Chapter Text
The Trick
“Where were you?” Ryan asked as soon as Jack walked into the medical station. He noticed that Jack was out of breath and slightly sweaty. He wondered how long Jack had been outside before Ryan had texted him.
“I was on a walk,” Jack said smoothly, “it was feeling stuffy in here.”
Ryan nodded, he understood, he didn’t like to be cooped up inside either. Some seemed off about Jack, but it could just be the previous days’ events. Ryan was glad to see that Jack was moving around without pain. The memory of Jack’s pained scream would forever haunt Ryan. He never wanted to hear Jack scream like that ever again.
“You should get some rest,” Jack said when he noticed Ryan start to drift off into his thoughts.
“You’re one to talk,” Ryan said, “how long were you out there anyway?”
“Not that long,” Jack lied again. It disturbed Jack how easily lying was coming to him right now.
Jack could tell that Ryan didn’t believe him for one second. He then said, “Alright compromise, you sleep next to me and we both get some more rest.”
Ryan couldn’t argue with that, it was a good idea. “Alright,” he said. With that Ryan smiled, they would talk about what Jack had said last night, later. Right now however, he just wanted to rest.
Jack got into the bed first and Ryan got in after him like last time they had slept together, Ryan spooned Jack. Jack smiled, he loved being with Ryan. He was always able to forget about the bad days when he was with Ryan.
He would worry about the situation with Cody later. For now though, Jack just wanted to rest, sleep. Besides, they had a long busy day later anyway.
🔹️🔹️🔹️
Jack awoke to the sound of a door opening. He cracked his eyes slowly open, he was so tired. He could still feel Ryan at his back. Wait, if Ryan was at his back, then who had opened the door?
Then he remembered, he remembered yesterday, the pain, the knowledge of Cody, all that had come after. Jack jolted up. Liam was the one who had opened the door. When Jack had fully opened his eyes, he saw that Liam was watching him.
“How did you sleep?” The medic asked.
Jack shrugged, he didn’t know whether or not he should tell Liam about his night adventure. Jack eventually decided against it. Then he kicked his legs over the side of the bed, back now facing Ryan. Liam came over then sat on a chain in front of Jack. Ryan was still asleep so both Jack and Liam had seemed to agree to whisper.
“What time is it?” Jack whispered. There were no windows in the med center, so Jack couldn’t tell if the sky was light or dark.
“It is about 6 in the morning,” Liam said, also in a whisper.
Jack knew that the crew had planned on leaving around 7:30, so he had an hour and a half to get ready. He would then spend most of the rest of the day in the tour bus, until they arrived at Denver, around 5 in the evening. But that meant they had to leave on time with very little to no stoppage.
“Are you coming with us on the bus?” Jack asked and Liam nodded.
“I have been requested by Steve,” Liam said, “we will be checking in every hour or so. There is no telling how being in a bus for a whole day will affect your body.”
Jack nodded, he was feeling good now, but from experience he knew that could change at a moment's notice. Liam then started to perform a routine check on Jack, he wanted to make sure that Jack was doing okay.
Liam had also found it odd that Jack and Ryan had been lying in bed together. They were so familiar. It was unusual for the brothers to be like that. Liam also knew however that it was none of his business. Neither Jack nor Ryan were girls, so there was really nothing super wrong with what could be going on.
It would also explain Ryan’s reaction every time that Jack had been sick or feeling worse than normal.
“Alright,” Liam said after he was done looking Jack over, “you are okay to get up and get ready.”
Jack did so, going to the bathroom. Along the way he grabbed the fresh clothes that Liam had brought him. Jack took a refreshing shower and then got dressed. He had black sweatpants, a plain black t-shirt, and a forest green hoodie that smelled like Ryan. Then he put his hat on after combing his hair. He was then ready to go.
When he exited the bathroom Ryan was sitting up in bed talking to Liam. When he saw Jack he immediately smiled, Jack looked good in his sweatshirt. In fact all of the clothes, minus the shoes and hat, seemed to be Ryan’s. Ryan had told Liam the night before where his stuff was and to grab something for when Jack woke up. Ryan was glad to see that Liam had listened.
As Jack walked towards the pair, Liam stood up, “I’ll leave you two to finish getting ready for the day.” Liam smiled, he didn’t know why but he liked to see the two happy, they did both deserve it.
“How did you sleep?” Ryan asked.
Jack shrugged, he didn’t know how to answer that. He had really only gotten like 3 to 4 hours of sleep, he would probably try to sleep on the bus. He would have almost 8 hours to kill after all.
“I’m tired, but otherwise I’m alright.” Jack went to hug Ryan. He didn’t really want to face today. He didn’t want to see what Cody wanted, when he had finished his shower he had seen the Instagram notification. It had sent a bolt of fear through him. And right now he didn’t want to face it, and that started with hugging Ryan.
“Thank you for staying with me all night.” Jack said, voice muffled in Ryan’s neck.
“No problem,” Ryan said, “but we do need to talk about what you said last night.”
Jack didn’t answer, he remembered what he had said. He bet that what Ryan was thinking he had meant, wasn’t actually what he meant. He pulled away from Ryan then said, “I promise we will talk later, but for now, you need to get ready for the day.”
He grabbed Ryan’s face and smiled before kissing him. The kiss was a promise. A promise that he was okay, it was a promise that he would tell Ryan what he meant later, and a promise that he would still love him.
“Alright,” Jack said when he pulled away, letting go of Ryan’s face, “now go get ready.”
Jack smiled at Ryan as the other man went into the bathroom to get ready. Jack then sat back down on the bed to wait, and to see what Cody wanted from him this time.
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Ryan was thinking all through his shower. That kiss had felt different. It had felt like a promise, it probably was a promise. Also that talk he had had with Liam.
Liam had advised him to be careful, careful of being with Jack specifically. When Ryan had asked what he meant, Liam had said nothing. The whole thing was confusing. Liam had also given him a sick bag, he knew that Ryan would be around Jack more. It was also a good idea because they would be on a bus all day. Ryan was not excited about that part.
Ryan was looking forward to tonight's show, he loved Denver, it always felt nice to be there. It was also one of the biggest arenas that they would play at this entire tour. Bigger arenas meant more fans, something that Ryan was looking forward to.
Ryan had to admit that he was worried about Jack. He had seemingly been gone from his bed for a long time this morning. When he had come back he had seemed jumpy and nervous. Something had clearly happened and it had scared Jack.
Finally Ryan was done getting ready, he left the bathroom. What he saw made him hesitate. Jack was staring at the wall, not moving, not blinking, and seemingly, not breathing. It seemed as if he was having an anxiety or panic attack.
🔹️🔹️🔹️
Jack shakily opened the Instagram app. He went to his messages and read Cody’s message.
@Coder_Cody: Are you ready for my demands?
Jack’s fingers shook as he replied.
@jackajrbrothers: Fine, what do you want?
Jack really didn’t like this, but he had to do it, he wanted to be with Ryan no matter the cost.
@Coder_Cody: First I would like you to send me some free signed merch of my choosing.
Jack let out a breath, that wasn’t as bad as he had though, but first. There were more demands to come obviously. Jack swallowed, why did he feel like he was in way over his head? Oh wait, maybe because he was. Jack was screwed and way, way in over his head, and he didn’t know how to deal with it.
@jackajrbrothers: Alright, what do you want? I’ll need an address and then send it to you.
A minute later Cody responded with a list, it was not as long as Jack had expected. Good that would make it easier to hide that he was missing product. Jack put in the request for the items. Then he shut off his phone and stared at the wall numb and slightly panicking. That was how Ryan found him 5 minutes later.
🔹️🔹️🔹️
Ryan cautiously approached Jack, “Hey Jack?” He asked softly, placing a hand on Jack’s shoulder.
Jack jumped, the contact startling him, “hey Ry,” he said softly moving to get up off the bed.
“Are you okay?” Ryan asked before Jack could move away.
Jack nodded, “just thinking about how today will go.”
Ryan nodded, he understood but knew that there was more than that going on. He didn’t push it, however, they needed to grab their stuff and go to the tour bus. It was nearly 9.
“Come on,” Ryan said, “let’s go.”
Jack nodded and stood up while Ryan put both his and Ryan’s old clothes in a backpack that Liam had given him. They met up with the medic in the hallway and got on their way to the tour bus.
When they got on board, Ryan and Jack met with Adam while Liam kept walking to the back lounge.
“Hey,” Adam said, “how are you doing?”
The question was directed at Jack so he answered, “I’m doing a lot better, no more excruciating pain. I don’t feel any nausea so…” Jack shrugged.
“Alright, I’m glad.” Then Adam pulled Jack into a hug. Then Adam told Jack, “I did however have to tell the crew that you were sick but we don’t know what was going on. They know that it is not contagious also so you should be good.”
Jack nodded, he was nervous but a part of him was glad that everyone knew, glad that he didn't have to tell them, glad that they didn’t have to find out if they found him emptying his stomach.
Adam, Jack, and Ryan then moved to walk through the front lounge. When they entered, all conversation stopped. Adam kept walking so Jack and Ryan did too. Soon they were in the back lounge where Liam was waiting. There were also two breakfast burritos and two small bottles of orange juice.
Jack and Ryan hadn’t had breakfast yet so the food must be for them. They sat side by side and started to unwrap the burritos. They sat in silence for another few minutes, listening to the bus start, before Liam spoke, “I would like to go over a plan for Jack today.”
Adam nodded but Jack looked down, ashamed, that he was creating such a problem. Jack took a deep breath to calm himself and collect his thoughts before saying, “Alright, let's get started.”