Baby, Close Your Mouth

A heavy weight woke me up from my alcohol induced deep sleep. It wasn't unusual. The heavy weight, the pounding headache, or the parched feeling in my throat. I mean, we party pretty hard on tour and until I work up the nerve to face the bright of day and peel my eyes open I won't know if they weight is a girl or Jack. I'd have to say I'd prefer to wake up to the latter.

The weight groaned, shifting around to snuggle into my side some more. Slowly I inched my eyes open, hoping not to make the pain in my already pounding skull worse. A mop of dark brown and blonde hair was resting on my chest. I smiled slightly to myself. Jack. I didn't exactly mind waking up cuddled next to my best friend, even if I had no recollection of what actually went on last night. I had a vague idea, seeing as we were still clothed. Making out when we were drunk was not an uncommon occurrence. Of course it rarely ever didn't escalate beyond that. So if I was to be surprised about anything, it would be the lack of nudity.

Of course one of the unpleasant side effects of alcohol is having to either throw up the contents of your stomach or relieve yourself. And knowing me one of the two was going to want to happen soon so I had to get Jack off of me.

I started by gently prodding him in the side, like the good friend I am. Yeah, right. I'm just kidding. I pushed him off of me, out of my top bunk. He disappeared through the curtain like he was never even here.

"Mother fucker!" He yelled when he hit the ground. I vaguely heard people laughing from the front lounge. "Alex! You dick!"

I opened the curtain and leaned out to grin down at him. His hair was in his face and he had yet to push himself up. He was just laying on his back, holding his head. I didn't feel any guilt what so ever. It was like a 3 foot drop, he was just being a pussy. "You love my dick."

Okay well that's what I tried to say. What came out was more like a hybrid cross between a frog and a fucking train. I got half way through the comeback before I clapped my hands across my mouth. What the fuck? Was that me? Jack leaned up on his elbows, looking at me curiously.

I cleared my throat and opened my mouth again, coughing. I was quickly beginning to realize that what I had thought was just dehydration was much more serious.

"Fuck me." I groaned, barely legible through the inhuman noises coming from my throat.

Jack began laughing uncontrollably, rolling around between the bunks. I launched my pillow at his face. This was serious! "Aw Lexi-poo did you loose your voice?" You know that voice parents use for babies and dogs? Yeah I absolutely fucking hate that voice.

"Shu-" I cleared my throat again. "Shut th-"

"Baby, close your mouth. Talking is going to do you no good right now and you know it." Jack laughed, pulling himself up from the floor. I groaned, tearing at my hair in frustration. I hate when this happens. Jack threw the pillow into my bunk before walking away and leaving me alone.

I frowned in disappointment. I might be a little frustrated but I didn't really want to be left alone. I groaned, throwing my head back onto my pillow and closing my eyes again. I had a pounding headache, my eyes hurt, my stomach was churning, and now I can't talk, let alone sing. Yeah, I sound like a whiny bitch but I think I have a right. This royally sucked.

I vaguely heard Jack talking to some of the guys in the front lounge. Staying in bed sounds like a nice idea. Yup. I'm down with that.

I'm sick. Cough, cough.

I distantly heard Matt's voice from down the hall as I curled up to go back to sleep. "What are we gonna do?? We have a show tonight!"

"Cancel it." Jack said bluntly. What? We can't cancel a show. "He can't sing asshole. He can't even just stand up there and entertain them with dick jokes. What were you planning on having him do? Play guitar the whole time. Cause that's real entertaining."

"B-but!" Matt stumbled over his words. He knew Jack was right but he definitely didn't want to accept it. That was much needed money out of our own pockets if we canceled. Plus the fans would be disappointed.

I sighed deciding now would be a good time to show my face. No matter how much I wanted to I couldn't just lay in bed all day (not to mention it was already two in the afternoon).

Pee first though.

-

Today was turning out to be hell. If I have to hear one more joke about how the reason I can't speak is because Jack fucked me too hard in the mouth, I might be circumcising certain members in their sleep.

I had the small white board, that Matt wrote our schedule on, and the expo marker clutched tightly in my hands. I had to write down my responses because I was on strict orders not to even open my mouth.

Lately all my responses hadn't been written but hand gestures. Crude hand gestures. Middle fingers up if you don't give a fuck. I certainly didn't.

Serves them right. They were all pissing me off.

"Hey Alex!" Vinny asked from where he was sitting at the small kitchen table next to Danny and Zack.

Flip.

"Don't be like that!"

I quickly scribbled on my board. Fuck all of you.

"Feisty. I bet you're pretty loud in bed. Maybe that's why you lost your voice!"

Okay seriously this was getting old. I opened my mouth but before I could say anything Jack interrupted me. "Baby, close your mouth." He hadn't even looked up from his phone but he still somehow knew. My mouth snapped shut and I shot a glare at Vinny and company, who were all shaking with laughter. They were just doing it now because I couldn't respond. Douche bags. Jack finally looked up and I turned pleading eyes on him. "Guys. If he's so loud in bed then wouldn't you have heard us last night if we had been having sex?" Jack made a good point. All of them stopped laughing, looking at each other sheepishly. Jack was being unusually wise today.

"Whatever Jack. Maybe you should take your boyfriend-,"

"He's not my boyfriend." Jack interjected quickly, shooting a glance in my direction.

Yeah... It's complicated.

Zack just kept on talking over him, "-in the back before that," Zack made a wide hand motion that encompassed all of me "gets stuck in that ugly glaring position."

You just gestured at all of me. I scribbled, quickly flashing the board in their direction.

"Exactly. I think he needs a little destresser." Zack continued, winking in Jack's direction.

I raised my eyebrows at this. Oh yeah. Complain about how loud I am during sex and then send me off to go have sex. That makes perfect sense.

"Listen here, Sasskarth. We don't need your back talk... Oh wait." Danny held up a finger in a kind of ah-ha moment gesture.

That was a lame-ass excuse for a joke. I angrily tossed my board in their direction, launching the stupid marker across the room. I didn't need this! I slammed every door I possibly could, which was like two (not nearly satisfying enough), on my way to the back lounge.

Thankfully no one was back here. Matt and Rian were out dealing with the canceled show and disappointed fans, while the rest of the crew had disappeared to do god knows what.

I plopped face down on the couch dramatically. God fucking dammit. This was so frustrating. Not being able to talk was shit. I love to talk. I can just talk and talk and talk and now I can't and what the fuck I need my voice back! What's the point of having a way with words if I can't even use them right now? It fucking sucked.

I was grumbling into the pillow when I felt someone plop down on the ground next to my head. I shifted to flip them the bird without actually removing my head from the pillow. I swear to god, if it was Vinny or Danny here to make more fun of me I would strangle them.

The person sighed, closing their hand around my finger. "Don't be so dramatic, Alex." Jack tugged on my finger silently asking me to turn over and face him. I buried myself deeper in the pillow. No amount of coercion could get me to face anyone until my voice came back. I heard some rustling and then he tapped a small round ball against my head gently, "I brought you lollipops." Silence. Jack twined our hand together giving a slight tug again. "They are watermelon flavored..." He said in a sing-song voice.

I hesitated just a second more before slowly turning to face my grinning best friend. He was holding a watermelon lollipop out to me, just as he promised, the rest of the bag was sitting in his lap. I grinned back, taking the treat and unwrapping it so I could pop it in my mouth. I slid my phone out of my pocket and typed a message into my notes.

Thanks. Jack smiled and shrugged. He didn't think it was such a big deal but it was a big deal to me.

"Scoot over, fatass, I wanna cuddle." He pushed at my hips while I pouted. I'm not fat! "Oh, I beg to differ." He pecked a kiss to my nose as he was settling in to let me know he was just joking. Raising my eyebrows and poking his side was the best comeback I could offer in my time of voicelessness. "I'm just kidding, you know I think you're beautiful." He was finally settled, pulling me a little tighter to his side. "Just suck on that lollipop and keep your mouth closed and you'll be talking my ear off again in no time."

I grinned around the lollipop in my mouth, pulling it out slowly and letting my tongue linger on it. I watched in amusement as Jacks eyes glazed over lustfully, laughing to myself as I leaned in and placed a sticky kiss on his lips. He licked across my bottom lip but I just kept the kiss innocent. When I pulled away he whined in disappointment.

"You tease! You can't just go give a lollipop a blowjob and leave me hanging. That wasn't even a proper kiss!"

You keep telling me to keep my mouth closed? I quirked my head to the side innocently, silently happy-dancing at my victory. Jack was just staring at me with his mouth hanging open. I typed a new message in triumph, watching as he shut his mouth and glared at me playfully after he read it.

Baby, close your mouth.