Prompts

Prompt 1: Curiosity

Oh, curiosity. A blessing and a curse, indeed it is. For, with it, we take risks and make mistakes, but without it, discoveries would be no such thing.

Everyone knew he was straight. It was kind of a given, being that the boy had numerous 'girlfriends' and the majority of girls in his grade were completely entranced by every move that this young boy made.

This boy was Jack Barakat. He wasn't super popular, but he wasn't a nobody, either. The nearly fourteen year old was in between, and he liked it that way. He had a handful of genuine, reliable friends and that was all that really mattered to him. He'd take a few real friends for a million fake ones in a heartbeat.

With that being said, Jack had some enemies too. They were the ones that were popular and cool, but they were also the ones who sometimes pushed the black haired boy into walls and called him names. Whatever.

Jack was in the seventh grade, but summer was approaching on a turbo-jet and he could foresee a lot of beach activity in the near future. Eighth grade would welcome Jack with open arms full of bullies and pimples and awkward boners, but it was going to be great. It was just another step closer to adulthood, which he was looking forward to.

So this boy, Jack, was something along the lines of a kissing expert in all of the seventh grade. Sure, he was a little goofy looking at his age, but so were the girls and nobody really cared. His first kiss was with little miss Taylor Jardine in kindergarten and that's when it all started, really.

The brown eyed boy had essentially kissed all of the cute girls he knew, and he was getting a bit bored with it. He voiced his dilemma to his most treasured friend of all, Alex, who scoffed rather harshly and seemed almost distraught by the conversation.

"Just kiss the ugly girls too, then." Alex reasoned while kicking at a pebble on he sidewalk. He was walking home beside Jack, who simply laughed humorlessly, saying, "Oh, so you want me to kiss crazy Amanda Bunkface? She has like, one tooth and enough hair on her hands to make a coat for a gorilla. No thanks."

Alex laughed at his best friend, but still a little upset for a reason unbeknownst to Jack. Said boy noticed the tense aura as well, but decided not to push it. "I don't know what I'm gonna do, then." Jack said instead.

"Well," Alex began rather quietly, "you could always kiss a boy."

Jack wasn't desperate enough to kiss any boys because seriously, ew. Jack knew cooties weren't real and he was way to 'mature' for that kind of baloney, but he wasn't going to put his lips around any other boys, friends or not.

Jack fell silent for brief moment, almost in a contemplative way, but then laughed and said, "That's gross, I'd rather kiss Miss Hairy Gorilla Coat."

Alex laughed along too, but his stomach didn't feel all too well and his fake smile was starting to hurt him, physically and emotionally. Alex didn't really think it was gross to kiss a boy, was it?

Apparently Jack thought it was, and Alex was always wanting to impress the younger boy (even though it should have been the other way around), so he agreed that yes, it was absolutely gross to kiss another boy, but internally, Alex disagreed and kept his hidden thoughts buried away and never to be thought about again. At least, he hoped.

--

One can only hide something in their minds so long before it spills out, overflows its excess and its need to get out. Thoughts can only be buried for so long until they are dug up, intentionally, accidentally or otherwise forced out. A simple want for something can only stay a 'want', before it can and will quickly turn into a burning desire, a mind consuming need.

So, needless to say, Jack was living through that painful, torturous feeling of needneedneed, and it was with something he never thought that would be on his mind. He never thought that he'd be actually contemplating the whole 'boy kissing a boy' thing.

After the conversation he had with Alex, Jack could easily tell that something was bothering the older male. Jack wasn't entirely sure why Alex was so distraught about the whole situation, but after he noticed Alex acting differently around Jack, more tentative and careful, like he was holding back something of dire importance, the raven haired boy concluded that he was going to ask the older male what was wrong.

So he did, and it did not go nearly as smooth as he exactly wanted, but it was, in the very least, a starting point in the challenging and experimental road that lied ahead him.

"Just tell me why your upset." Jack said, crossing his arms for emphasis. "You never talk to me anymore."

Alex gaped at the younger boy, fuming. "I never talk to you? How about the other way around? You've been focusing on girls all the time. Its always girls, girls, girls. And kissing. What's the deal with that? Why is that so great?"

Jack had never really seen his best friend get so worked up and honestly, he never wanted to see it again. It hurt his chest, gave him a weird feeling deep in his gut.

"Huh? Your not gonna answer?" Alex continued. His words were rushed and jumbled in the slightest, but increasingly so. "Why are girls so much better than guys? Why can't a boy kiss another boy? You freaked out when I mentioned it, but really, it can't be any different. I don't get it, you used to be so open minded."

Jack stood quietly, more or less looking directly through Alex. He was startled that Alex blew up on him, but through all of that, he finally figured out why the younger male was upset.

As one would assume, Alex had avoided Jack after their last conversation. Jack, having reached his breaking point, desperately (and embarrassingly) asked his older sister, May, for help.

His small knuckles hovered over her closed door wondering if he should just turn his back and rum to his room instead. May opened the door before Jack had a chance make a run for it.

"Need something?" She said, leaning against the door frame and looking bored.

"I wanted to ask you something..." Jack said, the unpleasant feeling of nervousness overwhelm him entirely. He wasn't afraid to talk to his sister per se, he just was wondering what she'd think of him after he told her what was going on in his brain.

She beckoned him to come in, so Jack say quietly atop her unmade bed as she sat down beside him, both their legs crossed. "What's up, then?"

Jack toyed with his hands for a moment, but he knew he needed to talk to his sister before he chickened out. "Is it wrong to like a boy?"

May looked a little bit surprised. She probably thought he was going to ask something along the lines of 'What should I do if someone steals my toy car,' but then she realized that Jack was technically a teenager (Albeit, he was a bit young for his age).

Despite herself, she smiled and put a delicate hand on her little brother's knee. "Most people will tell you it's wrong and that its bad and terrible and stuff like that. But you know what, Jacky?" She asked, her voice calm and soothing, "Its only wrong if you tell yourself its wrong. If you say to yourself that there's nothing wrong with it, then there is nothing wrong with it. I encourage you to make up your own mind about it, whether its right or wrong. As long as you aren't mean to anybody, your allowed to have your own opinion, regardless of others."

Jack took in all the information, hoping to retain it and not let it go in one ear and out the other. "What's your opinion about it?"

May smiled endearingly. "I think all kinds of love are beautiful, regardless of gender, race, religion and age."

The younger boy smiled enthusiastically and nodded, because he finally had an answer. He yelled out a gratitude towards his sister who laughed in return. Jack ran out of the room and into the laundry space where his mother was.

"Mom," Jack said, "can Alex spent the night tonight?"

Joyce laughed a little, folding clothes as she spoke, "Sure, honey. Why are you in such a rush, though? Is there a special occasion that I'm missing?"

Jack shook his head. "No, uh. No reason."

His mother seemed suspicious, but shrugged. "Just make sure his mother is okay with it."

Jack jumped excitedly, a little too excited perhaps, but rushed over to his mothers phone and searched for the contact 'Isobel Gaskarth'.

After he talked to her, she agreed to drop Alex off in half an hour, after he finished his homework and got his chores done. Jack sighed, feeling content but excited, because he had a plan that was going to make Alex happy.

At least, he hoped.

--

Jack had told Alex that he was sorry, that he didn't mean to be close minded about the whole idea. The younger truly did feel bad, especially seeing his best friend so torn up. Alex said that he was sorry for getting mad over something stupid, and then they both smiled. Their friendship was, once again, in tact.

Once they had played video games, messed with Jack's guitar for a few hours and did all sorts of things, they decided that 10:37 was about time they sleep.

So, as they always have, Alex lied next to Jack in the same bed, warm and content and happy. The younger decided that this was when he was going to initiate his plan.

"Lex?" Jack spoke quietly. He was facing the wall, but turned around to face the older boy.

"Hmm?"

Jack looked intently at Alex, who's eyes were open as well, peering into the ones looking back at him. The younger boy was so close to Alex, feeling his breath hitting against his skin.

Jack took in a breath of air, feeling the nerves bubbling up in his stomach as he spoke the words he had in his mind since he spoke with his sister;

"Would you be mad if I kissed you?"

Jack could hear Alex sucking in a breath, probably out of shock. He could see the way Alex's eyes widened, the way his mouth twitched. The elder mumbled, "W-what? I thought y-you-"

"Alex." Jack spoke, cutting of the older male. "Your right, I was close minded. So I want you to do me a favor so I can make it up to you."

Alex looked tense under Jack's gaze. Every detail of the boy was on display, from the way his delicate eyelashes casted heavy shadows across his pink cheeks, to the way he was shifting closer to Jack ever so slightly.

Jack ignored the way his stomach made swooping motions and the way his heart beat uncontrollably when he looked the elder in the eye and said, "Alex, kiss me."

Alex looked into Jack's eyes, then to his lips. Alex had never kissed anyone before, yet here he was, about to kiss the pro kisser with shaky hands and inexperienced lips.

Alex nudged his way closer to his best friend so that their noses were touching, both their eyes closed. He could feel Jack's steady and reassuring hand graze his cheek as Alex sucked in a small breath and placed his lips tentatively on Jack's.

Jack kissed back of course, tilting and lifting his head a bit so the pillow wasn't so uncomfortable on his neck and so that their lips could fit together better. They were brief, tender kisses, not a gross makeout session. This wasn't rushed or lustful, they were passionate (as passionate as thirteen year old's can be).

Jack didn't want this to go crazy and intense. Just the soft brushes of lips against lips were enough, with Jack's tongue occasionally meeting Alex's in a way that sent shivers down his spine and goosebumps over his arms.

Every so often, Alex would lean back and catch his breath, but adamantly returned to the comfort and warmth of Jack's lips, caring and gentle and everything that Alex had wanted it to be.

Alex kept quiet about the fact that he'd been wanting to kiss the younger boy since he'd learned that Jack was a 'pro', and it escalated into all sorts of daydreams and wishful thinking, and as curiosity quickly grabbed a firm hold on him, a total schoolboy crush that increased on a daily basis.

They stayed cuddled together in Jack's bed for the rest of the night, feeling the happiest they've been, feeling their friendship rekindle and grow into more than just friends, and feeling like they owned the world. Jack's small hands were tangled around Alex's long fingers with smiles on their faces.

Nothing could ruin the moment that they shared that night. Not even the fact that when they went to school the next day, people tossed around derogatory names because they were holding hands. Not even the disappointed look that Alex got from his father when he came out of the closet at sixteen. Not even the bruises on Jack's face and stomach from bullies in high school that beat him up for being bisexual.

No, nothing could ruin that moment that the two young boys shared in bed that March night. They only had happiness in their future, as far as they could tell. Like the happiness on Alex's face when Jack asked him to be his boyfriend when they were fourteen. Like the happiness that surrounded them on prom night, from the other happy couples cheering them on to do the slow dance. Like the happiness that they shared when they moved in together at eighteen. Like the happiness that was finally expressed in something other than words as they made love for the first time at nineteen. Like the happiness they experienced when Jack had a ring in his pocket and got down on one knee on a chilly, March night when they were both twenty one.

Little did the two young boys know, they were going to spend their lives together, celebrating birthdays at 67 years old, falling in love all over again and kissing in bed, just like they did when they were thirteen and curious, as a new found outlook on each other rapidly grew into blossoming love in their young hearts.

Oh, curiosity. A blessing and a curse, indeed it is. For, with it, we take risks and make mistakes, but without it, discoveries would be no such thing.