Alex

First of all, apologies for the delay, it took a few weeks for the chapter 1 and chapter 2 edited versions to get updated on the site.

Okay, this is still Ryan's story. But we're not with Ryan.

I decided Alex hasn't had the best rap so far. All we know is that he's bad at communicating and has done some kinda douchey things. Though we know that his friends like him, so he can't be all bad.

But, I want to take us back over what we already know, to see Alex's motivations. I'm not promising you won't still think he's a douche though. So this story will revisit key points from the first 2 chapters through Alex's perspective.

* * * * *

I can tell you the precise moment I fell in love with Ryan. But I'm getting ahead of myself and should probably tell you the moment I fell in lust with him first. That's easy too, because it was the first moment I saw him.

* * * * *

I'm sat in the principal's office, while my stepdad talks to Principal Baker about his expectations for me for the year. I'm probably not creating the best impression, having chosen to wear a tight t-shirt, that you can see the edges of one of my tattoos in, and heavily ripped jeans. I'd decided to push the claim that the school feels education is far more important than policing the students' attire, but the principal's lack of a reaction, and some of the ensembles the girls were wearing as we walked down the corridor earlier, makes me think it isn't just empty words.

The truth is, regardless of my stepdad's words, there are no expectations for me. I finished high school in Australia already, and I'm here with him more as something to do while he has a year in America. He's a diplomat, which explains why the principal is eating his words up, and he thinks it will be good for me to experience a different culture. Although, so far, I haven't found much different about it. The sunshine is the same, the beach is the same, the tight swimwear is the same.

Yeah, I haven't done much else but the beach in our first couple of weeks, except for one day of orientation at the school and try outs for the football team. I played Aussie Rules at school back home, so this new type of football is a little strange and a little slow, although the team members I've met so far seem okay - friendly enough, if a bit over-enthusiastic.

It's all been a bit boring, I haven't even had my annoying brothers to keep me occupied as they're still at boarding school. Kev didn't think it would be appropriate to take them out part way through their schooling, though they're spitting mad that I get to be here. I've already messaged them to let them know they're not missing anything, although they'll find out for themselves when they visit at Christmas.

Kev's definitely in charge of what happens, he adopted them when he married my mum, though he didn't adopt me because they're my half-brothers and my dad wouldn't agree to sign the papers. Dick. So when my mum walked out on us all when I was fourteen it didn't change how he treated us one iota. Except he did have to send us all to boarding school because his job has him away a lot.

I didn't mind that. It probably won't surprise you to know just how much action a gay guy can get at an all-boys Catholic private school. And the six-month internship Kev got me at the foreign office earlier this year was even better - guys look shit-hot in tailored suits and the whole place was a real sausage-fest.

Right now, I'm slouched in my seat, Kev shoots me a look and I straighten up. Because I'm already nineteen he had to pull a couple of diplomatic strings to get me in here, and I'm not going to fight it. I have no idea what I want to do with my life, so uni would just be a waste of time at this stage. Maybe one more year of easy school will help me make a decision about where I want to go.

"Oh, hello Robbie," Baker says, and I glance up sharply.

The guy leaning into the doorway is cute as a button, with carefully styled strawberry blond hair, huge blue eyes and poutingly fuckable lips. Kev shoots me another look, but this one has less of a warning and more of an air of resignation. He has no problem at all with me being gay, but there was a slight...incident...with one of the junior diplomats and a photo-copy room, so I know he wants me to be a touch more careful.

"Robbie has been assigned your tour guide," Baker smiles, "he'll take you to homeroom and show you where everything is at lunchtime."

Nice: this day just got a little more fun.

* * * * *

Robbie and I had class together before lunch, and as we walk to the cafeteria he asks me all the usual questions, which I answer with practiced ease. I've picked up plenty of tips from Kev. He pauses just before we walk into the cafeteria and pops his head to the side. Too cute.

"So, you gay? I can't get a read on you."

I laugh at his bluntness.

"Yup."

And his little smile gets a lot wider.

* * * * *

As we stand to the side, heavy trays of mediocre food in our hands, Robbie seems nervous for the first time.

"So," I ask, "where do we sit?"

I glance over at the large table that's clearly for the guys who play sports - jocks I guess I should start calling them - and their pretty cheerleader girlfriends, I suppose I have a place at that table, I made the team with ease, but Robbie isn't even considering it. He seems sweet, and I'm not gonna abandon him, especially if, as it seems possible, he gets bullied by roaming gangs of straight guys. He seems the type.

I spot Taylor, who is the captain of the football team, and he sends me a casual wave. He has his hand on the knee of a particularly beautiful cheerleader-type. I don't go for girls at all, but anyone would have to be blind not to spot it - glossy brunette hair, perfectly clear olive skin and straight white teeth in what is, apparently, a perma-smile. Even with the smile though, she looks perturbed, and I follow her gaze, and that's when I see him.

He's just breathtaking. I can only see the side of his face, but that's enough. He has thick black hair in a messy swirl on top of his head, one of those smooth, sharp jawlines that almost seem made for kisses, and soft kissable lips. I can't see his eyes, but his lashes are about as long and thick as it's possible to be and, already, I'm thinking about them closed in ecstasy as I pepper kisses along his neck and collar bone. Okay, I definitely want to kiss this guy, and I'm a little confused by why my mind goes there so easily, and so repeatedly, when normally I'd be thinking far less PG-rated stuff.

I wonder if it's the strange sense of vulnerability I get from him. I don't know why, he seems comfortable slouched in his chair, head in a book, absent-mindedly chewing on a sandwich, unaware of anything around him, although I'm surprised he hasn't felt the heat of my gaze on the side of his face, with all the power I'm getting from it. But, no, regardless of how relaxed he is there is something, maybe a tenseness in his shoulders, maybe the swoop of his lips...

I glance at Robbie and see him looking back with a knowing twinkle in his eye.

"Soooo," he draws the word out obnoxiously, "you like Ryan, huh? Well, I can't fault your taste, though I prefer more muscular guys myself," he gives me an appreciative wink, "but he's probably the most beautiful guy in this place."

Yeah, yeah, I can see that for myself. What I want to know is, is he into guys? I don't ask though. Robbie has been flirting up a storm and it feels a little insensitive to be going too hard for another guy right in front of him. Robbie, though, bless him, seems on side anyway, and gestures for us to go over to the table.

"Hi, can I sit here?" Robbie has left me to talk, and I try to sound relaxed and as though it wouldn't make me want to vomit if he said no.

"Sure, still a free country," he waves vaguely at the other seats without looking up, though I'm willing him to. His voice is soft but deep, and I want to hear all sorts of other words falling from his lips.

Instead, I say, "Thanks. Hey Robbie, sit here."

I sit down, making sure I don't stare at Ryan. I don't want to freak him out by coming on too strong, even though what's going on inside my head is intense. Robbie asks me something about my brothers and I'm happy to talk about them, telling a story about the time my brother, Lachlan, who is only a year younger than me, and I snuck out of our rooms late at night and went joyriding on the principal's polo ponies. Yeah, and I know exactly how that sounds.

Suddenly, Robbie stops laughing and turns his eyes angrily toward the guy who's just approached our table. It's Jade, or Jeff, or something, and I'm surprised by Robbie's reaction, the guy seemed friendly enough at try outs. But based on Robbie's anger and the way the guy is being really careful to not look at him, I don't think it's to do with homophobic bullying - quite the opposite possibly, based on the blush that's formed on his cheek before he even speaks.

He asks if I want to sit at their table but, like I said, I'm not just dumping Robbie, plus if I stay here there's a chance, I hope, that Ryan might speak to me.

* * * * *

Robbie and I realize we live around the corner from each other, and he comes over to mine later that night to 'study', even though it's the first day of the year and there's no assignments yet. I know what he has in mind but I don't stop him. Who am I to turn down a cute guy who's basically throwing himself at me?

Kev is out at some ambassadorial dinner or something (I have no idea, but he took us to one such dinner once and I kind of assume that's what all of them are like - he certainly wears a tux often enough). Even so, when Robbie arrives I suggest we go up to my room. Not really for any seductive reasons, more like it's the only room in the house I feel comfortable in.

The house comes with Kev's job, and it's pretty ridiculous - a lot of polished marble and gilded stuff. I like the pool, which is huge enough to do proper lengths in, and the games room. But besides that it's more like a house from a magazine, and it's less than friendly. Even though Kev wasn't going to redecorate the whole place, because we'd have to put it back before we leave, he did give me free rein on my room.

I didn't go to town on it. Sure, there's a massive TV on the wall, but it's a big room so it can take it. I didn't bother changing the en-suite so that's still very marbled. The main thing is that I have a huge, superking bed and a big, comfortable sofa in front of the TV, set up with all my games consoles, and that the wall above my desk is covered in framed photos, of my brothers, of Kev, of my friends back home, of wildlife and the outback, in color and sepia and black and white. I love to take pictures, and I love to be surrounded by things I know even in this place far from home.

So, that's one of the reasons I invited Robbie up to my room, though the other reason comes to the fore pretty quickly. I sit on my bed and he stands in front of me.

"So, you like Ryan, huh?"

"Sure, he's hot. But I still haven't had a conversation with him, so..."

"He is into guys. Just in case you were wondering."

I shrug. Keep my poker face carefully blank while inside I'm dancing.

"So, you fuck around much before you came here?"

I laugh. It might take some getting used to, but I think I'm going to like how direct Robbie is about stuff like this.

"Sure, had a few buddies who were always up for a little something."

"Huh, yeah, I know how that goes."

And his face takes on a shadow for a moment, before he quells it.

"Anyway," he continues, "you wanna fuck around with me?"

I know my face is uncertain, and Robbie responds.

"No strings, I promise. That's not how I roll, and I know you have the hots for Ryan, but unless you're secretly asexual, I wouldn't hold your breath for that one."

"What do you mean, you said he was into guys?"

"Yeah, officially he is, I mean he's been out the entire time I've known him, but he's also never dated anyone that entire time. I made out with him a couple of times last year but as far as I know that's the full extent, and it's not just me he would have had a chance with."

"You seem to know a lot about it?"

"Well, I spend some time around the jocks - you get to hear a lot when you're... well, they aren't always that careful what they say around me. And Taylor Brooks, you know, the quarterback, is his best friend, so he knows it all."

I contemplate what he's saying. He's watching me, with a slightly uncertain pout, and I admire his gorgeous doe-eyes once again. I reach out a hand to pull him toward me and he straddles my hips, gently grinding against me. It feels good, but I still him with my hands on his hips.

"Slow down, buddy. Do you always fuck your friends?"

He laughs sardonically, "Huh, no, I wouldn't call the guys I fuck friends. I don't really bother with that stuff."

"Well, hard luck, because you and I are friends now. I like you, Robbie. You're funny and you're sweet, and, I think, you're very honest. All things I like in my friends. But we have to be clear on this, that's all it is."

I wait for his response, and he tips his head to one side again, that cute look.

"It's all I want, promise," and he presses his mouth to mine, pushing his tongue passionately, forcing my response.

The guy is a firecracker, all unbridled passion and roaming hands. I'm happy to feed into that, to respond to his immense horniness with a little something of my own. We're naked in record time, and he's gobbling my eight inches like it's gonna provide him the fountain of youth if he works hard enough. It might just do that, he's talented, that's for sure, and when he moves down, sucking each ball into his mouth with a pop and a squish of moisture I almost fall back on the bed at the intensity.

He travels even further south, licking over my ass, much to my surprise and pleasure. I love doing it, but I've only ever had one guy do it to me, the one guy who I've bottomed for. And that didn't end well. So, I guess I'd thought I'd given that sensation up, but Robbie doing it now is an incredible feeling, although it is dredging up a couple of memories I'd rather forget.

"Will you fuck me?" he asks now, sweetly.

"Yeah, but not yet," I reply, lifting him and laying him onto the bed.

I get the feeling that Robbie isn't that used to having people focus on his pleasure and I want to make sure he knows I'm not that guy. I lap at his cute little hole, feeling him relax quickly, allowing my tongue inside to fuck him like a miniature cock for a while. He's certainly vocal when he's getting his ass eaten, and I do like that, the knowledge that you're sending someone just a little insane with pleasure.

I scoop some lube and push a finger inside him, resting my hand on his hard cock, feeling him writhe under me as he tries to force me to find his spot. I refuse for a minute, savoring this instead, sliding a second finger in, feeling his resistance reduce around me. I position my fingers carefully and strike the point that I'm seeking, and that he's demanding, at the same time as swallowing his cock down to the hilt.

"Fuck's sake, what are you doing to me Alex?!" he howls, and I chuckle onto him and keep the pressure up.

"You're gonna make me come," he moans, and I don't stop, because that's exactly what I want.

Afterwards, we lay side-by-side for a bit, and it's nice. I've done this plenty of times, fucked a friend and just hung out after, it's kind of the way things used to roll at school, before...

"No one's ever done that," he says eventually. I look questioningly and he continues, "Literally no one has ever made me come and not finished themselves."

"Yeah, well, we've not finished," I chuckle, slightly embarrassed by the awe in his voice.

"I know, I hoped not, anyway. But still, I'll be one up on you, and no one's ever done that for me. Just, well, thanks."

His smile is so sweet that I'm positive I'll do it again in the future. It's an easy win when I enjoy it so much.

* * * * *

I'm spending a lot of time with Robbie, he comes over to mine every day. I don't mind; with anyone else it might feel as though things were getting serious in a way I'm not comfortable with, but Robbie just has this kind of cute exuberance and never demands anything emotional from me.

Although he seems happy to behave like a hot little fuck toy, I actually think I might be doing him a bit of a favor too - he doesn't get on with his mother and if anything he seems to be getting happier in general because he's spending less time around her.

At practice Taylor asks me about it, "So, you and Robbie, huh?"

"Yeah, me and Robbie."

I don't say anything else and he doesn't ask. From what Robbie had said to me about how the jocks were, I assume Taylor has fucked him, which is a bit messed up if you ask me. I know he's been with his girlfriend, Madison, for ages, so he must have cheated on her. I'm not going to give him any ammunition to use against Robbie.

I still haven't spoken to Ryan. I should be thankful, because every lunchtime, when Robbie and I are seated opposite him at that big table, and I think of trying to get him included in our conversation I go all tongue-tied inside my own head. So god knows what I'd do if he ever actually speaks to me.

Despite the complete lack of conversation, I haven't stopped being hot for him. Possibly more so, when I see him in those slim fit jeans, that hug his beautiful ass and emphasize his long legs, and those cute band t-shirts that show off the tight leanness of his body and sexy toned arms...argh, I have to stop thinking that way about a guy I can't even speak to.

It's Friday that things change, not for me at first but for the others. A girl comes over and sits with us. I can't pretend to be that comfortable around girls. Even before I went to boarding school, my regular private school was single-sex, and it means I've barely spent any time around them. In fact, that was the one thing Kev asked me when I came out to him: whether I might be bisexual and just not know it because I don't know any girls. I'm not, but I can understand his query.

So, I'm not great with girls, and Aubrey, who I met at orientation, is a slightly terrifying version of one. She's entirely confident in herself, wears weird emo shit and couldn't give less of a flying fuck about what other people think of her. It's funny, I've always considered myself smooth and self-assured, but the more time I spend around these Americans the more like an inarticulate little boy I feel.

But when she joins us, she quickly reveals that underneath the scary exterior beats a heart of solid gold. She has us in hysterics doing impressions of the teachers and other students (but never really mean ones, just nailing their quirks), and speaks openly and honestly about the death of her father, which is what brought her to Lincoln High School. She even gets Ryan talking to us, although I'm still too nervous around him to say much directly.

Hai makes me feel a bit better, if anyone is shy around people it's him and strangely I start to feel more like my old poised self when I can feed off his bashfulness by trying to help him feel more comfortable.

* * * * *

There's another girl, when Madison, Taylor's girlfriend, comes over to speak to Ryan, and Robbie whispers to me that she's Ryan's best friend, so I guess that's both of them then, and I wonder what Ryan must think of Taylor fucking Robbie. It seems weird that I didn't know that the three of them are practically inseparable, more than a couple of weeks in, when we've spent a lot of lunchtime minutes together and even hung out outside school at Aubrey's place as a group a couple of times.

I can't hear what she's whispering to Ryan, but Robbie has some kind of bat hearing,