Yours Truly

Jack Barakat could almost feel his blood circulation cutting off, while he sat atop his knees, as he waited for the sun to rise over the distant horizon. It was a beautiful day to spend at the beach - the crisp Baltimore weather was just around a low 72 degrees, the sky was the perfect mix of orange and yellow, and the water looked tremendously inviting.

Finally taking the initiative to lay down on the red checkered blanket, Jack raised his wrist, taking note of the time - 5:33am. The sun would be rising over the east coast in exactly twenty minutes.

Watching the sun rise had become something that the twenty-five year old man had grown to love. It meant the start of a new day, but it always seemed like it meant more than just that to Jack. It was as if it signified a new beginning of sorts; the worries of yesterday were suddenly lifted from his shoulders.

Jack usually made daily escapes to a secluded place only to see the sun rise over Baltimore. It allowed him a sense of serenity that he hadn't been able to receive the past few weeks.

The man's circle of friends in Los Angeles were pestering him about leaving behind Maryland and living in the Sunshine State for good. On the other hand, his friends and family in Maryland were almost on their knees, begging him to stay put in the city of Baltimore.

Torn between two choices, and almost two completely different worlds, Jack used the sun rise to help him forget that he had to soon make a choice.

To be fair, there was certainly nothing keeping him in Baltimore. Sure, he had a few friends here and there and a couple of family members that resided in Maryland, but he would always have a way to contact them and to see them. Nothing was really making him believe he necessarily had to stay in Baltimore.

Shutting his eyes for a few, mere seconds, Jack heard the distant sound of a rooster so loud that the man was almost certain it woke up its entire neighborhood. He couldn't help laughing silently to himself, thinking of the poor souls who were unwillingly awakened at this time of day.

Letting himself turn to one of his favorite songs for some kind of comfort, Jack sang quietly. "Don't depend on me to ever follow through, but I'd go through hell for you. I haven't been this scared in a long time.

In a way, the song had reminded him of Baltimore and the thought of leaving Baltimore. More importantly, though, the song had reminded him of his best friend, Sadie Kennedy. He knew that with his rockstar-esque lifestyle, it was difficult for the girl to trust that Jack would come through with his promises. Jack also knew, though, that at any given time, without a second thought, he would go through Hell and back for Sadie.

The line "I haven't been this scared in a long time" had seemed to be hitting home with Jack a lot more recently. It was a scary thought to leave Baltimore behind, even scarier that he was actually considering it.

It was almost as if she had known he was thinking about her, because all of a sudden, Jack felt another presence around him. Slowly opening his eyes, he came face to face with Sadie Kennedy herself. Jack couldn't help but take notice of the girl's soft, brunette curls, her light green eyes, and her just-long-enough eyelashes.

"Hey, Jack," Sadie grinned down at her best friend of the last six years. "I figured you'd be down here somewhere. I wanted to watch the sun rise with you."

"You want to sit here with me for fifteen minutes?" Jack couldn't help but feel a little confused. Granted, he loved watching the sun rise and he adored the feeling of excitement he got when the time neared, but having someone else want to watch with him and share the experience was almost a new concept.

"Jack, you've been my best friend for six years," Sadie giggled, running her tongue over her whitened-to-perfection teeth. "I think I can handle a few minutes with you."

Jack couldn't help but feel anything but happiness as the next few minutes were passed with small talk and dumb jokes that he was almost certain if Sadie weren't the one telling them, he would not be laughing at all.

"Sadie, look," Jack pointed over to the bright orange ball that was slowly making it's way over the east coast's own horizon.

"It's so beautiful," Sadie grinned, picking up sand and letting it fall through the spaces between her fingers. "I have got to do this more often, huh?"

Taking in the fresh morning air and the near perfect temperature, he beamed down at the shorter girl. "Yeah, you do."

"So, have you made your decision? You know, about L.A. or Baltimore..." the twenty-three year old girl asked quietly, almost fearing the answer.

Jack weighed the two choices in his mind for a few, silent seconds. Los Angeles had a lot of good things about it - the wonderful, warm weather, the, for the most part, friendly people, and beautiful beaches. Los Angeles was also lacking one thing, though. And that was Sadie Kennedy.

Sadie had stuck by Jack through all of his antics throughout the city of Baltimore. She never failed to go to a show or two when All Time Low toured the states. The girl always made sure that she was the one greeting Jack at the airport. Sadie Kennedy was always there to pick up the pieces of Jack Barakat's life, even if she wasn't too happy with what had pulled the man down to begin with.

Sadie had Jack believing that maybe Baltimore was where he belonged after all. "You know, Sadie, I think I've known what my choice has been this entire time," Jack admitted, standing up, walking closer to the water and putting his arms behind his head.

Following behind the older man, Sadie stared up at him, confused. "And what exactly is your choice?" Sadie couldn't help but feel a little scared. Is this what it came down to? Was this going to be the truly defining moment of their friendship just before he left for a different coast?

His coffee brown eyes finding their way to the girl beside him, a smile crept across Jack's face. Pulling his best friend into a hug, Jack knew that he had finally found something to believe in.

When it really came down to it, Jack knew even when he deserted the comforts of Baltimore, Maryland, that he would always return, because he knew that Sadie would always be right there.

Sadie had provided Jack with one of the best friendships that he could have ever imagined himself having; he knew he just couldn't run away from that. Not only that, Sadie had provided Jack a reason to stay in Baltimore.

"I'm staying in Maryland, Sadie," Jack finally whispered into his best friend's ear, almost instantly feeling her grip around his torso tighten.

"Seriously?!" Sadie squealed, releasing her best friend and jumping around in the sand, excitedly.

"Yeah!" Jack screamed back at her, a large smile plastered on his face. Knowing that he had caused the sudden burst of happiness in the young girl erupted a storm of butterflies throughout his stomach.

"What made you decide to stay here in Maryland?" Sadie queried, tilting her head, as if it added some kind of emphasis on her pending question.

"I mean... I don't know, really," Jack trailed off awkwardly, crinkling his eyebrows. "I have the best best friend a guy could ask for, right here in Baltimore. Why would I leave that behind?" he asked, rhetorically, feeling the slightest bit of heat rush to his cheeks.

"You're saying that I, Sadie Kennedy, am the best best friend a guy could ask for?" Sadie stepped closer to Jack, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Yeah, Sadie Kennedy," Jack chuckled at the younger girl. "You are. Whenever All Time Low went through that rough patch about, you know, five and a half years ago? You were the one who got us to believe in ourselves again and you barely knew us. You got us back on our feet and made us realize how lucky we were to have the opportunity that we did." Reaching out to playfully poke the brunette's nose, he added, "The way you stepped in and saved our band when it was hanging on by the skin of our teeth made me feel like I was flying, Sadie Kennedy."

"As much as I would love to take all the credit for getting your band back to the top, where, might I add, it rightfully belongs," Sadie shot a wink at her best friend, causing him to chuckle, "this was not all of my doing, Jack Barakat." Kicking the sand from under her feet, Sadie looked up at the big, brown eyes of her best friend and said, "Birds can't fly without wind, you know?"

Jack's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What are you saying? I'm really confused."

Sadie giggled softly. "I mean, you can't fly without wind on your wings. I may have made you feel like you were flying, but you needed the 'wind' to do it," she explained, placing air quotes around "wind". "You and the guys' talent and personalities is what made All Time Low fly, Jack, not me."

Jack couldn't help but grin at the amount of faith Sadie had in the band and the fact that she had the same amount of faith that she did when she had first heard them play back in a hole-in-the-wall bar six and a half years ago made his heart soar.

She really was the best best friend anyone could ever have and he truly was the luckiest guy in the world for having her.