INSPIRATION: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZETxhK_nXCc
"Fans think... That me and Alex are in a relationship." Jack stumbled forwards as someone shoved by him, and he was about to turn and explode at them when he found himself inches away from a beer bottle, two brown eyes staring at him from behind it. "Beer!" Alex announced loudly, snapping Jack properly out of his reverie. Not that the words weren't still playing back in his mind, or anything. "People call us- they call us 'Jalex'." He allowed himself to be herded into the booth on the bus and sunk down into it, taking a sip from his beer before he looked up.
Alex was frowning at him, just slightly, which was never a good sign. "What?" He asked a little defensively and Alex leaned back, expression turning unimpressed. "Well if that's not a clear sign there's something wrong, nothing is." He said pointedly, and Jack shrugged. "I guess nothing is then, 'cause there isn't anything wrong." He replied quickly, trying not to sound like a petulant child and probably failing. He earned a loud, exaggerated sigh from Alex but didn't meet his eyes again, instead choosing to focus on his drink.
"Jack." He made a non committal noise and drank, resting his mouth against the top of the bottle and fiddling with a few cents on the table. "Jack." A pause, and his beer was snatched away from him. "Hey!" He protested, pressing his lips together when the coins were swiped away as well. He surged forwards in search of his beer but Alex leaned back, stretching his arm backwards as far as it would go. Jack was taller and had longer arms, but right now he really wasn't willing to be in a situation where his body was more on Alex's than it was off. He sat down with a thump, resisting the urge to cross his arms, and Alex slowly put his haul down on the table in front of him. "I'll give you the stuff back when you tell me what's up."
Jack was never one for thinking fast, and damn did he prove it sometimes. "One- one of the techies dropped the case that had my purple guitar in when we were getting packed up. I guess I'm just worried about it." There was a silence and he glanced up to see Alex scrutinizing him with narrowed eyes. "Bullshit." Jack held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, don't believe me. Whatever." Alex shook his head fervently. "If I ask Rian and Zack, who both went with you on the same route to the bus after the show, they'll tell me nobody dropped a thing, and you know it." He slammed the bottom of the beer bottle on the table in frustration, sudden and making Jack's head snap up. "Just tell me, Jack, what the hell." Jack closed his eyes and cursed inwardly. "You don't want to know," He said firmly, and Alex slid the beer back to him.
"The hell I don't." Jack stopped it with the back of his hand, cold condensation trickling down his knuckles. "The interview earlier today." He muttered bitterly, rolling the freezing glass between his palms as a distraction and giving up, giving in to Alex, just like always. "What about it?" Alex asked blankly, honestly oblivious. "The crazy lady freak you out or something?" Jack laughed nervously. "You could say that." He glanced at the bus door, waiting for an awkward entrance of Rian or Zack. "She- mentioned Jalex." Actually, he was kinda hoping for that interruption now. It was a few moments before Alex replied this time. "What about it?" He repeated slowly, and Jack grimaced.
"I don't know-" He got out before Alex cut him off with a, "No," and moved around completely unnecessarily to sit in Jack's side of the booth, warmth of his body now close enough to be felt against Jack's side. Great. "Don't bring that shit up and then blow me off." He looked unusually serious, and it took all of Jack's willpower to not shrink back against the window. "I don't know," He started again, to Alex's withering glare. "I just mean- it made me feel- weird." Alex tilted his head, and his eyes said that makes two of us, what else? "Weird?" Jack shook his head and looked away, but Alex punched him in the arm. "Don't you dare avoid this now." Alex threatened with his fist raised again, and Jack stopped it with his palm. "Okay! Okay. I don't know how to explain, okay?" He rushed out. "I'm just- I'm just- confused."
Alex lowered his hand, and the heat on Jack's palm faded away. "Confused?" He said quietly, and then blinked a few times and looked at Jack in almost an assessing way. "Like-" He stopped, seemingly to swallow. "Confused confused?" Jack gritted his teeth, feeling a muscle in his jaw jump. "Think so." He bit out, short and braced for impact, and Alex blew out a breath. This time, Jack did shrink back. Just a little. "Well. O-kie-dokie." Jack looked at him quickly, brow furrowed. "What?"
Alex shrugged. "I said okay." "Okay?" "Okay." Jack growled under his breath. "You're not helping me understand, Alex." Alex got up, moving away, and Jack's stomach dropped through the floor. He knew this was going to happen, he knew it would fuck things up, he-
Alex grabbed a box of Lucky Charms and started eating them out of the box, turning back around. "I'm just saying," he fell back into the booth next to Jack and Jack stared at him a little incredulously, hopeful again."You know. Okay." And Jack didn't really want to push it any further. At least not right now, when Alex was tilting the box towards him with eyes as open as they had been before the conversation had even happened. "Okay." He said under his breath, and stuffed a hand into the Lucky Charms box.
