The Beach

Jack's POV

The days passed in deep agony and misery. I hadn't heard from Alex in a few days, only getting a text message every now and then saying he was okay and safe. He was at Matt's house, despite the fact that his parents thought Alex had been the reason why the other boy had been hospitalised a month ago.

He was still mad at me and I couldn't do anything about it. I had suggested he came to my house but it was too late and I couldn't mend this. Instead of talking to Alex, I decided to talk to Matt, because I knew he would listen to me. We didn't know each other all that well but he knew I was Alex's boyfriend and he seemed to act as if he wanted to be nice to me just because of that.

"Hey Matt, please don't tell Alex I'm texting you"

"Hi, I won't. What's up?"

"Alex and I aren't really talking and I want to sort things out between us"

"Dude, you're his boyfriend, you should have offered him your place to stay at in the first place"

"I know, I know, I'm a horrible boyfriend but we haven't met in person before and I was scared, okay? But I've got my head around everything and I'm more scared of losing him now, so I want to do something about it"

"What are you planning to do?"

So I explained to him how Alex and I weren't talking to each other all that much and that I needed to fix things because not knowing how Alex was doing, what he was doing or how he was feeling was killing me inside. He was sceptical about it at first, but as soon as I told him what I had in mind, he told me he was in and that he only wanted to help me to make Alex happy again.

That is why I found myself in front of the train that was leaving for Livingston the following week. I had never been so scared in my entire life. My hands started sweating at the thought of the train crashing just like it happened when Alex tried to come visit me. I grabbed my carry-on suitcase and hopped on the wagon, looked around for my numbered seat and sat down, releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding in.

I texted Matt letting him know what time I would be arriving to his town so that he could come pick me up and take me to his house. He said Alex would be in his room and he had lied to him and told him he was going to go to the mall to buy presents for his mother's birthday. Apparently Alex bought it since he told him he wasn't in the mood to go anywhere.

The train journey went on smoothly although I was very nervous and scared. I had never gone on such a long train journey, I had never gone out of my town, and yet here I was, sitting next to a woman on a six hour long train journey to go pick up my boyfriend who apparently hated me.

"And what about you, kid?" My train of thoughts was interrupted by the man standing in front of me with a tray full of crisps and soda.

"Excuse me?" I said and the woman next to me laughed.

"Do you want something to drink or eat?" He asked.

"Oh, no thanks" He nodded and carried on walking.

I fell asleep after that, not wanting to feel tired when I got to Matt's house, and everything passed rather quickly.

I soon found myself waiting for Matt at the train station, and I broke up crying when he came over and hugged me. All the worry and fear I had been holding in exploded and I couldn't stop apologising. He chuckled and told me it was okay, but I did'nt find it funny at all.

"Alex was right, you're pretty cute, and that's coming from a straight guy so.." I laughed slightly and rubbed at my eyes.

He showed me to his car and we drove to his house. The streets were full of green trees and they were mostly empty since it was 12PM and kids were still in school. We did small talk and I found out he knew quite a lot about me for some reason.

"So, what's your plan?" He asked, looking at me from the corner of his eyes as he drove.

"I don't have a plan. I just want to meet him in person and take him back to my place" I said steadily.

"What if he refuses?"

"I have no idea. Let's hope everything goes alright because I don't know if I can keep living knowing that Alex hates me" I sighed.

"Alex doesn't hate you, he's just mad" He rolled his eyes.

"I hope you're right"

Matt's house looked pretty much like mine from the outside. I was shaking at this point, I couldn't think of anything other than Alex Alex Alex. I was a few minutes away of seeing him face to face for the first time. I was afraid of his reaction, whether he was going to be happy to see me or if he was going to ignore me completelly.

He opened the door and we walked upstairs, he whispered to me that his parents weren't at home, only Alex was. He opened the door and walked in as if nothing. I peeked my head in the room - he was lying on his stomach facing the green wall and typing something on his laptop. I chuckled at the little dance he was doing with his butt and legs.

"Hey, Alex" Matt said and walked over to him.

"Hey" He replied. Hearing his voice in person for the first time sent shivers down my spine. He sounded more angelic than it did on Skype. I couldn't stop grinning as they did some small talk.

"I've got a surprise for you" Matt said and he raised his head at that.

"Yeah? I thought you were getting presents for your parents" He chuckled, a sound I had heard many times before.

"Yeah but I found someone at the train station" He grinned and nodded his head towards the door where I was standing.

"Hey " I said and he looked at me. His eyes grew wide but he didn't make a move. I feared for the worst as I stood there, not knowing what to do. Matt looked between us back and forth and decided to leave the room giving me an apologetic smile and closing the door behind him.

I sighed and leaned against the wall, tears threatening my eyes as I thought of failure and turning away to leave without Alex. I stared into his eyes and he stared right into mine. Just then, Alex slowly arose from the bed which made me stand still. He walked towards me and I instantly squeezed my eyes shut awaiting a punch or slap across the face , just what I deserve, but instead, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my torso and I let out a sob.

He buried his face in my neck and hugged him tight, taking his scent in and rubbing my hands on his back. He breathed heavily as he hugged me, he was shaking, I couldn't stop the tears that rolled off my cheek right then. I don't remember how long we stayed like that, but it all passed in a heartbeat and Alex was soon checking me out with a sad smile on his face.

"I thought you were going to ignore me"

"You are here. Why are you here?" He wondered out loud, amazed by the fact that I was standing in front of him.

"I'm here to take you to my place"

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