You Can't Be Missed If You Never Go Away

Jack sat in the coffee shop, tracing his fingers around the rim of his cup. Thoughts whirled through his head, mainly thoughts of what Steff had said yesterday.

“Four of five months ago, you were saying the same thing to her.”

What had changed in the past few days to cause Steff to point that out? Jack knew that he loved Kyra in the past, hell, part of him still loved her, but he loved Steff more and was terrified at the thought of losing her because of Kyra.

He pulled the baseball cap off his head and set it down on the table before running his hands through his freshly dyed hair and sighing. Everything seemed to be changing in his life right now, and it was going to keep changing.

In six months he was going to be a dad.

In six months All Time Low should be close to finishing recording another album.

In six months at least two, if not three, more tours should be completed.

In six months Jack was hoping he was still with Steff.

Contrary to popular belief, Jack wasn’t one to jump from relationship to relationship. He was one of those guys that really liked having a steady girlfriend. And honestly, he felt like Steff was the best girlfriend he’d ever had. Sure, Kyra was good while they were together, and Jack did love her. Come to think of it, Jack realizes that loved Kyra because she seemed so innocent to him. She was never innocent though; she used him to get Alex back, it had been her plan from the get go.

A frown tugs at his lips as he picks up his cup and takes a drink. Jack finally realized how used he felt. Sure, he knew that Kyra was using him for a while now, but the impact of her actions were just registering with him now. It just made him feel worse about the whole situation.

“Hey.”

Jack glanced up to see Alex standing next to the table with a coffee in his hand. His free hand ran through his hair, one of his many nervous habits.

“Hey.”

“Can I talk to you?”

Jack nodded, picking up his hat and putting it back on as Alex took the seat across from him.

“I wanted to apologize.”

“For what?” Jack asked, staring at his coffee and playing with the lid again.

“Well for threatening your car with golfing equipment for a start,” Alex said before taking a sip of his coffee. “It was uncalled for.”

“No, it was understandable,” Jack shrugged. “You thought Kyra and I were trying to sneak around behind your back or something, I get it.”

“No, it’s not understandable, Jack,” Alex corrected, looking at his friend with a frown. “You’re my best friend, and I should have trusted you and not freaked out. I should have known that you wouldn’t do something like that to me. I-I just overreacted. Kyra didn’t want me to know right away…”

“She didn’t seem to want Steff to know either,” Jack interrupted. “She called me and Steff was in the room. The first thing she asked was if Steff was around.”

“She walked out of the room when she made the call,” Alex took a sip of his coffee and sighed. “I didn’t want to be rude and like, interrupt or listen in on the conversation.”

Jack nodded and rolled the cup between his hands, not exactly sure of what to say next. But it wasn’t a bad move, because Alex continued talking after another taking another drink from his coffee.

“I probably should have, though. Then we wouldn’t be in this awkward situation and I wouldn’t be feeling so awkward about the whole thing and trying to make sure I wasn’t losing my best friend.”

“Alex, look,” Jack said, glancing up from his coffee. “I didn’t walk away when you tried to punch my face in, do you think I’d walk away when you try to break my car windshield? Sure, it’s not something I’d be excited about, but I get why you did what you did. It’s going to be okay; we’ll figure it out in time.”

“I hope so,” Alex sighed, looking back down at his coffee and hoping Jack was right.

~X~

“I have to accept that I'm not the only girl you've ever been with or every will be? You seriously told him that!?”

Steff looked at her roommate, who was picking at chicken wings for her lunch, and sighed. “Yes, Aimee, I told him that.”

“Why!?” Aimee shouted, tossing the bone down on her plate and grabbing another wing. “Steff, that is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said.”

“No, it’s not,” Steff defended, crossing her arms and glaring at the brunette. “It’s just the truth…”

“It’s only the truth if you let it be,” Aimee interrupted. “Jack is a good kid, Steff. He’s not gonna go and screw you over, it’s not who he is. And he loves you; you know that for a fact.”

“But he was saying that to Kyra like four months ago,” Steff reminded Aimee, who finished another wing before grabbing a third.

“So? People change,” she shrugged, kicking her shoes across the floor under the table. “They fall in and out of love because it’s human nature.”

“But what if he falls out of love with me, then what?” Steff questioned, getting up from the table to grab a water bottle from the fridge, still disgusted at what her friend was eating, even though she wouldn’t say anything about it.

“God damn it, Steff!” Aimee shouted, causing the blonde to jump at the sudden outburst. “Jack Barakat is not Alex Gaskarth, he’s not going to leave you for some slut and forget all about you…”

“Aimee, you need to get over this,” Steff sighed, watching Aimee pull apart the wing, and throw it onto her plate. “It was high school…”

“Steff, I am over it,” Aimee countered, a frown appearing on her lips as she wiped her hands on a napkin. “I’m just trying to make a point here. Jack Barakat is not Alex Gaskarth. He’s not going to leave you because you won’t have sex with him. He’s not going to forget you, ever. You need to have a little more faith in yourself.”

“I do have faith, but…”

“But what?” Aimee cut her off. “You said for a fact that Jack was the one that dumped Kyra because he knew she wasn’t in love with him. He’s not going to go crawling back her, no matter what.”

“I know that, I’m just…” Steff trailed off as she leaned against the fridge and stared out the kitchen window.

Worried, Steff was worried about the whole situation. She didn’t really know how to describe the feeling she had with words. She knew Jack wouldn’t go back to Kyra, but there was always that constant doubt because of the baby. And honestly, she hated it. For once, it seemed like everything was going right for her; everything was perfect. But Kyra’s news shattered Steff‘s perfect world, and all that was left was hope that the pieces could be put back together.

“Steff?”

The blonde turned to look at her roommate, who was tossing out the container of chicken bones.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, picking her keys and phone up off the counter and shoving them into her pocket. “I’m going out.”

“Okay,” Aimee said, faking a smile for her friend. “Just call me if you need anything, kay?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Steff headed out of the kitchen and through the living room to the door. She let her feet take her wherever they wanted to, and in some ways, she was hoping they lead her to her boyfriend and the answers to all her questions.