By Stephen ([email protected])
Disclaimer: The story is mine, but the characters and situations are property of the makers of "Dawson's Creek" and the WB. That is except for the character of Scout, who is a joke and is in no way meant to imply orientations or situations based on that character from "Young Americans".
Author's Note: The time frame of this story is shortly after the events of the third season finale "True Love". Jack has just discovered that his boyfriend, Ethan, went back to his ex without telling Jack about it. You can see what I think of THAT decision in this story. The term 'trick' is used in this story. For those who don't know, 'trick' is gay slang for a one-night stand. Finally, in case anyone managed to make it here without seeing anything else on this website, this story is about a gay teenager and the people in his life. Without spending too much time on my soapbox, I'm waiting for a world that isn't going to think twice about this situation. No bashers please. :)
"Jen, I don't think this is a good idea."
"Don't worry about it," Jen replied. "It's not like we're doing something illegal." Jack calmed down a little, but didn't seem any more enthused.
"We're not?"
"He's not worth it"
"Then why are we here?" Jack asked.
"Jack, Ethan's a creep," Jen told him. "Sorry, but he is. And I, for one, am not letting this go until we at least let him know your friends don't want him in Capeside anymore."
"Ethan didn't do anything except follow his heart," Jack sighed. It hurt, getting dumped for Brad like that. But McPhee couldn't blame Ethan for what he did.
Fortunately, Jen could.
"You sure about that?" She asked. "Maybe he was hoping to keep you on the side, for the next time he and Brad had another fallout thing."
"Ethan wouldn't do something like that," Jack replied, crisply.
"You sure about that?" Jen persisted. "Look, I get it if he fell in love with someone else. It happens. But unless he had a stroke and forgot how to use a phone, he played you. And I'm getting him back for it.
They were in Boston, at Ethan's school, headed for the dorms. It was a nice, quiet place where the students had their full attention on schoolwork. If they wanted to, that is. Security was a joke. In a handful of minutes, Jen and Jack found themselves at the door to Ethan's room. And surprisingly, it was unlocked.
"He's here," Jack whispered, alarmed.
"Lights out," Jen noted. "Just don't wake him up."
They crept into the dark room, and Jen went to work on the planned prank. It was, she supposed, a little childish, but it was all she could come up with on such short notice. Some underwear, and a letter from Jack, dated before Jack knew about Ethan and Brad's reunion. Jen wished she would be able to watch Ethan explain to his lover why Jack wrote a thank you note for how special his first time was.
Jack remained bolted to the entrance floor. Ethan's naked form was just feet away, and Jack was frozen at the sight of it. Eventually, however, discipline lost out to desire, and Jack inched forward. Ethan wasn't alone in bed, but not even Brad's presence was enough to drown Jack's need to see his ex, up close and personal. But even as he reached the bed, and a rebellious hand was in motion closer, something in Jack's brain clicked, and he pulled back with a sharp intake of air. Jen noticed the sound, and joined McPhee at the side of the bed.
"So that's the infamous Brad," she whispered. "You're much hotter than he is."
"That's not Brad!" Jack's attempt at whispering was admiral, given the situation. Jen's jaw dropped, and she moved to the desk by the window.
"You're kidding."
"Brad's pretty much permanently burned into my memory."
"Well," Jen purred. "It's time we went to plan B."
"We had a plan B?"
"Not until now," Jen told him. "I kept 'B' open, just in case of emergency." And with no more warning than that, she switched on the desk's study lamp. The room flooded with light, waking both Ethan and his trick immediately. Ethan just stared at his ex, astonished.
"You son of a bitch." Jack was about to scold Jen, but he realized to his amazement, that he'd made the comment himself. He hadn't realized until that moment how much anger he had in him.
"Jack. What are you doing here?" Ethan gulped.
"Harmless prank," Jen told him. "But now I think we're going to torture you for a couple of hours about what we're going to tell Brad when we find him." But Jack surprised everyone, by turning around and walking out of the room. Jen followed, trailed by Ethan and the trick, who were both still naked.
"Where are you going?" Jen asked. "Things are just getting interesting."
"Jen, I'm tired," Jack told her. "I don't want to play games anymore. So I'm going to find Brad, tell him what happened, and get on with my life." Jen backed off, but Ethan moved in, pleading.
"Jack, I-- This isn't--" Ethan forced himself to calm down. "Look, I screwed up. Brad, he wants to take things slow. And that's fine. But after what happened with you, I needed someone. But I know it was wrong, and I'm hoping you can keep what happened tonight to yourself."
"Why?"
"Because what I have with Brad is really good, and I don't want to lose it." Ethan smiled seductively. "Come on, Jack. You said you were ready. Why doesn't Jen go have coffee with..." To the guy standing behind him: "You're name's Scout, right?" The guy nodded, and Ethan turned back to Jack. "...And we can talk for a little while." He added shyly, "I can even make it up to you. You know, payment for keeping this secret for me." Jack pulled away, disgusted.
"I don't believe this!" McPhee snapped. "Jen was right. You don't care who you hurt, as long as you get off!" Ethan realized he'd made a judgement error, but it couldn't be taken back.
"Jack, it's not like that," he implored.
"You weren't going to tell me about Brad," Jack realized. "If I hadn't come here to kiss you, you would have just kept me in Capeside, oblivious."
"Jack, I--"
"Damn it, Ethan. You kept making these demands. I had to do this. I needed to do that. But the whole time all you wanted was backup tail for when Brad wasn't around. And I--" Jack broke off, and everyone in the hallway dreaded hearing those words 'I fell in love with you'. But Jack smiled, relieved for the first time in months.
"I almost fell in love with you. If Grams hadn't made me come here and confront my feelings for you, I would have fallen in love with you. But it's over. I'm done."
"Ah, Jack," Jen called out playfully. All eyes turned to her, having forgotten she was still there. The door to Ethan's room was closed, and Jen made a big deal about demonstrating that it was locked. "This is just too perfect, " she added. Ethan obviously didn't have a key, and turned to Jack to again beg for assistance. But before he could get a word out, the fire bell rang.
"Damn it! Not now!" Ethan snapped. "Not tonight." The hall filled with sleepy students, many of whom started chuckling, amused, at the two naked men standing there. But there were enough death glares from some, that Jack suspected Brad was well liked in the dorm. He wouldn't need to track down his ex's soon-to-be-ex, after all.
"Jack," Ethan pleaded. "Help." Jen sighed, saddened slightly.
"As much as I'm enjoying this," she said, "I don't want to make Ethan choose between embarrassment and a fiery death."
"Don't worry about it," one of the angry students told her. "It's just a drill. They warned us we would have one sometime this week." Jen smiled, pleased.
"Thank you." And with that, she grabbed Jack and the evacuated the building.
"Okay, " Jack grinned, ecstatic. "I'm glad you made me come. But now that we have about a dozen people to squeal to Brad, let's go home." Jen laughed, delighted.
"Sounds good. God, isn't karma a wonderful thing!"
The End