Hearts On Fire (Jalex fanfic)

1. My Ship Went Down

"You've got to be joking," I said staring at my parents evenly in the eye. "It's not true it can't be!"

My mother smiled softly and pulled me into a hug that I easily escaped from. I shoved my hands into the pocket of my hoodie and I stared at my parents as if they were trying to play a prank on me. I waited for them to tell me that it wasn't true but they continued to stare at me with pity in their eyes.

"I'm so sorry Alex," my mother whispered. "I know how much you loved you're grandfather but its true, he passed away last night."

"No," I protested the thought. "Grandpa will be sitting in his chair the moment I get to his house!"

My parents looked like they wanted to say more but I shoved past them while grabbing the keys to my fathers Camaro. I slipped into the car and quickly reversed out of the driveway and drove myself down the familiar streets towards my grandfathers house. It took all of my strength to keep my hands from shaking on the wheel and it was so hard for me to concentrate on the winding road before me. The only way I was holding it together was the fact that I kept telling myself over and over again that he would be sitting in his chair waiting for me to turn up and spend all morning with him. My hopes were high as I drive up the dirt driveway and my heart was pounding in my chest as I pulled the car to a stop. My hopes slowly disappeared as I climbed out of the car and I could feel my heart breaking because he wasn't sitting in his chair, in fact the chair was gone.

I sprinted around the house while banging my palms against every window and door I could find. But all my efforts were useless. My best friend was gone. I screamed out in frustration as I walked back to my fathers Camaro. I had my hand on handle on the door and I was ready to get back inside the car when I realized that I didn't want to go home. I dropped my hand from the handle and I walked back to the huge oak tree at the back of my grandfathers home. I slumped back against the tree and slid back onto the ground as tears of anger and depression threatened to invade my face at any moment.

Droplets of rain began to drip down from the overcast sky but it didn't encourage me to leave. Instead I pulled my hood over my head and closed my eyes while trying to remember a better time and place but it was so hard when your body felt as if it was spiralling out of control. The man who had taught me so many things had now past on and left me behind. I felt incomplete without him and I couldn't help but punch the ground below me.

A crack of thunder echoed around the sky and I found myself remembering a better time and place.

It was storming outside and I was sitting on the floor looking up at my grandfather with a smile on my face. He was strumming his old acoustic guitar and singing quietly to himself. Being the curious kid I was, I stood up and sat beside him on the couch.

"What song are you playing? I've never heard it before," I said.

"That's because I wrote it Alex," my grandfather replied.

"It's really good," I stated.

My grandfather laughed. "I'm glad that you like it. Would you like to sing with me?"

I nodded my head eagerly as my grandfather handed me a piece of paper with the lyrics written on it. I had listened to my grandfather playing this song all night so I knew how it went.

"He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes
Started making his way past two in the morning
He hasn't been sober for days," I began to sing.

My grandfather smiled in encouragement and I continued to sing. As soon as the song concluded my grandfather handed me his guitar and reached for a book that was beside the couch.

"We can make you a star yet Alex," my grandfather said. "Every time you come over here I'll give you guitar lessons and teach you how to play. Would you like that?"

"Of course I do! I want to learn to play," I replied.

My grandfather laughed again and jumped right into a lesson.

The memory was slowly fading and I tried to grab onto it so it wouldn't leave but it slipped through my grasp and brought me back to this crappy reality.

In the distance I could hear my mother's voice calling me but I ignored it. All I wanted at the moment was to be left alone so that I could mourn in peace, but of course my wish didn't come true. My mother stood in front of me with her hands on her hips.

"Alex, c'mon we've gotta get home before this storm hits," my mother snapped.

I kept my eyes closed and ignored her pretending to be asleep under the oak tree.

"Alex I know that you are hurting but so am I, your grandpa died but my father also did," she continued. "I know that he wouldn't want us to be mourning his death right now, he wasn't the type of person who wanted us to be crying right now."

"I'm not crying," I snapped but my voice broke.

I opened my eyes and touched my cheek to feel that it was slick with tears. I sighed heavily and looked up into my mother's brown eyes and I saw the pity they held. I sighed again as I stood up and dusted the dirt and bark from my behind.

"C'mon Alex that storm looks bad and I want us to get home before it hits," my mother whispered.

I followed her down the driveway and towards her SUV, I climbed into the passenger seat and leaned my head against the cool glass as my mother took me back home and away from a better place that held a better time.

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A/N: Hey Jalex and All Time Low fans I've decided to write a Jalex fan fic and this is going to be the first time I writing something like this (two guys being together). Enjoy!

Tash