I Think That Keeping This Up Could Be Dangerous - Chapter [2/?]
Masterpost
Wednesday started just like any other day for Jack. He would wake up at 6:30, snooze it till 6:35, go downstairs and start making some coffee, shower, pick out clothes, eat breakfast and drink coffee before he went to work. Today was no exception. It had all become a boring routine just like anything else in his life had become lately. He had his morning routine, how he greeted his wife when he came back from work and how he went to bed. The only routine he didn't have was at the high school. Sometimes he felt like his work was the only thing saving him from going crazy. He could relax there although the kids had a tendency to do some crazy stuff, at least he didn't have a routine.
This Wednesday started different than any other Wednesday. He didn't wake up to his wife laying on the other side of the bed, he woke up alone. He tried shouting her name but he got no response. He got a slight hope that she was waiting in the shower for him like she had used to in the earliest stages of their relationship when she would wake him up in every sexual way she knew of. It made him smile thinking about how loving and affectionate they had been towards each other. Now he was lucky if she even let him do the missionary.
He walked downstairs and put on the pot of coffee before he walked into the bathroom. The lights were already on and he did not expect to see his wife crouched down in front of the toilet, left hand on the seat and the right one holding her hair.
Jack leaped over to her and sat down next to her and rubbed gentle circles on her back and held her hair for her. He whispered soothing words to her and kept asking if she was okay, but every time she would try to talk another wave of nausea would rush through her body and she puked again.
"Hey, what's wrong? Should I get you to the doctors?" Jack asked worriedly and helped her get up so he could clean her off. She just shook her head and rested it on Jack's shoulder. The sudden affectation made him cringe, he didn't want her to lean on him like this, so he pushed her gently away and told her to get undressed and in the shower so he could clean her off.
Jack went to get three towels, two so she could use on her body and hair and one he could use himself. He walked into the bathroom finding his wife stood on the middle of the floor naked.
"Hey, get in the shower," he soothed and helped her get in. He thought about everything that could have made her sick and all he could think about was the sushi they had eaten that Sunday.
"I'm gonna take you to the doctors tomorrow," he decided and turned off the water in the shower when he was done. "Here, dry off," he said and handed her the towels.
"Jack, what happened to us?" she whimpered and draped the towel across her chest and lower body.
"What do you mean?" Jack lied and bit his lip.
"Don't try that, Jack. We argue, we never talk anymore, we don't have sex, you don't show any love or affection towards me and you haven't called me by my name in weeks," she explained before she went on, "Can you just please tell me what happened?"
"Let's not talk about this now. I have work and I'm gonna be late if I don't shower now," he stammered and got undressed before he got in the shower just in time to see his wife's sad look on her face before she walked out the door.
He showered quickly and got ready. He skipped breakfast and decided to pick up something on the way. Maybe some Starbucks or just anything really. He didn't want to spend any more time in that house than necessarily right now.
He made it to school five minutes before the bell rang. He walked hurriedly into the classroom with his boiling hot cup of coffee in his right hand and the papers and books he needed for this English class. The only student present was Caleb and Kyle and a few other girls at the back who was clearly checking Jack out.
He couldn't stop thinking about what his wife had confronted him with that morning. How he never said her name anymore. He knew he rarely did, he just couldn't make himself say it for some reason. He had no idea why exactly he couldn't, maybe he was too afraid to say it out loud because it would make it more real. Referring to her as his wife was much easier than calling her by her actual name.
When everyone was present in the classroom, Jack asked for the kids to hand in their assignments and surprisingly enough everyone handed them in on time. He smiled as he looked at how many had written about how music could save lives, animal rights and gay rights. He noticed that music was the one that was written the most about and it made him smile and he honestly looked forward to reading their essays.
"These look really good and I can't wait to read them all! As for your assignment this and next week..." Jack said and explained about how they were going to study English literature like Shakespeare and other famous, ancient authors.
When the class was over Alex came walking up to his desk. He had his hands in his jeans and he looked really uncomfortable where he stood.
"What is it?" Jack asked and looked expectantly at Alex who was standing there awkwardly and looking anywhere else than on Jack.
"Uh.. Well... I'm just having, I guess, a hard time learning the stuff we have in English and I know it's just like three days into the school year but, like, I've used to have a tutor in English but she quit and now everyone is busy and.."
"So you want me to help you with it?" Jack asked carefully and tried to meet Alex eyes. Alex sighed and nodded, finally looking at Jack.
"Okay, come by my office after hours and I'll see what we can figure out," Jack said and smiled. Honestly he didn't mind at all tutoring Alex after school.
Alex nodded and offered Jack a shy smile and walked out of the classroom. Jack smiled dumbly for a few minutes before the bell rang and another class piled in.
During his lunch break he decided to call his wife and see how she was. She wasn't puking any longer, but she had a slight fever and had therefore taken the day off. Jack informed her that he had ordered a doctors appointment and they were lucky enough to have an appointment already the next day.
"Jack, when you come home I have something to tell you," his wife said and hung up on him, leaving Jack curious.
The school day dragged by and Jack had almost forgot about Alex stopping by his office after hours, so when Alex was standing in the doorway he just looked at him until it hit him.
"Oh, yes, Alex! Sit down," he said and gestured towards the empty chair on the opposite side of him.
Alex shrugged and moved slowly towards the chair and sat down carefully. He looked painfully awkward where he was sitting, so Jack decided to try to loosen up the mood a bit and get to know the kid.
"So, Alex, I read your essay and noticed that your passion for music is really strong. Do you play any instrument yourself?" he asked and looked curiously at Alex who was looking at the different decorations in his office. There wasn't much, just a few pictures of him and his friends. None of him and his wife.
"Uh, I play guitar and sing although I can't play the guitar too well yet, but I'm okay I guess," he said and smiled a shy smile. It was obvious to Jack that he liked his music.
"Are you in a band or is it just you?"
"I'm in a band. We do cover songs of Blink, Fall Out Boy and New Found Glory. We actually got our band name from a NFG song," he said and grinned proudly.
"What's your band called?" he smiled and finally made some eye contact with Alex.
"All Time Low," he grinned and nodded his head for confirmation.
"Oh, from Head on Collision?" Jack asked looking at Alex. He groaned when his phone started ringing and he gave it a quick glance, seeing it was his wife he just turned it on silent mode and dropped it in his bag. Apparently the phone call made Alex uncomfortable again.
"You know if you have stuff to do I can go," he squeaked starting to get out of his chair.
"No, it's fine. It was just a ... friend," Jack lied and smiled. He seemed to do that a lot around Alex. It was unusual for Jack to smile this often, but he liked it. Liked being around someone else than his wife.
"Yeah, but we can just discuss the tutoring stuff and then you can go," Alex said, shaking his head slightly as he said so.
"Uh, yeah, sure. So what have your earlier tutors been learning you and do you have any methods so you can learn the stuff easier?"
When they had discussed how they would do it and when Jack should come around, which was next week actually, Alex got out of his chair and motioned over to the door.
"Thanks for doing this Mr. Barakat. And, if it's not too much to ask, can you please not bring it up around any of my friends? It's ... embarrassing to be a senior and have to have a tutor in something as simple as English," Alex asked biting his lip.
"Alex, it's not embarrassing at all. All of us can't be good at anything, but I won't tell. Promise," he said showing off a toothy grin. Alex nodded in approval and left, leaving Jack on his own.
He groaned when his wife called - again. He noticed that he had two text messages and three missed calls. What could be that important to make her call him that much?
"What's wrong?" Jack asked, rubbing his temples.
"Where are you? Don't you remember we promised going over to Sam's place for dinner tonight? You have to get home and shower! Immediately!"
"I thought we weren't going since you're sick and all," Jack defended himself, rolling his eyes. He'd much rather curl up on the sofa with the essays the students have written.
"Well, I'm feeling better, so get home, now! I'm tired of you being so distant. It's gonna change," she said and hung up.
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A/N: So I really want to update this like ALL the time, seriously, but ugh, school! But yeah, I'm gonna try and update this a little more frequent from now on, okay?
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Wednesday started just like any other day for Jack. He would wake up at 6:30, snooze it till 6:35, go downstairs and start making some coffee, shower, pick out clothes, eat breakfast and drink coffee before he went to work. Today was no exception. It had all become a boring routine just like anything else in his life had become lately. He had his morning routine, how he greeted his wife when he came back from work and how he went to bed. The only routine he didn't have was at the high school. Sometimes he felt like his work was the only thing saving him from going crazy. He could relax there although the kids had a tendency to do some crazy stuff, at least he didn't have a routine.
This Wednesday started different than any other Wednesday. He didn't wake up to his wife laying on the other side of the bed, he woke up alone. He tried shouting her name but he got no response. He got a slight hope that she was waiting in the shower for him like she had used to in the earliest stages of their relationship when she would wake him up in every sexual way she knew of. It made him smile thinking about how loving and affectionate they had been towards each other. Now he was lucky if she even let him do the missionary.
He walked downstairs and put on the pot of coffee before he walked into the bathroom. The lights were already on and he did not expect to see his wife crouched down in front of the toilet, left hand on the seat and the right one holding her hair.
Jack leaped over to her and sat down next to her and rubbed gentle circles on her back and held her hair for her. He whispered soothing words to her and kept asking if she was okay, but every time she would try to talk another wave of nausea would rush through her body and she puked again.
"Hey, what's wrong? Should I get you to the doctors?" Jack asked worriedly and helped her get up so he could clean her off. She just shook her head and rested it on Jack's shoulder. The sudden affectation made him cringe, he didn't want her to lean on him like this, so he pushed her gently away and told her to get undressed and in the shower so he could clean her off.
Jack went to get three towels, two so she could use on her body and hair and one he could use himself. He walked into the bathroom finding his wife stood on the middle of the floor naked.
"Hey, get in the shower," he soothed and helped her get in. He thought about everything that could have made her sick and all he could think about was the sushi they had eaten that Sunday.
"I'm gonna take you to the doctors tomorrow," he decided and turned off the water in the shower when he was done. "Here, dry off," he said and handed her the towels.
"Jack, what happened to us?" she whimpered and draped the towel across her chest and lower body.
"What do you mean?" Jack lied and bit his lip.
"Don't try that, Jack. We argue, we never talk anymore, we don't have sex, you don't show any love or affection towards me and you haven't called me by my name in weeks," she explained before she went on, "Can you just please tell me what happened?"
"Let's not talk about this now. I have work and I'm gonna be late if I don't shower now," he stammered and got undressed before he got in the shower just in time to see his wife's sad look on her face before she walked out the door.
He showered quickly and got ready. He skipped breakfast and decided to pick up something on the way. Maybe some Starbucks or just anything really. He didn't want to spend any more time in that house than necessarily right now.
He made it to school five minutes before the bell rang. He walked hurriedly into the classroom with his boiling hot cup of coffee in his right hand and the papers and books he needed for this English class. The only student present was Caleb and Kyle and a few other girls at the back who was clearly checking Jack out.
He couldn't stop thinking about what his wife had confronted him with that morning. How he never said her name anymore. He knew he rarely did, he just couldn't make himself say it for some reason. He had no idea why exactly he couldn't, maybe he was too afraid to say it out loud because it would make it more real. Referring to her as his wife was much easier than calling her by her actual name.
When everyone was present in the classroom, Jack asked for the kids to hand in their assignments and surprisingly enough everyone handed them in on time. He smiled as he looked at how many had written about how music could save lives, animal rights and gay rights. He noticed that music was the one that was written the most about and it made him smile and he honestly looked forward to reading their essays.
"These look really good and I can't wait to read them all! As for your assignment this and next week..." Jack said and explained about how they were going to study English literature like Shakespeare and other famous, ancient authors.
When the class was over Alex came walking up to his desk. He had his hands in his jeans and he looked really uncomfortable where he stood.
"What is it?" Jack asked and looked expectantly at Alex who was standing there awkwardly and looking anywhere else than on Jack.
"Uh.. Well... I'm just having, I guess, a hard time learning the stuff we have in English and I know it's just like three days into the school year but, like, I've used to have a tutor in English but she quit and now everyone is busy and.."
"So you want me to help you with it?" Jack asked carefully and tried to meet Alex eyes. Alex sighed and nodded, finally looking at Jack.
"Okay, come by my office after hours and I'll see what we can figure out," Jack said and smiled. Honestly he didn't mind at all tutoring Alex after school.
Alex nodded and offered Jack a shy smile and walked out of the classroom. Jack smiled dumbly for a few minutes before the bell rang and another class piled in.
During his lunch break he decided to call his wife and see how she was. She wasn't puking any longer, but she had a slight fever and had therefore taken the day off. Jack informed her that he had ordered a doctors appointment and they were lucky enough to have an appointment already the next day.
"Jack, when you come home I have something to tell you," his wife said and hung up on him, leaving Jack curious.
The school day dragged by and Jack had almost forgot about Alex stopping by his office after hours, so when Alex was standing in the doorway he just looked at him until it hit him.
"Oh, yes, Alex! Sit down," he said and gestured towards the empty chair on the opposite side of him.
Alex shrugged and moved slowly towards the chair and sat down carefully. He looked painfully awkward where he was sitting, so Jack decided to try to loosen up the mood a bit and get to know the kid.
"So, Alex, I read your essay and noticed that your passion for music is really strong. Do you play any instrument yourself?" he asked and looked curiously at Alex who was looking at the different decorations in his office. There wasn't much, just a few pictures of him and his friends. None of him and his wife.
"Uh, I play guitar and sing although I can't play the guitar too well yet, but I'm okay I guess," he said and smiled a shy smile. It was obvious to Jack that he liked his music.
"Are you in a band or is it just you?"
"I'm in a band. We do cover songs of Blink, Fall Out Boy and New Found Glory. We actually got our band name from a NFG song," he said and grinned proudly.
"What's your band called?" he smiled and finally made some eye contact with Alex.
"All Time Low," he grinned and nodded his head for confirmation.
"Oh, from Head on Collision?" Jack asked looking at Alex. He groaned when his phone started ringing and he gave it a quick glance, seeing it was his wife he just turned it on silent mode and dropped it in his bag. Apparently the phone call made Alex uncomfortable again.
"You know if you have stuff to do I can go," he squeaked starting to get out of his chair.
"No, it's fine. It was just a ... friend," Jack lied and smiled. He seemed to do that a lot around Alex. It was unusual for Jack to smile this often, but he liked it. Liked being around someone else than his wife.
"Yeah, but we can just discuss the tutoring stuff and then you can go," Alex said, shaking his head slightly as he said so.
"Uh, yeah, sure. So what have your earlier tutors been learning you and do you have any methods so you can learn the stuff easier?"
When they had discussed how they would do it and when Jack should come around, which was next week actually, Alex got out of his chair and motioned over to the door.
"Thanks for doing this Mr. Barakat. And, if it's not too much to ask, can you please not bring it up around any of my friends? It's ... embarrassing to be a senior and have to have a tutor in something as simple as English," Alex asked biting his lip.
"Alex, it's not embarrassing at all. All of us can't be good at anything, but I won't tell. Promise," he said showing off a toothy grin. Alex nodded in approval and left, leaving Jack on his own.
He groaned when his wife called - again. He noticed that he had two text messages and three missed calls. What could be that important to make her call him that much?
"What's wrong?" Jack asked, rubbing his temples.
"Where are you? Don't you remember we promised going over to Sam's place for dinner tonight? You have to get home and shower! Immediately!"
"I thought we weren't going since you're sick and all," Jack defended himself, rolling his eyes. He'd much rather curl up on the sofa with the essays the students have written.
"Well, I'm feeling better, so get home, now! I'm tired of you being so distant. It's gonna change," she said and hung up.
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A/N: So I really want to update this like ALL the time, seriously, but ugh, school! But yeah, I'm gonna try and update this a little more frequent from now on, okay?
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3