Especially on Hotel Nights

Alex isn't exactly human. Jack is sure of it.

Sometimes late at night, he can see a glow come from behind the curtain of Alex's bunk. And sometimes Alex's skin feels like fire, yet the man throws on a hoodie to cover his chill-raised skin.

Jack can see it. The way Alex picks at his nails and dyes his hair. The way Alex marks lined pages with chicken scratch and pretends the words make sense. It's the way Jack watches when Alex closes his eyes and he drifts into another universe altogether.

It's when the bus explodes and Jack's clutching his bloody arm while Alex is talking to a fading figure.

And after how Jack insists he saw something and Alex keeps denying it.

Alex won't admit to it.

Jack knows Alex isn't human.

But when Jack gets the orders to take Alex down, Jack can't.

Jack won't.

Because even if Alex glows, and his skin burns red while he’s shivering, and he bites his nails till they bleed, and dyes his hair to cover its unnatural color, and he writes words that aren't from the English language...

Jack can't take him down.

Jack can only go up, up with Alex. Not down, not like they want.

And really, the glowing doesn't bother Jack much, especially on hotel nights when his night-light bulb blows out.