Aurora Borealis (All time low, Jalex)

III: Tempt my trouble

Alex spent the walk back to his apartment not being able to shake an uncomfortable feeling. But his discomfort wasn't coming from the sudden strong arctic winds. Rather, he thought it was coming from his unsettling interaction with the two strangers he had met on the corner of Astro Hill and Queen Elizabeth street. He didn't like the muscular one for the way he had described Amaruq, but considering how his husky dog had practically bullied the stranger for his ketchup chips, Alex knew that he wasn't the one at fault and couldn't be blamed. The other one, who called himself Jack, was the real problem Alex was facing. He didn't like the way the dark outsider had looked him up and down, how he smirked at him, or how he talked to him. It was clear that this person--Jack, was too arrogant to understand when a person clearly wasn't interested. The brunet was glad he had avoided giving Jack his number, but prayed to whatever greater power there was that he wouldn't arrive to his art show.

He shook his head, scolding himself for being so silly. Of course Jack wasn't going to arrive at the art studio. Jack's intentions were painfully obvious; he wanted to hook up with Alex, nothing more. People like him were never interested for more than a couple of hours, let alone an entire week. He shrugged off the entire experience as he reached his apartment door, Amaruq still trailing behind him. As he fumbled for his keys, he could hear chatter and laughter from behind his apartment door. Panic bubbled in his chest, until he realized that he recognized those voices. He rolled his eyes, knowing that his friends had let themselves inside his apartment again. Ever since Alex gave his friend Aputi a spare key to his place, she abused that privilege with reckless abandon, along with their friend Rian. He would have to get that key back from her someday, he thought. For now, he used his own key to unlock his door. Before he was to push his way inside, he heard Aputi cuss "oh shit, get the lights!" followed by what sounded like scrambling feet. Amaruq started to get excited, and barked at the door loudly.

Alex pushed the door open after the noise had stopped, and was greeted to a completely dark apartment. He wasn't falling for it, though he was confused as to why his friends were acting so strangely. Deciding to toy with them, Alex sighed with exaggeration. "Boy, I sure hope nobody's here." He said loudly, throwing his keys away before turning on the lights. He heard a loud groan come from behind the couch, and Aputi emerged lethargically with Rian.

"Surprise!" She exclaimed, lacking enthusiasm. Rian didn't even try to keep up the act; he simply went around the couch and over to Alex to give him a hug.

Alex, a little startled by the affection, wrapped an arm around Rian as he looked on, befuddled. "What's all this for?" He asked, after Rian separated from him.

Aputi climbed over the couch as she explained "You're having your first art show and sale in a year. Thanks for only telling me about that this morning, by the way." She scolded, gaily. "But anyway, Rian and I thought that this was kind of a big deal, so we wanted to throw you a shitty surprise party."

"Gee, thanks." Alex rolled his eyes and had a sarcastic tone, but he truly was grateful for his friends.

"It's the thought that counts." Rian said. He grinned, showing off his incredibly white teeth.

The evening was spent with them sitting in Alex's living room, eating a store-bought vanilla cake, and chatting away about mindless things. Alex decided to avoid telling Aputi or Rian about the encounter he had that afternoon. Knowing his friends, they would either be overjoyed that he met an attractive man, or they would be furious about the way Jack had made him uncomfortable. They were both very black and white; it was either one extreme or the other, and after the incident that occurred over a year ago, they were very protective of him. But he couldn't complain, he was lucky to have friends like Aputi and Rian; others weren't so lucky. And even though it sometimes vexed him how safeguarding they were, he knew he'd be nothing without them. For that reason, he was appreciative.