Old Songs- Sammy x Jack

Digging Deeper

Jack's POV

Jack was huddled in his office nervously waiting for the clock on the wall to read 6 pm. He tapped his fingers on the desk as the second hand ticked steadily forward, running through his plan over and over in his head.

Wait for six; everyone should mostly be gone by then. Head to the south end of the studio. Find what Henry wanted me to find. He thought for another moment, then added: Maybe don't get caught along the way.

That plan had been running through his head since last night, grounding him in the task at hand. Finally so close to answers, he refused to let himself be pulled off track again, especially not by Sammy.

He sighed out loud to himself and pressed his eyes into his palms, trying to block out the uncomfortable memory of last night. His face flushed at the recollection of butterflies in his stomach and crystal blue eyes gazing into his own. He winced even harder when he thought about the look on Sammy's face as he left, how dizzy and afraid he'd seemed. To be fair, Jack had felt dizzy and afraid too, but he still cursed himself for not saying something, for letting his best friend run off into a crowd of people. At least Sammy hadn't been around the studio today; he claimed he was sleeping off the hangover and that he couldn't remember much from the previous night. Jack wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed.

Doesn't matter. Focus on the mystery. Worry about this when there isn't the threat of an unholy ink monster hanging over our heads. Jack lifted his head and let his eyes adjust to the light again. It was 6. Time to get going.

He hurried through the silent music department to Sammy's hideout. Once he had shifted the crates out of the way and began lifting the door, he could hear voices already coming from inside. He smiled to himself; Lola and Mischa were already there.

"Took you long enough!" Lola barked as Jack stepped into the alcove. "I almost thought you were pranking us all along."

Jack had tracked down the both of them at the start of the day, pulled them aside, and told them everything. (Well, not everything. He happened to leave out the whole emotional turmoil regarding his best friend bit). Of course, they hadn't believed him at first, but after about ten minutes of insisting, they started to come around. He was glad they agreed to come with him since he wasn't sure he could do this on his own, and his heart still dropped at the thought of asking Sammy.

"Sorry, I got a little distracted."

"Shut up Lola, he's not that late." Mischa jokingly punched Lola's arm and nearly sent her toppling over. "Besides, later just means there'll be fewer people around."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Lola stuck her tongue out at her coworker, and Jack felt himself genuinely smile for the first time in a while. He'd missed his friends. "All right team leader, what's the plan?"

"Get in, get out, don't get spotted."

"That's a shit plan," Mischa commented before grinning widely, her dark eyes sparkling. "Let's do it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They moved as quickly and quietly as they could to the south side of the nearly empty studio. The fact that Mischa and Lola had paused their constant banter and were dead silent told Jack they were taking this seriously. The building was massive, more of a complex than a studio at this point, and it felt like ages had passed as they wandered down stairwells and through dark halls.

As hard as he tried to focus on their objective, however, Jack kept returning to Sammy. He didn't have the energy to hide or deflect anymore, at least not to himself. He knew who he was thinking about, and he knew why. Still, he refused to name it, that infamous feeling that had stalked the edges of their friendship since the day they met. It felt as if naming it gave it more power, like if he named it it would surge over his whole body, engulfing him in a tidal wave strong enough to knock him down.