Memories Work Like Magic

chapter twenty-seven.

"Honestly, I don't even think he knows what he got himself into," Rian started.

"Jack?"

"Who else would I be talking about, Zack?" Rian rolled his eyes. Zack nodded and hummed a quick "hm" as a response, leaving the two of them silently staring at the TV in front of them once again. They'd been watching terrible sitcoms at an incredibly low volume all morning, both tired and bored out of their minds. They laid on Rian's couch, legs slightly intertwined, and Zack was idly playing with his curly hair.

"Whatcha thinkin' about Zack-o?" Rian asked softly. Zack was generally quiet, but Rian knew that when he hadn't spoken in an hour and was spontaneously humming to himself every now and then, he must have been in deep thought.

"Hmm," the younger man responded once again.

"Is something up?" Rian had honest concern in his voice as he turned to look at his best friend.

Zack cleared his throat. "Jack sa-" he cleared his throat once more, "He said I was perfect. What did he mean?"

Rian laughed lightly. "That's just Jack being Jack, bud."

"No, like, iffelt differentdiss time," Zack spoke mid yawn, slurring his words a bit. Rian understood. They were in a fairly serious situation when Jack randomly complimented Zack, and he wasn't being his usual flirty self. He wasn't sure if describing Jack's usual self that way was appropriate anymore; he definitely changed quite a bit since his breakup. Rian felt that maybe they were both overthinking the small statement and that Jack was just trying to escape the situation. Zack agreed, but silently questioned why he was thinking about it for so long.

"Rian," Zack began, turning off the TV. "How do you know about the place? The one that Jack keeps going to."

"It's been in the news before, just not big enough news for people to bother to shut the place down, I guess. I figured that was how you knew about it too? Unless..." Rian raised an eyebrow.

"You're the only one who actually reads the news, nerd." Zack giggled and Rian gave him a questioning look. "I know about it 'cause one of my distant uncles worked there one time, and then my great aunt tried to get him arrested, and then..." he went on and on, and was surprised that Rian was attentive the entire time. Rian would never tell him, but it warmed his heart when Zack told stories. He never talked a lot, but it was always interesting to hear him when he did.

Rian's phone rang, disturbing their peace. "Shit. It's Jack. I hope he's okay."

"Rian, I did it!" the younger man exclaimed as Rian answered the call, discreetly putting it on speaker.

"You did what, Jack?" Rian asked, smiling at Zack. They both knew exactly what he did, but neither of them had heard Jack so happy in months, so they wanted to hear all of it.

"I met up with Al-Alex..." he paused, feeling the need to get used to saying Alex's name for some reason. Zack smiled widely at this. "An-And he kissed me! I mean, I thought I had fucked everything up even worse for myself when he was late, but then he showed up, and he kissed me, and we went walking..." Jack went on exaggerating his memory of the past events as if he was a fifteen-year-old girl. "But," the joyful tone in his voice immediately dropped to a somber one. "When we just started talking about the band, Alex looked like he had something really cool to say, but I ran off 'cause I got a phone call from Rett. The movers are coming tomorrow and I've barely packed!"

"Wait, so, you got back together with Alex--"

"Unofficially, yes."

"But you're still moving?"

"Well, I mean, I was gonna ask Zack to help me pack 'cause he's a lot stronger than I am, then decide what to do."

"You're such a dipshit, Ja--"

"Is that why you said I was perfect? Perfect for helping you move your stuff?" Zack was the one to interrupt this time.

"Oh, hey Zack! Pretty much yeah, but also like, you are just perfect in general--"

Now it was Rian's turn to cut in. "Jack, I know you're in a good mood for the first time in God knows how long, but fucking listen to yourself, dude! So basically you are potentially getting back with Alex, but you're still gonna move because... 'Cause... Okay, I don't really get your reasoning at all for that. The cops are still after you, and I'm guessing that since amends may have been made that you wouldn't want to disappear anymore?"

"Shit, you're kinda right," Jack replied. In all honesty, Rian wasn't sure if what he said even made sense, but he was doing whatever he could to get Jack to stay. "So uh, should I call it off then?"

"Duh!" Rian yelled, making Zack laugh. "But just be careful, it might not be that simple. He might try to frame you again, or bribe you, or blackmail you, or--"

"'Kay see you guys!" Jack said hanging up, impatient with Rian's discretion. He was a grown man, he knew what to be careful for. Or at least that's what he told himself, though his friends might beg to differ, seeing that he got himself into this mess anyway.

A text came through to Jack's phone, startling him a bit.

Rian: Did you even talk to Alex about any of this? You should probably tell him, he could help you.

Fuck no.