I Can't Not Love You

[Jack]

“We should all go to the bar tonight,” Zack suggested as he was lifting his weights. We were backstage at a venue in Charlotte, North Carolina. Our meet and greet had just ended, so Zack was working out before the show. The rest of us were hanging out around backstage, waiting until The Maine had to go on stage to play their set.

“We should!” Kennedy agreed, hearing what Zack had suggested. “We all haven’t gone out to the bar yet this tour.”

“Yeah; last time we toured, we had all gotten wasted together at least twice by the second week,” Jared chuckled.

“So you guys are up to going to the bar after the show?” Zack asked hopefully.

“Hell yeah,” I agreed, nodding. Going to the bar would be an interesting time. We hadn’t gone out to do anything fun the whole tour.

“Did I hear something about a bar?” Alex asked, walking up to us with John.

I nodded, “Zack and Kennedy suggested that we go out to the bar after tonight’s show. Do you guys want to?”

“Of course. I’m not going to turn down the bar, especially with you guys,” John said with a laugh.

“I definitely want to go to the bar. That’ll make for a fun night,” Alex said, grinning.

“Sweet. After the show we’ll go out and meet the fans while the crew puts away the equipment, then we can all head over to the bar,” Zack suggested.

“Sounds good to me. I’ll go tell the others!” Alex offered, running away from us. “Hey guys! We’re going to go to the bar later tonight!”

“He’s excited,” I said with a laugh.

Kennedy chuckled, “I bet Alex is the first to get wasted tonight.”

“I dunno, I think Jack is more likely to get wasted first,” Zack said, shaking his head.

“Probably,” I grinned shamelessly.

“John will get wasted just as quickly as those two,” Jared laughed, looking at John.

“It’s a possibility. I haven’t been to the bar in a while, so...” John trailed off with a laugh.

I laughed, “Everyone is going to get wasted one after another, it won’t just be the three of us.”

“That’s probably true. It’s like a domino effect whenever we go to the bar,” Zack grinned.

--------------------

Sure enough, Alex and I were the first ones to get drunk at the bar later that night. It wasn’t that hard to get drunk when about seventeen of us were scattered throughout the bar – which was really more of a club, because there was a lot more dancing and music going on than a bar would have – and we were all drinking. John, Alex, and I had done a few shots for a while when we first got to the bar, which was definitely interesting. That was when the three of us had first started to get drunk. John had left the two of us soon after to go find Kennedy, so Alex and I had gone to hang out with some of the others.

After three hours in the bar/club the two of us were completely drunk. I had been sipping on some sort of alcoholic beverage for a little while now. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, because Alex had ordered two of it for us.

“Jacky, c’mere!” Alex called out loudly, his words slightly slurred. He was only about five feet away from me. Or maybe it was more; I couldn’t tell anymore.

“What?” I questioned, walking closer to him. My head spun as I did so. Alex grabbed me by the arm, pulling me closer to him.

“Dance with me!” he said, dragging me over to where a few other people were dancing. I laughed and joined in as he started dancing, messing around as we danced. The alcohol was definitely starting to affect my movement, because I kept stumbling into people. Oh well – they could deal with it. I was having too much fun.

“Hey, quit falling into me, kid!” I heard a man say, and he pushed me. I stumbled, almost falling. I turned when I regained my balance and saw a big man standing there. I couldn’t completely focus on him, but he looked pissed off.

Alex stepped in front of me, crossing his arms, “He didn’t do anything, you asshole!”

“He keeps falling into me and pushing me up against people,” the man argued, gesturing to the people beside him. They were still dancing around and talking, not paying attention to the guy.

“They don’t look like they care. Calm down and just leave us alone, prick,” Alex said.

Okay, now even I could tell that the man was pissed off.

“Look, kid, don’t try and start shit with me,” the man said.

“He isn’t trying to start shit. You’re the one that turned around and pushed me,” I said.

Alex scowled, “And I’m twenty-two years old – I’m not a kid!”

“You’re acting like one! Why don’t you and your friend just walk your asses away from here?” the man yelled. The volume of their voices had gotten much louder. The people around him had stopped what they were doing and everyone watching us now.

I suddenly felt someone grab my arm and spun around to see who it was, almost slipping in the process. I realized that Flyzik had grabbed my arm and Alex’s arm.

“I’m sorry if these two are bothering you. They’re having a little too much fun with the alcohol tonight. I’ll make sure they don’t bother you again,” Flyzik said to the man, tightening his grip on my arm as I tried to pull away.

“Thank you,” the man said, frowning at us before turning back to his group of friends.

Flyzik sighed and pulled Alex and I back over to the others. He let go of our arms, shaking his head at us, “You two need to calm down. No more alcohol for you.”

“You hurt my arm, motherfucker,” I whined, rubbing my arm.

“That guy started it! He pushed Jack!” Alex exclaimed.

Flyzik rolled his eyes, “You guys are stumbling into everything. I think both of you need to go back to the bus.”

“No!” Alex and I both protested loudly.

“You’re going to hurt yourselves or someone else if you keep it up,” Flyzik said. He saw Danny and gestured for him to come over to us, “Danny, are you busy? Would you mind escorting these idiots back to the bus?”

“Are they the reason I heard yelling?” Danny asked with a laugh.

“Unfortunately.”

Danny chuckled, “Yeah, I’ll take them back to the bus. I was about to head out anyway; I’m getting kind of tired.”

Alex and I both protested as Danny started to pull us out of the bar/club, but when I stumbled and fell to the ground outside, I realized that it probably was a good idea to lay off the drinks for the rest of the night. Danny managed to push Alex into the bus before helping me up the steps so I wouldn’t fall. Alex was still being a bitch about having to go back to the bus. Danny shut the bus door behind him, coming up the steps with a yawn.

“I’m going to head to bed. No more alcohol, alright? And try not to be too loud. I’ll come out and hurt you both if you start yelling,” Danny told us.

“Fine,” Alex said grumpily.

“Night,” Danny rolled his eyes at us, heading to his bunk.

Alex began to walk toward the back, probably to go to the back lounge, “C’mon, Jacky. Let’s watch TV or somethin’.”

“Mmk,” I agreed, following him into the back. I shut the door behind me, not wanting to hear Danny’s snoring from the bunks. I hopped onto the couch, lying down on it. All the dizziness of being drunk was suddenly starting to make me really tired.

“Lemme get the remote,” Alex said, walking over to pick up the remote. He tripped over the game controllers on the floor and let out a squeak of surprise as he fell. His head almost smacked against mine as he fell, landing partially on top of me.

“Lex, get off,” I whined, trying to push him.

“Nah. You’re comfy,” Alex said with a grin. He pushed himself up, lying fully on top of me so that every part of our bodies were pressed together.

“I’m not a pillow,” I pouted, finally getting my eyes to focus on him correctly.

Alex chuckled, “But you’re soft and fluffy like a pillow.”

“Don’t call me fat,” I said, yawning.

“I didn’t call you fat,” Alex said, poking my nose playfully. I blushed and he laughed, “Why’re you blushing, Jacky?”

“You’re lying on top of me, that’s why,” I complained, my face blushing even more. He always calls me Jacky when he’s trying to act cute or when he’s drunk.

“Maybe I like lying on top of you,” Alex smirked, his face closer to mine. I didn’t reply; he was way too close to my face for me to reply without hyperventilating. I could feel his warm, alcohol scented breath against my face.

Alex’s smirk faded slightly when I didn’t reply, and the look on his face went from playful to a little more serious. He brought his face toward mine slowly, watching my eyes to see my reaction. My eyes widened a little when his nose brushed against mine. Was he going to-

Before I even had a chance to think, Alex’s lips were pressed against mine. Oh my god. He moved his lips against mine slowly, and I felt him smile slightly when I finally started kissing back. Holy shit. I’m kissing Alex. I must be dreaming.

Alex started to kiss me a little more eagerly and I followed suit. I tangled one hand in his hair, keeping him close to me. I was kissing Alex. I felt like I was going to faint. This was too good to be true. Hell, I was drunk enough, maybe I was just imagining it.

I wasn’t going to let the kiss end quickly, that was for sure. Alex ran his tongue along my lips, asking for entrance. I felt my heart skip a beat as I parted my lips, allowing our tongues to tangle together. I was in complete bliss, savoring the touch, the taste of his lips, the sound of our quickened breathing.

I don’t know how long it lasted, but when Alex finally pulled away, his eyes were darkened and his lips were bright red, slightly swollen from the kissing. Holy shit, he looked beautiful.

I looked up at him curiously, tiredly, not able to process much in my mind due to my alcohol level and my mix of emotions. Alex just smiled, nestling his head into my neck, “Night, Jack.”

“Night, Lex,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around him before closing my eyes.