Shelter

Alex had definitely stopped being so rude to everyone, which made things a lot more pleasant on the bus. That didn’t stop the nightmares though. There were usually one or two nights in a week that he didn’t have nightmares, but the other nights were spent restlessly for both Jack and Alex. Jack noticed that Alex had been drinking a lot of coffee and energy drinks to keep him up during the day, especially after a long night of no sleep. He was pretty sure that Alex was getting even less sleep than usual, but he didn’t say anything about it.

A few nights after Alex had apologized for being so rude, everyone was sitting in the front lounge together, watching a movie after a show. It was a new movie that they had just bought and everyone was dying to watch it. Alex was sitting in between Zack and Jack, trying to stay awake.

Jack wasn’t really watching the movie; he was more focused on Alex. Alex was trying to watch the movie, but he was having trouble staying awake. His head kept falling forward slightly, then he jerked it up when he started to doze off. After watching him in amusement for a little while, Jack finally nudged Alex in the side, “You really need to go get some sleep.”

“I’m not tired,” Alex mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

Zack laughed, “You have dark circles under your eyes and you’re falling asleep sitting up. If that’s not tired then I don’t know what is.”

“I don’t want to go to bed yet. I want to finish watching the movie,” Alex pouted, leaning against Jack.

Jack hugged him, kissing him on the cheek lightly and whispering, “Go to bed, Lex. We can always watch the movie again tomorrow. You need sleep right now.”

Alex sighed and stood up to go to bed, stumbling into the back tiredly. Jack and Zack both laughed quietly, watching him leave.

“He’s so stubborn,” Zack chuckled.

Jack shrugged, “Yeah, but he’s adorable when he’s tired.”

“And he didn’t notice that you kissed his cheek, so he didn’t protest,” Zack mused.

“You caught onto that? I thought I’d get away with it,” Jack grinned sheepishly.

“I notice everything.”

“Creeper,” Jack teased. Zack rolled his eyes and Jack smiled to himself, looking up at the TV to continue watching the movie.

--------------------

A few hours later, Jack finally decided to head to bed. A few of the others were still goofing around up front. They were slightly intoxicated and getting too loud for Jack’s liking. He wanted to get in bed and sleep for a long time.

Just as Jack slid the door to the bunk area shut, he heard a gasp and Alex suddenly started sobbing out of nowhere. Jack’s eyes widened and he went over to Alex’s bunk immediately, bending down and pulling the curtain open. “Alex? Alex, what’s wrong?”

“N-ni-nightmare,” Alex choked out between sobs. Jack was almost relieved that it wasn’t something else. He thought Alex had gotten hurt somehow, the way he was sobbing.

Zack poked his head out from his bunk, mumbling tiredly, “What’s going on?”

“Alex had a nightmare and he’s scared. Just go back to sleep,” Jack said quietly. He crawled into Alex’s bunk, shutting the curtain behind him. Alex was still crying hard, rocking back and forth slightly in his half-sitting-up position. Jack went to hug him and realized that the older boy was soaked with sweat. “Shh, calm down, Alex. Everything’s okay.”

“C-can’t,” Alex sobbed out. Jack practically felt his heart breaking for the boy. He looked genuinely scared and Jack didn’t even know why. Usually his nightmares weren’t usually this bad.

“Let me help you get your shirt off. It’s all wet with sweat. You’ll feel a little less suffocated with it off,” Jack said, rubbing Alex’s arm gently. Alex’s crying slowed down a bit and he helped Jack pull his shirt off of himself, still shaking a little. Jack threw it to the end of the bunk, hugging Alex tightly. “Does that feel a little better?”

“Y-yeah,” Alex hiccupped, holding onto Jack tightly. He managed to calm himself down after a few minutes, not crying so much anymore.

“Do you want to talk about the dream?” Jack asked softly. “I know you usually don’t, but it might help.”

Alex sighed shakily, burying his face into Jack’s chest. “I barely even remember it. It was something about me getting killed. I was crying when I woke up, and then burst into tears because it was so creepy. I don’t understand why I started crying so badly.”

“Sounds like your body was more scared than your mind wanted you to be,” Jack chuckled.

“Guess so,” Alex sighed. “I feel like a baby now. Sorry. My tears are all over you.”

“Aw, you’re not a baby. Plenty of people have that happen when they have nightmares,” Jack assured him. “You just happen to have more fragile emotions.”

“That’s another way of saying I’m a loser.”

“No it isn’t. Being emotional isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Jack said, running his fingers through Alex’s hair.

“How?” Alex asked doubtfully.

“Well, it makes you more sweet,” Jack began.

Alex snorted, “Yeah, because that’s totally manly. Being sweet.”

“You’re flamboyantly gay. You’re not exactly the most manly man in the world,” Jack teased, and Alex laughed.

“I see your point.”

“You put all that emotion into your lyrics, too. That’s what makes our songs so good,” Jack added.

“Okay, okay, I get it. Being emotional isn’t a bad thing,” Alex admitted, and Jack chuckled.

“So are you feeling better now that you talked things out?” Jack questioned hopefully.

Alex nodded, his head still against Jack’s chest. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“No problem. Now go to sleep. I know you’re still tired.”