Damned If I Do Ya [An All Time Low Fanfic]

Chapter Thirty Two

Jack's POV

"She's going to have to come out eventually." Zack muttered, as he padded barefoot past my bedroom. He prodded at my  leg with his foot and I kicked it away from me, making him laugh softly. 

"Go away." I  moaned and turned my head to the side and rested it on my already crossed arms. 

 The house was empty, the only noise being the soft buzz of the TV in the living room. Leaning my ear once again against the bedroom door, I could only hear dead silence. 

"She must have fallen asleep." Zack mumbled. I bit the inside of his cheek and rolled onto my back, staring at the high ceiling. I turned my head to Zack, "Is Alex back yet?" 

"Nope, meeting with the crew. Why?" 

"Is it about Matt?" I asked quietly, standing up and brushing off dust that had stuck to my dark jeans. 

"Yep." Zack said, quickly looking down at his feet before lazily walking down the stairs. I  knocked at the bedroom door once more and rested my forehead against it before deciding to leave her sleep. As I walked down the hall I  heard a soft click, signalling an opening door. 

"Jack?"  A weak voice called down the hall. My head snapped to the slightly creaked open door and the small figure standing there, tightly gripping the door handle.

"Yeah?" I replied, hurrying down the hallway. 

"Why were you guys talking about Matt?" she asked, not looking at me. Her cheeks were ashen and drained of colour. Her eyes looked puffy and she wore old ill-fitting clothes. 

"You heard that? I thought you were asleep?" I frowned, grabbing the door with my hand. 

She shook her head and hair fell from her bun. 

"Can I come in?" I asked politely, sliding my hand down to the doorknob. 

She nodded quickly and reclaimed her position on the bed. A box of tissues, her phone and a stack of paper sat beside her. She hastily covered them with a large pillow, when she saw me look. I closed the door behind me and cocked my head to the side but shook my head. 

"I'm sorry." I blurted out. 

"You didn't answer my question." She said bluntly, sitting on her hands.

"Matt?" I asked, "Good news, he's fired. And, the police are looking for him." I smiled weakly. The corner of her mouth lifted up and fell back down. 

She locked eyes with me and reached underneath the pillow, produced a booklet and threw it so it landed on my lap. I picked it up and glanced at the cover. The college that had accepted her, UCLA.  I looked up from the brightly coloured cover to find her staring at me, sadly. I flicked through the pages quickly and stopped at a dog-eared page. Journalism.  I scanned through the page, feeling a large smile spread across my face. I had read a few of Holly's High School English papers and they were amazing. I closed the booklet and looked up to find her frowning once again.

"Why are you sad? This is amazing!" I shouted and closed the space between us in a tight hug. I felt her laugh beneath my arms. 

"I was afraid you were going to freak." She said, her bottom lip pouting out. 

I raised my eyebrows in disapproval and she giggled again.

"So you're not mad at me anymore about, you know-?"  I asked, sitting upright. 

"Make it up to me and you're good." She joked.

"Okay. Come on Warped Tour with us."

"Jack, I was joking, you don't have to."

"But I want to."  

"What about everyone else?"

"They don't care, and if they do, well-" I said and curled my hands into fists and held them up to my face. 

"Jack," she grinned, grabbing my wrist, "You couldn't hurt a fly."

"So could." 

"Whatever you say sweetie." She laughed.

"So is that a yes?" I quizzed her. 

She rolled her eyes and smiled, "Yeah, okay I guess so." 

She squealed and screamed as I ran downstairs to the kitchen, with her slung over my shoulder, slapping my back. 

As if on queue, Alex slammed through the front door, carrying a bag of food. I set Holly down on the counter and snatched the groceries from Alex's hand.

"What the fuck?" Alex asked confused, following an excited Jack into the kitchen, "Oh Holly, you're out!" Alex acknowledged with a smile.

"Jack, what are you doing?" They both asked me, with a puzzled look. 

I rolled my eyes and tutted at them, "You can't have a celebration without a cake! Now, how do you make cake?" I asked, staring at Holly. She slid off the counter and searched the cupboards.

"I think we have enough." She said, hands on her hips, staring at the ingredients on the table.

"Wait, why are we having cake?" Alex asked, playing with his phone.

"It's the Warped cake duh!" I sighed. 

"Holly's coming on Warped?" Alex asked, looking up from his game.

"Well, Jack asked. If it's okay with you, I'd-" Holly stuttered, leaning towards me.

"Now we have a girl on the bus!" Alex said excitedly and stood up and hugged Holly and I.

"Guys! Come on. There's cake waiting to be made!" I said impatiently, rubbing my stomach and frowning.