Voices • Jack Avery

31 • Coffee

Alex's Point of View

"London, I don't want to do this" I whined as we approached the Why Don't We house. It had been weeks since I had started avoiding Jack but I definitely wasn't ready to face him now.

"Too bad. The other guys are our friends too and we can't keep ignoring them" London retorted, ringing the doorbell by the front door. I groaned and half hid myself behind Jackson.

"Hey guys!" Corbyn exclaimed as he opened the door to us. The second he realised who we were his entire face lit up and I instantly felt terrible for avoiding all of them.

"Guys get down here!" he yelled while opening the door wider to let us all in. It felt strange to be back here. Usually I would walk straight in without knocking and go straight to the couch. Now, I was awkardly standing at the door.

Jonah, Daniel and Zach all walked into the room at the same time, hugging us each separately once they saw us. It felt good to see them all again, but I was still dreading seeing Jack.

"Hey, what's with all the yelling?" Jack asked as he walked down the stairs. I could feel my whole body tense up as his eyes fell on me.

For a second, Jack's entire face lit up and he took a step towards me. However, once he saw my hesitation, he stopped and his face fell. I turned away from him to face Daniel, hoping the awkward tension would leave the room.

"Anyway, we wanted to know if you guys wanted to get coffee with us" Jackson said, sensing the awkwardness. I sent him a grateful look and he simply smiled in return.

"Yeah, I'm in" Jonah said instantly and Daniel and Corbyn agreed with him. Everyone looked to Jack and Zach for a response and awkwardness descended once again.

"I've actually got stuff to do so I'm gonna stay here" Jack answered, clearing his throat. Hearing that caused a piece of my heart to shatter. Even though I had been avoiding him for weeks, a small part of me still hoped that he would want to come.

"I'll stay to keep him company" Zach said, looking between Jack and I. Everyone nodded silently, understanding why he didn't want to come and not pushing it any more.

The entire way to Starbucks, I stayed silent. Everyone tried to engage me in the conversation but I would only answer with one word and return to my own little world.

I still hated that I couldn't see Jack anymore but I had to deal with it. I couldn't let this come between me and my other friends, so I plastered a fake smile on my face and tried my best to focus on the conversations taking place at the table.

"So, are you guys almost done your album?" Daniel asked, taking a sip from his coffee. My face lit up once I heard this; it was something I could easily talk about no matter what.

"Actually, yes. I've been writing a lot in the last few weeks surprisingly. I think they're a lot deeper than our other songs but there is one I've been struggling with. I started it before Summerfest but I can't seem to finish it" I explained, allowing myself to lose my mind to my music rather than the thoughts clouding it.

"That happens. You probably just need a break from writing before you can finish it" Corbyn shrugged. I smiled at him and nodded. However, London seemed to want to say something, but decided against it once Jackson shot her a look.

"What is it called?" Daniel asked out of curiosity. London inhaled sharply at this only to be elbowed by Jackson, causing me to shoot them a questioning look. When she shrugged it off, I turned back to Daniel and ignored it.

"It's called Kids In Love but I've only finished about half of the lyrics" I stated. Once I had said this, everyone grew silent and awkwardly looked around. I furrowed my eyes in confusion, not understanding the sudden tension in the room.

"Is it a love song?" Corbyn eventually asked, clearly hesitant. I raised my eyebrows at him but I was cut off before I could give an answer.

"Yes, and it's about Jack. That's why she can't finish it" London suddenly said. Jackson hit her harshly on the arm in an attempt to get her to shut up but she had already said enough.

"Is that what you think?" I asked, slightly shocked. I had been struggling with this for weeks and she hadn't said anything. Surely she wasn't right.

"It's what we all think" she said calmly, shrugging her shoulders. I looked around at my friends for confirmation but they all avoided my gaze.

"Is that true?" I asked. I was slightly hurt that none of them had told me that they thought this but I could understand why. "Yes, because it's true" Jonah suddenly spoke up.

Daniel shot him a warning look but he continued anyway. "No, she needs to hear this. Alex, I love you like a sister but you need to get over yourself" he stated, raising his voice a little.

My eyes widened in shock once I heard him; I had never seen Jonah get angry before, especially not with me. "Excuse me?" I said, unsure of what he was referring to or why he was so annoyed.

"It's obvious how much you like Jack And after seeing you today I can see how much avoiding him is hurting you, so why do you do it?" he asked, more calm now.

I sighed and closed my eyes to clear my thoughts. I knew I could trust Jonah, Daniel and Corbyn, but my mind still hesitated to tell them the truth.

"I like him, okay?" I said, hiding my face in my hands. "I'm pretty sure we all knew that" Daniel said, laughing slightly. I looked up at him and raised my eyebrows slightly just as Corbyn punched his arm. "Ouch that hurt" he mumbled.

"What he means is, why is that the reason you're avoiding him?" Corbyn continued, ignoring the complaints from the blue-eyed boy next to him. I shrugged my shoulders and twirled a strand of hair around my fingers.

London could sense my nerves and took my hand in hers, squeezing it for reassurance. "I know he doesn't like me the way I like him and I don't want to get hurt again. I don't think I can handle it" I explained quietly.

All three of the boys looked at me as if I had two heads. "Are you serious?" Daniel asked, holding in his laughter again. I frowned and nodded at him, not knowing why he found this situation funny.

"That's what you're worried about?" Corbyn asked, also holding in his laughter. I looked at both of them with disbelief and shook my head. "Yeah, why is that funny?" I asked, the confusion clear in my voice.

"Alex, Jack worships the ground you walk on" Jonah chuckled. When he saw the confusion remain on my face, he sighed and continued to explain.

"Jack would kill me if he knew I was telling you this, but he likes you too. A lot. This is killing him as much as it is you. So just go get your man already" he exclaimed.

I looked at him with my mouth slightly agape. Did Jack actually like me? I know everyone kept making jokes about it and most of our fans wanted us to date, but could he really like me? If he did, then I had to fix this, and soon.

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I accidentally published a part I was pre-writing but didn't finish and I had to unpiblish it so if you got that notification sorry have this instead ajnfiwnf