Do You Want Me? (Or Do You Want Me Dead?) [Jack Barakat|All Time Low] (imagine)

This time is the last time, you swear in your head. 

"J-Jack," you moan out, as your hands are tangling in a mess of sweaty brown and blonde fringe, "What if someone hears us?" 

"Well then you'd better be quiet," he hisses playfully as he goes back to work on making a pretty obvious claim on his territory. 

Well, sort of. You're not exactly his; technically, you're just his 'friend.' 

But what good is a technicality when Jack is pressed this close up against you with those damn lips of his making your knees weak, or when the quickened pace of his warm breath is sending chills up and down your spine, or when desire is putting haste in the way he's tugging your panties out from under your skirt and unzipping his jeans? 

Not a damn thing. 

He slips inside of you, wasting no time building up a quick, deep rhythm. Something about the slight discomfort brewing in your lower back—where there are sure to be bruises—and the slight quivering in your muscles just makes your clandestine tryst that much sexier, and that much more worth it. 

"Where in the fuck is Jack?" you hear an all-too-familiar and rather annoyed voice say. Flyzik. 

"I think he's feeling a little under the weather; cut him some slack. I'll go find him," Zack quickly recovers, knowing Jack's true whereabouts—which means he knows yours, too. You swear to the muscled-out bassist every time he has to cover for you that this time is the last time, but there's always a next time. 

Jack decides you don't have time for either of you to finish so he quickly pulls out of you and sets you down on the ground, "I'm sorry, Y/N." 

"Don't worry about it, Jacko," you whisper fondly, resting a tender hand on his cheek once the both of you are properly dressed; you tell yourself this has to be goodbye. 

This has to be it, you can't do it anymore. 

Reading your mind, in the way that only he can, he looks at you, his eyes sad as he whispers, "Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye? Like this is the part of the cheesy movie where you and I are both like ten and you tell me you're moving to like fucking Timbuktu and I'll never see you again?" 

You allow yourself to laugh at his poorly-placed joke, knowing it'll probably be the last time you'll be able to. You can't go from friends-with-benefits to just friends, especially not when you have feelings for him.  

The door opens and a look of horror flashes across Zack's face but quickly vanishes once he realizes the two of you are fully-clothed. 

"Oh, thank God," he murmurs, tugging Jack out of the bathroom, calling over his shoulder to you, "Sorry, Y/N! We really gotta go!" 

"I'm in love with you, Jack," you whisper to the space where he was once standing. 

~*~*~*~ 

Days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months, six to be exact. 

Every time you see Jack, he's suddenly mute or has something much better he'd rather be doing. It's almost hard to believe he's the same guy you've known since you were seventeen, and were having secret relations with just a few weeks ago.  

He's intentionally pretending you don't exist. How could he go from lusting after you and hanging on every single word you say to acting like you're not even here? How can he just suddenly not want you anymore? 

But, finally, you've got him alone; and you're going to get your answers. All the anger you've been storing away the past six months comes boiling to the surface as you finally gain the courage to turn to Jack and speak your mind. 

"Jack!" you snap, hoping to steal his attention from the phone he's pretending to busy himself with. He looks up and realizes the two of you are alone. Rian and Zack quietly slipped out probably fifteen minutes ago and Alex just left for the restroom. 

"Uhh... Hey, Y/N," he says sheepishly, a hand going to scratch the back of his head, "What's up?" 

What's. Up? 

"Don't you 'what's up?' me, Jack Bassam Barakat! 'What's up?' is something you say to someone you actually effort to talk to on a daily basis; not someone you shun for six fucking months after sleeping with them for about eight or nine, give or take a few awkward moments when we were kids. So, don't 'what's up?' me like we're still old friends because at this point, we might as well be perfect strangers." 

And in the most cliché way possible, he shuts you up—with a kiss. 

The familiar rush returns to your stomach as your lips move in time with his, the kiss deepening effortlessly.  

"I love you," he mumbles against your lips, "I always have and I always will."

He pulls away and inhales, looking almost nervous, "I started to ignore you because I'm so fucking in love with you that it actually hurt. I was terrified of you turning me down when I proposed a real relationship—not that what we had wasn't awesome, 'cause it was but I wanted something real and I was so scared of you not wanting the same, that I didn't even want to try." 

"Even though you're about six months too late," you murmur teasingly as you pull him in for another kiss, your lips barely grazing his as you speak, "I love you, too." 

"Six months too late?" he questions. 

"Yeah, within that time period, I've married, had three children, mourned the loss of one dog and gotten another." 

"Well, Jesus, I have to make up six months of time without you and go slaughter your other family? Love is hard work." 

His lips connect with yours once more but this time you hear the guys yelling and cheering behind you. You can't help but laugh and pull away to look at them, rolling your eyes at their immaturity. 

"It's about fuckin' time!" you hear Zack yell above everyone else. 

Yeah, it is about fuckin' time. 

"Just one more thing," Jack says, looking to you with a shy smile as he takes your hand, "Will you be my girlfriend, like officially?" 

"I'd love to," you respond immediately, feeling a wide smile growing on your lips. 

"And you promise you're not moving to Timbuktu?" 

"I promise!" you reply with a lighthearted laugh. 

"Good," he replies with a laugh of his own as his arm snakes around your waist. 

Admittedly, it feels pretty fantastic to be with Jack, officially, and to know he loves you, too.