Title: The Sky Under The Sea by Pierce The Veil

I walk out and see Jack smiling, talking to Rian. Rian waves me over. I walk to them. "Good morning," I say. Jack hugs me. Rian stares at us. 

"Wait a fucking minute-" Rian gasps. "YOU TWO FUCKED."

"What? NO!" I shout and smack him. Rian groans. Jack just laughs and moves away. "Rian, you shut your stupid face."

"Wait, but you two are together now, right?" He asks blankly. "Alex-" I grab Jack's arm and drag him away. "ALEXANDER WILLIAM GASKARTH-"

Tay walks out and stares at Rian. "What's up with his face?"

"Jack and I are dating now," I say softly, holding Jack's hand. She gasps. 

"I KNEW IT," she shouts. "YOU TWO ARE IN L-"

"Maybe don't shout it for the school to hear. Alex is still under a lot of... Trouble," Jack says softly. Stepping slightly closer to me.

I nod. "Trace's main joke is me being gay. Imagine if he found out I was dating a guy- and if that guy was his old 'bud.' He would lose his fucking mind." Jack nods.

"And I can't let him try to hurt Alex even more," Jack says, wrapping his arm around my waist. 

Tay lets out a squeal. "You two are so cute."

Rian walks over, his eyes wide. "You two- are- you- I-" He facepalms. "What the fuck happened after we left?"

"We had some talking to-"

"And kissing," Tay winks. I groan and bury my face into Jack's shoulder. 

"Alright, stop bullying Alex. Let's get to school," Jack says, patting my back. He leans close to my ear. "I'll stop them from bullying you. Don't worry."

"My hero," I mumble, smiling. 

~~~

"You two are dating," Lisa says the second we walk over. Jack blinks in confusion. We weren't even standing close to each other. I look at him and he shrugs. She sighs and glances at me. "Alex, can we talk?"

I nod and she pulls me over behind a tree. 

"Do you trust him?" She asks. I give her a look. "Alex. Do you trust him not to hurt you again."

"Lisa, come on, I-"

"No, Alex. It's a simple question." She crosses her arms. "Do you, or do you not, trust Jack never to hurt you again? Whatever you say, I'll believe you."

I sigh. "I do."

"Even after he hurt you?"

"Yes." I press my lips together. "So, you've been pretending to accept him?" She nods slightly. "Oh. Yeah well, I thought it was odd how quickly you guys were talking and acting like he was just a new kid like Awsten," I mumble."

She shakes her head. "No, he's great- when you ignore what he did to you. I just- I watched you guys walk in and he kept looking at you," she sighs. "How did you change so quickly?"

"It isn't my secret to tell," I mumble. "I can see if he'd be willing to telling though."

She nods. "So... You and Jack huh?" She nudges my shoulder. "How'd it happen?"

"Well, we had a neighborhood meet. And Tay decided to play flirt. She made Jack flirt with me. And it freaked me out so I went to the kitchen. Then, he went to the kitchen and we talked- then we kissed. But we didn't talk about it until the next day where we admitted to liking each other."

She smiles. "That's kinda cute." She hooks her arm over my neck and leans against me. "I just want you to be happy- wait, did you two have sex-"

"NO," I shout. Jack turns and looks at us. I awkwardly laugh and wave. He raises an eyebrow but waves back, sending me a smile.

She looks between us. "Alright, good. Now let's go back and explain to the group about you two." 

We walk over and Lisa moves. Jack hugs me. "Everything okay?" He whispers before pulling away. I nod. 

"YOU TWO ARE SO CUTE," Awsten shouts, earning odd looks from people around us. Kellin nods. 

"Yeah, so Justin owes me ten dollars now," Kellin says and turns to Justin. He sighs and gives Kellin the money. 

"Wait, you guys had a bet?" I ask. 

"Yeah. Kellin was dead-sure you two would end up together this month. I thought next month," Justin grumbles. "You two just couldn't keep it in your pants, huh?"

Jack blinks. "Wait wha-"

"ANYWAY," Vic says. "Justin also owes me."

"Vic, you too?" I groan. Vic grins as Justin slaps the bill onto his hand. 

~~~

"I heard you and Mr. Harris fucked, but you pulled the whole 'it was rape' thing and got him arrested," Trace mumbles into my ear as I walk into history. Of course, Mr. Irwin isn't in the room. 

I ignore him and sit down. 

"Hey, you can't ignore me, you fag," he sneers and hits the desk. I gasp and flinch, my hand hits the table, making it sting. He fake frowns. "Aww, little fag get a boo-boo?" He coos mockingly. 

"Fuck off, Trace," a voice growls. I glance and see Jack standing over him. I must not have realized the bell ringing. 

Trace turns and laughs. "What, protecting your boyfriend?"

Jack raises an eyebrow. "Get your mind out of the gutter. I'm not dating Alex, and I sure as hell am not gay," he snaps.

I purse my lips. Even though I know he's lying- it still stings for some reason. Maybe he makes it sound like the truth.

Trace scoffs. "I haven't seen you with a girl other than this fag's friends," he grumbles. "And I know that one of them is gay and the other one is taken."

What? Lisa's dating someone? 

"Well, damn. Maybe I'm with someone outside of school. You don't know my life, Cyrus. And you sure as hell don't know Alex's. Now fuck off." Jack presses his finger against Trace's chest, glaring at him.

Trace laughs and walks away. "You're going to regret this, Barakat."

Jack rolls his eyes and looks at me, his expression changing. Now it's softer, with concern in his eyes rather than anger and annoyance. "Are you okay, Lex?" He whispers. 

I nod. "All thanks to you."

He sits down next to me. "What did he say before I got here?"

"He knows," I mumble. 

"What?"

"He knows," I repeat. Jack's eyes widen. I nod and sit with my back against the seat. "And I bet he'll tell the school."

"How? The only people that would know it me, your friends, your mom, principal Wentz, the authorities, and well, Mr. Harris."

I shrug. "I don't know."

He sighs and waits until Trace and his friends leave the room before giving me a quick hug. "Don't worry, he has no way of knowing for sure. He'll probably drop it."

"I hope." I bite my lower lip. "Thank you."

~~~

I walk to science and sit down. Trace and his friend smiles and walks over to me. "Hey, Gayscarf," Trace says. His friend smirks. "What was it like? I bet you loved getting fucked by Mr. Harris."

I shudder and look away. 

"Your silence tells me yes, Gayscarf."

Mrs. Wick raises an eyebrow as she walks over. She glances at us before shrugging and walks away. 

"No one's here to save you this time," Trace growls into my ear. "You are alone. Not even your boyfriend can help you now."

"Why do you do this?" I ask, trying to make my voice steady. 

He scoffs. "Fags like you deserve this." He moves away and sits at his usual table. I watch as Mrs. Wick walks over to me. 

"You need to stop getting yourself in trouble. You're starting to cause a ruckus," Mrs. Wick says. I give her a look. "I suggest you get yourself a girlfriend. Perhaps she'll help."

"Mrs. Wick, you can't exactly-"

She scoffs. "So it's true? You attract men?" She rolls her eyes. "Get out of this phase fast. Or else you might regret it."

My eyes widen as she leaves. 

Can she even say that? 

~~~

After English, I walk with Rian to the cafeteria. He walks over to buy lunch. I spot Lisa and Tay at the table. 

Instead of going over, I run out. I get to the bathroom and lock myself in a stall.

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

I hit my palm against my head and try to breathe. 

Shut up. 

Tears well up in my eyes. 

Why? Nothing really bad happened? 

I feel my throat closing up and a chill runs down my spine. Goosebumps appearing on my arms. 

"Trace, shut up. Someone might catch us," a voice says. 

"Oh don't worry about it, no one's gonna be in here," he says. "Do you want me to check?" 

"Nah, it's fine," the other person says. 

There's silence until the door swings open. "What the fuck- Trace?" 

I hear someone get slammed against the wall. "You're not going to say a word, Barakat." 

"Get off me, Cyrus. And, after what you've done to Alex, why wouldn't I tell? You know what happens if someone finds out." 

"If you don't tell, I won't tell the school about Mr. Harris," Trace blurts out. 

There's a pause. "Fine. Deal. Now get out of here," Jack sighs. I hear the door open and slam close. 

"Lex?" 

I unlock the door and collapse into his arms. He holds me and sighs. He gently rubs my back. "Are you okay? Did he know you were in here?"

I shake my head. "How did you know I was?"

"Just had a feeling." 

"I don't know. I just started freaking out and I couldn't stop... Is everyone worried?" 

He nods. "It's okay though. As long as you are. Is there any way I can help?" He runs his hand down my arm. "God, you're cold." He hugs me again. 

I shake my head. "Just my stupid brain, I guess." I press my face against his chest. "Thanks for being here."

He pecks the top of my head. "Of course. I guess you heard, Trace can't tell people about what happened." 

"Why was he worried?"

Jack shrugs. "I plan on keeping the promise." He leans close to my ear. "But I'll make an exception for you... He was making out with a guy."

My eyes widen and my jaw drops involentarily. "Holy shit-"

"Yeah," he nods. 

I smile and pull him down to kiss him.

"Alright, let's go out before Justin says we're doing... Well, each other," he says. I groan and roll my eyes. He lets out a laugh before pulling away and leading me out. 

~~~

Jack and I walk into free period. I've been slightly anxious about it all day, but suddenly it's real. We walk in and see a guy sitting at the desk.

I press my lips together. Jack leads me to our usual seats.

"Oh, hi- oh," the man says. He stares at me. I sink slowly into the seat. "You must be Alex. And... Jack?"

We nod. "And you are?" Jack speaks up.

"I'm Dal- I mean uh, Mr. Weekes," he says. He holds his hand out. Jack shakes his hand. "I'm so sorry," Mr. Weekes says, turning his attention to me.

I cringe slightly.

"Oh sorry, was that offensive? I don't know- I'm sorry- I won't mention it- I mean-"

"It's alright," I say in a soft voice. "Just don't tell students."

"I'm not allowed to. Oh gosh, it's obvious that I'm new to this, huh?" He lets out a nervous laugh.

"Hey, it's fine," Jack speaks up. "Don't worry too much. High school students are all bad. Just some of them."

He nods. "You're my last bell, so I've already met some of the rude ones."

The bell rings and he walks to the door, greeting the late students. He walks to the front of the room.

"Alright, this is weird, but something happened to Mr. Harris, so I'm here. My name is Mr. Weekes. I don't expect much. Just behave like you know you should, and we shouldn't have any problems. Any questions?"

One girl raises her hand. Mr. Weekes nods at her. "What happened to Mr. Harris?" She asks.

Mr. Weekes lets out a slight laugh. "Something in his personal life, he said he didn't want others knowing at this moment."

The girl nods. Mr. Weekes walks to his desk.

Jack's hand brushes over mine. He glances at me and smiles. I smile back and grip his hand slightly before moving it away.

"Okay, we need to work on history," Jack whispers. I nod and pull out the folder. I feel his hand rest on my knee, under the table so no one can see.

I glance at him. He smiles. He leans over. "Is this okay?" I nod quickly. "Are you sure?" He asks softly.

"Yes, don't worry," I mumble. He nods and gives my knee and gentle squeeze.

~~~

"Alright, Mr. Weekes is pretty cool," Tay says. Rian gives her a look. "Well, he allowed us to talk without whispering and let us leave the room."

"Really? He didn't give that to us." Rian crosses his arms. "Wait no, actually- he did. You just had to ask."

Jack nods and wraps his arms around me.

"You two have to stop being cute. You're making me miss Jenna even more," Tay grumbles. "Oh great, my house. Goodbye, my gays and R- wait a fucking minute," she glares at Rian. She raises an eyebrow. "Goodbye gays," she says before walking out.

Rian laughs nervously.

"What?" Jack says. I shrug.

"Nothing. Y'all already know I'm pan so," Rian laughs. "Alright, bye. Love ya," he says before walking to his front door.

We walk to my place. "Hi, mom!" I call.

She walks over. "Hey, Alex, Jack- I was getting the mail when I saw your mom. Are they back already?" She asks, turning to Jack.

He nods. "They still have work and stuff but... Yeah they're back- well, my mom is. My dad is back to a business trip."

She sighs. "That sucks. Well, I'll leave you two." She smiles before walking away.

Jack and I walk upstairs before he picks me up. "Hey, put me down!" I yelp. He laughs and walks into my room. He shuts the door before sitting me down on my desk.

He presses a kiss to my lips. I spread my legs slightly for him to stand between them. His left-hand rests on my leg.

I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him harder. I feel his tongue run over my bottom lip. His hand squeezes my thigh and I sigh against his lips.

He pulls away and whispers into my ear. "Is this okay?"

I nod and kiss him again. His right-hand grips my waist before snaking over to my back. He pulls me closer and moves, kissing my neck.

"How about that?" He mumbles. I nod again and he gently sucks on my neck. I let out a soft moan. My face immediately goes hot. He smiles against my skin.

"Don't be embarrassed," he says softly. "I was trying to do that." He pulls away and stares at me. "God, you're red," he says and cradles my cheek. "You're flustered."

"Jacky," I whine and press my face against his shoulder. "You suck," I groan.

"Do you want me to?" He asks. I groan again. He laughs and picks me up. He sits me down on the bed. He sits next to me.

I lay my head in his lap. "Are you comfy?" He asks, gently stroking my hair.

"Yeah," I mumble. He lets out a soft laugh. "We have homework."

"I don't wanna," he whines. I look up at him and smile. He pokes my nose and smiles back. "Fine," he sighs. I sit up and grab his back and hand it to him.

"Thanks," he says and pulls out a binder.

~~~

Once we finish, he looks at me. I put my stuff away. He walks over and wraps his arms around me. "Do you wanna go to the roof?" I ask, turning my head slightly.

"You still go there?"

I nod. We used to go there all the time. It was there all the deep talk usually happened. Either that or just cuddling, laying, looking at the stars

I open the window and we climb out. He follows and wraps his arms around me. "This is the first time we've been out here in like... Three years."

"I know," I mumble and bury my head into his neck. "I always loved being out here with you. But uh- someone else knows about it now."

He pulls away slightly, raising an eyebrow.

"Rian came over without telling me and saw me. He thought I was going to jump."

Jack sighs and pecks my forehead. "You weren't though... Right?" He whispers.

I shake my head. "I'm not suicidal anymore, Jack."

"Good," he says. "I already lost you once, I can't lose you again," he whispers.

"Same goes for you, Jacky." I kiss his cheek. He smiles and presses his lips against mine. He pulls me on top of his and tightly wraps his arms around me.

I press the side of my head to his chest, hearing his heartbeat.

He kisses the top of my head. "I always loved this. Being out here with you, I mean," he says softly.

"Me too, Jacky."

"I missed this so much," he sighs. I look up at him.

"So did I."

He laughs softly. "I'm sorry for what I did to you. I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know. And it's okay."

"It's not. I'm just lucky you're trying to accept it."

I let out a sigh. "Jacky, I'm serious. I'm over it. The part that hurt the most was having no explanation. I have that now. I hated it when you ignored me. But now you're not. Sure, I kind of hated you for a long time... But I like you so much more than that."

"Told you, I'm lucky."

I grin. "I guess you are," I say before kissing him again.