Chapter Text
The first thing Alex hears when he wakes up is the sound of Luke snoring. It’s a deep, rumbly sound that Alex is sure would shake the earth if he used his powers for evil.
He sighs heavily and rubs his eyes, smacking his lips together. His tongue feels like a dry sponge sitting in the centre of his mouth, and he’s sure his breath is no better. All the tequila and cider and questionable decisions Alex had made that previous night are swirling around his head, giving him the worst headache he’s had in months.
Alex turns his head and sees Julie, eyes open, staring straight up at the ceiling. He furrows his eyebrows at her and gently nudges her with his elbow. “You’re up already?” he croaks, voice gruff with sleep. “What time is it?”
Julie turns onto her side and faces him, rubbing her eye with her fist. “Just past 10. I’ve been up for a while.”
Alex nods and sits up slowly, looking around the room. Everyone else, it seems, is dead to the world. Carrie is asleep on the other side of him, arm dangling off the side of the bed. Her hand is clasping a sleeping Flynn’s, who’s lying on his carpet, snuggled up in one of his couch cushions with a throw blanket curled around her. Alex smiles at the sight.
He turns back to Julie and lies back down. “What are you doing up?”
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
Julie shrugs and turns onto her back, continuing to stare blankly at the ceiling. Alex can’t read the look on her face for the life of him.
He hesitantly reaches for her hand and squeezes it, smiling when she squeezes him right back. “How did asking Luke out go?” he asks quietly after a second. She tenses.
“It didn’t,” Julie sighs. “I was about to, but then all the stuff with Willie happened.”
Alex groans quietly, the sound reverberating through his head and exacerbating his already piercing headache. “I’m sorry, Jules,” he whispers.
“No!” Julie whispers back, shaking her head furiously. The movement jostles the pillow she and Alex are sharing. “Do not apologise. It’s not your fault that I waited too long.”
Alex nods and raises their hands until they’re resting on his chest. Somewhere in the distance, Alex can hear the sounds of a clock, seconds ticking by before he turns to Julie once again. “Do you think you’re still gonna try?”
Julie sucks her lips into her mouth and lets out a slow, level breath. “I don’t know.” She faces him and the morning light hits her face perfectly, bouncing off of the dark skin around her cheekbone. “Are you gonna talk to Willie?”
Silence.
“I don’t know.”
They both grow quiet again before simultaneously erupting into quiet giggles; neither of them know what’s so funny, but they also can’t seem to stop laughing. Their hands stay clasped and Alex squeezes Julie’s knuckles.
“I’ll talk to Luke if you talk to Willie,” Julie says finally. Her voice is light, airy, almost as if she isn’t sure what words she’s saying. But when Alex turns to look at her, he finds that he’s never seen her look more certain about something in his life.
Her determination scares him.
“Okay,” Alex agrees, although just thinking of Willie right now causes his stomach to flip. And not in the good way. “Okay. We can do this.”
“Be brave?” Julie asks. Alex smiles in return.
“Be brave.”
They both decide to get out of bed then, quietly making their way to the bathroom and then the kitchen. They’re halfway through cooking breakfast for everyone when they both hear the sounds of groaning and shuffling footsteps down stairs. Alex smiles as he flips a pancake, listening to the satisfying sizzle hit his ears.
Breakfast is uneventful, and for that Alex is grateful. He laughs when Carrie and Bobby get into a mini food fight. Carrie throws a piece of bacon at him, only to have him catch it in his mouth. In retaliation, Bobby throws one of his milk-soaked Cheerios at him and almost snorts milk up his nose when it gets caught in her hair. She pouts and Flynn laughs, plucking the piece of cereal out of her hair before giving her a kiss on the cheek.
After breakfast, the seven of them begin cleaning up around the house; they take down the decorations and pick up empty plastic cups and cans. Luke is distraught when he finds someone’s boxers in the guest bathroom and promptly stuffs them deep into the garbage can.
The morning is so peaceful that Alex almost forgets about his deal with Julie… until he sees the two of them together in the corner of his living room. They’re talking quietly while trying to get a wine stain out of Alex’s rug. Their heads are bowed close together and Alex watches for a moment too long, holding his own breath when he sees Luke gently tuck one of Julie’s curls behind her ear. The moment is so quiet and private that Alex looks away, worried that he’s intruding.
The touch had been so thoughtful and intimate… it makes Alex briefly remember the feeling of Willie’s hair beneath his fingers. Alex clenches his fist, frowning at the feeling of his empty palm.
“Alex!”
Alex bends down and picks up an empty beer can, throwing it into his half-full garbage bag before turning toward Bobby. “What’s up?”
Bobby smiles at him, holding up Alex’s ringing phone. “You’ve got a phone call.”
It’s Willie.
Alex drops the garbage bag he’s holding and rushes over, grabbing his phone from Bobby’s hand and clicking the ‘answer’ button before the call drops. The room stills around him as he holds the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”
“Alex?” Even through his shitty phone speakers, Willie’s voice is still Alex’s favourite sound. “Hey. I just wanted to call and make sure you were okay after last night.”
“I’m okay, I promise,” Alex says, shifting uncomfortably. He can feel multiple pairs of eyes following him as he paces around the room. “I’m sorry about last night.”
“It’s okay. That’s actually why I was calling,” Willie replies. “Can you come over so we can talk? Nothing bad, I promise, I just… wanna clear some things up.”
Alex looks around the living room and winces when the first thing he sees is a beer stain on his couch. “I-I kind of have to stay home and clean up,” he says with a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, can we--”
“Alex,” Julie hisses from across the room. She’s sitting on her knees and grinning at him wildly, waving at him as if she’s shooing him away. “We’ve got this handled. Go get your boyfriend back!”
“But--”
“Dude,” Luke says, dropping his wine-stained microfibre cloth into a bucket of warm, soapy water, “go get him. We’ll have this place spick and span as soon as you get back.”
A grin takes over Alex’s face and he nods, running over to the front door and tugging his shoes on. It’s only when he hears Willie’s confused voice on the other end of the phone that he remembers he’s still there.
“Willie, I’m on my way, okay?” he says as he breathlessly rushes out the door. “Give me five minutes.”
Five minutes and a handful of change later, Alex is parking across the street from Willie’s house. He stares at his reflection in his rearview mirror and runs a hand through his hair, trying to fix it where it’s sticking up slightly in the back. He knows in all reality that Willie won’t care what his hair looks like, but… he can’t help but want to look nice for him.
He gets out of his car and walks up the driveway. When he reaches the front door, his hand stills by the doorbell. He contemplates just pulling his phone out of his pocket and just texting Willie to let him know that he’s there, but before he gets the chance, the door is swinging open.
Instead of Willie on the other side of the doorway, though, Alex takes a small step back when he sees Willie’s father. He’s dressed much more casually than the first time they’d met; his maroon terry-cloth robe is covering a set of what Alex thinks must be silk pyjamas, and there’s a steaming mug of coffee in his hand. Alex smiles weakly and looks up at Willie’s father, trying one last time to comb his hair with his fingers.
“Morning, Mr. Covington,” Alex says with a nervous gulp. “Is Willie…”
Caleb smiles at Alex and opens the door wider, beckoning him in. “Yes, Willie’s just up in his room, Alex.” He takes a slow sip of coffee and watches as Alex steps into the house.
Alex gives Caleb an uncomfortable smile as he toes his shoes off. Just as he’s about to run up the stairs to Willie’s room, the sound of Caleb clearing his throat stops him. He turns around slowly and finds Caleb leaning against the wall with a soft smile.
“Alex, I’m sure Willie has told you about wanting to get back into dance, right?” Caleb asks.
Alex nods, the tips of his ears growing warm when he remembers yesterday’s disastrous events. “Yes, he told me yesterday.”
“Well, he’s going to be performing at my club on Friday night,” Caleb continues. “I was wondering if you might like to come watch!”
“Oh!” Alex replies. “Really? I-I’d love to come, thank you, Mr. Covington!”
Caleb nods and smiles at Alex, shuffling past him and making his way to the living room. He stops last minute and turns toward Alex, his smile growing less soft and more mischeivous. “Bring as many friends as you’d like, but don’t tell Willie just yet, okay?” he says, lowering his voice a notch. “I want it to be a surprise.”
Alex nods quickly and holds a finger up to his lips. With that, Caleb returns to the living room and Alex is left alone in the entryway.
He stares up the staircase and swallows before walking up, one slow step at a time. When he finally reaches Willie’s door, he breathes out shakily, lifting his fist and knocking sharply twice exactly.
Alex doesn’t even have to wait a second before Willie is opening the door and practically flinging himself at him. Alex’s arms surround Willie’s waist automatically and the two of them pull each other close. The scent of Willie’s shampoo and deodorant mingle as Alex buries his nose into his neck and inhales deeply. It’s his favourite spot in the world.
“I’m sorry,” Alex mumbles against his skin, eyes clenched shut. He feels Willie’s hand gently smooth down his back.
“I’m sorry too,” Willie says. The tip of his nose brushes against Alex’s jaw and he feels Willie place a light kiss there before pulling away. “It totally didn’t occur to me what you were thinking until I’d left. I should’ve explained--”
“Willie, wait, don’t,” Alex replies. He lifts his head and tucks Willie’s hair behind his ears, giving him a watery smile. “I shouldn’t have acted that way. I was upset and I didn’t tell you why when I should’ve.” He hesitates, biting on the very tip of his tongue before looking, really looking into Willie’s eyes. “Honestly, I was scared. When you mentioned going to college out of state, I thought… I thought that was you saying you wanted to end things.”
“Alex, I would never--”
“ No, no, I know that now,” Alex says quickly. “I was scared about what would happen to us, but I don’t think I’m afraid anymore. No matter where you go or what you do, I know you’ll be amazing because you are amazing, Willie.”
Willie doesn’t say anything, he just stares at him with a smile that Alex can’t dissect. Wordlessly, Willie pulls Alex into his room and gently shuts the door before walking toward his desk and pulling a pamphlet out of his backpack. He hands it to Alex, wiggling the pamphlet slightly. “Take this.”
Alex furrows his eyebrows and accepts the pamphlet, opening it. He squints down at it. “UCLA?” he asks.
The realisation hits and fills his chest, growing like balloon.
“I told you that UCLA had a really awesome dance program,” Willie says, sauntering forward and taking Alex’s free hand in his. “I’m gonna apply there.”
“So…”
“ So ,” Willie continues. His grin is blinding now, and Alex can’t help but return it. “Leaving Los Angeles was never really an option for me. Not really, anyway. I mean how could I? All those other schools may have fancy studios and tourist-y sites, but you know what they don’t have?”
Alex looks down at their clasped hands and smiles. “More plastic surgeons per capita than anywhere else in North America?” he asks blankly, giggling when Willie rolls his eyes and shoves him square in the middle of his chest.
“No, smartass,” Willie replies, tugging Alex close with his hand until they’re chest-to-chest. “They don’t have you.”
Alex can’t hold himself back anymore. He leans forward and connects their two lips, placing his free hand on the back of Willie’s head and threading his fingers through the soft strands of hair there. He feels Willie tug him closer by his hip and he sighs happily, pressing their foreheads together.
They have each other; and as he stands in the middle of Willie’s room, wrapped up in his smell, his hair, his everything , Alex thinks that’s more than enough.
“This place is fancy fancy,” Reggie says as all of them walk through the doors of the Hollywood Ghost Club. Alex looks around; there seem to be people from all walks of life hanging around at Caleb’s club. It’s almost as if there’s new life floating through the air.
The host quickly sweeps all of them up and begins walking them to a reserved table near the front of the stage. “Willie’s dad owns this club?” Luke asks as the six of them are guided to their reserved table by the host. “Do you think he’d ever let us play here?”
Alex chuckles as they arrive at their table, quietly thanking the host as he pulls out his chair for him. There’s a little sign on the middle of the table that reads ‘Reserved for Alex Mercer and Guests’ and Alex chuckles, taking a picture of it to show Willie later on.
As soon as all of them are seated, the nerves begin to settle in. The noise of the surrounding tables and the crowd begins to pick up in Alex’s ears and all of a sudden his leg begins to jog up and down. He only stops when he feels a hand physically pressing down on his thigh. He looks to his left at Luke who’s looking at him expectantly.
“Alex, relax,” he says quietly. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”
Alex nods and gives Luke a weak smile. “Yeah,” he says, “yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”
Luke pats his thigh a few more times before leaning back in his chair and looking out toward the stage. Alex watches him for a moment, smirking when he snakes his arm around the back of Julie’s chair and rests it there. He makes eye contact with Julie behind Luke’s back and winks at her, grinning brightly when she winks right back.
From across the room, Alex sees a flash of purple velvet and he smiles, waving toward Caleb who’s beginning to walk towards them.
“Alex!” he says brightly, reaching over across the table to give Alex a firm handshake. “Good to see you, son. And these must be your friends!”
“Yes, sir,” Alex says, rubbing at his palm with his thumb once Caleb has released his hand. “We’re all super excited to see the show!”
“I’m glad to hear that!” Caleb looks around at all of them and snaps his fingers; almost immediately, a water appears with six sets of menus. “The show will be starting shortly, but in the meantime, please order anything you want. It’s all on the house.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Covington!” Alex says, smiling when he hears everyone chorus back their ‘thank you’s in quiet tandem. Caleb winks at him playfully.
“Connections will get you everywhere, Alex. Now, I’m afraid I have to go pay the bills, if you know what I mean.”
With that, he flitters away with another smile and a wave of his fingers. All of them can’t help but watch him go.
“That dude is captivating,” Reggie says, still staring in Caleb’s direction. Flynn and Carrie nod in agreement. “I was almost expecting him to ask me to pick a card.”
Alex chuckles and rolls his eyes. “He’s not that kind of performer, Reg.”
As they all turn to their menus, Alex stares at his until the letters begin to jumble together. He’s been looking at the word ‘slider’ for so long that it barely seems like a real word by now. He doesn’t think he could consider eating anything anyway - Alex is sure he’s 95% nerves at this point.
“So, Alex,” Bobby says as he pushes the menu away, “tell us about Willie.”
“Ohh, yeah!” Flynn says, practically bouncing in her seat. “I just realised, we don’t know anything about the guy. Spill.”
Alex pauses and takes a sip of water, swirling it around in his mouth as he desperately tries to think of a way to articulate everything that Willie is in a series of words. He swallows and runs his finger around the edge of his glass.
He opens his mouth and just speaks. Word after word falls out about how they’d met, about their first date, about the fall out (with appropriate, guilty looks from Luke), about how they found each other again. Alex knows he’s getting carried away, but he can’t stop himself as more and more memories about Willie begin popping up one by one.
He tells them everything Alex has wanted to tell them since the beginning; every story and moment and feeling. It hadn’t occurred to him how good it would feel to finally tell his friends the truth after months of lies and shame.
When Alex finally finishes telling them about him and Willie, he’s out of breath, staring down at the table cloth. He’s sure his face is bright red but he doesn’t care. He quite literally couldn’t be happier.
“Aw,” Carrie coos, reaching across the table and grabbing his hand tightly. “Alex is in love!”
Flynn giggles. “He’s blushing too, that’s so cute!”
Alex gives the both of them a sharp glare, though there’s no heat behind it. “Don’t think I forgot about how loved up you two were when you started dating,” he retaliates.
Carrie huffs. “Well, that was completely justified.”
“Mhm,” Alex hums.
Suddenly the lights dim and all of the attention is pulled to the darkened stage. A single spotlight lights up the centre and everyone waits in anticipation. Then, Caleb walks out of the wings, a showmanlike grin on his face, showing off his perfect teeth to everyone in the crowd. A light smattering of applause circles the room and Caleb places a hand on his chest.
“Welcome everyone! It is so nice to see some familiar faces and some new ones in the crowd,” Caleb says. His eyes gloss over Alex for a moment; he wonders if Caleb’s smile actually grew a tiny bit wider. “Tonight’s show is one that is very near and dear to my heart, lovely showgoers, because we have a very special guest performing for us tonight. My son, William Covington.”
At the sound of Willie’s name, Alex’s entire table lights up in cheers. Alex flushes pink and sinks down in his chair, though he can’t help the burst of pride in his chest.
“We’ve been working very hard on tonight’s show, folks, so let us get right into it without further hesitation.” Caleb pauses and looks around the room; the tension rises and Alex scooches forward to the very edge of his seat. “Please give a warm welcome to my son and tonight’s headliner, Willie!”
This time, Alex whoops loudly, barely suppressing the urge to jump out of his chair and cheer. The band launches into a quick, jumpy number that does little to calm the energy in Alex’s heart. He drums along with his fingers against the table as he waits for Willie’s entrance.
Then, there he is. Willie walks out onto the stage gracefully, dressed in a simple dress shirt and black, shimmery shorts, a blazer with tails floating behind him. His hair is tied back into a loose ponytail. When he turns to face the audience, the lights go up and turn warm. They reflect off of his tan skin perfectly and Alex can’t look away.
Alex had known Willie was a good dancer. He’d seen evidence of that in the way he moved on the soccer field, but he hadn’t been expecting him to be this mindblowing. With every clean, precise movement of his legs, there’s an unexpected edge and flare to it too. He manages to be technically perfect in every way while still maintaining his personality.
Willie moves across the stage with such confidence and power that it looks like he was born there; raised to do nothing but this. And the best part of it all is just how happy he looks.
Alex remembers all the times he’s encountered Willie on the field; remembers how serious he’d looked then with his knitted eyebrows and concentrated frowns. Here, though, there’s not a wrinkle or stiff muscle to be seen. He’s all loose movements and bright, charming grins.
If Alex weren’t already head over heels for this man, he’s sure he would be by now.
When Willie moves off the raised platform to the dance floor, Alex holds his breath. The music slows down and Willie does too - it looks almost as if he’s riding on each musical note, holding onto each chord and moving with each slide up and down.
Alex feels an elbow poking his side and he pokes it right back, never once tearing his eyes away from Willie.
“Look at him, he’s so smitten,” he hears Luke whisper to Bobby playfully. Alex hears Bobby snicker and resists the urge to roll his eyes, instead sliding forward in his chair and kicking at Bobby’s shin under the table.
Then, all too soon, the performance is over, and Willie is standing in the middle of the floor surrounded by a single spotlight. Alex can see a light layer of sweat glistening on his forehead and his cheeks are a rosy shade of red, but he looks ecstatic.
Alex jumps up in his seat and starts clapping, and soon after everyone else does as well. He’s sure he’s clapping the loudest, though.
Willie breaks out of his power and grins at the audience, clapping his hands together and bowing deeply for the crowd as the lights turn back on. When Willie straightens back up, he looks ahead of him. Alex grins when he makes eye contact with him and waves him over. Willie barely waits before running over to Alex and immediately scooping him up into a tight hug.
“Alex!” He says. He barely sounds out of breath. “I didn’t know you were coming!”
“Your dad invited us!” Alex says as he returns the hug. Willie pulls away abruptly.
“Us?”
“Us!” Reggie says. He’s the first to stand up and walk over to Willie, offering him a bright, Peters-Pantented smile. “I’m Reggie. It’s nice to finally meet you! Y’know, off the soccer field.”
Willie’s eyes widen and he looks between Alex and Reggie for a moment before offering Reggie a fist. Reggie bumps it happily. “It’s nice to meet you too, man.”
“I’m Bobby,” Bobby says. He doesn’t get up from his chair, but he smiles, the corner of his eyes growing wrinkly. “That was a killer performance, dude.”
“Thank you.” Willie looks at Alex briefly before being swept up by Carrie and Flynn who immediately begin talking to him about his dance moves. Alex watches from the sidelines with a soft smile.
It’s funny to think about how different Alex’s life had been just three months ago. It’s almost scary to think about how much things have changed - but he wouldn’t have had it any other way.
When Willie looks over at him in the middle of his conversation with Luke and Julie and gives him that same bright smile that Alex had fallen for the day they met, he knows that Willie wouldn’t either.
They weren’t a Tiger and a Phantom anymore, didn’t have the legacy of a years-long rivalry following their every move; they were just them. Alex and Willie.
And that’s how it would stay.