Page 59 of Cross the Line

Alec ducks out of Jason’s hold, shaking his hair out. “Fuck off, you overgrown jackass. Touch my hair again and I’ll end you.”

“Aw, such a feisty baby.”

Alec scoffs. “Not a baby, a man.” He waits for the ribbing, but Theo and Jason just stare at him like he’s grown a second head. He fidgets with the sleeves of his hoodie, pulling them over his hands while chewing his gum so hard his jaw throbs.

“I guess you did grow up, didn’t you?” Jason replies, the sincerity somehow more difficult to handle than the teasing. At least from Jason. Their entire relationship is built on pissing contests and competitiveness.

“Took you long enough to notice,” Alec says, avoiding Theo’s gaze. He can’t look at him right now, not when a single sentence has him feeling exposed.

“Alec.”

“Don’t,” Alec mumbles, staring at the grass.

“I’m sorry.”

“Nope, no pity,” Alec says, shaking his head at his brother. He yanks his hood back on, hunching his shoulders. His body might be exhausted, but his mind is anything but. “I’m gonna head back to my place. I'll meet you guys at the club.”

“I can pick you up on the way,” Theo offers.

Alec’s head snaps up. Theo’s face is unreadable but his gaze is unwavering, and Alec isn’t sure he’s ever seen Theo look at him like this.

“Good man, Theo. I’ve gotta swing by Andrew’s place and help him move a piece of furniture, but I can meet you guys there at nine.”

“Sounds good,” Theo replies, his eyes never leaving Alec. It’s unfamiliar and heady and Alec has no idea what it means. The offer was the kind of thing friends do and Alec wants to be friends. But friends don’t usually stare at each other like they’re trying to figure something out. Then again, it’s Theo and he’s not exactly like other people. He’s quieter, more intense, better in every way.

Letting himself read into every word and look from Theo is a recipe for a broken heart, but Alec’s has been broken so many times that at this point it’s held together with duct tape and stubbornness. It can handle a little more pain.

“Why do you look like you’re sneaking out?” Hunter asks. He pushes his cordless headphones back so they hang around his neck, his video game continuing to blow up in the background.

With Logan spending the night at his girlfriend’s place, Antonio on one of his marathon FaceTime calls with Elsa, and Riley helping his frat brothers move in, Alec had thought he’d escape judgment. Then he’d realized Hunter was home and he maybe, possibly, spent an extra ten minutes waiting until Hunter was absorbed in his game before trying to casually sneak out the front door. Apparently he did a shitty-ass job.

“You’re losing,” Alec says, pointing at the tv.

“You deflect a lot, you know that?” Hunter pauses the game, smiling. “There, better. Now, why do you look like you’re sneaking out?”

Alec curses under his breath. Hunter is direct in a way Alec’s not used to from his other friends and while Alec has come to appreciate his no-nonsense ways, it still catches him off guard sometimes.

“Just heading out.”

Hunter hums.

“What?” Alec snaps.

“Just wondering where. You sneak out a lot, but usually you take your AirPods and wear running clothes. You don’t look like you’re going running.”

“How do you know where I go in the morning? Aren’t you asleep?”

Hunter shakes his head. “I’m an only child. We don’t sleep through anything like you weirdos with siblings have to learn to do.”

“Shit, sorry. If I’d known I was waking you up, I wouldn’t have?—”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Hunter says. “There a party on campus already?”

“Not exactly.”

“You got a date?” Alec’s face must answer that question before his mouth can and Hunter laughs. “That’s a no, then.”

“It’s just—ugh.” Alec stalks over to the couch, throwing himself down. “You know Theo.”

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