Glitter And Ash (Jalex)

Chapter 15

Waking up next to Alex was slightly surreal. It was something Jack had wanted for so long that now he finally had it he was struggling to believe he wasn't dreaming.

Alex looked so adorable as he slept, hair sticking up at odd angles with his face mostly burrowed into the pillow. He was laid on top of the arm Jack had been hugging him with and it had gone completely dead in the night. Jack couldn't bring himself to care.

His phone rang on the nightstand, shattering the silence and breaking the spell. Alex let out a small groan as Jack tried to answer it as fast as possible.

"Hello?" He yawned into the speaker.
"Hey! Have you seen Alex? He disappeared last night wanting to talk to you and never came back to our hotel room." It was Vic.
"Yeah, he's here. Do you need him?"

Alex opened one eye, sending Jack a quizzical look. Jack mouthed 'Vic' at him, and he rolled it before closing it again. Jack had to fight hard against a laugh.

"No, no. Just wanted to make sure he hadn't gotten lost and frozen to death in the night or something." Jack chuckled.

"No, he's fine. We ended up watching a movie." Vic hummed and Jack could hear the smirk as he said. "Is that code for porn?"

Jack rolled his eyes. He knew he had a certain reputation, but Vic of all people ought to know Alex wasn't like that.

"Love Actually." Vic cackled.
"Rather you than me dude. Just make sure he's at the venue for four, okay?" Jack hummed in agreement and Vic hung up.

"What did he want?" Alex mumbled, eyes still closed.
"Just making sure you didn't get lost or die." Alex let out a huff.
"He has no faith in me. You get lost one time whilst drunk and in a city you've never been to before and people just won't let it go." Jack chuckled softly. "Been there." Alex was not in the slightest bit surprised.

"So, breakfast?" Jack asked after a moment's silence. Alex rolled over and checked the time on his phone, freeing Jack's arm in the process.
"We've missed breakfast."
"The hotel's breakfast, but there's gotta be somewhere around here that serves brunch or something."

Jack's arm began to tingle painfully as Alex considered this. Eventually, he nodded. "Alright. I'll go get changed and meet you in the lobby in half an hour?" Jack nodded.
"Sounds good."

Jack took the quickest shower of his life before dressing and styling his hair. He was in the lobby waiting exactly half an hour later, bouncing on his toes with nervous excitement. The staff all smiled at him warmly but thankfully no one stopped to talk to him, if anyone knew who he was they were professional enough not to mention it.

The elevator pinged as it arrived, and Alex stepped out. He wore a petrol blue parka and a bright red beanie. He smiled when he saw Jack waiting for him. "I don't think I've ever seen you on time for anything before." Jack feigned hurt. "I'm always on time! Pete makes sure of that." That made Alex laugh.

They wandered the streets for a while and Jack was struck by how different the neighbourhoods were. One minute you'd be surrounded by modern buildings and brands he recognised and suddenly it would be like you'd gone back in time to cobbled streets and rustic looking buildings with names he had no hope of pronouncing.