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"Hey sweetheart," Alex started in his rich Texan drawl that Henry just couldn't get enough of. He yelped, involuntarily of course, because come on, who can really resist Alex's charms?
"Umm....umm." Christ why did he have to go speechless each time he saw the guy. He was cursing himself mentally when he felt someone lightly shove his shoulder.
"Hazza. ...u there?"
Pez, his best friend's voice brought him back to reality. Reality that, to be fair, really really sucked. Because, of course Alex wasn't calling him sweetheart, hell Alex probably didn't even know Henry existed. And who could blame him really? Alex was this perfect, handsome, warm person with an annoyingly adorable chin dimple, and the most dazzling brown eyes. While Henry? Well....he was just that. Henry. End of discussion. He was just Henry Fox, exchange student in Austin High. His only mildly interesting characteristic? He occasionally played the piano in the school orchestra.
The first time he saw Alex, Henry swears he went through all the stages of falling in every cliché rom com ever.
It was his first day as a new student, a whole ocean away from his home, and the first person he saw? Alexander Claremont-Diaz, flashing his dazzling smile, albeit not at him, but a guy can be delusional. He could quite literally feel time slow down, his heart rate pick up and at the same time, the goddamn butterflies too. And the moment they made eye contact(for 2 seconds...but still!!) Henry just knew how fucked he was. And that was how he had ended up having a crush on probably the most sought after boy in the whole damn school. Not like he blamed anyone. He met Pez afterwards and the boys instantly hit it off. He told Pez everything, including his embarrassing crush on the lacrosse captain and Pez hadn't stopped teasing him about it till date. Not like he hasn't stopped crushing as well. But that subtle eye contact was the only form of acknowledgment he ever had with Alex. Now, this was not Alex being a dick, in fact, the poor guy had tried to approach Henry a lot of times throughout the past year, but Henry, an introvert through and through, had either sped off in the opposite direction, or just blushed madly, unable to form coherent sentences, whenever Alex greeted him. And that was precisely the reason why, Henry was sitting on the bleachers while Alex was playing lacrosse. It was the annual tournament, or something like that. But he just couldn't tear his eyes away from Alex, he just looked so good. And that's to be blamed for his current fantasy in broad daylight. Alex has muscles, Henry has eyes....now can he really be blamed? And he was quite fine with his fantasies. What he couldn't tolerate was Pez's smug grin and shifty eyes. This was going to cost him a lot of teasing. He rubbed his eyes harshly with his hands and groaned, because fuck Alex and his godlike physique.
"To do that you have to talk to him first you know." Came Pez's reply. Fuck, he had said that out loud.
"Shut it Pez."
"What?" He looked innocently at Henry. "What did I say to offend you so? I'm merely stating the obvious." And there it was, that smirk.
"Let's just go Pez. I don't think I can handle this torture any longer." Henry sighed resigned, pulling Pez along with him.
"You know, it doesn't have to be like this. Go, talk to him. That's literally the first step you know. "God, why won't Pez let it go?!
"Yeah, I should just walk up to him and proclaim my love for a completely straight boy. Oh! And said straight boy plus the whole school doesn't even know I'm gay! Very practical Pez, very practical."
"You would be surprised." Pez whispered, and maybe he wasn't supposed to hear that, so he ignored it and ploughed on. Suddenly, loud cheers erupted from the stadium. Guess they won the game Henry thought. All the more reason to leave. As he was planning his quick exit, he heard his name being called.
"Henry!" It was that same rich voice and what did Henry do to deserve this in this lifetime?
"Not again." He groaned. And turned. And a lot of things happened in quick succession. Alex was standing, right there, inches away from Henry. He was smiling Henry noticed, but the moment he heard Henry's words, his smile dropped. Henry felt his cheeks heat up again. He ran one hand through his hair, praying for someone to save him, and dared to look up at Alex. He looked hurt. Just his luck! The first few words he manages to get out of his mouth in front of Alex and he has already left a bad impression. Maybe he should try to fix it, because the silence is truly getting awkward and that's rich coming from Henry, the undefeated prince of awkwardness.
"Oh..umm. .Alex? Umm...sorry. I thought you were someone...nevermind. what did you want?"
"Oh! Well, our team won." Alex started and chuckled awkwardly. Huh. Maybe he wasn't alone on that boat.
"Congratulations?"
"Oh right thanks I guess. I umm...came to invite you? Well, it's nothing really. Just a winning party type of thing, at the stadium itself, if you wanna join us?"
Did he hear that right? Because of he was hallucinating again? He would better just die. Surely this cannot be true right? Why would Alex invite him, personally that too, out of all people? He really needs to get this crush under control. He was brought out of his thoughts by Alex's voice again.
"You don't have to come. I mean I'm sure you have stuff to do, places to be, actually I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you? Fuck. He-"
"I'll join you guys." Henry cut off Alex, and offered a small smile. Alex looked....flabbergasted, as if he couldn't believe his luck. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, no words coming out, but then, he was smiling that grin that made Henry's stomach do some admirable gymnastics.
"Alright, follow me!" He said, with all the enthusiasm of a five year old, as he led Henry back inside the stadium. Henry noticed Pez seemed to have dissapeared throughout this whole ordeal. He had his suspicions.
Alex was truly undermining the party. Henry expected a small gathering, but it was basically one of those parties that he hated so much. Beer and sweat creating an unpleasant, to say the least, smell. Henry was regretting ever saying yes, even to Alex, but then Alex may have spotted his displeasure, because he took hold of Henry's hand (that did absolutely nothing to his heart) and led him to a more....civilised corner. Liam, he recognised, Alex's best friend, Nora, another friend and Spencer, Liam's boyfriend sitting around a table, playing what looked suspiciously like monopoly. But what shocked him the most, is the presence of Pez. How the hell did the guy manage to reach the stadium before him when they were together? Guess he will never know. But, now his suspicions have been proven true. It was him afterall. Alex made the introductions, and Henry smiled at each one, as if he didn't already know them. But, what was surprising was that they were actually really warm towards him. They allowed him to get used to the loud music and the whole place in general at his own pace, and Henry, for the first time in his life, felt like he belonged. He ended up winning both rounds of monopoly and had fun, real high school fun, for the first time. And he had hope. He knows he shouldn't expect so much, but judging by the way Alex stumbled over his words, and how he kept throwing glances at Henry, trying to get close to him without touching, couldn't help but make hope, warm and beautiful bloom in his chest. Maybe he was being delusional but, just maybe, he wasn't. And what he saw, was actually what was happening. He let these thoughts drift him to sleep once back from the game.
The next few weeks were the best of his life in America. Nora, Liam, Spencer and Alex became a constant to their duo. They always spent their breaks together. And every time Alex chose to sit in the empty chair beside him, instead of near Nora, or when he smiled at him, he let hope grow stronger roots in his heart. He told Alex everything, showed him his writing, ranted and bickered about everything with him, from Jane Austen, to Star Wars to even coffee and tea, they talked about everything. He told him about his father's death and how it had affected him. Alex, in turn told him about his parents divorce. Henry told him about his sister Bea, and his brother Philip. Alex told him about June. And God, Henry was falling deeper and deeper with every conversation they had. He didn't know how that was even possible and yet there he was. He even wrote for Alex, and about him. Alex became his most constant reader, reading everything he wrote, and praising him, making him blush everytime. Alex even attended every show Henry played the piano at. And Henry attended every one of Alex's games, and also the parties afterwards. They became near inseparable, and Henry really wasn't complaining. Slowly, the weeks turned to months, and Henry wasn't the weird introverted guy anymore. The only thing that remained the same, was his massive crush on Alex.
It had officially been three months since Alex had pulled him into the party and completely changed his life. He was taking his books out of his locker, when he noticed something. His diary, where he wrote all his most intimate thoughts, was missing. He panicked, naturally, and searched for it frantically. It would be there...maybe he just couldn't see it? Right? It couldn't dissapear like this. Someone had to take it? Oh fuck, what if someone took it? No no no no no no no. He continued searching, ignoring the school bell and he was on the verge of tears, when he saw Chad. He was the school bully alright. And he had the diary in his hand. Henry's blood ran cold. He was never bullied, but he still couldn't stomach the idea of Chad reading all his thoughts. He reached for the diary, but Chad just smirked and pulled it behind his back.
"Give it up Chad. That's mine." He said through gritted teeth.
"Ooohh...angry are we? I wonder why this is so precious to you."
"Fuck off."
"You don't get to say that to me, you faggot."
Oh. He had read it. Shit. He would probably tell the whole school about it. But that didn't matter. That diary also had his feelings for Alex documented in its pages. He was really regretting ever keeping a diary. He belatedly noticed a small crowd had gathered around them, watching. He felt the tears stinging behind his eyes, but he refused to cry in front of Chad.
"Give it up Chad. What are you even gonna do with it? Read? As if you can." Alex's voice boomed down the corridor. Henry felt his breath hitch from the relief he felt.
"Ah Alex! Just who we were missing! He wrote about you too! Hmm...let's see." This literally cannot be happening right now. How is his life the worst always? Christ.
"Beautiful brown hair as unmanageable as its owner, and mysterious eyes as dark as dusk-"
"Please. Don't. " He could hear the desperation in his words, but maybe it was too late for that. Alex had heard it, his reaction showed he understood. He was standing with his eyes wide, frozen, not looking at Chad, but directly at Henry.
"Awww...your little dirty secret is out now. You are not only an unnatural creation, an ugly faggot, but you are also in love...with Alex. Let's see if he talks to you now, you little slut-" Chad was abruptly cut off by Alex's fist connecting with his jaw. And before he could stop it, Alex was on top of Chad, punching him.
"Alex, stop, Alex!" He tried, but Alex just continued to punch Chad, too far gone into a haze that Henry realised, with a jolt, was anger.
"Don't. Ever. Call. Him. That." He punctuated every word with a punch, and Chad looked on the verge on unconsciousness. Henry gripped his shoulders in an attempt to get him to release Chad but Alex jerked his shoulder away so fast and with so much strength that Henry fell back, tripping on his feet
and landed on his hands. This seemed to stop Alex finally. He looked up and something like regret filled his eyes, which were previously so full of anger. He kicked Chad one last time, and headed to where Henry was sprawled on the ground.
"Jesus. I'm so sorry Hen, here."He said, offering his hand. "Are you alright? Oh my God, I'm so so sorry." He sounded sincere, and genuinely worried, like he couldn't believe that he had just shoved Henry. But Henry was too ashamed of his secrets being released, too embarrassed to even look Alex in the eyes. So he did what he did best- he stood up on his own, and ran. Away from Alex, away from the sympathetic glances being thrown in his direction. He could feel his erratic breathing and fast heartbeat as he walked briskly, and he knew he was about to have a panic attack, he just needed to get away, somewhere far, because this cannot be true. Maybe it was all a bad dream, one of the many stories his mind regularly conjured. He refused to believe otherwise. He could hear someone's voice calling his name, a hand trying to grab his wrist, but he ran, like the coward he was, he just couldn't face anyone right now.
He had finally managed to get away from everyone and was seated in the music room, his fingers hovering inches above the keys, tears cutting streams through his cheeks. This was the only thing that calmed him, and considering the place was empty, he might as well use it. He started playing a soothing, melancholy tune, perfectly reflecting his mood, his fingers moving swiftly over the keys with practiced ease. It did help to calm some of his thoughts, so he continued playing, he sped up now, pouring all his emotions into the instrument in front of him. He closed his eyes, and let the music consume him. He was so lost that he didn't realise another person entering the music room, until said person was sitting beside him on the tiny stool. He stopped playing abruptly to look at the intruder, and saw those familiar dark brown eyes staring at him, wide and so full of love, not an ounce of pity. They were so close like this, and Henry noticed that there were beautiful golden flecks in the brown of his eyes. He didn't feel the tears until a warm calloused hand was wiping them away, and he allowed himself to lean into the touch, to breathe him in, that scent of al monds and honey, so familiar and yet so strange. He released a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Once Alex realised Henry won't shed any more tears, he moved to cup his cheeks and that jolted him back to reality, shattering the perfect bubble that had formed. Henry pulled back, instantly missing the touch, but it was necessary for both their sakes. Alex looked confused, a flash of hurt crossing those eyes, "Hen-"
"No Alex, please don't. Y-you heard everything. So-"
"I don't care, Henry. I do not care if you are gay or anything else, you will still be important to me always." He said, offering a small smile. And if that didn't do things to Henry's insides again. Alex tried to move into his space again, and Henry moved away once more.
"Alex, frankly, I'm not even made about being outted. It was bound to happen someday. But please don't pretend like you didn't hear the rest of the shit he read out. The whole school knows Alex. So please, don't give me hope, I can't anymore. I don't care if it makes me look like a coward, just-"
"Do you feel whatever you wrote Hen? Do you. ...like me?" Alex asked, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks. Henry just nodded his reply, unable to look the other man in the eyes any longer. Alex gently lifted his chin to meet his eyes and continued,
"Oh Hen, please don't shut yourself away from me. I-I like you too I think. So, I'm not giving you hope, you gave it to me in the first place. I'm always so good at speaking and just, ya know a textbook extrovert. But you somehow turned me into this blubbering mess. Because fuck Henry, every time I see you, my brain turns to mush, and I am aware how cliché that sounds, you can tease me later, but the thing is, that's the truth. So yeah, I've liked you for a while now. But-" Henry cut him off by throwing his arms around his neck and kissing him, soft and slow, and so amazing, like everything about the guy in front of him.
"So..."Alex continued, his head on Henry's shoulder as Henry played the opening to Your Song by Elton John, " are we boyfriends now?"
Henry stopped playing, and maybe he took a moment too long because Alex started again, in a panicked voice, " I mean, I didn't want to assume of course, it's j-"
"Of course we are you dimwit. I thought my pining and that kiss was explanation enough." Henry smiled at Alex, and continued playing. Alex sighed, and the moment was just so perfect, but then Nora was bursting into the music room with Pez hot on her heels.
"Alejandro, you are in so much trou-" She assessed the image in front of her as she gave a knowing smirk, "ble."
"What is the issue Nora? " Alex groaned, clearly as upset as Henry was on this breach of their bubble.
"The issue, is that, you have been summoned to the Principal's office. And your mom has been called. I am truly happy for you both. It will save me from the gross moping now atleast, but you are really in trouble Alex." She finished. Henry instantly felt guilty, and turned to apologise to Alex, but he just shushed him and said,
"I'd do it a hundred times over for you baby. It's alright. He deserved it. Don't beat yourself up."
Then he connected their lips again, in another chaste kiss, and Henry immediately felt better. Christ, it hadn't even been a day but Alex was everything he could fantasise about and more. He heard Nora making gagging noises in the background and blushed, as Alex flipped her off.
"Nope, this is way worse than you pining and wasting away. But we really gotta get going, you will have all the time to kiss him. But later. Now come." With that she dragged Alex out of the room, as Alex threw back an apologetic look. Henry just laughed with amusement. Pez quirked an eyebrow, and wordlessly took the seat Alex had just vacated,
"Details Hazza, details." And well, Henry was more than happy to recount one of the best days of his life.