Hey Guys!
So this is Chapter 12, I hope you guys like it!
Anyways, thanks to my Bff Iri for reading it and giving me some feedback, after all she is the inspiration for Yvette. Maxiekat! You are a life saver, thank you for Beta-ing ? this! Like I said I LOVE YOU!!
The song is called "Stay Close, Don't Go" by (did you guess?) Secondhand Serenade.
Now on with the story….
Chapter 12: Birthday Surprises
Almost three months had passed since they broke up, and things weren't going as well as they should have been…
"Get Up!" Yvette yelled, hitting him various times with a pillow.
"Leave me alone, man," he mumbled as he turned over and covered his head with his blanket.
"Get your ass up, Jack Mercer!"
"Go away, Yvette!" he yelled.
"Fine, you asked for it." She left his room in search of the mopping bucket, filled it with cold water and threw it on top of a slumbering Jack.
"What the fuck, Yvette!" he screamed as he jumped from the bed, staring daggers at her.
"I told you to get up. It's time for you to do something, dick head! Alex is doing just awful and so are you. So why don't you quit being such a moron and make up with her?"
"She won't take me back." He said this with such sadness and regret in his voice that Yvette had to decide whether to yell at him or hug him. Being who she was, she went with the yelling.
"Are you fucking kidding me? Jack, she loves you! And you know that she'll forgive you; come up with a better excuse."
She started walking toward the door, when Jack said ,"I wrote her a song."
Smiling to herself, she turned and said, "I knew you would say that!"
8
It was the week before her birthday and she had nothing planned, then again she really didn't feel like celebrating. The last few months had been a stir of heartbreak and loneliness, of pain and confusion.
For days she'd been dreading facing Yvette, who she knew would not cease and desist on her plans to celebrate, despite Alex begging her not to make a big deal out of her birthday. Alex had reluctantly agreed to have lunch with her, which she knew she would regret the moment they got into the car.
"Hey, Yvette."
"Hi, Alls! How are you?" She was happy, too happy and Alex was immediately suspicious.
"Ok," she answered carefully, clicking her seatbelt into place.
"So…" Yvette said with a grin.
"Oh spill it, Yvette," Alex said, sighing dramatically. "Just get it over with." She was surprised at herself; she normally wouldn't be this tumultuous.
"Jeez, relax woman. You're going to pop an artery or something. I was just gonna ask you if you had any birthday plans?"
"Nope, I already told you. I'm spending the day at home. I was thinking of inviting your good friends Mr. Ben and Mr. Jerry over to give me some company."
"Yeah right, come on Alex! It's your birthday, 'member? The happiest day of the year."
"I don't feel like celebrating this year, Yvette. It hasn't been much fun lately."
"So what? We will have fun! You need it… you know I'm right."
"I don't know." Alex shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She wasn't sure how much fun she'd be to hang around with. She'd been so moody and quiet in the last three months and just didn't want to be around people at the moment.
"We're going out and that is final. I don't care what you say, you need to have some fun. And if you don't come willingly, I'll just shove you in the trunk."
"Okay, whatever, you win!" Alex threw up her hands in defeat, turning her attention to the view passing by outside the window.
He felt as if he'd never seen her before.
She looked extremely hot in her outfit. She was wearing an olive colored shirt and it really brought out her eyes, not to mention what the v-neck did to her bustline. She had on a denim miniskirt and black pumps that somehow managed to make her short legs look like they went on for miles. He couldn't take his eyes off her.
She'd cut her hair recently and she now had bangs that gave her a kind of messy, sensual look, covering part of her brow and falling in her eyes. He chuckled to himself, knowing that it would drive her crazy when it came time to paint. She had the air of a Grecian goddess, a vision in emerald; but the look on her face showed her lack of enthusiasm.
She had obviously been unaware that he would be there for her birthday. But then again, where else would he be after what she'd done for his?
FlashbackThe
alarm clock read 12:00am in bright neon letters when Jack felt Alex's
soft lips on his cheek. He knew why she was doing it, and he was
determined not to budge this year. Every year on his birthday, since
they met, Alex would wake him up at midnight and take him on what she
called an "adventure". "Mmm..."
He grunted and tried to push her away. "Wake
up, sleepy head!" her voice full of annoying perkiness. "What
time is it?" He said, his deep voice groggy. "Time
for you to wake up, 'cause it's your birthday!""Oh
come on, can't we stay in today? It can be my birthday present,"
there was a hopeful tone in his voice as he grabbed her and tucked
her into his side, refusing to let go of her no matter how much she
fought him."Jack,
let go. Dammit! I already got you a birthday present." She
shoved him aside and sat crossed legged beside him. "Alex!
It's supposed to be birth-day not birth-dawn! Come on now, let me
sleep!" He pulled their big comforter from under her, purposely
making her fall off the bed with a shriek and a flurry of hair. "I'm
not going anywhere," he concluded as he snuggled into his pillow.
"Fine,
I'll go by myself""No
you will not; you can't take a walk by yourself at this hour""Of
course I can. If anyone asks, I'll just say, 'Stay away from me,
my big strong boyfriend is in bed celebrating his birthday.'" She
started putting on some jeans and a pretty shirt. Seeing as how Jack
was determined not to get up, she started to leave the room."Ok...
I'm leaving now... walking out the door..." she announced
dramatically as she made her way to the front door. She opened it and
glanced behind her. Jack still hadn't made an appearance. With a
wicked grin, she slammed the front door and rushed to hide in the
kitchen to enjoy the show.She
heard Jack curse loudly and saw him coming out of their room, jumping
from one foot to the other trying to get pants and shoes on. "Crazy
ass Alex, getting up at midnight. I'm going to get you for this.
Fuck!"He
slipped on a rug as he rushed toward the door and saw Alex doubled up
in laughter in her hiding place. "You
think it's so funny, huh?" He ran toward her, ready to
tickle-torture. She squealed and ran, knowing what was coming.She
knew she was too short to out run him, so she tried her best to jump
over furniture and ran for the bathroom. Somehow he had cornered her
in the shower."I've
got you now! Buahahahaha!" He said feigning evil laughter; he
started tickling her until he heard the shower go of in his face
followed by ice-cold water. Now they were both laughing their asses
of, sitting in the tub, drenched. After
a while, she rested her head on his shoulder and said, "Please, go
for a walk with me. You're already awake" Knowing
he couldn't resist her, he looked into her puppy dog eyes and said,
"Fine, but next year we are staying in, and that's final.""Yeah
Right! Next year we'll have the same little argument until you
succumb to my will, but I'm proud of you Jackie. You held your own
this year - had to get you wet before you said yes."He
chuckled lightly as he stepped out of the bathtub. He extended his
hand, helping Alex out of the tub and catching her just in time when
she slipped. They quickly dried themselves, changing into warm
clothes. "Were
going to be late!""Late
for what?""It's
a surprise Jack" she said rolling her eyes at him, all the while
grabbing a duffle bag from the kitchen and Jack's guitar. Once out
on the street, she started towards her car, taking out the
keys."Weren't
we taking a walk?""Yeah,
when we get there""Get
where?""You
look so cute pouting!""Shut
up.""Come
on, what are you waiting for? Get in the
car!"
"About
time they got here." Bobby was pacing back and forth muttering
profanities to himself."Oh,
Bobby, calm down. They're only a couple of minutes late.""A
couple of minutes! Ma, it's been half an hour""Oh
you know how hard Jack is to wake up and it's his birthday."
"It's
still 1:30 in the morning; couldn't we do this like at lunch or
something?""Its
tradition," Evelyn said with a shrug. "It's
not my tradition; it's not a sane person's tradition. It's just
like Jack to get himself a copy of La Vida Loca.""Robert
James Mercer you better not ruin Jack's birthday with that
attitude. Alex worked really hard to get us here so we could surprise
him, so behave""Yeah,
Yeah, Yeah"
She
knew Jack would never forget this night.
How
many times had he told her he wished he could see his mom? Bobby?
Angel? Jerry? So she called and bought tickets. Convincing Evelyn had
been the easy part; Bobby on the other hand had been no easy task. He
was a hard-headed jerk at first, but after the 80th phone
conversation, Alex had convinced him to come. Unfortunately she
hadn't been able to get a hold of Angel, she knew he was somewhere
in Vegas but all her phone calls had been fruitless, and Jerry had to
be at home helping his wife with their new baby girl. Still she was
satisfied, two out of four was more than she had realistically
thought she would get. So,
as she led Jack to where Bobby and Evelyn were, she smiled to herself
in triumph. When she took the off the blindfold she had forced him to
wear; she whispered "Happy Birthday" and stepped back.He
took a moment to understand what was happening. His
mom and brother were right there, he could step forward and touch
them. The joy he felt was incredible. He lifted his mom in his arms,
spinning her around. He hugged Bobby and playfully punched him in the
arm.
He
went to Alex and kissed her passionately, then turned to Bobby with a
grin on his face and said, "I told you I'm not gay!"End
Flashback
She looked at Yvette with pleading eyes, silently letting her know how uncomfortable and unnecessary this was. But it had been Yvette's plan after all, to surprise Alex this way.
"Hi," Jack said, trying to hide how nervous he truly felt; after all it was now or never.
"Go Away," Alex murmured as she turned and grabbed Yvette in a vice grip pulling her away. "What the hell is going on?" she whispered angrily.
"Ouch! Let go of my arm, Alex!" Yvette yanked her arm, but Alex wasn't letting go. She couldn't believe that Jack was there and now she couldn't get a grasp on all the emotion that was bubbling up inside of her.
"What is he doing here? What the fuck are you trying to pull?"
"He wanted to see you. The band is playing here tonight. And you needed to see him." Yvette finally managed to get Alex to release her sleeve and she looked hurt, like she really thought her plan would work.
"I can't believe you brought me here. I'm going home."Alex turned and walked toward the door.
"Alex, come on!" Yvette said as she rushed after her. "Don't do this, its childish."
"I'm leaving. Fuck you both!"
Now it was time for Yvette to look at someone with pleading eyes. She looked at Sam mouthing, "Do something, for once."
"Sing to her, man!" Sam said, pulling Jack toward the stage.
"I… What?"
"The song, Jack!" Sam was clearly exasperated. "Alex is leaving, do something!"
Jack jumped onto the small stage and as the music started said into the microphone "Alex wait! This song is for you!" He shouted it in a rush, but once he got through the initial exclamation, his voice got softer, gentler and Alex couldn't help but listen. "I'm sorry. I… I hope that if you still care, you'll find in yourself the compassion I know you have and forgive me."
She stopped in her tracks.
Jack had written her a song, that was a first. He was a hopeless romantic, but to write her a song and sing it to her in front of all these people was the most out there, forward expression of romanticism she'd ever seen him do.
She
blushed, going through every shade of red possible, and tried in vain
to hide behind Yvette. Jack started singing the most beautiful,
heartfelt song he'd ever written, all the while looking at her and
only her. It was as if the room was empty. As if Alex wasn't ducking
behind her best friend, red-faced and embarrassed.
I'm
staring at the glass in front of me,
is
it half empty or have I ruined all you've given me?
I
know I've been selfish,
I
know I've been foolish,
but
look through that
and
you will see,
that I'll do better, I know,
Baby,
I can do better.If
you leave me tonight, I'll wake up alone,
don't
tell me I will make it on my own,
don't
leave me tonight,
this
heart of stone will sing till it dies
if
you leave me tonight.
He
jumped off the stage and walked toward her, stopping right in front
of her. He took her hand in his and sang to her, all the while
staring right into her radiant emerald eyes.
Sometimes
I stare at you while you are sleeping,
I
listen to your breathing,
amazed
how I somehow managed to
sweep
you off your feet girl,
your
perfect little feet girl
I
took for granted what you do.
But
I'll do better, I know
Baby,
I can do better.If
you leave me tonight, I'll wake up alone,
don't
tell me I will make it on my own,
don't
leave me tonight,
this
heart of stone will sing till it dies
if
you leave me tonight. And
don't you know my heart is open, oh,
it's
putting up the fight,
and
I've got this feeling,
that
everything's alright,
and
don't you see,
I'm
not the only one for you
but
you're the only one for me. If
you leave me tonight I'll wake up alone,(stay)If
you leave me tonight,
(close)
I'll wake up alone,
(don't)don't
tell me I will
(go)make
it on my own,
(stay)don't
leave me tonight,
(close)this
heart of stone
(don't)
will sing till it dies
(go)if
you leave me tonight.
Don't
leave me tonight
He took her face in his hands and kissed her. It felt natural to Jack, like two pieces of a puzzle finally finding each other's fit.
But Alex felt there was something missing, and she had to pull away. She pushed on his chest and when he looked at her with triumph and joy in his eyes, all she felt was anger.
She slapped him and ran out of the bar, no tears this time around.
