Seize the Miracle, Capture your Love [BoyxBoy]

Twenty One (Clark)

"You probably received many gifts from your friends. There's no use getting excited about mine." I told him as I opened my backpack.

"It's from you, that's why I'm excited." Axel's reply made me freeze for a second. "Give me my present..." Axel acted uncharacteristically charming all of a sudden.

"You... how much did you drink already?" I asked him.

"Just a little bit." He replied with a smirk. He must be drunk.

"Hey, it's still early, how can you already be tipsy...?" I told him.

"Someone is worried..." James said murmured loud enough for me to hear it.

I shot him a look and he drank his beer. "Here, don't expect too much." I said as I gave Axel the small box.

Why did he have to smile that way, when I handed him the box? Everything he says, everything he does, confuses me. Please, don't give me false hope. I don't want to get hurt again.

"Hey, where did you get this?" Axel asked, with his eyes wide opened, as he opened my gift. He sounded surprised. A smile slowly formed on his lips. "This is amazing!" he said as he held the vintage signed video game.

I must be crazy. I was not the one receiving the gift but seeing him smile made me really happy. "EBay..." I replied to his question, to which James just scoffed. Bastard, if you tell Axel how I really got that game, I'm going to kill you.

"Wow..." Axel seemed very amazed. "This is really incredible, Clark. Thank you, really!" He said, still with a wide smile.

"This is amazing. I'm surprised, though, that you didn't choose a club instead." That man walking towards looked familiar, somehow. He was wearing a cap and shades, so, I couldn't really tell who it was.

"You're here!" Axel said excitedly as he stood up. "If you didn't show up, I would've been really angry."

Who the heck is that guy? Why was Axel so excited to see him?

"I won't miss your party for anything." Finally, he took off his shades and I recognized him. It was Ethan Andrada. "Here." He said as he handed Axel a paper bag. "That's expensive, be grateful." He added with a smile.

"Take a seat." Axel said with a smile as he took the paper bag from Ethan. "What do you want to drink?"

"Nothing hard. I can't be wasted tonight. I have a schedule tomorrow." He said. "Where is Teo, why don't I see him around?" He asked.

"He's probably on cloud nine with Damien right now." Axel said with a grin.

"Ohhh, that's a development..." Ethan replied. When Axel took off to get him a drink, Ethan sat down just beside James. "Nice seeing young again." He told James.

"Yeah." James said with a smile.

That's right. James did mention it. That's the reason Damien's mood was hellish.

"You must be Clark, then. Nice meeting you." Ethan said with a salute. "You must be disappointed that Teo isn't around." Ethan then said as he looked at James.

James smiled and replied in a nice tone. "He'll come back here soon, it's his best friend's party after all."

What's this? Why can I sense a tension between these two? It was amusing to see James seemingly in an argument with someone. I always wondered what would snap James out of his niceness.

"That's right, I was told to bring someone here." Ethan said, when Axel returned with his drink. "It's really bothersome, but I was forced to do it for publicity..." He added as he took a gulp of his drink.