Next to You ☼ Jack Avery

fifty eight

I woke up on the couch at the boys' rehearsals

their song don't change is my current obsession and i've listened to it maybe 40 times in the last hour

Christina is on her way here because she landed like 20 minutes ago and she is surprising Corbyn before tour

the door opened and I looked up and saw Tyler and Christina walking toward me, I jumped out of the chair tripped but caught myself and ran to her, she laughed as I squeezed her

"MY BABY I MISSED YOU" she yelled

"SHH, you're gonna expose yourself to corbyn but not yet, we need a good plan"

"what if you walk out and watch them perform and then I walk out and we see if he notices" she smiled and I nodded "perfect"

"wait till they perform don't change because i've been wanting to hear that live, like Jacks been singing it but from all of them you know"

she nodded "i'm obsessed with it"

"me too"

we caught up for a bit and I was so thankful she didn't bring up the incident

Tyler walked out and Zach and Jonah were talking as they walked off for water, they both waved to me and then Jonah looked back again

"Christina?"

she smiled and walked over and hugged them both

"when did you get here?"

"like 10 minutes ago, i'm surprising Corbyn"

Zach hugged her and they talked for a second before I could hear Jacks voice over the microphone

"if the two um cuties could make it back to sta-" he cut himself off by laughing at what he had just said and I smiled at his laugh

Christina walked back and I heard Zach yell at Jack

"so you like, think i'm cute or something"

they continued to joke around while Christina and I talked more

"you should come hang out with Olivia and I later"

"Olivia O'brien? right?"

I nodded

"that's so cool I literally love her" she smiled and I heard them talking about don't change

"it's almost time"

I walked out from backstage and sat on one of the chairs in front of it and Jack winked at me "hey who's that weird girl sitting up there"

he joked and I laughed

"um I don't know but she looks pretty weird" Corbyn added and I laughed again

they began singing it and moving around not accordingly but they were trying, I laughed when Zach almost tripped

Corbyn started singing and Christina walked out and sat beside me

"Oh my god i've missed that boy" she looked relieved to see him and she admired him

"well that's cute"

"I wanna move out here but my school isn't done yet"

"if you move out here, we can 100% find a place together if it's too much"

"that'd actually be amazing because i've always had roommates and it's so hard to live alone for me"

"yeah thats what happened to me for a while, when I first moved out alone I was scared but I just got used to it but i always have someone over, like Jack is basically over 24/7 or i'm at his"

"why don't you guys move in together?"

"I don't know i've never really thought about it, and we've only been dating 10 months you know, I feel like it's too soon"

"well it's you and Jack like that's not too soon for you guys"

"what do you mean?"

"I don't know, you and Jack are just, supposed to be together, I don't know why but like from my point of view I can't see you without Jack or Jack without you"

"I-"

I was cut off by Corbyn having a realization

"Christina"

she laughed and he jumped off the stage and ran too her

they hugged and I started recording it for her

they talked, kissed, talked again, hugged again, and then Corbyn just started getting all giddy

I laughed at him

"shut up Bry"

I laughed again

•••
Jack walked off stage and started taking deep breaths and looked like he was trying to avoid a panic attack

"hey what's wrong" he sat down beside me and started fanning himself with a piece of paper that was on the table

I rubbed his back

"I just had a weird moment"

the boys walked toward us

"you okay buddy?" Daniel asked and he nodded "yeah I think i'm fine"

"here" Tyler handed him water and he drank it slowly

"what happens if that happens on stage?" he looks around at the boys and Tyler

"we just have to make sure it doesn't" Tyler said and he sighed

•••
I walked into Jacks apartment and his bedroom door was shut, he told me to come right in so I walked toward his bedroom door and knocked

"o-one second" he said sounding out of breath and I started growing assumptions in my head on what he was doing

he opened his bedroom door and his room looked clean

"hi" he smiled and I walked in and laid on his bed

he walked into his bathroom and I heard him washing his hands, oh my fuck I knew it

"what were you doing"

"some stuff now leave me alone because I know you already know"

I laughed and he laid down beside me and turned his tv on

"have you started packing?"

"for tour? yes"

"can I help you"

"um if you want" he laughed

•••