Chapter Text
The valley was nice. It was familiar, dependable, constant, never changing. The trees were green again, the grass had tiny daffodils peaking through the foliage, animals came out of hiding and the sun was shining. Everything was full of life again, just like every other year. A different person might have loved this scenery, but not him.
Spring was not Sebastian’s favorite, but it was just warm enough that he wasn’t sweating in his black hoodie and skinny jeans while he went outside for a cigarette. It was chilly enough up in the mountains that the kids did not come up to play at the lake and for Abigail to not play her flute by the river. Not that Sebastian minded, but he did not want to meet her right now.
He just wanted to smoke his morning cigarette and then crawl back to his dungeon to work. Just like he had done every day for almost the whole week since he has been back in town.
“Sebastian?” A voice disturbed him, almost making him drop his cigarette into the river. His eyes darted towards the intruder.
“Alex, hey. Nice to see you.”
That was his luck. Why was it so hard in this town to just be alone?
“You too, man…” He was breathing heavily and based on his lack of clothes on his top half, Sebastian could guess he was on a run. After swallowing down some more air, he grinned and added. “Thought we would never see you again.”
Sebastian wanted to die. Better yet, he wanted to kill himself.
Those exact words reflected at him were a stab to his heart. He said those words on his last night in the Valley before going to university in the city. He truly believed that he would never return, there was nothing waiting for him back here. He hated his stepdad, he hated facing his mother’s obliviousness on Demetrius’s unfair treatment of him every day, he hated that everyone was so small minded, he hated that everything revolved around the Valley and its residents. It felt like the world outside of this place did not exist.
But it did and Sebastian ran to discover all of it. He made it to the closest city and decided he hated it there too. He could have stayed, he could have found a nice office job, settled into an apartment half the size of his basement and died in it. However, city life took its toll on him and by the end of university he started having anxiety attacks.
Ironically, when he went to see a therapist they advised him to move to the country side because it seemed like the city environment caused him too much stress and stimuli. He admitted to feeling crowded, but coming back to the Valley meant he felt crowded again. With nicer scenery.
There was zero chance he would tell this to Alex though.
“I thought so too. Turns out city living is way too expensive on a junior developer salary.”
“Thank Yoba for remote work, huh?” Alex stretched his arms up in the air. “I took on clients virtually, but I was bummed to leave the city. Seeing them in real life makes coaching much easier.”
Bullshit.
Alex couldn’t wait to leave and get back to his grandparents. They had the good fortune of attending the same university, and some of their mutual acquaintances told Sebastian that Alex would not shut up about the Valley and how he hated leaving his grandparents behind.
That was the thing about small towns. You could never be completely honest. You cannot admit defeat, you cannot admit fear, and you cannot tell the whole town how much you want to leave and then come back without a good reason. A better reason than missing the very place you could not wait to leave.
“I bet, I miss having an office to go to every day.”
Another lie, Sebastian despised going into the office while on his internship. No amount of office perks and praise on his work ethic could make him go back to discussing what everyone’s kids are up to and how Polly in accounting was on her third diet despite being thin as a twig.
“Yeah, well…” Alex hopped on his feet a few times. “At least we are all back. See you at the Saloon tonight?”
“Definitely.” Sebastian smiled and they waved goodbye to each other.
He watched as Alex ran away, and he sighed as the cigarette in his hand got thrown into a bush. He barely took a few drags, and it was out already.
He considered lighting up another one, but it was getting later into the morning, and he wanted to avoid seeing Demetrius and his little machine pop up by the river, so he went back home.
Upon entering the house, he said good morning to his mom, ignored Demetrius and Maru in the lab, grabbed a sandwich, and crawled down to his computer.
Work took his mind off things, he enjoyed it, and he was damn good at it. The only thing he seemed to have been good at.
When it was him on his computer, jumbled up in codes, numbers and symbols, the only thing that mattered was fixing them and making them better and better. He wanted fast, precise and clean. Until he achieved that, nothing else really mattered.
His flow was only interrupted when his alarm rang. He silenced it and groaned, rubbing his eyes in the process. He did not want to go to the saloon to reunite with the town. He wanted to stay right here in his chair and wallow in his misery.
But that was fucking sad, he was not a loser, he could socialize well enough. Plus, he had friends, genuine friends here who he actually did want to meet. It was all the other people he did not want there.
Maybe he could start his own saloon, just him, Abigail and Sam. It would not be profitable but hey, he would enjoy it.
Much more than whatever chaos he stepped into when he got to the Saloon.
Pam was already neck deep in ale, Kent was brooding in the corner, Shane was already drunk, and Elliott was trying to talk the pants off Leah. Same old, same old.
“Honey, I am so glad to see you!” Jodi popped out of nowhere and trapped him in a hug that Sebastian could not reciprocate if he wanted to, given how tightly she was squeezing them into his body. “You must come over for dinner some time, I’m sure Sam would be delighted!”
“Hello Jodi.” He forced the words out with the little air this small woman left in his lungs. “I would love to.”
“How are you dear? I know how much you loved the city, your mother could not have been more proud of you when you scored that job at… oh, I cannot recall, but it’s a big deal, that I know!” She finally let him go, freeing his lungs from suffocation.
“She said you were devastated that you couldn’t afford the stay on site and had to return. I hope you can get on your feet and get back into the world.”
She rambled on and Sebastion just kept nodding along. The woman could talk by herself just fine, there was no need for him to comment on anything or correct her.
He hated the city, he did score a great job, he could afford a place, he had anxiety attacks that stretched for days, he had to leave and come back into this bubble where he could not be himself without scrutiny, he missed Sam, he missed Abigail, to some extent he missed the town. Somewhere, deep down he must have. Otherwise, what the hell was he doing here?
“Mom! Let Seb go!” Sam’s voice boomed as he shouted over the general noise of the place, strutting over to them with purpose.
Like his mother, he was not shy about hugging him very tightly once he got to him, but it was not nearly as long and when he let go, he grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the side room.
“Man, I cannot wait to lose against you at the pool table again. Can you imagine? I actually miss losing to you.”
Sebastian laughed but he mentally agreed. Beating Sam at pool would be a nice addition to the night.
“Seb! I am so glad to see you!” Another person delighted by his presence came to hug him, this time it was Abigail.
“Me too Abs. I thought I would see you by the river this morning, do you not play anymore?”
“I do, it’s just… I work at dad’s now. They are approaching retirement, and they want me to take over one day. So, I have to learn the ropes. Leaves me no time for myself.” She frowned and shot a nasty glare at his father standing by the bar.
“At least you’re gonna be the richest person here.” Sebastian joked and that put a smile right back on her face.
“I promise I will not change, though. I will be the same, just in more expensive clothes.”
“Is Alex still out with that stupid dog?” Sebastian did not need to turn and see who that annoyed shrill came from. But he did anyway, just to be face to face with Haley, looking gorgeous as ever.
“Looking good, Haley. Searching for the boyfriend?” He ducked on instinct, avoiding a hit to his shoulder. He and Haley were never close but teasing her about Alex and their dubious codependence was their thing. Started in high school and they never let up.
“I am not outside with the stupid dog, I was getting you a drink. And I am not her boyfriend, for the millionth time.” Alex appeared with a bright red drink in one hand and a beer in the other. He rolled his eyes at Sebastian as he said the last sentence, but it was more playful than annoyed.
If Haley and Sebastian were not close, him and Alex were worlds apart. They hung out in groups, but never just the two of them. They shared drinks over festivities but never had meaningful conversations. They relentlessly got on each other’s nerves in high school, but a few pointers in math class and a punch to a bully’s face formed solidarity between the two. Safe to say, it was not Sebastian who threw a punch, and it was not Alex acing his math exams.
“Oh, but Honey, how could you say that?” Haley exclaimed dramatically but took the drink with a smirk on her lips.
“You call me Honey one more time and you can stop considering me as a friend.” Alex cringed and took a swing of his beer.
Sebastian’s eyebrows shot up.
“You drink now?”
Alex looked at him over his glass.
“Am I not allowed?”
“No, you are. It’s just… you always refused. Even in Uni.”
“Times change. I am no longer a student athlete; I can afford to drink my calories every now and then.”
“I cannot hear about drinking calories again.” Haley groaned and stepped away from them, effectively taking away Sebastian’s lifeline. He had nothing to talk about with Alex.
“Well… I promised Sam a game…” He took an awkward step away, signaling his need to leave this situation as soon as possible. Alex nodded and without a word he left to go sit with Haley.
“He is so hot.” Sebastian almost completely forgotten that Abigail was still standing there, quiet as a mouse.
“You can try hitting on him, from what I hear he would fuck anything with a beating heart.”
His comment earned a gasp from Abigail, topped with a blush that ran up to her ears.
“Yoba, Seb, you cannot just say that.”
“Oh, get a grip.” He scoffed. “We went to the same high school, you know the notches on his belt personally.”
“You still cannot just say that in public.” She emphasized the last word.
Right. Yoba forbid someone said the truth out loud.
“I apologize. Let me rephrase that. He is quite the ladies’ man, you could give it a shot.” The smile he flashed at her was dripping with mockery. She just scoffed and turned her nose up at him.
“You are the worst.”
“And you love me” Sebastian cooed at her, which made her lips twitch into half-a-smile.
“Unfortunately. Now, where is Sam? It is time for me to destroy him.”
Before he could even finish his last word, a drink was showed into his hand by said man.
“Hell yeah, it is. But you need to lighten up, drink this. Then, we can play.”
“The whole thing?” Sebastian looked at the glass, full of something that probably contained a lot of alcohol. For some reason, this town had the widest selection of liquor. He could never figure out who the hell made alcohol out of every single fruit that could be found in the Valley.
Not that he was complaining, but who would think about making drinks out of starfruit?
“Down the hatch!” Sam raised his own glass to his lips and motioned for Sebastian to do the same. Like the good friend he was, he followed him.
And he did the same during their match. And their rematch. And there was their final match where he was sure he could see two white balls on the table but still managed to win.
“This is so not fair!” Sam whined as he sat down next to Haley on the couch. Which left Sebastian sitting on the single chair next to them. Right next to Alex.
“I’m just better than you.” He ignored the slight slurring of his words. He was fine.
Abigail was long gone, her parents ordered her to leave as she had an early start the next day. He barely talked to her; he ought to visit sometime.
Lot of the townsfolk left as well, it was only them, Pam and Shane left. Two alcohol bugs and freshly graduated youngsters. A real prestigious crowd.
“Don’t listen to him babe, you were great!” Haley hugged Sam and drew her closer, offering her shoulder to cry on. Which Sam took and leant his head onto, faking a sob.
“Seb is so mean! And he claims to be my best friend!” He pointed at Sebastian with an accusatory finger, but he just laughed him off.
“I can be mean and be your friend.”
“Then we must be the bestest of friends, huh?” Surprisingly, Alex chimed in, still nursing a beer in his hand. He must have had at least 5 and it barely showed on him.
“I have never been mean to you. Nasty, maybe.” Sebastian grinned at the man, who just scoffed with an amused smile on his lips.
“Are we rekindling you two’s catty fights? If so, I am grabbing popcorn.” Haley giggled and shot a glance between the two of them.
“Catty? These two were vicious in high school. Couldn’t leave them alone for a minute.”
“Even if they were alone, it was ‘Sebastian is such an asshole, can you believe he said that?’”
“Don’t get me started on “Alex is such a simpleton, can he stop fucking spewing bullshit everywhere he goes?’” Sam and Haley shared a hearty laugh, but Alex and Sebastian never felt more uncomfortable.
It was true, all of it. They were at each other’s throats constantly, but there was nothing behind the words. They were angry teenagers, angry at the world, at the school, at the limitations of their lives. They needed an outlet, and they found one. Each other.
“We are not like that anymore. That was three years ago.” Alex looked at him with sincerity in his green eyes. “I guess we grew out of it.”
Did they?
Sebastian supposed they must have, somewhere along the way. In university they ran into each other occasionally, but never did more than say hi. They attended the same parties but hardly ever interacted. One time they shared a general class, Alex asked for notes, Sebastian gave them to him and that was the end of their interaction.
The hatchet was buried. Sebastian had no intention of digging it up again.
“Going to University truly changes a person, huh?” Sam grinned, still laying on Haley’s shoulder. “Not that I would know, I would never be accepted.”
“I used to say that.” Alex said with a smile on his face. “Look at me now, graduated with a degree in sports science.”
“Don’t you forget that you were accepted on a gridball scholarship. With your grades in high school, I was surprised they let you in at all.” Haley rolled her eyes, but there was a smile hiding on her lips.
“I worked very hard to get that scholarship, thank you very much.” Alex playfully bumped into Haley, and they both laughed.
Sebastian didn’t find their exchange that humorous, but why would he? He was never close to these two, he had no chance to understand their dynamic. They went so far back, Sebastian couldn’t recall when they started hanging out together. It was always Haley and Alex.
Much like him and Sam. And later Abigail.
It was all rather strange to him. The chatter went on between the three of them, discussing memories from university, from Zuzu, Haley’s brief stay in the city for her cosmetology course, Sam’s first performance in the city, it was all so strange. They grew up, they opened their wings and now?
They were back here, Haley serviced clients in her home, Alex trained people through a screen, Sebastian was hiding in his basement trying to forget how much he hated the Valley. Sam remained the same, jamming in his rooms and doing odd jobs. He was the only one who embraced the countryside, the one who never left.
And he was still the happiest of them all.
“Seb, what about you?” Haley directed a question at him, but he was way too distracted by his own thoughts to know what it was about.
“What about me?”
“Did you have a girlfriend in Zuzu?”
Sam snorted before Sebastian could have answered, which made him smile.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Really? But you’re an attractive guy, surely there were some girls!”
“Nope, none.”
“None?” Haley gasped and turned to Alex. “You could have helped him out, surely you had some girls on your waiting list you could spare.”
The expression on Alex’s face was worth this line of questioning. Sebastian did not enjoy talking about his love life, but the way this overly confident jock became a punchbag to his tiny and feisty bombshell of a friend was rather amusing.
But he knew the inevitable was coming so he saved Alex from responding to her.
“Even if he had it would not have been much help, seeing as I had my hands full with my own list of boys.”
Sebastian should get a job in the library with how quickly their little group fell silent. He was not sure why Sam was acting all shocked, he came out to him a millennia ago in junior year of high school.
“You’re gay?” Uncomfortable silence was not Haley’s thing, so she broke it with her question.
“I am.”
“That’s so hot.”
Sebastian was stunned by her reaction, but not Alex who just groaned so loudly even Shane looked over to them.
“You need to stop saying that when someone comes out to you.”
“Why? I love men, how would two hot dudes kissing and stuff not be hot?”
“Because it’s fucking weird to think like that Hays.”
“Like you don’t get a boner from hot chicks making out, I have seen your browser history, not too many straight things going on there.”
“That is different.”
“It really isn’t.” Sam snickered as they all watched Alex get redder and redder.
“But that’s… girls. Girls kiss each other for fun, guys don’t do that.”
“We kissed with Sam for fun.” Sebastian interjected, to Alex’s horror and Haley’s delight. And to Sam’s offence.
“Dude, don’t do me like that. It was one time!”
“And a couple more after that.”
“DUDE!”
“Nothing to be ashamed of, I am a great kisser.” Sebastian leaned back in his chair and enjoyed the humiliation of his friend.
He really did not think coming out to his hometown friends would be this easy. In Zuzu it was cool, but here… No one was like him. He was the odd one out in one more thing.
But it seemed like everyone just… Went with it. There were no awkward follow up questions, no judgmental looks, no whispers right in front of him. Which was what he expected, based on how his mother and Demetrius reacted.
“Let me know when you two feel the need to try it again. I will be there.” Haley nodded along to her own affirmation.
“Sadly for you, Sam realized a long time ago that he was not gay. Just a horny teenager.”
“Why could you not have a doubt in your sexuality in high school Alex? I could have witnessed you and Seb making out.”
“Haley, if I had a gay episode in high school, what makes you think I would have let you watch?”
“You had no problems with me watching you and Penny make out last summer.”
“You and Penny?” Sam’s face fell just as comically as Alex’s face turned red again. “Dude, she is like… 5 years older than you.”
“And? She is still hot. It’s not like she’s 50.”
“Wasn’t aware you had an age limit.” Haley scoffed at Alex. “It’s not like you’re picky about anything else.”
“I don’t know why I am being so harshly judged tonight.” Alex sighed dramatically. “I appreciate the women body in all forms. Someone has to.”
“From what I heard you appreciated women enough for all of us.” Sebastian grinned at him. “Only high praise though.”
“Well, duh.” Alex rolled his eyes but flashed his teeth at Sebastian. “Practice makes perfect.”
“And when will you start practicing commitment?” Haley asked with a sly smile.
“When will you start not being a bitch?” Alex retorted.
“Right when you stop being a muscle head.”
“And when will you two stop arguing like a married couple?” Sam interjected, but his question earned two glares from the two instead of the playful smiles they were previously exchanging.
“Ew. Never say that again.” Haley frowned and it was Alex’s turn – again – to be offended.
“Ew? I am a catch, you would be lucky to have me!”
“A catch? Yeah, if I liked talking about how to count my macros and what form is correct while deadlifting every day for the rest of my life.”
“May I remind you that I look like this because I know that stuff so well? You gotta make some sacrifices to get with someone as hot as me.” Alex flexed his bicep to prove his point.
Haley cocked her head to the side as he watched Alex show off, but her expression reflected complete disinterest in the bulging muscles on Alex’s arm.
“Sorry babe, it’s not you. It’s me. I just cannot see you as a hot, macho man. I have seen you eat cereal out of a box with the milk poured inside when we were kids. The magic is long gone.”
She looked up at Sebastian with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
“Do you think he’s as hot as he thinks he is?”
He gave a once over to the man next to him, although he really did not need to do that. He was just building some tension. He had always thought Alex was attractive, even when he was just growing into his features as a teenager Sebastian found him endearing.
“Unfortunately, I think he is.”
“See, Sebastian has taste.” Alex smiled proudly and stopped flexing, settling back against the couch once again.
“He really does.” Sam’s comment earned him a disapproving look.
The other two took it as Sam also thinking Alex was good-looking.
But Sebastian knew that he referred to his taste in general, because Sam has seen most of the men he had flings with. And Seb had a type.
And if that type was sitting a feet away from him, so what? It’s not like he had a type because of Alex, he never had a crush on him, he never even thought much about him in the past few years. He just happened to love big, muscly himbos who were strong enough to push him around.
He did not want to risk this getting out because Alex being cool with his sexuality as a straight guy was infinitely different from him finding out that he was his type. Straight guys sometimes had very strong reactions to finding that out and he didn’t want to make things weird.
He unexpectedly enjoyed the company of Haley and Alex, he did not plan to lose them on his first day of realizing this.
“Speaking of awful taste.” Haley leaned in closer and ignored Alex’s tch. “Is Marnie still seeing Lewis?”
“Of course she is, she’s been waiting for that man to give her a crumb of commitment for years. She’s not gonna give up that easily.” Sam frowned. “I don’t know what she sees in him.”
“Maybe they are both into being watched.”
Everyone stared at Alex for his comment, and he went red in the face from the sudden attention.
“What?”
“That’s a weird fucking thing to say, that’s all.” Sam answered for all of them.
“Nah, not really. You saw them doing it in the bushes. Hays saw them at the beach. And I…” He trailed off.
“You saw them too? Where?” Haley questioned him and Alex turned an even deeper red.
“Yes, but not… So, like… Yoba, I don’t wanna remember it.” He groaned in frustration, or maybe embarrassment, but they were not going to let this go.
This was the first truly intriguing topic of the night.
“Come on man, give us the details!” Sam encouraged him but only got a scoff as a response.
“You are going to regret having the details. I regret having the details.”
“Humor us.” Sebastian joined in the nagging.
“You’re not gonna laugh, but okay…” He braced himself on his knees and started retelling the story with a painful expression. “I was outside my house during last summer, lifting. You know I like doing that outside when it’s nice and sunny.”
“Correction, you like standing outside with your shirt off when you’re sweaty.” Haley cut in, but Alex disregarded her.
“I saw Marnie go to the Mayor’s house but I thought nothing of it because… He’s the Mayor, she is a resident, a business owner, whatever. She might have some business with him.”
“She sure did.” Seb said it under his breath, and Haley giggled at his comment.
“A few minutes go by, and you know when you come up from a squat, with a heavy bar in your hand, you are supposed to look straight ahead. And when I look straight ahead from my spot, I look at the Mayor’s house. Directly in his bedroom window.”
“No!” Haley squealed, and the beginning of a laugh was already hidden at the end of the word.
“Yes. They were there, naked as you’re born, licking over each other.”
“Licking?” Sam raised an eyebrow.
“I think they were covered in oil.”
“Oil?” Sam asked, still confused.
Sebastian was not. Neither was Haley.
Both of them sat there with horrified looks on their faces, and as they caught each other’s eyes the two of them burst out laughing.
He could not remember the last time he had genuine tears running down his face from laughing so hard, he felt his stomach hurting, but he just could not stop picturing Alex catching Lewis and Marnie, slathered in truffle oil, licking said oil off each other’s bodies.
Alex, despite acting horrified when starting his story, joined in to their laughter.
“I don’t… I don’t get it. Oil? Like for cooking?” Sam’s confusion slowly turned into horror as Haley managed to get truffle out between wheezing and cackling at the mental picture.
“Ew, gross! No, no, not funny!” His lips turned downwards so much they almost made a perfect upside-down u, which made Sebastian laugh even harder.
“And did you… did…” Haley forced herself to take a few deep breaths so she could finish the question. “Did you finish the workout?”
Alex immediately stopped laughing.
“Well, what do you think?”
“I think a sane person would have. So yes, I think you did.”
“I went to the other side of the house. I’m not a… whatever it’s called. I’m not that.”
“And if you were a peeping Tom, you would probably not choose Marnie and Lewis.” Haley added.
“Maybe not Lewis, but Marnie is built!” Alex said to their surprise, and apparently to Alex’s as well. Judging by how quickly he flushed with embarrassment.
“I guess you had a good look.” Sebastian snickered, greatly amused by how non-selective Alex seemed to be with women. Not that he didn’t know that he was not picky, but he didn’t think he was this blasé about his partners.
“Didn’t have a choice, really. But let’s just say I would not be hiding an affair with her like he does. Nothing to be ashamed of, he should be happy to have pulled her.”
“And she’s so nice! The way she took Shane in? Saint of a woman. She deserves better.” Haley subtly pointed at said man in the main room, barely standing straight.
“Why is he even doing this? Everyone knows they are hooking up, everyone knows Marnie loves him. It just makes him look bad.” Sam made a good point.
Why was he doing this to Marnie?
“Because sometimes you just want to fuck.” Alex stated matter of factly, earning a slap to his head from Haley.
“It’s still not okay to treat a woman who loves you like shit. Just because she is willing you don’t have to stick it in and run for the hills afterwards.”
“There goes my weekend plans.” Alex murmured, getting another slap in return.
“Who would you even fuck? Penny?”
“Why, you wanna watch? Again?” And another.
Seb started wondering if Alex had permanent brain damage from all the past abuse from Haley. He figured she had been doing this for a long time based on how comfortable she was with it. And how Alex did not react at all.
“Marnie is still on the table.”
“Like you have a chance. She barely registers the outside world when Lewis is in the same room as her.”
“I so could make a move on her.” Alex rolled his eyes at Sam. “Or at least make her notice me.”
“Well, do it.” Haley said with mischievous grin. “50 gold that she will not even look at you.”
“I’ll take that.”
“Really? That easy? For 50? Thought your rates were higher?”
“Unfortunately, my rates are usually zero. But for you I will raise them to 50.”
“You’re gonna sleep with Marnie for 50 golds?” Sam asked in disbelief.
“I’m not sleeping with her, she just has to notice me.”
“Are you really going to do this?” Haley asked, now a bit uncertain.
“Yeah, maybe it will make Lewis realize that he has a nice woman he should appreciate more. One who could trade him for a young stud.”
“Never say stud again.” Haley frowned in disgust.
“We can make that part of the deal. If I win, I get to say stud and get the 50 gold. If I lose, I pay you 50 and never say stud again. Deal?” Alex held his hand out to Haley who took it and gave him a firm handshake.
“Deal.”
“Then, tomorrow night we’re meeting here again so you can all watch. It’s going to be Friday so they will be here for sure.”
They agreed to meet the next day again, and Sebastian wondered how exactly he had gotten mixed up in this situation. He was here for a quick catch up. Now he had another night booked with socializing, and what was worse is that he didn’t even mind.
The whole night was fun, he laughed and listened for most of it, but that was just him. He was not much of a talked, and he found that hanging around these three obnoxious personalities made it so easy for him to blend in.
“Well, we should go. I need my beauty sleep for tomorrow.” Alex stood up and offered a hand to Haley, which she took without a second thought.
It was fascinating how much they were at each other’s throats all the time, but their little gestures let on more than their words had ever done. It wasn’t even a question that Alex paid for her drinks the whole night, it didn’t escape Sebastian that Alex very pointedly stood behind Haley when she tried a round of pool because her skirt was a bit too short for the game.
No wonder the whole town thought they were dating.
It came so naturally to them to do the little things for each other, despite being very harsh with their words. Sebastian wondered why they have never even considered dating.
They all said their goodbyes after exiting the building and then they all laughed when Haley and Sam went in the same direction and Alex and Sebastian also started walking together.
“The square would be more well lit for you, no?” Alex asked his as they steadily approached his house.
“Getting sick of me already?” Sebastian retorted with a smile.
“No! No! Just.. you know, it’s dark this way.”
“I like the dark.”
“Right…” They stopped in front of his house and an awkward silence fell between them.
Sebastian wanted to say bye and make his way home, but Alex looked shifty. He glanced between him and the door, like there was something he wanted to say, which he eventually managed, but only after a painfully long sigh.
“I just wanted to say that it’s cool. That you’re gay.”
“Well… Yeah, I figured from how our conversation went.”
“It’s just…” Another sigh, this one a bit more annoyed. “I know it was brushed over because Haley is a freak. But I know… I know how I come off to your people.”
Sebastian wanted to say that referring to gay people as ‘your people’ was a bit tone deaf, but he let it go. Alex was having a hard enough time expressing… whatever he was trying to express.
“But I’m not like that. Even if I called you gay behind your back in high school because I was trying to fit in with the rest of them.”
“I know.” Sebastian smiled at him. “I called you a meat-headed loser behind your back.”
“I know.” It was Alex’s turn to smile. “You were not wrong.”
“Seems to me I was. You graduated from the same university as me. Meat-headed losers are not famous for academic achievements.”
“For sports. Don’t you forget, Sebastian. I graduated in sports.”
“Science! It’s technically STEM.”
“Which you actually did.”
“If you graduated sports, I graduated computers. Deal?”
“Not sure I should make any more deals tonight.”
They both laughed, but it was short lived as Sebastian yawned into it.
“I really should go. If there is nothing else?” He asked, hoping that the answer would be no. He was really hitting his limits on social interactions and energy.
“No, nothing.” He took a step up the stairs. “Be safe on your way home!”
“Thank you!” Sebastian took off, but only made it a couple of steps before Alex stopped him again.
“Hey, Sebastian.” He looked at the man standing at his door, his hand already pushing down on the handle. “You might have been wrong about me. But I was not wrong about you!”
With that, and a sly grin, Alex disappeared into his house.
Sebastian stared at the empty place he left and could do nothing but chuckle and walk away.
It was stupid and childish, but it made him smile.
A smile that remained on his face all the way home.