Notice

I bet you didn't notice, first time your heart was broken...

Alex remembers when Jack first started dating Zack. Fucking Zack Merrick, who was known to use people, practically forcing them to fall in love with him before he broke their heart as coldly as he possibly could. He seemed like such a charming guy on the outside, of course, but Jack was always an oblivious one. No matter what Alex, his own best friend, had to say on the subject, he'd disregard it and joke about how Alex was 'acting like such a jealous boyfriend, seriously, Lex, it's fine.'

Alex knew, though. He knew exactly what Zack would do. Knew how he'd be as sweet as possible to Jack, his Jack, before snatching him up and claiming the lanky boy as his own. He knew it would all seem magical to Jack, having the attractive boyfriend that everyone envied, who was just so caring and sweet and perfect. He knew how it'd progress, with both of them mutually agreeing that taking things slow would be for the best, and that in itself would almost be enough for Jack to fall completely head-over-heels in love with the douche bag of the school. Everything would go great for a few months, and soon enough, Jack would be in love, more than likely after allowing Zack into his pants for the first time.

And he'd even tell Zack, hopefully expecting to get the same three, meaningful words back in reply.

And Zack would do something along the lines of laugh, shake his head and break-up with Jack, not even being remotely phased as his now ex-boyfriend would get teary-eyed, bottom lip trembling as his heart cracked pathetically in his chest. The broken boy would stutter out questions of what he'd done wrong, apologies for not being good enough and promises that he'd get better, only to have them thrown back carelessly into his face before the bigger of the two decided he'd spent enough time explaining that, 'hey, guess what, I never liked you, I just thought you'd be a good, fun lay!' before just leaving without another word or second glance back.

Alex even went so far as to explain all of this to his best friend in detail when he'd first began to hang out with suave Mr. Merrick, and Jack had simply laughed, shaking his head as though he wasn't sure if Alex had gone insane or if he was trying to be funny. It had all sounded like jealousy to Jack, nothing more, but the elder of the two had crossed his arms at that, hard glare taking over his eyes as he shook his head as well, for much a different reason.

Alex wasn't jealous; Jack wasn't his boyfriend, and therefore he could date whomever the fuck he very well pleased. The younger of the two didn't believe it deep down, but being as oblivious as he is, he figured Alex was just being a paranoid fuck of a best friend, as he often was when Jack got a new boyfriend. He really didn't understand why the caramel-haired boy got the way he did, but he just eventually got so used to it that it didn't even matter anymore.

And, of course, only a few months after that first date, Alex's prediction came true. Almost to a t, in fact, as they more often than not did.

You called me up, and we talked til the morning...

It was just after eleven o'clock on a Saturday night, and though that's actually pretty early for a teenage boy to be falling asleep, Alex had had quite a long day of lazing around, doing absolutely nothing. Being a teenager was hard, what could he say?

He had called Jack about twelve hours ago, asking the lanky boy if he wanted to hang out and spend the night or something, as they often did on the weekends, but Jack had denied, saying that he actually had a date with Zack for their six month anniversary before promising that he'd make it up to Alex soon.

Sure, it had hurt knowing that his best friend, whom he loved more than anything, would rather spend an entire day and evening with his dickish boyfriend, but it soon faded away. After all, Jack had his own life outside of Alex and vice versa, and they were sure to grow more and more apart as they aged anyway, so he may as well get used to it all now.

Since he couldn’t very well hang out with his lanky crush, he decided to just continue on with the usual routine, but without the other boy. It had been weird, to say the least. Usually they’d both eat junk food and candy until they were sick, and then they’d spend the entire night lounging around watching movies and playing video games. They’d both crack jokes during the span of that time, and then fall asleep in each other’s arms at the crack of dawn. Of course, it was all completely platonic to Jack; he just thought his best friend was lonely, seeing as he hadn’t had a girlfriend—or boyfriend, but Jack wasn’t really sure Alex was into that kind of thing—in God knows how long.

Without Jack there, the movies seemed less entertaining, the food less appetizing and his energy, not as hit-the-roof as it'd normally be, and he finds himself nearly passed out when Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend starts blasting from his phone, causing him to jerk completely awake; that ringtone belongs to only one person, and if he's calling this late while with his boyfriend, it must be pretty fucking important.

"Hello?" Alex says, voice a bit breathless since the sudden shrill from his mobile device may have scared him just the slightest bit, but only slightly.

The only answer he's given is sniffling, a small hiccup following soon after. Alex isn't sure what to do, has never heard Jack cry and, on top of that, he has no clue why he's crying in the first damn place. Sure, he's got a pretty good idea of what's going on here, but if he started assuming and accusing and was wrong, that would probably not end well. So he does all he can think to do on such short notice: he coos quietly down the line, trying to calm the other boy enough to talk.

Finally, after a good five minutes of hushed, reassuring whispers and choked, pained sobs, Jack gave in; he told Alex everything, from the very beginning of his date with Zack up until that very second, and Alex's heart cracked every single time Jack's voice did, wanting nothing more than to be there, to hold and kiss him and make him feel as important as he was.

"And, and," Jack said, having to repeat many of his words because of how bad his voice was shaking, "he said something about how 'immature' I am, and how I'll 'never amount to anything.'"

The older boy couldn't remember a time when he'd been angrier, his entire body actually shaking as he grit his teeth and forced himself to stay glued to his bed so that he wouldn't do something stupid that he would probably not even come to regret. Like beat Zack within an inch of his life, tie him to a chair and then push him out the window of a second story building. Right into some trashcans, exactly where he belonged.

It was near the end of Jack's tale, though, where Alex realized that getting angry at some fucking douche bag wouldn't do any good; Jack would just get impossibly more upset and Alex would probably just land himself in juvenile detention. No, instead he had to be there, to comfort Jack, even if the younger simply thought that it was because of the unspoken, unwritten 'Best Friend Code.'

That night, they both stayed awake until the sun began to shine through their windows, and with the help of Alex, Jack had managed to stop crying and instead start laughing, even going so far as to say that yeah, Zack didn't deserve his 'fine ass' anyway.

"I'm tired," Jack eventually said after a momentary pause where neither of them said a single word, immediately following up his statement with a deep yawn.

"Go to sleep, Jay," Alex replied, his eyes already closed and his body wrapped up in his duvet. He'd been like that for a while, just basking in the feeling of being able to rest his eyes, but there was no way he was gonna sleep until Jack was.

It was quiet on the other end for a few moments before Jack's voice came through, tentatively asking, "Stay on the phone?"

"Of course," Alex answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Thanks," Jack mumbled, and Alex knew it wouldn't be all too long before he was passed out for the day. "Hey, Lex?" he asked, though, taking Alex just a bit off guard.

The elder hummed his acknowledgment, prompting the younger to go on.

"Thanks, for everything. I love you," Jack all but whispered, and if Alex's heart didn't simultaneously enlarge by about four times its regular size whilst cracking right down the center, then his middle name isn't William.

"Anything for you, Jay," he said, trying to keep his voice as even as possible. "I love you, too."

And the time that you were stranded, I was there before you landed...

Zack wasn't Jack's only dick-bag of a boyfriend, though. Not too long after that break-up, which Jack got through solely based on Alex's patience and assistance, Rian came into the picture, and even Alex will admit that he wasn't as bad, but he was an extremely second close.

Alex didn't always think that. At first, Rian seemed like a genuinely good guy, one who had the smile that lit up the entire fucking room, one who seemed to genuinely care, to have eyes for Jack and Jack only. Alex was jealous of him, sure, but he trusted Rian to be good to Jack, to treat him as he deserved to be treated: like a princess.

No one ever talks about how the prince is treated, so it's not like he was calling Jack the girl of the relationship or anything... though, in reality, he probably actually was.

He remembers when his opinion on Rian took a one-eighty, though. They'd been going out for about four months, the honeymoon phase already diminished into nearly nothing. That didn't mean they weren't still into each other, they were just past the whole 'I need to be around you every second of every single day' thing, and Alex was more than glad for that; now Jack had more time for him, as it should have been.

Except neither Alex or Rian could be with Jack on his eighteenth birthday since his parents flew him out to Lebanon so the rest of his family could celebrate with the lanky boy. The rest of the Barakat's had to stay in America, of course, not having enough money for all five of them to make the trip, and they also really couldn’t afford to miss so much work.

Rian and Alex hadn’t seen each other during the week and a half that Jack was gone, not really one’s to talk unless the boy they knew mutually was with them, but Alex still made sure to text and call the now-eighteen-year-old as often as humanly possible, what with the time difference and all. He’d learned that Rian would be the one to pick Jack up from the airport, and that he was, of course, allowed to tag along or something; surely Rian wouldn’t mind.

Alex couldn’t wait to see Jack in person again, excitement bubbling in his gut a bit hotter as each day passed, and when the time finally arrived, he honestly thought he'd explode. He got up extra early that day, being sure to shower and style his hair perfectly before picking out just the right outfit. It may have seemed stupid to anyone else considering Jack not only had a boyfriend, but had been completely oblivious to Alex's quite obvious feelings, but it was still important to the older male nonetheless.

Rian and Jack both knew that Alex would be with them, and Jack’s boyfriend had even talked with Alex about picking up the eldest boy so that they could both ride to the airport together, save gas and money. Alex thought that was a great idea, being able to be alone with Rian so that he could properly analyze him for once. If there was one thing the sandy-haired boy knew, it was that there would always be something wrong with Jack’s boyfriends, as long as they weren't him. It wasn’t the jealousy talking, that was just a pure fact, and Alex wanted to prove it. He wouldn’t intentionally go out of his way to ruin one of Jack’s relationships, not as long as the younger was happy, but he just needed to know.

However, when Alex texted Rian—and even after he resorted to calling the boy with the buzz cut—and he got absolutely no answer, he began to get a little worried. Had something happen? Was there a change of plans? Did he have the wrong number? It was the right number when Alex had asked about what time he’d be by to get him only just yesterday. Did Jack know? Maybe they’d broken up and no one was going to get his best friend.

With that thought, Alex got in his car and was speeding off to the airport, knowing full well that Jack would be arriving very soon and that because he’d waited around for Rian to answer or show up—if he were even planning on doing that at any time in this fucking century—and that the younger boy would probably freak out if no one were there to get him.

He was a no-show, I made sure you got home...

Alex arrived at the Baltimore airport no more than ten minutes before Jack's plane was to land, and despite getting glares and rude remarks from numerous people, he ran as fast as his legs could carry him towards the right terminal, skidding to a halt in front of the big glass window. Outside, Jack's plane was just touching down, and Alex had enough time to not only look around for Rian but to recompose himself as well; he wasn't the sportiest or anything, which was actually probably a reason as to why Jack wasn't interested in him. Alex didn't play football, he didn't exercise, he just... existed. Then again, how would he ever have time for his best friend if he did do all of those things that Rian and Zack do?

When Jack walked out of the tunnel connecting the plane to the building, he had a huge grin on his face. As his eyes scanned the crowd, it seemed to slowly disappear. Until he made eye contact with Alex, who felt like it'd been weeks, months, years since he saw the younger boy. Jack looked even more gorgeous than Alex could ever even hope to remember.

"You alive in there, Lex? Where's Ri?" Jack questioned the blonde, who hadn't even realized that his friend had stepped up in front of him.

It took a few seconds for Alex to get over his stuttering at being taken by surprise before he answered, "I don't know; he wouldn't answer my calls, so I just came to get you myself."

"Oh," was Jack's reply, and the way his face fell was enough to make Alex's heart crack pitifully in his chest.

"I'm sure something came up," Alex said, trying to be reassuring—though he knew, he fucking knew, that wasn't the case at all—and he reached out, pulling his best friend into a much too long-awaited hug. Jack reciprocated the action, his arms wrapping tight around Alex's middle and his face pressing into his neck. "I missed you," Alex mumbled, being sure to tack on a, "bro," at the end so no one, especially the raven-haired boy in his arms, would get suspicious.

He didn't, though, instead breathing the words back, only loud enough for Alex to hear over the sounds of those bustling around them.

All the days that you were stressed out, feeling like pulling your hair out...

It was only two days after Jack's arrival that he and Rian got into their first major fight. The older boy kept coming up with stupid excuses as to why he couldn't hang out with his own boyfriend, who he hadn't seen in two weeks, and Alex may have been the one to bring up why that was such bullshit to the youngest of the three males.

Jack didn't want to make a big deal out of it, really, but he did agree with Alex; it was beyond fucked up that his boyfriend just decided to start ignoring him for no fucking reason at all. If you were to ask Alex, he'd tell you straight away that Rian was the one to start it, but that's really only half correct.

So when Jack showed up on his doorstep, face covered in tear tracks and hands tugging at his hair, there wasn't even a slight hesitation in his bringing the Lebanese boy up to his room and cuddling him; that's what best friends do.

After successfully getting Jack to relax the harsh grip he had on the messy, wind-blown strands, Alex murmured the inevitable, "What happened, Jay?" A few shaky breaths were taken before Jack began speaking.

"I tried to talk to him about it; I went to his house and demanded he talk to me. He said he couldn't, that he was busy and that we would deal with it later. I told him no, I wanted to talk now because I've been back for two days and it's the first time I’ve even seen him. He hasn’t even tried, Alex. And then, and then, get this, and then as I was trying to talk to him, some slut comes up behind him and wraps her arms around his waist and calls him babe.”

Alex was absolutely livid; it took every ounce of his being—and then some—to keep his arms curled around Jack’s still shaking frame so that he wouldn’t go out and do something like crash his car into the front of Rian’s house. That would do no good on anyone’s part. It would be worth it, of course, but being blinded by rage can only go on for so long before you have to step back and look at the mess you’ve made.

They were all missing but I was here listening...

“Why’d you come here?” Alex eventually inquired softly, not meaning to come off as being rude or as though he didn’t want Jack around; he just didn’t understand. Sure, they’ve been best friends for as long as either of them can remember, but the younger boy knows how Alex gets when something like this happens, knows how he’ll plot out someone’s death in absolute picture perfect detail, consequences already thought through completely before Jack’s even managed to calm himself back down again.

Jack’s face visibly flushed and he looked down at their tangled legs. Alex wasn’t sure if it was from chagrin or from shame, but he kept quiet, allowing the taller boy as much time as he needed.

After a good five minutes of silence, Jack’s hushed response of, “I didn’t know who else to go to; they don’t care about me like you do.”

“That’s not fucking true!” Alex exclaimed, just a bit too loudly in the otherwise silent room, which successfully startled the raven-haired boy so much that he nearly tore himself out of the elder’s arms and vaulted himself over the edge of the bed. Alex merely tightened his grip, pulling the boy back and nuzzling his face into his hair. It was maybe just a bit too rough, but Jack didn’t mind, mirroring the shorter boy’s actions into his shirt-covered chest. “There are so many people who care about you, Jay. Don’t ever think no one does.”

“They don’t, though! Maybe I’m just destined to be alone forever,” Jack muttered, his voice becoming almost nonexistent with the ending of his statement.

And, as if some sort of epiphany just came in out of left field and hit him straight in the face, Alex realized that, yeah, sitting around and loving Jack silently would do nothing to make the Lebanese boy his. He wasn’t really sure what to do, though. Would Jack think he was just fucking around if he just outright said, “Jack, I love you”? Would he take it as in a friendship way and nothing more? If Jack didn’t feel the same, would their friendship be destroyed?

Cutting off the incessant thoughts circling his mind, Alex’s vision, which had zeroed in on the wall opposite to his body, came back into focus and he looked down at Jack, who was still staring at their meshed bodies. His brows had furrowed themselves, and Alex could tell that he was holding back tears, not wanting to cry any more so than he already had.

Reaching out slowly, so as to not freak Jack out, Alex placed his curled fist under Jack’s chin and tilted his head up. He was met with some initial resistance, but it quickly faded away and Jack obliged, looking up into Alex’s wide, brown eyes. Neither of them moved, both simply just staring into each other’s dark irises. Jack’s thoughts clouded with confusion as Alex’s blanked out totally.

When Alex finally did swoop down, his lips pressing gently against his best friends, Jack didn’t even react. The older boy didn’t let his unresponsiveness get him down, though. He merely squeezed his eyes closed a bit tighter, pushing his mouth harder against the seemingly brain-dead boy; he wasn’t going to give up until Jack either pushed him away or made some sort of move to copy Alex’s actions, which were becoming only the slightest bit more desperate with each passing second.

Soon enough, though, Alex was beginning to think that he’d maybe, perhaps fucked up just the slightest bit. He didn’t know what to do; he couldn’t really stop the kiss because then there would be the questions or the awkward silence, which they could both easily just laugh off and move on from or they could let destroy them. Alex wouldn’t let that happen; he couldn’t let that happen. But what would he even say? If Jack really didn’t ever want to talk to or see him again, he’d definitely stay away. It wouldn’t be his first choice or anything—it wouldn’t really be his choice at all—but to Alex, what Jack wants, Jack gets.

However, as he was just about getting ready to pull away from the pair of lips he’d only ever fantasized about being pressed against his own, Jack’s arms wound around his neck, holding him in place as the younger tilted his head slightly to the side, allowing them to deepen the kiss impossibly further.

Alex’s heart leapt into his throat, both from excitement and the fear that maybe this is just the beginning of one of those wet dreams he’d occasionally have. No one had to know about those, though.

Deciding that if it really was nothing more than a dream, he wasn’t going to let it go to waste. The hand still curled into a loose fist and holding up Jack’s chin shifted to cup the side of his face, his thumb moving to sweep along the younger boy’s cheekbone ever so lightly, gently. His right hand slid from being wrapped around Jack’s back to rest carefully on his hip, only just barely sliding up the darker-haired boy’s shirt.

Parting his lips slightly, Alex took the initiative to turn the press of their lips into an open-mouthed kiss, but neither of their tongues crept out to meet. It was slow, sweet and perfect, even better than anything Alex could ever even begin to imagine, and it was almost just a bit too overwhelming, especially when Jack’s hands moved to rest against his chest, the warmth of his fingers seeping through his T-shirt and making his heart physically ache; he’d waited far too long for this.

It was only when Jack pulled away, leaning his forehead against Alex’s and breathing heavily, did Alex realize that this was real, he’d actually just gotten the balls to do something he’s only ever wished for. And Jack has yet to scream or hit him or just leave. It was all becoming pretty overwhelming, and Alex didn’t want to open his eyes, didn’t want to see the bewildered, astonished, freaked out look that Jack would no doubt be giving him.

After a few moments, Jack did open his own eyes, but he didn’t feel weird or different or like he needed to never talk to Alex ever again; he felt like he needed to repeat their previous actions, and so he did.

Leaning in carefully, he pressed short, quick kisses to Alex’s lips, patiently waiting for when the older boy would decide to kiss back. If he ever planned on doing it at all, that is. It really didn’t take all too long before they were back to kissing again, and as before, Jack was the one to pull away first. This time, Alex did look up to meet his wide, brown eyes.

“Jack,” he started, unsure of what he was even going to say and soon falling silent as he tried to compose his thoughts accordingly. But he couldn’t, not at first, and he opted to continue staring into Jack’s eyes, thumb still stroking lovingly along his cheek. Jack leaned into the touch, eyelids slipping shut momentarily before he was looking back up at Alex, waiting for him to continue. “Jack, I’ve been right here for every minute, and I’m going to continue being here for as long as I’m still breathing. I don’t care what happens, what comes around the corner, none of it fucking matters because I love you.”

That simple proclamation seemed to knock the wind clear out of both of their lungs, and all Jack could stammer out after a prolonged silence—which was really only a few seconds, at most—was a hushed, “What are you trying to say?”

Alex smiled gently, his eyes shining as he leaned in to kiss Jack one more time, keeping it short enough so that he could pull back to whisper just as quietly in response, “I'll be there to hold you; I'll stay til it's over. You won't have to worry anymore because you’re not alone, and you never will be. Even if you can't see me there, I'll catch you when you fall. I’ve always been here, Jay.”

Jack didn’t seem to understand, brow furrowed with confusion and face twisted into the most precious frown Alex had ever had the pleasure of being witness to.

Leaning forward once more, Alex nuzzled his face against Jack’s, his lips brushing along the skin of the Lebanese boy’s cheeks, forehead and jawline as he whispered, “I bet you didn't notice, first time your heart was broken, you called me up and we talked til the morning...”