449A/N: blush Well gosh guys...you ROCK! I love you guys sooo much! thank's for all the support...and sorry for the wait..
Clayton came cashing in the door at four fifty-seven. Not the Aaron was staring at the clock.
"Clayton, please tell me you're sober…" Aaron stood, knowing the answer to the half-hearted question as he helped him to the sofa.
Clayton giggled…yes…giggled. "Of course not Aaron! I'm never sober!" He giggled again, letting himself be pushed onto the sofa, taking a firm grip on Aaron's shirt. "But…there's something…important to tell you…new guy…Alex…" He stopped, his voice grave, before he broke out in a huge grin and flopped back on the couch.
Aaron's eyebrows came together. "Alex?" He didn't know anyone who went by Alex, and he was fairly certain Clayton didn't either.
Clayton's head flopped from side to side. "I got laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaid." He sang out, waving his arms like a music conductor.
Aaron sighed again, examining the rumpled clothing and lipstick covered hickies littering his neck and the area exposed by his button down shirt. "I can see that my friend." He shook his head and turned off the table lamp besides Clayton's flailing hands. "Goodnight." He told him, tip-toeing over to the bathroom as lightly as he could. "Goodnight my love…" He told the door, kissing the fake wood lightly.
The sobbing continued unbroken.
The next morning, Alex was in the kitchen cooking cinnamon buns before dawn, singing lightly while swinging his hips from side to side.
Clayton groaned at one point and rolled over, taking the pillow with him and plunking it over his head with a huff, but Alex continued undeterred until Aaron woke up.
Aaron, sighed at the smells radiating through the apartment. Xander always made the buns after a particularly bad attack, but he never ever talked about it. Hell, half the time he pretended nothing strange had happened at all.
Aaron leaned against the door jam and watched his rather tiny boyfriend dancing around with the spatula. He remembered at one point, after one of these attacks, Alex had made buns and apologized in a quiet broken voice. Aaron hugged him, told him everything was fine and then they never spoke of it again.
"Oh!" Alex started, dropping the spatula and freezing in shock in the middle of the kitchen. He smiled wide, brushing a lock of blond from his face and bending to pick up the utensil. "Good morning Aaron." He told him, putting the spatula in the sink and grabbing another one.
Aaron nodded at him, smiling gently. "Good morning Love." His gentle voice rang.
Alex grinned again, taking a pan of fresh buns out of the oven. "So, today's Saturday, what's the plans?" He asked, setting them on the stove-top.
The other man's eyebrow rose. "I have practice from eight to noon, like usual, then I think Clayton said something about a party tonight at Rachel's." He came around, wrapping both arms tight around Xander's waist.
The smaller man sighed and leaned back into him. "A party? You hate parties." He asked, snuggling into his arm.
Aaron shrugged his opposite shoulder lightly, so not to move Alex. "Well…you don't. And, it's just a small thing anyway. A few of Rachel's friends, most of ours and some of the more wealthy transfer students." He grinned, rolling his eyes slightly at their friends desperate attempts at getting friends with lots of money.
Not that it was hard. It is Harvard after all.
Alex smiled back, "That's them alright, the richer the better right?" He used the spatula to cut the buns free of each other.
"Lets not digress." Aaron laughed, dropping a kiss to Alex's head.
The shorter man looked up at him, his dark honey brown eyes smoldering into Aaron's pale jade. Aaron's grin faded to a soft smile at the atmosphere heated up.
"Aaron…" His voice was airy before he stretched onto his toes and connected their mouths in a snug mesh.
Aaron's eyes closed and he swooped his neck to ease Alex's stretching, moving his hands to Alex's hips and holding him tightly to him.
Alex groaned slightly, putting more pressure between their bodies as sensually as he knew how, forcing an even slighter noise from Aaron's throat. The older man's hands drifted, one coming up Alex's chest, the other moving in sensual circles across Alex's pelvis. At the same time, Alex's hands had drifted behind him and up into thick auburn locks.
"Xander…I…" Aaron's voice whispered against his boyfriends lips. "I lo-"
"Oh my fucking god guys. It's not even six yet." Clayton was using his hung over voice, complete with the hung over face and body motions and standing in front of the couch looking a lot like zombie movie.
Aaron smiled and pulled away. "Sorry Clayton." He bent down and kissed Alex's forehead. "I'm going to shower baby."
The smaller man nodded and watched Clayton move over to the kitchen bar and leaning against it. "You my friend, look like shit." He informed, taking the pan over to his friend.
Clayton groaned and buried his face in his arms. "Damn it Xander, I'm going to hurl on you." His pale patriotic eyes glared out from his arms.
Alex just grinned. "Have fun at the party by the way?" He asked, taking a finger full of icing.
"It was pretty good." He grinned before plopping his head back down. "I had sex with this hot little red head who wasn't even wasted…I think. Then, we went down stairs and got drunk off our asses." After he was done he sniffled.
Xander rolled his eyes. "That sounds boring." He droned.
Clayton shrugged slightly, "I met this guy though…lots of money…said something about someone…" Clayton's almost invisible eyebrows came together in thought, trying in vain to sort through the random images of his drunken memories.
Xander blinked, rather unimpressed. "That's…nice?" He quirked, lifting a cooled cinnamon bun and taking a bite. "Was he hot?" He asked around the gooeyness.
Clayton's face turned disgusted, and he forgot all about the memory he was trying to piece together. "How the hell should I know?" He spat. "Either way though, he talked to Rachel, and she really liked him I think." He glowered, taking a bun from the pan after deciding if he was going to puke, he was going to puke food and not stomach acid.
Alex nodded, leaning more onto the counter and crossing his ankles behind him. "So, will whoever it is be at the party then?" He asked, taking another bite.
"Party?" The blond asked, confused.
"Yeah…at Rachel's?" Xander asked back, sounding just as confused.
Clayton blinked, stared at Alex with a blank look and then blinked again. "Huh?"
"Tonight at Rachel's, around eight." Aaron's tenor sounded from the entrance where he stood with a towel around his waist and one in his auburn hair that looked a rich brown when wet.
Clayton blinked again and then nodded, though his face clearly showed he'd forgotten. "Yeah…that. I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. All I know is he was different." Clayton shrugged and bit into his breakfast.
Aaron rolled his eyes with a grin at their best friend. "I'm going to dress, eat and leave okay babe?" He addressed his boyfriend, smiling softly and then turning to the bedroom.
Clayton sighed, "See, why can't I have that?" He asked, munching loudly. "I mean, don't get me wrong I like my little flings and all…but…there are sometimes…I just want what you have."
Alex nodded understandably. "I can understand, Aaron's pretty attractive." He teased, laughing at Clayton's face.
The natural blond shrugged. "You know what man? Never mind. You can have your happy ever after, I'll keep my blond roots." He snipped, finishing off his breakfast before picking himself up and heading down the hall.
"Bite me." Xander growled, turning to face him.
Clayton shrugged and cackled down the hall, "And now? I'm going to go shampoo my natural blondness, and you shall be forever jealous!" He called down the hall, winking at Aaron as he exited the bedroom.
Alex rolled his eyes and watched Aaron come over to him, dropping a kiss to his forehead and picking out cinnamon bun before grabbing his sax and heading out of the door. Alex sighed, he always had this irrational sorrow for his boyfriend's clarinet, which stood lonely until concert season.
Aaron said it had something to do with the neck strap and marching. Personally Xander thought it was mean. But…you know…he wasn't in band…so…he guessed it doesn't matter.
Either way Alex covered the pan with plastic and put it in the fridge before going to the bedroom and changing into his day clothes. He picked up his cell phone and sighed at the missed call from Christina, he didn't know where the hell she was, but she had the oddest hours ever.
He held down the three and waited for the speed dial and waited the seven rings he knew it would take to get to her voices mail.
Hola, this is Christina, leave a message and, if I deem you worthy I might call you back. If not, don't take it personally. I'm busy. Regardless, you know what to do at the beep. Ciao.
Alex chuckled at the fact that she started with Spanish and ending in Italian every time he heard it. "Hey Christina, this is Xander. Thought I'd return your call and three in the morning. How many times do I have to tell you to just leave a message? Either way, I'm probably going to be out with Clayton most of the day…and there's a party tonight. I'll try to call you back later okay? Love you, and I'll talk to you later." He hung up and put the phone back.
"Are you ever going to tell us exactly who that is?" Clayton asked, entering the room in a towel and going to his drawer in Aaron's dresser.
Alex shrugged, "It's a friend from high school, I told you." He said flippantly, pulling a stripped polo over his head.
Clayton sighed. "Whatever Xander." He shrugged, dressing quickly and exiting the room with his friend. "So, what's the plan today?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Oh, you mean you're not hung over?" He sneered, jarring his friend in the arm with his elbow.
"I'm plenty hung over, but, why let the ruin the day right?" He threw an arm over the shorter man and grinned. "So, seriously, what the plan?"
Alex sighed as they left the apartment. "Well, we do have a paper due soon, on our opinion of the newest diabetic blood readers we could study for…" He suggested, pushing the down arrow on the elevator and entering when the doors opened.
Clayton just looked for a moment before cracking up with Xander. "Seriously though, what are we going to do?"
They ended up going over to Rachel's.
"What the fuck guys, the party is in like," The tall, tiny brunette checked her watch. "Another twelve hours." She groaned, rubbing her eye and opening the door wider with a groan.
Alex smiled the three inches up at her. "Yeah, but, we're not here for the party…" He suggested, putting on his best fake sultry face.
Her face was utterly unimpressed, "Well sorry boys, fresh out of that. Xander, you can come back when you think I could actually get it up and Clayton…" She paused, "Why don't you just not come back." She glared, opening up the mini fridge in her off-campus housing unit and pulling out a Red Bull.
Clayton laughed and plopped on her couch and turned on the T.V.
The woman rolled her eyes. "I'm starting to doubt you even have a room somewhere Clay." She informed, tilting the can at them both as a means of offering, both of whom declined. She shrugged her shoulders and chugged half of it before her kohl lined hazel eyes turned to Xander. "So, what brings you about?" She asked.
He shrugged and leaned against the counter. "Aaron is at band practice, and I get sick of just sitting around the house."
She nodded, chugged the can completely and tossed it in the recycle bin. "Penelope will be by later by the way…" She hinted, ignoring the blaring from the television.
The short male glared at her. "I'm not going to talk to a psychologist Rachel, I don't need to."
She dropped the glare that formed and took on a more sensitive approach. "Look, all I'm saying is that you need to talk to someone, because these…'attacks'" She whispered the word "Aren't normal. I don't know if you've repressed something your rich daddy did or them ignoring you or an ex boyfriend, but seriously Xander…"
He glared harder and crossed his arms. "There is nothing wrong with me or how I act, so I'm not going to talk to anyone." He raised his chin defiantly and looked straight into her now slightly annoyed hazel eyes.
Rachel stared back, buying into his little contest, even though she knew Xander always won. "Well…what about Sarah…"
Alex slammed a fist on the counter. ""I'm not talking about nothing to Penelope or Sarah, because that's just what it is! Nothing! I don't need psychologists telling me that nothing is wrong with me so I won't do it!" His dark eyes flashed. (1)
Rachel held her hands up in surrender. "Okay fine, lets just calm down. No use getting in this old argument with a party tonight right?" She shrugged and lifted off the counter, heading over to the sofa to sit with Clayton. "So did you meet the guy I told you about last night? Or were you too caught up with Delilah?" She nudged, picking up the remote and changing it to a hockey game.
Clayton nodded absently, his eyes catching on the woman next to him. "I…I think so..? Who's Delilah?" He asked, shaking his head at the thought running through his mind...thought that always ran through his mind when it came to Rachel.
Xander plopped on the other side of her. "I assume that would the redhead you fucked babe." He droned, leaning back on the arm of the sofa and throwing his legs over Clayton's lap.
Clayton blinked and shrugged. "I wasn't that preoccupied with her…"
"Oh please! You guys came down stairs holding hands and hardly left each other's side!" She spat out, ignoring the game all together.
Clayton glared back, "Is there a problem with that if we did?" He demeaned, tossing Xander off of him and sitting straighter.
Rachel shrugged and sat back, her face the very essence of 'I don't give a fuck'. "No, why the fuck would there be a problem?" She spat back.
He glared harder, "I don't know Rach, why would there be a problem?"
Xander stood, and backed out quietly, at the door by the time they were standing and shouting.
Alex sighed and left the house quietly, putting his hands in his pockets and heading towards the commons. He really had nothing to do until around one when Aaron would get home…they ran the marching band ragged.
He wandered aimlessly through the commons and courtyard, trying to ignore his friends argument. See, they were so painfully in love with each other and…it was kind of like deja'vu.
But whatever he guessed, it was their business. And yes, he was going to completely ignore the conversation with Rachel. Thank you very much.
He watched some of the more athletic students tossing a foot ball around with a smile, and then froze.
There…in the middle of the football game…a little taller…a little paler…
No. Alex felt his mind start to cave as he backed up quickly. No, no, no, no, no!
He turned quickly, running as fast as he could towards his apartment complex, bumping into several people and even pushing one to the ground. None of it mattered.
Because there…in the middle of the fucking courtyard of Alex's perfect little life.
Tyler fucking Kimbal.
A/N: (1): Not a dramatically error I promise, see, go reread it...it makes sence.