My Pen Pal: Jack Barakat

Chapter Sixteen - Make This Work

Danni's POV

I hadn't seen Jack or any of the others for around an hour. Felix and me had just been hanging out backstage in the dressing room, talking about things that happened since we had last hung out together. "So what are you doing about Jack?"
"Hm?" I clutched the Stitch plush in my arms. "Like after tonight you're not going to see each other for a while right?" I just nodded, lowering my head a little. "Yeah pretty much. He tried to talk about it earlier but I broke down in front of him."

"That's understandable. He lives in a totally different country and he tours in a famous band. It's going to be difficult to see him."
"I'd go with them for the rest of the tour around England but I have to go to college." There was a low silence for a few seconds, with only the shuffling of feet down the corridor. "I love him though." Felix smiled at me. "I know I can see that. I'm happy for you." Just as I said that Alex walked in, a little out of breath. "You okay?"
"Oh yeah, I just raced the guys down from the interview room and I won." Rian and Zack followed but Jack didn't appear. "Where's Jack?" I sat up, slightly concerned. "Oh he asked you to go and meet him at the roof area." I rolled my eyes, handing the Stitch plush to Felix. "Take care of my friend guys." I got up and left the room, making my way down the corridor and to the elevator.
Going up 4 floors in this was incredibly slow and it felt like an eternity till I reached the top. The doors opened and I felt the cold breeze hit my face. "Damn, I should've brought a jacket up with me." Walking out I saw Jack standing on the far side of the rooftop and made my way over to him. "Jack?"
"Hey baby." He turned to me. "You didn't bring a jacket up?!"

"No, I didn't really think about that." I shivered and he took his jacket off, putting it around my shoulders. "Thanks. What did you want me here for?"
"I just wanted to talk some more before I have to go and do the meet and greet in an hour."
"We could have talked in the warm dressing room with the others?"
"I wanted to talk privately where nobody could listen in."
"Well okay, I'm here now. Go ahead." He wrapped his arms around me as we looked out at the view over the city. "When I leave here tonight-"
"Jack I don't want to talk about this."
"We have to." He looked me in the eyes and I sighed. "When I leave here tonight, I want you to promise me you'll be okay."

"You know I won't be okay. I have college. Going there is like walking into hell every day."

"You finish in a couple months. After that you'll have more time and you might go to university."
"I'm having doubts about what to study though if I do end up going. I don't know if it's for me Jack. All I want to do now is travel around the world with you and the others."
"Doing what though?"
"I could take photos on the tours?"
"I don't know about that Danni. You're still young and I don't want something to come up that affects our relationship."
"You wouldn't like the idea of seeing me every day? It would be like we lived together."
"Maybe that idea is something to consider a bit more into the future. Right now I want to talk about the distance that will be between us because once we part tonight, we don't know when we'll see each other again." I could feel my eyes starting to fill with tears. I didn't want to cry in front of him again. "Jack I know there's going to be a distance. I know I won't be okay, but I'm going to try for us because that's what matters to me. I just don't want to talk about it. We'll take each day as it comes along and see what appears." He pulled me into his chest and I wrapped my arms tightly around him. "I love you Danni. I always will okay?"
"I love you too, always." He planted a soft kiss on the top of my head. "We best head down and relax for a little." I took hold of his hand and we headed back down to the dressing room.

Jack's POV

I was sat in the dressing room with Danni's head on my lap as she slept. I ran my fingers through her hair, taking in every feeling of it. I didn't want this to go away, let alone this moment. I wanted to stay here with her. Her friend Felix was sat across the room from us with the others, chatting away. He would look over at us every now and again, giving a weak smile. He knew how we were both feeling in this moment and how we would once tonight was over. Alex came over and sat beside me. "You doing okay dude?" He spoke softly, so not to wake Danni. "No and yes. This is probably the last time I'll be with her properly until later for a little bit."
"If you think about it, this is kind of like Lisa and me. I tour away from her for nearly an entire year without breaks back home sometimes. It'll be just like that. I can promise you though that if she loves you, she will stay true to you and nothing bad will happen. As long as you love her and make sure she knows it, she'll be okay." I smiled weakly at him and he patted my shoulder. "You should probably wake her. We need to get ready for the meet and greet." He got up and went to get ready, Zack and Rian following him. I sighed, looking down at Danni who was peacefully resting. I didn't want to wake her. "Baby, I need to go get ready." She stirred, opening her eyes slowly. "Do you have to?"
"Unfortunately, yes." She sat up, rubbing her eyes. I kissed her forehead. "You'll see me in half an hour. Don't you worry." I got up and made my way over to Felix. "Take care of her after tonight, please."
"I promise. Don't worry dude." I patted his shoulder and took one more glance back at Danni before walking out of the room.

Danni's POV

I felt that sinking feeling in my stomach as he walked off down the corridor, leaving just Felix and me in the room together. "Do you want to go and watch the meet and greet? It might make you feel a little better than just sitting here till it's over."
"Yeah, I guess so." We got up and walked down to the venue room, standing at the back so we didn't get in the way of the fans. I fiddled with the laminate dangling from my side. Watching Jack meet fans now was different than before because I wasn't in a relationship with him then. Some were kissing him on the cheek and a jealous feeling ran throughout my body. I think he could tell because every time it happened he would look over, his face becoming a little worried. "Felix you can stay here if you want. I'm going to go to the side of the stage."
"Why, are you okay?" I didn't respond to him. I just walked away and sat at the side of the stage, out of view of the meet and greet. I didn't want to see anybody else kiss or touch him. In my head it was weird to get over.

As the meet and greet progressed, the fans started to gather at the barrier and I saw Zack, Rian and Alex pass me to go back to the dressing room. Jack eventually passed me and didn't see me, which I was thankful for. I just sat there by the speakers, watching the crew set the stage up for the first support band. "Hey are you allowed up here?" A broad shouldered security guard was standing behind me, looking intimidating. I showed him my laminate. "Did you steal that or something?"
"No I'm the girlfriend of one of the band members."

"Which band?"
"All Time Low." He huffed. "Why should I believe that?"
"Maybe because she is telling the truth." I turned around to see Alex who was signaling me to go over to him, taking me off the stage and stopping me in front of him. "Why were you on your own on the stage?"
"It's a story I don't want to tell." I looked down at my feet, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me. "Felix told me you were watching the meet and greet."
"Yeah that's correct."
"Then he said you walked off to side stage."
"Correct."

"Why?" I didn't respond to him. "Were you jealous?" I looked up at Alex, rolling my eyes. "You got jealous because fans were kissing Jack on the cheek."
"I guess so, yeah."
"That's going to happen a lot. I suggest you don't watch a meet and greet again, okay?" I nodded, sniffling a little. "Danni?" I turned my head to see Jack walking towards me. He grabbed my arm and I pulled it from his grip. "Don't touch me."
"What did I do?"

"I'm going back to watch the supports."

Jack's POV

"She's jealous of fans touching and kissing you."
"I knew it. I could see it on her face when she was in there. I'm gonna go and get her."
"Just leave her for now. Watching the bands will calm her down a little."

"I'm not going to see her all night though."
"She needs her space and you need yours. We go on stage in 2 hours and you need to be chill."
"Fine."

1 hour later

I peered round the side of the stage, seeing Danni sat there on her own watching the support band. She was singing along, swaying her body from side to side. I walked over and sat down beside her, but out of sight from fans. I didn't want to cause any commotion. "I'm sorry." Those were words I didn't expect her to say. "You don't need to be sorry for anything."

"I shouldn't have gone and watched the meet and greet but Felix suggested it."
"Hey, it's totally okay." I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to my side. "I love you and that's all that matters."
"I love you too. Shouldn't you be backstage?" I looked at her and kissed her forehead gently. "I'd rather be here with you whilst I have the time."
"I'll always be here though." She pointed to the area on my chest where my heart was and I leant forward, kissing her on the lips. I was an incredibly lucky guy and we would make this work.