With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear - Chapter 5
Title: With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear
Author: echostone155
Rating: PG-13 (Each chapter will be rated individually)
Pairing: Jack/Alex
Summary: Alex is a mind reader.
Authors note: Noooone, but thank you for commenting aw c:
Title credit goes to: Sleeping With Sirens c:
Masterpost
The beach was a nice place to talk they had decided. Behind a few giant rocks they had found a private place where no one would find them. It was pretty, the waves crushing in on the sound, the seagulls barely making any noise and the warm wind in their hair.
'It's nice here,' Alex said after a while. They had just been sitting in the sand, neither of them knowing what to say.
'Look, about last night,' Jack started, getting cut off by Alex.
'Thank you for telling Matt that you were the one making me do it, but we both know that's not true, Jack. It wasn't just because I was drunk, well, slightly, because if I was sober I wouldn't have had the courage to do it. And I really like you,' he finished, taking a deep breath, eyes fixated on Jack.
That didn't make it any easier.
'Look, I like you too, Alex, I really do. And I don't think last night was a mistake or anything, but I just don't do relationships, you know. I can't handle being tied down to one person at the time,' Jack said and he looked confused and sad.
'Yeah, I know,' Alex laughed sarcastically. 'One day you gotta stop being such a manwhore because you'll have no one left. Trust me,' Alex said sharply, already scrambling to his feet.
'Alex, stop it,' Jack said, raising his voice as he tugged on Alex's arm for him to sit back down. 'It's not that easy. It sounds easy to just drop the charade and just stop being the way I am. I assume Matt told you about ... us.'
'He didn't exactly tell me, but he didn't have to. It was obvious enough,' he said, prying Jack's hand off his shoulder that he had placed when he Alex sat down. 'Please don't,' he muttered.
'I'm sorry,' Jack said, removing his hand, but they both knew that he wasn't apologizing for the arm.
'But why? I don't understand why you are like ... that,' Alex said, gesturing wildly with his hands to define ... that. 'Look, I know very little about your past and stuff, but is it because you had, I don't know, some issues growing up or troubles at home so you constantly feel the need to have someone there to care for you? Even if it's just for a days or a few hours?'
'Don't talk to me like you know me. You don't,' Jack suddenly snapped.
'But we could get to know each other,' Alex said. 'I like you Jack, and I know the feeling is mutual, but I would like to get to know you like for real,' he said, smiling a bit, trying not to care about Jack's little snap.
'I guess that would be nice,' Jack shrugged, but a small smile was ghosting over his lips. 'Getting to know each other probably doesn't include kissing, does it?'
'If you behave, I might consider it,' Alex laughed.
*
As they walked back they had learned the basics about each other, and when I say basic, I mean basic. Favorite color, food, song, instrument, band, drink, alcoholic drinks, favorite clothing and so on. It was sorta nice, even though they both felt stupid for asking if they liked their eggs scrambled or cooked.
They came back to the beach house laughing. They didn't hold hands or anything, but at the end Jack's arm was slung loosely over Alex's shoulder and it felt nice. Felt friendly, not breaking any boundaries.
'Hey, where did you guys go?' Evan asked when they walked into the kitchen, finding their friends sitting around a table eating Pop Tarts or cereal.
'We went for a walk to clear our minds a bit,' Alex smiled, walking away from them to take a shower.
*
They spent the rest of the day sitting in the living room watching movies with Rian, Kara, Lisa and Grieco while the rest were down at the beach. Sure they could have gone to the beach too, but they were too lazy to even step outside of their pajamas.
Alex was asleep with his head in Lisa's lap and you know how most people probably look really calm and cute when they're asleep? Well, Alex Gaskarth was one hell of an exception; he was drooling, hand covering his forehead, double chin and mouth hanging wide open. He looked horrible, Jack thought and laughed.
'Wake up, fatass,' Jack said and poked Alex's tummy. The movie was over and Rian, Kara, Lisa and Grieco had gone to the beach to get a tan or whatever girlish thing they were up to. Jack suspected that Lisa had a thing for Grieco, or rather, he knew she had a crush on him. Him and Alex weren't too different.
'Go away,' Alex groaned, taking Jack's finger in his hand so he couldn't poke him anymore. 'I'm sad,' he huffed and turned away from Jack.
'What's up?' Jack said, laying down beside Alex on the couch, resting his hand on Alex's hip.
'Matt. I feel like such a douche. Well, I am a douche. The way I spoke to him, it was so horrible and mean, Jack.. He looked so heartbroken,' Alex said, still not moving around to face Jack.
'Talk it through with him. Tell him that you didn't mean to sound like that and you still wanna be friends, right?'
'Yeah,' Alex sighed, finally turning around. His eyes were all puffy and he had some snot on his chin, but he looked so broken.
'Hey, want some mac 'n cheese?' he asked, already walking into the kitchen, Alex following soon after.
*
'You're a bit too close now, Jack. I don't think normal friends invade each others personal space,' Alex smiled, nudging Jack's shoulder with his. He picked up a sharpie and a white paper and he started to drabble on it.
'What are you drawing?' Jack asked curiously, looking over the paper. Alex snatched it away and held it close to his chest.
'You'll see when it's done,' he said and smiled.
His tongue was sticking slightly out in the corner of his mouth, his eyebrows scrunched together as he probably made a particularly hard angle to draw. When it was done his face softened up and his mouth formed into a toothy grin as he handed over the paper to Jack.
'This is so ugly but good,' Jack laughed as he saw the drawing of the two of them together. Alex had caterpillars as eyebrows and Jack's nose was abnormally huge and it was such a bad and cute picture at the same time and Jack's heart swelled. Even though Alex had meant it as a joke it still meant a lot.
'Keep it in your wallet and look at it when you're sad,' Alex had said and laughed even more. 'It is a fucking hilarious picture.'
'What's so funny?' Dan asked and plopped down on the seat next to Alex who showed him the picture of him and Jack. He smiled and left, not even thinking it was slightly funny.
*
'I have to leave today guys,' Matt said as he came back into the room after talking in his phone for more than an hour. 'My dad's sister, well, probably my aunt I guess, passed away today so I have to go home to the funeral and yeah,' Matt explained, already having packed his stuff.
'I'm so sorry,' Alex said, offering Matt a hug that was denied. A look of hurt flashed across both faces but they shrugged it off. 'Say hi to your parents for me,' he offered walking to his room. He buried his face in his pillow and honestly he didn't understand why he was so upset about Matt denying him that hug when Alex was the one who had 'cheated'.
'Hey, how are you feeling?' Grieco asked and sat down next to Alex on the bed.
'Been better,' Alex grumbled back.
How did they even pick ME to go talk to him?
'If you wanna go downstairs again that's fine. Tell them I'm fine and I'll be down in a minute,' Alex said and smiled.
'Sorry, I just don't do this stuff well you know. I just don't know what to say, but you know you can always talk to me right? I won't judge you.'
'Grieco.. Can I tell you something and promise you won't tell anyone?'
Grieco nodded and so Alex started telling him about how he and Matt had been a thing. How they had met during the summer vacation at a party again after not speaking for weeks and they had hooked up. Then he told him how they had kept in touch and they had met without telling anyone about it, and Matt had fallen in love with Alex, but Alex didn't like Matt like that.
'But you have to understand that I didn't use him! There was definitely something there, but we had different views on this relationship. I didn't wanna go public with him because I knew this wouldn't last long in the real world you know. His parents didn't agree on his sexuality and I just didn't want him to get more hurt than he already was, and then Jack came along. He isn't even supposed to be in my year you know, but something just clicked.
Maybe the fact that he didn't throw himself over me or because he didn't show any interest for me at first, other than the fact he was grateful for me talking to him and shit. But it seemed like everyone found him interesting or intriguing,and then John met Jack and I guess they had a thing too.... And Jack had a thing with a lot of guys..
But Jack, he's different.. There's something about him I just don't get, like I can't read him as good as I read other people. And last night we kissed. We were drunk yeah, but I wanted to kiss him and Jack wanted to kiss me and then Matt saw us and Jack told him he made me kiss him and I couldn't keep lying to Matt so I told him and nothing is okay really. I just wanna be with Jack without everyone judging us, because I know everyone's gonna judge me for dumping Matt and then going after Jack whom I've only known for a few weeks.'
'I think you should follow your heart and if your heart says Jack then go with that. There's nothing worse than being tied down to one person you don't wanna be with and then watching the person you really wanna be with move on,' Grieco said before walking out.
'Thank you for listening,' Alex said before Grieco left.
Author: echostone155
Rating: PG-13 (Each chapter will be rated individually)
Pairing: Jack/Alex
Summary: Alex is a mind reader.
Authors note: Noooone, but thank you for commenting aw c:
Title credit goes to: Sleeping With Sirens c:
Masterpost
The beach was a nice place to talk they had decided. Behind a few giant rocks they had found a private place where no one would find them. It was pretty, the waves crushing in on the sound, the seagulls barely making any noise and the warm wind in their hair.
'It's nice here,' Alex said after a while. They had just been sitting in the sand, neither of them knowing what to say.
'Look, about last night,' Jack started, getting cut off by Alex.
'Thank you for telling Matt that you were the one making me do it, but we both know that's not true, Jack. It wasn't just because I was drunk, well, slightly, because if I was sober I wouldn't have had the courage to do it. And I really like you,' he finished, taking a deep breath, eyes fixated on Jack.
That didn't make it any easier.
'Look, I like you too, Alex, I really do. And I don't think last night was a mistake or anything, but I just don't do relationships, you know. I can't handle being tied down to one person at the time,' Jack said and he looked confused and sad.
'Yeah, I know,' Alex laughed sarcastically. 'One day you gotta stop being such a manwhore because you'll have no one left. Trust me,' Alex said sharply, already scrambling to his feet.
'Alex, stop it,' Jack said, raising his voice as he tugged on Alex's arm for him to sit back down. 'It's not that easy. It sounds easy to just drop the charade and just stop being the way I am. I assume Matt told you about ... us.'
'He didn't exactly tell me, but he didn't have to. It was obvious enough,' he said, prying Jack's hand off his shoulder that he had placed when he Alex sat down. 'Please don't,' he muttered.
'I'm sorry,' Jack said, removing his hand, but they both knew that he wasn't apologizing for the arm.
'But why? I don't understand why you are like ... that,' Alex said, gesturing wildly with his hands to define ... that. 'Look, I know very little about your past and stuff, but is it because you had, I don't know, some issues growing up or troubles at home so you constantly feel the need to have someone there to care for you? Even if it's just for a days or a few hours?'
'Don't talk to me like you know me. You don't,' Jack suddenly snapped.
'But we could get to know each other,' Alex said. 'I like you Jack, and I know the feeling is mutual, but I would like to get to know you like for real,' he said, smiling a bit, trying not to care about Jack's little snap.
'I guess that would be nice,' Jack shrugged, but a small smile was ghosting over his lips. 'Getting to know each other probably doesn't include kissing, does it?'
'If you behave, I might consider it,' Alex laughed.
*
As they walked back they had learned the basics about each other, and when I say basic, I mean basic. Favorite color, food, song, instrument, band, drink, alcoholic drinks, favorite clothing and so on. It was sorta nice, even though they both felt stupid for asking if they liked their eggs scrambled or cooked.
They came back to the beach house laughing. They didn't hold hands or anything, but at the end Jack's arm was slung loosely over Alex's shoulder and it felt nice. Felt friendly, not breaking any boundaries.
'Hey, where did you guys go?' Evan asked when they walked into the kitchen, finding their friends sitting around a table eating Pop Tarts or cereal.
'We went for a walk to clear our minds a bit,' Alex smiled, walking away from them to take a shower.
*
They spent the rest of the day sitting in the living room watching movies with Rian, Kara, Lisa and Grieco while the rest were down at the beach. Sure they could have gone to the beach too, but they were too lazy to even step outside of their pajamas.
Alex was asleep with his head in Lisa's lap and you know how most people probably look really calm and cute when they're asleep? Well, Alex Gaskarth was one hell of an exception; he was drooling, hand covering his forehead, double chin and mouth hanging wide open. He looked horrible, Jack thought and laughed.
'Wake up, fatass,' Jack said and poked Alex's tummy. The movie was over and Rian, Kara, Lisa and Grieco had gone to the beach to get a tan or whatever girlish thing they were up to. Jack suspected that Lisa had a thing for Grieco, or rather, he knew she had a crush on him. Him and Alex weren't too different.
'Go away,' Alex groaned, taking Jack's finger in his hand so he couldn't poke him anymore. 'I'm sad,' he huffed and turned away from Jack.
'What's up?' Jack said, laying down beside Alex on the couch, resting his hand on Alex's hip.
'Matt. I feel like such a douche. Well, I am a douche. The way I spoke to him, it was so horrible and mean, Jack.. He looked so heartbroken,' Alex said, still not moving around to face Jack.
'Talk it through with him. Tell him that you didn't mean to sound like that and you still wanna be friends, right?'
'Yeah,' Alex sighed, finally turning around. His eyes were all puffy and he had some snot on his chin, but he looked so broken.
'Hey, want some mac 'n cheese?' he asked, already walking into the kitchen, Alex following soon after.
*
'You're a bit too close now, Jack. I don't think normal friends invade each others personal space,' Alex smiled, nudging Jack's shoulder with his. He picked up a sharpie and a white paper and he started to drabble on it.
'What are you drawing?' Jack asked curiously, looking over the paper. Alex snatched it away and held it close to his chest.
'You'll see when it's done,' he said and smiled.
His tongue was sticking slightly out in the corner of his mouth, his eyebrows scrunched together as he probably made a particularly hard angle to draw. When it was done his face softened up and his mouth formed into a toothy grin as he handed over the paper to Jack.
'This is so ugly but good,' Jack laughed as he saw the drawing of the two of them together. Alex had caterpillars as eyebrows and Jack's nose was abnormally huge and it was such a bad and cute picture at the same time and Jack's heart swelled. Even though Alex had meant it as a joke it still meant a lot.
'Keep it in your wallet and look at it when you're sad,' Alex had said and laughed even more. 'It is a fucking hilarious picture.'
'What's so funny?' Dan asked and plopped down on the seat next to Alex who showed him the picture of him and Jack. He smiled and left, not even thinking it was slightly funny.
*
'I have to leave today guys,' Matt said as he came back into the room after talking in his phone for more than an hour. 'My dad's sister, well, probably my aunt I guess, passed away today so I have to go home to the funeral and yeah,' Matt explained, already having packed his stuff.
'I'm so sorry,' Alex said, offering Matt a hug that was denied. A look of hurt flashed across both faces but they shrugged it off. 'Say hi to your parents for me,' he offered walking to his room. He buried his face in his pillow and honestly he didn't understand why he was so upset about Matt denying him that hug when Alex was the one who had 'cheated'.
'Hey, how are you feeling?' Grieco asked and sat down next to Alex on the bed.
'Been better,' Alex grumbled back.
How did they even pick ME to go talk to him?
'If you wanna go downstairs again that's fine. Tell them I'm fine and I'll be down in a minute,' Alex said and smiled.
'Sorry, I just don't do this stuff well you know. I just don't know what to say, but you know you can always talk to me right? I won't judge you.'
'Grieco.. Can I tell you something and promise you won't tell anyone?'
Grieco nodded and so Alex started telling him about how he and Matt had been a thing. How they had met during the summer vacation at a party again after not speaking for weeks and they had hooked up. Then he told him how they had kept in touch and they had met without telling anyone about it, and Matt had fallen in love with Alex, but Alex didn't like Matt like that.
'But you have to understand that I didn't use him! There was definitely something there, but we had different views on this relationship. I didn't wanna go public with him because I knew this wouldn't last long in the real world you know. His parents didn't agree on his sexuality and I just didn't want him to get more hurt than he already was, and then Jack came along. He isn't even supposed to be in my year you know, but something just clicked.
Maybe the fact that he didn't throw himself over me or because he didn't show any interest for me at first, other than the fact he was grateful for me talking to him and shit. But it seemed like everyone found him interesting or intriguing,and then John met Jack and I guess they had a thing too.... And Jack had a thing with a lot of guys..
But Jack, he's different.. There's something about him I just don't get, like I can't read him as good as I read other people. And last night we kissed. We were drunk yeah, but I wanted to kiss him and Jack wanted to kiss me and then Matt saw us and Jack told him he made me kiss him and I couldn't keep lying to Matt so I told him and nothing is okay really. I just wanna be with Jack without everyone judging us, because I know everyone's gonna judge me for dumping Matt and then going after Jack whom I've only known for a few weeks.'
'I think you should follow your heart and if your heart says Jack then go with that. There's nothing worse than being tied down to one person you don't wanna be with and then watching the person you really wanna be with move on,' Grieco said before walking out.
'Thank you for listening,' Alex said before Grieco left.