Teenage Nightmare (Jalex)

Me, You and My Medication

(Song- Me, You and My Medication - Boys Like Girls)
(TW: Hallucinations, talk about bipolar(manic depression) and panic disorder)

Things were fine until it came time for them to go out. 
Alex and Jack had been hanging out with Elise, who woke up shortly after they went upstairs.
They'd been helping her learn to sit up, with support of course, and Alex fed her again, they sang songs to her that made her smile, they laid on the floor with her on their stomachs for her tummy time, it was great fun.
When noon rolled around, Jack sat around watching Alex change.
Elise was asleep again, and Alex was just in his underwear, rummaging through his closet for something to wear. He missed wearing normal clothes. Sweatpants weren't cutting it anymore. Two weeks in purely those was enough.
He turned his head a little bit and saw Jack staring, "Like the show?" He smirked.
Jack grinned, "Always." 
Alex rolled his eyes, grabbed the super tight maroon jeans he'd bought at pac sun, a black tee Fall Out Boy shirt, a black and white striped hoodie and tossed his winter coat on the bed. 
He got himself dressed, went in the bathroom, glancing at the mirror first of course, then did his hair and brushed his teeth, sprayed himself and all that.
"Ready!" He grinned, coming out of the bathroom.
Jack smiled at how tight and low his jeans were, "I like those." He pointed out.
Alex smiled and shrugged, "I prefer women's jeans too." He held onto his coat, then went downstairs with Jack to tell his mom that Elise was sleeping before he pulled his shoes on and followed Jack to the car.

He got in and smiled at Jack a little nervously.
"You sure you're ready to go out?" Jack asked, putting his hand on Alex's leg.
Alex nodded, "Yeah...Just nervous. It's gonna be weird I guess. You spend two weeks basically isolated apart from talking to the same exact people every single day, having to eat in a cafeteria with no utensils most of the time, and sometimes if you want to, playing some games or taking a walk, which I didn't do much of. So. I don't know. It might be a little overwhelming at first." He shrugged a little.
Jack nodded, "Okay, well you just tell me if it's too much okay? We'll go. Let's go eat at a little place near the mall, it's nice." He smiled a little and headed that way with Alex.
The inside of the cafe was painted with a nice cream color, making it look very bright against the reddish brown hardwood floor. The counters were light with dark countertops, the entire place very contrasting. Alex looked around a little, holding onto Jack's hand and pretty much glued to his side.  
Jack took him up to the counter, "You wanna order first?" He asked.
Alex shook his head, kind of hiding behind the taller boy. It's not that he didn't know how to be social, he did. It's just that this was a lot already, but he wanted to spend it with Jack.
"Okay, what should I order you?" Jack whispered to him, taking Alex's hiding as a hint.
Alex whispered back, "Whatever you get...and vanilla latte." 
Jack nodded and ordered two of the same turkey wraps and two vanilla lattes. He paid and took Alex over to a table in the back. He sat down in the little booth, Alex slid in next to him.
He laid his head on Jack's shoulder and closed his eyes for a minute.
"Is this too much? We don't have to stay, we can take our food and go." Jack put his arm around Alex and hugged him close.
Alex shook his head, "Just anxiety. I just have to get used to it is all." He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, taking in his surroundings one more time. It was different than the treatment place and home, two places he'd now become familiar with. Now he was acclimating to being back out and about. His phone vibrated, so he got it out.

Rian: Hey bud.

Alex: Hi

Rian: What are you up to?

Alex: Eating at a place with Jack

Rian: Good :) Have fun. Zack and I wanna come over tomorrow, is that cool?

Alex: Yeah, that's fine. What are we gonna do?

Rian: I dunno. Play games, watch movies. Whatever you wanna do.

Alex: Okay. I have therapy on Friday. I don't go back to school until next week either, just so you know.

Rian: Alright, I kinda figured you wouldn't be back tomorrow. Therapy will be good.

Alex: We're talking about how I have to switch meds again. I'm scared.

Rian: It'll be okay. Why do you have to switch?

Alex: The one I'm on now is for treating like, the immediate mania. It's been two weeks since I've been on it...So by next week he wants me on a new one to start. I'm supposed to take less and less of this one, wean off of it until Friday...Like Monday, I only take half a pill for two days, then Weds, Thurs and Fri I take a quarter of a pill. He said it might be scary for me and to be around people when I do.

Rian: Okay, we can be around.

Alex: My mom wants me to get rides to school too next Monday. I can't drive yet.

Rian: I can do that too, or Jack and I can switch off, whichever.

Alex: Okay.

He put his phone away when their food arrived at the table. 
He looked down at it, then looked at Jack.
Jack smiled a little at him, picked his up and took a bite, "It's really good. It's a turkey wrap with spicy mayo." 
Alex smiled, picked his up and took a bite too, "It is really good. Thanks." He looked around again, trying to memorize what things were supposed to look like, just in case.
Jack noticed but didn't say anything. He wasn't about to make assumptions about what Alex was doing.
They ate in mostly silence until Jack noticed Alex completely fixated on something on the wall, his wrap sitting sort of limp in his hand because he wasn't paying attention to it.
"Alex?" Jack asked, getting no answer.
He put what was left of his wrap down and did the same with Alex's and put his arm around him, "Hey, look at me." He'd followed some things that Rian taught him. Touch him, but only gently, don't shake him or anything, try to get him to hear you and get his attention back on you.
Alex tilted his head at what he saw. What he was staring at was a picture that really was on the wall, but the picture was moving. The picture was one of the family who opened this cafe originally, years and years and years ago, but they were all moving, staring back at him.
They made him curious.
"Hey, Lex come on." Jack said a tiny bit louder, "At least tell me what you see." 
Alex pointed to the picture, "They're looking at me, they're all staring at me." He mumbled, like he was completely disconnected but not enough to be totally unconscious to the world around him, he kept staring, head still tilted to the side.

Jack nodded, "Okay, but they aren't real okay? The picture is real, but they aren't moving, and they aren't staring at you. Can you please look at me now?"
Alex hesitated but looked at Jack, but kept glancing at the picture.
Jack looked him in the eyes, "You know it's not real right?"
Alex nodded, "Yeah...Pictures don't move..." He mumbled, feeling embarrassed but also feeling like this was completely real. He was so in and out these days. It was easier when there was always a doctor or nurse around who noticed the hallucinations before they sucked him in too bad, or other people who had them too to talk him out of it. 
"Exactly, pictures don't move. Come on, keep your eyes on me." 
Alex looked at him again, "I know they don't move...But they keep staring at me anyway." He was fully aware of what was happening, he just couldn't stop it, his heart always raced a tiny bit when he saw things, even things that weren't scary at all. 
"Okay, so keep your eyes on me then. Focus on me, not the picture." Jack instructed carefully, rubbing Alex's back.
Alex stared at Jack for a while, then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then another, and another before opening his eyes again.
"I'm okay now." He mumbled, looking back at the picture that was no longer moving.
"Okay, good. You ready to go?" Jack asked with a little smile.
Alex nodded, picked up what was left of his latte and finished it, sliding out of the booth and taking Jack's hand once he got up too.

They got back to Jack's car and got in, "Are you sure you're okay to go somewhere else?" Jack asked, looking at Alex who was looking around again.
Alex looked at him and nodded, "Yeah...Just...I'm a little overwhelmed, I think that's what's happening. You know there's fireflies behind you right now." He sighed. 
Jack smiled a little, "Maybe we should go back to your house." He suggested, but Alex shook his head quickly.
"No...Jack I have to get used to it. These aren't going to go away. I think I'm just having them right now because I'm not used to being out again. I'll be okay. I'll tell you if I feel bad. Or you know. If I physically can't tell you, I'm sure you'll see it." He muttered.