band one-shots

kids in the dark || jalex

if u ever feel sad google 'jalex' you'll start laughing in 5 seconds because every single picture is from like 2008 and you can feel the myspace through the screen

tw for sliGHt mentions of homophobia & abuse 😬

ship: jack barakat x alex gaskarth

~

Jack sits on the curb outside a cafe, eyes trained down at his phone screen. Not that he's texting anyone. It just gives him an excuse to not look at the people passing him because they make him feel fucking pathetic.

He's well aware that sitting on a curb with bruises littering his arms is not something that the mentally stable do. He'd be concerned too, if he saw himself. But with every concerned glance his way, his skin still crawls, and he wants to stand up and scream:

"I'm not a fucking charity case, just look the fuck away. It's hard enough being myself without a fucking audience."

But he can't do that, so he furiously whispers it to himself, and hopes that people subconsciously get the hint.

The next person to stare at him is a middle-aged woman with two kids. Unlike everyone else's, her face doesn't convey concern. More of a "what-the-fuck-is-this-pathetic-bastard-doing-on-the-sidewalk" and "Kids-cover-your-eyes-he's-probably-crazy".

Nice. In the span of three hours he's gone from being called a faggot to being compared to a mental asylum patient. The difference is, the first one he'd practically asked for it.

Now maybe he was just fucking stupid for thinking that he could come out to his homophobic parents, and they'd accept him. He'd kind of been hoping for at best an "I don't approve, but whatever, I'm not going to disown you."

Instead he'd been faced with insults and fists that were the causes of his marked arms. The skin was still a dark red in some places, blotches of light pink in between.

Then before he'd been able to even take a breath, he was kicked out. On to the street. Well, more particularly, the curb outside his house, because he couldn't bring himself to walk any further.

He rubs at his bruises. They ache, and he should probably get an ice pack or something. But the ice packs are located in the exact same house he was kicked out of a few hours and he can't exactly waltz in there looking for medical help.

A boy passes by, carrying a guitar case. He halts, seeing Jack on the curb. "You okay?"

It's the first person to actually speak to him instead of just looking. For a second, he's too numb to speak. Last time he spoke he got punched for it. Finally, words come.

"No."

"What happened?" The boy sits down next to him, his guitar hitting the cement. He crosses his legs and Jack notices the way his hair flops over his eyes. "I'm Alex by the way. Alex Gaskarth."

"I'm Jack." He doesn't offer a last name and Alex doesn't ask. "I just kind of.....got kicked out.....?" He poses it as a question because maybe that will make it seem a little less pathetic.

Alex's eyes soften. "Oh. Why?"

"I-I'm.....um....gay."

"You are?" Alex asks. Jack flinches instinctively. But Alex doesn't mean it an accusing way. "I am too."

"Oh." Jack grow silent, not sure how to respond.

"Yeah, um," Alex traces his hand over his guitar case. "I'm supposed to be going to band practice- B-but you can come if you want," He adds the last part quickly as he stands up, so it doesn't feel like he's abandoning Jack.

"You're in a band?" Jack pulls himself to his feet as well, and instantly feels dizzy. A side affect of sitting down for so long. "And yeah, I'll come. I don't really have anywhere else to go."

Sympathetic, Alex nods. "Yeah, me and a couple other people started it a few weeks ago. We still don't have a guitarist."

"You have a guitar though- Is it not yours or-" Jack falls into step with Alex and nearly stumbles. Alex puts a hand on his arm to help guide him as he answers.

"I've been playing guitar for now, but I wanna just be the lead singer. It's too hard to strum and sing at the same time." Alex shakes his head, brown hair falling over his eyes.

"I can play guitar."

It comes out as a tiny whisper from Jack's lips but it causes Alex to spin around, his eyes bright. "Really? Because it'd fucking amazing if you'd consider-"

"Yeah. Sure. I'll consider it."

~

Twenty minutes later, they've arrived at a dirty garage. Well technically there's a house attached to it, but Alex's focus is the garage. Inside, are two other guys, one with a bass and the other behind a drum set. Alex introduces them as Zack and Rian.

Alex picks up his guitar out of the case and nods to the other band members. Meanwhile, Jack settles on the ground, content to just not be sitting on a curb anymore.

He quickly gets caught up in the rhythm of the music. It's punk-pop with an infectious beat and he smiles. This isn't half bad. Alex catches his smile, and grins back in return as he sings while struggling to strum. They reach the chorus of the song.

"They left us alone
The kids in the dark
To burn out forever
Or light up a spark

"We come together
State of the art
We'll never surrender
The kids in the dark"

At this point, Alex glances at Jack, his voice cracking a bit. And then the lyrics bleed into Jack.

He's one of the kids in the dark.

He focuses on the lyrics, blocking out everything else, and each syllable lifts him up a tiny bit more. When he zones back into reality, the song is almost over. Alex finishes it and sets his guitar down. He walks over to Jack. "So, uh, what do you think?"

"I think I'm in love with that song and whoever made it."

"Well, err, I made it." Alex mumbles to his feet.

"Oh." A dusty pink settles over Jack's face.

Alex lets the side of his mouth curve upwards slightly. "Do you wanna join the band?"

"Only if you promise to write more songs like that."

~

:') hi kids in the dark makes me cry bc of the single line "beautiful scars on critical veins"

so uhhhhhhhhhh yeah here take this shit i wrote idk