*Isobella POV*

"Isobel! Didn't I tell you to unload the dishwasher and set the table?!" Lisa yelled from the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, mother. I said I would do it." I just wanted to finish this chapter. Geez. Reluctantly, I dragged myself into the kitchen to unload the dishwasher. "Why do I have to do it all? Why can't Jax help?"

"I didn't ask Jax, now did I?" She sneered.

She was interrupted by the familiar screaming coming from their bedroom. Dad was sleeping now because he didn't sleep last night. He must of been having another night terror. He's had them as long as I can remember. I don't know why though. She rolled her eyes and slowly made her way to their room to wake him up. She used to just leave him until he stopped, but I think she got tired of hearing it.

A moment later, Jax joined me in the kitchen. "Here, I'll set the table. You don't have to do it," he smiled.

"Thanks, bro." I handed him some plates.

"Oh my gosh! Izzy!"

I jumped. "What!?"

"I forgot to tell you something!"

I glared at him. He knows I scare easily. "What?"

"I found a new favorite song."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it's one of Dad's."

I honestly didn't see that one coming. "That's cool. Mom yelled at me last time she caught me listening to them."

By the time we were done setting the table and unloading the dishwasher, the screaming finally stopped. I hated hearing that every day. There was a time when he didn't have night terrors all of the time, but I don't know what happened to start them. Afterwards, they came in to the kitchen and set out the food for dinner.

"So, how was school today?" Dad asked, exhaustion still evident in his voice.

"I was late to my third class because I couldn't get my locker open. I don't know if I like this whole locker thing. I kinda miss my desk."

"Oh, that sucks. Well, Izzy, you're gonna have to get used to it for the duration of middle school. If you don't like them still by the time you get to high school, at least you can carry your backpack with you and keep everything in it. But it's just a tardy, it's nothing to worry about it." I nodded. I'm always too hard on myself to be perfect. "What about you, Jax?"

"School was pretty fun. We had gym today, and we were playing dodgeball. I was the last one standing."

"Awesome!" He reached across the table to give Jax a high-five. "What else did you guys do today?"

"Nothing really. We were talking about what movie we wanted to watch for our reward day next friday. I voted for Home Alone, but I was outvoted..." he trailed off sadly.

"Jax, you've seen Home Alone a million times."

"I don't care. It's my favorite movie."

"Trust me, I know. I've probably seen it literally over a million times."

We all laughed. "Isn't that Jack's favorite movie, too?"

Dad fell silent and looked down on his plate. I glared at Jax. We're not supposed to talk about Jack. "Yeah."

I quickly changed the topic. "So did you ever decide if you were going to the Ravens game on Sunday?"

"Ri is gonna be here, so, probably. We're trying to get Zack to come up here, but he still hasn't answered us yet."

"I hope he comes up here. I miss Zack."

"He doesn't talk to us as much anymore. He's usually pretty busy. He'll probably come up though, so you can see him."

I nodded. The rest of dinner was pretty quiet. It usually is.

"Anyway, may I be excused?" I was usually the first one done with dinner, but I didn't feel like sitting at the table anymore.

"Yeah. Jax and I can get the table," my father replied, knowing better than to volunteer Lisa to help.

"Thank you!" I put my dishes in the sink and happily went to my room. I grabbed my phone off of my bed and resumed what I was doing before. Tumblr was still open. I found this great fanfiction about one of my favorite shows, and I really wanted to finish the chapter I was on. A little while later I was interrupted by a knock at my door.

"Hey, Izzy? We have to run up to the store for some things. Do you mind watching Jax?"

"No, I don't mind." I climbed off of my bed and opened the door to see my Dad still standing outside of the door.

"Thanks." He looked down at my phone. "Are you reading fanfiction again?"

"No..."

He shuddered. "I don't know how you can read that. That always made me so uncomfortable on so many levels." I just shook my head and walked into the living room where Jax was sat in front of the television.

"Whatcha watchin'?"

"No idea. I'm just waiting for them to leave so I can put Home Alone on." Typical.

"You have fun with that."

I went back on Tumblr. What on earth was he talking about that fanfiction made him uncomfortable? I know people write about their favorite bands sometimes, but did people do that back when the band was still together? Now I had to investigate.

I reluctantly went to the Tumblr search bar and looked up All Time Low Fanfiction. The first few things that came up weren't really that bad. However, I continued scrolling and quickly stumbled upon a picture of my dad kissing some dude. I gasped out loud. I've seen a lot of pictures of my dad back in the day, so I'd say he looked to be about 25 or 26 in this picture. But that still didn't answer my question of who the guy was. Apparently Jax heard me gasp.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Izzy! I wanna know!"

Maybe he could help me figure it out. "Fine, but you can't tell our parents." He nodded and mimicked zipping his lips. "I found a picture of Dad from a while ago, but I don't know who the other person is." I showed him my phone, and his hand flew over his mouth.

"I didn't know Dad kissed boys!"

"He doesn't. At least, I don't think he does. But still, who is that?" He came and sat on the couch next to me, taking a closer look at my phone.

"I know who that is." He paused for a moment, his face lighting up with realization. "That's Jack."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I know that face." He might only be 11, but Jax was pretty smart when it came to figuring out things. Not to mention, he's always had some weird connection with Jack, so I guess he would know if it were him. Jack stopped coming around when I was about 7, so Jax would have been 5, but even in that small amount of time, they got pretty close. Jaxon was completely heartbroken when he found out that we couldn't see Jack anymore. We never even really got an explanation. Just something about him being a bad influence. Lisa claims he's an alcoholic, but I don't remember him drinking all that much. I mean, I remember smelling alcohol on him occasionally, but he never did anything to anyone, so I don't know what the big deal was.

I looked at the caption. It simply said Jalex. "Wait a second. I wonder if this was the only time this happened." I went back up to the search bar and looked up Jalex. Sure enough, a lot of pictures of Dad and Jack came up. They looked so happy.

"I thought Dad didn't really smile that much?"

"He doesn't. Well, at least, not so much anymore. He used to when you were little. I don't know what changed."

"Izzy?"

"Yeah, Jax?"

"Do you think Jack will ever come back over?"

He's been asking me that for the last 6 years. "Jax. It's been 6 years and he still hasn't come back. I wouldn't hold your breath. I know you miss him. I miss him, too." I think Dad might actually miss him as well... I continued looking through the search results.

"Izzy?"

"What, Jax?"

"Do you think it was something we did? Do you think he doesn't come around because of us?"

"Dad told you the day he threw him out that it wasn't our fault. He just said that Jack wasn't good for us to be around, and that he had to go away."

"Do you know why?"

"No, but I think I might know someone who might." Uncle Rian was supposed to be babysitting us tomorrow while our parents got stuff ready for the big party we were having on Saturday. If anyone knows, he would. "You go ahead and watch Home Alone. I'm gonna do some more research." He nodded and turned on his movie.

I wonder if his night terrors have anything to do with Jack. He's always had them, but I don't think they started getting as frequent until after the fight. The band even ended up going on a hiatus three years ago because they stopped talking. After three years with no music or shows, they finally made it official. I know they've been friends since middle school, so I don't understand why one little fight would end their entire friendship.

"Hey, Izzy?"

"Yes, Jaxon?" I swear he couldn't go five minutes without asking me something.

"Did you ever finish your project thingy?"

I was doing a research project on whether or not there is such a thing as true love. It's always in fairytales, and most kids believe in it, but my goal is to ask adults to see if they believe in true love. "Not yet. I asked our parents, but I need more than two responses." So far, Lisa said yes, and Dad said he wasn't sure. I guess I could ask Uncle Ri.

I was interrupted by my cell phone ringing. It was my Dad.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Izzy. Rian just called me to let me know that he was already in town. He's just gonna stay over for tonight. He knows we're not home, so he said he was gonna stop by and see his parents, and then head over. If we're not home by then, you can let him in, but do not open the door for anyone else."

"Oh, okay."

"Okay, I'll see you in a little while. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye." The line went dead.

"Is everything okay?" Jax peered over from his spot next to me.

"Yeah. Uncle Rian will be over in a bit. They were just letting me know."

"Oh. Does that mean we have to clean?"

"Nah, it was Dad."

"Good." He went back to intently watching his movie.

I went back to looking through the pictures. There were quite a few kiss pictures, and a lot of pictures that looked a little too comfy for just friends.

"Hey, Jax?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think Dad ever dated Jack?"

He paused for a moment. "I don't know. Maybe. He doesn't talk about Jack much. What do you think?"

"I'm not really sure. I think it's definitely a possibility. I mean, look at this." I showed him a picture of them staring at each other.

"You know, Jack kinda looks at Dad like I look at Taco Bell after a rough day at school."

I swear that kid had to relate everything to food. "I know what you mean. I see it, too."

The movie was almost over by the time we heard a knock on the door. I didn't even have to look to know it was Rian: he had a certain knock that he always did to let us know it was him. I opened the door to see him standing there with his duffel bag and a Starbucks coffee.

"Hey, Izzy!" I moved over so he could come inside.

"Hi, Uncle Ri. Jax is in the living room."

"How did I know this would be on?" He groaned at the final scene of Home Alone.

"Uncle Rian!" Jax ran up to hug him.

"Hey bud. Listen, I'm gonna go put my stuff in the guest room, and then I'll be right back."

"Okay." We acknowledged in unison.

We returned to our spots, and Rian soon joined me on the couch. Jax was sprawled out in the chair.

"I don't care what you put on, as long as it's not Home Alone." Rian laughed, handing the remote to Jax.

He quickly settled on Family Feud before tuning back into us.

"So, what's new with my two favorite munchkins?"

"Well, I won dodgeball in gym today." Jax announced proudly.

"Awesome!" He reached over to give him a high-five. "Izzy?"

I guess this was the perfect opportunity. "Well, I'm working on a research/data project for school."

"Oh, what's it about?"

"Well, in fairytales and stuff they always talk about true love. Most kids believe in it, but my project is focused on whether or not adults still believe in true love. I have to ask a bunch of people, and then do a report on it."

"Wow. That's pretty deep stuff."

"Actually, I need some more responses. Would you mind helping me out?"

"Sure. Do I have to do anything?"

"Just answer the question, and then I'll put it in my records for the report." He nodded. "So, do you believe in true love?"

"Of course. Aunt Cass is my true love," he grinned, his teeth white as always.
"Aww!" Jax and I cooed.

His face tinted red slightly. "Is that it?"

"Yup. Thanks."

Jax cut in. "Actually, I have a question too." I shot a glare at him. I already knew what he was going to ask.

"What's that?"

"Do you miss the band?" Okay, not what I thought he was going ask.

"Of course. I miss touring. I miss all the kids. I miss making music. I miss all of it."

He pondered this for a moment. "Do you still talk to Jack?" Whoop, there it is.

"Every once in a while. I'm usually pretty busy, but I hear from him every now and again."
His face lit up a little. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, he never comes around anymore." His face fell. It grew awkwardly quiet. "Hey, Uncle Rian?"

"Yeah, Jax?"

"Can you tell him I said hi?"

Concern crossed his face. "Jax. I think it's better if I don't. You should probably forget about Jack."

"But why?"

"Uh, well, I- That's not really my place to explain. If you want to know things, you need to talk to your father."

"We've tried," I interjected. "He just shuts us down without an explanation. He just says Jack's not good for us to be around."

"Then, perhaps maybe you should just accept that. I'm sorry, but it's not my place to say anything."

I sighed. "Do you know where he lives?"

"Yeah, why?" He took a sip of coffee.

"Can you maybe take us to see him?" He almost spit out his coffee.

"Are you crazy?! Your dad would literally have my head on a silver platter!"

"Oh."

It fell quiet again.

"Did Dad and Jack ever date?" This time he did actually spit out his coffee.

"What on Earth would make you think that?"

"Well, I was on Tumblr, and I found some old pictures..." I trailed off, instantly regretting bringing it up.

"Oh. They're just friends." He paused. "At least, they were."

"Are you sure?" Jax questioned from his chair.

"Yeah."

"They didn't look like friends."

"They were just close. Really though, if you want to know, you should ask Alex."

"We're not allowed to talk about him." Jax commented sadly. "Dad gets really sad when we mention him."

"You noticed that?" He was looking over at Jax.

"Yeah. He usually seems kinda sad, but he gets really sad when we talk about Jack."

"Why do you guys have such a sudden interest in Jack?" He asked suddenly.

"Well, actually we've been thinking lately, and I have some theories." I explained.

"And what would those theories be?"

"I think he misses Jack. He's not really himself anymore. He's been different for a while now, and that's the only major thing that's happened. Not to mention, he kinda mopes a lot; he always seems tired. He never used to be like that."

He sat, taking it in. After a few moments, he finally spoke. "I've been telling him that he needs to make up with Jack. They've been best friends since middle school. This fight almost lead to the end of the one thing we all love more than anything. Making music."

"We're having that party on Saturday. We should go see him and invite him."

He hesitated. "If your dad finds out that I'm agreeing to this, he will literally kill me."

"So you'll take us!?"

"Just because I'm sick of seeing them fight."

"Thank you!" We both hugged him tightly.

"Well go tomorrow while they're getting all the crap together for Saturday."

Notes

Been working on this for a while. I was terrified to post it, but my friends convinced me. Please comment, rate, and subscribe! Feedback is much appreciated. Also check out my other story "Take a Breath and Let the Rest Come Easy" :)

-Em