Glitter And Ash (Jalex)

Chapter 31

The alcohol had been a bad idea. When Jack had woken up the next morning he was horrified to discover that not only was he hungover but he could still feel and it was nothing but sorrow and pain. He'd apparently unlocked something in his brain that he now couldn't lock up again.

As a result for the week that followed he spent all of his free time curled up in his bed or his bunk, an emotional wreck, clinging onto Alex's necklace which he'd left on Jack's bedside table with his key when he'd collected his stuff.

He also had a playlist of break up songs, that he didn't even remember creating, on repeat like the heartbroken cliche he was. It didn't make him feel better exactly but it was nice to know he wasn't alone in his all-consuming misery. Maybe one day he'd be writing a catchy heartbreak song about this. Today was not that day.

There was a loud knock at the door but Jack didn't bother to move, continuing to stare blankly at the wall instead.

His eyes felt sore and itchy despite not having cried since he'd spoken to Patrick on the bus. He supposed the lack of sleep and the constant staring were taking their toll.

The knocking came again followed immediately by Pete's obviously irritated voice. "Jack this is getting ridiculous! I don't know what the hell is going on but you have to soundcheck." Jack didn't bother to respond. Maybe if he stayed quiet long enough he'd assume he was out somewhere.

"If you don't open this door right now I'll go get reception to let me." No such luck. He thought he heard an irritated huff but he wasn't sure. It was all silent after that.

Approximately fifteen minutes later there was a beep followed by the click of the door opening and Pete walked in. "Barakat I swear..." Jack never found out what he was swearing about since the sentence trailed off as Pete stopped in the doorway, taking in the sorry state before him.

"Jack... what's going on? Are you sick? What can I do?" Of course, he'd want to fix it. That was his job, after all, to fix the problems. Jack really wished he could fix this.

"You were right." He mumbled, voice rough and quiet from the lack of use. He felt the bed dip behind him as Pete gingerly sat down. "What do you mean?" He asked carefully. It wasn't very often Jack admitted something like that. "Alex was a bad idea."

There was a long silence as Pete tried to understand what exactly was going on. "Jack, what happened?"
"I fucked it up, he broke things off, and now we both hate me. You were right and I should have listened." He felt a hand squeeze roughly at his shoulder, not exactly what he'd expected. "I'm sorry. That's gotta be tough." Jack didn't respond.

The bed lifted as Pete stood up and Jack heard his footsteps as he began to potter around the room. Jack didn't care enough to see what he was doing, still stunned by the lack of an 'I told you so'.

"Right, come on. Moping around in bed all day is not going to make you feel any better. You're gonna shower, you're gonna get dressed, you're gonna sound check and then you're gonna socialise with the others. Isolating yourself will only make you feel worse." Jack was pretty sure Pete had no idea what would make him feel better or worse. He did however appreciate the effort. It wasn't like anyone else had bothered to come and check on him.