Aurora Borealis (All time low, Jalex)

V: Don't be my Enemy

It wasn't much use, since Jack had already been able to spot him. He didn't walk up to Alex immediately, though. Instead, he and Zack took their time observing all of the artwork. Both men were ready to admit that the quality was of high caliber, and Zack had been eyeing a soapstone carving of a polar bear since the moment they entered the room. But Jack was too preoccupied to focus too much on the art. The real masterpiece was the artist himself, and Jack made sure he knew where Alex was at all times. Whenever Alex ducked behind a wall, or hid within a group or near a group of people, Jack's eyes followed him everywhere. The brunet took notice of this, and it only made him try to become invisible even more. He knew that his efforts were futile, but he couldn't help himself. Naturally, he was shy, and he hated the sort of attention the older man gave him.

After a half hour of cat and mouse, Jack finally caught his moment. When the younger's back was turned, the dark-haired man walked up behind him, and rested his hand on his shoulder. Startled, Alex jumped and whipped around to confront the person, but silenced himself when he realized who it was. For a moment, he didn't know how to feel. But after a few seconds, he realized that he was actually quite irritated with how brash and confrontational Jack was. When he glared at the older man, Jack only smiled in return. The gesture only seemed to make the matter worse in the artist's eyes.

"Hey, didn't mean to startle you." Jack attempted to sound more pleasant, rather than his usual arrogant self. He could tell that he was beginning to get on Alex's nerves, and he didn't come all the way to Nunavut just to give himself a bad reputation with the locals.

"Yeah, right." Alex rolled his eyes, and freed his shoulder from the man's light grasp. "I didn't actually think you'd come." He mumbled, looking down at his shoes.

"Well, here I am." The older man expressed, smiling stupidly. Alex couldn't help but take notice of how one of Jack's eyes squints when he grins.

"Yeah, here you are..." Alex's heart beat rapidly in his chest, due to his anxiety and shyness. He didn't feel up for a fight that day, for fear that he would only end up being patronized at his own art sale. And so, instead, he settled for being awkward, neurotic, and a bit crude.

"Your artwork is really good, by the way. I assume you've been doing this for a while." Jack said, observing the artwork hung on the wall beside them.

"I actually just started up again after a year."  The younger explained.

Eventually, after the two men continued to talk for a bit, Alex's nerves somehow quieted. He even started to enjoy the conversation at one point, with Jack succeeding in making him laugh. It took some time, of course, and several awkward pauses where neither knew how to continue the conversation. But he did, in due time, start to unbend. This was a relief to Jack. Zack ended up buying the soapstone carving, which Alex was incredibly grateful for. All in all, it seemed to be a surprisingly good evening. The brunet couldn't decipher why Jack suddenly didn't seem as annoying or arrogant as he usually was. Especially considering how he did find him annoying not even an hour ago. But he pushed those concerns away, and decided he didn't care. He was just glad the older man wasn't being so suggestive and vulgar, and that Zack didn't seem as angry as he did the last time he met him. Eventually, when Zack seemed antsy to leave, the two friends made their way to leave through the door. Before Jack passed through the threshold, he turned to the brunet again.

"You should come out to dinner with me tonight." He invited, smiling.

Alex stammered, slightly taken aback. He wasn't sure how to respond, or wether he wanted to or not. "Uhm... I-I don't kn-"

"Great, so I'll see you at 7:30 then?"

"Uh-"

"Do you know any good restaurants around here?"

Alex paused, looking at Jack strangely. Was this guy fucking serious? "I usually just go to Tim Horton's..." He answered, feeling awkward.

"Great, I'll see you then and there, Alex."

"Well, I don't really know if I wa-"

"You have my number right?"

The artist's heart sank to his stomach. Shit, he thought. He decided that the best route was to play dumb, and he hoped that Jack would be vacuous enough to fall for it. "Oh, no. Did you give it to me?"

"I left you a note just last week."

"It probably just fell or something." Alex lied. "I'll find it..."

"Ok. I'll see you tonight."

With that, Jack and Zack were passed the threshold and into the cold arctic air, leaving Alex behind in the warmth of the art gallery.

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I'm so sorry that this is a day late omg. I've been super busy lately and this chapter's been coming along slowly for the whole week tbh. But it's here, and it's very queer.

Hope ya'll enjoyed this one. If ya'll could leave a vote it would be very appreciated. Feedback and comments are even MORE appreciated, in case ya'll wanna get on my list of rad humans. Happy Monday guys!

Also peep the 80's new wave lol