A. Gaskarth

"Why exactly are we just strolling through the town?" I ask Kellin, who's holding hands with Vic, making my heart wrench and feel heavy. Kellin doesn't answer me and continues walking. Suddenly Vic stops, and Kellin just stares at him. Vic turns and kisses Kellin slowly. For a split second, Kellin goes tense but immediately relaxes into the kiss. Vic pulls away. "This exact spot is the spot we first met, three years ago," he points to the street sign and the bookstore. "The day I realized what love is." 

Kellin smiles and continues walking. We keep walking for maybe ten minutes before they both stop. "Is this another really cute memory place-" I look up and see the arch. I know this arch. It's the entryway to our park. I start to move away but Kellin grabs my forearm. "I- I can't," I gulp. 

"We aren't here to force you to do anything, I just, I remembered something," Kellin says. He looks over at Vic. "Today, three years ago, you asked me out, after knowing me for two months," he grins. Vic gasps lightly and nods. Damn, these two remember everything. All Jack and I remember is our spot. 

Then I hear someone. I turn around. "What the fuck, Kellin?" I groan, wanting to move. Kellin grabs my arm and stops me. I sigh, "Kellin," I whine. He shakes his head. 

"Hi, Dallon- Jack." 

Jack sees us, his eyes widen, and immediately turns around. Dallon picks him up and carries him over. Jack just whines loudly and flails his arms. Jack's been taking karate for the last nine years, he could easily get away from Dallon. Does he want to torture me like this? Force me to talk to him? 

Dallon drops Jack on the ground gently and shakes hands with Vic like some business professional.  I roll my eyes and start fighting again Kellin. Kellin then puts both arms around me and drags me into the park. Everyone else right behind us. He sits me down on our bench. I sit there, feeling my heart racing. Dallon drags Jack over and sits him down. I scoot over, leaving an awkward empty space between us. Kellin, Vic, and Dallon start up a conversation about the summer, casually starting to walk away. 

"So... How are you?" Jack taps his fingers against his knee. Energy bubbles up in me, making me feel nervous. "Is everything fine?" 

"I'm-" I sigh, and take a deep breath, "No, I'm not okay. I miss you, and every time I walk into my room, I see the pictures we took together and I feel my heart break, piece, by piece, by piece, and I can't handle it."

"Alex-"

"Jack- I hate this. I hate that you can make me hurt so bad without saying anything. I hate that I miss you so much, and if feels like I can just barely touch you. I miss you so bad, but- I need you to have serious conversations with me. Not everything's a joke-"

"Alex, babe, I know you're hurting. I know you are. I'm hurting just a bad as you are, and I know that I-" he cradles my cheek, "I make jokes and I pretend nothing matters, but that's because I'm scared. I'm scared of being vulnerable. I'm scared that one day, you'll see just how sensitive I am, and you won't like what you see. That one day you'll think it's too much and will leave me," he wipes a tear away with his thumb. 

I lean into his hand. "Jack, after this, I'll never leave you," I gasp before he leans in slowly. Centimeters away from my lips, just ghosting them, he looks at me for permission. I lean in as an answer, pressing my lips to his softly. He kisses back, his tongue runs across my lip. I put my hands on his waist, and his hand holding my face. I feel him move his hand to the back on my head, his fingers tangling in my hair. I close my eyes, letting my heart do all the work. I missed this too much. With him, I'm a helpless romantic. I'm still that innocent boy that feels happy all the time. He makes me happy. So goddamn happy. 

"Can we go to your place?" I ask after we pull away. He nods and helps me up. Dallon, Vic, and Kellin all grin and walk away. We walk together down the street, behind the others. Dallon waves and turns into a neighborhood. Kellin and Vic walk a bit more before moving into their neighborhood. At this point, it's already ten, and the air goes cold. He looks at me. "Are you cold?" I nod and he takes off his leather jacket. I never knew we would be this cliche. He wraps the jacket around me. We walk into the house and I send my mom a quick text before walking up to his room. We both sit down on the bed. 

He slowly moves to give me more room. I swing my legs over and lay on the bed. He straddles my hips and leans down to kiss me. He pulls away and places gentle kisses on my neck. He sucks on my neck, where I can hide any marks, but it's a spot that makes me feel weak. I let out a soft moan and he smirks. He sucks on the spot more, making me let out another moan. Then he stops and rolls off me. 

He stands up and walks to the closet. We've been to each other's houses so many times that I have at least two sets of clothes here. He has clothes at my place too. He hands me a pair of sweatpants and a sweater. I laugh and put the sweater back. I change into the sweatpants and keep my current black shirt on. He puts his own pair of sweatpants on and takes his shirt off. After about ten minutes of getting ready, we lay on the bed. He puts his arm around my waist and holds me closer to him. I place a soft kiss on his lips before turning the light off.