Are You Having A Good Time, Sweetheart?

Chapter Thirteen: Stay Awake

Jack looked up from the game at Alex with a little smile, "how was your bath?" He asked.
Alex shrugged, "way too hot, but it felt good." He answered quietly. He looked up at the TV, trying to avoid conversation about himself. It dawned on him that Jack had told him earlier today that he was proud of the fact that he hadn't sliced his skin open today. Guess Jack wasn't going to be proud anymore. "How's your game?" He deflected, acting calm and cool.
Jack looked at the TV, "The same as every other Call of Duty game. It's alright, but I'm glad you're back. You wanna play anything?" 
Alex shook his head but moved over to his desk and sat down in the gaming chair, "Maybe Undertale." He gestured to his iMac on his desk. Jack looked at it, barely even noticing it before. "Undertale is fun, I've only ever seen gameplay videos but it looks funny." He looked around the room again and noticed Alex's Macbook Pro next to his keyboard, with a pair of pretty decent, pro looking headphones. It seemed there was a lot in Alex's room that he'd never even noticed before. He'd ask about everything later.
"Do you record songs on your mac?" He asked, looking at the setup.

Alex looked over and nodded, "Yeah I do, sometimes." He blushed again. Great. More songs.
Jack smiled, "I liked your song last night. Any more you want to show me?" He looked pretty hopeful. Alex's song really did make his heart swell. 
Alex smiled a little at the hopeful look on Jack's face. "They're all pretty dark. I guess I've got a couple that aren't so bad." He shrugged. "Let me guess, you wanna hear one?" He asked.
Jack nodded, "Of course I do." He turned off the Playstation, but this time instead of settling on the end of Alex's bed, he got closer to him, "Which seat is mine?" He asked.

Alex smirked a tiny bit and got up from his gaming chair, "That one." He pointed at it, watching Jack sit down in it. From there, Alex grabbed the stool he'd sat on when he'd played the keyboard for Jack just the night before. This time though, he picked up his acoustic. He put the strap over his shoulder, adjusted the guitar on his leg so it was comfortable, grabbed his pick from the little box behind him that sat next to his Macbook. He put the pick in between his lips, then stared down at the tuners. He was good at tuning by ear, so that's exactly what he did. Jack watched, pretty amazed at how handsome and beautiful this boy was. The guitar in his lap was a pretty sexy look on him, the pick between his lips. Jack probably could've lost his mind there if he wanted to. He shook his thoughts away from that. It was funny to him how this boy at one moment could be on the verge of a complete breakdown, to smiling and playing his guitar. Of course, Jack hadn't realized the release that Alex had given himself in the bathroom, but did it matter much either? Of course it did, but Jack wasn't Alex's therapist. Jack couldn't force him to do things that would make him feel worse. So for now, he just watched.

Alex finished tuning his guitar to the key he needed and grabbed the pick out of his mouth. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and just did it.

"Caught in a cold sweat stuck splitting hairs
I'm drinking too much
I'm on my way to striking out

Go to sleep with the pressure of everyone
watching, waiting, they're yours for the taking
But I still have my doubts

Before you ask which way to go
Remember where you've been

Stay awake, get a grip and get out
You're safe from the weight of the world
Just take a second to set things straight

I'll be fine even though I'm not always right
I can count on the sun to shine
Dedication takes a lifetime
But dreams only last for a night

Figure it out boy, you're trippin'
So pull yourself together
Or you'll wash up like the rest

This ship is sinking, I'm thinking I'm done for
I watch as the sails disappear underwater
'Cause I'm no captain yet

I said "before you ask which way to go
remember where you've been"

Stay awake, get a grip and get out
You're safe from the weight of the world
Just take a second to set things straight

I'll be fine, even though I'm not always right
I can count on the sun to shine
Dedication takes a lifetime
But dreams only last for a night

Believe you me, I'll give them everything
I'd tell them anything to show them everything
Believe you me, I'll give them everything
I'd tell them anything to tell them to show them everything

'Cause you ain't the only ones who wanna live it up
You ain't the only ones
You ain't the only ones who wanna live it up
You ain't the only ones
You ain't the only ones who wanna live it up
You ain't the only ones
You ain't the only ones who wanna live it up
You ain't the only ones