Here I Am, There You Are (All Time Low Fanfiction | Jack Barakat)

Snapshot 4

"Archie!" I shouted down the hallway.

He was running as fast his little legs possibly could. At twenty months old, any long stretch of straight, flat, and empty ground was a race track to him. And, damn, was that boy fast. Especially when I was the one carrying a heavy bag with all we needed for our outing. It was nearly impossible to constantly keep up with him.

And in a strange venue in LA? Well, I didn't want him getting lost or hurt.

Luckily, my knight-in-shining-armor – or, in my case, husband in skinny jeans and a graphic tee – came to the rescue. He happened to be turning the corner at the end of the hallway and instinctively picked up Archie before he could even assess the situation.

"Archie?" He asked in surprise, recognising the brown head of hair on the boy he had picked up off of the ground.

Archie looked up, finally taking in his surroundings, and noticed he had somehow appeared in a familiar man's arms. His dad's arms.

"Dada!" He squealed loudly in excitement.

Jack hugged him tightly and gave him butterfly kisses all over. Archie's giggles echoed through all the backstage halls, filling the air with happiness and innocence.

"I missed you so much!" Jack confessed, still hugging Archie tightly.

I finally closed the distance between myself and the rest of my family, more than relieved that Archie had been caught. To have been caught by his father, causing me to witness this cute moment was an even better surprise.

"Rache." Jack smiled lovingly when he saw me approach as well.

"You know it's only been three weeks, right?" I laughed, managing to get a kiss from Jack despite the squirming boy between us.

"Three too many weeks to be apart from you guys."

"And now you'll get three days at home," I smirked and pressed another kiss onto his lips.

"I can't wait."

But first, he had to play a show, which is why Archie and I were there in the first place. We took every opportunity possible to see each other during an All Time Low tour. Usually, all that meant were LA shows or the occasional show a little further away. By now, however, they'd often have a few days off around LA as well for Jack to spend more time at home.

Archie got to have a go on Rian's drumkit during soundcheck, quite probably creating a lasting memory. He absolutely loved banging the different surfaces with a stick. I just tried to prepare myself for him trying to do the same at home later with different objects, while I also tried to enjoy his joy.

During the actual show, Archie was given some large ear muffs to protect his hearing as we stood to the side of the stage. As the guys got ready next to us, he looked around in astonishment, a little overwhelmed by all the movement and craziness of the pre-show rituals.

"Alright, Archie," I kneeled down to his level and held him in place, "we stay here and we watch Dada, and uncle Alex, and uncle Zack, and uncle Rian do their show."

Archie started frowning. "Dada go bye-bye?"

"No, no," I shook my head and pointed at the stage. "Dada will be right there in front of us. We just stay here."

He still looked a little concerned as the guys all ran up on the stage and Alex ruffled his hair for good measure. The crowd went wild, making Archie's eyes shoot towards the people standing in the pit. He'd never been allowed this close to the stage before because we were afraid of overwhelming him or damaging his hearing.

But once the music started playing and he saw that Jack was indeed not leaving, he seemed to relax and started to have fun. He would bop along with the beat, and dance around. Jack would sometimes run up closer, which would make him jump up and down. And sometimes, he'd get a little tired, especially towards the end. That's when he just clung to my leg and would watch with wide eyes.

The highlight of Archie's short life so far must have been during 'Dear Maria', though. Jack had just given his guitar away and was now free to roam around the stage. Instead of going to fuck around with Alex, he kneeled down and gestured for Archie to come towards him. Archie was unsure, looking up at me for help to figure out what to do. When I gave a nod and also gave a small gesture, he went barrelling towards Jack.

The crowd screamed louder than they had the entire evening. Together, they ran around the stage while chasing each other. They both lived for the attention and thrill. Like father, like son, after all.