Love is a Dangerous Thing

As soon as Zack fell asleep Alex got out of bed and put his shoes back on, leaving the apartment and heading straight to his least favorite record store. Jack had stolen his best friend for five years and he hadn't done anything about it but he wasn't going to let that happen again. It was five minutes to closing by the time he got there and he could see through the window that Jack was the only one in the small store.

"Oh great another one of my old friends," Jack said sarcastically as Alex walked through the door. "Did you come to yell at me about Zack some more, because I still don't care."

"Shut the fuck up and listen to me Barakat," Alex threatened. "If I ever find out that you so much as glance at Zack again I'm going to kill you. Can your tiny brain process that?"

"You know it's funny you should say that I was just telling our little friend today that he should kill himself."

Alex crossed the small store quickly, slamming Jack against a wall and holding him by the collar of his shirt. "Don't ever talk about my friend like that."

"Oh, that's what this is about," Jack smirked but there was a little fear in his eyes. "You're still upset that he likes me more than you. You should really get over that little crush, Alexander, he's never going to care about you. It's too bad you weren't here to see the stupid look on his face but you've never really been to good at being there for him have you? Maybe if your lucky he'll take my advice, god knows the world would be a better place without faggots like him."

Before Alex could stop himself he slammed his fist into the younger boys face pulling back and hitting him again and again until he felt blood trickle down his hand. Shoving Jack to the ground he kicked him hard in the side before leaving the store just as quickly as he entered and rushing back to his apartment. He hadn't meant to hurt Jack that much but hearing the way he talk about Zack pushed him over the edge and he'd just unloaded all the years of anger that had built inside him. A large part of him wanted to go back and hit that arrogant asshole over and over until he could never wear that smug smile again. The only thing that stopped him was knowing he couldn't be there for Zack if he was in prison for murder. As it stood now he could probably serve a moderate sentence for assault but he knew Jack was too proud to admit who had been beaten him up.

When he arrived back at the apartment he went to the bathroom immediately and washed the blood off his hands to rid himself of any traces of Jack more than anything else. Then he went back to Zack's room pulling the sleeping boy into his side and closing his eyes. He didn't go to sleep though, thoughts and images of all the terrible things he feared Zack might do to himself, on Jack's advice, filled his head and kept him awake. He couldn't lose Zack, he needed him in his life or else what was the point. All he really had was Zack, sure he had a few other friends but after what happened between Zack and Jack he'd sort of followed the younger boy's lead in not trusting anyone or letting anyone in. The only person that he really knew and who really knew him was the boy laying in bed with him.

"You feeling better, buddy?" He whispered when he saw Zack's eyes flutter open.

"A little," Zack rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked up at him. "Sorry for what I said."

"You mean about leaving?"

"Yeah, it was just, Jack," the tired boy sighed.

"I know, but don't think like that. I don't want to lose you Zack, you mean too much to me."

"I don't want to lose you either," Zack smiled. "Thanks for staying here with me."

"Anytime, I love cuddling with you. Now what was this present you were telling me about?" He asked switching to a lighter topic.

"Nothing," Zack blushed. "Just something for your birthday."

Alex smiled and held him a little closer. "What were you thinking of getting?"

"Two cds, one from before and one from now."

"That's a good idea, thank you so much Zacky." Alex laughed as he saw Zack blush again. "Sorry jack was such a dick to you again, you've never deserved that."

"Thanks," Zack mumbled and Alex could tell he was still thinking about Jack and he wished he wasn't because that meant that idiot from the record store was right and that hurt.

Alex sighed and climbed out of bed telling Zack he was going to make dinner even though he wasn't hungry. Walking out to the kitchen he pulled out cans for chili and turned the stove on all the while thinking about why Zack still cared about Jack more than him. It wasn't like he expected Zack to like him just because he took care of him, he knew that would be selfish and wrong, but he just thought that maybe at some point if he kept showing Zack how much he cared the feeling would be reciprocated. The worst part he thought bitterly as he dumped the cans into a pot and set it on the stove was knowing Jack had been telling the truth, at least about that part, Zack would never care about him.

When the food was done he poured it into two bowls and walked down the short hallway to tell the other boy to come eat. Zack was still laying in bed but it didn't look like he was crying anymore which Alex took as a good sign.

"Thanks for dinner." The quiet timid voice he'd grown accustomed to said and he nodded in response.

"Want me to sleep in your room tonight?" Zack nodded yes and for the first time Alex wished he would have said no because sleeping next to the boy who didn't care about him didn't sound very appealing.

The rest of the night was spent in uncomfortable silence and he knew Zack could tell something was wrong but he didn't say anything. Nine o'clock rolled around and he grabbed the other boys medicine and a glass of water and crawled in bed with him but it didn't feel the same. There were no quiet conversations or small goodnights just silence as he waited for the younger to fall asleep and as soon as he was sure he had he crawled out of bed and went to his own room. He usually woke up before him anyways and thanks to his medicine Zack always slept through the night so Alex figured he wouldn't even notice.

Maybe he needed a night out, he thought, one night out couldn't hurt and the other boy would never even have to know. Grabbing his phone he texted one of his few friends, Rian, and asked if he wanted to go get a drink getting dressed before he even got a reply. He knew Rian would say yes because he'd had an obvious crush on him since the day they first met in college but Alex had never said anything about it because he was always waiting on the day Zack got better. That day had come and gone though and look what happened, nothing. Well, at least he didn't have anything holding him back now, except for the fact that he still loved Zack maybe even more than before but he pushed that thought from his mind. He needed a break, a night out, a little time, no matter how small, where he didn't think about Zack. After he fixed his hair in the mirror and bundled up he headed out the door quietly.