‹ Prequel: Weightless
Sequel: Situation Overload ›
Status: in progress
Always
One Day
A few weeks went by, and all went as planned. Alex attended his speech therapy, and Jack helped him teach at the university, but then, as always, something happened, one Wednesday afternoon, mid-lecture.
"And so this particular anaphora is especially effe-" Jack was interrupted as music began blaring from someone's phone, somewhere in the room. It was a good song, a bit of Blink 182 never hurts, but still, in a lecture? How hard is it to turn your phone on silent?! "Who's phone is that?" Students began searching for their own, just to check, and holding them up in proof that it wasn't theirs. It then got to the point where every student in the room was holding up their cell, and the song reached the line 'And you still act like you're in freshman year, What the hell is wrong with me?' and it suddenly clicked to Jack that it was infact his own phone, in his pocket.. Jack chucked the phone at Alex and pointed to the corridor, where Alex then answered the call and headed into the hallway.
"Sorry about that.. That's awkward.. Anyway. Anaphoras..." Jack continued the lecture and when the bell rang, walked out to find Alex leaning against the wall.
"Baby is everything alright? You never came back into class?" Jack asked, concerned, and only now beginning to worry about what the phonecall could have been about.
"J-Jack, I'm so sorry, but y-your dad has l-lung cancer."
Jack and his dad had always kept to themselves when they lived together, and once Jack went to off to university, and then moved to Chicago, they'd had little contact- not deliberately, but that's just how it happened. They called on birthdays and special dates, but that was really it. When Jack was younger, he would, if he was really desperate, tell his dad his issues, and his dad wouldn't really do much, just give a supportive and encouraging smile, and maybe make Jack a cup of tea. When Alex and Jack dated in year 10, Bassam, Jack's father, made a friend in Alex's step father, and that made him a little happier. Since the boys moved away, the Gaskarth-Fuentes would invite Bassam over for Christmas, and the odd drink, but these events remained infrequent, despite how all involved would have thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Bassam was, to say the least, an introvert. And now, he was an introvert with cancer, that his own son hadn't spoken to in half a year.
"Shit, really? Where is he? What hospital?" Jack questioned, panic rising.
"Baltimore P-public Hospital. You need t-to be with him J-Jack, let's go b-book you a flight o-okay?"
"But what about you? You'll come right?" Jack didn't want to have to do this alone, not again..
"I c-can't, I've got t-to teach, I was already o-off too long with the c-coma. You go. We can s-speak on the phone each n-night." Alex assured him.
"But what about the stutter?"
"Jack, y-your father has lung c-cancer, and y-you need to be with h-him. I think th-that's a little more important th-than being s-self conscious over a s-stutter." argued Alex, and Jack gave in, and they headed straight home, for Jack to pack and they booked a flight for him the following day.
That night, they both lay in bed wide awake.
"Lex." Jack sniffled. "I can't do this again."
"What d-do you mean a-again?" Alex asked.
"My mum died of cancer when I was 9. That's when my dad stopped talking, I was alone, Lex. Completely. I felt like I had no-one then, but now what will it be like, when I literally have no-one? I don't want to have lost both my parents before I'm 30, Lex." Jack cried. Alex took his hand in his own.
"Jack, n-no matter what, y-you won't be alone. I'm here for y-you. Through thick a-and thin. I h-had no idea a-about your mum.. But r-remember, 'life doesn't put you through more than you can handle'."
"Only Rian knew. And I hope so. I'm really worried, Lex." Jack confessed.
"I know b-baby I know." Alex cuddled into Jack's side, sharing his warmth, and offering his support, and Jack managed to fall asleep, thinking of the beautiful man next to him, who made a stutter sound elegant, made rolled up sleeves look hardcore yet professional, and most importantly, made everything just slightly brighter whenever he shone upon it. What would he ever do without him?
The flight was short, and Jack slept through it, trying to forget that at the end of this trip he might be saying goodbye to his dad for the last time. Alex's family had agreed to let Jack stay with them, in Alex's teenager room, because they understood that it must be hard, and Jack and Alex didn't really have the money to spare with paying for speech therapy and owning an apartment- nevermind the fact they still shared it with Valerie, it was pricey.
"Hi Jack darling, how are you?" Alex's mum greeted, bringing him in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"I'm coping, I guess. Alex has made this so much easier though, I can't thank him enough for holding up the fort at uni while I'm away, I know it's hard for him since the coma." He explained.
"Jack! Great to see you again, honestly I'm so happy you two got together again. You're really good for Alex." Vincent hugged Jack tightly, not forgetting how Alex and Jack had helped him overcome his secret addiction.
"Tom buddy! Remember me?!" called Jack, as he saw Tom coming down the stairs.
"You're in Alex's pictures on his wall, right?" Tom asked, only sort of recognising him.
"Yeah that'd be me, there's probably some embarrassing photos of me up there." Jack laughed, shaking his head. "So how have you been, Tom? Miss Alex?"
"I'm okay, school is hard, and I have no-one to talk to. I don't really know Daniel and Tay much, Alex talks to me on the phone, but Vic and Mike are always banging." Tom frowned, pouting slightly, the same way Alex did.
"Banging?" Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, on drums and guitars. It's sometimes good but it's reeeaaalllyyy loud." Tom explained.
"Ohhhh, well, maybe you could learn an instrument? Or sing?"
"I wanna play guitar, because then I can take music GCSE." answered Tom.
"You're already thinking about GCSEs? You're 10!" Jack exclaimed.
"They're important!" Tom defended.
"Yeah, but so is having fun, having a nice childhood. Don't wish the future upon yourself, enjoy youth. Innocence is bliss." Jack responded wisely. "But if you want, I can teach you a few songs while I'm here?" he offered.
"Yeah!!! Thanks Jack!!" Tom accepted, giddily, and Jack grinned.
After having a quick catch up with Alex's mum and stepdad over a cup of tea, he climbed the stairs with his luggage and took the familiar route to Alex's bedroom. After dumping his bags, he walked past Vic and Mike, surrounded by music scores.
"Hey guys, how are you?" Jack leaned into the room.
"Hiya Jack! We're good, just a bit stuck on this hook, it doesn't quite, well, hook." Vic explained with annoyance. Jack walked over, and gave his much appreciated assistance, solving the issue (they had used a flat, when really a sharp sounded far more edgy) and thus, hooking the hook.
Jack got an early night, after a quick phone call with Alex, who was doing just fine, and had managed to give a lecture with minimal stuttering, which, of course, Jack was very proud of him for.
In the morning, Jack took a shower, and mentally prepared himself for the day, followed by a quick bowl of cereal, before beginning the walk to Baltimore Hospital.
"Hi, I'm here to see Bassam Barakat? I'm his son."
"And so this particular anaphora is especially effe-" Jack was interrupted as music began blaring from someone's phone, somewhere in the room. It was a good song, a bit of Blink 182 never hurts, but still, in a lecture? How hard is it to turn your phone on silent?! "Who's phone is that?" Students began searching for their own, just to check, and holding them up in proof that it wasn't theirs. It then got to the point where every student in the room was holding up their cell, and the song reached the line 'And you still act like you're in freshman year, What the hell is wrong with me?' and it suddenly clicked to Jack that it was infact his own phone, in his pocket.. Jack chucked the phone at Alex and pointed to the corridor, where Alex then answered the call and headed into the hallway.
"Sorry about that.. That's awkward.. Anyway. Anaphoras..." Jack continued the lecture and when the bell rang, walked out to find Alex leaning against the wall.
"Baby is everything alright? You never came back into class?" Jack asked, concerned, and only now beginning to worry about what the phonecall could have been about.
"J-Jack, I'm so sorry, but y-your dad has l-lung cancer."
Jack and his dad had always kept to themselves when they lived together, and once Jack went to off to university, and then moved to Chicago, they'd had little contact- not deliberately, but that's just how it happened. They called on birthdays and special dates, but that was really it. When Jack was younger, he would, if he was really desperate, tell his dad his issues, and his dad wouldn't really do much, just give a supportive and encouraging smile, and maybe make Jack a cup of tea. When Alex and Jack dated in year 10, Bassam, Jack's father, made a friend in Alex's step father, and that made him a little happier. Since the boys moved away, the Gaskarth-Fuentes would invite Bassam over for Christmas, and the odd drink, but these events remained infrequent, despite how all involved would have thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Bassam was, to say the least, an introvert. And now, he was an introvert with cancer, that his own son hadn't spoken to in half a year.
"Shit, really? Where is he? What hospital?" Jack questioned, panic rising.
"Baltimore P-public Hospital. You need t-to be with him J-Jack, let's go b-book you a flight o-okay?"
"But what about you? You'll come right?" Jack didn't want to have to do this alone, not again..
"I c-can't, I've got t-to teach, I was already o-off too long with the c-coma. You go. We can s-speak on the phone each n-night." Alex assured him.
"But what about the stutter?"
"Jack, y-your father has lung c-cancer, and y-you need to be with h-him. I think th-that's a little more important th-than being s-self conscious over a s-stutter." argued Alex, and Jack gave in, and they headed straight home, for Jack to pack and they booked a flight for him the following day.
That night, they both lay in bed wide awake.
"Lex." Jack sniffled. "I can't do this again."
"What d-do you mean a-again?" Alex asked.
"My mum died of cancer when I was 9. That's when my dad stopped talking, I was alone, Lex. Completely. I felt like I had no-one then, but now what will it be like, when I literally have no-one? I don't want to have lost both my parents before I'm 30, Lex." Jack cried. Alex took his hand in his own.
"Jack, n-no matter what, y-you won't be alone. I'm here for y-you. Through thick a-and thin. I h-had no idea a-about your mum.. But r-remember, 'life doesn't put you through more than you can handle'."
"Only Rian knew. And I hope so. I'm really worried, Lex." Jack confessed.
"I know b-baby I know." Alex cuddled into Jack's side, sharing his warmth, and offering his support, and Jack managed to fall asleep, thinking of the beautiful man next to him, who made a stutter sound elegant, made rolled up sleeves look hardcore yet professional, and most importantly, made everything just slightly brighter whenever he shone upon it. What would he ever do without him?
The flight was short, and Jack slept through it, trying to forget that at the end of this trip he might be saying goodbye to his dad for the last time. Alex's family had agreed to let Jack stay with them, in Alex's teenager room, because they understood that it must be hard, and Jack and Alex didn't really have the money to spare with paying for speech therapy and owning an apartment- nevermind the fact they still shared it with Valerie, it was pricey.
"Hi Jack darling, how are you?" Alex's mum greeted, bringing him in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"I'm coping, I guess. Alex has made this so much easier though, I can't thank him enough for holding up the fort at uni while I'm away, I know it's hard for him since the coma." He explained.
"Jack! Great to see you again, honestly I'm so happy you two got together again. You're really good for Alex." Vincent hugged Jack tightly, not forgetting how Alex and Jack had helped him overcome his secret addiction.
"Tom buddy! Remember me?!" called Jack, as he saw Tom coming down the stairs.
"You're in Alex's pictures on his wall, right?" Tom asked, only sort of recognising him.
"Yeah that'd be me, there's probably some embarrassing photos of me up there." Jack laughed, shaking his head. "So how have you been, Tom? Miss Alex?"
"I'm okay, school is hard, and I have no-one to talk to. I don't really know Daniel and Tay much, Alex talks to me on the phone, but Vic and Mike are always banging." Tom frowned, pouting slightly, the same way Alex did.
"Banging?" Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, on drums and guitars. It's sometimes good but it's reeeaaalllyyy loud." Tom explained.
"Ohhhh, well, maybe you could learn an instrument? Or sing?"
"I wanna play guitar, because then I can take music GCSE." answered Tom.
"You're already thinking about GCSEs? You're 10!" Jack exclaimed.
"They're important!" Tom defended.
"Yeah, but so is having fun, having a nice childhood. Don't wish the future upon yourself, enjoy youth. Innocence is bliss." Jack responded wisely. "But if you want, I can teach you a few songs while I'm here?" he offered.
"Yeah!!! Thanks Jack!!" Tom accepted, giddily, and Jack grinned.
After having a quick catch up with Alex's mum and stepdad over a cup of tea, he climbed the stairs with his luggage and took the familiar route to Alex's bedroom. After dumping his bags, he walked past Vic and Mike, surrounded by music scores.
"Hey guys, how are you?" Jack leaned into the room.
"Hiya Jack! We're good, just a bit stuck on this hook, it doesn't quite, well, hook." Vic explained with annoyance. Jack walked over, and gave his much appreciated assistance, solving the issue (they had used a flat, when really a sharp sounded far more edgy) and thus, hooking the hook.
Jack got an early night, after a quick phone call with Alex, who was doing just fine, and had managed to give a lecture with minimal stuttering, which, of course, Jack was very proud of him for.
In the morning, Jack took a shower, and mentally prepared himself for the day, followed by a quick bowl of cereal, before beginning the walk to Baltimore Hospital.
"Hi, I'm here to see Bassam Barakat? I'm his son."