The Road

Alex took a break from revising at the local library and walked towards the nearest café after gathering his papers and laptop, his backpack on his shoulder and wallet in his hand.

He stood in front of the counter looking at the coffee options and combinations on a board.

"Hello, what can I get for you?" The guy behind the counter asked.

"A medium chai latte with soy milk" He started. "And, mhm, a piece of banana bread" He finished.

"Will you want to have it here or would you prefer to take it away?" He typed the order on the screen in front of him.

"I'll have it here"

"You can have a seat, I'll bring it right over"

"Thank you" Alex said and took off towards one of the booths at the end of the large café. He pulled out his laptop from his backpack and started typing down immediately.

Writing a book was a hard job for the teen. His first year of university was taking most of his time and he always found himself having trouble to find enough time to write one or two sentences a day to contribute to his very first book. He usually wrote on his coffee breaks or late at night, but that only meant that he lacked of sleeping hours and energy to survive the day at university the next day. He tried his best at writing down the ideas that popped into his head during the day on a little notebook, but other than that, Alex was having a hard time trying to write a whole book on his own.

"Here you go. A medium chai latte with soy milk and a piece of home-made banana bread" The guy said, placing the receipt under the plate.

"Thank you" Alex smiled up at him and turned his vision towards the screen once again.

He sipped on his latte in-between a few new words and sentences and took little breaks to have a bite or two of his bread when he couldn't find the word he was thinking of.

Once the bread and coffee were gone, he sat on the comfortable chair for a few more minutes before he saw the guy who took his order approach him and ask if the seat across from him was taken. The kid didn't have an apron on this time, and it made Alex think of him more as a friendly stranger than a creepy waitress.

They sat in an awkward silence for a few seconds before the stranger smiled at Alex and put his hand out for Alex to shake.

"I'm Jack" He said.

"Alex" Alex smiled.

"I hope you enjoyed that" He nodded his head towards the now empty plate and mug.

"I really did. One of the most tasty banana breads I've had in my life"

"I'm glad you did" Jack smiled wide, Alex noticed his perfectly straight teeth.

"You didn't make it, did you?" He wondered out loud.

"I did" Jack stated.

"No way. I can't even fry an egg" He chuckled and lowered his head in embarrassment, although most people his age lived off pre-cooked meals and junk food they found at cheap stores.

"Maybe I could show you how to make it one day" He said through his thick and black eyelashes.

"I'm actually pretty busy" Alex admitted.

"You are pretty, but I doubt you are busy" Alex's eyes widened and he face-palmed himself.

"I actually am" He said nervously, not making any eye contact with the black haired boy.

"Doing what?" He pushed.

"Writing a book" Alex admitted and pointed at his laptop.

"Woah. And you say you want to learn how to fry an egg" Alex blushed even more and groaned loudly.

"What? Aren't you used to having people flirt with you?"

"No, not really"

"Well, too bad then. What is this book of yours about?"

"That's a secret" Alex started. "What if I tell you the plot and you steal my idea?" He raised his eyebrows and shut his laptop.

"I'll cook you dinner tonight if you tell me about it at my place" Jack suggested, taking a pen out of the elder's pencil case and writing his address on a piece of paper. "Yeah?"

"Jack.. I really can't, I have class early in the morning" He started packing his things in his back pack and he pulled out his wallet to pay the bill but Jack put a hand over his once he realised what he was doing.

"How about this" He smiled up at the elder. "It might sound a bit obsessive, but, I'll pay for everything you order here from now on if you agree to come to my place tonight" He suggested. Alex made a face and buried his head in his arms on the table.

"That would be a great deal" He groaned and stood up taking the piece of paper from Jack's fingers. Jack grinned and nodded saying dinner would be ready at around 8PM and told him not to bring anything but his laptop if needed.

-

Alex got ready rather quickly, spraying his hair and brushing his teeth in less than 10 minutes, he was out of the door and on his way to Jack's place by 7:30. He knew he was early, but the earlier he got there, the earlier he could leave.

The building's door was open, so he let himself in and walked up the stairs to the third floor and knocked on the door.

"Oh? Alex you're early" Jack widened his eyes and cleaned his hands in his apron before bro hugging him.

"Yeah, I had nothing to do so I thought I'd come by and see if you needed help to fix dinner" Alex admitted and handed his jacket to Jack.

"That's nice of you. I don't really need much help but you could still give me a hand and learn a few things" Jack smiled at him and lead him into the kitchen.

"I'm making vegetarian lasagna and a few first dishes" Jack informed him as he chopped some onions to add them into a big salad.

"Are you a vegetarian?" Alex wondered out loud.

"No, but I didn't know if you were or not, so you know, just in case" Jack said as he let the food cook away.

"That's very considerate of you" Alex smiled up at him.

"Make yourself at home. Do you want me to show you how to make that banana bread you had earlier?" He asked.

"That'd take a long time and I have uni tomorrow morning so maybe some other time?" Alex tried not to sound disrespectful.

"Sure! As long as you promise me there will be another time" He smirked and went back to cooking.

"Sure.." Alex muttered under his breath.

Jack proved his amazing cooking skills to Alex that night, and Alex promised to go back to his place to help him bake banana bread some time soon.

Alex claimed that he had to leave after finishing dinner because he had to get up early for uni. They talked about the degree Alex was studying, and Jack talked about why he didn't go to uni while they watched TV.

Once the Friends' episode was over, they said their goodbyes and Alex admitted the night to be better than he had expected and that he would love to do it again.

Alex had woken up by a good morning text from Jack and he instantly felt like the day wasn't going to be as tedious as he had thought it would be. He texted him back and got ready to leave his little apartment.

Literature passed, English language passed, History, Spanish and Tech passed by the blond texting Jack non-stop, and all he could do about it was feel weird down on his stomach because he had never experienced such thing before. Jack was at work and had suggested Alex should visit him whenever he could, so Alex did.

"Hey" Alex blushed unintentionally.

"Hey, you" Jack grinned down at him from the counter. "What would you like to have?"

"Hm, nothing really. I came to see you" Alex had no idea where the sudden confidence came from, nor did he know if he liked it or not.

"It's on me anyway, remember?"

"Attend other people while I think about it" Alex said and looked back and the small queue behind him.

Alex settled on having a latte with soy milk and a blueberry muffin and sat down by himself at his usual spot at the end of the café.

"Here you go" Jack placed the food on the table and looked at Alex quizzically. "Working on your book?" He asked when he saw Alex typing away.

"A poem for literature class. I should have done it yesterday but I didn't have time and I have to hand it today"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have insisted on you coming to my place. That way you would've finished it by now" Jack said.

"Don't be silly. I'm glad you did" Alex smiled up at him and the younger returned the gesture.

"What is it about? The poem, I mean" Jack sat next to Alex and stared at the screen.

"Uh, well, it's about this misfortuned man whose family left him because-"

"Jack! Come back here right now, it's not your break yet!" A man shouted from the counter. Jack got up and sent an apologetic smile to Alex, who understood the situation and didn't mention it as Jack walked away.

Alex got an email from his Literature teacher saying that he could send the poem via email if he didn't have time to finish it by six, because that was when he had to leave his office, so he relaxed a little and stopped feeling so pressured to finish it in a rush.

"Hey cutie, ya here on your own?" Jack asked leaning on the booth.

"Nah, my boyfriend is in the toilet" Alex said casually turning his laptop off.

"I'd better leave then. It was nice talking to ya" Jack started to walk away when Alex whined.

"Ja-ack"

"Let's get out of here" He smiled down at him and grabbed his hand to lead him out of the café.

"Holding hands isn't something friends do" Alex stated pulling away from the younger.

"Fine, jerk" Jack pouted and opened the passenger's door for Alex.

"Where are we going?" Alex wondered out loud.

"Somewhere quiet. You're going to tell me about this book of yours" Jack started to drive away to a place Alex had never been to.

"Are you going to rape me?" Alex pouted.

"Not today" Jack chuckled and fixated his gaze on the road.

Once they got to a the hill, Jack opened Alex's door for him and told him to follow him.

The sun was slowly disappearing but it was still clear out there. Jack got a blanket from the trunk and placed it on the grass so they could sit on it without getting dirt on them, and asked Alex what his book was about once again.

"It's about a troubled kid whose family didn't care of. Year after year, he would only wish he could move out somewhere far from his house and live his life in peace, but he's only twelve and still in school, so he really can't do anything about it.

He suffers in silence for five long years; with no real friends, bad grades and absolutely no social life. He doesn't even know who he really is because he's confused about everything that's going on in his life. He wonders why his family doesn't seem to care about him and spends their lives thinking about work, why his friends call him names when they should be there for him, why everyone seems so disgusted by him.

So when he turns 17, he fills a bag with essential items and leaves the house forever - literally. Although he is free now, he can't help but feel like his parents and family are still watching and judging him because he can't go too far away because of college and uni later on. That's all for now" Alex explained and looked at Jack expectantly waiting for his answer.

"So, is this guy you?"

"Yeah"

"You've been living on your own for two years now then?"

"Yep"

"How can you afford to go to uni then? Do your parents still support you on that?"

"I've worked at the mall these past few summers and I still have my bank account with the money my parents saved up for uni, so I spend that to pay uni and try to spend as little as possible in general"

"That explains why you agreed to come to my place if I paid for everything you order at the cafe" Jack smirked at him.

"I went because I wanted to, don't be silly" He rolled his eyes and laughed.

"We should get out of this fucked-up town" Jack suggested looking up the sky. The stars were coming out and the only source of light were the little lamps that lightened the way to the field.

"Yeah.. Maybe one day"

"No, I'm serious. Why don't we just leave?"

"Together"

"Well, yeah?"

"Jack, we've known each other for like two days, I don't even know you" Alex chuckled and got up, shook his dusted jeans and offered his hand to Jack to help him up.

"So what? People live with strangers when they go to college"

"This is different though"

"Why?"

"Well, I can't just leave, okay? I have uni here"

"Uni is bullshit, it won't help you be a writer, how could it? It's not like you're going to learn how to write all over again, right?"

"Jack..."

"C'mon Alex" Jack insisted, taking both his hands in his and shaking them together. "Let's give that boy of your story a turn and let him live a little, make a change in his life"

"I'll think about it, but it's crazy" Alex shook his head in disbelief.

"Please, let me take the pain away" Jack whispered.

"I'm in some deep shit, aren't I?" Alex sighed, but Jack grinned and ran towards his car holding Alex's hand in his.

-

"Is this all?" Jack asked as he lifted Alex's bag and put it in his trunk.

"Yeah, most of the things I used were from my housekeeper"

"Let's go then" Jack smiled and got in the car, Alex following close behind.

"What about the cafe?"

"Alex, I think I'll be able to work at any cafe wherever we go" Jack rolled his eyes and started driving away.

"Where are we even going?"

"Wherever this trashy car takes us"

"This is probably the scariest thing I've ever done in my life" Alex admitted looking through the window.

"Really? You've left your parents and lived on your own for two years. I'm pretty sure that was more scary than this" Jack said.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess, but this is what I've wanted for all these years and I'm finally doing it" He admitted looking away.

"You're welcome, my prince"