I Know You've Got Your Life In Place But I've Yet To Take The Hint

Alex was gone from my bed before I woke up later that afternoon. I hated to admit it, but I was cold and lonely without him. If he'd been there, I would have woken him up and we would have talked and laughed and complained about having to get up for hours before we finally rolled out of bed. Being alone, though, I quickly rolled out of bed and grabbed a shirt off my bed and headed out into the kitchen.

Lisa was sitting there with a cup of tea in her hands. Nobody else was there. Great.

I walked past her and headed to the fridge. I took out a bottle of orange juice and poured myself a glass of it. I grabbed an apple and was getting ready to head back to my room when Lisa spoke to me.

"I know you're pissed at me, Jack."

I turned and looked at her, but didn't say anything.

"You don't need to say anything. I can see it in your face. I know. I don't always treat Alex the way he deserves to be treated, but you have to understand how I feel. He's sweet, he's sexy, thousands of girls want him. You're single, you bring home pretty girls that he has to see. I know you don't mean it, but you could end up making him cheat on me without-"

"I wouldn't go there, Lisa."

She looked at me. "I know your his best friend but that doesn't mean I have to approve of the things you do."

I decided to mimick her. "I know your his girlfriend but that doesn't mean I have to approve of the things you say."

"I'm not trying to pick a fight, Jack. You just don't understand how much he means to me and how much I don't want to lose him because he feels pressured by his friends. I know you guys don't think the highest of me ... I'm not in a band like Cassadee, I don't have a real job, I flaunt my body for money, as I've heard people say."

I pressed my lips tightly together because I was really close to losing my temper. That was something that happened rarely, and really shouldn't happen at all because it could be quite dangerous.

"Of course I don't know how much he means to you. I've only known him longer than you, been friends with him before you started dating, have a band with him that means everything to me, and oh, of course, he just happens to be my best friend. Which obviously doesn't count for anything. And also, I can't speak for the others, but the way I see it is this. I don't like you because you can't bring yourself to accept me for who I am. I don't judge you because you're not in the music scene or because your a model. You work hard for what you do; kudos for that. I don't like how you think I'm going to corrupt Alex or make him leave you or something. I'm his best friend. I couldn't do that because that would mean hurting him. I don't want to hurt him because hurting him is like hurting myself. And what's the point of that?"

I was pleased with myself. I had managed to keep my voice down, got everything out that I wanted to say, and I hadn't lost my temper.

Lisa was just staring at me. After a few minutes, she laughed. "Whatever, Jack."

I threw my apple at the wall beside her head. She shrieked. I then calmly drank my orange juice, walked out the door, and closed it softly.

I decided I was going to take a walk. I followed a trail that headed into the woods. Probably a bad idea, but I really felt like being by myself.

The trail snaked around groups of trees and rocks and ended up by a river. That was fine with me. Water was calming.

I decided I was was going to skip rocks. Five minutes later, I remembered that I didn't know how to skip rocks and started throwing them angrily in the water, instead.

I didn't really know who I was mad at; myself or Lisa. I mean ... I hated to admit it but I could see Lisa's POV. But on the otherhand, it made me mad that she didn't trust Alex after all the time they'd spent together. I didn't care if she didn't trust me. But Alex had never done anything to make her not trust him. I hated her for that. She hurt him so easily and didn't realize it, and I was always the one there picking up the pieces. And he always went back to her. Always.

I grabbed a rock and aimed it at a tree. It hit it with a satisfying thunk.

I grabbed another and was ready to aim at a different tree when a low growl came out of nowhere. A wild dog appeared, stopped, and looked at me viciously. In my haste to scramble backwards, I tripped over a branch and landed in the river.

The wild dog seemed satisfied. It turned and walked away the way it had came, making a sound that I swore was dog laughter.

I sat up in the knee-high water. It was cold and I was already starting to shake.

Great.

*********************************************************

Alex was hanging with the guys. He had no idea that Jack was sitting in a river a few kilometers away from them because his girlfriend had once again gone and done something to make him upset.

Lisa was sitting on his lap and was ignoring everyone. She didn't feel much like talking after her confrontation with Jack in the kitchen.

"So. Guys. I wanted to tell you something." Alex spoke to get his friends' attention.

Matt was the first to look up. "What?"

"Lisa is coming with us on our next tour."

This statement was met with silence.

The guys looked at him. Nobody seemed to want to say anything, but someone had to say something.

"Whatever you say, Alex. Just make sure you tell Jack. Because the rest of us sure as hell aren't going to tell him for you." Rian spoke up. The others nodded in agreement, and then as if pulled by the same mutual force, they all got up and started walking off.

Lisa sighed. "Your friends don't like me, Alex. Especially Jack. This isn't a good idea."

Alex grabbed her hand. "They like you just fine. They're just not used to the idea of having a girl tagging along with us. They'll come around."

"And Jack?"

"I'm sure Jack will be fine with it."

Lisa hesitated and then asked "But what if he's not?"

Alex squeezed her hand. "You're coming anyway. Look, I think that's Jack coming now, I'll ask him. Stay here."

*********************************************************
I was freezing by the time I had gotten within sight of the bus.I almost turned and walked back the other way when I saw Lisa and Alex sitting by themselves. But, Alex got up and starting walking towards me, so I didn't have a choice but to continue.

It didn't take Alex long to reach him, even though I had started walking slower. Sometimes I hated my 'drag queen' legs.

"Jack, I just wanted to tell you that - Um, Jack, you're all wet."

I glared at him. "Thanks for stating the obvious. I decided it was a lovely day for swimming."

Alex looked at him strangely. "Um Jack ... we're only April."

"I KNOW THAT, Alex."

Alex looked taken aback by my tone, but I didn't care.

"Now, what did you want to tell me?"

Alex looked at the ground. "Well, not tell as much as ask. I wanted to know if Lisa can come on tour with us."

I didn't know what to say. So I stalled. "What did the other guys say?"

"They said to make sure I asked you."

Great. It wasn't like I could say no now. "Whatever, Lex. It's not like it matters what I say. You're the leader of this band, afterall. You do what you want."

I ignored the shocked expression that colored my best friend's face and brushed past him. I wanted warm clothes, privacy, and a wall to smash my head into.