Tales That Must Be Re-told

Adelaide was sitting on a table with her knees pulled closely to her chest. She had found her way to the beach, thinking that it would calm her down and help her to clear her head. However, if anything, sitting at the beach was making things even harder for her - memories of herself and Jack going to the beach as kids flooded to her mind. It was their favourite place to go when they were younger, and still was as they got older. Up until the band really took off, Adelaide and Jack went there frequently, many times with the rest of the guys as well.

She stared miserably at the water, not bothering to wipe away the tears that were silently falling down her face. Adelaide felt someone sit down beside her; she dared to look, and of course, it was Jack.

When he didn't say anything, she sighed. "Hi, Jack," she whispered.

For the first time in two weeks, Adelaide took a good look at Jack. He looked like a wreck. His hair was greasy and unkempt, his clothes were wrinkled, and he was in desperate need of a shave. The thing that was the worst for Adelaide to see was his eyes - they looked vacant, hollow. The happy glint that was always there had been replaced with hurt and misery. They were also lined with dark circles underneath them.

Jack still didn't say anything. They were silent for a moment.

Again, Adelaide broke the silence. "I know I've been childish, and I want you to know that it has absolutely nothing to do with you, Jack. This is all me."

He frowned. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

She sighed. "Let's just say that I'm under a lot of stress right now."

Jack stared at her, knowing she was hiding something. "Adds, can you please just talk this out with me?" he whispered.

"I hate myself," she mumbled, putting her face in her hands. "Trust me, you should hate me too, if you don't already."

Jack took her by surprise by putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling Adelaide closer to him. "Adelaide, I could never hate you," he said softly.

Adelaide didn't respond. Jack gently moved his arm back to the side of his body and situated himself so he was facing her. "Adelaide, when I woke up in that hotel room, I don't think you realize how much that hurt me." He paused. "I could never hate you, but that really upset me. Whatever you think you might have accomplished in sparing my feelings, trust me - it didn't work."

Jack's tone wasn't angry, and Adelaide wished it had been. She would have deserved it - it would have been totally fair for Jack to stand up, yell in her face, tell her what a dispicable human being she was, and leave. Instead, his voice was soft, delicate.

"I panicked," she murmered, tears beginning to well up in her eyes again. "I know it was stupid and immature of me, but I didn't know what to do. I'm still not sure if I know what to do."

"Addy, what do you think my feelings for you are? Please, be honest."

She blinked. "Pardon?"

"How do you think I feel about you?"

Adelaide frowned. "Like I'm your little sister, just like everyone else in the band. Maybe- okay, no, we definitely have a stronger bond, but I guess you feel the same way as the other guys do."

"Wow, Rian was right," Jack mumbled to himself.

"Right about what?"

"Do you seriously not see it, Adelaide?" he asked. "Has it never occurred to you that I'm absolutely head over fucking heels for you?"

Adelaide stared at Jack for a few seconds - this changed everything. "Something along those lines has been brought to my attention," she mumbled. "I never thought anything of it, though."

Now it was Jack's turn to place his head in his hands. Adelaide could hear him mumble 'fuck, fuck, fuck' to himself.

"I can't do this," she said in an extremely shaky voice. She stood up and began to walk away from their table.

She didn't get very far; Jack had caught up with her and grabbed her shoulder. "No," he said firmly. "I'm finished with you running away from me, Adelaide. This isn't going to disappear if we barricade ourselves in our bunks. All it will do is make the rest of the band miserable, not to mention ourselves."

By this time, Adelaide was full-out bawling. "Fine! You want to know what my problem is?!"

Jack nodded.

"I'm late, Jack, okay?!" she yelled.

"Well where the fuck do you need to go?!" he asked, growing angry.

"N-no," she sobbed. "I'm late. I haven't gotten it yet."

It was all Jack could do not to fall to the ground. "Oh shit."

He didn't speak for a couple minutes, and Adelaide waited for him to turn around and leave her there.

"We didn't...?"

"I don't know," whispered Adelaide. There was something else in her eyes. A thought struck Jack and he felt like he might be sick.

"Did you and Jeremy...?"

"I can't be sure," she choked out and broke into a fit of sobbing. "Do you h-hate me y-yet?"

Jack shook his head and wrapped his arms around her protectively, something he seemed to have taken to doing a lot.

"Is that what you meant when you said you had a lot on your mind?" he asked quietly. Jack felt the small girl in his arms nod into his chest.

He sighed, cradling her. "Everything will turn out okay, Adds," he said and kissed the top of her head. "Even if you are -" he seemed to not want to say the word out loud, as if it would jinx their situation. "- well, I promise you that I'm right here for you. You're not going through this alone."

At that moment, Adelaide came to the realization that she should have came to months, maybe even years ago. Any boy who could have a drunken one night stand, only to find out that his partner might be pregnant with a baby who may or may not belong to him and still offer, without hesitation, to take care of it and her - that was clearly no one to be taken for granted.

She looked up at Jack and opened her mouth to thank him. Before Adelaide had a chance, Jack's lips came fiercely crashing down on hers.