Darling, I Just Can't Go On

"I know your secret," Jack whispered to his best friend as the sleepy boy sunk into his seat.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked, folding his arms on the desk so that he could rest the side of his head on them, face looking over to the skunk haired boy.

"I. Know. Your. Secret." He replied, putting empahasis on each of the words.

"What secret is that?" Alex yawned.

"The fact that you're in love with Andi."

Alex's head shot up, eyes going wide at how loud Jack had said the words.

"What the fuck man?"

"I see the way you look at her," Jack said smartly, looking satisfied that he had gotten such a reaction from his friend. "And you act different when you're around her. Plus the fact that you spend all your time with her... I could go on, but I think you get the point."

Alex stared at him for a few minutes before putting his head back down, this time with his face buried in the soft material of his jacket as a small blush worked it's way onto his face.

He never wanted to admit it, much less have it flaunted in front of him by someone else, but he knew deep down that he did like Andi as more than the friend that she saw him as.

"So am I right, or not?" Jack asked, leaning over so that he could poke at the blushing boy's side.

Alex only shrugged in return, not looking up knowing that Jack would just give him even more shit over the fact that he was actually blushing, something he hadn't done in years, or ever.

"I mean it's cool man, there's nothing wrong with liking her. She's like beyond hot, but you don't normally go for girls like her..."

"What do you mean 'girls like her'?" Alex asked as he raised his head once more, but only after he had felt the heat rinse from his cheeks.

"I just meant that you're normally more of a hit it and quit it type of guy, not one for a serious relationship with someone as shy and quite as Andi." Jack replied as he sat back, wondering what was going on inside of Alex's head.

At that point, Alex was just shocked. He never knew that his best friend saw him in such a way, a 'hit it and quit it' guy.

He could understand, what with how he had been with Lisa and how disfunctional their relationship had been, but it still hit a nerve that someone so close to him saw him in such a negative light.

"You really do like her, don't you?" Jack asked, noticing the look on his friend's face.

"Yeah, I really, really do." Alex finally admitted, giving a sigh as he rested his face against the palm of his hand, proping his head up as he thought back to just a few hours before when Andi had kissed him.

It hadn't been an actual kiss on the lips, but she had placed hers right beside his, so close but still not close enough.

"What're thinking about Lex?" Jack asked, pulling his thoughts away from Andi's lips.

"She sorta kissed me this morning..." He said, moving his face away from his hand and slumping back into the seat, not being able to find a comfortable postion with his restless feelings.

"What do you mean sorta?"

"Well she kissed me here," Alex said, pointing to the spot right beside the corner of his mouth. "It wasn't on the lips, but it also wasn't an innocent kiss on the cheek."

"And why did she kiss you?"

"She just told me happy birthday and kissed me before getting in her car and driving away like it was nothing."

"Maybe she was embarresed or blushing or any of those other girl feelings..." Jack said with a shrug, not knowing why girls acted they ways that they did. "What were you guys doing together anyway?"

Alex explained what had happened, starting off with the text and her waiting outside of his house, and ending it with the almost kiss.

Class had long since started and the entire time the duo was talking they would catch the teacher sending them dirty looks which they both chose to ignore. It wasn't their fault that someone decided to put the two in the same class together.

After their entire high school career, Alex thought that at least someone would have had to common sense to try and seperate the pair.

"Personally," Jack started off later in the class as they were leaving, the teacher casting a disapproving look as they exited the room. "I think you two are perfect for each other and you just need to get married and make lots of sexy babies together."

Alex rolled his eyes and shoved the taller boy's shoulder roughly, getting a shove in return as they moved to Jack's locker which was only a few feet away from the classroom.

"What? You guys would be fucking adorable together and you know it!"

"Whatever you say man," Alex replied putting his hands up in defeat. "I doubt we'd ever date though."

"Why do you say that?" Jack asked.

"I can't exactly say for sure," He said, thinking back to all of the things that Andi was still dealing with, what with her father being extra distant from her, on top of everything else. He just doubted that she would be willing to start a relationship when she already had so much on her plate. "Just a thought."

Jack gave him a skeptical look, but let the subject drop when the warning bell rang out through the hallway.

"I'll see you later man, if I'm late to class one more time I'll have to miss paractice on Friday for a dentiton."

~~

Following Andi out of their last period class, Alex could hear her humming something under her breath lightly, lost in her own world as they walked towards that front of the school together.

"What song is that?" Alex asked whilst putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Huh- Oh uh, it's nothing," She replied, starled out of her thoughts by his words. "Just an old song that's randomly stuck in my head."

"Well what is it? I mean I probably know it, what with my vast knowledge of anything music related." He said making her nudge him in the side with her elbow as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Teenage Dirtbag..." She mumbled making the singer grin widely.

"CAUSE I'M JUST A TEENAGE DIRTBAG BABY,
YEAH I'M JUST A TEENAGE DIRTBAG BABY
LISTEN TO IRON MAIDEN BABY WITH ME."

A blushed formed on Andi's cheeks as other students leaving the building turned to look in the direction of the booming voice, all eyes on the pair making her uncomfortable.

"Hush," She whined as she ducked away from his arm, blush still present in her cheeks.

For across the main foyer, Lisa stood with her arms croosed over her chest and a scowl on her face as she watched her ex getting up close and personal with the weird, outcast girl.

"You know you love me," Alex laughed as he held the door open for Andi, which did not go unnoticed to Lisa, her scowl only deepening as she continued to watch silently, not able to hear the words they were saying.

"Yeah whatever," Andi mumbled as she knocked her left hip against his, giving a small smile once they were out of sight of the main student body. "I just don't like having all eyes on me."

"I wasn't really thinking about that," Alex said as he put his arm around her shoulders yet again, something he had gotten in the habit of doing whenever he was around the small blonde.

"I'm only letting you off since it's your birthday," She replied, wagging a finger up at him playfully making him laugh.

"So apparently the guys are taking me out tonight," He said, pausing to open her car door open before going around to get in himself.

"I got to spend me time with you this morning, so you're all theirs." I laughed. "I'm really tired anyway."

"Aww but that means I won't see you until tomorrow," Alex said pouting as Jack climbed into the backseat quickly. "JACCCK. Andi isn't coming with us tonight."

"You're missing out!" Jack said loudly as he leaned forward inbetween the front two seats. "We be gettin' da bitches!"

Andi merely rolled her eyes at the two of them before pulling out of her spot, dropping the boys off at Alex's house since band practice was cancled for celebration of Alex's birthday.

"I'll see you boys in the morning," She said out her rolled down window, a few flurries of snow starting to fall from the heavy clouds. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a comfy bed and a warm blanket calling my name."

"Bye Andi!" Jack screeched running and throwing himself into the thick snow across Alex's lawn.

"Later Andi," Alex said giving a smile and he shoved his hands into his jean pockets for warmth.

She gave him one last smile before driving off, rolling up her window as she went.