Chapter Text
It’s Friday, and it’s been exactly 2 weeks since James had caught Thomas drawing Alex in his notebook. James, naturally, threw some not-so-subtle hints towards his best friend throughout this duration, prompting him to speak to Alex about this.
All three of them are in history right now, though James and Thomas sit in the middle of the class while Alex claims the seat directly in front of the teacher’s desk. James has resorted to passing notes to Thomas, all of them telling him practically the same thing: to confess his feelings. Thomas, of course, disregards them. Or at least he tries to.
“I told you, I’ll do it when I’m ready!” Thomas whisper-shouts after James slaps a sticky note to his forehead. Thomas hastily rips it off before anyone notices what’s written on it.
“Oh yeah? And when exactly are you going to be ready?” James inquires, looking skeptical. He picks up his pen, poised to start writing another one. “It’s been like a month, Thomas.”
“2 weeks ain’t a month. Get your facts straight,” Thomas replies, narrowing his eyes. He looks down at James’s hand and contemplates just stealing the entire stack of post-its from him.
“Okay, fine. But don’t change the subject, and don’t dodge my questions. When are you going to be ready?” James repeats, stopping in the middle of his cursive script to doodle a few hearts around the edges of the note. He fills some of them in.
Thomas rolls his eyes, seeing that there’s no way out of it. “I don’t know. A few more days?”
“You said that a few days ago,” James points out, looking at his yellow square of paper and distantly wondering how origami hearts are folded. They’d sure come in handy right now.
Thomas mentally kicks himself, because he knows that James is right. He’s been stalling for long enough, and it’s about time that he faces it, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s nervous as heck.
“So?” James questions, taking his eyes off his desk long enough to look at Thomas. “You going to stand up like a man, or what?”
Thomas closes his eyes and tries to calm himself down. Maybe he really should just do it once and for all. All he has to do is say a simple phrase, and wait for a reply. It could be good, it could be bad, but it will be done.
He puts his hands up, having made up his mind. “Okay. I’ll do it today,” he says tentatively, trying to think of something else before the regret sinks in.
“Really?” James asks, raising his eyebrows. “Today? When today?”
Thomas looks at his watch. It’s one more class following this before school is out for the day. “After school?”
“Okay.” James smiles, nodding his head enthusiastically. “I’ll be watching, so don’t try to evade it.”
“Fine, fine,” Thomas tells him. It’s official, then. He’s going to be facing his worst fear in 2 hours. A few years ago, this would never have been a possibility, not even in his wildest dreams. He and Alex used to despise each other, never interacting unless absolutely necessary. They used to never agree with each other on anything, but that all changed with time.
When it wasn’t politics or other controversial topics, they found that they actually had quite a lot in common. They both liked mac and cheese, cats, and collecting pens. They’re equally skilled at swimming and both suck at any other sport.
But they’re friends at the most, and Thomas doesn’t want to ruin that with a crush confession. There’s no way Alex could ever like him that way, and he’s happy enough with what they have, even if he does wish it could be more.
“What if he doesn’t like me back?” Thomas asks James, doubting himself. “It’s not worth it.”
“So what if he doesn’t? He’s a nice kid, nothing bad’s going to happen,” James reassures.
“Are you sure?” Thomas asks hesitantly. James is right, Alex isn’t the type of person to let something like that get in the way of friendship, but there’s no guarantee that things will be the same.
“Yes,” James says. Thomas doesn’t look very convinced, so he quickly adds more. “Don’t worry, I’ll fight him if he’s mean to you.”
Thomas rolls his eyes, fighting back a smile. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know. Look, it’s really not as bad as you’re making it seem.”
“Thanks, but save your energy. Nothing that you say will make me chill out.”
“I’m not trying to make you chill out. I’m just saying: it’s going to be okay. It’s not the end of the world.”
“I know, I know,” Thomas mutters, staring ahead at Alex’s back.
James finally peels the note off of the stack and crumples it in a ball, throwing it at Thomas. Thomas glares at him, but picks it up nonetheless.
Just say ‘I love you’
Thomas rolls his eyes and crumples it up again. “That’s only in the movies.”
“Say ‘I like you’, then.”
“That’s a little too spontaneous. Can’t I just ask him out?”
“Sure. Your choice.”
~
Thomas walks along the crowded halls, keeping his pace as slow as possible without being trampled by the other kids fighting to get out the door. He knows that Alex usually loiters in the parking lot right outside with his friends, which means he has a few minutes left before it’s time.
He doesn’t know whether James will meet him there or be waiting at their usual spot beside a tree, so he pulls out his phone and checks his messages.
From: James
I’m by the main doors.
Of course he’d be waiting by the doors. He’s so enthusiastic about this that Thomas starts to wonder how long he’s been waiting for his best friend to finally have a crush.
James spots Thomas first, waving to him. Thomas reckons it must be his hair that makes him so conspicuous.
“Where’s Alex?” James asks, practically skipping as Thomas speed-walks outside.
“I don’t know. Figure it out, matchmaker.” Thomas would think that he’d know. He always finds out about things.
“I’m just kidding. He’s right there.” James points in the distance, and Thomas freezes in place. Of course he’d know.
“Dude, just go. Move your legs,” James prompts, lightly pushing Thomas.
Thomas looks at him, more nervous than he’s ever been. He takes a deep breath and starts walking again before James gets a chance to actually shove him.
Alex is talking to Hercules, standing on a parking curb. He’s still slightly shorter than him even whilst doing that, which Thomas finds hilarious.
“Thomas! James!” Alex calls out as the two make their way over, his face lighting up as he recognizes them.
“Hey, Alex,” James greets, while Thomas gives an awkward wave in response. He doesn’t trust himself to say something non-idiotic right now.
“This kid right here has something to say to you,” James says immediately, moving behind Thomas and pushing him forward. Thomas panics, trying to scramble backward.
“Uh, haha, no I don’t,” he says, trying to counter James’s arms.
“Yes, he does,” James corrects.
Alex watches them, confused, yet amused. “Well, what is it?”
“Say it,” James pressures. Thomas glares at him.
“Say it,” James grabs his shoulders, shaking him.
“Okay, okay!” Thomas tells him. He turns to Alex. It’s just one question. One sentence that takes 2 seconds to ask. It’s simple, right? He can do it.
“Would you like to go out with me?” He asks, trying not to cringe at how rushed that sounded. He instantly breaks eye contact with Alex and ignores the regret that’s starting to form, or the way James can’t keep still for a moment with all the excitement inside of him.
He’s ready to run if needed, because that’s what he’s best at, anyway. He runs from his problems.
He never thought that there would be anything more unexpected than falling in love with Alexander, but he finds it, right here, right now.
He’s hoped for it, dreamed of it, but he’s never actually thought that it would be possible.
“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to say that?”