My Saving Grace

Homesick

Rachel's POV

I sighed as I stepped out of the rental SUV. This was the fourth time this week that I was at the studio with them. Pete just insisted that I tag along every stupid time. Jess didn't even come this much. She came and went when she wanted. I was stuck with the guys because of Pete's constant need to have me with him.

"Pete, can I leave with Jess today? I wanna go get lunch or something with her," I asked as he grabbed my hand. We walked into the large studio behind the guys.

"Why?" He asked, staring straight ahead.

"Ugh, because, Pete! I have been here every damn day with you! If I see one more soundboard, recording booth, or anything, I'm going to go insane," I whined, throwing my head back. I didn't care how I looked right now, I was in absolutely no mood to deal with him today. From the moment he woke me up, he's been on my last nerve.

"Someone's cranky," Joe mumbled as we walked into the elevator.

"Someone's gonna punch you in the face," I replied, going into the corner. I stood there, Pete's hand loosely hanging on mine. I rolled my eyes and ripped my hand away from his. I folded my arms across my chest and stood there silently as the elevator went up two floors.

"Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the queen sized bed today?" Joe laughed, lightly shoving me.

I glared at him, mentally shooting daggers. He backed into the opposite corner and covered his dick with his hands. Smart move.

The elevator dinged, opening the doors. Joe scrambled out first, then Andy, Patrick, Jess, and Pete. I stood in the elevator, hoping Pete wouldn't notice that I didn't get out with them.

Didn't work.

The doors were almost fully closed when Pete stuck his hand in there, causing it to open back up. He grabbed my hand and tried dragging me out. I groaned and sank to the floor.

He rolled his eyes and dragged me out. I let my body relax, becoming like a ragdoll. He grabbed my other hand and pulled me out of the elevator right as it started to close.

I laid on the floor, him still holding my hands. "I told you I don't wanna be here, bro," I mumbled.

"I don't care. Come on, don't you wanna be a part of the record?" He said, pulling me up to my feet. I sank back down to floor and laid there.

"Alright, you forced me to do this," He sighed and scooped me up off the floor. He carried me into the studio bridal style. He set me on the black leather couch and sat next to me. "Stay for three hours?"

"That's too long," I said, folding my arms across my chest. "I'll stay until twelve."

"But that's two hours," He pouted, staring at me with puppy-dog eyes. He thought that was going to make me want to stay longer. Nope.

It's two hours longer than I want to be here.

"You look really gay," I said flatly. I mean, come on, he was wearing eyeliner, he had his fucking nails painted, and he was pulling that face. I didn't care if I was being mean.

"Ouch..." Andy breathed out, staring at us.

I rolled my eyes and sunk into the couch. I laid with my back to the studio, and my face facing the black leather couch.

I felt the couch get lighter. Pete had gotten up and, I guess, walked over to the soundboard.

"What's wrong, dude?"

"She's being a total bitch," He mumbled, playing with something. A loud screech sounded throughout the room. I immediately covered my ears, trying so hard to block that noise from me. I quickly grabbed a pillow and smushed it over my head, blocking the noise.

The noise stopped, Pete laughing like crazy, "Dude, your face was fucking epic!"

"Shut up," I mumbled into the pillow/couch.

"Rae, come with me," Jess sighed, pulling me up. She dragged me out of the studio by my arm, looking pissed as hell. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

I ran my hand through my hair and leaned against the hallway wall, rolling my eyes, "Pete is pissing me off."

"So? You don't need to act like you are now," She said, grabbing me by shoulders. She looked straight into my eyes and shook me. "Don't take it out on everyone."

"I don't wanna be here, Jess," I whined, sinking down to the floor. I pulled my knees close to my chest and rested my head on them. "I've been here everyday this week, and I just, I don't want to be here. I want to be at school, with my friends. I want to be with Jack, Alex, Kara, Rian, and Zack. I want them."

"You can always go home, if you want," Jess said softly, leaning down to my level.

"That's the thing, I don't wanna go home, but I do at the same time, y'know?" I sighed, feeling a small tear roll down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away, not wanting to cry at all.

"I wish I could say I do understand, but I don't," Jess said, skewing her mouth to the side. "Just, look, maybe after the guys are done recording, and they go on Warped, you and me can go back to Maryland?"

"I think - wait, they're going on Warped Tour? I wanna go..." I said quietly, looking her dead in the eyes. My mood suddenly got a little better. If I went on Warped, I would be so happy. I've always wanted to tour the country on Warped. I was gonna go with Jack and Kara last year, but those plans fell through.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Jess said, shaking her head. She stood up, grabbing my hand and pulling me up with her.

"But, I wanna go!" I whined, stomping my foot against the carpeted floor. Wow, I was such a baby today.

"It's not a good idea. Trust me, I was on Warped last year, and it's so stressful. You shouldn't live in those conditions."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, "I guess you're right..."

"And plus, imagine spending everyday with Peetard and the guys. You think you're going crazy now...if you did go with them, you'd lose your fucking mind," She laughed, wrapping her arm around my shoulder, giving me a tight squeeze.

I chuckled and looked down at my feet, "Yeah, Fall Out Boy would need to find a new, hotter bassist."

"Feel better?" She asked as I laid my head down on her shoulder.

I nodded my head slowly, staring at the wall blankly. I wasn't all better, but I did feel slightly better. I didn't really hate Pete as much as I did a few minutes ago. I guess it was just the stupid fucking hormones.

"How far along are you, again?" Jess asked, breaking the awkward silence that was slowly consuming us. She reached down and patted my growing stomach.

I smiled down at my small baby bump. It was just a slight bump, so I just looked fat. No one could really tell I was pregnant. I was glad.

"I don't know, I think ten weeks?" I said, thinking back on my doctor's appointment. That was about three weeks ago? No, two weeks? I was three months, or - "Nope, I'm about eleven weeks in."

"...How many months is that?" She laughed, looking slightly confused.

"Four? Yeah, about four," I smiled, patting my little bump. "Five more agonizing months..."

"Are you scared?" She asked as we walked back into the studio. "I know I would be."

"Honestly, I'm just worried about this baby not having a dad. Maybe one day I will go back to be with Alex. Maybe I'll find someone else. Who really knows," I shrugged, earning a look from Pete.

"Hey, feelin' better?" He asked, slowly wrapping him arm around me, almost as if he was scared to touch me. I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder. He sighed, happily resting his head on mine. "I'm glad you feel better."

"Me too," I smiled, lacing my fingers with his.

"New song is tracked!" Trick exclaimed, turning around in his seat. "One more song to do, then it's all finished!"

"What's the new song?" I asked quietly.

"It's called Of All The Gin Joints In The World," Pete said softly. "I wrote it about - uh, nevermind. Let's get the last song done, yeah?"

He stood up and went over to Trick. He whispered something into Trick's ear, causing Trick to nod. They both glanced at me, then walked into the booth.

"Hey, Jess, do you wanna go for a walk?" I asked, watching the guys fool around in the booth. Pete was poking Joe with his bass, yanking it away when Joe turned around.

"Sure," She shrugged as she stood up from her spot on the couch. We stepped outside the studio and walked over to the elevator. "Where did you wanna go?"

"I dunno. I just wanna walk around," I smiled as the elevator doors slid open.

The whole time we were in the building, we were silent. It was a comfortable silence, not a deafening, bone chilling silence like the ones that I've had consume me for the past few hours.

"I wanna call my mom," I said suddenly. I hadn't talked to my month in about a month. I missed her. I talked to Alex and Jack more than I talked to my mom. That's fucking ridiculous.

"Well, I stole Pete's phone before we left. Here," She laughed, pulling it out of her back pocket and handing it to me.

"Thank you," I giggled, dialing my old home number. It was a Friday, so she had the day off. I waited patiently for her to answer, tapping my foot the concrete pavement.

"Hello?" Her voice floated through the phone.

I instantly felt my eyes get watery. "Mom..." I said softly.

"Rachel?" She gasped, probably feeling the same way I did. I felt a huge weight on my chest, like, it finally hit me that I couldn't see my mom everyday like I used to. I guess my mind was thinking that I would see her soon, but I couldn't. She was on the other side of the fucking country. "Sweetheart, oh my God, I've missed you so much! Can't you please just tell me where you are?"

"Mom, you've gotta promise me that you won't get mad," I sighed, staring at Jess. Jess nodded, silently telling me that it was the right thing to do.

"I won't get mad, sweetie," She said quickly. She was desperate to know where I ran to.

I took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly, "I ran away to Chicago...Patrick came and got me in the middle of the night. Right now, I'm with him and his band in California right now."

There was a long pause. She was upset, I could tell. She was probably gonna hang up on me, call Aunt Pat and yell at her for letting Trick come and get me.

...I was wrong.

"Why did you run?" She asked softly. "If it was me and your father's constant fighting, we're getting divorced. I'm moving back to Chicago. You can come live with me, sweetheart."

"Mom, that's - why did you two get a divorce?" I asked, tears stinging my eyes, threatening to spill over.

"Oh, no..." Jess breathed out, rushing over to me and embracing me in a tight side hug. "Baby, I am so sorry!"

"Who's that?" My mom asked, sniffling a bit.

"Patrick's girlfriend, and my best friend, Jess," I mumbled, resting my head on her head. This must've looked really weird to anybody walking by. Two girls, just standing right in front of a well known building, one crying while on the phone, and the other one awkwardly hugging her side. "Can you tell me why you two got a divorce? Why couldn't you two just work things out?"

"Sweetheart, we were only together because of you! But, you decided to leave, and we just didn't see why we needed to be together anymore."

"...Mom, how old were you when you had me, again?" I asked, wrapping one arm around Jess' waist. Jess backed up and sat down on the steps, bringing me down with her.

"Twenty-two, why?"

"You're so going to kill me," I mumbled, looking over at Jess. She nodded her head again, signaling that I should tell her. "Mom, you know, the reason I ran away was because..well..."

"Well what?" She pressed.

Jess nudged me in the ribs, causing the words "Mom, I'm pregnant!" to spill out of my mouth. I instantly covered my mouth, regretting what I just said.

"You're - you're what?!" She shouted before a thud was heard. Either she or the phone hit the floor...hard.

"That's why I ran," I muttered, hanging my head. I knew she was disappointed. She always told me to be careful when I would "hang out" with Jack. I let her down. That would tear me apart.

"Whose is it?"

"Mom - "

"Tell me!"

"Jack's," I mumbled. Jack's mom would be told as soon as my mom hung up the phone. Kara said that Alex and Jack's parents didn't even know I ran. She said that they thought that the guys got into a fight over me, and we just stopped talking. They still thought I was in Maryland.

"I've gotta go. I'll call you later," She sighed.

"Mom, wait! You have to call this phone, and you cannot tell Jack's parents where I am! I don't want Jack or any of them knowing where I am!"

"Well, why not?"

"Because, mom! I just don't want any of them knowing where I am! I'm finally happy where I am! I have a family, friends, a boyfriend - " Oh, fuck. I slapped my forehead as hard as I could. Shit fuck, shit fuck, shit fuck! She was gonna fucking ask about him and -

"Boyfriend? Who are you dating?"

"No one, mom. Just, go, tell Jack's parents. Don't tell them where I am though. If you love me, you won't tell them."

"Alright, well, I'll call you later...at this number. Bye, sweetheart," She sighed, hanging up the phone before I could say goodbye.

***

Alex's POV

I sat at our lunch table, watching kids as they sauntered in, laughing and talking with their friends. I was waiting for Rian to get here. I hoped to fucking God he got my note yesterday. I needed to know.

Jack came walking towards the table slowly, his face blank. That was fucking odd. Jack never had a blank face. He always had a stupid fucking grin or smirk...not...nothing.

"What's wrong, dude?" I asked as he sat down at the table slowly.

He stared at me, blinking only a few times. After a few minutes of him just staring at me, barely blinking, he sighed and put his head in his hands, "My mom found out about Rachel running away. She knows she's pregnant. I was yelled at for three straight hours last night for being "so irresponsible"."

"Did you tell them that this is actually all my fault? The kid's not yours, Jack," I said, shaking my head. Why did he think that Rae was pregnant with his child? Rae said that she and Jack hadn't slept together in months.

"How do you know that, Alex? Did she tell you?"

"Well, I - "

"Alex, hey," Lisa smiled, sitting down next to me. She instantly rested her head on my shoulder. I felt my palms get sweaty and my heartbeat quicken. What was going on with me? "What's up, guys?"

"N - nothing," I choked out. What the fuck was wrong with me? Lisa had never made me feel this way before, so why was I feeling butterflies now?

Jack rolled his eyes, "I'll leave you two alone." He got up and walked away slowly. I watched as he bumped into some girl, causing her to spill her drink all over herself.

I chuckled to myself as he bent down and picked up her fallen cup.

"Oh, poor Alex. I don't think she has another shirt," Lisa commented, also watching Jack and this girl, Alex, laugh about something. This Alex girl giggled and shook her head at something Jack said. It was probably something so stupid, like, some cheesy pick up line.

Jack stripped his jacket off and handed it to her. She smiled and took it, walking out of the cafeteria, probably going to the bathroom to change.

Jack ran back over to Lisa and I, a huge goofy grin painted on his goofy face. "I think I'm in love."

♠ ♠ ♠

title credit:// homesick - a day to remember

sorry this hasn't been updated in forever. don't hate me. this story used to come to me so easily, now it takes forever to come to me. it sucks. i promise i'll try to update more often. so, yeah.

this sucks so much, but it's something, right? i might go back and change some things, i might not. so deal with ittttttttt.

alright cool. 5 comments unlock the next piece of the puzzle.

x.