This Is What Happens When Love Meets Destruction

"Jack, why is there mud on my car?" Jack's mom asked. "Damn it, did you take it out joy riding again last night? I told you not to take it out anymore."

"I didn't take it joy riding." Came Jack's reply.

"Well then where did you go?" His mom questioned.

"I went to a party." Jack mumbled.

"Jack, damn it, I told you not to take that car anywhere. How much did you drink last night?"

"I didn't drink anything, mom." He sighed. "I swear, I just had a little sip when I first got there, but that was it."

"Jack Barakat." His mom growled, "You'd better - "

"Mom, please don't start yelling." Jack said. "Vinnie is sleeping in my room, I don't want you to wake her up ... she had a rough night last night."

"Oh," his mom said, caught off guard, "what's she doing here, though?"

"I was going to take her home, but she didn't want her parents or her brothers to see her like that, so I said that she could spend the night here."

"Was she drunk?"

"She had some drinks, but she wasn't completely smashed." Jack sighed. "She was mainly upset about some boy, and she didn't want her brothers to see her crying about him, so ... " He trailed off, trusting that his mom would be able to piece together the rest of the story.

"Oh," she said quietly. "Poor Vinnie." She added softly. "Do you think she'd be up to some chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast?"

"I don't know if she'd be able to stomach them, but it will probably cheer her up." Jack agreed. "I'm going to see if she's up yet."

"Alright, sweetheart." His mom replied. "But you're still in trouble for taking the car out without permission last night, Jack.

As I heard Jack's footsteps approach, I hugged the blankets tighter to me, and then looked up as he walked into the room. Unsure as to whether or not I was awake, Jack slowly made his way toward me and then carefully sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Vinnie?" He whispered. "Sweetheart, are you awake?"

"Yes." I replied quietly and then shifted slightly so that he could see my eyes.

"How are you feeling?" He asked softly as he pushed my messy hair out of my face.

"Tired." I mumbled. "But no hangover," I paused slightly before I added, "and I'm definitely feeling up to some chocolate chip pancakes."

Jack laughed quietly as he sat back, and then nodded his head. "You want to hop in the shower before you go and eat some breakfast?" He asked.

"I just want to lay here." I said truthfully. Yawning softly, I pulled the blankets back and then nodded to the spot that Jack had occupied last night. "Lay with me."

Jack hesitated slightly as he stared at me. "Uh ... I don't - "

"Jack, I wanna cuddle with you though," I mumbled, "you're a good cuddler."

At my words, Jack smiled shyly and then did as I asked him. As he settled in beside me, I finally took the time to notice the clothes I was wearing.

"Did you change my clothes last night, Jack?" I asked.

Jack took the edge of the blanket out of my hand and then covered himself up with it. "Yeah." He said. "You were complaining about how you hated sleeping in pants, so I changed you into some of my clothes."

"You'd better have had your eyes closed." I joked as I rested my head on his chest.

"I did," he assured me with a soft laugh, "you actually had your hand over my eyes to make sure that I didn't peek."

"Oh," I grinned, "I ... vaguely remember that."

Jack laughed quietly to himself and then fell silent. In the kitchen, I heard his mom mixing what I assumed was some pancake mix.

"So ... how are you feeling today, Vinnie?" Jack asked. "And ... I'm not talking about physiological feelings ... how are you Vinnie?"

"I'm ... I don't know, Jack. I'm so hung up over Alex." I sighed. "It's so bad, that I've thought about maybe transferring, and going to school with Zack. It just seems like the only way to get over Alex, is if I get away from him. I can't do that if I go to school with him."

"But, Vinnie," Jack whispered, "it's been what ... two weeks? You've liked Alex for a while and it's going to take a little while longer than two weeks to get over him."

"It just sucks though, Jack." I frowned. "I wish I could be like Alex, and just find someone else so that I can keep my mind off of him, but I can't. Like I told you last night, the whole time I was with Darrell, I couldn't help but think of Alex."

"You'll find someone, Vinnie." Jack assured me. "Just give it time."

"Yeah right." I muttered. "Once everyone finds out that I turned down Darrell, they're all going to think that I'm a bitch."

"Why the hell would they think that, Vinnie?"

"Because," I sighed, "Darrell is a really, nice, sweet guy. No one in their right mind would turn a boy like him down, and since I did, everyone will think it's because I'm a bitch."

"Vinnie, they're not going to think that." Jack frowned. "At least not any of the people who know actually know you ... and you know a lot of people, so no one will think you're a bitch."

"But ... what if - "

"Vinnie, hush." Jack said, placing his hand over my mouth to keep me from saying anything else. "You're not a bitch; you're just hurt. But give it time and you'll find someone that will take care of you, and treat you right."

"You really think so?" I asked quietly.

"Sweetheart, I know for a fact that there's at least one guy out there waiting for you to get over Alex so he can make a move for you." Jack mumbled.

Confusion spread throughout me and I sat up a little so that I was now looking down at Jack with a questioning look. "Who else knows about what's going on between me and Alex?" I asked shakily. "Did he tell Rian and Zack about it too? Who else did they tell?"

"No, no, I," Jack sighed heavily and then sat up as well, shaking his head, not knowing what to say.

"Jack, tell me who else knows about this." I demanded. "I didn't tell anybody about this, except for my brothers. I haven't even told Lauren about this."

"Vinnie, Alex hasn't told anybody else about this, and I haven't told anybody else about this." Jack mumbled.

"But ... you said that you knew of someone else who was ... " I trailed off, just as confused as ever. Maybe it was because it was early on a Saturday morning, maybe it was because I still had traces of alcohol in my system.

"Damn it, Vinnie," Jack whispered softly, "you're making this so damn hard for me."

"But ... what did I do?" I asked quizzically.

"Vinnie, the guy I'm talking about is me." He blurted out.

As soon as the words left his mouth, his cheeks flushed a dark shade of red, and then he stared at me with his big brown eyes as wide as they could go.

"I ... I mean ... " he trailed off, simply at a loss for words.

"Jack ... do you mean to say that - "

"I like you too, Vinnie." He mumbled. "I wasn't planning on you finding this out so soon, I was hoping to wait until you got over Alex. All this stuff going on between you and him ... it's crazy, and I didn't want to jump into the middle of it all, especially since we're all close friends. But ... my big mouth had to blab about it all, and ... " he trailed off, shaking his head to himself. "If you want me to take you home now, Vinnie, I will. I understand if you feel awkward around me now."

"No, Jack, I could never feel awkward around you." I whispered. "You're one of my good friends."

"I'm not going to put you on the spot and ask if you have feelings for me too," he mumbled. "I'm going to give you some time to get over Alex before I bring this up again. And when I do bring it up, I'm not going to force you into anything, I'm not going to guilt you into anything, I'm just ... gonna ask you and let you answer me truthfully. But for now ... I'm going to give you the time you need."

All the while, his eyes lingered on the blankets between us, as if he were too scared to look up at me.

"Jack," I said quietly as I placed my hand on his cheek, "please look at me."

Slowly, he did as I said, and brought his brown eyes up to mine. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly before I leaned over and kissed his lips softly, holding them there for a few seconds before I pulled away.

"Thank you for giving me time." I whispered.

"I have just one thing to ask, though," Jack said quietly as I lowered my hand. "Don't transfer schools. I know it's going to be hard to get over Alex, but it's not going to make things any easier if you run from him. Stay here ... please."

Knowing he was right, I sighed softly and then nodded my head in agreement. "Alright." I whispered. "I'll stay."

Jack studied me for a few seconds more before he leaned over, and kissed me gently. When he pulled away he sighed quietly and then ran his fingers through my hair.

"I think that breakfast should be done by now." He said softly. I watched as he stood up and then held a hand out to me, "come on, let's go eat."

Slipping my hand into his, I let him pull me to my feet. Squeezing my hand tightly, Jack gave me a soft smile before he released my hand and led me into the hallway, toward the kitchen. As I followed him, I couldn't help but wonder why I didn't see the potential in Jack before.

Sighing quietly, I wished that we weren't all caught up in this situation. Life for teenagers is complicated enough; we didn't need to be smack dab in the middle of this huge mess.