Hearts & Spades

Alex was sitting on the end of his bed, his face buried in his palms. He didn't know how long he'd been in that very position and glancing up to check the clock would more than likely only make matters worse. So he stayed there, staring at the floor through the spaces between his fingers. Until he heard his bedroom door slowly creek open.

"Hey, buddy, whatcha doin'?" asked a deep curious voice. The brunette slowly lifted his head to see the shadow of his father through his fringe hanging in his eyes.

"Getting ready for a date..." he whimpered childishly. Considering the fact that he was still in his boxers, it was more than likely obvious that he was a tad anxious for the day ahead.

Alex heard his father sigh, then footsteps until he felt the spot beside him in the bed dip under someone's weight. "A date, huh? With who?" he was speaking to him as if he was a toddler, but to be honest, he was kind of acting like one.

"Jack..." he responded, sitting up straight so he could search the elder's face for his reaction. His dad's chubby face seemed to scrunch up in frustration, sending another wave of nausea over his son. "W-what?"

"Nothing... I just owe your mother some money."

"What!?" Alex asked again, this time his voice rising above a whisper. Did his parents really bet on something like this? The crooked smirk on his father's lips was enough to answer that question.

"Shouldn't you be getting dressed? Don't look so down, son. Just be yourself." with that Peter pushed himself up from the mattress patting his son reassuringly on the back, leaving him with the most useless advice possible.

Alex didn't have time to think about how angry he was with his parents for putting money on his dating life because the moment the door closed his stomach made another strange gurgling noise. He groaned in pain and curled in on himself, trying to find the will power to ignore his discomfort. Jack would be here any minute, it has been just nerves causing him to feel this sick.

A handful of moments passed, the small boy was rocking back and forth attempting to make the pain in his abdomen fade away. However, nothing worked and one more load protest from his stomach sent him running into the next door bathroom. Alex fell to his knees and emptied his stomach of the small lunch, he'd shoveled down a few hours prior.

The sixteen year old used the nearby counter to pull himself to his feet, swaying back and forth as he ran his hand through his messy sweat dampened hair. "Well, at least I feel a little bit better." he grumbled to himself as he dug through the drawers for his toothbrush.

As he brushed his teeth, he glared at the sickly boy looking back at him in the mirror. He'd been improving ever since the transplant, his hair was thickening and regaining its natural shine and his skin was gaining some color But this mornings event seemed to have erased all his progress. Though, that was the least of his worries when he heard the door bell ring.

Alex paused, listening carefully, silently praying that it wasn't Jack, who'd his mother had just let in.
"Oh, don't you look handsome? Alex should be upstairs." he made out his mother's voice and cursed under his breath.

He sat there motionless, trying to think of an escape plan. It wasn't like he could just burst out and go running to his bedroom - he was still in his underwear. And if he... then, there was a knock at the door.

"Hey, Lex, you in there?" asked a familiar, friendly voice, but that was enough to cause the nerves to come back.

Alex attempted to answer him, but his mouth was still full of bubbles as he stood petrified and half naked.

"Yeah, I didn't catch any of that. What are you doing in there?" Jack questioned, jiggling the door handle that the other had luckily remembered to lock.

The younger rinsed before attempting to speak again, his voice still shaking from the sudden anxiousness that seemed to wash over him. "Uh, could you maybe go grab my t-shirt for me? It should be on my floor somewhere."

Jack was silent for a few passing seconds, as if he was trying to comprehend what was asked of him. "Yeah, sure." he then replied nonchalantly, soft footsteps implying that he'd left.

Alex let out a sigh of relief, glancing back up at his reflection and watched as his frown grew. Of all the days to look like a complete and utter mess it had to be on his first date. First date... there goes the nerves again.

"Well, I found my shirt that you totally stole, but here." Jack chuckled, trying to open the door once more but meeting the same fate as last time. The smaller of the two unlocked the bolt and stuck his arm out, quickly taking the fabric from the other's hand and closing the door in his face within seconds. He still wasn't exactly comfortable with Jack seeing him shirtless, or anyone for that matter.

When Alex finally cracked open the door his eyes scanned over the boy in front of him. Jack's dark hair managed to somehow be the perfect mix between neat and messy, he was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with a white button down tucked inside. "You look... nice." he admitted bashfully.

Jack only chuckled in response, "You do too." he teased, staring back at the teen who was in nothing but a large top and a pair of boxers. "You can keep the shirt, by the way, it looks better on you anyway."

The petite boy's face heated up as his eyes dropped to the ground, "Shut up..." he huffed as he finally came out from his refuge in the bathroom, stumbling as he did so.

"Whoa, Alex, are you feeling alright?" he asked, concern lacing his voice as he wrapped his arm around the smaller's waist in order to help him keep his balance.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just feeling a bit under the weather is all." Alex explained, leaning into Jack and blinking quickly.

"Does it have something to do with your heart? Do I need to get your parents? Maybe you sho-"

"Jack... Jack! Relax, I think it's just nerves." he said with a small grin, it was somewhat cute how worried the elder seemed to get so quickly. Not that he could really blame him, last time Alex was 'feeling under the weather' he was rushed to the hospital.

"Nerves?" he echoed as he lead them into Alex's bedroom, sitting him gently down on the mattress and sending him an unsure look. "Why are you nervous?"

He stared down at his hands, twirling his thumbs for a moment before shrugging his shoulders shyly. It didn't really help that he felt so underdressed in comparison to Jack, who looked stunning to say the least. "It's my first date... I guess I felt like I'd make a fool of myself. But, now it looks like the date isn't even going to happen..."

Jack could hear the disappointment in his voice and offered a reassuring smile. "Sure it will, just sit tight, I'll be right back."

Alex opened his mouth to protest, but the seventeen year old had already turned to leave, dialing his phone for some unknown reason. He sighed in defeat before bending over and grabbing a pair of sweats he'd thrown to the side the night before. Maybe having some pants on would take away some of the embarrassment.

Minutes passed before Jack reappeared, clapping his hands together and sitting down next to Alex.

"So... you're not leaving?"

"Nope."

"Then what are we going to do?"

"Hmm..." Jack paused, gnawing on his bottom lip in thought before his chocolate eyes seemed to light up. "You play video games?"

Alex seemed a bit confused on where on earth he could be going with this, but forced out a reply anyway. "Well, yeah, but I don't really have any good ones o-"

"Where's your laptop?"

He titled his head to the side, but pointed to his desk. He watched as Jack jumped up and grabbed the device, lifting the lid before scooting over in the chair and patting the tiny space available.

"Are you coming?"

Alex needed to get used to this strange behavior, it seemed to be Jack's signature trait. There was no denying he managed to keep him on his toes. Regardless, he squeezed himself in the chair next to him, looking over his shoulder before asking the burning question, "What are you doing?"

Jack turned to look at him, their faces mere inches apart, causing the dimple faced boy to gulp, "You'll see."

He grumbled stubbornly, but observed as the other typed things into the computer, pulling up a program he'd vaguely heard of. "Five Nights At Freddy's?" Alex read aloud.

"Yep."

"Isn't this that indie horror game that's been scaring the shit out of everyone?"

"Yep."

"Nope." Alex announced, pushing away from the desk and standing up to walk away, but Jack quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down, causing him to fall partially in his lap. Alex's face flushed, but Jack seemed to have hardly noticed.

"You're not scared are you, Lexy?"

"What? No! Of course not. It's just stupid, it's not even scary..." he insisted, scooting over to give them the tiny fraction of room possible without one of them falling on the floor. His arms crossed against his chest, looking at Jack and daring him to see through his act.

"Cool, let's play. Since you're not scared, you can go first."

Alex's eyes widened in shock as the laptop was pushed slightly in his direction, the scratchy menu screen sending chills down his back. Twelve year old's played this game, surely it was nothing he couldn't handle. "Okay..."

"Do you want me to hold your hand?" Jack asked through a smirk, causing Alex to stick his tongue out as a result. That must have been a no. The raven haired teen watched over the other's shoulder as he clicked 'new game' and the screen went dark for a few seconds before a creepy room came into view.

"Soo, what am I suppose to be doing?" Alex said skeptically, speaking over the dialogue in the game that was answering that very question.

"You just check the cameras to see if the little critters have moved..." he began, reaching around Alex and pressing a button on the keyboard that brought up a security camera. "You can close the doors, but that'll make you lose power. If you lose all your power, you're fucked."

"Oh, that sounds easy enough..." Alex stated, though his voice lacked the confidence. After ages of just button pushing, however, he got a little bit too confident. "This game is suppose to be scary? It's just a bunch of Chucky Che- fuck!" Before he could even finish his sentence a demonic robotic chicken jumped at the screen causing Alex to let out a high pitched scream. The two of them would have been on the floor if Jack hadn't had grabbed the table and the younger hadn't wrapped his arms around his torso.

Alex was about to cry out of fear, but his friend was laughing to the point where he had completely different tears running down his cheeks. "O-oh my god, you should have seen your face."

"Stop laughing at me!" he pouted, punching his chest again and again. Though that didn't stop Jack.

"I''m sorry, do you want to try again?"

"Fine."

This time around Alex had gotten the hang of it, or so he thought. Every shadow had made him flinch yet he still finally made to five o'clock. One more hour and he'd finish the first level to this cursed game. As he swapped the camera again, Jack decided to speak up. "Yeah, that fox is gonna screw your life up, you might wanna close the door."

"How do I do that?" he asked in a panicky voice, clicking just about everywhere on the screen.

"Right there, Alex! Hit it, hit it! Fuck!"

"Shit, shit, Jack!"

The two scram in unison as the animatronic fox reared it's ugly little head around the corner. As they caught their breath a loud and rather furious sounding voice came from the floor below. "Alexander William Gaskarth, you come down here this instant."

"What's her problem?" Jack asked as he pried himself away from Alex's death grip.

"No clue, but I better go find out." he said with a slight pout before turning around and doing as he was told.

At the bottom of the steps Mrs. Gaskarth was standing with her arms crossed tightly and a terrifying look on her face. The kind of look that Alex knew meant he was in some deep shit. "What on earth are you two doing up there?"

They were being too loud, was that what she was freaking out about? "What do you think we were doing?" came his sassy remark, honestly, did his mom have to go to such great lengths to embarrass him?

As he watched his mother's eyes scan him over, he eventually caught on. His hair was still a mess from earlier, and all the jump scares had made him a sweaty wreck. Add in the screaming and well - it didn't surprise him that she had jumped to such conclusions.

"Oh! Mom, no! We were just playing some stupid game, promise." he managed to spit out, his cheeks bright red as her face broke into a small smile.

"If you say so... but, if I hear anything suspicious again the bedroom is off limits, you hear me?"

After his promise to behave Alex made his way back to his bedroom, "Jack, you'll never believe wh-" as soon as he approached the door a figure pounced out from behind it. He jumped back and shrieked as a result. Thankfully, it wasn't a psycho mechanical creature it was Jack, holding his stomach and laughing his ass off just like he was earlier. "You bastard!"

"Man, that was priceless!" he called out between breaths, falling onto the mattress in an attempt to collect himself.

"Are you finished?"

"Yes, yes, sorry. What did your mom want?"

"Oh she... uh, she thought we were... that I was..." Alex stuttered, hoping his companion would catch on so he didn't have to actually say it out loud. But Jack just raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to finally spit it out. "You know..."

He did know, but he found it oddly adorable how Alex seemed to not even want to say such a dirty word. "No, you're going to have to be more specific."

"She thought I was you know... doing you."

Jack tried not to laugh, he really did. But, hearing the younger say it like that, he almost chocked on his own spit. "She thought you were fucking me?"

"Jack! Don't say it out loud..."

"Why? Isn't that what she assumed?"

"Yeah, but it's weird!"

"It is weird..." Jack agreed once Alex got the guts to look up at him once more, "I can't believe she thought you were a top."

"Jack!"

"Geez, you're loud today. Are you feeling better?"

Alex scrunched up his face in anger, but nodded anyway. All this teasing was making him seem like such an idiot.

"Awesome, then let's go."

"Go... where exactly?"

"It's a surprise."



"Applebee's? Applebee's was the big surprise?" Alex asked playfully as he looked around, automatically frowning when his gaze fell on a rather sad looking Jack.

"I had a reservation for us at this really fancy Italian restaurant down the road, but, since you weren't feeling well, I called in and canceled. So this was... pretty last minute"

That must have been what he made the phone call about earlier... he actually went through all that trouble for him? "Oh, Jack... I didn't know. Thank you, I'm sorry I ruined your plans."

"There's always next time, right?" he implied casually, his mouth full of food he seemed to be shoveling in his mouth by the handfuls.

Next time? A large smile spread across Alex's features, though he was rather disgusted with Jack's lack of manners. All of his imperfections just managed to make him more charming. Which is exactly what made the brunette aware of the fact that he was in way over his head.

When the check was set before them the younger dug out his wallet, when he looked up Jack was starring at him as if he had done something beyond belief. "What are you doing?"

"...Chipping in?" he replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it kind of was.

"I don't think so, Gaskarth. I'm paying."

"Again? I still owe you for that hot chocolate..."

"Well, I asked you to go out with me both times right? So it just makes sense." Jack defended as he tugged out his own money, counting it out before tucking it in the folder. He chuckled lightly at Alex's frustrated face.

"So, you're saying that, when I ask you out, I get to pay?"

"Nope."

"Jack! That's not fair!" he called after him. The dark haired boy had already stood up and began heading back to the car. Alex was struggling to keep up with his long strides, but it seemed like that was the point.

Once they were back out in the parking lot, Jack spun around, causing Alex to almost come crashing into his chest. "You've already chipped in. Your company is enough."

"That's cute and all, but really Jack, I can't let you go bankrupt over me."

For the first time ever, Alex saw Jack's expression freeze, his eyebrows coming together. The younger had never seen him appear so serious. "I mean it, Lex. When... when Bethany died... I didn't eat, I didn't sleep. Hell, I didn't even shower. I thought my life was over too. You pulled me out of the hole I dug alone, and god damn it, you're going to let me be thankful."

He stood there with his mouth wide open, unblinking as the elder got into the vehicle a few feet before him. Did he really help him that much? He'd been so concerned with himself that he didn't really stop to think too much about Jack's outlook on the whole situation. He lost the love of his life after all. "Jack..." he said in defeat as he settled in the passenger seat.

Jack interrupted him once more, "Plus, you need to save your money. You're going to be needing a new tux."

"A... a tux?" he repeated, typical Jack, pulling stuff out of nowhere.

"Yep, we're going to Dulany's winter formal."