Long Live Us

*Jack POV*

After the incident on Monday, Jack had to admit he had been avoiding Alex a little. He didn't want to explain it. It still hurt, in a strange way. It was probably more that he didn't want to remember and relive the events. Yes, years had passed, but it still hurt. When it was brought to the forefront of his mind there would be a battle, debating whether he was that far in the wrong, whether he deserved it. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. Jack himself couldn't decide.
It was now Wednesday, and the dark haired boy was sitting in his garden, strumming gently at his guitar. The sun was high in the sky considering they had their early finish, and band practice was on later, so he was content just doing nothing. However, being left alone with your thoughts can be dangerous. Jack knew that, but he still did it to himself. He wasn't going to do anything, no, he would just end up silently driving himself mad. The conflict in his mind would grow and grow, until he just needed to scream, or yell, or punch something, then he would be fine. Something else ended that conflict today, though.
"Jack!" The brunette boy that lived next door whom the tall boy adored. He genuinely was Jack's saviour in many ways, today being an example of that. It was almost like he knew, or their minds called out to each other when they needed one another. Smiling at just, well, him, Jack got up and made his way over to the fence. Without saying anything, he rested his hand on Alex's cheek and pulled him in for a kiss.
"So you're talking to me now?" The brunette asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow when they pulled apart.
"I'm sorry... I just..." Jack mumbled, looking down and fiddling with the end of his hoodie sleeve.
"Hey it's fine. As long as you're not mad at me." The older boy said, smiling up at Jack. The dark haired big chuckled softly, both of them knowing he would never be mad at Alex. The brunette rested his hand on top of Jack's, the atmosphere becoming more sincere and serious in an instant. Jack knew that Alex wanted to know. The boy would be needing to know the story, and it wasn't fair on him to suffer all the tension without knowing the cause. That being said, Jack didn't want to tell him, for his own selfish reasons. But he couldn't keep it from the older boy, from his boyfriend, from his best friend...
"It needs to be sorted out, Jay. You need to talk about it at some point." He said gently, running his thumb over Jack's knuckles. After a moment of just looking into Alex's eyes, the lanky boy dropped his head and nodded, finally admitting that he was right. Stepping back from the fence, Jack walked back over to his spot and say back down, still not looking up at Alex as he joined. They sat facing each other, Alex's brown eyes burning into the top of Jack's scalp as the dark haired boy kept his gaze firmly set on the ground by his feet.
"Just start from the beginning." Alex spoke up again, crossing his legs.
"Don't wanna." Jack mumbled back, his stubborn side taking control again. It's not exactly like he was lying though.
"Jack. Talk." Alex tried to talk to him sternly. Smirking, Jack looked up through his fringe to see the brunette staring at him with a frown and a serious pout. In other circumstance, Jack would probably be quite turned on by this demanding Alex. He let the silence drag out, ensuring to drop his gaze again, letting his thoughts be overrun by sexual fantasies with the boy in front of him. His thoughts were broken into as Alex sighed, and Jack guessed he was going to try for the pity vote now. Which was probably his best bet, he admitted, but he was keen to see what he had in store.
"Jack, come on... There's no point keeping it bottled up and just acting like it's nothing, we both know that, and we both know it will just lead to bad consequence." Jack stiffened at that comment, his eyes widening slightly. He shook his head slightly and bit his lip.
"I want to help. I want to help you, and I need you to let me. How can I do that if you don't let me in?" Alex's voice was soothing and calm, luring Jack into his comforting ways. The dark haired boy was finding it very hard to fight the urge to spill the story and curl up in his boyfriends arm. 'Okay, I should tell him...' Jack decided, taking a deep breath before looking up. His gaze locked with Alex's, and the brown eyes he loved and trusted were staring back at him, glowing brightly like always.
"Er, where s-should I start?" Jack asked nervously, pulling out small blades of grass.
"From the beginning." Alex replied, shuffling closer so their knees were touching. Jack smiled at the contact, as was thankful for it, because for some reason it have him confidence.
"Well," he exhaled loudly, trying to figure out what to say, and how to say it. Once he was ready, as such, he began his story.

~

Jack stumbled through the house, holding himself up on the walls as he tried to find the back door. Connors house was ridiculously complicated when you were drunk. The boy was hosting a random party because his parents were out of town, and most people in the year has come along. Jack had originally arrived with Rian, Matt, Josh and Dan, but had seemingly lost them all. Although, they could have been standing right next to him and he wouldn't have known.
The music was pounding, as was Jack's head, and the tall boy still hadn't found the garden. He'd wandered around everywhere, bumped into at least ten people, and felt like a needle in a haystack. He had found another drink, courtesy of a girl whom he hadn't recognised, and was eagerly gulping it down as he continued his adventure. He enjoyed being drunk. The scars all over his body didn't matter, the pain in his heart was overridden, nothing really mattered. He got a lot more horny, but that wasn't too big of a problem. Especially at sex feast parties like this one. Sighing angrily, Jack turned around, still lost, and walked straight into someone.
"Oooooo s-shit sorryyyyy!" He slurred, looking down at the person to see who it was. Recognising it as Matt's girlfriend, Emma, he gave her a smile. She smiled back, swaying slightly as she looked back up at him.
"It's alright Jack." She purred, running her finger down the front of his shirt. Hormones took over his body, or where the alcohol hadn't already, and he shot her a smirk as he felt his trousers tighten slightly.
"Aren't you tooooo hot in a long sleeved.. Thing?" The petite girl asked, her dark hair falling over her face as she tipped it to one side as she questioned him. He shrugged, dismissing her, and she seemed to get the hint. She grabbed Jack's shirt and pulled his head closer to hers, leaving her hot breath dancing over his neck. Her breath smelt of a weird mix of whiskey and wine, and her long eyelashes cast shadows on the boys cheek.
"Do you want to go upstairs?" Emma whispered, smirking at Jack when she pulled back and raising an eyebrow. Not being one to turn down anything from anyone, Jack shot her his signature, sexy 'I'm in' smirk, and she giggled, grabbed his hand and dragged him up the stairs. Stumbling slightly, he followed, his long legs making the stairs easily when he managed to put them in the right place. At some point he dropped his drink, but that wasn't a priority at the moment. The pair scanned the bedrooms, until they found an empty one at the end.
It didn't take long for Emma to have Jack pressed up against the door, eagerly working on his neck. The room was filled with hormones, the smell of alcohol, and the sound of the pair moaning every now and then. They were both too caught up in the moment, in each other, to truly stop and think about what was happening. Neither really cared, either, both more than content with having drunken sex at a party. Standard.

*Matt POV*

"Dude, have you seen Emma by chance?" Matt asked Rian, who was standing next to the wall by the door.
"Nah, we've lost Jack too." The short haired boy replied, rolling his eyes and nodding to Dan who just walked out of the living room shaking his head.
"I can't find him." The English boy said, an air of defeat surrounding him. Just as Matt was about to turn around and continue his own search, Josh pushed his way through the crowd from the kitchen, a less defeated look on his face.
"Guys! Cam said he saw him go upstairs with someone. 'Hot girl with long black hair' apparently." Josh announced, looking exhausted, his brown hair sticking out in the wrong places.
"That's weird, Matt can't find Emma either." Rian commented with a small laugh. Matt frowned at the implication. Surely his girlfriend wouldn't cheat on him. Especially one of his best mates. He let out a 'pfft' and tried to brush it off, but there was a worry buzzing at the back of his mind. The four boys ended up giving up their searches and stood by the front door talking happily, silently hoping that they would be found rather than have to do the finding.
And sure enough, they were found.
No more than half an hour later, sounds on the stairs caught their attention. Looking up, Matt's fist instantly clenched at what he saw. Emma was stumbling down the stairs first, her long hair messy at the top. Red lipstick was smudged across her face, her foundation uneven, her tights now littered with holes and rips, and she was pulling the bottom of her dress down.
'He fucking touched her.' Matt said to himself, watching at the lanky boy followed, not looking as bad as she did, the only evidence on him was his messier than usual hair and his own lipstick stains dotted around his face.
"Well, shit." Dan let out, swinging on his legs awkwardly as he turned for the door, Josh swiftly following. Matt and Emma met gazes, and in that moment any trust he had for anyone dissipated. His girlfriend cheated. His best mate slept with her. He couldn't wrap his head around it. Wasn't he good enough? Did nobody care about him? Did either of them even spare him a thought during all of this? He felt pathetic. Fucking pathetic.
Rian motioned for Jack to follow him, and the dark haired boy stumbled quickly out the door, without a second glance at Matt or Emma. And the boy had his stupid smug grin on his face.
"Oh Barakat." Matt muttered, glaring at the lanky boys back as he staggered after Rian, Josh and Dan.
"I'll get you back, my friend."

Notes