Death of a Bachelor

The first time Alex noticed something wasn't quite right, he was lying beneath Jack, his senses overloaded. It wasn't their first time having sex, it was maybe their fourth or fifth, but it was the first time any incident of the same nature occurred. Alex had his arms wrapped around Jack's, threading underneath his lover's to come up again and grasp at the backs of his shoulders. This made it hard for Jack to reach over to his nightstand when his phone suddenly rang. The sheer look of panic in Jack's eyes as he attempted to untangle himself from Alex to silence the phone was definitely the first red flag. Jack didn't even bother answering, and although Alex didn't see the screen, he could tell that whoever had called was still on Jack's mind. This was made obvious in his rush to finish, his short and quick kisses to Alex's cheek, and his anxious attempt in ushering Alex out of his dimly lit house.

Besides this small bump in the road, Alex was still head over heels for Jack. He hated going to parties, especially at the age of twenty four. The older he got, the worse they got. With that in mind, he was thankful he went to the specific one he met Jack at, though, because the slightly older man was well on his way to changing Alex's life in the best way imaginable. They were six months into their relationship, and although Jack kept it very slow and quite private, it was a refreshing change for Alex. As well as that, Jack treated him like an absolute prince, which was also a bonus.

When Alex had met Jack, the older man didn't waste any time.

"You're gorgeous," he had said to Alex right off the bat, "I don't mean to be rude, but I couldn't help but notice."

Alex, being someone who kept to himself for the majority of his years, didn't really know how to answer such a statement. "Uh, thanks?"

"You're welcome. Hey, listen, would you want to go somewhere else? It's pretty crowded in here, and it's not that late. We could go get coffee, or something." Jack was focusing all of his attention on Alex, and Alex could only be surprised by how forward he was. Nothing about him seemed creepy at all, his attitude was inviting, if anything. Alex agreed with a nod, following Jack out of the house and sending off a text about his whereabouts to a couple of friends, just in case. They ended up being useless precautions, though, as the two bonded quickly at a nearby cafe, and Jack became the best thing to happen to Alex in a long time.

Six months later, and Alex wasn't so sure. The one incident that had occurred a week prior opened up a new window for him, a new outlook that allowed him to see Jack from a different perspective. He was acting private, a little too private, and Alex only now realized it's been that way all along. The second incident only confirmed his suspicions.

"Jack, why is my wallet in the trash?" The way Jack tensed up when Alex asked him this was an obvious sign of guilt. They were at Jack's house again, and as usual, whenever Alex came over, the house was as clean as can be. This time, it was clean of his stuff, too.

"I don't know, I might've accidentally thrown it in. Lucky you found it, huh?" Jack smiled nervously, and Alex only raised an eyebrow in response. Unsure of why Jack would be needing to get rid of it, but positive that Jack would not purposely throw out his wallet, Alex was confused with what to do next. So, he just let it go.

When the third, and final, event occurred two more weeks later, Alex wondered why he hadn't just dealt with it earlier. He had left his umbrella at Jack's place, and since he usually had to make quite a long trek from his car to the mall, he decided to unexpectedly drop by to pick it up. He wasn't sure if Jack was home, but he remembered leaving it on the doorstep. When Alex arrived, his umbrella was there waiting for him. Since he was early, he knocked on the door, just to chat with Jack for a couple of seconds. When the door had opened, however, he wished he had just chosen to walk in the rain.

"Hi, how can I help you?" Was what Alex thought he heard, but he wasn't entirely sure. Instead of responding, he took a seat right where he was standing, as his body felt like it was going to do it for him at any moment. As the woman at the door questioned him some more, beginning to panic, all Alex could do was cry. He was crying harder than the rain was falling, and he let it control him until he heard the blonde mention something about calling somebody for help.

"No, no," he sniffled, "It's fine. Can we talk for a second?"

All Alex could focus on was her blank expression. She looked void of any emotions, and though she wasn't angry with Alex, she wasn't particularly happy with him, either. It was easy for them to conclude that they were both being cheated on, and it took much convincing from the stranger to get Alex to understand that it wasn't his fault, since he didn't know. Again, Alex wasn't mad at her, only himself. Jack, too, obviously. They were both livid at Jack. That aside, though, Alex could only wonder why. Megan, as she had introduced herself, seemed so bright in comparison to Alex. Her hair was full of life, as were her cheeks, even in such a dreary state. Her soft, yet toned body made Alex very conscious of his own jutting bones and dull skin, and he wondered how he had ever believed Jack. Of course he wasn't the most beautiful person Jack had seen, not with Megan around. It made sense in that moment, but he would rather it didn't. He was Jack's secret, Jack's experiment, a game to keep things exciting. Alex never even knew him. It all made sense, how Jack never left him alone in his house, and kept tabs on Alex's every move. Both Alex and Megan agreed that neither of them wanted to face Jack, so Alex offered her space in his apartment for the time being. She accepted.

It was over two months until Alex heard from Jack. Megan had found another place to stay after a few days at Alex's, and slowly, they stopped talking. When Jack showed up at Alex's door one afternoon, the first thing he could think about was if Megan had spoken to him yet.

"Alex," Jack tried to speak, jamming his foot in between the wall and the door and cringing as Alex continued to try to force it shut. "Can we just talk for a minute?"

"Get the fuck out of here, before I call the cops on you." Alex said through his teeth, although he'd be lying to himself if he didn't acknowledge Jack's persistence.

"Please, just a few seconds, then I'm gone." Jack said, relieved when Alex finally released his foot from the door. "Thank you."

"Talk."

"Okay, alright," Jack began, "I think the most important thing for you to know is that I didn't want to hurt either you or Megan. I don't know why I ever even approached you, but I could tell you were special, and you were. I was drunk, I guess, and I let that guide me. Once I got to know you, I knew I couldn't let you go. It was a mistake, and I should have never done it while I was still with Megan. I didn't want to hurt her, either, so I just kept going with it, and it all got too much. I absolutely missed you these last couple months, more than I had ever known as possible, so that's why I decided to talk to both you and her. I think Megan and I made up, not that she'd want anything else, but I was hoping for more than that with you. I love you, and I mean that."

"I understand what you're saying," Alex said with a small smile, shaking his head, "But no one wants you when you have no heart, Jack. Not me, or her. I think it'd be best if you used your new found wisdom to woo somebody new, but I might be willing to try again if you were come back with proof you've changed. I don't want to end up in Megan's position one day, and I hope you never put anyone else there again, either. Goodbye, Jack."

Notes

hey guys! i don't really like this one :^( i couldn't think of a brilliant idea, so i just kind of settled for a really vague story line. they're supposed to be short, though, so it's not really that big of a deal. this is the first thing i've ever written that ended sad, though. it's cool to be doing new things! also: this wasn't edited by anyone else at all, so i'm sorry if it sucks even more than usual- let me know what you think :^) thanks for reading, and thanks to ApathyForSympathy for commenting on the last part!

ps, cool fact! i'm meeting panic! in the summer! i feel like i can mention that here, since this is based off of their album.