Smile On His Lips and Cuts On His Hips (Jalex)

Twenty Nine - Completely Useless

“Be careful making wishes in the – dark, dark,” came the definite voice of Patrick Stump, which only served to muddle my mind further. I’d heard him singing literally thousands of times and could quite possibly pick his voice out quicker than my own mom’s, but this wasn’t on Soul Punk, not even closely the same type of sound, substantially nearer to that of-

I gaped at Alex, who looked excessively proud of himself as recognition evidently reformed my features and I cautiously asked, “Is this Fall Out Boy?”

It was unlikely that the answer would be yes, disappointingly, since I knew their discography better than the names of my cousins, and this song, that had now progressed to the chorus (“My songs know what you did in the dark…”) was sure as hell not a part of it. The fact that they had also obviously – and annoyingly – not released anything new in over three years also helped discount the possibility of this being a FOB song.

But Alex was happily unaware of my silent, disproving rationalizations, nodding enthusiastically as he yanked his sleeves down over his hands, muffling the chords  playing through the bitter chill as he replied, “Yes! You didn’t know about this? The hiatus is finally over, they just announced it!”

Still skeptical, I picked Alex’s phone out of his grasp, checking the screen and eyes widening at the artist and album art it revealed. The song was even paired with a ridiculously long title.

The music looped back around, starting over as the brunette grabbed his phone back, tucking it into his back pocket and moving his grip to my hands, numb fingers slotting together as I slowly processed that information. Apparently, the latest volley of Fall Out Boy rumors had been true.

It was when Patrick sang, “In the end everything collides, my childhood spat back out the monster that you see,” and my brain absurdly provided, Pete Wentz is a lying ass hole, that Alex’s declaration clicked into realization and I repeated his earlier words, swearing, “Holy crap,” because, seriously, holy crap, Fall Out Boy was back.

Devoid of any other outlet for my sudden, thrilled energy, I pressed my hand into Alex’s waist, flipping us around and crowding him up against the wall. Our linked hands rubbed between our shirts as I bent down, smoothing our lips together, gleeful smiles slanting our mouths as they slid in sync.

“So light ‘em up, up, up, light ‘em up, up, up,” the words persevered, pushing past the obstacles of Alex’s constricting jeans and the school building, vibrating into my ears as the first bell rang. I seriously considered simply skipping class – something I’d never done, having only missed ten minutes of a period at the most without a note – to stay there, ecstatically kissing my boyfriend and inhaling the glory that was Fall Out Boy’s new single instead of enduring another increment of high school torture.

It was appealing, certainly, with Alex’s free hand smoothing through my hair and tongue lapping toothpaste mint onto my lips, but I reluctantly pulled back after hearing chattering girls and shuffling binders passing behind us.

Alex switched off the song, carding his fingers through his fringe to flatten it, continuously  grinning like a million dollar lottery winner. Brain lagging behind the recent events, I was still too stunned and scrambled to do anything other than call out a goodbye when he kissed my cheek and skipped off to first period. I had to take a moment to lamely inspect the area around me and remember where I was and what I was supposed to be doing before heading back towards my locker, face beginning to settle into a perpetual grin.

By the time I had the necessary supplies to get me past the beginning of school, class had already started, the previously loud, throbbing hall still and silent except for the muffled instructions of teachers from within their respective classrooms. I didn’t care, having already accepted my fate of being at least five minutes late, literally not alarmed by this at all, because, really, fuck math. Lacking any concern for missing part of my first lesson, I walked towards the correct room, step bouncing and newly discovered chorus ringing through my head.