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Christmas parties in Alex and Jessica’s apartment are always fun. They don’t invite tons of people. But enough for there to be a party-like atmosphere. And the music is always fun. A mix between cheesy Christmas songs and Alex’s taste of The Smiths and The Ramones. It’s always seemingly intimate and nice. And Alex hates parties. But these ones never seem to fail him.
“You having fun?” Jessica asks, beer in one hand, chips in the other. Alex nods, looking around the room. Charlie’s dancing with his football friend Luke. And they’re both a little bit tipsy. Charlie keeps trying to jump around but instead ends up flailing around in a strange sort of twist. Alex snorts out a laugh, grabbing a cookie from the table beside him. Jessica leans over and kisses his cheek.
“What was that for?”
“You look happy. I’m gonna find Diego. Ani’s over there. And the others made it.” She gives Alex a wave before disappearing down the hall. The others are Zach, Tyler, Estela (his girlfriend), Clay, Tony, and Caleb. Zach bounds over to Alex and throws his arms around him in a hug.
“Hey! We came!” Alex gently deatataches Zach from himself.
“Physical affection,” he shudders. “Disgusting,” Zach laughs, shoving Alex in the shoulder.
“Oh, shut up. You love me.” He grabs two cups of beer and smiles. “Clay’s over there. You should come say hi. It looks like Charlie’s a little preoccupied anyway.” Alex shrugs and brings his own cup, following Zach into the kitchen. Clay gives him a wave hello, and takes the cup from Zach, looking at it suspiciously.
“Alex, why is your taste on music so terrible?” Tony calls from the other side of the room, moving closer. His boyfriend, Caleb in tow. “Is it even allowed to be that bad?”
“Hi Tony,” Alex sighs, rolling his eyes.
“Hey, where’s Winston and Ryan? I thought you went to find them. Did they come?” Zach asks, tracing the rim of his cup with his finger. Tony gags, making a crude hand gesture. Alex wrinkles his nose.
“Here? Now?” He nods, pulling a face. Zach shakes his head and purses his lips, holding back a laugh. Clay shakes his head, muttering something about finding Ani. Alex climbs onto the counter and sits down, legs swinging over the edge. He listens to Tony recalling his horror when he discovered Winston and Ryan in the bathroom. And he listens to Caleb asking Tony quietly why they never do that. And watches as Tony punches him in the arm.
Charlie wanders into the kitchen, stumbling slightly. Zach gives him a shove towards Alex and he falls onto the boy.
“Hi, Alex,” he slurs, nudging his boyfriend’s legs apart and standing between them. Alex giggles, sliding a gentle hand into Charlie’s hair.
“How much did you even have, Charles?” He asks, letting his hands rest on his thighs. The younger boy laughs, pulling up a stool and leaning his head on Alex’s arm.
“Enough,” then he raises his head and presses a kiss to Alex’s shoulder. “I missed you, Alex.”
“Charlie, I’ve been here all night.” Alex smiles, tapping his drunk boyfriend on the nose. “How’s Luke?” Charlie pushes into Alex’s touch like a cat, groaning as he stretches his arms behind his head.
“Luke’s Luke. He’s fine. But I was sad. Because you left me all alone with him.”
“Babe,” Alex starts, pulling the stool Charlie’s resting on, up closer to him. “You’re drunk and I’m here now, so it’s ok.” Charlie sniffs, shoving his face into Alex’s hip and stomach, mumbling something incoherently. The smaller boy rolls his eyes, stroking the back of Charlie’s hair.
“M not that drunk. I just had a few drinks. And then, Luke poured me a few more. And then, Jessica gave me another beer. It wasn’t that much, Alex.” Charlie whines, reaching up and pulling Alex’s face down so he can kiss him. Charlie’s lips are soft and taste like beer and pretzels. Alex’s lips are chapped and taste like orange juice and vodka. They hear Zach make a gagging sound behind them and Alex raises his middle finger, smiling against his boyfriend’s lips. The blonde pulls away once Charlie’s hands start to wander south.
“Charles, not here.” The footballer pouts, glaring at Alex, but immediately perks up when a familiar song starts playing.
“Alex! Alex! It’s our song! Alex! Come on! We have to dance! Alex!” He tugs Alex excitedly off the counter and pulls him into the living room. They pass Jessica who gives Alex a wink and a smile.
“Charlie, Charlie. You know I don’t dance. Prom was like, the one exception. I-“ But he cuts himself off when Charlie’s expression drops and his bottom lip starts to quiver. “Fine! Jesus, I’ll dance with you.”
“Yay!” Charlie pulls Alex into the middle of the room and wraps an arm around his waist. They sort of sway together, until the taller boy grabs Alex and dips him downwards, crushing their lips together once more. The blonde wraps his arms around his boyfriend’s neck, a laugh bubbling up in the back of his throat.
“I thought you wanted to dance.” Alex remarks once they pull away. Charlie shrugs, brushing a hand over the blush on Alex’s cheeks.
“This was better,”