Alex POV

When we got home from work that day, Jack shyly asked about getting to play the guitar.
“Lex… Could I maybe play the guitar?” His puppy eyes were better than ever before.

“Oh, sure! I’m sorry, I just kinda forgot about it,” I replied. I led him into the bedroom and opened the closet. I handed him my acoustic guitar and a guitar pick. He looked at it with sparks in his eyes before taking it carefully. “Should I leave?” I asked.

“I don’t mind, do whatever you want to do,” Jack replied. I decided to leave the room but stay close enough to listen so he would have some privacy.

I could hear him plucking a few strings really hesitantly. The guitar was out of tune and after some shuffling, he started tuning it. He did it quickly and then started playing some basic chords. It sounded like he was too shy to play it properly, not wanting to be too loud.

Then I recognized it to be Blink-182’s “What’s my Age Again”. I smiled and couldn’t help but walk to the door to watch Jack. He was sitting on the bed cross-legged, facing halfway to me. His eyes were closed and he was lost in the music he was making. He was good, hitting every note cleanly and making some nice solo parts.

When he was finished, he let the last chord ring and looked up. He noticed me and blushed.
“I’m sorry, that was horrible, I’ll stop,” he stuttered.

“No, please don’t! It was great, play me some more, please,” I said quickly. He looked unsure but then set his slender fingers back on the neck of the guitar. I sat down on the bed and watched as he got lost in the music again.

It was a song I didn’t know this time, he hummed a bit from time to time. I’d have loved to hear more of his voice but I didn’t dare to interrupt and disturb him. It was a good song, it had a catchy rhythm but it was soft at the same time.

When Jack was finished, he looked away but I could see him hastily wipe his eyes. He turned around, holding his head low, and gave me the guitar back. He pressed out a “Thank you,” and got up and left. I was left on the bed with the guitar.

I put the guitar back and walked after him. He was in the bathroom.

“Jack? Can I do anything to help you?” I asked. He mumbled something inaudible and I decided to walk in. I carefully opened the door and found him curled up against the wall. I crouched down beside him.

“Jay, do you want to go to the bedroom and cuddle for a bit?” I offered. He hesitantly nodded and I stood up, holding out my hand to help him up. He had tears all over his face and his hair was dishevelled. I put my arm around me and brought him back to the bedroom. I carefully laid him down and got on the bed too. I covered us both with blankets and rubbed his back while he was facing me and softly crying.

After some time, I asked him what was wrong. He cried a bit harder but then replied.

“It’s… My dad… he used to love the song I just played. I wrote it for him,” he explained.

“I’m so sorry, Jay. It’s a beautiful song though,” I replied while holding him close. He cried some more but after some time it got less loud until it stopped. I rubbed his back for quite a while and listened to his breaths become longer and calmer. He was asleep now and I carefully untangled our limbs to quickly change into my pyjamas. I slipped back into bed and was relieved to find Jack still asleep.

I was worried about how he was still affected by it. I knew his dad had died longer ago than Elaine and seeing him still so distraught about it worried me. I would never forget Elaine but I at least hoped it would get better over time. I knew it would, but it just scared me to see him still this sad.

I tried to think of happier things before falling asleep and thankfully, little kittens were jumping through my head soon. I was feeling a bit better when I slipped into sleep.

Notes

Poor both of them, aw :/

Thank you so much for 20,000 views and 131 subscribers! It means a lot and it makes me happy to see people enjoy my story! c:

-Laura