Wet Dreams Are the Best Dreams

JACK

Jack stared at the pictures of him and Alex on his phone. He needed time to move faster. It had only been six days and he already felt an aching pain inside of him every time the blond little English boy crossed his mind. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, three more days. Three more days and then he would be with Alex again. He could handle three more days, right?
He leaned against the tinted window of the bus. The cool glass felt nice against his skin. He opened his eyes and watched the crowd forming outside. The fans were squinting their eyes trying to see in. He pressed his hand against the glass and smiled halfheartedly as they gasped and pointed towards him.
“Are you gonna go out to them?” Vincent sat in his bunk with a laptop balanced on his thigh.
Jack shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Vincent tilted his head to the side and looked at him. “Is something wrong?”
Jack shook his head in response and stood up. He brushed off some nonexistent crumbs from his jeans and went up to the door. Vincent watched him with confusion written all over his face. Jack pressed a button and the door slid open. He heard screams and cheers. He walked out to the fans standing in groups on the sidewalk. He smiled for pictures and opened up his arms for hugs.

If nine days hurt this much, he couldn’t even imagine the pain he would feel when he went back to America.

__________

Jack went straight to the bunk after the show.
Rian raised his eyebrows and looked at him. “You’re not going out? Why?”
Jack sat down on top of the covers and fished out his phone from his pocket. He saw the time and cursed silently. Alex was most likely asleep. “I don’t feel like it.”
Rian laughed. “Who are you and what did you do to Jack?”
Jack scoffed at him. He didn’t want to get drunk when he felt like this, it would just end up with him crying somewhere and it would be embarrassing for everyone involved. It was better if he stayed home and cried in private.
Vincent sat down on Zack’s bunk across the floor from Jack’s. “I’ll stay in too.”
Jack shook his head. “Don’t stay in for me.”
Vincent gave him a small smile. “I’m not.”
Jack went back to his phone. He sent Alex a text hoping he hadn’t fallen asleep yet. He heard Zack and Rian leave and the bus go quiet. It wasn’t a nice, comfortable quiet. It was an awkward one. Jack knew Vincent well enough to know that he stayed in tonight so he could talk to Jack about something. He wondered what. He took one last look at his phone before he came to the conclusion that Alex was asleep and put it back in his pocket. He turned to Vincent.
“Spit it out.”
Vincent furrowed his brows. “What are you talking about?”
Jack rolled his eyes. “In case you didn’t notice, there’s a big fat elephant in the room. Tell me what’s wrong so we can cage it and sell it to the circus.”
Vincent put his index finger up in the air between them. “Do you even know what they do to those poor circus elephants to make them do tricks? It’s awful and I don’t want our elephant to suffer like that.”
“Dude.”
Vincent smiled at him. “Fine. Well, it’s not something I have to say, it’s more of a question.”
Jack waited.
Vincent took a deep breath. “Okay, so you’ve been acting really weird lately. You never go out with us and you spend most of your time moping in your bunk. I know that something is up and that you’re hiding it from me. So come on, what’s wrong?”
Jack stared down at his hands. “I met someone.”
Vincent looked at him in surprise. “Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing? I’m happy for you and all but you don’t look very cheery.”
Jack debated on what to say. It’s not like he could just blurt out ‘Yeah so I fell in love with a seventeen year old boy’. Jack wasn’t even sure if their relationship was legal. Was Jack technically a pedophile? He was gonna have to look that up later.
“It’s complicated.”
“How?”
Jack frowned. “It just is, okay?”
Vincent groaned. “No it’s not okay. Jack, you’re my best fucking friend. I hate seeing you like this and I can’t do anything about it if you shut me out. Can you please just tell me what’s wrong?”
Jack avoided Vincent’s seeking eyes and continued studying his fingers. His voice came out barely stronger than a whisper. “I’m afraid of what people would say and that it won’t work out.”
Vincent leaned against the wall behind him. “Ah.”
Jack laid his head on the pillow. “Yeah.”
“Tell me about her, you know I won’t judge. Unless it’s my mom, or someone over 80.”
“So a 79 year old is okay? Thank God.” Jack caught the fan made stuffed animal before it hit him. He threw it back at Vincent, who dodged it by a millimeter.
Vincent smiled and put the plush cat in place on the small shelf above Zack’s bed. “No, but seriously. Tell me.”
Jack was silent for a few seconds. “His name is Alex and he's from England an-.”
“Wait, did you say ‘his’?”
Jack swallowed. “Yes.”
“So you’re gay?” Vincent asked carefully.
Jack shook his head. “No, not like that. I still like girls.”
Vincent raised an eyebrow. “So you’re a honey collector?”
Jack furrowed his brows. “ A what?”
Vincent gestured with his hands in the air. “You know, honey? Bees? Bees collect honey? Bee, bi? You like both males and females? All honey is sweet?.”
Jack felt his face go red. “Oh. Uhm, I guess?”
Vincent smiled. “And that’s totally cool. No one here is gonna judge you for your sexuality, don’t worry.”
Jack fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “There’s more.”
Vincent motioned for him to keep talking.
Jack decided to do it like you rip a band aid, fast and in one go. “Alex is seventeen, a fan and I miss him so much it hurts.” He closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see Vincent’s reaction. He went silent, and stayed silent for far too long. Jack peered one eye open to look at him. He didn’t look angry or weirded out. He looked confused.
He scratched the back of his neck. “So you’re dating a seventeen year old British fanboy?”
Jack nodded. “Pretty much.”
Vincent stood up. “I can live with that.” He sat down on the edge of Jack’s bunk and smiled, he reached for Jack’s phone. “Come on, I wanna see pictures.”