The Girl Who Changed Everything

Se7en kept walking, giving my brother a high five on the way by. Se7en attempted to do the same to Jack, but he just grabbed Se7en and hugged him. “WHAT PART OF MINE DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND!??!” Exclaimed Alex. Oh dear.

“Your brother is…” Said Max, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. I leaned into his form.

“I know…” I sighed, remembering the summer days before ATL got big. Alex and Jack always did have a…thing. To be perfectly honest, I still don’t know if it’s real or not. Max started rubbing my sides soothingly. “and I know you don’t like him.” Max froze.

“I hate him.” He whispered in my ear. Tears came to my eyes, hoping against the inevitable. “I wont ever make you chose, I promise.” He said, burying his face in the side of my head.

“You can’t promise that.” I choked out. Using my hips, he turned me to face him. His forehead and nose were pressed against mine, and his lips were centimeters away.

“I can try.” He whispered.

“It’s not enough.” I said and pulled away. I backed up, wiping my eyes, and walked in the opposite direction. Jack saw me though. He took one glance at me and followed me towards my bus.

I sped my pace and soon reached the door. My eyesight, suckish at best, was epically failing with the tears blurring it. I tried to do the code 5-9-3-7 but I kept pressing the wrong numbers. I started getting racked with sobs, and placed my forehead against the door while trying to feel the number pad. If I concentrated, I could have got it. But my frustration got to me, and more tears fell. I brought my left hand up, and placed it against the bus, just trying to hold myself up.

A thin, cold hand placed its self over my right hand. Then, its twin found my other. Together the cold hands brought my own away from the bus, and gathered them in at my stomach. The correct code was punched into the keypad, and the hand opened the door. Leading my shaking body up the stairs, and to the couch. The hands pulled me in and held me. The skinny frame of someone slightly sweaty was comfort though; it reminded me of Alex’s hugs.

I bunched my hands into the soft shirt, and tried to breathe. The hands softly, but firmly, rubbed my back. I crawled into the lap of this person, and curled into a ball. With my face pressed into the hot neck of this person, I breathed in the scent of sweat, Ax, and strawberry shampoo. This made me laugh through some of my tears. I pulled back and looked into the caring, confused eyes of Jack Barakat.

“You smell like strawberries.” I said thickly, but with the same amount of innocence I put in my everyday speech. A cute smile found its way to his concerned face. I smiled back in the same way, and kissed his cheek. He held me closer, and I snuggled into his familiar frame. “I do like your shirt, even if it has to do with my brothers sex life.” I said normally.

“Thank you. And I quite enjoy your brothers sex life.”

“Of course you do.”

“And I probably smell like sweat.” He said with one of his weird eye brow moves, making me grin.

“Yeah, yeah you do.” Upon seeing his affronted look I gave him a teeny smile, “But the Ax and strawberries mask it well enough.”

“Yeah, yeah they do. And now that I think about it, my sweat is in the dreams of thousands of under aged girls. You should be happy.” I laughed at his sarcasm, and hid my face in his neck once again. “you want to talk about what happened?” he asked softly.

Many people assume he acts like a four year old on a constant basis. Jack can act like that, and most of the time he does. But, Jack is also one of the most caring, sweet, and comforting people I know. 90% of the time his advice is child like, but that’s so it’s easier to understand. His advice has got me through a lot.

“Max, and the rest of the guys, don’t like Alex.” I mumbled into his neck.

“What?” He asked, obviously not hearing me. I moved so my voice was easier heard.

“The guys hate Alex with a passion.” I said plainly, tears pricking at my eyes. The salty soldiers marched down my face, and parachuted down to Jack’s shoulder to storm the innocent fabric.

“I’m sure they don’t-“ he tried to reason with me.

“They do! Max has hated him since he left for tour and left me. He’s hated him since the first time he saw me cry, and Alex wasn’t there.” Jack pulled back and looked at me. So I continued. “That night, I showed up at their house. Zeke answered and pulled me in. Cole and Max on one side, with Seth and Zeke on the other in Seth’s bed. Seth held me to him that night, and I just wanted to go. I didn’t want to deal with anything and I wanted my big brother but he wasn’t there. He never called, or wrote or anything! There were months when I had no one. And the only thing I had of him was All Time Low. That’s it! It was like he wasn’t even there.” Tears slipped down my face, and fell from my high cheek bones.

“Hey,” Jack whispered, and swiped the tears off my face. I shook my head, more tears falling. “Listen to me,” he ordered, and grabbed my face. Looking deep into my eyes, as if seeing my soul, he said, “He thought of you every day. We couldn’t get him to shut the fuck up about you. But Alex barley knows you, so he left you alone. He thought you guys’ parents were good to you also. Alex would never have let you stay with them if he knew they weren’t even there. He loves you more than anything else and I highly doubt any one is going to love you like he does. Ever.” He said soothingly.

“do you love me?” I asked, even to me my voice sounded broken hearted. Jack leaned forward and kissed my forehead. He still held my face, and rubbed my cheeks.

“yes.” A kiss on the cheek. “yes.” A kiss on the other. “yes.” A kiss on my nose. “yes.” My chin. “yes.” On my lips.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. ‘Jack kissed you? Liar.’ But I’m not. It wasn’t a creepy one. It was one to show me that he wasn’t going to hurt me, and he would always be there. Just a press of
the lips.

But his timing sucked.

“Izz-GET THE FUCK OFF OF HER!”

Oh damn.