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It started with something small. Eric just needed something to keep his hair out of his face while he studied, so he borrowed some of Morgan's hair clips. Cute sparkly blue ones with butterflies on the ends. No one knew Eric used these clips but Jack, and he only knew because he lived with the guy. Plus, Shawn was barely home during the times they studied, either in school or at Chubbie's.
Jack couldn't stop glancing at the hair clips. Both because they looked ridiculous and because they looked cute. Though he'd never say it to Eric's face.
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After the hair clips comes the hair tie. Eric went back to the scene of the crime (Morgan's bedroom) and stole another item, a scrunchie. With spring turning into summer, the long hair was becoming a nuisance to Eric, but not enough to warrant cutting it off! So he took a nice lime green scrunchie from Morgan's room and has been tying his hair back almost every day since. Jack thought he looked like some period drama love interest or maybe a pirate. He told Eric this, but only the pirate part.
"Hey, man. Your hair's coming in nice, you look like a pirate like that."
Eric swung his head around at the comment, making the bits at the front that wouldn't fit into the ponytail fall in his face. Jack couldn't help but burst out laughing at how dumb it made him look.
"Pfft.. nevermind, I take it back. You look like a dog."
Eric scoffed in mock offense but let the insult go because he knew Jack didn't mean any harm.
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The third time Jack couldn't stop staring at Eric's hair was when he came home with two little pigtails. He said Morgan caught him in her room and said she'd let Eric keep the stuff he's already stole but only if he lets her practice making the French braid on his hair. They didn't turn out half bad, the only thing making the hairdo stand out being that Morgan decided to finish the braids of with bright red ribbons. Making Eric look like Dorothy's ugly step-sister.
Eric also notes this because the first thing he says to Jack, before even explaining why he has the pigtails, is "Oh, Toto, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!" in a sickly sweet Southern belle accent.
The braids really don't suit him since they are tied a bit tight, making Eric's head look huge without his usual flow of hair. But Eric seemed to like how hassle-free they were and eventually it became a weekly thing between Eric and Morgan. That way she could experiment with new styles of braids and Eric could walk around the apartment without hair going in his mouth or up his nose every two seconds.
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Soon, word got out that Eric Matthews was letting his sister braid his hair. And instead of receiving any backlash, it actually made him popular with the ladies because now they either gave him their numbers because they found him endearing or because they wanted to style his hair too. Apparently, Pennbrook has a special beautician program Jack's never heard of.
Eric agreed to let them play with his hair so long as no one cut or dyed it. He often came home with his hair looking even crazier than before, either combed up and sprayed into some kind of bird's nest or twisted and tied with accessories put in. Some were just bizarre creations that Eric couldn't even defend, but some were actually nice and suited Eric's face.
There was one that this Bohemian chick did that was arguably Jack's favorite of the bunch. Eric's hair was curled and wavy with small flowers placed all around his head. There was even some glitter thrown on there that Jack was immediately worried would clog the shower drain. But after worrying about the drain, Jack finally got a good look at Eric and was almost blown away with just how… pretty the guy looked. Jack noticed there was also glitter on Eric's face, which he wasn't sure if it was from his hair hitting his face or because the hairstylist girl did that. It was all too much and Jack couldn't help thinking Eric looked like some Greek god or mythical forest creature.
Eric caught Jack staring after he'd said nothing the whole 5 minutes Eric was talking to him. He raised an eyebrow, coming closer to Jack's face and waving a hand in front of it. He snapped back after a few seconds but still didn't say much other than "Dude, what is in your hair?" as if trying to breeze past the fact that he was caught staring.
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The Eric hair craze died down soon after it began. This, Jack was grateful for because too often Eric came home with knots and tangles that Jack had to fix. Many of the beauty school students doused Eric's head with hairspray to hold their styling. But Eric, being the airhead he is, often forgot about the hairspray and would run his fingers through his stiff hair, causing tangles to form. Tangles that wouldn't even get out after a shower.
So here Jack was. Spending a Friday night at home. With Eric. Untangling his hair. His wet messy hair.
Jack was on the couch and Eric sat on the floor, they looked like mother and child. A horrific thought indeed.
After a lot of gentle combing, Jack was able to get the knot out. He's become a sort of pro at detangling hair now because Eric asked him to do this so often. Eric's hair is now mostly dry, save for some damp ends. And Jack unconsciously starts playing with the hair. They put a movie on back when Eric initially sat down and Jack started untangling. Now they were both so immersed in the movie that neither one of them thought to move and just kept watching from where they were seated, Eric munching on homemade popcorn and Jack making a pseudo-braid. All those years having to do his little sister's hair caught up to him and the next time he looked down at his hands he saw two small braids, one on each side, connected at the middle to form a sort of crown on the back of Eric's head. The rest of his hair was out but the 2 braid worked to keep everything back.
Before Jack could think up a way to explain how he knows how to braid hair. Eric turns around and just says, "Dude! This is awesome! I didn't know you could do things like this!"
Jack was once again blown away. The overwhelming amount of positivity coming from Eric made Jack forget all about his anxiety and self-criticism for "not being manly enough". He just watched Eric as he scurried off to the bathroom to see his reflection. Laughing at how much Eric resembled a puppy.
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"Jack, do you think I should cut my hair?"
"Why do you ask that? I thought you said you were never going to cut it again."
"Yeah, but… I dunno. I overheard these guys talking and I'm pretty sure they were talking about me. Something about long hair makes me look gay and like a sissy… And of course I don't believe them, they were probably just jealous of all the lady attention I got back then.. but-"
"But it still hurt." Jack finished his sentence for him.
There was a pause where Jack just let Eric think over his thoughts before saying, "Well, Eric, I know you really liked your long hair but if you want to cut it, make sure you're doing it for you and not some random guy who obviously can't rock the hair like you do. Me, personally, I think your long hair is really nice. You can have a whole range of looks that guys with short hair just can't! No one can look better as a pirate than you, my friend."
Eric laughed at that last bit. Feeling better about himself, he stood and said, "Yeah, no one but I can pull this hair off! Not even you, Jackie." emphasizing his point by ruffling Jack's hair.
Jack retaliated by doing the same to Eric and ruffling his hair. It turned into an impromptu battle where neither wanted to back down. They eventually had to stop when Jack's hand got caught in Eric's hair because with more hair comes more tangles. They were laid out on the floor, both huffing from how much energy their little "fight" took out of them. With the fog of giggles and revenge lifted, Jack now noticed how close the two were, Eric just barely hovering over him. Their faces just inches apart.
"Wow, I never noticed you had freckles on your nose, Jack. I guess you can't really see them unless you're this close."
Silence. Jack was scared to look up at Eric's face but he could feel Eric still staring at him.
"Jack… remember when I was teaching you how to pick up girls and I was 'loving you with my eyes'?"
Eric waited for a response that didn't come. After about 10 more seconds, he just said "Jack, look at me."
Jack hesitated but eventually did look up and saw the same look Eric gave him months ago. This time however, it was more intense, like Eric was actually loving Jack with his eyes. It would have been a picture perfect romance scene, if it weren't for Jack's hand still stuck in Eric's hair. That was the only thing stopping Eric when he bent down, looking at Jack's lips.
The hair tugged, Eric exclaimed right into Jack's face, and the moment was ruined. Jack apologized and they spent about 30 minutes detangling the hair. It would've been shorter if Eric didn't feel the need to keep turning around and further making knots and further assaulting Jack's ears with his screams. But, when it was finally done and Jack announced this, Eric quickly turned around and pounced on Jack. Hands on shoulders, pinning him to the back of the couch and sitting on his lap.
Eric was mere inches from smashing into his face to ask, "You are aware that I was going to kiss you, right? Y'know, before the whole hair and tangles thing."
Jack, trying to process what's just happened and what Eric's just said, replies "Uh.. yeah, I realized that's what you were going for back there, yeah." But, he says it in a low tone, still nervous.
"And uh, you.. You want me to kiss you? I'm right on that, right?" Eric sounded less nervous than Jack but there was still a twinge of worry in there.
This was the moment Jack had been avoiding. He has to confront his feelings and admit to himself that he does in fact find Eric incredibly attractive and yes, he's thought about how girls must feel when Eric kisses them. He can't keep ignoring them because deep down he knows that he does want Eric to kiss him. It takes some effort but eventually Jack says,
"I.. Y-yeah, you're right. I do.. want you to kiss me." His eyes are downcast again, looking anywhere but at Eric's face. His face a splotchy red mess. He could feel the heat all the way to his scalp, he was that embarrassed.
Eric noted this and said, "Well that's sweet but I can't kiss you if you won't look at me, Jackie." He chuckles as he tapped Jack's chin to make him look up. Once their eyes connected, Eric had a delicate smile on his face as he said "Hi"
Jack couldn't help but laugh, returning the same smile and also saying "Hi"
Eric's hands cupped Jack's face as their lips connected and Jack fought himself from freezing again. They kept kissing but eventually their positions had to change and Jack was the one holding Eric's face, mainly to keep the hair from falling in his face and tickling Jack's nose.