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"Happy Halloween!" Jack chuckled as Alex bundled him into a tight hug the second he opened the door.
"Happy Halloween Lex." Alex pulled back and stepped aside to let Jack in. "Cute bats." Alex beamed brightly at the compliment.
Accompanying his usual black rim of eyeliner were three tiny bats that looked like they were flying away from the corner of his eye. He also wore vivid red contact lenses that contrasted heavily with his white-blonde hair making him look even paler than usual. He'd always admired Alex's creativity, especially since he got so much shit for it.
"You ready to go?" Since Halloween was Alex's favourite holiday, and it was also the anniversary of the day the pair had met, he'd planned a cute date for the afternoon. Well, cute by Alex's standards anyway. When he'd mentioned his idea to Rian he'd thought he'd lost it. "Almost. I just gotta grab my shoes and jacket."
Jack nodded following his boyfriend up to his bedroom which could only be described as a spooky paradise. In addition to the black everything colour scheme, Alex had decorated the place for the holiday. There were strings of pumpkin-shaped fairy lights strung up along the back wall and on the bookcase, there were skull decorations hanging from the ceiling and a black Christmas tree had been set up in the corner and decorated with Halloween themed ornaments. It was cute and Jack couldn't help but smile to himself.
"So are you gonna tell me where we're going?" Jack shook his head, smiling mischievously.
"Nope." Alex frowned at him as he pulled on a pair of black creepers to go with the plain black tee and black American flag print jeans.
"You know I hate surprises." Jack gave a dismissive shrug.
"I promise you'll love this one." He smiled, pecking his cheek. Alex grabbed his studded, black, leather jacket before following Jack out to his car.
He buckled up before handing Alex a scarf. "What's this for?" He asked, confused.
"You're gonna tie it around your head." Alex rolled his eyes.
"Are you kidding me?" Jack grinned.
"Nope." Alex starred at him in total disbelief. "I'm not driving anywhere until you cover your eyes." He said flatly making Alex sigh heavily as he grudgingly complied. "This is so stupid." He grumbled as he tied the scarf in place, blocking out his own vision.
"Well, I don't want the surprise to get ruined by you figuring out where I'm driving." Alex knew Towson like the back of his hand so he'd figure it out almost instantly once Jack started driving. "Whatever."
It wasn't a long drive and Alex startled slightly when the car stopped. He'd lost all sense of direction with the mask on and he had no clue where they were. "Come on." Jack grinned despite the fact his boyfriend couldn't see. Alex reached up to untie the scarf but Jack instantly grabbed his wrists, stopping him. "Not yet, we've got some walking to do first." Alex frowned.
"But I can't see anything."
"You're just going to have to trust me."
Jack got out of the car and grabbed the picnic hamper from the trunk before helping Alex out of the car. He locked up before carefully placing a hand on each of Alex's shoulders. "Just walk forward and I'll guide you, okay?" Alex nodded, taking a deep breath before doing as asked.
Jack made sure to be extra attentive to the surroundings to make sure Alex wouldn't trip on anything and hurt himself. The last thing he wanted was to spend the afternoon in the ER.
"Okay, you can stop here." Alex immediately stopped in place and Jack let go of him. "Just wait a couple of seconds and I'll let you know when you can take off the scarf." Alex nodded, folding his arms across his chest. He hated not knowing where he was and he hated not being able to see even more. He trusted Jack but that didn't stop his anxiety from rearing its ugly head.
Jack quickly laid out the blanket and placed the hamper down on top. He settled himself on the blanket with crossed legs and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Okay, you can look now.
Alex quickly tour the scarf from his eyes and they instantly widened in surprise as he took in the picnic set up. He glanced around his surroundings and a hand came up to cover his mouth in total surprise and shock. They were in the cemetery.
"Jack." He whispered, turning back to face him with shining eyes. "This is perfect! Oh my god, you're amazing!" He dropped down to sit beside him on the blanket and instantly pulled him into a kiss. "I adore you." He told him as he pulled back grinning.
Jack simply shrugged. "I just wanted to make today special for you. I know how much you love Halloween." Alex continued to grin brightly, kissing him again. "You're perfect. No one has ever been to this much trouble for me before." Jack smiled, pecking his nose.
"Well, you're worth it."
They ate the food Jack had brought and sipped apple juice from skull-shaped plastic glasses, chatting mindlessly all afternoon until the sun lowered in the sky and a cool breeze began to ruffle the few leaves that clung to the tree they were sitting under.
"You know it's gonna be a full moon tonight," Alex said randomly from where he was cuddled into Jack's side.
"Oh no, all the weirdo's will be out." Jack joked making Alex snort.
"Says the one who arranged a picnic in a graveyard."
"Uh yeah, because I'm dating you."
Alex was quiet for a moment before sitting up. He was chewing on his bottom lip and avoiding Jack's gaze which could only mean one thing, Alex was nervous. Jack frowned as he pushed up off the tree he'd been leaning against. "Lex?" Alex blushed, eye's darting briefly to Jack before he was looking away again.
"I... I love you, Jack, more than anything. I know we're still young and we've got our whole lives ahead of us but I also know that I want to spend the rest of mine with you." Jack's heart was racing faster and faster with every word that left Alex's mouth. He loved Alex and he couldn't imagine his future without him, but what seventeen year old didn't say that about their significant other? Alex was working up to something big right now and Jack was terrified. "The last three years have been the happiest of my life and I know in my heart that we've got many more to come. So, I was wondering how you'd feel about... taking our commitment to the next level."
Jack felt sick. He didn't want to hurt Alex, didn't want to ruin what they had, but there was no way he was ready for marriage, or promise rings or any of that heavy stuff just yet. "What did you have in mind?" He whispered, staring at the side of Alex's head since he continued to refused to meet his gaze.
Alex took a deep breath. "Please don't freak out." He began which only made Jack freak out more because seriously, what the fuck? "Okay so I read about this online and I thought it was really cute and romantic and yeah. It's totally okay if you don't want to, I promise I won't get upset okay?" Jack nodded slowly as Alex reached into his inner jacket pocket, pulling out a small flat box that probably one held jewellery. He opened it up before holding it out to Jack.
Jack carefully took the box, frowning at its contents. It held a variety of medical supplies and two clear vials, one on a keychain and the other on a black necklace cord. He looked up to Alex with furrowed eyebrows, totally confused.
"So the idea is that you fill it with your partner's blood and that way you've always got a part of them with you." Jack just stared at him. He really should have seen something like this coming, yet he felt totally blindsided by the situation. Just... what?
"You want to wear a necklace full of my blood?" He wanted to make sure he had this right. Alex blushed scarlet, looking down at his hands.
"It's too weird for you. I knew it would freak you out! I shouldn't have said anything, sorry." Jack gently placed the box down and put his hand under Alex's chin, forcing him to meet his gaze. "Did I say that?"
"You didn't have to. It's written all over your face." Jack rolled his eyes.
"Yes, this is a bit strange. But I mean, it's you. I really shouldn't be surprised that you'd want something like this." Alex furrowed his eyebrows. "You're freaking out." He stated, eyebrows furrowed.
"Actually I'm kinda relieved. I thought this was gonna turn into a marriage proposal or something and I'll admit I was freaking out a little about that." Alex's eyes widened in shock.
"What? No! Jesus, I am in no way ready for something like that." Jack chuckled with relief.
"Good to know we're on the same page."
"So back to these vials," Jack said as the silence began to turn awkward.
"You literally just prick your finger and then squeeze it a little to get the blood flowing and collect it in the vial. Once it's full you screw the top on, nothing fancy." Jack nodded as he carefully picked up the keychain, giving it a closer inspection. "Really, it's fine if this is too weird for you." Jack shook his head, a small smile forming on his lips. "No. Let's do it."
Alex's grin lit up his entire face as he leant in and captured Jack's lips in a passionate kiss. "I love you, Jack. You're incredible." Jack just gave a smile. "I love you too Lex. I'd do anything for you."
Jack reached into the hamper and pulled out several glass jars that he'd filled with fairy lights. He unscrewed the lids to turn on the battery packs and they were instantly surrounded by a warm white glow. Alex grinned brightly at him, pecking his lips once more.
"Okay." He said grabbing one of the small antiseptic wipes and ripping open its packet. "You ready." Jack nodded, offering his finger to his boyfriend.
He cleaned it off before pulling a small sewing needle looking thing out of a sterilised packet. He carefully pressed the tip to Jack's skin, piercing it carefully. Jack inhaled sharply at the sudden prick but it was over before the pain had really registered.
He unscrewed the lid from the necklace and placed Jack's finger to the neck, squeezing gently to get the blood to flow so it dripped slowly down into the small bottle. Once it was full - which didn't take nearly as much blood as Jack had expected - he removed Jack's finger and screwed on the lid. He wiped it clean with a second wipe before covering the minuscule wound with a bandaid.
Jack copied his boyfriend's careful actions, filling his own vial with Alex's blood. He couldn't help but smile at the way Alex's eyes were alight with excitement the entire time. Once he'd secured Alex's bandaid in place he pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of his finger causing him to smile brightly.
Alex secured the necklace around his neck as Jack carefully attached his vial to his keys. He smiled softly before capturing Jack's lips in a heartfelt kiss. He really did adore the other boy and he'd never be able to put it into words effectively.
The pair broke apart, both gasping for air. The moon was steadily beginning to rise in the sky, bathing them both in an almost ethereal glow. Alex looked pale and beautiful all black and white contrast and Jack couldn't resist the urge to kiss him again.
They stayed like that for a long time, lips locked in a passionate embrace. They were both trying to show the other just how enamoured they were, just how much they cherished each other's presence in their life.
Jack leant back against the tree's trunk, pulling Alex into his lap. Alex was eager to comply, straddling his lover's thighs as they continued to kiss. He pressed his forehead against Jack's, sighing with content as his hand came up to caress the younger lads cheek.
"Wanna head back to mine and watch some horror movies?" Jack hesitated a moment, he'd never been good with horror movies, they always gave him nightmares. Sensing his apprehension Alex chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll find a way to take your mind off of it before bed." He winked and Jack bit his lip. "Alright, but you're gonna have to work pretty hard to distract me." Alex rolled his eyes.
"Oh please, all I have to do is take my clothes off and you forget your own name." Jack snorted, shaking his head.
"You're hot but you're not that hot."
Alex chuckled and pecked his lips before climbing off his lap. "So is that a yes to the movie?" Jack sighed but nodded.
"I suppose we have to since it's goth Christmas." Alex grinned as he began putting things back into the hamper.
"You know it."