Did You Know?

“Jack, Jack wake up.”

The guitarist mumbled incoherently, turning over from where he was lying on Alex’s bedroom floor in attempt to escape the hand that was nudging his shoulder.

“What?” Jack groaned into his pillow as he tried to bury his face impossibly further into the plush cushion.

“Why are you sleeping on the floor?” he heard Alex ask from behind him, to which Jack rolled back over and reluctantly peeled his eyes back open to see the elder’s head poking from over the edge of his mattress with a puzzled expression taken over his features as he stared down at Jack.

“Uhh,” Jack mumbled tiredly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, “No reason. How’re you feeling?”

“My mouth hurts,” Alex stated bluntly, folding his arms in front of himself so he could rest his chin on top for some leverage, “I can’t believe you let me sleep with that stupid gauze in my mouth.”

“Dry mouth?” Jack smirked.

“Very. That’s why I woke you up,” Alex stated, brushing his tousled hair out of his vision, “Can you go get me water?”

Jack sighed, sitting up and stretching his arms above his head as he nodded and stood from his spot on the floor, “Just water?”

“And maybe some aspirin,” the elder added on sweetly, a small smile gracing his features to match.

"You're not allowed to take aspirin, dumbass," Jack replied with a small smile, ruffling Alex's messy hair as he made his way towards the door, "You'll just bleed more. So unless you want more gauze sitting in your mouth-"

"Nope, I'll pass," Alex cut Jack off quickly.

"Water it is, then," Jack laughed lightly, traipsing through the singer's bedroom door and walking downstairs to be met with Alex's hyperactive dogs.

The guitarist sighed, rubbing his face tiredly with his clammy palms as he opened his friend’s fridge and pulled out two bottles of water. In all honesty, Jack kind of regrets driving Alex to his dentist appointment. He swears up and down that he can still feel the uneven pressure lingering on his damn mouth from when Alex decided to kiss him just hours ago. On the lips. The lips.

Well, the elder was obviously a bit off with his aiming, but that was beside the point.

As if Jack wasn't already confused about his feelings towards Alex. He was thinking so damn hard while Alex took a nap that the brunet found it appropriate to sleep on the fucking floor.

Pulling out his phone as he made his way back up the stairs, Jack noted that it was 10:53 p.m. and subtly hated the fact that he most likely wouldn't be getting much, if any, sleep tonight. He quietly made his way back into the bedroom to find Alex still in his previous position, his gaze locked to where the guitarist was previously lying on the floor. The brunet momentarily halted in his tracks before hesitantly stepping forward once again, placing Alex's water bottle next to his arm.

"Thanks," Alex said softly, a small smile gracing his lips and he picked up the cool water and unscrewed the cap, "You can... y'know, sit on the bed again if you want. You never really told me why you moved."

Jack subtly bit his lip, his gaze trailing from the spot he'd claimed his own on the floor and Alex's king sized bed before letting out a silent sigh and lying on his stomach next to the elder, "I was uncomfortable, was all."

Alex raised an eyebrow, swallowing a fourth of his water before lowering the bottle, "you were uncomfortable... so you moved to sleep on the floor?"

"I... no," Jack shook his head, his dark fringe falling slightly into his eyes as he found far too much interest in the stitching of Alex's duvet, "not that kind of uncomfortable,” he trailed off, knowing that he was digging himself a hole that he had no interest getting into.

Alex seemed to ponder over Jack's words before a look of guilt took over his features, "I made you uncomfortable?"

Okay. If Jack ever felt like an asshole it was probably right about now.

"I..." Jack started, only to realize that Alex was sort of right. He didn't want to say that, though. 'Yeah, Alex, you made me so uncomfortable that I couldn't even sleep next to you.' That probably wouldn't work out too well.

Realistically, Alex was unintentionally digging up some feelings that Jack didn't really want to exist. Sure, he and Alex had acted like a couple before, but it didn't mean anything. It was purely based off of the reaction they got from fans. No feelings, right?

That didn't stop the guitarist's mind from thinking of all the 'what if's' when those fleeting moments were shared, even if it was rarely. As he said before, its not like he hadn't thought of he and Alex becoming an item. It was shoved into both of their faces, quite literally, every day. The thing is, Jack knew that he was overthinking. He knew. He knew because the two had shared a brief peck of lips on multiple occasions in front of thousands, yet Jack is sitting here thinking that what happened a few hours ago actually meant something because it wasn't shared on the stage of an east coast venue. He thought it meant something because it was just the two of them tangled in some bed sheets in a private home.

Alex was on fucking anesthesia. The damn kiss meant nothing.

"Jack?" Alex asked quietly, breaking the tension filled silence that was occupied between the two.

The damn kiss meant nothing

Might as well play it off, right?

"Yeah," Jack laughed, scratching the back of his neck as he gave Alex a hesitant toothy grin, "that anesthesia fucked you up."

"Seriously?" Alex laughed, the atmosphere seeming to lighten a bit as he looked at Jack expectantly, "What did I do?"

Oh.

"Uh," Jack drawled, looking at the wall behind Alex's head before improvising, "You kept blurting random facts about space."

Alex continued to laugh, "That’s no surprise. But what did I do that made you sleep on the floor?"

Jack's smile faltered until his lips were formed into a thin line, causing Alex's carefree smile to morph into a frown.

"Seriously, Jack," Alex's palm clasped over the brunet's forearm from where they were both still lying next to each other on their stomachs, propped up on their elbows, "I've never seen you act so awkward about anything in my life, and that's saying something considering we've known each other since eighth grade."

"It's just," Jack sighed, his train of thought starting to stray slightly as he raked his fingers through his tangled hair. He could physically feel Alex's concerned gaze nailing the side of Jack's head, causing the guitarist to let out a helpless sigh.

"You kinda... your lips, they... my lips," Jack mumbled incoherently his words jumbling together as Alex raised an eyebrow at the younger.

"What?"

Jack rolled his eyes, mostly because he was growing impatient with himself but also somewhat angry with Alex since he was forcing this information out of Jack.

He couldn't blame him, though. Jack would've done the same if he were in Alex’s shoes.

That being said, Jack turned his attention back towards the man next to him, their gaze locking as Alex's thumb swiped over Jack's skin from where his hand was still rested over Jack's forearm. He wasn't sure if it was the genuine look of worry that Alex had hidden in his eyes, but Jack figured that, well, better now than never.

"You... you kissed me. Like... kinda hard? Like, not what we used to do on stage or whatever... I don't know," Jack replied, his gaze ending back up at the blanket underneath him by the end of his sentence, because all of a sudden he felt really silly and stupid and vulnerable and he honestly has no idea why.

And then Alex was laughing.

Jack could feel the mattress shaking to his left and when he looked over, Alex hand was clasped over his own mouth and he was fucking laughing, and Jack thought that he was going to be sick.

The guitarist scrambled from the bed, nearly tripping when his leg got tangled in Alex's duvet.

"J-Jack," Alex managed out through giggles, his hand moving from his mouth to hold his stomach, "hold on, wait..." the elder managed to say a little bit seriously, only for him to burst into laughter again.

With that, Jack left.

Not really left, but he left the bedroom to go downstairs. Jack wanted to cry, he really did. Honestly, his eyes were glazed over as he paced the kitchen, both of his hands gripping his hair.

Jack's back hit the wall as he ended up in the living room, his legs giving away as he slid down to the floor. He rested his forehead on his knees, his shaking hands never leaving their grip on his hair as his breathing grew choppy and uneven.

The guitarist could honestly say that he had no idea what the hell was currently getting into him. He could feel his chest tightening and he couldn't breathe properly and he was about to cry, goddammit. Grown men don't cry.

He guesses that this is an exception.

A sob ripped through Jack's chest, echoing throughout the room and across the sleek wooden flooring as Alex finally made his way downstairs to come face to face with the position that Jack was currently in.

"Woah, no no no, Jack," Alex rushed the rest of the way down the stairs and went to the brunet's aid. He hardly had his hand on Jack's shoulder before the younger was scooting further away from Alex, the grip that he had on his hair causing his knuckles to turn white.

"Jack, please talk to me, I'm so confused," the elder begged hopelessly, falling back onto his knees just a foot away from Jack, "I mean, we've kissed before on stage, right? Why was this any different?"

"Don't you see what you do to me Alex?" Jack bellowed, finally snapping as he looked up at Alex who currently had the advantage of height, "Fuck, even I don't know what you're doing to me. This is fucking ridiculous," he trailed off, removing his hands from his hair to dig the heels of his palms into his eyes.

"I'm still lost..." Alex trailed off quietly, his head cocking to the side as he once again attempted to advance closer to Jack. He didn't scoot away this time, so the elder took the opportunity to sit directly in front of the Jack. Crossing his legs, Alex grabbed Jack's hands from where they were still digging into his eyes and intertwined their fingers. He subtly noted how he and the Jack's hands fit together damn near perfectly before looking back up towards his friend, feeling his heart ache when he noticed how sad the younger’s eyes were.

"Just say what's on your mind, okay?" Alex spoke comfortingly.

“I can’t,” Jack croaked, his voice scratchy and sad as he tried to tear his hands from the grip that Alex had on them.

“Jack,” Alex said sternly yet somehow pleadingly, his hands keeping their hold on Jack’s, “Please?”

Jack just shrugged sheepishly, slumping forward as his gaze lingered to his left. He really didn't know what he was supposed to say, really, but with the look that he could feel Alex giving him, he might as well just rant, right? Jack's already in pretty deep, what else has he got to lose?

"I guess I'm just frustrated?" Jack started, much to Alex’s relief as his voice cracked; squeezing Alex's hands as his nerves got the best of him. Alex squeezed back. "I mean, you and I both know that everyone thinks we're dating or whatever, but I... haven't you ever thought about it? Like, about us actually dating?"

Alex hesitated, but nodded nevertheless before Jack continued, "I mean, it's kind of hard not to. I, and probably you as well, get pressured by fans everyday, right? Sure, I look at it as a joke, because that's what it was originally supposed to be. A laugh for both you and I, but I just... I can't not think about what it'd be like if what we did was actually legitimate. So you kissing me didn't necessarily help the conflicting thoughts that I had, or have, going on, and for you to laugh in my face about it was just not the response that I expected from you, I guess. I don't know."

Alex's shoulders had slumped by the time Jack was finished speaking. In all honesty, the elder just wanted to scoop up Jack and hold him forever because he'd never seen his happy-go-lucky friend so broken and insecure and really it just broke Alex's heart into a million pieces. Metaphorically speaking.

"I feel the same," Alex shrugged, somewhat nonchalantly as Jack met his gaze once again, "Not to mention that you're completely right. To have the idea of the two of us being an item constantly shoved in your face gives you every right to actually think of the reality of it."

"So... you think about it too?" Jack asked quietly.

"Yep," Alex smiled softly at the man in front of him, resting his chin on Jack's knees, "I'm not gonna lie, I've lost sleep just thinking about us. I mean; I'm just as scared and confused as you are. Really, I just don't want to jeopardize or even lose the friendship that we have if we were to date and then... well, break up. That would hurt worse than anything. You've grown to be my other half, y'know? Jack and Alex, Alex and Jack, the marshmallow fluff to your tongue," Alex smirked, making a reference towards a quote that Jack himself had made about their friendship, "You know me better than my mom does, I just don't want to risk that."

"I mean..." Jack started, only to bite his lip and mumble a 'never mind' with a subtle shake of his head.

"You can say anything at this point, Jay," Alex reassured, lifting his chin from where it was perched on Jack's knees.

"Can't we just use this mutual fear of losing each other to bring us closer together?" Jack breathed out, his eyebrows drawing together.

Alex pursed his lips, his gaze shifting down towards where their fingers were still interlocked before looking back up at Jack. The younger looked as if he was losing hope by the second, and really, Alex thought that Jack's way of thinking was fairly logical. This fear of losing one another could easily be used as an anchor to keep their feet on the ground, right?

So there were two options. One was to use no advantage of the newfound knowledge of mutual feelings for one another, and continue on with a normal friendship that could've been a lot more. Or two, happiness.

Alex didn't even have to think twice.

The elder stood back up onto his knees, removing his right hand from Jack's grip to gently cup the side of the his neck as he leant down to connect their lips softly. He could feel Jack’s grip on Alex’s hand tighten considerably as he inhaled deeply through his nose. The younger’s hand reached up to hastily cling onto Alex’s t-shirt collar, momentarily keeping the elder in place before his grip relaxed, causing Alex to pull back.

"I-I... I," Jack stuttered, his stare nailed on Alex's lips as a blush crawled up his neck.

"I think I'm up for that," Alex smiled kindly, his nose nudging Jack's temple before lowering back down, "the whole, 'use that to bring us closer together', thing."

"Wha- really?" Jack asked, dumbfounded as Alex nodded happily.

"You're not still on drugs, are you?" Jack hitched an eyebrow skeptically, causing Alex to laugh and scoot closer towards the younger once again.

"I really hope not," Alex stated simply before leaning in slowly with every intention to kiss the younger once again; giving Jack plenty of time to grasp onto the reality of the situation as their noses brushed, causing Jack's eyes to flutter closed as he let out a breathy giggle.

It was probably the most adorable thing that Alex had ever witnessed.

Lips colliding, Alex pulled back once again only to push back forward, repeating the cycle as he pressed a series of kisses to Jack's lips. Every time Alex pulled back, Jack’s smile grew wider and wider, a bubbling laugh passing Jack's lips as Alex continued to kiss him with a smile gracing his own lips.

But then Jack grabbed the back of Alex's neck, keeping the elder's lips pressed firmly against his own, their smiles fading as the seriousness of the situation took over until it was just pure emotion. Everything they had been missing out on these past few years together were being put into the connection of their lips that were now moving slowly against one another. Small, open-mouthed kisses. Nothing more. No tongue, pure innocence.

It was exactly what they needed.

Jack pulled back and flattened out his legs, pulling Alex on top of his lap to pull him into the tightest hug that the singer had ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Alex wrapped his arms around Jack's neck, the younger's snaking up the elder's back as he rested his head on Alex's shoulder.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Alex spoke up, "Hey Jack?”

“Hmm?”

“You said that I was telling you odd space facts before.”

"You were," Jack verified, his voice muffled by the fabric of Alex's t-shirt.

"Well, did you know that shooting stars are actually just-"

"Tiny dust particles falling through our atmosphere?" Jack finished, pulling back to look at Alex with a smile.

Alex furrowed his eyebrows, "How did you know that?"

Jack laughed, pulling Alex back into a hug as he placed a soft kiss to his shoulder.

"How could I forget?"