Gilbert's declaration hit Arthur like a ton of bricks. Alfred was in love with him? Was that why the falling-out happened? Was that what Alfred was trying to tell him that day? The guilt welled up in the blond until he felt as if he would go mad if he didn't say something. How could he have not realized it? When he looked back on his interactions with Alfred three years before, it now seemed so obvious!

"Wow," was all he managed to say. Even though it was only just one word, it seemed to put an incredible amount of weight into the room. After a few moments, he spoke again. "I didn't know. But now that I'm aware, I'm surprised that I didn't see it all along. It leaves me to wonder what would've happened if I had listened to what he had to say that day. Would things have ended differently?"

"That's something you'd have to talk to him about," Gilbert simply said. "You really are a bit dense, aren't you? Al used to say something like that about you all the time." He chuckled to himself. "I guess all of this will be resolved soon enough, yeah? Anyway, let's get on with the story."

"Wait," Arthur quickly interjected. "How obvious was it to everyone at your school?"

The albino snickered to himself before replying. "Even the people who didn't know Al knew he was crazy about you. That's how obvious it was."

.

Three Years Previous

True to his word, Gilbert acknowledged Alfred anytime he saw him in the hallway, bringing a smile to the blond's face and a returned acknowledgement. It felt so empowering to have a popular senior blow off his conversation with other popular people for a brief moment to say hi or greet him. Something about it caused a small, fluttering feeling in Alfred's chest every time it happened. Soon, he realized that he was slightly blushing each time he returned the sentiment. What was up with that?

Gilbert dropped his tray onto Alfred and Charlotte's lunch table, his way of signifying that he would sit with them that day. Granted it happened about twice a week, it still startled both freshmen.

"Will you please stop doing that?" Charlotte complained, rolling her eyes. "I nearly have a heart attack each time."

The senior pointed a finger at her. "I know your brother," he simply stated, a smug smile on his lips.

"Which one?" she asked. "I have two."

"I met Tim at a party this past weekend," Gilbert stated. "He's fucking awesome. I only knew he was your brother because you two look similar and have the same last name. I mean, I also asked him when we were smoking together, just to make sure." He ignored the eye roll from Charlotte. "Do you think you'll be that awesome when you grow into a big girl, Charlie?"

She scoffed. "If by awesome, you mean a complete failure, then no. I really hope not to be." Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest and cast the albino a cross look. "Besides, he got arrested that night when coming home from the party. Our parents won't pay bail, so he's stuck in jail for awhile. Is that how awesome you want me to be?"

"Jail is no place for a princess, now is it?" the senior sneered. He smirked at Charlotte before turning to Alfred. "How was your weekend, Al?"

Alfred had appeared to be deep in thought, but now seemed startled out of it. "Me? My weekend?" he asked. "Uh, it was okay, I guess. I took my dog out for a walk on Saturday. Sunday, I went to the gym by my house. It was a typical weekend, I suppose. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"What a domestic life you live, Mr. Jones," Gilbert teased, grinning.

"Alright, spill it," Charlotte sighed. "What has you so bitter today? Something is obviously wrong if you're picking on our dear Alfie Jones. What happened?"

Gilbert scoffed and then frowned. "Okay, fine," he grumbled. "I'm Jonesing hard. My brother caught me smoking, and he ratted me out to our grandpa, who we live with. That old man raised hell when I got back from that party this weekend and said he's keeping close tabs on me. I haven't smoked in almost two days, and I'm about to lose my mind, Charlie!"

She sighed but reached over and patted the older boy's shoulder. "Why do you remind me so much of Tim?" she wondered aloud. "Maybe you shouldn't smoke while you're still in high school, Gil. Have you considered that?"

The senior turned his back to her with a grumble of, "You are absolutely no goddamn help."

Charlotte smiled to herself and then turned to her best friend. "Finished with lunch, Alfie Jones?" she asked. "I'll go dump our trays." She stood up and grabbed the two empty trays. "How about you try to comfort this lost cause?" And with that, she was gone.

Alfred reached into a pocket of his backpack and pulled out a pack of sugar-free gum. He slid it across the table toward his distressed friend. "Here," he said. "I heard that when people try to quit smoking, they sometimes try chewing gum instead. I've only taken one piece out of this pack, but maybe it can help you."

Gilbert looked up at the freshman, a mixture of heartfelt thanks and disbelief on his face. This freshman, whom he was mostly shallow friends with, would do something like this? He didn't exactly know what to think, not wanting to take advantage of genuine kindness. "You sure?" he finally asked, eyeing the pack of gum.

"I can always get more later," the blond replied with a shrug. "Besides, you seem like you need it more than I do. It's not a big deal." He smiled to show his sincerity. "Just take it, Gil. It's not like it'll be the end of my world."

.

Present Day

"You know, Arthur, I think that was the moment that I fell for him," Gilbert sighed, chuckling bitterly to himself. "Can you believe that? Over something as stupid as a pack of sugar-free gum, no less." He laughed for a moment. "But that was how I kicked my smoking habit, and it was also how I discovered my favorite gum. Could it have been because I associated it with Alfred? Maybe. But do I care about little details like that? Of course not." His gaze then fell upon Arthur. "You must think we're all pretty crazy to go to such great lengths to invite you into our homes and discuss Al with you, huh?"

"It's crossed my mind a few times," the blond admitted, "but it isn't something I would say aloud like that." He sighed. "I just don't get why Alfred is surrounded by people who would go to such great lengths for him. It's almost too unreal to be true. Who has a friend group like that?"

"Al is one of a kind," the other man simply stated. "He's a guy who truly believes in his friends with all of his heart. If I'm honest, I feel as if he's one of the very few good people left in this world. And before you actually showed up at my door and showed genuine interest in what I had to say, I believed the horrible things everyone else in the group said about you behind Al's back. But now I'm starting to truly show interest in your character."

"What do you mean?"

"Just talking to myself. Don't worry about me, okay?" Gilbert smirked. "Now, where was I? Let's skip forward to three weeks later at the football game against our rival school. That's where things get good. You see, I'd started hanging out with Alfred nearly every day by that point, and I knew that I had fallen hard."

.

Three Years Previous

Alfred sat between Charlotte and Gilbert at a school football game one Friday night. It was growing colder and colder by the day, and the chilly night breeze felt as if it were ripping through his jacket. He decided to make an excuse to go to the concessions stand for nachos so that he could have at least a little bit of a wind block.

"Hey, could you grab me a Coke?" Charlotte asked, batting her eyes at him. "And maybe some popcorn?"

He chuckled before replying. "I'm on it, Charlie."

"I'm kinda hungry too," Gilbert decided, standing up as well. "I'll go with you." He then turned to Charlotte. "Keep tabs on the game for us."

"Roger that," she replied, eyes glued to the field. Unlike a lot of girls at the school, Charlotte paid close attention to the sports, whereas most of the girls paid more attention to the players.

Upon reaching the concession area, Alfred discovered, with much dismay, that a lot of other students had the same idea as him. He frowned when he realized that there wasn't much cover from the wind left.

"You're so easy to read," Gilbert laughed. "Come with me." He grabbed Alfred's arm and took him to the entryway of the men's restroom, which was just out of the wind with a perfect view of the concession line. "Let's just wait here for a bit."

"Gil, you're a genius," his companion laughed. He was honestly jealous that he hadn't thought of it. "It's no wonder people like you so much, you know? You're always thinking a few steps ahead but don't mind giving others the ground to follow."

"Yeah?" he laughed. "I wouldn't be so sure about that." A raging blush rose in his cheeks.

"Why wouldn't you be? You're a born leader. You could do anything, and anyone would follow?"

"You think so?" he asked. "What if it was something like this?" Making sure no one was watching them, Gilbert slipped his fingers under the freshman boy's chin before guiding the blond's face to his own. He placed a sweet and gentle kiss upon the other boy's lips. "Do you follow?"