In the Rearview
three
The thing is, Jack is aware of the fact that he’s an asshole. Matt doesn’t have to tell him twice that his brand new plan to ‘win Alex back’ is stupid. He knows that. But he’s also aware of the fact that he’s selfish. So the knowledge of both sort of cancels out any moral obligations Jack feels. He wants Alex back. And this is the perfect chance to get him. Taking advantage of Alex’s apparent memory loss was not exactly how Jack thought he’d win Alex back when he thought about it over the years, but that’s just how the situation turned out and he doesn’t really have time to think about how much he sucks.
The next time he sees Alex, he plans it. He makes sure he has absolutely nothing to do on Saturday and instead of using the time to start looking at his course materials for next semester and other productive things, he goes to the café and hopes that luck is on his side and Alex will be working. He had seen Zack leave the house earlier that morning and he contemplated asking him if Alex had started his shifts yet, but that would have probably seemed creepy and weird so he didn’t. But thankfully, luck is definitely on his side because when he walks through the doors of the shop, the first thing he sees is Alex behind the counter, looking bored and a little bit confused.
“Hey,” Jack says immediately once he’s within a reasonable distance.
Alex looks up from an instruction manual on the bar top counter, smiles when he sees Jack. “Hi. It’s nice finally seeing a familiar face in here,” he says, and Jack wishes he knew just how familiar Jack is to him.
“I’m here most Saturdays,” Jack tells him, and that’s not really a lie. He is here a lot. He just usually comes in and grabs a coffee and goes, and doesn’t sit down at the counter just to stalk his ex-boyfriend. But whatever. Details.
Alex grins at him and stands up a little straighter, watching as Jack flips through one of the menus on the countertop. “I guess I should start learning your usual order then, huh?”
It’s hard for Jack to stop himself from telling Alex that he already does know it – he just apparently has forgotten it. “Only if you’ll be here every Saturday,” he says instead, putting down the menu. He’s just trying to get as much info about Alex as possible. It’s weird. He has to befriend him all over again. But he’s been trying not to think about that part too much. “I’ll just have a coffee. Just a little bit of milk.”
“Easy enough,” Alex says, turning his back on Jack to get to one of the high-tech coffee machines that the shop recently invested in. “Can’t screw that up.”
Jack lets that go without a response, taking advantage of Alex having his back turned to really check him out. He’s thinner than he was when Jack saw him last. That was nearly three whole years ago though. More unsettling than his apparent weight loss are the scars all over the backs of his arms. The t-shirt he’s wearing with the café logo – ‘espresso yourself!’ – barely covers them and he’s pretty sure there are more underneath the fabric. The past three years gave Jack more than enough time to get over Alex, but there’s still a part of him that’s getting a little too concerned about those scars. He guesses he’ll never really be completely over Alex, though, so it’s probably natural to feel so protective over him. He needs to chill out though, and preferably not get caught staring at someone he’s kind of technically just met.
“Let me know if you want more milk for it or anything,” Alex tells him, putting the cup down in front of him. He leaves the milk in front of Jack and tells him he’ll be right back, before disappearing into the back room behind the counter and leaving Jack alone. There are two people at a table in the back corner and a girl on her laptop near them but other than that, the place is pretty empty. So he pours a little more milk into the cup and tries to figure out what to do next.
Alex’s amnesia had to have come as the result of an accident of some sort. A car accident, probably. That’s usually how most people end up with it. It would definitely explain all the scars on his arms, because they were never there three years ago. But that still doesn’t explain why he’s in Delaware, away from his family who would probably be more equipped to handle his amnesia than someone like Zack Merrick who doesn’t even really know Alex. In Jack’s opinion, anyway.
When Alex comes back, he's followed closely by who Jack knows to be the owner of the cafe. He gives Jack a nod of acknowledgment and then goes about showing Alex how to use one of the coffee machines that seem to be a bit more complex than most. Jack watches Alex, notices how shy and quiet he appears to be now and that's just one more thing to add to the long list of "things about Alex that are different". He has so many questions for him - like how he got all those scars on his arms and why he can't remember anything - but Jack knows that he doesn't really have the right to ask them yet, and that he's pushed Alex enough today. He needs to take this as slow as he can, or he risks losing Alex for good.
The next time he sees Alex, he plans it. He makes sure he has absolutely nothing to do on Saturday and instead of using the time to start looking at his course materials for next semester and other productive things, he goes to the café and hopes that luck is on his side and Alex will be working. He had seen Zack leave the house earlier that morning and he contemplated asking him if Alex had started his shifts yet, but that would have probably seemed creepy and weird so he didn’t. But thankfully, luck is definitely on his side because when he walks through the doors of the shop, the first thing he sees is Alex behind the counter, looking bored and a little bit confused.
“Hey,” Jack says immediately once he’s within a reasonable distance.
Alex looks up from an instruction manual on the bar top counter, smiles when he sees Jack. “Hi. It’s nice finally seeing a familiar face in here,” he says, and Jack wishes he knew just how familiar Jack is to him.
“I’m here most Saturdays,” Jack tells him, and that’s not really a lie. He is here a lot. He just usually comes in and grabs a coffee and goes, and doesn’t sit down at the counter just to stalk his ex-boyfriend. But whatever. Details.
Alex grins at him and stands up a little straighter, watching as Jack flips through one of the menus on the countertop. “I guess I should start learning your usual order then, huh?”
It’s hard for Jack to stop himself from telling Alex that he already does know it – he just apparently has forgotten it. “Only if you’ll be here every Saturday,” he says instead, putting down the menu. He’s just trying to get as much info about Alex as possible. It’s weird. He has to befriend him all over again. But he’s been trying not to think about that part too much. “I’ll just have a coffee. Just a little bit of milk.”
“Easy enough,” Alex says, turning his back on Jack to get to one of the high-tech coffee machines that the shop recently invested in. “Can’t screw that up.”
Jack lets that go without a response, taking advantage of Alex having his back turned to really check him out. He’s thinner than he was when Jack saw him last. That was nearly three whole years ago though. More unsettling than his apparent weight loss are the scars all over the backs of his arms. The t-shirt he’s wearing with the café logo – ‘espresso yourself!’ – barely covers them and he’s pretty sure there are more underneath the fabric. The past three years gave Jack more than enough time to get over Alex, but there’s still a part of him that’s getting a little too concerned about those scars. He guesses he’ll never really be completely over Alex, though, so it’s probably natural to feel so protective over him. He needs to chill out though, and preferably not get caught staring at someone he’s kind of technically just met.
“Let me know if you want more milk for it or anything,” Alex tells him, putting the cup down in front of him. He leaves the milk in front of Jack and tells him he’ll be right back, before disappearing into the back room behind the counter and leaving Jack alone. There are two people at a table in the back corner and a girl on her laptop near them but other than that, the place is pretty empty. So he pours a little more milk into the cup and tries to figure out what to do next.
Alex’s amnesia had to have come as the result of an accident of some sort. A car accident, probably. That’s usually how most people end up with it. It would definitely explain all the scars on his arms, because they were never there three years ago. But that still doesn’t explain why he’s in Delaware, away from his family who would probably be more equipped to handle his amnesia than someone like Zack Merrick who doesn’t even really know Alex. In Jack’s opinion, anyway.
When Alex comes back, he's followed closely by who Jack knows to be the owner of the cafe. He gives Jack a nod of acknowledgment and then goes about showing Alex how to use one of the coffee machines that seem to be a bit more complex than most. Jack watches Alex, notices how shy and quiet he appears to be now and that's just one more thing to add to the long list of "things about Alex that are different". He has so many questions for him - like how he got all those scars on his arms and why he can't remember anything - but Jack knows that he doesn't really have the right to ask them yet, and that he's pushed Alex enough today. He needs to take this as slow as he can, or he risks losing Alex for good.
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:)