Title: Bail Me out by All Time Low ft. Joel Madden

I wake up and gasp. I look around and find myself in my room. How did I-

"Oh, you're awake."

My heart drops as I look over. I stare at Jack in dismay. "So you were one of the guys who-"

"No, I'm just the guy that found you," he says and walks closer to me. I move away but he stops me. He presses a pack of ice against my head. 

"Why are you- what- where's my mom?"

"First of all, I found you and brought you back here. Second of all, your mom went out on a business trip. She'll be back tomorrow." He pulls out a yellow post-it note and hands it to me.

Hey Alex, I have to go on a little business trip. But I promise I'll be back tomorrow. I love you. ~Mom. 

I stare at Jack. "Why'd you help me?"

He sighs. "Well uh- I'm not sure you really want to know-"

"For fuck's sake, Jack. Just tell me."

"Well... They beat you up, it looks like they tried to choke you to death. Then they blindfolded you and uh... Stripped you to your underwear."

I feel my entire body heat up. "What."

He nods slowly. "I couldn't leave you out there," he mumbles. "I also didn't want other people to see."

I struggle to breathe as I sit up and pull away from him completely. "Jack- get out."

"Alex, I can't leave you right now. Do you want me to call Rian or Lisa?"

I take a shallow breath. "N-no."

"Then let me help you," he says and pulls me over to him. He presses the ice against my head. "I get it. You're probably embarrassed. You probably wish they killed you. But you can't do that. Do you know who did this to you?"

"One of your friends, probably," I grumble.

Jack sighs. "Okay... Do you remember anything? Eye color? Accent?"

I shake my head. "It's blurry now."

Jack nods and lays me down. "Just rest, okay?" He moves the ice to the back of my head and stands up. "I'm going to find out who I have to kill."

"Wait what- stop, Jack," I sit up and immediately regret it. A wave of nausea washes over me. He sighs and forces me to lay down again. 

He carefully moves hair out of my face. "Um... Do you need anything?"

"We should talk."

"I thought we were."

I roll my eyes. "You know what I mean."

"I think you need to take it easy. You didn't get too beaten up. But it's enough to keep you down for a few days. Unless you plan on skipping school tomorrow."

I shake my head quickly. "I can't do that."

"That's what I thought. Alex Gaskarth needs to be perfect at all times," he says. I give him a look. "What? You're always in class on time. You never get a bad grade. And all the teachers love you... Some of them too much."

"Mrs. Wick hates me," I point out.

"She hates everyone except for Trace and his friends- including me. It doesn't make any sense. She hates Lisa for some reason, and Lisa never even looked at Mrs. Wick the wrong way."

I press my lips together. "I think Mr. Harris likes me a lot. It's kind of weird."

Jack's face pales. "He's a creep. He shouldn't be looming over your shoulder and needs to back the hell away."

"Wow, you sound jealous."

His eyes widen. "What- no I don't."

I smile slightly. "You kind of do."

"Whatever." He rolls his eyes. "I'm just saying he should be fired." I nod in agreement. 

"Jack... Should I hate you?" I ask softly. 

He gives me a look. "Yeah. You should. Why?"

"I don't know. I'm starting to hate you less... and I guess I just wonder why you did that to me."

He sighs. "Do you want to know why I left you like that?" I nod. "I was going to kill myself."

My heart stops. "You-"

"You know how Joe passed and May left. Then my parents stopped talking to me. You were the only one who was with me. And I was convinced that you deserve better so I said goodbye and was about to die when my parents decide to come back. I ended up backing out last minute, but... I put you through that already and I didn't have the guts to do anything about it so... I stayed away."

"Jack you could have just talked to me. I-"

"You couldn't have helped me. Somehow, Trace ended up dragging me into his mess, and here we are now." 

"I would have tried to help you, Jack," I slowly reach for his hand. I place mine over his, and he looks at me. "As much as I hated you... You don't deserve the feeling that you need to hurt yourself."

He shrugs. "It just happens, I guess. But either way, I don't think we could ever be friends, and I doubt your friends would approve of us talking. Those people... They're good people. Don't lose them because of me."

I shake my head. "I won't. Because they'd accept you too if you let them."

I move slightly and pat the space next to me. He sits down. "Alex-"

"I can't promise I can get over what you did. But I can promise I'll stop hating you for it. Now lay down lie we used to before."

"You weren't beat up though-"

"I'm up for new traditions."

He shakes his head. "Please don't get beaten up again. I was scared you might die or something."

"How would I die?"

"You're super small. You could just like... Snap in half."

I frown. "That's not even possible, and I'm only like two inches shorter than you."

"Still smaller than me," he says and finally lays down. I look at him. "Alex, are you sure? You have every right to hate me and every breath I take. If you-"

"I know. But I also don't care," I let out a long sigh. "You're hurting, and we used to be best friends. Therefore, I care and I don't give two shits about whether or not I should be angry with you."

He laughs. "You're a good person Alex."

"I know."