As Long as You're Around, I'll be Safe and Sound

To: AAAAAAAASam Taylor
From: Jack B x
hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey xxxxx
Sam doesn’t answer Jack’s first text because she and Josh had decided to watch the rest of the Batman films after finishing The Dark Knight Rises just because they could. It meant they’d both got a very late, or you could say early, night and therefore now that they’re both waking up they’re still tired. Sam doesn’t answer the next because even though the buzzing on her pillow has pulled her from her sleep, she’s struggling to find her phone in her only half awake state
To: AAAAAAAASam Taylor
From: Jack B x
Are you going to answer me or what? xx
To: AAAAAAAASam Taylor
From: Jack B x
Sam Sam Sam Sam Sam. Talk to me. Hellooooooooo?! Xx
He sends three more similar messages before she finds her phone after a lot of rummaging in her bunk and just as she’s reading through them and giggling he calls her. Partly because he’s having fun potentially really annoying her, partly because he does really want to talk to her and partly because she’s usually really quick at replying and he’s maybe a tiny bit worried about why she isn’t.
“Hey” she mumbles into the phone, once again smiling involuntarily as she curls back into her covers and closes her eyes
“Why didn’t you answer any of my several million texts?” Jack demands and Sam can practically see the smile in his voice
“I was asleep” she tells him and he’s ninety-nine percent sure he just died a little because she sounds so tired and downright adorable and a little part in the back of Jack’s brain that he doesn’t really pay attention to just thinks “I wouldn’t mind waking up to that in the morning”
“Did I wake you?” he asks
“Yes” she laughs a little and he would feel bad if it weren’t half twelve in the afternoon
“Well you should be thanking me, it’s like one! What are you doing sleeping at this time?” he teases and they both know that if they were actually together she would probably hit him playfully
“We had a late night” she tells him and she knows he would have wriggled his eyebrows and winked at her if she’d said it to her face
“A late night, eh?”
“Shut up Jack. We watched the Batman movies.”
“Wow. Sounds like a wild night.” he jokes
“Whatever. You’re just jealous” she teases back because she’s in no state to come up with a decent come back and he chuckles
“Maybe a little bit” he murmurs and Sam smiles and rolls onto her back
“What did you call for anyway?” she rubs her eyes with her free hand, still not fully awake
“I wanted to know when you play today”
“Umm I don’t know. I’ll ask Josh” she murmurs and stumbles out of her bunk, walking into the kitchen area where Josh is getting cereal
“What time do we play today?” she asks him as he pulls her into his side for a one armed hug
“We’re on at two, but I have an interview before it”
“Okay” she says and then holds the phone back to her ear “Josh says we’re on at two” Josh just smiles down at his cereal because Sam quite clearly has a thing with Jack, no matter how much she denies it and when he settles on the sofa she moves back into her bunk.
“Damn.” Jack sighs and Sam pouts a little “we play at 3 and I have press before and after”
“Oh” Sam mumbles “we can hang out after though”
“Definitely, and no standing me up this time either!” he jokes
“I’m sorry about that” she smiles into the phone because she knows he’s not really all that upset. Sam stays on the phone to Jack until he has to go, once again with the promise to meet up later and she stays curled up in her bunk just day dreaming until she has to go play her set.

She’s left smiling from her conversation with Jack as she heads to her stage bouncing up the steps and only stopping when she hears some raised voices. Smile faltering, she heads through the bustle towards the voices and finds Mike and Josh. They’re not quite shouting at each other but Sam can see that’s the next step, their voices are raised and they’re clearly annoyed about something but what exactly she doesn’t know
“What’s going on” she asks in her usual quiet voice and Josh turns to her, having not noticed her arrival.
“We don’t know where Owen is” he says simply “we have to play a set in like five minutes and that fucking douche bag hasn’t turned up” Sam can tell he’s stressed because he starts pacing, he’s barely blinking and he’s speaking at a million miles an hour. The crew are still setting everything up and Mike is looking angrier that Sam’s seen him in a long time
“Maybe he’s on his way” she reasons, trying to calm her friend down but they all know he probably won’t turn up, he’s usually the first there so he can scold the other two for being late and not caring about the band as much as him.
“I’m going to try calling him” Mike says simply before turning and heading somewhere quieter, leaving Sam with Josh.
Sam doesn’t know what else to say and just watches as Josh runs his hands through his blond hair, lets out a huff of frustration and then kicks a box near him with a growl of anger
“I am so fucking done with him. What does he expect us to do now? We can’t play a show without a drummer” his tone starts out angry but turns slightly desperate towards the end and Sam stays standing where she is, not liking when Josh gets like this
“One of the techs could play for us, they have to know at least some of the songs” she tries but she knows that even their drum tech won’t know all of them of by heart. When Josh doesn’t say anything she tries again
“We could do an acoustic, I have my guitar on the bus and yours is around somewhere. ” Josh looks up to her at this
“Are you okay to do that? Do you know all the songs?” he asks and even if she didn’t Sam couldn’t say no to the hope in his eyes, but, as it happens she does, she practices pretty much every song they’ve ever written to the point where she could probably play them with her eyes closed because the thought of messing up on stage or not knowing how to play a song a fan asks for is one of her worst nightmares.
“Yeah, we can still do the same set” she speaks softly and Josh lets out a breath of relief
“I totally thought of doing an acoustic” Josh lies as they stand up and Sam can tell that the joke is forced, he’s still angry and tense but she plays along anyway.
“Of course you did.” She smiles and Josh shoots her a smile before heading over to Mike to get everything they need together for the show they have to play in about three and a half minutes.
The set goes well, surprisingly so, and the fans are only half disappointed to see they’re missing a member because Aftershock rarely do acoustics so most are actually happier than they would have been. They say that Owen couldn’t play due to “an emergency” but Josh didn’t even try to hide the venom in his tone at the mention of the other. Afterwards, Sam and Josh walk around for a bit before going back to the bus and Josh keeps mentioning just how annoyed he is at Owen and all the things he wishes he could say to him.

Sam doesn’t even know how the argument actually starts because Josh had called a “band meeting” in the back lounge so she’d followed them in and now they’re shouting again and she can’t get a word in edgeways
“You can’t just not turn up for a set!” Josh repeats
“You were the one who kicked me off my own bus, dick” Owen spits back and after a few more minutes of insults and repeated point Josh just snaps. Sam can see it in his eyes, he’s been pushed past his limit and his voice is quiet as he speaks again
“You know what? Fuck you. Fuck all of this. I’m done.” There’s a second of silence in the room for the first time in a while before he continues
“I’m sick of dealing with all your shit everyday. I’m done with this whole thing.” Owen’s smirk grows as he lets out a snort of laughter
“So you’re just going to leave the band?” he taunts and normally that would have Josh kicking something or maybe even throwing something but this time he just meets Owen’s gaze
“That’s exactly what I’m doing. This band is through.”
Owen’s smirk falters and then he’s leaving the room. He’s gone within five seconds. Josh lets out a sigh and it feels like there’s a huge weight lifted off his shoulders, he’s finally done what he’s wanted to do for weeks now and he can feel a sad smile tugging at his lips. But that’s just the amount of time Sam needs for the news to register in her mind, then for her to decide that she needs to get off the bus and for her to run off. Josh sees her go out of the corner of his eye, having forgotten she was there in the midst of his anger, he chases after her, past the crew who don’t have a clue what’s going on but when he gets to the door he can’t see her. He mentally curses himself because that was the worst possible way he could have broken the news to her and he just forgot all about his best friend and he’s never felt like such a bad person in his whole life. Ignoring the questions from Mike and other crew members, Josh grabs a jacket and his phone before heading out into the dark air to find his friend.

The tears are almost blinding as Sam stumbles through the night air, sobs tearing from her lungs to the point where she’s almost choking on them. She isn’t thinking straight, letting her legs carry her wherever her brain is leading them, she doesn’t know where. She doesn’t care. All she can think about right now is the overwhelming feeling of everything crashing down around her. Her whole life collapsing in on itself, and she’s lost in a car park. She finds herself slamming a hand on a bus door and she doesn’t know how long it takes the pink haired boy to open it, because all she can feel is the sting in her eyes and the stabbing pain in her chest and she’s lost all sense of time.
“Shit” he says when he takes in the small girl standing in front of him, red rimmed eyes, running make up and bare feet. He almost doesn’t recognise her.
“Shit, shit, shit” she doesn’t move, just stands in the doorway, crying her heart out and looking up at the boy she’s met only once because she doesn’t know what else to do now that she’s lost everything. She feels like she’s lost everything.
“Jack, get here now” she hears, there’s more muffled voices and then finally Jack’s in front of her
“What’s up? What’s happened?” he asks, the concern evident in his voice and she tries to speak but all that comes out is another choked sob so he just hugs her, because even Jack, the hyperactive one who’s never affected by anything that life throws at him has been there himself, he recognizes the look in her eyes that is so troubled, so lost, and that the only thing that he can do to help take the edge off the pain is hold her in his arms and promise her the world.
“Sam, don’t cry, it’s okay. I promise it’s okay” Jack says and even though she knows he doesn’t know what going on, and therefore doesn’t know that everything isn’t going to be okay, it comforts her and she clings to him. She grips him like he’s holding her life in his hands, and as he holds her to his chest, it is like he’s the only thing holding the pieces of her together.

Even though it’s summer, the nights can get bitterly cold and Jack notices that Sam is shaking, he’s not sure whether it’s because of whatever it is that’s happened, or if it’s because she’s cold an in just a t-shirt, he's thinking its the latter, but either way he wants to get her onto the bus where she’ll be more comfortable and hopefully he can get her to talk.
“Let’s get you on the bus” he murmurs, and when he realises that Sam isn’t going to loosen her grip on him, he just picks her up, letting her legs wrap around his waist and trying his hardest not to hit here om any of the walls as he carries her onto the bus. He’s met with a round of concerned looks from all his band mates and he simply offers them a small smile as Sam continues to sob into his chest, because right now he knows just as much about what’s going on as they do. He manages to get her into his bunk and then climbs in after her, because although there isnt much room, he doesn’t want to invade either of the spaces all the other guys are in, and he thinks she’d rather be somewhere more excluded anyway. As soon as Jack is in, Sam wastes no time crawling back over to him to wrap herself in him again.

It’s cramped and the only way they can fit in is by lying together, and he’s got her wrapped in his arms and pulled close to his chest. It’s a while until Sam’s tears stop, at which point she slowly pulls away a bit, a wave of embarrassment hitting her as the blush takes her. Jack just watches for a moment as she tries to compose herself, she’s curled up as much as is possible in the space and is looking down at her hands, pulling at her lip with her teeth as she tries to keep the tears at bay. She looks so completely devastated and Jack swears it’s killed him a little because he’s seen her crying far too many times for his liking. He thought he’d managed to pull down a few of her walls, break her out of her shell but right now she looks more fenced in than ever. She wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand and Jack sits up a little, moving more onto his side so he cam see her properly, wrapping an arm back around her and pushing his hand under her shirt to rub at her back

“Sorry” she mumbles “I probably ruined your night”
“You didn’t” he dismisses and uses his free hand to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear so he can look her in the eyes
“What happened?” he asks softly and she sniffles and opens her mouth to speak but as soon as she does the tears start to come again and she has to swallow them back. Jack wipes away the few that a trailing down her cheek with his thumb and smiles a little at her as she smiles back sadly in that bunk it feels like they're the only two people in the world.
“Start at the beginning, Sam. We’ve got all the time in the world." he says quietly.
Then she tells him everything, how Owen and Josh would argue, how the arguments had been getting progressively worse, how Josh had seemed so happy when they were together, how Owen would always treat her, which seemed to get to him because he held her that little bittighter then. She goes on to tell him about the argument just an hour or so before and how it had ended. Jack can’t even begin to comprehend what she must be going through, and though maybe her band hadn’t always been the happiest, he knows for a fact that if All Time Low were to ever break up he’d be far beyond destroyed.

“Oh Sam, I’m so sorry” he breaths as he pulls her close
“It’s my fault, Jack. It’s my fault” she cries into his chest “I never did enough for the band. I never did anything.” He’s holding her so tight it’s almost painful but Sam doesn't mind because its a feeling other than nothing.
"I should have stopped it. I should have made things better." She continues until Jack kisses her. He kisses her because he wants to, because he’s wanted to for a while now. Because she’s in front of him and crying and he wants her to be happy. Jack wants to make her feel strong and loved, like she’s the most beautiful person in the world. There are so many negative things tumbling out of her mouth and he wants her to know, to understand, that not one of the things she’s saying about herself is true. He wants to stop the lies from coming and replace them with the truth that she is beautiful and valued and amazing, she’s Jack’s little treasure. He kisses her because people shouldn’t cry, especially people as perfect as her. Then he pulls back after just a few blissful moments because it was totally inappropriate for him to even think of doing that; she comes to him when she’s upset and he’s selfish enough to do what he wants regardless of her. Jack realises he’s a dick.

“Shit, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it, I’m sorry. I mean, I did mean it but it was a dick move. I’m so sorry” he flusters and Sam just cracks a small smile, not just at his frantic stuttering, but also at the fact that he'd kissed her and then she takes the biggest risk she’s taken since quitting school for the band and reconnects their lips. He’s shocked to say the least, but it only takes him a fraction of a second to have his lips moving back against hers and a hand moving up her cheek as his eyes slip shut. After a short while of what Jack considers to be pure bliss, he pulls back a little, resting his forehead on hers with his eyes still shut as he murmurs
“I really like you” he feels kind of vulnerable, never really having been the sort to lay himself out like that and be quite so open to rejection.
“I really like you too” Sam murmurs in response and his lips break out in the biggest smile she’s ever seen him wearing before he kisses her for a third time.

Their lips move effortlessly together and Jack puts one hand at the small of her back as the other glides up to nearer her shoulder so he can pull her to him, never in his life has he ever wanted to be so close to someone. Her fingers are curling in the hairs at the back of his neck as he tentatively traces over her bottom lip with his tongue before she opens her mouth to him. Every other time she's been in this situation she's been nervous and she knows if it were anyone else she'd be terrified right now, but it's not, it's Jack, and the whole thing feels completely natural. He moves over her, so she's on her back and he's above her, legs tangling together. They continue with this for a while, and it could be ten minutes or an hour, but it doesn't matter either way because its soft and sweet, noses bumping occasionally and drawing smiles from the pair. It's just enough and it's just the distraction that Sam needs.

Jack pulls away again, keeping his face close as he speaks
"I'm really sorry about what's happened, Sam and I want you to know that I'm here for you as a friend or, uhh, a boyfriend, no matter what happens now. I really care about you, a lot more than I usually do about girls so yeah, I just wanted to make sure you knew that." He blushes as he finishes and she smiles a little
"Thank you Jack, it really means a lot" she murmurs back and they both just smile as Jack pulls her back into his chest, her arms snaking around his waist and burying her face in the crook of his neck as he presses a kiss to the top of her head.