Last Flight Home

"Maybe you should go and see Rachel?" Jack asked, swinging his legs from the end of the bed. Alex groaned and rolled over, disgusted with himself from last night.

"Maybe you should leave me alone for a few hours," Alex snapped back. Jack threw his hands in the air.

"Look, it's your fault that Katie isn't talking to you. And the reason you were an idiot, must have been down to Rachel," Jack said, standing up. "So, go and see her."

Alex mouthed Jack's last words childishly and stuck his head under his pillows as Jack slammed his door.

What had he done last night? He couldn't remember anything... Well apart from the taxi where Katie didn't talk to him, he was sobering up by then.

"Why do I keep screwing things up?" he muttered and shut his eyes, trying to get rid of his headache.

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"So, tell me how you two met?" Mrs Johnson said, smiling at Rachel. Rachel bit her lip and Mark looked lovingly at her, waiting for her answer.

"We met at work, a while ago," she started and Mark nodded his head in agreement, waiting for her to continue. "Then we started dating..." she paused, not sure where this was meant to go.

"And we had a fantastic time," Mark said, interrupting. "We spent most of our days together, working and we moved in together," he continued. Rachel looked at him, smiling weakly. Alex kept running through her head; she had split up with Mark for him.

"Then I went to interview a new band in Baltimore," Rachel interrupted him. Mark looked at her, narrowing his eyes. He widened them, trying to tell her not to continue this conversation anymore, but she shrugged her shoulders. "And I fell in love with another man, well, by man, I mean boy," she whispered, her chest tightening at the thought of Alex's smile and boy-ish charm. He was such a child, not a man. He had the temper of a child and even acted like one.

"What do you mean boy?" Mr Johnson asked, unsure of the concept.

"Oh, I don't mean young boy," Rachel laughed, making him smile slightly, "I mean he was quite immature, he only cared about his music and parties."

The couple shook their heads disapprovingly, while Mark held onto Rachel's hand tightly.

"So they broke up a while back, and she flew back home to Brooklyn," Mark continued for her, "and she got her job and me back."

The couple smiled at them, obviously content with their story.

"What about you two?" Mark asked, nodding her head at them. "I'm sure you have a wonderfully romantic story to tell us."

And they did, so they started their story.

"Well it all happened when Jordan met me at the beautiful park, down from the new shopping center..."

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"You should fly to Brooklyn," Zack said, a smile on his face. Alex shook his head, picking up his guitar and strumming it, checking the sound of his strings.

"I don't think so," he muttered and Rian walked in with Jack, them both smiling.

"Well tough, we've bought you tickets," Jack said, and handed him to Alex. Alex groaned, looking at them in Jack's hand.

"Thanks, but I'm not going," Alex said, shaking his head again. "I need time to think this through and get over her; I love Katie, not Rachel," he said and Jack laughed. "What?" Alex questioned.

"That's a heap of bull!" Jack shouted and Alex raised an eyebrow. "We know fine that you're still in love with Rachel, you just try to tell yourself otherwise. Remember; Katie isn't Rachel!"

Alex glared at him, and sat down on the stool in the studio. "I'm not going, and that's final."

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"Well that was a lovely lunch, wasn't it?" Mark asked, taking in the autumn breeze. It was mid-September and the trees were half brown, half green, their leaves ready to fall off. A few flew down, spiraling as they reached the ground.

"Yeah, it was okay," Rachel replied, walking down the street with Mark. She kept both hands in her dark grey jacket she wore, and placed her feet directly in front of her as she walked, watching them, like a small child.

"Just okay?" Mark asked, and stopped to look at her. She nodded her head, stopping abruptly too.

"Yeah," she finally whispered and Mark continued to walk, uninterested that she was unhappy.

"Let's quicken up a bit," he said, walking a bit quicker. "I need to get home for those papers, they're due tomorrow," he finished and she rolled her eyes, matching his walking pace.

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"Why are you so determined?!" Alex shouted, looking at the ticket before him. Jack had placed them under Alex's plate, so he would notice them after he had finished his lunch.

"I just want you to go and see her. What's the worst that could happen?" Jack asked, taking away Alex's plate. Alex groaned, slouching over the table.

"I don't want to, it'll hurt too much," Alex said softly, but he felt stupid, stubborn almost.

"You won't know until you try," Jack breathed and sat across from Alex.

Alex looked at him, staring his best friend in the eyes. Jack smiled weakly, hoping to change Alex's mind.

"What do I tell Katie?" he asked, and Jack shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't think you two are on talking terms anyway," he replied and Alex nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay then, I'll do it," he whispered and Jack punched the air, happy with himself.

"Good, because you leave tomorrow!"