Don't Forget About Me - Three, Part Two.
Jack didn’t try and push Alex away, or make an attempt to get him to stop crying; he simply sat there and rubbed small circles into his shoulder allowing him to calm down in his own time. Neither of the boys were sure how long they sat there like that, but Alex assumed it was around noon when he finally managed to take control of himself.
“I’m sorry.” Alex whispered, his breathing was still unstable and he continued to grasp onto Jacks shirt as if his life depended on it because he was too scared of the younger boy standing up and leaving him alone again. Alex felt weak, that was the only way to describe his current mood, processing everything that had happened had drained all of the energy from him and his emotional instability certainly wasn’t helping matters either. He had whispered his apology so quietly it was almost inaudible, but Jack had heard him, and it caused him to jump slightly at the communication, then he slowly held Alex away from him at arm’s length, carefully studying his old friends face.
“What happened to you Alex?” Jacks questioned. His face that had previously held a cold unreadable expression, was now one full of concern and confusion.
“I don’t know Jack.” Alex’s breathing hitched again as it tried to regulate itself, but that one noise alone was enough for Jack to bring Alex crashing back into his chest as he began to him comfort again.
“Jack, I-I’m fine, I j-just need to b-breath-” and with that Jack hesitantly pushed Alex slightly further away from in order to allow him to calm himself, so Alex ceased the opportunity to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths, before reinitiating eye contact with his best friend which is how they sat for a few minutes, taking in each other’s presence, thoughts running at 100mph.
“Will you please explain to me what happened between us? Why we ended up like this?” He knew it may cause his friends mood to change instantaneously, but Alex needed to know what had caused the best friendship he’d ever had in his life to end up in ruins. He tightened his grip on Jacks shirt until he was certain he couldn’t hold any tighter even if he wanted to, he couldn’t risk him running away when there were so many questions that needed to be answered.
Jack sighed heavily and removed Alex’s hand from his shirt, before grasping it tightly in his own hand as he dropped his gaze to stare at his suddenly interesting feet.
“Not yet Alex, I’m not ready to talk about it.” He peered at Alex for a second, preparing for him to burst out crying again, but he was surprised to see something he never thought he’d witness on the face of the older boy. He saw the look of defeat consume his features, as his posture became limp and his head hung as he slightly nodded his head in understanding.
“I understand,” He sighed, and used his free hand to cup his friends chin in order to regain eye contact “but Jack, please, please believe me when I say that I am truly sorry.”
“I think I believe you.” Jack was quick to drop his gaze back to the floor and released his hold on Alex’s hand, but he heard the slight sigh of relief that Alex released, and he could imagine the small, barely visible smile on his face as he began to regain his hope.
There was a few more minutes of silence between the two as they each considered whether they were going to be able to fix this friendship, Jack obviously was more cynical of its success as he recalled everything that had happened between the pair in the first place. It was only when Alex stood up that Jack was startled out of his thoughts.
“Come on,” Jack looked up to see Alex stood in front of him with his arm outstretched to him, motioning for him to take his hand.
“Come on what?” to say Jack was confused would be an understatement, had he just zoned out of a conversation or something?
“We’re going out,” he simply stated, and again motioned for Jack to take his hand.
“Alex, I-” but Alex was quick to cut him off, he crouched down in front of him and placed his hands on the younger’s knees.
“No Jack, I know you’re not ready to tell me what it is that I’ve done, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t start trying to make it up to you. Look,” he paused as once again he rose to his feet and crossed the room to pick up the shopping back he had arrived with earlier, before returning to his crouching position in front of Jack.
“I brought you some food, it’s clear when I look around that you don’t have much, and that’s my fault, but I’m going to fix it okay? I don’t know if you still do, but I brought you things I know you used to love, that I thought you might want, so we’ll leave this here. But right now, I’m going to take you out for a decent hot meal. You don’t even have to talk to me if you don’t want to.” He remained crouched in front of Jack as he examined the expression on his face which told Alex he was currently having an internal argument with himself as to whether accept the gesture or not.
“Please Jack?” Alex tried to soften his tone as much as he could, in order to reassure his friend to trust him again. He allowed his smile to grow a fraction as Jack seemed to let out a sigh of defeat and slightly nod his head.
“Okay.” That was all it took for Alex to jump to his feet and outstretch his arm again as an aid for Jack to stand up, which he hesitantly took but instantly dropped the moment he was fully steadied on his feet. That didn’t bother Alex though, he was just happy that he was finally being given the chance to improve things, starting with the most important person in his life.
They walked in silence as they made their way to the diner Alex had eaten at the night before, it was uncomfortable but all he cared about was that Jack was giving him a chance, and that was all that mattered. He looked over at the younger boy and instantly noticed he looked worried, but as soon as Jack saw him staring her flashed a small smile at him before turning his attention back to where he was walking.
When they were finally seated Jack looked uncomfortable, but Alex just gave him a reassuring smile before motioning towards the menu and telling Jack to order whatever he wanted. It didn’t stop him looking worried, but he hesitantly complied and picked up the small white menu.
After looking over the menu several times, both boys coincidently ordered a cheeseburger with fries, along with a coke. Once the waitress had walked away they sat there in silence, Alex watching Jacks every move, whilst Jack tried his hardest to look everywhere but at the boy in front of him.
Their food arrived and the silence continued right up until Alex paid their bill so they could leave. Once exited the diner, neither boy knew what to say or do, so Alex pulled his phone out of his pocket and the time “2:00pm” stared back at him. He sighed and slid it back into its place before turning his attention back to his awkward company.
“I’ll erm-” he stopped in midsentence as he realised he had lost Jacks attention, and instantly understood why when he followed his gaze to two people approaching them over Alex’s left shoulder. There they were, Zack and Rian, and Alex was reminded of the pain he had felt this morning when he had seen them in the supermarket, anyone would have been blind to see the hope that silently rose to both Alex and Jacks faces, as they each hoped that maybe this time they would be acknowledged, but the hope was instantly replaced with despair as the other boys walked straight past them laughing and joking, not even batting an eyelid. Alex cleared his throat to regain Jacks attention before continuing with what he had been about to say.
“I’ll walk you back, I suppose.” Jack looked hesitant, but decided that it would probably be pointless to attempt to argue, so he just nodded his head before setting off in the direction of his ‘home’. Alex hadn’t wanted to walk Jack back, what he really wanted to do what tell Jack to bring what little things he had and move in with him tonight, because he didn’t care that he might not have a job, he’d work something out and support them both. But he bit his tongue as he remembered how defeated the younger had looked when the subject of their friendship had arisen, so he decided he needed to give Jack time to trust him again, and if he was going to have to accept the fact that Jack slept in a woods for that to be possible, then that is what he was going to have to do.
They reached the small room within 20 minutes, and it was only then that Jack acknowledged the changes Alex had previously made to his living quarters. At first he was met with anger as he tried to comprehend what gave Alex the right to come here and take it upon himself to move his possessions around, but then he felt guilty for thinking such things when he realised that what Alex had done had only been to aid him, and to improve how he lived. He smiled as he noticed the sleeping bag and pillow he had previously cast a blind eye over in the rush of all the emotions earlier, he smiled at how warm and comfortable it looked, and before he knew it a single tear had slid down his cheek.
“Jack!? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Alex’s face was full of concern and confusion as he placed his hands on Jacks shoulders and examined his face, only to be met by a grin as he released a slight laugh and slowly shook his head. He looked Alex in the eye before continuing.
“I just-” he paused as he thought carefully about what he wanted to say, but he concluded there was only way he could phrase it, even though it would never cover how much it meant to him.
“Thank you Alex, really.” Relief washed over Alex’s features and he dropped his arms to his sides before returning the smile, and simply replying,
“You’re welcome.”Neither boy had anything to say after that, it didn’t feel like words needed to be exchanged, so they weren’t. Alex didn’t want to leave yet though, so he remained with Jack in his small room until it started getting dark outside, not wanting to get lost in the darkness again, he decided that was when it was time to leave.
He stood up and checked the time, which turned out to be 8:00pm, they’d been sat here for a long time in silence, but it was comfortable and that gave Alex another glimpse of hope for their friendship. He looked over at Jack who looked like he’d fallen asleep, he was sat sideways on the bench with his back against the arm and his head resting on the back with his knees drawn into his chest with his arms wrapped around them. He didn’t want to disturb him, but it didn’t feel right just leaving, so he carefully tapped his shoulder in order to bring him out of his light sleep.
Jack looked startled at the contact and stared at Alex with wide eyes until the events of that day came back to him and he instantly relaxed.
“What’s wrong?” He questioned Alex; his voice became softer every time he spoke to him, which the older boy found reassuring. He smiled at the tired look on his friends face.
“Nothing, I’m fine. But it’s getting dark out, so I better be going home. I just thought I’d let you know.” Alex could’ve sworn he’d seen a slight hint of disappointment appear in Jacks features, but it was gone almost as fast as it had arrived so he chose to ignore it.
“Oh, right, yeah okay. Do you want me to walk back with you?” He started to uncurl himself and stand up, only to be stopped when Alex placed his hand on his shoulder to keep him in place.
“No, no it’s fine I’ll find my way back. Will you be alright here?” Jack couldn’t help but let out a heartfelt laugh at that, which only caused Alex to become confused.
“What’s so funny?” It took Jack a few moments to contain his laughter before replying,
“I’ve been living like this for years Alex, I think I’ll be fine, in fact I think tonight will be the best night yet.” It was then that Alex saw something that made him grin like a Cheshire cat, there in Jacks eyes was the sparkle that he had always loved to see, it was a sign of Jack truly happy. True it wasn’t as bright as Alex remembered it, but he knew that Jack was still broken in many ways, and it would take a lot to rebuild his happiness to what it was, but they were making a start, and that’s all that mattered.
“Alright then, well, I best be getting back. I’ll come back tomorrow okay?” Jack didn’t say anything, just nodded his head as he still let out the occasional laugh as he continued to think about what Alex had said, it wasn’t until he was disturbed from his thoughts that he realised Alex was still there.
“And Jack?”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you, for today I mean.” Jack couldn’t help but smile as he watched Alex stand by the doorway, and the smile was instantly returned.
“You’re welcome, and thank you too. Good night Alex.” He offered one last smile before climbing into his new sleeping bag, lighting the gas lamp and getting comfortable on his bench.
“Good night Jack.” And with that Alex made his way back to his apartment, let himself in, and locked the door behind him. He wasn’t particularly hungry when he arrived, so he made himself a quick ham sandwich which he ate whilst watching some drabble on the television that he really didn’t care about. Then after returning his plate to the kitchen he retreated to his bedroom where he placed his phone on charge on his side table, then stripped himself down to his boxers and pulling on a pair of joggers before falling asleep happy for the first time in days.
CHAPTER THREE.
CHAPTER FOUR.
Authors Note:
Not much to say about this, please leave feedback! ^^
Becky xo