This World's An Ugly Place

It was weird being without Alex for the first time in awhile; almost like I was naked without him around. I was so used to wherever I went he was right there with me, but he was only right next door if I needed him. A couple days had passed since Alex and I came out to Lexus, but I was actively prolonging telling Sebastian because I knew as soon as he found out he'd be telling Jack and also Case. I wasn't exactly embarrassed, it was just fun having our own secret from the rest of the group.

I laid across my living room couch, waiting patiently for Sebastian to get home. Since Alex said he'd let me handle this one alone, he was next door at the Barakat's house probably practicing with Jack. Ever since Alex had played that one song in front of Jack, Jack was all about rehearsing. He even invited Zack and Rian over in a few days to get their band 'officially' together.

The front door squeaked open and I heard pairs of foot steps walking into the house, followed by a mixture of boys' voices. I instantly recognized both Sebastian and Case's voice and cursed under my breath; I only wanted to talk to Sebastian.

"You should see how big the venue is," Case was saying as he nearly jumped out of his skin when he found me on the couch. "Jesus!"

I sat up now, a giggle leaving my lips at the shocked look on Case's face. He was always about being manly and showing how strong he was, so it was fun to see him act like a girl every now and then. "Scared much?"

"Shut up," he muttered. "I wasn't expecting you here."

"Hey, kiddo," Sebastian said from the kitchen, looking over at me and I waved a hand at him. "What's up?"

"I think I should be asking you guys that," I said. "I heard something of a venue?"

A smirk came across Case's face now, clearly recovering from the mindless scare. "Yeah, I'm talking to the same bar owner who has another bar up town that's even bigger than the first," he said.

My smile faltered at the thought of playing at another one of Mary's father's places, but I didn't let that damper my spirits for too long. "Seriously? That's awesome! When will you know if we have the gig?"

Case shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure, but I'm going to talk to him more about it tomorrow."

I stood up now, walking into the kitchen and leaning myself onto the counter while I watched Sebastian begin to work on cooking dinner. I wasn't sure what he was making yet, but whatever it was I hoped I liked it.

"I actually need to talk to you," I said quietly and Sebastian raised his head up at me questioningly while he grabbed a few pots from the lower cabinet. He stood up again, setting them on the stove and he turned to Case who was still in the living room on his phone.

"Yo, Case," he called. "I forgot to pick up soda, can you go out and get me some?"

Case frowned. "Why do we need-"

"Please? If Jack comes over later we won't hear the end of his whining about not having it," I threw in now and he let out a sigh.

"Fine," he muttered, grabbing his keys and walking back out the front door.

Sebastian smirked over at me and I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he said dismissively with a shrug. "What's on your mind?"

I bit down on my bottom lip and tapped my fingers against the counter nervously. "I actually wanted to talk to you about Alex."

Sebastian didn't look up at me as he went into the pantry and took out his selected ingredients and brought them back over to the counter. "Yeah?"

I nodded my head. "I kind of...like, like him."

My brother now looked up at me, the surprise in his eyes only lasting a second before he redeemed his posture. "Wow, I didn't think you'd ever have a crush on anyone," he teased.

"This is not funny," I stressed. "I seriously do like him."

Sebastian smiled now. "Yeah, I knew you did."

I rolled my eyes. "Anyways, we're kind of a...thing."

He now raised an eyebrow at me, a knowing smile spreading on his face. "Oh, really?"

I furrowed my eyebrows now. For what I thought would take him off guard, he wasn't acting very surprised at all. "Don't tell me, Lexus told you?" I guessed now.

He smirked now, shrugging his shoulders.

"That jerk!" I shrieked, stomping one of my feet on the ground and covering my face with my hands. If Lexus had told Sebastian, who else had she told? "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh," I repeated, getting embarrassed for no obvious reason..

"Oh, relax, Angel. It's no surprise there, I mean, you both were always all over each other," he said with a laugh. "Plus, she made me promise not to tell you that she told. But, I'm the only one she's told, so don't sweat that."

I let out a groan. "So you and Lexus are the only ones who know?"

"Well, she told me I was the only other one who knew, and I didn't open my mouth to anyone else about it." Sebastian resumed getting dinner ready. "Speaking of Alex, where is your little lover boy?"

I wrinkled my nose. "Please don't call him that," I spoke and he let out a chuckle. "And he's over at Jack's because I wanted to be alone when I broke the ice to you."

"What? You thought I was going to freak out and go kick his butt?" Sebastian asked through a huge smile.

"No, but I just felt like it'd be less awkward if it was just me," I said with a shrug.

The front door swung open now and in came a stomping Jack. "What the hell, Angel?" he exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked like a toddler who hadn't got his way.

I looked back at him, confusion engulfing me while Sebastian looked up as well. "What are you talking about?"

"Alex told me about you guys," he said.

"What's wrong, Jack? Don't like to share?" Sebastian teased, returning back to cooking.

"No, actually I don't, and I'd appreciate if your sister would keep her paws off my friends."

"Shut up, Jack," I grumbled under my breath. "He was my friend long before yours anyways."

"It's still gross to think that you guys are going to be acting all touchy in front of me," he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

I smirked. "Guess you'll just have to get used to it."

"Come on, Sebastian, how are you okay with this? You should be acting like a protective older brother and be the one yelling at her right now!"

"I'm staying out of it," Sebastian said, turning his back to us as he began working on a different counter.

"Didn't someone teach you to share, Jack?" I asked now, lingering on Sebastian's words. "I think someone should teach you some manners."

"Is that a threat?" he asked.

"You take it how you like to, but you just need to get used to it," I said with a shrug.

Jack let out a groan, walking out of the house and slamming the door behind him. Figures Jack would pull the angry, jealous card; he's probably just mad that Alex liked me more than him anyways.

"I swear he acts like he's an only child sometimes," Sebastian said quietly and I turned back to face my brother.

"Yeah, only sometimes though. But he's getting better," I said optimistically, deciding to dismiss his behavior. Ever since the accident, it's been taking him awhile to go back to normal. Of course, it took us all awhile to, but Jack especially longer. He had so much innocence ripped from him after his own parents passed, and I guess he was still regaining it.

Sebastian nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah, he is," he agreed. "He's just in shock, too. I mean, we all saw it coming, but I guess he liked to ignore that."

I let out a chuckle. "Plus he's half blind with stuff like this, and no not everyone saw it coming."

"Yeah, I guess you didn't see it coming because you're just as blind as him," Sebastian said, looking up with a huge smile on his face at that.

"Oh, whatever."

Notes

Sorry for the wait, had kind of a mini-writer's block with my stories! But with all the nice weather, it got me back into the writing mood! n_n
Please don't forget to comment and rate<3