xp_logs | Jay & Forge, Saturday afternoon

Jay and Forge chill and discuss their respective prom night experiences. Silly boys.

Jay was smiling. Smiling. Not the "I just wrote a great song and you all love me for it" smile or the "You're a sweetheart but please shut up" smile. It was a goofy, content smile. And he'd had it on all day. Even though he was a little sore from the previous night (from all the dancing, of course), he just felt good.

He lay on the couch in his suite's common room, idly channel surfing but not really paying much attention. He was half-tempted to go bug Terry and watch some girly feel-good movie, except she was probably enjoying her day after prom with Bobby, and far be it from him to disturb that.

Whistling one of those songs from the previous night that had wormed its way into his subconscious, Forge practically soft-shoed his way into the small kitchenette. Reheating a burrito, he leaned over the back of the couch, giving Jay a nod. "Fun night," he observed offhandedly.

"Ah don't think that word really describes it," Jay replied, looking up. "You're just scratching the surface there." He settled on some strange cartoon with magical fairies and set down the remote.

Forge arched an eyebrow, smiling widely. "I did notice Kyle didn't make it back to his bunk last night, so I assumed the worst. Good for the two of you, I take it?"

A faint blush accompanied Jay's smile. "You really got a way with not using the right words, y'know. It was . . ." Not any of the silly adjectives like wonderful or magical or perfect like movie writers love to use. "Great."

"No argument there, man." Forge swung his legs over the back of the couch, perching lazily while he popped open a can of cola, draining half of it at once. "Everything was just... well, yeah." He blushed slightly, looking blankly into space that that same smile. "Great."

"That Jennie sure can dance, can't she? Got yourself quite a catch there," Jay teased. "Where'd y'all head out to afterwards last night? Y'all weren't here when Kyle and Ah got back."

"Went to Denny's on the way back from the dance," Forge explained. "Worked up a bit of an appetite, and Marius suggested it. It's where he heads after clubbing all the time, he says. Then we got back, Marius and Catseye split to go play a few rounds of three-in-the-morning ping-pong, and ... well, nothing eventful."

Jay sat up and raised an eyebrow. He wasn't falling for it. "You're as bad a liar as you are a cook," he taunted, grinning. "C'mon, Ah'm your friend. Out with it."

Forge wiped a hand over his face, trying not to redden too much. "Well, really. Nothing too eventful. Jennie's a lot of fun. I mean, I knew that and I expected a lot of fun, but... more than I expected, you know?"

"Uh huh." Jay settled against the other couch arm, eyeing Forge carefully as if he could determine what happened just by taking a good look at him. "You two gonna have more unexpected fun?"

Forge started to nod, then caught the implication and nearly choked on his drink. "No! I mean, yeah. That is, um... we didn't... you know. Your night was obviously a lot more eventful than mine on that score. Not that I wouldn't... I mean." He sighed, taking another drink. "Jennie's nice. And not that I wouldn't, but I didn't want to make any presumptions, you know?"

Jay nodded, still grinning. "Uh huh, I see. So what exactly didja make?"

Forge looked awkwardly away and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "hug goodnight".

Jay blinked. Now he felt like a slut for pushing the subject. "That's it?" He blushed and looked down. "Sorry, don't mean ta be rude. Ah just . . . well, you've got the look like you, uh, did a bit more than just a hug."

Forge chuckled, then playfully punched Jay lightly in the shoulder. "Come on, man. If there was more, you know I'd be singing it from the rooftops. But it's something I'm not ready for, you know? Got to get over my stuff in here first." He tapped his head with a finger. "You know I wouldn't leave you out of the good gossip."

"You better not," Jay said with a smile. And in the interest of honesty and candor . . . "Ah told Kyle Ah love him last night." It was the first time he'd repeated those words since he'd said them. Kyle still hadn't responded, and though it scared Jay a little, he tried to remind himself that Kyle was probably just being Kyle and wasn't thinking about it.

That got a definite reaction out of Forge, the double take almost toppling him off the back of the sofa. "Big step. I know at first you guys were like, casual with everything. I take it stuff's changed. For the better, obviously, right?"

The goofy grin doubled in its intensity. "He's . . . Ah dunno how ta describe him. He's just an amazing and sweet guy without even knowin' it. And he makes me feel good about mahself like Ah haven't felt since Kev."

Forge's grin almost matched Jay's. "Awesome. I know... I know you've been carrying that around a long time. If Kyle can help put it behind you and he makes you happy, that's great."

"No, that ain't it," Jay said, shaking his head. "Ya can't compare 'em. Kyle ain't replacin' Kev, it's just somethin' new and different altogether."

Forge shook his head in response. "I hear you. I don't really understand, but - there's a lot I don't still. But I do know - last night was more fun I've had than I can remember."

"That's because romance, as irrational as it is, is a good thing. Just 'cuz it doesn't come with an instruction manual doesn't mean you should stay the hell away." Jay playfully tossed a throw pillow at Forge. "And besides. Judgin' from her smile and laughin' last night, Ah reckon Jennie'd be more than happy ta let you, er, experiment."

"Perhaps," Forge said with an inscrutable smile. "You never know, you just may be on to something there, Jay."