Welcome To My Life

When we finished our meals, Alex and I headed for Jack's house. Even if he didn't want me back there, I would still have to pick up my things so that's what we were about to do and while I was there I could also find out if I had indeed been kicked out.

When Alex drove into the street they lived on, the first thing I noticed were boxes in their front yard.
"You have got to be kidding me" I said, anger growing inside me.
"Now he's crossed the line" Alex groaned, while parking in front of the house and jumping out of the car. "He won't get away with this"
I quickly followed him. "Alex, let it go, he's not worth it..."
"He can't do this!" Alex replied, without turning around.
"Yes he can, he's a rich, spoiled brat" I replied.

Just as Alex was about to ring the door bell, the door opened and Jack appeared.
"Ah, there you are. Your parents were waiting for you" he said, grinning.
"And why's that?" I sneered. I was not in the mood to talk to them.
"Oh, didn't I tell you? You're moving back to Illinois with them!" he said enthusiastically. "I told them how you don't feel like you fit in here and how much you miss home."
"You are unbelievable" I exclaimed. "And I'm not going anywhere."

I quickly turned around, grabbed one of the boxes and headed for Alex's car. I heard Alex do the same behind me. When I went back for the last two boxes, I noticed Jack had disappeared in the doorway. He probably went to get my parents to stop me but I'll make sure we'll be gone by the time they got to the door. I grabbed one box and Alex the other and after putting both of them in the trunk, we got in the car and Alex drove off.

"I just don't understand" Alex muttered. "What is his problem?"
"Anyone that doesn't agree with him" I shrugged. "He's just narrow minded like that. He also thinks I'm desperate for attention because I keep hurting myself. I couldn't even bother to try and make him understand."
"I can imagine" Alex said. "Want me to drop you off at Jenna's?"
"Uh yeah I'll just give her a call to ask her if it's okay." I nodded.

I dialed Jenna's number but it went to voicemail after a few beeps.
"She's not answering" I replied.
"We'll just drive by her house to see if she's home then" Alex decided as he turned right.

A few minutes later, we got to Jenna's house. We rang the doorbell a couple of times but no one was answering.

"You can stay with me until she returns your call, but I do have band practice later..." Alex suggested.
"Yes please. I'll just pretend like Jack doesn't exist" I shrugged.
"Okay... Should be fun" Alex winked.
"Fun is my middle name" I said wryly.
"Wouldn't have guessed that" Alex joked, causing me to nudge his arm.
"Be nice" I pouted.
"Ah, sorry" Alex said softly, pulling me in for a short hug. Too short.

After he let go of me, he got in the car, while I was still kind of processing what just happened. My back still felt warm where he wrapped his arms around me.
"Are you coming or what?" Alex exclaimed from the car, and I quickly got in, my cheeks probably red.

"I just have to pick up my guitar at home and we'll be off to practice" Alex said as he drove off.
"Okay, no problem" I nodded.
"Yeah, well, if you did have a problem with it, that would be your problem, since you know, I'm keeping you from being homeless and all" Alex teased.

I felt myself blush while we continued to ride in silence. About 10 minutes later we got to Alex's house.
"You want to come in? My parents aren't home anyway" Alex asked as he killed the engine after parking the car in the driveway.
"What, am I not supposed to see your parents or...?" I joked as I got out of the car.
"More like they're not supposed to see you" Alex replied, walking to the front door.

I halted, confused as to what he had meant to say. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Alex must've noticed the change of tone in my voice because he stopped and turned around, noticing the offended look on my face.
"No, no wait, I didn't mean it like that" he said quickly. "I'm not ashamed of you or anything, I promise, I just haven't told them about you yet..."

"And why haven't you, if you're not ashamed of me?" I asked, crossing my arms.
Alex came closer to me, until there was about a foot between mine and his face.
"Because I don't know what to tell them" Alex said. "I don't know what we are."
I felt my anger subside. I guess that was understandable. "Sorry" I muttered.

"What did I say about apologizing, Elizabeth Barakat?" Alex said in a strict dad voice.
"What did we say about using my full name, Alex I-don't-know-your-full-name Gaskarth?" I replied.
"Truce?" Alex suggested.
"Truce" I confirmed.

"It's Alexander William by the way" Alex said winking.
"Fancy" I replied. "Are you royalty or something?"
"Depends, would that make me more appealing to you, my lady?" Alex joked.
"You're weird" I replied.
"I can live with that"

Alex unlocked the front door and let me in. We were immediately greeted by Peyton, with whom I played for a little bit while Alex went to get his guitar.

"I'll show you around some other time" Alex said apologetic. "But we have to get going now."
I nodded, stroked Peyton's head one last time and followed Alex outside.
"So, where are we going now?" I asked as Alex put his guitar on the backseat of the car.
"Rian's. We practice in his parents basement" Alex explained, climbing in the drivers seat.
"Cool" I nodded.

We soon got to Rian's house, got out of the car and rang the door bell. Rian himself opened the door.
"Alex! And... Liz..." he exclaimed.
"It's nice to see you to" I said wryly.

"Jack kind of kicked her out and she doesn't have anywhere to stay so I told her she could stay with me and come to practice" Alex explained.
"You do realize Jack is in our band right?" Zack, who appeared behind Rian, said.
"Yeah well, what else was I supposed to do?" Alex groaned.

Rian and Zack didn't seem to know another solution so they both stepped out of the doorway to let us in. I couldn't help but feel a little unwelcome. Rian offered us a drink, which I politely declined.

"How about I show you the basement?" Alex suggested, probably noticing I didn't feel at ease.
I nodded thankfully and followed him to the basement.
"They don't really know how to deal with me and Jack fighting" Alex explained while we walked down the stairs to the basement. "It's nothing personal."
"I guess that makes sense" I nodded.

"Well, this is it" Alex said when we reached the bottom of the stairs. "We got Rian's drums over there, mine and Zack's mics over there and we all bring our own guitars with us as we like to practice at home."
"It's cozy" I said smiling. "I'm excited to finally see you play!"

Now it was Alex's turn to blush, even though I could barely tell by the poor lighting in the basement. A few seconds later we heard footsteps coming down the stairs and soon Zack and Rian appeared, followed by none other than Jack. Great. Of course I knew this would happen but I still didn't really want to face him.

"What are you doing here?" Jack sneered as soon as he noticed me.
"You kicked her out, she didn't have anywhere else to go" Alex groaned, protectively stepping in front of me.
"Uh yes she does, she could go home with her parents." Jack grinned. "Speaking of which, I think I'm gonna call them to tell them you're here so that they can finally take you away from here."

That was it. I had put up with enough of his childish bullshit and I was 100% done with it.
"You fucking..." Before I could fully realize what I was doing, I pushed past Alex, started running up to Jack, wanting to tackle him. Before I could get to him, someone grabbed me and tried to keep me from taking a swing at him. I however was blinded by anger and kicking and slashing around me in attempt of escaping from the tight grip I was in. Eventually, I managed to break free, run up to Jack and push him to the floor. Sitting down on his stomach, I started hitting him as hard as I could until I was dragged off of him by a force too strong to fight. They pushed me down on the couch where I slowly came to my senses, to realize it was Zack pinning me down on the couch.

"Let go of me" I groaned.
"I won't until you've calmed down" he replied.
"I have calmed down" I groaned. "Alex, tell him I..."
When I turned to Alex, I saw him sitting on the floor, his shirt covered in what seemed to be blood coming from his nose. Fuck.
"Alex!" I exclaimed, suddenly finding the strength to push Zack, who had been distracted, off of me.

I rushed over to Alex and kneeled next to him.
"Did I do that? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hit..." I started apologizing.
"Save it" Alex groaned.

I could tell he was pissed at me, and could I blame him? Of course not. I looked at him for a few more seconds but he avoided my gaze. I nodded and got up.
"Okay, I'm just gonna go then" I said hesitantly, heading for the stairs.
"Liz..." Alex said quietly, but I didn't stop.

Just before I walked up the stairs, I noticed Jack, still on the floor with Rian and Zack next to him. I must've hit him pretty bad, I thought. I almost felt bad, but then I remembered he had it coming, and I walked upstairs and left the house.

Well done Liz, you once again managed to fuck up something good, like you destroy everything that you touch. You finally found someone who really liked you for you and you go and punch him in the face. I wanted to punch myself in the face. This is why I can't have nice things. I had no one. No one I could reach, anyway. Now where was I gonna go?

Notes

Quite a long one, isn't it? I got inspired.

Title credit: All Time Low - The Irony Of Choking On A Lifesaver