This Is What Happens When Love Meets Destruction

-|| FF Two Months ||-
"Mom?" I called out, unsure where she was. "Ma?!"

"What? What?" She asked, turning the corner with a pile of folded towels in her arms. "You sound like ... " She trailed off into a fit of giggles when she saw the state I was in.

I whined quietly and begged her with my eyes to help me.

"Oh, Victoria, don't give me that look." She smiled as she set aside the towels, and bent over to pick up Ryan, who was half of the attack force that had found it entertaining to tug at my hair and use my face as a sort of drum. "If I recall correctly, you were very fond of pulling that same stunt with your father. So much, in fact, that you gave him a scar to help him remember."

"I gave dad that scar on his forehead?" I asked in shock. "He always said that it was from a bar fight."

At this, my mom laughed loudly and shook her head before taking a seat on the couch, and carefully setting Ryan on her lap. "Nope, it was from your sharp little nails that I had been meaning to cut, but never had the chance to. After you scratched him up, your dad got brave and took it upon himself to trim them up."

Gently taking Eli into my arms, I got up as well and took a seat on the couch opposite of my mom. Seeing that he was up higher, and could see more things, Eli giggled happily and then waved his hands randomly, almost as if trying to get the attention of his brother. It just so happened that Ryan was close enough to recognize his brother, and he too started to laugh, his brown eyes lighting up just like Jack's did whenever he found something amusing.

Smiling to myself, I ran my through Eli's thick, dark hair before leaning over and whispering some sweet words into his ear. Although he didn't yet understand what I was saying, he smiled nonetheless and reached for my face. When his hands came in contact with my cheeks, his smile disappeared and was replaced by a look of wonder, as if it were the first time he had ever been up close and personal with my face.

My mom laughed at the sight of us, causing Eli's attention to drift from me, to her.

"They're growing up so fast," she told me, gazing down at Ryan with a love sick look on her face. "I know that sometimes you feel like you're in hell, Vinnie, but before long you're going to look back and miss these days."

"I sort of already miss the days where all they did was lay there and cry; now, they cry and try grabbing at your face if you're not fast enough to give them what they want."

"They're boys," my mom pointed out, "boys are demanding."

As if on cue, Casey yelled for our mom. "Mom! We have to get more cheese! I can't make my nachos now!"

Rolling her eyes, my mom suppressed a smile. "See? They'll never grow out of it."

Making sure she Ryan was secured in her arms, she stood up and made a move toward the kitchen, but stopped when there was a knock on the front door. Changing her direction, she strolled to the front door and opened it. Seeing who it was, a bright smile crossed her face and she stepped aside, letting our visitor in.

"Vinnie, Jack's here." She said, as if I hadn't seen him for myself.

Unable to help myself, I smiled and got up to join him. On my way there, Jack said his hello's to my mom, and then took Ryan from her, giving him a kiss. As I approached, my mom excused herself, and then went into the kitchen, giving me and Jack some privacy.

"Hey Vinnie," Jack said, looking unsure as to whether or not he should give me a hug.

"Hey Jack," I grinned before slipping an arm around his middle, and then hugged him tightly.

Tense at first, Jack relaxed after a couple of seconds, and then hugged me back. I pulled away from him a little while later and waited as Jack gave Eli a kiss on the forehead as well before I spoke again.

"Did you guys just get home?" I asked as I led him toward the couch.

"Um ... maybe around noon or so." He replied. "I've been busy doing laundry and stuff."

"How was tour? Did you boys behave yourselves?" I teased.

"Of course." He grinned. "Tour was fun. Good fun. Good clean fun."

"You sound like you're trying to cover something up, Barakat." I accused.

Jack laughed loudly, and then shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I am." He smiled. "Maybe one day we'll tell you the story, but it's best if you heard it from all of us. You know, to make you feel like you were actually there."

"Jerk," I grinned, "don't tell me then."

"Hey," he replied, "I didn't come here for story time." He joked. "I just came over to see if I could take the boys for a little while." He said softly.

"Oh, of course Jack." I replied. "You can take them for a few days if you want to."

"You don't mind?" He asked hesitantly.

"Not at all." I said. "You haven't seen them in two months. They can stay with you as long as you want them to."

Jack locked his eyes with mine. "Thank you, Vinnie." He whispered.

"You don't have to thank me for anything, Jack." I said gently, "I told you that you could see them whenever you wanted."

Jack merely responded with a soft smile, and then nodded his head before he moved down to the floor, and set Ryan down to play with him.

"I'm gonna go and pack some things for them real fast." I announced, and then set Eli down beside Ryan. "Do you want to stay for dinner, Jack?" I asked.

"Um ... I would, but I believe you have another visitor coming by in a little while." He said.

"Who - " I started, and then stopped short when I realized who he was talking about. "Well, okay then." I said. "Maybe when you bring the boys back you can stay for dinner. We need a chance to visit."

"Alright." He agreed before turning his attention back to the boys.

I took that was my cue to run upstairs, and start packing things that Jack would need for the next few days. For the time being, Jack had decided to keep the house, but instead of staying in it, he's decided to rent it out. That's the plans, at least, but they've been gone for tour, so he hasn't had a chance to look around for an apartment of his own, or talk to a realtor about renting it out.

As for me? Jack said I could stay in the house while they were gone, but that house was simply too big for just me and the boys, so I decided to move back in with my parents. It's not permanent, just until I figure out what's going to happen next.

I finished packing the boys' things, and then went back downstairs to find Jack in a position similar to the one I had been in a few minutes prior.

"That seems to be very popular with them." I smiled. "Just a few minutes ago, they had me pinned too."

"These boys are rowdy," Jack laughed, "what have you been teaching them, Vinnie?"

"Hey, don't look at me," I smiled, "they take after you for the most part. Well, my mom just told me that I liked to do that too when I was a baby, but still. Their rowdiness in general comes from you."

Jack just laughed, and then sat up slowly, carefully not to accidentally hit one of the boys as he did so. "Are those all their things?" He asked, nodding toward the two large duffle bags I had packed.

"Yeah, everything's in here; diapers, wipes, clothes, toys ... all that jazz." I replied. "You should take them to say goodbye to my mom and pops; they're either in the kitchen or out back. I'll go ahead and put the car seats in your car."

He muttered a faint 'thanks' as I left the living room. Outside the sun was nice and warm, and I quickly got the car seats secured in the back seat of Jack's car. Before long, Jack had joined me and we buckled the boys into the car seats.

Standing on my tip toes, I reached up and kissed Jack's cheek softly and then wrapped my arms around him, hugging him once again. "Call me if you need anything." I insisted.

Jack quickly wrapped his arms around my shoulders, rocking me gently on the spot. "I will." He replied before kissing my temple, and releasing me.

With that, he got into his car and slowly backed out of the driveway. Waving one last time, he drove off, very much unaware as to what the night had in store for him. I smiled to myself, and then turned around, slowly making my way up the sidewalk. I made a move to go inside, but decided against in.

Jack told me that I would have another visitor soon, so I decided to take a seat on the front steps and wait for him to arrive. The minutes passed, and the sun fell lower in the sky. My mind was a mixture of emotions; happiness, excitement, and nervousness. At the thought of Alex showing up soon, my heart beat seemed to increase. As the minutes seemed to turn into hours, though, a hint of uncertainty tugged at the back of my mind.

Maybe Alex had changed his mind about this whole thing. What if during the time he was away, he had decided something else? Had decided not to try out a relationship with me after all?

Just as my worries began to weigh me down, a familiar car slowly pulled into the driveway, and automatically the smile returned to my face. I barely was able to refrain myself from jumping up, and meeting him at the car, but I was somehow able to keep my composure, and remained seated where I was.

Alex killed the engine, and got out of his car. A quick glance at him revealed that he had a bright smile of his own and a bouquet of pretty roses in one hand while the other held a neatly wrapped box. He closed the car door with his foot, and then made his way up the sidewalk toward me.

His smile grew wider as he got closer, and when he was within arms reach of me, he stopped, and held the roses out to me.

"For you," he grinned.

"Thank you," I whispered as I took them from him.

I wanted to look down at them, and admire their beauty, but the truth is that I simply couldn't take my eyes off of Alex. Instead, I reached up and grabbed his hand that hadn't been fully retracted, and nearly pulled him down on top of me. Alex was barely able to brace himself with his freehand to keep him from falling before I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly. Giggling like a little kid, he wrapped an arm securely around my waist and picked me up with ease.

"I've missed you Gaskarth." I whispered.

"I missed you too," he whispered back.

I loosened my arms a bit so I could lean back, and look at him. "Well?" I asked.

"Well?" Alex repeated, his bright eyes suddenly clouded with confusion.

"Don't you have something to ask me?"

"Oh," he said, his smile once again returning to his handsome face. "I'm getting there." He laughed softly before setting me down on my feet.

He reached up with his free hand and loosened my arms from around his shoulders. Reluctantly, I lowered my arms, but reached up, stealing a quick kiss from him before I backed away. Alex blushed cutely as if we were back in high school, but chose not to comment about the kiss. Instead, he held the box out to me, and I exchanged it for the roses.

"You can just lift the lid off," Alex informed me when I looked over the box, trying to figure out the best play to start unwrapping.

"That makes things easier." I replied, and then pulled the top off. Inside was colorful tissues, and when I pulled them out, I discovered that that was all that was inside of it. Shoving the tissues back inside, I looked up and gave Alex a questioning look.

"Psych," he grinned before he reached into his pocket for something.

Rolling my eyes, it was all I could do to keep a smile from pulling across my lips. "Jerk, no one says 'psych' anymore."

"I just did." He retorted childishly.

I opened my mouth to come up with a witty remark of my own, but stopped short when Alex held out a breathtaking ring. At first glance it looked to be a wedding band, but when I looked closer, I realized that it was in fact an eternity ring.

"Alex!" I gasped. "How much did that thing cost?!"

"Shh," he whispered, "it doesn't matter. All that matters to me is that you'll agree to wear it around. I know I'm not the best candidate to take care of a girl like you, Vinnie, but I swear I'll try my best. Even if things don't work out between us, I'll still be here for you. You've always been my best friend. I love you, so ... will you be my girlfriend?" He asked, his question watered down by his nerves by the end.

"Of course I will, Alex." I whispered back.

Alex's eyes lit up like I've never seen before, and he opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off by pressing my lips to his once again. Caught off guard, Alex froze momentarily before he relaxed and kissed me back.

This moment right here makes all the heartache and pain this boy has ever caused worth it.

Alex Gaskarth.

The boy that sent me head over heals at the mere sight of his brown eyes. The boy that knew me inside and out almost as if he had slipped into my mind and read my life story like a book. The boy that made me as nervous as a guilty criminal getting ready to receive his verdict. It's crazy to even try to explain all the ways the boy made me feel.

Yes, I had fallen for him, and I had crash landed on a distant planet, but I was no longer the only one who knew how I truly felt about him. I was no longer stranded alone. Instead, we were both surrounded by a love struck storm that whipped about our hearts, and made us crazy with passion and temptation.

Perhaps it's still the young love we've felt when we were in high school, a sort of desire we've felt for one another ever since we were teenagers. Perhaps we'll grow tired of one another, and we'll decide it's best if we were just friends. If that's the case, then I guess I could say least we'd have gotten it out of our systems.

But honestly ... I don't think that's what it is.

Like I said ... Alex Gaskarth was the only boy for me, and finally, after all these years, I get the chance to prove it to everyone.