Don't Forget About Me.

Alex didn’t even bother mentally preparing himself when he woke up the next morning, after 2 days now he’d gotten the idea that things weren’t about to magically mend themselves overnight, even if that was how quickly they’d become fucked up in the first place. Just as he did every other day, he rolled over and picked up his phone to check the time only to find out that it was 8:00am, and as much as he tried, he just couldn’t get back to sleep.

So admitting defeat he rolled out of bed and threw on his tight black skinny jeans, a plain white v-neck tee, and a black hoodie with horizontal white pinstripes, before lazily making his way to the bathroom so he could perfect his hair by straightening his fringe so it lay perfectly across his forehead, then messing up the back of his hair and securing the whole style with hair spray.

He knew he couldn’t forget to eat again today, so before heading out to fulfil his plans he made his way to the kitchen to look for something to have for breakfast. Only to find when he got there that his now non-existent friends must’ve eaten all his food before conveniently forgetting about his existence. So with his lack of food, Alex’s decided that as much as he wanted to get Jack back, he really needed to stock up, so he put off his previous plans and headed to his car so he could make a quick pit stop to the supermarket to pick up necessities.

Whilst there it seemed that luck just wasn’t on Alex’s side, and the majority of shoppers just happened to be people that should’ve acknowledged his presence, and should’ve stopped and talked with him in the aisle wasting time whilst they catch up. But due to recent events every single person walked past him without batting an eyelid. The most painful people to be ignored by whilst there were his band mates Zack and Rian, in the confusion of everything that had happened, Alex had forgotten about how his other band mates would also be oblivious to him, but now that he had experienced it, it was almost like losing Jack all over again, except this time he knew not to fight it, because no matter how much he tried to convince them, he knew that they wouldn’t believe someone pleading with them in the aisles of a supermarket.

So as much as it hurt him, Alex turned his back on everyone he had once loved, and quickly finished ticking things off his mental shopping list as well as collecting a few extras he deemed necessary for today’s plans. Once everything he needed to do was done, he returned to his car with his trolley of goods and unloaded them into the boot before taking the trolley back to the nearest station. It took all of his strength to ignore all the familiar faces walking past him as he made his way back to the car, but somehow he did it and kept a firm grip on the steering wheel as he drove back to his apartment, so much so that by the time he pulled into his parking space his knuckles were starting to turn white due to the strain they were under.

Alex was beginning to allow things to get to him again; he could feel his emotions becoming unstable as he remembered the happy faces of all the people who no longer knew him, so he remained sat in the driver’s seat for a few more minutes taking deep breaths in order to calm himself down.

It took about 10 minutes for him to completely transfer everything from his car to his kitchen, and then another half an hour to pack everything away and eat a small breakfast; before he headed back out on foot carrying the things he was hoping would be the first steps to rebuilding his friendship with Jack.

It was strange how he hadn’t made this journey once in 10 years, and yet this would be the fifth time in the past 3 days. But there was one thing Alex couldn’t deny, no matter how long it had been since his last visit, the journey there would be forever etched into his brain, because not only did the destination hold so many valuable memories for Alex, but he had also made this journey with some of the most important people in his life.

The lump in his throat was beginning to return, so he forced himself out of his thoughts, “I’m not ready yet” he muttered under his breath whilst shaking his head absent mindedly. He didn’t really focus on where he was going on the way there, because he knew that he could’ve closed his eyes and fallen asleep whilst walking, and yet he would’ve still ended up exactly where he is now, stood in the clearing he knows all too well, staring at the doorway he hoped would lead him to the person he was here to see.

Just as he had done the day before, Alex approached the door with extreme caution trying as hard as possible to make his footsteps as quiet as he could on the murky woods floor, slowly manoeuvring himself so he could see through the doorway without getting too close. He wasn’t sure what to feel when he realised that the small room was empty; there was a wave of both relief and disappointment to rush through him, but he decided that seeing the small room empty, was better than seeing someone else is Jacks place. Now all he had to think about how he was going to carry out his plans and making sure they benefitted Jack, and only Jack.

After standing outside the doorway for a few more minutes to completely assure himself he was alone, he took a deep breath and entered the room, carefully taking in his surroundings. Everything was exactly as it had been when he had first come back here 2 days ago, “that’s a good sign,” he assured himself.

He noted that the small gas lamp was still on its table, and that gave Alex hope that Jack was going to come back, nothing had been said about the item between the two boys, but Alex could already tell that Jack had some sort of attachment to it.

So with that he began to set down the things that he had brought with him. He had received some very confused and questioning looks whilst walking through the park with his recent purchases, and he swore at one point someone almost confronted him as he was hauling the lot over the wall, but then the person looked like they second guessed themselves and decided to carry on walking, much to Alex’s relief.

He decided he knew the younger boy well enough to know that if he tried to force his friendship upon him and expect everything to go back to be how it was straight away, he would almost definitely end up pushing him away even more than he currently is. So he needed to take baby steps, and prove to Jack how much he means to him, and how much he wants to help him.

So the first thing Alex did was begin to move all of the old rotting furniture away from the bench that Jack had been sleeping on, he knew that it would upset the younger boy if he changed his surrounding too much, but it made Alex more comfortable to know that he had moved the mould as far away from Jacks ‘bed’ as possible.

He hadn’t been able to buy half as much as he had wanted to in order to improve his best friends life, but he was extremely unsure about his financial situation at the moment, it was clear All Time Low didn’t exist anymore so what was his job now? Did he even have a job? If he did, what was the pay like? His apartment definitely didn’t look like it was something he could afford with a low pay. That was something he’d have to look in to when he returned home.

His most important purchase had been the most expensive sleeping bag Alex thought he could afford. It was October now, which meant the nights were beginning to turn increasingly colder and the quality of the weather was rapidly decreasing day by day, so he made sure that his choice was well insulated and also waterproof to protect Jack from the wrath of the winter weather. He also made his choice based on the face that the sleeping bag possessed an insulated hood that would make sure all of Jacks body was protected.

Alex hoped that Jack wouldn’t be out here living in the woods long enough for all these extract protective features to be necessary, but if there was one thing Alex had learnt about his best friend throughout their lives, it was that if he held a grudge he could be one of the most stubborn people you will ever meet if that’s how he chose to be. So with that he carefully laid the sleeping bag on the bench, along with a small pillow he had decided may prove useful.

Before Alex had chance to turn around and continue laying out the things he had bought, he was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat in the doorway. His body became rigid as he inhaled a large breath out of shock, he wanted, no, needed to turn around and face him, but Alex couldn’t bring himself to do it because he was scared of what he might find. It wasn’t until the person cleared their throat again and Alex heard them take a few small steps in his direction that he managed to convince himself to stand up and turn to face the figure.

“Alex.” Jacks voice was harsh and cold, which caused any confidence or hope that Alex had previously possessed to instantly vacate his body, leaving him stood there feeling as small as he had done the previous day when Jack had looked at him with such hatred.

“Jack, I-I-” Alex struggled to form his words as once again his emotions began to become unstable, threatening to defy him any second now.

“W-Why-” He made a second attempt to communicate, but once again found the lump in his throat fighting against his wishes, and Alex decided that if he wanted to remain somewhat composed, he would have to hope that Jack could somehow grasp what he was trying to say, and answer him without him actually having to pronounce the words.

“What do you want Alex? Why are you here?” There was no compassion in Jacks voice as he stood there and watched his best friend crumble in front of him, his face contained no expression and he didn’t look like he was about to make any attempt to comfort the older boy. There was a prolonged silence between the two as Alex tried to steady his breathing so he would be able to give Jack the answers he wanted.

“I-I-” Alex closed his eyes and took another breath in order to fight against the tears that were threatening to spill.

“I don’t understand what’s going on Jack, I’m so confused, 3 days ago I fell asleep cuddled up on the couch with my girlfriend, after spending a great day with you, Zack Rian, and the rest of our crew, then I wake up the next day in bed and all of a sudden no-one remembers me. I see Lisa in the park with some guy that apparently she’s been with years, and then I run back to this place, take the lamp, come back the next day and find you. And I was so happy Jack, truly happy that I’d found you, but then you looked at me, with the hate in your eyes, and I didn’t know what I’d done, I still don’t. I don’t remember ever doing anything that would cause you to feel this way about me, and I hate it, I really, really hate it, and I just want my best friend back, my brother, because I know I won’t be able to get through this without you. I need you Jack, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back, I promise I’m going to fix this... if you’ll let me, that is.” Alex barely had time to breath as he spilled all of his confusion out to his best friend, he needed to say this, to make Jack understand the hurt he was feeling. And when he was done he couldn’t hold it in anymore, he let himself fall back onto the bench and for the fifth time in 3 days Alex had been reduced to tears, and he decided he really didn’t care anymore, he needed Jack to see how sincere he was.

Alex definitely wasn’t expecting what happened next, he didn’t know how Jack would react but due to the events of yesterday he didn’t expect any sympathy from the younger boy. Which is why, when Jack took a seat next to him, wrapped his arm around his shoulders, and pulled him into his chest to let him cry, Alex momentarily flinched at the contact but instantly relaxed again and clenched a handful of Jacks shirt in his hand, as he soaked his chest with the tears he didn’t think it was possible for him to still be producing.