Stomachaches

Tyler laughs before taking a sip of whatever was in his coffee cup. "I've heard the rumors about you, Jack."

I raise my eyebrows skeptically. "Like what? That Alex and I are over?"

The purple haired boy shakes his head. "No, I mean, all of the alcohol abuse and sleeping around."

"Abuse?" I sigh, glancing around to see if anyone was listening in on our conversation. Not that I really cared, I'd just rather not have strangers knowing all of my issues. "I'd hardly call it abuse, y'know? Just because I like to have a drink every now and again-"

"Your definition of abuse and mine must be very different to each other." Tyler smirks, only the corner of his perfectly pale lips turning up. "I've seen you around, Jack. I've even seen you stumbling drunk down the street with Rian and your friends."

"I wish I was still able to call them friends." I grumble, leaning back in my seat. "More like babysitters is what they are."

"They're just looking out for you." He tries to assure me, but it was to no use. "You aren't exactly the most responsible person."

"I know I'm not." I laugh icily, nodding. "But, I almost wasn't let out of the house to come and see you. I'm a grown man, and it's like I'm growing up with three parents."

Tyler's eyes widen. "They didn't let you out of the house? They realize you're not a house pet, right?"

"Finally!" I huff dramatically. "For once, someone gets it."

"I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't know they were keeping you hostage." He chuckles, forcing a smile. "Let's get out of here."

I nod in agreement, standing up from the booth I was in.

"Where do you wanna go?" Tyler asks, leading me toward the door and holding it open for me. He'd always been a gentlemen. Even in high school, he went out of his way to open doors for me, carry my books to class, or even driving me to and from school. I just wish I would've known he liked me before Alex came along.

"Doesn't matter. Anywhere outside works." I shrug, tossing my empty hot chocolate cup into a nearby garbage can before pulling my carton of cigarettes out of my pocket.

"Still smoking those things, huh?" He asks, watching as I pull one out of the container and setting it in between my lips. I nod, bringing my lighter up and setting fire to the end of my cigarette until I was soon breathing in my favorite kind of tobacco. "Aren't you worried about cancer?"

I shake my head. "Not afraid of dying. Y'know?"

Tyler nods, biting his lip. "You weren't this reckless in high school."

"I wasn't this sad in high school, either." I retort, looking at him before taking a long drag off of my cigarette. To be completely honest, I don't know why I ever started smoking these fucking things. I know that all they do is kill me a teeny tiny bit each day, but I can't bring myself to kick the habit. I liked smoking. I liked smelling like cigarette smoke. I thought it smelled good, especially when the smell of my strawberry body wash mixed with it. Too bad Alex hates my cigarettes, and the men that I go see.

Tyler frowns. "I remember you coming to school with a big bruise on your face every other week," He reminisces, staring at the gash on my temple, that had just begun to scab over. "What happened to your forehead, anyway?"

I shrug, huffing and puffing off of my cigarette once more. "Must've fell down at Matt's party the other night."

"Flyzik?" Tyler asks, raising his eyebrows. I nod in confirmation and he smirks. "I thought I saw a familiar mess of hair out dancing."

I laugh, shaking my head. "Yeah, well, alcohol makes me do stupid shit."

"Then why do you drink it?" He questions, suddenly turning serious. Did I even know why I drank alcohol? I knew it was a poison, an addictive substance that haunts your every waking moment. But I still drank it.

"I'm not sure." I reply honestly, glancing down to my shoes before looking back up to him. "Enough about me. What're you doing lately?"

Tyler smiles as he takes a deep breath, the rising of his chest pushing up the fabric of his floral T-shirt. "I'm in a band. We're called Issues. So far, it's nothing serious. We've only had a few practices. We're getting there though."

"That's great!" I beam, genuinely happy for my friend. Who wouldn't be? Everyone had always known that Tyler's voice was something else. Something you only saw once in your life time. He was extraordinarily special. "You'll have to let me hang out for a practice sometime."

He nods. "Of course. If you promise me you'll stick around."

I raise an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You ditched me last time. You were supposed to stay with me. But you left with Alex."

"Tyler, look, I'm really sorry." I say sincerely, dropping my cigarette so I can wrap my arm around his waist and embrace him in a side hug. "You know why we couldn't date in high school."

"Yeah, because I was too much of a bitch to come out of the closet." He mutters, melting into my touch, yet keeping his eyes glued to the ground.

I shake my head, silently questioning if he can see it or not. "It's not your fault for being nervous. Everyone gets nervous, and I never blamed you. You came out when you were ready, and that's all that matters."

"Thanks, Jack." He smiles, looking back up to me. "Why don't you say comforting things like that to yourself?"

"Coming from me, they're excuses. Coming from someone else, it's an opinion." I reply quietly, looking down to my hands, my cheeks burning.

After a few more hours spent with Tyler, he had offered to drive me home. It was a great day. We had talked for the entire time, sharing what had happened lately, what we thought would happen in the future, and everything in between. I opened up to him as like I had opened up to no one else other than Alex. He made me feel safe and cared for; something I hadn't felt in what seems like forever.

Tyler stopped the car in front of my house before looking over to me. "I had a great time today, Jack. We should definitely do it again sometime."

I nod in agreement, flashing him a smile. "Of course. Text me later?" I ask, my fingers tentatively wrapping around the door handle, ready to push it open.

"Yeah, for sure." Tyler smiles back. "I'll see you soon."

I nod, smiling once more before exiting the car and closing the door behind me. My heart sunk down into my stomach with each step I took toward the front door. What were the guys going to say? Especially after I told Zack that I was going out to look at apartments for myself. Something in me doubted that they even cared about it. Yet, the more logical side of me was telling me that I was walking straight into a war zone. Pushing open the front door of my house, I stepped inside to find that everyone was sitting down in the living room.

"Who dropped you off?" Rian asks calmly, turning to face me. A bottle of beer is clutched in his fingertips, signaling that not only was he drunk, but he was also angry.

"Tyler Carter." I say awkwardly, internally cringing when I saw that Alex's body had immediately tensed at the mention of his name. I slid off my shoes before walking further into the living room, sitting down on the floor.

"Why were you hanging out with him?" Alex asks coldly, his tone as sharp as a tack.

"We were just walking around downtown. He ran into me when I was on fourth street." I explain cautiously.

"Why were you even on fourth street?" Rian asks, leaning forward to set his bottle down onto the coffee table, looking straight into my eyes as he did so.

"I was looking at apartments." I answer. Rian looked at Zack as if to say, 'You were right.' Alex just stares at me with a blank look on his face, his eyes practically burning holes into my flesh.

"Are we not good enough for you anymore?" Rian snaps, leaning back in his seat. Why the hell would he even think that? If anyone wasn't good enough in this house it was most certainly me.

"Can we talk about this when you aren't so drunk and I'm not so sad?" I ask quietly. I didn't even want this conversation to happen in the first place, let alone while Rian was drunk. Nonetheless, Rian nods and shoos me away with his hand. I stand up, rushing out of the room. I mumble a quick 'Goodnight' before exiting the living room.

I rushed up the stairs and entered my room, closing and locking the door behind me. I peel off my clothes and flop down into bed, wearing only my boxers. Just when I get settled under the covers my phone vibrates. I unlock it, quickly clicking on the message and seeing that it was Alex.

'Don't leave us. I honestly don't know what I would do if I couldn't see your face everyday. I know I did you wrong, and that I don't even deserve a second glance from you, but that hasn't killed my emotions for you. Have you ever heard the saying, 'You don't know what you've got till it's gone'? Well I can tell you firsthand that it's true. I took you for granted, Jack. And I can tell you that it will never happen again. I don't care what it takes. I am going to fight for you back until it kills me. I'll treat you how you deserve to be treated, Jack. I am going to be all over your business until you take me back again. I love you.'

My heart began to pound in my chest, and I had almost forgot about Brendon. I replied back to his text before turning around and burying my face into my pillow, silent tears running down my cheeks. I clutched onto my pillow tighter, hoping that this pain in my chest would quickly come to a close. Eventually, I had fallen asleep, but not before I realized what I had sent in reply to Alex's text. The words felt so natural and easy, I hadn't even realized what I was saying. I must have felt it, and that's what startled me.

'I love you too.'