Anywhere Else But Here (Chapter 8)
Title: Anywhere Else But Here (8/?)
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 don't own ATL or any characters in this fic. The name is the title of a Simple Plan song.
Master Post
Jack awoke, feeling a bit sore. He attempted to sit up, but not before hearing a groan of disapproval. He looked to see Alex, his big brown eyes staring back up at Jack, groggy from sleep. He hadn't moved his head from Jack's stomach at all. After all, he wasn't going to lie his head on the floor, not when he had such a comfy pillow.
"Morning sleeping beauty." Jack said, his voice raspy with sleep. Alex yawned a little and buried his face into Jack's stomach, not quite ready to wake up. "You're not a very comfortable sleeping partner." Jack added, ruffling the older boy's hair.
Alex smiled against him and tilted his head up toward Jack. "How so?" He asked.
"Oh, well, you know, I couldn't really move without waking you up, so I've been in the same position all night." Jack said with fake annoyance, although he wouldn't change a thing about the situation they were currently in.
"You're cute... how nice of you to not awaken me from slumber." Alex said, tracing his fingers over Jack's side, making Jack shiver involuntarily. It was beyond Jack how Alex could be so... gorgeous without even trying.
"No problem..." Jack said, not complaining about the warmth on his stomach. He would have been freezing the whole night if Alex hadn't been there.
They both jumped and sat up when they heard a loud bang.
"What the fuck was that?" Alex breathed, staying close to Jack.
"I...I don't know." Jack said, standing up slowly. He made his way to the door and put his ear up to it. Silence. His shaky hand found the doorknob, about to turn it.
"Wait!" Alex whispered, his voice letting Jack know that this wasn't something to be taken lightly.
Jack gulped, his need to know what the fuck was happening growing. He turned the knob, holding his breath. It was eerily silent. He stepped out, suddenly hearing a struggle.
"Mark..." He whispered, hoping he would hear him. He stepped lightly into the main part of the store, his heart stopping. Mark was lying on the floor, coughing and trying to stand up, a cop's foot on his back.
"Oh shit... fuck..." Jack said, hoping he hadn't been seen, but he nearly died when the cop turned his head and locked eyes with Jack. Mark looked up just in time to mouth "run".
"Alex! Alex run!" He said, turning to face the brunette. Alex looked bewildered and did as he was told. He ran like hell, Jack close behind. Jack could already feel hot tears running down his face, his breathing getting heavier with each step. He couldn't believe they'd just left Mark. He dared to take a look behind them and almost died of relief when he saw nobody, but he refused to stop running. They ran until they felt like they would collapse soon. They made their way to an old abandoned cafe.
They both collapsed at the door, gasping for air. Alex crawled over to Jack, nuzzling into the younger boys neck. Jack could feel the wet tears on Alex's cheek as they both cried softly.
"Oh my God... what are we going to do?" Alex said, gaining enough composure to form some sentences.
"I... I don't k-know." Jack said, his voice ragged. "We can't go home though..." Jack said in realization. The cop had seen them both clearly.
"Fuck, Jack... I'm so fucking scared." Alex said, his voice shaking.
"It could be worse... I could be without you." Jack said, sounding a lot more affectionate than he'd meant to. Alex looked up at him, his eyes red with tears.
"Jack... I..." He stopped when he heard something. Something behind the counter. Jack almost cursed. What was he going to say?
They both stood up, Alex taking Jack's hand in his.
"Who's there?" Alex asked, sounding a lot more confident than he felt. Jack was a bit surprised. Alex usually wasn't this forward. A head poked out from under the counter, a pair of brown eyes surveying them.
"I could ask the same question myself." A voice said, not coming from whomever was crouched behind the counter. Jack breathed in sharply when he felt something press against his back.
"John O'Callaghan!" The person behind the counter shouted, standing up. Jack wasn't expecting a girl. She had medium length brunette hair and was rather small. Jack didn't really fancy meeting whoever John was. He heard an exasperated sigh from behind him.
"Cass... you always have to ruin my fun. I was just playing." The voice said again. Jack sighed in relief as the the pressure was removed from his back. He turned quickly to see a boy about their age with swoopy brown hair and hazel eyes, grinning back at them, a pistol in his hands.
Alex looked at him, terror spreading throughout him at the sight of the gun.
"Oh..." John said, putting the gun in his pocket. "It's not even loaded, it's just for bluffing purposes." He assured them. "I'm John." He said, as if they didn't know.
"Cassadee." The girl chirped, and climbed over the counter. She walked over to the pair and looked them over.
"They seem harmless enough." Cassadee said, sizing them up. Jack hadn't even realized that he couldn't feel his hand due to Alex squeezing it so hard.
"You okay? Jesus, John, you scared him senseless." Cassadee said, referring to Alex. Jack looked over at him. He was as white as a ghost. Of course, Jack wasn't doing any better.
"Jack..." Jack managed to say. "This is Alex." He said, his vocal chords loosening up.
"What are you guys doing here? Looking for a makeout spot?" Cassadee asked, her laugh calming. Jack felt his face turn crimson and Alex let go of his hand. Ouch. Jack felt a little rejected there.
"We were running." Alex said.
"The popo is here?" John asked, looking around in bewilderment. Jack could tell it was going to be hard to take him seriously.
"No... we lost them." Jack said, breathing in deeply at that fact.
"What are you doing here?" Alex asked. John and Cassadee both looked solemn.
"Living here." Cassadee managed to say, sounding distant.
"What about your pa..." Jack started. Oh...
"They're gone. Both of our parents. Resistors." John said, sitting down heavily in one of the chairs by the counter.
"It's just you two here?" Jack asked, looking around for anyone else.
"Josh... but he's a lazy asshole!" John shouted as if to awaken Josh. Jack heard a crash of pots falling, followed by a strand of curse words.
"What are you on about you bastard?" A boy said, walking out of the kitchen. His eyes widened a little at the unexpected company.
"Bloody hell... When were you pricks planning on telling me about this?" Josh asked, his blue eyes surveying them, although he just appeared to be tired. His voice held a heavy British accent.
"Calm your tits, Josh. They just got here." Cassadee said, rolling her eyes.
"So... all of your parents...?" Alex asked, feeling a connection. He could relate.
They all nodded in unison.
Jack felt confused. "So... resistors' kids... they don't do anything with them." He observed. It was a thought that had just struck him.
"Well, usually, they put us into the custody of close family, but... none of us had close family. So, basically, they told us to figure it out." Cassadee said, her voice venomous. Jack's eyes widened. He'd never even considered it.
"Fuck..." Jack said simply, feeling the need to sit down. He slowly found his way to the floor. Everyone had decided it was a good idea to just sit down, too. Jack just wasn't ready for all of this. He couldn't be.
"I... I'm scared." He said, putting into words what everyone was thinking, but didn't want to say.
"I know, Jay. We all are." Alex said, taking his hand back in his.
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 don't own ATL or any characters in this fic. The name is the title of a Simple Plan song.
Master Post
Jack awoke, feeling a bit sore. He attempted to sit up, but not before hearing a groan of disapproval. He looked to see Alex, his big brown eyes staring back up at Jack, groggy from sleep. He hadn't moved his head from Jack's stomach at all. After all, he wasn't going to lie his head on the floor, not when he had such a comfy pillow.
"Morning sleeping beauty." Jack said, his voice raspy with sleep. Alex yawned a little and buried his face into Jack's stomach, not quite ready to wake up. "You're not a very comfortable sleeping partner." Jack added, ruffling the older boy's hair.
Alex smiled against him and tilted his head up toward Jack. "How so?" He asked.
"Oh, well, you know, I couldn't really move without waking you up, so I've been in the same position all night." Jack said with fake annoyance, although he wouldn't change a thing about the situation they were currently in.
"You're cute... how nice of you to not awaken me from slumber." Alex said, tracing his fingers over Jack's side, making Jack shiver involuntarily. It was beyond Jack how Alex could be so... gorgeous without even trying.
"No problem..." Jack said, not complaining about the warmth on his stomach. He would have been freezing the whole night if Alex hadn't been there.
They both jumped and sat up when they heard a loud bang.
"What the fuck was that?" Alex breathed, staying close to Jack.
"I...I don't know." Jack said, standing up slowly. He made his way to the door and put his ear up to it. Silence. His shaky hand found the doorknob, about to turn it.
"Wait!" Alex whispered, his voice letting Jack know that this wasn't something to be taken lightly.
Jack gulped, his need to know what the fuck was happening growing. He turned the knob, holding his breath. It was eerily silent. He stepped out, suddenly hearing a struggle.
"Mark..." He whispered, hoping he would hear him. He stepped lightly into the main part of the store, his heart stopping. Mark was lying on the floor, coughing and trying to stand up, a cop's foot on his back.
"Oh shit... fuck..." Jack said, hoping he hadn't been seen, but he nearly died when the cop turned his head and locked eyes with Jack. Mark looked up just in time to mouth "run".
"Alex! Alex run!" He said, turning to face the brunette. Alex looked bewildered and did as he was told. He ran like hell, Jack close behind. Jack could already feel hot tears running down his face, his breathing getting heavier with each step. He couldn't believe they'd just left Mark. He dared to take a look behind them and almost died of relief when he saw nobody, but he refused to stop running. They ran until they felt like they would collapse soon. They made their way to an old abandoned cafe.
They both collapsed at the door, gasping for air. Alex crawled over to Jack, nuzzling into the younger boys neck. Jack could feel the wet tears on Alex's cheek as they both cried softly.
"Oh my God... what are we going to do?" Alex said, gaining enough composure to form some sentences.
"I... I don't k-know." Jack said, his voice ragged. "We can't go home though..." Jack said in realization. The cop had seen them both clearly.
"Fuck, Jack... I'm so fucking scared." Alex said, his voice shaking.
"It could be worse... I could be without you." Jack said, sounding a lot more affectionate than he'd meant to. Alex looked up at him, his eyes red with tears.
"Jack... I..." He stopped when he heard something. Something behind the counter. Jack almost cursed. What was he going to say?
They both stood up, Alex taking Jack's hand in his.
"Who's there?" Alex asked, sounding a lot more confident than he felt. Jack was a bit surprised. Alex usually wasn't this forward. A head poked out from under the counter, a pair of brown eyes surveying them.
"I could ask the same question myself." A voice said, not coming from whomever was crouched behind the counter. Jack breathed in sharply when he felt something press against his back.
"John O'Callaghan!" The person behind the counter shouted, standing up. Jack wasn't expecting a girl. She had medium length brunette hair and was rather small. Jack didn't really fancy meeting whoever John was. He heard an exasperated sigh from behind him.
"Cass... you always have to ruin my fun. I was just playing." The voice said again. Jack sighed in relief as the the pressure was removed from his back. He turned quickly to see a boy about their age with swoopy brown hair and hazel eyes, grinning back at them, a pistol in his hands.
Alex looked at him, terror spreading throughout him at the sight of the gun.
"Oh..." John said, putting the gun in his pocket. "It's not even loaded, it's just for bluffing purposes." He assured them. "I'm John." He said, as if they didn't know.
"Cassadee." The girl chirped, and climbed over the counter. She walked over to the pair and looked them over.
"They seem harmless enough." Cassadee said, sizing them up. Jack hadn't even realized that he couldn't feel his hand due to Alex squeezing it so hard.
"You okay? Jesus, John, you scared him senseless." Cassadee said, referring to Alex. Jack looked over at him. He was as white as a ghost. Of course, Jack wasn't doing any better.
"Jack..." Jack managed to say. "This is Alex." He said, his vocal chords loosening up.
"What are you guys doing here? Looking for a makeout spot?" Cassadee asked, her laugh calming. Jack felt his face turn crimson and Alex let go of his hand. Ouch. Jack felt a little rejected there.
"We were running." Alex said.
"The popo is here?" John asked, looking around in bewilderment. Jack could tell it was going to be hard to take him seriously.
"No... we lost them." Jack said, breathing in deeply at that fact.
"What are you doing here?" Alex asked. John and Cassadee both looked solemn.
"Living here." Cassadee managed to say, sounding distant.
"What about your pa..." Jack started. Oh...
"They're gone. Both of our parents. Resistors." John said, sitting down heavily in one of the chairs by the counter.
"It's just you two here?" Jack asked, looking around for anyone else.
"Josh... but he's a lazy asshole!" John shouted as if to awaken Josh. Jack heard a crash of pots falling, followed by a strand of curse words.
"What are you on about you bastard?" A boy said, walking out of the kitchen. His eyes widened a little at the unexpected company.
"Bloody hell... When were you pricks planning on telling me about this?" Josh asked, his blue eyes surveying them, although he just appeared to be tired. His voice held a heavy British accent.
"Calm your tits, Josh. They just got here." Cassadee said, rolling her eyes.
"So... all of your parents...?" Alex asked, feeling a connection. He could relate.
They all nodded in unison.
Jack felt confused. "So... resistors' kids... they don't do anything with them." He observed. It was a thought that had just struck him.
"Well, usually, they put us into the custody of close family, but... none of us had close family. So, basically, they told us to figure it out." Cassadee said, her voice venomous. Jack's eyes widened. He'd never even considered it.
"Fuck..." Jack said simply, feeling the need to sit down. He slowly found his way to the floor. Everyone had decided it was a good idea to just sit down, too. Jack just wasn't ready for all of this. He couldn't be.
"I... I'm scared." He said, putting into words what everyone was thinking, but didn't want to say.
"I know, Jay. We all are." Alex said, taking his hand back in his.