Alex's POV
I quickly followed Jenna, who was walking away quickly. I didn't exactly feel like being around Jack for another minute so I'd rather try and find Liz.

"I'm not apologizing to him" Jenna groaned when I caught up with her.
"I know, and I can't blame you. I'm just here to help you find Liz" I told her.
"Oh" Jenna replied shortly.
"Any idea where she might be?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "I'm pretty sure she doesn't even know this neighborhood so she could've ran off in any direction."

We walked in silence for a while, looking around in hopes of finding Liz.
"I didn't expect her to care so much about what Jack thought of her" I broke the silence.
"I'm not sure if she does. I think she was just starting to feel like she might fit in here, you know? And then Jack goes and says stuff like that and it probably just made her think she doesn't fit in and that she'll never will" Jenna shrugged. "She's not as tough as she might seem."

"How do you know?" I asked.
"Because I'm her friend" she replied.
"So am I!" I protested.
"Yeah, but she's not too likely to be as vulnerable around a male friend as she would be around a female friend" Jenna shrugged.
"I guess that makes sense" I nodded.

We continued to walk in silence for about 10 more minutes, getting close to my neighborhood.
"How about we pick up my car? We're close to my house and we'll be a lot faster. By foot we'll never catch up with her if she doesn't stop walking" I suggested.
"How long are you planning on looking for her?" she asked, looking at her watch.
"Until we find her" I said resolute.

"Alex, it's almost midnight already... We've already made it way too late for a school night" Jenna said carefully.
"You're free to go home" I replied.
She sighed. "Yeah, and leave both of you alone wandering these dark streets? I don't think so. Let's go get your car. Are you even sober enough to drive?"
I shrugged. "Probably."

I knew I wasn't but I had to find Liz.
Jenna raised an eyebrow. "I don't want you to get us killed."
"I won't get us killed, I promise." I said, turning into my street on our right side.
"I just have to get my keys inside, I'll be right back" I said and I went inside quietly, trying not to wake my parents as they definitely wouldn't let me leave at this hour.

When I went back outside, I noticed Jenna was calling someone, Liz probably. I gave her a quizzical look.
"Still not answering" she sighed. "Do you think maybe she'd just went home already?"
"I would call Jack to ask but I highly doubt he'll pick up" I said wryly.

"Why don't we just go by their house?" Jenna suggested.
"And then what? It's not like Liz will be waiting on the front porch just to show us she got home safely. The house will probably be dark and the only way to tell if Liz is home is to ring the door bell and wake everyone" I muttered.
"Just leave that up to me. Let's go" Jenna said.

I shrugged and unlocked my car. We both got in and I drove up to Jack's house. I drove more slow than I usually would as I wasn't that convinced I was okay to drive.
"You're so not okay to drive" Jenna said shaking her head.
"Yeah well, as long as we find Liz..." I muttered.
A silence followed.

"You really care about her, don't you?" Jenna asked.
I felt my cheeks turn red but I didn't take my eyes off the road. "I guess."
"Alex, you're driving around town in the middle of the night to find her" she said smiling.
"Yeah, so are you" I replied.

From the corner of my eye I noticed Jenna open her mouth to say something but then close it. She continued to stare out of the window, not saying another word.

"What is it?" I asked her, noticing the sudden tension filling the air.
"Nothing" she replied, not facing me.
I raised an eyebrow. "Well okay then." I said stiffly.

"Look, no offense Alex, but I don't exactly know you that well. For months you've just been my ex's best friend and now suddenly we're all hanging out and shit but that doesn't mean I know you and that doesn't mean I have to open up to you" she said, a little harsh.
"Fine" I replied shortly and I reached for the radio and turned it on. It automatically played some alternative music channel I always listened to.

I focused on the road again and drove to Jack's house. When we reached it I parked in front of it. Jenna turned the music down and looked at me, for the first time since she snapped at me a few minutes ago.
"Let's just say I know how you feel" she said before getting out of the car, leaving me wondering what this cryptic message meant.

Jenna's POV
I quickly got out of the car before Alex could say something and headed up to the house. When Jack and I were together I always used to sneak in through the guest room window, as his parents didn't want me to stay over. In all honesty, I was pretty sure they didn't want me around Jack at all, but at least they had the decency to never say that to my face. They probably wanted Jack to be with some law school graduate, just like they expected him to be someday, instead of a big city dreaming musician like me. Little did they know all Jack wanted to do was play guitar, but well, they would probably disown him if he went through with that.

I walked around the house to the pool house. I climbed on top of the chairs piled up next to it, and pulled myself onto the roof of the pool house. Carefully, I walked over to the other side of the roof, from where I could easily climb into the guest room. The window wasn't locked, just like it used to be, so I had no trouble climbing in. I knew Liz slept in the guest room so it shouldn't take much effort to find out if Liz got home safe.

I gave my eyes a moment to adjust to the dark room until I noticed the empty bed. Dammit. I hesitated for a moment and headed for the door, walking onto the hallway quietly. I sighed deeply and entered the room next to Liz'. I could barely figure out Jack's figure on the bed, but I heard his familiar snoring. I turned on the light to wake him up, as I wasn't about to get any closer to him. I wouldn't want to give him the wrong idea, although showing up in his bedroom in the middle of the night might not be the best way to avoid that...

As I had expected, Jack woke up pretty quickly. The confused look on his face turned into disbelief when he noticed me.
"W-what are you d-doing here?" he asked sleepily, sitting up.
"Searching for Liz" I said shortly.
"I can assure you she's not in my bedroom" Jack replied.
"Did she get home?" I ignored his comment.
Jack shrugged. "How should I know? It's not like I care after all" he said harshly.
"Yeah, the fact that you're here sound asleep while she's out there in the dark does indeed make that pretty clear" I nodded.
"Are you looking for her on your own in the dark?" he asked, almost sounding worried.
"Don't worry, Alex is with me" I replied.
"Well, that's just great" he groaned.
"I know, right. Well, goodnight" I said and I turned around before he could reply, switched off the lights and left his room.

I went back outside the same way I went inside and headed back to Alex's car.
"She's not home" I told him while I got in.
"What took you so long?" he asked. "I was starting to think they caught you."
"I just couldn't keep myself from waking Jack up" I shrugged.
"And, was he of any use?" Alex asked.
"Obviously not" I replied.

Alex nodded, started the car and continued to drive around.
"You like her don't you?" Alex suddenly said.
I turned around, not sure what he was getting at. "Huh?"
"Liz" he replied. "You have feelings for her."

Oh, that... I knew I had said too much earlier. I just didn't want to leave Alex hanging, but now he knows... And he would probably tell Jack... And Liz... Ugh.

"Please don't tell them" I said quietly.
Alex pulled over and turned to look at me. "What kind of guy do you take me for? Your secret's safe with me, I promise."
"Thank you" I muttered.
"Why can't they know though? It's nothing to be ashamed of" Alex said nicely.
"Well, I fear it would ruin my friendship with Liz and as for Jack, it's just none of his goddamn business. Also, I don't even know what these feelings mean. Yes, I have these feelings for Liz, but I also used to have them for Jack, and you know..."
"You don't have to put yourself in a box" Alex said. "If you're into a girl, you're into a girl. If you're into a guy, you're into a guy. There's no need to put a label on it."

I felt my eyes tear up. I had been struggling with this from the moment I met Liz. You know, that love at first sight thing you never expect to happen to you? Well, it happened and I couldn't talk to anyone about it and it felt like a relief to finally get it off my chest, even if I didn't know Alex that well and wasn't even sure I could trust him with my secret.

"And as for your friendship with Liz, I'm pretty sure she knows how I feel about her as well and we're still friends, so I wouldn't worry about that" Alex said, smiling reassuringly.
"Thanks Alex" I said quietly.
"No problem" Alex replied. "Now let's go find the love of our lives" he continued dramatically, causing me to smile a little.

Notes

Title credit: Tonight Alive - Bathwater

Also, I want to thank all of you for subscribing and continuing to read my story! I don't say it very often but it means the world to me <3 Writing is one of my favorite things to do so knowing people like it means a lot to me :)