Being a dork is a full occupation.

This chapter is SUPER important. A lot of things will be introduced soon.

Hayley

"NO!" I yelled. Everyone fell silent. "No more Alex. I'm done." I spat, grasping the necklace around my neck and ripping it off and throwing it at him before running out of the building, not being able to hold back my tears as the fell freely onto my cheeks. Jack was already out of the car when he saw me coming out of the building in a horrible, blubbering mess.

He wrapped his arms around me as I cried into his chest. "I'm so sorry, Hayley. I'm so sorry." He whispered as he held me tight as I cried.

"It's over." I managed to sputter into his coat. "I can't do this anymore."

- - -

*The next day*

"I'm going to miss you, Red." Jack said, resting his cheek on the top of my head as I gave him a goodbye hug.

"I'm going to miss you too Jack." I sniffed. After crying in hysterics for most of last night, I felt like I needed to leave, for good. Dealing with Alex and his problems was tearing us both apart. I couldn't live with the lies anymore. He bought me a plane ticket and I packed everything I could into a suitcase that was bigger than my last one. "Thank you again for the ticket." I said as we pulled apart, the cab driver was kind enough to put my suitcase into the trunk.

He shrugged his shoulders. "It was the least I could do." he paused, looking down at his feet. "I'm sorry for Alex...I mean, I never thought he would do that to you of all people." he mumbled quietly, knowing it was still a sensitive subject for the both of us, considering Alex hadn't been home in two days.

"You don't need to apologize for him, Jack. I can't do anything about it now. I obviously wasn't enough for him." My voice cracked a little, I couldn't help but hug him one last time. "Thank you for being such a good friend, even in your weirdest moments.

"You know you loved every minute of it." He joked to lighten the mood a little. We laughed a little. "Good luck in Tennessee. If you're Grannie is mean to you, just give me a call and I'm low enough to kick some old lady's butt." He laughed as he opened the door for me and I climbed into the cab. "Call me to tell me that you got there in one piece. I can let him know too...if you want."

I shook my head. "No, it would be better for him to forget me and fix his own problems." I muttered.

He nodded solemnly. "Oh, and make sure to remember your ol' pal Jack when you become a rich and famous super star singer."

I laughed and wiped the fresh tears out of my eyes. "Bye Jack." I sniffed again.

"Take care of yourself, kid." he said as he closed the cab door, keeping eye contact as the cab drove off, his figure grew smaller and smaller. I finally turned back around and tried to compose myself again. I was never the emotional type, but I think this time, I had the right to be.

Jack

After watching Hayley leave, I decided to go back into the house. It was freezing outside, but I felt like I did the right thing. After watching her cry for hours, I could see how much he really broke her down. But now as I sat on the couch, staring at the christmas tree, I realized how strange it will be to no longer have her here with us anymore. I noticed two presents that were not there a few days ago. They must have been from Hayley...before all of this happened.

I didn't move a muscle when the door swung open. Alex, looking slightly better than he did a few days ago...he at least took a shower. But if you looked closely enough, he could see the dark circles underneath his panic-stricken eyes. "Where's Hayley?" he asked, panic hanging on the edge of his voice.

"She left." I said simply, looking him straight in the eye. It felt weird to be serious. It wasn't me, but I have to get it through his thick skull that what he did was wrong on so many levels.

"What do you mean 'she left'?" He asked, incredulous.

"She fucking left Alex." I snapped.

"I..I don't believe you. She wouldn't leave without saying goodbye." he said as he ran up the stairs, probably going to go see if her stuff was still there. I got up and stood at the foot of the stairs. "Fuck!" I heard him yell, followed by a crash. I watched as he reappeared, his fists clenched tight, his jaw strained as he tried to hide the pain in his face. "Why did you let her go?" he asked quietly, almost vulnerably.

"excuse me?"

He grew impatient and grabbed my shirt. "Why did you let her go without letting me explain and apologize?!" He yelle, shoving me.

I shoved him back, not willing to take anymore of this. "because it only would have hurt her more!" I yelled. He froze and slumped onto the stairs without a word, staring off into space. I took in a breath. "she cried all night over you. You broke her down to nothing. You're sitting here, getting upset when she had the right to leave. You treated her like shit dude."

"I know Jack, I know. I never meant to hurt her...I was afraid of the future, what it meant for us. I love her so much Jack. I need to fix this."

I shook my head, exhaling in frustration. "It's too late to do that. You've lost your chance. Yesterday when you took off after the fight, she felt guilty and wanted to apologize to you. Then she found you shooting up more drugs. She needed to leave and forget all the pain you caused her. So I bought her a plane ticket and she left less than a half an hour ago.

He stood up.  "I'm going after her." he said, pushing me out of the way as he bolted for the door.