Always

"Jack! What the fuck happened why can't we go home??" Vic demanded as he powered into the youth hostel and over to where Jack and Tom were sat in the communal area. Jack stood up, and whispered a response into Vic's ear-
"Alex got into some sort of trouble, hence why I showed up at your house, because he's gone somewhere.. And some guys are after him, and us basically. And, in their search for Alex, they came across your house, and I'm so sorry, but your parents are dead.. I had to pull Tom out of the window to keep us alive. I'm so sorry." Jack explained. It didn't seem like reality. It couldn't be.
"...No. You're joking. YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING. TELL ME YOU'RE FUCKING WITH ME. TELL ME JACK!" Vic screamed, a few hot tears escaping his eyes.
"I'm not, Vic." Jack tried to stay calm. With all that had happened it was the least he could do. But that was that, and Vic threw himself at Jack violently, punching and kicking and lashing out aggressively. Jack covered his face with his arms, not attacking, just defending, but when he got whacked in the balls, it was a reflex to throw a punch back. Soon enough they were tearing at each other's shirts, until they were both being held back between two other men who must've been staying in the hostel.

"Guys just calm down, whatever the problem is we'll sort it ou-woah fuck shit Jack." It was Alex. He had a stubble, and pink hair, but it was Alex.
"Lex? What the fuck are you doing here?"
"Well.. It's nice to see you too. I'm hiding, from a northern guy that wants to kill me. Yourself?" Alex responded, surprisingly calmly.
"That northern guy? Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Well he's Oliver fucking Sykes, from high school, with, the one and only Josh Franceschi, his best fucking mate. When I returned to the apartment after you missed my dad's funeral, they decided to show up, knock me out and kidnap me. I climbed out the window of some industrial basement in Ohio, shredding my arms and hands while I was at it. Took a brief detour to the hospital, and then took a cab to your folks' place. Oliver's possé showed up there, murdered your mum and Vincent, and I jumped out the window saving myself and Tom. Meanwhile you were down the fucking road in the youth hostel?!!" Jack wasn't thinking about what he was saying, and the moment the words left his mouth he knew that shouldn't have been the way for Alex to find out about the deaths of his mother and Vincent. "Fuck Lex I didn't mean it like that."
"..My parents... are dead?" Alex looked at Jack with eyes so big Jack could drown in them, he was pleading for an alternate reality. We all were. Jack nodded, and Alex swallowed. "I think we all need to get some rest. Tom, you stay with Vic and Mike, I'll sort out a room for you guys, Jack will share with me, Alan and Andy." And Alex walked over to the main desk, and Vic looked apologetically at Jack. Not that he had much to be sorry for, I mean come on, his whole world had just completely imploded, he was allowed to get a bit violent. They shook hands nevertheless.

When Alex returned, he handed one key to Vic, and the spare to Mike, and leant down and hugged Tom.
"I miss mum."
"I know, Tommy, I know."

Jack and Alex reached their room, and walked in on Andy straddling Alan, but it wasn't full of lust and horny-ness, it was actually quite sweet. Alan's left hand was intertwined with Andy's right, Alan's other hand was placed gently on Andy's frail waist, and Andy's left hand was on the back of Alan's neck. They were kissing slowly, looking at one another with pure love, when Jack and Alex entered the room.
"Oh, sorry.. Uhm, I'm Alan. This is my boyfriend Andy. Nice to meet you.." Alan blushed, and then introduced himself to the tall, skunk haired man. His voice trailed off when he didn't know the name of who was standing in front of him.
"Jack. I'm Jack." Jack filled in. Realisation settled on Andy and Alan's faces, this was THE Jack. The boyfriend Alex had had to abandon.

Alex didn't shed a tear all day, he didn't mourn the death of his beloved mother, or step father. Jack didn't know what to make of it. Alex was the emotional one, always had been. But with the way he'd taken the news, and just carried on, accepting the situation, Jack was starting to doubt that this was in fact Alex.
"Lex?" It was perhaps around 11 at night, Andy and Alan were reading quietly in their bed on the other side of the room, and Jack and Alex had been lying in silence.
"Yeah?"
"You know your stutter is gone?"
"What? Shit. Is it? It is. Fuck."
"Yeah. Why do you think that is?" Jack pushed.
"Dunno." Alex shrugged.
"Dunno?"
"Yeah, I dunno." Alex confirmed.
"Alex what the fuck is wrong with you?!" Oh if only Alex had a dollar every time he'd asked himself that.
"What do you mean?" Alex knew full well what Jack meant.
"Are you fucking kidding me?? I don't believe this! Don't you have anything to say to me????" Jack raised his voice.
"What do you want me to say, Jack?"
"I WANT YOU TO CRY. I WANT YOU TO GIVE A FUCK ABOUT WHAT'S JUST HAPPENED. I WANT YOU TO COME TO ME, AND NEED CALMING DOWN. I WANT YOU TO TALK TO ME AFTER WE'VE BEEN SEPARATED FOR JUST UNDER TWO MONTHS, WHEN WE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE THE FUCK THE OTHER WAS. I WANT YOU TO CLEAR SHIT UP FOR ME. LIKE PLEASE LORD TELL ME THE HELL WHY A SHITTY RAP SONG HAS ANY RELEVANCE TO US. TO THIS PREDICAMENT. TO OLI SYKES, AND JOSH FRANCESCHI. AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW ANY MORE THAN I DO, I WANT YOU TO BE UPSET ABOUT IT. I WANT YOU TO FUCKING NEED ME, LEX." Jack shouted, sitting up in the bed, and yelling at the man laying next to him.
"YOU WANT ME TO CRY?? ASSHOLE!! YOU KNOW I HATE CRYING IN FRONT OF PEOPLE! YOU KNOW I HATE BEING SO DEPENDENT ON SOMEONE THAT MIGHT JUST BUGGER OFF WITH JOHN FUCKING O CALLAGHAN!"
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE BRING HIM INTO THIS. NONE OF OUR SPLIT WAS HIS FAULT, JUST BECAUSE YOU DREAMT IT DIDN'T MEAN IT HAPPENED!" Jack defended, by this point he was absolutely fuming.
"OH BUT IT DID HAPPEN DIDN'T IT? YOU TOLD ME. ON OUR FIRST DATE IN CHICAGO. YOU SAID YOU LOST IT TO A GIRL IN COLLEGE, AND THEN TO JOHN O." It was just Jack's luck that Alex remembered that detail.
"OH COME ON. IF YOU WERE IN MY POSITI-"
"BUT I WASN'T, JACK. MY POSITION IS THE TOTAL OPPOSITE TO YOURS. I'D NEVER EVEN KISS SOMEONE ELSE, EVEN IN THOSE TEN YEARS, I DIDNT. MY HEART BELONGED TO YOU ALL THIS FUCKING TIME, AND MEANWHILE YOU BECAME SOME FUCKING MAN WHORE." Alex cursed.
"URGH I CAN'T EVEN DEAL WITH YOU. JUST FUCKING MARRY ME, OKAY?"