Anywhere Else But Here (Chapter 21)
Title: Anywhere Else But Here (21/?)
Author: badenoughforyou
Pairing: Jalex and others
Rating: PG-13 (language/violence)
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 ATL or anyone else and the title cred goes to Simple Plan
[Author's Note]: Soooo... Yeah don't hurt me. I've been so busy with fucking school and ugh I hate it. I really do. I haven't been on in forever and I got back on to see comments begging me to update and for a while, I'd lost a lot of inspiration, but seeing that, it motivated me so much, so thank you for that. I love you guys dearly. Please don't mind the shittiness of this chapter. It's kind of a transition, but I promise, I'll update more frequently. <3 Ashley
Master Post
Everyone was simply silent. No words were exchanged. Nobody said a thing. All that was audible was the occasional whimper from Cassadee, her head buried in Jack's chest, soaking through his shirt. But he didn't care. He never would. Cassadee was so lost and confused and he would never blame her for getting upset over any of this. And how could anyone? She had been so strong. The thought of all of this bullshit breaking down someone like her was unnerving and Jack wondered how he'd maintained his sanity. Then he knew.
He felt lips press against his cheek, a familiar scent accompanying the boy's presence. He knew why he had held onto hope for so long. He turned to Alex and looked straight into his caramel eyes, not ever wanting to look away. He never wanted to lose the boy. He had just came far too close and now he would never let him out of his sight.
They had all made it back to the watch tower with hours to spare. For some reason, the cops that took Rian didn't come in through the tower. There must have been a different entrance.
Jack felt cold as Cassadee left his embrace, her eyes bloodshot and puffy, her expression hollow and distant. "I'm going… to… I need to…" She kept starting, but just ended with her exit to the nearest room with a lock. Jack wanted to go after her, but Alex held him against him.
"She needs time…" Alex said softly, stroking the younger boy's side affectionately. In a scenario so dismal, Alex seemed to brighten everything, making the darkness a little less harsh. He pressed his lips to the hollow of Jack's throat. A shiver ran down his spine. It was bizarre how amazing the older boy could make him feel with the minutest of touches. Jack let out a small whimper.
"What's wrong, babe?" Alex asked, looking at Jack, his eyes wide. Jack fell into him, taking him in.
"You just make me feel so good and… I'm so afraid of l-losing you…" Jack said softly against Alex's neck. The vibrations of his voice caused Alex to shudder.
"You're not going to lose me… whether you want to or not." Alex said. Jack looked up at him.
"I would never want to get rid of you." Jack said firmly. Alex smiled slightly at that. He pulled the brunette closer and buried his face into his hair, breathing in deeply, never wanting to let him go.
"You're so cute when you want to make a point." Alex said against him. Jack nodded.
"I've heard I'm pretty persuasive." He mumbled.
"I'm probably more persuasive…" Alex said lowly. What was he getting at?
"What are you on about?" Jack asked, cocking his head to the side like a lost puppy. And in that moment, Alex forgot about everyone and everything. He pushed it all aside.
"I… I just never want you to forget how much I love you…" Alex said, hardly able to keep his words going long enough before he pressed his lips to Jack's, kissing him deeply. He wanted to kiss him as if he'd never be able to kiss him again. He wanted Jack to know exactly what he meant to him in one action. Jack bit back a moan, surprised by the electricity he felt between them. It fueled him and made him feel infinite. In that kiss, he was sure as fuck that he would pull through all of this. They all would. When they finally decided to catch their breath, Jack was practically gasping for air.
"I… What was that for?" Jack asked, leaning his forehead against the other boy's. Alex smirked.
"Just because… Because I can." Alex said, loving the sound of it.
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"No! No! You can't just leave him!" Cassadee cried as Tom and Mark broke the news. Jack and Alex had to literally hold her back, ensuring the two mens' safety.
"We can't risk it. Not now. The security is going to be enforced greatly. By tomorrow, they'll know you've escaped. That's why we have to go… without him." Tom said, looking ashamed that he had caused the sweet girl to absolutely lose it.
"But where?" Josh asked, eyes wide. He had never been so terrified in his whole life.
"Where they can't find us…" Dave said.
"Well, fuck, that's really descriptive." John said, feeling his blood pressure rising. "Can't we just get some real fucking answers every once in a while?" He asked shrilly. Josh pushed on his shoulder to make him sit back down before he lost it as well.
"We'll go to a safe venue. They're everywhere, just not in plain sight. There are a lot of resistors there." Dave said calmly. They all watched him with curious eyes, waiting for more.
"It's risky, but anything we do now is risky." He added, knowing it was going to be tough.
"I'd say the nearest is in Pennsylvania." Tom said.
"But by the time we get there, they'll be right on our ass." Josh said, feeling hopeless.
"It's better than waiting here and seeing what they'll do to us." Mark said and everyone shut up.
Sierra had been silent ever since reuniting with everyone in the forest. Every time she looked at Cassadee, all she saw was her heart torn into pieces laying at her feet. She couldn't stand to know she could have helped Rian, but she ran, like the coward she had always been told she was. Maybe that was why she tried so hard to express her opinions. Now, she was thoughtless except for the recurring image of Rian getting smaller and smaller as she ran for her life. The thought made her want to retch. She felt dirty and vile.
"So road trip it is." Tom said, taking their silence as an agreement.
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Alex felt queasy and his head throbbed as he laid against Jack in the back seat of Dave's car. He just wanted to take the younger boy away from everyone and everything and just kiss him and hold him every second, but he knew that couldn't happen. Not now and he feared… perhaps never. He shook the thought from his head. They were only an hour into their drive. Anything could happen at this point. Any second they could be torn away from each other. Any moment could be the last time he would see Jack. He couldn't stop the horrid thoughts going through his mind.
Jack had an equally full conscious. He kept thinking about his mom… his dad. She may have been cold to him, but deep down Jack regretted never saying he loved her, because he truly did. He couldn't help but think, too, that he could find his dad at one of these venues. Maybe he would. Or maybe his dad had ended up like Alex's mom.
The younger boy felt hot tears threatening to spill over the dam he'd built. He could hardly keep it in and Alex must have seen it too.
"Jack… it's okay." Alex said, taking Jack's hand in his. And with those words, Jack knew it was okay to cry. He couldn't hold it in. He cried silently. He cried for everything and everyone and most of all he cried for humanity because if it wasn't so fucked up, he wouldn't be crying like this. But it seemed that if society wasn't so fucked up, he would have never met the beautiful blonde haired boy who sang like an angel and loved every particle of his being. Maybe it wasn't so bleak. If something like this had come out of the situation, there were obviously cracks in their system. Soon, the cracks would become deeper and soon the walls that had been built would be broken down and the rubble could be used for something new.
"I-I just want it t-to be you, Mark and me again… j-just us." Jack whimpered, feeling his heart breaking, regardless of the reassurance he had given himself.
"Do you know when I first realized I loved you?" Alex asked. Jack was surprised by the subject and shook his head wordlessly.
"I think I knew… when you looked at me through the car window that day. I wasn't sure what it was at first, actually. I just felt something inside my chest flutter and I felt warm… But I didn't know what it really was until I saw you calling for me at the bottom of that tower. Looking down at you, I finally realized what I'd been feeling. It finally made sense and now… Jack, I just feel so stupid that I didn't tell you sooner." Alex said, biting his lip.
Jack looked up at the eldest boy, his eyes blurry. "No, never. You're not stupid. You're so p-perfect." Jack choked. He rubbed Alex's hips with his thumbs, running them over the bare flesh.
"No… I'm far from it. But we are. This, what we have, it's perfect." Alex said and Jack couldn't have said it any better.
Author: badenoughforyou
Pairing: Jalex and others
Rating: PG-13 (language/violence)
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 ATL or anyone else and the title cred goes to Simple Plan
[Author's Note]: Soooo... Yeah don't hurt me. I've been so busy with fucking school and ugh I hate it. I really do. I haven't been on in forever and I got back on to see comments begging me to update and for a while, I'd lost a lot of inspiration, but seeing that, it motivated me so much, so thank you for that. I love you guys dearly. Please don't mind the shittiness of this chapter. It's kind of a transition, but I promise, I'll update more frequently. <3 Ashley
Master Post
Everyone was simply silent. No words were exchanged. Nobody said a thing. All that was audible was the occasional whimper from Cassadee, her head buried in Jack's chest, soaking through his shirt. But he didn't care. He never would. Cassadee was so lost and confused and he would never blame her for getting upset over any of this. And how could anyone? She had been so strong. The thought of all of this bullshit breaking down someone like her was unnerving and Jack wondered how he'd maintained his sanity. Then he knew.
He felt lips press against his cheek, a familiar scent accompanying the boy's presence. He knew why he had held onto hope for so long. He turned to Alex and looked straight into his caramel eyes, not ever wanting to look away. He never wanted to lose the boy. He had just came far too close and now he would never let him out of his sight.
They had all made it back to the watch tower with hours to spare. For some reason, the cops that took Rian didn't come in through the tower. There must have been a different entrance.
Jack felt cold as Cassadee left his embrace, her eyes bloodshot and puffy, her expression hollow and distant. "I'm going… to… I need to…" She kept starting, but just ended with her exit to the nearest room with a lock. Jack wanted to go after her, but Alex held him against him.
"She needs time…" Alex said softly, stroking the younger boy's side affectionately. In a scenario so dismal, Alex seemed to brighten everything, making the darkness a little less harsh. He pressed his lips to the hollow of Jack's throat. A shiver ran down his spine. It was bizarre how amazing the older boy could make him feel with the minutest of touches. Jack let out a small whimper.
"What's wrong, babe?" Alex asked, looking at Jack, his eyes wide. Jack fell into him, taking him in.
"You just make me feel so good and… I'm so afraid of l-losing you…" Jack said softly against Alex's neck. The vibrations of his voice caused Alex to shudder.
"You're not going to lose me… whether you want to or not." Alex said. Jack looked up at him.
"I would never want to get rid of you." Jack said firmly. Alex smiled slightly at that. He pulled the brunette closer and buried his face into his hair, breathing in deeply, never wanting to let him go.
"You're so cute when you want to make a point." Alex said against him. Jack nodded.
"I've heard I'm pretty persuasive." He mumbled.
"I'm probably more persuasive…" Alex said lowly. What was he getting at?
"What are you on about?" Jack asked, cocking his head to the side like a lost puppy. And in that moment, Alex forgot about everyone and everything. He pushed it all aside.
"I… I just never want you to forget how much I love you…" Alex said, hardly able to keep his words going long enough before he pressed his lips to Jack's, kissing him deeply. He wanted to kiss him as if he'd never be able to kiss him again. He wanted Jack to know exactly what he meant to him in one action. Jack bit back a moan, surprised by the electricity he felt between them. It fueled him and made him feel infinite. In that kiss, he was sure as fuck that he would pull through all of this. They all would. When they finally decided to catch their breath, Jack was practically gasping for air.
"I… What was that for?" Jack asked, leaning his forehead against the other boy's. Alex smirked.
"Just because… Because I can." Alex said, loving the sound of it.
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"No! No! You can't just leave him!" Cassadee cried as Tom and Mark broke the news. Jack and Alex had to literally hold her back, ensuring the two mens' safety.
"We can't risk it. Not now. The security is going to be enforced greatly. By tomorrow, they'll know you've escaped. That's why we have to go… without him." Tom said, looking ashamed that he had caused the sweet girl to absolutely lose it.
"But where?" Josh asked, eyes wide. He had never been so terrified in his whole life.
"Where they can't find us…" Dave said.
"Well, fuck, that's really descriptive." John said, feeling his blood pressure rising. "Can't we just get some real fucking answers every once in a while?" He asked shrilly. Josh pushed on his shoulder to make him sit back down before he lost it as well.
"We'll go to a safe venue. They're everywhere, just not in plain sight. There are a lot of resistors there." Dave said calmly. They all watched him with curious eyes, waiting for more.
"It's risky, but anything we do now is risky." He added, knowing it was going to be tough.
"I'd say the nearest is in Pennsylvania." Tom said.
"But by the time we get there, they'll be right on our ass." Josh said, feeling hopeless.
"It's better than waiting here and seeing what they'll do to us." Mark said and everyone shut up.
Sierra had been silent ever since reuniting with everyone in the forest. Every time she looked at Cassadee, all she saw was her heart torn into pieces laying at her feet. She couldn't stand to know she could have helped Rian, but she ran, like the coward she had always been told she was. Maybe that was why she tried so hard to express her opinions. Now, she was thoughtless except for the recurring image of Rian getting smaller and smaller as she ran for her life. The thought made her want to retch. She felt dirty and vile.
"So road trip it is." Tom said, taking their silence as an agreement.
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Alex felt queasy and his head throbbed as he laid against Jack in the back seat of Dave's car. He just wanted to take the younger boy away from everyone and everything and just kiss him and hold him every second, but he knew that couldn't happen. Not now and he feared… perhaps never. He shook the thought from his head. They were only an hour into their drive. Anything could happen at this point. Any second they could be torn away from each other. Any moment could be the last time he would see Jack. He couldn't stop the horrid thoughts going through his mind.
Jack had an equally full conscious. He kept thinking about his mom… his dad. She may have been cold to him, but deep down Jack regretted never saying he loved her, because he truly did. He couldn't help but think, too, that he could find his dad at one of these venues. Maybe he would. Or maybe his dad had ended up like Alex's mom.
The younger boy felt hot tears threatening to spill over the dam he'd built. He could hardly keep it in and Alex must have seen it too.
"Jack… it's okay." Alex said, taking Jack's hand in his. And with those words, Jack knew it was okay to cry. He couldn't hold it in. He cried silently. He cried for everything and everyone and most of all he cried for humanity because if it wasn't so fucked up, he wouldn't be crying like this. But it seemed that if society wasn't so fucked up, he would have never met the beautiful blonde haired boy who sang like an angel and loved every particle of his being. Maybe it wasn't so bleak. If something like this had come out of the situation, there were obviously cracks in their system. Soon, the cracks would become deeper and soon the walls that had been built would be broken down and the rubble could be used for something new.
"I-I just want it t-to be you, Mark and me again… j-just us." Jack whimpered, feeling his heart breaking, regardless of the reassurance he had given himself.
"Do you know when I first realized I loved you?" Alex asked. Jack was surprised by the subject and shook his head wordlessly.
"I think I knew… when you looked at me through the car window that day. I wasn't sure what it was at first, actually. I just felt something inside my chest flutter and I felt warm… But I didn't know what it really was until I saw you calling for me at the bottom of that tower. Looking down at you, I finally realized what I'd been feeling. It finally made sense and now… Jack, I just feel so stupid that I didn't tell you sooner." Alex said, biting his lip.
Jack looked up at the eldest boy, his eyes blurry. "No, never. You're not stupid. You're so p-perfect." Jack choked. He rubbed Alex's hips with his thumbs, running them over the bare flesh.
"No… I'm far from it. But we are. This, what we have, it's perfect." Alex said and Jack couldn't have said it any better.