-Alex's Point of View-

"Girls that's not really any of your business what happened and who I'm seeing in general. I don't even know you two," I said looking at them and they frowned at me, chattering about ways to get some answers out of me.

I'm glad I learned how to tune people out when I was younger because I didn't want to answer their questions. I hate being rude, but that's the way that it's working out.

"You're such a fucking dick like your brother," English said and my eyes snapped to her as I stood up and looked the both of them in the eyes. Anger flared through my blood and the fact that I had, had a few drinks wasn't helping me control my actions very well.

"I'd advise you to walk away from me right now because I usually don't let anyone talk about Tom like that and just get away with it. If not, well, it probably won't end up too nicely," I said and I watched them both as they frowned at me.

"What are you going to do, Gaskarth? Run away like Thomas did? You know I'm the main reason he talked your parents into moving to Baltimore. You were too young to remember why you moved, but it wasn't just for a change in scenery," English said and I stared at her, wanting to jump at her, tear her apart, and make sure that she never uttered another word about my older brother.

"Katie, I think you should leave him alone. You've taken this too far," Unknown said and Katie snapped her eyes at her before looking back at me.

"Shut up, Vanna," Katie said and I saw a crowd gathering around us, waiting for a fight waiting to happen. They weren't even paying attention to the show anymore that was dwindling away very slowly.

I looked over at the stage and Elissa had grabbed her guitar and was heading towards my way, an unhappy look on her face. I knew I had upset her by causing a commotion and pulling most of the attention away from her show. She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the front door saying, "Come on, Alex. We need to talk."

"Run away, Alex. Run away. Drink yourself to death like Thomas did because you lost your lover to someone a hell of a lot better," Katie teased and Elissa's grip on me tightened as she pushed me forward, urging me to walk away from a fight that was words away from breaking apart.

She pushed me outside and into a secluded park. I stared up at the night sky trying to get my temper to calm down as I thought about everything that had been going on the past few days and how I was continuing to mess things up for everyone. Elissa grabbed my hand and gave it a small squeeze, attracting my attention at her instead of the darkened night.

"What happened and why were they talking about Tom?" She asked and I sighed, putting my face in my hands and I tried to sort everything out.

"I heard them talking about Jack, Josh, Jack's family, and his father's death. As their conversation continued, they brought up pictures that they had saw of Jack and I. I listened in on their conversation and soon enough Tom came in and I found out that Katie was his ex and the last girl that he ever dated. They went to get closer to the stage when they saw me and tried to ask me what happened with jack and I. I got to the point where I was ignoring them and they watched and continued to question me, despite my efforts to get them to leave. They realized I was angry when Josh dedicated that song to Jack on stage and I just got agitated. Katie compared me to Tom, Vanna tried to get her to quit, and we attracted our crowd. I just think it'd be better if Jack came back to me. It would just fix everything," I said shaking my head and she watched me with her green eyes.

"You want him back, but you're pushing him away. Don't you see that, Alex? You didn't just come to my show to watch me perform, you came to watch Jack from afar instead of letting yourself be known. You can't keep doing that to him," she said softly and I stared at her.

"Well he's not helping either! Galavanting around with your brother!" I said raising my voice a little bit as my temper began to wear thin once again.

Elissa just let out a sigh and said, "I don't decide who my brother sees. He was fucking a million other men before your Jack came along. He didn't make enough money with his band alone, so he started selling himself. I guess that's the best way to put it. Going out to bars, picking up drunks who've gone through a rough patch or a break up and stealing money or anything valuable while they're sleeping." She paused a moment, letting her words sink in before she continued, "Jack's the only one who's returned. Who he has stayed in contact with. I hate to say it, but I really think that my brother does like Jack. More than a friend, but not a lover," she finished, letting out a laugh that was almost as sour as a lemon.

Silence struck me and I had no idea what to say. Was Josh just simply using Jack for the time being? Did he just plan on dropping him when he got tired of the spiky, dark-haired male? I began to let her words play over and over in my head like a broken record and I just simply shook my head, not knowing what to even think about first.

I heard a taxi shoot past the outside of the fence and someone's American shout ran through the air. My ears pricked up and I knew who it was at an instant of hearing that voice. So close that he had to be listening in on my entire conversation.

"Jack?" I said, but all I heard was a car door slam and a car take off on the road behind Elissa and I. She stared at me and I just shook my head, my mind falling over and over itself. Did he care about those words? What was he thinking right now that he knew some of the things about Josh that he probably didn't before? Things that probably hadn't been admitted out loud before. Thing that maybe hadn't really been thought about before.

"Alex, go home," Elissa said, standing up and grabbing her guitar, "I'll talk to you in the morning, but right now you need to go home, think about things, just figure out life in general. Right now, you're not the Alex Gaskarth I know." She walked away and I sat there thinking.

I couldn't go home just yet. I needed time to waste away in something else and get my mind right where I need it to be. I need a drink.

~~~

Alcohol is my friend and the fact that I had, had a few beers before I had my talk with Elissa didn't help me much at all.

Four drinks later I was flirting with a handsome man by the name of Dan Flint. His dark hair and alluring look was calling my name and the drinks were making me forget all about Jack and everything that had happened this fine evening.

"How about we head back to my place?" His asked and I nodded, taking his hand and he lead me to the door despite my tripping and falling over my feet. His arm wrapped around my waist and when we got outside, someone approached us.

"You leaving without saying goodbye, Danny-boy?" The person said and he got a glance at me before saying, "What are you doing with him?"

"You know him?" Dan asked and I swayed back and forth, leaning against the bricked outer wall of the bar.

"That's Jack's ex. I didn't know he came here," the familiar man said, but my mind wasn't cooperating with me.

"I'm just taking him back to my place. You know, the usual," Dan said and the other shook his head and looking at me.

"If that's the case then I'm going to Jack's. Take care, Dan," he said.

"You too, Josh," Dan said and I stood up straight as Dan grabbed my arm and lead me across the parking lot. I glanced back and saw Josh watching me carefully with a frown on his lips and I knew that he was probably going to tell Jack was was going on.

"You ready to have some fun, Alex?" Dan asked me and I looked at him, not knowing what to say.

Oh, the price I pay for the booze and letting my heart get the better of me...

Notes

Title Credit: By the Way by Theory of a Deadman
EmptySighsAndWine