Chapter Text
"Shit."
The word left Alex's mouth before he'd even realised. From the corner of his eye, he saw his project partner look up from his textbook to stare at him inquisitively.
"You alright, man?" Willie asked. His gentle gaze made Alex's cheeks flush.
When Dr. Martin had paired Alex and Willie together for their etymology project, part of him couldn't believe his luck. The other part of him had instantly been filled with dread.
Whenever Alex was around Willie, he always seemed to find a way to endlessly embarrass himself. The first day they'd met, Alex had somehow managed to spill tea all over his crotch. Then, another day, Willie had asked for a pen. Not only had Alex accidentally emptied his entire backpack onto the floor somehow, but he'd also bumped his head on the desk after picking up all of his things.
Willie had always been extremely nice, though, despite Alex's clumsiness, but Alex could only imagine what prolonged exposure to Willie would do to him. So far, there hadn't been any huge mishaps... but then again, they'd only been at the library for 15 minutes.
"Um..." Alex rubbed the back of his neck as he stared down at his phone screen. "It's nothing."
Willie furrowed his eyebrows, looking toward Alex's screen. "You sure?" he asked. "People don't usually swear at their phones for no reason."
Alex sighed, turning his phone over and over in his hands. He glanced at Willie who was looking at him with those entrancing, soft brown eyes. "I... okay, um... basically, my parents are expecting me to come home for Christmas." he said, brushing back his hair. Willie hummed quietly.
"Where's home for you?"
"Sacramento," Alex replied, fiddling with the ring around his finger.
Willie was still staring at him curiously, a smile on his face that Alex trusted intrinsically. "That's a pretty far drive," Willie said, gently nudging Alex's knee with his own. "Do you not... want to go home for Christmas?"
If Alex weren't feeling so distressed, he would've noticed the sudden warmth against his knee... but unfortunately, his mind just so happened to be elsewhere.
"I don't not wanna go. I mean, it'll be nice to see my brothers again. It's just..." Alex sighed and rubbed his forehead. "They texted me and told me there's this girl from church that they want me to meet."
Willie smirked. "Meet like meet or meet like..." He held up his left hand and wiggled his ring finger mockingly, wiggling his eyebrows as he did so. Alex couldn't help but chuckle.
"The second one. Even though they both know that--"
"--You already have a girlfriend?"
Alex paused, slipping his ring off his finger and twisting it around slowly. "Actually, I was gonna say 'even though they both know I don't like girls'."
"Oh!" Willie replied, his eyebrows raised just a touch. Alex noticed the way the corner of his lips perked up just a touch, too. "Mm... that's really rough. I'm sorry."
Alex knew Willie was probably just being polite, but his words felt... sincere; not like a hollow courtesy. He smiled and shrugged. "It is what it is, right?" he replied. "Plus, I've never actually had a boyfriend, so it's not like I could really prove my gayness to them, or... whatever. Not that it needs proving, but..." Alex deflated, tapping his foot in a random, non-sensical beat. "Part of me wishes I had something to rub in their faces when they're being deliberately obtuse, you know?"
Willie hummed, an unreadable smile on his face. "Yeah," he said quietly, "I get it."
Alex smiled, letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Sorry for oversharing."
"It's cool, man," Willie said, bumping their shoulders together. "That's what friends are for, right?"
Friends?
Alex knew it was silly to get so excited about a rudimentary title, but... it felt good to mentally upgrade Willie from 'cute guy in my history of English class' to 'friend'.
"Yeah. Right." Alex looked down at his book in a feeble attempt to hide his growing smile. "I guess we should probably get back to work, huh?" He looked up, only to find Willie looking at him strangely. Alex didn't know how to read the smile on his face. "What?"
Willie simply shook his head, folding over one of the corners in his textbook. "Nothing," he said, pushing the book towards Alex. Willie looked away then; Alex found himself missing his gaze. "I found the Indo-European root for our word, right here."
Alex mouthed a silent 'oh' and took the book, Willie's unknowable smile now firmly imprinted into the forefront of his brain.
Alex sighed and rested his head back against Luke's shin from where he was sitting on the floor, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars they'd stuck to the ceiling the night he, Luke, Reggie, and Bobby had moved in together.
As soon as the four of them had graduated high school, they'd all moved to Los Angeles in hopes of catching their 'big breaks'. So far, six months into their move, they'd only been able to book small gigs, but... they were so close to making it big, Alex could practically feel it.
They were all hanging out in the living room with Julie, Luke's coworker-turned-friend-turned-something else. They'd met when Luke applied for a job at a local music store and had instantly hit it off. At least, that had been the version of the story Luke had told them.
"How long are you gonna be home for?" Bobby asked, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table.
"From the 24th to the 26th," Alex said, hugging his knees to his chest. "I told them I had to work the rest of the break."
"But you don't have a job," Reggie supplied unhelpfully. Alex just stared at him for a moment until realisation flooded his features. "Ohh... right."
"Just don't go," Luke said, nudging Alex's butt with his foot. "Spend Christmas with us."
Alex groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. "I can't not go, Luke, it's... you know what my folks are like."
"That's why I think you shouldn't go."
"Why don't you bring someone?" Julie asked. Alex pretended not to notice the way she leaned into Luke's shoulder just the slightest bit.
He furrowed his eyebrows. "Like a date?"
Julie shrugged. "Or a friend. It might make them lay off if you bring someone they think they need to impress," she said slowly. "You know... it's like how weirdly polite all parents get around new people."
A mischievous smile that Alex immediately didn't trust began to grow on Luke's face. "You could bring a date," he said. Alex didn't like the way his eyes were twinkling with mirth.
He elected to ignore it, humming and looking down at Luke's vans instead as he began slowly untying them. "I guess I could ask Carrie," he mumbled. "She's rich, white, and a girl. They'd probably like her."
Bobby smirked and sat up. "I don't think Luke means a girl-date."
Alex paused, winding Luke's shoelace around his index finger. "You mean--"
"--A guy!" Luke said, bouncing enthusiastically. If he noticed Alex beginning to coil and tie his shoelaces together, he didn't say anything. "Think of it as a... Christmas surprise for your parents."
Alex rolled his eyes. Luke had always been the hell-raiser among the four of them.
"Who do you suggest I bring then?" Alex asked, gesturing vaguely around their living room. "Aside from Julie, who's immediately disqualified for being a girl, my parents have met all three of you enough times to know that I'd never date any of you."
"Hey!" Reggie protested. "Words hurt..."
Alex chuckled as he watched Reggie petulantly cross his arms. "No offence, Reg, but you're just not my type."
"What about that barista from Spoons?" Bobby asked. "The one who's always hitting on you. I'm sure he'd do it."
"The barista from Spoons? You mean the 'extra hot latte for my favourite extra hot customer' barista from Spoons?" Alex exclaimed, holding back the urge to vomit. "I'd rather make out with Sue-Ellen from church in front of my parents. Thanks though, Bee."
The five of them fell silent. Alex could feel an uncomfortable weight beginning to press against his chest the longer the silence sustained for. It was beginning to get hard to breathe. "I don't know why I'm even entertaining this! Why would I wanna piss my parents off on purpose?" he exclaimed, sitting up and resting his elbows against his knees. He was trying to level his breathing when he felt Luke's hand gently squeezing his shoulder.
"'Cause your parents are dicks," he said quietly. He pulled away from Alex's shoulder and slung an arm around Julie's shoulders in an attempt to look nonchalant. "It's just a little payback."
"You don't have to do it if you don't want to," Julie said. Luke begrudgingly nodded beside her. "It's up to you."
Alex sighed. For the first 15 years of his life, he'd tried so hard not to make any noise; tried to be the calm to combat against his brothers' crazy... he'd done everything right. But he hadn't, not really. When he came out, his parents praise had disappeared; it had been replaced with sharp words and sudden, deliberate losses of memory.
Alex had tried so hard to be perfect for so long, and had nothing to show for it. Maybe it would feel good to finally make a little noise.
He sighed and stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets. "You guys are sweet for caring, but I can find a fake boyfriend on my own." Alex walked into his room and shut the door. He could hear quiet talking and the sounds of shuffling in the living room before he heard a loud crash and Luke's distinct yell.
"When did my shoelaces get tied together?!"
A week had gone by and Alex still hadn't managed to find a solution to his fake-date issue. He'd cycled through his entire repertoire of male friends, yet somehow not a single person was the right fit.
Alex walked into the library and slumped into his usual study carrel, pulling out his laptop and his copy of The Essays of Michel de Montaigne, hoping that Montaigne could somehow feel his disdain from beyond the grave.
"Alex!"
Alex froze in place, the sound of a familiar voice soaking his ears. Okay, so maybe he hadn't gone through his entire repertoire of eligible guys.
"Willie! Hey!" Alex said, giving Willie a bewildered smile. There was no doubt in his mind that he probably looked slightly manic, if not completely unhinged. Luckily, Willie didn't seem to notice.
"How are you? I haven't heard from you since we handed in our project and classes ended," Willie asked, resting a single (somehow gorgeous) forearm on the partition connected to Alex's desk.
Alex shrugged sheepishly. "Busy with finals, I guess," he said, giving Willie what he hoped was a subtle glance over.
Of course, even during the middle of finals season, he still managed to look perfect. Meanwhile, Alex was on his seventh day of wearing the same hoodie and pants combination. He simply did not have time to do laundry right now.
"So, um... have you figured out your Christmas situation?" Willie asked, nibbling on the corner of his lip.
Alex raised his eyebrows, a small, disbelieving smile on his face. "You remembered?" When Willie nodded and returned his smile, for a moment, Alex forgot how to breathe. "Not really," he said, tapping his fingers against the wooden desk. "My roommates and I came up with a plan, but it's kind of... silly."
Willie wiggled his eyebrows cheekily. "I love silly," he said. "Hit me."
Alex tried to look for any hints of judgement on Willie's face. When he found none, he chuckled and ducked his head bashfully. "Um... okay, basically, I'm trying to find a fake boyfriend who'll come home to Sacramento with me and help me piss off my parents."
A few silent moments passed before Willie started to giggle quietly. Alex couldn't help but join him. There was nothing sharp or cruel about Willie's laughter either, it was just pure, unbridled joy.
"That's... that's a plan alright," Willie said, a high chuckle still in his voice. "I'm guessing you haven't found Mr. Right yet?"
Alex shook his head. "There's only a week and a half 'til Christmas and all my friends are booked up." He adjusted his cap and smirked. "Can you believe I actually considered asking Dr. Martin?"
Willie fell silent then, a contemplative look on his face. Alex watched him carefully trace the scratches in the desk with his index finger.
"I mean... I don't have a PhD but I've been told that I'm a pretty great date," Willie said, biting down on his lower lip.
All the air left Alex's lungs. He could feel the tips of his fingers beginning to tingle with anticipation. "Yeah?" he asked weakly.
Willie released his lip and shrugged. "Yeah."
"You got any tattoos?"
Willie paused before tugging up the sleeve of his t-shirt over his shoulder, revealing a simple line drawing of a ghost hovering over a skateboard. Alex's eyes traced the lines of the tattoo. The view of his bicep was also... appreciated.
"I have more, but they're in awkward places," Willie said. "I don't think we know each other well enough yet for me to show you those." Then, he winked, and Alex briefly thought he would never be the same afterwards.
"My parents hate tattoos," Alex said with an awkward laugh. He slipped his hoodie sleeves over his rapidly warming hands. "You got any Christmas plans?"
"Nope," Willie said, leaning his hip against Alex's desk. "My Uncle is performing on a cruise ship all December, so... I was just gonna hang at the skatepark and get take out."
Alex nodded slowly, his brain chewing through all the new information he was receiving. "Are you being serious?" he asked finally. "Because I'm kind of in a bind and you'd be really helping me out."
"Serious as a heart attack," Willie replied with a blinding grin. He held his hand over his heart. "If you'll have me."
Before he could really register what he was doing, Alex was nodding. "Yeah! Yeah, that would be... I think you'll do great." He hesitated before giving Willie a smaller, more genuine smile. "Thank you, Willie."
Willie shrugged and smiled, pulling his phone out of his pocket and sliding it towards Alex. "Gimme your number and we can get together sometime to... plan."
Alex nodded, wordlessly typing his number into Willie's phone before handing it back.
Willie looked down at his contact and smiled before slipping his phone back into his pocket. Alex wished more than anything that he knew what that smile meant. "I'll see you around, Sunshine."
Alex watched as Willie walked off, his mouth dry and heart bounding in his chest. In just a week and a half, he would be spending three days at home with the guy he'd had a crush on all semester, pretending to date him for his homophobic parents.
What could possibly go wrong?