Roadtrip Oneshots

Sock, Arms (Part 2)

Sonny

The first thing I feel is the stiffness to my back, and I groan. But I remember why it hurts; I'd be worried about Jack. He'd fallen asleep on me, and I didn't have the heart to move him - something told me he hadn't been sleeping much.

I blink my eyes open and smile tiredly at Jack's sleeping figure on my lap. Not tense, not skittish. Just calm, peaceful, relaxed.

Andy warned me before I arrived that Jack would be... off. It was true, as it turned out, but it wasn't off in the way I was expecting. Jack was off in a way that scared me.

It still scares me now. It worries me. I barely know Jack, but I'm so so worried for him.

So I went along with it, acted like nothing was wrong, because I knew he was struggling. I could see that he was trying to act normal too, for me, but it didn't exactly work out how he wanted. But he'd tried, and that meant a lot.

But he's still struggling, struggling really badly.

I continue my hand motions in his hair and he breathes deeply, blows a breath out his mouth. I smile at him, and smile at how he's curled up. I smile when I realis his lips are quirked upwards in a smile. My heart skips a beat.

I hear a quiet knock on the door and I look up.

'Jack? Are you awake buddy?'

It's Andy. I don't reply right away. I don't want to wake him up.

'Jackie? Okay, if you don't want to talk that's fine. But have you seen Sonny at all? We can't find him,' Andy says and pushes open the door.

He takes a peek around the doorframe and freezes when he sees Jack and I.

'Please be quiet,' I whisper, pleading with my friend.

He nods frantically and slips inside the room, shuts the door without a sound. He walks over and sits down on the floor in front of us; he looks like he's about to cry.

'Hey, Andy it's okay,' I smile softly.

He just stares at Jack. 'What happened?' he asks.

I take a breathe before I say anything.

'I couldn't sleep last night, with the new surroundings and sounds and stuff, so I texted Jack. Just to see if he was awake. He was, at three in the morning,' I say.

Andy raises his eyebrows in worry.

'Yeah, that was my reaction too. But I guess part of me knew he was awake? I can't really explain it,' I says.

Andy motions for me to continue, bites his lip to hide a smile.

'We texted back and forth a few times, and then he asked me to come to his room. I did, because I knew he wouldn't have asked if he didn't need someone... when I got there he was - he was having a moment; I'm not really sure what to call it. He didn't want to talk, but he needed comfort.'

I rubbed my hand lightly on his shoulder, and he curled into me more.

'I hugged him, and after a while he fell asleep,' I finish.

I look to Andy again, and I see him wipe tears from his cheeks.

'I didn't think I'd ever see him this peaceful again Sonny,' Andy whispers, 'ever since his boyfriend ended it five months ago, he hasn't been the same... he's been so quiet, and he hasn't been... he hasn't been Jack.'

My heart jumps in shock. Five months?

'He's been like this for five months?' I ask in disbelief.

'Yeah. We've been worried about him... he's taken it really hard,' Andy rubs the back of his neck, 'we've tried to convince him that it wasn't his fault, but he's in denial. He's adamant he did something wrong.'

I feel the sudden urge to cry for him, for Jack, and I bite my lip. Inhale sharply, shakily. I play with Jack's hair again, knead my fingers into his skull, almost to massage it.

'He could never do anything wrong,' I mumble under my breath.

Andy's smiling when I look up, and I frown.

'Why are you smiling?' I ask, confused.

'It's nothing. Just you wait,' he says. He pats my shoulder, brushes Jack's leg with his hand, and then he leaves the room.

Despite my back, I don't move. I don't want to wake him up. He still looks so peaceful, and I don't want to ruin that for him. I want him calm, and relaxed, and he's all that and more in sleep.

He deserves to relax, and not be on edge all the time. To not try to hide from the world.

I stretch as much as I can, and close my eyes, rest for a little while. Jack nuzzles his face into my lap, and I can't stop smiling.

'Sleep Jackie,' I murmur, 'sleep for as long as you like.'

My smile widens when Jack takes my hand and holds it tightly. I peek out of one eye, but he's still fast asleep, the action unconscious. I blush, squeeze his hand.

'You're cute,' I say quietly, 'you're so fricken cute and you don't see it.'

I fall back asleep, and I can't get Jack's smile out of my head.

It's the cutest thing in the world.

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"You can't play on broken strings."

Love WolfGirl.❤️