Shelter

Jack and Alex had been getting a little closer since their Taco Bell “date.” In a relationship sense, anyway – they were already the closest friends possible. They had gone on an actual date in the past week, because Jack insisted on taking Alex to dinner and a movie when they had a day off. Alex no longer pushed Jack away whenever Jack kissed him on the cheek, which was definitely an improvement. Jack didn’t want to push his luck, so he limited himself to only kissing his cheek.

The others had gone to the bar after their show, but Jack and Alex had decided to stay on the bus together. Most of the others had come back by now, and they were loudly partying up front. Jack and Alex decided to go cuddle together in Jack’s bunk, watching Home Alone on the little drop-down TV. Jack had one of his hands resting on Alex’s stomach, under his shirt, but it was completely innocent.

They suddenly heard Jack’s phone ringing and both of them jumped at the noise. Jack reached over Alex to pick it up, answering it. “Hello?”

“Heeeeyyyy!” Zack greeted, his words slurred due to his obvious level of drunkenness.

“Dude, why are you calling me if you’re on the bus?” Jack sighed.

“I’m not on the bus, I’m lost. I can’t find my way back there. I’m near the water somewhere… ooh, maybe I should go swimming! It’s warm enough!” Zack said distractedly.

“No!” Jack yelped, rolling out of the bunk quickly. “Don’t even think about it. If you go swimming I’m going to kick your dead ass.”

“But I wanna swim!” Zack whined through the phone.

Jack sighed, “Just sit down and wait for me. I’ll come find you.”

He hung up the phone and Alex looked up at him from the bunk. “What’s going on?”

“We have to go find Zack, because he’s wandering around the city drunk and apparently wants to go swimming. He must have gotten left at the bar when the others came back,” Jack said, rolling his eyes and pulling shoes on.

Alex laughed, getting up, “We better go get him before he drowns.”

“Tell me about it. We can’t exactly play shows without a bassist.”

“That’s your only concern?” Alex giggled, and Jack shrugged. “You’re terrible.”

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

In the morning, Jack was sitting out front when Zack finally woke up. He had slept on the couch all night, after being dragged back to the bus by Alex and Jack. They had found him wandering around in a park near the water, very tempted to go swimming for no reason at all.

“Look who’s finally awake!” Jack taunted, smirking at him. “You know, that was the best drunk phone call I’ve ever received.”

“Shut up,” Zack groaned, burying his face back into the couch. “I don’t even want to think about that. My head still hurts from all the alcohol.”

“Well, at least you didn’t actually jump into the water and swim. You would have started drowning, and god knows Alex and Jack are too scrawny to pull you out,” Rian piped up.

Zack looked up to scowl at Jack, “You told him about that?”

“I told everyone, actually,” Jack confessed, smiling innocently. “That’s what I’ve been doing since I woke up. Storytelling is fun, you should try it.”

“I’ll be sure to share all your drunk stories with the world next time,” Zack mumbled, lying his face against the couch once again to try and fall back asleep.

The boys sat quietly for a while, the occasional crew member stumbling up front from the bunks. Jack looked up when Alex suddenly ran up front, sobbing uncontrollably and yelling Jack’s name. Jack frowned in confusion, asking, “What?! What’s wrong?”

Alex leaped onto Jack, holding him in death grip. He wouldn’t let go. Jack looked around at the others, who seemed equally confused. Even Zack had opened one eye to see what was going on. Jack pushed at Alex slightly, trying to make him release his grip a little. “No,” Alex gasped through sobs, clutching him tighter. “Don’t wanna let go.”

Jack rubbed Alex’s back in circles gently, trying to calm him down a little. “Calm down. You’re starting to crush me, Lex.”

“S-s-sorry,” Alex mumbled quietly, relaxing his grip so he wasn’t cutting off Jack’s circulation.

“What made you so upset?” Jack asked softly, once Alex had stopped crying so badly. What the hell could have made him this upset? Jack hadn’t ever seen Alex this scared.

“I-I had a nightmare… worst one… I was in chains a-and couldn’t move or scream or anything. Y-you were being hurt, Jack. Really bad. I couldn’t help you at all. I watched you die right in front of me with a chainsaw or something and then there was blood e-everywhere, a-and then I woke up,” Alex choked out.

Jack paled a little at the description. Graphic. He lifted Alex’s chin up a little so he would look at him. The older boy’s eyes were puffy and his face was red and tear-stained. “Alex, that would never happen in real life. You’re just being paranoid.”

“B-but…”

Jack shook his head, “No buts. You don’t ever have to worry about losing me. I promise. You’re stuck with me.”

Alex smiled weakly and nodded, wiping his eyes dry. “Sorry. I wish I didn’t overreact over nightmares so much,” he apologized.

“It’s okay; it gives me an excuse to hug you,” Jack assured him, smiling. Alex rolled his eyes.

“How come Alex never has nightmares about me getting killed?” Zack asked grumpily from across the front lounge.

Alex giggled slightly, sitting on Jack’s lap so he could turn and face the others. “Because I hate you, Zack.”

“If you hated him, you would have let him go swimming and drown last night,” Rian said with a grin.

Zack groaned, “Is everyone going to keep bringing that up?!”