You Keep Me Safe (Jalex)

10: You've Got Me Out Of My Head

Title from: "Drugs and Candy" -All Time Low.

I wake up still in Jack's arms; one of his arms is around me and the other is tangled in my hair. I pretend to be asleep for just a few more moments before shuffling around to notify him that I'd awoken. However, he doesn't move; he just holds me there.

"What time is it?" I mumble into the fabric of his shirt.

"About halfway through third period, so there's no use in carrying out the rest of the day," Jack answers.

"Mmm," I hum, cuddling into him further. I don't ever want to move, but I know I'll have to at any moment.

"Your house or mine?" Jack asks me.

"Yours," I reply, getting off of him. We both rise to our feet, stretching before we make our way to our separate cars. He drives ahead of me for the short ten-minute drive.

The whole time, my head is fuzzy with confusion. Jack couldn't possibly have feelings for me, could he? It didn't make sense why he'd be so open to cuddling with me. I'm definitely not complaining, but it still perplexed me. More than anything, I wanted to cuddle with him again. Next time, I want to be able to hold him in my arms, occasionally pressing kisses to his lips as we drift off to sleep. Oh, wait- he's straight. Or is he?

We pull into his driveway, exiting our vehicles and entering his house in silence. Immediately, we head upstairs to his room. He sits on his bed, his head in his hands. I, concerned, approach him, placing my hands on his shoulders.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"Not really," he groans.

"What's wrong?"

"Alex, I don't think I'm straight."

"Hey, that's nothing to be ashamed of," I whisper, feeling myself smile. Did I have a chance now? "What made you draw that conclusion?"

He stays silent for a minute before shaking his head. "I'm not sure. I need to break up with Lisa, though." I nod. "I need to do it while you're there, though. Otherwise I won't have the courage to." I nod again. "If I video call her at lunch, will you be in the room with me?"

"Of course," I assure him with a warm smile.

"Thank you," he breathes, pulling me into an embrace.

-=+=-

We kill time for about an hour before lunch time comes around. Jack turns on his laptop, sitting at his desk. I sit on the ground beside him, my back leaning against the wood. Lisa can't see me from the camera.

"Hey, Lisa," Jack says nervously.

"Hey! Are you feeling okay?" chirps the voice I've come to hate.

"Yeah, I'm good. Uh, I need to talk to you about something."

"Oh, what's up?"

"Uh, I-I think we s-should-," he trails off due to his nerves. I reach for his shaky hand, holding it firmly in mine. I hope it gives him some kind of ability to think more clearly, and it does. "I think we should break up," he says quickly.

"But Jack, we've only been dating for a day," she whines. "I haven't even gotten a proper chance yet."

"I know, you seem like a nice girl, but I don't like you in that way," he says.

"Whatever, loser," she says with a huff, hanging up.

"Holy shit," Jack says to me, closing his laptop. "I'm such an awful person."

"Oh shush, you're far from that," I reassure him, standing up. Our hands never break apart as we walk over to sit on his bed.

"I couldn't have done it without you," he murmurs.

"I'm glad I could help," I reply, smiling. He looks up at me with his soft brown eyes. Oh, how I could melt in them. Fuck it, I've already melted in them. My eyes flicker to his lips. I could kiss him, I should just kiss him...

This is almost like the day where I'd pushed him away. Except, this time, I'm not afraid anymore. It's time to break down the walls I've built around myself.

I lean forward and kiss him. No hesitation, no time for overthinking. I just kiss him.

To my surprise, he doesn't pull away. He kisses me back, his hands traveling to the back to my neck to keep me there. I smile into the kiss, remembering when this happened the first time. We were confused and it was impulsive, but this time, we both knew we wanted this.

I think.

He eventually pulls away for air, keeping our foreheads and noses pressed together.

"Jack," I whisper.

"Alex," he says breathlessly, kissing me again, harder. He pulls away after a few seconds, looking into my eyes. "You're the reason I was questioning my sexuality."

"I can't believe you feel the same," I murmur. "You've had me out of my head, it was driving me crazy."

"You drive me crazy," he whispers, kissing me again. I've wanted this so badly for so long, and now that it was finally happening, I was lost for words.

He feels the same.