Where Clover Whitens (Jalex)

Blank Verse

I hate Parties;

They bring out the worst in me.

-Dorothy Parker, "Parties: A Hymn of Hate"

Alex barely had time to breathe before it was time for him to see Jack and the rest of the guys again. He spent the week trying to get back to his normal routine: unpacking, cleaning, grocery shopping, meal planning, and TV show binging. He visited his parents and hung out with his dogs, but that was about the extent of his socialization for the week. Alex loved touring more than anything in the world, but after months of seeing thousands of people, he really needed a break. That break included his best friends and bandmates. They were a lot individually, and collectively, they were even more, and when Jack was a part of that, new, straight-laced, not Jack Jack, it was so much worse.

The bachelor party kicked off at nine on that Friday evening, as even though Caitlin had made Jack shape up and be a better person (subjectively) overall, he still could not possibly ever be on time to anything, not even to his own party. Alex hadn't wanted to attend the bachelor party at all, so he arrived at the Mexican restaurant at about eight-thirty, and even still, he was earlier than the actual man of the hour. Rian and Zack were already seated with beers and margaritas, of course, along with Jack's brother, a few members of their crew, and a couple guys from Jack's LA group. He took a seat beside Zack and immediately ordered a beer and a shot of tequila; he knew that he was going to need as much alcohol as possible to make it through this night. No one said anything to Alex when he did so, but when a waiter sat his drinks down, Joe raised an eyebrow.

"I guess I'm too old to pregame the way you do," Joe said with a chuckle, sipping at his APA.

Rian shook his head, dipping a tortilla chip deep into some chunky salsa. "Nah, you're fine, Joe. Jack and Alex could outdrink a pirate."

It was a shitty joke, but it was enough to make the entire table laugh. Everyone except Alex, that was. It stung, and it made Alex think wistfully back on his and Jack's friendship. He'd been best friends with Jack for almost half of his life, and they'd spent a good amount of it fucked up together.

Alex pasted on a smile, grateful when then waitress sat his drinks down. She was a younger girl with a nose ring, pretty, and had a nice body. She smiled back at Alex and gave him a little wink.

"Let me know if you need anything else, sweetie," she sang before she walked off.

Ricky raised an eyebrow at Alex and then gave him a smirk. "Guess you won't be coming bar-hopping with us, huh, Alex?"

Alex was neck deep in his bottle of Corona and barely even registered that Ricky was talking to him, let alone trying to joke with him. "Huh?"

"Ricky wants to know if you're gonna fuck that waitress," Kevin said, leaning forward to grab a tortilla chip of his own. "She was shoving her tits in your face, dude."

Alex was quiet for a moment and then shrugged. "Oh, nah. She was cute, but I'm not here for that. We're here for Jack," he said with a little chuckle, despite the pang in his chest. C'est la vie, he thought to himself.

"There's our boy!" Vinny exclaimed, pointing as Jack came in, an arm slung around Nano.

"Sorry I'm fashionably late," Jack said as he sat down across from Alex, giving him a smirk that sent Alex's heart into palpitations. "Couldn't figure out what to wear."

Nano rolled his eyes, sitting next to Rian. "More like he couldn't decide which white claw to drink in the shower."

"There's a lot of flavors," Jack said, throwing his hands up defensively. "It was hard to decide."