RECAP:

jack couldn't lie. maybe his friends wouldn't even know who the him was, and maybe it wouldn't even land face up.

"yes." jack said, his voice tremulous. his throat felt tight, and he couldn't understand why he was so shaky. the others didn't even know the question.

yet.

wyatt grabbed the slipper, throwing it up in the air.

they could very easily find out in just a few seconds. and they would know. they would know jack's truth, the thing he had been trying to hide for so long. finn would know. jesus fuck, finn would know. his best friend. he probably had never seen jack like that, like in a true romantic way. after all, they had always acted this way. aside from the kissing. that had to mean something, didn't it?

and jack felt his heart sink as the slipper landed facing upwards.

☆゜*・:+* 。 *゜☆

☆゜*・:+* 。 *゜☆

wyatt instantaneously looked at jack as the latter of the two made eye contact. jack's expression almost clouded up, and fear flashed across his face. he shook his head, almost as if to tell wyatt he couldn't, he wouldn't say anything.

and wyatt got the memo.

as the others started clapping and cheering, over the moon that someone was finally going to reveal a secret, wyatt jumped up and immediately grabbed his phone.

"you guys, we're so stupid." he huffed, all while jack watched him with bewildered, glossy eyes. the others in the group faced to see what wyatt was going on about, shifting their attention from jack.

"what?" jaeden retorted, confused about what the other boy could possibly be talking about.

"chosen, one last surprise for your birthday. jack nd i planned it!" wyatt grinned. "we have to hurry; i completely forgot, i don't want it to close."

jack felt relief flood his whole body as chosen got up, shaking his head, giving wyatt a lopsided grin. "i've already had an amazing birthday. what are you talking about?"

as wyatt got the others up and ready, insisting that he couldn't tell them what was going on, ("it's a surprise!" he kept yelling out,) jack nearly kissed the boy. no one asked about the game as they all shuffled their shoes on, following wyatt as he headed out of the apartment and to the elevator. they must've looked ridiculous, all ready for bed and still going downstairs, but jack didn't care. the attention was off of him.

finn stood next to jack in the elevator, his mind racing, along with his heart. the look on jack's face as the slipper fell had been a look finn had only seen once before, and that was when jack found out his ex-girlfriend had been cheating on him. and quite honestly, this look didn't even really compare. this time, it was more serious. more severe.

"are you alright?" finn asked jack as the elevator dinged open, the others grumbling as they realized it was the wrong floor. the two brunettes ignored their friends as they decided to just walk to the level they needed to be at, jack and finn following.

"yeah, i'm good. why?" jack's lashes fluttered lightly as finn grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks and making sure he was facing the taller of the two.

"that game. towards the end. you seemed off, that's all."

shit. jack thought to himself.

"no? i'm okay." the boy wiggled out of finn's tight grip, his jaw tightening, plastering a fake smile on his face. "c'mon, i wanna see what wyatt's surprise for chosen is."

"i thought you knew? did you not plan it with wyatt?"

fuck! jack thought to himself.

"y-yeah," jack stammered, trying to get ahold of himself. "i was just-"

"jack."

"finn!"

"don't do that."

"do what?"

"act like nothings going on. i'm not letting you act like this with me-"

"you don't control me. you're not the boss of me. i'll act however i want." jack snapped, turning on his heels and waking away from the boy, wanting to just dart down the hallway. however, it dawned upon him that he had lost the others, and he didn't know where the hell wyatt was going. he stopped in his tracks, turning to face finn again.

finn pressed his lips together, his brows drawing together. "what are you doing?"

"he asked me if i caught feelings for you, finn. he asked me that in front of everyone. in front of you."

finn stayed quiet. he almost could swear his heart had stopped. he couldn't hear the slight buzzing of the ice machine down the hallway anymore, he couldn't make sense of what news channel was blaring loudly from somebody's room down the hall. all he could see was jack, this precious dawn haired boy standing at least eight feet away from him, a pained look on his face, almost pouting.

"what did you tell him?" finn asked in a hushed tone.

jack gave him an exasperated look.

"what do you think?"

although he never said it out loud, they both knew.

how could they not?

they couldn't pretend they didn't revolve their whole entire world around each other anymore. because they did. and everyone knew it. the virgo and the capricorn were crazy about each other. it wasn't like it was hard to tell. all you had to do was look at the videos of them together, the pictures they took, the way they acted.

that was it. they were each other's person.

and in the yellowish tint the light was giving off in the hallway, as the two boys from not so similar backgrounds stood, looking at each other with perplexed gazes filled with bemusement, they knew how lucky they were to be with each other in this lifetime. they didn't just come into each other's lives, they became each other's lives.

"i'm tired of waiting." jack's voice cracked, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before looking back at his best friend. "sometimes i think i'm going insane, like we never really had any romantic connection to begin with, or that you would never even think about wanting to be with me. then you touch my waist in a certain way, or call me a cute pet name, or make me my favourite food for breakfast or, OR, get this one, fucking kiss me in a bathroom, and i feel a little more sane. like maybe i'm right. maybe you do want me. but then you act like it's nothing but something a best friend would do and i feel crazy all over again. and now that i'm older, and i still fucking feel this way about everything you do, i'm so tired of it. i'm so tired of it, finn."

it felt like the air was being sucked out of him, out of his lungs, as finn watched the boy in front of him tremble and practically break in front of him. all because of him. all because of his actions. he didn't want to hurt jack, he couldn't hurt jack, he didn't think he had it in him. but here finn was, watching the teenager he had grown to love slowly disappear in front of him.

"you're not crazy," finn stepped closer to him, and jack shook his head, tears finally started to run down his cheeks. they weren't tears of joy, or sadness, but tears of frustration, tears of anger.

"then what am i! what's fucking going on finn, huh? because i've never hurt this much before all because of one person."

"that's what love does to you!" finn's own voice rose, and he finally stepped closer to jack, only being a foot or two away from him now. "it's chemical, it messes with your head and your emotions and makes your heart feel like it was thrown into a wood chipper but you have to deal with it if you want it badly enough."

"love doesn't hurt people." jack replied in a harsh tone.

"yes it does." finn shot back. "unrequited love hurts like a bitch."

"but our love isn't unrequited."

"we didn't know that until today."

the pairs voices had gotten softer, more calm and more controlled. they simply stood there, frozen in time, not knowing what to do with themselves.

"do you remember the night we went grocery shopping?" finn said softly, wanting jack's tears to stop flowing so heavily. jack nodded slowly.

"and you told sophia all we would be was best friends?"

jack was obviously taken aback, his pouty expression changing to a look of surprise. "how did you hear that? we weren't with you."

"grocery store shelves aren't soundproof," finn tried to joke, but the awestruck boy didn't crack a smile.

"all i remember thinking when i heard that is that, is that it wasn't true." finn let out a shaky breath. "you've always felt like more than a best friend to me. and i thought you knew that. the laser tag, the day we went to canada's wonderland, all the little things. i never meant to confuse you. god, the night we kissed in the bathroom, i wished on an eyelash that i would get to kiss you a million times more. everything i've done was for you."

and for the first time since wyatt had asked him the question that night, jack broke out into a smile.

☆゜*・:+* 。 *゜☆

☆゜*・:+* 。 *゜☆

wow. WOW! fack is happening, FRFR.

alright, so, hear me out.

this book will probably only go to chapter 28, IF that. it might be even less. i just don't have inspiration to write this book anymore, and i'm not apart of the fack fandom as much, as in, im not active on my fan page. i love the IT cast endlessly, (they've helped me through so much without even realizing it,) but i am finding ways to be happy without needing to depend on social media.

i love all you guys so much. you're all so patient with me, and it means the world. your comments and votes and reads make me so happy, and i'm so grateful there are people the enjoy my writing.

when this book ends, it'll be hella sad an era is over, but i've been planning this story and writing it for over a year now. i know you guys will be satisfied and happy with the ending.

love you guys!

- courtney