three in the morning « jack gilinsky

16. can we build a fort?

Gazing out of the window, a faint breeze drifted in through the gaps, music playing through the speakers of the radio, the smell of heavily salted fries from McDonald’s in the air along with a hint of BBQ sauce and crispy chicken nuggets. Letting out a sigh, Diana toyed the straw of the warm extra large coke, Jack sat two seats away from her, staring out of the window beside him while Johnson sat in the drivers seat, only tagging along because he knew his best friend would rather spend his time getting high to calm his nerves than get behind a wheel and drive for nine hours – or until they are tired and need sleep. Although, given his presence, Johnson was yet to strike up a conversation with either Jack or Diana, he didn't want to impose or try and play cupid with two people who were riddled with apprehension as to whether or not they were going about finding their brother in the right way.

“Are you nervous?” Quietly, Jack struck up a conversation with Diana as she stared out of the window, repeatedly tapping her foot against the back of the passenger seat, the sound of it causing an annoyance to Jack, even though he himself was nervous and trying to hide it behind a vow of silence.

Shrugging, Diana didn't even glance at him; “Kind of.” she uttered, ignoring the texts she had been receiving since she didn't return home after school. No, instead – she hopped into a car with Jack and JJ, telling her best friend to cover for her if her parents start to wonder where she is, the weight of the world on her shoulders, her heart thudding twenty times a second at the fact she would be out of her home state with two guys who when she thinks about it in depth, she doesn't really know much about.

“You know, we don't have to do this now if you're so anxious about it–” he used her obvious concerns about the situation as a wall to hide his own;“–we can go back home, think it through, leave it for a few weeks before we try and find him.” he gulped, they had only been in the car for two and a half hours but he could barely breathe, he felt as if the space around him was slowly closing in on him, unable to rid his mind of any thoughts he was having.

And it didn't help that he was spending the weekend with the one girl who makes him feel as though his body can liquify in a matter of minutes due to his own feelings that he keeps suppressed under a torso of abs and a tan that never seems to fade no matter the weather.

“Or, we can get it over and done with – if he hates us, he hates us.” she snapped, agitated with emotions and feelings, not wanting to sound as if she was hostile towards Jack, after all, she was the one who bought up the idea of trying to find him, she was the one who decided she was going to drag him along with her whether he wanted to be there or not.

Bowing his head, Jack slipped back into a silence – he wasn't expecting her to snap at him as if he had done or said something wrong by merely asking an innocent question.

“Wait, I didn't mean to–” sighing, she knew that he took her abrupt response in offense, instantly assuming that she didn't want to be there with him.

Shaking his head quickly, he forced a smile on his face; “Whatever, it's fine.” he weakly remarked, reaching forward for a pillow that was on the passenger seat beside JJ, deciding that if the rest of the journey was going to spent in silence of with Diana snapping at him with words laced in hostility then he had absolutely no reason to be awake, trying to strike up a conversation with somebody who clearly didn't want to talk.