The rest of the holidays sped by, Isaac came over whenever his dad was out, and it seemed as if freezing him out on Christmas had been the ultimate punishment for the season, as Isaac barely had any new cuts and bruises.
Of course, Jackson still had to schedule his time between Danny and Isaac. Danny went to visit family in Hawaii for the week after New Years, so he spent almost every waking hour in Isaac's company.
Isaac could never sleep over, though. He had to leave everyday before dinner, so there were no more late night video game tournaments.
Spending seven hours with Isaac was a lot more fun than Jackson would have imagined. Isaac was a lot more confident than he had been the previous year, and he trusted Jackson so much more.
His mom even took them down to the arcade a couple times, which Isaac really seemed to enjoy.
The more Jackson hung out with Isaac, the more he wanted to stay around him. It was different with Danny, Jackson liked hanging out with him and playing Lacrosse and video games, but Danny could eventually start to get on his nerves, and he would just need a break. He just wanted to be around Isaac all the time, and that was starting to concern him.
Jackson did miss Danny, and invited him to spend the night after he got back. He happily accepted.
—-
Jackson was on top of the bed, lying on his back, head hanging off the edge of the bed, and controller in the air. Danny sat below and to the right of him, full concentration mode. They were surrounded by half empty soft drinks and thousands of candy wrappers.
The match ended and Jackson cheered in victory, Danny just rolled his eyes. The clock blinked four in the morning.
"Can we go to bed now?" Jackson whined.
"Not until I beat you fairly!" Danny got mad an hour ago when Jackson had stopped trying in their matches and he made Jackson swear to try until Danny could finally beat him.
"Danny, look at how I'm sitting! I can't even see half the screen!" Danny turned around and stuck his tongue out. He started chugging the Mountain Dew closest to him. "Danny, why are you gay?" Danny choked on his drink, some of it spilling down his front. He was shocked, Jackson hadn't really brought that up since the first day of seventh grade. "Not in a gay way," Jackson added.
"You realise asking me about being gay, but saying 'not in a gay way' is kind of contradicting your question." Jackson gave him a confused look and Danny shook his head. "What are you asking me?" Jackson made an obnoxious sound as he rolled onto his stomach.
"I don't know." Danny put his controller down and turned his body towards Jackson. "Why do you think- er- know that you're gay?" Danny was confused, not because of the question, but because of Jackson's complete change in personality. All of a sudden he seemed completely invested and calm. Danny inferred he was serious from his change of tone.
"Because I find men attractive and not women? I see a dude and I'm like 'yes, attractive,' whereas girls it's more like, 'oh, she's pretty' and nothing really more. It's like opposite with you, except if I ever here the words 'he's pretty' come from your mouth, I would probably roll over and die." Danny noticed Jackson's facial expressions soften, he was definitely thinking a lot about what Danny had said. Jackson opened his mouth, but shut it before speaking. He paused, back in thought and then opened it again.
"Do you think I'm attractive?" Danny huffed in laughter, Jackson looked a tad offended.
"No, you're not my type," he answered simply, biting off the end of a Twizzler. "Don't ask me what my type is," Danny added before Jackson could speak again. Danny turned back around and picked up his controller. "Okay, let's go for round twelve," he suggested, trying to get off the subject. He sighed of relief when Jackson started the next round.
Danny admits he wasn't trying anymore, at least not trying a lot. It wasn't his fault though, why had Jackson brought that up? It seemed so weird and out of the blue, questioning him about being gay. Had something happened while he was away? Danny shook himself out of his thoughts, crying to concentrate on the game. It worked for about five minutes. What if Jackson thinks he's gay? It is a possibility, Danny thought.
Maybe Danny would check his internet history after Jackson fell asleep. No, he couldn't do that, could he? Jackson probably erases whatever he googles anyway. But he did have his own laptop, so would it be necessary? Danny pinched himself to come out of his thoughts. He realised he wasn't even playing anymore, but Jackson didn't seem to be either. Danny turned around. His best friend had fallen asleep with his head, neck, and left foot hanging off the bed, the rest of his body was splayed out.
Danny got up and picked up Jackson's controller, setting both of them down by the TV and turning the screen off. He cursed himself for chugging that last soda, he wasn't tired in the least.
He spotted Jackson's laptop, only a few feet away, it was so tempting. It didn't help that Danny knew his password either. He somehow found himself sitting in front of it. What if Jackson woke up? He didn't know if he would be able to lie, Jackson would surely be able to tell.
He shook his head. Jackson would tell him if he suspected anything of himself, right? Danny was his best friend. He left the laptop alone and climbed into the bed. He sat there, unable to fall asleep, and tried to figure out if there was anything else different about his best friend. He couldn't think of anything off the top of his head, other than he and Isaac becoming friends again, but that was before Danny had even left.
He figured Jackson was hanging out with Isaac a lot, but he wasn't sure how much. Maybe he was concerned Isaac was? Maybe he liked Isaac? Danny shook his head, trying to keep those thoughts out of his head. Isaac was cute, but in a little kid way. He still looked ten years old, and was as thin as a twig.
Danny rested his head against the headboard, trying to focus on anything other than Jackson, but he found it nearly impossible. Danny lost count of time, but he figured he fell asleep around six in the morning.
—-
Jackson woke up at nine, Danny was passed out next to him, looking wiped. He slipped out of his bed and went to have a quick shower. He ended up half falling asleep, and took over twenty minutes. Danny was still asleep by the time he had changed, he decided to let him be and go get breakfast.
He really only knew how to make cereal, so Jackson poured himself a big bowl of Frosted Flakes and settled down in front of the television. He watched morning cartoons, waiting for Danny to wake up. At twelve, there was still no sign of Danny, Jackson abandoned his spot on the couch and went to wake up his best friend.
He decided against using his tactic for waking up Isaac, it worked well, but he figured Danny may just freak out. Instead, he opted to throw pillows at Danny's body.
Slowly, Danny began to stir and whine through the pillows muffling his mouth.
"Get up! It's already midday!" Jackson yelled, bringing a pillow down on Danny's head. Danny retaliated, pulling the pillow from under his head out, and launching it at Jackson. Jackson caught it easily and laughed, Danny turned around, sticking his tongue out. "Get up." Danny groaned, but complied.
They headed back to the kitchen together, and Danny made bacon for the two of them. They made a huge mess in the kitchen somehow, spilling hot grease all over the counter, and orange juice all over the floor. Danny cleaned up while Jackson tried to stay out of the way.
Jackson could tell there was something on Danny's mind, but he couldn't figure out what. He knew it wasn't that serious, but he hoped it hadn't been about his question last night. It hadn't been one of the smoothest conversations Jackson had ever had, but it was something he needed to ask, even if he hadn't gotten close to any kind of answer he was looking for.
Being gay and having strong feelings for a friend was completely different. Totally different. Right? Yeah, he was overreacting, he was a teenage boy going through puberty, it was normal to want to ravish anyone you saw. But why wasn't he feeling the feelings for Isaac towards Danny? He couldn't explain it with having known Danny longer, because he met Isaac when he was ten.
He felt someone flick him on the head, and whipped around. Danny was staring at him, raising an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" Jackson nodded, coming out of his thoughts. Danny looked at him quizzically, but dropped it. That was one of Jackson's favourite things about his best friend, he didn't seem to carry on conversations that Jackson didn't want to, and they seemed to have a silent connection on that level.
Danny left that night, but was back a short two days later. The rest of the break sped by, and then they were back at school.
