Believe Me, I'm Lying

“So…you left him standing in the park because he confessed that he has a kid?”

Caleb and Kyle share a look with one another sitting across from Jack in his kitchen. Jack just got finished explaining to them exactly what went down on Saturday, two days ago, with Alex, because since then, Jack has sort of been avoiding everyone. And Caleb and Kyle decided that enough was enough and tracked him down at his apartment to pry the information out of him.

“Jack, dude, that’s harsh,” Kyle says slowly, shaking his head, “The kid probably thought you’d freak, but probably didn’t expect you to leave…”

Jack groans, putting his head in his hands. He knew his friends wouldn’t get it. He sits up straight again, running his hands through his hair, “I don’t think you realize exactly what that means. He has a kid. Not a puppy, or anything like that. A child. A child that requires a shit ton of responsibility. When have you guys ever known me to be responsible?”

Sharing another look with the platinum blonde beside him Caleb grimaces, “I…never, I guess…”

“I go out to bars practically every night. I only go to work so that I’m not bored sitting at home, and also so I don’t have to see Ashley. I have a fiancé that I don’t have any feelings for, and really the only thing I care about, other than you guys, is getting the company. I sound like a really responsible human being.”

“You really like Alex, though,” Kyle points out, “You said so. You think he’s good for you… And so what if he has a kid? Maybe… Maybe this could be what you seriously need, Jack.”

“I don’t need a kid. I don’t need that.”

“You know, he didn’t need to accept the fact that you’re engaged, yet want a relationship with him. He didn’t have to. But he did, didn’t he, Jack?” Caleb says calmly, trying to make his friend see sense, “Doesn’t that tell you something about him? About how willing he is to make a relationship with you work?”

Jack shrugs. He knows that Alex didn’t have to accept it. But accepting that someone’s engaged and accepting that someone has a kid are two very different things. To him, at least. A kid is not in Jack’s plans. Of course, he knows that once he marries Ashley, she’s going to want to start a family. And he gets that. Because most women get married with that intention. But he figured he’d have at least a year after they actually got married before he’d need to worry about that.

With Alex, though, the things that come with having children are already there. And Jack doesn’t need any of that right now, does he? Not really. Because he has enough on his plate, what with keeping Ashley as happy as possible and keeping everyone fooled about his sexuality.

“Guys, I understand where you’re coming from…” Jack says slowly, tracing simple patterns on his table, “But I don’t think I should get involved with Alex again.”

“I think you should,” Kyle decides, and Caleb nods in agreement, “I think you should do it because as far as I can tell, Alex makes you happy. You always came to the bars in such a better mood than you used to. You like him a lot.”

“But,” Caleb interrupts, “If you were to go after a relationship with Alex, you would have to break up with Ashley eventually. Because Alex doesn’t deserve to have to share you – especially if it seems like you two could really have an awesome relationship. And, on top of that, Ashley doesn’t deserve to be played like that. As awful and horrendous as she is, no one deserves that. She really doesn’t even deserve what you’re doing to her now. Making her think you’re totally into her.”

Caleb has a point, Jack knows. But he doesn’t really care. Because, as most people know, he’s irresponsible and, on top of that, selfish. “Guys, I appreciate your input here,” He says, getting up from his table, “But I gotta think about this on my own. I only have a few hours before Ashley calls when she gets out of work and she’ll probably want to hang out or something.”

“He’s kicking us out, Kyle,” the red head says, smiling slightly as he gets up and follows Jack towards the front door, “But seriously, Jack. I want you to think about it. Maybe make a list of the pros and cons of starting a serious relationship with Alex. Will you do that for me?”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

“No seriously. Promise me?”

“Fine, Caleb,” Jack says, humoring his friend, “I promise. Now get out of here and take miss platinum here with you.”

Kyle glares at Jack and flips him off before leaving the apartment behind Caleb, and Jack shuts the door behind them, making sure it’s locked before heading off into his living room.

He understands, kind of, where Caleb and Kyle are coming from. Leaving Alex at the park was harsh and he probably should have handled the situation better. But seriously, him having a kid was the very last thing Jack was expecting. He was expecting anything from Alex confessing to being a prostitute to Alex being some sort of secret agent. Father was definitely not on the list, and Jack was taken by surprise. So he did the only thing that made sense at the time. He ran.

And it hurt, yeah. More than he thought it would. Because Jack definitely likes Alex. A lot. And leaving him like that in the park, without any way to the bus stop, made Jack’s heart ache because he was the reason for it. But whatever. Because he and Alex are over now. He needs to move on.

When Jack sits down on the couch, his eyes immediately land on the pad and pencil on the coffee table in front of him. His promise to Caleb that he’d figure out the pros and cons of a relationship with Alex bounces around in his head, and finally after a good thirty seconds of serious thought, he sighs dramatically and leans forward. He grabs the paper and pencil in his hands and rests them on his lap, tapping the led on the page.

“Well, a pro would definitely be that he would be a great fuck,” Jack laughs to himself and shakes his head as he writes that sentence down on the ‘pro’ side of the paper. He knows Caleb would slap him if he were to ever see him. But whatever.

He continues filling out the page. As the ‘pro’ list gets longer and longer and the ‘con’ list stays at a short length, Jack feels himself starting to stress. “This is ridiculous,” he says five minutes later when he reaches the bottom of the page, “This proves nothing.” He tosses the pad onto the coffee table and crosses his arms across his chest. Then, he thinks better of that action and rips the list out of it and shoves it into his pocket. He doesn’t need Ashley finding it somehow. He’d be fucked.

Of course, he kind of already is fucked. Because now that stupid damn list is making him second guess his decision to keep Alex out of his life.