Chapter Text
To say Jack was nervous would be an understatement.
In just a few minutes, his dearest friend, and more importantly, his crush, would be arriving at his house, and would be staying with him for a full week. Seven days.
Sure, they’d met up before, but that had just been briefly, when they’d both attended the Geoguessr World Championships. That had been different. But this, this would be just them, Jack and Oscar, together in person for longer than they’d ever been together before.
Pacing up and down the bright hallway of his house, Jack took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his rapid heartbeat. It was just the fact he’d be spending so much time with Oscar, it was what they’d be doing. Jack had secretly planned out seven dates for them to go on, though of course, the fact that they were dates was something he hadn’t shared with Oscar. Still, if they went well… No, Oscar surely didn’t like him back. He was just so much cooler than Jack - there was no way he saw his dearest friend as anything more.
But Jack had always been an optimist, and he planned to tell Oscar how he felt at the end of this week of dates. How badly could it really go? Their friendship was far too strong for anything to come between them!
A loud knock on the door made Jack stop in his tracks, a chill of anxious anticipation running through him as he slowly made his way over to the door. This was it, he told himself. The beginning of what could be the greatest week of my life.
Jack opened the door, and had to look at the floor to stop himself from openly staring at Oscar. He stood just outside with his hands in the pockets of his red hoodie, a small smile beginning to spread across his face. His hair seemed more tousled than usual, as though it had been blown by the wind, and his green eyes were bright, intense, the sun reflecting in them and making them glitter.
“Hi, Jacky,” he said softly. “Can I come in?”
Jack realised that he’d been so focused on not staring at Oscar - something he was failing spectacularly at, by the way - that he’d completely zoned out. Blinking a couple of times he nodded, backing a few steps into the hallway to let Oscar in, reaching up to cover his burning cheeks. Damnit, Oscar had been here all of two seconds and Jack was already losing it.
Oscar stepped inside, his gaze landing on Jack for a tiny moment before he abruptly wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a gentle hug. “It’s good to see you, my dearest friend,” he said in Jack’s ear before pulling back, that sweet, familiar grin on his face making Jack feel like he was going to melt. How he was going to last a whole week, he didn’t know.
“Good to see you too,” Jack managed to say, his heart pounding loudly in his ears. “Um… how was the journey here?”
“Tiring.” Oscar chuckled slightly. “Sitting on a plane for basically a full day will never be fun. But knowing I would soon be seeing you made it bearable.”
“Oh…” Jack blushed even more, and he ducked his head, turning around to lead Oscar into the living room. Maybe he was reading too far into it, but Oscar’s words sounded almost flirty. No, we’re dearest friends, of course he was looking forward to seeing me! He rationalised.
The two of them entered the living room, and Jack sat down on one of the sofas, half expecting Oscar to sit on the one opposite. But to his pleasant surprise, Oscar sat right next to him, flinging one arm across the back of the sofa. They were sitting so close that if Jack wanted, he could lean his head on Oscar’s shoulder. But he didn’t, even though he absolutely wanted to. That seemed a bit too far for now, but maybe he’d get another chance later.
“So,” Oscar turned to face him, and Jack snapped out of his wandering thoughts. “You said last week you have things planned for every day?”
“Yeah, that’s right.” Jack nodded quickly.
“What’s today’s thing, then? It better not be too tiring… I’m pretty jet-lagged.” As though to prove his point, Oscar yawned, blushing with embarrassment instantly afterwards. Jack felt his heart swell with how adorable it was.
“Nah, don’t worry, it’s gonna be chill,” Jack assured him. “You can go sleep now if you want, we won’t be doing anything until much later.
Oscar raised his eyebrows, leaning forwards curiously. “Why? What are we doing?”
“That’s a surprise, silly.”
“Can’t I get a hint?”
“No, because that’ll just spoil what it is.” Jack threw a cushion at him, his nervousness melting away as he fell into the familiar cycle of exchanging banter with his dearest friend. “All I’m gonna say is we won’t be doing it during the day.”
“Hmm… a night-time activity, huh?” Oscar thought for a moment, then grinned playfully. “Yet you claim it won’t be tiring–”
“Shut uup!” Jack laughed, deeply blushing. “No wonder our viewers think we’re dating, with how dirty-minded you are sometimes.”
“Well, tell me what we’re doing then!” Oscar was laughing too, which of course only made Jack laugh harder.
“I can’t, Oscar! I want it to be a surprise!”
“You’re no fun, Jacky boy.”
“It’ll be more fun if it’s a surprise!”
“Fiiine.” Oscar crossed his arms, attempting to look like he was sulking, but he couldn’t keep the wide smile off his face. “Will you at least tell me how long I have to wait?”
Jack glanced at the clock on the mantlepiece - it was around early afternoon by this point, though it felt much later, mainly because Jack had been up since 5am getting ready for Oscar’s arrival. “Uh… I’ll say about fifteen hours,” he concluded.
Oscar sighed dramatically. “That’s like, four in the morning! What in the world are you planning?!”
“You’ll see.” Jack gave Oscar a gentle push. “Now go and sleep! You’re gonna need rest if you want to be ready for tonight.”
“Noooo…” Oscar protested, but he yawned again, suddenly looking quite sleepy.
“Go on!” Jack giggled, standing up and turning to gaze at Oscar with a warm smile. “I’ll wake you around seven or eight, ok? We can eat dinner and then head out.”
Oscar sighed and stood up, giving a slight look in Jack’s direction as he made his way towards the door. It was the briefest of glances, and yet Jack was sure he caught some deep expression in Oscar’s eyes. His mind began replaying it over and over as he heard Oscar trudge slowly upstairs, and the more he pondered it, the more he remembered that glint in Oscar’s beautiful gaze, the more he was sure he’d seen love reflected in it.
And it was not the sort of love reserved for dearest friends. No, this was something more - at least, Jack desperately hoped it was.