Break Your Little Heart

Chloe stayed silent, her brain still trying to figure out just what the ever-loving fuck was going on.

“Chloeeeeee!” Jack sang. Chloe snapped back into focus, however she still didn’t say anything. “Fuck, this better be the right number.” He mumbled. “Okay, I can hear you breathing, so just tell me: is this Chloe Danske?”

“I…N-no…you must have the wrong number.” Chloe tried to make her voice sound confident, but she couldn’t and it was obvious Jack wasn’t buying it.

“You little liar. I’d know that voice anywhere!” Chloe could hear the grin in Jack’s voice and it brought back her anger from earlier.

“How the fuck did you get this number, Jack?”

“I stole it from Zack’s phone. Are you really in LA?” His excitement had Chloe gritting her teeth.

“Do not call me ever again.”

Chloe ended the call without waiting for a response and then slumped to the dirty floor. Oli she could deal with. Sure, he pissed her off to no end when he called and acted like that, but she had learned how to live with it. It was just a part of Oli. This, on the other hand, was not something she had ever signed up for. Chloe had left Jack behind, had left all of them behind. And the last thing she wanted was any of them trying to worm their way back into her life.

With a determined roll of her shoulders, Chloe stood and left the bathroom. She made her way back to the bar, catching Dale’s eye and waving him over. The look on her face told him everything he needed to know and he placed a straight shot of Skyy Vodka down as well as an extra strong Tinkerbell. Chloe grinned, shaking away the anger and replacing it with anticipation. She turned her phone off and downed both. Wasted. That is what Chloe was going to get. Completely and totally fucked off her face until all thoughts of Oli and Jack and the rest of those damn boys disappeared from her brain.

***

Over 1,000 miles away, Jack stared down at his phone with a frown. Had Chloe seriously just hung up on him? Did she not understand the trouble he had gone through to get his hands on that number? She had been so different than what he expected. Jack thought she would be happy, ecstatic even, when she realized it was him. But instead she had been angry. And it confused him. Jack had thought that the only reason Chloe hadn’t contacted him or Rian was because of Alex. Now, it seemed that she hadn’t wanted anything to do with any of them save her cousin. It almost broke his heart to think she was willing to just forget all of them.

He didn’t call her back. She wouldn’t answer even if he did. His eyes scanned the room. All Time Low had finished their concert, so all of the bands had gathered for a party on one of the busses. All Jack needed was someone to talk to. Someone who had known Chloe and would be able to share his frustrations. His emotions were running high, five years of jumbled hormones all coming to a head. So when he caught sight of his very best friend, it didn’t seem wrong to approach him.

“Alex!” The lanky man turned, smiling. His eyes were glossy, alcohol blurring his brain.

“Jack Attack!”

Jack’s frown deepened when he caught sight of the girl hanging off of Alex’s side. She was young, a lot younger than any girl that Alex was with should be. She was really thin too, though nowhere near as skinny as Chloe was the last time any of them saw her. Her hair was extremely blonde, but it wasn’t natural. Jack shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was. Alex had been trying to replace Chloe with groupies who had even one small thing in common with her for years. And then he would go home to Lisa and pretend to love her even though all of them knew he had never gotten over Chloe. Even Lisa knew it, though she had managed to bury it so deep inside she convinced herself it wasn’t true.

“Bro, I need to talk to you.”

“Chill out, Jackie! Have a beer!”

“No, Alex, I need to talk to you now.”

Alex just ignored him. The blonde began to suck on his neck and Alex’s attention left Jack completely, his mouth attaching to hers. Jack tugged on his hair in frustration. He couldn’t handle this anymore. He grabbed onto Alex’s arm and ripped him away.

“What the hell, man?!” Jack didn’t respond, just dragged Alex away from his jailbait and outside.

Alex jerked out of Jack’s grasp, shoving him away roughly when the cold air hit his face. The drop in temperature had sobered him up a bit and Alex didn’t like it at all. He crossed his arms across his chest and glared at the guitarist in front of him.

“Well, you got me out here. Now what the fuck is so important you felt the need to cock block me?”

Jack chewed on his lip anxiously. The cold had also delivered him a harsh slap and he was reconsidering his decision to broach this subject with Alex. Alex huffed and managed to make his stare even harder. Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“What would you do if you ever saw Chloe again?” Jack’s voice was barely above a whisper, his attention strictly on his feet.

It was silent. Jack finally looked up, his eyes filling with sadness at the sight in front of him. Alex looked completely destroyed. His face had crumpled, his body curling in on itself. His eyes held hurt and a hint of betrayal. No one had spoken to Alex about Chloe in years. It was an unspoken rule that anything related from her was kept away from Alex.

“Don’t…don’t talk about her.” His voice was strained, fighting to make its way out of his throat.

Alex turned his back on Jack and started running. He just needed to get away. Away from the bus, away from Jack, and far, far away from the skinny blonde girl with those pale blue eyes whose image lurked behind his eyelids at every waking moment.

“She’s back, Lex!” He heard Jack call out behind him. “She’s in LA right now!”

Alex didn’t respond, just pushed himself harder, wanting nothing more than to acquire as much distance from Jack as possible. Jack was the reason all of these stupid feelings were coming back, and Alex wanted nothing to do with any of it. He had been doing just fine without her in his life. He didn’t need her. And she certainly didn’t need him, she had made that painfully clear when she walked right on out of his life.

Eventually, Alex could run no longer. He wasn’t sure where he was, but he hadn’t made any turns so when he was ready to go back to the busses it would just be a straight shot back the way he came. Knees trembling, he took a seat on the sidewalk and let his head drop into his hands. The minute his eyes were closed, Chloe was everywhere.

In his mind, she was smiling, teeth biting lightly on her bright red bottom lip in an attempt to hold back a giggle. Her nose was crinkled, her eyes positively sparkling. Her hair hung down her back, the light catching several blowing strands, changing the white blonde into a more golden hue. A huge sweater swamped her delicate frame, lacy tights peeking out underneath it.

The image was from a day they had gone to the park, just the two of them. It was a rare occurrence. Not the two of them spending a day together, or even spending a day alone together, but the fact that they had managed to evade Jack. Whenever the park was mentioned he morphed into an excited puppy, jumping all over the place until they finally left. He clearly recalled that Chloe had been trying not to laugh because Alex had tried to jump off of a swing mid-arc and fallen flat on his face instead. He had jumped straight up, of course, trying to keep his face cool. His embarrassment had only lasted up until the moment Chloe threaded her fingers through his and kissed him softly, bringing her other hand up to brush some sand off his cheek.

Alex’s memory didn’t do her justice, but that was probably for the better. The only time he really remembered her was at night, when he dreamed of the days they had spent together. Without even realizing it, Alex had begun to cry. His body shook, his long fingers pulling on his hair viciously in an attempt to force the tears back inside. This would happen sometimes. The pain would overtake him and as unmanly as it was, Alex would break down and just cry it out.

Alex wasn’t even consciously aware of what he was doing, but suddenly, his phone was next to his ear. There wasn’t even a single ring. Only an error tone and a robotic woman telling him the number had been disconnected. Alex called again. And again. And again. And again. He called until his phone began beeping, telling him his battery only had 5% battery left. It was then that Alex realized he had been sitting there, dialing Chloe’s old phone number for close to an hour. There were texts and other missed calls that he hadn’t even noticed and Alex decided it was time to get back. He couldn’t sit on the side of the road in some unknown city forever. He stood and began to slowly retrace his steps.

The party had ended by the time Alex stepped onto his bus. Zack and Jack were both passed out in their bunks. Rian and Cass were in the back lounge, Rian fast asleep. Cassadee’s eyes were drooping lower with each passing moment but she smiled when she saw Alex. Something clicked inside his mind and his eyes were suddenly blazing with determination.

“Cassadee.” She looked up sleepily, slightly startled by the intensity in his voice. Alex sat himself down next to her.

“What’s up, Lex?”

“That girl you and Ri and Zack were talking about earlier. The one that’s modeling for GK.” Cassadee nodded slowly, slightly confused. “What do you know about her?”

“I’ve never met her.”

“I know you looked her up.”

“I don’t really think it’s my place, Alex…” Cassadee shifted uncomfortably. Alex frowned in anger. She placed her hand on his shoulder. “If you want to know, look yourself. But, just so you know, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“What?” He growled. Cassadee took a deep breath. She should have known it would upset him to hear that.

“She left, Alex.” Cassadee whispered softly. Alex’s anger faded. “She didn’t call or text. What you find will probably only hurt you. Don’t do that to yourself.”

She removed her hand from Alex’s arm and pulled the blanket that was on Rian’s lap up over her shoulders. Alex didn’t say a word. Eventually, Cassadee snuggled into Rian fully and drifted to sleep. Alex sat for a minute before finally hauling himself into a standing position and retiring to his own bunk. He plugged his phone in and pulled open a new internet page. His fingers began to type out her name. They hovered over the search button for a moment, Alex simply staring at the words Chloe Danske written out in the search bar. After a moment, he cleared the entry and shut off his phone. Cassadee was right. Chloe had left. She didn’t want anything to do with Alex and he decided he didn’t want anything to do with her either. Chloe Danske could drop dead for all he cared.