Exfriends

The clouds darkened and thunder roared angrily as rain began to fall. Big brown eyes watched rainwater gather in the cracks on the pavement like muddy mirrors. Jack sighed softly, putting his hood on. He sat against the side of the tour bus, knees pulled up to his chest and arms around his legs. He wasn't too fond of the rain anymore, but going back on the bus was not an option. Not with him on there, talking to his precious girlfriend.

He wasn't bitter at all, no, he was just completely fed up with being strung along like he meant nothing to Alex at all. He loved Alex in more ways than one. He loved the elder boy because he was his best friend on the entire planet, and he was in love with him. Jack was so in love with him it physically hurt him. Whenever Alex would hug him or cuddle with him his stomach would do little flips. On the b-side to that, whenver Alex would talk to her, or about her, his heart would ache and the weight on his shoulders would get heavier. He stood up and kicked the ground with the top of his shoe, then stared up at the sky.

The worst part was Alex knew that Jack loved him. In fact, Alex supposedly loved Jack too. He was just scared to come out. Jack shook his head to himself, closing his eyes as he leaned his head to rest on the side of the bus. Would it be like this forever? Him pining after Alex and waiting in the wings? He shook his head again, eyebrows furrowing in concentration. He would not let that happen. He walked back over to the front door, stepping up the stairs and onto the bus.

He walked straight to the bunks where he knew Alex would be. Jack was right, Alex was laying in his bunk with the curtain open, talking on the phone to her. The younger man nudged the elder's leg with his foot.

“Alex, we need to talk.”

Alex looked up at him, immediately recognizing the seriousness of Jack's facial expression.

“Hey Lisa, I gotta go. Me too, bye baby.” Alex set his phone down, then stood up, facing Jack. “What's up Jack-o?”

Jack licked his lips before speaking. “Do you love me?”

Alex gave him a look. “Is that a rhetorical question?”

The taller boy shook his head. “No it isn't. I'm not joking around. You either love me or you don't. You either want to be with me or you don't.”

The elder boy watched him carefully, chocolate brown eyes studying Jack's face.

"I love you Jack, but I love her too."

Jack is tired of Alex treating him like this, tired of watching and waiting for something that will never happen. He is just tired. He knew this was going to happen, deep down, he knew. Jack always had a bad habit of putting too much faith in Alex. Though, Alex had finally worn the younger to the bone. Jack was tired of waiting, tired of believing that Alex did in fact love him.

"You don't love me, Alex, and you never have."

The younger boy tried to ignore the sinking in his stomach, the weight pressing down on his shoulders, and the tears that wanted to come. Those things would have to wait until he was alone, because he would not let Alex see him cry.

“Jack, wait!”

Alex put a hand on the younger boy's arm to stop him from walking away, and Jack stopped and whirled around to face Alex, his expression changing from crushed to rage.

“Wait? Fuck that Alex, all I've done is wait for you and I'm sick of it! You love her? Well then go ahead Alex, because I'm done waiting! All I wanted was to love you, and for you to love me back! All you do is reject me. You do it in front of our fans, our friends, you reject and deny and stomp over my feelings like I don't mean shit to you! I'm not a toy you can put on a shelf when you get bored with, Alex! I'm not going to let you string me along anymore!”

Alex flinched away from Jack when he began to yell, as if the truth in Jack's words were cutting him. Jack had the worst temper for such a sweet guy, and when he yelled it was pretty scary. He wasn't going to let himself be yelled at though, no matter how right Jack was, because Alex was as stubborn as a mule. He always has been.

“We aren't lovers Jack! We aren't dating, and we never have dated! I do fucking love you, I just love Lisa too! I have been with her forever just like we have been friends forever! I don't want to give up either!”

Jack shook his head before replying in a voice as cold as ice.

“Well Alex, you can stop worrying about giving anything up. Our friendship is over.”

The younger male turned on his heel, leaving a wide eyed Alex standing there. All eyes of the rest of he band and crew were on Jack as he exited the bunk area, putting Home Alone on before plopping on the couch. The guys stood and sat around awkwardly, watching him carefully. Rian was the only one brave enough to speak up.

“You okay Jack?”

Jack shrugged, turning on the TV. “M'fine.”

He laid down then, pulling on his Adventure Time blanket, focusing on the television. He didn't want to think about anything right now, because everything hurt. This wasn't just some fight like the former best friends had on occasion. He felt a corrosive hatred towards Alex that wasn't going to go away by sleeping it off. Their friendship was broken, and Jack didn't think he wanted to even try to fix it.