AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hi! This is my first Will & Grace story, I hope you all enjoy it.
This story is based on the idea of what if Will and Jack did sleep together in ’24?’
So there is going to be a lot of Will/Jack romance, and probably some Grace/Karen as it goes along, since I love that pairing too.
This first chapter is more of an introduction and is told entirely from Jack’s point of view.
It starts from when he first met Will and shows how he fell in love with him.
Lot’s of the dialog is from ‘Low’s in the mid-eighties’ flashback scenes, so don’t point that out too me.
Well here’s the first chapter, please read and review.
* * * * *
I remember the day I first saw Will, it was at Matt Stokes party, the first party I'd been too since I came out.
It'd been my 16th birthday a few weeks ago, I’d chosen my birthday to come out, but only too my father, I couldn't bare to tell my mother, I knew that she'd be so upset, my father sure was.
But anyway, this party, it was huge with loads of people, and I’d hoped that some of them were gay, as it turns out, a lot of them were.
When I first saw Will, something about him just...intrigued me. He seemed very out of place at this party, not that I felt all at ease either, I felt vulnerable, like everyone was judging me.
I wonder if he noticed me staring at him? Or even noticed me at all. I don't know, but I sure noticed him, and I felt drawn too him. I had too find out who he was.
I went over to Matt and asked him, " Hey, who is that guy over there?"
" Oh, that's Will Truman." he answered.
" OK, what college does he go too?"
" Um, Columbia, I think. Why, are you interest?" Matt smirked and nudge me in the side, making me blush.
" Maybe." I said.
" Don't waste your time, I heard he he's strait and has a girlfriend."
I watched Will for a moment as he talked too some guys at the bar, almost awkwardly, as if afraid too say something wrong.
'Yeah, right...' I thought to myself.
I thanked Matt for his help, and went back too observing Will.
Call it fate, but I knew that I’d get too meet him soon.
* * * * *
It took me a few weeks too find out exactly what part of the college he was in, and when I did, I decided to pay him a visit.
When I arrived he appeared to be having some sort of party {what is it about us and parties anyway?} The door was open so I just wandered in.
There were quite a lot of people there, I was surprised that they could all fit into such a small room.
After glancing around for a minuet I saw Will sitting on the couch, talking too some girl.
Thinking back too what Matt had said, I wondered if this was the girlfriend he had mentioned.
Feeling a little shy, I decided that I couldn't just walk up to Will and start talking too him with all these other people around.
So when no one was looking, I did the only sensible thing. I dived into the nearest closet.
I didn't have to wait that long, as I soon heard people starting too leave.
I then heard someone moving around just outside the closet.
Suddenly the door opened and I spun around and came face to face with the person I’d been waiting for.
"Hi!" I cried cheerfully, as Will stared at me in surprise, which was quite understandable I suppose.
'Don't act stupid, don't come onto him, just introduce yourself and be friendly' I thought quickly.
Will blinked, " What are you doing in the closet?" he asked.
" I could ask the same of you." I said as I stepped out of the closet and walked past him, still holding a pile of his clothes that I’d been sorting through while I was waiting.
' No stupid, don't start with the gay jokes!' I thought.
Will's eyes widened and he looked at me in shock. " What?! Who are you?"
" Oh, how quickly they forget. We met at Matt Stokes' party." I said, before realising that was actually wrong, as we weren't actually introduced. But since Will didn't mention it, I decided not to correct myself.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out one of my card with my name and phone number on it. I like to carry these around with me in case I ever saw any guys that I liked. So far, ill is the first.
" My card." I said, handing it over to him.
He took the card and glanced down at it. " Jack McFarland. Since 1969." he read. " What are you even doing here? Aren't you in high school?"
" Well, I prefer the college parties 'cause the fellas tend to be less uptight about their homosesuality." I answered.
" Oh, yeah, now I remember you. You were the one going around telling everybody you were in Duran Duran."
I smiled to myself, so he had noticed me. " Yeah, that's right. That's right. Yeah."
" Oh, a-and you think everybody's gay." said Will.
" No, not everybody," I said, glancing in the mirror and checking my hair. " just me... And you and a dog named Boo!"
I started to laugh and Will glared at me, making me stop, realising that laughing at him probably wasn't a very good way to get him too like me.
"Hey, hey. I'm not gay." he said, looking a little defencive.
I glanced through his records and picked one of them up. " Well, this well-worn copy of the "Dreamgirls" soundtrack begs to differ." I argued.
He glared at me again. " How would you like it if I kicked your ass?"
I smirked and wandered past him, patting him on the butt playfully. " That depends on the spirit on which it is delivered."
Will jumped in surprise and backed away from me. "Hey hey hey! Gimme my clothes and get outta here." he said, grabbing the clothes out of my arms and walking over the couch. " I've gotta pack."
It was then that I noticed some bags on the couch. " Oh. Where you off to, Captain Crumbcake?" I asked.
Will began putting some clothes into one of the bags, " Not that it's any of your business, but I'm going away for the weekend with my girlfriend."
Not being able to contain myself I burst out laughing and said, " Yeah, me, too. What's his name?"
He turned round and shot me an annoyed look. " Her name is Grace."
" Have you two had what the straights call "intercourse" yet?" I asked, for some reason it didn't seem out of line to be so forward.
" Yes. A lot. Tons of times." Will answered shakily.
' Yeah right, you're such a brilliant liar. Hmm, now even my thoughts are becoming sarcastic... Should I be worried?'
" Hmm. Well, I stand corrected," I said, as I sat down in a chair in front of the couch. " Yet, as I sit, you become a liar again."
I watched as Will stopped what he was doing, maybe I was hitting a nerve.
" Bet you every time she wants to, you have some kind of excuse like, "I respect you." "We'll do it next weekend, I promise." Lend me 20 bucks."
He turned round and stared at me with a confused expression. " What?"
Yeah, the last one made no sense, but I need the money!
I explained this too Will... In a way.
" Well, the last part was for me. Come on, I'm good for it." Will just rolled his eyes and grabbed me by the shoulders, and steered me towards the door.
" Ok. Out you go. We're done. Janet and Chrissy are waiting for you at the Regal Beagle."
I paused in the doorway as he went back to his packing.
" All right, ok, fine I'm leaving. You have my card. Call me when you get tired of all this, and want to talk about it. "
I waited for a second before adding, " Oh, and one more thing, burn those jeans, your ass looks huge."
And then I dashed out of the door, quite happy with my interesting, though somewhat weird introduction, and quite confident that he would call me soon.
I wasn't disappointed.
* * * * *
A few days later, I was sitting in my room eating some chicken wings, when my phone started to ring.
I called to my mother a few times too answer it, but of course her being so lazy, she didn't.
So I just leaned over and picked it up myself.
" Su-su-sussudio." I said, answering the phone the way I always do.
" Hi, Jack, it's-- it's Will Truman." Will's voice said on the other end of the line.
I resisted the urge to jump up and in delight at the fact that he'd called, so instead I just decided to play with him a little.
" Oh, right, from Queens College?" I asked, smirking a little bit.
" No, I go to Columbia." he said in return, sounding confused.
I sighed softly, he didn't get my wonderful joke, did he?
" Missy, anywhere you go is Queens College."
"Yeah, oh-- You know what? That-- That's why I called."
'Oh, so NOW he gets my joke?' I thought.
" You know, what you said really bugged me. I am not gay." he said.
His words made me burst out laughing, and I choked up a bit of chicken.
'Urg, that's disgusting.' I thought as I covered the phone with my hand and yelled to my mother.
" Mom! There's chicken on the rug!" once again she didn't appear, what is wrong with her today?
I took my hand off the phone and realised that Will was talking again.
" I was saying... That you--you know nothing about me, because if you did know me, you would know that-- that--"
" That what?"
" That I love you, Jack. I've always loved you... From the moment I laid eyes on you… "
...
OK, he didn't really say that. But in my poor, lust filled mind, he sure did.
But, he actually said something else, that was more like this.
" I'm saying you know nothing about me, because if you did know me, you would know that I'm not gay." sadly, that was what he really said.
" Oh, yeah. Now I get it. Ahem. You're in stage 3-- You've bought the short shorts, but you're afraid to put 'em on. Yeah, put 'em on, Will. Come on. Put 'em on." I said, sniffing slightly, and picking a bit of dirt out of my tooth.
" Would you stop? Stop saying that!" he cried. " Ok? I am not--"
Since I can't stand people being in denial, I decided to cut him off right there.
" You're gay, Will! Ok? You're gayer than the day is long. You're Marvin Gaye. And let me tell you somethin'-- Ain't no closet big enough."
" This-- this is ludicrous. I mean, we spent all of four minutes together." Will said through clenched teeth.
' Yeah, and they were the best four minuets of my life'
" Yeah, and in the first four seconds, I could tell that you were carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders... And about 20 extra pounds on your hips."
I fell back against my bed, laughing my ass off, before regaining my composure.
Clearing my throat and trying to hold in my giggles, I said, " And why wouldn't you? It's a drag pretending to be something you're not."
" Yeah, if I'm pretending, then how come I can't wait to get back in there and have sex with my girlfriend?" he asked, which was really quite a crappy argument if you ask me.
I almost felt flattered at the thought that he'd put back having sex with his 'girlfriend' just to call me.
But then again, I’m just young and desperate, it's easy to flatter me. " Well, if you can't wait to get back in there and make muskrat love to your girlfriend, then why are you on the phone with me?"
When he didn't answer for awhile, I took that too mean that he agreed with me.
" Yeah, that's what I thought." I said. " You're my new best friend. Call me every five minutes."
And thus, our friendship was born.
* * * * *
I didn't hear from Will again until about a week later.
It was around 9.am, on a Saturday morning, and I’d just woken up a little while ago.
My mother knocked at my door and said, " Honey, are you awake yet? Your friend Will is here to see you?"
That made me sit bolt upright and I looked around in a panic.
'Will's here? What's he doing here? I'm not even up yet, I’m still in my pyjama’s... oh he won't care about that.’
" Jackie, honey? Are you up? Can Will come in?" my mother called again.
" Er, yeah. Sure." I said, jumping out of bed and quickly trying too straiten up my hair with my hands.
The door opened and Will walked in. He looked at me strangely.
" What?" I asked, yawning.
He looked me up and down. " Were you asleep? Did I wake you up?"
" No, not really. It's just it's a weekend, and I’m not really up properly until lunchtime." I explained. " So what do you want?"
He began to pace around my room as I sat back down on the bed and watched him.
" I had sex with a girl last night." he said finally.
" Oh." I blinked, " ...What's that like?"
" It was...awful."
" Well of course it was. You're gay." I said matter of factly.
" I know..." he said quietly, and he sat down next to me on the bed.
" So you're finally admitting it, huh?" I asked, and he nodded.
I shifted closer to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, " So, how do you feel?"
" Relieved." Will answered, and he looked at me sadly. " And upset, it wasn't Grace I had sex with, it was another girl."
" You cheated on your girlfriend with another girl?!"
" No, you don't understand. After I spoke to you on the phone last week, I told Grace that I was gay, and she kicked me out" said Will.
" Oh you poor baby, that's horrible!" I gasped, just managing to stop myself from hugging him comfortingly, I wasn't sure how he would take it.
" And then I just went around telling everyone I know that I was gay." he continued.
" Then how did you end up having sex with a girl?" I asked in confusion.
" I had to make sure that I was gay." said Will softly. " So last night I went to a bar, got really drunk and met this girl. We went back to my place, and well, you can take it from there..."
" Ok." I nodded, " So is that why you came? Is that all you wanted to tell me?"
" Yeah. Except, well..." he began. " Um, can you, er, show me what it's like too be gay?"
I stared blankly at him, wondering if I heard him correctly, or if this was just my lucky day.
" What? Here?" I asked.
Will looked puzzled, and then it suddenly dawned on him what I meant.
" No, no, I didn't mean that!" he said. " I meant, well, it's just, you're gay, you know what it's like to be a gay man, and I don't. So could you teach me how to be gay?"
" Ohh, OK. I see." I said, trying to keep my disappointment out of my voice.
I put my arm round his shoulder and smiled brightly at him.
" Don't worry, Will. I'll teach you everything you need to know!"
* * * * *
Over the next year me and Will spent a lot of time together, and I introduced him to the wonderful world of gayness.
Not that I knew a lot about it myself, but I certainly knew more than Will.
All the time I was becoming more and more fond of Will, it was horrible to see him get confident enough to start asking guys out and start dating.
And I don't know what possessed me to bribe that guy to go out with him as his first date. I should of just asked Will out, just to see if he'd say yes.
But then one day, a couple of days before Thanksgiving, we went shopping at D'Agostinos to buy the last few things we needed for Thanksgiving.
It was there that I made my mistake, and got my heart broken in the process...
Will was looking over the shopping list, " Should we do sweet potatoes or mashed?" he asked me.
" Mashed, and I'm in love with you." I answered.
" ...What?" he asked, shocked.
I froze as i realised what I had just said, and quickly turned away from Will and walked around the side of one of the isle displays, and looked over it at him nervously.
" Will, why are we pretending? We spend every second together. We call each other a hundred times a night. I saw the way you were lookin' at me the other day when we were at that place shoppin' for shoes." I said, trying to stop the blush from rising to my cheeks.
I continued to grin brightly at him and he sighed and walked over to me.
I thought for a moment that he was going to say that he loved me too, but then I saw the look in his eyes as he stood in front of me, and my smile, and hopes, faded.
" Look, Jack. I owe you everything, you know? I mean, this past year, coming out. You've been like my sherpard through the Himalayas of... Of him-a-laying. But I just don't feel that way about you, you know? I love you the way you love a cherished family pet. That you never want to have sex with. We're meant to be girlfriends, not boyfriends, you know? It's better that way." Will said as I just stared back at him.
I turned away from him, feeling hurt. I didn't quite know what too say, maybe I could try and make him think that I was joking, that I didn't mean what I said.
I turn back towards him and started clapping my hands, " Brava. You've passed the test." he looked confused.
I started to walk past him, trying to keep the smile on my face, and praying that he was buying what I was saying.
" I was worried your feelings might get in the way of our friendship, but I'm glad we've cleared that up. I really had you goin' there with the "I'm in love with you thing," didn't I?"
" Yeah, you did." he said softly, the tone in his saying that he didn't believe me one bit.
" Me, in love with you. Me, in love with you? Ha! Craziness."
I starting glancing around again, I just wanted to get out of here.
" If you'll excuse me, I'll be in the frozen foods section. It thought it'd be nice if we started Thanksgiving with some Jeno's eggrolls." I said as I felt tears starting too come to my eyes.
So I turned around and made a dash out of the door, as Will stared sadly after me.
* * * * *
I thought that I wouldn't be able to face Will again after that, it would be too difficult to be around the person who had rejected me.
But I couldn't stand the thought of not being around Will anymore, he was my best friend, my only friend I suppose.
So I tried to put my feelings behind me, and after a week of shutting myself off in my room, crying myself to sleep each night, I went to see Will again, and I acted as though nothing had happened.
And so I started spending time with him again, he introduced me to Grace, and a few years later I met Karen, she's like the big sister I’ve never had, and she's the only other person that knows that I still love Will, no matter how much I try and deny it.
* * * * *
I don't know why I’m thinking about all this now, I was perfectly fine a few minuets ago, just sitting here with Will on Karen's boat, sing along to Elton John songs.
Being left twenty thousand dollars, and being quite drunk, does tend to put you in a good mood.
But when the song ended I just started thinking about Will, and I've just been sitting here quietly for the past ten minuets, just thinking.
" Jackie? What's the matter?" a concerned Will asks me, his voice sounding a little slurred.
" Nothing." I said, " Come on, let's go back to our room." he nodded and stood up.
I attempted to stand up, but ended up falling back onto the couch, pulling Will down with me, and half landing on top of him.
For some reason we found the whole thing hysterical and we started to laugh.
I crawled off of Will and grabbed his arm, and managing to actually stand up this time, pulled Will up with me.
Leaning heavily against each other we stumbled our way back to out room, and after a lot of giggling and five minuets of trying to get the key in the lock, we got the door open and went inside.
Once inside we sat, well, OK. we tripped over our own feet and fell onto my bed.
Rolling onto my back, I groaned as my head span and everything went hazy, I felt in a strange dream like state.
Oh well, Maybe I’ll feel better tomorrow...
* * * * *
To be continued...