Carl told Jack that he named the dog Cherry and Jack's eyes were filled with glee.
"Cherry!" he said, playing with the dog. "You're a cute one, aren't you?"
Cherry barked in response, his tongue hanging out of his mouth happily.
"He has to take a walk." Carl said, looking between Jack and Cherry with a smile. "Wanna wait for me here or--"
"I'll come with you!" Jack said before Carl could even ask the question. "Can I hold the leash?"
"I, uh, don't have a leash. He can go without one."
"What if he'll run across the street?" Jack asked.
"He's been a stray dog for awhile and survived." Carl stated and Jack laughed with a nod.
"Guess he did." Jack took Carl's hand and together they went out with Cherry.
Cherry rarely barked whenever another dog seemed to approach him. Overall, he seemed to be shy, walked straight ahead and looked back whenever he thought Carl and Jack might lose track of him.
Carl wondered if this behavior came from his previous owner; it was as if he'd been abondend once and was scared to be a second time.
He wasn't planning on keeping Cherry forever, but now, he might as well have to. Not that he was complaining much. He loved dogs; always wanted one and this was the perfect chance. Fiona used to be the one who had something against the idea of owning a dog because she thought they wouldn't be responsible enough for one but Carl always knew that he is responsible enough for a dog. Especially for one as cute as Cherry.
Jack and Carl sat onto a bench in the park, looking at Cherry while he did his business under a tree.
"By the way," Jack began. "I have to go to Germany during the holidays."
Carl titled his head and Jack continued.
"Mom and Will are finally gonna marry." Jack's smile was huge as he said that. "And I was wondering, if it's not too much for you, if you wanna come with me?"
Carl thought about it, really, he deeply thought about it. Obviously he'd like to go with Jack but at the same time it was kind of a huge deal, especially money wise.
But then on the other hand Fiona left them a bunch of money and Ian even gave him the half of his part, with the promise of searching a tutor, but Carl has never been outside of the country.
It'd be his first time and he really wants to go.
"I'll think about it." Carl said, smiling back and Jack nodded a little dissappointed.
"I get it if you don't want to." Jack said. "Flights nowadays are really expensive and, well, it's a big deal traveling to another country."
Carl shook his head and held one of his hands up. "It's not like I don't want to." he said. "But I have to think about it. Would your mother want me there?"
Jack nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely! We could, you know, tell her about us then." He offered Carl a big smile and Carl couldn't help but smile back.
*
It's slowly getting darker as they make their way back to Carl's home. Cherry was running happily infront of them and Jack told Carl what he'd possibly gift his mother for her wedding while they were holding hands.
It felt freeing to hold Jack's hand. It was as if every cell in Carl's body couldn't believe his luck. In the past, he used to have bad luck with girls, so the thing he had with Jack felt different in a good way.
Their peace got interrupted by a guy with dark hair and a loud and annoying voice.
"Gallagher!" Carl was sure that that was Prescott's voice and he immediately tried to let go of Jack's hand, who didn't let him, therefore they stood right infront of him, holding hands.
Prescott's gaze dropped at their intervened hands and he smiled, as if that was what he was hoping to see.
Carl hissed. He wasn't scared of Prescott, out of everyone, he's a brat, and that was the worst part. Brat's always do get their way through contacts and a rich brat like him has the right contacts, that was for sure.
"What?" Carl asked.
Prescott shook his head and smiled even more. "Suprised to see me? I'm not, I've been watching after you two all day."
He looked down at their hands again. "And what did I catch? Two pathetic--"
Carl let go of Jack's hand and hit Prescott two times in the face, hard. Jack had to hold Carl back to make him stop.
Prescott still laid on the ground, breathing heavily through his bleeding nose. "You will regret this." He didn't smile anymore.
Through the adrenaline, Carl heard Cherry barking, but Carl's eyes kept his attention on Prescott, as all of a sudden Prescott held up a knife and took a hold of Jack.
Prescott held Jack by his neck and pointed a knife to the middle of his neck.
Carl hissed. He couldn't just rush over, otherwise Prescott would harm Jack, so he had to think. Really think.
"I've got you with this, didn't I?" Prescott said and his smile returned. "Now, as long as you stay there I won't do anything to your precious Jack." He said, stroking Jack's cheek.
"Apologize." Prescott said, raising his voice all of a sudden.
Jack jumped up at the voice and grit his teeth.
"What?" Carl asked.
"Apologize. For what you did to Ross and what you just did to me." Prescott said and pointed at the bruise on his right cheek. His nose was still bleeding, the blood dropping onto Jack's shoulder.
Carl felt like he didn't have any other choice; he'd prefer to do anything else than apologize but not when Jack's life in line.
"I'--"
"Don't." Jack said with a strained voice. "Don't apologize. They don't deserve it."
Prescott glared at him and left a slight cut on Jack's collar.
"He won't do it anyway." Jack continued. "He's too much of a pussy to harm me, so don't bother apologizing. Prescott here wouldn't want to damage his precious image with blood, would he?" He glared back at Prescott, who had his eyes together in a line.
"Don't underestimate me." Prescott whispered, so only Jack could hear it at first, but then he repeated it for Carl with a raised voice.
He pointed the knife toward Carl but didn't let go of the strong grip he had on Jack.
"Now apologize."
Carl bit onto his upper lip and looked between Jack and Prescott. But then his eyes were stuck onto Cherry, who was right behind them.
Carl whistles once, then twice until Cherry's attention is on Prescott and Jack and as he noticed the danger he jumped onto Prescott.
Prescott lost his grip on Jack and the knife fell onto the soft grass as Prescott fell onto the ground with Cherry right above him.
Cherry barked a few times and the attention from random citizins were on them now.
Jack picked up the knife and threw it down to Prescott.
"I think this is yours." Jack said and winked at him.
Everything didn't go as smoothly though. Prescott's eyes were as big as Carl's as they noticed blood bleeding from Jack's neck and the stained knife but Jack himself didn't seem to notice until the blood was dropping onto the ground.
Jack felt dizzy; his vision wasn't clear anymore and he almost lost balance as he saw black. At first Carl didn't know what to do. It was as if he was rooted onto the ground as he saw his boyfriend bleeding a lot in a dangerous area and seeing Prescott himself panicking at the sight shows that he didn't actually mean to harm Jack in any way. Jack was right; Prescott is a pussy.
But that wasn't the point. Carl teared his shirt open to hold a piece of it onto Jack's wound to stop it from bleeding.
Jack couldn't hold himself up from the blood loss anymore, so he fell onto the ground. His face was pale, paler than usual, and that made Carl panic even more than Jack's blood that was on his hands as he held the fabric onto Jack's wound.
Carl searched for his phone to call an ambulance but then he saw that he didn't have any battery left on it anymore. Jack didn't take his phone with him, so there was no other way.
"Prescott!" Carl shouted and looked straight at Prescott's shocked face. "Call an ambulance."
Prescott looked at Jack's wound and didn't move. It was almost as if he was scared to.
"Now!" Carl yelled again and finally Prescott moved and called an ambulance. Everything went by fast and now Carl is in a hospital room watching Jack fighting for his life.
*
[1485 words] - I KNOW, short chapter, but it's been awhile and I had to get it out since this chapter has been sitting unfinished in my drafts. ALSO, don't worry, I will finish this fanfiction. Actually there are just a few chapters left so...