Jack Barakat had been avoiding Alexander for a few days now. Since he walked away from Alex to grab a beer, it seemed his hand was always holding that familiar cold can. Though he hadn't seen Lisa in the house, he could sometimes hear Alex on the phone with her, telling her how pretty and sweet she was. It made Jack sick to his stomach just to think about, but he still held out hope that one day Alex would wake up and realize what was right in front of his eyes. He always knew his best friend was stubborn, and he prayed that this was just one of those moments.

The lanky boy hadn't left the house since that day, either. Often he found himself on the phone with Zack and Rian, but Rian was such a mess of the fact that he was going to be a father, he rarely left Kara's side. As for Zack, he didn't want to show up at Alex's house unless Alex himself invited him. He was worried that Alex was uncomfortable around him now that he knew the truth about Jack's feelings.

It was just a little past three in the afternoon and Jack had just gotten off the phone with his mother. He'd snuck down to the kitchen to grab a fresh beer when he heard a strange noise coming from the front yard. Alex was nowhere to be found, so he assumed the worst and poked his head out of the living room window.

There was Alex, in nothing but basketball shorts, running around like a mad man. Above his head was a letter and the mail box was still hanging wide open. Jack furrowed his brows as he watched Alex scream to the top of his lungs with a large grin on his face. Was Alex already shitfaced?

He had no desire to go outside and ask his once-best-friend what the Hell was wrong with him. That was, until, he saw Zack and Rian coming flying into the driveway. He watched closely as the two slid out of the car and rushed to Alex with worried faces. A part of Jack was angry that he'd call and invited those two over, but couldn't even walk ten feet in his own house to tell Jack what was going on. Out of frustration, the boy flung the door open and darted across the yard. He stood only inches away from his three friends with an angry look on his face.

"Oh, Jack," Alex breathed. "I was just about to call you and tell you to bring your ass outside."

"Alex, Kara's really mad that I left. Can you please just tell us what's going on so I can get back to her?"

"All of your drama can wait for just a minute. Now all of you shut up and let me read this!"

Alex cleared his throat and stared down at the white sheet of paper. His hands were shaking as he brought it close to his face to shield his eyes from the sun.

"Dear Mr. Gaskarth,

We are pleased to inform you that we got your audition and are very fond of your music. You have been scheduled to meet with some of our local talent agents on August forth. We will call you with more details on time and location. Please have new material prepared for your band to play live.

Sincerely,
-The Hopeless Records Family."

Letting out a loud breath, Alex allowed his eyes to trail from the paper, to his friends, and straight to Jack. He always knew that he'd share this news with them one day, but his hopes for everything to be perfect had gone to Hell. If things hadn't been so fucked up, he'd be able to celebrate with his best friend like old times.

"Holey shit," Zack mumbled, scratching at his arm. "Is that legit?"

"Damn right it is. We made, boys! Just think, after this meeting, we could be signed. We could go on tour! Fame is at our freakin' doorstep!"

"I guess I'll be the one to say it," Rian sighed, shaking his tired head. "I can't go. Not with Kara being pregnant. I really don't think Zack will go if I don't, and frankly I don't even know if you and Jack are even friends anymore."

"Fuck all of that! We can figure this out. Rian, you're staying with All Time Low. We can at least get signed and start recording.. Tour locally or when we graduate."

"I suppose that may work." The smile on Rian's face could have lit up the whole town. Those beautiful white teeth reflected in the sun light. Finally, Rian had something to look forward to again. "I really should go talk to Kara before I get too excited. I always kept her in mind with every decision I made before, but now it's a lot more serious."

Alex nodded his head, sad that he didn't get the reaction he'd expected, but glad to hear that Rian's tone had changed. He pulled the other boy into a hug, whispering in his ear that everything was going to work out just fine. Rian moved to Jack next- Wanting to ask why Jack showed no emotion- and pulled him into a hug. He could feel Jack's heart racing against his chest, and found that to be reason enough. Jack was in shock.

"I'm rolling out, too. If my mom finds out before I tell her, she'll choke me," Zack snickered, embracing Alex in a large man hug. "Dudes, this is awesome!"

Jack nodded against Zack's chest, almost sad to let him go. He watched with a dull expression as his two friends climbed in the car, laughing to themselves, and pulled away. Honestly, Jack was so happy he nearly pissed himself, but it was a shitty thing to be happy and lonely.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jack finally whispered, trying not to look into Alex's chocolate pools. "I would have wanted to know that you sent them a demo."

"I, uh- I really didn't want to get everyone's hopes up. We've been rejected a few times and it seems to kill the joy of the band a little more each time."

"Yeah, well, still..."

"Dude, why can't you just be happy we got an audition? That's kind of a big deal."

"Because Rian is right. How the fuck are we gonna manage this one, Al? You and I aren't speaking, Zack barely comes over anymore, Rian has a baby-momma. Do you even think we're going to have time to work on 'new material?'"

"We'll make time. We just need to find something really.. Moving, to write about. Something that will capture their attention so they can't turn us down."

"Here's an idea: We can write a song about a stupid nerdy boy who falls in love with his over-popular cocky best friend. Then, like any other good love song, we can end it with heart break and bullshit."

Alex shook his head. He couldn't tell Jack that he'd spent the last week trying to sort out his feelings, and that's why Lisa hadn't been over. He couldn't tell Jack that he was confused, sexually, and that his desires were spinning out of control. Alexander Gaskarth was never one to fall in love. It just wasn't something that was meant to happen, he was too much of a free spirit. So when he thought about Lisa, it was comforting to know that she didn't expect him to settle down, but when he thought about Jack, he almost wanted to let go of the party life and be faithful.

His heart was heavy as he stepped away from his best friend to shut the mail box. When the latch closed, he carefully folded up the letter and stuffed it in his pockets, finally feeling the hot Summer heat beating down on his back, which by now was a deep shade of red. He knew this was the moment where he determined what he and Jack were to be from here on out. Jack was a hard man to read, but the look in his eyes and the way he worded his last comment informed Alex that Jack was ready to give up on him entirely.

"I don't know what we're going to write the song about yet, Jack, but it won't be about that, and here's why. I know I've been a total asshole, and I know you've heard this apology a million and one times. I don't know why you stick around to hear it, but you do, and I love that about you. I have been busting my ass trying to figure out what I want, and what's wrong with me to know already know in my heart. You're an incredibly captivating human being. You're not a nerd, you're not dumb, you're incredible. Bottom line. I'm sorry that I suck so horribly and that you picked the biggest piece of shit on the face of this Earth to fall for..."

He eyed his friend, watching the hard look in his eyes turn soft and sad. Jack took a step away from Alex, fearing the words that would fall out of that perfect mouth next.

"I care about Lisa, but not the way that I care about you. I still don't know what I want, but I will tell you this, it revolves around you. You win, Jack. I'm yours if you still want me."

Jack's dark hair fell into his eyes as his heart began to race way too fast. There were tingles in the tips of his toes and the tips of his fingers. His chest was rising and falling quickly. Any moment he would wake up and realize this had all just been a dream. They weren't about to get signed, Alex wanted Lisa, and Jack was doomed to spend the rest of his days alone; hopelessly in love with someone who couldn't love him back.

But none of that proved to be true with Alex's rough fingers wrapped around Jack's neck and pulled his body so close that they were rubbing against one another. His long fingers danced through Jack's hair, tilting his head to the side a little so he could better angle their faces.

"I'm not good, but I'm better, and I'm working on it."

And then, their lips collided.

Notes

I'm so sorry! I have just been so busy I haven't even had time to think about updating!
I'm sorry if it sucks. I'm still pretty busy. Mucho love to you guys & thanks for hanging in there! <3.