Dirty Laundry

"Stop it, Alex" Jack growled as he turned to walk out of the kitchen and into the living room of his apartment with his best friend hot on his heels, "you are so full of bullshit and I'm sick of it! I'm sick of your lame excuses. Why don't you come out and tell the truth for once. Why are you being such a coward?" He turned around with his dark eyes blazing with anger as he looked back towards Alex who stood rooted to the spot with his mouth agape not knowing how to respond.

"Huh, that's what I thought." Jack hisses and throws himself onto the couch holding his head and trying to calm down by taking deep breaths.

"Look if this is all because I missed your birthday...." Alex tries, holding out his hands toward Jack in an apologetic manner but only earns a bitter laugh from his bandmate.

"Oh yes, that's another thing." Jack cuts him off with an angry glare. "Of all the weeks of the year you choose my birthday week to go on vacation with your wife." He spits out the word wife in disgust.
"Oh wait! It doesn't really matter!" Jack continues his voice dripping with sarcasm, "because you did the exact. same. thing. last year!"

Alex looks down in shame and starts to ramble an explanation, "you know how full our schedule is and Lisa wanted a holiday..."

"Sure!" By now Jack is yelling on the top of his lungs! "And I guess the internet speed in the Bahamas is so bad you couldn't even post a photo for my birthday on Instagram. You realise that a lot of the fans expected that because you had 999 posts by then that the 1000'th post would be a picture of the two of us with a birthday message. At least Rian had the decency to do it."
For a moment the two guys just stared at each other.
Jack panting with suppressed anger and balled up fists and Alex looking completely deflated and in shame.
Then Jack jumped back up from the couch and took a few steps towards his former best friend as Alex flinched back in fear Jack was going to lash out at him.
This made Jack stop in his tracks.
"What?" He asked laughing in disbelief, "you think I would hurt you? You, Gaskarth are so pathetic it's unreal." He shakes his head and walks back to the kitchen to look through his cupboards for something to drink. He pushes around the different bottles until he found the one containing the whiskey and opened the fridge in search of some soda to make himself a drink.

Alex had been following him slowly and was now leaning on the kitchen counter with sad eyes and a hanging head. He knew he had treated his friend of so many years so bad since he had gotten married that it was no surprise Jack had had enough and was now furious with him. But he didn't know how to fix this although there was nothing he wanted more. So he stayed silent and ready to take all the verbal abuse Jack would be throwing at him because he deserved it all.

"You know what I think?" Jack continued after he had gulped down half of the glass in one go, slamming it back onto the counter his voice no longer sounding angry but sad and hurt. "I think the reason you didn't post a picture of us is that for the last year or so there isn't a picture of us. None where we actually touch each other. In every interview you make so sure we sit apart and if we can't then, God beware, our legs would come into contact! Sometimes I feel you think I'm contagious!"

"You know why, Jack," Alex whispers, "its this Jalex thing, I'm a married man now, this has to stop, so if the fans don't see us together they can't fabricate something!"

"Yeah, right! Fabricate!" Jack mocks him humourlessly.

"You know what I mean!" Alex cries clearly getting pissed off.

Jack head snaps up when he hears the change in his friends voice and his eyes narrow as he counters,
"No, actually I don't know what you mean! It was always you who initiated it, you cuddled up to me, you hugged me, you kissed me! I can show you a thousand pictures if you want proof!" He empties his glass and smashes his fist onto the kitchen counter in frustration. "And then you propose to her. I tried to understand, I really did! I tried to understand why I couldn't be your best man but Rian could. I tried to understand that I wasn't invited to the reception but had to show up for the official photos so that no one would suspect you wouldn't want me at your wedding. YOUR BEST FRIEND! "
He shakes his head in resignation as he puts the empty glass into the sink but takes the bottle making his way upstairs to get drunk and try and forget about the pain and the heartbreak.

"And when I finally accept that you discarded me and I leave Baltimore to try and have a fresh start here in LA. it takes a few weeks before you pack up your things and follow me probably to rub it in my face how happy you are with your new life." He mumbles while climbing the stairs, "close the door when you leave, please Alex." Jack decides that this argument is over, maybe their friendship is over as well, there wasn't much left anyways but Alex who had stared at him the whole time has no intention to leave and by now he has reached his breaking point as well.

"Oh no Jack, you don't get to have the last word in this!" He seethes "do you even realise how much I have done for you, for this band? Without me, you would be nothing! I'm writing the songs, I'm writing the music, don't you dare and make me the bad guy here! I'm letting you all have a part of my success and the only thing I ask for in return is that you support me!" He cries up the stairs where Jack has been standing still, his back towards him since he started to talk.

Only when Jack has turned around slowly with an ashen face does Alex realise how wrong this must have sounded so he stops and watches as Jack's face distorts into a grimace. "Of course! Alex Gaskarth the musical genius and Jack Barakat the stupid talentless idiot, thanks for reminding me where my place is. But let ME remind YOU that I was the one who formed this band who worked his ass off to get us gigs and eventually a record deal. Without me you would be a talented nobody because I presented you the opportunity on a silver plate. " Jack screamed at him from the top of the stairs his face flushed and the veins on his temples popping out.

Alex is startled and blinks a few times not really knowing how their argument could get so out of control. He swallows the lump in his throat and whispers, "I'm sorry Jack, I didn't mean to sound so conceited. You know I remember the good times we had and I hope you understand that I had to make my decision. I still love you but I also love her and I want to have kids and my mom wants grandchildren and..." he doesn't know what else to say so he just stops and looks at his feet scuffing his toes at the carpet.

Jack sighs deeply and slowly makes his way back down the stairs, when he is standing in front of his friend and former lover he runs his hands through his hair and nods defeated.
He opens his arms and Alex just falls into the embrace and clings to him as if his life depended on it.
Jack hums and draws soothing circles into the singers back. "I know, Alex. I know you remember our good times, it's not like I don't understand your lyrics," he chuckles sadly, "and honestly I'm over it. I have moved on. I have a beautiful girlfriend who I love very much. I'd just wish you wouldn't totally cut me out of your life and I hope Lisa will understand some day that I'm not posing a risk to her marriage."

Alex looks up at him with a small smile playing on his lips. "So I didn't hide it well enough that probably half of the songs on this album are about you?"

Jack grins down at him and shakes his head. "I'm your Dirty Laundry, your Last Young Renegade, you remember the Good Times cause it was Nice2KnoU and I see you again in the Afterglow. Alex I've been there with you all along, how could I not know what you're talking about?"

Alex looks at his former beau long and solemn then he whispers, "you forgot one song. You are like Drugs and Candy, how could I let you go." With that he softly presses his lips to the other in a bittersweet goodbye.

Notes

This was just a spur of the moment thing I wrote in one go because I am stuck with my other stories, nothing too elaborate but I hope you enjoy and tell me if you think my theory is correct. ;)