Play It Again

Alex had sort of felt a little awkward at the time. He hadn't meant to creep on the gorgeous boy sitting with only a portable stereo beside the lake at the local park, but sometimes things happen. Really, he was looking for the mystery boy's girlfriend... or boyfriend. He hoped, if anything, he had a boyfriend. God, did Alex hope. Really, there was no chance he was single—he was stunning... from what Alex could see, at least.

After about half an hour of the raven-haired boy sitting alone, clearly just enjoying the alternative station playing the usual shitty songs that pumped incessantly from the speakers, Alex decided it would be a pretty good time to make his move. Sidling forward as slowly and casually as possible, the young teen plopped himself on the ground, successfully startling the other male.

"Sorry," Alex apologized flirtatiously (albeit a bit sheepishly as well) while finally making eye contact with a pair of the deepest, most beautiful brown eyes he'd ever been so lucky to be graced with. They were wide and bright, framed by long lashes that fanned out perfectly. They made him seem more innocent; curious. "I was just wondering if this seat was taken?"

The other boy smiled at that, shaking his head before biting his lip gently. Alex just about swooned at the simple gesture. Still, the other teen didn't say a single word as his gaze was set forward again, focusing on nothing yet everything all at once. Normally in such a situation, Alex would've become so bored that he'd have walked away without any sort of explanation or farewell, but there was just something so... serene, so captivating that he couldn't begin to imagine leaving. Not even the music, now louder than it'd been before due to his new proximity, could drive him away.

Instead, he continued to gaze at the boy to his right. He wasn't even being remotely discreet about it (he thought he was being pretty damn sneaky, at least, and he was always told that it's the thought that counts), and he only realized what he was doing when those fucking eyes flicked over and began to silently interrogate him.

"Shit, sorry," he apologized again. "I just, uh... yeah."

The other boy merely grinned and shrugged. "It's whatever," the teen decided. "Seriously, don't worry. Sometimes I catch myself 'accidentally' staring at people, too."

Alex laughed, prompting the other boy to join in, and then he was turning to face the cute male fully. When his action was mirrored, he felt butterflies swarm through his body.

Both boy's had their knees hugged to their chests, and their feet were within distance of touching if either shifted their ankle just enough.

Alex did, and that had even more questions filling the raven-haired boy's eyes.

"What's your name?" Alex inquired, resting his chin on his knees and leaning forward to display his pure interest in the answer he'd be given.

"Jack," was the only thing he got.

"I really like that name," Alex confessed, and he could've sworn he'd seen a light pink blush spread through Jack's cheeks. "I'm Alex. So, Jack," he began, reveling in the way the simple four-letter name rolled off of his tongue, "what're you doing out here alone?"

"Are you planning on molesting me?" Jack blurt. That, of course, was something he wasn't embarrassed to ask aloud. "Because in all the movies, they ask why someone's sitting alone before they rape and kill them."

"No," Alex assured with another laugh before deciding to take the leap of faith. "I just... I don't know, this is probably the lamest thing I've ever said to anyone, but someone as gorgeous as you should never have to be alone."

That time, it wasn't pink to flood Jack's precious face. No, that time it was a deep red. That pretty much sealed the deal on whether or not the teen was gay, and from then on out, Alex didn't fail to use a pick-up line, sweet compliment, or gentle touch to his advantage.

It was about an hour later, the sun almost set completely behind the horizon, did it happen.

"Oh, my God," Jack virtually squeaked, jumping to his feet before bending back down to turn the radio up a bit louder. "This is my song," he explained. "I've been listening to the radio all night long, sitting around waiting for it to come on, and here it is."

Alex didn't understand at first. It didn't seem particularly special compared to everything else that had played. Was there honestly anything worthwhile about Demi Lovato's Neon Lights? Yeah, he didn't think so. The way Jack danced around to the beat, though, absolutely transfixed Alex to the point that he didn't care about how much Jack loved it.

"Come dance with me, Lex, I wanna dance with you," Jack suddenly gasped, and before Alex could even say anything, whether it'd have been about not having any dancing skills or how he'd much rather just watch the way those incredible hips moved, Jack was reaching out and pulling the blonde boy to his feet.

At first, Alex just laughed and tried his best to reciprocate Jack's movements from where they were connected at the hands. Then, about halfway through the song, Jack tugged their bodies completely together, and Alex almost melted into a puddle on the trampled dirt and grass beneath their feet.

The song eventually came to an end, and as it faded out into some commercial for replacement windshields, Jack leaned in and pressed their lips together. It was brief and simple, but it had Alex's heart stuttering pathetically in his chest. When they eventually pulled away from each other, Jack merely leaned their foreheads together. Their arms still held their bodies close, and Alex marveled at the way Jack's breathless laugh washed against his face.

"Play it again," Jack begged the inanimate object in a mutter after his mini hysterics had ceased, and Alex couldn't help but think the same exact thing.

When an Ed Sheeran song (Alex thought it was something called I See Fire, and it honestly wasn't too bad) started to drift through the air, the raven-haired boy dragged Alex back down to the ground, and to the latter's displeasure, he soon shifted back so that they were no longer touching.

Two additional hours passed with the boy's talking over the radio, Alex still using every single opportunity he saw to flirt. He'd only get silly little grins and adorable laughs in return, but he loved it all the same. He figured he was in love. He realized and completely understood that he'd only known Jack for a few hours, but if it wasn't love then he didn't even want to experience the real thing. Not without the boy in front of him, at least.

His heart skipped with each word, and his eyes glazed with admiration. All he wanted to do for the rest of his days was stay at that park, the stars out in the sky above them. He wanted to talk with Jack about everything while the radio played in the background, and he wanted to dance to whatever shitty song Jack loved at the moment. He wanted to say sweet things, and he never wanted to go without seeing that blush.

But, sadly, things don't quite play out that way in the real world. Jack had said something about needing to get home, and Alex had jumped at the opportunity like it was a fish in the ocean after having been stranded with no food for weeks.

"Let me drive you home?" he offered, climbing to his feet as Jack shut down and gathered up his stereo.

The raven-haired teen seemed to deliberate it for a moment before he smiled and nodded. Sans being prompted to, Alex was taking the machine from Jack's hands (stopping to be a bit surprised by how genuinely heavy the otherwise tiny device was in his hold), and then moving towards where his truck was parked only about a hundred or so yards away.

On the drive, neither boy said anything (except Jack giving the occasional direction, of course). The silence was filled with the sounds of the radio, which was shifty and staticky due to Alex continuously twisting the dial in hopes of finding Jack's song just one more time.

After telling Alex to "Take a right up here, okay?" Jack was asking, "Why do you keep doing that?" The blonde-haired boy could hear the smile, so he wasn't concerned that he'd been annoying the other male.

"No reason," he answered. "Just hoping one of the stations will play a good song." Really, he would've given every last penny in his name for the rest of his life to whichever DJ played that shitty pop song first.

No success was had, and Alex left the stations alone. It was a stupid station like the one Jack had been listening to when they'd first met, but he figured the odds of that one song playing again were pretty damn slim.

"I'm right up here in that white house," Jack said, almost too quietly for Alex to catch. In all honesty, he didn't want the night to end either.

Pulling into the driveway, neither teen made any move to get out. Some Lady Gaga song was playing, and Jack seemed content enough with it to not leave.

"So, I, uh..." Alex stuttered as the song came to a close. His shaky hand reached out in a last attempt to find the elusive tune. AM, FM, and XM was scanned as he stumbled over his words. "I, um... I had a really good time with y—"

"I did, too," Jack cut him off. He could hear the disappointment and uneasiness in his sort of date's voice, and he thought he'd do the thoughtful thing and be reassuring. When Alex smiled at him, he knew he'd done the right thing.

"Well, I... I was wondering if maybe you'd wanna, like... do it again sometime?" Alex couldn't even hold eye contact as his gaze shifted back to the dial spinning between his thumb and pointer finger.

"Are you asking me on a date?" Jack inquired. "Like, a real one?"

"Yeah, I... yeah. Don't feel like you have to or anything, but I mean... I don't know, it's whatever," the slighter decided, shrugging. He was much more disappointed than he sounded. Clearly Jack didn't enjoy spending time with him like that, and that kiss had to have just been a complete spur of the moment ordeal.

However, Jack was nodding eagerly, grin spreading across his lips. "I'd like that," he said quickly. "I'd really, really like that, Alex."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Alex finally got the courage to resume eye contact, and when he saw how genuinely excited the younger boy looked, he felt his hopes skyrocket. And to think: it had all started because he'd stuck around too long to stare at some cute boy in the distance.

"Here, uh, do you have a phone? Put your number in mine," Alex said, reaching into his pocket to pull out his cell phone and then handing it over. Jack did as told before handing it back. "I'll text you when I think of something good enough to make you consider a second date," he joked, and Jack shook his head, disbelieving smirk on his lips before he was gazing back at the older teen.

A few minutes ticked away with both boys doing nothing but taking in each other's features through the darkness. Alex was the first to speak up as yet another song came to an end, asking, "Can I walk you to your door, or is that too loser-ish?"

Jack full-on laughed but shook his head. "It's cute," he retorted, hand reaching for the door.

"No, you wait right there," Alex instructed, and Jack merely cocked an eyebrow yet reclined in his seat and did as he'd been told. The elder jumped from the driver's side of his truck and then ran around the front, opening Jack's door and holding his hand out for the other boy to take.

Jack did so with a grin, and as soon as he'd gotten himself on his feet, it happened again.

"Oh, my God," he gasped, eyes so wide it was almost a comical sight. "This is my song! We've been listening to the radio all night long. I can't believe that it came back on, but here it is." He reached back into the truck and turned the station up so that it could be heard nearly halfway down the road.

That time, he didn't ask Alex to dance—he just started, both ending up moving around in circles until they were positioned in front of the bright headlights still shining from the front of Alex's truck. Their shadow was nothing more than a big, dark blob on the white exterior of the two story house.

Jack had his arms wrapped loosely around Alex's neck as they swayed, while Alex's were wrapped around the younger boy's waist, holding their bodies close as the familiar sounds surrounded them. Just like before, as the song began to drift out, Jack leaned in for a kiss.

Alex was much more prepared that time, and he didn't hesitate to return the pressure. It lasted a few seconds longer than the first had, but it was still a mere press of lips. Parting seemed a bit more difficult as well, and even when it had been accomplished, their lips were still within touching distance.

"Thanks, Lex," Jack mumbled, leaning in for another quick peck.

All Alex could think was 'play it again, play it again, play it again.'

Only two days later and it was a Friday. Both boys were back at that same spot that they'd met, but that time there was no radio. They talked without any distractions that time around, and everything just felt so right.

It took about an hour and a half of working up his courage before Alex stood, holding his hand up in an 'I'll be right back' gesture. Jack was confused, to say the least, but he didn't move as he watched Alex jog back over to his truck, parked about fifty feet away in the semidarkness.

The older boy disappeared behind the back, and Jack was only truly able to catch the small trunk in the back opening before something was lifted from within. When Alex moved back into his sight, he was holding a guitar.

"What's this?" Jack inquired, goofy grin that his date could hardly stand spreading across his face.

Alex shrugged as he lowered himself onto his previous spot on the ground, and he randomly strummed a few notes to make sure that everything was still in tune before beginning a song he'd spent a total of about forty nonstop hours learning just for that moment—Neon Lights.

He felt stupid, really. It wasn't the first time he'd ever preformed in front of someone, but... it was the first time preforming in front of someone not closely related to him, as well as the fact that it was someone he was trying to win over.

Jack was more than delighted about the ordeal right on up until the moment he realized that Alex couldn't dance with him. That didn't stop the raven-haired teen, however, and he climbed to his feet and swayed around to the acoustic version of his song, sung by what could only be described as an angel.

The tune came to an end, and Jack dropped to his knees in front of his date so that they were no more than a handful of inches from each other's faces. "Did you learn that for me?" he asked, and he got his answer when Alex shrugged in an attempt to be casual. "Well, thank you," he murmured, pushing his body forward that little bit. He wanted to hear it again, but fuck, no one had ever done something that sweet for him before. It left him feeling tingly and special. He liked it; he liked getting that feeling from Alex.

The younger boy tentatively pushed Alex's guitar from his lap to the dirty ground and then reached up to push him so that he was lying on his back, following not too far behind. With only the stars as their company that night, lazy kisses were shared until well into the early hours of the morning.

--- ---

Thirty years down the road and Neon Lights is being played on the oldies station. Funny, Alex could remember when even classic rock wasn't old enough for old people radio.

He can't listen to it without thinking about Jack Barakat. Seventeen, young, stunning... Jack would always be seventeen to Alex. There was nothing that could change his mind. His husband was still as gorgeous at forty-seven as he'd been when he was still a teenager.

That's how, with the oldies station playing from the TV above their fireplace, he was brought back. It seemed to bring Jack back as well, considering the fact that he recited exactly what he'd said all those years ago: "Oh, my God, this is my song. I've been listening to the radio all night long, sitting around waiting for it to come on, and here it is." He stood from where he'd been sitting in his recliner, hips ticking carefully to the beat.

Everything seemed to shift in Alex's worn eyes. They were seventeen and on their first unofficial date. Tears sprang to the elder man's eyes at just the thought of the first time he'd met the love of his life. He knew it wasn't a bad sign, just as Jack also knew. It happened every single time that fucking song played.

"Come dance with me, Lex, I wanna dance with you," Jack murmured, and Alex didn't even hesitate to stand from the couch, arms wrapping around his husband's thin body as they moved around their living room. They were much too tired to move like they had in their youth, but it was still as important to both of them.

The song ended all too soon for either man's liking, and, without fail, Jack leaned in for a kiss. It was similar to their first kiss—short and gentle—but it still had Alex's heart aching in his chest.

Then, as if the younger male had been reading his mind, Jack nudged their noses together, murmuring a soft, "Play it again."

And Alex could only answer just as quietly with an agreeing, "Play it again."