Take Me. I'm Never Gonna Let You Fall.

I didn't really want to talk about the next morning with Jack there. I knew that this was hard enough as it was for him. So, I led everyone outside, to the back patio. We sat in a couple of lawn chairs, the sun beating down on our faces. It was hot, but not too uncomfortable. Birds were chirping in the trees, and a light breeze made the leaves swirl in the air.

"So, what got you into writing?" Jack asked Daniella, turning his eyes towards her.

One of her shoulders lifted, then fell. "I'm not sure. I've always loved it. It's just been a part of me. It was a way for me to release any pent up emotions that I had."

"I understand. It's the same way with my music," Jack murmured.

I winced inwardly. I hadn't heard Jack play guitar in a few years.

Silence engulfed us as we sat there, staring out at my backyard for a bit. Finally, Jack heaved a sigh and stood, reaching a hand out towards me. I took it, and he pulled me up, wrapping me in a hug.

"It's time for me to go. Thank you for having me. It was good seeing you again, Hols."

"Same here, Jack."

"I love you," he whispered before kissing my forehead tenderly.

"I love you too."

He said goodbye to Daniella, then let himself out. I eased myself back into my chair, a hand running over my face. I felt suddenly empty, now that he was gone. Like, there was a piece completely missing inside of me. I loved having Jack around. He made me forget about everything. He made me happy, and I hadn't been happy in some long time.

"You two seem close," Daniella observed.

I nodded. "We always have been. Jack is one of the most amazing people I've ever met. I don't know what I'd do without him."

She found nothing to say, so it went back to being silent. I closed my eyes for a second, then asked, "Shall I begin again?"

"If you'd like."

The next morning, I woke up beneath the table. Completely dressed, thankfully. Alex was turned towards me, his arm around my waist, his perfect lips slightly open. My head was pounding, and my stomach felt like it was rolling down a very high hill. I groaned and removed his arm before rolling out from beneath the table. Bodies were scattered everywhere, along with bottles, cups, trash, and what appeared to be puke. Great. David was going to have fun cleaing that up.

Slowly, I made my way upstairs to check on Henry. If I was this bad, he must be worse. Quietly, I opened the door to the room that I had put him in last night. I came to a complete standstill when I saw what was inside. Jack and Henry were both completely naked, and wrapped around each other, sleeping peacefully. Henry even had a small smile on his face. I leaned against the door and ran a hand over my face roughly. What the hell was I supposed to do now?

Deciding that maybe it was best to take my brother home, I moved over to sit on the edge of the bed. I reached out and shook him softly, whispering, "Henry. Henry, it's time to go home. Come on, wake up."

He mumbled something about bananas, then his eyes fluttered open. "W-What's going o-on?"

"I'm going to take you home. Come on."

Henry nodded, and made to move out of the bed. I turned my head slightly as he stood and pulled on his clothes. My face went bright red, embarrassed at seeing this, as he reached down as kissed Jack's forehead lightly. As we walked down the stairs, I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Alex so that he didn't worry when he woke up. We drove home in silence, but when we got there, I couldn't take it anymore.

"Would you care to talk about what's going on between you and Jack?" I asked quietly as we made our way into the living room.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I-I don't k-know yet. W-We didn't really t-talk about i-it l-last night."

"So what? You just fucked each other? A drunken, one-night stand?"

I was angry. Not only with my brother, but with Jack. How could they do that? They were both so drunk, I highly doubted they used protection. And Jack. He was leading my brother on. The night before, he had freaked out over Henry's proclamation of love, and then he goes and sleeps with him? It just didn't feel right, and it pissed me off.

Henry's eyes narrowed. "Y-You know n-nothing, H-Holly! Stay o-out of t-this! This is m-my l-life, n-not yours!"

With that, he turned on his heel and stomped up the stairs to his room. I sighed heavily and sat down on the couch, my head in my hands. I just wanted to protect him. I didn't want anything bad ever happening to my brother. Was that such a crime?

---

Later that afternoon, Jack and Alex showed up at our doorstep. Rian had his boxing lessons, and Zack was working out at the gym. I pulled open the door, squinting in the sunlight. My jaw set when I saw Jack.

"What do you want?" I asked, fists on hips.

"I...Well, I wanted to apologize first to you, and then to your brother. I think I did something bad last night."

Alex smacked him upside the head.

"Okay! Okay! I know I did something bad last night. It wasn't right of me to do that. Especially cause we were so fucking drunk. And I'm sorry. I really am. I'm a piece of shit. I should be thrown into a dumpster and left there. Maybe have my eyeballs burned out with a cigarette."

I couldn't help it. I laughed. "Fine, fine. Just...go talk to Henry. He's upstairs in his room."

Jack left Alex and I in the living room, seated on the couch.

"I'm sorry too."

My left brow arched. "Sorry for what?"

"For last night. We were drunk too. I should've told you when I was sober, and not like that."

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's no big deal."

It really was, but I didn't want to tell Alex that. Last night had meant a lot to me. I had thought about it constantly that day. Alex had kissed me. He had called me pretty. I had grown quite attached to him over the past couple of months, but never told him. He was very much the ladies' man, and I didn't think I had stood a chance. He was always dating one gorgeous girl after another. What was I to him but just his good friend?

"Yes, it is. Because I like you, Hols. I know I have a shitty way of showing it, but it's true. Tomorrow night, I'm going to take you out and prove it to you. I've liked you for some time, but didn't have the balls to tell you."

My cheeks flamed bright red. I wasn't even sure what to say. I averted my eyes away from him and fiddled with the blanket that was draped across the back of the couch. I felt his hand touch my face, turning it back towards him.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked, his thumb skimming my jawline.

I nodded silently, too amazed to say anything. Alex Gaskarth always had a way with women.