Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

When late May came around, Jack started getting a little fed up with Alex. They were becoming more distant, as school was starting to get busier. When Jack went to the younger of the pair's house on a Wednesday after school, he was expecting to finally just have some time to be with his boyfriend in between finals. His expectations came to a halt after one question, though.

"What are you doing this weekend?" Jack asked, looking up across the table at Alex. They were both on their phones, and it took Alex a few seconds before he looked up.

"I think I'm going to the mall with Max, he needs to get some stuff." Alex replied, eyes flicking back down to his phone.

"Oh." Jack said. "Both days?"

"I'm not sure," Alex shrugged, not looking up. "I'll let you know."

"Okay..." Jack trailed off, before deciding to try again. "How are your classes going?"

"Alright," Alex looked up again, "Max is helping me with a little bit of stuff, so I think everything will be fine." After seeing the look Jack gave him at the mention of Max's name, Alex rolled his eyes. It kind of shocked Jack, because it was not as jokingly as it usually was- It was not jokingly at all, actually. The whole situation started to feel a bit bitter to Jack, so he changed the subject.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, getting up behind Alex and taking his phone, placing it on the table. Alex did not protest, instead just standing up and leaning into Jack.

"Yup." Alex said. Jack laughed, kissing his cheek softly.

"What d'you got?" He asked, and Alex shrugged again. Jack wondered what caused the sudden switch, until he noticed it was probably caused by pulling Alex away from his phone. That, and not talking about Max anymore. Alex was all cuddly as usual again, and Jack was going to take what he could get.

The following Monday, Jack was walking alone down the hallway just before last period, when two girls came up to him. After he realizing who they were, he kind of wanted to disappear. Were they going to ask him where Alex was, or something? Just because they were dating, did not mean they were together all the time. Jack tried not to look mean and jump to conclusions, as he noticed he was probably just a bit mad that he had not ended up seeing Alex that past weekend.

"Hi?" Jack spoke first, and it came out like a question, since he had never actually spoken to these people before.

"Hi," one of them said. She looked a bit awkward, which made Jack feel more relieved that it was not just him feeling that way. She was twisting her black ponytail in her hand nervously, and her friend was looking at the ground.

"What's up?" Jack asked, trying to make the situation seem more positive. He wanted to ask what they wanted, but decided that would seem kind of rude. They already looked uncomfortable enough, which was understandable. Jack did not really talk to people in older grades when he was younger, either.

"Uh, you're dating Alex, right?" She asked, and Jack could tell she was trying to hide the fact that she already knew the answer. Jack nodded his head with a smile.

"Yeah, I am. Why?" He responded, quite curious of the answer.

"Well, you see-" she began, but her friend spoke for the first time, interrupting her.

"We really don't mean to meddle," the brunette girl clarified, and the other one nodded.

"She's right, we don't." Jack nodded at the first girl, ready to hear what she had to say. "But it almost feels like not saying anything would be even worse."

"We see you two from time to time," the second girl began "But we're seeing Alex with that Max kid lately."

"A lot." the girl with the ponytail added, "I don't think it's Alex's fault, really but the other guy is getting kind of touchy. Alex always looks uncomfortable, but it always seems like he doesn't want to hurt his feelings. We just wanted to let you know."

"Oh," Jack's face fell, and he thought about it for a second. "Should I talk to him about it?"

"It's up to you," the other one says, and they both shrug.

Jack sighed. "What are your guys' names?"

"Stephanie," the black haired girl answered, followed by, "Charlotte," from her friend.

"Alright," Jack nodded, "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

Jack decided right after his little encounter with the girls that he definitely had to talk to Alex about this. It had gone way too far. He had texted Alex to come over after school, and surprisingly, he was free. They held hands silently all the way home, and Jack could not tell if it was a comfortable silence or not. When they found themselves silent again in Jack's room, however, Jack had had enough.

"Alex," he said, and Alex looked up at him curiously. Jack was sitting on one side of his bed, facing Alex, who was sitting on the other.

"Yeah?" He said quietly, and Jack could feel his heart shrinking. He could also feel his will to yell and accuse become smaller and smaller, but he knew he could not let that happen.

"We need to talk about Max." Jack stated, and he did not expect Alex's reaction. Instead of him blowing up first, Alex took on that roll.

"What, Jack?" He said much louder than before, in a much colder tone.

"Don't be like that," Jack shook his head, "You're not stupid. I know you know what's going on. You're acting like this to pretend it's my fault, so you're not putting the blame on yourself."

"The blame for what?" Alex rose an eyebrow, leaning back against Jack's wall dismissively.

"You know he likes you." Jack said, in the most monotonous way possible. He was trying not to show how angry it made him.

"Does he?" Alex replied, and the way he looks like he just does not care makes Jack want to scream at the top of his lungs.

"Stop it," Jack leaned forward, holding his head in his hands and breaking his eye contact with his boyfriend. "Fucking stop, Alex. You know damn well he does. You don't have to pretend it's not real. I know it's not you. Trust me, I'm not blaming you, unless you want me to."

"I don't," Alex sighed, and Jack could finally see him giving in. "I just don't know what to do about it."

"Talk to me." Jack said. "Don't avoid me."

"I know," Alex agreed. "It's just hard to make everybody happy, especially when he's coming on the trip now-"

"Wait, what?" Jack spat, and it almost came out with a laugh.

"Did I not tell you he signed up?" Alex asked in a smaller voice, and Jack actually did laugh this time.

"No. No, you didn't." He felt so done with this conversation, with this situation, but what Alex said next made him finished for sure.

"Jack," he began, "I don't know if I can do this. Max is my friend, and I like him. I don't know if I can take all this arguing."

"So what are you saying, then?" Jack asked cautiously.

"I don't know." Alex said blankly. He then left before they could figure it out.

Jack spent the next few days barely talking to Alex at all. It was different from before now, though, because of the tension. When they saw each other in the halls beforehand, they would talk, but now they would just pass by with a smile. The fact that Jack had not even gotten close enough to Alex to kiss him in about three days was warning enough, something bigger than he realized had definitely gone down. Jack had been so excited to get the talk over with and then begin their trip to Europe- Which now included England as well as France- But it all felt so distant once again. When they had gotten word several weeks earlier, before paying, that new locations were available to add, the entire group was ecstatic. Alex and Jack were especially in love with the idea, because Alex would finally have the opportunity to show Jack where he was from, along with visiting home himself. Now, the idea of Max coming along with them tainted the whole thing. Jack could put up with him at school, but not in Alex's home country, or in the city of love. He did not belong there with him, and he was shocked Alex did not tell him sooner. As far as Jack was concerned, their group was just himself, Alex, Zack, Rian, Marissa, and Natasha, but apparently not. It made sense that Alex never told him, though, because it kept up with the pattern of Alex denying Max's existence in Jack's presence. At this point, all Jack could really do was hope that he and Alex could start the trip off well, and that somehow, Max could fall off of his radar while still simultaneously being around his boyfriend.

Notes

hello! sorry i'm late this week, and sorry this is such a bummer chapter :^( leave me comments!!

another thing- sadly, this is the last thing i have written. for the last two years, i've always had a stockpile of written stuff to post. that's why my scheduled updates are rarely ever skipped. it's gone very well, until now. i think this is officially the first time i can say i'll have no idea when i'll post again. Ocean Avenue has been like that for a while, and so has Death of a Bachelor, but those were not really supposed to have scheduled updates. i was never supposed to miss a week with this (and hopefully i won't), but just wish me luck. hopefully i'll see you next week, but it's been months since i've written, so i'm not sure. i hate it when stories are left incomplete, though, so i don't want to do that to you all- i have a plan for this story now, and the other two, too. this is actually supposed to last until chapter 100, or at least 80 if I don't figure out what i want to put between chapters 70 and 90 (i have the rest figured out, but give me suggestions for that section! they'll be in their senior year, and that's all i really have for those 20 chapters LOL and i don't think that many filler chapters in a row would be fun). this has become way too long, so i'll see ya soon