Where Clover Whitens (Jalex)

Slam

I tell you I've fought tougher men but I really can't remember when.

He kicked like a mule and bit like a crocodile.

I heard him laughin' and then I heard him cussin',

he went for his gun and I pulled mine first.

He stood there looking at me and I saw him smile.

-Shel Silverstein (made famous by Johnny Cash), "A Boy Named Sue"

Rian decided that Friday would be the best night for their get-together. Of course, Caitlin was free on Friday night. Of course, Beau and Alex were also free Friday night. Of course. Of course. As if Jack needed any more stress in his life.

Zack was free, but Claire wasn't. Savannah was obviously still in Nashville. Therefore, Jack and Alex would be the only ones there with their significant others. Things only seemed to get better and better for Jack. At least Rian had suggested a pub. A casual, but loud atmosphere seemed like the best way to go. The experience was probably going to be horrible regardless; he wanted to have as much cushioning as possible for the inevitable crash.

Then again, it was an Irish pub on a Friday night. Maybe it would be so chaotic that conversation would be impossible. Jack hadn't spoken to Alex since they'd made out and Jack told him that it hadn't meant anything. Alex hadn't reached out and Jack couldn't blame him. After all, he also hadn't reached out to Alex. What was there to say? Hey, sorry for fucking you up so badly over and over? Sorry, I'm an idiot and an asshole and I don't actually know what I want?

That was another problem and not just a small one. The issue wasn't just what he'd done with Alex and the fact that he'd cheated on Caitlin. The other part of it was the why. Obviously, he was attracted to Alex. He'd been kind of aware of it for quite some time. Alex was the kind of hot that preceded gender, and he'd also never been especially masculine. At the same time, though, he'd also been a chick magnet for most of their lives. In high school, all the girls wanted Alex and he wanted them, too. On tour, the groupies flocked to Alex and took the rest of the band as consolation prizes. So, on one hand, Alex's bisexuality made perfect sense. On the other, it probably didn't to people on the outside. For Jack, it had been a surprise, but not a shock.

There had been stage kisses, of course; there had been a ton of them. They flirted with each other on stage and in interviews. They often held hands and shared their bunks. The two of them always shared rooms on hotel nights (unless Lisa or one of the other girlfriends was visiting). All of the frameworks for Alex's feelings for him were there — Jack had just completely missed all of them. He'd missed them growing from a friendship to a crush to Alex being totally in love with him. Jack had often been made fun of for always having his head in the clouds, but Jesus fucking Christ, he didn't know that he was that unaware.

The only time he'd even considered the two of them being anything but friends was that night in Anaheim during the Last Young Renegade era. It was late and the rest of the band and crew were none the wiser as they slept in their hotel rooms. Alex was with Jack in his room, both drunk off of their asses and laughing incessantly. Jack sat on one of the queen beds, Alex on the other.

"The interviewers keep asking me about Prince and Bowie," Alex mused, slurring his words a bit.

"Well," Jack said with a chuckle. "You did listen to them a lot while you were writing this album, dude."

Alex huffed, hugging his bottle of Jack Daniels. Jack was a bit more sober than Alex and had ensured that the cap was screwed on tightly before Alex started rolling around with it. "They just want me to say I'm gay." He said this so flippantly, so casually, and Jack had to consciously not let his jaw drop to the floor.