A Daydream Away

I was excited.

I was going to be able to drink my feelings away, because Lord knows my mind is on the blitz right now. I was going to have a grand ol' time making a fool out of myself in front of complete strangers. Hell, maybe I was going to find a nice ass and get laid for the first time in a while, because I'm pretty sure I was developing carpal tunnel living with Jack.

I needed this. I could physically feel myself wanting this.

Well, Jack, like the asshole he is, forgot to mention to me that I was working tonight. I mean, I could have actually looked at the schedule like I'm supposed to, but he brought my hopes up only to bring them down. Now I was stuck behind the bar, being a spectator instead of a participator.

"Hey bartender! A round o' shots over here!"

"Make 'em tequila!"

"Wait, body shots!"

"I want a martini, though!"

"Ugh," I quietly grumbled, weaving past my fellow workers, Vinny, an Italian guy with a hypnotic voice and way too many stories to tell, and Rian. Zack was supposed to be here, but Rian told him he was in no emotional state to work on such a busy night, and told him he'd cover. Turns out Rian was always on the employee list, he just comes in when needed, kind of like a back up. I've got to admit, he's a nice guy.

And his smile was making us some major tips, so that's always a plus.

I looked up from the shots that I was preparing for the freshly-turned-21 group of kids and immediately spotted Jack and his barely clothed self.

What I would give to be dancing on the table, tequila running through my veins as the harsh reality of recent events were put on the back burner. I mean, he was just taunting me up there, being drunk and half naked. Almost as if he was telling me with his body language to join him as he dry humped a blow up dolphin.

Speaking of Jack, what am I going to do? I know for a fact that he is drinking for the same reason I want to drink, besides the whole Radke thing, so that means that his mind must have been in complete shambles before the liquor took over.

I smiled politely at a customer as I served her her whiskey sour, not missing the flirtatious smile, wink, and nonchalant pushing up of the boobs.

As I noticed the girl begin to write down her number, I was about to decline when a recognizably loud voice interrupted the chattering crowd.

"Alright, ladies and gents, it is now 10:30 p.m. and it is time for the wondrous performance by this sick British band! Get your asses into the warehouse and lets start this fucking party!" Jack announced, hopping down from his pedestal on the table to the floor, leading the drunken parade out the front and to the building next door. The warehouse still wasn't his, which I knew made him sad, but he was able to talk the owner into letting him rent it out for his New Years shindig. I'm pretty sure some bribing had been done, because a case of Bud had disappeared from the back room, where I was told to forget about it from Jack.

In a matter of seconds, the entire bar was practically empty, save for a few stragglers who'd rather make out in the back of the room.

I took this opportunity to breathe, because it had pretty much been nonstop since I got here around four. Leaning against the counter behind me, I let my head hang back, my eyes close, and my body to go limp.

"Hey," I heard a gruff voice say next to me. Upon opening my eyes and turning my head, I was greeted with Rian's face.

"Uh.. hi," I responded.

This was the first time we were speaking since the incident this morning and, honestly, I was kind of afraid of what I was expecting to come. This guy has known Jack and Zack for years, so he must be upset with me for starting drama between them. And, by what I've seen, he seems like a serious individual. Kind of like the mom of the trio. And moms can be scary, especially when you mess with their babies.

We stood next to each other in comfortable silence, me awaiting the oncoming shit storm and him looking like he was trying to figure out what to say. Probably getting his shit storm forecast ready.

"Hey, look, I-" he started, causing me to cringe. He looked at me funny as he reached out and touched my arm. I whimpered a bit, ready to be murdered. Something seemed to click in his eyes as he retracted his arms.

"Hey, man," he said cautiously, "I'm not going to yell at you, or hurt you for that matter. I wanted to say thank you." He gently placed his hand back on my shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.

I blinked at him. Say... thank you? He seemed to notice my blatant confusion.

"You gave our little Jacky a piece of his life back," he said softly, in a very endearing way, "That's something to be thankful for."

"B-but," I stumbled out, "I caused him to get scared and freak out. Zack's mad at me, for God's sake!" I said louder.

Rian just waved his hand at me, "Zack will be fine. He's just a bit heartbroken, he'll be okay. I mean, we've come to consider you like family, and family members shouldn't turn on each other when all they are doing is being happy and truthful."

Damn, did he know how to almost make me cry.

"There's just one thing I want to ask," he said, then shook his head, "No, beg of you. Keep him safe."

"What do you mean, is he in danger?" I asked frantically. Did he know? Were they after him now? "Keep him safe from what?"

"Himself."

That eased my nerves some, but that only lead me to look at him confused again. It should have been easy for me to understand, but for some reason my mind wasn't connecting pieces.

"Look," Rian signed, "Years back, when this all started, he went deep into depression, man. I know you already knew that, but you weren't there to physically see it. To see the hyper, outgoing, always-smiling Jack dragged down into a dark pit, converting him into a completely empty shell. It was almost as if he would drift off into the wind if he could. I wouldn't have been surprised if he did, since he had lost so much weight. His eyes were dull, his smile nonexistent, and his expression completely void of emotions. A lot of it did have to do with the bullying, but a lot also had to do with himself.

"Please, man, just, whatever you do, don't let him go down that road. Don't let his happiness be squandered by the negativity. Protect him from it. You seem to handle it well. Share that with him."

I really had no idea what to say, so I simply nodded. Rian put on his award winning smile and wrapped his muscled arms around me, bringing me into a hug.

"Thank you, I'm happy it was you," he almost cried, I could hear it in his voice.

"You're welcome, Ri," I whispered back.

After that, we remained silent, the three of us attempting to clean up the terrible mess. It wasn't until about fifteen minutes before midnight that Jack and his crowd came bustling back.

"Alex!" Jack squealed. I looked up from my current task, which was cleaning up a particularly gross puddle of... I don't even know what.

"Hey Jack, how was it?" I asked, wiping my hands on a towel.

"Oh, it was amazing! They played fucking awesomely and-" and he continued gushing over the band, whose name started with a B I think.

"And the best part-" he was going to continue, but was cut off by a glass of champagne being shoved into both of our hands as the countdown started.

"-Three, two, one, Happy New Years!" everyone cheered, but I didn't get a chance to join in. Instead, a pair of lips had crashed into my own. Jack's lips.

--

Rian ended up telling me to take the Jack, the drunken mess, home at about one, telling me that he didn't want Jack drinking any more and getting worse.

Since I was the only body in sight, and Jack was a horny fucking drunk, I was currently trying to unlock the door with the raven haired man grinding up against my hips.

"Can you please stop, Jack?" I asked him, finally putting the key through the key hole.

"C'mon, Lexi, I know you wanna," he slurred in my ear as he began to pepper my neck with sloppy kisses, stumbling in through the door after me as he kept his grip on my shirt.

I was so close to giving in, but, knowing that I was clearly the sober one in this situation, I pushed Jack away.

"No, Jack," I reprimanded, moving his hands and placing them at his sides, "What I want is for you to go to bed."

His drunken, flirtations demeanor quickly took a 180 as his lip jutted out and began to quiver.

"B-b-but, But 'Lex, I thought you," he paused to choke on a sob, "Thought you l-liked me."

I was shocked at the sudden change of mood. I quickly let go of him, holding up my hands in defense, saying, "N-no, Jacky! That is not what I-"

Bad move, letting him go, for he wrapped his lanky arms around me, pinning my limbs to my side, as he brought his face impossibly close.

"Gotcha," he whispered in a proud, husky voice, holding me tighter as I began to squirm.

"J-Jack, stop! You are drunk! This is wrong! Let. Me. Go!" I argued, never ceasing my struggle.

He simply ignored me, though, as he went back to attacking my neck. My mind was beginning to cloud with lust, but I had to stay strong. I knew he wasn't, so I had to. Then I remembered something.

When it comes to a drunk Jack, the moment his body touches a soft surface, he completely shuts down.

I knew exactly how to get him to stop.

"Fine, let's.. let's take this to the bedroom," I suggested, biting my lip for good measure.

He immediately believed me, eyes lighting up and arms letting me go, allowing me to pull him into his room.

Once we passed through the door, he was tearing off his shirt and lunging at me, grabbing at my clothes and his own until we were both only in our boxers. Damn, was he fast at that.

Jack's hands began roaming my body, and once they got close to little Alex, I took hold of them and gave him my best seductive look.

"No no, Jack, bed first," I breathed out. Not going to lie, this was turning me the fuck on, but I'll deal with my problem later.

He smiled back and nodded, walking backwards and pulling me with him. Like I suspected, as soon as I pushed him on the bed, he was out. There was no fight, no words being said, nothing.

I sighed as I stroked his hair out of his face, leaning over to kiss his forehead.

"What am I going to do with you," I whispered.