Alex and Zach - 2. Chapter 2

"Alex, wake up son." Alex felt someone gently shaking him and he could hear a voice that sounded like his dad’s, but it seemed so far away. Couldn’t whoever it was tell he was tired? Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? He didn’t need to be bothered right now, he had to wait for his dad to come tell him what was happening with Zach.

That thought sent a jolt of energy through his body. Zach! His dad was trying to wake him up. He must have news about Zach. "Dad! What’s happening with Zach? Can I go see him now? Please, just let me see him."

"Alex, that’s why I’m here. You’ve been asleep for a couple of hours and we’ve been working on Zachary during that time. I came out to talk to you a couple of times, but you were out cold. I thought it would be better to let you sleep and then wake you once I was able to let you go in and see him."

"I’ve been asleep for a couple of hours? Shit! How could I fucking fall asleep at a time like this?"

"Alex, you’ve been running on pure adrenaline since the accident. Being able to get a little sleep was probably the best thing you could have done for yourself. There was absolutely nothing you could have done during the time you were sleeping and you wouldn’t have been able to go in to see Zachary until now anyway. Don’t beat yourself up over something like that."

"Dad…" Alex’s face was turning red with anger as he started to argue with his dad.

"Alex, calm down. Yelling at me or pounding your fists against the walls won’t change anything. Really it’s better this way. Now you’ve got some rest and you will be able to approach your friend much more calmly. He didn’t need you in there with him all worked up the way you were. Now you can go in there calmly and lend him some of your strength. He’s hasn’t been hurt that badly, but he’s going to need some help from you for awhile."

Alex hung his head and looked at the floor for a couple of seconds. His dad was right and he knew it. He was just so scared about what was happening to Zach that he wasn’t able to think. He desperately felt like he should be doing something, anything, to help Zach and he just couldn’t believe that he had fallen asleep. "I’m sorry dad. Can I go see him now. I’ll try to be calm."

"Before we go in, I want to prepare you for what you are going to be seeing. Zachary’s injuries all looked a lot worse than what they really were. Not that he wasn’t banged up pretty bad, but it’s not as serious as it looks. First of all, he didn’t shatter his leg. He did manage to break it in two places, but they were both fairly clean breaks. The bleeding from the cut on his head looked pretty bad, but scalp wounds almost always bleed real heavily. The cut was actually pretty shallow although he probably will have a hell of headache for a couple of days and he managed to get two black eyes. There were some pretty deep cuts on his right arm, shoulder and side from where the door window shattered, but nothing too serious. We only needed to stitch a couple of the cuts. I’m really surprised there weren’t any cuts on his face from all the glass that must have been flying around."

"He had his head turned away talking to me right before we hit. He was practically facing me."

"Well, that probably was a good thing since it spared his face any lacerations. Zachary also has some friction burns across his chest, probably from where the shoulder strap pulled him back into his seat. There’s also a lot of bruising. He may have also cracked a couple of ribs, but the X-rays show that he definitely didn’t break any. If they are cracked, they are just hairline and should just heal by themselves without any treatment from us. I really think the ribs are probably just bruised badly. They are still going to hurt and helped to contribute to why he couldn’t breath very well after the accident.

"The most serious injury besides his broken leg was to his groin. It appears that when you hit the deer, the door mirror on his side broke off and was slammed through the window. It looks like it hit him with a lot of force in his lower abdomen and groin. The impact was pretty severe and caused a lot of trauma to his groin…including his testicles. He had some pretty deep cuts in his lower abdomen along with a nasty gash to his scrotum. That was the main reason he passed out on you Alex. The pain from that probably hurt worse than the rest of it combined. It still looks pretty bad, and I’m sure it’s going to hurt like hell for awhile, but a couple of stitches was really all it took. He is still a little swollen in the area, and we will need to continue to check him to make sure the swelling goes away completely, but he should be fine. There shouldn’t be any permanent injury in the area."

Alex’s face had gone a little pale as his father described his friend’s injuries to him. He had heard his dad tell him that none of the injuries were that bad and he knew his dad would never lie to him, but all of those things sounded pretty horrible to him. When his dad started to explain the final groin injury, Alex though he was nearly going to vomit. He couldn’t imagine what kind of pain that must have felt like.

Dr. Edwards noticed his son’s face was beginning to look a little green. "Alex, really, Zachary is going to be ok. We’ve got him on a lot of pain medication so he’s probably not feeling too much of anything at the moment. In fact, unless someone is talking to him and keeping his attention, he keeps falling asleep. He’s asked about you a couple dozen times though. Are you ready to go see him, or do you want to wait a few minutes? You look like you are about to be sick. Do you want a drink of water."

Alex couldn’t speak and only nodded his head yes to his father’s offer of a drink. His hands were visibly shaking as he took the offered cup and took a few sips. Alex gave his dad a weak little smile. "Just give me a second or two to get my stomach back under control. I’m guessing puking on Zach when I see him probably wouldn’t be really good for him."

Dr. Edwards couldn’t help chuckling a little at his son’s attempt at humor. He could tell that it was really hard for Alex to hear everything that had happened to Zachary. They must be really close.

"Ok dad. I think I’m ready."

"Just keep reminding yourself that it looks a lot worse than it really is. And really, now that we have him cleaned up it doesn’t look that bad. One last thing, I already told you he was on a lot of pain medication. Well, with the dosage we have him on, he’s having a lot of trouble focusing. He’s pretty confused and having a lot of trouble following conversations. His attention keeps wandering and he keeps forgetting where he is or that he was even in an accident. It’s just a side affect so don’t let it worry you."

Alex nodded, still not really trusting himself to speak and followed his dad into the room where Zach was laying. Zach’s eyes were closed and it was obvious he was asleep. Alex had to admit his dad was right. Zach didn't look nearly as bad as he had feared. He had half expected to see his friend in a huge full body cast with tubes and wires hanging off of him everywhere the eye could see. Instead, Zach was only attached to a blood pressure monitor and the only cast in sight was the one on Zach’s leg. The blanket covering him had been pulled down to his waist exposing his chest and while there were a lot of bruises and cuts, it wasn’t anywhere close to what he had pictured in his mind.

Zach tossed a little in his sleep and the blanket slipped down from his waist exposing most of his groin. Alex’s eyes were immediately drawn to the area and he couldn’t help laughing. "Oh man! He’s going to freak when he realizes you guys shaved him there!"

Dr. Edwards smiled at his son and even chuckled a little as he pulled the covers back over his patient. "We needed to do an ultra sound and we had to see how badly he was cut. The hair was just in the way and could have led to infections. We really didn’t have much of a choice. Try not to laugh too much at him. Just remember it could just as easily have been you."

Alex was still laughing, "Maybe you better let me try to explain that to him. Or can you keep him drugged long enough for it to grow back? Zach has got to be one of the most self conscious guys I know. When he sees this, he’s going to be squirming."

Just then, Zach turned his head towards Alex and opened his eyes, blinking them a few times to try to clear the sleep from his brain. "Alex? What’s going on? Where are we?" Zach’s voice was really thick, and he slurred his words so bad that Alex could barely understand him. The look in his eyes was one of utter confusion and he kept turning his head trying to figure out where he was, but always his eyes came back to rest on Alex after only a few seconds.

"We’re in the hospital Zach. We hit a deer and I wrecked the car. Don’t you remember?"

Zach just stared at his friend for a few seconds, frowning, trying to concentrate. "We were in an accident? Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

Alex smiled a little at his friend. "I’m fine you big dummy. You’re the one that got hurt. You broke your leg."

Zach looked down at his leg, still confused and dazed and it was pretty obvious that he didn’t understand what Alex was saying. "Oh…where are we? Can we go home now?"

"We’re in the hospital. We’ll go home in just a bit, buddy. Just a little bit longer ok?"

"Ok." Zach’s attention was drawn to the blood pressure cuff around his arm and he just stared at it for a couple of seconds. "What’s that? Why’s that on me? Alex?"

Alex was starting to get concerned and he looked at his dad for some guidance. Sure, his dad said that Zach was going to be drugged and out of it, but Alex wasn’t expecting this. Zach couldn’t even seem to remember the start of a sentence by the time he got to the end of it.

Dr. Edwards nodded to his son, trying to reassure him. "That’s just a blood pressure monitor Zachary. We put one on all of our patients. It’s nothing to be concerned about."

As soon as Dr. Edwards spoke, Zach swung his face around to see who was talking, obviously only just then realizing someone else was in the room. After a couple of seconds of blinking rapidly to try and focus on the new speaker, Zach finally got the new figure in focus. "What? Who are you? Where am I? Where did Alex go?"

Dr. Edwards walked around the bed so that he would be on the same side as Alex and Zachary would be able to see them both at the same time. "Alex is right here Zach. I’m your doctor. Everything is going to be just fine." Dr. Edwards turned to his son. "Alex, just keep talking to him while he is awake. Remember this is just the medication and he is really confused right now. Just keep talking. He’ll focus on your voice. If he asks any questions, just answer them and just go right back to talking."

"Ok dad. Man! I didn’t realize he would be this out of it. How long is he going to have to stay here? Will he have to stay overnight?"

"No, just a few more minutes. Maybe twenty or so. I’ll finish up a few things and then we can take him home with us. Normally, he’d have to stay overnight but since I’ll be there at the house, it will be ok to go ahead and take him home with us. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Just keep talking and don’t worry if he falls asleep."

Zach had been watching the two of them speak together, frowning as he tried to concentrate on what was being said. It was obvious he had been trying to understand what was going on and just as obvious that he didn’t. "Alex? Can we go home now?"

"In just a little bit Zach. Dad’s finishing up and then we’ll take you back to our house. You can spend the night there…."

***

Zach’s mind was a confused mess. He kept trying to understand what people were saying to him and he just couldn’t. He understood all the words, but then when they were strung together they just didn’t make any sense. It was almost like everybody was talking in a foreign language. Where was he? Why couldn’t he concentrate? And why did his leg feel so heavy? It seemed like his mind was trying to wade through syrup. God! His eyes felt so heavy.

Then, Alex was there. Everything would be ok now. Alex would take care of everything. Alex would explain it to him. Alex would make sure everything was taken care of. He could always count on Alex. No matter what was wrong, Alex would fix it. He could hear Alex talking, but he couldn’t figure out what he was saying. But it was ok. As long as Alex was there, it would be ok.

God! He didn’t know what he would do without Alex. Alex was always there for him. Even if he couldn’t think right now, he knew that he could always count on Alex. Alex wouldn’t let anything happen to him. What was Alex talking about? Something about an accident? Somebody was hurt? Was Alex hurt? No, that couldn’t be right. Alex was right there talking to him. So who was hurt? What had happened? Why did his eyes feel so heavy?

Why couldn’t he concentrate? Was he drunk? That didn’t seem right. He remembered drinking earlier, but that had to have been hours ago. Maybe even yesterday? Or the day before? Alex had been mad at him. Alex had even yelled at him. Why had Alex yelled at him? Why was Alex mad at him? He couldn’t stand for Alex to be mad at him. So why had Alex been mad at him? Oh yeah, because he had been drinking and wanted to go driving. Alex wouldn’t let him. Alex even took his keys away from him. See. Alex always took care of him. Even when he was mad, Alex was always looking out for him. So why couldn’t he think? Why did his eyes keep blinking? Where was he anyway? Why couldn’t they just go home? Why did his eyes feel so heavy…

***

"Hey son. I see our patient finally fell back to sleep."

"Yeah. He drifted off after about fifteen minutes or so, while I was talking about Jason and Mark. I always knew stories about my brothers would come in handy someday, I just didn’t think it would actually bore someone to sleep! Are we just about ready to go?"

Dr. Edwards smiled at his son’s wit. "I’ll let your brothers know that they were useful. I’m sure they will be gratified. Actually, I’m surprised he stayed awake as long as he did. And yes, we are just about ready to leave. I asked Carol to get me some of the pain pills from the pharmacy. Zachary is going to need to take them for a few days. Do you want to give me a hand getting him dressed?"

"Sure. Where are his clothes?"

"They’re pretty well torn up. We had to cut him out of a lot of them and they were pretty blood-soaked anyway. We’ll put him in some hospital scrubs to take him home. They’ll be easier to put on him anyway, kind of like sweats."

"Ok. Zach. Wake up buddy. We need to get you dressed so we can take you home." Zach’s slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus on Alex as he gently shook him. Alex was struck again by just how blue his friends eyes were. How could a guy have such gorgeous eyes?

Zach slowly came awake, but it was obvious he was still confused and had no idea what was going on around him. "Alex, can we go home now? Please?" Zach’s voice was so quiet it was nearly inaudible. And he sounded so lost, tired and confused it was heart wrenching. Alex was close to crying himself at the sound of his friend’s little boy voice.

"We’re going home right now buddy. We just got to get you dressed so we can go. Just hang on a little bit longer and I’ll get you home." Alex’s voice was so husky with emotion it was almost impossible to tell what he was saying, but Zach seemed to take comfort from hearing him. He just weakly nodded his head and allowed himself to be dressed without comment or struggle. The entire time he just stared straight into Alex’s eyes with a look of abiding and overwhelming trust.

After a couple of minutes a nurse came into the room pushing a wheel chair in front of her. "Here’s that medication you wanted Dr. Edwards and I brought a wheel chair to take Zachary out to your car. Why don’t you go warm it up and pull around to the door. Alex and I can get Zachary into the chair and we’ll meet you there. No need to try and get him across that slick parking lot if we don’t have to."

Dr. Edwards smiled at his nurse and took the offered bottle of pills. "Thanks Carol. You think of everything don’t you? I don’t know where I’d be without you around here."

Carol smiled back and went over to help Alex maneuver Zach into the wheel chair. They slowly walked down the hall towards the front doors, taking it nice and easy to give Dr. Edwards time to warm up the car and bring it around. Carol pushed Zach in the wheel chair and Alex walked alongside with his hand on his friend’s shoulder, letting him know he was right there with him. Zach’s eyes never left Alex’s face the entire way.

"Your dad’s got to be about the best doctor in this hospital Alex. Everybody has always been kind of surprised he never moved on to a bigger hospital, but we’re all glad he never has. Don’t worry about your boyfriend. He’s going to be just fine and he’s got the best care in the world under your dad."

Alex visibly flinched when Carol described Zach as his boyfriend and his face went nearly white as all the blood drained out of it. "Zach’s not my boyfriend! He’s not gay! He’s just my roommate at college!"

"Oh I’m sorry honey! I didn’t mean to upset you. I should have thought before I spoke. I just assumed by the way he keeps staring at you, and earlier when he first got here and wouldn’t calm down because you weren’t in the room with him and he couldn’t see you. He kept asking for you and getting more and more upset that you weren’t there. Even after the pain medication started to kick in and started calming him down, he was still asking if you were ok. I just made a stupid assumption. I’m sorry."

Alex took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm down and regain his composure. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have got so mad. You just caught me off guard."

"It’s ok honey. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have assumed anything. Just forget I said anything. Here’s your dad now. I think we probably ought to put him in the back seat and you with him so he’ll stay calm. He’s still pretty confused and it might scare him if he can’t see you."

The three of them quickly transferred Zach into the car and Dr. Edwards started the drive home. Within only a few seconds, Zach slumped against Alex and rested his head against his shoulder drifting into a doze. Without even thinking about it, Alex put his arm around his friend and hugged him close, the only thought going through his head was the comments made by Carol. Zach wasn’t gay, so why had Carol called him Alex’s boyfriend? Alex could secretly admit to himself that he was attracted to Zach, but the feeling couldn’t be mutual could it? No! Of course not. Zach wasn’t gay so why even think about it.

It only took a few minutes for Dr. Edwards to drive them all home and pull into the garage. Even as he was getting out, the door into the house from garage opened and Alex’s brother Jason stepped up to help with Zach. "Jason’s here? Dad, why didn’t you tell me?"

"Oh, sorry son. I guess I completely forgot. I called him from the hospital to let him know we were on our way."

Jason had already managed to get Zach about half way out of the car and was slinging Zach’s arm over his shoulders to help support him on the way in. "Hey little brother. Nice seeing your ugly face again. Think you can give me a hand with your friend here? I shouldn’t have to do all the work around here." Jason grinned cockily at his brother.

Alex was thrilled to see Jason again and grinned back at his brother even as he punched him in the arm. "I was just surprised to see your lazy ass doing something useful it kinda stunned me!" Alex quickly took up the position on Zach’s other side to help support him. Together, he and Jason half manhandled, half carried the very sleepy and very confused Zach into the house.

Jason looked over at Alex. "Why don’t we go ahead and take your friend into the guest room and lay him down. It looks like he could really use some rest."

Dr. Edwards looked kind of thoughtful for a moment. "Alex, I don’t think putting Zachary in the guest room would be a good idea. He has no idea where he is right now or what’s going on and if he wakes up in the middle of the night, he’s not going to remember where he is. As confused as he is right now, it would probably terrify him not knowing what was going on or where he is. Would you mind sharing a bed with him tonight Alex? If he wakes up, it would probably be best if you were right there with him."

"No, I don’t mind. My bed’s big enough for us both. Jason, Mark and I use to fall asleep in it all the time when we would try and watch movies all night." Alex tried to keep his voice light, but he was more than a little nervous at what his dad was suggesting. He knew that his dad was just looking out for his patient and was making what he thought was an innocent suggestion. And really, it would be better if he were there if Zach woke up, but still…

Zach was looking around trying to figure out where he was. His eyes were staying closed longer and longer between blinks and it was pretty obvious he wasn’t going to be able to stay awake much longer. "Alex, where are we? Can we go home now?"

"You’re at my house Zach. You’re going to spend the night here in my room. We’re going to put you to bed right now."

Zach struggled with the idea for a second or two, but really the only thing that registered was that he could go to bed and Alex was there. Still, he had one other thought that he needed to express. "But I gotta go pee."

Jason busted out laughing and even Alex and Dr. Edwards were smiling. Zach was just so matter of fact with that statement that it was pretty funny, more so because Zach was so serious.

Alex, trying not to laugh, guided his friend into the bathroom. "Ok. We’ll take care of that first, then we’ll put you to bed." Alex led him to the toilette and then stood behind his friend to hold him steady since Zach was swaying so much he probably would have fallen without support. Zach fumbled for a couple of minutes, trying to figure out how to untie the bottoms of the scrubs he was wearing, but he just couldn’t manage it and was becoming more agitated by the second.

"Here Zach, let me help." Alex wasn’t sure how Zach would respond to that. He knew how modest his friend was and how easily he became embarrassed. By offering to help, Alex was in effect offering to pull his friends pants down and expose his dick. Surprisingly, Zach nodded his head and didn’t even struggle as he calmly yielded to his friend, letting Alex untie the scrubs and pull the front down so he could relieve himself.

Alex tried not think about what he was doing or just how close his hands were to Zach’s most private areas. Trying to give his friend as much privacy as he could manage, Alex turned his head away. Alex admitted to himself that he also turned away to keep from staring and allowing those fantasies he had been fighting for so long from running rampant through his mind.

Suddenly, Alex felt warm fluid splashing against his hands and soaking the front of Zach’s pants. Alex quickly looked back only to see that in turning away he had allowed the front of Zach’s pants to come part way back up. Zach had closed his eyes and was also unaware of what was happening. "Shit! I’m sorry Zach. I should have been paying attention." Alex was furious with himself. Couldn’t he even control himself long enough for his friend to take a piss?

Zach just stared down at his front, unsure of what was happening. He couldn’t understand how he had gotten all wet. He finally just dismissed it since he couldn’t figure out what was going on anyway. As long as Alex was there, he knew everything would be ok.

Zach quickly finished up and allowed himself to be led back into the bedroom, Alex supporting him the entire way acting as kind of a crutch so he could limp along. His eyes were closed the entire time and he was more asleep than awake now. Dr. Edwards and Jason were both still in the bedroom waiting to help Alex put Zach to bed.

Jason was frowning, looking at the sodden front of Zach’s clothes. "What happened to him? How did he get all wet?"

Alex turned a little red. "We had a little trouble keeping everything in place and his pants started slipping back up before he was done. He was half asleep and didn’t realize it. I still don’t think he realizes what happened. Just that he’s wet."

Dr. Edwards and Jason both laughed a little at that. "Son, why didn’t you call us for help? Oh well. Let’s get him out of those wet clothes and I’ll throw them into the laundry."

Alex had to laugh. "Oh Man! He’s going to be more freaked out that we stripped him and put him to bed naked than he’s going to be about the accident. I’m glad he doesn’t know what’s going on right now."

The three of them quickly got Zach undressed and helped him into bed. Alex pulled the covers up, snuggling Zach under the comforter. Zach sleepily opened his eyes and stared right into Alex’s eyes. "Can I go to sleep now Alex? You’ll be right here won’t you?"

Alex smiled at his friend, trying to reassure him any way that he could. "You can go to sleep now Zach. I’ll stay right here by your side in case you need me. Don’t worry. I’ll be right here."

Zach continued to stare into Alex’s eyes for a few seconds and a sleepy smile covered his face. Then he slowly closed his eyes as he drifted off to sleep. "Thanks Alex. I love you buddy."

Alex was stunned. His face went completely white and his jaw dropped part way open. He stared at his sleeping friend in disbelief. Did Zach just say that he loved him? He couldn’t have heard that right! Then he realized that he wasn’t alone in the room. Jason and his dad were both still standing right there. They had heard what Zach had just said, and worse, they had seen his reaction to it. There was no way he could get around that.

"Alex, why don’t you sit down son. I think we better talk." Alex closed his eyes as he sat down on the bed. He didn’t want to face his family. He didn’t want to see their reactions. He knew his dad would be furious and ready to kick his fag son out. He knew that when he looked at Jason he would see scorn and hatred for his queer pansy brother. He sat for a few more seconds, keeping his eyes closed to their reaction, trying to steel himself before facing them.

"Alex, look at me son."

Trembling slightly, Alex opened his eyes and looked at his father. Of all the reactions he had feared and played out in his mind, his dad faced him with one he never expected. He was smiling gently at him! And so was Jason!

"Alex, we’ve all known for a very long time that you were gay. We never said anything about it because we didn’t want to force you to confront it before you were ready. We figured you would tell us when you were up to it. No matter what son, your brothers and I love you. This doesn’t change the way we feel. Now tell me. Is Zachary your boyfriend?"

Alex couldn’t stop the tears from flowing from his eyes and he couldn’t speak he was so emotional. Jason came around and standing behind him, folded his arms around Alex in a great big bear hug and Alex started sobbing even harder. After a couple of minutes, Alex finally got himself back under control, although tears were still running down his cheeks.

"I can’t believe you all knew. I didn’t even know. I’ve denied it and fought it for so long! I never expected to be able to tell any of you."

"Little brother, you’re not really a very good actor you know. You’re pretty transparent to those of us who know you and love you. So how long have you and Zachary been going out?"

Alex shook his head. "We’re not. Honest. I wish we were, but we’re not. I don’t really think he’s gay. He’s never shown any interest in guys."

"But he said he loved you! Why would he say that if he wasn’t interested in you? I think he IS interested in you little brother."

Alex was calming down considerably. He smiled sadly at his brother and just shook his head. "No. I wish I could believe that, but I don’t think so. You saw how confused he was Jason. When he said that, I don’t think he meant he was IN love with me. Just that he loved me, you know, like a brother or something."

"Son, I think Jason is right. I’ll admit Zachary was pretty out of it, but his reactions were still pretty telling. He wouldn’t let you out of his eyesight all night and he wasn’t looking at you like a friend. You also didn’t see him when we were working on him. He kept insisting on seeing you and making sure you were all right. He kept getting more and more agitated when we wouldn’t let him go and see you for himself. I honestly thought we were going to have to sedate him. Luckily the pain medication started kicking in and helped calm him down. I think you are going to have to have a talk with him to find out what he really feels and let him know how you feel."

"I don’t know if I can do that dad. I don’t think I could handle it if he ended up hating me for telling him how I feel about him. He’s my best friend and I could end up losing him all together. I don’t know if I could take that."

"It’s your decision son, but I think you are almost going to have to tell him. You aren’t going to be able to keep hiding this from him. Jason’s right. You aren’t able to keep your feelings very secret from those you love."

"I know. I’m just so scared."

"I wish I could make it easier for you son. Think about what I said though. Now I think I’m going to bed. And Alex, always remember, no matter what, I love you and I will always be here for you and support you in anything you do." Dr. Edwards stood up and hugged both of his sons and then left for his room.

"You going to bed too Jason? If you’re not tired, I could use the company. I haven’t had a chance to talk with you for awhile. Besides, I think I’m too keyed up to even think about sleeping for awhile."

"If you’re not sleepy, I’ll stay. I’ve missed you little brother. Even if you do get on my nerves."

Alex laughed. "Jerk! I’ve missed you too." Then Alex became serious. "What am I going to do Jason? How do I get myself into these situations?" Even as he was talking to his brother, Alex had been staring at Zach. Without even realizing he was doing it, he reached out one hand and tenderly brushed the hair out of his friends sleeping eyes, then let his hand run down to his friends shoulder and started gently rubbing it comfortingly.

Jason watched his brother for a few minutes, smiling the entire time. "You’ve got it bad little brother."

Alex quickly looked up, figuring his brother was teasing him and quickly trying to think up an insult. But when he looked at Jason, he saw his brother wasn’t teasing him as they had done to each other so often in the past, but was instead looking at him with compassion and understanding. The insult dying on his lips, he could only smile back at his brother. "Yeah, I guess I do."

"Tell me about him. Tell me about something fun the two of you did together. Help me get to know him."

Alex smiled gratefully at his brother, eager to share stories about his best friend. "Ok. I’ll tell you about the Halloween party we went to. We entered Zach into a costume contest and made him go as a pirate. You should have seen him…"

***

"It’s about time you got here. Where have you been?" Cindy was expressing more than a little irritation as Zach entered the apartment.

"I love you too Cindy! Thanks so much for asking about me. Your concern is simply overwhelming." Zach grinned at her even as he nodded towards Alex and James. Cindy and Zach had known each since grade school and treated each other like they were brother and sister. They constantly bickered, but they would do anything for the other. That didn’t stop them from driving each other crazy though.

"Shut up Zach! You have to try on your costume. The party is tomorrow. If I need to make any alterations, I have to do them tonight."

Zach started heating up a little. "It’s not my fault you didn’t get the costume finished sooner. I don’t even want to be in this stupid contest. All of you ganged up on me and bullied me into this. And you know where I’ve been. I was at the study center tutoring math like I always do." Alex and James were grinning openly at the two. The costume party and contest had been an ongoing argument for over a week.

"Just put this on and let me check it. Alex and James, I don’t want to hear a word from either of you!"

Still grumbling under his breath, Zach took the bag with the costume in it and headed to his room to change. "I don’t know how I let you talk me into this!" Reaching the bedroom, Zach slammed the door to let everybody know just how he felt about the whole thing.

"I think your contestant is starting to get a little surly. What do you think James?"

James just smiled, knowing better than to comment. At least not with Cindy right there.

Then they all heard Zach start to swear from the bedroom. "I can’t fucking wear this! What the fuck are you trying to pull? There is no way in hell that I’m wearing this out in public"

Cindy glared at the door hiding Zach. "What’s wrong with it? Come out and let me see?"

"No FUCKING way!"

"Zach! You promised me you would do this. Now come out here and let me see!"

"HELL NO! SHIT!"

"ZACHARY! GET YOUR FUCKING ASS OUT HERE NOW!" They could all tell that Cindy was really pissed now. Alex and James both exchanged looks, grinning at each other, wondering what had set Zach off.

After a few seconds, Zach opened the door and stomped out wearing his costume, his face bright scarlet with embarrassment . Alex and James nearly doubled over laughing, now realizing what had upset Zach so much. Cindy had designed a pirate costume, but had gone out of her way to make it as sexy as she could. The shirt was made out of a light, gauzy material that was nearly see through. The front didn’t have buttons but was instead held together by lacing up which left a lot of Zach’s chest and abdomen exposed. The black half pants were made of a shiny, satiny material that was very clingy, nearly melding to his skin and should have left little to the imagination but somehow seemed to have odd lumps, folds and bunches in them.

Cindy was frowning as she looked at Zach in his costume. "What are you wearing under those pants?"

"My boxers!"

"What! Zach! That looks ridiculous! Why didn’t you wear the thong under them that was in the bag?"

"I AM NOT WEARING A THONG!"

"You can’t go out looking like that! That looks stupid!"

"I AM NOT WEARING A FUCKING THONG! I don’t care what you say, I’m not doing it! I don’t even want to be in this stupid contest! AND I AM NOT WEARING A FUCKING THONG!"

Cindy’s eyes were flashing as she glared at Zach. Zach, still blushing bright red, glared right back at her. Finally, trying to keep the peace between the two, James spoke up. "How about some lycra compression shorts? I’ve got a pair you can borrow. You won’t be…uh… out there quite so much and they won’t bunch up like your boxers."

Cindy was about to argue the point, but Alex, who was having a real hard time to keep from laughing, stepped in to try and help calm the two. "That’s a really good idea James. Why don’t you go get them so Zach can try them on and Cindy can see if they look ok."

James quickly stepped next door to his apartment and returned with the shorts handing them to the still fuming Zach. James leaned in to whisper in Zach’s ear. "Don’t leave your boxers on underneath these. You’ll start another war if you do."

Zach glared at all three of his friends and went back into the bedroom to change. In a few moments, he came back out, still blushing and obviously still pissed, but he kept quiet. Cindy inspected him, not saying too much other than she didn’t need to make any alterations. She also asked him not to shave so that he would look a little more rugged. She had won most of the battle, so she was willing to keep quiet, at least for the most part.

Alex, still grinning, noticed that even with the compression shorts, Zach still had a very noticeable bulge in the front of his pants. The shorts were better than a thong would have been, but they still left little to the imagination. He knew his friend was in for a very long, and very embarrassing evening tomorrow.

The next night, Zach was nervously fidgeting back stage and blushing furiously. "I can’t believe I let you guys talk me into this." Alex was keeping his friend company while he waited for his turn to go out and appear before the judges, not to mention the rest of the party goers. He could see that Zach was almost at the panic stage.

"Oh come on Zach. It’s not that bad. You actually look pretty good in that get up."

"No I don’t! I look like an idiot. Why did I let you guys talk me into this? And you know I hate being up in front of a bunch of people like that. God, I wish this was over!"

Alex could tell Zach was just about to lose it. Zach couldn’t sit still and was sweating heavily, and it wasn’t that hot in there. His eyes looked a little wild, and Alex knew Zach was right on the edge of bolting. Alex grabbed a beer and handed it to his friend hoping the alcohol would calm him. "Here, drink some of this."

Zach just held onto the bottle for a second or two, and then downed it without stopping. Alex was very surprised. He had expected Zach to only take a sip or two. Normally Zach didn’t drink much and a single beer would last him all night.

Zach, still fidgeting nervously, sat with his head down, staring at the floor. Finally he looked up at Alex and grinned a little weakly. "Could you get me another of those? Please."

Alex grabbed another bottle and placed it in his friends trembling hand. "Go easy on this one, ok. If you get sick and throw up all over yourself Cindy will rip my balls off and feed them to me for letting you get drunk. And Zach, I’ve got to tell you, I really like my balls where they are now."

Zach started laughing at his friends joke which helped him to calm down a little. Still, he was very nervous and his hands were still visibly trembling. He did, however, only take a few sips of his beer before setting it on the ground near his feet.

After a few more minutes, Alex noticed that it was nearly Zach’s turn. "Come on Zach. It’s almost your turn."

"Oh god! I feel like I’ve got to throw up."

Alex was standing right behind Zach, massaging his neck and shoulders. "There’s no time for that Zach. You can do this. All you got to do is go out on stage, walk back and forth a couple of times so the judges can see you, and then go stand in line next to the other contestants. No big deal."

"Easy for you to say. You’re not the one standing in front of all those people wearing this stupid costume that practically shows everything."

"It doesn’t look that bad. You’re going to be far enough away from the crowd that they aren’t going to be able to make out all the details. And the lights and everything will make it pretty hard to see you. It will all be over before you know it." Alex gave his friend a little shove and let his voice take on a playful tone. "Now get out there you big, bad pirate!"

Zach grinned at his friend, took a deep breath, and stepped out on stage. As he walked from one side to the other, letting the judges see him from all angles, he could hear several of his friends shouting his name and whistling. The sounds were oddly encouraging. Even though his friends were teasing him with all the whistles, cat calls and howls, he could tell they were just joking with him. Everybody was there just to have a good time and it was infectious. He couldn’t help but smile and then went to take his place with the other contestants.

Backstage, Alex watched his friend walk out in front of the crowd. At first, his steps were nervous and faltering, but as the crowed shouted their encouragement, Zach seem to take heart. By the time he finished and was headed towards the line of other contestants Zach was almost strutting. Alex couldn’t help but laugh and cheer his friend on. And then it was announced that Zach had won for best costume. Zach went wild and started whooping with delight, jumping around and high fiving everyone in sight.

James came up and stood besides Alex, watching their friend parade across the stage. "He looks pretty good doesn’t he? Do you think he knows what’s coming next?"

"What do you mean? What comes next?"

"Oh that’s right. You guys have never been to one of these costume contests. I keep forgetting you both transferred in. It’s tradition around here. The other contestants always pour a cooler of ice water over the winner. I’m surprised no one told him. See, here they go now."

Alex quickly looked back on stage. Sure enough, several of the other contestants were walking up behind Zach with a big cooler in their hands. Zach’s attention was totally focused on the crowd, waving at all his friends so he didn’t even notice until the water started cascading over his head, plastering his shirt tightly to his body and rendering it completely see through. Worse, the water was very cold and still had small pieces of ice floating in it.

Zach gave a loud yelp as the shock of the freezing water hit him. He stood motionless, with his mouth open in shock, and his body cringing from the cold. Then, shocking Alex with his reaction, Zach busted out laughing. He was obviously still having a good time. Still laughing, Zach walked over to Alex and James, shivering and shaking and generally splattering everybody nearby with droplets of water.

As soon as he got up next to him, Alex could see that Zach had the biggest, shit-eating grin on his face that he could ever remember seeing on his friend. "Thanks for talking me into this Alex! Here, let me show you how much I appreciate it!" Still grinning and laughing, Zach grabbed Alex in a huge bear hug, wrapping his arms tightly around him and preventing him from escaping and also getting Alex pretty wet in the process.

Alex was laughing so hard that he would have fallen down if Zach hadn’t still had him in that huge, wet bear hug. He never wanted this moment to end. He was having fun, laughing with his friends, and being held by the most gorgeous guy on earth who just happened to have the deepest, bluest eyes he had ever seen. Feeling Zach’s strong, muscular body holding him so tightly was intoxicating. And he could swear he could feel every inch of Zach’s groin pressed tightly into him, growing a little harder and little bigger with every passing moment. A small, very tiny, very weak and puny part of him protested over those feeling he was having. That little, quiet voice told him that what he was feeling was inappropriate and that Zach couldn’t possibly feel the same way as he did. But just for this one special, magical moment Alex ignored that voice and just let himself feel that wonderful, intoxicating feeling.

***

To be continued.