Glitter And Ash (Jalex)

Chapter 13

TW: Non-graphic mentions of past domestic abuse (verbal and physical), nudes leaking, bullying, cheating, rape

Jack wasn't the least bit surprised when he woke up the next morning alone in his bunk. Just a weirdly realistic dream.

He lay there a while, filling in a few more pages of his notebook.

It was turning out to be a lot easier than he'd first thought. When he actually let himself think about it, there were lots of things he liked about Alex. His musical laugh, his passion, the way his tongue stuck out slightly when he was concentrating really hard. Who knew emotions could actually be useful for something?

His phone vibrated next to him breaking the silence. He unlocked it to find he had a text. Realising it was the clinic he opened it nervously, despite his confidence in his ability to look after himself there was always that tiny chance something had gone wrong.

Relief flooded through him as he got the all-clear.

With a smile, he put the book away and got up for a well-deserved coffee. After the previous evening's antics, he hadn't expected anyone else to be up any time soon, so the figure curled up on the couch surprised him. On closer inspection, it was Alex. Interesting...

Like always he poured out two mugs of coffee before heading in to join him.

"Morning." Alex startled at his voice. He'd been deep in thought and hadn't even noticed Jack's presence. Jack couldn't help but notice he was looking a little worse for wares.

"Sorry about last night." He mumbled, blushing slightly. It took Jack a minute to figure out what he was referring to. So, it wasn't a dream. Huh.

"Do I get to know what I did to deserve being called a jerk or do I have to guess?" Alex's blush only deepened as he curled his legs up under himself. "Sorry. I just... I found one of your stupid notes and it got me a little emotional. No one's ever put this much effort into trying to date me before." Jack just shrugged.

He could've said something cheesy like; "I'd do anything to win you over" or "I'd give you the world if I could" but he didn't. He knew Alex well enough by now to know he wouldn't buy it for a second.

They sat in silence for a while as Alex had an internal debate. The struggle was written all over his face. Just as Jack was about to say something to break the tension and attempt to dissolve whatever stress was going on inside him, Alex finally spoke up.

"I know I must seem like I'm being difficult with all this. I don't mean to be." The tension in his body told Jack he was about to say something he didn't really want to. "I just... I've never had much luck when it comes to dating. Well, men at least. Women are easy, I just tend to fall out of love with them pretty quick."

His eyes were distant like he was watching the ghosts of his past dancing away in the distance, far out of reach but close enough to wreak havoc all the same.