Alex had managed to avoid Jack for three days when the younger boy called him on it.

The phone rang and to Alex's reply, Jack simply commanded: "I'm coming round and we're watching something fuck-awful," no pleasantries. Alex had hung up and Jack hatched a plan. He was fed up of Alex being a wanker and sulking. There was no way he was wasting his last week of freedom.

He had been so anxious about how things would work out when he brought up that Alex totally kissed him at Zack's party. Turns out pretty damn well was how things would go.

They were both casually sat in Alex's room, watching some crappy movie on his laptop. "Oh she's hot!" Alex said when the token woman came swishing into the office.

"Meh" was all Jack could muster in response. He thought they were past this. Alex looked at him quizzically. "I think you're hotter." He stared at his best friend, glad that he'd said that. He never voiced things, but Alex fucking kissed him, what did he have to hide?

Alex was gawping at Jack now, unsure he'd heard right. Sure he'd thought about Jack like that, they'd even kissed that one time, but what? That was bold.

"What? You fucking kissed me! You didn't think I was down? We made out on Zack's brother's bed. We were all cuddly, you spooned me all that night. Don't act like it comes as a big surprise." Jack spat, angry now, why was Alex making such a big fucking deal about this. Unless... "You don't remember, do you?" He asked, softer.

Alex hung his head in shame. Jack tilted his chin up to look into sad eyes.

"Okay, in case you haven't noticed, I like you. A lot. From when we were like twelve and I had funny feelings, to that first time I had one of those dreams, to now - to admitting to my best friend that I'm completely gay for him. That I want Alex Gaskarth.

"Yeah I like you. It just never came up in conversation before."

Alex laughed, looking up at Jack. "That was intense... good job I like you too."

Jack smiled and kissed him. It was meant to be sweet but Alex took things further, licking at Jack's bottom lip and shoving his tongue in when Jack obliged by opening his mouth. He moaned slightly, pulling away with a wet plop. "You might want to move your laptop."

Alex hummed as he placed his beloved source of internet (and therefore pornography) on the desk. He walked back over to Jack, a cheeky grin on his face as he placed a knee on either side of the boy's dangling legs. He slowly leant back down to his friend's lips, loving the power he had in this position. They moved in time, slowly yet warm and wet and perfect.

Jack pulled away panting and attached himself to Alex's Adams Apple, licking and sucking and making the boy writhe. He was letting out these breathy wines that went straight from Jack's ears to some other body part. That writhing was the cause of what happened next. Alex moved just at the wrong - or right, depending on how you look at it – angle so that they brushed crotches.

Alex let out an indignant "fuck" while Jack gasped, pulling Alex down so that they met more purposefully, both hard, desperate for this friction. He kept him there rolling his hips up and going back to Alex's mouth.

That's when Alex's mum opened the door, question dying on her lips, eyes going wide. She had a smile on her face as she motioned with one finger: "Alex, come with me."

And so Alex was dragged off to the kitchen. Upon leaving the room, he gave an apologetic smile to Jack and held up his fingers in a 'two minutes' sign.

He did not expect 'the talk'.

Alex wanted to fucking die. Actually, no, scratch that, he wanted to go back in time and kill himself five minutes before now so he wouldn't have to experience that. But if he killed himself then he wouldn't be able to build the time machine in the first place, rendering himself alive...?

"...and these ones are flavoured, you like blueberry, right?" Alex stopped thinking about timelines and paradoxes and just wished the pristine tiled flooring would swallow him up. Haha swallow. He laughed; there'd be none of that if his mother had her way.

"STDs aren't funny, Alex, it's not just actual penetra-"

"-Ohmygod, leave!" He interrupted. His mother did leave, at that moment, sensing she'd get no more out of her son. She was concerned, at schools they pretty much taught don't get pregnant. If she was honest she'd never thought her son would have a problem with that, he had the sense to use contraceptives. But she worried they taught nothing about same-sex relationships.

This was also a little bit of revenge. She had walked in on Alex and Jack dry-humping on his bed. She was somewhat hurt that her son hadn't bothered to tell her that she had been completely right and he and his best friend definitely had a thing. No this was mostly educational, but the fact that she had a proverbial score to settle wasn't completely irrelevant. She was a terrible mother. Oh well, too late to change when her youngest is sixteen.

Jack was sat in Alex's bedroom while Alex talked to his mother in the kitchen. He was getting nervous. Alex's mum had just walked in on his heavy snogging (and maybe grinding) session with his best friend. Or whatever they were now.

Jack sighed. He was bored, it'd been way more than two minutes and Alex still showed no sign of returning. He had an idea. He sat at Alex's desk, pausing and minimising the crappy film before opening his webcam program. He posed, tongue hanging out and face screwed up. Great, that was hideous. He set the photo as Alex's wallpaper, laughing and putting the media player window back like nothing had happened.

Going back to the bed, he sat down again, grinning. He must have had better timing this time because Alex opened the door just then, throwing a box at him. Jack tried to catch it but it fell to the floor regardless of his efforts. He looked at the front. Sex lasts longer with Durex. And that was it; he was off, snorting with laughter. "Is that what your mum wanted you for?" he asked, cackling. He sees Alex's slow nod and tries to compose himself, but the look on Alex's face isn't helping anything. He puts an arm round Alex's shoulder as the boy has sat down next to him with a red face. But there's only so much he can do to the person he's effectively laughing at. Well, his misfortune. "Dude, that sucks," he tried to sympathise, "Quite literally!" He laughed at his own joke. There really had been no pun intended.

Alex whacked Jack on the arm, calling him a dick. He wanted a little support, but all Jack could do was laugh at his own shitty jokes. Jack hit him back, earning a shove.

Before he knew how they got there, both boys were wrestling on the floor. Alex's knee makes painful contact with Jack's side. Jack doubles back with his own skinny legs, straddles Alex's chest, pinning his wrists above his head. Then wrestling dissolved into angry kissing. Teeth colliding and biting mixed in with wet contact. Slight loss of breath from both parties less likely to be pinned down to the fighting than the tingling, embarrassing, sparking lust. For the life of him Alex couldn't figure out why all best friends didn't do this.

It's the last day of the summer break and they're busy moping. They both plan to do nothing all day out of protest. "Are we still friends?" Alex asked aloud, to the room and himself as well as Jack. They were in Jack's utility room, loading the washing machine because Jack owed his sister, so laundry was his domain this week. Alex was watching Jack's bent over arse, thinking. He's thinking what he could do with that. Smack it. Pretend to bum it when Jack isn't looking. Lean his arms on it and his head on Jack's back.

Since what both boys referred to as 'the sex ed. experience' they'd shared a few more kisses. Slightly less awkward with each time. Nobody knew (barring Alex's mum) so they felt no need to act as anything more than curious friends. It was nice, easy even. It didn't feel weird to Alex anymore that his best friend liked guys, specifically him. It didn't feel weird that he enjoyed the attention. That he was thinking about Jack in a completely different way.

Standing up Jack looked at him seriously, "Do you want to be?" he asked cautiously.

Alex had forgotten his question in the time it took to be answered, but once he remembers that he basically just asked his best friend if he was his boyfriend, Alex shakes his head, badly highlighted honey flying everywhere. "I think this is better." And he kisses his boyfriend's off-balance nose.

School should be more fun this year.