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Dante Gallo has had his fair share of unpleasant experiences. He is no stranger to the universe’s tricks, the way it grabs him by the neck and drags him around for a laugh.
Getting lost in a cornfield with Alec Reynolds, though– now, that’s just cruel.
It starts off pretty much as you’d expect– stupid, teenage guy shenanigans. The entire rugby team, now down to just five guys, stumbling through a corn maze in the dark of night, drunk off their asses. No better way to spend Halloween night, right?
Bangkok is nice this time of year– not too hot, not too cold. The breeze is soft on Dante’s skin. And the maze isn’t terrible. It’s more of an excuse to get drunk and shove each other around.
But then someone had the bright idea to split into teams and race to the exit, and now he’s stuck with the new guy. Great.
Still, he might just rip the hair off his scalp if he has to spend another moment with Alec Reynolds.
“What?” he demands.
Alec quickly glances off, hands in his pockets. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Don’t stare at me.”
“Okay.”
He knows what this looks like. Classic Dante Gallo, being a fuckin’ dick just for the sake of it. But this time he has a legitimate reason– this Reynolds dude is weird. Like, weird-weird– always smiling, always laughing. Always trying to be nice to people he barely even knows, for seemingly no reason at all.
People like that aren’t to be trusted.
“Shit.” Dante groans.
“What happened?"
“My phone’s officially dead.”
“Fuck. What do we do now?” Alec asks. His phone had died about six turns back, and they’d shared a mutual disappointment. They’d been trying to follow a map out of the maze, to no avail.
“Well, we just … keep going, I guess.” Dante ruffles his hair, sighing dejectedly.
“Damn.”
“It’s so dark out. I can’t see where I’m going.” Dante mutters, squinting through the darkness.
“Keep your hand on the wall, it helps.”
Suddenly, Dante feels a hand graze his back. “AAH!” Alec shouts behind him.
Dante screams back. “AAH what the fuck?!” He whips around in place, holding a hand out in front of him defensively.
“Sorry, I couldn’t tell if you were still in front of me!” Alec apologizes.
“Oh my god, listen to my footsteps! And dont touch me.” Dante snaps, taking another step away from Alec.
“Okay.”
Dante scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Whatever.” He mutters, turning around to keep walking. He takes a wrong step, a small dip in the dirt covered by the darkness. His ankle twists, folds underneath him, making a sickening pop.
Well, that’s probably not good.
“Fuck!” Dante gasps, drops to the ground.
“What happened? Are you okay?”
“Shit– yeah, I’m fine, I just tripped.” Dante grimaces, hands wrapped tightly around his ankle. Stabbing pains shoot up his leg, radiate into his skin.
Dante feels Alec‘s feet fall at his side, squatting beside Dante. “Are you sure? You don’t sound fine. What's wrong with your foot?” Alec asks, his tone cautious.
“I– I don’t know, I heard a pop–” Dante’s voice wavers ever so slightly, nervousness creeping into his words. He plants his hands into the dirt, moving to stand up.
“A pop ?? It could be dislocated, don’t get up.” Alec insists. He cautiously reaches a hand out to Dante’s ankle, just grazing the skin with his fingertips. Dante hisses in pain, and Alec pulls his hand away.
“It’s not fuckin dislocated, I just– rolled it or something, it’s fine .” Dante snaps. He pushes himself to his feet, staggering slightly on his way up.
Alec shoots his hands out to catch Dante’s arm, but Dante jerks it away, shaking him off. “ Don’t touch me, it’s fine. I– I’m fine, this is nothing.”
“Okay.” Alec steps back, holding his hands up in surrender.
“Holy shit.” Dante winces with each step, wobbling uneasily.
Alec chews the inside of his cheek, watching Dante struggle with a pitying gaze. “Okay, wait, just– sit down, for a moment, please .”
Dante hesitates for a moment, squeezes his eyes shut. “Fine.”
“Just let me look at it, alright? Just for a second.”
“Okay.”
Alec’s touch is gentle, but aches nonetheless. Dante is grateful that Alec can’t see the warmth spread across his face in the darkness.
Dante’s mind runs a mile a minute, trying his hardest not to wriggle in place. Alec doesn’t seem to notice, staying completely focused on the task at hand. “We should leave your shoe on, so it doesn’t swell up too much.” He hums, deep in thought.
Alec prods at his ankle, turns it slightly to the sides.
“Dude, ow.” Dante winces. The usual harshness creeps into his voice, despite his attempts to swallow it back.
“Shit, sorry.” Alec pulls his hands back apologetically. “Alright, I don’t think it’s broken, but it’s definitely sprained. Like, bad.”
“‘Could’ve told you that.” Dante groans, running a hand through his hair. “It’s just a little twist. I’ve had worse, seriously. I’m just– being a baby, or something, I don’t know.”
“It’s not little. And you’re not being a baby. Your leg is fucked.” Alec retorts, brow furrowed..
“Gee, thanks.” Dante rolls his eyes. “No, it’s nothing. Honestly, dude, I’m fine. You go ahead without me, I just need to wait a minute and I can walk out of here. I can handle this.”
“You think I’m seriously gonna leave without you? What?” Alec looks almost offended, hurt.
“I can handle this on my own.”
“You don’t have to.”
Dante gapes for a split second. This guy just doesn’t quit.
“I– dude, you don’t have to do all.. this.” Dante waves a hand dismissively. “I’m fine. Let’s– let’s just get going.” Dante moves to stand up, sucking in a breath.
Alec holds a hand down on his shoulder. It takes everything Dante has not to melt under his touch. “Woah, okay, I just said it’s sprained. And you obviously can’t walk.”
“Well, what do you expect me to do? Our phones are dead and it’s fuck you-o-clock.” Dante scrubs his hands down his face frustratedly.
Alec shrugs, and answers like it's the most obvious thing in the world. “I’ll just carry you.”
Dante’s whole face burns red. “Fuck no. Absolutely no way in hell I’m letting you carry me out of this damn maze.” He splutters.
“You just said it yourself, you don’t have another choice. Just ride on my back.”
Dante gapes at him, grasps at straws. “I– I’m taller than you. You won’t be able to carry me.”
“And so what?” Alec crosses his arms, raises a brow. “Are we going or not?”
Dante’s face drops into his hands. Fuck you, universe.
Alec helps him to his feet, taking Dante’s hand in his. Their grasps slot together perfectly, Alec’s hand warm against Dante’s always-cold fingers.
Dante does everything he can to keep his expression blank as Alec turns round, squatting slightly in front of him. This is fine. Plenty of guys have given each other piggyback rides. In the middle of the night. Alone. It’s totally normal.
God, he needs to get a fucking grip.
“Okay, there we go. You good back there?” Alec asks over his shoulder. Chipper as always.
Dante simmers quietly. “Yes.”
“How’s your ankle?” Alec walks carefully, avoiding sticks and uneven dirt like it’s nothing. Despite Dante’s weight, he still manages to walk like he’s floating above the ground.
Dante hates guys like that– people that are so perfect, no matter the circumstances.
“Shitty, thanks.”
They round a few more corners before Dante starts to feel Alec adjusting his grip more often, shifting his arms beneath Dante’s weight.
“If you’re getting tired, I can get down, I can just– I can walk, it’s fine.”
“No dude, it’s good. I got it.” Alec smiles good-naturedly.
“...Okay.” They walk in silence for a minute. Dante chews his lower lip. “Why– why are you being so nice to me?”
“Uh… just because.” He shrugs.
“Because what ?”
“Does there have to be a reason?”
Dante scoffs, smiling bitterly. “There’s always a reason.”
“Well, not this time.”
Dante’s voice falters. “... I– I’ve been a dick to you all night.”
“True.”
“You probably could’ve found the way out of here in half the time it’s taking to take me with you.”
“Also true. So what?”
“So, it doesn’t make sense.”
“It doesn’t need to make sense. We’re in this together, aren’t we?”
“Wh– that’s so corny.” Dante teases.
Alec laughs. “I thought we were teammates!”
“I can’t believe Brandon convinced everyone to agree to that stupid idea.” Dante laughs quietly.
“Me neither. I didn’t mind though!” he quickly adds. “I was… kind of excited for the chance to hang out with you.”
Dante feels his jaw go slack. Alec was excited to hang out with him?
“I– what? Why??” Dante asks, completely caught off guard.
“I dunno, I feel like I’ve gotten to know all the rugby guys except you.” Alec shrugs.
“Oh, I– yeah, that makes sense.”
“This has been real eye-opening though.” Alec hums, face obscured from Dante’s view.
“Oh really?” Dante asks, eyebrow cocked skeptically.
“Yup. I mean, I knew you were an asshole, but I didn’t know you were this much of an asshole–” Alec explains, a smug smile audible in his voice.
“Shut up, oh my god!” Dante swats at Alec’s shoulder. Alec bursts into laughter. “You’re so stupid.” Dante rolls his eyes, but there’s no malice in his voice. “You know… no one’s ever given me a piggyback ride before.”
“No way. Never?? How??”
“Wh– I don’t know! It just never happened. What, do you do this often?”
“Pssht, I don’t know. Sometimes.”
“Sometimes??” Dante laughs.
“Yeah, like, one time my friend Bianca and I were in PE class and–” and Dante just listens quietly as Alec launches into this really animated story about people Dante doesn’t know, in a city Dante’s never been to, and Dante feels a warmth bloom in his chest, for the first time in a long time.
Suddenly, he’s all too aware of Alec’s broad shoulders beneath his hands, how his muscles tighten and shift as he walks along the path. How bright his voice sounds when he gets really excited about something, how his laugh rumbles through his entire body.
Dante’s stomach drops.
Oh.
Oh.
Alec’s voice fades back in, snapping Dante from his horrible realization. “So, yeah, my parents were pissed and we both had to apologize to the principal. It was hilarious.”
“No way. You’re kidding.” Dante replies, weakly.
“I’m not. I was grounded for a whole month!” Alec chuckles fondly.
“Wow.” Dante murmurs. “I’ve actually… never been grounded.”
Alec seems skeptical. “Really? Something tells me you got into way more trouble than I did as a kid.”
“Shut up.” Dante shakes his head. “No, I– I don’t know, I guess my parents never cared enough to do that sort of stuff.”
“Never?”
“Nah, they aren’t really, like– around that much.”
Alec hesitates, as though he’s searching for the exact right thing to say. “That sucks.” He settles on.
“Eh, not like I care. I can smoke whenever I want. No curfew.” Dante shrugs.
“Well, still. If you ever feel like not killing your lungs, you could come to my house.”
Dante’s breath stutters, caught entirely by surprise. Alec’s house.
He coughs, clears his throat. “Sounds lame.” He mutters.
“Whatever. Hey, look– there’s the exit!” Alec points excitedly, Dante slipping in his hands for a moment.
“Holy shit, we made it.” He breathes.
“Hell yeah!” Alec cheers, shaking Dante with his excitement. Strangely, Dante can’t find it in himself to care.
“Hey, did you two come here with a group? They waited for you for about an hour, but they told me to tell you they left.” the attendant calls out from the small building beside the exit.
“An hour? Shit, we were in there for a while. Okay, thanks.” Alec smiles at her, pulling a few bills from his pocket and sliding them under the window.
“You two okay? Need any help?” She asks, gesturing at Dante, still hanging over Alec’s shoulders.
“Nah, I’ve got him.” Alec waves her goodbye, charming smile as always. Dante warms at the words. Something about Alec feels so safe, so solid.
Fuck, this is bad.
Dante hastily reaches for his pocket. “I’ll pay you back.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Alec dismisses the idea quickly. He loosens his hold on Dante’s thigh for a moment, shuffling around in his pocket. “Okay, I biked here separately. I’ll drop you home.”
“I can just use their phone to call someone to come get me.”
“It’s 11. Come on, just let me drop you off. You can just ride behind me again.”
For a split second, Dante opens his mouth to argue. But something in him decides he wants to be selfish. Something in him that he doesn’t quite understand wants to spend as much time with Alec as he can tonight. So he lets himself have this one thing.“Okay, that sounds good.”
And it does. It sounds really, really good.