Jack's eyelids fluttered open as he slowly woke up. He groaned as he stretched out on the bed and sat up. He glanced over at the brunette boy who was lying fast asleep next to him, and got out of the bed as quietly as he could, not wanting to disturb him.

The wooden stairs of his run-down home creaked as he went down them. He turned on the coffee machine as he looked around his kitchen. It felt very bare and empty to Jack, despite it being fairly cluttered. His parents weren't home; they never were. Therefore, most of the cleaning was left to the very-reluctant Jack. He took out two glass mugs from a cupboard just as the brunette boy lightly trotted into the room in a pair of loose-fitting sweatpants. He was tall and lanky, with light brown eyes. Jack looked similar, but it his hair and eyes were much darker than his companion's.

"Morning", he grinned.

"Hey Alex," Jack smiled back at him.

It had been like this for a while now. Since summer vacation had started, the boys had been inseparable. They simply had a certain spark, and Jack was loving every second of it.

"Feel like heading over to Ryan's today?" Alex asked.

"Yeah , the heat's been killing me. I've been dying to use his pool."

"I know, it's - one second…" Alex's phone was ringing. He pulled it out. "Hello? Oh…yeah…I…I…listen…yeah…o-okay…" The ashen expression on his face told Jack everything he needed to know.

"I gotta go", muttered Alex as he snapped his phone shut, grabbed his jacket, and went out the door. All Jack could do was watch him go, unable to protect him from what he knew was coming.

The next day, Jack and Alex met at their tree. That tree was special to them. It was where they had always gone whenever they needed a quiet place to be alone. It held memories of laughter, sadness, and everything inbetween. The eye of a hurricane; a haven in the midst of a battle. There was no other place like it.

As Alex approached, Jack noticed something. As he came closer and closer Jack's fury grew stronger. He had several bruises, and a very prominent black eye. Jack was ready to scream by the time Alex reached him.

Alex looked into the dark brown eyes, and saw that Jack knew. It wasn't a surprise, really. Jack always knew.

"She…did this to you."

Alex was silent.

"I'll kill her, I swear!" screamed Jack.

"She…she…didn't mean it…" said Alex, so quiet he was barely audible.

"Look at me. Look in my eyes." Alex obeyed. "She can't keep doing this to you. If this keeps happening, one day you'll be dead…" Jack trailed off, unable to speak.

"It's not her fault, that's just how she is when she's drunk. You know she's trying…"

"No, Alex. Your mom isn't trying. Not at all. It gets worse every time. You're going to get hurt." He stopped. Alex was crying. Jack put an arm

around the boy, and Alex threw himself into his lap.

"I-I…she…I k-k-know…b-b…" His sobs made it hard for him to speak.

"Shhh…" murmured Jack. "Tell you what…we'll leave someday."

The light brown eyes peered up at him. "What?"

"We'll run away together. We'll get out of here, away from all this. Just you and me."

"Where would we go?" said Alex.

Jack cracked a smile. "Let's go to Neverland."

Alex chuckled. "Second star to the right and straight on 'till morning."

Jack shoved his hand into Alex's mass of brown hair. "We could make it on our own."

Alex smiled a tiny, sincere smile. "I'll be your Peter and you'll be my Wendy."

Later that night, Jack got a call. "Hello?"

"So, I've been doing some thinking…" Jack instantly recognized the familiar voice of Alex.

"About?"

"About what you said earlier. I'm in."

"What are you talking about?"

"Jack, I wanna run away. I think we can do it."

"Alex-"

"I sound crazy, I know. But I'm positive that we could make it work. We could get train tickets. We could leave tomorrow."

"Alex-"

"Leave all the planning to me. We'd find a place to stay. An apartment, maybe. It doesn't matter. All that matters is you and me. We could get

away from everything, you said it yourself. I don't care if we barely get by. We could do it, Jack, you know we could."

"Alex…I…I don't know what to say."

"Say yes."

Jack took a deep breath. It sounded amazing, better than heaven. But he was still unsure. It was insane. "But…it would never work…seriously, just stop for a second and think-"

"I'm tired of thinking, and I know you are too. Are you with me or not?"

Even though they were on the phone, Alex could tell that Jack was smiling. "Of course I'm with you, you idiot."