For Baltimore

Introduction- You Had Me At Hello

Jack's POV

The moving van hit a bump in the road and I bounced uncomfortably. May, my sister, was up in the front seat with my mother, and I was shoved in the back with boxes and assorted pieces of furniture. As the vehicle took a sharp right, a box labelled "May's Clothes" slid off a pile of others. I scurried to catch it and placed it back where it had fallen from as the van came to a stop. Muffled voices could be heard from the other side, then the door creaked open. "Take these boxes and move them inside," my mother demanded to the movers, pointing inside the back of the van as I jumped out. The door to the house next door opened, and a friendly-looking woman stepped out. Following behind her was a brunette boy who looked about my age in Pokémon pajama pants and a baggy white t-shirt.

"Hello! You must be the Barakats. I'm Isobel Gaskarth, and this is my son Alex." She put her hand on the boy's shoulder and he squirmed.

"I'm Jack," I told Alex as his mother and mine began talking. May was standing beside my mother, looking annoyed. "Welcome to Baltimore," he said.

I smiled, and he returned it. I liked the way Alex's smile lit up his dark brown eyes. "Thanks, man. It's pretty nice here."

Alex stuck his hands in his pockets and looked up at the bright blue sky. "Yeah, it is," he agreed as his mother came over and ushered him back inside. My mom did the same, instructing me to take two rather heavy cardboard boxes into our new house. I looked over at Alex just as he glanced back at me and smiled. He did so shyly and ducked his head down before turning away and walking back inside his house. I nearly walked into the door frame, and my sister laughed at me. "Shut up," I mumbled, slightly pink because I get embarrassed easily. I carried the boxes upstairs to my new room. It was much smaller than May's, with one window facing towards the Gaskarths' house where the roofs met. The walls were already painted the shade of blue that I had wanted, the shelves were up, and there was a stripped mattress sitting on a full-sized bed frame, but that was it. I sighed and set the boxes down on the bed as the movers brought up two more. I only had these four boxes, so I began to put their contents away. After I finished, I let out a deep sigh. I didn't feel like I was gonna make any friends here. Shaking my head, I pulled out my iPod and played some Blink-182. Their music never fails to make me feel better.

Alex's POV

I flopped onto my bed and sighed. My mom was downstairs baking cookies for the Barakats. I liked them and was glad that they had bought the house next door instead of the Ruoccos, who had been thinking about moving across town. Sitting up, I grabbed my guitar and strummed a couple chords before putting it away again. It had been a thirteenth birthday present from my dad last December. As if that could compensate for him never being here. Rolling my eyes, I went to go downstairs then stopped when I heard the familiar sound of Blink-182. I looked out the open window and laughed out loud. Jack was standing on his bed mouthing the words to "Feeling This" into a hairbrush. He stopped suddenly when he heard me and scrambled off the bed, dropping his hairbrush and pausing the song on his iPod.

"So you're a Blink fan, too?" I asked, pushing my window open the rest of the way and climbing out onto the roof. Jack tried to follow suit, bumping his head before he made it onto the roof.

"Y-yeah," he said. "They're one of my favorite bands, actually." He rubbed the spot where the window frame had collided with his forehead and smiled at me.

"Why weren't you actually singing along?" I inquired, looking at Jack quizzically.

"Oh, well, uh, I really can't sing," he answered, scratching the back of his neck. "That would've been even more embarrassing."

I laughed. "Don't be embarrassed, I do that all the time. Except I'm actually smart enough to close the blinds," I joked. He laughed, which made me smile. Jack has a really nice laugh. "Also, I'm sure you're a great singer!" He looked at me with a cocked eyebrow, and I nodded enthusiastically. "Really. I'm sure you are. If you sing for me, I'll sing for you... and I've never really sang in front of anyone."

Jack finally relented and began singing "I Miss You," which just so happens to be my favorite Blink-182 song. "Hello there, the angel from my nightmare, the shadow in the background of the morgue. The unsuspecting victim of the darkness in the alley..." he grinned at me as he changed the lyrics slightly, singing, "we can live like Jack and Alex if we want to and we'll have Halloween on Christmas and in the night we'll wish this never ends, yeah we'll wish this never ends."

"I like your revision," I smirked when he finished. "And what do you mean, you can't sing? That was beautiful!"

Jack smiled at me shyly. "Really? Thank you. And I dunno, just thought, like..." He trailed off and looked out at the setting sun.

"No, really, Jack. I liked that you said Jack and Alex." And I really did. I wasn't completely sure what had made him say it like that, but what if I was getting the wrong impression? I didn't want him to think I was a weird freak. "It, like, symbolizes that we're best friends, right? I mean... if you want to be my best friend."

"Yeah, best friends. That's what I was going for." Jack grinned, turning back to me. God, he had the most stunning eyes. They were like dark chocolate, my favorite kind of chocolate. I realized I was staring and quickly looked out to the sky.

"So, I guess I gotta sing for you now?" I asked. He nodded, looking excited. I hoped he wouldn't be disappointed. "Hold on." I crawled back into my room and grabbed my guitar, then went back onto the roof. Jack smiled widely. "I'm gonna play a little song I wrote called 'Memories That Fade Like Photographs,' hope you like it," I told him. I strummed the intro, then began to sing. "I said I'd never forget your face, vaulted away inside my head, and memories that never seem to fade. You were the best part of my life, my last regret." I continued until I finished the song, and Jack looked at me in awe.

"Oh, my God. You're amazing," Jack gushed. "Would you- c-could you, maybe, write me a song? Someday? I mean, you don't have to." He looked away, but I widened my eyes.

"Really? Thank you! I never thought I was any good... and of course I'll write you a song! I promise," I told him. "I'm glad you liked it. It might not really sound like it but it's about my dad. The 'best part of my life' part came from a letter he wrote to me. He's in England. Has been ever since-" I stopped. "Never mind, you probably don't care."

Jack looked hurt. "Of course I care, Alex! If you don't want to tell me it's alright, though."

I was amazed at how truly nice Jack was. I'd never really felt comfortable around anyone before, but this was different. "Okay. Yeah, my dad has been in England since my brother, Tom, died last year." I looked down at the black shingles of the roof.

"Aw, Alex!" Jack said. He pulled me into a hug, which I returned. His arms around me felt nice, and when he let go I was slightly disappointed.

"Thanks, man. You're already the best friend I've ever had and we haven't even known each other for twenty-four hours yet!" I chuckled. "Seriously."

"You're welcome, and I kinda feel the same way. Everyone at my old school thought I was really weird. They called me the emo kid and stuff." Jack shifted his weight, then looked up, eyes wide. "Oh, God, my mom's gonna kill me! I told her I'd help with the unpacking! Talk to you later, Alex?"

"Of course, man! See ya. Oh, and my mom' s making you guys some cookies. If she didn't already bring them over, I'll take them to you," I promised. "Bye." I ducked back through the window and shut it. Laying down on my bed, I smiled at the ceiling.