It's the second day at Alice's beach house and Ian hasn't enjoyed his stay so far, last night he was woken up by Jeremy and Vanessa making out in the hallway, then this morning he went for a run with Alice, something he detests with a passion.
He sighed, he put on his favorite floral shorts, a peach shirt and some flip flops, he grabbed his phone and walked outside to join his friends.
"Hey guys" he said sitting on the camping chair.
"Welcome back" Alice snickered.
"Dude, isn't that Krane?" Jeremy asked, they turned to face where he was looking at and there stood Jackson, he was talking to someone, probably his friend, Ian gulped just looking at him, how could he confess his feelings for someone who is totally his opposite.
"Go invite him over" Vanessa suggested.
"Yeah that sounds great, go Ian, go get your man" Alice supported, he looked at them with wide eyes, they couldn't be serio-
"We're serious,now go" Vanessa declared, he sighed as he stood up, he walked over to Jackson and his friend.
"I'm telling you, i can't wait to meet that person, their voice was something else, what if- shh shh he's coming"
He almost heard their whole conversation but he was spotted, oh well.
"H-hey Jackson" he said, why did he stutter? His face was warm and red in a second.
"Oh hey Ian, what's up" Jackson said smiling, seeing Ian was someone he didn't expect to see during summer break but he doesn't mind either way.
"Want to hang out?.....with my friends i mean....^sigh^.....do you want to hang out with us this evening?" He said, he's totally embarrassed. Jackson chuckled at his cuteness, he reminds him of a chubby hamster.
"Sure, he'll come, I'll make sure of it" his friend Ethan replied for him, Ian nodded his head and quickly walked back to his group.
"Thanks man" he said sheepishly, Ethan patted his shoulder
"Just take it as a favor"
●────────────────●
They all gathered around the bonfire, Jeremy and Vanessa cuddled up tightly in a blanket, Ethan and Alice talking occasionally and Ian...well he was sitting alone, Jackson had to take a phone call few minutes ago.
"Okay I'm back" he announced sitting down.
"Okay great, lets play a game" Ethan proposed, Jackson looked at him.
"No" he refused,
"Aw come on, it won't hurt anyone, i suggest truth or dare" Alice said. Ian sighed, clearly this is going to be a cliche scene, might as well go along with it.
"Sure why not" he shrugged, they all cheered and Alice took the privilege to start.
"Okay, Jackson, truth or dare"
Jackson sighed, this was not a good idea.
"Dare"
Few hours passed, and the group was tired, thankfully for Ian, he didn't do severe dares like kissing someone, Jackson in particular.
They sat there listening to Ethan and Jeremy singing and playing the guitar around the crackling fire.
"Ethan, can we talk?" Jackson interrupted, Ethan nodded and they walked away from the group.
"I bet he's going to confess to you" Alice said biting into her s'more.
"I wish" Ian sighed. This was not going anywhere and with him hanging around Jackson all day, it hasn't given him the chance to enjoy the summer activities, he was really looking forward to beach volleyball but nope, he had to sit in a campchair all day, deciding to get some fresh air, he stood up.
"I'll be back"
He walked to the shore, he saw Jackson and Ethan from a far distance, he sighed, he decided to tell Jackson about his feelings, it was time.
"Hey Ian" Jackson said startling him,
"Oh, h-hey" he said. They stood there in silence.
"I have somethi-"
"Can I ask-"
They said at the same time, they chuckled,
"Go ahead" Ian said. Jackson sighed.
"I was wondering...is....uhm....is Jeremy in a relationship?" The question made Ian freeze
"T-the girl he's with is his girlfriend" he said weakly, this cannot be happening right now.
"Oh" Jackson said, Ian heard his tone, it was that of disappointment, his heart shattered.
"Yeah, listen, i have to go back" he said avoiding eye contact.
"Sure"
He walked away, his eyes glistening with tears, he cannot believe what just happened.
The sparks he felt whenever he was around Jackson turned out to be all lies after all.
∴ ════ ∴ ∴ ════ ∴
Ian passed his group of friends and headed straight to the house, Alice was confused when she saw her friend like that.
"Maybe he got rejected" Vanessa says. Alice sighs sadly.
"This is going to be a long summer"
Ethan came back and sat down, he grabbed the guitar and played a soft calming song. Minutes later Jackson also returned.
"I think I'll call it a night guys" he says grabbing his stuff. The group nodded quietly. Jackson took a glance at Jeremy who was being fed a s'more by his girlfriend, he smiled weakly and walked away, Alice however noticed.
"Oh my gosh!" She gasped, catching everyone's attention.
"What happened?" Vanessa asks.
"Jackson likes Jeremy while Ian likes Jackson" she says shocking everyone....well except Ethan.
"I don't think it's our business to tell" Ethan says placing the guitar on the sand.
"Ian's our friend and he's hurting right now, imagine having a crush on someone only to realize they're crushing on your best friend instead" she says.
"Hey! It's not my fault I'm attractive" Jeremy says in pride, Vanessa scoffs.
"And not very bright either" she remarks making the group laugh. Ethan sighed.
"Now that you guys know, what are you going to do?" He asks. Ever since Jackson told him he'd been crushing on Jeremy, Ethan had always been reluctant about the idea and when he saw the group at the beach house, he thought maybe Jackson will just confess and get rejected. He never knew Ian would end up being rejected instead.
"We make the two fall in love with each other" Alice says in determination. The group sighed.
"This is going to be a long summer"
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