Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

The next morning, Alex was not in class. Marissa texted him not long after the bell rang, but she got no reply. He was a no show in math, too, and Jack did the same thing, not getting an answer, either. Jack just thought Alex was still ignoring him, until both Marissa and Natasha practically ran up to him while he was at his locker at the start of lunch.

"Jack," Marissa said loudly, "Have you seen Alex today?"

"No," Jack said, sharing a look of disapproval with Natasha. "Why are you yelling?"

"He's not replying to either of us, and we don't know where he is. We called his house, too, and there was no answer." Marissa explained, and Jack could feel his stop drop at her words.

"Maybe he's just sick, and asleep," Jack suggested, "Or he really, really, hates me, and he doesn't want to talk to any of us about it."

"He doesn't hate you," Marissa said, biting her lip as she mulled the situation over. "I was going to see him later on tonight, so I guess I'll check up with him then."

"I guess that's all we can really do," Natasha shrugged, and Jack nodded.

"Yeah. That's a bit odd, though, that he's not replying to you two, either. I hope he's okay." Jack sighed, closing his locker.

Third and fourth periods could not have seemed any slower, and Jack was ecstatic when the final bell rang. Deciding he had had too long of a time without Alex, he set off for the blond's house, instead of his own. It was probably just a huge misunderstanding, but Jack just wanted answers instead of silence, and that was the only way he would get them. Alex's father's car was just pulling into the driveway when Alex reached their home, and Jack jogged over to him.

"Hello, Mr. Gaskarth," he greeted his boyfriend's father, "Do you know if Alex is home?"

"He isn't," Alex's father shook his head, and Jack noticed a sense of urgency in his voice, even before the words that followed. "He's in the hospital."

"Wait, what?" Jack gawked, following the man over to the doorstep. His head was spinning all of a sudden, and his hands were sweaty, and he felt like the worst possible thing that could have gone wrong had went wrong.

"He's alright," Peter said, unlocking the door. "Come on in, Jack. I just came home to pick up some stuff for him, and I can give you a ride to the hospital on my way back. I didn't realize you wouldn't have known until now, because one of the things I'm picking up is his phone."

"It's okay," Jack spoke, and it kind of sounded like he was choking on air. Alex's father noticed this, and it occurred to him how much this kid really cared about his son. "I understand. That'd be really nice of you. What happened to him?"

"We didn't check the ingredients on the box of granola bars he ate this morning, and they turned out to have milk in them. He's eaten them before, so the ingredients must have changed." Alex's father explained, handing Jack a small list on a piece of scrap paper. "Do me a favour? You know his room better than I do, can you go get these things for him?"

With a nod, Jack asked him, "Was it bad?"

"Of course it was bad," he sighed, "It's always been bad. We caught it quick enough, though, and he wasn't put through too much to make him well again. He didn't eat much of it anyway, because he can tell right away when something's wrong. He's stable, so don't worry."

"Okay, good." Jack nodded again. He could tell how worn out Alex's father seemed from the entire situation, and only then did he realize how utterly terrifying it must be to be Alex's parents.

The car ride to the hospital was one of the longest in Jack's life. Both he and Peter were silent, equally hoping Alex was in better condition than when Peter had last seen him. The way up to where Alex's room was seemed impeccably long, too, and Jack was glad when Alex's father was finally walking him up to the right door.

"I'll leave you two alone for a bit, alright?" Peter said, "I'll take these things in for him, and I'll ask Isobel to leave for a bit, too."

"Thank you," Jack nodded, and was relieved when Alex's father finally came back out with Alex's mother in tow. Now that it was actually his turn, he was suddenly very nervous. When he walked in and saw Alex looking fairly normal, though, he let out a breath, only to hold in another when he noticed all of the tubes connected to Alex's arm. That, and he did look quite pale, as well.

"Hi to you, too," Alex said, his voice sounding the slightest bit hoarse.

"I'm sorry," Jack apologized for staring. "Hey, sweetheart. How are you feeling?"

"Better," Alex mumbled, as Jack pulled up a chair beside him, on the same side as his I.V. and all of the other tubes.

"This all looks so scary," Jack remarked, "I think this is the scariest thing that's ever happened to me in my life."

"Imagine being in my position," Alex chuckled, "It was fucking terrifying. My throat was closing in, and my stomach was turning, and my entire body was hurting all at the same time. I cried a lot. It's weird, knowing that you might actually die. It's okay now, though. I don't mind being here. I'm feeling better, and I like it."

"I'm glad," Jack hummed, before saying, "That sure was a close one."

"Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades," Alex grinned, the same grin that made Jack want to lean over and kiss him all those times in the past. He still felt the same way.

"Well, at least you're not dead," Jack smiled in return, "Because then we'd have a problem. Where'd you hear that, anyway?"

"My dad says it sometimes," Alex answered, before asking, "Do my friends know I'm here?"

"I haven't told them," Jack shook his head, "You should text them."

As Alex did so, he said, "Thanks for coming."

"Of course, baby." Jack said softly, and Alex could not wait any longer to ask him about the past couple of days.

"Jack," he mumbled, "There's nothing going on between you and Chloe, right?"

"Definitely not," Jack raised an eyebrow, "She asked me if I liked her, and I told her no. How do you know about that?"

"I don't necessarily know about that," Alex whispered, "Somebody said they saw you and her making out on Monday."

"And you believed it?" Jack questioned, feeling a bit hurt by what Alex said.

"Of course not," Alex scoffed, "But when I saw you with her after school yesterday, I just got really confused."

"Nothing's going on," Jack swore, "I promise you. I love you, and you know that, right?"

Alex nodded. "I do, and I love you, too."

"I feel like this is pointless, but I'm going to ask anyway. That guy I saw you with, there's nothing going on with him either, right?" Jack asked, slipping his hand into Alex's.

"No," Alex chuckled, "We were just hanging out, and I talked about you for most of it. Don't worry, he's cool."

"Really?" Jack bit his lip, and Alex nodded. He had, in fact, talked for ages to Max about Jack. "You're adorable."

"Be quiet," Alex mumbled, and Jack squeezed his hand. "I have nothing else going on in my life."

"We'll figure out where all of this shit came from tomorrow, okay? You focus on resting, now." Jack suggested, and Alex agreed.

"Okay. I told Marissa, and she told everybody else. She wanted to know if they should come by, but I told her it was alright. She wants to talk to both of us when I'm better, though."

"Sounds good," Jack said, "Can I kiss you?"

"Since when do you ask?" Alex laughed, and Jack frowned. He was not really sure why he was frowning, though, while Alex was still able to stay positive in his position.

"Since you're in the hospital, and you look so, so sick. I don't want to hurt you," Jack voiced.

"You won't," Alex shook his head. "Just go slow."

Jack hummed in response, before leaning over slightly, his lips brushing Alex's softly. He kept it slow like Alex had asked him, his hand caressing his boyfriend's jaw, as his thumb moved across his cheekbone soothingly. He was glad to be talking to Alex again, but certainly not in the setting they were in. It was unfamiliar and nerve wracking to Jack, and he wished for the quickest recovery for Alex as possible. He just wanted to see the younger boy carefree again, without the worries of the burden currently tying him to his bed.

Notes

hi frens! who was expecting that?

let me know what you guys think!! i can't believe i'm already posting chapter 40, this has come such a long way :^)

ALSO THERE ARE THE SUMMARY LINES!!! YOU FINALLY HAVE CONTEXT. HOW DOES THIS MAKE YOU GUYS FEEL

thx 4 reading n thx 2 Alltimegabi and ApathyForSympathy for commenting on the last chapter <3

ps - i have a little thing i want to talk about, plz respond if you have any insight on this. is it just me, or have you guys been feeling like nobody's been updating lately? like, i understand first hand that it's not possible to stay active consistently, and i'm not blaming anyone who reads this that hasn't updated their stories in a while, but i just find it gosh darn weird that all of a sudden i have absolutely no material to read. this, in turn, makes me less excited to write my own, which is why i haven't written another part of DOAB. i'm trying to get back into it, but it's just so hard to do when i feel so less involved than i usually do. hopefully i can get my act together, because i do love writing, but i also love reading and i miss it so so so much. also, if any of you are subbed to any stories that still frequently update, please tell me about them! thx