Sanctuary

It seemed like every time they spoke, Jack was telling Alex those three little words with the giant meaning, which made him nervous considering they had only begun dating a few weeks prior. He could tell that Jack was being dead serious, too, by the way he looked him in the eyes and his voice didn't falter. Jack really did love him. It wasn't a profound love, but it was love nonetheless.

Alex, on the other hand, found himself having difficulty returning the favor. He did love his partner, or so he thought, but the words didn't flow off of his tongue like they should have. This worried him because he definitely didn't want to give the other male false hope, and it was also very awkward when Jack would say he loved him and all he could do was mutter, "You too."

Sure, he felt very strongly for the older male, but did he really love him to tell him in a serious manner? These weeks of Jack and Alex's relationship were the typical "puppy love" weeks that came with every relationship; despite how little time they'd been together, the feelings that they had for one another were immense. His biggest fear was that they would fall too fast and crash out in only a month or two. This was what tended to happen in his relationships, he'd be convinced that he'd found the one, but only a few weeks later he felt indifferent.

Another more negative part of being a couple, they both realized early on, was that they had to be extremely cautious how they acted at school and when they were in public together. Alex constantly found himself wishing desperately to reach over and interlock his fingers with his partner's, but the malicious kids of St. Raphael would never let him live that down. Then again, if he really liked Jack as much as Jack liked him, he wouldn't be afraid of ruining his reputation.

Speaking of St. Raphael, school also became less of a challenge for the sophomore. He still despised his surroundings and wished to be back at Towson more than anything, but whenever he found himself angry at the world around him, he would just remember how different and beautiful Jack was. He was like a lighthouse in an ocean of utter stupidity.

Despite the constant ups and downs, the relationship was definitely a huge success for the both of them, and though it seemed like only yesterday that they had gotten together, they were now celebrating their one month anniversary by lying on their backs at a park not far from Jack's house, watching the stars and eating McDonald's chicken nuggets.

"Did I ever tell you that I'm kind of obsessed with astrology?" Jack asked softly, reaching blindly for another chicken nugget without taking his eyes from the starry sky. Alex pushed the carton closer to him so he could actually reach them.

"Oh really?"

"Mmhm. See, over there is Orion's Belt. It's made up of the three stars Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka."

Alex zoned Jack's voice out as he continued to elaborate further on the stars' patterns (mainly because he had not the slightest clue what he was talking about.)

Despite his total lack of knowledge when it came to stars and space, Alex enjoyed hearing his boyfriend ramble on about the topic. Just seeing his face light up when he pointed out the fact that one of his favorite constellations was visible made Alex's night.

In this moment, the Brit didn't want to be anywhere else but here. He had nothing on his mind, no worries or fears. They were completely alone here, with nothing but the soft hum of cars on the highway a mile away and the chilly nighttime air nipping at their skin through their hoodies and sweat pants. Alex adored little moments like this, and he absolutely adored Jack, too.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There wasn't a thing in this world that Alex hated more than his afternoon bus. From the moment he climbed on after school, the obnoxious and absolutely atrocious kids made him want to fling himself from the nearest cliff.

Not only did they scream at the top of their lungs for no apparent reason, they were also very vulgar and just plain rude. Now, granted, he had gone to public school for most of his American life, but these kids were both snobby /and/ trashy, not just trashy. The girls talked about all the drugs they'd done, all the cocks they'd sucked, how often they went out to parties and spent their daddy's money. The guys just screamed profanities and hit at each other the entire time. Alex was almost convinced that there was a couple that had sex right here on the bus, too. He was just thankful for Steve Jobs' wonderful invention of the iPhone.

Typically, the teen had to ride the bus from hell for about twenty minutes, then he would arrive home and have the house to himself for a little over half an hour. This was his favorite part of the day, because it gave him a chance to relax after a day of school bullshit and a little time to prepare for when his drill sergeant parents arrived. From the moment they stepped through the door, it was constant orders and yelling and arguing.

On this day, however, Alex stepped off the bus to find a mysterious black Accord idling on his driveway. He froze in place instantly.

'Is my house getting broken into?' he couldn't help but wonder. He could see a small silhouette on the driver's side, but he was unable to figure out who it could be.

A very large part of him was scared as hell and wanted to climb back onto the bus and call someone he trusted or get off somewhere safe, but by this time, the bus had already pulled away. He was alone now with whoever might be in the vehicle. He could only hope his neighbors were home and wouldn't mind him barging into their home in search of shelter.

The driver's side door opened and a tawdry figure stepped out.

"Matt? What the hell are you doing here?" Alex asked, his heart lodged in his throat. He wasn't quite sure who he was expecting, but it definitely was not this unwelcomed stranger. He was still unsure of this bad reputation that Jack had warned him of.

'Oh, God, please don't be an axe murderer.'

"Chill out, mate. I just came to speak with you," Matt said with a small scowl as he slammed shut the door to his car. Just like a month ago at the party, the rawboned boy was wearing loose black jeans, a solid, dark colored tee-shirt, and a thick black leather jacket adorned with several zippers and buttons. He looked like a giant thug, honestly, and his dodgy accent definitely didn't help his cause.

"I don't want to speak with you. I want you to leave, now," Alex hissed, trying his hardest to come off as big and tough. It wasn't too difficult considering he had a solid four inches and fifty pounds on the kid, at the very least.

"And why is that? You only just met me a few weeks ago, and it was rather brief. You don't even know me," Matt moved forward slowly, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He was trying to come off as nonchalant, but the smirk on his face said he had something in mind. Alex's stomach clenched.

"Yeah, but I know all about you. Look, my parents are going to be home any minute. Please, just go."

The last thing he wanted was his parents to arrive home and see their eldest son's former drug-addicted friend in the driveway speaking with their younger son.

"I'll leave in a moment," Matt countered, "but what is it that you know? I'm not a bad guy, Alex." His lips contorted to a pout now, almost mockingly, and Alex became even more leery.

"I was told to stay away from you," said the younger of the two. His facade was fading; he was now glancing at the ground and his voice was faltering.

"By whom, may I ask?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Oh, but it does. I want to know who's talking about me. Is it that boyfriend of yours, perhaps?" Alex had a strange feeling that he was mocking him.

"He's not my boyfriend," he snapped, suddenly insecure of his relationship, "but if it matters so damn much, yes, it was Jack." As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized that maybe that wasn't such a smart thing to say. There was a possibility that he was out to get Jack, and Alex's saying that only made things worse.

Like a light that had just been switched on, Matt's mouth curved upward in an almost Cheshire grin. He was up to no good, that was for sure.

"Figures. I'm guessing he's already told you about our little dispute a few years ago, yeah?"

Alex recalled the night of the house party. He distinctly remembered Jack saying that he had never actually met Matt, only knew of his name.

"What are you talking about? He said he'd never seen you in person before," Alex muttered, though his voice sounded unsure. Surely Jack wouldn't have lied about not knowing a person. What reason would he have to do that?

Matt's eyebrows raised dramatically and he removed his hands from his pockets to cross his lanky arms across his chest. "Wow," he mumbled, nodding his head slightly. "Well, I suppose he said that for good reason. You wouldn't want your significant other to know about the kind of stuff we did."

"What are you talking about?" Alex's 'tough guy' act had completely vanished at this point. He felt young and naïve and defenseless; even his voice had come out sounding childish. "What did you and Jack do?"

"I'm sure he'll tell you eventually. Anyway, that's not why I'm here," Matt said dismissively, shoving his hands back into his pockets.

"Then why are you here? Are you trying to get me hooked on coke so you can kill me, too?" Alex's temper was triggered now. Not only had this kid just randomly shown up at his home and brought up vague mentions of his boyfriend, but there was also no forgetting that this was the kid who led his brother to his own death.

"Slow down, man," said Matt, holding up his hands in defense. It was obvious he was offended. "I didn't kill your brother, okay? What the hell made you say such a thing? He quite literally killed himself."

"You shut up!"

"I'm only telling the truth," said Matt with that same goddamned smirk on his face. Alex hated him. He hated his stupid grin and he hated his stupid haircut and he hated his stupid existence. "Don't you know that drugs are a personal choice? No one told him to start smoking, and in turn use heavier drugs, just like no one told him to kill himself. Some things happen against our will, but drug use isn't one of them. In fact, I never offered him coke. He knew that I used it and he personally asked me for it."

Alex choked on his own breath. For the many months that he had known of his brother's secret, he had always imagined some anonymous, shady figure offering it to him. Not once had he ever thought that maybe his brother had gone knocking on the wrong doors on his own free will. He didn't want to admit Matt was right, though.

"Look," Matt said quietly, realizing he'd hit a soft spot in the kid, "I'll just do what I came here to do, then I'll get out of here."

"Yeah, that'd be nice." Alex had a hard time looking the other male in the eyes, but he forced himself to keep eye contact. He still had to assert his dominance. It was his home, after all.

The grin had made its reappearance as the older male crept closer to him. Alex immediately began retreating, not wanting to be anywhere near this sketchy kid, but Matt held his hand out and motioned for him to come closer. He had a very awful feeling in his gut.

"W-what are you doing?"

"I'm not going to hurt you. Jesus. Just come closer."

And so Alex, stupidly enough, trusted his instincts and moved closer to the boy until they were standing only about a foot apart. It was from this close that he could really see the weariness on the other's face, like he hadn't slept in a week.

Matt looked around cautiously for a good thirty seconds to assure no one was around, then shoved his hand into his pocket and carefully slid a small plastic package into Alex's palm.

"Give this to your pal Jack for me. He asked me about it at the party, and I decided to bury the hatchet and help an old friend out. I was on this side of town anyway, so I figured I'd just give it to you to give to him. Since you two are friends and all." Matt backed away now, reaching to open the door to his car. "Oh, and tell him I said good luck explaining that to you."

He gave him a sly wink before hopping into his vehicle and tearing off down the road, leaving Alex to stand alone in his driveway with a major case of confusion and a small bag of marijuana.