Give Me Your Heart And Your Soul (Chapter Seven)
Title: Give Me Your Heart And Your Soul (7/??)
Author: wesaysummerrr
Rating: pg-13
Pairing: Jalex
POV: Third
Summary: Alex gets forced into art classes over the summer . . . but is this a bad thing?
Disclaimer: I don't in any way own these guys. In no way is this true, and unless they both decided to take spontaneous art classes it’s all lies. Title belongs to Muse - Hysteria. Cut belongs to Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved.
Author Notes: okay, so i'm having to juggle college and my obviously outrageously active social life (not) with writing this, and my actual novel, so apologies if my posts are a little more spread out. hope you like it :)
previous chapters here.
The aggravated bleeping of his alarm clock had Alex groaning and he rolled over to slap a hand down on the obnoxious machine.
Rubbing a hand over his sleep-encrusted eyes, he stifled a sigh and rolled back over to sprawl out over the bed. Only to come into contact with something, warm and solid. Freezing and yelping aloud, his eyes snapped open and he scrambled back slightly, shock jolting his heart. It was several moments before Alex recognised the second body that was tangled in the sheets, breathing evenly, eyes dancing underneath his eyelids as dreams clouded his mind.
Grappling to calm his breathing once more, Alex felt a smile pull at his lips, before he scooted back over to the boy, curling his hands up underneath his chin and rested his cheek to the other boy’s shoulder, his dark hair sticking in all directions as a sigh crept out from his slightly parted lips. Stretching up, Alex pressed his lips onto the warm, smooth pale skin of the other boy, revelling in how his stomach still back-flipped at every casual touch that they shared. The feeling, it was electric.
Closing his eyes, Alex breathed out heavily before burying his head further into the crook of Jack’s neck, perfectly content to lay next to the boy, listening to the gentle flow of air as he breathed in and out.
It was only moments after Alex had closed his eyes, that Jack stirred next to him, a thick, sleep-coated groan escaping his throat as he stretched, long limbs dangling over the edge of the bed. He then noticed how Alex was curled into him, eyes shut loosely, mouth slightly open as his breathing slowed. Smiling, Jack carefully brushed a lock of hair from Alex’s closed eyes, his skin warm to the touch.
Gently extracting himself from the hold of the other boy, Jack stepped lightly over to the bathroom and closed the door, groaning and ruffling his hair in the mirror when he caught sight of himself. He didn’t think any amount of hair gel could tame the mass of black on top of his head. Running another hand through the tangled haystack of hair, he gave up and ran a toothbrush over his teeth, conscious of having bad breath.
Traipsing back into his room, Jack peered through the curtains and caught a glimpse of bright sunshine. Keeping the gap in the curtains as small as possible, he drew them back together and let his eyes rest of the boy still curled up in his bed. His legs were tucked up slightly, head resting on one arm whilst the other was twisted underneath his own chin; the stereotypical foetal position. That had Jack frowning. People automatically adopted the foetal position when they were scared, insecure, it was a way of trying to protect them from the outside world. Wandering over to him, Jack sat down on the bed lightly, eyes trained on the face of the other boy.
He knew Alex didn’t have the best home life. He knew what his father had done to him, and how he was considered in his own home. By the people who are supposed to love you unconditionally. Jack brushed his fingers over Alex’s cheekbones, his frown deepening as he noticed they were more prominent than before, the constant stress Alex was under taking its toll.
He was losing weight, his hip bones stuck out more, pale skin stretched over the bones, whilst his eyes grew more and more weary with each passing day. Jack hated it. He hated the fact that this was hurting Alex, and he hated the fact that he was doing all he could to help the boy.
But was he? Was he really doing everything he could? Jack couldn’t help but feel that this was his fault. That he was to blame for what Alex was going through. Because of him, Alex’s father had turned on him; because of him, Alex was suffering something that no person should. And for that, he hated himself.
Maybe he should just leave Alex, let him get on with his life without him, because he was obviously causing the boy pain, and anger. Since Jack had entered Alex’s life, the boy had known nothing but hatred from his father, because of the nature of their relationship.
Though the thought stabbed at Jack’s insides like a knife, plunging into his stomach in a violent rage, begging him to please reconsider, telling him that he didn’t have to do this, that there was another way. But Jack couldn’t see one. Alex would be okay, he didn’t think he was attached to Jack as much as Jack had become to him. Maybe he would then realise that this wasn’t what he wanted, deluded into thinking that he liked Jack more than a friend through pain, and fear.
Blinking back the sudden tears that stung in his eyes, Jack stroked Alex’s golden hair, feeling the strands of softness glide through his fingers, like the particles of time rushing past him before he could do anything about it.
----------
So this was what being alone felt like, Alex mused. Despite the fact that he was surrounded by the constantly moving bodies of several hundred other people, Alex felt more alone than ever.
The sound of careless laughter drifted to his ears, light and untroubled it tickled the sensitive nerves that made him snap at the people he cared most about nowadays. It was as though the things that he never noticed before were hunting him down, with the sole intention of re-awakening the memories of a better time, gathering dust in the back of his mind.
The remembered scenes playing in front of his mind, a film that he'd seen too many times, one that he could recite without a seconds thought. But now everything was different. His family had changed, his friends had changed, he had changed. Sure, it sounded melodramatic, but he no longer allowed his thoughts to wander to anything that could trigger a reaction. It was either Jack, Rian, Zack, or the band. Anything else made his heart leap into his throat and made Alex feel like he would vomit his insides up.
"Alex...Alex," a voice jogged him back into the bustling lunch hall and Alex regained awareness of his surroundings. He was sat awkwardly on the plastic stool, head bowed into his palms, shielding his eyes from the bright glare of the world. Lifting his head groggily, Alex blinked to adjust to the white walls that closed in around him.
"Fuck, man, you gotta stop zoning out like that. People are gonna think you've died soon." Rian pressed a hand onto Alex's shoulder and shook him ever so, worry creasing his forehead, dark brown eyes swimming with apprehension. But it was a rare sight to find Rian not putting other people before himself. That boy was a self confessed martyr.
Alex attempted to smile, but it was half-hearted and didn't reach his eyes. He knew that. Other people saw that. But he didn't care. "Sorry."
A pair of chocolate eyes locked onto his own as Alex tried to let them ark conveniently away from the three boys around him. That stopped him. These eyes plunged a knife into the selfishness that rose its ugly head, and pulled on his heartstrings, mouthing a desperate cry for him to stop shutting everyone out.
Jack.
A small smile played on the one of the few faces that didn’t trigger painful memories, or make him feel like he’d let everyone down.
The harsh screech of the alarm bell stabbed at Alex’s ears suddenly, cutting through the temporary seclusion that he had found. But, closing everyone out never helped anyone. It never resolved anything. Alex rose from the plastic chair that made his butt ache, and stretched his cramped muscles from holding the same position for nearly forty-five minutes.
Weaving his way through the writhing bodies that pressed up against him, a mass of people worming their way out of the lunch hall, Alex felt determination harden into a solid weight in his chest.
He hadn’t let anyone down, everyone else had failed him.
------
The silence that shrouded the classroom was deafening. Oppressive, almost.
It was last period, and they had an exam. Zack looked around uneasily, fully aware that if he was caught it could be interpreted as cheating. But he couldn’t help himself. Maths was never one of his strong points, and the scratching of pencils on paper unnerved him, when there was a distinct lack of anything on his paper.
A flash of red next to him told him that Alex had his head bent in concentration, bright red beanie on display to the world. A quick dart to the right and Zack saw the scruffy-haired Jack, sitting back low in his chair, pencil twirling between his fingers. Keeping his gaze low, the stocky form of Rian came into Zack’s view, head bent slightly over his work, expression set into determination.
Shifting in his seat, he looked up at the clock on the wall, watching the red second hand tick past agonisingly slowly. It was like time was taunting him, crawling past deliberately slowly in a way that made him want to leap up and scream from sheer frustration.
Frowning, Zack bent over the exam paper once more, trying to make sense of the words and numbers that floated around on the page in front of his eyes. Sticking his tongue out subconsciously, he scrawled several equations down hastily before sighing and turning the page, refraining a groan when he saw the next question.
-
Alex kept his eyes focused on the exam paper, working furiously at each question to stop his attention, and eyes from wandering aimlessly. Because he knew they would. If he let himself, his eyes would no doubt fall on the figure of the person sat five tables away to the right, two rows in front of his. Not that this was something he was embarrassed by, or even surprised at if he was honest with himself, no. It was the fact that Taylor Day - the typical high school 'bully' - had started to make assumptions about his relationship with Jack. And if he picked up on it, that meant punches would be thrown. Alex didn’t want to see Jack get hurt, just because he couldn’t control where his eyes were.
Pausing for a moment, he found himself doing what he argued with himself not to do. Before he could stop himself, his eyes were tracing the contours of Jack’s torso, even though Alex could only see the back of his head, and the other boys black hair was perfectly crafted today. Catching himself, his eyes widened and a split second later he was staring back at his paper, swearing under his breath and all too aware of the fact that he was sure Taylor had been watching him.
-
The bell couldn’t have rung any sooner for Zack. Rubbing the cramp in his hands, he stretched from being hunched over his paper for so long and threw the paper at the front desk in disgust. Grabbing the strap of his rucksack, he spun on his heels and left the room in one fluid movement. Flashing a smile to Jack and Rian as they left the room, he twisted round to see Alex, still packing his bag, actions slower, more careful than usual. Smile still on his lips, Zack wormed his way through the stream of students eager to start weekend.
“You alright, Alex?” Handing Alex the loose pencil that seemed intent on rolling to the floor, he couldn’t help but notice how shifty the other boy was. His dark eyes darted around him as students filtered out of the room, as though waiting for someone, or something.
“Yeah, I’m just…I just want to get out of here.” He was distracted, but Zack tried to keep the atmosphere light.
“Ah, man. I know what you mean. That test was crazy, right?” He laughed softly, but it was forced, eyes focused on the worry flicking in Alex’s. What was wrong?
“Mmm,” Alex sighed in reply.
Swinging his bag over his shoulder, he motioned for Zack to go first, throwing a look around himself before he stepped in next to Zack. Walking down the nearly empty corridor, Zack headed for the rows of lockers that lined the walls, to ditch some of his books before he went home.
Something caught his attention.
A group of students were walking down the corridor towards him, their steps in unison with each other. Two students lead the group, grimly amused expressions set onto their faces. Ones that had Zack’s nerves tingling in his fingertips, and set his heart racing. This was something that he’d seen way too many times to interpret it as something else.
Then he realised something. They weren’t walking towards him. But someone behind him.
Silencing a worried groan, he twisted the dial on his locker before swinging in open and chucking a few books in. But mid-throw, he remembered something: Alex was behind him. Freezing, he whipped his head to the right, just in time to see the nervous gulp that had Alex’s adams apple bobbing up and down. His eyes were glued to his locker, concentrating fiercely on structuring the books inside his locker. But Zack could tell his brow was creased, eyebrows upturned in a desperate frown.
Zack’s breath hitched in his throat, hearing and feeling the arrival of the students, feeling like his stomach was going to come out of his mouth.
“Hey, Gaskarth,” the first boy said, who Zack knew to be Taylor Day. He was the one person that could have anything done, and not feel the consequences. No one would stand up to him, because of the ‘power’ he had within the schools walls. And if one of his little stunts was discovered, then one of his ‘followers’ would naturally take the blame. Because that’s just who they were. Zack kept his back turned to them, eyes locked sideways at Alex, making sure he moved slowly and deliberately, avoiding attention. He could see their shadows on the metal of the lockers.
“I’m speaking to you, Gaskarth. At least have the decency to fucking look at me,” Taylor spat, and he heard one of them grab Alex’s shoulder and shove him so that he faced the group.
Zack inclined his head toward Alex slightly, now swinging his locker shut and twisting the dial. Keeping his gaze low, he lifted his bag to his shoulder. Alex stood still, rooted to the spot, staring hard into Taylor’s eyes, just waiting for the comments he expected. His hands were fists by his side, and Zack frowned. He knew how angry Alex could get.
“So, how’s your friend, Jack? You keeping him company?” Taylor smiled maliciously, enjoying the anger that flashed in Alex’s eyes. A muscle twitched in the ever so slightly shorter boy’s jaw, glaring at Taylor from underneath his eyebrows and through strands of blonde hair. When Alex refused to say anything, he received another shove, this one unbalancing him.
“Fuck off, Taylor. Go and beat up some ten year old kid like you normally do.” Alex spoke through gritted, the tension in his arms causing the muscles to bulge. Zack tried to swallow the anger that flowed into him like a river, at seeing Alex being pushed around. Who did Taylor think he was, speaking to Alex like that?
But Alex had crossed some sort of invisble line, and just as two other boys stepped forward, fists raised, Zack stepped in front of them, staring hard at Taylor.
“Leave him the fuck alone, Taylor.” Zack growled, hiding his hands behind his back so they couldn’t see how they shook ever so. He stared stonily into the icy blue eyes of the other boy, anger transforming his voice.
Taylor scoffed, “What’re you gonna do about it, Merrick?”
He nodded, and the two boys advancing on Alex resumed, drawing their fists back higher. Dumping his bag, Zack grabbed one of the boy’s arms and wrenched it out of place, before shoving him into the torso of the other boy, flooring them.
Taking a step closer to him, Zack narrowed his eyes slightly, tilting his head. “I said, leave him alone.” A long moment passed as both boy stared down the other, tension rising until you could slice it with a knife. And even thought Taylor had the height advantage, he saw a spark of something else other than arrogance in his eyes. He dipped his head, lowering his voice to threaten Zack personally.
“You’re gonna regret that,” he muttered, taking a step backwards. Now it was Zack’s turn to smile.
“Big words from someone who still has to go shopping with his precious mother.” And that was when he had to refrain from laughing, because horror widened Taylor’s eyes, as a snarl twisted his features. Zack counted himself lucky to have acquired that little gem of knowledge, one day in the local supermarket.
Allowing a small smile to flick his lips up, Zack watched as Taylor grunted something to rest of them, and let his eyes burn into Zack and Alex before shouldering into them deliberately, walking away.
Breathing out heavily, Zack laughed and picked up his bag again, turning to Alex.
“Fucking hell, that was scary.” He looked down the corridor, stomach churning more than ever. He had a feeling he’d just really pissed off the wrong person.
But Alex was just staring at him, mouth agape and hands frozen in a defensive position. He hadn’t moved since Zack had interjected.
“Zack, what the fuck was that?” he exclaimed, slowly unfreezing and lowering his hands. His bag remained on the floor.
Zack shifted slightly, clenching and unclenching his hands to give him something to distract himself with. “Did you not see their fists about to connect with your face?” Alex laughed shakily, picking up his bag and slamming the locker door shut.
“True.” He paused, turning to look at Zack before motioning that they should go. “Thanks, Zack.”
He shrugged off the comment, staring ahead so self-consciousness didn’t render him speechless. “No worries. That’s what friends are for, right?”
---------------
A/N: okay, so i just wanted to see what you guys thought of the pacing of this fic? Is it moving too fast, too slow? I just want to make sure that it's progressing at a good pace, without being unbelievable. What do you think?
Author: wesaysummerrr
Rating: pg-13
Pairing: Jalex
POV: Third
Summary: Alex gets forced into art classes over the summer . . . but is this a bad thing?
Disclaimer: I don't in any way own these guys. In no way is this true, and unless they both decided to take spontaneous art classes it’s all lies. Title belongs to Muse - Hysteria. Cut belongs to Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved.
Author Notes: okay, so i'm having to juggle college and my obviously outrageously active social life (not) with writing this, and my actual novel, so apologies if my posts are a little more spread out. hope you like it :)
previous chapters here.
The aggravated bleeping of his alarm clock had Alex groaning and he rolled over to slap a hand down on the obnoxious machine.
Rubbing a hand over his sleep-encrusted eyes, he stifled a sigh and rolled back over to sprawl out over the bed. Only to come into contact with something, warm and solid. Freezing and yelping aloud, his eyes snapped open and he scrambled back slightly, shock jolting his heart. It was several moments before Alex recognised the second body that was tangled in the sheets, breathing evenly, eyes dancing underneath his eyelids as dreams clouded his mind.
Grappling to calm his breathing once more, Alex felt a smile pull at his lips, before he scooted back over to the boy, curling his hands up underneath his chin and rested his cheek to the other boy’s shoulder, his dark hair sticking in all directions as a sigh crept out from his slightly parted lips. Stretching up, Alex pressed his lips onto the warm, smooth pale skin of the other boy, revelling in how his stomach still back-flipped at every casual touch that they shared. The feeling, it was electric.
Closing his eyes, Alex breathed out heavily before burying his head further into the crook of Jack’s neck, perfectly content to lay next to the boy, listening to the gentle flow of air as he breathed in and out.
It was only moments after Alex had closed his eyes, that Jack stirred next to him, a thick, sleep-coated groan escaping his throat as he stretched, long limbs dangling over the edge of the bed. He then noticed how Alex was curled into him, eyes shut loosely, mouth slightly open as his breathing slowed. Smiling, Jack carefully brushed a lock of hair from Alex’s closed eyes, his skin warm to the touch.
Gently extracting himself from the hold of the other boy, Jack stepped lightly over to the bathroom and closed the door, groaning and ruffling his hair in the mirror when he caught sight of himself. He didn’t think any amount of hair gel could tame the mass of black on top of his head. Running another hand through the tangled haystack of hair, he gave up and ran a toothbrush over his teeth, conscious of having bad breath.
Traipsing back into his room, Jack peered through the curtains and caught a glimpse of bright sunshine. Keeping the gap in the curtains as small as possible, he drew them back together and let his eyes rest of the boy still curled up in his bed. His legs were tucked up slightly, head resting on one arm whilst the other was twisted underneath his own chin; the stereotypical foetal position. That had Jack frowning. People automatically adopted the foetal position when they were scared, insecure, it was a way of trying to protect them from the outside world. Wandering over to him, Jack sat down on the bed lightly, eyes trained on the face of the other boy.
He knew Alex didn’t have the best home life. He knew what his father had done to him, and how he was considered in his own home. By the people who are supposed to love you unconditionally. Jack brushed his fingers over Alex’s cheekbones, his frown deepening as he noticed they were more prominent than before, the constant stress Alex was under taking its toll.
He was losing weight, his hip bones stuck out more, pale skin stretched over the bones, whilst his eyes grew more and more weary with each passing day. Jack hated it. He hated the fact that this was hurting Alex, and he hated the fact that he was doing all he could to help the boy.
But was he? Was he really doing everything he could? Jack couldn’t help but feel that this was his fault. That he was to blame for what Alex was going through. Because of him, Alex’s father had turned on him; because of him, Alex was suffering something that no person should. And for that, he hated himself.
Maybe he should just leave Alex, let him get on with his life without him, because he was obviously causing the boy pain, and anger. Since Jack had entered Alex’s life, the boy had known nothing but hatred from his father, because of the nature of their relationship.
Though the thought stabbed at Jack’s insides like a knife, plunging into his stomach in a violent rage, begging him to please reconsider, telling him that he didn’t have to do this, that there was another way. But Jack couldn’t see one. Alex would be okay, he didn’t think he was attached to Jack as much as Jack had become to him. Maybe he would then realise that this wasn’t what he wanted, deluded into thinking that he liked Jack more than a friend through pain, and fear.
Blinking back the sudden tears that stung in his eyes, Jack stroked Alex’s golden hair, feeling the strands of softness glide through his fingers, like the particles of time rushing past him before he could do anything about it.
----------
So this was what being alone felt like, Alex mused. Despite the fact that he was surrounded by the constantly moving bodies of several hundred other people, Alex felt more alone than ever.
The sound of careless laughter drifted to his ears, light and untroubled it tickled the sensitive nerves that made him snap at the people he cared most about nowadays. It was as though the things that he never noticed before were hunting him down, with the sole intention of re-awakening the memories of a better time, gathering dust in the back of his mind.
The remembered scenes playing in front of his mind, a film that he'd seen too many times, one that he could recite without a seconds thought. But now everything was different. His family had changed, his friends had changed, he had changed. Sure, it sounded melodramatic, but he no longer allowed his thoughts to wander to anything that could trigger a reaction. It was either Jack, Rian, Zack, or the band. Anything else made his heart leap into his throat and made Alex feel like he would vomit his insides up.
"Alex...Alex," a voice jogged him back into the bustling lunch hall and Alex regained awareness of his surroundings. He was sat awkwardly on the plastic stool, head bowed into his palms, shielding his eyes from the bright glare of the world. Lifting his head groggily, Alex blinked to adjust to the white walls that closed in around him.
"Fuck, man, you gotta stop zoning out like that. People are gonna think you've died soon." Rian pressed a hand onto Alex's shoulder and shook him ever so, worry creasing his forehead, dark brown eyes swimming with apprehension. But it was a rare sight to find Rian not putting other people before himself. That boy was a self confessed martyr.
Alex attempted to smile, but it was half-hearted and didn't reach his eyes. He knew that. Other people saw that. But he didn't care. "Sorry."
A pair of chocolate eyes locked onto his own as Alex tried to let them ark conveniently away from the three boys around him. That stopped him. These eyes plunged a knife into the selfishness that rose its ugly head, and pulled on his heartstrings, mouthing a desperate cry for him to stop shutting everyone out.
Jack.
A small smile played on the one of the few faces that didn’t trigger painful memories, or make him feel like he’d let everyone down.
The harsh screech of the alarm bell stabbed at Alex’s ears suddenly, cutting through the temporary seclusion that he had found. But, closing everyone out never helped anyone. It never resolved anything. Alex rose from the plastic chair that made his butt ache, and stretched his cramped muscles from holding the same position for nearly forty-five minutes.
Weaving his way through the writhing bodies that pressed up against him, a mass of people worming their way out of the lunch hall, Alex felt determination harden into a solid weight in his chest.
He hadn’t let anyone down, everyone else had failed him.
------
The silence that shrouded the classroom was deafening. Oppressive, almost.
It was last period, and they had an exam. Zack looked around uneasily, fully aware that if he was caught it could be interpreted as cheating. But he couldn’t help himself. Maths was never one of his strong points, and the scratching of pencils on paper unnerved him, when there was a distinct lack of anything on his paper.
A flash of red next to him told him that Alex had his head bent in concentration, bright red beanie on display to the world. A quick dart to the right and Zack saw the scruffy-haired Jack, sitting back low in his chair, pencil twirling between his fingers. Keeping his gaze low, the stocky form of Rian came into Zack’s view, head bent slightly over his work, expression set into determination.
Shifting in his seat, he looked up at the clock on the wall, watching the red second hand tick past agonisingly slowly. It was like time was taunting him, crawling past deliberately slowly in a way that made him want to leap up and scream from sheer frustration.
Frowning, Zack bent over the exam paper once more, trying to make sense of the words and numbers that floated around on the page in front of his eyes. Sticking his tongue out subconsciously, he scrawled several equations down hastily before sighing and turning the page, refraining a groan when he saw the next question.
-
Alex kept his eyes focused on the exam paper, working furiously at each question to stop his attention, and eyes from wandering aimlessly. Because he knew they would. If he let himself, his eyes would no doubt fall on the figure of the person sat five tables away to the right, two rows in front of his. Not that this was something he was embarrassed by, or even surprised at if he was honest with himself, no. It was the fact that Taylor Day - the typical high school 'bully' - had started to make assumptions about his relationship with Jack. And if he picked up on it, that meant punches would be thrown. Alex didn’t want to see Jack get hurt, just because he couldn’t control where his eyes were.
Pausing for a moment, he found himself doing what he argued with himself not to do. Before he could stop himself, his eyes were tracing the contours of Jack’s torso, even though Alex could only see the back of his head, and the other boys black hair was perfectly crafted today. Catching himself, his eyes widened and a split second later he was staring back at his paper, swearing under his breath and all too aware of the fact that he was sure Taylor had been watching him.
-
The bell couldn’t have rung any sooner for Zack. Rubbing the cramp in his hands, he stretched from being hunched over his paper for so long and threw the paper at the front desk in disgust. Grabbing the strap of his rucksack, he spun on his heels and left the room in one fluid movement. Flashing a smile to Jack and Rian as they left the room, he twisted round to see Alex, still packing his bag, actions slower, more careful than usual. Smile still on his lips, Zack wormed his way through the stream of students eager to start weekend.
“You alright, Alex?” Handing Alex the loose pencil that seemed intent on rolling to the floor, he couldn’t help but notice how shifty the other boy was. His dark eyes darted around him as students filtered out of the room, as though waiting for someone, or something.
“Yeah, I’m just…I just want to get out of here.” He was distracted, but Zack tried to keep the atmosphere light.
“Ah, man. I know what you mean. That test was crazy, right?” He laughed softly, but it was forced, eyes focused on the worry flicking in Alex’s. What was wrong?
“Mmm,” Alex sighed in reply.
Swinging his bag over his shoulder, he motioned for Zack to go first, throwing a look around himself before he stepped in next to Zack. Walking down the nearly empty corridor, Zack headed for the rows of lockers that lined the walls, to ditch some of his books before he went home.
Something caught his attention.
A group of students were walking down the corridor towards him, their steps in unison with each other. Two students lead the group, grimly amused expressions set onto their faces. Ones that had Zack’s nerves tingling in his fingertips, and set his heart racing. This was something that he’d seen way too many times to interpret it as something else.
Then he realised something. They weren’t walking towards him. But someone behind him.
Silencing a worried groan, he twisted the dial on his locker before swinging in open and chucking a few books in. But mid-throw, he remembered something: Alex was behind him. Freezing, he whipped his head to the right, just in time to see the nervous gulp that had Alex’s adams apple bobbing up and down. His eyes were glued to his locker, concentrating fiercely on structuring the books inside his locker. But Zack could tell his brow was creased, eyebrows upturned in a desperate frown.
Zack’s breath hitched in his throat, hearing and feeling the arrival of the students, feeling like his stomach was going to come out of his mouth.
“Hey, Gaskarth,” the first boy said, who Zack knew to be Taylor Day. He was the one person that could have anything done, and not feel the consequences. No one would stand up to him, because of the ‘power’ he had within the schools walls. And if one of his little stunts was discovered, then one of his ‘followers’ would naturally take the blame. Because that’s just who they were. Zack kept his back turned to them, eyes locked sideways at Alex, making sure he moved slowly and deliberately, avoiding attention. He could see their shadows on the metal of the lockers.
“I’m speaking to you, Gaskarth. At least have the decency to fucking look at me,” Taylor spat, and he heard one of them grab Alex’s shoulder and shove him so that he faced the group.
Zack inclined his head toward Alex slightly, now swinging his locker shut and twisting the dial. Keeping his gaze low, he lifted his bag to his shoulder. Alex stood still, rooted to the spot, staring hard into Taylor’s eyes, just waiting for the comments he expected. His hands were fists by his side, and Zack frowned. He knew how angry Alex could get.
“So, how’s your friend, Jack? You keeping him company?” Taylor smiled maliciously, enjoying the anger that flashed in Alex’s eyes. A muscle twitched in the ever so slightly shorter boy’s jaw, glaring at Taylor from underneath his eyebrows and through strands of blonde hair. When Alex refused to say anything, he received another shove, this one unbalancing him.
“Fuck off, Taylor. Go and beat up some ten year old kid like you normally do.” Alex spoke through gritted, the tension in his arms causing the muscles to bulge. Zack tried to swallow the anger that flowed into him like a river, at seeing Alex being pushed around. Who did Taylor think he was, speaking to Alex like that?
But Alex had crossed some sort of invisble line, and just as two other boys stepped forward, fists raised, Zack stepped in front of them, staring hard at Taylor.
“Leave him the fuck alone, Taylor.” Zack growled, hiding his hands behind his back so they couldn’t see how they shook ever so. He stared stonily into the icy blue eyes of the other boy, anger transforming his voice.
Taylor scoffed, “What’re you gonna do about it, Merrick?”
He nodded, and the two boys advancing on Alex resumed, drawing their fists back higher. Dumping his bag, Zack grabbed one of the boy’s arms and wrenched it out of place, before shoving him into the torso of the other boy, flooring them.
Taking a step closer to him, Zack narrowed his eyes slightly, tilting his head. “I said, leave him alone.” A long moment passed as both boy stared down the other, tension rising until you could slice it with a knife. And even thought Taylor had the height advantage, he saw a spark of something else other than arrogance in his eyes. He dipped his head, lowering his voice to threaten Zack personally.
“You’re gonna regret that,” he muttered, taking a step backwards. Now it was Zack’s turn to smile.
“Big words from someone who still has to go shopping with his precious mother.” And that was when he had to refrain from laughing, because horror widened Taylor’s eyes, as a snarl twisted his features. Zack counted himself lucky to have acquired that little gem of knowledge, one day in the local supermarket.
Allowing a small smile to flick his lips up, Zack watched as Taylor grunted something to rest of them, and let his eyes burn into Zack and Alex before shouldering into them deliberately, walking away.
Breathing out heavily, Zack laughed and picked up his bag again, turning to Alex.
“Fucking hell, that was scary.” He looked down the corridor, stomach churning more than ever. He had a feeling he’d just really pissed off the wrong person.
But Alex was just staring at him, mouth agape and hands frozen in a defensive position. He hadn’t moved since Zack had interjected.
“Zack, what the fuck was that?” he exclaimed, slowly unfreezing and lowering his hands. His bag remained on the floor.
Zack shifted slightly, clenching and unclenching his hands to give him something to distract himself with. “Did you not see their fists about to connect with your face?” Alex laughed shakily, picking up his bag and slamming the locker door shut.
“True.” He paused, turning to look at Zack before motioning that they should go. “Thanks, Zack.”
He shrugged off the comment, staring ahead so self-consciousness didn’t render him speechless. “No worries. That’s what friends are for, right?”
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A/N: okay, so i just wanted to see what you guys thought of the pacing of this fic? Is it moving too fast, too slow? I just want to make sure that it's progressing at a good pace, without being unbelievable. What do you think?