Anywhere Else But Here (chapter 3)
Title: Anywhere Else But Here (3/?)
Author: badenoughforyou
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Jalex
Summary: Jack has grown up in a world where music is a felony. It was believed to influence kids too much. Jack had never known the beautiful world of music. That is, until the day the beautiful Alex Gaskarth walked into his life and showed him the truth behind music. The beauty everyone had been hiding from him for so long.
Disclaimer: I do not own All Time Low, and the name of this fic is a song by Simple Plan.
Master Post
Jack woke up with a pounding head, almost forgetting about the day before until he looked up and saw Alex lying in his bed, looking down at him. Jack couldn’t breathe for a moment. The day all came rushing back to him in seconds.
“Morning…” Alex said softly. Jack just wanted to crawl up in bed with him because he was fairly fucking cold on the floor. He sat up, various areas of his body cracking as he did.
“How long have you been up?” Jack asked, yawning. Alex’s calm demeanor shielded the chaos of emotions inside of him.
“I haven’t really slept… I might have for about an hour.” He said, looking weary. Jack felt his heart ache again. He had to help Alex, if it was the last thing he did.
“So… I know this is a loaded question and all, but how did you end up here anyway?” Jack asked softly, as if he were talking to a wounded animal. If Alex had run away, why did he come to this shithole of a town on the outskirts of Baltimore? He could have gone anywhere.
Alex opened his mouth to speak, but there was a knock on the door.
“Jack? Are you up?” His mom’s voice asked through the wood of the door. She didn’t sound like she cared, but it was a routine with her. She always came in every morning before she went to work.
“Shit…” Jack said, standing up quickly. Alex jumped off the bed and crawled under. Mrs. Barakat wouldn’t take too kindly to uninvited visitors. Jack laid on his bed as if he’d been there the whole night.
“Yeah!” He called back as she opened the door.
“I’m off to work.” She said in a monotone voice. Part of Jack wondered why she even bothered to do this every morning. Maybe part of her did care about him.
He didn’t respond and hung over the edge of the bed, peeking under at Alex.
“Coast is clear.” He said. Alex crawled out from under the bed and sat on the edge next to Jack, looking back at him in silence. He looked so fragile. His eyes were a torrent of feelings. Jack didn’t expect him to pour his heart to him after not even twenty-four hours of knowing him. That was just ridiculous.
“Can we take a walk?” Alex croaked.
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“So… my dad was a Resistor, and that’s why it’s just my mom and I.” Jack said as they walked down Thames Street. He decided he would take the first step in getting to know one another. Part of Jack realized Alex wouldn’t be leaving any time soon.
The word “Resistor” sparked something in Alex’s eyes. Jack could see it had some kind of significance.
“I miss him… A lot.” Jack said, never telling anyone about his dad, but he felt like he could trust Alex for some reason. Alex nodded, seeming to relate.
“He… he used to play… songs for me. When I was really little.” Jack said, keeping his voice lowered. Nobody was around, but there was no telling who could overhear. Alex just kept listening. “I wish I could know where he was.” Jack said, his voice quivering, but he wasn’t about to break down in front of Alex. He definitely didn’t need that right now.
Somehow, the heart to heart had brought down a boundary.
“My… parents were both… those.” Alex said, unable to bring himself to say the word. Jack bit his lip and looked at the older boy. They were now stopped, just looking at one another. Alex took a deep breath and continued.
“It was about a month ago, actually. They hid it for all these years and something… something must have snapped. Music was everything to them. They weren’t about to let people take it from them. That love.” Alex said, recollecting those past years.
“We broke so many rules, Jack.” Alex said, but instead of being sad about it, he appeared happy. “It was so beautiful…” He added. Jack’s heart twisted, feeling Alex’s emotions through his words. It was so beautiful…
Jack knew though. He knew the beauty of it, but it had been ripped away from him.
They stood there in silence for what seemed like hours, just looking at each other. Feeling each other’s presence. Alex was tough to read, Jack had concluded.
“Hey… we’re gonna figure this out.” Jack said. He didn’t know what made him do it, but he took Alex’s hand in his and just held it, as if that would fix everything in the world.
And for just a minute or two, everything did feel right. The best part of it was that Alex didn’t pull away. He just smiled back at Jack, his heart pounding in his chest.
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They continued their walk, Jack’s hand feeling empty without Alex’s there. Alex stopped suddenly, alight gasp escaping his lips. Across the street was a music store. It was old and decrepit. It had charred marks all over it as if someone had started to burn it down.
“Let’s look at it…” Jack said finally, curiosity getting the best of him. Alex was about to protest, but followed along, also curious.
Jack was surprised to see it wasn’t locked or anything, just a lonely old building. He opened the door, the hinges squeaking. He stopped, looking in at the old store. He gasped, looking at all the cds scattered about and broken. Shattered. Destroyed. It looked as if people had just come in and devastated the place with their malevolence. Alex took Jack’s hand quickly as if he couldn’t stand to see the chaos.
“Can we leave?” Alex pleaded, his voice on the verge of distress. Jack looked at him, not able to stand the expression of fear splashed on his beautiful features. But the mystery of all of this was too much to bear.
“Alex…” Jack said comfortingly. He wasn’t sure why the older boy was in such a panicked state. It was just an abandoned store of broken records. Nothing more.
“Who the fuck is there?” A voice came through the devastation.
Author: badenoughforyou
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Jalex
Summary: Jack has grown up in a world where music is a felony. It was believed to influence kids too much. Jack had never known the beautiful world of music. That is, until the day the beautiful Alex Gaskarth walked into his life and showed him the truth behind music. The beauty everyone had been hiding from him for so long.
Disclaimer: I do not own All Time Low, and the name of this fic is a song by Simple Plan.
Master Post
Jack woke up with a pounding head, almost forgetting about the day before until he looked up and saw Alex lying in his bed, looking down at him. Jack couldn’t breathe for a moment. The day all came rushing back to him in seconds.
“Morning…” Alex said softly. Jack just wanted to crawl up in bed with him because he was fairly fucking cold on the floor. He sat up, various areas of his body cracking as he did.
“How long have you been up?” Jack asked, yawning. Alex’s calm demeanor shielded the chaos of emotions inside of him.
“I haven’t really slept… I might have for about an hour.” He said, looking weary. Jack felt his heart ache again. He had to help Alex, if it was the last thing he did.
“So… I know this is a loaded question and all, but how did you end up here anyway?” Jack asked softly, as if he were talking to a wounded animal. If Alex had run away, why did he come to this shithole of a town on the outskirts of Baltimore? He could have gone anywhere.
Alex opened his mouth to speak, but there was a knock on the door.
“Jack? Are you up?” His mom’s voice asked through the wood of the door. She didn’t sound like she cared, but it was a routine with her. She always came in every morning before she went to work.
“Shit…” Jack said, standing up quickly. Alex jumped off the bed and crawled under. Mrs. Barakat wouldn’t take too kindly to uninvited visitors. Jack laid on his bed as if he’d been there the whole night.
“Yeah!” He called back as she opened the door.
“I’m off to work.” She said in a monotone voice. Part of Jack wondered why she even bothered to do this every morning. Maybe part of her did care about him.
He didn’t respond and hung over the edge of the bed, peeking under at Alex.
“Coast is clear.” He said. Alex crawled out from under the bed and sat on the edge next to Jack, looking back at him in silence. He looked so fragile. His eyes were a torrent of feelings. Jack didn’t expect him to pour his heart to him after not even twenty-four hours of knowing him. That was just ridiculous.
“Can we take a walk?” Alex croaked.
------------------------------------------------
“So… my dad was a Resistor, and that’s why it’s just my mom and I.” Jack said as they walked down Thames Street. He decided he would take the first step in getting to know one another. Part of Jack realized Alex wouldn’t be leaving any time soon.
The word “Resistor” sparked something in Alex’s eyes. Jack could see it had some kind of significance.
“I miss him… A lot.” Jack said, never telling anyone about his dad, but he felt like he could trust Alex for some reason. Alex nodded, seeming to relate.
“He… he used to play… songs for me. When I was really little.” Jack said, keeping his voice lowered. Nobody was around, but there was no telling who could overhear. Alex just kept listening. “I wish I could know where he was.” Jack said, his voice quivering, but he wasn’t about to break down in front of Alex. He definitely didn’t need that right now.
Somehow, the heart to heart had brought down a boundary.
“My… parents were both… those.” Alex said, unable to bring himself to say the word. Jack bit his lip and looked at the older boy. They were now stopped, just looking at one another. Alex took a deep breath and continued.
“It was about a month ago, actually. They hid it for all these years and something… something must have snapped. Music was everything to them. They weren’t about to let people take it from them. That love.” Alex said, recollecting those past years.
“We broke so many rules, Jack.” Alex said, but instead of being sad about it, he appeared happy. “It was so beautiful…” He added. Jack’s heart twisted, feeling Alex’s emotions through his words. It was so beautiful…
Jack knew though. He knew the beauty of it, but it had been ripped away from him.
They stood there in silence for what seemed like hours, just looking at each other. Feeling each other’s presence. Alex was tough to read, Jack had concluded.
“Hey… we’re gonna figure this out.” Jack said. He didn’t know what made him do it, but he took Alex’s hand in his and just held it, as if that would fix everything in the world.
And for just a minute or two, everything did feel right. The best part of it was that Alex didn’t pull away. He just smiled back at Jack, his heart pounding in his chest.
---------------------------------------
They continued their walk, Jack’s hand feeling empty without Alex’s there. Alex stopped suddenly, alight gasp escaping his lips. Across the street was a music store. It was old and decrepit. It had charred marks all over it as if someone had started to burn it down.
“Let’s look at it…” Jack said finally, curiosity getting the best of him. Alex was about to protest, but followed along, also curious.
Jack was surprised to see it wasn’t locked or anything, just a lonely old building. He opened the door, the hinges squeaking. He stopped, looking in at the old store. He gasped, looking at all the cds scattered about and broken. Shattered. Destroyed. It looked as if people had just come in and devastated the place with their malevolence. Alex took Jack’s hand quickly as if he couldn’t stand to see the chaos.
“Can we leave?” Alex pleaded, his voice on the verge of distress. Jack looked at him, not able to stand the expression of fear splashed on his beautiful features. But the mystery of all of this was too much to bear.
“Alex…” Jack said comfortingly. He wasn’t sure why the older boy was in such a panicked state. It was just an abandoned store of broken records. Nothing more.
“Who the fuck is there?” A voice came through the devastation.