So Far Away

Standalone: 1/1.

I'm a million miles away from anywhere. Slide my hands across the sheet, pretend you're there, but missing you is a slow burn. Every time the earth turns I'm reminded that night is only half the time. Even when I'm hurting I know that this is worth it. Tell me it'll be alright, gotta give me something to get me through the nothing. One more night. Kiss me like the world is gonna disappear, I'm a better person when I have you here, I got you and I can get though anything as long as I can see your face. Right now you're so far away. So far away, so far away, so far away. So far away, so far away, so far away. -- So Far Away by Mary Lambert.

It had been years since the raven-and-blonde-haired boy had left. He had promised that, once his parents were out of the way, he would return to England, in the hopes of finding his lover again. Jack had promised that he would come back, and that he would stay. And now, Alex, after waiting for five years, had almost given up hope.

What they had was a summer romance. Both boys had been fifteen, and Jack, with his parents and siblings, had come to Essex from Baltimore, for the entire summer, staying in an apartment across the street from Alex and his parents. They had met on the mere second day of summer, and it didn't take long to fall in love from there. It was impossible, for Alex, not to fall for the tall boy. He was perfect, in the eyes of the British teenager, in every way possible; from his stupid pick-up lines, his hilarious and adorable personality, his goofy grin, and being gifted with kindness and sweet words, which he would mumble to Alex every night, as they fell asleep cuddled together. On his final day, after six long weeks, in England, Jack had held Alex's hand and kissed his cheek throughout the whole day, and, finally, when they were at the airport, the flight to Baltimore only ten minutes until departure, the pair had shared their final kiss of the summer, followed by Jack's promise of, "I'll be back, as soon as my parents accept that I love you. I promise, it won't be long."

Five years, and nothing had happened. Alex had waited, by day, by night, for Jack to come back. He had spent nights in his bed, which felt cold and empty, even if he only had a lover with him for six weeks, without Jack with him, simply lying awake on one side of his bed, as if it was originally meant for Jack to take up the other half. And, to Alex, it was. His parents had been concerned, telling him to move on, it had been years, after all, but the caramel-haired boy stubbornly rejected their words, reminding them for the millionth time that Jack promised. After the third year without the lanky figure, Alex had begun to doubt the promise, having to remind himself, then, that Jack did, indeed, promise. By now, Jack must have forgotten, but Alex held on to the sliver of hope that the boy was just attempting to help his parents accept him, and he would come back as soon as he could.

He had been told that it was false hope. That Alex just wished Jack would come back, rather than the promise being kept. But Alex blocked out any doubt that anyone had, and he held on to those words spoken at the airport.

His heart hurt. Every time he saw a couple, he would be reminded of how happy Jack had made him during the summer. With every passing day, he knew how in love he was, even if the time was short. His heart simply ached for Jack, but they had never exchanged any way of communication. Over the years, Alex had become so desperate to see his boyfriend that he would have been fine with buying a plane ticket and searching the whole of Baltimore for him; but his mother had said that the idea was insane, impossible, and he was denied the request entirely.

The reason that Alex missed Jack so much was because Alex was broken. He had been broken for a long time, and the summer that someone showed that he was able to be loved was the only summer he ever wanted to relive, again and again. But the happiness was taken with the flight that the brown-eyed boy had boarded. And the whole world had crashed after the first year without Jack, and it had crumbled with the second, burnt with the third, broke with the fourth and simply hurt with the only part of the fifth that had passed.

It was the second day of summer, midway through the fifth year. Alex's stomach was in knots at the pain of the day, because it was the day he met Jack five years ago. He did not want to be at home, the same home he had always had, his parents had moved out, where his room felt silent and cold without his lover there. Could he still call Jack his lover? For all the now-twenty-year-old knew, Jack had found someone else and married, completely forgotten the summer romance they had. Would he still call Jack his lover? Yes, Alex would.

The day was bright, the complete opposite of Alex's mood. The sun, for once in England, beat down on the earth, and people were happily outside. Alex was in the park where he and Jack had met, along the very path were they had greeted one another for the first time. People walked along the path, hand-in-hand, kids running and playing games with their friends and siblings, teens on the grass playing football, people walking dogs -- it was a normal day to them. Alex hung his head low, hands in his skinny jeans' pockets, his headphones loosely around his neck, as he walked along the path. The sound of the world around him filled his ears, and thoughts of Jack filled his mind.

A laugh sounded through the air. It was louder to the twenty-year-old than the rest of the noise. It cut short, followed by another sound, which he was unsure how he had heard. It was his name. The voice was familiar, yet slightly changed. That was all it took for Alex's head to shoot up, directly in front of him, up the path, and a gasp left his lips. Stood there was the one person that set his heart beating just that much faster. Jack was stood, taller than he had been five years previous, grinning at Alex. He had casual clothes, and his hair was spiked up. Alex felt his legs move, though they felt as if they could collapse at any moment, and he was running. He practically threw himself at Jack, hugging him tightly, as if he was going to evaporate into thin air at any second.

Tears threatening to spill from his eyes, he simply refused to release the taller. He nuzzled his face into Jack's black T-shirt, as the heavenly sound of Jack's laugh filled his ears, this time without cutting off so suddenly. Jack lifted Alex's chin from the fabric and pressed his still soft lips to the shorter's.

"I told you I would come back."