The Boy by the Window.

Alex brought his hand to his head and groaned. It was Tuesday morning and he had a full on hangover he wanted to get rid off as soon as possible. Thinking back to it now, he wondered why the hell he had gone out the night before, being a Monday and everything. He then remembered that Matt and his friends had to give him his stuff back and they ended up at a bar taking vodka shots.

His mum had put Advil and a glass of iced water on the kitchen table for him before she went to work, Alex thanked her in his thoughts because he didn't even know where the pills were stored in the house. He wondered around the house, slowly and quietly, as if someone was still sleeping - he was home alone. He turned the TV on and scrolled through Instagram. He got bored quickly and rolled on his stomach and kept his eyes on the TV even if he felt like it was worsening his headache.

The doorbell rang a few minutes into a film and he lazily got up to open it. There stood Matt, his ex-best friend, grinning like a fool and laughing at Alex's miserable look.

"Dude, you look like you've just come out of a garbage can" He laughed and let himself inside, pushing past Alex and walking towards the living room. Alex stood there, dumb-folded, thinking who the hell this guy thought he was.

"I'm going back to sleep soon" He lied easily. "So, yeah" But Matt was already spread out on his couch watching TV.

"Nah, you're not" He smirked and looked up at Alex, who was now standing in front of the TV.

"What do you mean I'm not? I'm serious, I'm not up for anything" He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm threatening you, you stupid fuck. Someone saw you kissing that Barakat boy last week" He pretended to gag and Alex rolled his eyes. It was no surprise to him that they had been seen, they lived in a well-known street and many of his friends lived next to each other's houses.

"Oh really, what are you going to do about it?" Alex laughed slightly, he thought the idea of being threatened was nothing but childish.

"I'm going to tell everyone" He smiled triumphantly.

"Oh my god, no!" He shouted dramatically, then rolled his eyes. "Look how many shits I give" He flicked him off with one hand, then with the other.

"Are you sure-" He started but Alex was pointing at the front door with an angered look.

"Dude, I don't give a shit if you tell everyone in the world, really, I couldn't care less. I'm not ashamed of it, I'm not an intolerant cunt who only thinks of chicks as sexual objects. Tell everyone, but leave now"

"Whatever" He got up and walked towards the door, Alex following behind him. He started talking but Alex smiled at him and closed the door in his face.

Sighing once again, he returned to the living room and decided to text Jack, just in case Matt were to tell someone about them.

'Hey'

'Elo'

'One of Matt's friends saw us last week and he came over to threaten me to tell everyone. Just letting you know that'

'What?!'

'Do you care?'

'Well Idk, I've only told my close friends'

'That we're a thing?'

'We're a thing???' FUCK.

'Shut up. What did you tell them?'

'Can't concentrate now, you're cute'

'Ffs Jack I'm going to kill you'

'Oh here we go again. BE NICE'

'Okay but what did you tell them?'

'Only that we're kinda hanging out and seeing each other'

'Okay. Idc if Matt says anything tbh'

'Eh same. It's not like I'm ashamed of it'

'Same'

'I need to go fill in my uni application, ttyl?'

'Yeh, I'm home alone all day. In case you wanna come over later'

'I'll let you know'

'Okay'

'Bye!'

'See ya'

'x'

'Ffs Jack'

'Love you'

'Stop it'

'Bby'

'I'm going to fucking kill you'

';)'

-

Alex had to work the night shift because one of his co-workers's girlfriend had gone into labor in the afternoon. He didn't mind it all that much, he had nothing to do now that he got rid off his friends - who went to bars every night - so he accepted right away and left for work early so he could have lunch there.

"You know India went into labor, right?" Jason, his boss -who happened to be at the restaurant that night- asked him.

"Yeah, Simon called me at 4 and asked me if I could cover for him" Alex explained as he had dinner in the kitchen counter.

His boss, Jason, was 26 years old and had inherited his father's restaurant and money when he passed away five years ago. He left his studies and followed his father's steps to great success. Alex thought it was cool - that he had dropped out just to pursue his father's dream of becoming the country's best-known restaurant. He didn't take his boss all that seriously because they were both young and got along quite good. They had gone out for a few drinks before and he couldn't take him seriously even if he wanted to - he knew better though, and had to be serious when they talked serious business.

"Isn't it great?" He asked grinning. "That they are having a baby I mean" Alex was too busy swallowing food so he just nodded.

"Are you and Carol planning on having a baby or?" He asked when he was done.

"Nah, not yet. I don't think we're even ready to have a dog and that's saying something" He chuckled and put away Alex's dishes.

"Thanks, man"

"No problem. Hey, one of my friends and I are going out for a few drinks tonight, wanna join us?" He asked as he gathered his stuff, ready to leave the diner.

"Uh, sure. I'll have to go home first tho, to shower and get ready" Alex rubbed his neck.

"Yeah sure, I'll come by later and tell you what's the plan"

"Cool, great. Thanks"

"No problem, get to work now" He said and let Alex change into his work clothes.

-

Alex got home at 10PM and he had an hour to get ready before his boss came get him to go out. He greeted his parents and told them that he was going out. They were more open-minded when he were to go out with his boss because they wanted him to get along with him.

He took a quick shower, changed into a flannel shirt, skinny jeans and white converse and blow dried his hair in less than thirty minutes - which was his new accomplishment. As he was rushing from his bedroom to the bathroom and the kitchen, seeing Jack's lights on stopped him on his tracks for a second to look through the window. He couldn't see Jack in his room but he knew he was in there, so he called him twice and the younger opened his window, rolling his eyes and raising an eyebrow.

"Wanna go out?" Alex was tapping his foot to the floor repetitively, his boss would be there any second now.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Jack had a confused look on his face and he checked the time on his phone.

"No, dumbass" He hissed. "I'm going out for a drink with my boss. Do you wanna come or not?" Alex hurried.

"Uh, I was going to sleep, actually so-" He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed of the fact that he was going to sleep before 11PM.

"For fuck sake Jack, well, do whatever you want" He went to close the window but Jack sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes.

"If you insist. Give me ten minutes"

"Ii don't have ten minutes, my boss will be here in a second"

"Well, I'm in my pajamas so"

"I don't care, move your freaking ass. I'll be outside" He closed the window and rushed downstairs where he found a car parked in front of his house. Fuck.

"Hey, um I invited a friend, I hope you won't mind" He said leaning against the car's window.

"No problem. Do we have to pick him up or?"

"Oh no, no, he's my neighbor. He'll be here in a second"

A second turned into 10 minutes, but none of the three guys said anything about his delayed arrival. Jack felt awkward the whole ride to the bar - he accidentally sat way too close to Alex and was scared to move away from him once they started driving. He didn't know Alex's boss, let alone his boss' friend, and it didn't help that Alex just sat there in silence, listening to whatever the two older pair were talking about in the front seats, so he decided to talk to Alex.

"Where are we going?" He half-whispered, trying not to interrupt the other's conversation.

"I have no idea" Alex said, not even turning to look at Jack.

Jack, being Jack, let this small lack of gesture get to him, and moved a little to his side and slumped back against his seat with a sigh. He wasn't having a good day, he didn't want to go to a bar and he definitely didn't want to drink. He started questioning why he even agreed to join them, and decided he would sit around until Alex went off away with someone before taking a bus home.

"Hey" Alex said then, placing a hand on his thigh, making him look at him. His touch sending shiver through his spine. "Sorry. All I know is that we're going to a bar" He kept his hand there for a second until Jack nodded.

-

The bar was quite crowded, the kind of crowded where you can easily get lost and don't get to see the people you went there with until the next morning. Alex's boss and his friend - who introduced himself as Erik - were long gone after their first beer, and Alex and Jack were left alone at one end of the bar.

"Do you want a shot?" Alex shouted over the music, leaning against Jack's side.

"Sure" He shouted back.

"What do you want?" Alex pointed at the many bottled above the bartenders' head.

"I don't know. I've never taken a shot" He shouted, Alex chuckled and shook his head. He ordered three rounds of tequila and Jack gaped at him, punching him on his bicep.

"What?" He asked.

"It's too much"

"Too much is never enough" He grinned and paid for it. The bartender placed a small plate with four sliced of lemon and a small glass filled with salt in front of them. Alex explained how he had to take the shot - lick the back of your hand, sprinkle salt on it, lick the salt off your hand, take the shot, then suck the slice of lemon - but Jack got lost halfway through the explanation and did everything wrong. He ended up almost throwing up right then and there. He did it right the second time round.

"Good?" Alex asked him when they were done, Jack was squeezing his eyes shut, not liking the taste of tequila at all. He nodded and Alex went off the the toilet. He had had way more to drink than Jack and needed to pee already.

Jack started to feel dizzy but he convinced himself that he was doing fine and that he didn't have all that much to drink anyway. He spotted Alex's boss and his friend a few meters away from where he was standing, and decided to go over there and ask them what time they were planning on leaving. He stumbled forward and concentrated on walking in a straight line, which he failed to do, but he got there anyway.

Alex had more to drink than Jack, but he was more used to it and wasn't having all that much trouble keeping his thoughts in place. It was 3AM and the toilet was a mess, but it was full of guys anyway, and Alex had to wait a few minutes in a queue to go in and pee.

Once he was done, he went back to the spot where he left Jack waiting for him, but the younger was nowhere to be seen. He looked around, going from one corner to the other, making room to walk through the crowd, until he saw his boss standing at the bar by himself. Still confused, he walked forward and greeted him.

"Have you seen Jack?" He asked, his eyes fixated on the people in front of him, looking for that stupid kid.

"Nah" He swatted his hand at him. "Have you seen Erik?" He asked, to which Alex shook his head no. He thought the best idea was to stay near his boss and try to find both Erik and Jack together. After five minutes or so spent by watching people come and go, Alex grabbed his boss by his arm and squeezed it way too tight.

"What the-"

"I've found them" Alex stated grumbling, fire swimming through his veins.

There they stood, Jack and Erik, mouths attached and hands grabbing everywhere.

"Fuck" Jason said and face-palmed himself. "What do we do now?" He kept looking between the pair and Alex, but Alex's eyes were burning a whole in Jack's head.

"I'm going to fucking kill him" Alex growled and detached himself from Jason's grip before he could say anything else to try and calm him down. He walked through the crowd, pushing and tripping and telling people to fuck off and finally stood in front of the pair.

He grabbed onto both of their shoulders with his hands and pulled them apart with such force that Erik almost stumbled backwards and hit the girl that was behind him. He took that opportunity to step forward and stand in front of Jack, who looked rather drunk and happy.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He yelled, throwing his arms in the air. Jack, with his eyes half closed, only smiled at him. "You're so drunk, we're leaving right now" He hissed and grabbed Jack's arm.

"You, asshole. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Asked Erik, who recomposed himself after a brief minute of losing his balance. He tried to get Alex's hand off Jack's arm and that resulted in Alex pushing him away with his free hand and telling him to fuck off.

He rushed outside where he found Jason having a smoke leaning against the wall.

"He okay?" He asked, being half drunk himself. Alex nodded and held Jack by his side.

"He's only had like three shots of tequila but it's his second time drinking, plus he's a lightweight"

"Yeah I can tell" Jason chuckled.

"Erik is still inside. You can give him a lift, we're gonna catch a bus" Alex explained, took out his phone to check the time and put the phone back in his pocket.

"Are you sure?" He asked, not insisting much to give them a ride back home seeing as Erik was his best friend.

"Yeah, we'll catch the next bus that stops by. Thanks man" Jason nodded at him and went back inside to search for Erik, it was time to go home.

The nearest bus stop was five minutes away but Jack kept wining and dragged his feet all the way there, so it took them more than double the time to get there. Alex didn't utter a word, his mind was rushing and he was afraid he would start yelling again if he dared to open his mouth. Jack, on the other hand, wouldn't freaking shut up.

"Tonight was so much fun" He would mumble happily. "We should do this again soon" and "Did you see that guy?" and "I made out with him and he touched my butt" and "I think I love him" and Alex told him to shut the fuck up.

When they arrived to the bus stop, Alex sat Jack down and paced around the small area, his hands on his hips as he dragged his legs around. He could hear Jack still going about the guy and he debated whether he should take Jack home or just leave them there for the remaining of the night.

The bus arrived, Alex paid the tickets, the bus driver gave him an apologetic smile and Alex sat Jack down on the seat near to the window. He didn't want to sit next to him but he decided to do so he wouldn't fall of onto the empty space next to him.

"Alex" Jack said and rested his forehead against the cold window.

"Shut up" Alex mumbled and closed his eyes in means to relax.

"Are you mad at me?" He pouted like a kid.

"Just shut up, Jack" He sighed and kept his eyes closed for the remaining of the ride.

-

Once they arrived to their neighborhood, Alex decided it would be best for Jack to spend the night at his place. He didn't want to risk getting caught by the Barakat's that early in the morning when Jack should have been sleeping, and not half unconscious.

He grabbed onto Jack's side and pulled him inside, closing the door behind him and walking as fast and quietly as possible up to his room. He successfully made it to his room unnoticed and safe, but not without covering Jack's mouth with his hand the whole way up so he would make no noise.

"You need to be quiet" He hissed and threw one of his spare pillows onto the floor along with clean sheets and his duvet. "And you're sleeping on the floor" He stated, stripping off his clothes and getting into his bed.

"But I don't wanna sleep on the floor" Jack said pouting and giving him puppy eyes.

"Do you want to sleep in the hall? So my parents see you in the morning and tell your parents you got here drunk off your ass?" Alex threatened, already starting to daze off.

"No" Jack shook his head and tried to get comfortable on the floor. At least he had a duvet he could use as a mattress and clean sheets to keep him warm.

"Asshole. We'll talk tomorrow, sleep now" Alex stated, sounding like a mum.

"What do we have to talk about?" Jack asked innocently, not being aware of what was that he had done wrong.

"You and your make-out session with that guy. For fuck sake, he's like ten years older than you" Alex said, now starting to get angry.

"I don't know what I did wrong. He said he didn't have a boyfriend" He hiccuped a little, fear in his voice, Alex thought he might start crying, so he lowered his voice and his tone.

"Sh, we'll talk in the morning" Alex whispered. He heard so much shuffling beside him that he thought Jack had gotten up to go to the toilet or something, but instead, he was taking his clothes off and leaning towards Alex.

"Goodnight" He said and kissed Alex on the cheek before lying down on the duvet. Alex sighed and rubbed his forehead, not knowing how to react to that. He decided to return the farewell and roll onto his side.

He waited and waited, listening Jack's breathing and slight snoring until the younger fell asleep. He then turned around and laid on his stomach as per usual, and stared at his window, which was the only source of energy that lit the room. He could make out Jack's silhouette on the floor, so still and silent, and he could only think that he was seeing something he had been thinking of for a long time as he looked through that same window trying to imagine Jack's body curled up in bed every night.

"You are only mine" He said out loud.