Chains and Petals; Jalex

Tulip

After hours of sitting in his bed, pondering things, Jack was full of hopes that could've been false. He spent hours taking dumb Buzzfeed quizzes, looking at signs of this thing he hoped he was feeling- Nearly a decade of him believing this emotion wasn't something he could comprehend, a decade full of false hope and casual sex.

He wanted this feeling to be him finally knowing what it's like to like someone more than a sex partner and more than a friend. He truly didn't hate Alex, not at all. He was mislead;

Because he knew he wanted Alex to be his first love.

***

The tattoo artist was awfully enthusiastic the next morning on his way to work, a plan carefully constructed in his mind. He just prayed that Alex liked guys.

He was relieved when he stopped his bike to be greeted with Alex watering the flowers in front of the shops.

His heart began to soar. He jumped off of his bike and cleared his throat, making sure he looked presentable before proceeding towards the boy.

"Alex, hi!" Alex turned, smiling at the sight of Jack.

"Hi! Good morning!" He giggled, eyes closing with a smile. Jack nearly melted.

"So I was just wondering..." He attempted to keep himself together, "Do you possibly want to go out for lunch later today with me? I can leave my shop for lunch, and I wanted to treat you to a lunch, I guess."

Jack could see Alex's cheeks begin to heat up; Soon, they were almost the color of his bright pink hair. He reached up to tug at his sweater sleeve, and wore a nervous grin.

"S-Sure! I'd really love to. Wh-What time?"

Jack could feel his heart beginning to soar, and he couldn't stop smiling. "Is noon alright? I'll meet you at the cafe down the road. Sound good?"

Alex nodded quickly. "Y-Yes! I'll see you then!"

"Oh, and don't worry, it's on me. See you then, 'Lex."

Jack turned away with his usual spunk, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. His heart was pounding, and all he wanted to do was run around and scream like a little kid. As soon as he stepped foot back into the parlor, he sighed with relief.

He had a date with Cherry Blossom boy.

***

"You look awfully cheery this morning, Jack." Rian smirked as he put his things down.

The tattoo-clad man smiled wide. "It's because I am! Guess what I have at noon."

Zack gasped, and raised his eyebrows. "Don't tell me... A date with the flower boy who you didn't want to talk to?"

Jack chuckled. "Exactly that, and I was in denial then, don't worry about it, bitch. Anyway, am I presentable for a lunch date?"

***

The next three hours went by painfully slow, until it was 11:45, and he was finishing up tattooing lyrics onto a young woman's right forearm. He gave her the necessary things she would need to take care of it, and made sure it was wrapped securely before he sent her off. He quickly grabbed his leather jacket and made his way into the bathroom, checking his hair and making sure the blue strip was properly positioned. He flashed a smile at himself and quickly proceeded to the entrance of the shop.

"You guys'll be good for an hour or so, right?" He asked, half out the door.

"Yep! Good luck!" Zack yelled, smiling at him, only to go back to giving a man his possibly two hundredth tattoo. Rian chimed in with good wishes as well, and then Jack was exposed to the cool April air, walking as fast as he could to the cafe down the street.

As approached the cafe, his heart skipped a beat when he saw the pink haired boy inside, sitting alone at a small table for two. He began walking faster, keeping his eyes on the distracted boy. He was just so captivating when he wasn't paying attention.

The bell chiming as he walked in caused Alex to perk up, and smile nervously. His cheeks began to grow pink again as Jack approached him.

"Hey!"

"H-Hi!" Alex smiled, and stood to greet Jack. They smiled at each other before walking together to get in line.

The pink haired boy began biting his nails due to nervousness, looking down at his shoes. "So, Alex," He looked up at Jack again, face still pink. "I just wanted to tell you your hair is a very lovely color. Why pink?"

Alex took his hand out of his mouth, walking further as the line shortened. "Well I like pink, I feel like it suits me."

The leather-clad man couldn't help but grin. Of course it suited him. It suited him in every way possible. How lovely, kind, and beautiful he was. It all reminded him of pink. "It really does" was all he could get out, though; So choked up with the boy's presence.

Then it was their turn to order. Jack got a steak and cheese and a soda, and was very curious to see what Alex would get. He ended up ordering a egg and cheese sandwich and chocolate milk. Jack found it cute that he chose chocolate milk, but then again he found every possible action Alex took cute.

After they had gotten their food, they sat down at the same table Alex was at previously. It was placed next to the window, and Jack's heart melted whenever the boy would get distracted due to something outside. He took his time to carefully observe him when he did so, and god was it worth it.

The way his wide doe eyes observed things, his long fairy-like eyelashes, the way he twirled his pink locks when he was deep in thought, how his teeth reminded him of a bunny, his sweater sleeves going just too far onto his hands where they looked like paws.

Yeah, this was definitely a crush.

"So, I was wondering, why do you plant all of those flowers? I haven't seen them since this year, and they're very lovely."

Alex smiled. "Well I just really like them, I guess. My whole life I've liked flowers. They smell lovely, and they're soft, and I just wanted to bring happiness to the town. And I just moved back here from the UK in the fall. My parents and I moved here when I was seven, and we moved back there when I turned eighteen. I decided to come back here when I was twenty, and here I am!"

So he's from the UK, huh? Cute.

"How old are you now?" Jack asked, as Alex sipped at his chocolate milk.

"Twenty one!"

"Ah, right. Basic math. I'm twenty five."

Alex nodded delicately. "What about you? What brought you into owning a tattoo parlor?"

Jack sighed, looking up at the walls. "Well, in high school I constantly practiced art, and I drew a lot of it on my arms and stuff. I got a job at a parlor and after working there for almost five years, I came to own it. I've lived in Baltimore my whole life, basically. I didn't know this town had the possibility of having such a cute boy in it, though."

The boy's face went pink again. "Th-Thank you! I-I'm sorry if I'm not handling this the way you'd want me to, I just- I don't normally get so many compliments, I guess."

Jack furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm surprised. God, I barely know you, but there's something about you that just makes me feel all... weird."

His face got darker, and he giggled. "A good weird, I hope."

"Definitely a good weird."

***

Thanks for reading i'm gay gimme notes and comments i crave validation

~aus