Long Live Us

*Alex’s POV*

“I hate seeing him like this.” Alex admitted as he closely watched Jack and Josh, the pair sitting close together and talking, leaving the brunette worried about what was going on. Dan nodded and hummed in agreement, also intently watching the pair talk away.
“Has he done this before? Was he often like this?” The elder boy questioned, scared about the situation, because he felt so helpless. The one thing he wanted to do was help Jack, and he couldn’t, and that hurt him so much more than anyone else would ever understand. He understood things hadn’t been going smoothly and perfect recently, but he never meant to hurt Jack.
“A few times, yeah. I didn’t always know about it, Josh and Jenna would be the only people who could get words out of him.” Dan answered, nodding towards where said boy was doing just that. Alex just nodded in response, for Jack had turned and was looking at him, his face looking drained of energy and withheld a pained expression, leaving the brunette feeling even more helpless. The next thing he knew is that Jack looked back at Josh and nodded, the English boy saying something to him and receiving a shrug, before standing up and walking towards the two waiting nearby.
"Oo, here we go." Dan let out, his eyes firmly set on Josh as he walked over, his hands shoved deeply into the pockets of his jeans. Alex just bit his lip to try and stay silent, his body leaning forward in anticipation to find out what the brown haired boy was going to say. It seemed like time slowed down as his feet sunk into the sand as he walked, the boys strides seeming to be longer and slower than usual and Alex's nerves began to build up. His figure came closer and closer, until he was standing directly in front of Alex and Dan, a frown bringing his eyebrows together, but his eyes looked hopeful.
"Is he okay? Does he need anything? Is he coming home? Can I do anything to help?" Alex couldn't help his worry finally overflowing as these questions began to pour out of his mouth, almost leaving him breathless as he glanced back over at Jack, who was once again sitting by himself. Dan and Josh shared a look, both smirking at each other, before the younger turned back to Alex.
"Yeah he's okay. He's agreed to talk to you."
"What do you mean 'agreed'? Does he not want to?" Alex asked, frowning as he began to worry for a different reason, his heart rate increasing at the thought of his boyfriend not wanting him. Josh let out a small sigh and shook his head, looking down at his feet as he pushed some sand around, quickly choosing his words.
"Well, meh... Just go and talk okay? He needs you." The English boy murmured the last bit as he looked back at Jack, before he smiled softly at Alex and ushered him forward, before sitting down next to Dan, who swiftly pulled him in for a bro hug. Alex cast one look back at the English boys, feeling his eyes widened and filled with fear, before he began to trudge across the sand towards where Jack was sitting. He watched as the taller boy hugged his knees to his chest, his gaze not leaving the waves in front of him, seemingly blissfully unaware as to Alex's approach. The brunette couldn't help but feel nervous, as if today might be the end of the best thing that had ever happened to him, like all his hopes, dreams and wishes were about to fall out of the sky and crush him, leaving him hopeless and alone. However when he got close enough to Jack so his breathing could now be heard, Alex lost everything and threw himself at the younger boy, tears slipping out of his eyes and he told him he was sorry over and over. He didn't know why he was apologising, he was almost just thankful that Jack was still alive, the worry clouding his mind finally clearing as he breathed in the scent he adored. It took a moment for Jack's arms to be snakes around the shorter boys' waist, his hesitant reaction unusual, but he hushed and calmed Alex nonetheless, until the brunette had calmed himself down enough to have this talk that Josh had promised.
"What's wrong Jay? Why did you run away?" Alex asked, his voice quiet as he looked up at the dark haired boy, who refused to meet his gaze. It became a silence is deafening moment, as the brunette moved to sit just in front of Jack, worry swirling in his body as he watched his blank, emotionless face stare out to sea.The moments seemed to drag out before the younger boy answered, his brown eyes dull as he met Alex's gaze.
"You could've just told me straight out, y'know. It would've hurt less." Jack's eyes flashed with hurt as he spoke, though it was obvious he was trying extremely hard to keep a straight, emotionless face. Alex frowned, though, uncertain of what the boy was talking about.
"What... What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb Alex, I saw you." Jack snapped quickly, the brunette flinching at his tone. However, as much as he hated to admit it, he really didn't know what the issue was.
"J-Jack?" He whispered, the name coming out as a question because he was scared. The younger boy let out a gruff and looked away from Alex once more, shaking his head.
"You, cheating on me. I know. I saw you." He spat, not looking to see Alex's response, strangely calm. Alex felt his mouth drop open and his eyes widen, his heart sinking to the pit of his stomach. No words were able to fill the silence that followed, his disbelief smothering him.
"You... You think I'm cheating on you?" The brunette questioned, almost wanting to laugh at how stupid Jack was being. There was no way in twelve million trillion years that Alex would cheat, on anyone, never mind someone he was well and truly in love with - and they both knew that. Jack just narrowed his eyes, still refusing to tear his gaze away from the softly lapping waves.
Silence took over once more, Alex racking his mind for firstly, why Jack had come to this strange and completely ridiculous conclusion, and secondly, which words could be used to make him believe that all this was just in that quirky mind of his. Part of his was offended, offended that Jack had such little trust in him. The rest of him was made up of shock and a hell of a lot of confusion. He was genuinely clueless about where this outburst had come from. It wasn't like he had been acting suspicious, he hadn't been hiding his phone or anything. Yeah, things may have been weird in his life lately and Jack had probably experienced the sharp end of that sword, but he hadn't been cheating.
"Don't think so hard, you might hurt yourself." The younger boy muttered sarcastically, obviously noticing the look of thought on Alex's face as he just stared at him, trying to work out.
"You might have to answer some questions then." The brunette retorted, frustrated by Jack's attitude and ignorance of the issue.
"You really don't know?" Raising his eyebrows in disbelief, Jack looked at Alex once more, letting a huff escape his lips when the elder shook his head.

"I saw you with Morgan."

It was almost like time stopped, everything went quiet. Alex didn't even know if he was still breathing, despite his racing heart. Jack kept a relatively level expression, only twisting his head away slightly when salty tears began to sting his eyes.
"You don't have to stay, or pretend, y'know. I'm not that fragile." The younger spoke again, smiling a fake, yet so sad, smile, before taking a breath and shifting to stand up.
"No!" Was all Alex could manage, throwing his arms over Jack's to stop him from standing up.
"Alex, it's fine, I get it, okay? I just want you too be happy and if that's not with me then-"
"If you want me to happy you wouldn't be leaving." The brunette interrupted, staring at the boy with round, desperate eyes.
"You've got it wrong, Jay." Jack narrowed his eyes, looking unconvinced, but relaxed his body anyway so he was sitting back down properly.
"Talk, then."
"We just bumped into each other. He was meeting his boyfriend in the coffee shop and he saw me in the queue and came to say hey." Alex lied smoothly, the rehearsed lines gliding off his tongue in a manner they shouldn't be.
"I don't believe you." Jack scoffed, sending the elder a look of just that disbelief, tinting with anger around the edges of his usually bright eyes.
"Are you accusing me of lying?" The elder shot back, surprising himself with how defensive he was, making it very obvious to Jack that there was definitely something going on.
"Yes, I am." Jack said monotonously, looking at Alex, who suddenly panicked and exploded.
He stood up, shouting all sorts at the younger boy in front of him, who soon returned the sudden defensive aggression, the two boys standing and arguing - loudly - in the middle of the beach.

"GUYS!" Their argument was interrupted before it would get too heated by Josh, who was now standing next to them, with Dan by his side.
"You were meant to talk." He prompted, raising his eyebrows at the pair and giving them a disappointed look. They both hung their heads, although Jack remained glaring at Alex through his dark fringe.
"Alex," Josh started calmly, making the brunette feel under pressure again, fearing that what he was so desperate to keep a secret was going to be revealed. "What's been going on?"
"Well... Jack's been... Weird recently-"
"Me?! I've been weird?!" Said boy interrupted, being silence by a death glare from the English boys.
"So I thought... I really didn't want you to know." Alex continued, his eyes widening as he looked at the three faces in front of him.
"Well duh that's how cheating works."
"Know what?" Dan spoke over this time, Jack just rolling his eyes as he received a second death glare. Alex swallowed loudly, again looking round at the faces, that were just looking back at him. Josh, his brown hair styled to perfection, his face slightly paled and his eyebrows furrowed together. Dan, looking fairly drained, his shoulders slouched and his face not gracing it's usual smile. And then there was Jack. His face was plain. There was no emotion tinting his slightly reddened cheeks. His usual bright eyes dark, staring blankly at the floor by Alex's feet, letting his dark hair flop down and cover his face. It was the stance of someone giving up, the brunette suddenly realised. Jack was giving up on him. The one person he thought would never leave him, was so close to doing just that. The one person who loved him for him, who fought his corner, who supported him through everything - was giving up. Slowly, you could see hope draining from the lanky boys body as every second past. The silence was ripping him apart, Alex could see that now. He needed to hear the truth.

"I was trying to buy an engagement ring." He blurted out, knowing if he didn't just say it then he never would. His body was shaking, he voice quivering because Jack was falling out of love with him just as he was trying to fix things.
"What's that got to do with him?" The younger asked, his gave still blank and having the floor, still refusing to look at the brunette who was beginning to grow increasingly desperate.
"He knows someone who could get one for me." Alex replied, his voice strained as he pleaded with the boy who still didn't look up at him.Aware that Josh and Dan moved away again, the brunette was about to beg, remind Jack that there wasn't anything he wouldn't do to get him back, that he was sorry for fucking up, but he hated keeping secrets and this is how it affected him, and that he only wanted what was best. However, Jack started speaking first.
"Why though? Why were you going to propose?" He started, his gave contorting with confusion as he sifted sand through his fingers. "We're not even 18, is that allowed? And where would you get the money from? Where would we get the money from? Isn't this something we should agree on? It's a bit rushed, don't you think? It feels like you're just doing this to patch up a hole and not because you love me..."
He had tears in his eyes by the end, his voice becoming strangled as he finally looked up at Alex. They just stared. A good few moments passed and they just looked. Staring deep into each other's eyes, silently asking a million questions and begging for a million answers.
"I wanted things to be better Jay." He finally sniffled, his own tears falling. "I love you, I really really do."
Jack slowly brought his hand up to Alex's cheek and softly wiped away stray tears with a gentle movement of his thumb, the brunette relishing in the touch he had been craving.
"We can't get married, Lex." He whispered, still massaging the elders cheek with his thumb. "Not yet, anyway."
"Do you hate me?" The brunette choked, a fresh set of salty tears stinging his eyes and his bottom lip quivering as he waited for the answer.
"Of course I don't hate you." A scoff and slight chuckle accompanied Jack's reply, ending the steady stream of years down Alex's face as he sniffed and smiled himself, looking down slightly because the boy in front of him was perfect in every single way and there was no way he could ever compare to that.
"I could never hate you, okay? I'm in love with you Alex, nothing will change that. And we'll get married one day, just not today. Alright?" Jack spoke softly, caressing the elders cheek with his rough thumb, as the brunette bit his lip and shyly looked up at the taller boy, who now had a small smile on his face and a bit more light in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry. I love you." Alex responded, knowing Jack was blissfully unaware how much the words meant and how strong the emotions behind them were, stirring deep in the pit of his stomach and constantly craving more of the other boy. Jack didn't respond verbally, just pulled them together to share a short, sweet, emotional and passionate kiss, that seemed to heal the freshly opened wounds in a delicate way, the stitching weaving them together even closer, even tighter.

"Bugsy being best man!" Josh then proclaimed loudly from next to them, causing the pair to pull apart and laugh at the English boy's enthusiasm.

And so the four walked back, heading towards home, hand in hand. Tear stained faces and battered hearts in tow they left Jack's secluded place of sanctuary, learning lessons about themselves and each other that they didn't know needed to be learnt. Feeling hurt and a little worse to wear the boys made their way back to the places they knew and truly loved, and despite the troubles of the past week they were hand in hand, knowing that they truly were stitched much tighter together, and it would take a lot of force to break these new stitches. It seemed like everything had returned to normal. Finally.

Notes

okay so confession i rewrote most of this chapter because i felt it was really anti-climatic (kinda still is but its better than it was before and thats saying something sooo) and yeah thats why this update has taken way longer than expected...
good news, fixed Jalex!
i'm hoping to have the last two chapters up by the end of the week, and I'll probably put them both up together, its so close to finishing!!
anyway as always thanks for reading and putting up with this fairly shitty story, I shall see y'all next time for the last time on long live us!!
ps vote rate subscribe comment, time is running out my friends!
big love to y'all, especially those who commented, sorry i didn't reply to all i didn't want to give anything away!! xoxo