Fracture

I paced back and forth in the bus lounge that night as John stared at me, slowly eating a banana. I'd called Jack, telling him to come to the bus as soon as he could. He'd texted me a few minutes earlier that he was just getting to the bus lot. Natalie had advised me to talk to him, and I'd decided it was probably a good idea.

"What are you even going to say?" John asked, peeling the banana a little more and taking a bite.

"I don't know," I stopped and looked at him, "What should I say?"

"You really think I'm the person to ask?" He laughed.

"Don't be a dick right now," I smacked his chest and checked my phone again.

I turned my nervous attention to the entrance of the bus as the door opened and Jack walked up the stairs. John raised his eyebrows, mumbling something about "privacy" and walked to the back lounge.

"What's up, babe?" Jack asked, kissing my forehead.

I bit my lip, "I've been hearing some stuff..."

He raised an eyebrow, "Like what?"

I sighed and sat down on the couch, looking up at him, "You've been talking to that Taylor chick, haven't you?"

"Who told you that?" He glanced at me, running a hand through his hair.

"Well I directly asked her and she confirmed it, soooo..." I sighed and stood up again.

"Yeah, we've talked," He shrugged, "But it wasn't anything more than friendly."

I looked at him incredulously, "You know she hates me and has said terrible things about me!"

"So are you saying you don't want me to talk to her?" He asked with a sigh.

"I don't want to be the controlling girlfriend," I admitted, "But I don't think her intentions are anything good. I want you to be the one who doesn't want to talk to her, not me telling you what to do."

"Alright, I'll delete her number right now," He sounded slightly annoyed, but still pulled out his phone.

I started feeling light-headed after he'd left without kissing me goodbye, and I made my way into the lounge where John and Jared were hanging out.

"Hey, Em," Jared smiled up at me as I walked in.

"Hey, Jar," I sat next to him and put my head on his shoulder.

John looked up from his phone, "How'd talking to Jack go?"

"Awful," I told him, feeling my forehead for a fever.

"You two are fighting?" Jared asked, changing the songs on his iTunes.

I sat up and looked at the two of them, "Would this be considered our first fight?"

John shrugged, "Guess that's your call. Didn't sound like much yelling was going on, though."

"But he left in a pissy mood," I said, looking down at my hands.

Jared closed his laptop and turned to me, "Don't stress about it."

"You know that's easier said than done," I groaned.

"Just chill out, kid," John smiled at me, "You can hang out with us tonight. We're having a Wii contest."

I laughed, "With who?"

"The three of us, Pat, Garrett (if he's not hanging out with his girlfriend), Pete, Nick, Halvo, Justin, and I guess whoever else shows up," John counted on his fingers.

I smiled, "I'd love to hang out with you guys."

"Good, they'll be here in like 20 minutes," John grinned.

"I need to go take some Tylenol, then," I stood up and walked to my bunk.

***

I laid in my bunk alone that night, feeling odd without Jack beside me. I stared at the ceiling and thought about the last month I'd spent with him. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, but I didn't regret how fast we'd moved.

I was startled as my bunk curtain was pulled back and Jack stood looking down at me, a worried look painted across his face. He was dressed in basketball shorts and a t-shirt.

"Bus call is in like 15 minutes," I checked my phone, still surprised he was there at all.

"I know, but I was just freaking out about how I left without even really saying goodbye and how I was being such a dick. I need to keep your feelings in mind, too," He rambled, standing awkwardly in the hall as he glanced around.

I smiled, scooting over and pulling on his hand until he crawled in beside me. I rested my head on his chest comfortably and felt relaxed as his scent surrounded me.

"How was your night?" I asked quietly, his heartbeat filling my ear.

"Boring, actually," He reached out a hand to stroke my hair, "Wanted to be with you the whole time."

"I didn't mean to be bossy," I glanced up at him.

"Don't even mention it, Em," He shook his head, "I shouldn't have ever been talking to her. I know how much of a bitch she is."

I smiled, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Jack kissed the top of my head.

"Thanks, babe," I pulled the blankets over the both of us and we fell comfortably asleep.

"You forgave him that easily?" Juliet looked at me.

"It wasn't that big of a deal," I shrugged, glancing at Natalie.

Natalie smirked, "She didn't know it was a big deal then."

Kneeling over the toilet the next morning, I struggled to swallow even water. Jack stood behind me, holding my hair, concerned but not knowing what to do. I stayed there until I dry heaved and Jack picked me up to lay me back down in my bunk.

It was only 7 AM when I fell back into an exhausted sleep, Jack promising he'd wake me up 2 hours later so I could shower and get to the tent. He worriedly stayed next to me, rubbing my back until he gently shook me awake again. I didn't feel much better, but took a cold shower. After I got out I carelessly dressed and did my hair and makeup.

Jack held my hand as we walked to the tent, but departed a few minutes after. He seemed worried, but he didn't ask questions. Natalie would be here in less than a week, and I hoped by then that all the worries I'd started to have would be gone.

I told myself it was just the stomach flu, that I wasn't sleeping enough, that I was getting stressed about Warped Tour ending and my relationship being up in the air. Deep down I knew it wasn't any of those things, but I thought if I kept telling myself it was, maybe they'd actually become the truth.

John messed with his hair and looked at me, "I don't know if I ever told you this, but Jack came back to the bus that day and was freaking out."

I looked at him with wide eyes, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I really didn't think about it until now," He admitted, glancing at Natalie, "But yeah, he was saying how all the signs were there that you were pregnant, but that you'd said you were on birth control and there wasn't any way you could be."

"He should have talked to mom," Juliet said with finality.

John shook his head, "I think he was more than scared."