You Could Be My Compass

Jack had seen Alex do a lot of stupid shit while driving.

But he’d never seen him do something quite so ridiculous as this.

Instead of pulling out of the parking lot properly like any normal person would, he drove across the church’s well-manicured lawn. Jaws were hitting the ground before he was halfway over it. Jack felt his own jaw dropping as he stared in awe at his boyfriend. “You’re fucking insane, you know that, right?”

“Just a little bit,” Alex replied. “But that’s part of my appeal, that whole crazy-with-a-hint-of-”

“No, there’s not a hint of anything else. You, Alexander, are one hundred percent fucking crazy and I love you for it, but damn! It would’ve taken, what, two extra minutes to drive the regular way?”

“I figured you’d want me to follow your mom,” he mumbled. “Didn’t want to lose her or something.”

Jack saw that Alex looked a little embarrassed about it, like he’d just now realized that it was probably a little stupid to just casually drive through the grass. He leaned over and kissed Alex’s pink cheek. “Thanks. You may be fucking crazy, but you’re the best.”

“I know. Why else would you keep me around?” He smirked, but kept his eyes ahead, making sure he could still see the car Jack’s mom was in.

“I dunno. It’s not your personality or looks or sense of humor, so I guess the insane element is really the only reason I’m still with you.”

“Aww, Jack, I’m touched. That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me.”

Jack knew he was kidding. Otherwise, that would be a very sad statement about their relationship.

His mom pulled into the parking lot at a fairly cheap motel. Not quite a no-tell motel with moths surrounding the one flickering light bulb in the entire building and bloodstains on the sheets, but certainly not the kind you’d expect Mrs. Barakat to be staying at.

Alex had barely parked his own car before Jack was springing out and running in. The doors to the elevator had shut before he got there, though. By the time Alex caught up with him, he’d sunk to the floor in the hall, defeat etched into all of his features.

“How am I supposed to find her now?” he cried out, frustrated. The place only had two floors, but there were probably forty rooms on the second floor. How the hell was he supposed to casually figure out which room she was in.

“I know!” Alex crowed, grabbing Jack’s hand and tugging him up.

“How?” His voice was borderline hopeless.

“Do you remember that really weird habit your mom has, no matter where she goes?”

Alex was grinning, but Jack wasn’t catching on. “Um…she had a lot of weird habits, but it’s been five years since I’ve seen her. Who says she’s still the same person?” Who says he even knew her at all? He didn’t voice that thought, though.

“She always leaves her shoes outside,” Alex explained. “She always left them on your front porch, or ours, or any house or hotel room. She never wears them.”

Jack kissed Alex’s head. “Have I mentioned that you’re the best?”

“Only a couple times,” Alex laughed happily. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

“Don’t we have to wait for the elevator?” Jack suggested. Why it was taking so long to go up and down one fucking floor was beyond him.

Alex had a theory that he absolutely wouldn’t say out loud. And that theory was that Jack’s mother knew they were here and had somehow done something to the elevator. (Pressed an emergency button after she got off, perhaps?) “Stairs,” he said, pulling Jack towards the stairway.

In his almost-eighteen years of life, Alex had been in a lot of sketchy places and situations. But he was sure he’d never seen anything quite like this stairwell. There were so many stains on the floor and walls and ceiling that he swore looked like blood—yeah, that thing about it not being a no-tell motel? Maybe not so much anymore—and what very closely resembled a bullet hole and the stairs had a few holes and cracks in them, through which he could see dead rats and roaches.

Needless to say, their trek up the stairs was very quick.

Alex bit back his snarky commentary on the state of the stairway and pointed ahead of them. “Look! I bet that’s her room!” he exclaimed gleefully.

“Are you sure?” Jack asked hesitantly, following Alex towards it anyway.

“Do you see any other doors with shoes right outside?”

Jack didn’t bother looking; he knew Alex was right. There was no sense arguing. If he was being completely honest (which he wasn’t, at least not verbally), he wasn’t even entirely sure if he wanted to talk to his mom right now. He liked the idea of seeing her again and maybe hugging her or getting a few words out of her, but that all seemed so much better in theory than it ever would in reality. There was too much shit to ignore. And considering she definitely didn’t seem to want anything to do with him, why should he set him up to be shot down?

But Alex looked so eager, and he wasn’t really in the mood to rain on Alex’s parade, so he made a fist and went to knock on the door.

At the same instant as his knuckles hit it, he heard a sound for the second time in the past month, a sound that made both of them nearly jump out of their skin.

And it came from inside her room.

Before they had a chance to properly react, the door next to Jack’s mom’s flew open, and out ran Lisa, wrapped in a towel and hair dripping wet. “What’s going—oh god,” she faltered, seeing who was in the hall with her.

As if it wasn’t awkward enough, the other occupant of her room decided that it would be a perfectly appropriate time to join them out there. There, also soaking, a towel tied around his waist, stood Zack.

Fucking Zack.

What happened to Travis Barker is totally bangable?? Alex wondered before a nervous giggle burst from his lips. “Okay, we’ll deal with this later,” he decided, gesturing between the two guilty individuals in front of them. “For now, we need to get in there because that’s Jack’s mom’s room. Any ideas, Jack?” He turned, expecting to find Jack behind him.

But it appeared that Jack had picked the lock, because he’d already slipped into the room.