A/N Hello! So I'm gonna start this off with a narrative I wrote back in November at school, I'm really proud of it and hope you like it!! (Also Alex's twitter name is AlexAllTimeLow in the story cause I wrote a little while ago so yeah lol.)
It's a chilly October day in 2003, not cold enough for winter jackets but just enough for a sweatshirt. Alex (a chestnut brown haired boy) and Jack (a dark chocolate brown with a blue streak haired boy) were sitting on the carpet floor of Jacks room. They were working on a project for social studies but somehow got distracted by talking about their favorite band Blink-182.
As Green Day's album Dookie played the two boys were silently trying to work but every time they risked a glance at each other they would jump right back into conversation.
"Hey Jack, I have a question." Said Alex picking at the carpet.
"Ask away my friend!" Jack replied. Alex hesitated a few seconds before asking
"Will you teach me guitar?" Alex had always envied Jacks guitar skills.
"Why don't you just go to a teacher?" Asked Jack
"They cost money..." Said Alex trying to come up with an excuse for the real reason.
"Dude I know a guy just up the road and he charges 5 bucks a lesson." Jack said bluntly.
"I-Well it's hard? Like I'm not comfortable with it." Explained Alex still picking at the carpet ripping up tiny frayed pieces. Jack slightly confused, nodded anyway. Alex waited a few seconds again before asking
"So will you teach me?" Jack chuckled.
"I would just suck it up and go" Alex went wide eyed.
Jack didn't know why he said that.
'Maybe I just want to be the only one with talent?' he thought to himself. He realized how narcissistic that thought was and quickly shook his head in a way Alex couldn't see.
Meanwhile, while jack was thinking Alex decided to ignore the younger boy and continue with is work. Jack saw this and thought Alex agreed and the conversation was over so he also went back to the project.
The next day at school Jack went to his locker, he looked around the halls confused.
"Hey Rian! Do you know where Alex is?" He asked his friend only a few lockers away.
"Uh..yeah he said he was going to class instead of breakfast" Said Rian hesitantly. Jack could sense something was off.
Alex would always meet Jack at his locker and they would go to breakfast together.
"You sure?" Asked Jack. Rian sighed, defeated he said
"No, Alex said he was mad. I asked why but all he said was 'Tell Jack no breakfast' and stomped of."
"Why didn't you tell me before?" Asked Jack less confident about the day ahead of him.
"Because I don't want to see my two best friends fighting. When you get in social studies just ask him what's wrong, he'll probably be calm by then." Said Rian as he put his bag in his locker. Jack once again confused nodded.
"Werido" He muttered to himself as Rian walked away.
He wondered what could he have possibly done to anger his best friend.
When 4th period social studies rolled around and as Alex sat down in his seat he saw Jack enter the room. Quickly he pulled out his Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban book, and pretended to be reading. After about 10 seconds he felt someone staring at him he decided to risk a glance and see who it was. As soon as he locked eyes with Jack he froze. His palms were starting to get sweaty. He looked away to the side and started bouncing his leg.
'I'm being stupid! It's not that hard to go to a teacher....Is it?' Alex debated in his head.
Out of the corner of his eye Alex saw Jack make his way over.
"Hey Alex! Why weren't you at breakfast?" He asks concerned. A wave of guilt hit Alex as he looked down.
"I-I wasn't hungry?" Alex said but it came out more like a question.
"Is it because I won't teach you guitar?" Questioned Jack. Once again Alex looked down.
"Really? Why are you too afraid to go to a teacher?" Asked Jack realizing what he had done wrong.
"I won't go to a teacher because-" He was cut of by the bell.
"Are you kidding me!" Jack mumbled angrily and jogged to his seat. Alex relieved that the conversation was over turned his attention to the teacher, Mr.Wood.
Unfortunately Mr.Wood said to go with their partners for the project. As Alex sighed and closed his book on an unfinished page he saw Jack come over again.
"So What were you going to say about a teacher?" Whispered Jack as they started to work.
"I'm not going because I just can't! I'm not comfortable with stuff like that!" Alex snapped. Once he realized what he had said he looked at his best friend who of course was glaring as a reply.
"I just wanted to know, you didn't need to be rude about it." Jack said. Alex felt tears well up in his eyes.
"I'm sorry! So much is going on right now and it's my dream to be in a band and, when you said you wouldn't teach me guitar and it was just the triggering point!" Cried Alex. Jacks face instantly softened as he hugged Alex.
"Everything good back there boys?" Mr.Wood asked Jack & Alex.
"Yeah, Alex was just laughing at a joke I made." Jack said quickly, Mr.Wood nodded and went back to putting in grades.
"Alex..." Whispered Jack.
"Y-Yeah" Asked Alex as he wiped his nose with his sleeve.
"You have no reason to be sorry, I just didn't understand how much your dream really means to you." Stated Jack.
"You know what?" Asked Jack, Alex still hugging him looked up at him letting him continue.
Jack may be younger but he's a little bit taller than Alex.
"I'm going to teach you guitar!" Said Jack.
Over the next few days Jack was teaching Alex all the notes after school. They would practice putting the notes together and even changing frets while playing. Alex was a natural!After about 4 weeks Alex had not yet mastered it but he was pretty good at playing.
"Sup! How's guitar going?" Rian asked as he took a bite of his sandwich. Jack and Alex both knew that Rian played the drums so the night before they had an idea. They were going to ask Rian to be in a band with him.
"It's going great!" Replied Alex.
"Nice." Rian fistbumped Alex.
"Speaking of guitar, me and Alex have a question for you..." Said Jack.
"What?" asked a puzzled Rian.
"Do you want to be in a band with us?" Asked Alex nervously, Jack could sense he was nervous so he held the older boy's hand from under the table.
"OF COURSE!" Yelled Rian, earning a glare from a lunch lady.
-14 years later, Alex's house-
"Look at this!!" Yelled Jack pointing to his computer. Alex paused the David Dobrik video he was watching to see what Jack was smiling at.
It was the reviews for their new album; Last Young Renegade.
Back in 2004 they made their first EP with Rian's (now Alex's and Jack's) friend Zack. They instantly gained fans and made their first real album in 2007, So Wrong It's Right. Their single Dear Maria Count Me in is what made them famous and here they are years later releasing their 5th album.
"Are you packed for tour yet?" Asked Alex.
"Am I ever packed?" Said Jack. As he grabbed a beer out of the fridge
"Dude we leave tomorrow!" Chuckled Alex.
Alex felt his phone buzz in his pocket.
'@AvengersBadly mentioned you in a Tweet!
Bella-182
@AvengersBadly
Y'all go listen to @AllTimeLow's new album rn!! @AlexAllTimeLow, @JackAllTimeLow, @riandawson, and @Zackalltimelow worked very hard on it!'
Alex smiled as he favorited and retweeted the tweet.
He loved his fans so much
He loved the band so much
He loved his 3 best friends so much
And they made it!
"Hey Jack" Alex said. Jack looked up from the computer.
"I never actually thanked you for teaching me guitar."