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Looking back, it all seems rather surreal.
How far they had all come in what felt like the time it would take for one to blink.
To give a better perspective, as Rian might say, imagine one might sitting a dark room. Then, imagine that dark little room was suddenly filled with light. Not the sort which blinds and makes pupils strain in a harmful matter; a light where it warms inside and out. Where it feels like nothing can ever happen so long as it is around to protect.
And that's how it had been, since the beginning.
Of course, the beginning. That was a broad statement, considering how many sides to the same puzzle there was. Each of them hit their own epiphanies and found their own starting points. Zack was stubborn enough in his belief that it all began after a particularly hard calculus test in senior year; Ashton was unwavering that it had started in the coffee shop one cold night in December; Calum would believe nothing other than how it had taken off after he had almost been hit by that mom's minivan; and Jack still held firm that just as there could be no end, there was no definite beginning.
As for Alex, well, he was still of the opinion that it began on a train, and that was simply that. At least, that had been his beginning.
--
"Dammit!" a shout broke the warm afternoon air, and reached a brunette's ears, resounding through his eardrums as making him wince. Did his friend really have to shout directly into his ear?
With a click of his tongue, Alex shot a glance towards his best friend, curls filling his vision for the fraction of a second. "Are you trying to make me deaf?" he asked, though his tone was curious as opposed to angered. There was no way in hell he could go deaf from one shout - not by how loudly he played his music. "What's wrong?"
"I think I left my textbook back in the dorm," Zack answered, licking his lips against the chill in the air.
Wind whipped through across the platform the pair stood on. Winter was on its way, that much was for sure. Letting out a grumbled comment on the temperature, Alex rolled his eyes with a certain level of fondness. "Calm down, bro. We're going to do no school work this weekend. That includes no studying - we've been over this."
"I know what you said, but my mom'll literally string me up if my grades in math drop anymore. And since I'm missing my tutor..." Zack trailed off then, anticipating the reply he knew was about to come from his friend's mouth.
A laugh broke the air after a beat. "Please, you're not bummed about missing math help," Alex shot back with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "You just like staring at you tutor - what's his name again - as he helps you. Mikey will even vouch for me, he's been a witness to the 'tutoring'," the brunette finished with another laugh.
Indignant, Zack slapped the younger boy on the arm. "Shut up." His comeback fell short, not denying what was known to be fact. It had been discussed many times by his friends after Michael came bursting into the dorm he shared with Alex their freshman year of college, nearly tripping over himself in the process while yelling loud enough to shake the foundation, "Zachary has a crush on Rian Dawson!" Even though a year had passed, nothing had changed, and Zack was still head over heals for his tutor. If anything, it had grown infinitely worse.
Rian Dawson was someone most people in town knew. The town was small, for once. The college, though it hardly felt it at times, was startling small. It came up on little to no maps, so it seemed. Baring this in mind, it should hardly be considered a surprise that Dawson was known. Not only was he credited as a sports star in his college years - he had graduated the year before Zack, Alex, and their stupid friends entered as freshmen - but he was best friends with Jack Barakat. And everyone knew Jack Barakat. In Alex's words, he was the "hottest, most beautiful human on the planet and probably, definitely in the entire fucking galaxy."
And yet he still gave Zack grief for having a crush.
Several minutes passed of waiting on the wind blown platform before the silence was broken by a pair of shouts - one from a boy with dyed hair, and another from a blonde who was arguably taller than skyscraper.
"We're here!" the first called, as if it wasn't yet obvious. All the same, the group engaged in a number of "hey"s and "what's up"s, as if they hadn't spoken only hours before to finalize the plans of their sudden, whimsical trip. Now, if only the train would arrive.
Luke, the tall blonde, produced his ticket from his pocket and glanced it over once. "The train should be here any minute," he announced, to the relief of the others, to know that they would only have to brave the cold a bit longer.
"About time," the other, Michael, breathed out as the familiar grinding of steel on steel echoed off of the overhang of the platform. As if by one, singular mind, the boys moved together towards the edge, through regretted it as soon as the wind ripped more so than previously. Shivers tore down Alex's body, causing the boy to curl further into himself.
When the train halted and the doors opened, it might as well be considered a free for all to get into the anticipated warmth of the train car. Thankfully, some force was looking out for them, as warmth indeed stuck to the reddened skin of their cheeks and noses, and giving each boy an idea what it might feel like to be a literal ice cube defrosting.
"I've got to piss," Alex announced only moments later, after a man had come to the few patrons riding the train to check tickets.
A snort from across the aisle caught his attention, and Michael spoke up. "Then go, unless you're wearing a diaper."
Raising his middle finger to his friend as a reply, Alex stood, bracing himself against the sensation of forward motion. "Fine, fine, I'll be back."
Locating the bathroom wasn't the hard part. Not in the least. Alex had taken the train too many times to count. Sudden trips to some other town for a weekend was nothing new. He was infamous for getting up and just leaving in the middle of the night just because he wanted to get out. Most of the time it was because he wanted to drink away his demons and not suffer the consequences of any of his friends seeing him in such a state - they deserved more. This time, though, he had brought his three best friends - his three brothers - just because he wanted to get out. It wasn't planned as a chance to get drunk, or even possibly high. Just to have fun for once.
The tough part was walking. The train seemed to be rocking more than usual, sending jolts up his legs every now or then. So, when one particular movement caught him off guard, it should not have been too huge of a surprise when he was sent literally into someone's lap.
Fortunately, just as he felt that his face could not possibly grow any hotter, a good-natured laugh sent thrills through his body. "Well, hi, princess. Make yourself comfortable," The voice itself did not sound familiar, though it was warm and inviting, and Alex looked up after a few lingering seconds.
He opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped short when his eyes locked with possibly the warmest brown eyes he could fathom. "I - uh - I," he stammered before coming back to himself and forcing himself to stand. Because, he knew who this was, but could only describe it as unreal. It couldn't be - but it was. And it was mortifying. He had fallen in the lap of Jack Barakat; sex god and the only person in the world who could make Alex drool. Because he appeared to be impossibly perfect - skin flawless; eyes captivating; with the perfect hint of something more than the underlying sexiness which made the younger brunette all the more curious. Before the older could comment further, Alex stuttered out a quick "sorry," and retreating back on his way to the bathroom.
When he left the bathroom and began his way back through the first car on his way back to his friends, the train jerked once more before coming to a halt. Silence filled the space throughout the train for a moment before the lights flickered out a pair of voices gathered tones together to utter out a unified "Shit."
One voice was Alex's, and the other's once more managed to make his heart rate speed up and the organ itself squeeze up to his throat.
The train was dark, and he was stuck with Jack fucking Barakat.
This must be a horrible sitcom.