Alex stared out at the ocean as the warm, Summer breeze fluttered past his face. His hair tickled his forehead while the sound of the waves crashing soothed him. The tips of his toes were buried under the sand as his fingers collected random, broken shells. It was such a perfect scene for such a perfectly broken day. He'd done it this time, really fucked up. The sad part is: It wasn't even intentional. He had no idea that planning something so flawlessly romantic would make his boyfriend question every feeling between the two of them.


He'd gone to every length possible to make sure Jack had the best day of his life. They ate more food than they probably should have, bought too many tickets at the local fair than they could afford and watched every Home Alone movie that was ever made while dinner baked in the oven at Alex's apartment. It was the perfect, tennager-type day. One that was meant to make Jack happy, but somehow it made everything go wrong.


It was Alex's fault. He just assumed that he and Jack shared the same amout of love for each other, but he couldn't have been more wrong. Things would be awkward now, however Alex still wanted to try to climb this mountain and stick things out with the love of his life. Jack was his everything.


They would still be happy right now, curled up on the couch eating junk food while the TV flashed had it not been for the very moment Alex got down on one knee. The engraved ring sparkled in the light, but not as much as the tears in Jack's eyes. Alex was a fool to think those were tears of joy.


The moment Alex popped the question, something in Jack shifted. It was like the entire universe came crashing down and Jack just lost control of himself. He was crying, apologizing over and over again for the fact that he needed to think about. Alex knew what that meant - It meant, very bluntly - No.


Still, he sat there alone watching the sun sink behind the water, waiting for Jack. They'd agreed to meet here, giving Jack almost a full twenty-four hours to consider Alex's request of marriage.


"Lex?"


Said boy jumped, turning his attention to the tall figure slowly moving towards him. Jack looked tired and sad as his messy hair danced in the wind. Even in such a low moment, he was beautiful. All Alex wanted to do was kiss him, but that was out of the question.


"Wanna sit?"


Jack nodded his head and slowly sank into the sand, keeping a distance between himself and his boyfriend. They were silent for a while, watching the sun completely disappearing against the rough tide.


"I've thought about and you deserve to know why I freaked out last night," Jack sighed, pushing his bangs away from his face. "I'm just not ready for that yet. Please don't think it means I don't love your or that I don't love you enough, because I do. It's just a big step and I'm still taking baby steps. Please don't hate me, Alex."


"Jack, I could never hate you. You're not ready, I get it. We can forget that I ever asked and go back to the way things were. I'm willing to bury the memory just to keep you by my side."


"But.. That's just the thing, Alex. I love you so much that I just want you to be happy. You deserve to be with someone who will say yes when you pop the question, not someone who has to think about it..."


Alex's heart sank deep into his chest. It couldn't be over, not because of something like this. Jack was his entire world, the only reason he had left to breathe. Maybe it wasn't the easiest thing to forget, but he could do it. He knew he could.


"Jack, don't say that," Alex extended his arm to touch Jack's hand, but he pulled away before he could. "Jack, please. Don't do this."


"Its already been done, Alex. I love you more than anything else in the world. Don't you ever forget that."


Jack stood up quickly and tore himself away from the scene. Alex was calling his name in between sobs, but he couldn't look back. Jack wasn't husband material. All he did was drag Alex down. It was his fault that Alex was stuck doing childish things instead of living his dream. Honestly, Alex was better off without him.


His heart was shattered, his tears were spilling. Alex was still calling his name.
But Jack knew that the love of his life could do better, and he would, if Jack did the right thing. If he stayed as far away from Alex as he could.


"I'll always love you," Jack whispered, blowing a kiss into the air. "Goodbye, Alex."

Notes

This sucks and I'm sorry. I feel like no sad Jalex will ever compare to the last one I wrote, which is in this collection. But, yeah. Sad goodbye Jalex.