This is for the lions living in the wiry broke down frames of my friends bodies

When the flood water comes, it ain't gonna be clear. It's gonna look like mud

Jack Wilder was the youngest out of his friends, but he made up for that by being as fast, smart and talented as he could be. Merritt, the eldest out of all of them. He was an expert mentalist. Lula and Henley, were both good at what they did. Danny was brilliant at being an asshole, but even better at drawing you in to what he was doing. Jack was good at several things. He was good at fighting, good at impersonations, and amazing with cards. And then Dylan came into the dynamic, it worked though. He was like the father Jack never had.

It didn't take long for all of them to get recognition for their talents, and to become one of the best magic groups in the world. It also didn't take long for things to fall apart. Within the time they got accepted into the eye, and the time they began to take down that Tech company, Henley left, and the dynamic among them changed. Danny no longer pointlessly flirted with her and tried to irritate her, and Lula finally stopped trying to get Jack to notice her.

Danny and Jack got closer over time. Jack stopped idolizing Danny, and Danny became more of an asshole to him. But no matter what the group went through, Jack stood close to them all. They were the family he never had as a child. Jack was protective of them, he would do anything it took to keep them safe.

But I will help you swim

I will help you swim

I'm gonna help you swim

No matter how mad Danny made Jack, he stood by the older man. He did what was asked and never complained. No matter how much it hurt, how tired he was, or what it took, he got it done. He was loyal to his friends, to his family. It hurt when Henley left, she was an older sister figure to him.

This is for the snakes and the people they bite

For the friends I've made; for the sleepless nights

After she left, things changed. The group wasn't as close. Jack didn't have that older sister to turn to anymore. So he bottled things up more and more. His insomnia hit him with full force, he slept less and less each night until he eventually stopped sleeping. He took sleeping pills he bought off a guy, in hopes that he'd sleep. It worked in the beginning, and then it didn't.

For the warning signs I've completely ignored

There's an amount to take, reasons to take more

Jack began popping pills trying to sleep. He was just in the beginning of it, when Danny just pushed him over the edge. Jack was sensitive despite trying to play it off that he was tough and didn't care. At the end of the day, he was an emotional person, underneath all the walls he had built around himself. It was lonely there.

It's no big surprise you turned out this way

When they close their eyes and prayed you would change

When the fame and power went to Danny's head, Jack wasn't surprised. He had seen it coming. Danny had lead him on, made him think he wanted Jack, slept with him, and then carried on. Jack fell for it every time. Danny would sweeten him up, sleep with him and then carry on. Jack had thought they had something, but all Danny did was use Jack, and Jack let him. He had hoped that maybe one night, when Danny was falling asleep, maybe he'd mumble, "I love you." softly, almost as if he didn't want Jack to hear it. But it never once happened.

And they cut your hair, and sent you away

You stopped by my house the night you escaped

Danny and the crew got separated in order to hide better. After taking down Tressler, the FBI and interpol were after them. So they were all separated. Danny went with Lula, and Jack went with Merritt. It was hard on Jack. He got along with Merritt, and Merritt taught him a lot, but he wasn't the magician he wanted to fall asleep next to at night. He was a great guy, but he wasn't Danny.

With tears in my eyes, I begged you to stay

You said, "Hey man, I love you but no fucking way"

It was six months after Tressler's downfall that the horsemen were all reunited. Jack was different. He was thin, he looked sickly but kept his warm persona up. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that the kid wasn't okay. But Danny, being Danny, didn't care. So when Jack tried to see where they stood, Danny didn't want to. He said that what happened between them was in the past, and there was no "us" or "them", and that Jack needed to move on.

I'm sure that we could find something for you to do on stage

Maybe shake a tambourine or when I sing, you sing harmonies

Jack began to question his place within the group. He was full of doubt, and anxiety. Was he as good as he thought he was? Was he replaceable? He was a stage hand, he wasn't as respected as he thought he was. Once Lula stopped flirting with him, she wrote him off. Merritt was one of the few that still would sit down with Jack and see how things were going. They'd have a drink, shoot some pool and talk until late in the morning. Merritt became his best friend. They talked all the time, and he knew that Jack was hurting- even if he wouldn't admit it. He saw the darkness and pain in his friend's eyes, and knew it was only a matter of time before he had a melt down.

This is for the lake that me and my friends swim in, naked and dumb on a drunken night

And it should've felt good but I can hear the Jaws theme song on repeat in the back of my mind

Jack tried to be happy the whole time he was with the group, as they plotted their next show. He tried to suppress the thoughts, and the negativity he felt. But he knew, that a lot of people hated him- especially since he faked his death. His mother- who had been living until this last year, thought her son had died in a horrible car accident. His mom wasn't a great mom, and she barely was there for him, but she gave him life. When he found out she had died, he had really felt like he was at a new low.

Make sure you kiss your knuckles before you punch me in the face

There are lessons to be learned, consequences for all the stupid things I say

It was really no surprise to Jack that one day, Danny just pushed him too far, and Jack bit back. Danny had cut him to the bone, and Jack snapped back. No one had ever really said something so cold, and so mean to Danny, and meant it. Jack was done, so when Dany punched him in the face, Jack was expecting it. So he took the blow, and punched Danny in the jaw, before walking away. Merritt found him sitting on a rooftop a few buildings over, at the edge. He talked the younger man down, but he knew that Jack would be up there sometime again, the young kid was hurting worse than he imagined.

And it is no big surprise you turned out this way

The spark in your eyes, The look on your face

I will not be late

Jack's experience with sleeping pills was all but forgotten. He kept taking them, he took them in high doses, trying to sleep away his pain. It was only a matter of time before he turned to anxiety pills. Xanax left him spaced out most of the time. Merritt was beyond worried, he didn't know how to help Jack. He couldn't exactly take the younger man to a rehab, they were wanted criminals.

I'm sure we could find something for you to do on stage

Maybe shake a tambourine or when I sing you sing harmonies

Danny was still pissed, and with that, he pretty much decided that Jack had to stay in the shadows once again, and was not to be on stage. Instead, Dylan took Jack's place beside Danny, and he was left in the shadows. Jack was struggling more and more to find his place. He thought he once belonged in the Horsemen, but now he wasn't so sure.

I wanna contribute to the chaos

I don't wanna watch and then complain

He wanted to be valued again, to be important to the group. So he did everything he could, in order to contribute. He asked the eye for tasks, for jobs, for anything that needed to be done. The others didn't know that Jack was working twice as hard as they were, and working to regain his spot on stage. It was beyond difficult, but he got clean. The Eye saw that he needed help- he even admitted to them that he needed help, and they got him help.

'Cause I am through finding blame

That is the decision that I have made

Jack got clean, and got his life together, as much as he could at least. He still felt things for Danny, and didn't know if that would ever go away, but he was clean. No matter how much it hurt, he took accountability. He didn't have to sleep with Danny, he didn't have to fall in love with him, and he didn't have to blame it all on Danny. He knew what he was getting into. Friends with Benefits never ended well for anyone.

She hopes I'm cursed forever to

Sleep on a twin-sized mattress

In somebody's attic or basement my whole life

Never graduating up in size to add another

And my nightmares will have nightmares every night

Oh, every night. Every night

The others never came back around, but Merritt and Jack remained close. The two would get drinks, remember the old days and play pool all night long. Dylan, saw what happened between Danny and Jack, and knew that it couldn't be fixed. No matter how much Jack had worked, what he did, or how hard he went to make sure things went as planned, Danny never forgave him. Lula stayed neutral and didn't want to take a side, but if she did take a side, it would've been Danny's.

Merritt taught Danny everything he could about Mentalism, and made him the best he could be. It warmed his heart to have a prodigy and someone who saw what he did as an art, and respected it.

It was after the third show- the third big reveal that they did (the first two being related to the Tressler's), that Jack decided to walk away. The eye gave him an out, and he took it. Never once did he think he would have walked away, but he needed to. The eye still used him, he remained in the shadows, but that was where his new friends lived. He slept on a twin-sized mattress in a basement in some random country, where he managed a small group of magicians, and helped them pull heists. His group respected him as a leader, and as the caregiver. They came to him when they needed help, needed a friend, or needed a good laugh.

Things hadn't had gone how Jack once planned, that plan had been ripped up, burned and the ashes spread across a stage. This life, the newest one left Jack Happier.