Rumours Ruin Reputations (All Time Low FanFiction | Jack Barakat)

I Lied but Didn't Know Any Better

Jack and I did spend the greater part of our week together. We hadn't just been confined to my bedroom. With Judy gone and me giving David a week off, the house was completely empty except for the two of us. In just a matter of one week, I had had more physical contact than I had had in years while still technically with Travis. I hadn't felt so happy and carefree in ages. There was this weight permanently lifted off my shoulders. I felt so free that I didn't think twice whenever Jack stayed over for the night. It was such a natural step in our relationship.

But that didn't mean the euphoria got to last forever. Jack had just arrived in LA and had spent most of his time with me. His friends were begging him to come hang out. I encouraged him to go. With my hectic life, I was more than happy to have a quiet day just to myself and nobody around to bug me. Jack did ask me if I wanted to come along, but that was just a loud flashing disaster waiting to happen.

I took advantage of my quiet day like I had told Jack, and brought a blanket and snacks with me to the TV. While most people would say that watching reality TV was their guilty pleasure, mine definitely was watching documentaries. It did matter what they were about, they were all interesting, but I loved the ones about nature. They were so calm and pure. The facts were never retained in my brain, but the images were so beautiful to watch. Maybe it had something to do with my love of the zoo as a kid.

Another good thing about these documentaries was that they were easy to fall asleep to. I could easily turn one on, cuddle up on the couch, and fall asleep without annoying background noise. It was all I expected from my day in. I even managed to fall asleep despite the stomach pain I still had and the mild bloating. It wasn't too bad to handle.

That all changed when I woke up. I didn't wake up naturally or due to a sound from the TV. No, this was a very uncomfortable way to be awoken. There was a stabbing in my right side, causing me to double over in pain immediately. Before my brain could fully comprehend that I was indeed awake, bile rose up my throat, not leaving me any time to try and hold it back. I just barely missed the couch and carpet.

Adrenaline started rushing through my body as it was trying to fight the pain. Tears were prickling in my eyes as I desperately tried to locate my phone. Something was wrong, really wrong. I needed to call someone to help me. But I was unfortunate enough to find my phone had fallen from the couch as was now on the floor.

I tried reaching out for it, but I couldn't. Every single movement I made made the pain stab me yet again. Of course, nobody was around when this happened to me. Everybody was always constantly around me, but nobody was even close now. I had to get that phone even if it meant hurting myself more. Waiting wasn't going to get me anywhere, it would make things even worse.

I tried to shuffle up the couch to reach it, but every single time I reached out my arm, I felt like everything inside me was being ripped apart. It wasn't like the usual stabbing pains that came along with periods. No, this wasn't discomfort, this felt like I was actually dying. I knew the difference now.

Letting out a loud groan, I rolled myself off the couch, praying I wouldn't fall into my own throw-up. Although the impact only made my bones ache along as well, I was now able to reach for the device and shakingly picked it up. Judy was out of town, as was David for the day, the only logical thing to do was to call 911. But I dialed Jack's number instead, starting to feel lightheaded from the pain.

As I brought the phone to my ear, I tried to carefully shuffle so my legs were no longer at an uncomfortable angle. It was a mistake, it made the stabbing even worse. I yelled out, 'fuck' coming out of my mouth way louder than it ever had in my life, not even noticing the click of somebody answering the phone.

"Well, hello to you too," Jack chuckled on the other side of the line, sounding like he was somewhere busy like a restaurant.

"Jack, I need your help," I whined, the tears pricking at my eyes now starting to fall. I hated depending on someone. It sounded desperate and needy. But there wasn't anything else I could do. This wasn't something I could fix myself.

"What wrong?" he asked, turning more serious after hearing my tone.

"I don't know." I clutched my stomach, struggling to catch my breath. "It just really hurts."

"Hang on," he told me, the background noise softly fading away as he moved out of the crowd. "What is?"

"My stomach."

"Like it has been every day since I came back? I thought you told me they were period cramps. Aren't they?"

"I can't move." I started grinding my teeth together in hopes that the pain would become more bearable. "I'm on the floor and can't move."

"Well, shit, Stevie, you shouldn't be calling me, you should be calling 911!" he breathed out heavily, sounding concerned.

Knowing he was right, I hung up on him without saying another word. I was afraid that I was going to pass out from the pain before I could call for medical help. Of course, Jack knew something was wrong, but he wasn't exactly an ambulance with paramedics that could find out if it was a life-threatening situation. With how much agony I was in, I wasn't going to risk anything anymore.

In no time, I was told that an ambulance was coming my way. There was just one more problem. The gate was closed and my front door was locked. I couldn't tell security to let in the ambulance without hanging up yet again, but the operator kept telling me I shouldn't hang up.

I really got myself into a sticky situation...

Until I remembered that I could give them the code for the keypad and tell them where I had hidden a spare key. It was nowhere near the ideal circumstances for an emergency, but it had to do. There was nothing else that could be done. All I could do was stay on the phone in excruciating pain, hoping they would come quickly. The minutes felt like hours.

I passed out just after they moved me onto the stretcher. Even if I wasn't the one making the movements, the pain was piercing. I could even say the pain was worse when they were the ones picking me up, I passed out after all.

The remainder of the time, I didn't get to really experience. I was passed out when they put me in the ambulance. When I woke up while we were driving, they gave me some heavy painkillers as they started to try and diagnose me. Little old loopy me was then transferred into the hospital and straight into an operating room where I was given anesthesia. So, obviously I was out during the operation, and then it took me a while to wake up from that. After a couple of hours, though, I was in a hospital bed, in a private recovery room, the sun setting outside the blind-covered windows.

I was still in the hospital gown since I didn't have a change of clothes, but I did happen to have my phone. No charger, but at least some battery. As soon as it was going to die, I had nothing to keep me busy. At least I could still check my emails and read up on the news for now. But all I got was flashing headlines yet again: Stevie Barrett Rushed to the Hospital. Ambulances at Stevie Barrett's LA Residence. Stevie Elise Barrett RUSHED to the ER. Stevie Elise Barrett Rushed to Hospital Due to Unknown Cause.

They weren't bad rumors, but it sure as hell was annoying. Here I was, just having had an operation, surviving the severe amount of pain I was in, and other people were earning money from it. It was nobody's business that I was 'rushed' to the hospital in 'extreme panic'. I knew for a fact that people were now trying everything to get their hands on what happened to me. They didn't know--so they were starting to make up things--and they didn't have to know.

There was a knock at the door, making me look up from all the articles I was rolling my eyes at.

"Hey," Jack smiled as he carefully opened the door, first peaking in with his head to check if he could come in, then following with the rest of his body and a duffle bag.

"Hi," I sighed, switching off my phone and putting it beside me on the bed. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"No, don't worry about it," he shrugged it off, putting the duffle bag at the end of the bed before taking one of the chairs and moving it closer so he could sit to my left, "although you did have me scared when you just hung up on me."

"Yeah, I suddenly realized I was maybe risking my life talking to you instead of getting emergency services to come to me," I explained, wanting to sit up a little, but stopping when I felt a tug at the stitches on my side.

"Well, good. They were at your place before I was. I literally arrived when they were closing the ambulance doors." He leaned forward so his elbows were on his upper legs. "I knew there was nothing I could do, so I just decided to go inside. I cleaned up and got you some clothes 'cause I know there's nobody else who can help out right now. You have a lot of clothes."

"Oh, Jack," I scrunched up my nose, feeling a light blush spread across my cheeks, "that's disgusting. You shouldn't have cleaned that up!"

"Hey, let's just say you owe me one when I'm blackout drunk and don't make it to the bathroom in time." He laughed, bending over so he could reach out for the duffle bag, putting it in his lap. "I just took some--what I believe are--loose-fitting clothes. But I'm not completely sure. Just take a look and I can go out to get anything else you need."

I held out my arms to show he could place it on my legs, not daring to twist my upper body just yet. Not only was I afraid I'd do something to the stitches, but I was still a little nervous about feeling the same pain again.

I took a look through the bag, finding a pair of oversized pajama shorts, some t-shirts I often also slept in, a few pairs of panties, and some electronics including a charger. "This is just fine, thank you."

He took the bag back from me and placed it on the floor, only this time beside the chair he was sitting on. After a few seconds of silence, he went back to his leaning-forward position and looked at me. "So, I'm guessing these weren't cramps."

I shook my head softly, carefully placing my hands on my stomach. "No... my appendix was on the verge of bursting. They removed it just in time."

"Okay, so now I know you often like to make things seem less than they are." His eyes were wide as he glanced at my hands and back up again.

"It really wasn't that bad until today!" I argued, crossing my arms and gasping at him.

"Oh yeah, cause you weren't occasionally hissing in pain before."

"That's unfair. I really didn't think it was anything bad! I'm used to getting bad pains occasionally. Obviously, I underestimated, but I didn't know any better."

"You get pains more often?" He frowned, subconsciously running a hand through his hair. "Why?"

I flinched a little, forgetting that Jack knew nothing about any of that. Nothing in me was sure if this was the right time for this conversation, but it did come up naturally. I couldn't just dismiss it. "So, umm, about that... well, you might think it's a bit too early for us to discuss in our relationship, or you might think it's too late to mention it..."

"What?" The intrigue and slight fear came through his voice as he shuffled to the edge of the chair.

"Well... I have problems with my period." I tried to explain in a way he could easily understand. Even I had trouble understanding it all. "That means that I sometimes get horrible pains, sometimes it occurs every month like it should, sometimes I don't have it for three years, mostly I only get it every few months up to a year, which then also in turn means I can't get pregnant. Well, actually there's like one in a million chance, and that's a lot of sex to have."

"Oh..." He nodded, taking in my jumbled information and processing it. "Okay... So, that means..."

"That means I don't have a week a month where sex becomes taboo and your chances of getting me pregnant accidentally when you're not ready are pretty low. However, it also means that if you are ready, then the chances are still very low."

"Yeah, I get that. I'm just trying to figure out what to do with this information." He broke out of his trance, seeing both the 'positives' and the negative of what I had just told him. "Thanks for telling me, I guess. I mean, if, when--I don't know--the time comes, we'll probably think of something. But, like you said, it's not exactly the thing on my mind right now."

"I totally agree," I nodded, grinning at him to show that his reaction was good. We weren't at the point in our relationship where we were thinking so far into the future, especially a future together, and he didn't freak out for any reason. "My mind is rarely on it. The only time I did have some trouble with it was when Travis and I just got married and everybody was pressuring us. If it really was what we wanted, then we would have thought of a way. But I'm not pressured at all right now, so I'm cool."

Jack smiled and picked up my left hand, bring it up to his lips and pressing a kiss on my fingers. It was like a silent agreement that after everything we said, we both agreed that it was important that this was spoken about, but that it wasn't something to worry about now in our relationship. It was still too fresh despite the public knowing about it. We weren't anywhere near close to that step, we weren't even close to moving in, we hadn't even gone as far to already have fallen in love with each other. It was just something that could be important later on.

But our moment didn't last for long. There was another knock at the door, only this time a nurse walking in. She glimpsed between me and Jack, putting on a friendly face.

"Hey, I just want to give a heads up that the visitors hours are over," the older woman told us, not stepping any further than the doorway.

"I guess it's time for me to go, then," Jack told the both of us and got up. Before leaving, he looked down at me a promised, "I'll see if I can come visit again tomorrow, okay?"

"That would be nice," I agreed, letting him bend down to quickly give me the first kiss on my lips he had given that day.

I watched as he left and picked up my phone again while the nurse entered my room to check up on me.