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“Ok so, never have I ever… skipped school?”
“Wow, very creative, Elmer.” said Jack, as he took a sip of his beer, so did almost everyone. The only exceptions were Davey and Buttons.
“I’m sorry, man. I’m really awful at this.” Elmer chuckled, scratching his neck.
They had been playing Never Have I Ever for a while now. It was time for the monthly meetup of their big group. Ever since they went to college, it was rare to spend time with everyone at once, so they were glad that they all found the time in their summer break.
Race only came back a few hours ago, living all across the country. But there was no way he would be missing that party. After all, he was more than excited to meet all his friends again. Especially his best friend, Albert, who was sitting next to him and was currently teasing Elmer, which he apparently loved to do.
He grinned, staring a bit too long at Albert’s red hair, repressing the urge to run his hands through it. Yes, Race was in too deep. As soon as he realized he was crushing on his best friend back when they were sixteen, it was over for him.
Of course, he kept this secret to himself. He didn’t want to ruin the special connection he shared with Albert, they were friends as long as he could remember. No chance he would endanger that by confessing his love to the redhead, which was most likely unrequited anyway.
Just then Mush spoke up, interrupting Race’s thoughts, who had to realize he was still staring. Luckily Albert didn’t seem to notice. He quickly averted his gaze.
“Does anyone have some ideas? This is getting ridiculous, Jack is almost blackout drunk and Crutchie and Davey haven’t had a single drop of alcohol yet!” Jack looked like he wanted to complain about that statement, but Katherine gestured to him to shut up instead.
“Oh come on, guys. You must be cheating!” Jojo chimed in.
“Nah, I’m not really surprised, Davey and Crutchie are too pure for that.” Katherine said, Crutchie only shrugged at that, Davey scratched his cheek, looking down sheepishly.
“Hey, we got an idea!” Mike shouted excitedly, his twin Ike wearing an evil grin on his face. “How about Never Have I Ever kissed Jack Kelly!” Both of them were cackling like the big idiots they were, both taking a huge gulp of their beers. Of course Jack made out with the twins, Race wouldn’t be surprised if he did with both of them at once.
In the very next second, you could see at least five faces freezing in shock. Or maybe, Race saw them, because he knew where to look. And he knew that he wore the same look on his face.
You see, Jack was a great friend. Though, it seemed, whenever you went out with him to party, he would end up kissing you. No, not kissing – He would start making out with you. As Jack was one of Race’s closest friends, he experienced this first hand. And that he was trying to forget, but now it felt like the twins smashed a brick directly into his face.
Maybe he could get away with it, as far as he remembered, only Jack knew about that particular night. Race often wished he was a little more drunk that night, so he could say he didn’t remember anything about that. But that was a lie, he was very well aware that it happened and so was Jack, unfortunately. Both agreed on never mentioning it though.
“What the fuck, is it that bad to admit that you guys kissed me?” Jack spoke up loudly, looking at no one in particular, more so he had his eyes fixed on his beer. Anyway, the people that were addressed with this, knew.
Romeo chuckled at this, grabbing his bottle and taking a huge gulp. “You are all cowards, it’s no news to any of us that Kelly kisses everyone when he’s had enough alcohol.”
Katherine just shrugged at this, Romeo was right after all. Plus, Kath had dated Jack for half a year. It was no surprise for anyone when she grabbed her bottle from the table in front of her. More surprising was that Kath’s girlfriend, Sarah, took the bottle from her and drank a bit herself.
“Sarah? Wha- I wasn’t really expecting that, I thought you were lesbian?” Romeo was seriously shocked.
“Yeah and you keep claiming that you’re straight, guess that ain’t that true.” Sarah deadpanned, which ended in Jojo laughing obnoxiously.
As Romeo kindly told Jojo to “Shut the fuck up”, Katherine began staring holes into Davey’s face, so did Sarah. The twins joined in shortly after.
Davey shifted, clearly uncomfortable with everyone gazing at him. He sighed, “Stop staring… I’ll only drink if Crutchie does too.”
“Well, if that’s what you’re waiting for?”, said Crutchie, grabbing his bottle. “Cheers, Davey!”
“That wasn’t surprising either. So, does anyone have another idea or should we play another game now?” Henry was clearly bored with this game by now. Race was too, if he was honest. “Hey, maybe we should pla-“ Race began talking, though he was interrupted by Jack.
“Hey, hey, slow down Racer… I think you’re trying to avoid something? But isn’t it a bit unfair that all the others had to drink?” Fuck him. That’s all Race could think right now, fuck you, Jack Kelly. If looks could kill, Jack would be a dead man now. As Race grabbed his bottle, he kept his deadly gaze fixed on Jack. He could burn in hell.
“Now, that’s really something I didn’t expect. Race? I thought you were the hopeless romantic, only wanting to get intimate with your significant other?” Elmer noted. Race looked at him, seeing the cheeky grin on the others’ face.
He also noticed Albert’s reaction, who was looking down at his lap. Race had a strong feeling that he fucked up. Well, wasn’t that great.
“Alcohol can be terrible. Wouldn’t have kissed him sober, no way.” Race felt sick. Albert was obviously upset, he knew him too well to not notice that.
Jack started complaining about what Race just said, but he didn’t listen to that.
“I’ll be out, having a smoke.” Race got up, fumbling for his cigarettes and lighter in his back pocket.
“Wait a sec, I’ll join ya!” Blink exclaimed, quickly jumping up, grabbing his light jacket.
Without a word, Spot took his beer bottle and joined the other two on their way out.
Once Race got out, he leaned against the cold stone wall of the summer house, which belonged to Jack and Crutchie’s foster mom, Medda. She was awesome and allowed Jack and all his friends to stay and party here.
He didn’t exactly ask for company. He would’ve rather been alone outside, trying to breathe normally and to not panic.
It has always been easy for Race to know how Albert felt. He had known the redhead for almost his entire life now, they met when they were only six years old and became best friends immediately. It was almost like they had a mental connection, they even could communicate without saying a single word.
And seconds before, when he was sitting right next to Albert, Race could feel how upset Albert was. He didn’t exactly know why, but it had to do with his confession about making out with Jack, that was sure.
Could Albert be in love with Race? Or was that just wishful thinking? The only way to find that out, was to ask him. But the thought alone made Race panic, what if he was just imagining things after all? What if-
“Race? Are you okay?” Race’s head shot up. He hadn’t noticed Spot was trying to talk to him. He had a concerned look on his face, Race really must look miserable. Most people think Spot was only a hotheaded brute, but he was actually one of Race’s closest friends, the one who’d always be there with some advice. Sometimes, his advice wasn’t the best but it usually helped Race anyway.
“Y-Yeah, of course I am,” his voice cracked, displaying that he was indeed not okay and very much trying not to panic.
Spot moved to lean against the wall right next to Race and sighed. “It’s obvious you’re upset about something. I just gotta tell you, I’m sure no one in there judges you for the fact that you once had a thing with Jack or something.”
Race scoffed, “Sure, didn’t ya see Al’s face? I’m sure he thinks less of me now…” He dropped his head, one hand wiping over his face while he moved the other to his mouth, taking a deep drag of his cigarette before quickly dropping his arm back to his side.
“So that’s your problem, huh?” Spot spoke up after a while, “To be honest, I thought you were over your crush on him by now, guess I was wrong.”
Race let out a cold chuckle “Yeah, very wrong. I’d say I just didn’t want to whine about it all day and started keeping it to myself.”
“Wow, what healthy coping mechanism.” Blink added, gaining a deathly glare from Race.
“What do you know, Blink? Mush practically fell on his knees for you, you have no fucking clue what it feels like if your love is unrequited.”
“Well, who said that it is? You just gotta talk to Albert about it, the way he reacted right now was obviously not just him being disappointed in his best friend or whatever.” Spot rolled his eyes, he probably thought Race was being oblivious.
Race looked at him incredulously, “Yeah Spot, great idea. I tell him what I feel, and he tells me that he doesn’t think of me that way and then things will forever be awkward between us, if he doesn’t end our friendship right away!”
“You’re a coward, Race. We all know that Albert would never abandon you like that. And if you don’t have the balls to tell him, then stop whining and accept your fate. I’m heading back in.” Blink ranted, throwing his cigarette in the ashtray next to the door.
Race sighed heavily, he knew Blink was right. He feared being rejected by the most important person in his life.
Spot moved towards the ashtray, throwing his cigarette in too. He looked up and put a hand on Race’s shoulder, “Just… think about it. Take that weight off your shoulders and tell him what you feel.”
Race nodded and silently followed Spot back inside.
Back inside, they found all of their friends in a heated discussion about what they should play next. Romeo had pulled up Wikihow on his phone, probably looking up the rules to different party games. Over his head, Specs and Davey discussed some weird game, which Jack quickly voted down for being too complicated.
As Race sat back down in his old position on the floor in front of the couch, next to Albert, the latter looked up from his whispered conversation with Elmer. He quickly averted his gaze back to his feet though, clearly not wanting to meet Race’s eyes.
Race swallowed hard, eyes darting to Romeo as he jumped up, exclaiming that he found a game they could play.
“What about Seven Minutes in Heaven?” he sounded excited, but earned some confused gazes, obviously not everyone knew the game.
“How does that work, Romeo?” Davey asked.
“Ok so, first of all you need a separated room, best would be one that you can lock up and maybe doesn’t have too many things you can trip over, since it’s probably more fun if the room is completely dark,” he looked at Crutchie, who nodded at him and confirmed that they could use the closet right next to the living room.
“Great, then you choose two people, we could spin a bottle or draw names out of a bowl or something like that. These two will be put into the room together for seven minutes and can do whatever they want. What happens in the room, stays in the room, unless the two want to share. It’s important to let the other person know your boundaries though, else the game obviously isn’t fun.”
“Hey, wouldn’t it be more interesting if we only let the bottle choose one person and then we make them go into the room and collectively decide who’s gonna go in there with them, so that one doesn’t have a clue?” Specs chimed in, and everyone gave their approval to the idea.
“Well then, let’s get started!” Crutchie exclaimed, clearly excited about the game. He grabbed an empty bottle and set it on the table in front of him, giving it a spin.
They were already a few rounds in, nothing spectacular had happened yet. The only interesting thing so far was the content look on both Buttons’ and Jojo’s face as they came back from the bathroom, the latters’ hair clearly disheveled and Henry’s look at both of them, obviously filled with jealousy. They refused to share anything though and ignored every snide comment thrown at them.
Everyone agreed to knock on the door when the time was over, instead of slamming open the door, when they found Mush and Blink in the middle of a heated makeout session, Mush pressed against the wall and Blink fumbling with the zipper of his pants.
Race knew it was over for him when Blink spun the bottle and it pointed at Albert. Al reluctantly got up and closed the door behind him. Race had watched him go and when he looked back, everyone was staring at him.
“So… does everyone agree that we should send Race in?” Blink asked the crowd, and everyone nodded heavily.
Race sighed, “Really?”
“Yeah really, I think you two could use some talking anyway.” Elmer stated, and Race now wondered what Albert and Elmer were whispering about earlier.
He got up, followed by Spot, who was responsible for closing the door. Upon opening it, Spot shot him a thumbs-up and a small smile, which Race appreciated but couldn’t return in this situation.
Race silently took in the darkness of the room, as he heard a quiet whisper from next to him, “Race?”
The blond chuckled lightly, “It was obvious they’d send me here, right?”
“Yeah,” the redhead answered.
The situation was clearly awkward, and Race cleared his throat, desperately trying to build up some courage. He stepped up to where Albert stood, illuminated by the street lamp outside of the house, just bright enough so that Race could see the shorter boy’s face, and fuck, he was beautiful.
He hesitantly cupped Albert’s face and brought their lips together, melting into the touch as he felt the other move along, steadying his hands on Race’s shoulders.
As Race tried to deepen the kiss, he felt Albert tense up and the latter pulled away hastily, shoving Race lightly.
“Race, please don’t do this, I-“ he was interrupted by Race, who’s brain was running crazy right now.
“No, wait! Please, I just-“
“No Race. I… I don’t want this to be another stupid drunken mistake of yours. If you enjoy making out with your closest friends after you’ve had too much to drink, then fine. But not with me, I don’t think I’d be able to handle that.”
Race couldn’t believe what he just heard. “Albie, I- This is not what you thi-!”
“Race, I’ve been in love with you for years now! Do you have any fucking clue how much it hurts? You just go around, kissing guys like Jack and here I am, I never stood a chance with you! I’ll never be anything more than your best friend, and this jealousy is killing me!”
“Slow the fuck down, Albert, and listen to me for a change!” Race couldn’t help but raise his voice, as this seemed to be the only way to break through to the redhead. He took Albert’s hands in his and continued ranting. “I do have a good grasp on how much that hurts, considering the boy I’m in love with doesn’t even give me a minute to explain myself!”
Albert looked shocked, “Wh-what?” His voice was barely above a whisper.
“Exactly. Albie, I love you. I love you so fucking much, I can’t put it into words. This is not a drunk mistake. I’m not even feeling the alcohol, and this is for sure anything but a mistake. I wanted to tell you how I feel for so long now, but I was so scared of how you would react.”
There was a moment of silence between them, one that felt way too long for Race’s taste. Suddenly, he felt Albert’s arms around his neck and his slightly chapped lips meeting his. A second later, the blond wrapped his arms around the other boy’s waist and returned the kiss.
He could feel a hand finding its way into his locks, and he slightly bit into Albert’s lip, causing him to gasp. Race took advantage and started deepening the kiss, pulling the redhead closer.
They only parted once they ran out of air, foreheads still connected and both wearing a huge grin on their faces.
“I love you,” Albert’s voice was quiet, but it was enough, as long as Race could hear him.
“I love you too, Albie.” Race grinned, giving the other a peck on the nose, “So, what do you say? Would you do me the honor of being my boyfriend?”
Albert chuckled and nodded, pulling Race into a hug and burying his face in the crook of the taller boy’s neck.
After they stood like this for a while, they heard the knock on the door that indicated that their seven minutes were over. The door opened only seconds later, and Spot looked at Race expectantly.
The blond only smiled as he followed Albert back to the living room and settled back on the floor, back leaned against the couch.
“So? What did you two do?” Sarah asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
Race and Albert looked at each other, and both knew that neither had the urge to tell everyone immediately. Albert just shrugged, “Nothing much. Talked.”
No one quite believed them, and Elmer and Spot exchanged a knowing look. But that was for the future and that didn’t matter right now, as Race drew circles on the small of Albert’s back, impossible for anyone to see.