Work Text:
“Jack?” Alex nudged his sleeping friend in the shoulder. “Jack?” He repeated, a little more forcefully. When he still got no response, he sighed and flicked him in the forehead. “Barakat.”
His eyes flew open and he shoved Alex a little. “What the fuck dude?” He grumbled, voice thick with the reminiscents of sleep. He stared up at Alex, who had a grin that could only be described as a Cheshire Cat grin and a deviant look in his eyes.
“C’mon, let’s go!” Alex whispered loudly, taking Jack’s hand in his and giving it a tug.
“What? Go where?” He looked around and then squinted up at Alex. “What time is it?”
“Two am.” He told him casually, as if it weren’t weird at all. “And we’re going on an adventure.” It was silent for a few minutes before Jack rubbed his eyes and let out a sigh.
“Are you drunk?” Alex shook his head, hair flopping down over his eyes.
“Not even a little. Just antsy.” He explained, pulling on Jack’s hand once again. This time, Jack stood up and yawned. Much to Alex’s delight, he grabbed a hoodie off the hook next to his bunk and yanked it over his head, then turned back around and smiled. He knew Alex had a problem with getting anxious and not being able to sleep, and he also knew that he hated to be alone during those times, even if he’d never say it.
“Then I guess let’s go.” Alex’s eyes lit up and he grinned excitedly, and pulled Jack off the bus, shutting the door as quietly as he could behind them so Zach and Rian wouldn’t wake up. It hadn’t even occurred to them as they walked through the empty streets that their hands were still tightly clasped together.
Jack didn’t question where they were going until they crossed a mostly empty highway and Alex stopped them in front of a water tower that was encased in the tall trees and bushes of a forest. There was a small path that led up a hill, and to places Jack couldn’t even see. He turned towards Alex, mouth open for questioning, but Alex laughed and raised a hand to shush him.
“I googled it. Seems totally safe.” He said determinedly. Jack raised an eyebrow.
“Seems.” He quoted dubiously.
“I said we were going on an adventure.” Alex told him semi defensively. Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Yeah but just be careful where you walk, i can’t see shit and you could break an ankle.”
“So could you,” Alex grumbled as they started walking.
“That’s true, but you are the clumsiest person I know. So if anyone falls, it’ll be you.” Alex had no room to argue with that statement, there had been too many instances of him tripping over lines on the floor and his own feet.
The path was mostly long grass with one thin strip of dirt; it would have been hard to navigate even in broad daylight, the fact that it was completely dark and you couldn’t see three feet in front of you did not help Alex’s clumsiness.
He seemed okay for the first half an hour of travelling uphill-- he’d lose his footing every now and then but caught himself just in the nick of time. Jack couldn’t really tell, but it seemed like they were reaching the top of the hill, so he turned to tell this information to Alex and tell him to proceed with caution.
“Lex,” He called out into the darkness.
“Yeah?” Alex turned around from where he was-- a few paces ahead-- and stopped.
“Be careful, I think we’re almost at the top of the hill.” He warned. He couldn’t really see Alex’s face; just his silhouette; but he had a strong feeling the older man was rolling his eyes.
“Yeah yeah, I got it-- oh, shit!” His figure disappeared from Jack’s sight, and he could hear a few thumps, and then a loud groan. “I found the top,” He called out with a breathy laugh. Jack ran up to the top and glanced down.
“Fuck, I can’t see, gimme a sec..” Jack pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight. Alex was completely engrossed in a thorn bush at the bottom of the hill, staring up at him with a big, sort of pained, smile. Jack walked carefully down the hill and approached the bush his friend was stuck in. He looked down at him with a raised eyebrow.
“I fell.” Alex explained, eyes wide.
“And after I warned you about the hill and everything,” He shook his head and clicked his tongue.
“Are you gonna help me?” He whined. Jack pretended to look contemplative.
“Hm.. I feel like maybe you deserve to stay here for a while and think about the consequences of your actions.” He told him as seriously as he could. Alex gaped at him.
“What actions?”
“Not listening to my advice.” Alex pouted and lazily jutted out his bottom lip, gazing up at him with big eyes that perfectly reflected the moonlight. Jack momentarily had to struggle to keep his breath even. They stared at each other for a few moments, until Jack bent down and started untangling thorns and branches from Alex’s limbs. It took a decent bit, but they were able to successfully free him with minimal damage. He still had a few leaves and twigs in his messy hair, and some thorns attached to his shirt and jeans. He beamed at Jack for a minute, and then turned and kept walking down the hill.
Jack kept his eyes on Alex as they continued. He could see light from a couple lamp posts and soon enough they were on a small, dirt road. “Where are we?” Jack wondered aloud. Alex grabbed ahold of his hand and took them over to a big sign.
“A nature reserve.” He smiled up at the sign and then turned back to Jack, who was staring at him with an intense look he couldn’t decipher. They sat like that for a few seconds, until Alex flushed and turned away, pulling Jack along with him. They got to a big, dirt path that led into the woods.
It was considerably easier to walk on than the previous, and was obviously more used. They walked on the path for a few minutes, hands still together between them, until they got to a large circle of trees with piles of stones under each one. Alex let go of Jack’s hand and wandered over to it, his face one of awe. The breeze picked up suddenly-- whipped around them like a miniature tornado. Alex took a step back to avoid stepping in a hole, his foot getting caught on something. He flailed his arms for a second and fell backwards, colliding directly into Jack, who caught him, arms around his chest. Alex turned to looked up at him and laughed sheepishly. Seriously-- their faces were like two inches apart.
“Lex,” Jack whispered. Alex worked hard to train his gaze on Jack’s eyes instead of letting them wander to where they really wanted to go. Jack, however, was much less discreet, he let his eyes glance down at Alex’s lips and then back up again. Alex gulped and blinked rapidly a few times.
“Yes?” He whispered back nervously. Jack stared at him for a few minutes, mouth hanging open a little bit. Then he shook his head and smiled ruefully.
“Nothin’.” He helped Alex upright and ruffled his hair. Alex would have been surprised if Jack couldn’t hear his heartbeat sporadically fluttering in his chest. He turned the corners of his mouth up into an unsure smile, then kept on walking down the path. Jack followed.
They came upon a giant willow tree with thick branches that were relatively low to the ground. Alex flipped around, smile a million miles wide, laughed a carefree laugh, and started climbing.
“Be careful, you klutz.” Jack told him, tone light, but they both knew there was a hint of seriousness in it. Alex stuck his tongue out mockingly at him and swung up onto a higher branch. He successfully made it as high as he could without incident, and waved down at a squinting Jack.
Alex was dimly lit up by moonlight which shone directly on him as if there were a spotlight on him. He looked transparently pale, the gray hat on his head was slightly tilted and covered one ear but not the other, and his breath fanned out around him in little puffs of white.
“Jack!” He called down to him. Jack blinked up at him.
“What?”
“Come up here!” Jack rolled his eyes but the corners of his mouth were tilted towards where Alex sat in the tree as he started finding his footing and climbing up. Once he reached the branch that Alex was smiling at him from, he pulled himself onto it and sat down, legs hanging over the edge. Alex sat next to him, their sides smushed together. He leaned his head on Jack’s shoulder, and, completely engrossed in each other’s company, they watched the stars. But the star Jack was watching were a little different than the ones Alex saw. This one had long lashes that fanned out over its cheeks, and wore the same pair of jeans practically every single day.
The star that Jack saw had a name, too.
Alexander William Gaskarth.
Once they decided it was an appropriate time to climb down, they did so.
“Jack?” Alex asked uncertainly, voice soft and curious, once they’d reached the ground.
“Yeah?”
“What were you going to say earlier?” Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair, which he was sure was a mess.
“I’ll tell you some other time.” To his surprise, Alex just smiled at him and nodded.
“Okay.”
The path spiraled out of the forest and into a prairie with a couple ponds. They stayed at them for a few minutes, until Alex was yawning frequently and blinking sleepily. He looked like he was going to pass out at any given time. They’d been sitting under a tree for a while.
“We should get back,” Jack suggested, checking the time on his phone. “It’s three fifty four.” Alex nodded and stood up, taking a wobbly step forward. They walked quietly until they reached the bottom of the hill. Alex was blinking hard, trying to stay aware enough not to trip again. They started up the hill until Alex’s knees gave out with exhaustion, and he crumpled to the ground.
“Jesus christ, how long has it been since you’ve slept?” Jack asked him, kneeling down and helping him stand up.
“I ‘unno, like, three, four days?” He shrugged noncommittally.
“Dude,” Jack shook his head in disbelief.
“I can’t ever fall asleep.” Alex mumbled sheepishly.
“We’ll talk about it later, let’s just go so you don’t pass out, yeah?” He took ahold of Alex’s elbow and guided them back the way they’d come.
Alex didn’t trip again and looked pretty stable, so once they got out of the woods and were back on main roads, Jack released his protectively tight grip on his arm.
“So what kind of thoughts have you had recently that make it hard for you to sleep?” Jack asked rather tentatively. Alex shrugged and glanced up at the taller man. His eyes were filled with stars.
“I’m gay,” Alex explained, eyes wide and honest. Jack thought he looked lovely in the lighting. “And there’s a boy. A straight boy, who I spend a lot of time with. I get worried that he’s gonna find out and it’ll ruin our friendship. That, or he’ll hate me and think I’m pathetic.” His voice wavered a little as he spoke, but he kept his eyes fixated on Jack’s face. Jack laughed airily.
“Yeah, I get that man. But I guess I don’t worry in the same way that you do.” Alex nearly lost his footing, his wide eyes growing impossibly wider.
“What?” He exclaimed, pitch rising up an octave or two.
“Yeah, I’m not straight, damn dude I thought you knew that,” Jack grinned and shrugged at his look of surprise.
“Oh, well then I guess he’s not a straight boy.” Alex babbled without thinking. Once he’d realized what he’d said, he stopped walking and turned to Jack with a horror-stricken look. “Ohmygod-- I-- Oh shit--” He rambled, throwing his hands up defensively as he desperately tried to explain. Jack calmly grabbed his wrists and gently lowered them back down to his sides, then slid his hands up to Alex’s shoulders. The older boy stared up at him, eyes full of fear. “I’m sorry,” He whispered, voice quivering a tad.
“You fucking idiot,” Jack responded affectionately before tilting up Alex’s chin, yanked him forward by the collar of his shirt, and pressed their lips together. Alex huffed in surprise and wrapped his arms around Jack’s neck. Jack sighed against his mouth and ran his thumbs over Alex’s cheekbones. After a moment that passed far too quickly in both of their opinions, they pulled back, both panting heavily. From the closeness of their faces, Jack could see the bags under Alex’s eyes.
“C’mon, Lex, let’s go back to the bus.” Alex blinked dazedly a few times and followed him, blindly grasping for his hand as they turned down another road.
Once there, Jack scooped Alex onto his back and flipped on a lamp so he could see. He shoved the curtain aside and sat down on the edge of Alex’s bunk and laid a blanket over top of him.
“Think you can sleep now?” He asked him, a finger trailing down the side of his face. Alex shrugged, a devious smile on his face.
“It might help if you slept here with me,” He answered before yawning.
“Oh, well if it’s for the sake of your sleep then of course.” Jack joked as he laid down beside him.
“Night, Lex,”
“Night, Barakat,” Alex mumbled, already half asleep, cheek squished against Jack’s chest.
Hey, at least his insomnia was fixed.