Categories > Celebrities > Fall Out Boy > Lasting Impressions
Author's Note: Midtown makes me happy, so I decided to post this.
THANK YOUS
somethingorother: You'll see a bit more of Alex in this chapter.
Haha. I remember both of those cobracams. "This is bullshit. I'm going to Taco Bell." lmfao.
Thank you for rating! I really appreciate it!
lyrical_lies: This chapter might sway you over to the "dark side." You'll see what I mean.
doyleangel: Alex's head isn't screwed on straight at the moment. I apologize.
lmfao. The group shower with ATL was pretty sweet. I loved how Vicky was wearing a dress.
F-A-S-D: Ah, there's still a member of Team Alex here. Nice.
"Dill-Dough. The San Francisco treat!"
ash360: Chloe and Paul are taking it slow. The last thing Chloe needs is to dive into a relationship.
I wish Deliciousness was real. I'd buy it.
tonytay113: Whenever I go to Starbucks, I always get a tall vanilla bean frapp ;)
Ah, the show was called Bro-appetit! I loved the commercial for the umbrella umbrella.
tryingtohard_x: Haha. I am the master of conflict. Just when you side with one of the boys, I pull you back ;)
Wait, you don't know what cobracams are?! http://www.cobracam.tv/cam.html
PURE AWESOMENESS.
STORY BELOWWW
“If I live to be a hundred, I will never understand women,” Lucas said, frustrated.
It was a sunny Tuesday morning and I was lazily enjoying a day away from the road. Rather than lying in a stuffy bunk, or avoiding the mystery food that had fallen to the bus’s already messy floor, I had the luxury of a hotel room.
Cross-legged, I sat against the headboard and continued watching Days Of Our Lives.
I know what you’re thinking: “Why would she want to watch a soap opera when she has so much drama of her own?” Well, in a way, all the insanity that unfolded onscreen made me feel a bit better about my situation. So what if my boyfriend cheated on me? At least I don’t have to fake a pregnancy long enough to pass a pregnant teenager’s baby off as my own in order to keep my crime lord husband from leaving me. Nonsensical, I know, but I’ve never been a rational person. I mean, I share a gene pool with Jack.
While Lucas’ ex-wife broke into a soliloquy, I hugged a pillow to my chest and intently continued watching. This concentration, however, was quickly broken.
“This is why I’m hot. This is why I’m hot. This is why, this is why, this is why I’m hot…"
Upon hearing this ringtone, I knew it was Jack. Getting up, I grabbed my purse off the desk in the corner.
Lipgloss. Sunglasses. Wallet. Compact. Gum. Tour pass. Mascara.
But no Blackberry.
“Paul, do you know where my phone is?” I asked, unsure of where I’d put it last.
“Didja check your purse?” he asked as he continued shaving in the bathroom.
“Yeah. It’s not in there,” I replied, trying to figure out where the music was coming from.
“How about your shoes?”
“My shoes? Why would I—”
“You’d be surprised.”
Shrugging, I walked over to the other side of the room. Surely enough, my phone was tucked inside my sneaker. By the time I reached it, though, the ringing had stopped.
“Find it?” Paul asked, smooth-faced as he walked out of the bathroom.
“Yes,” I said, picking it up. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” he said, plopping onto the bed.
Redialing Jack’s number, I took a seat on the edge of the mattress.
“Hello?” he quickly answered.
“Hey, you called?”
“Oh. Yeah. I hope I wasn’t interrupting—”
“Don’t worry,” I cut in, because honestly, I did not want to know what he thought we were up to. “Just watching TV with Poolie.”
“Alright. Well I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out today. I feel like we haven’t really seen each other lately.”
“Same here. I’m sorry that I haven’t gone over to your bus much, but—Yeah…” I trailed off, hoping that he’d catch my drift.
“I know,” he replied.
“So, what do you have in mind for today?” I brightly asked, trying to break the awkwardness with enthusiasm.
“Iono. I was thinking lunch, then we figure it out from there.”
I chuckled and glanced over at Paul as he attentively watched Nicole and her doctor’s onscreen fight.
“Alright. It sounds like a plan,” I said, smiling.
“Cool. Meet me in the lobby in 15?”
“Okay, see you soon.”
“Bye, Chloe.”
After hanging up, I placed my phone in my purse and laid next to Paul.
“Mind if I go hang out with Jack today?” I asked.
“Nah, it’s cool,” he said, tucking loose strands of hair behind my ear. “You two haven’t spent time together in a while.”
“Sweet, because I was planning on going whether you liked it or not,” I joked.
“Is that so?” he asked, rolling on top of me.
“Yes,” I confidently replied.
“Really?” he asked, lifting his eyebrows.
“Mhmm,” I nodded.
“Okay,” he chuckled, planting a quick kiss on my lips before rolling off and curling up next to me. “When are you leaving?”
“15 minutes,” I replied, wrapping an arm around his waist.
“Aren’t you going to get ready?”
“Eh,” I shrugged. “It’s just my brother. No need to get all gussied up. Plus I like cuddling with you.”
“Thank you,” he smiled. “I happen to practice a lot.”
“It’s much appreciated.”
Paul chuckled and pulled me closer to his chest, allowing me to rest my head on his shoulder. For about 10 minutes we laid in bed like that, randomly commenting on the ridiculous drama unfolding on TV. Realizing that Jack would soon be down in the lobby, I got up. Paul let go of my waist and sat up as I walked over to the bathroom.
After finger combing my hair, I put on a little mascara, then went back out to slip my shoes on.
“Have fun,” he said, as I grabbed my purse. “Don’t get into too much trouble.”
“If anything, I can sweet talk my way out of it. Or just blame Jack.”
With that, he laughed and I gave him a kiss before leaving.
When I got downstairs, Jack was sitting on one of the couches, fiddling with his phone. My guess was that he was updating his twitter.
“Are you badmouthing mouthing me on twitter again?” I asked, taking him by surprise.
“Uhh…no?” he said, looking up at me.
Before he had the chance to react, I grabbed the device from his hand and went to his sent messages.
To: twitter
@takarABChloe is late. Go yell at her for keeping me waiting.
“Ugh, now I’m gonna have a bunch of spam replies from your cyber hoochies,” I said, handing his phone back. “And I wasn’t even late. You’re just abnormally early.”
“Okay. I’ll fix it,” he said, typing away at his phone again.
A minute passed and he showed me the screen once again.
To: twitter
I take it back. @takarABChloe is the best sister ever!!!
“Alright, I forgive you,” I said, chuckling. “Now put your phone away so we can go eat.”
“Yes ma’am!”
With his insane driving, I don’t know who was willing to lend Jack a car, but when we got to the hotel parking lot there was a blue Honda Civic waiting for us. We quickly loaded inside and zoomed off into traffic.
“So where do you plan on taking me today?”
“Um, I’m not exactly sure. I’m kinda just winging it,” he said, pulling into the left turn lane. “Tell me if you spot someplace interesting.”
“Haha, alright,” I replied, looking out the window.
We drove around for about 20 minutes and neither of us had found a place that was “interesting” enough to stop for.
“Okay. Clearly this isn’t working, so we’re stopping at the next restaurant we pass,” Jack said.
“Fine by me,” I said, getting a bit hungry.
The next eatery was a tiny Chinese take out. I pointed it out, but Jack drove past.
“I got sick last time I ate Chinese,” he said.
A few minutes later, we passed a Taco Bell. As he put the turn signal on, I rolled my eyes.
“Seriously, Jack. You drove all this way for Taco Bell?” I asked.
“Fiiine,” he replied, turning off the turn signal.
This cycle continued a few times before we agreed on Panera. Well, it wasn’t so much agreeing as it was that we were both starving.
After getting inside, we quickly ordered, paid, and took seats at a table toward the back. Since there weren’t many customers, we got our food pretty quickly.
“So fill me in on the life of Chloe Barakat,” Jack said, unwrapping his sandwich.
“What aspects would you like to know about?” I asked, unsure of where to begin.
“Well how’s life on the Boys Like Girls bus? Do you have any dirt on them? Juicy secrets that I can spread?”
“Haha, sorry,” I chuckled. “What happens on the bus stays on the bus.”
“Aww, c’mon, Chloe. I’m your brother. You can tell me,” he whined.
“Nope,” I said, remaining tightlipped.
“Dude, I know that you like rough sex. You know that I watch Japanese porn. What’s left to hide?” he laughed.
If anything, my brother was the best at turning conversations into jokes. Although I was utterly embarrassed that he’d remembered that tidbit about me, his comment had successfully made me laugh.
“So come on. Spill,” he said.
“Honestly there isn’t much to tell,” I replied.
“You’ve been there a month. You’ve gotta have something.”
“…God, the guys are gonna kill me, but I do know some things,” I admitted. “If you touch Bryan’s feet when he’s asleep he’ll start moaning really loudly and hump whatever is closest to him… And if you get enough tequila into Martin, he’ll randomly give you money.”
“Wait, how much are you talking about?” he asked, laughing.
“Last time, he took his wallet out then ran around the bus screaming ‘I make it rain!’ while throwing cash everywhere,” I chuckled. “There was more than $300 flying around the lounge.”
“Shit, that’s awesome!” he said, grinning. “What about John and Paul?”
“John has a Team Edward t-shirt and a copy of Twilight. Paul is really afraid of ostriches.”
“Ostriches?” he asked, with a confused look on his face.
“Yeah, I don’t know. He thinks they look like aliens, with their huge eyes and long necks,” I explained.
“Jeez, he’s such a wuss,” he commented.
“Oh shit! A bee!” I exclaimed, pointing over his shoulder. He immediately ducked and covered his head with his hands.
“Wait…It was just a fly,” I teased.
“Not fucking cool,” he said, punching my shoulder as I chuckled. There you have it. My brother is terrified of bees.
“But bees are so tiny,” I reasoned. “An ostrich could peck your face off.”
“Whatever. They buzz around and sting people. And they have those little antennas that move around like legs on their heads…” he said, shuddering. “…But back to Paul. What’s up with you two?”
“Well, I like him. A lot.”
“Are you guys, like, serious?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “We don’t want to rush into anything. That’s the last thing I need after—Um, well, yeah…”
Forget Voldemort. Alex Gaskarth was the new He Who Must Not Be Named.
Jack nodded, catching my drift, then quickly directed conversation toward the antics he’d gotten into with the boys of We The Kings. Apparently Smirnoff + Hunter + Danny = Aretha Franklin duet on top of the bus.
When we finished eating, the both of us got back into the car. Jack slipped the key into the ignition and started up the engine, but within seconds, he turned it back off.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Um, you don’t happen to remember the way back to the hotel, do you?”
“Oh shit.”
As you can tell, we hadn’t been thinking ahead when cruising around Tuscon without a map. Jack quickly got on the phone with Rian. Being the awesomely amazing, super fantastic guy that he is, Rian got on a laptop and acted as a human GPS system, feeding us mapquest directions as my brother drove.
After half an hour, we reached our destination. I thanked Rian profusely for his services. He laughed and said it wasn’t a problem.
Approaching the hotel entrance, I immediately tensed up. Alex was leaning against the wall, taking a drag from a cigarette. His hair was a mess, greasy and sticking up in random places. His face looked worn and he hadn’t shaved in a while.
Jack noticed my sudden apprehension and we entered the building as quickly as possible. I did my best to look straight ahead, but I couldn’t help but glance over as I passed. And it just so happened that he was looking back at me.
His chocolate brown eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept in days. Or hadn’t stopped drinking in days. Or a combination of the two.
In that moment, he looked so sad. So vulnerable. You’d never think that he was capable of hurting a fly, nonetheless breaking someone’s heart.
He was the one who looked broken.
Even after we’d gotten inside, my muscles refused to relax. My brain was positive that he wasn’t going to follow us, while my body remained unconvinced.
“How long has he been like that?” I quietly asked as we waited for an elevator.
Jack let out a sigh and looked down at his shoes before answering.
“Pretty much since you two broke up…” he mumbled, shuffling his feet. “…He gets it together for shows, but after that, he just—he doesn’t know what to do with himself. When he’s not drinking, he’s either bitching about a hangover, or passed out somewhere. It’s like he doesn’t give a fuck about anything other than music and partying.”
“Isn’t that how he was before I was with him?” I softly asked.
“It never got this bad…”
He sighed once again, then looked up at me.
“Listen, Chloe. I know that he fucked things up, but I can honestly say that Alex was a better person when he was with you… All the other girls he’s been with couldn’t make him half as happy as you could.”
Taken aback by this comment, I furrowed my eyebrows.
“How would you know?”
“He said so,” Jack simply replied.
Then as if on cue, the elevator doors slid open. The both of us wordlessly stepped inside, unsure of what to say after that.
He pressed 5 while I pressed 3.
As we made our ascent, silence filled the space between us.
When we reached my floor, I turned to Jack and offered him a half-hearted smile. He returned the gesture and pulled me into a hug.
“Thanks for hanging out with me today,” he said.
“Thanks for asking me to,” I replied, still holding onto him.
Before pulling away, he kissed the top of my head gave my shoulders a reassuring squeeze.
“Bye, Chloe.”
“Bye, Jack.”
I stepped out of the elevator and watched as the doors closed, giving my brother the biggest smile I could muster as I did so.
It was only when he disappeared from sight that I sank to the floor and allowed myself to cry.
+++++
Jack & Chloe bonding, with a side of heartbreak.
RATE & REVIEW if you want more.
(Next chapter's a doozie, so i know you want more.)
Q&A #15: Do you have any computer horror stories?
Today I accidentally deleted all of my iTunes library. I had it backed up on an external harddrive, but after hooking it up to my laptop, I somehow accidentally moved all my music into another folder and couldn't find it. I freaked the fuck out for 10 minutes, but my sister figured out what I did and undid it. I reorganized my library, and added some new stuff, then backed all of it up again on the external.
Moral of the story: Back up everything important! You never know when your computer will go insane.
THANK YOUS
somethingorother: You'll see a bit more of Alex in this chapter.
Haha. I remember both of those cobracams. "This is bullshit. I'm going to Taco Bell." lmfao.
Thank you for rating! I really appreciate it!
lyrical_lies: This chapter might sway you over to the "dark side." You'll see what I mean.
doyleangel: Alex's head isn't screwed on straight at the moment. I apologize.
lmfao. The group shower with ATL was pretty sweet. I loved how Vicky was wearing a dress.
F-A-S-D: Ah, there's still a member of Team Alex here. Nice.
"Dill-Dough. The San Francisco treat!"
ash360: Chloe and Paul are taking it slow. The last thing Chloe needs is to dive into a relationship.
I wish Deliciousness was real. I'd buy it.
tonytay113: Whenever I go to Starbucks, I always get a tall vanilla bean frapp ;)
Ah, the show was called Bro-appetit! I loved the commercial for the umbrella umbrella.
tryingtohard_x: Haha. I am the master of conflict. Just when you side with one of the boys, I pull you back ;)
Wait, you don't know what cobracams are?! http://www.cobracam.tv/cam.html
PURE AWESOMENESS.
STORY BELOWWW
“If I live to be a hundred, I will never understand women,” Lucas said, frustrated.
It was a sunny Tuesday morning and I was lazily enjoying a day away from the road. Rather than lying in a stuffy bunk, or avoiding the mystery food that had fallen to the bus’s already messy floor, I had the luxury of a hotel room.
Cross-legged, I sat against the headboard and continued watching Days Of Our Lives.
I know what you’re thinking: “Why would she want to watch a soap opera when she has so much drama of her own?” Well, in a way, all the insanity that unfolded onscreen made me feel a bit better about my situation. So what if my boyfriend cheated on me? At least I don’t have to fake a pregnancy long enough to pass a pregnant teenager’s baby off as my own in order to keep my crime lord husband from leaving me. Nonsensical, I know, but I’ve never been a rational person. I mean, I share a gene pool with Jack.
While Lucas’ ex-wife broke into a soliloquy, I hugged a pillow to my chest and intently continued watching. This concentration, however, was quickly broken.
“This is why I’m hot. This is why I’m hot. This is why, this is why, this is why I’m hot…"
Upon hearing this ringtone, I knew it was Jack. Getting up, I grabbed my purse off the desk in the corner.
Lipgloss. Sunglasses. Wallet. Compact. Gum. Tour pass. Mascara.
But no Blackberry.
“Paul, do you know where my phone is?” I asked, unsure of where I’d put it last.
“Didja check your purse?” he asked as he continued shaving in the bathroom.
“Yeah. It’s not in there,” I replied, trying to figure out where the music was coming from.
“How about your shoes?”
“My shoes? Why would I—”
“You’d be surprised.”
Shrugging, I walked over to the other side of the room. Surely enough, my phone was tucked inside my sneaker. By the time I reached it, though, the ringing had stopped.
“Find it?” Paul asked, smooth-faced as he walked out of the bathroom.
“Yes,” I said, picking it up. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” he said, plopping onto the bed.
Redialing Jack’s number, I took a seat on the edge of the mattress.
“Hello?” he quickly answered.
“Hey, you called?”
“Oh. Yeah. I hope I wasn’t interrupting—”
“Don’t worry,” I cut in, because honestly, I did not want to know what he thought we were up to. “Just watching TV with Poolie.”
“Alright. Well I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out today. I feel like we haven’t really seen each other lately.”
“Same here. I’m sorry that I haven’t gone over to your bus much, but—Yeah…” I trailed off, hoping that he’d catch my drift.
“I know,” he replied.
“So, what do you have in mind for today?” I brightly asked, trying to break the awkwardness with enthusiasm.
“Iono. I was thinking lunch, then we figure it out from there.”
I chuckled and glanced over at Paul as he attentively watched Nicole and her doctor’s onscreen fight.
“Alright. It sounds like a plan,” I said, smiling.
“Cool. Meet me in the lobby in 15?”
“Okay, see you soon.”
“Bye, Chloe.”
After hanging up, I placed my phone in my purse and laid next to Paul.
“Mind if I go hang out with Jack today?” I asked.
“Nah, it’s cool,” he said, tucking loose strands of hair behind my ear. “You two haven’t spent time together in a while.”
“Sweet, because I was planning on going whether you liked it or not,” I joked.
“Is that so?” he asked, rolling on top of me.
“Yes,” I confidently replied.
“Really?” he asked, lifting his eyebrows.
“Mhmm,” I nodded.
“Okay,” he chuckled, planting a quick kiss on my lips before rolling off and curling up next to me. “When are you leaving?”
“15 minutes,” I replied, wrapping an arm around his waist.
“Aren’t you going to get ready?”
“Eh,” I shrugged. “It’s just my brother. No need to get all gussied up. Plus I like cuddling with you.”
“Thank you,” he smiled. “I happen to practice a lot.”
“It’s much appreciated.”
Paul chuckled and pulled me closer to his chest, allowing me to rest my head on his shoulder. For about 10 minutes we laid in bed like that, randomly commenting on the ridiculous drama unfolding on TV. Realizing that Jack would soon be down in the lobby, I got up. Paul let go of my waist and sat up as I walked over to the bathroom.
After finger combing my hair, I put on a little mascara, then went back out to slip my shoes on.
“Have fun,” he said, as I grabbed my purse. “Don’t get into too much trouble.”
“If anything, I can sweet talk my way out of it. Or just blame Jack.”
With that, he laughed and I gave him a kiss before leaving.
When I got downstairs, Jack was sitting on one of the couches, fiddling with his phone. My guess was that he was updating his twitter.
“Are you badmouthing mouthing me on twitter again?” I asked, taking him by surprise.
“Uhh…no?” he said, looking up at me.
Before he had the chance to react, I grabbed the device from his hand and went to his sent messages.
To: twitter
@takarABChloe is late. Go yell at her for keeping me waiting.
“Ugh, now I’m gonna have a bunch of spam replies from your cyber hoochies,” I said, handing his phone back. “And I wasn’t even late. You’re just abnormally early.”
“Okay. I’ll fix it,” he said, typing away at his phone again.
A minute passed and he showed me the screen once again.
To: twitter
I take it back. @takarABChloe is the best sister ever!!!
“Alright, I forgive you,” I said, chuckling. “Now put your phone away so we can go eat.”
“Yes ma’am!”
With his insane driving, I don’t know who was willing to lend Jack a car, but when we got to the hotel parking lot there was a blue Honda Civic waiting for us. We quickly loaded inside and zoomed off into traffic.
“So where do you plan on taking me today?”
“Um, I’m not exactly sure. I’m kinda just winging it,” he said, pulling into the left turn lane. “Tell me if you spot someplace interesting.”
“Haha, alright,” I replied, looking out the window.
We drove around for about 20 minutes and neither of us had found a place that was “interesting” enough to stop for.
“Okay. Clearly this isn’t working, so we’re stopping at the next restaurant we pass,” Jack said.
“Fine by me,” I said, getting a bit hungry.
The next eatery was a tiny Chinese take out. I pointed it out, but Jack drove past.
“I got sick last time I ate Chinese,” he said.
A few minutes later, we passed a Taco Bell. As he put the turn signal on, I rolled my eyes.
“Seriously, Jack. You drove all this way for Taco Bell?” I asked.
“Fiiine,” he replied, turning off the turn signal.
This cycle continued a few times before we agreed on Panera. Well, it wasn’t so much agreeing as it was that we were both starving.
After getting inside, we quickly ordered, paid, and took seats at a table toward the back. Since there weren’t many customers, we got our food pretty quickly.
“So fill me in on the life of Chloe Barakat,” Jack said, unwrapping his sandwich.
“What aspects would you like to know about?” I asked, unsure of where to begin.
“Well how’s life on the Boys Like Girls bus? Do you have any dirt on them? Juicy secrets that I can spread?”
“Haha, sorry,” I chuckled. “What happens on the bus stays on the bus.”
“Aww, c’mon, Chloe. I’m your brother. You can tell me,” he whined.
“Nope,” I said, remaining tightlipped.
“Dude, I know that you like rough sex. You know that I watch Japanese porn. What’s left to hide?” he laughed.
If anything, my brother was the best at turning conversations into jokes. Although I was utterly embarrassed that he’d remembered that tidbit about me, his comment had successfully made me laugh.
“So come on. Spill,” he said.
“Honestly there isn’t much to tell,” I replied.
“You’ve been there a month. You’ve gotta have something.”
“…God, the guys are gonna kill me, but I do know some things,” I admitted. “If you touch Bryan’s feet when he’s asleep he’ll start moaning really loudly and hump whatever is closest to him… And if you get enough tequila into Martin, he’ll randomly give you money.”
“Wait, how much are you talking about?” he asked, laughing.
“Last time, he took his wallet out then ran around the bus screaming ‘I make it rain!’ while throwing cash everywhere,” I chuckled. “There was more than $300 flying around the lounge.”
“Shit, that’s awesome!” he said, grinning. “What about John and Paul?”
“John has a Team Edward t-shirt and a copy of Twilight. Paul is really afraid of ostriches.”
“Ostriches?” he asked, with a confused look on his face.
“Yeah, I don’t know. He thinks they look like aliens, with their huge eyes and long necks,” I explained.
“Jeez, he’s such a wuss,” he commented.
“Oh shit! A bee!” I exclaimed, pointing over his shoulder. He immediately ducked and covered his head with his hands.
“Wait…It was just a fly,” I teased.
“Not fucking cool,” he said, punching my shoulder as I chuckled. There you have it. My brother is terrified of bees.
“But bees are so tiny,” I reasoned. “An ostrich could peck your face off.”
“Whatever. They buzz around and sting people. And they have those little antennas that move around like legs on their heads…” he said, shuddering. “…But back to Paul. What’s up with you two?”
“Well, I like him. A lot.”
“Are you guys, like, serious?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “We don’t want to rush into anything. That’s the last thing I need after—Um, well, yeah…”
Forget Voldemort. Alex Gaskarth was the new He Who Must Not Be Named.
Jack nodded, catching my drift, then quickly directed conversation toward the antics he’d gotten into with the boys of We The Kings. Apparently Smirnoff + Hunter + Danny = Aretha Franklin duet on top of the bus.
When we finished eating, the both of us got back into the car. Jack slipped the key into the ignition and started up the engine, but within seconds, he turned it back off.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Um, you don’t happen to remember the way back to the hotel, do you?”
“Oh shit.”
As you can tell, we hadn’t been thinking ahead when cruising around Tuscon without a map. Jack quickly got on the phone with Rian. Being the awesomely amazing, super fantastic guy that he is, Rian got on a laptop and acted as a human GPS system, feeding us mapquest directions as my brother drove.
After half an hour, we reached our destination. I thanked Rian profusely for his services. He laughed and said it wasn’t a problem.
Approaching the hotel entrance, I immediately tensed up. Alex was leaning against the wall, taking a drag from a cigarette. His hair was a mess, greasy and sticking up in random places. His face looked worn and he hadn’t shaved in a while.
Jack noticed my sudden apprehension and we entered the building as quickly as possible. I did my best to look straight ahead, but I couldn’t help but glance over as I passed. And it just so happened that he was looking back at me.
His chocolate brown eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept in days. Or hadn’t stopped drinking in days. Or a combination of the two.
In that moment, he looked so sad. So vulnerable. You’d never think that he was capable of hurting a fly, nonetheless breaking someone’s heart.
He was the one who looked broken.
Even after we’d gotten inside, my muscles refused to relax. My brain was positive that he wasn’t going to follow us, while my body remained unconvinced.
“How long has he been like that?” I quietly asked as we waited for an elevator.
Jack let out a sigh and looked down at his shoes before answering.
“Pretty much since you two broke up…” he mumbled, shuffling his feet. “…He gets it together for shows, but after that, he just—he doesn’t know what to do with himself. When he’s not drinking, he’s either bitching about a hangover, or passed out somewhere. It’s like he doesn’t give a fuck about anything other than music and partying.”
“Isn’t that how he was before I was with him?” I softly asked.
“It never got this bad…”
He sighed once again, then looked up at me.
“Listen, Chloe. I know that he fucked things up, but I can honestly say that Alex was a better person when he was with you… All the other girls he’s been with couldn’t make him half as happy as you could.”
Taken aback by this comment, I furrowed my eyebrows.
“How would you know?”
“He said so,” Jack simply replied.
Then as if on cue, the elevator doors slid open. The both of us wordlessly stepped inside, unsure of what to say after that.
He pressed 5 while I pressed 3.
As we made our ascent, silence filled the space between us.
When we reached my floor, I turned to Jack and offered him a half-hearted smile. He returned the gesture and pulled me into a hug.
“Thanks for hanging out with me today,” he said.
“Thanks for asking me to,” I replied, still holding onto him.
Before pulling away, he kissed the top of my head gave my shoulders a reassuring squeeze.
“Bye, Chloe.”
“Bye, Jack.”
I stepped out of the elevator and watched as the doors closed, giving my brother the biggest smile I could muster as I did so.
It was only when he disappeared from sight that I sank to the floor and allowed myself to cry.
+++++
Jack & Chloe bonding, with a side of heartbreak.
RATE & REVIEW if you want more.
(Next chapter's a doozie, so i know you want more.)
Q&A #15: Do you have any computer horror stories?
Today I accidentally deleted all of my iTunes library. I had it backed up on an external harddrive, but after hooking it up to my laptop, I somehow accidentally moved all my music into another folder and couldn't find it. I freaked the fuck out for 10 minutes, but my sister figured out what I did and undid it. I reorganized my library, and added some new stuff, then backed all of it up again on the external.
Moral of the story: Back up everything important! You never know when your computer will go insane.
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