Sit Back, Gotta Catch My Breath

I woke up the next morning to my mum shaking me. I rolled over on my
side to face her, but didn't open my eyes. I made an odd noise that
was supposed to come out as 'What?', but my vocal chords weren't
working just yet.
"Alexander William Gaskarth, you better get your ass out of bed right
now, mister! You're going to be late for school!" She smacked my arm
scoldingly before storming out of my room.
I opened one of my eyes and looked over at my alarm clock, which I had
forgotten to set before I passed out last night. 7:05? I needed to
leave five minutes ago if I was going to make it to school on time! I
jumped out of my bed and stumbled over to my dresser. I picked out a
random shirt and a pair of blue jean skinny jeans. I quickly put them
on and pulled on a pair of my dunks. I ran a comb through my hair,
and, after deciding that I didn't have enough time to straighten my
hair, I pulled on my black beanie over my wavy hair.
I ran downstairs and pulled my jacket off of the coat rack and yanked
it on, quickly followed by my backpack. I pulled open the front door
and attempted to run out to go to school, but bumped into something.
I looked up to see a very-confused Jack. A smile grew on my face and I
wrapped my arms around his waist. I heard him chuckle as he hugged me
back.
"Well, good morning to you, too," he said.
God, it sounded amazing to hear his voice again. I pulled away from
the hug and looked up at the younger boy's face, searching for any
marks that might indicate that his father hurt him and that's why he
missed school yesterday. I noticed a small cut on his cheek, but that
could have just as easily been caused by shaving. I sighed and planted
a quick kiss on his lips.
He smiled down at me before stepping aside and gesturing toward his
car. "Shall we go?"
I giggled and nodded. "We shall."
He grabbed my hand as we walked down the driveway and to his car. He
opened the passenger-side door for me, and closed it once I was in. I
buckled my seatbelt as he got in, and we went straight to school, just
like any normal day.
But I still couldn't help but wonder...
Where was he yesterday?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, Broc is coming back tomorrow?" Rian asked, taking a bite of his burger.
Jack nodded. "Yup. It's been a whole week since he got suspended. And
he comes back tomorrow." He seemed to be playing it pretty cool, but I
could tell by his shaking leg that he was nervous about Broc coming
back.
I mean, it is kind of because of Jack that Broc got kicked out in the
first place. If we thought Broc treated us terribly before, I can't
imagine what it's going to be like now. He must be pissed.
No. Beyond pissed.
Zack sighed. "Damn. He's gonna be pissed."
See? I'm not the only one thinking it.
Jack shrugged. "I guess. But I honestly don't care."
He bit his lip. He was lying. He did care.
"That's the spirit, buddy!" Rian exclaimed, pointing a french fry at Jack.
He didn't take his fry back quick enough, though, because Jack leaned
forward and ate it right out of Rian's fingers.
Rian's eyebrows pulled together as he looked at his fingers where his
french fry used to be. "Hey," he whined, "That was my last fry..."
Jack just shrugged, continuing to eat his own food.
The rest of lunch period went by pretty normal.
And yet, I still couldn't help but wonder the same thing.
WHERE WAS JACK YESTERDAY?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Lex, are you okay?" Jack asked from the foot of my bed.
I looked up from my laptop screen to look him in the eyes. "Hm? Uh, yeah. Why?"
"You're just being really quiet."
I shrugged, returning my eyes to the screen. "I'm just reading."
Jack scooted up the bed to sit down next to me and look at my screen.
"Whatcha readin'?"
"Just an email. You remember that Pierre guy from that band Simple Plan?"
He looked at me. "You mean the band that won the 'Battle of the Bands'?"
I nodded. "Yeah."
"Um, yeah. Why?"
"Well, he emailed me. Said he wants me to do a song with them."
"A song, huh?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Said it's going on their next album."
"Sounds awesome! You should totally do it!"
"I was considering it. I mean, it would be pretty cool."
"Yeah. Do you know what the song is?"
I opened the file that was attached to the email, which was the
lyrics, my parts being highlighted. I read over them and sang the
melody in my head. It sounded really good. It would be kind of cool to
record a song with them. And this could help promote All Time Low.
"So, you really think I should do it?" I asked, looking at Jack.
He smiled at me. "Definitely."
I nodded and looked back at the screen. "Okay, then."
I clicked 'respond' and began typing.

To: PierreSP123@yahoo.com
Sounds awesome! I would love to record a song with you guys! Just let
me know when and where! :)

I clicked send and shut my laptop. Jack and I just sat there in
silence for a few seconds before I looked up at him. "Jack?"
He raised his eyebrows at me. "Yeah, Lex?"
"Where were you yesterday?" I looked down at my hands. "You weren't at
school and you wouldn't respond to any of my texts."
"Oh. Um, I was out with my aunt, and I forgot my phone at home. I'm sorry, Lex."
"Why didn't you tell me ahead of time?"
"Because I didn't know until that morning. I was actually ready for
school when she called."
"Oh. I see. So... what did you guys do?"
I felt his shrug. "Nothing special, really. She said that she just
missed me and wanted to spend time with me."
I nodded. "I see. Okay." I smiled up at the boy.
He smiled back down at me and gave me a kiss on the nose. "I love you, Lex."
"I love you, too, Jacky."

Notes

It's still doing it!
Asdfghjkl!
I think the internet has a cold or something.
And that's why it's being stupid.
Idk.

-Ryan