Dear Jack, Count Me In

Jack’s P.O.V

I woke up at 5 in the morning with my arms wrapped around Alex. I untangle myself from him and smile. His mouth hung open and a small amount of saliva dribbled out. I wasn’t going to lie, he was really cute when he slept. I walk to the closet and pick out my clothes for school. I heard Alex groan from the bed. Damn, that was hot. It was too early for this.

I pick out a black button up and black skinny jeans to wear for the day. Alex is stretching on the bed.

“I forgot about school.” He yawns.

I just laugh.

“I can take you by your house if you want and you can change clothes in the school bathrooms.” I tell him.

He nods and lays his head back on the pillow.

“How do you get up this early every morning. I don’t get up til like 7.”

“I don’t usually get up this early.” I say as I get my things together for the day.

“Then why the fuck are we awake!” He exclaims. He looks absolutely adorable with his hair all messy and his eyes full of sleep. I laugh and walk downstairs to make breakfast. Things seem more serious in this household with Alex here, in a way. Zack was sitting at the table eating pop tarts….wearing my batman socks. He saw me glance down at his feet and back up at him.

“I can explain.” He says.

“You told me you didn’t know where they were.” I mutter, scarily calm.

“I didn’t. I found them this morning in the clean clothes and decided to wear them.” Zack explains with wide eyes.

I huff. This story seemed unbelievable, but I decide to let it go. I walk over to the cupboard and pull out a pack of Pop Tarts.

“Why are you up so early anyway?” Zacks asks.

“I was going to take Alex by his house to get his clothes and everything else.” I tell him as I pop two Pop Tarts into the toaster.

“I think that is a terrible idea.” He shakes his head.

“It’ll be fine, I won’t let him hurt Alex.” I declare determinedly.

“You have a thing for Alex, don’t you?” Zack says, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe.” I confess, rubbing the back of my head. It was kind of hard to admit having a thing for the boy I hated just a few days ago. I’m deep in thought when the Pop Tarts go off. I jump a foot in the air. I hear laughter behind me. Alex is standing at the foot of the stairs, laughing his ass off. I play glare at him.

“Shut up, Gaskarth.” I smile at him.

“Hey, Alex. Do you want a Pop Tart?” Zack asks him, motioning to the toaster.

“No, not really.” He answers.

“Are you ready to go?” I question him

“Yeah, I guess.” He says nervously. I look more closely and see that he’s shaking.

“Are you okay?” I ask, walking towards him.

“I’m…..scared.” He admits.

“Don’t be. You’ll be fine. I won’t let him hurt you.” I assure.

I give him a serious look and throw my arm over his shoulder.I give it a reassuring squeeze. He smiles at me.

“C’mon, lets get going.” I say, “Bye, Zack! See you at school.”

“If you make it to school.” Zack calls from the kitchen.

Alex’s eyes widen in panic.

“Shut the fuck up Zack.” I call back.

“He’s kidding r-right.” Alex stutters as we walk to the car.

“Yeah, he was just being an ass.” I assure him.

He nods, but he seems on edge the entire car ride. I put the car in park once I get into the driveway. His Dad’s car is still parking in the grass. I see Alex’s eyes widen slightly. I get out and walk over to the passenger side. I open the door and crouch so I’m eye level with him.

“Alex, I would never let anyone hurt you, especially that asshole.” I admit to him.

He looks at me, tears are starting to form in his eyes.

“Once we go get your stuff, we can leave and you’ll never have to see him again. You can live with Zack and I.” I tell him, my hand finding his.

Tears are spilling down his cheeks now. I pull him into my chest and my arms wrap around his shoulders.

“Why are you crying?” I ask him as he sobs into my chest.

“Because, no one has ever been so nice to me. My Dad always told me if I ran away, that nobody would care enough to help me.” He sobs.

Anger rises in me. I can’t believe his Dad would tell him such lies.

“He lied. There are people that care about you. I care about you.” I tell him.

I hear him intake a breath. I hold him for a few more seconds until he leans out of my embrace.

“I’m ready. Lets get this over with.” He says, a look of determination obvious on his face. I nod and stand. He gets out of the car and stands beside me. He slips his hand into mine as we walk into the house. Alex lets go of my hand and walks in front of me. I can’t help but to stare at his ass a little. I know this isn’t the time… But damn. He opens the door, which is almost falling off of it’s hinges, and walks inside. I’m close behind him. He looks around nervously and takes off up the stairs. I go to follow him, but he stops me.

“Stay down here and make sure he doesn’t come up stairs.” He whispers to me.

“What if he already is?” I voice.

Alex shakes his head.

“His room is down here, so he never comes upstairs unless it’s to beat the shit out of me.” Alex whispers again.

Anger rises up in me at those words, but I shrug it off and nod up at him. He runs up stairs and I lean on the banister. I wait and look around for a bit. In general the house was very nice, aside from the smashed porcelain on the floor.I didn’t see anyone laying on the couch or in the kitchen. I lean against the banister and wait for Alex to come back down. I feel my heart drop to my stomach when I hear a door downstairs open and close. I turn and bolt up the stairs as quietly as possible. I find Alex in his bedroom packing up the rest of his things.

“What are you doing up here?” He asks, raising a fluffy eyebrow.

“Your Dad is downstairs I think.” I state.

His eyes widen and he grabs his things.

“We have to go now.” He demands in a hurry.

He grabs my hand and runs out the door. We run downstairs and I catch the glimpse of a man in the kitchen. Alex doesn’t stop to say anything. He just drags me out the door and to the direction of my car. I in the drivers side and we speed off.

Alex nervously says, “Hey, hey, slow down, let’s not crash.” I smirk.

The school is only a few minutes away so, for once, I get to school thirty minutes early. I park the car and look at Alex.

“Well that went better than I thought it would.” I declare. He nods. I chuckle slightly. “You were crazy for thinking that I’d crash.” Alex quirks his eyes.

“Have you ever crashed a car before?”

Um...haha.

“Pssh…” I scratch the back of my neck. Alex grins. He then gets out of the car, pulling his bookbag on to his back. I get out after getting my things for the day and follow Alex inside. Alex and I part ways at the door to my classroom. I sit down at my desk and organize my things. I had a feeling today would be a good day. I lean back in my chair and sigh.