Take a Sad Song and Make It Better

Jade's POV

I would never understand the need of alarm clocks; in all things being said, they seemed pointless. Farmer's had roosters to wake them up, little kids had their parents, I had Bailey, so why did I have an alarm blaring at me at me on a fucking Saturday?

“Bailey!” I yelled, rolling over and groaning into the soft confines of my pillow. Footsteps pounded up the stairs shortly after and my door was flung open shortly after, the sound of heavy breathing infiltrating my silent room.

“Baybay's busy. Can I help?” Jack's voice floated into my ears and I turned around, looking at the heavy breathing guitarist, his hair flopped messily over his forehead. Over the passed few weeks, I noticed my sister was continuously missing from the house. And when she wasn't at home, she was always with Zack. I had noticed how suspicious they acted around one another, like they were uncomfortable with just sitting next to each other. They were both too happy for their own good. Something was going on between them, not that I really minded; that's what I wanted for both of them.

“Yeah you can actually,” I snapped, slowly sitting up against my headboard and crossing my arms over my chest, “Why is my alarm clock set to noon time when everyone in their right mind knows that Saturdays are for sleeping in!”

Jack smiled, “Alex told me to.”

“Alex can suck his dick.”

“Where's the fun in that when he has you to do it for him?” Jack smirked, my pillow hitting him in the face shortly after, “Sorry.”

“Bitch motherfucker,” I grumbled, pulling away the blankets from off my body, lumbering over to my closet.

“Nice booty shorts, Jay,” Jack chuckled.

“Shut up, Bara-booty.”

“I knew you liked my butt.”

“Leave,” I shouted, Jack bursting out in laughter as he closed the door behind him, leaving me alone to change. I pulled out a pair of jeans with holes in the knees, (I had forgotten to wash some clothes this week) the Dawn of the Dead t-shirt Rian had bought me for Christmas, and the gray beanie Zack had also gotten me before walking into the bathroom. My regular routine was initiated: hair straightened and hanging over my shoulders, eyeliner, mascara, brushing teeth and then I was out the door and downstairs to find Alex sitting on the couch flipping through the channels like he lived here. I guess in a way he almost did; he spent more time over here with me then he did at his own house.

“Hey, Jay Bird,” He smiled, getting up and flipping off the television, pulling me into a kiss.

“You woke me up early,” I pouted, looking up into his brown eyes, a laugh emitting from his chest.

“I'm sorry, babe, but I have the day planned out for us and it starts early,” He apologized, pulling me in once again for another kiss, this one lasting a little longer than the first.

“Stop kissing me. I won't stay mad.”

“I know,” He smirked, continuing to kiss me, leaving my lips and trailing his softly down my jaw and then my neck. My breath caught in my throat as his kisses hit just behind my ear, a shiver traveling down my spine. Alex's lips curved in a smile as he continued to kiss in the same spot for the same affect as before.

“Stop,” I groaned, pushing at his chest; we both now that I didn't want him to do any such thing but he obeyed my request just the same.

“I guess we should be heading out anyways,” He whispered, placing his hand on the small of my back as he led me to the front door, allowing me time to pull on Alex's red hoodie and my sneakers before we headed out to his car.

“Where to boss?” I asked, buckling up my seat belt as Alex pulled out of the driveway.

“Okay, maybe I didn't make this clear, but I'm taking you out and I've planned the day...and I haven't told you anything about what we're doing...”

“So you won't be telling me anything?”

Alex grinned, flipping on his left directional signal, “Bingo!”

“Jerk.”

“You love it.”

“I'm sure you do too. Jerking off is one of your favorite things to do.”

“Actually, its called jacking off,” Alex corrected, turning on the car stereo.

“So you admit its one of your favorite things to do?” Alex made a crude gesture with his hand near his crotch, shaking his open fist a couple of times before flexing out his hand.

“Does that explain anything?”

“You're disgusting.”

“Your mom wasn't saying that last night.”

“Funny, your dad was saying the same thing to me yesterday, too,” The look of pure horror on Alex's face enough to make me burst out in laughter.

“You are never allowed in my house ever again.”

“Sure...son,” Alex groaned, shaking his head as he cranked up the stereo.

Moments passed and soon we were in front of a small record store, something I could have passed a thousand times and never seen, but here it stood before me. Alex parked, turning off the car and getting out, running around the car to open my door.

“Why thank you. I didn't know you had it in you,” I complimented, joining my hand in his as we walked into the small store, thousands of bins of records crowding the small space.

“Well, I have my moments,” Alex shrugged his shoulders, leading me over to a row of bins and began searching through, “I know you kept talking about wanting to start a record collection so I figured I'd help you out.”

“Alex, I can't believe you remembered that. It was like, a five second comment.”

“Everything you say is important to me, Jay Bird,” Alex smiled, looking up from the dusty records, “Remember that.”

After what seemed like hours, I had four records in my hands, “Alright, I'm good.”

Alex took the records from my hands, looking through the selections I had made, “Michael Jackson, of course,” Alex looked up and smiled at me.

“He's the King of Pop...and I love his music too much for my own good,” I blushed, reaching to grab the record from his hand.

“ACDC; nice choice, Journey; also awesome, and...The Tokens?” Alex looked up with a quizzical look on his face.

“The Lion Sleeps Tonight is a classic, don't judge my music, Gaskarth,” I muttered, reaching for the stack in his hands. He shook his head, a devilish gleam in his eyes. Before I knew it, Alex was sprinting to the register, his wallet in hand, paying for the records leaving my mouth hung open in shock. When he finished paying, he handed me the plastic bag, a grin on his face, “I can't believe you just did that...”

Alex shrugged, grabbing my hand in his,“Ready to peace out?”

I nodded, letting him lead me back to the car. Soon we were back out on the road to another destination Alex refused to give any details about. Once again, the car stopped but this time in front of a small restaurant, the outside giving off that quaint little diner feel.

“Breakfast awaits,” Alex made a large sweeping hand gesture, bowing low as he opened my door. When I stepped out, he grabbed my hand, pulling me inside, “Even though its...” Alex looked at his cell phone in his other hand, “three-thirty.”

“Really? That late?” I asked, taking the phone only to confirm that e was correct, “Boy, where did all that time go?”

“Well, considering how long we stayed at the record store, you changing, us making out, and the driving time in between...I'd say time flew like that...”He smirked, squeezing my hand a little tighter.

“Hey, can I help you two?” We both turned, looking over at the elderly woman behind the counter, a pencil behind her ear and a pad of paper tucked into the pocket of her ragged black apron, strapped around her pink button down blouse and part of her white skirt.

Alex nodded, “Yes, um, can I just get a couple meals to go please?” He asked politely, smiling over at the woman as she gave us one of those looks that read that there was still a little hope for youth of today.

“Yes, sir. What can I get you?” Alex muttered off a few things, the woman scribbling them down quickly before placing the pencil back behind her ear and ripping off the paper, handing it back to the chef, “That'll be ready in no time. You can just sit here while you wait,” We both thanked her and watched her grab a tray of drinks to a nearby table.

“So...where are we headed to after this?” I asked, turning to Alex as we seated ourselves on the stools in front of the counter, watching the chef cook our food.

“Have you not learned anything today?” Alex laughed, turning to look at me, placing our hands on the table. I watched as his thumb traced circles over my knuckle. A tingling feeling jolted from my hand and up to my chest; I had felt this numerous times with Alex but it seemed like it was on overload today. He knew exactly what to say and do to make me fall just a little bit harder for him, because that's exactly what I was doing.

Falling for him.

“Well, I know you have excellent listening skills, and planning skills,” I laughed, looking up into Alex's eyes.

“What about kissing skills? There was definitely some of that going on today too,” He smirked, raising an eyebrow in my direction.

“That goes without saying though.”

“I knew I liked you,” He whispered, leaning down and capturing my lips with his in a sweet, short kiss.

“Food's ready kids,” Alex and I broke apart to see the woman, a soft smile on her lips as she looked between our blushing faces, a large, brown paper bag in her outstretched hand. Alex thanked her, paying her quickly before leading us out the door and back in the car.

“Off to the park,” Alex proclaimed, backing out of the parking space and onto the road. I smiled as Alex groaned, face palming his forehead, “Dammit. Stupid me and ruining surprises...”

“Yeah you suck,” I laughed, looking out the windshield and watching the scenery fly by.

We pulled into the park, grabbing our lunch/breakfast and getting out of the car, sitting on the hood and watched now returning birds pick at the bread little children were feeding to them. The snow had melted by now but the kids still were forced into extra puffy winter jackets and snow caps, though the March air was warming up slightly for spring.

“Can you believe we've been together for almost a month?” Alex asked, breaking the silence between us and distracting me from my chicken fingers he had ordered for me.

“It feels like we've been together longer,” I admitted, dipping a french fry in the ketchup.

“Well, I guess you could say that. I mean, we act basically the same as we did when I was dating Lisa,” Alex added, taking a bite from his burger, “but we just, make out now which I'm totally okay with.”

“Same here,” Alex turned and look at me, putting down his burger and wiping some of the crumbs off on his pants legs.

“You've got some...” He pointed to his cheek, brushing it against his skin as if to point out that I had something located there. When I didn't make any movements to change anything about my appearance he smiled, “Here, I'll get it.” Alex leaned in, kissing the corner of my mouth, before pulling away, his smile wider, “Got it.”

“I'm beginning to think that there wasn't anything there.”

Alex shrugged, “There wasn't, but, you liked it anyway.”

A rain drop landed on Alex's hand, both of us looking down at it before up at the sky as more rain drops started to fall, the rain count increasing as the seconds passed. The children were scooped up by their parents, the birds flying away but some staying to finish off the bread on the ground. Cars pulled out of the parking lot as the rain became heavier and soon started to soak through my jean pants creating that mucky feel on my skin. I looked over at Alex, his hair sticking to his forehead as he smiled over at me.

“Wanna do something really cliché?” He asked, leaning forward.

I rolled my eyes, “I know exactly what you're going for but I'm not a kissing in the rain type of person. Unlike every other girl on the planet, I don't really care if I'm kissed when its raining or not.”

“But, unlike most girls, the opportunity is staring you down in the face,” He grinned, placing his hands on my waist and pulling me closer to him, his lips dangerously close to my own.

“I'm cold.”

“And I wanna kiss you. Let's compromise,” He retorted, his lips brushing softly against mine as his eyes closed. I sighed, pushing my body close to him and letting his press his mouth over mine. I never understood what was so fascinating about being kissed in the rain, but the way Alex's hands ran through my hair, over my cheeks and back, I got it. I got the chills that ran up and down my spine, the warm feeling erupting from the tip of my head to the very edge of my biggest toe. I felt...something completely different. And I liked it.

And I'm sure Alex knew to by the way we both transferred our smiles onto the others lips.

Finally, Alex pulled away, my body shivered from the way this new feeling filled every inch of me and the lack of his lips on mine left me wanting more of him.

“We should probably head out,” He mumbled, his lips still close to mine as his hot breath beat against my cheeks. I nodded, letting him pull me from the hood of his car and gathering the now ruined food in his arms, tossing it away quickly before opening my car door, running to his side and getting in.

“What time is it?” I asked, yawning slightly as Alex turned on the car.

“Um,” He checked his cell phone, “Around five. Do you want me to drive you home now?” I shook my head, pulling my soaking hoodie closer around my body.

“Don't you live close by?” I asked, cranking up the car's heat. Alex nodded, backing out of the park and down the road.

“Yeah, we can just go there,” He muttered, driving for a bit longer before we were situated in front of his all too familiar house, the only car in the driveway now being his, “My mom and dad are at some friends house for the weekend and should be back later tomorrow,” He stated, answering my unasked question as he stopped the car, parking it quickly and running out, opening my door before dragging me to his porch. He pulled out his keys, opening his front door and escorting me inside, shutting the door as the warm air hit my damp skin.

“I think I have some sweatpants and a t-shirt if you wanna borrow it,” He mumbled, taking off his sneakers and messing with his wet hair. I nodded, following him up the stairs and toward his bedroom. He shifted through a few drawers before pulling out a pair of gray sweatpants and one of his Third Eye Blind t-shirts, handing them to me with a small smile.

“You wouldn't happen to have an extra bra in there would you?” I joked, tearing off the hoodie I had been wearing, handing it to Alex.

“No, but if you feel the need, you can go without one.”

“I think I'll be fine,” I laughed, walking out into the hall and toward the bathroom, closing the door behind me and flipping on the light. I changed out of my wet clothes with some difficulty before tugging on the dry clothes and tying my hair in a ponytail with one of the elastics on my wrist. I walked out of the bathroom and back to Alex's room, opening the door and finding his standing in front of his drawer in only a pair of sweatpants, the hem hanging dangerously low on his hips, the boxers he wore sticking out of the top.

“Feel free to go shirtless,” I mimicked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk on my lips as he turned toward me, dropping the t-shirt in his hands.

“Fine by me,” He said, closing the drawer and scanning my appearance with a smile on his face, “Even though you may not like this, I really think you look amazing right now,” He muttered, walking over to me and lacing our hands together.

“Well, I'm not partial to letting other people besides family see me in sweatpants, I'm glad you think I look nice.”

Alex pulled me over to his bed, yanking back the many blankets and sitting down, placing me next to him. He let the blankets fall over our waists, flicking on the small television on top of his dresser. His arm wrapped around my waist, his other hand laying behind his head as he watched the show going on in the screen before us. My head rest on his shoulder, my hands tracing patterns on his chest as I let his warmth sink in again, the feeling from before floating back throughout my body causing a smile to fall on my face. Alex must have noticed the smile out of the corner of his eye because he turned to look at me. His hand fell out from behind his head, landing on my cheek softly, his eyes searching my face as a small smile graced his lips.

“Jay Bird?” He whispered.

“Yes, Alex?”

He leaned forward, a indescribable glint in his eyes, “You look tired.”

“I am. Exhausted actually,” Alex smiled, catching my lips softly, pulling away to turn off the television and laying down, myself following his actions as we turned on our sides facing each other. His arm wrapped around my waist, the other falling under my head as he pulled me closer to his chest, my hands placed on the bare skin, the pads of my fingers feeling the tiny thump of what I could only guess was his heart.

When I woke up, my body had turned, my eyes able to stare out the window as Alex's arms were wrapped around my waist securely from behind, his breath beating against my neck in a rhythmic pattern. The rain was still pelting against the glass and looking from the clock back outside, I concluded how late I had stayed. Quietly, I tried to pull myself from Alex's grip, only to have his arms tighten around me.

“No, stay with me,” Alex mumbled, digging his face in my neck as he kissed the skin softly, the smile sleepily creeping up his face. I sighed, turning over to look at Alex's smiling face, the sleep heavy in his eyes as he kissed me once more, his arms pulling me closer into his chest as I ran m fingers softly through his messy hair.

I don't know when I feel asleep again, or when he fell asleep for that matter, but all that mattered was that Alex's smiling face stained my mind, the warm feeling keeping a permanent residence in my body.

Oddly enough, I didn't want it to ever end.