band one-shots

i'm the life of the party || jalex

fun fact: i have an oversized sweatshirt with the future hearts logo on it and it's genuinely my favorite thing that i own :')

ship: jack barakat x alex gaskarth

~

Dizzy. That's the only way to describe what Alex is seeing right now.

The ceiling lights above him spin, melding in a collage of colors that turn everything below to a cascade of rainbows. The walls twist as well, trapping him between narrow slats. Even his own feet betray him with each movement, swaying slightly to the left.

He doesn't like high school parties. Or, to be more exact, he convinced himself he didn't like them after years of not getting invited to one. Now it's his senior year, and here he is. Maybe he was right all along, because this really fucking sucks.

He makes a mental note that if he ever winds up at another party, to not drink whatever beverage is being passed around, because now he's drunker than he would like. Not that he'd like to be drunk at all. Being sober always prevails.

Across the house, another boy Jack is also drunk, albeit not against his will. Jack is happy to be drunk because it fills him with this weird euphoric numbness. He isn't depressed, but sometimes the world just gets a little too loud for him and alcohol mutes it perfectly.

Also, it gives him an excuse to stop hiding.

If he tries to kiss a guy when he's sober, he'll be shunned. The drink in his hand gives him an excuse. Better yet, it's a mask he can hide behind so that when his walls come crumbling down, there's still one more facade. It's just a mistake, an honest mistake, because when toxicity runs through your veins, how can you be expected to tell a guy from a girl?

Jack leans against the wall of one of the bedrooms in the house and closes his eyes, counting to three. When he reaches three, he'll open them, and then he'll force himself to find a cute boy and kiss him. It's a game he plays at every party. So far, none of them have kissed back and a few have kicked him in the balls, but he keeps trying. Even though there are much easier ways of getting a boyfriend.

One.

Two.

Three.

His eyelids slowly open, weighed down by the liquor. He's alone in the bedroom, so he moves into the hallway, where more people are sure to be. There's several girls scattered nearby, but they're not his target.

Alex is at the end of the hallway, his back turned. But Jack knows just from seeing his dark brown hair, that he's going to be his target. He can already almost feel his fingers twisting through the locks. He brushes by people's shoulders and they move away, clearing a path for the desperate drunken boy.

Jack places a hand on Alex's shoulder, startling the older boy. He looks up with drowsy eyes, and Jack pushes him into the bathroom. Once the door clicks shut, he swallows, suddenly feeling the weight of the risk he's about to take.

Then Alex finally speaks up.

"God, I hate this party." His voice drops off into a slur. He's drunker than Jack is. "So bored."

"Me too." Jack's voice comes out quieter than he'd expected.

"Are you gay?"

"I- What?" Jack blinks. "Why?"

"Kinda wanna.... wanna do something," Alex whispers, hooking his arms around Jack's neck. Jack can already guess what it is and he leans in, lips captured by Alex's. The bathroom is small and bathed in darkness, but neither one cares, falling back against the counter.

Alex pulls on Jack's shirt, but not to tell him to take it off. Instead he's just trying to bring him closer, until the space between them is non-existent and they can collide like every other natural disaster in history.

Only this disaster isn't destroying anything. Instead it's building something spectacular.

~

:)))) i swear i didn't forget this book exists

im just very very stressed and i've been having a continuous breakdown all week