FISHER HOME
The doorbell's call cuts into the
silence that is buzzing all around Jason. He pulls the pillow tighter,
hoping that maybe the sound is coming from some dream he's falling into
... even though he knows all too well that he is too far from sleep even
to be touching the fringes of the dream world.
When the bell rings again only seconds
later, Jason pulls himself up off of the bed. He hurries down the stairs
and across the living room to the door, already envisioning a reconciliation
with Courtney.
But when he yanks the door open,
his relief gives way to searing anxiety.
"What's wrong?" he asks.
Alex doesn't say anything. He bursts
into the house, never making eye contact with Jason. Sobs rock his body
and his face, from what Jason can see, is stained with the trails of freshly
fallen tears.
"What happened?" Jason repeats, his
voice infused with even more concern now.
"I can't," Alex manages through his
tears. "I can't."
"Can't what?" Jason can feel everything
inside his chest tightening as his own heartbeat picks up.
Alex shakes his head as a pained
whimper escapes his throat. "I can't do it. I just--I can't. Not anymore."
He almost falls into Jason's arms,
and Jason finds himself opening up to embrace Alex, though his arms move
lethargically, as if caught in some kind of awkward paralysis.
"I was wrong," Alex sobs. "I tried
... I tried so hard. But I can't keep it up, I can't keep doing this ..."
"Doing what?" Jason asks, though
he has to choke the words out.
Alex is silent for a long, stinging
moment. Finally he says, "You know."
"Alex ..." Jason says soothingly.
"It's okay."
"It's not okay. I've made such a
mess--I shouldn't have tried to do this. It was stupid--"
"You were confused. It's okay." Jason
holds his shaking friend in his arms, caught between an urge to pull him
tighter and a need to shove him away.
"I'm so sorry ..."
"You don't have to be sorry," Jason
hears himself saying. "I know what you're going through. I understand."
For the first time, Alex brings his
eyes up to Jason's. "You do?"
Jason nods softly, barely moving
his head at all. He finds himself staring into his friend's face, able
to see the pain, the embarrassment, the frustration, all bubbling up to
the surface now.
He stays focused on Alex's face,
trying to grasp the reality of the situation. He sees Alex moving closer,
feels the heat closing in, but for some reason he doesn't realize what
is happening.
Not until he feels Alex's lips pressing
against his own.
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