You Could Be My Compass

Second body identified as Bassam Barakat

Jack was still asleep. Alex was making breakfast and he’d drifted to the living room and switched on the TV. It was on the news. Of course it was on the news, because Jack was obsessed and freaking out, and Alex understood that, but still, it was getting out of hand.

But there it was, all caps, in bold letters across the bottom of the screen.

He didn’t know what to do. Should he go shake Jack from his semi-peaceful sleep and tell him the news? Should he wait till he woke up and then tell him? Should he just leave the news on the TV, allowing Jack to find out by himself? Should he hide it from him for as long as he could?

No, absolutely not the last one. Firstly, that would piss Jack off/upset/offend him to no end. Secondly, how the hell would he go about doing that? Cancel the TV and internet and not let him set foot in the real world? Holy hell, that would be impossible.

Luckily (well, as far as the word luckily could go in this situation), Jack made the decision easier for him, walking downstairs with Jack the Ripper trailing behind him, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

And looking kind of fucking adorable.

Alex sighed. “Jack,” he called softly. “Um, I dunno how to say this, but, uh, I think you need to come look at the TV. Like, now.”

Jack stood next slightly behind him, arms looping loosely around his shoulders. “Good morning to you to,” he mumbled, kissing his jaw before directing his attention to the TV. “Okay, honestly Lex, this couldn’t have waited?”

It was on a commercial.

Damn it.

“Uh, it was on the news just a second ago, I swear.” He frowned and turned in Jack’s arms, facing him. “I guess I’ll tell you. Uh, they identified the other body in Georgia. It’s—”

“My dad. I know. I’ve known for a while.”

“Really?!” Alex yelped. “How the—”

“I mean, I didn’t know know. I just had a feeling, y’know? Like, I dunno, just…it made sense to me.”

And now Alex was scared, because Jack wasn’t overreacting or reacting at all. He’d been expecting tears or anger or at least something. “Uh, Jack, are you…okay?” he asked cautiously. Not showing any emotion would usually be okay, but in this case, it seemed like it should be the exact opposite.

“I should be sad, shouldn’t I?” The question was rhetorical; Alex knew there was more coming. And he was right. “I should be balled up in the corner, crying my eyes out. Or I should be throwing shit around. But, but I don’t feel anything, Lex. I don’t feel sad or mad or scared. I’m not surprised either, and I know I should be.” Then, in a quieter voice, just barely above a whisper, he asked, “Am I a bad person?”

“Of course not!” Alex said immediately. “Jack, your dad kind of really fucked you over. Why should you feel sorry for him?”

“I guess you’re right,” he mumbled, but he still sounded ashamed.

“Come on, Princess,” he smirked, knowing it made Jack do that cute smile-blush thing, backing up and stretching a hand out to him. His parents were at work and the police wouldn’t be stopping by to check in until two. He knew exactly how he wanted to spend the next few hours.

——

The car had driven by Alex’s house at least seven times when he finally closed the blinds. He wasn’t going to let Jack know, but he was starting to freak out for a number of reasons. One, he’d never seen the car before in his life, and that was an issue because this was one of those neighborhoods, you know, where you know what your neighbor’s sister-in-law’s minivan looked like. Two, it was going a normal speed, except for when it neared his house; it slowed to almost a stop. Three, it was only half past twelve, so another hour and thirty minutes till anybody would check on them. And four, the windows were tinted and that was just suspicious as hell.

“Best memory,” Jack said, tearing Alex’s thoughts away from the mild paranoia he was experiencing. They’d been playing the question game for about thirty minutes to pass the time.

“That’s too easy,” he replied, smiling widely. “Beginning of the summer, I took Jack Skellington to the park, and I was expecting it to be a really boring day, and then Jack started flipping his shit, and I thought he saw a homeless guy or something, but then the person in question turned around and—holy shit—it was you, and yeah, that’s definitely my best memory.” He paused to think up a good question, and with a sly grin, he asked, “First crush?”

“That’s even easier,” Jack fired back, voice hinting at protest as he continued, “I’m looking right at him.”

“Aww, yay!” Alex cheered. To be honest, he hadn’t been expecting that answer, but he was more than happy to hear it.

“Um, favorite—” Jack stopped, glancing out the window. “I don’t wanna sound sketched out, ‘cause I’m totally not, but how many times has that car driven by?”

So he had noticed it.

“Yeah, I dunno…” Alex reached for his phone. “And I also don’t wanna sound sketched out, ‘cause I’m not either, but I’m calling my mom.”

She answered halfway through the first ring, like she knew something was up. “What’s wrong?” she demanded.

“Uh, nothing’s wrong exactly, but there’s this creepy car that’s driven by the house like ten times and—”

“Okay. I’m calling the police. Thanks for letting me know. You two stay upstairs and don’t let anybody know you’re home. Love you.”

She hung up before he could say love you too.

“There’s no reason to freak out,” Jack told him, but it was clear he was actually trying to convince himself. “I mean, it could be anyone, right? It could be some confused little old lady that can’t remember which house her grandkids live in. Or, I dunno, someone looking for their lost pet. Just ‘cause Adam is in Maryland doesn’t mean he’s gonna find me, or that he even wants to find me.”

But they both knew that at least the last part of that wasn’t true. It was on news stations across the country again, the news about Jack’s reappearance, followed shortly by two murders and Adam going to Maryland. It was pretty obvious what he wanted. What nobody was sure about, however, was why he wanted it.

Jack peered out again and gasped. “Um, Alex,” he whispered hurriedly. “That car is parked across the street now.”

“Don’t panic,” Alex said, even though he was definitely starting to panic. ‘Cause now somebody was getting out of the car and walking towards the house. “Okay, this is gonna make it seem like I’m freaking out, but I’m not, but let’s go to the pets’ room. It has a better lock, y’know, just in case…”

Why was he even denying it anymore? They were both worried about what might happen, especially when there was a banging noise on the door that certainly wasn’t a salesperson knocking. “Alex,” Jack said softly as he locked the door and turned off the lights, plunging them into almost total darkness. The room was windowless. If either of them had been thinking, maybe they’d have gone to a room with windows and jumped out. “Alex, I’m scared.”

There was the unmistakeable sound of the door slamming open. “Me too, Jack.” It was too dark for him to see the tears pooling in Jack’s eyes. He managed to find one of Jack’s handed and linked their fingers together tightly. “But I’m here, and I swear to god I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. I love you.”

“I l—”

A harsh, cruel, loud voice interrupted him, shouting from downstairs, “I know you’re in here somewhere, Jack!”