Shelter

Alex’s nightmares continued to bother him every night, just as they had before. He should have known that they weren’t going to stop forever, but he really wished they would. He had been in a constant bad mood for a few days. It was starting to piss everyone else off, but Alex didn’t seem to realize that.

They had just finished a show, probably one of the best ones all tour. Alex had fun, but his bad mood resumed when he got backstage and remembered that he was going to have to sleep soon. Sleep meant nightmares.

“That was the best show of the tour!” Jack said happily, grinning as he walked up to Alex.

Alex nodded, untying his shoes to take them off, “Mhm.”

“Do you wanna go celebrate the good show with me and some beer?” Jack suggested.

“I’d rather be alone, thanks. Go away,” Alex snapped, and Jack stepped back in surprise. His face fell and he walked away, immediately leaving the venue to go back to the bus. Alex sighed and sat down on the couch, watching the others walk around. He frowned when Rian suddenly walked up to him, arms crossed. “What do you want?”

“You need to quit taking your anger out on everyone else, Alex. Just because your nightmares are putting you into a bad mood doesn’t give you the right to be an asshole to everyone,” Rian said, frowning.

“I’m not being an asshole!” Alex scowled.

Rian laughed in disbelief, shaking his head. “Did you see how you just treated Jack? Your best friend?”

“I don’t see your point.”

“Jack was just trying to be nice and you snapped at him. You ruined his mood,” Rian explained.

Alex’s anger faded a little as Rian’s words sunk in. “Fuck, I hurt Jack, didn’t I?”

“Well, you probably ruined his night,” Rian sighed.

“Gee, thanks,” Alex said sarcastically, frowning at him.

Rian shrugged, “I’m just telling the truth.”

Rian walked away and Alex sighed. He needed to go fix this. He took a quick shower before heading outside, back to the bus. The others were busy talking and loading equipment back into the trailer, so Jack was the only one on the bus. Alex shut the door behind him as he walked inside, frowning when he saw Jack. He was sitting in the front lounge, drinking beer. There was a six-pack beside him and Alex couldn’t tell if he had drank any of those yet or not.

“I decided to celebrate without you,” Jack said dryly, noticing Alex.

“How many of those have you had since you got back to the bus?” Alex asked nervously.

Jack rolled his eyes, “It’s my second one. I’m not like you; I know I shouldn’t drink my feelings away.”

Alex grimaced. That stung a little. He sat down beside Jack, shoving the pack of beer aside. “Look, I’m sorry for snapping at you.”

“Uh huh,” Jack said, taking another drink from the bottle.

“I’m sorry for being so rude for the last few days too, okay? I’ve been so frustrated about my nightmares that it put me into a bad mood, and I ended up taking it out on all of you,” Alex sighed.

“I noticed.”

“Can you forgive me for being an asshole, Jacky?” Alex asked, pouting.

“I don’t know...” Jack mused, looking up at him.

“Pleease?” Alex asked, drawing out the word. He reached over to hold Jack’s hand as he spoke.

Jack sighed, long and drawn out. He finally said, “I can’t stay mad at you. I forgive you.”

“Yay!” Alex beamed, hugging Jack.

Jack chuckled, adding, “On one condition.”

“What?” Alex asked, pulling away and raising an eyebrow at him.

“Have a beer with me,” Jack said, holding up his beer bottle. Alex rolled his eyes, reaching over Jack to grab one.

“Sounds good to me.”