The date
What if, on the 9th January 2014, John Paul hadn't realised that Finn had attacked Marlena as he was leaving detention duty that night? What if he had gone on his date with Ste? Would things have transpired differently?
John Paul made his way to The Dog, hands in pockets and a spring in his step. Why he had a spring in his step, he wasn't sure. He was running slightly late due to having to cover detention - that was definitely a decent reason - but perhaps he was excited about his date with Ste. John Paul almost hesitated: never would he have imagined that the words 'excited', 'date' and 'Ste' would ever appear together in the same sentence, but it did.
xxx
He was wrong to be excited about his date, John Paul realised as he entered The Dog and spotted Danny sitting at a table with Ste. Nonetheless, John Paul approached them with a forced grin on his face.
"Hey" he greeted through gritted teeth, "Sorry I'm late"
Ste shrugged, "It's no problem"
Danny just smiled at John Paul expectantly. John Paul realised that he wouldn't be leaving any time soon, so he took a deep breath.
"Another round?" he offered. The other two nodded in agreement and John Paul sighed as he headed over to the bar.
xxx
As John Paul gulped down his pint of beer he realised that the cliché was right: three was definitely a crowd. And not a fun party crowd either. No, this was an 'I'm-on-a-date-with-a-guy-who-I-couldn't-stand-a-couple-of-weeks-ago-as-well-as-his-dad-who-I-was-having-an-affair-with-a-few-months-ago' kind of crowd. Awkward, to say the least. Danny noticed the empty glasses on the table and stood up.
"The next round's on me" he stated before sauntering over to the bar. Ste leant over the table towards John Paul.
"I'm so sorry about my dad" he apologised earnestly. John Paul shook his head,
"It's fine" he reassured him, though he was disappointed, "I'm the one who kept you waiting"
"Well you were on detention duty, right?"
John Paul nodded, "Yeah, but the weird thing is, Danny was supposed to be doing it. He made it seem like there was an emergency, so I offered to do it instead"
"Strange, 'cos he hasn't said anything about it"
"Well maybe he really wanted to celebrate your birthday with you. This is the first one after all, which is kind of a sweet thought-"
"Or the more likely one is that he didn't want us to go out tonight because he still wants to be with you" Ste retorted bitterly.
John Paul scoffed, "Well the feeling isn't mutual"
"Good" Ste responded contentedly. After noticing John Paul's quizzical expression he covered his tracks to prevent John Paul from figuring out his feelings, "I mean - as I said the other week - he's married with kids. You know, off-limits"
John Paul nodded uncomfortably, which made Ste feel guilty so he elaborated.
"Plus, you don't deserve to be anyone's dirty little secret anymore"
John Paul smiled, "That's what I keep telling myself, but I just keep falling into the same trap over and over" he shook his head sadly before glancing up at Ste, "Then again, you can't help who you have feelings for, can you?"
Ste shook his head, "No, you can't" he murmured thoughtfully, inwardly scolding himself for having these kinds of feelings for a guy that he despised not long ago. A guy who had been with his ex-boyfriend, ex-husband and his dad. If there was ever a sign saying 'Don't go there', that would be it.
xxx
Danny soon returned with the drinks, which – for the first time that evening – Ste was relieved about since it would mean that it would feel as though this excruciating 'date' would be over quicker, and he probably wouldn't mind his dad crashing it if he was hammered. Several minutes later Danny's mobile buzzed. He read the message and bit his lip.
"I'm really sorry guys, but I have to head off" Danny apologised, standing up, "Sam needs me to fix the sink. Though why she can't call a plumber, I have no idea!"
The boys laughed politely and Danny grabbed his coat off the chair.
"You'll be back later, right?" he checked with Ste
Ste glanced at John Paul before hesitantly replying, "Yeah"
"Ok, see you then" he turned to John Paul, "See you tomorrow"
John Paul nodded and gave a brief, awkward wave before Danny exited. There was a lingering pause, then Ste looked at John Paul and gestured to his empty glass.
"Another one?" he asked.
"Actually…" John Paul began regretfully, and Ste's heart sank: this night couldn't be over already, could it? "I've barely eaten anything all day, and it's probably not a good idea to drink so much on an empty stomach" he explained.
Ste nodded in understanding and disappointment.
"Maybe we could go and get some chips or something" John Paul suggested. Ste looked surprised
"'We'?" he queried.
John Paul nodded and stood up, pulling his coat on, "I know it was only supposed to be a birthday drink, but it didn't really count with Danny around" he paused, "Unless you want to head home, which is totally cool-"
Ste jumped up, "No, chips sound good" he babbled, almost tripping over his chair in his enthusiasm to join John Paul.
xxx
"So, how's this birthday matched up to previous years?" John Paul asked as he munched on a chip.
Ste reached over and grabbed a handful from the packet, "Well a lot's changed" he admitted, "It's a good change though. I mean, I didn't have a proper family on my last birthday" he rubbed his hands together gleefully, "So hopefully, I'm gonna be showered with presents from them!" he joked.
John Paul groaned, "I forgot to get you anything" he exclaimed, "I was gonna shove a tenner in a card or something, though that's a pathetic excuse for a gift"
"Well it's the thought that counts, innit?" Ste responded
John Paul pondered this, "Yeah, exactly. I thought about shoving a tenner in a card"
Ste laughed whilst John Paul bit into the last chip thoughtfully, "I'm sure I'll think of something to get you"
Ste swallowed, using John Paul's last comment as a green light and gaining the courage to stop and turn to him.
"I've already thought of something that you can give me" he stated as he leant in to kiss him. He knew that it was a cheesy line that he'd never normally use, but John Paul had offered him a segue, so he was going to take it.
If John Paul freaked out at the kiss, Ste could always blame his actions on the alcohol, especially since he had started drinking before John Paul had even arrived. He was pleasantly surprised, however, when John Paul kissed him back. They were rudely interrupted by the sound of vomiting coming from nearby. They broke apart to find Finn and Robbie making sick noises a few meters away.
"Ah, you've stopped playing tonsil tennis then, have you?" Robbie shouted as he stopped, "About time"
"Disgusting" Fnn added, screwing his face up.
Ste took a step closer to them, "Do you want to repeat that?" he yelled, getting up in Finn's face.
"You're the ones that're disgusting" John Paul added, approaching them. Finn raised a fist and aimed it at Ste, but John Paul grabbed it before he threw a punch. Finn's sleeve slipped up his arm to reveal bruises on his knuckles.
"What happened to your hand?" he asked
"Nothing" Finn replied angrily, "just fighting and that"
John Paul put the pieces together in his head, "It was you, wasn't it? Last night"
Finn looked shocked and shook his head.
"Yeah, I saw you by lost property; you were putting a tie on, weren't you?" John Paul demanded
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Finn exclaimed
Ste and John Paul turned to Robbie.
"Well it wasn't me" he claimed, before glancing at Finn who looked helpless. Both Ste and John Paul realised and shared a look.
"Ring the police" Ste commanded shakily.
John Paul grabbed his mobile from his pocket and called the police.
xxx
"Well tonight was…interesting" Ste began as he and John Paul were walking away from the police station, "I've never had anyone arrested on my birthday before, but there's a first time for everything, I guess"
John Paul sighed, "I'm really sorry about that" he apologised
"Don't be" Ste assured him, "That little rat got what he deserved, which makes this birthday a success, even if the presents that I get tonight suck"
John Paul laughed quietly, which ended the awkwardness. There was a comfortable silence as they made their way back towards the McQueen house.
"So, uh, I um..." John Paul stammered, "I had a good time tonight, despite everything that happened"
Ste scoffed, "Yeah, me too"
"I'll see you tomorrow?" he queried.
Ste smiled and nodded. John Paul returned the smile and there was a lingering pause where neither of them knew what to do next. Were they a couple now? Should they kiss goodnight or had that earlier kiss been a one off? John Paul's smile faded slightly as he realised that neither of them were going to make a move or anything, then he began to make his way towards his house. Ste watched him regretfully and was about reach out to grab his arm to stop him when John Paul turned around to face him,
"Actually, I reckon that Finn being arrested isn't the only reason why tonight was a success" he told him as he stepped in closer to him. Ste chuckled and nodded before closing the distance between them to kiss him gently.
"Happy Birthday" John Paul whispered against his lips. Ste couldn't resist kissing him back deeply, holding John Paul's face in his hands and pulling him closer.
xxx
"Won't your family be annoyed that you've been out so long?" John Paul asked as he pulled away from Ste's kiss.
"Don't know, don't care" Ste responded simply, before capturing his lips again for what felt like the 100th time – they had lost count of the number of times that they had kissed after a while. They were huddled on John Paul's bed and had been alternating between talking about everything under the sun and making out. It felt strange for both of them because of the fact that a few weeks earlier they couldn't stand each other, but now they were being romantic and intimate as though it was second nature. After ending the kiss, John Paul shuffled away slightly to make it less tempting to kiss him again, then studied Ste intently for a few moments.
"So what does this mean then? For us, that is" John Paul asked.
Ste shrugged, "What do you want it to mean?"
John Paul sighed and looked down, "Honestly? I never thought I would say this, but…" he glanced up at Ste nervously, "I want us to be together"
Ste smiled slightly at his admission, "If that's your attempt at being subtle, you need more practice" he joked
"Ha, ha" John Paul replied sarcastically and slapped his arm lightly, "I think we're past beating around the bush, don't you?"
Ste nodded in agreement, then John Paul sighed, "I know it's been a difficult few months, what with losing Doug-"
"Well it was difficult for you as well" Ste interrupted, "You guys were close"
John Paul shook his head, "Yeah, but we were never married, and we weren't about to leave to travel the world together" he paused, "I just don't want to push you, you shouldn't rush into another relationship so soon after your husband's died. You need time to grieve and heal"
Ste considered this before guiltily confessing, "You know, I kind of already have. When I got that letter about Doug leaving his half of the Deli to me, it felt like a kind of closure. I feel like I can actually move on now" he paused, "I mean, it still hurts, and it probably always will, but if I was still mourning then I would have run off and felt guilty when we first kissed. Instead I kept thinking about it, and I wanted more"
John Paul smiled, "You know, I reckon that if an 'up there' does exist" he began, pointing upwards, "Doug would be looking down on us and laughing at the sheer irony of this situation"
They both laughed, remembering Doug being caught in the middle of their conflict about a year earlier. This was followed by a pause before John Paul suddenly noted, "You still haven't answered my question though, what is this?" he gestured between them.
"Well we both want something, a relationship" Ste suggested, then looked downcast "But we've both just been in relationships that have ended badly-"
"-So we should just take it slow" John Paul finished.
Ste nodded in agreement and there was a lingering pause, which gradually became more awkward as the boys were unsure of what to do next.
John Paul was beginning to consider calling it a night, then Ste eventually cleared his throat, "You know, just because we agreed to take it slow, doesn't mean that we can't go back to doing what we were doing a few minutes ago"
John Paul laughed before leaning in and kissing him again.
Thanks for reading! So that's how I imagined that the 9th of January (and McHay's relationship) would have turned out had JP not been raped by Finn. Finn would have been arrested for attacking Marlena (and yes, I did use the dialogue from the 9th January episode in the bit with Finn and Robbie) and the boys would have gotten together with less bumps in the road. Obviously this is 'Hollyoaks' so I had to add a few bumps along the way nonetheless… If anyone has any suggestions for a 'what if' one-shot (preferably Ste, JP or McHay related), then please let me know and I will see what I can do. In the meantime, reviews are always welcome!