Holding On To Keep This Strong
Humming Your Tune
Jack smiled as he took the very last inventory check. He'd gotten everything he needed for Alex's birthday. Of course he was just going to the elders apartment to celebrate but he thought he might as well make it worth while.
He made his way to the check out, handing the cashier his mother's credit card once she'd rung everything up.
"Throwing a party, eh?" The petite brunette asked shooting Jack a smile.
"Sort of, it's for my boyfriend's birthday."
"Nice, well I hope you two have a great time." She said, sincerely looking happy for him as she handed the piece of plastic back to the teen.
Jack smiled and teacher for his bag of party supplies and helium tank before giving the cashier a wave goodbye.
The teen pulled into the garage of his house and turned his car off after putting it in park. He'd still have to change before going to Alex's to surprise him for his birthday. He'd also have to blow up the balloons
he'd bought and pick up a cake but he knew all of his efforts would be well worth it.
Two hours later and Jack was knocking on Alex's apartment door, huge helium inflated balloons in one hand and a bag holding the cake he'd purchased in the other. A few moments later and Alex was opening the door a wide smile resting on his lips.
"Happy birthday!" Jack exclaimed as he returned the smile.
"Thanks Jack." Alex said as he took the balloons from the younger boy and lead him into the kitchen. "I didn't think you'd end up doing anything for me."
"Why wouldn't I? You're a great boyfriend and you deserve something special with all the nice stuff you do for me."
"Well I only do nice stuff for you cause you're a good boyfriend too." Alex smiled and leaned forward to peck Jack's lips. Jack only rolled his eyes in response and went back to placing his bag which had the scrappy store bought cake in it. He would've gone to a bakery but he honestly had no idea where a good one was and asking his mom was out of the question. So he settled on getting one from the grocery store and having them write 'Happy Birthday Lex!' on it for him in that generic cursive font that every baker magically had. But the cake would do since it was only the two of them and not meant for show.
Soon enough the pair were cuddled up on Alex's couch watching a movie on the latter's laptop. Jack was tiring of the movie since he'd seen it only a million times but Alex seemed content so he was sitting through it like a trooper. Besides that there were only twenty minutes left of which the guy would die and the girl would fix up his truck and head out to the car show he'd never make it to. Honestly the end was Jack's favorite part so sitting through it wasn't that bad.
"Jay you've seen this before...does Keith die?" Alex asks looking genuinely concerned not to mention upset.
"I don't wanna spoil it Lex just watch."
"So he dies?" Jack only nods and wraps his arm tighter around Alex's waist sensing the older boy's waist. Alex on the other and reaches out and shuts the laptop lid. "He had cancer didn't he?" Jack nods again knowing better than to speak. "My mom had cancer too." Alex is staring off into space now, clearly in a completely different realm. "We didn't even think anything was wrong and then one day she can barely stand and my dads rushing her to the hospital. I was such a fucking rotten selfish kid too. I was more worried about myself than her when I found out she was sick...and I ignored it for the first year. I pretended that everything was fine even when I had to drive her to chemo because my dad was busy with lectures and classes. I still wouldn't acknowledge it at all."
Jack stayed quiet not knowing what to say...he'd never seen Alex like this before. It was completely different from the calm, collected, and just laid back person he'd grown to know. So he just pulled the elder into his side and let him babble on as he started to cry. And yeah it hurt to see Alex like this but he just didn't know what to do. Nothing he thought to say would sound right and the more Alex spoke, his voice getting heavier and heavier and consequently harder to understand, the more he wished he knew what to say. But eventually not knowing what to say didn't matter because the longer he kept quiet the more worked up Alex was getting.
"Lex, what's got you all worked up like this?" Alex just shook his head, now too wrapped up in the sobs that were racking his body to speak. So Jack just held him tighter doing his best to calm him down. "Hey, don't cry. You know your mom loved you. That was just your defense to not get hurt, she knew you cared and loved her...jus' don't cry Lex."
"M'sorry Jay...I didn't mean to break down on you like that." Alex sniffled a long while later as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "It just gets to me sometimes...Her birthday would have been in two days."
Jack smiled weakly and rubbed Alex's back awkwardly, finally realizing just how broken his boyfriend really was. Sure Alex seemed to have the perfect temperament but beneath that well it was obvious to Jack that there were darker things being suppressed. "It's fine, I guess sometimes you do need to cry a little. Just make sure you don't hold it in so much, okay?"
Alex mimicked the younger boys smile and nodded his head.
Eventually the pair were settled into Alex's bed, the latter snuggled into Jack's chest unlike usual. But Jack didn't mind it, it was almost nice to see this fragile side of Alex. It reminded him that the elder was human and hurt too even though he seldom showed it. So Jack just held him close as he dozed off, clearly tired from crying. And he let sleep pull him in too knowing that from now on he'd need to carry his own weight. Alex had enough of his own emotional baggage and he didn't need to carry any of Jack's either.Jack woke up alone in Alex's bedroom looking over to find a note on the pillow next to him. He picked up the note and unfolded it, smiling at the familiar scrawl of Alex's hand.
Hey babe, I went out to pick up some breakfast for us. Should be back soon, love you Jacky.
The teen couldn't help but smile, adoring even the way Alex wrote the word love. He knew it was stupid but that didn't keep his smile from growing wider.Less than ten minutes later Jack could hear the front door opening. He smiled and put his phone down and clamored out of the bed to meet Alex in the living room.
"Goodmorning Jacky." Alex greeted the teen as he entered the room, extending a hand for Jack to take. So he did and leaned forward pecking Alex on the lips.
"What'd you get?" Jack asked peering over at the bag in Alex's other hand. Usually he'd make an effort to be a bit more romantic but his growling stomach prevented that making him fixated on getting something to eat.
"Nothing much. Just some pancakes and bacon. I got eggs too, you like them scrambled right?"
Jack nodded, almost drooling at how good the food sounded right about now. Alex chuckled and walked towards the dining room table, the pairs linked hands giving Jack no choice but to follow.
-
Jack nestled himself into Alex's arms not wanting to leave the older boy. But of course he'd have to soon seeing as his father was picking him up and taking him out for dinner. If it weren't for how worried he was about Alex he'd be excited about it but having to leave just put him on edge.
"Have you talked to your mom yet?" Alex mumbled, keeping his eyes fixated on Jack's.
"No...I know I need to soon. I will, just not yet. I'm still holding onto the thought of her talking to me first."
"In a perfect world she would. But sadly the world just isn't perfect."
"So I guess that means you expect me to talk to her?"
"Yhup. Before I see you next in class, deal?"
Jack sighed heavily and shook his head. "What if I can't do it? What if she doesn't want to talk to me?"
"She's your mom. No matter what she still loves you and she'll want to talk to you."
"Yeah...but..." Jack let out another breath not fully ready to admit just what scared him most about talking to his mother. "I feel like if I talk to her I'll have to come out too...and honestly I'm scared of that."
"Then don't. You know how your dad said you didn't have to. Think of it that way with her, let her find out when you bring me home one day."
Jack nodded and smiled. "How are you so sure I'll be bringing you home?" He teased.
"Well I just thought we were pretty serious y'know, talking about sex and all." Alex played along now returning the smile that occupied Jack's face. The younger rolled his eyes and pecked Alex's lips.
"Well I guess you've got a point there...but you met my mom already so I don't really think I need to bring you home."
"Ah, but I haven't met your dad yet."
"We'll save that for another day..." Jack paused and bit his lip at that his head now buzzing with thoughts that shouldn't have even made it to his mouth. But of course they did anyway. "Or you could meet him tonight."
"W-what?" Alex stuttered obviously puzzled at Jack's clearly undeveloped thought and now statement.
"He's taking me out to dinner tonight...I could have him meet me downtown, say you were tutoring me or something, yeah?"
"Jay...we can't do that. Besides I wanna be introduced as your boyfriend when I meet your family not your teacher. It can wait a little."
"Yeah, I guess...I dunno I just wanna know what they'll think of you is all. I know my mom thought you were cute at conferences...but that's from a teacher parent standpoint."
"Exactly, they'll think of me in a totally different way if I meet them now. So lets just leave it?"
"You're no fun but alright. I guess I see where you're coming from."
"Asshole." Alex muttered and kissed the teens forehead.
"Love you too." Jack mumbled back and closed his eyes. Maybe Alex wouldn't be meeting his dad today but he wanted to and said he would. Which just reassured to Jack once more that Alex was thinking of them going long term. And that was a good thing in his book so he didn't mind delaying it at all.
He made his way to the check out, handing the cashier his mother's credit card once she'd rung everything up.
"Throwing a party, eh?" The petite brunette asked shooting Jack a smile.
"Sort of, it's for my boyfriend's birthday."
"Nice, well I hope you two have a great time." She said, sincerely looking happy for him as she handed the piece of plastic back to the teen.
Jack smiled and teacher for his bag of party supplies and helium tank before giving the cashier a wave goodbye.
The teen pulled into the garage of his house and turned his car off after putting it in park. He'd still have to change before going to Alex's to surprise him for his birthday. He'd also have to blow up the balloons
he'd bought and pick up a cake but he knew all of his efforts would be well worth it.
Two hours later and Jack was knocking on Alex's apartment door, huge helium inflated balloons in one hand and a bag holding the cake he'd purchased in the other. A few moments later and Alex was opening the door a wide smile resting on his lips.
"Happy birthday!" Jack exclaimed as he returned the smile.
"Thanks Jack." Alex said as he took the balloons from the younger boy and lead him into the kitchen. "I didn't think you'd end up doing anything for me."
"Why wouldn't I? You're a great boyfriend and you deserve something special with all the nice stuff you do for me."
"Well I only do nice stuff for you cause you're a good boyfriend too." Alex smiled and leaned forward to peck Jack's lips. Jack only rolled his eyes in response and went back to placing his bag which had the scrappy store bought cake in it. He would've gone to a bakery but he honestly had no idea where a good one was and asking his mom was out of the question. So he settled on getting one from the grocery store and having them write 'Happy Birthday Lex!' on it for him in that generic cursive font that every baker magically had. But the cake would do since it was only the two of them and not meant for show.
Soon enough the pair were cuddled up on Alex's couch watching a movie on the latter's laptop. Jack was tiring of the movie since he'd seen it only a million times but Alex seemed content so he was sitting through it like a trooper. Besides that there were only twenty minutes left of which the guy would die and the girl would fix up his truck and head out to the car show he'd never make it to. Honestly the end was Jack's favorite part so sitting through it wasn't that bad.
"Jay you've seen this before...does Keith die?" Alex asks looking genuinely concerned not to mention upset.
"I don't wanna spoil it Lex just watch."
"So he dies?" Jack only nods and wraps his arm tighter around Alex's waist sensing the older boy's waist. Alex on the other and reaches out and shuts the laptop lid. "He had cancer didn't he?" Jack nods again knowing better than to speak. "My mom had cancer too." Alex is staring off into space now, clearly in a completely different realm. "We didn't even think anything was wrong and then one day she can barely stand and my dads rushing her to the hospital. I was such a fucking rotten selfish kid too. I was more worried about myself than her when I found out she was sick...and I ignored it for the first year. I pretended that everything was fine even when I had to drive her to chemo because my dad was busy with lectures and classes. I still wouldn't acknowledge it at all."
Jack stayed quiet not knowing what to say...he'd never seen Alex like this before. It was completely different from the calm, collected, and just laid back person he'd grown to know. So he just pulled the elder into his side and let him babble on as he started to cry. And yeah it hurt to see Alex like this but he just didn't know what to do. Nothing he thought to say would sound right and the more Alex spoke, his voice getting heavier and heavier and consequently harder to understand, the more he wished he knew what to say. But eventually not knowing what to say didn't matter because the longer he kept quiet the more worked up Alex was getting.
"Lex, what's got you all worked up like this?" Alex just shook his head, now too wrapped up in the sobs that were racking his body to speak. So Jack just held him tighter doing his best to calm him down. "Hey, don't cry. You know your mom loved you. That was just your defense to not get hurt, she knew you cared and loved her...jus' don't cry Lex."
"M'sorry Jay...I didn't mean to break down on you like that." Alex sniffled a long while later as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "It just gets to me sometimes...Her birthday would have been in two days."
Jack smiled weakly and rubbed Alex's back awkwardly, finally realizing just how broken his boyfriend really was. Sure Alex seemed to have the perfect temperament but beneath that well it was obvious to Jack that there were darker things being suppressed. "It's fine, I guess sometimes you do need to cry a little. Just make sure you don't hold it in so much, okay?"
Alex mimicked the younger boys smile and nodded his head.
Eventually the pair were settled into Alex's bed, the latter snuggled into Jack's chest unlike usual. But Jack didn't mind it, it was almost nice to see this fragile side of Alex. It reminded him that the elder was human and hurt too even though he seldom showed it. So Jack just held him close as he dozed off, clearly tired from crying. And he let sleep pull him in too knowing that from now on he'd need to carry his own weight. Alex had enough of his own emotional baggage and he didn't need to carry any of Jack's either.Jack woke up alone in Alex's bedroom looking over to find a note on the pillow next to him. He picked up the note and unfolded it, smiling at the familiar scrawl of Alex's hand.
Hey babe, I went out to pick up some breakfast for us. Should be back soon, love you Jacky.
The teen couldn't help but smile, adoring even the way Alex wrote the word love. He knew it was stupid but that didn't keep his smile from growing wider.Less than ten minutes later Jack could hear the front door opening. He smiled and put his phone down and clamored out of the bed to meet Alex in the living room.
"Goodmorning Jacky." Alex greeted the teen as he entered the room, extending a hand for Jack to take. So he did and leaned forward pecking Alex on the lips.
"What'd you get?" Jack asked peering over at the bag in Alex's other hand. Usually he'd make an effort to be a bit more romantic but his growling stomach prevented that making him fixated on getting something to eat.
"Nothing much. Just some pancakes and bacon. I got eggs too, you like them scrambled right?"
Jack nodded, almost drooling at how good the food sounded right about now. Alex chuckled and walked towards the dining room table, the pairs linked hands giving Jack no choice but to follow.
-
Jack nestled himself into Alex's arms not wanting to leave the older boy. But of course he'd have to soon seeing as his father was picking him up and taking him out for dinner. If it weren't for how worried he was about Alex he'd be excited about it but having to leave just put him on edge.
"Have you talked to your mom yet?" Alex mumbled, keeping his eyes fixated on Jack's.
"No...I know I need to soon. I will, just not yet. I'm still holding onto the thought of her talking to me first."
"In a perfect world she would. But sadly the world just isn't perfect."
"So I guess that means you expect me to talk to her?"
"Yhup. Before I see you next in class, deal?"
Jack sighed heavily and shook his head. "What if I can't do it? What if she doesn't want to talk to me?"
"She's your mom. No matter what she still loves you and she'll want to talk to you."
"Yeah...but..." Jack let out another breath not fully ready to admit just what scared him most about talking to his mother. "I feel like if I talk to her I'll have to come out too...and honestly I'm scared of that."
"Then don't. You know how your dad said you didn't have to. Think of it that way with her, let her find out when you bring me home one day."
Jack nodded and smiled. "How are you so sure I'll be bringing you home?" He teased.
"Well I just thought we were pretty serious y'know, talking about sex and all." Alex played along now returning the smile that occupied Jack's face. The younger rolled his eyes and pecked Alex's lips.
"Well I guess you've got a point there...but you met my mom already so I don't really think I need to bring you home."
"Ah, but I haven't met your dad yet."
"We'll save that for another day..." Jack paused and bit his lip at that his head now buzzing with thoughts that shouldn't have even made it to his mouth. But of course they did anyway. "Or you could meet him tonight."
"W-what?" Alex stuttered obviously puzzled at Jack's clearly undeveloped thought and now statement.
"He's taking me out to dinner tonight...I could have him meet me downtown, say you were tutoring me or something, yeah?"
"Jay...we can't do that. Besides I wanna be introduced as your boyfriend when I meet your family not your teacher. It can wait a little."
"Yeah, I guess...I dunno I just wanna know what they'll think of you is all. I know my mom thought you were cute at conferences...but that's from a teacher parent standpoint."
"Exactly, they'll think of me in a totally different way if I meet them now. So lets just leave it?"
"You're no fun but alright. I guess I see where you're coming from."
"Asshole." Alex muttered and kissed the teens forehead.
"Love you too." Jack mumbled back and closed his eyes. Maybe Alex wouldn't be meeting his dad today but he wanted to and said he would. Which just reassured to Jack once more that Alex was thinking of them going long term. And that was a good thing in his book so he didn't mind delaying it at all.
Okay I normally cringe at student/teacher fics, but cuz it's a 6 year age difference, I gave it a shot. This story is so great! The ending is beautiful. My eyes are watering. Not even kidding.
2/28/16