Do You Even Play?
1/1
Alexander William @AlexAllTimeLow · 46m
AMA is up. Will be checking back in about an hour to get started on some answers.
The singer was now sat in the back lounge of the bus; his laptop perched atop of his crossed legs as he ran his fingers through his caramel-colored hair. Alex figured that he could answer some of the kids early, seeing as there was nothing else to do on the bus. With Jack fumbling on his phone as he sprawled on the couch across from Alex and the rest of the guys in the front lounge, there wasn’t necessarily anything that their new tour manager was pestering them to accomplish. Tomorrow’s plans were already set.
After opening iTunes to keep the silence occupied with some background noise, Alex was signing into his Reddit. Almost immediately, he found himself smirking at some of the ridiculous questions that people have been leaving him since opening his AMA.
PearlDrummer: Will you serenade my girlfriend and I while we have sex?
WoahJoey: So uh how may times have you seen Jack’s penis? :(
vincefontaine: How many pool balls can you fit in your mouth?
Rolling his eyes at the witty persona some of them seemed to have picked up from the brunet himself, he replied, his answers reflecting the comical aspect of the questions themselves.
Jack seemed to be following along from the other side of the lounge, as well, because whenever Alex had posted an answer – the guitarist would let out a small giggle from where he was huddled underneath his Adventure Time blanket. Alex found himself glancing at Jack from over the top of his laptop screen whenever he answered another question, watching as his best friends eyes danced across the small, lit screen that his phone provided for him; the corners of his mouth twitching upwards as he reached the end of the answer that Alex had given for said person. It amused the elder to no end.
But then came quite a few questions that caught Alex off guard.
Charles_the_Redditor: Okay, real talk. What is the deal with Jack's guitar and mic during live performances?
AngelWoosh: How much guitar does jack actually play live?
Alex frowned, contemplating just skipping over these ridiculous questions as his fingertips hovered over the scrollbar on the side of the page. The singer bit his lip before letting out a sigh and typing out a reply; explaining to all similar questions that yes, Jack’s guitar was always on – he just put a good amount of his time riling up the crowd during their shows.
Alex was hesitant of posting these answers, though, knowing that Jack was still following Alex’s posts. That wasn’t the only dilemma, however; it’s just that Jack was already extremely self-conscious of his musical skills. If Jack were to read the fan’s questions, he would most likely start to second-guess his abilities as he has already done time and time again. Alex didn’t want that, he didn’t want it at all. The fact that the kids were even questioning Jack’s performance somewhat angered the brunet – they’ve been a band for ten years. If Jack was really that bad, the band would have never gotten anywhere. Lead guitar is an important role, after all.
Holding his breath and deciding that the people asking these questions did need to realize that Jack was the real deal, Alex posted his answers, his gaze flickering over towards his friend once again.
Alex’s fingers occupied themselves by playing with the hem of his hoodie as he studied Jack’s facial expression. He honestly doesn’t know if Jack’s even going to physically react, in all honesty. The younger is quite talented when it comes to masking emotions, which made Alex feel quite bad sometimes. Jack is his best friend, his ‘homeboy’ since middle school. He just figures that Jack is happy all the time because he acts, well… happy. He can never tell when his friend is having troubled thoughts when he masks everything so well.
Until now.
Alex nearly threw his laptop to the other side of the lounge when he saw Jack’s eyes glaze over with a spring of tears, but just continued to watch as Jack blinked five, six, seven times to will the wet away. Locking his phone, Jack threw the device towards the end of the couch and made a move to leave the room as he stood up and reached for the door.
“Jack?” Alex blurted out, the only sound in the small room being the music that his iTunes was still providing him.
“ ‘M getting a drink,” Jack tried to convince without turning around, although the small crack of his voice didn’t necessarily help his stand all that much.
Alex sighed, closing his laptop and setting it to the side as he stood from the couch before Jack could make an exit.
“Jack,” Alex sighed when Jack continued his attempt to open the door, “Jack, turn around.”
The guitarist allowed his hand to fall limply to his side once again as he turned to face Alex; his head hung as if he were a toddler. Alex sighed, nudging Jack’s chin with his pointer finger in attempt to get Jack to at least look at him; but failed as he just looked to the side.
“Won’t you look at me?” Alex pleaded, his hands curling around Jack’s slim upper arms as he ducked to the side to try and make eye contact with his friend, “I saw you on my Reddit, Jack. I know you saw the questions.”
“Why does it matter?” Jack caved as his gaze finally locked with Alex’s, his bottom lip quivering, “They’re right, they’re all right. I-I can’t play guitar, I can’t do anything-”
“Jack, no,” Alex cut off his friend as he shook him slightly, his chest aching when Jack looked at him with wide, teary eyes, “I don’t know where they got the idea that you don’t play live when you’re on stage for two hours nearly every night with a guitar hanging around your fuckin’ shoulders. You work your ass off.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m any good,” Jack whimpered, “I never even took lessons, I just-”
“I never took lessons either!” Alex stopped Jack from tearing himself down any further, “Does that make me a bad guitarist?”
“W-What? No!” Jack stuttered, his eyes getting impossibly wider.
“Then if I’m a good guitarist, what are you?”
Jack bit his lip and shrugged as Alex continued, “Fuck, Jack, you’re lead guitarist for a reason, okay? Without a doubt, you’re the best performer during our shows. You interact with the crowd better than anyone I’ve ever seen and still manage to hit every damn note. I don’t know how you do it when you’re running and jumping off of shit like a mad man the entire time. Hell, I’ll bounce in place and my fingers still manage to slip.”
Jack only shrugged, not trusting his own voice as he let out a hiccup, his eyes rimmed red as Alex took a step forward to throw his arms around his friend’s neck and bury his nose into his hair.
“Our band has been taking over the fuckin’ world, Jack-o,” Alex mumbled near his ear as he felt Jack immediately hug back, knowing that the guitarist was all about contact when it came to comfort, “We wouldn’t have gotten to where we are now if you weren’t with us. Don’t you remember how you used to work two jobs just so we could get by? You’re determined, you’re willing, you’re talented, you’re everything a band could ever want.”
“And you’re my best friend,” Alex continued with a smile as he pulled back slightly, poking Jack on the nose as the youngers cheeks flushed a slight shade of pink, “Not may people get to tour with their best friend.”
“And not many people get to take over the world with their best friend,” Jack admitted with a sheepish smile.
A smile broke across Alex’s features as he placed a sloppy kiss to Jack’s cheek, his nose digging into his stubbled face momentarily before he pulled back, “Movie?”
Jack nodded, his hand clasping with Alex’s as they plopped onto the couch.
“Movie.”
AMA is up. Will be checking back in about an hour to get started on some answers.
The singer was now sat in the back lounge of the bus; his laptop perched atop of his crossed legs as he ran his fingers through his caramel-colored hair. Alex figured that he could answer some of the kids early, seeing as there was nothing else to do on the bus. With Jack fumbling on his phone as he sprawled on the couch across from Alex and the rest of the guys in the front lounge, there wasn’t necessarily anything that their new tour manager was pestering them to accomplish. Tomorrow’s plans were already set.
After opening iTunes to keep the silence occupied with some background noise, Alex was signing into his Reddit. Almost immediately, he found himself smirking at some of the ridiculous questions that people have been leaving him since opening his AMA.
PearlDrummer: Will you serenade my girlfriend and I while we have sex?
WoahJoey: So uh how may times have you seen Jack’s penis? :(
vincefontaine: How many pool balls can you fit in your mouth?
Rolling his eyes at the witty persona some of them seemed to have picked up from the brunet himself, he replied, his answers reflecting the comical aspect of the questions themselves.
Jack seemed to be following along from the other side of the lounge, as well, because whenever Alex had posted an answer – the guitarist would let out a small giggle from where he was huddled underneath his Adventure Time blanket. Alex found himself glancing at Jack from over the top of his laptop screen whenever he answered another question, watching as his best friends eyes danced across the small, lit screen that his phone provided for him; the corners of his mouth twitching upwards as he reached the end of the answer that Alex had given for said person. It amused the elder to no end.
But then came quite a few questions that caught Alex off guard.
Charles_the_Redditor: Okay, real talk. What is the deal with Jack's guitar and mic during live performances?
AngelWoosh: How much guitar does jack actually play live?
Alex frowned, contemplating just skipping over these ridiculous questions as his fingertips hovered over the scrollbar on the side of the page. The singer bit his lip before letting out a sigh and typing out a reply; explaining to all similar questions that yes, Jack’s guitar was always on – he just put a good amount of his time riling up the crowd during their shows.
Alex was hesitant of posting these answers, though, knowing that Jack was still following Alex’s posts. That wasn’t the only dilemma, however; it’s just that Jack was already extremely self-conscious of his musical skills. If Jack were to read the fan’s questions, he would most likely start to second-guess his abilities as he has already done time and time again. Alex didn’t want that, he didn’t want it at all. The fact that the kids were even questioning Jack’s performance somewhat angered the brunet – they’ve been a band for ten years. If Jack was really that bad, the band would have never gotten anywhere. Lead guitar is an important role, after all.
Holding his breath and deciding that the people asking these questions did need to realize that Jack was the real deal, Alex posted his answers, his gaze flickering over towards his friend once again.
Alex’s fingers occupied themselves by playing with the hem of his hoodie as he studied Jack’s facial expression. He honestly doesn’t know if Jack’s even going to physically react, in all honesty. The younger is quite talented when it comes to masking emotions, which made Alex feel quite bad sometimes. Jack is his best friend, his ‘homeboy’ since middle school. He just figures that Jack is happy all the time because he acts, well… happy. He can never tell when his friend is having troubled thoughts when he masks everything so well.
Until now.
Alex nearly threw his laptop to the other side of the lounge when he saw Jack’s eyes glaze over with a spring of tears, but just continued to watch as Jack blinked five, six, seven times to will the wet away. Locking his phone, Jack threw the device towards the end of the couch and made a move to leave the room as he stood up and reached for the door.
“Jack?” Alex blurted out, the only sound in the small room being the music that his iTunes was still providing him.
“ ‘M getting a drink,” Jack tried to convince without turning around, although the small crack of his voice didn’t necessarily help his stand all that much.
Alex sighed, closing his laptop and setting it to the side as he stood from the couch before Jack could make an exit.
“Jack,” Alex sighed when Jack continued his attempt to open the door, “Jack, turn around.”
The guitarist allowed his hand to fall limply to his side once again as he turned to face Alex; his head hung as if he were a toddler. Alex sighed, nudging Jack’s chin with his pointer finger in attempt to get Jack to at least look at him; but failed as he just looked to the side.
“Won’t you look at me?” Alex pleaded, his hands curling around Jack’s slim upper arms as he ducked to the side to try and make eye contact with his friend, “I saw you on my Reddit, Jack. I know you saw the questions.”
“Why does it matter?” Jack caved as his gaze finally locked with Alex’s, his bottom lip quivering, “They’re right, they’re all right. I-I can’t play guitar, I can’t do anything-”
“Jack, no,” Alex cut off his friend as he shook him slightly, his chest aching when Jack looked at him with wide, teary eyes, “I don’t know where they got the idea that you don’t play live when you’re on stage for two hours nearly every night with a guitar hanging around your fuckin’ shoulders. You work your ass off.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m any good,” Jack whimpered, “I never even took lessons, I just-”
“I never took lessons either!” Alex stopped Jack from tearing himself down any further, “Does that make me a bad guitarist?”
“W-What? No!” Jack stuttered, his eyes getting impossibly wider.
“Then if I’m a good guitarist, what are you?”
Jack bit his lip and shrugged as Alex continued, “Fuck, Jack, you’re lead guitarist for a reason, okay? Without a doubt, you’re the best performer during our shows. You interact with the crowd better than anyone I’ve ever seen and still manage to hit every damn note. I don’t know how you do it when you’re running and jumping off of shit like a mad man the entire time. Hell, I’ll bounce in place and my fingers still manage to slip.”
Jack only shrugged, not trusting his own voice as he let out a hiccup, his eyes rimmed red as Alex took a step forward to throw his arms around his friend’s neck and bury his nose into his hair.
“Our band has been taking over the fuckin’ world, Jack-o,” Alex mumbled near his ear as he felt Jack immediately hug back, knowing that the guitarist was all about contact when it came to comfort, “We wouldn’t have gotten to where we are now if you weren’t with us. Don’t you remember how you used to work two jobs just so we could get by? You’re determined, you’re willing, you’re talented, you’re everything a band could ever want.”
“And you’re my best friend,” Alex continued with a smile as he pulled back slightly, poking Jack on the nose as the youngers cheeks flushed a slight shade of pink, “Not may people get to tour with their best friend.”
“And not many people get to take over the world with their best friend,” Jack admitted with a sheepish smile.
A smile broke across Alex’s features as he placed a sloppy kiss to Jack’s cheek, his nose digging into his stubbled face momentarily before he pulled back, “Movie?”
Jack nodded, his hand clasping with Alex’s as they plopped onto the couch.
“Movie.”
Notes
So I was at the cybrary during lunch period and I wrote this so hey.
I don't like it at all but w/e.
---
To those of you who fucking h89 me for never uploading His Name Is Alex;
I'M SORRY, OKAY?
Here's the thing.
I basically got hit in the face with schoolwork, exams, a fucking job and the daily reminder that I need to work on a future portfolio if I want to get anywhere in life - so I never have time to kinda just.. sit back and write anymore.
So if any of you are holding your breath waiting for that to get posted; please breathe. I don't want you to die.
I most likely won't be writing again until this summer when school like, isn't relevant anymore.
Sorry for just now telling you this. I'm such an awful person tbh.
xo-Jess
