All In | ✓

Five

I knock on the door, expecting Hudson to answer. Instead, an older Hudson answers, a bit out of breath and a pack of cigarettes clenched tightly in his hand.

"Are you here to hang out with Hudson?" he asks, leaning against the doorframe and smiling at me. I nod and move my phone from my back pocket to my front.

"I am. Can I come in?"

"Of course!" Older Hudson moves aside, gesturing towards a staircase. "His room's upstairs, all the way at the end of the hall to the left."

"Thank you." I wave at Older Hudson and jog up the stairs. Hey, I've never been in Hudson's house before. It's pretty nice.

"Jack's here!" Jaxon pokes his head out of a room and sticks his tongue out at me before getting yanked back.

"Play nice."

"But-"

"I will throw you out this window."

"Fine."

I walk into a very clean room. It's very Hudson.

"Even if your dad hadn't told me where your room was I still would've thought this one," I comment. Hudson pauses the noogie he's giving Jaxon to correct me.

"Older brother, not dad." He resumes the noogie as Jaxon continues to struggle to escape the loose chokehold Hudson's trapped him in.

"Get off of me!" Jaxon grabs wildly at Hudson's arms. I take a seat right inside the door and watch silently as they wrestle for a few moments.

Hudson ends up pinning Jaxon to the ground, sitting on his back and holding Jaxon's hands above his head.

"You do realize that I have more experience fighting than you do, right?"

"Let me go!"

"Poking a bear." Hudson releases Jaxon's hands and moves to get off of the boy. Jaxon reaches back and grabs Hudson, rolling them over so Jaxon is straddling Hudson's hips and Hudson is laying on his back.

"Ha." Jaxon sticks his tongue at Hudson. Hudson reaches up for Jaxon but Jaxon grabs his hands and pins them above his head. "Whatcha tryin' to do there, buddy boy?"

"You really want to be in this position right now?"

"What do you mean?"

Hudson gestures towards where Jaxon is sitting.

"He means the fact that if you two didn't have clothes on you'd be-"

"Don't finish that sentence," Jaxon warns. He falls off of Hudson, letting their legs tangle together. "I have socks on, it's fine."

"But you both-"
"It's fine!"

"Jesus, alright." I slam my mouth shut and watch Jaxon and Hudson bat at each other, quiet ows sounding every few slaps.

"Wait, you're here for help." Hudson grabs Jaxon's wrists and looks over at me. "Sorry about this dick."

"It's fine."

"Oi, dumbass!" Hudson moves so he's laying across Jaxon's chest. "Knock it off so I can help Jack."

"Fine." Jaxon moves his hands to rest behind his head. "We still haven't talked about you-know-what yet though."

"Well, now that I'm here you can kill two birds with one stone," I suggest. "Explain what everyone else knows about you and talk about the thing you need to talk about."

"Yeah, I'd rather not talk about that right now." Hudson pulls his phone out and checks it quickly before sliding it across the room. "Jaxon, by later I meant later later."