Status: Completed!
The Reckless and the Brave
x three x
"Alex says you were a dick to him," Jack told Lily a while later after everyone had gotten back into the bus to continue their journey. The two were sitting in the quiet front lounge of the bus and most everyone else seemed to have gone back to sleep.
"Yeah, well, I've got a lot of 'being a dick to Alex' saved up that's been waiting to be used for a long time," she remarked, fully expecting the eye-roll that Jack gave her.
"You're going to have to have a real conversation with him at some point. He has reached out over the past few years, you know," Jack said and Lily instantly shook her head.
"No. He never reached out. He told you to reach out for him, or he reached out by getting drunk and telling random people at a party that we were fucking married," she corrected him and he raised his hands in surrender.
"I'm not on either side. I told you both that a long time ago. I'm just telling you what he said," Jack said and she nodded, knowing that sometimes she could accidentally be too hard on him.
"I know we have to talk. I know that's inevitable, especially because we're essentially fucking roommates all summer long. But I don't know what to say to him. What the hell am I supposed to say to the man that I thought was going to be my forever and then wasn't just because of a stupid drunken argument? What the hell am I supposed to say to the man that was with me through everything big that's happened in my life? Huh? He was there when I decided to drop out of college and do the band thing. He was there when my mom died. He was there when my first band got told we'd never be good enough and I cried for a week. He was there when I got evicted from my apartment because all of my money was going into making the band work while also working two jobs. He was there, Jack, and then he wasn't and it fucking hurt and to this day I don't even know exactly how we fell apart and somehow I'm still a fucking mess despite how fucking hard I've worked to not be. I'm angry. I'm so fucking angry, and I'm sad all the time," she rambled, not realizing until the end that she was sobbing out her words. Without a word, Jack pulled her into him and held her close, twirling a piece of her long blonde hair between his fingers and letting her cry it out.
"What the fuck am I going to do, Jacky?" she asked him a few minutes later when she'd composed herself a little bit. She sat up out of his embrace, still leaning on him heavily.
"Honestly I have no fucking clue other than telling him everything you just told me. That's the only thing that's gonna get you guys talking," Jack said, and she nodded, knowing he was 100% right.
Alex slipped out of his bunk quietly and went to make his way up front to get a drink. As he walked, he stopped dead just before the curtain that separated the bunks from the rest of the bus when he heard a feminine voice that he instantly recognized as Lily's ranting and crying.
He was going to just go back to his bunk and leave it alone but he quickly realized she was talking about him. He listened to her as she cried and rambled and it wasn't long at all before tears formed in his own eyes. He went back to his bunk quickly when he heard someone moving steadily towards the curtain he was standing behind. Slipping inside just before he heard the curtain open, he couldn't help but let a few tears slip down his cheeks.
He listened as Lily got into her bunk below him and he could tell that she was still crying even though she was trying to hide it. Instead of going up front to talk to Jack and possibly disturbing her, Alex pulled out his phone to text him.
Alex: "Hey. I heard you guys just now."
Jack: "Fuckin' creepy."
Alex: "Dude."
Jack: "Sorry. Now you know how fucked up she is over you guys. You have to talk to her. Soon."
Alex: "I know. Fuck."
Jack: "Don't treat her like she's going to fall apart. She isn't. Treat her like a human. Tell her how you feel. Tell her you miss her. Tell her you're sorry."
Alex: "You know, for a useless piece of shit you're pretty damn helpful."
Jack: "Love you too."
Alex threw his phone down into his bunk and put his arms behind his head, sighing. He knew he had to talk to her. He knew he had to smooth things over between them, even if that just meant them screaming at each other and vowing to hate each other forever, even though he knew he could never hate her.
As he slipped slowly into sleep, he decided that he'd better do it sooner rather than later.
"Yeah, well, I've got a lot of 'being a dick to Alex' saved up that's been waiting to be used for a long time," she remarked, fully expecting the eye-roll that Jack gave her.
"You're going to have to have a real conversation with him at some point. He has reached out over the past few years, you know," Jack said and Lily instantly shook her head.
"No. He never reached out. He told you to reach out for him, or he reached out by getting drunk and telling random people at a party that we were fucking married," she corrected him and he raised his hands in surrender.
"I'm not on either side. I told you both that a long time ago. I'm just telling you what he said," Jack said and she nodded, knowing that sometimes she could accidentally be too hard on him.
"I know we have to talk. I know that's inevitable, especially because we're essentially fucking roommates all summer long. But I don't know what to say to him. What the hell am I supposed to say to the man that I thought was going to be my forever and then wasn't just because of a stupid drunken argument? What the hell am I supposed to say to the man that was with me through everything big that's happened in my life? Huh? He was there when I decided to drop out of college and do the band thing. He was there when my mom died. He was there when my first band got told we'd never be good enough and I cried for a week. He was there when I got evicted from my apartment because all of my money was going into making the band work while also working two jobs. He was there, Jack, and then he wasn't and it fucking hurt and to this day I don't even know exactly how we fell apart and somehow I'm still a fucking mess despite how fucking hard I've worked to not be. I'm angry. I'm so fucking angry, and I'm sad all the time," she rambled, not realizing until the end that she was sobbing out her words. Without a word, Jack pulled her into him and held her close, twirling a piece of her long blonde hair between his fingers and letting her cry it out.
"What the fuck am I going to do, Jacky?" she asked him a few minutes later when she'd composed herself a little bit. She sat up out of his embrace, still leaning on him heavily.
"Honestly I have no fucking clue other than telling him everything you just told me. That's the only thing that's gonna get you guys talking," Jack said, and she nodded, knowing he was 100% right.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Alex slipped out of his bunk quietly and went to make his way up front to get a drink. As he walked, he stopped dead just before the curtain that separated the bunks from the rest of the bus when he heard a feminine voice that he instantly recognized as Lily's ranting and crying.
He was going to just go back to his bunk and leave it alone but he quickly realized she was talking about him. He listened to her as she cried and rambled and it wasn't long at all before tears formed in his own eyes. He went back to his bunk quickly when he heard someone moving steadily towards the curtain he was standing behind. Slipping inside just before he heard the curtain open, he couldn't help but let a few tears slip down his cheeks.
He listened as Lily got into her bunk below him and he could tell that she was still crying even though she was trying to hide it. Instead of going up front to talk to Jack and possibly disturbing her, Alex pulled out his phone to text him.
Alex: "Hey. I heard you guys just now."
Jack: "Fuckin' creepy."
Alex: "Dude."
Jack: "Sorry. Now you know how fucked up she is over you guys. You have to talk to her. Soon."
Alex: "I know. Fuck."
Jack: "Don't treat her like she's going to fall apart. She isn't. Treat her like a human. Tell her how you feel. Tell her you miss her. Tell her you're sorry."
Alex: "You know, for a useless piece of shit you're pretty damn helpful."
Jack: "Love you too."
Alex threw his phone down into his bunk and put his arms behind his head, sighing. He knew he had to talk to her. He knew he had to smooth things over between them, even if that just meant them screaming at each other and vowing to hate each other forever, even though he knew he could never hate her.
As he slipped slowly into sleep, he decided that he'd better do it sooner rather than later.