Chapter Text
Alex doesn't mean to lie.
He really doesn't. It's just that, he's nervous and he's tired and he doesn't know how to behave when Leo is that close to him.
They're leaving the club, and he's helping Reggie with his amp because, for once, he didn't have to take his own drum kit to a gig. Luke and Julie are holding hands beside them -fucking finally-, and then Leo is coming up to him and his heart stops.
Alex's been crushing on Leo for a couple of weeks now, even if his friends think he's a bit of a douche. He simply can't control the way his whole body goes crazy every time he smiles at him. They talk, and Leo compliments the band and Alex is gone, oh so gone.
Then he's asking Alex if he likes skating, and Alex answers that he does, even if he doesn't know the first thing about skateboarding. Leo smiles again and asks if he knows how to skate. That's when Alex fucks up, because he's panicking and his stomach is churning and he just nods.
He fucking nods.
Leo fist-bumps him and tells him they'll have to go skating some time.
Jesus fucking Christ.
It all starts because Alex's professor is an idiot. He generally doesn't like to think about his teachers like that, but this one is just that- an idiot. He teaches music history, and Alex thinks that's the least useful class for a drum major, but it's a mandatory class after all and he just has to suck it up.
Alex sucks at it, he really can't seem to memorize all the names and the songs and the styles, and he's really close to failing. So, he asks the professor if there's anything he can do to bring his grades up, and the professor tells him that there's this two-week-long conference where he can volunteer handing people information and answering basic questions. If he does it, he'll give Alex a couple of extra points.
That's where he meets Leo, who's failing his own class, and at first, they don't talk because Alex is too nervous for that. But Alex likes his polite smile and his red hair and his grey, formal shirt. He can't stop staring at him, and if he knows his name it's because Leo has to introduce himself to everyone at the freaking conference.
Reggie and Luke go pick him up so they can go practice after, and they catch him staring at Leo.
"Dude," Reggie raises an eyebrow at him. "You like Leo? I know him, he's in my philosophy class. He's a jerk."
Alex snorts.
"He doesn't look like a jerk."
Luke rolls his eyes at him. "If Reggie says someone's a jerk, it's because they're a huge jerk."
And, yeah, maybe Luke is right, but Alex doesn't really care. Besides, it's not like something’s going to happen. Alex just likes- staring.
But then, when they only have three days of the conference left, Leo walks towards him and offers him a piece of chocolate. Alex takes it with a shy smile, trying to control the way his anxiety is screaming at him from his chest.
"I'm Leo," Leo says, leaning against the wall of the auditorium. They're supposed to be quiet and listen to whatever the expositor is talking about, but they're far from the stage and no one will realize if they're eating or talking.
"I know," it's the first thing that leaves his mouth, and oh god, he wants to die. But Leo lets out a laugh and eats another piece of chocolate.
"And you are-?"
"Oh. Alex. My name's Alex."
They talk for a little while, and then the band comes up.
"We're Julie and the Phantoms," Alex says, feeling proud. They've just come up with the name, and he thinks it's great. They're playing gigs whenever they can, wherever they can, and Alex likes the way their future is looking.
"Cool. You're their drummer, right?"
"Yeah."
"I'd like to see you guys play sometime," Leo smiles brightly at him, and Alex could swear he's dying. Is it romantic? He doesn't think so, even if he hopes it is. His heart starts beating wildly inside his chest, and he forces himself to smile back. He'll have time to freak out later.
"Um. We have a gig just outside of campus this Saturday, if you're interested."
"Sounds great. Text me the details and I'll see you then."
Alex gives him his number while his hands shake and then someone asks them something and they have to stop talking.
He tells the guys about his encounter a little later, at band practice. One of the perks that come with the fact that all four of them are on the music program of the university is that there's always music rooms they can use, as long as they book them with a couple of days in advance. The room is white and clean and big, and Reggie makes a face when he mentions it.
"I don't know, dude," Reggie moves his tuning keys a little, his tongue stuck out as he always does when he's concentrating. "I mean, I really don't know him, but he's always late for class and he's mean to some people and very disrespectful to the professors. He's just- I don't like him for you."
"Not like anything's going to happen. He just wants to go see the band, and that's good, right?"
Luke nods from where he's sitting on the floor. "We need more people at our gigs. Maybe he can bring his friends and we'll sell some demos."
"See?" Alex agrees, pointing at Luke with his drum stick. "Luke thinks it's a good idea."
"I didn't say it was a good idea. I just want more people at our concerts."
Julie punches Luke softly in the arm. Alex looks at her for help, and she sighs and shrugs.
"I think you should just get to really know him and then decide if you like him."
"Too late," Luke chuckles. He grabs his guitar and hangs it around his shoulder. "When Alex has a crush, it doesn't go away until he gets his heart broken. It's the rules."
"Hey!"
"It's true," Reggie agrees. "Do you remember when you had a crush on-"
"Okay that's enough!" Alex screeches. "Remind me to never ask you for relationship advice like, ever again."
That Saturday, Alex can spot Leo on the crowd, his bright red hair standing out between the mass of sweaty people. He almost messes up the rhythm when Leo catches Alex looking at him and freaking winks at him.
And then their set is over and Leo is by his side, with a can of beer in one hand and a skateboard in the other. The guys leave them alone, and Alex convinces himself that if he's flushing it's because he's just finished playing.
"That was so sick, dude!" Leo raises one hand and Alex takes too long to figure out that he wants to hi-five, and it ends up being weird.
"Thanks," he mutters, burying his hands on his pockets.
"What else don't I know about you? I mean, I knew you were majoring in drums and I always thought it'd be something boring. But your band is cool. You're cool."
And that's when Alex stops being able to think.
"Uh- uh- your skateboard is cool," he lets out, because it's the only thing that occurs to him. Leo looks at it and smiles.
"Yeah, it's new. Do you like skating?"
"Um- yeah. Yeah, skate. Skating. I love it. So cool." Oh god he wants to die. Someone please kill him. Right now.
"Do you know how to?" Leo's looking at him with those huge brown eyes and Alex kind of forgets what they were talking about, so he manages to nod. Leo seems thrilled, though, and Alex kind of forgets why lying was a bad idea.
"Awesome. We should go skating some time," Leo raises his fist and Alex does the same, remembering why it was a bad idea. Jesus.
"Yeah. Yeah, it sounds- awesome," he repeats. Leo chuckles.
"I'll text you so we can decide on a day. I'll see you, Alex!" And then Leo is skating away, and Alex stares at him, waiting for his silhouette to disappear.
"Shit."
The only person he trusts with his embarrassing lie is Julie, who puts a lot of effort into hiding her smile. Alex appreciates the twenty seconds she manages to hold back her laughs. It's twenty seconds longer than what Luke or Reggie would've lasted.
"I'm glad you find this amusing, Jules."
They're sitting on her bed. It's Sunday and he can finally breathe because the conference is over and he got the extra credits and maybe, just maybe, he won't fail his music history class. That's good. The other aspects of his live, though? Not so good.
Julie takes a sip from her cup of tea and stares at the ceiling.
"Why did you lie to him?" She lets out in a whine. "What did you think was going to happen?"
"I don't know. I told you, I panicked! Now, give me some advice. If I'd wanted to be judged I would've gone to Luke."
"All three of you are seriously stupid. I don't even know how you made it to college." Julie drinks another sip.
"Julie-"
"Shut up, I'm thinking."
Alex stays silent. He stares at Julie's desk, that's covered in drawings. Alex doesn't have any idea of how she manages to major in two things at the same time. Alex is dying from the number of assignments and exams he has, and if he had to study art on top of everything else, he'd go crazy. He really admires Julie and the way she manages to balance her double major and the band and her relationships and friendships. She's like- superhuman or something.
"Okay, I have an idea!" She screams suddenly, and Alex jumps a little.
"Please don't tell me that your idea is telling the truth," he begs.
Julie smiles and shoves him playfully.
"There's this guy in my anatomy drawing class. His name is Willie and he's the sweetest guy ever, and he loves skating. Maybe if I ask him nicely, he'll teach you."
"Oh."
Alex's not sure if he wants to learn how to skate. He's never had any interest in falling out of a moving board and dying. He tells Julie that, but she rolls her eyes.
"Dude, unless you want to admit you totally lied, this is the only way you'll get a chance with Leo."
Alex really starts considering his options. How hard can it be to learn, after all? Even if he's the least coordinated person to ever exist, (yes, he knows he's a drummer but that's different,) it can't be that bad. Besides, falling and breaking something scares him less than having to tell Leo that he lied because he panicked because he likes him.
Yeah, he'd rather die.
"Okay," he accepts. "Yeah, that could work. Do you think he'll agree to it?"
"I don't see why not. He's really nice. A couple of weeks ago my backpack broke and he was the only one that helped me to pick all my stuff up. He put my things on his backpack and walked me to my room."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"I'll ask him tomorrow after class. Just- if you're going to learn how to skateboard, try not to be you and fall off and break something. The band needs a drummer, and it's going to be really hard getting a new one."
Alex rolls his eyes. "I'm glad you worry about me."
Julie grins.
"Dude, I just saved your ass. Tell me how great I am."
Alex gives her a hug, because she deserves one. Julie laughs when he ends up stumbling and making them fall from the bed.
"You're a life-saver," he mutters from the floor.
"I know," Julie answers.
Julie tells him that Willie agreed to it on Monday afternoon, when they meet up for lunch.
Alex smiles and thanks her and ignores the confused stares Reggie, Luke and Flynn send his way.
"Who agreed to what?" Reggie asks.
They're sitting on a nice diner near the campus, the one they always go to because Luke works as a waiter there. The week's only starting but Alex is tired and bored and he just hates college. He loves his major and he loves his friends and his band, but sometimes everything's just too much. He doesn't even want to think about adding learning to skate to his never-ending list of things to do. Maybe that's why people shouldn't lie to impress others.
"My friend is going to teach Alex how to skate because he panicked and he lied and told Leo he knew how to do it."
Luke laughs. Flynn does too. Reggie's the only one decent enough to just roll his eyes and chuckle shortly.
"I made a mistake," he groans, playing with the rim of his glass of water. "And I'm being mature and fixing it."
"You're perpetuating a lie," Flynn corrects.
"No, because soon it'll be a truth. A statement that becomes true after you say it it's not a lie."
"Yeah, dude, whatever you say," Reggie pats his hand.
Julie tells him that Willie is free on Wednesday afternoon, and Alex is too. He's kind of scared about receiving lessons from a stranger, but if Julie likes Willie, he probably will too. He asks Julie where to get a skateboard and she dismisses him, letting him know that Willie will let him borrow one of his.
Alex already likes the guy.
Wednesday is a bad day.
One of the professors is mean to him and even if Alex gets it, because he was distracted and he knows he didn't practice enough, the cold comments make him feel bad anyway. Anxiety starts running through his veins and he kind of feels sick. Then one of his drum sticks breaks and the professor tells him that only bad drummers break their sticks and Alex sort-of-wants to cry.
After lunch, he gets a call from his mom, which is kind of comforting until she asks if he has a girlfriend. She always asks the same question, even if Alex's been out to his family for three years now. His parents have just decided to ignore it, and keep acting as if he were straight. Alex hates it, but he swallows the knot in his throat and tells her that no, he's still not seeing anyone. His mom tells him he'll find the right girl soon.
He forgets he had to meet up with Willie until Julie calls him, asking him where the hell he is. Alex curses and runs out of his room, stumbling over his own feet.
Willie (or they guy he guesses it's Willie, judging by the two skateboards he's holding,) is sitting on a bench, staring at his phone, moving his head along to the rhythm of whatever song he's listening through his earphones.
Alex runs towards him, trying to smile. The guy's doing him a huge favor, after all, and the least he can do is look thankful.
"Hey," he greets. The guy looks up and the only thing Alex can think is 'wow he's got pretty hair.' He clears his throat. "Sorry I'm late."
"Don't sweat it."
Willie stands up and offers him a hand. His skin is tan and his eyes are a pretty shade of brown and his smile is bold and confident. He's wearing a tie dye shirt and shorts and cute socks with dinosaurs on them. Alex likes them.
"I'm Alex," he shakes Willie's hand.
"So, you wanna learn how to skate?" Wille asks and sits down on the bench again. The wind shakes his hair, and Alex has to keep himself from touching it.
"How much did Julie tell you?"
"Not much. Just that you needed to learn as soon as possible. That it was an emergency."
Alex chuckles.
"Yeah, something like that. I- I kind of have a crush on this person, right? And he asked me if I knew how to skate and I panicked and told him I did. So now I'm-"
"Screwed," Willie finishes for him, and it takes Alex an embarrassingly long while to realize that he's joking.
Willie's laugh is sweet and high-pitched and his whole body moves along with it. Alex ends up laughing too, and suddenly it's like he didn't have a bad day at all.
"Yeah, I'm screwed."
"So you've never used a board before?"
"Nope."
Willie spends the whole afternoon trying to convince Alex that no, he's not going to fall. The skateboard shakes under him and the wheels are not stable enough, how do people even do this?
But Willie is the most patient person he's ever met, and he just smiles when Alex gives up and jumps from the board when he gets scared.
"C'mon, try it again."
Willie ends up grabbing him from the waist, trying to teach him how to find his gravity center. Alex flushes but says nothing as Willie's hands press against his hipbones.
"There you go!" Willie cheers when Alex finally gathers up enough courage to impulse himself. He advances a couple of feet until he forgets to keep balance and he goes crashing down.
Willie catches him. Or well, he tries to.
Both of them end up on the floor. Alex is on top of Willie and the sky shines bright above them.
Alex panics for a single second, and then bursts out laughing.
Willie stares at him for a second and then laughs too.
"Are you okay?" He asks Alex.
"Yeah, yeah," he wheezes. "I just- that was actually fun."
"Dude, you looked terrified."
Alex laughs again.
He stands up and offers Willie a hand. They go sit on the bench again, trying to regain their breaths.
"I'm probably the worst skater you've ever seen, huh?"
Willie pretends to think about it for a second and then nods effusively. Alex shoves him a little.
"You're supposed to lie about it! You know, to make me feel better."
"You know you're the worst skater I've ever seen. There's no point in lying."
Alex chuckles.
"You're mean."
Willie nods. "I try."
"Do you think he'll be able to tell I lied?" Alex wonders, and Willie lays a hand on his shoulder. His wrists are covered in colorful bracelets.
"You know what your problem is? That you think way too much. I practically can see you thinking every time I ask you to take impulse. Skating is all about letting go. Trusting your instincts."
"My instincts suck."
Willie pats his shoulder with a smile.
"If we keep practicing, maybe it'll work. I doubt you'll be able to do tricks though."
"Oh god, I don't wanna do those."
Willie ends up showing him what he can do, and Alex is pretty impressed. He jumps benches and sidewalks and does tricks while landing and Alex's heart does a leap every time it looks like Willie's about to fall. But Willie never falls, just grins and flips his hair and keeps on skating.
The sky is starting to darken when Alex gets hungry. He asks Willie if he wants to grab dinner with him and Willie nods and they both try to skate to a café near the park.
Alex has to admit that he has way too much fun hanging with Willie. He's funny and thoughtful and awfully sweet to everyone. Alex insists on buying him coffee and they sit and talk and talk and talk.
Willie is a junior, so he's one year older than Alex. He's an art major and he's really into street and abstract art. He works in an animal shelter whenever he's not skating or studying and he loves dancing. Alex feels his face drawing a smile when Willie mentions the dancing part and tells him that he loves dancing too.
Willie is in a dancing group and they meet every Thursday night. He asks Alex to join and for some reason, even if Alex is so damn busy all the time, he accepts. He doesn't even realize how late it is until the lady behind the counter tells him they're about to close. It's 10 freaking p.m.
"I'll see you tomorrow, then?" Willie asks. They're walking towards his dorm because Willie insisted on walking him home. Alex nods and smiles.
"I'm really nervous about joining a dance group because I'll probably fuck up but- yeah, I wanna do it."
"I'm sure you'll do great. Don't be nervous, they're all really nice." The shadows of the street lights fall over Willie and Alex can't help but notice the way he just looks- pretty.
"Being nervous is kind of my thing so-"
Willie chuckles at his comment. They stop in front of his building. Alex hands Willie his board but he shakes his head, raising a hand.
"No, keep it. Try practicing your balance, alright?"
"Will do. And, um, thank you. For everything, dude, you're literally a life-saver."
"Don't worry. Honestly, when Julie asked me if I could teach one of her friends how to skate, I just thought it'd be fun. But you're hilarious."
Alex's stomach shrinks a little. He doesn't know what is it with Willie, but it's just so- easy being around him. He's always been anxious around new people, always second guessing his words and so terrified of doing something stupid that he usually ends up coming off as awkward or shy. That's why he doesn't really have many friends, but being around Willie is just that- easy.
There's no second guessing or worrying or fear crushing him. It's nice. Maybe they'll be good friends. He honestly needs to hang out with someone that's not Luke or Reggie.
"Thanks anyway."
"Thank me when you impress the guy, not before."
"Deal. If it works, I'll do whatever you want."
They exchange numbers and say goodbye. Alex lies in his bed and calls Julie, and tells her that everything went fine. Mostly. She asks if he fell and he says that yeah, he did, multiple times, but it wasn't that bad. Skating isn't really his thing, but Willie makes it fun.
The next day, his anxiety tells him that agreeing to go to the dance group was definitely a bad idea, and fear makes him beg Reggie to please go with him.
Reggie looks contradicted, because he has an exam on three days and a lot of homework, but Alex promises he'll buy him pizza afterwards, so Reggie accepts. Alex knows it's also because Reggie's aware of how bad his anxiety can get, and he's always willing to go with him when he's scared of going somewhere alone.
"I love you so much," Alex mutters, hugging Reggie when he finally says yes.
"I know, I know. I don't even know how to dance."
Reggie's kind of right about that, but Alex just smiles and hugs him one more time before he leaves running because he's late for class.
The dance group meetings are in a studio near the college campus. Reggie and Alex walk there after band practice, and Alex tries not to think about the fact that Julie and Luke left together for dinner. They're finally advancing in their relationship, after almost two years of dancing around each other and staring and longing and pining. Alex is happy for them, he really is. Julie and Luke are perfect together, they balance and understand each other. Julie's told him that they're nothing official yet, but Alex knows it's only a matter of time. He hopes he doesn't have to wait another two years until they finally take the next step.
There's only twelve people on the dance group, and Alex vaguely recognizes a couple of them from class. They are very welcoming, and they're nice and they introduce themselves to Reggie and him and it's a lot of fun.
Willie doesn't leave his side for the whole two hours, and they dance and laugh and joke. Alex learns the choreography as best as he can and laughs at Reggie's attempt of dancing. When the two hours are over and the leader, a girl named Carrie, asks them if they'll be coming back so they can officially sign up, Alex doesn't think twice about saying yes. Reggie shakes his head effusively, though, trying to catch his breath.
"I'm no dancer," he says, taking a water bottle from Willie, "just a good friend."
"The best one ever," Alex agrees.
Alex really doesn't know why, but when they're leaving so he can buy Reggie his pizza, he invites Willie to go with them. Willie seems kind of shocked at first, but he accepts with a grin.
The pizzeria is kind of empty and the three of them sit at a table. Reggie and Willie spend the whole time talking about a band Alex doesn't know, but he has fun anyway.
"Their bassist is so cool," Reggie says, taking a bite of his pizza. "He does this crazy thing while he plays, I wanna try it."
Willie hums a little. "You guys are in Julie's band, right?"
"Yeah," Alex answers. "We're Julie and the Phantoms."
"Tell your friends," Reggie finishes for him.
"You guys been together for a long time?"
"Um, kinda, yeah. Almost two years now," Reggie's always the one who tells the story. After all, they met in the least common way possible, and it's a funny story to tell. "Luke, Alex and I have been friends for like, thirteen years now. And we had a band, Sunset Curve, but that ended pretty badly. We got into some trouble with a record company and we lost all rights to our songs. It was horrible."
That part of the story always hurts, even if it was long ago. Alex's always going to kind-of-miss Sunset Curve, but he also believes the change was for the better. Now they have a new band a new sound and a new best friend.
"That sucks," Willie says. Reggie shakes his head.
"Nah, we're over it. The thing is, we were kind of pissed at the record company. So we did something a little illegal."
"You guys did something illegal?" Willie repeats. He sounds intrigued.
"A little illegal," Alex points out. "Just a little."
"I can't see Alex doing something illegal," Willie's words are true, but he had been angry and hurt and sad and the idea didn't seem so bad at the time. After all, all of his impulse control disappears when Luke and Reggie try hard enough.
"Oh, dude, it was so cool. We're- um- legally not allowed to talk about it, though, so you'll have to use your imagination. The thing is, we had to do community service, and that's where we met Julie!" Reggie finishes, shaking his hands a little.
"Julie did community service?"
"Oh, god, no. She volunteered at it. We became friends, and after a lot of convincing her, we formed a new band. Then we all got into this college and that's where we started taking it seriously. We're thinking about recording a demo."
"Cool. But now I really need to know what you guys did."
Alex shakes his head. "Sorry, no can do. Maybe you'll learn sometime, when we become famous and release a book. It'll be in our autobiography."
Willie rolls his eyes, and Alex smiles at him. He doesn't realize they're staring intensely at each other until Reggie clears his throat. Alex breaks eye contact and tries not to look too flustered. It's just that Willie's eyes are really pretty, and his face is worth staring at.
"It's getting late," Reggie says. "We should probably go."
"Yeah, you're right," Wille turns to Alex and gives him another big, cocky grin. "When do you wanna have your next lesson?"
"Um. Whenever you can, it's fine by me."
"Does Sunday work for you?"
"Totally."
"Perfect! See you then."
Willie leaves and Reggie stares at Alex for a long time, with that smug expression he uses when he thinks he knows something Alex doesn't.
"Dude, what?"
Reggie lets out a little laugh. "Oh, nothing. It's just- I like this guy for you."
Alex's heart stops. "Oh god, that's definitely not what's happening. I barely know him, we're just friends. Dude, I don't even know if he's into guys. Besides, you're forgetting that I'm doing this because of Leo. To impress him."
Reggie groans.
"Right. Leo."
"I like Leo, okay? Drop it." Alex grabs his backpack and leaves the pizzeria, Reggie running beside him.
"I know, dude. I just don't want you to get hurt."
Alex relaxes a little. Reggie's words warm his heart, and maybe he should stop being so stubborn about his crush. But Leo's been nice to him and Alex really wants to have a chance with someone. For once. He's not going to let his friends' worries get in the way.
"Thanks, Reg. I appreciate it, but I can take care of myself, alright?"
"Alright. Just don't come to me when Leo breaks your heart."
Alex scoffs. "He's not going to break my heart."
At least he hopes not.