Jack's POV:
I pull myself out of bed after a night of crying myself to sleep. I quickly grab my phone to see if there are any messages from Alex, but there are none. I get dressed, putting on a short sleeve shirt, which I could now wear because I was clean. I pull on some skinny jeans and style my hair to perfection before marching downstairs for breakfast.
"Is Alex coming?" my mom asks, putting pancakes onto a plate.
"I think he's actually staying at home now," I reply, taking the plate from her. I eat as fast as possible to avoid being bombarded with more questions. I grab my phone and start the walk to school, trying to calm my nerves. I had to sit by Alex again, just like I did every day.
I arrive at my locker, which is near Alex's, but I don't see him at his locker. The guy that we both don't even know the name of walks up to me.
"Where's that shitty boyfriend of yours?" he asks.
"Good question," I say distantly. I hope he's okay...
"Maybe he finally killed himself," he says, walking away.
No, Alex isn't dead. He can't be. I grab my books for math, realizing I still had Alex's stuff from yesterday. That's probably why he wasn't at his locker. I take a deep breath, convincing myself that Alex was okay. I walk into math, and as I approach my seat, I see that Alex isn't there. Maybe he just isn't in the classroom yet, maybe he had to use the restroom. That had to be it.
The tardy bell rings without a sign of Alex. My stomach knots up with worry- it's not like him to be absent unless something was really wrong. I try to focus, but I can't. It's a relief when the bell finally rings.
Since it was sixth period, I rush to my locker to grab the things I needed to do my homework. As I'm there, I overhear a conversation that two girls are having a little further down the hall.
"That poor Jack kid," the first girl says.
"I can't imagine how heartbreaking this is for him," says the second one.
I approach them, curious. "What do you mean, heartbreaking for me?"
"You don't know?" the first girl asks.
"No," I reply, causing them to shoot each other sad glances. "What's going on?" I ask, but they stay silent, suddenly focused on the ground. "What the hell is going on here?!"
"It's Alex, he's-" the second girl starts, trailing off at the end.
"He's what?"
"Jack, he's gone," the first girl says.
I don't listen to a word after that; everything grows blurry. I faintly hear the two girls apologizing and giving me hugs, but my brain doesn't process any of it. My Alex is gone. I walk out of the building with my head down, not saying anything to my parents when I walk through the front door. I'm too sad to cry.
Alex's math book falls out of my bag, a piece of paper falling out of it. I pick it up, seeing it's some lyrics he'd written. A Daydream Away the top reads. I'd heard him sing it a few times, so I knew what the tune was. You're just a daydream away, I wouldn't know what to say if I had you. I pick up my guitar, coming up with a few chords to go along with it. I can't sing, but I did. For Alex.
I play through the entire song, breaking down at the end. "I'm so sorry, Lex, please come back," I sob. I cry so hard that I struggle to breathe. I can't believe I wasn't there for him when he needed me the most.
You're just a daydream away, Lex. I'll keep you in my memory for the rest of my life.
-=+=-
A week passes of me feeling nothing, and I got tired of it last night. I had FaceTimed one of my closest friends, Zack, and let all of it out. He and I hung out at school today, which helped the weight of losing Alex be a little lighter. I slump down on my bed as I walk into my room, on the verge of falling apart as thoughts of Alex race through my head. I pick up the phone and call Zack because I need a friend right now, and I know he'd listen.
"What's up?" he asks cheerfully.
"A-are you b-busy?" I ask.
"Yeah... I promise I'll call you back later," he says. "I know you're upset, Jack, just try to busy yourself with something until I call you back, and I promise I'll talk to you as long as you want, okay?"
"O-okay, bye Zack."
"Bye Jack, you've got this," he says before hanging up.
Half an hour passes with still no call from Zack. My mom enters my room, seeing me crying.
"Jack, someone's at the door for you, if you're up to talk to them." She knew I was upset and she probably knew it had to do with Alex, but one thing I love about my mom is that she gives me my space until I'm ready to talk.
The person at the door was probably Zack. He usually came over whenever he knew I was really upset. "Yeah, send them up here," I say quietly. Zack enters the room, hugging me tightly.
"Hey, I brought something that might cheer you up," he says.
"Good luck with that," I choke out between sobs.
"You gotta close your eyes, though."
"Fine," I say, covering my eyes. While my yes are closed, Alex is all I can think about. Nothing will cheer me up; Alex is gone. He died thinking that I hated him. I'd give anything just to hug him again.
About a minute later, Zack instructs me to open my eyes, and I immediately lock eyes with a pair of soft brown ones. His hair is a perfect mess, and he's thin, probably too thin. He averts his eyes away from me to the spot on the ground in front of him, playing with his hands.
"Hey, Jack," Alex says quietly.
(A/N: do y'all love Zack yet? Because same)
YOU ARE READING
You Broke Me, You Saved Me (Jalex)
Fanfiction-COMPLETED- - trigger warnings in first chapter "Let's get to my house, we need to get you warm," he says. I look at him, and he's soaking wet. He's only wearing a short sleeve shirt with skinny jeans, since he gave me the sweatshirt he was wearing...
