Chapter 123

Kirstie walked in the door first, but gasped at the sight. Todrick was asleep in one of the dining room chairs, while Jake and Alex were on the couch. Jake was laying down on the couch, while Alex was straddling his hips. Alex saw the look in Avi's eyes, so he desperately tried to explain. "It's not what it looks like." Scott instantly covered Mitch's eyes with his large hand, and walked him through the room, blindly leading him to their room. Mitch tried to pull Scott's hand away, but failed to do it, so he stopped walking. Scott pushed him along though, regardless of his legs moving or not. "Mitch, let's go. Don't make me carry you." "But I--" Scott squeezed his arm a little, subtly telling him not to argue. Mitch pouted but started walking again. Alex had jumped off of Jake, and was standing in front of Avi, head bowed. "I'm sorry. Am I in trouble?" Avi just shrugged. "I don't really care what you and your hormones decide to do. But I think Todrick is who you should talk to." Kirstie was standing next to him, giggling madly although she was trying to hide it. When Alex finally looked to her out of curiosity, she giggled again, before she started to sing. "Allie and Jakey, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S--" "Kirstin Taylor." Avi snapped. "Don't you dare make him feel bad about this. He deserves an Alpha, just as much as you do. His sexual encounters are none of your concern." Her expression dropped immediately. "I'm so sorry, Alpha. Oh gosh... I'm sorry Alex. I didn't mean to be rude." Avi nodded at her once, proud of her remorse for her actions. Alex tried to smile. "Your jokes are definitely not my first priority right now." Kevin had whispered something to Jake who was now sitting upright on the couch, and Jake nodded slowly, not saying a word. Kevin then walked over to where Todrick had fallen asleep, his face on the table on top of a stack of bills, envelopes, and a calculator, as well as a pencil and a piece of paper that only he could interpret. Kevin gently set his hand on Todrick's shoulder, leaning down and kissing his neck to wake him up. Todrick slowly blinked himself awake, and then sat up. He rolled his shoulders a few times, a few small pops eliciting from his bones in the process. Todrick groaned and tilted his head to the side to pop it as well. "Did I fall asleep?" "Yes." "Is Alex okay?" "Yes." "Good. Good... Um. Hi. How are you?" Todrick tried, turning to smile at Kevin. Kevin sat down in the chair beside him, looking through the bills. "Why are you doing this all by yourself? I could've helped you if you'd just waited for me to come back." "I just... I feel bad that Avi is trying to take care of all seven of us. And I wanted to help out as much as I could... This is just tedious work that makes more sense for a Beta to do than an Alpha." Kevin continued flipping papers. "I got that part, Toddy. But this is way too much for one person. Beta or not. When was the last time math put you to sleep? Please don't stress yourself out too much. Don't take on more than you can handle." Todrick nodded once, but then tilted his head a little, turning to meet Kevin's eyes. "You don't think I can do this all by myself?" "I didn't say that." "It was implied." "Todrick. No it wasn't. You're stressed, and tired, and not thinking clearly. Just take a deep breath, baby. You know I would never doubt your intelligence or your abilities. I just don't want you to hurt yourself." Kevin explained rationally. Todrick sighed, and then nodded, leaning into Kevin's side. "You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overreact. Let's just... Let's just get this taken care of." Kevin nodded, leaning over to kiss Todrick's temple, before turning back to the papers before them. Alex walked over a second later, his head bowed, and his face bright red. "T-Toddy?" Todrick glanced up, while Kevin just continued what he was doing. "Yes?" "I... I did something bad." Alex began. Todrick leaned back in his chair, his interest spiked. "Oh?" Alex refused to meet his eyes. "I'm really sorry... I rushed it, didn't I? I didn't mean to... But I'm not using him, I promise. I really do like him." "Okay. So... You're talking about Jake, I presume? What did you and Jake do, Al? You can tell me." "I... I kissed him. A bunch of times... And I... I don't know... I..." Alex trailed off, almost afraid of Todrick's reaction. Todrick leaned forward and smiled at him. "Allie. Look at me." Alex cautiously met his eyes. "You don't have to justify yourself to me. What you do with your love life is completely up to you. I just want to offer you advice when you need it. But if you and Jake are doing well, you don't need me. But the instant something happens and you don't know what to do, please come to me. Okay? All I want is to take care of you, Alex." Alex smiled widely at him, all his fear melting away. "Thank you. That's really sweet of you to say. I love you, Toddy." "I love you too. Just.. Do me a favor? Don't... Don't get married yet. Don't give your body to him. Not yet." Todrick requested gently.