After the Orpheum ~ A JATP Fanfiction

Chapter 6 - Flash to the Past

Hey guys! This particular chapter shows what Alex dreams about after he goes back up to the loft in the previous chapter. Here he dreams about his life before he ate the tainted hotdogs and died.

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Alex's Point of View

I can still hear the rest of my friends talking on the ground floor of the garage. They are talking about Willie and it is just to painful for me to hear. I drag a bean bag chair over to the corner of the loft and I sit down in it . Although I tried to fight it, the urge to sleep overcame me and the voices downstairs started to fade away as I drifted off to sleep.

1994: The Garage

The band had just finished preforming their new song "Now or Never" and everybody was beginning to pack up and leave. I can see through the window that the sky that was once a bright blue drastically changed to a never-ending black abyss. I glance at the clock and I was shocked to see that it read 12:45 AM.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow." Bobby and Reggie yell as they walk out the door.

I haven't told anybody but I really did not want to go home. I can't go back to the place where my parents constantly yell at me about my sexuality. They have made it known that I was a major disappointment to them and that I should not be the way I am.

As I look up from my drum set, I notice Luke looking at me. His face looked curious.

"Are you going to go home?" He asked.

"I think so. But, is it ok if I wait a hour or two before I go? I just don't want my parents to be awake when I get home."

"Of course! You know I told you that you can stay here until things cool down at home right?" He says.

I don't answer his question. He tells me that almost every day, but I feel like I'm overstepping when I stay here. Luke grabs a stool and sets it in front of my drum set. He rests his arms on his legs and looks up at me.

"You know, my parents and I got in a fight this morning, so its probably not a good idea for me to go home either. I can just stay here with you if you want. We already converted the loft into a sleeping area anyway." Luke says.

"Ya. Sure. I mean it wont be more than a night I promise. I just cant go home right now." I say. Luke gives me a sympathetic look and then his glance quickly shifts to the floor as if to avoid too much eye contact.

He looks back up at me and hops off his stool. "Don't worry about it man. I'm going to go get a few blankets from the closet. Can you go lock the doors?" He says. "Oh yeah." I quickly reply. "I'll meet you up in the loft but I hope you know that I'm going to take the better bean bag chair!" I added. Luke laughs as I shut the two gigantic doors. As I head up to the loft I hear Luke close behind me. Once we were both standing in the loft, Luke hands me a blanket and we both sit down in our beanbag chairs. With the lights off I can barely see a thing. Then out of nowhere I hear Luke's voice pierce the silence. "Hey Alex" It takes me a couple of seconds to answer but once I finally reply with a "ya" Luke says "I want you to know that I'm always going to be here for you. If you need to talk, sit in silence or even cry. I'll always be here for you." I was taken back by his words. I didn't expect him to say that to me. His words came out of nowhere. "Thank you. It means a lot to me." I couldn't tell if he was looking at me or not, but I could hear him shift around in his chair. "I know that came out of nowhere but I feel like you have been holding back when we talk. You're acting like if you say something too personal, we would leave you, and I just wanted you to know that- that's not the case. it was not the case." Luke added.

I was always too scared to talk about my feelings to other people because I was scared that they would judge me or that they would just leave me alone. I think I feel this way because my parents and society constantly say that it is not "man like" to talk about how you're feeling. That has had a great impact on how I am today.

After a few minutes of silence, I can hear Luke start to snore and I give a light chuckle. He always complained that when he was younger, his dad snored really loud and now he does the exact same thing. But for some reason it is more soothing then annoying because I find myself drifting off to sleep with no problem.

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Hey everybody. Please let me know if you liked this chapter or not, and please be brutally honest. Anyway what are some of your favorite shows besides JATP. I personally like Greys Anatomy or Star Wars.