LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 67

Both Ralph and Jeffery tightened their lips in an effort to delay the inevitable realization; that Jack would be branded a flight risk until continuously proven otherwise.

"Oh" Jack flatly spoke into the awkward silence as it hit him. "You thought I left left."

Still, neither Ralph nor Jeffery said anything.

"I shoulda told you, sorry I didn't" Jack spoke again in hopes of breaking one of them from silence. He kept his eyes intently on Ralph. "I didn't think about... well, y'know."

"S'okay" Ralph sincerely assured him. "We weren't mad, just worried. Why are you trying to workout right now anyway? With your injuries and all..."

"It's not like I was trying to beat Linford Christie's top time. I was just trying to see what I could do. I'm gonna get out of shape if I don't train even just a little bit over the next five weeks" Jack informed them both.

"Okay Jack, that's fine. As long as you aren't pushing yourself too hard with the leg injury, that isn't a problem. But while you might be allowed to just come and go as you please in your father's house, you need to tell us where you're going and when while you're staying here? Alright? Is that a fair ask?" Jeffery chimed in to solidify.

"Yeah, alright" Jack nodded in agreement. "I'm real sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you guys."

"I'm just glad you're alright" Ralph proclaimed as he latched onto Jack's good arm for comfort. Jack smiled at him before pulling his arm away to wrap it around Ralph's shoulder, squeezing him gently.

"You're all up early" Laurie piped up suddenly from where she just appeared in the entrance of the hallway. All three of the guys looked at her in silence, then back at each other as they wordlessly decided against involving her in what she just missed.

Ralph stood in front of his bathroom mirror several hours later, nervously staring and nitpicking at his every perceived imperfection. His white t-shirt was wrinkled in a few spots, the thin-striped plaid blazer he wore atop it seemed to fit differently on his left side than it did his right. His matching thin-striped plaid pants were riding up. There were two hairs in his short bangs that wouldn't stay in place. He had a small red blemish beside his chin that he couldn't look away from. He didn't know exactly who he was dressing up for, but whoever or whatever it was, he wasn't doing them justice.

"You look great" Jack said as he appeared seemingly from nowhere beside Ralph.

Ralph met his eyes in the mirror for a split moment before turning his head to look at him directly. He studied Jack's disastrous appearance; his hair disheveled like he just got out of bed, his gym shorts wrinkled and sweaty, the sleeve of his white muscle shirt hanging off his left shoulder. But of course, he somehow looked better to Ralph than Ralph did to himself right now.

"You're biased" Ralph flatly declared, holding Jack's gaze for a second before glancing back at himself in the mirror.

"I am biased" Jack shamelessly agreed, "and maybe that's exactly why you should listen to me."

"That makes no sense" Ralph countered. "Bias is a distortion in judgment, not an accuracy."

"Actually it makes perfect sense. Because the people who are biased towards you are the ones whose opinions about you actually matter" Jack said simply. He gently grabbed Ralph's arm to turn him toward him a little before reaching up to fix the straying hairs on the brunette boy's forehead.

"Did you read that in some girly magazine?" Ralph asked with a knowing smile as Jack continued to comb through his hair with his fingers.

"No" Jack tilted his head to study his work as Ralph's amateur stylist. "A t-shirt at Walmart" he added after a beat. Slight smiles crept up on both their faces at once just before they burst into a fit of simultaneous laughter.

If Jack's borderline soiled clothing was rubbing off on Ralph's pristine formal attire as they sat together on the couch, the younger didn't seem to care. He was perfectly content with his arm around Jack's shoulder, the older boy's head resting comfortably in the crook of his neck. Ralph gently rubbed Jack's back as they watched another mindless episode of the Alvin and the Chimpunks cartoon.

"Almost ready, Ralph?" Jeffery asked as he entered from the hallway, dressed in a formal black suit atop a white button up shirt and a black tie. He looked ready for a wedding, a funeral, or perhaps both.

"Mhm hm" Ralph answered without thought, his eyes intently focused on the TV in front of him. Neither him nor Jack acknowledged Jeffery's presence otherwise.

It didn't feel like long before Jeffery turned off the TV, earning the attention of both boys on the couch as he set the remote back down on the side table.

"Time to go, kiddo" the man spoke as the kids took in his fancy attire and the car keys in his hand.

Jack sat up and off Ralph so that the boy could get up. But Ralph stayed where he was, turning his head to lock eyes with Jack.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Ralph asked softly.

"Course I am" Jack waved a dismissive hand at him. "I'm the one who should be asking you."

"I wouldn't be going if I wasn't" Ralph assured him in a quiet voice. "That's why I'm asking you."

"You don't have to worry about me, alright? Your mom and I will be here, and still perfectly fine, when you get back" Jack assured him with certainty.

"I wish I didn't have to leave you today" Ralph took the blond boy's good hand in his as he said sadly.

"But you do" Jack reminded him. "So go. You shouldn't be late."

Ralph reluctantly stood up, maintaining his grip on Jack's hand until gravity forced him to let go.

"Just say the word and I won't" Ralph suddenly decided as their hands fell back by their own sides.

"What?" Jack replied in surprise.

"It's not just the day of the ceremony, it's the two year anniversary. Two years ago, we were just two friends on a plane playing a stupid game of chess we didn't know we'd never get to finish. And then you were wrapping my arm in a sling on a lifeboat. We had plans, we were training cadets. And then we didn't, and we weren't. It's a big deal, today, even if you don't want to admit it. But if there's any part of you that thinks we should be together tonight, I won't go. Because being here for you is more important than attending a commemoration" Ralph surprised both his father and Jack in his sudden, unplanned declaration.

Jack, slowly on account of his injury, stood to his feet and took Ralph's hand in his good one, smiling admirably at the boy's pure and selfless nature.

"You know I'd never pass up a chance to be here with you, but I still think you should go" Jack admitted, much to Ralph's surprise. "This is clearly important to you. If it wasn't, you never would've decided to go in the first place. So go, and I'll still be here when you come back. I promise."

And with that, a heavy heart, and after a long embrace with Jack, Ralph finally slipped into his dress shoes and walked out the front door. He climbed into his father's truck and prayed that this was the right choice. Jeffery pulled out of the driveway and down the street, and Ralph didn't take his eyes off the house until it was out of sight.