*Izzy Pov*

The next day Jax and I had an early release at school, which is why Rian was babysitting us. Lisa doesn't normally get home until around 5, and Dad had gotten a call earlier this week to go into the studio to work with some new upcoming band today, so he probably wouldn't be home until around dinner time. This gave the 3 of us around 4 hours to go and see Jack. I'm not gonna lie, I was definitely nervous when I climbed in the car after school.

"I already called him to let him know I was coming over, but he doesn't know you guys are coming with me." Rian informed us.

What if he gets mad that were over there? What if he hates us?

As for Jax, he was bouncing in his seat. Excited isn't the word for what he was. He missed Jack so much.

"Hey, Izzy?"

"Yeah, Jax?"

"Do you think he misses us?"

I should've seen that coming. "I'm not sure honestly. I'm just afraid he's gonna be really mad when he sees us."

Rian answered before Jax could. "I can't say I know how he's going to react, but I can definitely promise you that he won't be mad. When I talk to him, he asks about you guys almost every time. He misses you guys, too."

That definitely made me feel better. Surprisingly enough, Jack only lived about 10 minutes away from us. It turns out, he lives in an apartment building.

"Okay, I want you guys to stay back a little so he doesn't see you right away," Rian instructed.
We nodded and headed up to the building. Rian pressed an unmarked button, and the door opened. I was honestly surprised by how nice the inside was. I mean, the outside looked really fancy, but the inside was even more amazing. These were not normal apartments. These were huge. We climbed in the elevator and went up to the 3rd floor. Rian stopped at the 3rd door on the left.

"Okay, Back up a bit." We did as he said.

I held my breath as he knocked. About 10 seconds later the door opened. I couldn't see him, but I could hear him.

"Hey, Ri."

"Why are you never completely dressed?"

"What? I just got out of the shower. I have pants on. I just don't have a shirt on."

Rian laughed. "Well go put one on real quick. You have some people here to see you."

"Okay?" He questioned, closing the door and going to put a shirt on. He returned a moment later.

Rian took a deep breath and looked at us, signaling us forward. My hands were shaking, but

Jax carefully walked forward, and I followed close behind.

He hadn't really changed much. He might have put on a few pounds since we'd seen him last, but he was still pretty lanky. His black hair still had the same small section of blonde that it always has, and he was still dressed in skinny jeans and an old band tee. I finally looked up at his face; his eyes were wide, and his mouth was open slightly. I couldn't tell if he looked more shocked or terrified. I could see tears well up in his eyes as he threw his hand over his mouth. He looked away from us and back to Rian.

"Lex," he choked. Rian remained silent. "What happened to him?!"

Then Rian realized. "No, no, no, no, no! He's fine. Everything's fine. Well, I won't be if he finds out I brought them here, but everything is okay," he reassured. Jack visibly relaxed.

"They're not supposed to be here, Rian."

"I know. They begged. They've been asking to see you for a long time, and I know you've missed them too."

"Yeah," he smiled, moving over and gesturing for us to come in. Rian entered first. I couldn't get in the door, because as soon as Jax had the chance, he ran and attached himself to Jack, completely blocking the doorway. He draped his arm around him, and gently tried to move him so I could come in. "Hey, bud. Listen, you gotta let your sis in, haha." His voice was gentle. He always spoke to Jax like that. He always said he loved us equally, but I knew Jax was his favorite. They had a special bond. Jax reluctantly let go and allowed me to walk inside.

"Thank you," I whispered to no one in particular. He quickly shut the door and walked towards the living room.

"You guys want anything to drink? I have milk, water, juice, and pop."

"Juice please," I answered for my brother and I. The cool thing about Jack was that even though he was an adult, he still drank juice boxes, so he always had them. He happily brought one out for both of us and took a seat in the chair to the right of the couch.

There was a long awkward silence. Jack finally broke it. "So, what brings my two favorite munchkins over here?" Why does everyone call us munchkins?

Thankfully Jax spoke first. "We missed you. You never come see us anymore."

He looked down and began playing with his fingers. "I know. I'm sorry. It's not my fault. I miss you guys, too."

Jax took advantage of his unusually small size and climbed into Jack's lap, hugging him tight.

He instantly wrapped his arms around him and leaned his head against Jaxon's. "I'm sorry, bud."

Jax looked up at him, sadness covering his face. "Did we do something wrong? Is that why we don't see you anymore?"

"No, no, no, no, no! Don't ever think that. Things are just... really complicated. I'm not allowed to see you."

"Is that because you and Dad are still fighting?" I interjected quietly.

"I can't really answer that question. If you really want to know, you'll have to ask him."

"I've tried. He doesn't talk about you. We're not allowed to talk about you. He always gets really sad. And his night terrors are always a lot worse that night. It's like a forbidden topic," I explained. He nodded in understanding.

After about an hour of catching up, Jax decided to bring up my project. "Hey Izzy, Jack is an adult. Why don't you ask him for your project?" I glared at him, but he didn't take the hint.

"What project?" Jack inquired from the chair.

"Well, I'm doing a data report type thing. I have to ask a bunch of adults a question and then record their results so I can write about it."

"Oh, what's the question?"

"Well, little kids grow up around fairytales, and most fairytales are based off of the idea of true love. Naturally, most kids believe in it, but my project is to see if people still believe in it by the time they're adults." He nodded for me to continue. "So, do you believe in true love?"

He stared at me for a moment before looking down and mumbling, "not anymore."

"What?"

"I said, no."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks." He nodded his head again. I could tell he was trying to hide the sadness on his face. "So, do you still play guitar a lot?"

"Not really. Here and there sometimes, but that's about it."

"Can you play something for me?"

"Eh, I'd rather not."

"Please, Jack?"

"Depends. What did you want me to play?"

"Can you play Jasey Rae on your acoustic? I'm not good enough to play it yet."

He looked down for a moment, thinking, but Rian interrupted his thought. "Actually, Izzy, we need to be getting back. If your dad beats us home, I'm dead."

"Darn. Okay."

"Some other time," Jack promised.

"Wait a sec. We're having a party at our house on Saturday. You should come."

"Iz, I don't think that's such a good idea," Rian cautioned, pretending like he wasn't in on the idea. "Alex would flip." He paused for a sec. "Actually, no. You should come. It would be good for you guys."

Jack didn't answer.

"Please, Jack!" Jax pleaded from his place on Jack's lap.

"I'll think about it." Jax hugged him tightly. "I'll let Ri know once I decide."

We all got up to leave. "Awesome. And then I'll tell you guys. But you guys can't tell Alex," Rian warned. We mimicked zipping our lips. "Alright, let's get going. I'll talk to you later, Jack."

We hugged him goodbye and went home. We ended up beating my dad home by 5 minutes. That was close.

Notes

Double update because I already have some chapters written :)

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Enjoy!

-Em