"Please come back soon for karaoke night boys!"

"Absolutely!"

Alfred stumbled out of the bar with Jett in tow. At nearly one in the morning, they were both tripping over their own feet and giggling from the copious amount of alcohol they had consumed. As they went home, Jett regaled the entire evening, starting with Alfred serenading him to the tune of "American Idiot". He even did a reenactment of Alfred's tabletop dance.

"Dude! I hadn't even started drinking yet!" Alfred laughed as Jett threw his hands in the air, waving them around with barely enough restraint to prevent himself from falling over.

"That was the best part, you were terrifying the bartenders when you finally ordered a beer! I thought that one waitress was going to piss herself when you asked for a pitcher for the table!"

"Ah man, she was cute too. If only I was straight." Alfred said, half baiting Jett to begin his usual shenanigans. It worked like a charm.

Jett knitted his eyebrows as hard as he could, face contorted into an over exaggerated frown which wasn't entirely convincing. But seeing as they were both drunk on beer and foolishness, it was fitting. "You wouldn't leave me for her would you?"

At times like this, it was Alfred's job to act totally fooled by Jett's mischievous behavior. Drunk or sober. However, this time he didn't quite know where Jett was going with his fake whining. It never hurt to play along though.

"Nah, man. You're the only one for me."

"Oh good, because I call dibs!"

"Wai…what?" Alfred said, standing dumbfounded as Jett twirled around in the street, laughing manically.

He pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket and waved in front of Alfred's face. It was moving around so much Alfred couldn't make out the writing. There was definitely something written on it though.

"She gave me her number, and I call dibs!"

Alfred felt his chest burning as he busted out laughing, tears brushing the edges of his eyes. "Oh man, that's too funny! Did you say anything to her?"

"Yeah, I told her I'd give her a ring if my current girlfriend didn't get off of the tables soon. It took her a minute before she realized what I was saying."

At that, Alfred's knees buckled, unable to support his own weight as the hilarity of the situation and the alcohol took a hold of him. He hit the pavement as he was consumed with painful fits of riotous laughter. Jett was doubled over beside him, holding onto his knees for support as laughed just as loudly.

Before the giggles had died down, and Jett had regained some of his breath and he managed to say, "I think our duet caused her to have to step outside."

Alfred tried his best to suppress his laughter from splitting his sides in two as he replied, "Two gay guys practically screaming '22', or any Taylor Swift song for that matter, and I would have been weak too!"

"It did make you weak and you were one of the ones singing it!" Jett reached out a hand to help Alfred off of the sidewalk, the remnants of laughter still rippling in his tanned cheeks. The night was humid and warm, but there was a faint chill in the air. The sky was clear and all of the stars shone brightly leaving Alfred's head feeling lighter as he gazed up into the marvels of the black sky. The rest of the walk home, Alfred leaned on Jett for support, not so much out of necessity, but more to feel the comforting warmth and sense of completion it gave Alfred. Jett's hand was glued to Alfred's waist, offering additional support while simultaneously pressing Alfred's side flush with Jett's. The two boys slowly weaved their way home, satisfied by their wonderful evening.

Jett immediately flopped on the bed, and Alfred admired him for a minute, watching the content smile lighten Jett's featured and soften his eyelids in the dim lighting. Alfred considered sleeping too, but instead he gripped Jett's shoulder and shook him as lightly as his drunken self would allow.

"Hey, I've still got to give you your present."

"Can't it wait until morning?" Jett groaned, even as he smiled as Alfred's excitement.

"No, it can't." He had waited patiently all day throughout the celebrations, the cake, and the karaoke. But it was something Alfred wanted to share with Jett alone.

"Oh alright." Jett probably wanted nothing more than to let sweet dreams take him over for the night. But he still smiled gratefully at Alfred.

Alfred stumbled to the closet where he had stashed the gift. The brown mailing tube was coarse against his hands as he picked it up and brought it over to Jett. As he handed Jett the package, Alfred started to feel their nights adventures begin to have an effect on his shoulders. His eyelids were weighted down with sleep too. The simple act of handing Jett the package was beginning to pacify him. Still, no matter how sleepy he was, Alfred couldn't bear not seeing Jett's reaction for another night.

Jett popped the top off the tube, his movements slowed by his inebriation. Alfred resisted the urge to open it for him since he was slightly less drunk than Jett. He watched in anticipation as Jett pulled the folded parchment from inside the tube. Even the sight of the slightly tattered parchment made Alfred's veins tingle with excitement. Then Jett opened the paper and Alfred prepared himself for Jett's overjoyed reaction.

"You gave me a blank piece of paper?" Jett asked. Alfred furrowed his bow in confusion. He must have heard wrong. Slowly, he realized that Jett was not joking.

"What? No, I gave you a…" Alfred stopped talking as he took the map from Jett's hands. At least, it had been a map when he packaged it. The markings that had been on the upper left quadrant of the paper were gone!

"Where is it? Where's the map?" It was impossible. He thought he saw a faint line of ink, but he blinked and it was gone. Suddenly, he wondered how drunk he really was. He began to shake the paper furiously as if it was an etch-a-sketch. But to no avail.

"I swear there was a map!" Alfred's heart sunk in his chest and he looked straight at Jett for his reaction. He had been so excited, and everything was being crushed before his eyes. It was supposed to be the best present he'd ever given Jett and it was nothing except disappointing. He'd even built the present up so much and now he must look like a fool. There was no explanation either! Alfred was positive there had been a map on the page.

He swallowed heavily, keeping his gaze on Jett constant. Jett seemed just as confused as Alfred, although he also appeared concerned. Alfred's breath started coming in giant gulps. Was he going crazy?

"Bro, it's ok! It's alright! You still got me an excellent koala gift yesterday…or the day before…what time is it?"

The clock read 2am.

Alfred stared daggers at the clock as if it was responsible for this mess. The red light burned into his eyes as he wished it would go back in time so he wouldn't be such an embarrassment. How come there was nothing on the paper? How had he let Jett down so badly?

"You have to believe me! It was a map! It was an adventure!" He was near tears, but the pain of failing Jett was beginning to unravel him. His chest ached and the room spun around him. Being drunk wasn't helping. But there HAD been a map there. Right?

"I…I believe you." The words were quiet, but the way Jett said it made Alfred want to believe him. He didn't look away and he said it with conviction. The words were clear and focused. He didn't see how Jett could believe him though. At this point, even Alfred was sure he was going crazy.

"I'm…I'm s…sorry." The tears finally spilled over his eyes. He felt like such a failure, and he didn't even know where he went wrong. There was nothing.

"Hey…hey it's ok!" Jett's hand was warm against his cheek and Alfred leaned into it. If nothing else, Jett was real.

"Hey, remember that time I got drunk and started following the lines on the carpet saying they would lead us to the fountain of youth?"

Alfred snorted through the tears. Jett always knew what would make Alfred feel better. However, he still felt slightly guilty. It was supposed to be Jett's Birthday! Everything was supposed to be perfect! "Yeah, I remember. I tried to get you to stop by saying we were young already."

"Did you? I don't remember that. Did it work?"

"Pfff, no. You kept saying that I wore old man clothes already and clearly needed a change of attitude." Jett's laugh was pure and clear. It made Alfred's heart skip a beat even though a large part of him still wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

"Well you do wear old man clothes." Alfred relented a little and gave a small chuckle, even though his heart wasn't all in it.

"I really do believe you, you know. You were too excited. I just don't understand…" Jett trailed off as he squinted at the paper. After a few seconds he finally finished, "what could have happened."

At this point, Alfred didn't want to think about it anymore. Maybe Jett believed him, maybe not. Alfred decided he didn't care.

"I'll make it up to you tomorrow. We'll do something fun! We'll make our own map!" Jett gave him a huge smile and it warmed Alfred's chest.

"Ok! Let's do it!" Jett said, laying back on the pillows and shutting his eyes. "But let's wait until tomorrow, yeah?"

"Ok," Alfred said, as he clambered into bed beside Jett. The two laid together with their foreheads pressed together, crossing their knees over each other and intertwining their hands. Jett fell asleep almost immediately, but Alfred's head pounded for a good hour or so. It prevented him from falling asleep at first. The he remembered Jett's words, claiming that he believed Alfred. It was hard to say what Jett believed, but Alfred decided it didn't matter much. If he was going crazy, then so be it. There wasn't anyone better in the world to go crazy with.

He still wanted that map though.

Slowly, Alfred allowed his exhaustion to take hold and he drifted off into a light slumber.


The next morning Alfred was up early, as usual. It didn't matter that they had been out till 2am, he couldn't help but get up at 6am every day. Even in Australia. Although, the jet lag had taken a fair amount of time to wear off at first. He'd probably need a nap later on to make up for the lost sleep, but he was awake now. The time after waking up was when Alfred felt his best. Especially when the sun was still rising in the sky and bringing light to a brand new day. Jett did not share this sentiment.

Even though Alfred's eyes were still dry and tired, his mind was ready to take on the day.

It didn't take long to remember what had happened the night before, and the wind was briskly blown out of Alfred's sails. He was tempted to flop back down in the bed right then and there.

Instead, he glared at the incriminating piece of folded paper that should have been the most amazing gift of all time.

Alfred took the piece of paper and grabbed the edge with both hands, preparing to rip it to shreds. Before he could rip it though, he paused. There, just at the corner of the paper, was a small amount of black ink.

It couldn't be…

There was only one way to find out. Even though Alfred wanted nothing more than to destroy the gift at this point, a small spark of hope stayed his hand. He debated for a minute, already having been angered once by the inanimate object. But he had to know.

Gradually, and while trying to keep his hopes from getting out of hand, Alfred opened up the parchment. He was desperate not to be disappointed a second time. The fear of opening the map up and finding it empty again prevent Alfred from registering what he was seeing for a few moments.

It was impossible! How drunk HAD he been last night?!

There, right where it had been when Alfred had gotten the map on the upper, left hand side, was a map of an oddly shaped land mass surrounded by water. He couldn't believe his eyes. Or maybe he could, but he was still afraid to. Without taking his eyes off the map, he started nudging Jett's shoulder to try and wake him up.

"Psst! Jett, wake up! You need to see this!" He was half whispering half shouting. The excitement was making Alfred feel light headed, but he wanted to make sure the map didn't disappear again. Jett probably wanted to sleep until noon. He grumbled as Alfred continued to shake him, stirring the sheets up as he shifted away from the noise.

"Jett, I'm serious! Just for a second."

"Oh pleeeease, my head is killing me." Jett groaned. Alfred bit his lower lip. He just couldn't be sure the map would be there in a few hours. But he had already asked a lot from Jett to open the gift the night before…

Alfred went downstairs to eat breakfast. He tried to play it cool, act like it didn't bother him that the map was suddenly there again today. But it did. As he chewed his toast and sipped his coffee, he kept trying to avoid looking at it. But ever few seconds his eyes flicked back towards the map. And every time Alfred breathed a sigh of relief seeing it was still there.

All morning he tried to figure out how they hadn't seen the map the previous night. A thousand crazy ideas flew through his head, all more exotic than the last. Maybe he had grabbed the wrong paper. But there had only been one piece of paper to begin with. Perhaps the ink disappeared in the dark. He tried taking it to the bathroom with no windows and shutting the door. It was hard to see, but the map was still there. What if someone had switched the map while they were asleep? Not likely, Alfred probably would have woken up.…what if it was aliens?

Even Alfred had to laugh at himself for that idea. But none of it made any sense. The best he could figure is that they were too drunk and were holding the map backwards. It seemed reasonable enough, although something about that explanation kept nagging at his brain. He couldn't put his finger on what though.

After a while he resigned himself to allowing the map to continue bothering him. At least until Jett saw it and he could prove he wasn't crazy or lying. Alfred spent most of the morning looking at the map, taking in every detail he could. Maybe if it disappeared again, he could recreate it.

Now Alfred was convinced he was going crazy. The map couldn't just disappear. That was ridiculous. Almost as bad as his alien idea.

After what seemed like an eternity, Jett finally came down the stairs. It was only 11am, but that meant Alfred had been up for five hours contemplating this stupid map. Jett gave a vocal yawn, and Alfred suddenly felt ashamed to ask him to look at the map again. He kept quiet instead.

"G'mornin'," Jett mumbled while wiping his eyes of sleep. He sat across the breakfast table from Alfred, pouring himself some orange juice and buttering a piece of toast.

Alfred smiled brightly, finally tearing his eyes from the map. He itched to keep looking at it, ensuring that it was still there, but he also didn't want to make Jett suspicious.

"What's that?" Jett asked through his toast, pointing at the map with a jerk of his head.

"Umm..." Alfred looked down again, just to double check that the map was still there and that it still had land drawn on it. "It's your present…"

Jett dropped his toast and snatched the parchment from in front of Alfred.

"No way…" He reached up and dragged his fingers through his hair. Something he did when he was confused. Jett laid the map out in front of him and stared at it with misty eyes. But the way he had grabbed the map and laid it down was starting to make Alfred uncomfortable. He didn't know how to approach the subject though.

"Hey, Jett?"

"Yeah?"

"The map is…upside down." Alfred said. Jett looked up and raised an eyebrow at him.

"You can still read a map upside down, you know."

Alfred threw his hands up in defense. If Jett wanted to read the map upside down, then so be it. Besides, this way Alfred could look at the map right side up as well. So in the end it worked out. Even if it was weird…

"Why is there only a small section of it filled out?" Jett asked.

He had expected this question. The man that had given Alfred the map had told him it was a puzzle. They would have to figure out the first part in order to get to the next part. Alfred figured it would lead them to the location of another piece of the map which could probably be attached to the original parchment.

Jett asked about the words in the corner, but they were in a language that Alfred didn't understand either. Then he asked how they would be able to afford a trip. It was a little disappointing, but Alfred didn't have an answer. They were too poor. But it was still something nice to think about for now. And maybe in the future they would be able to afford it as well. Then Jett asked the question Alfred had been dying to answer since he got the map.

"Where does it lead?"

Alfred smiled hugely at him. "I could be wrong, but…I think…it leads to Atlantis."

"Get out. That's not possible, Atlantis is just a legend!"

"No listen! I'm not kidding! Look at this paper and this ink. It's definitely not any sort of modern day paper. It's thick, and almost fabric like. But get this, it's not any ancient type of paper either. At least not that I could find in the historical archives. The ink is the same way! Look how it shines in the light, it's almost green or blue and iridescent. They didn't have ink like that in any of the Ancient Civilizations.

"But that's not all. This marking here. It's Poseidon's Trident, or at least it's really close. And this symbol here kinda looks like the Pillars of Heracles…I mean Hercules…wait...HerAcles gave me the map. HercUles is the better known name of the Pillars. Anyway, sidetracked."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Jett asked.

"Well, according to Plato, Atlantis was supposed to lie 'beyond the Pillars of Hercules'. And it was often referenced to as being in Poseidon's domain, obviously since it was swallowed up by the sea eventually."

"But here's the really exciting part. You see the faint marks at the corner of the page here?" Alfred started squealing, it was all too much. He knew there was a good chance that he was wrong. But he'd done so much research on the map while he was sick with sun poisoning and everything seemed to add up.

"That's Plato's handwriting! I thought it looked familiar! And I looked back through some of my old Historical Philosophy textbooks and there was a photograph of 'The Republic'! It was so similar! I took it to a graphologist and they said if it wasn't Plato's, then it was a damn good forgery!" Alfred said. He was getting a little ahead of himself, but he was too excited now.

"But it doesn't match the other writing on the page. Alfred are you sure?"

"Yeah! I mean, of course it wouldn't match. Plato had one of the first written records of Atlantis. But I don't think he created it. I think he was looking for it and I think he had this map. I think those are his notes!"

"That seems like an awful lot of speculation." Jett said. Alfred frowned some, but Jett was good at asking important questions. He had to remember that sometimes.

"Well sure, but even if it's not, it could still be a fun adventure."

Finally, Jett smiled. Yes, the map was exciting because there was a small chance it led to a long lost civilization that no one had found for thousands of years. But the main point was for them to share an adventure.

"How about this, we'll make a bet. What do I get if it is real?" Alfred asked.

"Hmm…I'll kiss you."

"What, that's it?"

"Yep, take it or leave it." Well, it was better than nothing.

"Fine. As long as we actually get to go." Even if it didn't exist, it was an excuse to travel. Something they'd both dreamed of since they were little. Alfred caught Jett staring at him. He didn't know whether he should feel guilty or what.

"You really believe it exists, don't you…"

"I…well…I'm not sure. But I know it's something I want to do with you!" Alfred flashed Jett his most winning smile.

"Al…I've known you for a very long time. You don't get like this if you think it's nothing. Why do you think I believed you last night when you said it was a map?"

Alfred took a deep breath, holding it until his lungs hurt. Sometimes Jett knew him better than he did. It wasn't something new, but every time it happened it was still bewildering. That, on top of hearing Jett say he believed Alfred when his eyes had told him otherwise was almost more than Alfred could handle. Even he had been unsure of himself in that moment. Alfred was still unsure of himself.

"What if I'm wrong? I can't even explain why I feel this way. What if it is just a hoax?"

"Well, we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there. So I guess that means we'll have to go looking for it." And Jett smiled.

"Go looking for what?" Jett's father asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Uuhhh…"

"Alfred got me a map to Atlantis for my Birthday," Jett said. Alfred tried not to burst the bubble and laugh out loud. He knew Jett was only saying that to get a good reaction.

When Alfred looked again, Jett's father's eyes swirled with a host of emotions that Alfred didn't understand. But not one of them questioned what Jett had said. Which struck Alfred as particularly strange. Jett loved saying things with the sole purpose of confusing, and his father of all people should know that. Like with the waitress at the bar, telling her his girlfriend was dancing on the bar. This was definitely something that should have confused Jett's dad. His reaction didn't go unnoticed by Jett either. The two glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes.

There was a long pause before Jett's dad started speaking. "You know, I always felt bad for divorcing your mother. I felt like I did you and your siblings wrong. It wasn't something you deserved."

The change in topic confused Alfred, but Jett's dad kept speaking, "I like you Alfred. You've been really good for Jett. Actually, I can't remember a time when I knew a happier couple than you two." There was another pause as Jett and Alfred looked straight at each other. It was apparent that Jett had as much of a clue where his father was going as Alfred did.

"So, if you want to go on this trip, I'll be willing to pay for it." Alfred's jaw dropped and Jett audibly gasped.

"You're joking. Dad, I said 'Atlantis'. It's just a…well…it's probably just a myth!" The words Jett chose did not slip past Alfred's notice. He could have outright denied its existence. But he didn't. And the knowing smile his father gave them sent Alfred's head spinning. There were so many things he didn't understand about what was going on. So many things he was trying to process.

"It might be. It might not." Jett's father said.

"How come you're so willing to accept this?" With that, Jett's father finally caved a little.

"If it turns out to be real…if you find it…maybe then I'll tell you. If not, then I hope you two have a hell of an adventure anyway."