The Mixtape of Hatred

Sweat was glistening his forehead when he jolted awake for the next day, words echoing in his head like a never ending loop.

Jack frowned, this is the second time he's awaken from his slumber tonight, all because of the stupid mixtape he got two days ago.

There were no signs of new songs appearing suddenly like how it did with a daydream away, so without further ado, Jack decided to grab the stupid CD and throw it in the trash to end his misery. After that, he brushed his teeth and left for work, not caring that his hair made him look like henjust got hit by a bus and his face looked like he just woke up from the grave.

Hipster Brent probably wouldn't care, it's close to October anyway. The more dead you look, the bigger Shocktober bonus you'll get at the end of the month.



When he came back from work, he frowned.

"Mr. Barakat, I can assure you that disposal of this mixtape is against the rules, therefore you shouldn't do it."

"You can't tell me what to do," he scoffed, "you're not even alive."

"I was really angry when I wrote this song," he sighed, "Can you imagine, an angry Alex writing a song about how he got rejected to prom?"

Jack chuckled, trying to remember what happened during the prom. He went with the hottest girl in their grade, her name was Stacey and she was awful in bed. Alex went with this guy who had a crush on him or something, at least that's what he remembers.



As he predicted, he's having another flashback.

But this time, he can't find himself, all he could see is Alex. He had a smile on his face, a confident look in his eyes, and two tickets to prom. At first, he wonders why he's here. Why he's looking at Alex with prom tickets behind his back and a smile on his face. It all made sense when he walked towards the boy.

"Hey, G," the younger smiled, making Jack smile because he was a damn cute son of a bitch.

"Hi, so, um.. Jack, I was wondering if..."

Wait.

"Hold on, Alex," He said, staring at Stacey as she walked past, smirking at her as she struts in her heels, earning a kiss blown towards him. Young Jack grinned at her, not noticing how Alex's face fell and how the elder balled up his fists, crumpling the tickets a little out of anger. Or maybe, jealousy. "D'you think she'd say yes if I asked her to prom?"

He could tell that Alex wanted to say, 'No, Stacey won't go to prom with you because I want to go to prom with you and you're making things hard for me', but then he remembered what Alex said.

"Go for it, man, she probably will," he chuckled, hiding his pain. Jack gasped at the sight laid out before him, now he knows why he'd lost contact with the young Gaskarth.

"I think I might," young Jack nodded, making Jack wonder why he's so stupid, "By the way, what were you going to ask me?"

Alex looked down at his shoes, "Nothing, it's not important."

Young Jack shrugged, "I'll see you later, okay?"

Alex smiled weakly, waiting for Jack to actually leave before punching a random locker.

"Wow, Jay, even when you're a kid you treated him like shit." Verity laughed, suddenly appearing beside him, hologram-like somehow.

"I just," Jack sighed, "He liked me, like he really did, and I didn't even bat an eyelid at him."

Verity shrugged, "Your fault."



Jack expected himself to be awake right now, but here he is, following young Alex around. Since they only had homeroom together, it was a little fair for him to follow the boy around, mainly because this stuoid flashback thing has allowed him to read people's minds. Well, no, not really, this is a fucking flashback.

He found himself and Verity hanging on Alex's shoulder, as the boy stared at the prom tickets he wasted all his money on. Jack can feel the guilt inside him, burning him up inside, he wished he listened to what Alex said before asking him about stupid-terrible-in-bed-Stacey.

Suddenly, a cheerful voice greeted them.

"Sup, Gaskarth?" they grinned, Jack has never seen him before. The boy had brown hair that covers half his ears, making it not too short nor long. His eyes were grey and he was shorter than Jack.

Well, to be fair, everyone's shorter than Jack, but for a guy, the dude's pretty short, Jack estimated him to be about 5'4", but hey, you can only see so much from following a kid around.

"Question, though, gay guru," Alex voiced in a tone Jack's never seen him use before, "If the guy you have a massive crush on stares at a dumb bimbo when you're about to ask hi-them, out, does that mean you got dumped or?"

The boy laughed, "I dunno, probably?"

Alex grumbled, "You're no help at all."

The boy shrugs, "But hey, if it makes you feel better, I don't have a date to prom either."

Jack could feel his chest tighten, looking at the occurance haloening before his eyes. He knew what happens next, this doe eyed boy's going to ask Alex to prom, then they're gonna have a beautiful relationship and a happy ending. And Jack'll just sit there, listening to the stupid mixtape, wondering why he's so stupid.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

The boy's face reddened, "N-no," he stuttered, "I-I j-just-"

Alex smiled, mainly because he's nice enough to not dump someone who obviously likes him, unlike Jack. And hey, if he couldn't have Jack, this boy might be the second best thing for him. It's nice, y'know, finally knowing that you're good enough for someone.

"Tanner Anderson, yes, I will go to prom with you."

Jack wanted to pass out.



"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!" Jack shouted as he jolted awake from his slumber.

He noticed that the mixtape was still on.

"Was it real? Or a love scene, from a bad dream? I don't think I can forget about it," he heard Alex sing.

What the fuck is going on?