Chapter Text
Alex slowly awoke. The pale light shining through the tattered red and dusty lace curtains gently illuminated the cramped, messy, tech-filled room in which he slept.
“Alex!”
Slowly opening his eyes, he was immediately met with the blurry image of a guy standing over him, with a hand on his shoulder shaking him.
“Chase?!” Alex fumbled for his glasses, alarmed. He could now clearly see Chase’s hazel eyes staring down at him. He had a frantic look about him. “It’s like- six in the morning, what are you DOING?”
“Shh! You’re going to wake the others!” He whispered, signaling that what he was about to say had to be kept between them.
Alex raised an eyebrow. “I mean, I really doubt it as they are all sleeping upstairs and we are downstairs and hardly speaking at an audible volume-“
“Okay! Just- whatever!” Chase huffed, pinching his nose bridge. “Listen, we need to go to Erewhon! But we can’t let the others find out as they will get mad at us for abusing the shopping budget at such an overpriced store and not getting them anything!”
“Why do you even want to go to Erewhon? That strawberry from last time was terrible.”
“We need to get the Travis Scott Storm Storm Smoothie! I saw an ad for it and it looks so fucking sick!” Chase stared at Alex with longing and desperation.
“Fine, but only if we stop by In-n-Out.” Alex rolled his eyes, knowing the agreement they had between themselves. They frequently went to obtain the most spectacular and novel food with the group’s food money- and secretly grubbed together. It was possible as they managed the group’s finances. But they had to keep this a secret or else someone would catch on and call them out for their selfishness. It was already pretty difficult to convince them that $50 could only get them a box of cherry tomatoes, a bushel of romaine lettuce, and some readymade sandwiches.
He recalled trying to convince Gert of this. She shook her head in disbelief, “Seriously? Fifty dollars and this is all it could get us?” Alex adjusted his glasses and sighed. “Inflation… is at an all time high right now.”
She blinked and stared at him. It was clear that she was onto them.
Alex grimaced at the memory. They would have to be really secretive if they wanted to keep this up.
He climbed into the passenger seat and they drove to the nearest Erewhon. They got out of the beat-up Rolls Royce and entered the overpriced supermarket.
Chase walked up to the counter. “Hi, can I please get a Travis Scott Storm Storm Smoothie?” The lady at the counter nodded and started making the drink. Once Chase paid, they left the store and got back into the car. “Mmm, this is so good! Try it.”
Alex side-eyed him. “No.” Chase turned to look at him. “Try it,” he said. “Okay…” Alex reluctantly agreed and took a sip. It was alright. They drove to In-n-Out Burger and waited in the drive thru.
A weird worker approached their car. “Ello, wot cen I get chew?” he inquired, tablet in hand.
“Can I get a flying dutchman burger and an animal style fries?” Chase ordered.
“Yeh, right then, enathen ewhs?” the worker asked.
“I would also like a double double animal style hamburger with extra grilled onions.” Chase turned to look at Alex, “And what do you want?”
Alex told Chase his order and he turned back to tell the worker. “My friend here would like a cheeseburger with no onions, a fries, and a lemonade! Make that a combo, please.” The worker nodded and Chase drove up.
They waited in the drive thru line. “Should we pull into the parking lot to eat?” Chase asked. “No, let’s just drive back but still eat in the car. It’s already been an hour so someone might get suspicious if we’re gone too long.”
They got their food and drove back. Chase parked the car in the garage and turned the engine off. They then took out their food and grubbed, occasionally letting out a soft mmmm or letting each other try their food. Just when they finished, someone opened the door.
Alex and Chase both jumped, surprised, and quickly hid their trash in the back of the car. Chase whipped out some cologne and aftershave, and frantically applied it to mask the scent of the food.
Gert slowly walked in, staring at them with a suspicious expression. They both stepped out of the car, standing next to each other and smiling innocently. Suddenly a look of realization hit her.
“All this time… I mean, you two have always acted strange- but I finally get why!” She laughed.
“Um, what do you mean?” Chase asked nervously.
“You guys,” she crossed her arms, “have been secretly dating!”
“What.” Alex breathed. “No! No.” He said, defensively. Chase smacked him on the arm, then stared at him with a look that said just go along with it or she’ll figure it out.
“Ahaha, you… caught us!” Chase laughed, to which Alex smiled and nodded.
“Yes, we are dating!” Alex added. “Because we love each other!” He turned to look at Chase, expectantly. He was met with a smile, but a slightly shocked/annoyed look in his eyes. Chase just nodded and put an arm around him, clapping him on the shoulder with almost enough force to knock him over.
“I knew it!” Gert exclaimed with excitement. “Karolina said you guys weren’t there yet, but you two made it so obvious- I mean what with the longing stares and everything!”
“…I wouldn’t say it was that obvious!” Alex muttered.
“Trust me, it was. But don’t worry, I totally support it! In fact, I have to go tell everyone!” Gert ran off, leaving them alone in the garage.
“What have we done…” Chase sighed.