Don't Ever Lose Hope

Nicole’s POV

I tried to contain the tears that fell freely down my face as I walked out of that room, which wasn’t easy. I didn’t want to hurt Alex, but I loved him and for that reason I thought that a break was necessary. I just hope he would forgive me in time.
I was so lost in my own little world, still deciphering what happened in that room merely a few minutes ago, that I wasn’t paying any attention to where I was going and suddenly felt a body against my own.
“Are you okay Nicole?” I looked up at the all too familiar voice to see a concerned Jack looking down at me. It took all I had in me not to break down right in front of him. Before I knew what was happening, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into what I assumed to be his and Meagan’s room and sat me down on the unmade bed. Jack sat down next to me, silence filling the room. I sighed, needing someone to comfort me at the moment, tell me everything was going to be okay because I was having a very difficult time believing that it was.
“You need a hug, don’t you?” he said, a smile forming on his face. I nodded, gladly accepting his warm embrace. It was like he read my mind and it felt really good to be loved by someone at the moment. I let a few tears escape my eyes until I couldn’t control my emotions any longer. Jack was soothingly rubbing my back as my whole body shook uncontrollably, sobs escaping my mouth. He let me lay in his arms, crying my eyes out until I couldn’t cry anymore.
“Thanks Jack,” I said barely above a whisper. He simply nodded his head and sent a warm smile my way. For some reason I couldn’t help but smile back. Jack was the type of a guy who could put a smile on someone else’s face, even when they feel like the whole world is crashing down on them. I loved that quality about him; I was happy I had him here with me, especially now, in the situation I am in.
“So, do you want to talk about what has made you so upset?” He asked, worry dripping off of every word he spoke. I nodded, not wanting to hold anything back from him when he has already helped me.
“As you might have already known, I accidently saw Alex and Lisa making out earlier-“
“Yeah they were drunk as shit!” he exclaimed, obviously thinking it was funny. As I looked up at him, the smile on his face was replaced with a frown. “Sorry Nicole, you can continue.” I gave him a small smile letting him know that I wasn’t upset with him.
“Even though they were drunk, it still hurt to see my boyfriend making out with his ex. I mean how would it feel if you saw Meagan making out with her ex?” I asked him, and when he didn’t respond I knew he would have felt the same way I did. “Anyways, I couldn’t really believe he would do something like that to me, you know? It hurt and then all of the sudden Andy was there to make it all better.” When he gave me a confused look I knew he had no idea who Andy was. “Andy is the lead singer of Black Veil Brides, the band that I went to see with Marissa right after you guys finished your set.” He nodded his head, making sure I knew he understood. “I guess he saw how much of an emotional wreck I was and wanted to help so he took me back to my room and I told him what happened. Surprisingly enough, he understood exactly what I was going through because he went through something similar with his girlfriend. They got to the point in their relationship where they couldn’t trust each other anymore, so decided to call it quits; they hardly talk anymore.” I sighed, trying to not let Jack see me cry anymore than he had to. “After he told me that, I was so worried that the same thing might happen to Alex and I. I love Alex and couldn’t imagine us just not speaking to each other anymore. However, as I thought back to the time where I saw that clip on E! about him and Lisa still dating, I was having a hard time believing everything was going to be fine between us. Andy was there to help me through that and knowing that he went through something similar reassured me that he wasn’t just helping me for the fame or whatever; he was helping me because he actually cared. After seeing that scene with Alex, a smile appeared on my face for the first time while I was with Andy, but it soon faded away as Lisa came into the picture. I assume she found out what room Alex and I were staying in and didn’t even bother to knock. She just marched right in like she controlled me. She threatened me Jack and to say I was scared out of my mind didn’t even begin to cover it. She said stuff like, ‘if you as so much lay one hand on my boyfriend you will regret it later, do you hear me?’ I didn’t even know what to say; I was pretty much speechless at that point. I wanted to get up in her face and say, ‘Alex is my boyfriend and he will put you in your rightful place if you do anything to hurt me,’ but I didn’t because I had a hard time believing that he would be there for me after what had happened.” I sighed, letting a tear slip down my face. “That hurt me Jack, not knowing whether or not he would be there for me.”
“Come here,” Jack said as he motioned me to sit on his lap. “Okay, you can continue now,” he said as I laid my head on his chest.
“At this point I didn’t even know where Alex was and I wasn’t about to go out of my way to ask Lisa. However, I didn’t have to since Alex barged into the room seconds later. The expression on his face was one I’ve never seen before. It almost seemed like he was about to cry, and I couldn’t help but run into his arms. After feeling how his arms were wrapped tightly around my waist, the thought of us not working out almost left my mind. However, the thought came back when he asked me if I slept with Andy. I couldn’t believe he was even asking me that in the first place, thinking I was that shallow to cheat on him after I saw what I saw in the dressing room. It was then when I realized that a break from each other might be for the best, and Jack you have no idea how hard that was. I think it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life, seeing his face right after I said those words, I wasn’t even brave enough to wait to see what he had to say; I simply walked out and that is when I ran into you and here we are.”
“Wow. Nicole I honestly don’t even know what to say except I’m so sorry. You know I’m here for you anytime you need someone to talk to, right?” I looked up at him, still in his lap, and nodded my head, smiling.
“Thanks Jack for listening; I really appreciate it,” I told him, giving him a hug in the process.
“No problem Nicole, anytime. Now if you don’t mind Meagan is probably wondering where I am because I promised her a half hour ago that I would meet her down by the swimming pool. Feel free to stay in here if you’d like. Oh and don’t hesitate to text or call if you need anything, okay?” I nodded my head, smiling at him. I’m so happy I had someone like Jack in my life; he makes me feel like there is still some hope for Alex and I.

Jack’s POV

As I walked out into the swimming pool area, I instantly spotted Meagan, who was standing by the edge of the pool talking with Zack. I noticed Alex sitting in a lawn chair beside them, not really paying attention to what they were saying. I walked up quietly, making sure Meagan didn’t see me coming and as soon as I was close enough, I grabbed her by the waist and threw her in the swimming pool.
When she came up for air, she looked at me with this glair on her face. “Why did you do that for?” she exclaimed at me, trying to hide her smile that was slowly appearing on her face.
“Because I love you,” I told her and jumped in the swimming pool. She swam over to me, and instantly wrapped her legs around my waist and arms around my neck, giving me a kiss on the lips.
“I love you too,” she told me.
“Would you still love me if I did this?” Before I let her answer, I splashed water on her face. She screamed in shock, not expecting that, but nodded her head nonetheless answering my question.
“Tag, you’re it!” she exclaimed excitedly before she swam away from me as fast as she could. She wasn’t fast enough though as I soon caught up with her and grabbed her by the waist, spinning her around in circles, making waves in the process. “That’s not fair Jack, you should have let me have a head start,” she said, pouting.
“Awww, I’m sorry babe,” I kissed her lips softly. “Does that make up for it?” A smile quickly lit up her face and she nodded her head as I laughed a little. “I wish a kiss would be able to fix every problem in a relationship,” I thought as my mind wandered off to Nicole and Alex. As I saw Alex still sitting in the same position he was in when I first walked into the room, I knew I had to talk with him.
“Hey Meagan, do you mind if I go talk to Alex for a little bit?” I asked.
“Sure Jack, he seems like he needs some cheering up,” she said. I’m glad my girlfriend was so understanding; it’s like she knew when I wanted to help a friend out, and right now by the look of things, Alex really seemed like he needed the magic of Jack Barakat to lighten up his mood.
I got out of the pool, drying myself off rather quickly, and walked over to where Alex was sitting. I pulled up a chair, right beside him, not saying anything for a second. I figured I was going to have to be the first one to talk since he wasn’t even bothering to look over at me, but was surprised when he spoke up first.
“How do you do it Jack?” he asked, turning his head to look at me. It killed me to see Alex, my brother, in this state.
“Do what?” I asked, not sure what he was referring to.
“You and Meagan seem so happy together, you hardly ever fight, you just seem so in love.” It was awesome hearing those words come from Alex’s mouth.
“I guess because we don’t find any reasons to fight, you know? If there ever is an issue that one of us is facing, we always talk about it, which helps tremendously, in our case.” I told him honestly.
“You haven’t told her about Marissa,” he stated bluntly. I sighed, running my fingers through my wet hair.
“I understand that Alex, but right now I don’t have any reason to tell her anything about Marissa. Marissa is keeping her distance, which I’m very happy about. If the subject ever comes up, or if I ever have a reason to tell her about Marissa, then I will because I won’t let something like Marissa ruin my relationship. I’ve never felt this way with anyone before…ever. I feel like every time we spend with each other our feelings grow more and more deep. I can’t picture myself with anyone else but Meagan, so that is why…”
“Why….?” Alex was waiting for me to respond.
“I’m gonna ask her to marry me,” I sang the familiar lyrics of ‘Remembering Sunday’ to him hoping that would get him to smile, it worked. Yes, mission accomplished!
“Really, that was way too cheesy!” Alex said, laughing a little.
“I couldn’t help it, and I got you to smile so it seems my work here is done. If you ever need anything don’t hesitate to call or just come to my room and talk. I’m here for you bro,” I told him, standing up and putting a hand on his shoulder.
“Thanks Jack,” he said, standing up to give me a hug. I gladly hugged him back, not caring if anyone was staring.
It felt good knowing I made both Nicole and Alex smile today. Even though they were both having a hard time dealing with what happened, I still had hope for them regaining what they had as a couple back. Ever since they became a pair, I didn’t think anything could tear them apart, but not every relationship is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. I was just hoping that this mistake wasn’t going to prevent me from ever seeing them happy and as a couple, again.