I swear it, on my heart you know I wear it on my sleeve,
For everyone to see that I am yours and you belong to me.

“So...” Anna jumped up and down a few times on her seat next to me, eying me with her curious bright grey eyes. Warped tour had just wrapped and I’d only been back in my L.A. home for all of an hour before my dear cousin decided to grace me with her presence. “How’s it feel to be engaged?”

I pursed my lips, thinking carefully as, thanks to dealing with the rest of tour, I hadn’t really had much time to let it sink in. I mean, other than the sparkling ring on my finger, I still felt like Jack and I hadn’t changed, relationship wise. Hell, I still thought of him as my boyfriend in my mind. To call him my fiancee still felt like a dream, a fantasy. “I don’t know. It feels...nice?”

She glared at me. “Nice?” She repeated my words with doubt.

I shrugged in defense. “We’ve been busy, alright? Jack and I haven’t really been able to enjoy being engaged yet.” I explained. “Hell, when we got home he barely kissed me before he passed out in the bedroom.” I nodded towards the master bedroom where sure enough, Jack’s soft snoring could be heard.

Anna’s formerly glorious smile fell as her eyes widened, panicked. “Don’t tell me you’re already having problems. You literally just got engaged like three weeks ago--”

I quickly set her straight. “No, no, it’s fine. We’re fine, Ann. All I’m saying is being engaged feels pretty much like dating did, that’s all.”

Her tense body eased slightly as she practically pouted. “Oh.”

“You look disappointed.”

“I was hoping for something a bit more romantic, yes.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sorry for my lackluster reality, then.”

Anna groaned, clenching her small, thin hands into a fist in fangirlish annoyance. “It’s just, he’s a internationally successful rock star and you’re...you--I just thought there’d be more of a hot and heavy romantic story you could tell me after I left you guys in Chicago.”

I stared at her for a second, making sure I heard her correctly. “...you wanted me to tell you all the gory details of how Jack and I celebrated our engagement?”

She blushed, suddenly looking embarrassed. “Well...maybe not all the details--”

“Come on, Anna!” I scrunched up my nose. “I mean, I’ve told you things before, but there are some things that I’d rather not tell my teenage cousin--”

“I’m eighteen now, remember? I’m an adult. I can take it.” She countered. “Besides, if I’m not mistaken, weren’t you eighteen when you and Jack met?”

“That’s besides the point.” I shook my head. “Are we really having this discussion?”

“I’m just saying--”

“Nope!” I laughed at Anna’s persistence. “I’m not going there with you. Telling my friends is one thing, but first of all, you’re my cousin and when I look at you I still think of the little girl who followed me everywhere I went and secondly, you’re still the biggest fan girl I know. How could I trust that you wouldn’t turn what I say into some perverted fan fiction or something?”

She gasped, offended. “I would never!”

I raised an unsure brow. “You wouldn’t, Miss jalex1994?”

Her cheeks turned even redder at the mention of her online username. “I-I-I hardly use it anymore. Just to read the occasional story, but they’re just stories--”

“Anna, it’s fine.” I assured her, having never found anything wrong with the idea of fan fiction. “You can read them all you want.” I paused for a second. “I do find it odd though that the girl who can pretty much talk to any member of All Time Low whenever she wants still reads fan fiction.”

She shyly shrugged as she muttered, “Sometimes they’re pretty good. And some of the girls are pretty spot on, character wise.” Her eyes raised tentatively to meet mine as she added, a bit more confidently, “There are even some with you in it.”

This caught me only slightly off guard, as I had a feeling fan fiction revolving around Jack might occasionally include me as well, considering I’d been in his life for so long. Yet, it still felt...weird to say the least that there were young girls making me a ‘character’ in their online story. “Oh, really?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I mean, most of the stories do revolve around Jalex--”

“Not surprised.” I chuckled.

“--but there are some with you and Jack as the main characters. I usually subscribe to those.”

I peered at her for a beat, my curiosity getting the better of me. “...are they any good?”

Her shoulder rose and fell once more. “Some of them are. Some suck. The usual, I guess.” She halted in her thought as she whipped out her phone, quickly going to the internet so she could show me herself. “I mean, look. Here’s one where you grow up in Baltimore and are like childhood friends with Jack, and then you move away to California and become like a super famous singer while Jack joins All Time Low and you two meet like ten years later and fall in love all over again.” She paused as she sucked in a sharp breath. “It’s super cute.”

I bobbed my head, realizing that it did sound like an interesting read. “That actually doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Then of course, there are Jack OC’s, where--”

“OC’s?” I asked.

“Original characters. Usually Mary Sue’s, honestly.”

“Mary Sue’s? What are you talking about?”

Anna rolled her eyes over my lack of knowledge. “Mary Sue’s are like the perfect character--too perfect. They have the perfect personality, perfect body, perfect everything. Hell, even their flaws are perfect. It’s usually a way for the author to put an idealized version of themselves in the story.” She explained quickly. “They’re super annoying to read, but as I was saying, there are these Jack OC stories where you’re the quote ‘other woman’. Or the jealous ex. You’re totally bitchy in those. Kind of a funny read, actually.”

“I’m the other woman?” I smirked at the mere thought.

She nodded. “Yeah, usually you’re like the girl who’s dating Jack just to elevate your fame and fortune, while the other girl is interested in Jack for him.”

“Do people know me at all?” I shook my head at the ridiculous thought.

“Don’t worry. They do it to Lisa too. Probably Cass on occasion, too, though there aren’t as many stories about Rian and Zack as there are of Jack and Alex. It’s harmless.”

I sighed. “I know. It’s just...weird.” I stared at Anna’s phone, scrolling down as I observed the collection of fan written stories that were tagged with my name. Some seemed like they were written with genuine love for Jack and I’s relationship while others--including one where they were ‘inspired’ by real life events--killed me off in the car crash so their ‘OC’ as Anna called it, could help Jack find love again.

Talk about stooping to a new level.

“Some people really don’t know when to leave certain things alone, do they?” I cringed, turning away for a second as Anna quickly scrolled the page further down to move past the story revolved around poor taste.

“Um...yeah.” Anna nodded slowly, her voice substantially softer. “There are a few of those, too. I flag them whenever I can, but...”

“At least they aren’t common.” I tried to find the positive, despite feeling my heart fill with a tinge of sadness that I felt would never truly go away at the mention of my accident. We were talking about fiction, sure, but taking from such tragic events still struck a chord with me.

Anna gave a weak smile. “Yeah, like I said, most of the stories are Jalex romances. People can’t seem to get enough of believing that your guy is gay, despite you and Lisa being in the picture to totally disprove that theory.”

I chuckled, eagerly moving onto a more harmless subject. “It would be quite the scandal if it turned out to be true...I could see why so many write about them together.”

“Plus, the gay jokes don’t help.” My cousin added with a knowing smirk.

“No, they certainly don’t.” I laughed.

“And there’s also the fact that Jack’s kissed Alex before.”

“He really loves keeping that rumor alive.” I told her, knowing of the picture proof of the very kiss Anna was talking about. It was several years before I’d met Jack and the ‘kiss’ was like less than a second, according to my boyfriend--I mean, fiancee. It was a dare, and needless to say there was lots of alcohol involved. It was far from a bi-curious lip lock, but never tell Jalex believers that. Their relationship was like a unicorn to them, magical and never seen; yet they ‘know’ it exists.

To each his own, I guess.

Of course, the jokes and the occasional kiss on the cheek egg on this rumor, but other than that, I can assure anyone with any doubt that Jack was not gay.

“It doesn’t bother you?” Anna asked. “I mean, girls thinking Jack is in a secret relationship with Alex?” I shrugged as she added, “If it was my man, I’d be sure to wipe out any doubt once and for all.”

I laughed, feeling like my mere existence should be enough. “Let them think what they’d like. I mean, I’m with Jack. We’re getting married. That’s enough for me--” My eyes widened as my own words quickly sunk in, washing over me like a giant wave as I glanced down at the rock on my left hand, as if confirming my reality. “Holy shit. We’re really getting married--”

Anna stared at me like I grew a second head. “Um. Yeah. You’re engaged, remember?”

I waved off her strange stares knowingly, “I know I’m engaged, but I didn’t really let it sink in until now. I mean, it’s the first time in weeks that I’ve had time to think about it and holy fuck, I’m actually going to get married. To Jack.”

My younger cousin watched me carefully. “...and you’re...happy?”

I nodded quickly, the ecstatic tears I’d experienced when Jack’d initially proposed resurfacing once more. “I’m really, really happy.” I took a shaky breath, trying to calm down my excitement over our upcoming wedding to no avail. It was like I was suddenly a little girl again, dreaming of the day where I’d walk down the aisle and marry the man of my dreams.

Who would’ve thought the man of my dream was a skunk haired guitarist with a slight Peter Pan complex?

Certainly not me.

“‘ally?” A tired, gravelly voice cut through before Anna could say anything else, though from the unsure stare she was giving me, her slack jaw showed she was having trouble coming up with much of anything to say. I said I was happy, yet I was crying. Clearly it was enough to confuse the poor girl.

We both turned to find Jack shuffling out of the hallway, hair a slept in mess as he rubbed his barely open eyes. His hooded gaze slowly moved from me to Anna. “Oh. I thought I heard someone else. Hey, Anna banana...” He lazily waved to the younger girl while she awkwardly waved back. Then, eyes blinking in a double take, Jack turned back to me and, noting the slightly reddened tear stains gracing my cheeks, he froze. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” He was by my side in an instant.

I chuckled at his concern, trying to clear my cheeks of any remaining tears as I assured him, “Babe, I’m fine.”

“But you were crying.” He noted, observing me with that same unsure gaze Anna had given me seconds before.

“Happy tears, I promise.” I replied, resting my arms around his broad shoulders as I added, “We’re getting married.”

He frowned at me in confusion. “Um. Yeah...unless you’re crying ‘cause you changed your mind--”

“No way.” I stopped him quickly. “I’ll never change my mind, Jack. It’s just...it’s finally sinking in, I think. I’ve dreamed of this for so long and when it finally did happen, thanks to tour and stuff we didn’t really have time to actually feel engaged until now. It was still a dream. But now...” I smiled at him, eyes meeting his soft, chocolate brown eyes. “... it’s real. You’re more than my boyfriend. You’re my fiancee.”

The left side of Jack’s lips broke up into a smirk. “I really like the sound of that. Fiancee.”

“It’s sinking in for you too, isn’t it?” I noted, watching as Jack’s gaze became hooded once more, but for a different reason.

“I’m your fiancee.” He repeated, trying out the words with his own tongue. “And you’re mine.”

I laughed. “Yep. I’m yours and you’re mine. The beginning of our commitment to this whole marriage thing.”

Jack was silent for a second before he licked his lips, his voice low and husky, “I don’t know why, but saying you’re my fiancee makes me want to take you back into the bedroom, rip off all your clothes and--”

“GUYS I’M STILL HERE!” Anna cut Jack off with a horrified squeak. Jack gulped, pulling away from me only momentarily before realizing that standing up would reveal his visible excitement, so he sat back down, grabbing a throw pillow from the couch and pressing it to his lap.

“Sorry!” I apologized half heartedly. “Though weren’t you just asking me to give you all the dirty details on the way Jack and I celebrated our engagement?”

Anna stuttered a response. “Well yeah, but I don’t wanna see it! It’s one thing to tell me about it after but...” She shivered dramatically. “I love you guys, but there are some things I’ll never be able to unsee, thank you very much!” She jumped up from her spot and grabbed her purse. “Now if you excuse me, I’m going to go home and bleach my brain out so I can forget what you guys almost started in front of me.”

She was out the door with barely a wave goodbye.

Jack and I stared at the front door for a second before turning back to each other. “Well...that’s the fastest I’ve seen her leave like ever. Even faster than when she found out Mark Hoppus was in the Hot Topic downtown.”

He laughed. “Why is that not too hard to picture?” He pursed his lips, gaze wandering down to my own as the subject of my cousin slowly faded into oblivion. “Now. Where were we?”

I pretended to think. “Hmm. I believe my fiancee...” I purposefully paused as I repeated Jack’s newly upgraded relationship status. “...was about to kiss me.”

“Was I?” He teased, lips inching dangerously close to mine.

I swallowed hard, nodding silently as I inched closer myself, our mouths grazing in a teasing touch. Then, when it seemed like neither one of us could take it anymore, Jack was the first to cave, closing the gap between the two of us in a heated kiss. It was magical, spark-inducing and sent all kinds of shivers up and down my skin as his fingers began to trickle down to my most sensitive area and I wasn’t about to stop him. We were in love, we were engaged, and dammit, we deserved to celebrate each other in ways only couples in love could.

Basically, we screw like rabbits.

...apologies for being so vulgar, but seriously, that man could not keep his hands off me, nor I him. By the time we finished our longest sex session...well, ever, we were obviously both completely spent, drunk on our love and high on the excitement of what was to come. He was mine and I was his. We were making a commitment to each other and soon, whether it be a few months or a few years, we’d finally call each other husband and wife. I smiled at the thought, knowing how amazing of a husband Jack would be. As I lay there in our bed in his arms, sheets disheveled around us, I closed my eyes, dreaming of our future.

Notes

Chapter one is here!! This chapter is super sweet, and I kinda love it :) Opening lyrics are from "Safe and Sound" by Tonight Alive

Don't forget to rate and review! I love you guys so much and can't thank you enough for the support these past few years :)