Three Couples, Six People, Many Songs(#6&7)
Song #6 - I Want You, Savage Garden
Gary shut his door on Skif. As much as he loved the dog, he didn't love to smell like the dog, and right then especially, he needed to be 'odor of border collie' free.
Exactly a week since Gary had stumbled across Ash in the club, and unable to push away thoughts of that night, Gary decided to go to the club again and see if he could find Ash. Preferably, the younger boy would be sober. /Normally I'd wonder how on earth he got drunk in the first place, but this town's always been known for being lose with underage drinkers. Hell, they let me drink and I'm not that much older than him.../ Sighing, Gary buttoned up his white shirt. Unlike most button-up shirts, it was a stretchy cotton, and very comfortable. He paused when he reached the top two buttons, and then decided to leave them open. Bending over a little, he brushed off his faded blue jeans, pulling on them to try and get rid of the barely visible wrinkles. After that, he looked in the mirror and smiled tentatively. /I look like an idiot.../ Returning to his normal faint frown, he carefully applied a little gel to his hair. The somewhat spiky nature of his hair was mostly natural, but the gel helped keep the shape. He found it mildly amusing that he took so much care to make his hair look almost messy.
Satisfied with his appearance, he looked around his room for his sneakers. There they were, under his desk, where he had taken them off. He retrieved the shoes and put them on. Gary stood up and looked at himself in his mirror once more. Casual, but still looked like he had an intended destination. Perfect. No, not perfect... Where was his necklace? Frowning, he scanned his room and found it on his bed. For a moment he'd thought he had lost it... Quickly, he grabbed the necklace, then his leather jacket, and ran out his room and down the stairs, putting on the necklace and jacket while he moved.
"Bye Mom! I'm going out!" He yelled, making it out the front door before his mother could say anything. Hands in his pockets, Gary sighed in relief. For a moment he had worried that he would not be able to go out. Then again, if he didn't make it off their block and out of sight of the house, his mother might still try to get him to go back home.
Walking quickly, Gary made it down to the heart of the town, the area that could almost, almost be called a city. This was where he would find the club, hidden in the midst of other clubs and bars. As he walked, he wondered if Ash would even show up... He had never seen Ash at the club before, so why would he return? But then, the club was one of the very, very few places nearby where they could meet 'others like themselves'. Maybe Ash had just not known the club was there, and now would keep coming.
He could only hope. No, wait. Not hope. Because it was just a silly little infatuation, not even a crush, so why should he hope that Ash would be there? Gary let out a frustrated sigh. No use denying it. It was a crush. Maybe even something more. He barely knew Ash anymore, but that night... A slight smile crept onto Gary's lips. He thought about that night all the time, and more and more he felt this longing. He wanted Ash. There he had admitted it. He really wanted Ash. No idea why, he just did.
But the feeling would fade, right? Ash was immature, more obsessed with rare animals and such than anything, sacrificing his school work to go track down some rare creature. Once he got to know Ash, he would realize that this was not someone he wanted to date, and the feeling would just disappear, and life would be back to normal.
Right...?
Somewhat warily, Gary entered the club. For a moment, panic seized his mind and he almost turned and left, but then he calmed himself down and reminded himself that Ash was younger than him, and he had absolutely nothing to be scared of.
It was nine-thirty. Gary had chosen to go at that time because the club would not be all that packed, but full enough. As usual, Gary headed for the bar. He almost chose to go dance, but then changed his mind. He was not in the mood to dance, he was just there to try and find Ash. It would have been simpler to find Ash at school, or to find out where he now lived, but Gary's mind did not quite work that way. He liked challenges.
For about forty minutes Gary sat there, content to just watch people come and go. Humans were strange little creatures, and Gary had to admit there were many times that he preferred the company of his border collies to that of humans.
"Hey."
Gary nearly jumped from the stool he sat on, but instead he just froze and stared at the speaker like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. "Hi." He managed to say. /You're such a fucking idiot! Stop staring, loosen up a bit! God-damnit, you're not a lovesick twelve year old girl!/ Gary tried to listen to his own advice, but found it rather hard. Instead, he found himself still frozen in his chair, and just, well, staring at Ash.
The younger old boy seemed somewhat amused at Gary's predicament, and he sat down on the bar-stool next to him. "Do you come here often?"
Gary nodded, not quite trusting himself to talk.
"Been a long time since we've really talked, hasn't it?" Ash tilted his head to one side. "Cat got your tongue?"
Gary shook his head, "No."
"Good, because that would ruin my plans for this evening."
Gary blinked. Plans? What plans?
Ash turned his head to the dance for briefly before looking at Gary. "Want to dance?"
Gary grimaced slightly. He had been dreading that question. "I really don't like to dance... Last time was an exception."
"Ah, I thought so. You don't seem much like the dancing type." Ash smiled. "Well then, let's just talk. What have you been up to all these years? I feel like we lived in different areas for the past years but we really just drifted apart."
Gary nearly sighed in relief, but held it back, and instead just relaxed and talked to Ash. It really wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. For a little over an hour, they just conversed. Friendly talk, no flirting. Just two old friends catching up with each other. And Gary was pleased. He really didn't have any friends... When he stopped hanging out with Ash, he lost his last true human friend. Though now was somewhat different, considering his attraction to Ash, he still felt like he had regained something dear to him, and that made him happy.
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Song #7 - Frozen, Madonna
Ash felt much amused by Gary's almost nervousness. Though the older boy had long since relaxed, every now and then he would seem to clamp up. No, Gary really hadn't changed. He still hid his slight shyness under a thick layer of arrogance and confidence. If Ash had not been watching Gary closely over the past years, he would have thought Gary was straight.
There was a lull in the conversation, and Ash toyed with one of the long sleeves of his black shirt. "Do you want to go somewhere else?"
"Huh?" Gary blinked, completely taken by surprise.
"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Ash repeated.
Gary looked flustered, not quite sure what to answer, but quickly he gathered his wits, and Ash could see the confident aura Gary tried his best to create returning. "Alright."
"Follow me," Ash said with a smile, leading Gary out of the club. They walked almost side by side, but with Ash a little ahead, as he was the one who knew their destination. They walked out of the more city like area, and into the outer suburbs.
"Where are we going?" Gary finally asked.
"To my house," Ash replied calmly.
"Okay." Gary shrugged. He finally decided to just stop being so nervous about this whole thing. It was just Ash.
The walk was long, and after being quiet for so long, Gary finally struck up another conversation. They talked about nothing in particular, just about little things, like school, and dogs. When they finally made it to Ash's house, Ash produced a key to the door and opened it for Gary.
Somewhat timidly, Gary walked in to the tiny little house that Ash and his mother shared. It was nothing big, but they made do. "Where's your mother?" Gary asked.
"She's away," Ash said quickly. End of subject. "Let's go to my room." He started heading up the stairs without even waiting for a reply from Gary. On Ash's door could be found a sign that had a wolf lying on the words 'Beware'.
"Did you draw that?"
"No, Misty did it for me." Ash opened the door. "Welcome to my humble room. Watch your step, it's somewhat messy."
Somewhat messy turned out to be somewhat of an understatement. The bed was made, but various books and articles of clothing and posters and all sorts of things were strewn all over nearly every inch of space. Gary stepped in, then looked helplessly at Ash. There really wasn't anywhere to go without stepping on anything.
"Oh right. You're a neat-freak." Ash grinned and walked right over his stuff and to his bed. With one sweep of his arm, he cleared the edge, knocking the mess onto the floor. "There we go. A place to sit." He sat down and waited patiently for Gary to follow him.
Gary shook his head slightly, disapproving of the mess, but then followed Ash's steps and sat down next to him. After some though, he lay back, propping himself up on his elbows. "Nice posters," he remarked, taking a quick look at the walls. Lots of wildlife. Lots and lots of wildlife. "Hey, is that a stuffed animal?" Gary sat up and then leaned over Ash to grab the toy propped up by his pillows. "Aww, Ash has got a widdle kitty-cat!" He grinned as Ash blushed, and quickly stood up before Ash could grab the black cat away.
"Give it back!" Ash demanded, trying to snatch it away. However, Gary held it high above Ash's head, and the poor boy could not jump high enough. "It's not funny!"
"It is to me." Gary smirked, amused at the almost childish frustration Ash seemed to be going through. "You want your precious kitty-cat back?"
"Yes!"
"Too bad." Gary scrambled across Ash's bed, but when he got to the other side Ash had followed close behind him, and tackled him into the wall.
"Give it back!" Ash demanded, trying to reach for the stuffed toy, but Gary had it pinned between him and the wall, and he wasn't budging. "Oh come on Gary!"
Gary shook his head, still smirking. "Nope."
"Please?"
"Maybe."
"Gary!" Ash almost whined. "Just give it back!"
"Nope." Gary looked at Ash, and it suddenly dawned on him just how close they were... Ash seemed to have realized the same thing because his cheeks had acquired an interesting rosy color.
Yet neither of them moved. They simply looked at each other. Gary pulled the stuffed cat from behind him and handed it back to Ash, but Ash still stood in front of him, preventing Gary from moving away from the wall. Unnerved by the silence, Gary seemed about to say something, but stopped when Ash moved a little closer to him.
Gary nearly stopped breathing, but then instead he felt his heart beating faster.
Ash placed his right hand over where Gary's heart would be. For a moment, he looked at his own hand, then looked up at Gary. "Your heart's frozen."
Gary seemed somewhat confused, and he started to frown, but the Ash smiled, and he stopped. Boldly, he lifted his own right hand and placed it gently on Ash's cheek. Slowly, he trailed his hand down the boy's jaw line, stopping at his chin. /What the hell am I doing?/ He tilted Ash's head up a little, and started to lean in. Yet at the same time, both boys turned away, pulling back and moving away from each other.
Staring at the black clad boy, Gary seemed almost in shock at what he had almost done. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me..."
Ash clutched his stuffed cat to his chest, staring at the floor. He looked up at Gary, mixed emotions in his eyes. "It's alright..."
"No, it's not. I shouldn't have done that... We still don't really know each other that well anymore." Gary look at his watch, and then swore. "Shit, I have to go. It's almost twelve." He looked at Ash, wincing slightly at the almost hurt expression on his face. "I'll call you or something. Bye!" Almost relieved to have a reason to leave, but guilty about leaving so abruptly, Gary ran out, and managed to find his way back to his own home in a record-breaking half an hour. His parents were pissed at him, but he didn't care. He was too caught up in the realization that he had almost kissed Ash... What the hell had he been thinking? And what had Ash meant by 'Your heart's frozen'?
Confused, Gary ran up to his room after a quick lecture by his parents, and flung himself onto his bed. /Why'd I have to have this stupid crush on Ash of all people?/ Groaning, Gary turned over onto his side, and curled up. /Stupid hormones.../
Curled up on his bed with his thoughts for company, Gary lay awake for a full hour before finally falling asleep.
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