"Anthony works at the grocery store, saving his pennies for someday!" Blink sang jovially the moment he walked through the automatic doors of the newly built St. Cloud Publix.
Racetrack glowered at him from his station where he was currently bagging a rather irate, toothless old woman's groceries. Ever since he had gotten the job there, one of his friends would constantly come barreling in singing 'Movin' Out'.
"Enjoying yourself?" he asked, feeling his frosty glower slowly dissolving into a smile.
"Muchly," he waved a libretto in front of Race's face, grinning madly.
"What?" he snatched the fluttering book, much to the woman's chagrin. "Grease? That's the musical this year?"
Blink's smile widened and he nodded. "Fuck yeah."
The women gave him a glacial look while Yolanda, the Puerto Rican cashier, just giggled under her breath because the woman had been giving her a hard time while she had been ringing up her items ('make sure your fake nails don't pop off in my celery' etc.).
"Young man," she hissed, hissed because of the large gap where her front teeth should have been.
"One fucking minute." Blink glared at her best he could with one eye over Race's shoulder. "I have to fucking tell my best friend something fucking important. So keep your pants on, bitch…please."
Race had to look at Yolanda to keep from bursting into laughter but even that proved difficult for she too looked to be about to crack up.
"Anyway," another glare at the woman, "I am fucking Kenickie!"
Blink threw up his arm and attacked Race in a hug, apron and all.
"Way to go," he congratulated.
He nodded. "Yeah and I get to fucking keep my patch on or else Larkson would have my mom to fucking deal with and she'd rip her a fucking new one."
Toothless McGee behind them was grumbling again, something about getting the manager but everyone at the surrounding cash registers was paying her no mind. Race figured that it had something to do with her breath in addition to her wonderful manners. He had made the mistake earlier of breathing in when she had been speaking. It had been like licking the inside of a garbage can.
"How come you don't wanna be Danny?" Yolanda joined in the conversation.
She had come to know all of Race's friends due to their frequent visits while he was working.
"Because of fucking 'Stranded at the Drive-In'. That was gotta be one of the fucking suckiest songs from any fucking musical. Right after 'A Boy Like That' from West Side Story," he shuddered. "And 'Bless Your Beautiful Hide'."
"So, will I see you up on stage opening night?" she asked.
"Undoubtedly."
Yolanda laughed and smiled at him. Blink smiled back. Race absently double-bagged the woman's milk and looked between the two. Was Yolanda flirting with Blink? And, more importantly, was Blink flirting back? He registered how that felt as he loaded the bag into the carriage and continued on. Why did the mere thought of them flirting make his stomach feel as if it were being forced through the crescent moon shape of a Play-Doh Fun Factory?
"Young man," she hissed once more. "Please leave. This one isn't done with my groceries."
"I'm sure your cats can fucking wait," Blink sneered but he turned to go.
Race absently handed him back the libretto before putting the last of the groceries into the carriage.
"Bye, Louie," Yolanda called.
"Bye, Yo," he blew an exaggerated kiss. "Mwah!"
He hadn't said good-bye to Race.
Once again, his stomach went through the factory. As soon as Disgruntled McNoteeth left, Yolanda sighed.
"He's so cute, Antony." she always called him 'Antony' and he never knew why. Of course, it was better than calling him 'Antonio' but still, not his name. "Do you think you could put in a good word for me?"
He felt his back stiffen. "Blink? I mean, Louis? You want to go out with him?"
She threw back her head in laughter. "I thought I made it obvious. I never flirt with guys but Louie is so cute and nice."
Anthony was reeling. There was that Fun Factory feeling again. What was it? Jealousy? Oh, yeah. There was no denying it. Race had serious jones for Blink. So it was cute. He had a crush. It wasn't like he was going to act on it or anything. And, besides, it wasn't like he was gay. Having a crush on a guy and being gay were two totally different things.
He noticed Yolanda looking at him and realized that he had been staring into space for the past minute or so.
"Oh!" he shook his head. "Um, well, Blink's a drama nerd so, yeah, you know what they say…"
She furrowed her brow. "No. What do they say? Is this another American generalization? Because everyone seems to think I'm going to steal their job or something."
Time to lie out his ass—despite Blink's hinting at his sexuality Thursday.
"He's gay."
Her face caved in. "Oh…"
Race felt like shit. Why was he denying this? So he had a crush on Blink. He didn't want to go out with him. Right? Right.
"Yeah," he heard himself say. "Sorry."
--
"All day," Spot fumed. "All day I've been taunted with couples. Once, literally."
Mush cocked a brow from where he lay on the hood of his car.
"Literally?" he laughed. "What, did someone make out on you?"
Spot fixed him with a glare to which Mush fielded with a sunny smile that outshone his glower.
"No. I was walking up building seven to get to fifth period behind this guy and girl holding hands and he was swinging this UF folder and it flew back to far and clocked me in the face. Right between the eyes."
To this, Mush burst out into laughter so explosive, he tumbled from the hood of the car.
"Ha!" Spot barked. "That's what you get!"
"Nicholas, you better not be denting the hood of that car or I'll take it back!"
Mush jumped up and smiled broadly as his stepfather made his way towards him. Spot immediately perked up. Dwayne was quite possibly the coolest adult on the face of the earth. He and Mrs. Meyers had been married for pretty much Mush's entire life but he still insisted that the kids call him Dwayne. He was the former owner of Mush's amazing corvette and had put it to good use in the seventies when he had used to be a pimp.
"Sorry." He shrugged but the grin on his face clearly said otherwise. Of course, Dwayne didn't give two shits if Mush dented it or hosted a full-on orgy on the zebra print seats.
"Theodore, don't you have your own home?" he asked with a laugh, ruffling Spot's hair. Mostly, he hated when adults did this but with Dwayne, he didn't mind.
"To the dogs?" he wrinkled his nose. "My house smells like a kennel."
"That's what you get." Mush slung an arm around his shoulders. "You see, that's why we have a cat. A cat that isn't seven feet tall."
Spot shoved him. "My dogs are not seven feet tall."
Mush just widened his smile.
"You'll get wrinkles like that," he teased.
"And it'll get stuck," Dwayne added gleefully.
"Oh fuck off the two of you." Mush crossed his arms and slapped a pout on his face. Spot nearly melted. Since the dance, he had pretty much figured out that not only was he not entirely straight (putting it mildly) but that he also had serious designs on Mush.
"Watch your fucking mouth," Dwayne joked, patting his curls before heading to go back inside. Halfway up the walk, he turned. "Oh, and when Jack comes over, tell him not to drink all of my beer, okay?"
Once the front door shut, Mush let out a laugh. "I love how he says when Jack comes over and not if."
Spot nodded absently but he was finding it hard to watch him laugh when he remembered his hips on his, his strong chest pushing against his back, making his heart hammer so hard it felt like it would snap his ribs.
Before he could stop himself, he reached forward and wrapped a hand around Mush's wrist. The laughter ceased.
"What?" he asked, blinking his eyes down where Spot held him.
He looked back up and said in a much softer voice, "What?"
Spot drew in a little closer. "I don't know."
"Me neither." Mush shook his head a little but didn't back away.
He tilted his head up a little to properly view Mush and sucked in a deep breath.
"I've been thinking about it," he whispered down into his ear. "Since Jack told us."
Spot nodded. "Me too."
"Can…can I kiss you?"
Once again, the rib-breaking heart hammer began as he numbly nodded. Mush was asking? Those John Hughes shivers came back except this time he didn't ignore them. He just cocked his head to the side and leaned forward.
Spot had been kissed a total of twice in his lifetime. Mostly, girls had gone for Jack and Skittery and pretty much ignored the rest of them. Once had been at a game of Spin-the-Bottle in fifth grade and both he and the girl had had braces. The other had been at the school dance in seventh grade but he figured that didn't count because Brandy Mitchell had been so drunk off of the vodka they had later found out she stole from her brother, that she had been kissing everyone—teachers included.
Naturally, none of them measured up to this kiss. Mush put a hand on the back of his neck, where his head was tilted to steady him—having more kissing experience than Spot—and angled his head so they could kiss without discomfort.
He wasn't sure how long they did this until they both realized that they were standing in the middle of a driveway in plain sight and broke apart. Spot was breathless and he looked at Mush who was wiping his lips.
"When can we tell the guys?" he asked brightly, a grin on his face.
He paused and bit his lip. "Maybe we should wait? I mean, we need to figure this entirely out for ourselves and that garbage."
Mush nodded. "Yeah. Plus, it's too soon with Jack. You know?"
He nodded too. "Yeah…so…what now?"
The other boy paused and tapped his lower lip. A grin spread onto his face and Spot felt his heart accelerate unintentionally with anticipation of what was to come.
"I say we figure this out entirely in my room." Mush held his hand out. Spot uttered a laugh and took it before feeling himself be yanked behind him up the walk.
--
Snitch stared at his Phish poster on the wall, scowling. He was not only a complete asshole but a complete spaz as well. He kept getting all jumpy and yelping around Skittery. He couldn't help it. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about that moment on the floor. Everyone had asked, at least once, what his damage had been. He hadn't been able to answer them.
He didn't know why he had to make a big deal about it. Actually, that was a lie. He did, of course, know why he had to make a big deal about it. He had to make a big deal about it because he liked it. He liked the feel of Skittery pressing down on him. He liked the feel of their faces so close. But he wasn't…or maybe he was. He had no idea. It was all Jack's fault. Coming out and putting these ideas into his head.
"Snitch?" His door opened and Skittery walked in. Of course he did. He had a key just like everyone else.
"What do you want?" his voice sounded harsher than he had meant it and Skittery shrank back a little. He sighed tiredly. "I mean…I'm…sorry?"
"Why?"
He straightened. He hadn't anticipated another answer. He just wanted Skittery to accept his apology and then move on.
"Why?"
"Did I stutter?"
He shrugged. "Because I acted like an asshole."
"Putting it mildly." Skittery came and sat next to him on the bed. Snitch fought the urge to crawl away from him and that made him sick. He had been best friends with him his entire life. They had been much closer than this before—like Friday, for example—so why did he need to shrink back?
"Yeah…I deserve that." He shifted a little down the bed. "But…God, I don't know. I have no clue."
"And you think I do?" his voice sounded harsh and it made Snitch's heart ache. "Sorry. I mean, this is weird. I've never…I…"
He gave him a meaningful look. "Since Friday, I've been having these…feelings. And not just for you. When Jack was naked in the hot tub. When Mush hugged me. I kept having these urges just to kiss them."
"Wait." Snitch held up his hands. "Jack was naked in the hot tub? How drunk was he?"
Skittery gave him a look that clearly said 'focus Banastre' and continued.
"But it hasn't been as strong as it was when we touched…"
He lowered his head and stared at the carpet. Snitch reached out from pure habit and rubbed his back. He felt Skittery tense beneath his hand. He knew what he meant then.
"I…" could he even say it? "I think I acted like such a douchebag because…I feel the same way too. But just around you. I mean…"
He shrugged and joined Skittery in staring at his eco-friendly synthetic carpet.
"Well…" Skittery glanced up and Snitch followed him. "Maybe…maybe we could feel the same way…together?"
He nibbled his lower lip with his rather large front teeth. "I don't know. Maybe we should work this out first. Work out these feelings. Maybe they'll just go away. Maybe it's a phase."
He shook his head. "Too many maybes, Snitch. But I get you."
Of course he did. Skittery got him. It made his heart skip a beat.
"But if the maybes fall south, we have to promise to talk this over and maybe…"
"…maybe be weird together," Snitch finished.
They gave each other half smiles. Neither was sure if anything had been accomplished but they felt better.
--
David watched Jack out of the corner of his eye. He was bent over their history book, furiously copying down notes. David already knew everything they had to know about John Paul Jones but it was nice to watch Jack. Jack who bared his soul to him. Jack who terrified him because he could feel the wall he had built up around himself begin to crumble.
Jack who he was fairly certain he was in love with.
He hadn't been able to explain it—not even to himself—to his family who just blinked their eyes and went back to caring for their own problems. He was extraneous, the middle child. He was unimportant. They had more pressing problems to worry about rather than the orientation of their eldest son.
Of course, David had never come right out and said 'I'm gay'. The thought made him shudder. It was too scary of a sentence to even mentally utter. He had never done anything with anyone, let alone a guy. He wondered if Jack could be him. The first guy he could…he could what?
He sighed and rushed his fingers through his hair. What was wrong with him?
Jack glanced up at his sudden noise and movement. "What?"
David felt his spine stiffen but he just shrugged and went back to cutting out pictures of John Paul Jones.
"Should I trust you with those?" Jack nodded at the scissors, a smile playing on his flawless features.
David lowered his head but said nothing.
"I'm just joshing," he leaned in ."Promise. You have to joke about these things, Davey. If you don't, you'll just curl up and die. Be another casualty to teen angst."
"Yeah…" he concentrated on the picture in his hands and tried not to look at Jack. He felt a blush tickling his face. Jack had called him 'Davey'. No one had ever called him Davey. Of course, he had never had any friends before to do that.
Friends. A funny word. Was Jack his friend or were they just together on the project? Despite his vast knowledge of all things scholastic, David knew diddly about friendship. It wasn't his own fault. He hadn't had anyone over his house since he was eight and The Great Accident happened. He had been embarrassed and ashamed to let anyone come over, even to play toys or something. This had intensified when the sequel to The Great Accident came last year. By then, David was officially a friendless loser so it didn't matter.
But Jack…was Jack his friend?
"Jack…" he shut his mouth. What was he doing?
"Yeah?" he glanced up, seemingly happy from the break from his textbook.
"Are we…are we friends?" he felt utterly lame for asking it but Jack smiled.
"Yeah, I guess I'd say so. Friends show friends scars."
David found himself smiling back. For awhile, they just smiled at each other. He once again marveled at how gorgeous Jack was. He had a hard time believing he was real. It wasn't that he was classically attractive. His eyes were a bit close together and his nose had a bit of a kink in it but when he smiled like that, he was undeniably beautiful.
That was what David blamed it on later. He blamed that smile. Later still, he pondered on whether or not he had initiated it. He had never been one to take the initiative with anything. So maybe it was Jack and maybe that was what made what happened later so easy to accept.
Either way, their lips brushed together ever so lightly before David yanked his head back and ran.
--
A/N: I'm not dead! This chapter, while short, was needed for some cute couple-y ness. I mean, who doesn't love jealous!Race and adorable Spush? Anyway, there's the chapter.