Ok, thank you so much for doing this! It's now called Simple Questions (American Idol) and it belongs under "Celebrity." Here is the story:
Simple Questions (American Idol)
A Kris Allen and Adam Lambert AU
It was a weekend night like any other, except that this time, Adam's parents weren't home. Replacing the usually half-drunken liter of coke was a warm bottle of vodka, casually making its way around the room. They didn't like the taste of the bitter liquid as it burned its way down their throats, but because they were alone and without adult supervision, they all pretended to enjoy it.
Alisan and Katy sat on the couch perpendicular to the one that Adam and Kris shared; laughing playfully and whispering in each others' ears, they giggled as they periodically glanced toward the boys. Neither Kris nor Adam knew what made the girls laugh, but because girls always laughed like that, they didn't question it.
The movie played quietly in the background, and Adam tried to pay attention as Alisan made her way over to his couch. Stealing a quick glance at each other before reluctantly making room, the boys shifted slightly so Alisan could squeeze between them.
Taking Adam's hand into her own, Alisan traced the lines of his palm, up and down, up and down, purposefully pressing herself into his side. Alisan was not a subtle girl, Adam thought, and so whenever she made these not-so-subtle gestures, he never tried to question it.
Katy glanced nervously at Kris -- who, as usual, looked oblivious. Shifting uncomfortably when he noticed her staring, he gave her a halfhearted smile before standing up and walking to the bathroom. But when he came back, Adam and Alisan were sprawled out across the couch, Adam pressed neatly into the corner, and Alisan lying with her head in his lap. Adam shot him an apologetic look as Kris walked reluctantly to the other couch; awkwardly squeezing himself into the corner, and sneaking a quick glance at Katy next to him, he felt, rather than saw, her eyes on his face, asking for him to turn around. Katy moved in closer and faced toward Kris, her soft, blonde hair falling delicately over her shoulder. She tried to get him to meet her eyes -- but Kris was looking at Adam.
Adam's quickened heart beat pounded in Alisan's ear, a thrilling backdrop to the movie's soundtrack; as the screen flickered, she reached her hand out onto his chest, forcing his eyes to meet hers. Smiling at him as she felt his heart, she craned her neck up so he could meet her halfway. And though Adam was less than eager to kiss those lips, he knew what she wanted -- what he was supposed to do -- and dutifully brought his mouth down to hers.
It was a strained kiss -- an awkward and uncomfortable kiss -- but when Alisan sighed, seemingly content, Adam chalked his lack of interest up to nerves. He was supposed to feel nervous around girls, he reasoned -- and so, he didn't question it.
Kris glanced over to Adam and Alisan before turning himself toward Katy. He was less than thrilled - but not a bit surprised - to find her gazing up at him expectantly. Faltering a bit, he leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Maybe he just wasn't ready for all this, Kris told himself. Maybe in a week he'd want to go further, and maybe tonight wasn't the right night after all. And because Kris knew it was normal to feel hesitant in new situations such as these, he refused to question it.
As the night wore on and the vodka continued to circulate, the boys' anxiety heightened; with each touch elicited by the girls, Adam and Kris grew increasingly uncomfortable. Every so often one boy would shift his position on his respective couch, or the other would elicit a hurried cough requiring the use of his hand -- anything, really, to limit the physical contact. It was 10:00pm, Kris thought; in an hour, Alisan's mom would pick the girls up, and he and Adam could go to sleep.
The movie ended and the credits rolled, and Adam convincingly pretended to read them. Across the room, Kris's eyes were locked into the floor, afraid to look up lest he find Katy staring. Both boys knew they'd agreed go further tonight -- graduating from playful flirting and casual touches, to something a bit more -- serious. But because of feelings they couldn't quite explain, and for reasons they couldn't quite understand -- neither wanted to.
Adam nodded his head eagerly toward Alisan, finally catching Kris's eye; Kris, in turn, raised his eyebrows pointedly to Katy, signaling his "excitement" at what they'd both said they wanted. Internally, though, they were fighting with themselves - trying to accept that Alisan and Katy were pretty girls, and they were teenage boys, and because teenage boys were supposed to like pretty girls, they really shouldn't question it.
Feeling somewhat drunk, and perhaps a bit impatient, Alisan suggested a game of Truth or Dare. The boys hesitantly agreed, forming a haphazard circle on the floor. It was a desperate move on Alisan's part - but fully feeling the effects of the alcohol, she cared very little about repercussions.
"Katy," Alisan said, "you go first." And Kris tried not to cringe when Alisan winked in his direction.
"Ok," Katy said, not even pretending to mull it over. "Kris -- Truth or Dare?"
Kris reflexively looked over at Adam, who was decidedly refusing to meet his eye. "Um," Kris said, "Truth, I guess."
"Soooo lame!" said Alisan from across the circle, and this time, Kris couldn't help but wince.
"Fine," Katy said, "On a scale of one to ten, how much do like kissing me?"
Kris's cheeks flushed a scarlet-red, and when he looked over at Adam, he was staring into the ground. "Ten," he said, laughing quietly into the floor, ignoring the uncomfortable twisting in his stomach. Katy smiled.
It was Kris's turn. "Adam," he said, "Truth or dare?"
Adam lifted his gaze from the carpet and stared into Kris's flushed face. The vodka had left a rosy glow on his cheeks -- a glow that Adam was trying not to notice. "Dare," he said, `cause he was Adam, after all -- but after looking at Kris's face, he immediately regretted it.
"Ok," Kris said, looking first Alisan, then to Adam. "I guess, just...sing Bohemian Raphsody. In that chipmunk voice."
Adam smiled -- bullet dodged, but Alisan rolled her eyes.
"What the hell?" she said, "Are you guys seriously this lame?" Alisan dragged her hand across the floor and settled it onto Adam's leg -- refusing to even let him continue. "Adam," she said, her voice low, "I know you can do better."
That was a dare if he'd ever heard one. "Fine," Adam said, "Alisan. Truth or Dare?"
"Dare," she said, staring decidedly into his eyes.
"Ok," Adam said, "I dare you to kiss Katy." He hoped she'd assume the dare was to excite him, instead of what it was actually for: keeping her at a safe distance, by any means necessary. Alisan raised her eyebrows and looked toward Katy, laughing lightly as she kissed her on the lips.
Kris coughed uncomfortably.
Alisan's turn was next. "Adam," she said, "Truth or Dare?"
Never one to be shown up -- or be called a chicken -- Adam heard himself say "dare" before he could really consider the consequences. *Shit, *he thought -- but fixed his eyes on Alisan's.
The girls exchanged a mischievous glance. "Fair is fair," Alisan said, and dared him to kiss Kris.
Adam looked over at Kris sitting nervously next to him, and he smiled -- cause really, Kris could never hide anything with that face. Slowly, Adam moved toward him, smelling the alcohol on his breath, hearing his own heartbeat steadily increase; he paused momentarily, noticing -- for what felt like the first time -- Kris's soft, brown eyes as they stared trustingly into his own. Lingering in the gaze, Adam leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips.
The softness of each others' mouths startled them at first, but soon a shiver coursed through their bodies. Their eyes locked together - tentatively, questioningly - seemingly asking, did you feel that, too?. And suddenly, their breaths were coming too quickly, and their fingers felt numb, and the tingle in their lips reached all the way down to their toes.
And whether they were drunk from the vodka or the kiss, Kris reached out for Adam and pushed their mouths together again.
At this, the girls erupted into a fit of drunken laughter, and Adam pried his lips away to look disbelievingly into Kris's eyes. Their hearts were pounding so hard it hurt, their hands shaking like leaves as they tried to keep it together.
Whatever that was, whatever had just happened, it was as if the whole world had fallen away.
Katy could hardly breathe she was laughing so hard, and Alisan, struggling to form coherent sentences, managed a breathless, "Oh my GOD!" before falling over again.
Kris's expression grew increasingly grave, and though Adam was feeling much the same way, he hid it with a smirk and a playful shove. *Lighten up, *he seemingly said, with what Kris began to realize were the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen.
After the girls left, Kris and Adam looked at each other incredulously. Both boys were slightly embarrassed by the turn of events, especially since neither was further along with the girls than he'd been at the beginning of the night. Adam shrugged his shoulders and Kris felt the tension subside, both avoiding the barrage of questions that should have been forming in their minds. Instead, they chose to take comfort in the fact that neither had done any better than the other.
The boys changed into their pajama bottoms, and thought nothing of it as they left off their t-shirts; it was hot, they rationalized, and they didn't want to sweat in their sleep.
Arranging the sleeping bags on the floor of Adam's basement, each lying on top of his own, they casually joked about how skinny the others' chest was, or how good the others' mom was in bed.
But every so often, Adam would glance over at Kris and find that he was staring directly into his eyes, or Adam would respond to something Kris said by casually brushing his hand across his thigh.
And after awhile, when Kris finished laughing at some joke Adam made, the conversation stalled; in the impending silence, they found themselves quietly shifting closer to one another, listening to the crickets chirping peacefully outside. Only the moonlight and the soft static of the television highlighted their bodies, and as Kris surreptitiously glanced to his right, he began to notice just how magnificently beautiful Adam was. He allowed himself, if only for a moment, to run his eyes up and down his friend's strong features. But afraid, in his gut, that Adam would catch on -- he reluctantly turned his head back toward the ceiling.
After a few more moments of loaded silence, Kris decided to tell a story about some junior from their high school who had stupidly wrecked his dad's car.
Oblivious to the fact that Adam's left hand was slowly inching toward Kris's right one, he'd only just begun to talk when he felt Adam's hand move hesitantly on top of his own.
Kris paused to swallow, trying to regain control of his breath. Adam was tracing the lines on Kris's palms with his long fingers, and while neither boy addressed openly what was happening, Kris slowly closed his hand around Adam's.
"So, anyway," Kris said, trying to finish the story, "he, like, backed the car out of his driveway, but this other guy was coming down the road, really fast." As he talked, Kris started to move his thumb back and forth across Adam's hand.
"Uh huh," Adam said, turning on his side to rest his head on Kris's chest. Adam made sure their hands never left each others', despite the fact that they were now positioned underneath his body.
"Uh," Kris tried to concentrate, "So...uh...anyway -- he completely totaled his Dad's car," Kris said in between shallow breaths, reaching his free hand out to play with Adam's hair; he relished the feel of the thick, silky strands passing through his fingers. Adam reached over with his other hand and gently ran his fingers up and down Kris's smooth stomach.
"Uh huh," Adam said hoarsely, taking deeper breaths as Kris's hand moved delicately across his head. Kris felt Adam's hot breath dance lightly across his stomach, and shuddered while trying to continue his story.
"And, um...he couldn't do anything about it...because his dad was, like, coming home the next day or something," Kris continued, pressing his hand more insistently into Adam's head, massaging his scalp with eager fingers.
Adam struggled to answer with another, "Uh huh," as he moved his hand across Kris's front and around his back. Hugging him closely, he dared to trace his lips ever so lightly across Kris's stomach. Kris inhaled deeply, trying to stifle a groan as he removed his hand from Adam's hair, beginning, instead, to rub it up and down his arm. Adam shivered and tightened his embrace, and Kris tried, desperately, to finish the story.
"And he," Kris said breathlessly, "he, uh," Kris couldn't hold it anymore, and a soft moan escaped his lips when Adam's tongue touched his shallow stomach.
"He what?" Adam whispered, panting heavily.
"He...oh, God." Kris tried, but found he couldn't continue.
Adam slowly sat up and leaned against the foot of the couch, letting go of Kris's hand in the process, and Kris followed Adam, reluctantly allowing the contact to break. Adam reached behind them and turned on the floor lamp, jolting both boys back to reality; they momentarily felt awkward in the artificial light.
They were scared to look at each other - afraid of what they might find, but terrified of it not being real. And when they finally did, Kris shied away from Adam's stare, suddenly overwhelmed by the intensity of his own emotions.
Adam, however, accepted the significance of the situation, and whispered a simple, "It's ok," before carefully brushing his hand across Kris's cheek. And when Adam reached for him, long limbs stretching across the cold space, they wrapped their arms tightly around one another, hearing each other's heartbeats as Adam traced his fingers up and down Kris's back. Adam felt the warmth of Kris's skin against his own, and turning his head, he tenderly pressed soft, soothing kisses into Kris's neck.
Kris let out a soft sound as he breathed in deeply, tilting his head to give him better access. But when the kisses stopped, and Kris opened his eyes, he lost his breath as Adam's eyes met his own. It was just so intense -- too intense -- and as Kris closed his eyes, breathing in shallow breaths, he reached up to tangle his fingers in Adam's thick hair, desperate for something to hold on to. Adam, breathing heavily, dragged his hands up and down Kris's skin, steadying himself and Kris in his arms. And when neither could stand it any longer, two mouths and four lips found each other, coming together and stopping hearts, tasting and feeling and moving, until neither Adam nor Kris knew up from down, left from right, but knew that this was where they were supposed to be.
"Whoa," said Kris.
"Yea," said Adam.
And for the first time in their lives, both Adam and Kris began to ask themselves questions that, with every fleeting glance and longing gaze into each others' eyes, and with every stolen kiss in quiet hallways and vacant classrooms, they finally knew how to answer.