#fuck clara barton parkway

[clumsyclifford]

If you are still taking prompts could you possibly do a combined 98 and 83 for jalex? Your writing style always makes my chest so warm! :))

hello !! sorry this is so late, i finished it but then got super stuck in my head about whether or not it was any good so i didn’t post it for, you know, four whole months. but in the interest of getting rid of some inbox prompts i’ve decided it doesn’t matter so i hope you like this. based on a true story lol :)

read it here on ao3

-

Alex is just settling in to watch some Game Of Thrones when his phone rings. It’s Jack, and his silly contact photo flashes across Alex’s screen. Without a second thought Alex answers.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Alex? Are you at home right now?” Jack sounds kind of panicked. Alex is immediately on high alert. His spine stiffens.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Oh thank God,” Jack mutters, and then with increasing distress, “I just dropped off my parents at Reagan and I was on my way back and I was driving on Clara Barton Parkway because that’s where the GPS told me to go but I’ve never driven on this road before and there are no signs and I didn’t, I couldn’t, I thought— I was—”

“Hey, take a deep breath,” Alex says, rising to his feet. “What’s going on?”

“I drove the wrong way and then had to swerve off the road and I hit the wall and I’m freaking out,” Jack says in one breath. The consternation in his voice only grows. “I’m— the mirror came off and I haven’t tried to start the car but I’m literally facing the wrong direction and I’m really fucking scared. I know this is so fucking stupid but—”

“Okay, deep breath,” Alex says again. “Stay there. I’m coming to get you. Just sit tight, okay? You want me to stay on the phone?”

“No,” Jack says in a small voice. “Actually I’m gonna hang up so I can cry because I think I’m in shock right now but I’d rather get it out before you get here.”

Alex chews his lip, feeling his heart speed up at Jack’s obvious alarm, but there’s not a lot more he can do. “Okay,” he says, already shoving shoes onto his feet. “Text me your location?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Call me if—” He hesitates. “Yeah. Just, if you need anything.”

“Okay,” Jack says again. “See you soon. Thanks.”

“Be careful.”

“Yeah.”

The call drops. Alex grabs his keys and is out the door and driving away before he remembers he never turned the TV off.

-

In the end, Alex doesn’t need Jack’s location. He’s impossible to miss. His is the only car that’s pulled over on the grassy shoulder, and it’s definitely the only car facing into the traffic.

As soon as Alex spots Jack’s car, he shifts into the left lane and puts on his hazards. A few feet away, he slows to a stop. Other drivers are going to hate him for blocking the left lane, but they’ll just have to deal. 

Through the front window Alex can see Jack, staring out at him, wearing an abject expression. Alex turns off his car, gets out, and walks over. 

The damage is bad, but it could be a hell of a lot worse. At least the car is still mostly in one piece, excluding the right-hand mirror, which, true to Jack’s word, has been torn off and is now hanging from the side. A small dent on the front shows where the car had hit the wall before Jack had managed to straighten out. Alex pulls at the driver side door and swings it open to reveal Jack, clutching the steering wheel.

“Hey,” Alex says carefully. “You okay?”

Jack looks at him. He’s clearly been crying, although he isn’t now, and red rims his eyes. “Yup,” he says, sniffing. “Awesome. This has just been the best day ever.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Alex says, holding out a hand. “Come on. Get out. You won’t get hit, my car’s blocking traffic like the asshole I am.”

Jack laughs wetly and takes Alex’s hand. As soon as they’re out of the car he flings his arms around Alex’s shoulders. It’s more or less the response Alex had expected, so he just returns the hug as steadily as he can.

“I’m the biggest fucking stupid fucking moron in the world,” Jack says into Alex’s shoulder. “I can’t believe I drove the wrong way.”

“No, you were right about the signs,” Alex says. “There’s, like, nothing that says anything out here. They really need to up their signage game.”

“I’ve never driven the wrong way on a road before,” Jack mumbles. “I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been more terrified than when I realized. There was a car coming straight at me. I thought I was gonna die.”

“Jesus.”

“Yeah. So, um, crashing the car into the wall was not ideal, but…”

“You definitely handled this as well as you could have,” Alex says encouragingly. “Given the situation.”

Jack just groans and pulls away. “I’m sorry you had to come all the way out here just because my dumb ass—”

“Hey, cut it out,” Alex interrupts. “It was an honest mistake. Everyone makes those. Not your fault.”

“It was literally my fault, Alex.” Jack gives him a pathetic look. “I thought it was a one-way two-lane road and when the road split in two I panicked and shifted to the left lane. Which turned out to actually just be this lane.” He gestures at the road upon which Alex’s car is parked. “One that goes in the other direction.”

“You’re a good, smart driver,” Alex says firmly. “There wasn’t a sign, that’s not your fault. And you drove the wrong way on a road and managed to not die, which is the most important thing in my book.”

Jack sighs. He doesn’t look convinced, but he doesn’t keep harping on it. Instead he says, “I think one of the tires might have blown out when I swerved. I hit the curb pretty hard and then I heard something but I was kind of in panic mode so I haven’t gotten out of the car to check.”

Alex wanders around to the other side of the car, which is flush against the wall — the noise barrier, Alex is pretty sure they’re called, although in his opinion a wall is a wall — and peers at the front right tire. “Oh, yeah,” he says, grimacing. “This one is blown out.”

“Fuck,” Jack groans. “Of course it is. This has officially been the worst day ever.”

“Okay, easy,” Alex says, returning to Jack. “Have you called Triple A?” Jack shakes his head. “Alright, well, that’s the first step.”

“You didn’t— I’m sorry I made you come,” Jack says mournfully. “I just didn’t— I don’t know. I panicked.”

“Jack,” Alex says, reaching to tilt his chin up. “Stop. I don’t mind. I’m glad you called.”

There’s a pause, the kind of pause that lingers in the air and feels both impossibly long and short at once. Jack’s eyes are a deep, warm brown. They hold Alex’s gaze for a moment, and then dip to the ground again. Alex’s hand drops back to his side.

“I’ll call them,” Jack says quietly. “Just…wait with me, please?”

“Of course,” Alex says. “I can be this jackass as long as you need.” He nods at his car, which is still very much blocking the lane. The road is pretty empty at this hour, thankfully; Alex can’t even begin to imagine what might have happened to Jack had he driven straight into busy traffic. Thinking it almost makes him shiver.

“Thanks,” Jack says, biting his bottom lip. “One day I’ll stop making idiotic mistakes for you to fix, but obviously that day is not today.”

“This isn’t an idiotic mistake, and if you say that one more time I will kick you.” Alex raises his eyebrows. “And I’ve made plenty of idiotic mistakes myself. New Year’s Eve last year? You remember that?”

“I don’t think that’s the same.”

“Yeah, it’s way, way worse. This is so much less fucked up by comparison. It looks bad now, but soon you’re gonna tell this story at parties. You’re gonna seem super badass.”

Jack snorts. “Yeah, it’s so badass to drive the wrong way on the road.”

“I’m just saying don’t beat yourself up,” Alex says gently. “It’s okay.”

Jack swallows, nods. His gaze jumps up to Alex’s for just a second before flitting elsewhere. “Okay,” he says. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Alex says, and he means it. His lips quirk in a smile. “Now call someone to tow your car, god damn it, or we will both die on this parkway.”

As Alex had hoped he would, Jack laughs a little. Something seems to lift off his shoulders. “Yes sir.”

“Attaboy,” Alex says, humming as Jack lifts his phone to his ear. He takes a seat on the curb, legs semi-crossed on the paved road.

When Jack joins him a couple minutes later, their shoulders touch. It has to be on purpose, because Jack doesn’t shift or move away. He doesn’t say anything, and neither does Alex, and Alex wonders if this is kind of what it feels like to drive straight into traffic, except he knows if it is he’d never dare swerve. The crash could kill him. Or it could be the best thing that ever happens to him. And that might just be worth the risk.