Baby, Where'd You Go? I Need You Here Tonight.
Baby, Where'd You Go? I Need You Here Tonight.
"I can't do this," Allie whimpered to the boy in front of her. His face crumpled into a look of confusion. He didn't understand what she was talking about. They had been fine mere moments before - he and his best friend, on top of the world without the remotest of cares. Oh, how he had misunderstood her. "I can't pretend I don't hurt every single time I think about it. It isn't right, Jack; I'm sorry, but it's not." His confusion didn't lessen as she walked away from him; it didn't lessen when he turned to leave; it didn't lessen at all.
He spent his days in a daze. He hadn't heard from Allie in all that time. The silence felt wrong; like everything he knew had disappeared without a trace. She had been there for as long as he could remember. Allie and Jack; just like Alex and Jack. They were his best friends, all three of them for years. And now all he had was Alex. He was the only other person in the world that would have the tiniest clue as to what was going on in Allie's head, but he was too proud to admit he hadn't clue and had lost his closest friend because of it - the one girl he could trust with anything in the world. Jack spent too much time in his room during the days that followed Allie's sudden announcement. Too long wasting away to daytime TV and his mother's cooking. Hardly anyone he knew had come by until that day. Nobody realised that there was something wrong until after three days of unanswered calls and tweets that were weird for Jack - ones that didn't contain his humour at all. It was now filled with sarcastic remarks that could put a saddened tear into the happiest of eyes.
"Get out of that God damn bed, Barakat, or I swear to God I will get Allie over here," Alex's voice growled from the other side of the covers. His heart sped up at the sound of her name. The amount of thinking he had done in the last three days was enough to scare any of the people who knew him, and even those who didn't. All of it about Allie. His head was spinning already just with the thought that he could possibly see her. But he knew her, and so he knew she wouldn't come over when Alex called - not now that she was mad at him for no possible reason he could place. "I'm not kidding. Get the Hell out of there or I will call her and she will drag your ass out of your mopey mood."
Jack remained silent under his covers, blocking out Alex and thinking about his other (ex) best friend. Alex continued his relentless barrage of comments for what felt, to Jack, like for ever. The final moment when silence came wasn't savoured by either of the pair - both of them felt despair at the fact they were no closer to figuring out their best friend than they were before the onslaught.
Alex moved away from Jack's bed and out of his door in silence, frown sewn onto his face. It wasn't right for him to be like this. Alex understood that Allie had gone (only he knew besides the pair themselves), and he knew why she had done so. Both parties were as guilty as each other for this situation, even Alex himself was guilty to an extent, but it was his friends that had sworn him to secrecy, confiding in him at their lowest points, even if they hadn't realised just what they had been confiding in him at the time. It had been his fault for doing this, pointing out the obvious to Allie and pushing her over the edge. He had only meant to push her into admitting to Jack what he had realised long ago, but his entire plan had backfire - everything had gone wrong when it was supposed to go right. He has been over it so many times in his head, and he hadn't seen the flaw - the big loophole he hadn't even realised she could use. How could he have become so blind sighted to play with fire and expect everything to turn out a-okay?
It came to him a few minutes later at the top of the stairs, where he had sat after his attempt with Jack that this was his fault and it was up to him to set it straight before everything got stupidly out of hand. He rolled his Blackberry around in his hands whilst he tried to plan out his assault on Allie. It wouldn’t come to him just how to phrase is perfectly so as to convince her to drop this stubborn charade and talk to Jack, but instead of just dropping it and allowing her to carry on, he ceased the constant flipping and pressed call on her name.
“He’s miserable. Drop the bullshit and talk to him. I don’t care what conclusions you’ve come to from what I told you, you will come here and you will set everything straight. Understood?” He had bypassed a greeting easily for the sake of his best friends sanity – both of them – and skipped right into the best way to convince Allie to do anything; telling her Jack was unhappy. He’d known for so long that if Jack was unhappy then Allie would do all in her power to make him smile again.
It wasn’t long before Jack’s front door slammed shut after that. He was still laid under his quilt, pretending the world didn’t exist – that nothing bad had happened and no one could ever interrupt.
“You’re a God damn mess, Barakat,” a female voice breathed from outside his new world. Suddenly he was torn between his new world and his old one – now she was here he didn’t know if forgetting everyone existed was worth it. “Come on, douche, get out of bed and talk to me.” His heart beat sped up with every word she said, but his brain wouldn’t allow him to move; he was frozen into his stubborn position under his quilt that suddenly seemed so very immature.
The cover was soon ripped from his slackened grip, sunlight blinding him behind her slim figure, like a halo of light around her entire body. Her hands were on her hips and her face was set into a disapproving frown that he knew only too well. His best friend was finally here, finally speaking to him, and he couldn’t find his voice to tell her anything he’d realised over the past few days. His muscles slowly unclenched, and, before she knew what was happening, Allie was on the floor with a grinning boy on top of her and his arms around her waist. She’d never seen him so happy in her life that he’d actually tackled someone to the floor because of it. Not even when he’d gotten signed.
"I swear to God you're bipolar," she laughed. His grip around her didn't loosen over the next few minutes, he just held her tight on the floor.
"I missed you, Allie. I missed you a lot," he mumbled. "More than anything."
"I missed you too, Jacks," she sighed, taking this chance to move closer to him, knowing that he would never question it.
"Then why'd you leave?" He asked, breathing in her scent and saving it to his memory in case his question led to her leaving again.
"I had to. I really had to. It hurt, Jack; but it hurt more without you," she sighed, torn between hoping she'd given him everything he needed to work it out and nothing at all. She didn't know if she could handle his response to the realisation.
"I know what you mean," he replied, sighing also. "I have something to say to you. And I don't know if you're going to freak out or what, but I really have to say it." Allie turned to look at him with a strange look on her face and a raised eyebrow, telling him to carry on. "When you were gone, I had too much time to think. I thought over everything, and everything I felt told me the same thing. I don't know how I didn't realise before; it's so obvious now."
"You're rambling," she stated, laughing. Somewhere in her stomach, nervous butterflies had blossomed, knowing fine well that Jack rambling was a very serious, and very nervous Jack.
"Sorry," he said, forcing a laugh. "Okay, so, I'm just going to say it simply. I love you. Completely and utterly." Allie's breath caught in her throat, her heart stopped beating and her brain stopped functioning. The butterflies in her stomach spawned a thousand more each, and her words got lost fighting their way through as the butterflies progressed higher and higher until they seemed to be the things that wanted to tumble out of her mouth. Jack let out a sigh as she stared at him in shock, shaking his head. "I knew you wouldn't feel the same. I just- I had to tell you, Allie. You had to know."
"But that's the exact reason I left!" She spluttered helplessly. "I left because I loved you, and I didn't think you felt the same!"
"YES!" A male voice screamed from the other side of the closed door. The pair raised their eyebrows at each other before Jack stood up and opened the door, allowing Alex to fall into the room.
"Gaskarth, were you listening to our conversation?" Jack chuckled, sitting on the bed where Allie had also made herself comfortable. Alex grinned innocently up at the pair, pulling puppy dog eyes. Allie laughed as Jack mock-scowled. "What have I told you about eavesdropping, mister? It's rude and naughty and-"
"Oh, bite me, Barakat," Alex cut in.
"Well, I never! You're a horrid child, Alex Gaskarth, horrid, horrid, horr-"
"Shut up at kiss the girl before I do it myself."
"What?"
"Kiss her."
"Yes, Kara," Jack said, rolling his eyes and turning to Allie. "I feel like we're in seventh grade playing Truth or Dare," he mumbled, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, ignoring the gawking Alex to the left of them.
"Jack?"
"Yes?"
"Shut up and kiss me before I do it myself."
Jack grinned at his best friend; at the love of his life, dipping his head and pressing his lips softly to hers. The day had given them both all they ever hoped for and everything felt more right than it ever had before.
He spent his days in a daze. He hadn't heard from Allie in all that time. The silence felt wrong; like everything he knew had disappeared without a trace. She had been there for as long as he could remember. Allie and Jack; just like Alex and Jack. They were his best friends, all three of them for years. And now all he had was Alex. He was the only other person in the world that would have the tiniest clue as to what was going on in Allie's head, but he was too proud to admit he hadn't clue and had lost his closest friend because of it - the one girl he could trust with anything in the world. Jack spent too much time in his room during the days that followed Allie's sudden announcement. Too long wasting away to daytime TV and his mother's cooking. Hardly anyone he knew had come by until that day. Nobody realised that there was something wrong until after three days of unanswered calls and tweets that were weird for Jack - ones that didn't contain his humour at all. It was now filled with sarcastic remarks that could put a saddened tear into the happiest of eyes.
"Get out of that God damn bed, Barakat, or I swear to God I will get Allie over here," Alex's voice growled from the other side of the covers. His heart sped up at the sound of her name. The amount of thinking he had done in the last three days was enough to scare any of the people who knew him, and even those who didn't. All of it about Allie. His head was spinning already just with the thought that he could possibly see her. But he knew her, and so he knew she wouldn't come over when Alex called - not now that she was mad at him for no possible reason he could place. "I'm not kidding. Get the Hell out of there or I will call her and she will drag your ass out of your mopey mood."
Jack remained silent under his covers, blocking out Alex and thinking about his other (ex) best friend. Alex continued his relentless barrage of comments for what felt, to Jack, like for ever. The final moment when silence came wasn't savoured by either of the pair - both of them felt despair at the fact they were no closer to figuring out their best friend than they were before the onslaught.
Alex moved away from Jack's bed and out of his door in silence, frown sewn onto his face. It wasn't right for him to be like this. Alex understood that Allie had gone (only he knew besides the pair themselves), and he knew why she had done so. Both parties were as guilty as each other for this situation, even Alex himself was guilty to an extent, but it was his friends that had sworn him to secrecy, confiding in him at their lowest points, even if they hadn't realised just what they had been confiding in him at the time. It had been his fault for doing this, pointing out the obvious to Allie and pushing her over the edge. He had only meant to push her into admitting to Jack what he had realised long ago, but his entire plan had backfire - everything had gone wrong when it was supposed to go right. He has been over it so many times in his head, and he hadn't seen the flaw - the big loophole he hadn't even realised she could use. How could he have become so blind sighted to play with fire and expect everything to turn out a-okay?
It came to him a few minutes later at the top of the stairs, where he had sat after his attempt with Jack that this was his fault and it was up to him to set it straight before everything got stupidly out of hand. He rolled his Blackberry around in his hands whilst he tried to plan out his assault on Allie. It wouldn’t come to him just how to phrase is perfectly so as to convince her to drop this stubborn charade and talk to Jack, but instead of just dropping it and allowing her to carry on, he ceased the constant flipping and pressed call on her name.
“He’s miserable. Drop the bullshit and talk to him. I don’t care what conclusions you’ve come to from what I told you, you will come here and you will set everything straight. Understood?” He had bypassed a greeting easily for the sake of his best friends sanity – both of them – and skipped right into the best way to convince Allie to do anything; telling her Jack was unhappy. He’d known for so long that if Jack was unhappy then Allie would do all in her power to make him smile again.
It wasn’t long before Jack’s front door slammed shut after that. He was still laid under his quilt, pretending the world didn’t exist – that nothing bad had happened and no one could ever interrupt.
“You’re a God damn mess, Barakat,” a female voice breathed from outside his new world. Suddenly he was torn between his new world and his old one – now she was here he didn’t know if forgetting everyone existed was worth it. “Come on, douche, get out of bed and talk to me.” His heart beat sped up with every word she said, but his brain wouldn’t allow him to move; he was frozen into his stubborn position under his quilt that suddenly seemed so very immature.
The cover was soon ripped from his slackened grip, sunlight blinding him behind her slim figure, like a halo of light around her entire body. Her hands were on her hips and her face was set into a disapproving frown that he knew only too well. His best friend was finally here, finally speaking to him, and he couldn’t find his voice to tell her anything he’d realised over the past few days. His muscles slowly unclenched, and, before she knew what was happening, Allie was on the floor with a grinning boy on top of her and his arms around her waist. She’d never seen him so happy in her life that he’d actually tackled someone to the floor because of it. Not even when he’d gotten signed.
"I swear to God you're bipolar," she laughed. His grip around her didn't loosen over the next few minutes, he just held her tight on the floor.
"I missed you, Allie. I missed you a lot," he mumbled. "More than anything."
"I missed you too, Jacks," she sighed, taking this chance to move closer to him, knowing that he would never question it.
"Then why'd you leave?" He asked, breathing in her scent and saving it to his memory in case his question led to her leaving again.
"I had to. I really had to. It hurt, Jack; but it hurt more without you," she sighed, torn between hoping she'd given him everything he needed to work it out and nothing at all. She didn't know if she could handle his response to the realisation.
"I know what you mean," he replied, sighing also. "I have something to say to you. And I don't know if you're going to freak out or what, but I really have to say it." Allie turned to look at him with a strange look on her face and a raised eyebrow, telling him to carry on. "When you were gone, I had too much time to think. I thought over everything, and everything I felt told me the same thing. I don't know how I didn't realise before; it's so obvious now."
"You're rambling," she stated, laughing. Somewhere in her stomach, nervous butterflies had blossomed, knowing fine well that Jack rambling was a very serious, and very nervous Jack.
"Sorry," he said, forcing a laugh. "Okay, so, I'm just going to say it simply. I love you. Completely and utterly." Allie's breath caught in her throat, her heart stopped beating and her brain stopped functioning. The butterflies in her stomach spawned a thousand more each, and her words got lost fighting their way through as the butterflies progressed higher and higher until they seemed to be the things that wanted to tumble out of her mouth. Jack let out a sigh as she stared at him in shock, shaking his head. "I knew you wouldn't feel the same. I just- I had to tell you, Allie. You had to know."
"But that's the exact reason I left!" She spluttered helplessly. "I left because I loved you, and I didn't think you felt the same!"
"YES!" A male voice screamed from the other side of the closed door. The pair raised their eyebrows at each other before Jack stood up and opened the door, allowing Alex to fall into the room.
"Gaskarth, were you listening to our conversation?" Jack chuckled, sitting on the bed where Allie had also made herself comfortable. Alex grinned innocently up at the pair, pulling puppy dog eyes. Allie laughed as Jack mock-scowled. "What have I told you about eavesdropping, mister? It's rude and naughty and-"
"Oh, bite me, Barakat," Alex cut in.
"Well, I never! You're a horrid child, Alex Gaskarth, horrid, horrid, horr-"
"Shut up at kiss the girl before I do it myself."
"What?"
"Kiss her."
"Yes, Kara," Jack said, rolling his eyes and turning to Allie. "I feel like we're in seventh grade playing Truth or Dare," he mumbled, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, ignoring the gawking Alex to the left of them.
"Jack?"
"Yes?"
"Shut up and kiss me before I do it myself."
Jack grinned at his best friend; at the love of his life, dipping his head and pressing his lips softly to hers. The day had given them both all they ever hoped for and everything felt more right than it ever had before.