Jack sat uncomfortably on the old, wooden steps that led into his childhood home. The porch swing that hung low just a few feet away from him swayed slightly in the August breeze, bringing a sad, nostalgic sense over the disappearing day. He'd grown used to feeling lonely, having been away from the people he loved most for a month and a half. Those were the longest weeks of his life. Every single night he would search his ex-band members on the internet just so he could stay in the loop at least a little bit. He would have to take the battery out of his phone and leave it in another room so he didn't have to fight the temptation to call Alex. Jack would even avoid leaving his house so that he wouldn't have to see old friends or new fans. Answering their questions wasn't something he was up for. It had already hit the local news that All Time Low had broken up. For a show or two after Jack left, simply in hopes that he would return, some of the crew stood in for him, but it was when they traveled to a new destination that his friends realized he wouldn't be returning, so they called it quits and dropped out of Warped. Now they were taking their time making the road trip back to Baltimore, still not wanting to fully give up on their dreams.

Of course, knowing his friends, they were probably just trying to find a way to replace him. They'd agreed since day one that All Time Low would go on, no matter what. He expected as much, but the thought that they nearly called off their dreams over the hardship Rian had gone through saddened him. Were the not willing to do the same for him? Alex would head straight for fame regardless. He could go solo if need be, but Alex loved sharing that feeling of being on stage with his friends, which struck a nerve in Jack. It absolutely broke his heart that he decided to share those feelings with a girl he'd only just met, when his boyfriend was standing in the shadows the entire time. Jack sighed, wondering if Alex still stayed in touch with Elana, hoping it wasn't even possible. He still held out hope that Alex meant what he said about fighting for Jack's love to return, but in the pit of his stomach, he knew it probaby wasn't so. Then he began to wonder about his other friends. How hard had it been for Rian to leave Cassadee's side yet again? She was his safe place to land after Kara had ruined life, and Jack felt bad that he may have been the reason the two had to part again. On the up side, however, Zack could now come home to his own girlfriend. Juliet was so devoted to him, she vowed to stay and wait on him, no matter what offer was thrown her way.

It made him sick to think that some people could be so close. Juliet was willing to put her dreams on hold, while Alex had his dreams in the palm of his hand and his bofyriend clinging to his fingertips. Why hadn't that been enough? The only person Jack had left was Tosh and he'd only gotten to see her once in his time back home. She was attending college now, as most of the kids from his school were, and she had only had enough free time to make the drive and comfort him one time. But at least she tried.

Sometimes he would recieve a text from Alexa, her worry draining her from Insomnia's set list, but he could only find it in himself to talk to her every now and again. He missed that tiny girl, it was the fact that her best friend had torn his relationship apart that made him build a wall with her. It didn't matter how many times Alexa apologized for that night, for thinking she could trust her best friend, for not telling Jack the truth when she intended to.. He forgave her for all that without a second thought, but he still couldn't bring himself to let her back in. With all the pain he'd been feeling lately, he didn't want to let anyone back in. In the end, they'd all hurt him anyway.

Jack groaned to himself and wondered when his mom and dad would be home from their dinner date. He'd become so closed off that the only friends he really had were the two people who had created him. It was pathetic, which he knew, but he was still a young boy and he needed comfort now more than ever. His mother was helping him look into starting college later in the Fall, while his dad was trying to find a suitable job for his young man. They were just trying to help, but Jack wasn't ready for any of that. They were gentle when they discussed his future, knowing the wound was still fresh from walking away from his dream, but they were worried about him. More than anything, Jack needed to find stable ground, and the only way he'd managed to find it was eating his mom's home-made meals and watching Home Alone while she read by the light in the corner of the room. The worst part about being home, however, came not from being pressured into a job and college- It came from the Gaskarth's coming over once a week for game night. Jack would have to lock himself in his bedroom and turn his music up, just so he wouldn't have to hear them brag about Alex.

The soft hum of a car coming down the street caught Jack's attention. Expecting to see his dad's vehicle made him hopeful, but when he saw a car he didn't recognize, his heart sank. The car went slowly by his house. She made sure not to look at him as her brown hair danced in the wind from the open window, but not seeing the expression on her face didn't make him blind to the fact that his ex-boyfriend was curled up in the passenger seat with his hoodie under his head so that he could sleep soundly against the window. Jack was about to vomit. He wanted to kick himself, he should have expected this to happen. Of course the moment Alex became single he would drop his slut of the night and go running back to Lisa. She would always be waiting with arms wide open. Tears burned in his eyes. Just a few houses away from him, he watched Lisa open his door and slowly brush the bangs from his face. His hands began to sweat as Alex slowly climbed out of her car and staggered into his house, her arms around him the entire time to keep him balanced. Did it not even occur to him that Jack was right there? Had he no desire to come over and try to make things better again? Jack blinked back the tears, trying to remind himself that Alex wasn't worth it.

"He really does miss you, you know."

Jack nearly jumped out of his skin. Somewhere in the time it took him to watch Alex get out of the car and curse himself for wanting to cry over the boy, Matt Flyzik had snuck up on him. He looked just as exhausted as Alex had been when Lisa helped him out of the car, but much more focused with a hint of sadness in his dark eyes. Beside him stood the adorable small girl he'd met the night everything fell apart. Her glasses were pushed high on her face while her short hair was pulled back behind her head. He didn't understand why Ari was there, but he hoped the band she managed hadn't tagged along.

"Yeah, I can tell from the way he found comfort in Lisa."

"Actually, he got drunk on the plane. She was the only one who had the time to come pick him up."

"You took a plane?"

"We hadn't planned on it," Matt shrugged. "Alex just wanted to get home earlier. I'm pretty sure that had something to do with you."

Though he wanted to hear more, Jack couldn't help himself. It was so good to see Flyzik's face. He realized in that moment just how much he missed his friend, even if most of them had stabbed him in the back. Certainly, there had to be a reason Matt had traveled to his house on foot, but for the moment he could find comfort in knowing that he was still thought about. Jack pulled himself off of the stairs and pulled Matt into a large bear hug.

"It's good to see you, man," Jack mumbled into Flyzik's shoulder. "It's been so hard to be away from everyone."

"That's funny. I recall a time when we were all in a van and you got sick of seeing my face," Matt smiled, pulling away to pat Jack on the shoulder. "We all miss you, not just Alex. Zack and Rian went home to catch some sleep, but I'm sure you'll see them soon."

"Honestly, I don't know if I'm ready to see everyone yet."

"Do you really think you're going to have a choice?"

Jack shrugged, staring down Ari as she hid her face in his chest. He knew the two would be cute together, but he couldn't help but wonder how it happened. The only thing that really made sense was the idea that Alex and Elana had remained 'friends' after he left. Matt seemed to catch on to his thoughts, wrapping an arm around her protectively.

"When you left, Alexa came by the bus every five minutes to see if anyone had heard from you. Ari came looking for her because she was almost late to their set."

"Oh. So Alex wasn't still hooking up with Elana?"

"She came by the bus one night right before we pulled ourselves from the tour. He only spoke to her for a moment. I thinks he was just saying goodbye."

Jack nodded, angry that she even thought it was acceptable to see him off. Maybe, by some twist of fate, Elana actually had some type of feeling for Alex, but that didn't change the fact that she broke the pair apart. He would pity her if he didn't loathe her so much.

"I know it's killing you," Matt sat down on the steps, dragging Ari with him. "So I'll just go ahead and tell you everything that happened while you were away. After you left that morning, Alex refused to go on stage. He cried until he got sick.. And then he drank until that feeling went away. Honestly, he hasn't really stopped drinking since. Every time Alexa would come to the bus asking about you, he'd apologize to her over and over again, hoping that maybe she still had contact with you and would be able to fix it. She made it pretty apparent that you two were barely speaking, and even if you were, she didn't think he was right for you anymore. Long story short, we got him sober enough to do some shows, but no one could play the songs the same way you did, nor did they have the same stage energy. Our last day Alex announced to the fans, without even giving us a warning, that All Time Low had broken up and they would no longer be playing. He didn't even stay to answer questions, he just took off back to the bus."

Jack was biting his lip again. The image of Alex being so broken was burned into his mind.

"Well, after that everyone went after him, trying to figure out what just happened. We thought maybe he finally got ahold of you and you told him there was no chance of him ever getting you back. He admitted that nothing of the sort had happened, that All Time Low just wasn't the same band without you. We all started packing. That night, we went to the last bonfire we'd be attending for Wapred Tour. Zack kept to himself and took pictures for his album, Rian was by Cassadee's side the entire time, the crew didn't even bother to, saying that had too much work today; while I was trying to make sure we had everything, that everyone was okay and spending my last few minutes with Ari. Naturally, Alex got wasted so we bailed early. We thought that maybe if we took our time coming home that Alex would get himself together. We were wrong. Pretty much, we wasted our last bit of money on hotel rooms and gas. I'd say we were about half way home when Ari called and said that all the new bands like Insomnia and Hey Monday had played their last set. She flew to where we were, bought us all tickets and here we are. She even offered to bring the crew back, but they said they wanted to spend their last bit of time on the tour bus together."

"So.." Jack sighed, trying to comprehend everything Matt had said. He told himself it would be easier to stay mad at Alex if he believed the boy hadn't changed his ways. "So he just fell apart after I left? He didn't do anything he'd regret? Nothing that would break my heart?"

"Well Jack, I don't think there's much else he could have done to hurt you. He did one of the worst things you can do in a relationship and her regrets it, he really does. When he was drunk he would ramble on about how he should have been more open about your relationship, maybe then there wouldn't have been a chance for anyone else to come in between it."

"I tried to explain that to him the night we got together," Jack frowned. "I think I need some time alone now. Nothing personal, I just need to get my head back on. That's a lot to take in."

"Okay. Just promise me when you did see him, you'll hear him out. Everyone makes mistakes, Jack."

The two hugged and parted ways, leaving Jack standing alone on his porch watching as the new couple walked away. He groaned, trying to find any reason in the world to still be mad at Alex. That's when his mind played a clip of Elana bouncing on top of Alex. Jack inwardly screamed, kicking the frame of the porch hard enough to leave a dent in the wood. Tears were burning in his eyes again. At least now he knew Alex was just as broken as he was. Now he knew that the older boy was starting to regret the things he'd done, and just maybe he was starting to realize how important Jack had been to him. Maybe now Jack wouldn't be taken for granted.

He allowed his eyes to scan across the street and over to Alex's house. There was more than just a road in between them. There was a world full of hurt, heart break and love. Inside of that house where he had spent so much of his time, Alex was either recovering from his alcohol or sleeping it off, with Lisa there to wipe his forehead and kiss his cheek, to server as a reminder that everything would be okay. Now it was a waiting game. How long until that word came crashing down, leaving Alex and Jack nothing to face but each other?

Notes

So... yeah....
Mucho love! <3.