~Alex's POV~

I had spent the past week practically glued to Vic's living room couch. Vic didn't want me to go home and be on my own, so I decided to stay. Mama and Papa Fuentes had came back from Mexico and knew nothing about the party, and hopefully they'll never find out. Luckily, they were more than happy with me staying over, even though I didn't really speak or eat, or do anything. I had been staying off school because of my chest, and also the fact that I didn't want to face Jack. My chest was almost healed now, but my heart still hurt every time I thought of the beautiful boy that I had lost. Vic said that he hadn't been in school either, and I was really worried about him. Zack had rung me yesterday to tell me that he was doing okay, but that didn't reassure me. I needed to see him for myself. But the thing is, he wouldn't want to see me. I hurt him, and it was the stupidest thing I've ever done. I hadn't spoken to Jack, but Zack had told me that I had been uninvited to go for that meal with Jack and Joyce, even though I wouldn't of turned up anyway. It's the fact that he uninvited me and he couldn't even do it himself that hurt the most. It made me feel like shit that he didn't want anything to do with me. I couldn't blame him though, it was my fault.

I had been told that Cass and Rian were trying to patch things back up, but things were going slowly. Rian blamed me more than Cass, for some strange reason. It's not like I forced her into anything. We were both drunk, we both made mistakes.

"Hey." Vic greeted as he came through the door.

"Hi." I replied blankly, staring at the boring sitcom that I hadn't been paying any attention to.

"I'm gonna go out with Jenna, do you mind being on your own?" He said, rooting through the kitchen cupboards for his usual snack he had after school.

"No, it's fine, go and have fun." I forced a smile, but Vic could see straight through it. He sighed and sat down next to me.

"Call him." He said, handing his phone over to me.

"But w-"

"No buts, just do it. What's the worst that could happen? Ask him to meet you somewhere and you can talk properly. It will be good to get some fresh air." Vic smiled and nudged my shoulder, urging me to dial his number that I knew by heart.

After a few rings, he picked up.

"Hey Vic! How are you?" Jack's voice buzzed through the phone. He sounded so happy.

"It's Alex." I said, my words coming out as a whisper. I was afraid of his reaction.

"Oh." Was all he replied, the happiness that rung through his voice before was long gone.

"Can we talk?" I asked quietly, my voice cracking slightly towards the end.

"Um, yeah." his reply held no emotion, and it broke my heart to hear it like this.

"Meet me at the big oak tree in half an hour."

"Okay." He answered glumly, hanging up on me straight away.

"Thanks." I said as I handed the phone back to Vic. He took it from my hand and pulled me in for a hug.

"No problem, see if he agreed to talk, then he obviously wants to make things better too, it will all be fine." Vic's always such a positive person, he is a good friend.

"Thanks again." I tried to pull away but he kept me close. "Vic, I know it's mostly healed, but my chest hurts like hell when you're hugging me this tight." I laughed.

"Oops, sorry." He let go immediately, and laughed with me. "That's the first time I've seen you laugh since the party!" Vic smiled, as I blushed. I think it was true, since I haven't been with Jack, I haven't felt truly happy. "Anyway, Jenna will be waiting for me, I've gotta go." Vic jumped up, getting his backpack and heading to the door.

"Good luck!" I shouted before he thanked me and left.



After about 10 minutes of deciding whether I should actually make an effort to look nice, I put my jacket on and left the house. I knew I looked terrible, but I didn't really care. I put my earphones in and started to walk to the park where the big oak tree was situated. Me and Jack had made so many happy memories by that oak tree, and I hope we can eventually make many more. If he forgives me, that is.

I got to the tree and sat down cross-legged at the base, playing on my phone and waiting for Jack to arrive.

"You look like shit." I heard the familiar, beautiful, slightly raspy voice speak as Jack sat down opposite me, leaving a gap between us. I looked at him for the first time in what felt like forever; he looked like shit, too. His hair was messy, he looked pale, and the darkened bags under his eyes told me he hadn't had much sleep, just like me. He still looked beautiful though. He would always look beautiful to me.

"Nice to see you, too." I greeted, and he looked at me, our eyes connecting for a brief moment before he looked down at the grass we were sitting on.

"Is your chest okay?" He asked. He actually looked concerned for me. But how did he know? And why did he care?

"Yeah, it's nearly fully healed now, thanks. How are you doing?" The atmosphere felt slightly awkward, so I tried to make small talk.

"I'm fine." He replied blankly, and we sat in silence until I eventually spoke up.

"Look Jay, I'm sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am. I know this sounds like a lame excuse, but I was drunk. I actually can't remember any of it. I didn't even know what Rian was talking about when he attacked me." Jack's fists clenched slightly when I brought up Rian, but I carried on speaking. "You know I would never hurt you intentionally. I love you, and I've never cared for anyone as much as I care for you. You're the only person that's there for me, and the only person that I can trust and I don't think I would be the person I am today if it wasn't for you. Hell, I don't think I could live without you. You're my life, an-"

"I forgive you." Jack cut me off mid-sentence and looked up at me.

"What?" I asked. I couldn't believe he's forgiving me this easily.

"I forgive you. I think."

"Thank you." I said calmly, trying to hide my smile. "But why? I hurt you." I know I had wanted him to forgive me, but I couldn't up understand why he would actually do it.

"Because I've done it before, too."

"Could you explain in more detail?" I asked him. I was confused, to say the least.

"When I was 16, I had a girlfriend. This was when I was in my "confused" phase." He made little hand gestures as he said "confused". "Anyway, I had been with her for about 6 months, and it was all going quite well. She was really nice, but I don't think I liked her romantically. One night there was this big party, and we both went. I got shit-faced drunk, like really bad, and I ended up sleeping with a guy. After that I realised I was gay. Anyway, she walked in on me and him, and even though I was going to call it off with her anyway, I still felt terrible for hurting her. She broke up with me after that, and I felt guilty for quite a while, and I didn't even love her. When you did the same, I eventually realised that you will probably feel even worse than I did with her, because you love me." Once he had finished speaking, he looked up and me and smiled. I smiled back, a tear rolling down my left cheek.

"Oh Jay. I love you, and I promise I'll never hurt you again." I wiped my eyes, and laughed at myself. "I'm pathetic, I don't even know why I'm crying."

"You're not pathetic." He crawled over to me and straddled my legs, cupping my face in his hands. "Oh, and Alex?" His eyes locked with mine, and I almost forgot to reply.

"Yeah?"

"I love you too." He said simply before sealing his words with a kiss.

Notes

Wooh! Jalex is back! But the sad news is that the stories nearly finished :( I want to finish it before Wednesday bc I'm going on holiday then so there will probably only be 1 or 2 more chapters left and then and epilogue.

I'm so happy for all the amazing response I've gotten for this fic, I'm really pleased considering it's my first ever one, and I'm so grateful for anyone that has taken the time to read it.

Ellie x