Spin the Bottle

-Mark's POV-

I didn't want to see Ashley or talk to him. I felt as though he had changed my brother in some way, though I knew he hadn't. Andy was my protective shield, my older brother, the leader of the tough guy group at school. The idea that he had a boyfriend seemed intrusive of the everyday life I was used to, threatening something. But what? My time with Andy? Was it possible that I was jealous of Ashley because Andy loved him? No, Andy still loved me, of course he did, I was his brother. I guess I just didn't like how this new guy who I didn't even know walked into the house and claimed my brother as his boyfriend. I suppose that was what tonight was for: getting to know him. I plastered on a fake smile and walked downstairs.
"Hi, Ashley," I said cheerfully. He looked surprised for a moment.
"Hey, Mark. Want some Mac and cheese?"
"Sure," I replied, though I didn't really like macaroni. I ate it without complaints, ready to return upstairs to do homework afterwards, but Andy waved me back down. I pouted when Ashley's back was turned.
"How about you finish your homework down here?" He suggested.
"Fine," I sighed, not wanting to risk the rare video game promise. Normally, I would get an hour if I was lucky. Two hours straight was absolutely unheard of. I ran upstairs to go fetch it, but when I came down again, I found that Andy was playing with Lucy and Ashley was nearly done with his homework. The only place I could sit was next to him at the table. I gritted my teeth and took the empty chair.
"Need any help?" He asked.
"Yes," I admitted. I was hopelessly lost when it came to math.
"I can help," he offered. "Whatcha got?" I turned the paper so he could see.
"I've been stuck for like the last hour."
"Oh, you should have come to me. Here's the trick with problems like these." His quick hands sketched out a new formula that was easier to solve. Step by step, he worked me through the problem.
"Wow, thanks," I thanked him, impressed and grateful.
"No problem," he responded. Maybe this guy wasn't so bad after all. He checked my answers afterward. "Hey, good job, you're a fast learner. Now, if I'm correct, it's time for some video games, right?" I nodded.
"Wait, but how did you know?"
"Andy told me about the deal."
"Oh." I looked down, blushing. "I-I'm sorry." I didn't know what else to say. He shrugged.
"I mean, I had a feeling that you guys might not like me."
"No, you're nice. I just-I'm sorry, Ashley," I apologized, meaning it and feeling bad. "It was wrong of me to act that way."
"It's alright. Friends?"
"Friends," I breathed in relief that he was forgiving. We shook on it as Andy came in with Lucy. He grinned.
"Yay, there is peace!" He cried. "Except now you have to hug." I rolled my eyes and hugged Ashley.
"Group hug!" Lucy yelled and joined it. Andy completed it. I found myself smiling at all that was happening. Ashley was a cool guy, I should be lucky Andy didn't bring home some jerk, male or female. Lucy yawned, breaking out of the hug.
"7:00, bedtime, little sleepy head," Andy told her, and she nodded. He walked her up to bed and tucked her in while I set up COD. Then I found a question pop out of my mouth.
"Hey, Ashley, how did you and Andy meet?" He laughed.
"Well, this is certainly an interesting story. You know how at the beginning of the year, there was a back to school party at someone's house that Andy went to?"
"Yeah."
"So, some people got tired of the trashy music and crowded space and went downstairs to go cause drama elsewhere. Andy and I were amongst those people, and participated in a game of spin the bottle. He spun and landed on me." I was surprised.
"So you guys have been dating for two months and never told anyone?"
"Oh, no, Andy came to me and apologized for what happened afterward. He invited me to hang out with him after school, and we became friends."
"No, I mean, how did you guys, uh, get together?" I asked awkwardly. Ashley reddened, looking down.
"Well, um, neither of us had a date to the Halloween dance, so I asked him to go as friends. Then, uh-"
"He kissed me," Andy finished Ashley's sentence for him, walking into the living room, taking his hand in his. "And it was wonderful." They were both gazing deep into the other's eyes, hands held with a loving touch. Andy leaned a little closer, and I had the sudden feeling they were going to kiss. I just wasn't quite comfortable with that yet and cleared my throat. The two pulled away.
"Right, Mark. Call of Duty. You'll have to teach me how to play, I never had video games growing up," Ashley told me. My jaw dropped as we all sat down on the couch.
"Never?"
"Never."
"This changes now." He laughed, and Andy and I showed him how to play at first. Time progressed, and I remembered something.
"Oh, Ashley, fun fact about Andy: he starts getting really sleepy almost every night at 9:00. It's really weird, but he's out cold by 9:30. No one understands it, but it happens all the time."
"Hey," Andy meant to say in a 'back off' way, but it turned into a yawn. He blushed as Ashley and I laughed.
"Aw, Andy, you ready for bed, baby?" Andy grabbed my controller and killed Ashley in the game. Ashley giggled as Andy passed me back the device before snuggling up to Ashley.
"Maybe," he admitted. As I had predicted, 20 minutes later, he had fallen asleep on his boyfriend.
"You're so cute when you're asleep," Ashley mumbled to him, stroking his face and brushing the hair away from his eyes. "So peaceful." I took this as my cue to leave. It had been more than two hours, anyway.
"I'll think I'll head up to bed." As I passed the window, I saw my parent's car pull into the driveway. "Ashley!" I hissed a warning. "Mom and dad are home!" I ran upstairs, changing into pajamas in lightening speed and hopping into bed without waking Lucy. Ashley wasn't so bad after all.

-Ashley's POV-

I shook Andy lightly to rouse him.
"Baby, your parents are home." He nodded and sat up, giving me one last kiss before they unlocked the door. We gave them a report on how things went and everything, and I admitted that I didn't have a car to drive myself 'home'.
"Could he stay the night?" Andy asked immediately. His mom shrugged.
"I suppose so, seeing as it's getting late. We don't usually go out on school nights like this, but we're part of the PTA at Lucy's school, the first meeting was tonight. Oh, look at the time, 9:30. Surprised you're not asleep by now, Andy." All but Andy, including me, laughed as we headed up to bed. We set up a small air mattress for me on the side, but I was going to sleep with Andy once his parents left the room. Get your mind out of the gutter, we weren't going to do anything! Just cuddle and cutesy stuff like that. I snuggled up to him as soon as the lights when out.
"Andy, I love you," I told him.
"I love you too, Ashley." He kissed me, and we fell asleep with our fingers intertwined and nestled into each other's arms.

Notes

Will they be caught? Next chapter coming soon, but idk when, sorry. Anyway, hope everyone liked it!