"I just love sex, that's all."
☆

"You know I'm right." Jack continues, as he dares to take another step forwards, with Dexter staying just where he is. "I know there is more to the fight between you and your brother. I just want you to talk to me."

"Why?" Dexter suddenly turns to face Jack, who pulls back a little. "Why is my life so important to you? I was a piece of shit to you. You need to hate me." 

"Believe me Dex, I hated you for a long time. But now…" Jack halts his words, making Dexter look at him in anticipation.

'Now...what?" 

Jack looks into Dexter's eyes. For the second time, he sees that vulnerability deep within. "I forgive you." 

Dexter shakes his head. "No, don't do that. Don't be the fucking martyr." 

"What? So I'm not allowed to forgive you?" Jack laughs. 

"I don't deserve it." Dexter adds. 

Jack places a hand on Dexter's arm. "This isn't just about you y'know. Maybe I need some kind of closure too. I Said I would forgive, not forget." 

Dexter looks at the hand resting on his sleeve. He then looks at Jack, taking a defeatist sigh. "You're still paying for this time right?" 

Jack removes the hand laughing. "Depends on whether you're gonna talk to me or not." 

Dexter smiles. "You really wanna know? You will probably hate me even more." 

"I'm a big boy now." Jack says, with Dexter looking down at Jack's body. 

"Yeah you are." He smirks. 

"Do you wanna go back to 
PIccolos?" Jack suggests. 

"Nah. I fancy chicken." Dexter says before turning away from Jack and heading up the street. "You coming?" Jack finds himself following behind Dexter. For a moment it felt like being at school once again. With Jack following him like the obedient sheep, but this time around, Jack was going to make sure things were going to go differently. 

***

There hasn't been much said between them as they settle into two plastic seats at Bang Bang Chicken. Jack watches as Dexter tucks into his Chicken burger. "When was the last time you ate something?" He wonders as Dexter seems to consume the meal, not even coming up for air. 

Dexter looks up from the burger in his hands. "I eat when I can." He replies, not really giving Jack the answer he was looking for. 

"Are you going to evade all my questions?" Jack wonders as he drinks his overly hot coffee from the paper cup. 

"Depends on what you ask." Dexter replies, raising an eyebrow at the question, before adding, "I know you think I'm gay." 

Jack looks at Dexter, squinting his eyes a little, he finds his grip around the paper cup tighten. "And...are you?" 

"No." Dexter responds, looking at Jack as he takes another bite of his burger. "I just love sex, that's all." He says, before adding. "I don't care who it's with." 

Jack sits back in his seat. He didn't know what he was expecting from the response. Perhaps his stupid idealistic brain thought he would say 'yes'. That he was gay, but not only that, he had been in love with Jack all this time. "So...you like sex with men and women? You're bisexual." 

Dexter drops his bun back on his napkin. "Stop trying to label me Jack. I just said, I like sex. That's all. You're as bad as Brian." 

"So that's what the argument was about? He called you out?" Jack wonders. "Dexter, Brian was no straight arrow…"

"He was more careful to hide his antics. Mum doesn't know half of what he got up to, if she did..." Dexter smirks as he takes a drink before continuing. "Mum caught me in the lounge with this guy. Mid forties I guess. She wasn't supposed to be home so early. Anyways she obviously flipped, maybe because it was a man, or maybe an older person, maybe because he paid for it, I guess that part I'll never know, but Brian? Well, she obviously told him. Asked him if he knew I, what were her words… did that kind of thing often... He took her side, called me all the names, you get the idea, so I hit him. He hit me, the police were called out and so on and so on and she kicked me out."

Dexter says it all so casually that Jack isn't sure whether he actually cares what happened to him or not, with Dexter just carrying on eating.  "Dex, I didn't have your mother down as homophobic. She always seemed so nice when I came over.

"Yeah...a nice homophobe...but I'm not gay so…." Dexter says once again, making Jack take a sigh. "I never told anyone what happened, you know, in that house between you, me, Brian. I guess that's why I got angry. With him. Such a fucking hypocrite." 

"Then why did you bully me Dex? You made my life hell." Jack looks at Dexter with those eyes as if he were that 16 year old kid again.

"Fuck Jack, I don't know? I guess I felt angry with it all." Dexter now began to feel uncomfortable with where this was going. 

Jack feeling a sudden surge of bravery decides to go to that place, to ask that burning question. The one which had plagued his own mind for almost a decade... "Were you jealous...of what Brian and I did?"

Dexter just looks at Jack, hesitation is upon him and for a brief moment, Jack thinks he is going to get an answer at least one way or another. But instead, Dexter is true to form.  He stands up from his seat. "Conversation over." He says under his breath.

He heads for the door but this time, Jack doesn't follow, only choosing to call out. "Admit it. You were jealous!"  It makes Dexter stop, for just for a split second, but he doesn't turn to either confirm or deny it. He then carries on, leaving the restaurant and leaving Jack to continue to wonder...