Chapter Text
Friend of mine needs a ride to Austin for break
I can pretend to ask if you want but you're taking him...
His name's Henry and he's in McMurtry
I'll forward his contact details so you can arrange a departure time
Can't wait to see you after my looong semester away in Scotland! 😘
The messages arrive unceremoniously at 4 A.M., when Alex is awake in bed drinking stale coffee directly from the pot and feverishly working on the final paper for his Gender and Politics class, his last assignment of the semester. He finishes and turns it in just in time for the 9 A.M. deadline, immediately crashes, and wakes up four hours later with a pillow covered in drool and a severe crick in his neck.
There hadn't been room in his brain for June's messages to occupy, so when he sees a message from an unknown number, he has trouble fully comprehending what's going on. He reads it no fewer than five times before switching back to his inbox and seeing that June had, in fact, given him a heads up about it.
Hi Alex! June gave me your mobile number. She said you agreed to drive me to Austin...thank you so much. I'm flexible on when we depart. Just completed my last exam. Let me know what's best for you. Again, thanks! -Henry
The stiffness in Alex's neck begins to radiate up into a newly developing headache. The last thing he wants to do today is make small talk with one of June's no doubt annoying English major friends the entire three hour drive home, but apparently the deed is already done.
can you be ready at 5?
i'll pick you up
mcmurtry right
Which is how, a few short hours later, Alex finds himself idling his Jeep and glaring up at the practically brand new dormitory, a distinct pounding sensation pulsating through his right eye. The inevitable combination of intense finals stress and lack of sleep has made driving away from campus with a migraine a familiar, if unwelcome, experience.
A knock on the passenger door startles Alex out of his rageful reverie. "Alex?"
The voice is a rich baritone with a posh British accent and belongs to one of the most objectively beautiful men Alex has ever seen. The sun, just breaking out from behind a cloud, is literally shining down on the smooth and angular lines of his jaw as a light breeze sweeps his effortlessly messy blonde hair back from his forehead. The azure color of his eyes perfectly matches the bright sky, made all the more noticeable by his deep blue button down. His smile is slightly crooked in an unsure but adorable way, full of straight white teeth.
Alex narrows his eyes. How the fuck is this man a real person? Not just a person, but another student at Rice? He looks like he should be in some expensive watch ad in Vogue, setting women's panties on fire with his smoldering gaze. This better not be some hilarious experiment—or, knowing June, a bet—of June and Nora's to get Alex to commit to a sexuality. He's perfectly fine with being probably sort of bicuriously heteroflexible, and it's not going to fucking work to shove this insufferably British, devastatingly gorgeous specimen of manliness in front of his face for a three hour drive, especially when his eye socket is literally being assaulted by an electric screwdriver.
"Henry," Alex says as politely as he can muster. "Right?"
"Yes, that's me." Henry stands awkwardly with his duffel bag over his shoulder, like he's not sure what to do. Alex gestures impatiently to the backseat.
"Well, throw your bag in the back and get in, let's go," Alex huffs. Henry jumps into motion, and soon they're speeding away from campus and merging onto Highway 290 towards Austin.
"Thanks so much for driving me," Henry yells tentatively once they're on the road. The pounding in Alex's eye intensifies. How does this jackalope manage to sound tentative while yelling?
"It's fine," Alex says. "It's not like I wasn't heading there anyway."
"Are you a second year?"
"Yeah. You?"
"I'm a third year. International student from England."
"I couldn't tell by the accent," Alex says dryly, cutting his eyes over. Henry's cheeks appear pink.
"What college are you in?" Henry asks.
"Lovett."
"Oh, that's the one that looks like—"
"A toaster, yeah."
"I was going to say a prison," Henry says with a laugh. Alex looks over at him again, unable to keep the withering scowl off his face. Of course the guy is beautiful and a complete ass. Couldn't even make it five minutes without rubbing it in Alex's face that he and his shiny fucking smile are in one of the newest dorms on campus, complete with a fucking roof terrace to party on, while Alex wastes away in a literal riot-proof monstrosity of brutalist architecture.
Dick.
"Yeah, they try to make sure all the Mexicans are locked up right from the start," Alex says as sarcastically as possible. He keeps his eyes on the road but sees Henry freeze out of the corner of his eye.
"I didn't mean—"
"Yeah, whatever."
Henry clears his throat. The ride continues in silence for a while, nothing but the sound of wind whipping over the open Jeep top. Alex hadn't even turned music on because of his headache, but he’s starting to regret it. Anything would sound better than this guy right now.
After a while, Henry tries again. "Y'know, the Rice model of residential colleges within a university is actually modeled after Oxford and Cambridge. My mum's a professor at Oxford, so hearing that is one of the things that convinced her to let me come study here."
Alex's patience is running very thin. Everything about Henry screams superiority complex, from his expensive-looking clothes to his fancy-smelling cologne to every single word that comes out of his fucking mouth. Thank God the ride isn't too long, Alex thinks, and when they get to Austin, they can part ways for the rest of break. For-fucking-ever, if Alex has anything to say about it. Rice is a small campus, but Alex will do whatever he can to avoid running into Henry again.
Alex doesn't respond. Henry seems to take the hint and the rest of the ride passes in relative silence, save for Alex informing Henry of a quick bathroom and Whataburger break. When they're about twenty minutes out, Alex glances over to find him staring out the dark window expressionlessly. The night is pitch black already, an array of lights dancing over his face from passing cars.
"Where are you headed in Austin? We'll be there soon."
Henry's head whips over to him. "I'm—didn't June tell you?"
"Where you're getting dropped off? No."
"I'm…" Henry sounds like he's forcing the words out. "I'm staying with your family for break. June invited me. So I can experience a real American Christmas and all that."
Alex's stomach bottoms out. "Oh. She definitely did not mention that."
"Yeah. She said...she said you'd keep me entertained until she gets home from Scotland tomorrow."
Alex swallows.
So much for never seeing Henry again. Apparently he’s Alex’s personal responsibility for the next twenty-four hours, and they’re going to be living in the same house for the next four fucking weeks.