Original Love

Alex’s POV:

“Lex! There’s no food!” Jack whined from where he was in the kitchen as Alex jogged down the stairs. He had been back a total of two days and was already regretting it as he pushed the swing door the lead to the kitchen from his living room open and found the taller boy raiding his cupboards in search for food.

Alex sighed as he hopped up on the island in the middle of the room and grabbed an apple from the bowl. “Well blame Ri not me. I just got home, I haven’t been able to go shopping yet and Rian’s been the one to stock the house.”

“But of course, just blame me.” Rian replied as he also walked in the room with the mail in one hand. “Get off the counter, I just cleaned it and don’t need your ass on it.”

“Yes mom,” Alex replied as he obeyed and jumped down in favor of going to join Jack in finding food. “By the way when was the last time you went shopping?”

“Three days ago,” Rian replied as he caught the skeptical look on his roommates face. “Just because you don’t like anything I bought doesn’t mean that I didn’t go shopping. Now eat something or shut up.”

Alex just stuck his tongue out as he went back to the snacks and yelled out a victory yes as he found a bag of Goldfish and grabbed a can of Sprite from the fridge before going back to the living room. Jack started whining more when he saw what Alex picked but followed behind with his own can of soda and a bag of chips and plopped down next to him on the couch. As soon as he was seated, Sebastian came running in since he wanted some of Alex’s food and hopped up in his lap just for Alex to pick him up and set him back on the floor with a firm no.

But Jack wasn’t having any of that. “Aw Alex, don’t be mean to the Bazzy boy! He’s just hungry and missed you!”

“You’re going to make my dog even fatter,” Alex mumbled without looking away from the TV as Jack fed the dog a chip. But he was ignored like usual as the dog jumped back up on the couch and sat next to Jack wagging his tail and begging for more.

“Aw you’re not fat Baz; Alex is just being extra mean today! If anything you need more weight on you!” Jack replied while giving the dog another chip.

Alex just sighed again as he stuffed more Goldfish in his mouth, “you’re just going to spoil my dog more and all that dog food I spent is going to go to waste.”

But Jack just continued to ignore him as he shoved some chips in his month and didn’t look away from the TV. They really should be getting ready for tour soon but Alex just got back and he was still sulking about having to leave Charlie that he didn’t have the ambition to do anything. And apparently neither did Jack since he continued to act weird since Alex had gotten home. He had tried to ask the younger boy what was going on with him but he just shrugged it off and changed the subject making Alex worry more. Out of the four of them, Jack was the youngest and most easily upset. Usually he was hyper and crazy but Alex could always tell when something was bothering the boy since he got unusually quiet and weird. Much like he was now and all Alex wanted to do was get to the bottom of it. But Jack wasn’t telling him anything and Alex was going to take drastic measures and do a little digging of his own when he had time once they got everything for tour set.

“What time do we need to be at Flyzik’s to Skype Zack?” Jack suddenly asked with a mouthful of chips.

Alex looked up from his phone looking from Jack to Rian with a confused look. “We’re going to Flyzik’s?”

“Two,” Rian replied as he nodded to Alex’s question also.

“And you were going to tell me this when?”

Jack shrugged, “just did.”

“Whatever, you two do realize it’s nearly 1:45 now right?”

Both Rian and Jack looked at him for a moment before confirming the time and then jumping up is a rush to get ready to go. Alex rolled his eyes again at his best friends as he got up also grabbing his shoes and phone before following them outside to Rian’s car and getting in the back and making their way over to their managers place. When they got there, Jack just threw open the unlocked door and made an I Love Lucy reference as he waltzed in with Alex and Rian behind him. Flyzik appeared moments later with a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth holding up his index finger saying he’ll be out in a minute.

Looking around Matt’s familiar apartment, Alex found that his laptop was already out and running with Skype up ready to call their long lost band member who was in LA soaking up the sun. Zack had always loved LA and when he was finally old enough to move out on his own he saved up money until he could afford to get a place and move out there leaving them in Baltimore. They had all been out to his place before and it was great but there was just something about Baltimore that Alex just couldn’t leave. Sure there were moments he wished he wasn’t so attached, especially now that he had a long distance relationship with the girl of his dreams. But he still couldn’t leave. He loved the city too much.

“Hey guys, you’re actually early for once. I wasn’t expecting you until quarter after at the earliest.” Matt said as he walked back into the room.

Alex just rolled his eyes and pointed to himself, “that’s all thanks to me. These two idiots didn’t even tell me until ten minutes ago that we were supposed to be over here and then I told them of the time and got their lazy asses moving.”

“Which is really surprising since you’re usually the one that’s the latest among all of us.” Rian shot back as Alex just flipped the drummer off in reply.

It was no reason to argue since it was true and all of them knew it. But also since they had more important things to do than argue about that. Rian had mentioned that Matt had some important things to discuss with them and knew that the manager meant business as he began to set up Skype and called all of them over to talk.

Rian took the seat next to Matt and Alex and Jack sat behind them as Matt pressed call on Zack’s name and the familiar ringing filled the room as they watched the blank screen. A few moments later, the screen came to life and a shirtless Zack came on screen with a small smile on his face. Alex could tell right away that the bassist had just been surfing since he was slightly sun burnt and his hair was wet probably from just getting out of the shower.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Zack asked, voice slightly crackled due to the mic adjusting. They all waved and said hi just as whistling came from somewhere on Zack’s side and then a naked Ben appeared in the background.

“Is that Ben walking around naked behind you?” Flyzik asked.

Zack just nodded, not needing to turn around since he knew his best friend so well. “Yeah, seems like no matter what all of my friends like to walk around naked. Is it bad that I’m not freaked out by it anymore?”

“Hey! That’s the way to go! You should try it sometime! Clothes are overrated!” Jack yelled back and moments later cheering could be heard from Ben. “Besides, Zack’s already half naked himself.”

“When does he ever wear a shirt?” Ben asked as Jack laughed and agreed with the other boy. It was sad that they were so similar yet were so different at the same time. Ben was a surfer guy with the long hair and tanned skin and Jack was tall and lanky with no muscles and pale. Total opposites yet they could have been twins in another life.

But everyone ignored them and suddenly Zack’s computer started to move as he turned around and set the computer next to him and Alex realized he was in his kitchen. Probably cooking something due to the fact his attention was elsewhere and he could hear sizzling in the background. They had probably just got back from surfing and were finishing their showers and eating breakfast since they were two hours behind them and it was only noon in LA.

“So what’s up? How’s Maryland?” Zack asked with a small smile.

“Not the same without you!” Alex replied with a smile matching Zack’s. “We were just calling to say hi and discuss some upcoming tour offers with you.”

“Awesome! What are the offers?”

Matt straightened in his chair and grabbed a few papers that were laying next to the computer as he went into Tour Manager Mode. “So we’re officially booked and ready for the European tour in a month and then after we get home from that you’ve been offered a spot to support Blink for their U.S. and Canadian tour they’re in the midst of planning.”

It took only a few seconds for it all to sink in before everyone was reacting at once. Alex shot up from his chair and threw his fist in the air with a loud yes while Jack was also standing and hopping from foot to foot and screeching. Flyzik let it sink in for a few moments before he stood and calmed Jack and Alex down so they didn’t break anything and then went back to the computer. Alex noticed that Zack had a huge grin on his face too and even Ben looked excited.

How could Flyzik even ask if they wanted to or not? Hell they loved Blink. They already toured with them before and they had all been waiting for the opportunity to do so again. So of course they would say yes!

Matt looked from Zack and then to the three of them in his apartment with a small smile on his face. “So I take that as a yes then?”

“More like a hell yes!” Jack yelled in reply as everyone else agreed.

Alex could hear Ben starting to babble in the background about wanting to come and how much fun that would be and nearly laughed at Zack’s reaction. Though he couldn’t help but agree. Ben plus Jack equals bad. They had already all seen firsthand the two of them together and it had been a long night. Ben usually came to the LA shows to support Zack since they were so close and as soon as he and Jack had met they had hit it off and continued to annoy the rest of them ever since.

Jack must have also heard what Ben was saying because he was also quick to agree, “Oh yes! I like this idea! Please bring Ben!”

“Oh dear God no! There’s a reason you two live on opposite coasts!” Rian replied making Jack pout.

Zack sighed as he turned to look at his best friend, “we’ll see.”

Jack and Ben took that as a yes and began to cheer and dance around again talking nonstop. Flyzik turned in his seat to glare at Jack who didn’t notice until Alex had to jab him in the side with his elbow and he settled down a little after realizing that he was being a bit of a pain. But Alex was just glad that he was acting a little bit more like himself. The weird quiet Jack was a little strange and now that they had some good news Jack was becoming a little more like himself again. Alex just hoped that he would stay that way and not get quiet again like he had been when Alex had gotten home.

“Ok, so the tour starts about a month and a half after we get back from Europe. And this upcoming tour is in three week and we’ll be over there for a little over a month. So when we get back we don’t have any other small shows planned so we’ll just use the time to chill and prepare for that tour.” Flyzik continued, getting everyone back on topic.

“Hey Flyzik, hold on a sec,” Zack said as he turned and handed Ben something and told him to go away before turning back to the camera.

Alex laughed lightly as he glanced at Jack then back to the camera, “Jeez, he really is just like Jack isn’t he?”

“Yeah, I think they were twins separated at birth.”

Jack tilted his head to the side, pondering what he had just said. “But we don’t look anything alike.”

“Zack when’s you’re flight back to Maryland for this next tour?” Flyzik asked, still trying hard to get everyone back on task. Although he should know by now that that was one of the most challenging parts of his job.

The bassist turned away from the camera for a few seconds before coming back, probably looking at a calendar. Or checking up on Ben to make sure he wasn’t doing anything dumb. “Um in two weeks. So I’ll be there a week before we leave to help pack up.”

“Ok, then we can discuss this more when you come back. We just wanted to have a group meeting and make sure everyone was good for agreeing to this.”

Zack laughed, “yeah thanks, but in all honesty did you really think anyone of us would say no?”

Flyzik shrugged, “no not really. But I had to make sure. Keith would have killed me otherwise.”

Alex looked away from the screen since something kept moving in the corner of his eye and saw that Jack wasn’t sitting still and bouncing in his seat. He knew that the younger was really excited about the new tour plans and wasn’t going to be able to contain his excitement for much longer. But in all honesty, neither was Alex. It was a dream come true to tour with Blink. But more than once? Unbelievable! It was so awesome to be doing something he loved and being able to meet the people who inspired him to follow his dreams. It was a dream come true.

“True, so I’ll talk to you guys later then? It looks like Jack isn’t going to be able to sit still for much longer and I’m starving.”

Alex glanced at Jack again and nodded, “Yeah his ADD is kicking in again. I should probably go and entertain him.”

“Don’t do anything like you did last time, you know what happened then!” Zack replied with a smirk.

“If that was a sexual innuendo, I chose to ignore you in favor of making sure Jack doesn’t break anything.” He replied as Zack laughed more and waved by to them and Alex got up with Jack following behind him leaving Rian and Matt to say their goodbyes.

As he followed his best friend out to the main room, he couldn’t help the smile on his face as he thought of their future tour plans. He couldn’t wait to call Charlie and tell her about their plans. But then when he thought about it he instantly frown at himself when he realized that another tour meant that it would be more time away from her. But he didn’t want to give up his dream. He was just going to have to make this work somehow. Hopefully everything would work out with this. He’d never been in a long distance relationship before. Unless Lisa counted but that wasn’t really long distance unless you counted being out of state on tour for so long. But he had to make this work. He liked Charlie too much to not try and make this work as much as he could. Alex just hoped it all worked out. So far so good but who knows what the future will bring.