Save Rock and Roll

Mmm, Jack is so warm, so cuddly...my naked body squirms to get impossibly closer to my lover, and he shifts subtly in his sleep, before nuzzling his face further into my neck. Giggling softly at the sensation of the younger man's stubble scraping against me, I let one hand rest in a light fist, and wrap an arm around him loosely, in a sort of horizontal hug. I'm so comfortable just laying right here in bed, pressed to Jack forever. Rubbing my eye, I peek over Jack's shoulder at the digital clock on our bedside table, sluggish brow eyes signaling my brain that it was, in fact, an hour prior to our meetig with the recovery center's representative. It's too early to get up; nine o clock is just unfair! But I have to get up soon, otherwise we'll miss our meeting at the dropout recovery center at ten. Ugh.

In the past week, we've gotten registered for classes and worked out a schedule for both of us, and now the only thing we really have to do is show our proof of residence, and other technical stuff like that. If all goes as planned, we'll be starting on Monday.

Yawning, I drag myself out of bed untangling myself from Jack and earning a whine. Then, going over to Jack and my's shared dresser, I blindly grab the first things I touch. I spare one last longing glance in the direction of my boyfriend sprawled out in the tangled sheets, hair splayed out across the pillow and slightly framing his stubbly face, his soft snores, relaxed, angelic face...Maybe ten more minutes wouldn't hurt? I mean, no! You've got to get him back in school, it's the only way! I clamp my teeth down on my lip, close to breaking the skin, before forcing myself out the bedroom door and down the crooked hallway to the small, busted shower.

Just as the water begins to warm up, and I relax under the heat and steam curling towards the dim light like moths, I feel a lanky presence pull my body flush against theirs, rubbing soothing circles into my hips. Jack kisses the nape of my neck, and just as I begin to truly lose myself in the light presses, melting into his touch, he stops to murmur into my ear, breath tickling my cheek. "G'morning, babe. Ready for today?"

I smile gently at the space in front of me, not bothering to twist my head around to look at him. "Yeah, ready as I think I'll ever be...you okay, too?" I ask, prior to leaning down to grab the shampoo.

When I turn back around to hand Jack the shampoo, I see that he's grinning tiredly. "Of course. I'm ready to get a real job. Maybe we can raise enough money to move into some place better."

That makes my brow crease, lips pulling downwards. "I...Are you saying I can't provide for you, or something?"

His face registers shock. "No, no, of course not! Even if your job is unsteady, or unsafe, I've never thought you weren't good enough! Oh, Alex, you're the best that's ever happened to me." Jack declares, pulling me back into him for a reassuring kiss. His arms wrap around my neck, one hand snaking to grip the dark brown hair on the back of my neck. My fear and upset is washed away like the suds of soap from our bodies under the spray, and I feel the strong need to grab Jack's bony hips and bring them closer to mine.

Pulling away only when we desperately needed to breathe, I keep my lover's pounding heartbeat next to mine, locked in a warm embrace. "A small town drug dealer that trouble seems to follow is the best thing that ever happened to you, huh?" I manage to get out between gulps of steamy air, and Jack chuckles breathlessly, beaming with reddened lips. "The nicest drug dealer ever! besides, you think a boy abandoned by his parents and friends at sixteen when they found out he was gay really has a lot going for him?"

The first sentence has me smiling, and then I'm filled with guilt and sympathy at the mention of my boyfriend's past. He was only sixteen, for fuck's sake! You don't just leave your kid to fend for himself because his sexuality makes you uncomfortable. Why, if I ever got my hands on those bastards...trying to redirect my anger, I tighten my grip on Jack, trailing kisses down his neck. "I'm so sorry, babe. They've done such awful things to you...let me make you feel better."

Jack fidgets under my touch. "Do you think we have time? I mean, if we want to get there on time, we gotta leave soon."

It takes a minute for me to process the innuedo, but then I crack up. "Jack Barakat, you dog! I didn't mean sex!"

He giggles, and I capture his lips in another prolonged open-mouthed kiss, just breathing in his scent, tasting his morning breath on my tongue, lapping at the insides of his mouth. All I could feel, all I could hear, was purely Jack. And I loved it. I love him, so indescribably much. The way he looks at me whe I make terrible jokes, the way he automatically holds onto my hand like it's an anchor when we're in a big crowd, the way he kisses me every time I leave for work, like he'll never kiss me again, and neither of us speak out of fear, as I'm silently promising to never leave him behind. Love for the younger boy swells in my chest, nearly choking at the joyful sensation of my heart rising in my throat. I remember a line of poetry I read somewhere, long before Jack and I had met...,"You are what you love/ Not who loves you." I think that sums it up perfectly.

We pull apart once more, and I decide to finish showering, my lover soon joining me in my efforts. The water had long since run cold, and we hurried to exit the moldy cubicle.

----------------------------

"Alright, Mr. Gaskarth, Mr. Barakat, now that all that technical hodge podge is out of the way, why don't we go meet you teachers? I don't think either of them have any tutoring or such going on at the moment."

I feel Jack grip my hand in a circulation-killing way, and I shoot him a reassuring grin. "That sounds fine, don't you think, honey?"

"Y-yeah. Okay." He looked so nervous, like he was Bambi and I was his mother, standing in the clearing.

The woman who met with us, June Williams, smiles broadly, leading us down a flight of stairs and down a hallway. "Second door to the left for you, Mr. Gaskarth. Every weekday from four pm to five thirty. The period will be long, but cover your first year of college's English and math requirements. Then, you'll head over to Mrs. Ainsworth for Music Theory until seven pm. As we've discussed, classes will be spent on the computers, working on lesson plans and the like. You may very well have homework on actual paper, though, and at the end of the year, you'll be able to earn your associate's degree."

I nod throughout the explanation, then follow her into the classrooms I'm in. All of my teachers seemed fairly nice, and certainly dedicated. Jack and I would be in good hands here. We visit the other classroom I'm in, and then move on to Jack's.

The younger man seems to walk closer to me, eyes darting around anxiously. In reassurance, I squeeze his hand, and he looks gratefully at me.

June clears her throat. "Now, gentlemen, this is Jack's first class of the day, with Mrs. Backus for Geometry. Mr. Barakat, as you know, there are eighteen credits you are missing to graduate high school, so your class load will be a bit heavier for the time being, seeing as you have made the ambitious goal of graduating in a year, with your," Another throat clearing. "Significant other." Jack and I both cringe a little at that, but carry on.

After getting through all six of Jack's classes(he has a full day, unlike me) we decide to stop in at "Six Feet Under," for coffee and a well-earned muffin, and I made sure we sat side by side this time.

"What do you think, Jack-o?" I question, sincerely curious about his thoughts on the whole thing. I originally thought this would be good for him and just time consuming for me, but now I'm beginning to see how beneficial it could be for the both of us.

"Hmmmf." Jack states with a straight face around his bite of warm muffin.

Noticing a particle of the baked good had made itself at home on my lover's face, I chuckle, figuring the serious talk could wait for now. "You know, you've got some muffin on your face, let me get that for you...," I trail off, wiggling my bushy eyebrows comically.

Jack freezes, eyes wide in an extremely humorous, yet totally adorable way.

My breath fans across his face as I lean in slowly, predatorily, and lick the bit of muffin off of Jack's chin, right below his lower lip. Ugh, it's a good thing he shaved after the shower this morning. I kiss the place where bakery treat had been, then his lip, short and sweet. Jack blushes lightly, and kisses back in the same fashion.

"You," A peck on the cheek. "Are," A press of the lips to the dark bangs swishing across his forehead."So," A flurry of little kisses to his cheeks, like raindrops on window panes. "Amazing."

Jack is red all the way to his ears, smiling so hard he might split his face in half. "You too, babe." He sighs happily, and I feel long arms make their way around my waist. Slinging my arm over his shoulder, I give him one more smooch, longer and more passionate than the rest.

We spend the rest of the late morning/early afternoon in a comfortable silence, only speaking when strictly necessary. After a few hours of lounging around, though, my lover gets antsy, and soon pleads to go somewhere, anywhere, he's just so bored! And I oblige, deciding a celebratory movie date was in order. It was one of our good weeks, anyway, we could afford to splurge a bit.

Damn, this boy had me wrapped around his little finger. You are what you love, after all, not who loves you. I show him this lovely little drive in, and the crappy secondhand truck's radio quits on us within the first few minutes of the black and white Elvis flick they were playing, so Jack and I make up our own gut-busting dialogue, half-assedly acting out some of the scenes from our seats in the car.

"Oh, Elivis!" Jack mimics, swooning over the dashboard.

"Oh, honey!" I say, in more of a Johnny Bravo-esque voice, more than anything. Jack finds it utterly hilarious, and nearly starts crying because he's laughing so hard.

The rest of the movie passes in a similar fashion, and all too soon, I find myself driving a passed out young adult home. I didn't want to wake him, so I hopped out of the driver's seat, went over to his side of the vehicle, and plucked him out of his seat, carrying him bridal style instead. Despite the fact that he's two inches or so taller than me, the boy is light as a feather.

Jack doesn't stir as I lay him down on the bed, pulling off our shoes and jeans, and then proceeding to cover us in blankets. I swear, the boy could sleep through a hurricane. Placing an arm over his waist and a kiss on his head, I whisper goodnight and not long afterwards drift off into sleep. "I love you, Jack...," I mumble, right before dreams overtake me. "I really do."