. Soon enough they were both crowned and the crowd around the platform was clearing for the king and queen to dance with their dates. Cassedee making a straight B-line for Rian who just stood where he was grinning like a fool. Alex doing the same for Jack who was a lot more hesitant than Rian.
"You want to dance with me...in front of everyone?" Jack stammered, sure that his cheeks were flushing a light pink.
"Course, you are my date afterall...come on it's just me and you. No one else matters and I promise I'll hold you close." Alex smiled and put out a hand for Jack to take, so he did letting Alex take the lead.
Once it was obvious that both the king and queen had found their dates the spotlights were on each couple and the music started playing back up again ; Jack swore he knew the song.
"Does this sound familiar?" Alex asked smiling at the younger boy. Jack nodded...it was the song Alex played for him to calm him down. It was the first time Jack had come over to Alex's house just a few weeks ago. Of course nothing was perfect with Jack and he began having a panic attack for no real reason, at least not that he could peg. But Alex was understanding as ever, not touching him until he said it was okay, reminding him where he was, making sure he remembered to breathe and when he was finally calming down he got his guitar and played the song for him. Jack wondered how Alex knew how to handle him but he didn't ask, he just appreciated it more than anyone could know. "For You Now, Bruno Merz...I thought you liked it when I played it for you so I requested it. They'll also be playing some Blink and Yellowcard tonight too."
Jack just smiled and pulled himself closer to Alex. "Did I mention I really like your hair? It's different, looks good on you." Alex said with a smile, kissing the younger boy's hair.
"Thanks, I like your hair too. Blond is good on you." Jack murmered resting his chin on Alex's shoulder reveling in the moment. This was easily the best of all his high school experiences and he could credit it all to one boy.
"So, I was wondering if you'd want to go to the beach with me after this? I've already got two bathing suits and towels in my car so you don't even have to worry about a thing." Alex said, cocking his head to the side, his crown looking as though it was about to fall over.
Jack just smiled and nodded as he reached to adjust Alex's crown. In truth he just didn't want this night with Alex to end. Who cold blame him? Alex was obviously interested and aside from that it was prom the last of all their high school memories before graduating. No one wanted tonight to end but of course time wouldn't stop for Shaw High School so they had to press on living in the moment, soaking up every last positive vibe they could possibly get from their graduating class.Jack sighed as they docked back to the pier. He'd barely left Alex's arms the entire night, just slow dancing with him even during the fastest paced songs. Which he had to admit he found pretty romantic. But with the night technically over he couldn't help but be slightly upset."Where are we going? Didn't we pass the beach?" Jack asked looking out the window and back to Alex. They were in the car headed to the lake but Alex wasn't going in the direction Jack knew the beach to be in.
"We're going to the beach. You know the little camp ground by Willow? Well part of the lake runs into it so there's this beach there that no one knows about. The football team goes there a lot for parties."
Jack just shrugged and leaned back into the passenger seat of Alex's car. As long as he knew where they were going he guessed he was alright.Eventually Alex was pulling his car up next to another car on a dirt path. It was obviously used often and the music flooding from the beach area of the forest told that it was being used now.
"You can change into your trunks in the car." Alex said with a smile.
"Where are you going to change?"
"Outside. All of the guys here have seen me naked a million times." He grinned this time and Jack just rolled his eyes.
"Okay, swim trunks please?"

"Okay, we run on the count of three, yeah?" Alex said to Jack as they stood side by side on the sand. The younger of the two nodded and took Alex's hand in his. "Alright, one, two...three!" Alex shouted and the pair bolted towards the lake, running into the water until it reached their waists hands still interlocked.
"Fuck it's cold." Jack mumbled, before ducking down, water covering his shoulders now.
"Its not that bad." Alex smiled and moved his hand from Jack's just to wrap his arms around the younger's torso. "Is that better?"
"A little."
"Oh come on, you know that's a lot better, cause it is fucking freezing in here."
"See, it is too cold."
Alex just laughed and rolled his eyes. Despite the water being cold they stayed like that for a long while, Alex holding Jack both of them gently swaying to what was on the stereo that sat on the shore. And to say the least Jack thought it was nice. If it weren't for how fucking cold it was he woukdnt mind staying like this with Alex for a lot longer.
"Alex you mind going back to the shore?"
"Not at all." The elder teen said smiling, making Jack want to lean forward and kiss him but of course he wouldn't.Just a few minutes later Jack was sitting on one of the logs next to the bonfire and Alex was draping a towel on th younger boy's shoulders.
"I'll go get us a drink, yeah?" Alex asked, still standing. Jack just nodded and smiled at his friend.
He focused on the embers of the bonfire in front of him, smoke and flickers of flame rising up until they weren't visible anymore. Enjoying their playful dance through the black smoke before becoming just faint memories, kind of like prom itself.
Jack barely looked up when someone sat next to him, just assuming it was Alex.
"Hey, you're Jack right?" A guy with curly hair said, obviously one of the football players just from his build. Jack just nodded, trying not to seem like a deer in headlights. "It's fine if you don't wanna talk, anxiety right?" Jack nodded again. "Well I'm Zack. Alex's friend, he talks about you all the time and I just wanted to let you know that he cares about you...I don't know exactly what you guys are but he likes you and he relates to you a lot...so just don't push him away cause you think he doesn't." Jack nodded once more, biting his lip. He had questions he wanted to ask but of course he couldn't. "I know you want to say something...I'm just gonna guess that it's how it's even possible that Alex relates to you. He used to have really bad anxiety in front of big groups of people. He got over it eventually, well more used to it anyway with therapy and stuff. I guess he likes that he sees himself in you -"
"Hey, I see you've met Zack." Alex said as he took a seat on Jack's other side, their thighs touching.
"Yeah, I've gotta go get back to Jaime. See you guys later." Zack said as he stood up, smiling at the other boys before walking off.
"So, what do you want to do the rest of the night?" Alex asked a few moments later as he wrapped an arm around Jack's shoulders.
"I dunno, I kinda just liked spending time with you." He mumbled, looking down at his feet, avoiding eye contact with the elder.
"Well then we can just spend time together."
They stayed on the log, Jack snuggled into Alex's side as they shared a towel talking about nothing of any importance and it was nice, at least Jack thought it was.
"Jack...?"
"Yeah?" The younger replied, looking up to make eye contact.
"Don't freak out...but can I kiss you?"
Jack didn't know how to respond to that. Of course he wanted Alex to kiss him, he'd been thinking about it all night. But in that moment he couldn't think of what to do or say. So he gave into his instincts and craned his neck up to meet his lips with Alex's ; and Alex leaned down to kiss him back...eventually their lips finally did meet. Jack wasn't entirely sure what to do with himself, afterall it was his first kiss and he assumed it wasn't Alex's. So he was greatful for the older boy moving his hands for him, both onto Alex's sides as Alex put his own hands in Jack's hair. Soon enough things felt normal and Jack was beginning to enjoy the kiss. He noticed that Alex's lips tasted faintly of mint and strawberries and they were smooth, somehow gentle. He liked the tingly feeling that went through his lips down to the pit of his stomach. The slight burning in his lungs barely bothered him and was nothing compared to how giddy he was.
Alex was the first to pull away, letting his forehead rest against Jack's, their noses brushing against each other. The younger of the two smiled as he moved his hands from Alex's sides and pulled the elder's hands off of his head.
"Was that your first kiss?" Alex mumbled bringing his hand up to rub his thumb against Jack's lower lip.
"Yeah." Jack murmured back, blushing now and downcasting his gaze.
"No, I didn't mean it like that. It was fine, better than fine actually, I could hardly tell."
"Then what gave it away?"
"Your hands." Alex chuckled and dropped his hand from Jack's face. "An experienced kisser would have known exactly where to put them."
"Well I guess I can only learn from here." Jack smiled teasingly.
"I guess you're right." Alex whispered as he connected his lips back onto Jack's. And as far as Jack could tell prom night was absolutely perfect and everything he could ever dream of it being, maybe even better. Because for once his anxiety wasn't the center of his life and he enjoyed himself. And he finally got what he was really missing out on all these years, not a friend, but someone who cared about him by choice and made it a point to stick around. Which quite frankly was worth the wait.
♠ ♠ ♠
Okay, so it seems that I'll be writing a second part to this. So give it love and stuff, especially since I wrote this for nearly eight months before posting it anywhere.