age-of-greta

[age-of-greta]

The Sun

The Sun presents a feeling of optimism and fulfillment. It represents the dawn which follows the darkest of nights

Author’s note: hello!! welcome back to The Sun! I know it’s been a while, life has been busy. If you’re sticking around, thank you. I promise this fic is still on-going! I hope you enjoy this little chapter. Please excuse any typos :)

Paring: Josh x reader & Jake x

Warnings: smutttttt, angst, toxic relationships, cursing, alcohol consumption

Word count: 5k

PART 5:

It had cooled off significantly in Nashville as fall had settled in. You were thankful that the sweltering summer heat was finally behind you. Today you had planned on a solo shopping trip for a nice new pair of boots. You needed time with yourself to clear your head after the clusterfuck that the past week has been. Ever since they had gotten back from tour you and Josh were solid of course, spending most every day together after work/studio time. You had avoided going over there so you wouldn’t see Jake. You were still pissed at him. He texted you a few times, but you didn’t respond. You couldn’t avoid it much longer as there was a party tonight actually at the studio. One of the long-time techs were retiring and Josh invited you immediately after hearing about it. It was a surprise party, which was your favorite type of party. You grabbed your bag and headed towards your door, Josh would be coming by to get you in a few hours and you needed to get a new pair of boots to complete your outfit. One pair of boots turned into approximately four pair and a new pair of heels, but oh well. The vibe for tonight was casual, so you opted for a rather tight pair of black leather flare pants with a cropped and distressed vintage AC/DC shirt that showed a good bit of midriff. You threw on your usually chunky gold jewelry and picked out your favorite pair you had gotten today, black faux crocodile square platform boots. You applied makeup, crimped your hair, and spritzed yourself with Gucci Guilty. You felt confident and hot. Right on cue, Josh knocked on your door.

“Oh wow. Well hello!” Josh whistled at you.

You giggled at him. “Like the new boots?”

He eyed you, in a way you had never seen him eye you before. “I do. I really do.”

“Ready to get out of here?” You asked, grabbing your small black shoulder bag from it’s hook.

Josh stuck out his arm. “After you.”

You both piled into his Jeep. He was driving which meant he wasn’t intending on getting drunk, so you wouldn’t either.

There were a fair amount of cars in the studio parking lot.

“Well this doesn’t look suspicious at all.” Josh pokes.

You shake your head. “Absolutely not.”

It was jam packed inside. Josh told you to stay put while he got you a drink. You see Danny approaching you and give him a smile. He smiles back, but it’s almost a grimace.

“Hey?”

“Hey… I would avoid the other room tonight. Jake is pretty belligerently drunk. Sam has tried to talk to him, but we don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

You look at him strange. “Sounds pretty typical to me.”

He offers you a sympathetic look and pats your shoulder.

Josh returns with a Beatbox in hand. “This is the closest thing they have to wine. Holy shit it’s packed in here!”

You take the cardboard boxed drink and nod. “Thank you! Yes, it is. Is there another room or is this it?”

Josh winks at you. “Follow me!”

He leads you a room over. It’s less crowded, but there is still a considerable amount of people. Immediately you can see what Danny is talking about. Jake has a bottle of bourbon in one hand and a dirty blonde in a tight red dress in his lap. Something inside of you twists at that- and it makes you mad.

Josh coughs. “Well… I haven’t seen her in a while.”

You try to act like it doesn’t bother you. “Wow, uh who is that?”

“Katie.” Josh replies.

Jake catches the two of you from the corner of his eye. He gives you a bright smile and thrusts his bottle towards you. Then he grabs Katie by her neck and kisses her sloppily.

“Jesus Christ.” Josh winces. “That’s fucking embarrassing. Why is he doing that?”

You are inflamed inside. You know exactly why he’s doing that. Instead of telling Josh, you offer a shrug and a judgmental face.

He shakes his head. “Someone has to stop this shit before he makes an even bigger ass of himself. Come on.”

Josh trucks towards his twin and you stay behind him, nervous as to what Jake might do.

“Hey Jake.” Josh says approaching him. “Come with me for a minute.”

Jake groans and shimmy’s Katie off of him. Josh takes Jake and you into a small office.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you kidding me right now?” Josh asks, in an unbelievable tone.

Jake rolls his eyes at his twin. “Fuck off. Let me breathe.”

“You’re not going to be able to breathe if you don’t cut it the fuck out. We are in front of all of peers and you’re basically fucking her on that couch!” Josh yells.

Jake glances over at you and clenches his jaw. “So what.”

Josh scrunches his face up. “Seriously? What is wrong with you?”

Jake sighs. “I’m fine Josh- fuck.”

“Have you drank that half of that goddamn bottle?” Josh asks, pointing to bourbon.

Jake stays silent.

“Fuck- stay here. I’m going to grab you a bottle of water and you’re going to drink all of it. Give me that shit.” Josh tugs the bottle away and shoots you a sympathetic look before running out of the office.

Jake glances up at you. “Sugs. You look nice.”

“Jake.” You reply, half heartedly. “You okay?”

“Mhm.” He replies.

“You have a little bit of lipstick on your face.” You say, pointing to a red mark on his jaw.

“Thanks.” He replies flatly, wiping at it. “You know-“

“Okay! Here. This is the largest bottle of water I could find. I had planned on us leaving after Scotty had gotten here. I want you to leave with us. I’m not leaving you here like this.”

“No, I’ll be fine.” Jake grumbled.

“Not up for discussion. Please sober the fuck up.” With that, Josh took your hand and led you back to the party. He was the only person in the world who could put Jake in his place without repercussions.

“Fuckin idiot. I’m sorry, I had planned something fun for us after, but I need to make sure he doesn’t die.” Josh offers, still on edge about the situation.

He’s so thoughtful. You reach out and place a comforting hand on his arm. “It’s okay. I completely understand.”

“Thanks.” He offers.

Scotty showed up around 20 minutes later. Josh said his hellos, and then grabbed Jake forcing him to the car. The car ride was awkward and tense. Jake sat in the back with his arms crossed.

“You gonna tell me what all of this is about?” Josh asks, peering into the rear view mirror.

Jake glances at you and doesn’t say a word.

Josh huffs. “Fine. You need to shower when you get home. You reek of booze.”

Jake stays silent. The tension is palpable. You pinched at the fabric of your pants trying to keep yourself busy. Josh notices and reaches over, placing his hand over yours and gives it a squeeze. A quick glance to the rear-view mirror and you see Jake absolutely seething. He must be very drunk to behave like this.

When you finally pulled up, Jake stormed inside.

“What in the fuck…” Josh mumbled.

You bit your lip. “Hey, I think I’m going to head home okay? I don’t want to get caught in the crossfires.”

Josh huffs. “Yeah, okay I understand. Can I call you tomorrow?”

You nod and smile. “Of course. If you need anything, call me too.”

Josh grabs your hand and gives it a quick kiss. “I’m sorry about tonight. I’ll make it up to you.”

You felt your heart skip a beat at his genuineness. “Don’t worry about it, seriously.”

He stares at you for a moment, maybe longer than normal. Before unbuckling his seat belt and walking you to your car. When you got home, you poured a giant glass of wine and soaked in a hot bubble bath. Your head was positively spinning. What in the hell was going on? Why was Jake being such an asshole? Why did you feel blooming butterflies for Josh?

There was not a single answer that you had found at the bottom of the glass of wine. So you searched for another and when you didn’t find it there, you poured another glass accompanied by a large bowl of popcorn and a fuzzy blanket on your couch. You turned on some reality tv show to drown out the thoughts in your head. At some point you had fallen asleep, because you jolted at the sound of your phone. Popcorn had spilled everywhere and you had the onset of a small hangover due to the wine no doubt. You grabbed your phone, it was nearly 2:30 in the morning. You had a text from… Danny?

Hey. Can we do brunch tomorrow?

You made a face. That was weird? Of course you and Danny had done solo things before, but it wasn’t often and it hasn’t been in a while. You quickly texted back.

Hey, yeah. Everything okay?

You tapped your finger nervously while you saw the text bubbles appear.

Yes. Just wanna talk! Catch up

You locked your phone. Something was strange about this. Rather than dwell on it, you cleaned up and zombie walked to bed. Today was too much, tomorrow would be better. That’s what you told yourself anyway.

**

Brightness creeped inside your window as your eyes slowly opened. Your headache had continued unfortunately. You groaned and grabbed your water bottle chugging from it like the nectar of the gods were encased inside. 9:42 am. Okay, you still had time do a few things before brunch. You threw your comforter and sheets in the washing machine and brushed your teeth before asking Danny if 11:30 was okay. You two had agreed to meet at a cute coffee and pastry shop roughly ten minutes from your townhouse. You threw on a pair of flared leggings, sneakers, and a cropped sweatshirt then threw your hair up into a high ponytail. It would have to do. Grabbing your keys, you inched towards the door a small amount of anxiety swelling within. You had no idea what this random brunch date was about, but something told you it was more than just a “catch up.”

Danny was already there when you arrived, of course he was always early. He had already ordered you a coffee and breakfast sandwich with a side of fruit.

“Hello.” He offered, cheerily as you sat down.

“Hi.” You replied. “Thank you for ordering this. You didn’t have to.”

He throws his hand up. “Don’t mention it. I wasn’t sure if you would like the coffee. It’s a vanilla honey latte with almond milk.”

“That’s perfect actually.” You smile and take a sip.

“So…” Danny starts.

“So?” You question.

He chews on his lip for a minute. “How’s… everything?”

You give him a funny look. “It’s okay I suppose. Kind of busy at work right now with a big client onboarding process.”

He nods. “Yes, well what about everything else?”

You furrow your brows. “Everything is okay… Why? What are you trying to get at?”

He blows out a breath. “Okay. Jake.”

“Jake?” You question and feel your stomach sink a little.

He nods. “I know. Well sort of. I have seen you two sneaking around, the glances, the touching, smiles. I have also seen a shift in Jake, especially last night.”

You shake your head and feel your face turn red. “No, it’s nothing. Too much information, but we hooked up a time or two. But that’s it.”

“Does Jake know that?” He asks.

You let out a laugh. “He does. In a typical Jake fashion he was lying to me and sleeping with other people during the brief tenure that we were fooling around.”

Danny rubbed his temples. “God. Okay, that explains last night a bit I guess.”

“What happened last night?” You question.

“Well obviously he was belligerent at the party. I didn’t think much of it, he’s been moody lately but I honestly thought it had to do with his stress of the new album. But last night when Sam and I got back home he was something else. Yelling at Josh, attempting to drink more, and then he brought you up. It was brief, just something about Josh always having to be up your-“ Danny cleared his throat. “Anyway. That’s when I realized that this was about you. Whatever in the hell is going on between you two has him out of sorts. I can see that it was self-inflicted�� Listen, Jake is not perfect. No one is. He has a lot of issues particularly when it comes to relationships.”

You huff a laugh. “Yeah, trust me I know. I just can’t do that again. We are like oil and water.”

Danny gives you a serious look. “I know that. It’s not ever going to work with you two. Jake is way too stubborn with commitment issues and you don’t put up with shit. But somehow he is still stuck on you. Despite all of the girls and flings he has been around. It’s different with you.”

You get quiet for a moment and glance at the ground.

“Which is what makes all of this more fucked up.” Danny blurts.

You cock your head to the side. “What do you mean?”

He shakes his head and pulls at the bridge of his nose. “Josh.”

Now you feel your stomach sink even more. “Josh? What do you mean Josh?”

Danny gives you a blank stare. “You torture that poor soul.”

You make a face at him. “What? What are you talking about.”

“Be serious for one minute. He is so obviously in love with you and has been for… hell years.” Danny says through furrowed brows.

You feel your face flush.

“You really didn’t know?” He asks.

You shake your head. “No… I didn’t.”

He huffs. “Well, shit. Um yeah. Like madly in love with you. Has been even before Jake…” He pauses. “I love both of them, so dearly. They’re twins, so it makes sense that they’re both in love with the same girl. As much as they try to differentiate themselves at their core they are one in the same. But, Josh has pined over you for years. Then he took a backseat to his own brother and put your happiness above his. He’s just the most selfless guy I’ve ever met. I don’t know… I just wanted you to know that.”

You stay quiet for a minute, your heart and mind racing 100 miles per minute. “Am I a bad person? I swear I didn’t know. I don’t even know what to think right now.”

Danny shakes his head immediately. “No, no you’re not. Hey, I didn’t ask you to come here to make you feel bad. I just wanted to try and offer some clarity, but also make you aware of the situation before we all implode.”

You can’t help but snicker at that. “Fuck. Okay. I guess it’s time to have some conversations.”

He grabs your hand. “I’m always here if you need me. Whatever your decision might be, I’m still always going to be here for you.”

You give him a grateful smile.

You knew what you needed to do.

You knew what was coming next.

You needed to call Jake.

**

Hey. Can we talk?

You glanced down at your screen, psychoanalysing every since character. You hit send and then threw your phone on the couch, as if something were going to happen. After breakfast, you went back to your house. Mostly staring off in deep thought. Josh… you knew you had new feelings for him to say the least. They had been developing for a while, but you could never quite place them. The thought of him hurting over you made you want to gouge your eyes out. Then there was Jake. Someone who made your heart beat fast and your back arch like a cat. You didn’t feel the same way for either of them, there was a clear difference in the two.

After thirty minutes your phone was buzzing. You cautiously walked over and picked it up, only to see an incoming call from Josh. Your stomach flips at the sight of it.

“Hey!” Josh cheerily sang out on the other line. “What are you up to?”

You bit your lip. “Nothing too exciting. I’m actually feeling a little bit under the weather.”

You could hear the concern in his voice. “Oh? What’s wrong? I’m at the studio today, but I could come by after and bring you soup or something.”

You shake your head. “No it’s okay. I’m fine, I just feel bleh. I need to rest I suppose and I don’t need you getting sick.”

“Okay. Well, if you need me, call me. You know I’ll be there. If you’re feeling better tomorrow we can go to dinner. Listen, I’ve got to run, I just wanted to check in on you.”

When you got off the phone you felt tears well in your eyes. You were tired, confused, and had no idea what to do next. Eventually, you grabbed the fluffiest blanket you owned and curled up on your couch. When you opened your eyes again it was getting near dark.

“Fuck.” You murmured.

You had slept a perfectly good day away. You picked up your phone to glance at the time and saw that Jake had responded around 20 minutes ago.

About to leave the studio. Want me to come by?

Before you could even think you typed out “yes.” You immediately went into cleaning mode and poured a glass of wine to settle your nerves. You decided to try and make yourself a little more presentable, running a brush through your hair and mascara in your lashes. You felt incredibly anxious, but kept your mind and hands busy cleaning. A half an hour later, you heard knocking at your door.

“Hi.” There stood Jake, as devastatingly beautiful as ever.

“Hey.” You replied, shuffling to the side to let him in.

“Wine?” You asked.

He nodded and sat at your kitchen table watching you uncork a bottle of red.

“Here.” You offered, sitting down the stemmed glass.

“Thanks.” He replied, swirling the liquid around. “So, what’s on your mind Sugar?”

“What are we doing Jake?” You ask, crossing your arms.

He furrows his brows at you. “What do you mean?”

You sigh at him. “You know what I mean.”

He takes a sip of wine and eyes you. “I dunno. We have… history. We’re just screwing around, having fun.”

You bite your lip. “Why?”

Jake crosses his arms right back at you. “Because we’re both consenting adults who enjoy each other?”

You shake your head. “No, I mean why are we doing this? We both know we are never going to have anything out of this. The longer we keep this up, the deeper we get.”

Jake blows out a breath. “I… I don’t have an answer for that Sugs.”

“You know that we will never have something to hold on to. You like to fuck around too much and I won’t put up with it.” You blurt out.

Jake rolls his eyes at that. “Why do we have to have labels on anything? I thought you were the one insisting on no strings?”

You laugh. “Seriously? You get pissed anytime any other man talks to me or touches me. Sure, no strings but I don’t want you sleeping with the whole fucking world while we are doing whatever in the hell we are doing!”

He rubs his eyes. “Fuck. I know, I know.”

“We have to stop.” You say, quietly.

Jake glances at you, his facial expression unreadable. “I don’t want to.”

“We have to. Whatever this is between us that we don’t talk about, and I’m not talking about the sex, is never going to be fixable. We aren’t good together. We both know it and we shouldn’t be bound to one another. No matter how much we feel like we might want to at times. You’re a rockstar for Christ’s sake. You can do whatever you want and have whoever you want. It suits you. I don’t.”

“Don’t say that.” He mumbles.

You shrug your shoulders.

Jake ponders this for a minute and rubs his face. “Fuck. When did things get so complicated between us huh?”

You laugh. “It always has been.”

“I suppose you’re right. I just don’t know how I’m supposed to be around you and not want to touch you.” He pokes with a smirk.

“The feeling is mutual…” you spit back.

His eyes find yours and he rubs his palms on his jeans. “One last time?”

“Jake…”

He raises his eyebrows at you.

Your heart is pounding in your chest. You want to hold strong, you really do. “One last time.” You agree. “But this is it, so make it count.”

“I intend to.” Jake says, nearly jumping out of his seat.

His lips are on yours instantly, that warm familiar sensation flooding through you. You and Jake couldn’t have a relationship together, but you definitely had this.

He walked you all the way to your room, your lips rarely detaching. You both collapsed on your bed, your hands tangled into his hair as he fumbled with the hem of your shirt.

“Fuck.” He groaned, as he pulled your top off. His hands meeting the soft flesh on your chest.

He slipped out of his shirt and pants then tugged your shorts down.

“You’re soaked Sugs.” Jake taunts, sliding his fingers over your clothed center.

You shutter at the feeling and close your eyes, trying to process that this would be the last time. Your eyes peel open after Jake delivers a swift smack to your center.

“Eye on me baby.” He warns.

You crack a smile. He wants to play tonight. He then makes a show out of removing your panties and kisses around your thighs, biting into the skin closest to your inner thigh. Finally, his fingers find your center and you moan. He adds his mouth and you’re all but there already.

“Oh god.” You softly cry, gripping the sheets.

He makes an obscene sound with his mouth and smiles up at you. “Not God, but you can worship me tonight baby.”

That did it. You felt that band snap inside of you as your orgasm washed over you. You rode out that feeling as long as you could.

Jake wasted no time turning you around and propping your ass up in the air. He smacked your ass and you felt your flesh ripple.

“Goddamn I will never get tired of that.” He all but moaned.

He teased you for a few minutes until he couldn’t stand it anymore, sinking into you. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head.

Jake pressed you up against his back as he placed sloppy kisses down your jaw. His small amount of stubble tickling the your neck.. He sent his other hand down to your most sensitive spot, swirling his pointer and middle finger with the exact amount of pressure. You could tell he was coming undone.

“Don’t want this to end baby. Fuck.” He growled in your ear.

“Then don’t stop Jake. Don’t stop. God- just like that.” You whined.

He gripped your face sending two fingers in your mouth. You sucked around them and working your tongue in unison.

He moaned out at that. “You drive me fuckin’ crazy. You know that?”

You nodded, his fingers still in your mouth.

“Fuck.” Jake spit, as he pulled out of you and flipped you around. “Wanna see that pretty face when I make you come again.”

He swung one of your legs over his shoulder and gave it his all. You could tell he was holding back, but you were almost there again.

“I’m close Jake.” You manage to get out.

He picks up his pace. “Yeah? You like that? You take it so fucking well. Just like a slut. You liked to be fucked like a slut don’t you baby?”

You lit on fire at that. He knew exactly how to get you off as you nodded with tears in your eyes.

“Mhm that’s what I thought. Such a dirty little girl. Come on baby, give it to me Sugar. Wanna feel you.” He said confidently.

You couldn’t resist. You squeezed him as tight as you could and came harder than you had in a very long time. He was directly behind you, squeezing your hips so tightly you knew there would be bruises.

He panted a few times and then leaned down, kissing you softly before rolling off.

Then, your doorbell rang.

You shot up.

“Expecting visitors?” Jake asked with a confused face.

You shake your head.

“Want me to get it? He asks, grabbing his boxers.

“No, throw me my phone. Let me check my doorbell camera.” You say.

Jake begrudgingly grabs your phone and gives it to you. Your blood runs cold when you see who’s at your door.

“Josh?” Jake asks, surprise in his tone.

“Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Fuck!” You panic.

You glance at the screen again. He’s standing at your door with a bag of what you presume is soup and a 6 pack of ginger ale. You truly were such a giant piece of shit. Thankfully, Josh places all of the items on your doorstep and pulls out his phone.

Dropped by some goodies for you :) I hope you’re not asleep, your soup will be cold!

The text came through as soon as he turned around.

Jake scoffed a laugh.

You furrowed your brows at him. “What could possibly be funny! What if he saw your car?”

He rolled his eyes. “Relaxxxxxx drama queen. I had to park on the other side of the building because there was no parking. Even if he did, who cares?”

“He would be crushed and you know that.” You say, defensively- guilt washing through you.

“He follows you around like a fuckin’ lost puppy.” He huffs out.

“He’s my best friend Jake.” You spit, crossing your arms.

He makes a face at you. “Right.”

You run your fingers through your hair. “Fuck. We shouldn’t have done this.”

“Seriously?” Jake asks, a bite in his tone.

You nod.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” He belts out. “This is why we can’t work! This right here! You’re so goddamn hot and cold with me!”

You quickly throw your pants back on. “Me? Jake be so for real for one fucking second! You can’t commit for shit, but I’m the problem?”

“I can!” He yells. “You just don’t want it! You play this little charade that you do, but deep down you don’t.”

“I don’t know what I want Jake! But you don’t either!” You yell.

He backs down at that and you both take a few moments of silence to try and calm down.

You take a deep breath. “I don’t know how we operate from here. This is exhausting for both of us.”

He scoffs at you. “Yeah, no fucking kidding. Why are you so goddamn stubborn?”

You can’t help but crack a smile. “Why are you?”

Jake leans back on to your bed, scooting next to you. “We tried, I guess.”

You nuzzle next to him and laugh. “We kind of did.”

“I don’t know how to be your friend.” Jake admits, quietly.

You pause, trying to gauge what he’s saying. “We need some distance, but we’ll get there I think.”

He rubs his eyes. “Yeah.”

You both sit in silence for a few minutes, before Jake gets up. “I’m going to go.”

“Okay.” You offer softly.

He gives you a long glance. “Take care of yourself Sugar.”

You smile softly. “You too.”

With that, he dresses himself and leaves.

A wave of melancholy washes through you. It was kind of like a break up, but a needed one with a sense of closure. Guilt also fell upon you as you opened your door to see what Josh had brought you. You couldn’t even begin to fathom telling him about what has transpired between you and Jake, especially knowing what you know.

You grabbed your soup and made your way to your couch, grabbing your phone. You dialed Josh’s number and felt your heart beating unusually fast.

“Well hello.” He voice rang out, smooth and beautiful.

“Hi Joshy.” You cooed. “Have I ever told you how good you are to me?”

You can hear the grin on his face through the line. “A time or two, but I never get sick of hearing it. Feeling any better?”

“Yeah.” You croak out. “I- um slept some of it off I think.”

“Good.” He replies. “Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow if you feel up to it? I gotta make up for Friday night.”

You feel giddy at that. “Hm, let me check my schedule. Ah! I think I can pencil you in.”

He giggles into the phone. “Great. I appreciate your generosity.”

You both droned on the phone for a few hours, a new sense of excitement pitted in your stomach.

You didn’t know that Josh had felt that way about you. It was something you had been blind to. What was even more surprising to you, however, was the fact that you felt the same way about Josh.

And you didn’t even know the extent of it yet.

***

Thank you for reading <3

[age-of-greta]

The Sun

The Sun presents a feeling of optimism and fulfillment. It represents the dawn which follows the darkest of nights.

Author’s note: omg hi!! I’m SO SORRY it’s been so long. There has been so much going on, but rest assured this fic is most definitely still ongoing! I hope you like this chapter & please feel free to refresh by reading parts 1-3!

Parings: Josh x reader & Jake x reader

Warnings: sexual content, angst, cursing, alcohol consumption, minors DNI

Word count: 7k

PART 4:

Three weeks later and things were strange. You and Jake had continued to sneak around, but it felt casual. After the initial newness of the sex had worn off, your feelings seemed to have shifted. Which made you question if it were feelings or lust that always drew you towards him. The sex was phenomenal; mind blowing every time. Of course you cared for Jake, but it just wasn’t as intense as it had felt before. You felt like you were living a double life. You kind of were, but things were so different. When you weren’t sneaking around with Jake you were with Josh. Acting entirely normal, like nothing had changed. You tried to balance both, but it was exhausting. You felt insanely guilty lying to Josh, especially since he trusted you with his life. In a few days they would leave to hit the road for a few shows. Only two and a half weeks. Part of you had felt relieved. You would get a few days away from whatever fucked up kind of double life you were living. Tonight was their little going away party, supposed to be just a few friends and crew with a kickback at their house. You were finishing up getting ready, opting for a light pink mini dress with some kitten heels. You did your normal makeup and jewelry then threw tight curls in your hair, brushing them out. You felt cute. You sipped on your glass of wine through a metal straw while you waited for Josh to come and get you. Surely enough, a few minutes later there was a knock at your door. You waltz over enthusiastically, but couldn’t hide your shock when Jake was behind the door.

“Whew helllllo Sugar.”

Immediately his hand found your waist and his lips on yours. You giggled in response while also kissing him back with fervor.

“Josh. Will. Be. Here. Any. Minute.” You protested between kisses.

Jake backed you up to your entryway table and smirked.

“No he won’t. He’s on the other side of town with Sam picking up food trays that I may or may not have called in thirty minutes later than they thought.”

“Jake…” you warned.

“Shhh.” He stated as he lifted you onto the table and spread your legs with his knees. “Let me make you feel good baby.”

You glanced into his eyes, full of lust as he lightly began dusting kisses on your jaw. A warmth spread throughout your body. Jake collected your dress up and began to squeeze at your thighs, driving you wild. His fingers found your center and you were squirming.

“So fucking sexy.” he panted into your neck and he slowly made his way to his knees.

He grabbed you by the bottom of your thighs and scooted you closer to him before ripping your panties down to your ankles. After a few intense seconds of eye contact his mouth meets your center. You jerk your head back and grip the table for dear life. There was no use trying to hold on, he was trying to get one out of you quickly. He was succeeding.

“Fuck- oh fuck.” You whined.

He hummed in response and gripped your thigh to the point of bruises. It sparred you on even further and your release came crashing down over you. You were left a panting mess as Jake resurfaced, a sly grin plastered on his face. His mouth met yours as you tasted yourself on his tongue.

“That’s just a preview for tonight, baby. I want you to come and sneak into my room so I can show you how much I’m going to miss you.”

You cocked your head and pretended to ponder the scenario. “We’ll see how the night plays out.”

Jake smirks at you. “Little tease.”

You plop down off the table a little wobbly from the exertion.

Jake quickly steadies you with a laugh. “Whoa girl.”

You quickly clean yourself up and fix your hair. You added more power around your mouth and found your lipstick in your bag. You leaned over the table gliding the sheen pink product over your lips. You could see Jake exiting the bathroom in your peripheral, mesmerized by the position he had found you in. He walks over and delivers a swift smack to your ass. “Mhm- fuck. This is the position I want you in later.”

You chuckle at him. “Yeah- yeah. You better get going, Josh will be here soon.”

Jake shrugs. “Just ride with me. I’m already here, makes no sense to wait and have him come here.”

You think about it, then overthink about it.

“He and Sam won’t even be there yet. C’mon Sugar it’s a ride not a proposal.” Jake states matter-of-factly.

“Okay, yeah fine.” You cave, grabbing your stuff.

Jake grabs your overnight back and loads it up in his vehicle. It’s a short drive to their house of course and relief washes over you when you see that Josh’s Jeep is still gone.

“Want me to take this up?” Jake asks you with a raised brow.

“To Josh’s.” You respond.

He huffs and nods before returning back to you. Jake tasks you with helping him tap the keg, which proves to be somewhat of an easy task.

“Fuck- Sam it doesn’t matter! Just hurry up and get back here, people will be showing up soon.”

You glance up and see Danny yelling at his phone. His eyes widen slightly after seeing you and Jake. You can’t imagine what he’s thinking, but you know Danny always keeps his speculations to himself. He clears his throat and approaches you. “Oh hey. Apparently nothing was ready when Josh and Sam showed up to the wing place and now Sam is pissing around at Kroger over wine.”

Jake lets out a small laugh, knowing he had caused most of the chaos. “Wouldn’t be a party without a few fuck ups huh?”

Danny shook his head. “Sure wouldn’t. I’m going to go get changed.”

You waved him off while Jake poured you both a beer. Soon enough you heard Sam and Josh pull in, arguing of course.

You made way towards them so you could help in any way that you could, feeling bad that Josh was stressed out.

“Sam I swear to god! Get this goddamn platter I have to go get-“

“Boo!” You yelled from behind him.

Josh spun around with a confused smile on his face. “What? Hey, I didn’t see your car out front.”

You laughed and played it off. “I got tired of waiting so I just hitchhiked over here.”

Immediately you felt guilty. You had determined lying to Josh was your least favorite thing to do. “Alright what can I do to help? Put me to work Joshy.”

He smiles at your nickname. “Well okay. Can you grab plates and cups?”

**

After a stressful half hour of setting up, everything was finally ready and people were showing up. You tucked yourself next to Josh like you normally did. Jake understood this and often didn’t interfere despite the current situation between you two.

“Alright alright enough busy body! Let’s drink. You look gorgeous per usual by the way, love the dress.” Josh complimented with a genuine smile.

You smiled back at him. “Why thank you. Let’s get a stiff one please.”

Josh chuckled. “You get me.”

He grabbed your hand and spun you around the room dodging through people to get to the makeshift bar that had been set up outside.

“Whad’ya say? Shall we indulge?” Josh snickers at you.

You pretend to clutch your pearls and turn on a thick southern accent. “Why Joshua Michael! I never thought you’d ask!”

“Sammy boy! Two vodka cranberries please!” Josh yells dramatically towards his younger brother.

Sam gave you two a pointed look and rolled his eyes. “I’m not bartending asshole.”

You pout your lip at him. “Ah Sammy, come on.”

He huffs. “That’s not even fair. You know I won’t say no to you. Josh, count your lucky stars for your girl.” Sam announces pointing his finger at you.

You giggle and blush at that while Josh beams with pride and wraps his arm around you. “I do every day. Now chop chop!”

After Sam hesitantly mixed up the most basic cocktail and garnished it with a lime wedge you two were off socializing.

“Josh, this tastes like I’m throwing up tonight.” You choke back a gag while sipping what is almost straight Tito’s.

He nods. “Yeah I get that. It’s nostalgic and all but how in the hell did we blackout on this shit every Saturday?”

“We were just dumb kids. I’m switching to Pino after this.”

He chuckles at that. “We were fun though. But I also like Pino, very classy.”

At that moment you caught red hair out of your peripheral vision. What the fuck.

You spin your head around to sure enough see her meandering around, definitely on the hunt for Jake.

“You good?” Josh asks, looking at you concerned.

You blink and shake your head. “Yes, yes sorry. This shit is just giving me a headache.”

Josh takes your drink from your hand and dumps it out. “Fuck that then. Let’s switch to wine.”

He grabs your hand and whisks you back inside taking you inside of their pantry.

“Ah here.” He reaches into the wine fridge and pulls out your favorite.

You smile. “What? I didn’t know you had this here.”

He grins and nods. “I actually have two bottles. Picked it up last week, figured I better keep your favorite on hand.”

You playfully punch his shoulder. “You’re too good to me.”

He uncorks the wine and pours both of you cups full. You hum when you take your first sip. “Much more my speed.”

Josh kept the bottle with him, topping you off when it had gotten low. You had become quite buzzed and so had Josh. His skin tinted pink, something you had come to notice happened when he would get wine drunk. You even thought it was cute. He was right in the middle of an animated conversation with some tech of some kind. He talks with his hands when he’s excited, and he was going. An uncomfortable sensation had settled in your bladder. You silently cursed yourself for drinking so much wine so quickly. You grabbed Josh’s arm.

“Hey I’m going to run to the bathroom really quick.”

He glanced over at you and nodded, giving you a smile. You strolled your way through the party. There were more people there than you had anticipated, although it seemed to be a trend. You tucked yourself in the half bath under the stairs. After the much needed relief you washed your hands, blotted your face, and ran your fingers through your hair. When you emerged you bumped into someone standing outside of the door.

“Oop. Sorry excuse me.” You apologized.

“No worries! Sorry I didn’t know anyone was in there. Most people don’t know about this little bathroom. I don’t think I’ve seen you before. I’m Patrick.” He stuck out his hand for you to shake.

You accepted. You had never seen him either, he was handsome you supposed. “Y/n.” You offered back.

“Nice to meet you. Can I get you a drink?” He touched your arm. “Your cup looks empty.”

You see Jake. He furrows his brows and makes his way over to you. Jake places his hand on Patrick’s shoulder. Patrick whips around. “Jake! Hey man, good to see you.”

Jake blinks at him. “Yeah fuck off Patrick.”

He looks at Jake wildly, then glances at you. He huffs a breath and is on his way.

You cross your arms. “That was pleasant.”

Jake shrugs. “He’s a douche. Don’t even know why he’s here and especially don’t know why he thinks he can talk to you. Anyway, having fun Sugs?”

You nod. “Oh yeah, a blast.”

He steps closer to you. “Yeah, me too. But I find myself yearning for later.”

You smirk at him. “The night is young Jakey. Don’t wish it away.”

You waltz off and feel Jake’s eyes on you. You find Josh in another conversation, he smiles and wraps his arm around you when he sees you. You can see Sam approaching the two of you. He has a joint and a cigarette both hanging from his mouth.

“Evening.” Sam says, his eyes incredibly red.

You laugh at him. “Sam! Oh my god.”

He takes the joint out of his mouth and winks at you. “Here ya go babe. Enjoy. I have about ten more of these stashed in my room.”

You take the bud to your mouth and take a small hit. “So generous. Thank you.”

“I’m hiding out over here. I can’t shake Holly dude. She keeps on following me around. I guess Jake is avoiding her or something.”

Oh?

Josh crosses his arms. “Strange.”

“You’re fucking telling me.” Sam huffs. “When’s the last time he even saw her? I feel like it’s been a while.”

“I dunno.” Josh shrugs. “I know he went over there a few weeks ago, because he was still up when I left for my trip.”

A few weeks ago? No, he was at the studio right?

“Fuck there she is. I’m going to find Daniel.” Sam says, ducking out.

Josh takes the joint from your hand and takes a puff. “Spastic thing.”

You fake a smile, but you felt strange. Fucking Jake.

Josh proceeded to get insanely high, while you paced yourself. You two kept to yourselves for the remainder of the party, finding two chairs to sit in outside. Despite the weirdness, being with Josh always made you feel okay. He was the light at the end of a tunnel. You couldn’t feel salty when you were constantly laughing at your best friend’s inebriated state.

“I’m so fucking high.” Josh giggled.

“I can tell!” You respond, reaching over and pushing hair from his face. “Want me to take you to bed? I think pretty much everyone has left.”

He makes a pouty face at you. “Will you come with me?”

You smile and nod. “I will, but I’m going to help clean up a bit. Last thing you guys need to worry about tomorrow is cleaning before you hit the road. I’ll bring you snacks when I’m finished.”

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” Josh coos and takes your hand, giving it a small kiss. That made you feel warm?

You passed Danny on the way in and you let him know you would be back down to help. You helped Josh take off his shoes and tucked him in nicely with a promise to return soon. The living room was empty when you made it down there. Plastic cups, cracker crumbs, and sticky spots lined the coffee table. You huffed, once again you had found yourself on clean up duty. Nevertheless you got to work.

“Well hey, what are you doing?”

You turn around and see Jake, carrying trash bags through the house.

“Attempting to transform this place from a frat house to a frat home.” You retorted, stacking cups.

Jake snickered at that. “Where’s Josh? We’re both supposed to be on clean up duty.”

“He’s stoned out of his mind thanks to Sam. He’s already in bed.”

Jake smirks at you. “I see. How was your night?”

You began to throw all of the living room trash into the bags Jake was carrying, while he helped. “It was good, chill. How was yours?”

Jake shrugged. “I’ve been in my room mostly. Found an interesting documentary that’s kept my attention.”

“A documentary over a party? Who are you?” You poke.

“Yeah yeah. To be fair my party will start when everyone leaves.”

“Why’s that? Gonna show me this documentary?” You ask, playfully.

Jake smiles at you. “Gonna show you all kinds of things Sugs.”

You rolled your eyes at him. Both of you had worked together and had gotten the inside rather clean. Jake had sat you down at the island in the kitchen for a nightcap. There were still a few stragglers with Sam and Danny outside, so you two had decided to be done cleaning for now.

“You wanna go to bed?” Jake asks, taking of sip of his drink.

You shake your head. “You know I can’t right now. I need to check on Josh.”

Jake reaches over and places his hand on your thigh. “Oh come on now Sugar I-“

You hear a cackle cut Jake off mid sentence. “So this is why you’ve been so MIA?”

You turn your head to see redhead walking towards the both of you.

She crosses her arms and makes a disgusted face. “I was looking for you just so I could return this.” Redhead unzips her shoulder bag and throws a gray t-shirt on the counter at Jake. “You left this at my house last time.”

“Thanks.” Jake responds, flatly.

You bite the inside of your cheek, entirely unsure of what to do.

Redhead stands there in silence, like she’s waiting for Jake to say something. He doesn’t.

“Un-fucking-believable.” She mutters while her heels click against the wood floors.

You glance over at Jake with an unsure look on your face.

He takes a deep breath and shrugs. “What a night huh?”

Despite that scene. Despite the uneasiness that arose in your chest. Despite your best judgment, you still ended up in Jake’s bed that night.

**

You groggily woke up the next morning. It was pitch black and you had no idea what time it was. You nearly jumped out of your skin when you remembered where you were. Fuck. Jake was peacefully sleeping next you you. You fumbled around until you found your clothes, quickly throwing them on. 5:42 am the alarm clock read. Okay maybe Josh is still out. You had left him asleep hours ago and that guilt and anxiety crawled up your spine. With the most stealth you could muster, you creaked towards the door and down the hallway. You were shaky as you grabbed Josh’s door handle. Thankfully he was in a similar position you left him in. You crawled in bed next to him and shimmied under the covers. Josh absentmindedly wrapped his arm around you. Guilt was gnawing at your stomach. It would be impossible to fall asleep. Instead you laid there while your mind ran 100 miles per hour. Before you knew it, two hours had passed and Josh was beginning to stir next to you.

“Good morning.” He grumbled.

“Morning. Feeling okay?” You asked.

He nodded. “Need coffee. Can we go to breakfast?”

You let out a small laugh. “Yeah of course. Let me shower really quick.”

You made your way to the bathroom and showered Jake off of you. Fuck, you were in such a sticky situation. Josh trailed in after you as you dressed yourself and threw your hair up. It wasn’t too long before the both of you were ready to be on your way. Their flight was later tonight and you knew there was a lot to be done before they left. You made sure to grab your bags and take them. You didn’t want to attempt the awkwardness of a goodbye to Jake in front of Josh.

“This coffee is delicious.” Josh smiled and rubbed his eyes over his steaming cup. You two had ended up at an old fashioned dinner in a part of town that wasn’t bustling. It was somewhere you had frequented often.

“Your coffee is pitch black Josh. No flavor today?” You poke.

He raised his eyebrows at you. “After last night? No thank you. Speaking of, were you okay? Did you get sick? At one point I woke up and you weren’t there.”

You feel that guilt again, but swallow it down and shake your head. “No, I was fine. Just didn’t sleep that great. Guess I’m just sad you’re leaving.” You poke out your bottom lip to pout.

Josh gives you a bright smile. “Oh you poor thing. You know, if you wanted, you could come with us?”

You furrow your brows at him.

He shrugs. “I’m serious. It would be fun.”

You shake your head. “I can’t. My job is lenient, but not that lenient.”

“Understandable, but know the offer stands.”

You give him a grin. “Thanks for the offer to be your groupie.”

Josh makes a teasing face at you. “As if you’re not already?”

You playfully throw a Splenda packet at him. “Watch it.”

After you had both eaten breakfast Josh had surprised you and pulled up outside of a thrift store you had been dying to go to. You squealed in delight when you had arrived.

“Okay. I have one rule.” Josh states with a smug grin.

You pinch your brows at him. “What is that?”

“Let’s split for the first fifteen and pick out something for the other to try on.”

You smile at that. “Okay, deal.”

Both of you giggle and speed walk into the store with an agreement to meet at the dressing rooms soon.

You galavant over to the men’s section and immediately see plenty of patterns that excite you. You finger through the fabrics contemplating on something that screams Josh. You pull a flashy black jacket and run your fingers over the embroidered details. This was not something Josh would wear, but his twin would. Fuck why are you thinking of him right now? You place the hanger back on the rack with the slightest hint of frustration. Then a piece of velvet caught your eye. You smile at the piece in your hand. Perfect.

Josh approaches you with a giant smile and his hands behind his back. “Ready?” He asks, enthusiastically.

You nod. “Go for it!”

Josh pulls out a black shark bite dress that’s draped in sheer fabric with bell sleeves.

“Josh!” You exclaim with a genuine smile. “That is absolutely gorgeous!”

He grins. “Yeah I thought so too. Very Stevie-like. It will look beautiful on you.”

A small blush dusts your cheeks. “My turn. You ready?”

Josh nods.

You present the dark crimson velvet spectacle to him.

“A jumpsuit?” He laughs.

“Yes!” You shriek. “You have to try it on.”

He grabs it from you. “Of course I will. This is really something.”

You take your dress and step into the dressing room. You grab the curtain and give him a wink. “It is, isn't it? Very Elvis-like. It will look beautiful on you.”

**

Josh bought the jumpsuit and he bought your dress along with loads of other treasures. You had made it back to your apartment and were sad to part ways with Josh. But, they were leaving tonight and he had so much to do. You took his haul with you and decided to wash it and have everything ready for him when he returned. He left you in your living room with a promise to call you and a forehead kiss. You felt something not entirely innocent after that. You rubbed your eyes with the palms of your hand and tried to forget about whatever in the hell that was. You made yourself a giant glass of ice water with lemon to try and heal your insides, then plopped down on your couch. You looked at your phone for the first time all day, expecting to see a text from Jake-but nothing. Strange. You thought, but this would become a new normal.

**

Two weeks later:

Your phone buzzing woke you up from a Friday evening nap. You yawned and rubbed your eye, accidentally smearing mascara. You were still in your work attire. The past two weeks had been weird. You hadn’t heard a single peep from Jake, but had spoken to Josh daily. It had become a ritual that Josh would FaceTime you before shows and you had almost forgotten about tonight's scheduled performance. You smoothed your hair out and answered your phone.

“There she is!” Josh beamed into the phone with a beautiful smile.

You wiped the black from under your eye and smiled back at him. “Hi.”

“I have a surprise for you.” He gushes and then flips his phone camera around to reveal him standing in a full length mirror wearing a bedazzled brilliant jumpsuit.

Your face lit up. “Josh! Oh my god!”

He laughs. “You inspired me.”

“I love it. You look so handsome Joshy.” You coo.

His cheeks dust pink at that and he clears his throat to try and hide it. “Well thank you my darling. What are you up to on this fine Friday evening?”

You sigh. “I actually just woke up from a nap. Might get extra wild and DoorDash something.”

Josh panned the camera back to him and began walking around the dressing rooms. “Ooh that does sound enthralling. You should treat yourself, I know you had a tumultuous week at work. Did you ever get that spreadsheet finished?”

You couldn’t help but smile at that. He always remembered the little details. “Yes. I finally submitted it this morning.”

He smiles. “Thadda girl. Hey, guys! Look who it is!”

Josh pans the phone around to reveal a green room where everyone seems to be hanging out. Danny is picking at Sam’s bass while Sam hovers above him scribbling down notes. Jake is on the couch with his beloved in hand… next to a blonde girl. Next to a smiling blonde girl, who he is close to and smiling back at. They all look up briefly and smile and wave. Jake’s eyes stay on the screen for a second, his smile drops, then he turns back to the girl. Ouch.

“Listen up! I need all of you dressed and prepped in 10 minutes. We have a content session!” You see Devan enter the room with a clipboard.

Josh rolls his eyes. “Gotta jet. I’ll call you later?”

You nod. “Of course. Break a leg tonight.”

He blows a kiss into the phone. “I always do. Farewell for now.”

The phone call ends and you’re left feeling blue. You decide to get up and take a shower, then head straight to the pilates studio. After an intense workout, you felt better. You thought a drink would make you feel even better. You glanced down at your casual black leggings with sneakers paired with your makeup-less face and high ponytail. Not your usual bar attire, but it would do. You walk into the rather bustling bar and sit directly at the bar. “Dirty martini with vodka please.” You ask the bartender as you slap your card down.

She nods and is off.

You rub your temple and start scrolling on your phone. You hear your name called and spin your head around to see a man approaching you. Aiden.

“Oh hi!” Your face flushed red. You look entirely out of place compared to his nice suit. You also had ghosted him since your last date. There was absolutely no room for another man in your life since those two popped in.

He gives you a smile, but there’s a bit of hesitation. “I thought that was you. You just finish a workout?”

You laugh. “Yes. I had a late night pilates class. Decided to pop in for a quick drink.”

He took the seat next to you. “Gotcha. Everything okay?”

You nod a little too fast. “Mhm! Just been really busy with work. We’ve had some pretty tight deadlines. Lots of late nights.”

“I hear that.” He chews on his cheek. “I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

Your smile fades a little. “I know, I’ve just been so occupied lately. Listen, I’m sorr-“

He throws his hand up. “No, no. It’s okay, you don’t owe me anything. Really.” He gives you a soft smile. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. I think you’re a great person and I had fun getting to know you. Just know if you need anything, you can call me.”

A wave of relief washes over you. He’s such a nice guy. You should abandon all of the bullshit that’s currently on the other side of the country and go home with him. Start a life, get married, have kids, get a dog, white picket fence. But you know deep down he will never fulfill that fucked up hole inside of you.

“Aiden!”

He glances over and you see a cute little blonde calling his name.

“Welp, better go.” He starts to get up, but you lightly place your hand on his. He freezes and looks at you.

“Thank you. For everything.” You give him a soft smile and remove your hand.

He nods and heads off to the blonde, but not before giving you one last glance.

You truly hope she makes him happy. He deserves it. You do not.

**

On Wednesday you decided to leave the office early and get your nails done. You were in need of a pick me up after the hell that was staff meetings. You decided on a bubble bath pink and got the matching color on your toes. As you were leaving you got a call from Josh.

“Hellloooooo?” You answered, grabbing the door.

“Hey sweet thang. Check your email.”

You made a confused face and pulled your phone from your ear. You scanned through your emails.

Etsy. Free People. Words With Friends. American Airlines?

Flight 1258 nonstop First Class from Nashville to New York City.

“Josh, what the hell is this?” You ask, with shock in your voice.

“Pack your bags! We just last minute booked a show this weekend in New York to extend this leg. Please tell me you’ll come, that ticket is non-refundable.”

You bite your lip. “I- um I- fuck. Okay. Oh my god you’re so stressful!”

He chuckles at you. “I know I know. I’m sorry! I just found out this morning and my first thought was how could I get you there.”

You smiled at that. “We better be back in Nashville on Sunday. The farmer’s market is going to have fresh heirloom tomatoes.”

You can envision the smile that brings to his face. “Scout’s honor.”

**

New York City’s airport was something you had never navigated before. To make it worse, your flight had been delayed and you had barely made it in time to even get to the hotel before the show tonight. A part of you was so excited. You were going to see your best friend and get to go to New York for the first time. Another part of you dreaded it. Seeing Jake after weeks of silence would be strange. You had literally not had a conversation with him since he was last inside of you.

Your bag bounced around the tile floors as you bobbed and weaved in between the hoards of people, whispering non-reciprocated excuse me’s. You were definitely not in the South anymore. You saw the sign for the pickup doors and smiled. Almost there. Once outside you were assaulted with honking horns and loud yelling, but you turned to your right and Josh was beelining right for you. He grabbed you and picked you up in a spinning hug.

“Ah! Finally! I was starting to think you weren’t going to make it.” He grinned.

Josh looked… good. Even in his casual outfit, something about him seemed slightly different. You knew playing shows gave him a glow, because the same thing happened to Jake.

“Yeah me either. That was hell.” You laughed.

“I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.” With a wink, he grabbed your bag and your hand as he led you through the crowd.

You both piled into a car with a driver wearing a fancy hat. You gave Josh a look and he just shrugged. After sitting in traffic, you finally pulled up to a ritzy hotel. Josh unloaded your bag and kept checking his watch profusely.

“Fuck. I know you just got here, but I have to get to sound check. Do you think you could be ready in the next hour or so? I’ll send the car back to get you.”

You nod. “Yeah, of course. I’ll see you soon. Get out of here.”

He kissed your cheek and sprinted out the door. That was becoming a new, but typical thing for you two.

You showered off the airport grime and immediately began to blow out your hair. An hour was definitely pushing it for getting ready, but for Josh you would make it happen. You threw on a pair of black ruffled tiered flare pants and paired it with a black tube top. You added a gold chunky belt, hoops, necklaces, and bangles then did a messy smokey eye. That would have to do.

Josh called and let you know that the driver was waiting in the lobby. You stole a shooter of tequila from the mini bar and swallowed it down attempting to settle your nerves. Traffic was bad, of course it was New York City. You took a moment to glance out of the window. Lights, people, happenings. You wondered if Josh still felt this way when he explored a new city. They had been almost everywhere at this point. You couldn’t help but feel proud of him, of all of them really.

Josh met you at the back door, throwing a “VIP” pass around your neck. “Gorgeous as always.”

You gave him a smile and admired his new jumpsuit. “Look at you! This is fantastic.”

“You might have changed my whole entire stage outfits. I feel great in these. Liberated.” He complimented.

“I’m glad. You look great in them too.”

Josh took your hand and led you down a corridor of hallways until finally making it to the main hangout area. The openers were set to go on twenty, which meant the boys would be on in less than 2 hours.

Josh brought you into the room and you saw Sam and Danny goofing around, no Jake.

“Ah! What!” Sam yells across the room when he sees you.

He runs to hug you. “What are you doing here?” He asks.

You look over at Josh who is smiling. “Surprise.”

“In the big city huh? When did you get in?” Danny asks, while pulling you in for a side hug.

“About two hours ago actually! It’s been a little crazy.” You confess.

Sam nods. “I’ll say. Is this why you were late for soundcheck Josh?”

Josh shrugs and heads off to the bar. At that moment you see Jake walk in with a glass in hand. He’s walking next to Devan and giggling like a schoolgirl. He freezes in his tracks when he sees you. Devan makes a face at you.

“Oh… well hey.” Jake approaches you. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

You play it off nonchalantly. “Josh invited me.”

He gives you a small smile and runs his eyes up and down your body. “Great.”

Then he heads back over to Devan and scrolls through something on her iPad.

Josh returns moments later with a seltzer for you. “Want to go watch the openers side stage?”

You thank him and nod. Following him out of the room. Jake didn’t seem bothered one bit that you were there either way. Once you made it side stage, the openers started. The crowd was electric. You couldn’t help but try to peek out just to see how many people were there. By the third song everyone else had joined you over there including the ever so pleasant Devan.

“Fuck. I’ll be right back. Have to do another mic fitting.” Josh leaned over and told you.

You nodded at him and smiled. “Okay, no rush!”

Once Josh was off you took the opportunity to head to the bathroom before the show. You glanced at yourself in the mirror and reapplied some lipgloss. When you opened the door you were greeted with Jake, who bolted in and shut the door behind you.

“I really like that outfit.” His hand grips your hip while the other grabs your neck. Then he leans in and attaches his lips to yours, aggressively. You can’t help but kiss him back at first, but eventually come to your senses.

“Jake- wait.”

He gives you an odd look. “Everything okay?”

You take a step back and huff. “You haven’t spoken to me in over two weeks.”

He purses his lips and crosses his arms. “You haven’t spoken to me either. But you sure find time to speak to my brother.”

You roll your eyes at that. “Not the same thing. Josh is also my best friend.”

He lets out a half laugh. “Bullshit.”

You cock your head to the side. “Bullshit? What’s bullshit is that you lie to me. You fucked that redhead the night that you said you were in the studio didn’t you?”

He scrunched his face up at you. “What?”

You felt a rage at the way he was playing dumb. “The morning you feigned innocence and sat at that island lying to me before I took Josh to the airport. While we’re at it, who was the blonde that was keeping you company the other night?”

Jake pinched the bridge of his nose. “Goddamn. I didn’t know you were so jealous.”

Your cheeks flushed red. “I’m not jealous. I don’t appreciate the lying.”

He pulls his phone out of his pocket. “And you’ve been so innocent?” He flashes his phone over to you and you see a photo of yourself at the bar a few nights ago with your hand on top of Aiden’s. You are smiling at him and it's entirely out of context.

“Jake what the fuck is this? Are you having someone follow me?” You all but shriek.

He laughs coldly. “Don’t kid yourself. I had a friend at the bar that night and they sent me this. Ironic huh?”

You shook your head. “No. That was not even remotely what it looked like. I ran into him after a fucking pilates class, hence the clothing. He just popped by to check on me and we wished each other well. But I don’t need to explain myself to you.”

Jake ran his fingers through his hair. “But I need to explain myself to you?”

There it was. Finally the toxicity was here. It hit you like a ton of bricks. This is exactly why it would never work between you two.

“No. You don’t.” You seethed and pushed past him towards the door.

You heard him groan. “Fuck. Sugar- just wait.”

But you were already gone.

**

Of course the show was amazing per usual. Tonight you opted to sit on Sam’s side as far way from Jake as you could manage. To your surprise he didn’t look your way once. After the show you and Josh had gone out for drinks by yourself as everyone else seemed to have had plans. You had no clue where Jake went, and you frankly didn’t care. You and Josh had gotten quite inebriated on expensive champagne at a rather classy bar. He had the hiccups and his face was the flushed shade of pink you had grown to love. He was so chatty and free, so naturally he had not stopped talking to your cab driver the entire way back to the hotel, and said hellos to everyone in the lobby. As you two headed up to your room you caught a glimpse of Jake at the hotel bar. He appeared to be alone. Was he waiting for you? No, that’s ridiculous. He’s probably found the end of a bottle like usual.

“Question.” Josh spoke, holding his finger up as he unlaced his shoes.

“Ask away.” You replied, plopping down on the plush white bed.

He glances up at you. “Are you still… I don’t know like in love with Jake? We haven’t really talked about it.”

You stare at him for a moment, there went your buzz. “No, I’m not. That was a long time ago. Jake and I… well it’s just not healthy.”

Josh nodded at you. “I was so pissed at him for the longest time when he took you away from me. I love the guy, probably more than anything on this Earth, but you- you deserve so much better.”

You smiled at him. “I appreciate that. I’m also very glad that you’re back in my life, Josh.”

He plops down on the bed next to you. “Yeah, I am too.”

He stares into your eyes, then his eyes flick down towards your lips. You swallow hard.

Is this really about to happen?

A loud ringing jolts you both from your stance. It’s the hotel phone. You tuck your hair behind your ears and try to laugh it off.

“Hello?” You answer.

“Good evening and sorry to bother you I am looking for Joshua Kiszka? I have a Samuel Kiszka attempting to order room service to room 708. We just wanted to make sure this was an authorized charge on your account.” The voice on the line says.

You huff a laugh. “Yes, yeah that’s completely fine. Thank you for checking.”

You hang up and laugh towards Josh. “Sam has the late night munchies.”

“Ah.” He nods with a smile. “Well… should we order a pizza and find some trashy movie to watch?”

You smile brightly at him. “Please.”

Around an hour later Josh is snoring softly while the movie plays on in the background. Your phone buzzes- it’s Jake.

Meet me at the hotel bar?

You stare at the screen, then glance over at Josh. You shut your phone off and set it on the nightstand, then climb out of bed and tiptoe to the bathroom. You splash cold water on your face and stare at your reflection. After a good five minutes you return back to bed and bury yourself in the plush comforter, scooting closer to Josh. He absentmindedly drapes his arm over you, another thing that had become normal for the two of you.

Tonight you chose Josh- and it was about damn time.

****

-thank you for reading :)

[age-of-greta]

The Sun

The Sun presents a feeling of optimism and fulfillment. It represents the dawn which follows the darkest of nights.

Author’s note: hi!! Welcome back to The Sun! Sorry it’s been a while, life is busy and I try to write when I can. I hope you enjoy this ~spicy~ chapter

Pairing: Josh x reader & Jake x reader

Warnings: cursing, alcohol consumption, smutttttttt, minors DNI

Word count: 8.3k

PART 3:

“I’m actually so depressed that you’re leaving me for a week.” You groaned, as you plopped down on his bed.

“I know. I’m not sure how you’re going to survive without me.” Josh said, throwing a pair of socks into his bag.

You huffed and folded your arms. Josh was about to leave you for a whole entire week. Well, really just five days, but close enough. He was going to meet with a vocal coach to prepare him for the sound of their new album. You were really bummed about it. You and Josh had spent virtually everyday together for weeks. He was your best friend and the thought of him leaving to go to LA made you feel sick. You wondered if he would be going to lavish parties with other people in the industry. Would he meet other people? Other girls? That’s completely normal worries to have about your best friend, right?

“What time is your flight tomorrow again?” You ask, picking at the ends of your hair.

“8:45 am.”

“And we’re still getting breakfast before I take you to the airport?”

Josh chuckles. “I hope so.”

“Okay.” You respond.

Josh closes his bag and sits down next to you. “I wish I didn’t have to go either. But it’s only a few days and I’ll call you as much as I can.”

You smile at him. “I know. I’m being such a baby about this.”

He smiles back and places his hand on your knee. “I think it’s sweet.”

Your eyes meet his and you feel a strange feeling brewing.

“Hey Josh, do you need this?”

You remove your eyes and see Jake standing in the doorway holding a neck pillow. He makes a face when sees you and Josh.

“Oh, yeah. Thanks.” Josh responds, getting up and grabbing the pillow from Jake.

“Didn’t know you were here Sug.” Jake says, crossing his arms.

You nod. “I’m taking Josh to the airport in the morning.”

Jake bites his lip. “Hm, okay.”

He glances you over once more before heading back down the hallway.

“Alright, I think I’m finally packed.” Josh throws all of his bags by the door and turns back to you. “Wanna order Chinese?”

“Oh yes please. I’m starving.” You say dramatically.

“Okay. You mind asking everyone else if they want anything? I’m going to throw all of this in the car and make a phone call real quick.”

You salute him. “Yes sir. Can do.”

Josh drags his bags down the stairs while you wonder around the halls looking for the other three.

“Danny?” You knock on his door. No response. “Sam?” You yell down the hallway. Nothing. You huff heading downstairs, but it’s also a ghost town. Finally, you open the back door and see Jake sitting by the fire pit reading. You glance around, still not seeing anyone else before deciding to head over and approach him. “Um, hey have you seen Sam or Danny?”

Jake glances up at you and slides his sunglasses off his nose. “They’re gone.”

“Oh.” You state. “Josh and I are ordering Chinese food and we wanted to see if anyone else wanted anything.”

He closes his book and turns to face you. “You can sit, you know.”

You glance down at the chair next to Jake and decide to take a seat. “What are you reading?”

Jake grins at you. “The Hobbit.”

You let out a laugh. “Again?!”

He nods his head. “Yeah. It’s one of the greatest novels of all time.”

“You and your Tolkien.” You huff. “It is one of the best books I’ve ever read though.”

Jake looks at you incredulously. “You read it?”

You nod. “And The Lord of the Rings trilogy.”

“When?”

You shrug. “Not super long ago.”

You didn’t want to tell him you had read all of those novels to try and feel closer to him. But once you started reading them, you had actually enjoyed them quite a bit.

“You’re full of surprises Sugar. Always keeping me on my toes.” Jake says, still smiling largely at you.

Josh walks outside and sits next to you. “So what’s the verdict?”

You clear your throat. “Sam and Danny aren’t here.”

Josh raises his eyebrows. “Oh lovely. Jake, what do you want?”

Jake stretches out a little. His shirt rises ever so slightly and reveals a small sliver of his stomach. You try not to look but fail. “I’m good.”

Josh makes a face at him. “You love Chinese food.”

Jake shrugs. “I’ll be out later.”

“Mhm.” Josh nods. “Holly or Katie?”

Jake shoots his twin a foul look.

Josh throws his hands up then faces you. “Okay. Wanna go get this order started.”

“Yep.” You say coolly, getting up to follow Josh.

As you walk away you glance back at Jake. He’s looking at you, like he wants to say something. But he doesn’t say anything, so neither do you.

**

“This is so freaking good.” You say, plopping chopsticks full of noodles into your mouth.

Josh smiles at you while chewing. “I told you. I have the best recommendations.”

You were both sprawled out on his bed watching an old western film that you had never seen before, but Josh definitely had.

“Josh?” You say, timidly turning towards him.

He glances over to you. “Hm?”

You purse your lips in contemplation before speaking. “I really have enjoyed spending so much time with you. You’re my best friend.”

He bites back what appears to be the beginning of a grimace before smiling back softly at you. “I have too. I love you, you know.”

You grin at him. “I know.”

He bites his lip. “Do you?”

You stare at him and give him a soft smile. Unsure as to where he might be going with this. Josh lets out a bated breath and reaches close to your face, tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear. For some reason your heart is pounding. It’s getting louder, but it’s not your heart. You jolt when you realize someone is beating on Josh’s door.

“Oh what the fuck.” He mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He groans and opens the door to see Sam standing there. “What?” Josh bites.

Sam furrows his brows at Josh and then glances over to you. “Sorry to disturb you… I just wanted to come by and wish you well on your travels before I went out tonight. If I’m successful, I won’t be home this evening.”

Sam gives Josh a wink and Josh clears his throat. “Yes, well thank you Sam. Good luck to you as well.”

He grins at his brother and shifts his eyes to you. “Will we be seeing you at all this week?”

You shrug. “I’m not sure. I’ve got a busy work week ahead and I really need to hang some shelves in my bathroom.”

“I told you I’ll do that for you when I get back. You're not the greatest at making things level.” Josh pokes.

Sam fake gasps and nudges his brother. “What a gentleman. If you get bored after work or are looking for trouble, you know where to find us.” Sam says with a wink.

You huff a laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Well, I don't want to hold you guys up any longer. Good luck Josh. Love you guys!” Then Sam is waltzing away to get into God knows what.

Josh closes his door and lets out a chuckle. “He’s going to be the death of me one day.”

You shake your head. “He loves you.”

He smiles at you. “He’s a little shit.”

“Can’t argue with you there.” You say, smiling back at him.

Josh rejoins you on the bed, picking up his container of rice and scooting ever so closer to you than he was before.

After you both had finished eating you had cleaned up and longued about before getting ready for bed. You grabbed your micellar water and doused it on a cotton pad to remove your mascara. You smiled when you glanced at the place it had lived in Josh’s bathroom. In fact, you had a whole shelf full of your small toiletries that you needed when you stayed over. After completing a quick version of your nightly routine you slid in bed next to Josh, adjusting your pillow just how you liked it.

“I need to get you softer pillows for when you stay over huh?” Josh laughs.

“I don’t know how you sleep on these flat things.” You say, fluffing up the pillow.

“Believe it or not, sleeping on flatter pillows is better for singers. It helps even out the breath in your sleep, leaving better airflow for your vocal chords.”

You make a slightly surprised face at him. “Wait, really?”

He turns and smirks at you. “I have no idea. I just made all of that up. Flat pillows are better though.”

You playfully smacked his chest, leaving your hand there. “Josh! I totally bought that. I think I would believe anything you said to me. That’s a dangerous quality to have. You should start a cult.”

He scooted closer to you. “Yeah? Would you be a member?”

You grinned at him. “Oh, I’d be your biggest fan. Give me that Kool-Aid, no questions asked.”

He snickered at that. “Good to know. Loyalty is of utmost importance when embarking on such a journey.”

You absentmindedly fidgeted with his necklaces. “Loyalty is everything. But I would need to know what my leader thinks the meaning of life is?”

He puts his arm out while you nuzzle yourself into it. This was somewhat of a new position. But you two were best friends, so testing the waters was platonic of course. This is what you told yourself as you took in his scent in an anything but innocent way. “The meaning of life?”

Josh pondered for a minute, lightly tracing circles on your arm. “To be happy and to be with people you love. Where there is love, we must live on. Where there is not love, we must provide it.”

You fluttered your eyes closed, feeling sleep sinking in. “I like that. You’re very poetic.”

He turns his head towards you and places a small kiss on your forehead. “Goodnight sleepy girl.”

**

You groggily woke up the next morning at an ungodly hour. Josh still had his arm lightly across you. You gently lifted it up, smiling at his soft snores and scooted out underneath him. You quietly crept to the bathroom doing a small routine before slinking down the stairs. You wanted to make Josh some coffee and surprise him with cooked breakfast before he headed off this morning. You tried to remain quiet through the house, not wanting to disturb anyone. Then you remembered you were probably the only two here. That wasn’t the case when you turned the corner and saw Jake sitting at the kitchen island. He was in a pair of very worn navy sweatpants with a steaming cup of coffee sitting next to the same book from earlier. He had made significant progress through the pages since you last saw him. It was early. Did he just make it back from whatever he did last night? You tried not to make any sound, but your heart sunk when you realized the sweatpants he was wearing were a gift from you.

“Morning.” You said lightly as you entered the kitchen.

Jake glanced up at you, almost surprised to see you. “Good morning.”

You began to clink around with the mugs, trying to act entirely normal.

“Sleep well?” Jake asked from behind you.

You nod your head, placing two stone mugs on the counter. “I did. How was your… night?”

Jake shrugged. “Got a lot of work done in the studio. Then came back and crashed.”

The studio. He was there. Not at someone else’s house. That made you feel relieved and it ate you alive simultaneously that you even cared.

“I don’t remember you being an early riser.” You poked, pressing buttons on the fancy coffee machine.

He half smiled at you. “I’m full of surprises too Sug.”

You met his eyes and couldn’t help but grin back at him. “I’ve changed a bit.” He offers, in a quieter tone, his expression too serious to read.

You swallow hard, trying to figure out what to say. Trying to figure out just what he meant.

Your thoughts are plundered by the soft padding of Josh making his way into the kitchen. “Morning.” He says through a long stretch and yawn. He eyes Jake. “Why are you up?”

“Wanted to get a jump start on my day I suppose.” Jake responds to his twin, rather flatly.

Josh turns to you and smiles. “Is that my coffee?”

You let out a small laugh and nod.

“You’re my absolute favorite person, you know that?” Josh gushes as he heads over to you and wraps you in a hug while grabbing his coffee.

You giggle at him. “So sappy Joshy.”

He plants a kiss on your head dramatically. “Ah, just for you.”

Jake clears his throat.

You're transported back to reality for a moment and realize how cozy you and Josh are. To you, this felt normal. Natural even. But you could see how it might look to Jake.

“Anyway, I had planned on making you breakfast before your big trip. But it appears you only have Ritz crackers and margarita mix.”

Josh laughs. “Now that is a meal. Don’t sweat it, let me go get everything ready and we’ll stop somewhere before you drop me off.”

Josh grabs his mug and darts off towards the stairs, leaving you and Jake in silence. You take a few sips of your coffee, leaning against the countertops. Jake has resumed reading his book while absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the counter. You had come to learn this was something he did when he had a particular riff stuck in his head.

Finally, you broke the silence. “Better go get ready.”

He glanced over at you. “Sure.”

You couldn’t help but notice the bite in his tone.

**

It was too early for any normal breakfast place to be open so you and Josh settled at a Dunkin Donuts close to the airport.

“Pink frosted sprinkled donuts are my spirit animal I think.” You joked, biting into your sweet treat.

Josh smiled at you. “That donut is an embodiment of you.”

“Philosophical Joshua. I have a confession though…”

He raises an eyebrow at you. “Do tell.”

“Pink frosted sprinkle donut. Right? But what’s the flavor? It doesn’t taste like artificial strawberry or like medicine, bubblegum or cotton candy. The taste is simply… pink.”

Josh cackles and claps at your revelation. “Oh my god. You finally get it now babe.”

Babe? That was new. It made a warmness flutter in your chest.

You tried not to sound bashful. “Yeah, I think I do.”

Josh smiled at you as he licked chocolate frosting from his thumb and sighed. “We should head over soon.”

You frowned. “You’re probably right.”

He grins. “That’s typically the case.”

You fake roll your eyes. “Can it.”

You put your car in reverse and drive the short distance to the drop off at the airport. Josh is lightly humming to a Joe Cocker song that had come on shuffle. Somehow during the short ride his hand found it’s way on yours. You tried not to think too much on it, but it felt nice. What the fuck was happening to you?

The bustle of the airport was still chaotic even at this ungodly hour.

“Fuck.” Josh muttered.

“Hey, be safe okay? Keep me updated on when you land and all that.” You say.

“Yes ma’am. Thank you for taking me. I really appreciate everything.”

You softly smile at him. “Of course.”

“Well.” He groans. “Better go before that whistle starts blowing.”.

He leans over and grips you in a tight hug before grabbing his carry-on and opening the door.

“It’s not really a goodbye. Just a farewell for now.” Josh offers with a bright smile, standing at the door.

“Okay people move along!” One of the traffic officers yell accompanied by a whistle.

“See? Told ya. These fuckin whistles.” Josh scoffs.

You laugh at him. “Be safe! Come back in one piece please.”

He winks at you. “I’ll try.”

**

A dreadfully boring Wednesday had rolled around. The week had already been long, you had been in the office the past three days. It was now nearing dark and you were so excited to throw some frozen orange chicken in the air fryer and make a lazy version of stirfry as soon as you had gotten home. Traffic had been brutal and you were on the final stretch, finally making that turn towards your townhome. You parked your car and grabbed your work tote, thankful that you only had one more day to work this week until you had three days off. Subsequently, you were so excited to see Josh again. You two had kept in touch of course calling and texting, but you were both also busy. You unlocked your door and kicked your black heels off at the door. You threw your tote bag and baby blue blazer down on the table. You know you shouldn’t cook dinner in your work attire, but your stomach is too empty for you to care. You tied an apron around your waist, trying to hide the white bodysuit and baby blue slacks from any stains. Then you got to work taking out your frozen vegetables and putting them in the skillet with oil. You put on a Dire Straits album and swayed around your kitchen as you let your mind wander. It was liberating doing such a mundane task after a long day. A knock at your door disrupted your thoughts. You made at face and glanced at your phone. No texts from anyone and you weren’t expecting company. You wiped your hand on a dish towel and felt ready to let whoever was on the other side of that door that they needed to go. But when you opened the door you were taken aback slightly. It was Jake. He had a toolbox on hand.

“Good evening Sugar.” He smirked.

You furrowed your brows at him. “Jake, what are you doing?”

He shrugged. “Sam had mentioned something about some bathroom shelves.”

You pursed your lips together. “I can hang them.”

He laughed and stepped by you into your house. “As if. Come on let me do this for you Sugs. Friends remember?”

You huffed a little. “Okay. Well, um I’m cooking dinner. Orange chicken stirfry. Would you like some?”

He smiled at you. “Absolutely. Nice place you got here. Want to direct me to where you would like these shelves?”

**

You had lit a scented candle. Why? You don’t know. For some reason you were nervous. You could hear Jake with a drill in your bathroom as you anxiously tapped your fingers as you plated the food. You took two plates and sat it on your kitchen table, then grabbed two wine glasses and your favorite bottle of moscato. You placed everything down, took your apron off, and smoothed your hair before heading towards your bathroom. He was just finishing hanging the first shelf. His brows pinched up in concentration, while he had a drill bit hanging out of his mouth. He had always been a perfectionist.

“Looks good.” You say, standing in the doorway crossing your arms.

He pops the drill bit out of his mouth and turns to give you a smile. “Yeah?”

You nod. “Dinner’s ready.”

You turn back heading towards the kitchen and hear Jake picking up. He joins you just a few minutes after and takes a seat across from you while you scroll on your phone.

“Oh Sug, this smells great.” He says with a smirk.

You place your phone down and force a laugh. “Thanks. Most of it is frozen though. I rarely have time to cook anything else. Wine?”

“Please.” He says, tipping his glass towards you.

You uncork the bottle and pour the chilled wine half way full in each glass.

“It’s my favorite. Not too sweet, not too bitter.”

Jake swirls the wine around in the glass and brings it to his nose before taking a sip. “Wow okay, yeah. You have good taste.”

You shrug and try to act like that’s not a huge compliment coming from him as you poke around your plate with your fork.

“So, tell me all about you. What’s new?” Jake asks, taking a bite of food.

You hum. “Nothing too exciting. I work a lot. I occasionally go out and I enjoy going to the park to read.”

“Enthralling stuff there honey. But let’s cut the boring shit here. That’s not us. What’s really been going on? Have you dated anyone seriously since me?”

You can’t help but smile at his bluntness. “No, not seriously anyway. Have you?”

“No.” He responds with a grin.

You take a sip of your wine. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

He raises an eyebrow at you but keeps that grin on his face. “How come?”

“Well Jake, you’re not exactly relationship material.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Maybe not for most. But I was for you.”

You felt your cheeks grow pink. Fuck. Why did he affect you like this? Play it cool. “Right.”

“Despite everything. I always thought about you. Wondered about how you were, what you were doing, who you were with. Sometimes I would think I would look out into the crowd at a show and see you there.” He admitted, flicking his gaze towards the table as he talked.

The wine had made you feel warm inside, at least you told yourself that was the reason. “I’ve been fine. Building my career, working on myself, loving myself.” You paused, finding those honey brown eyes. “But of course I had thought about you too. From time to time.”

He smiled at your acknowledgment. “Well hot damn. After all of this time, look at us huh? Who would’ve thought we’d end up here?”

You shook your head and laughed. “Not me.”

After you two had wrapped up dinner and finished the whole entire bottle of wine you had changed into lounge clothes and migrated to your couch, spending hours talking and giggling. At some point Jake’s hand found its way to rest on your calf as you sat criss cross facing him while he leaned towards you.

“So moral of the story, that’s why Sam no longer drinks kombucha before shows.”

You giggled at his stories as he tried to fill you in on every major detail that had happened since you two had last been together.

“God you really have lived an adventure huh?” You ask, twisting the ends of your hair.

He nods. “And I hope it’s only getting started. It’s been so surreal and being here in Nashville makes me want to stay. There’s so many different people and the weather. Oh the weather.”

You nod your head. “That’s what did it for me. I don’t think I would survive a full Michigan winter again.”

He placed his hand on your hip and began to tickle you. “Nope. You’re too warm blooded now.”

You leaned back in a fit of laughter. “Jake! Stopppp!”

He continued and leaned over you. “Mhm I know all your spots Sugar.”

He finally stops and you brush your hair out of your face. He’s essentially on top of you, in between your legs. “You’re such a little shit. You know that?” You say lightheartedly.

He leans closer to you, the tip of his hair tickling your collarbones. “Now that’s not nice to say darlin. Do I need to remind you how sweet I can be too?”

Your heart is thumping in your chest as you two make fierce eye contact with each other. The wine has you feeling giddy. But, you’re saved by the bell as your phone begins to ring loudly on the coffee table. It jolts you from your thoughts and your position. You reach over and grab your phone seeing “Josh” pop up on your screen along with a silly picture of you two.

“One sec.” You say to Jake, who clearly seems disappointed. You run to your room and close the door.

“Hello?”

His chipper voice rings back at you. “Hey there, pretty lady. It’s been an insanely busy day, I’ve just now got a five minute break to have my own thoughts. What have you been up to today?”

You clear your throat, trying not to sound as flustered as you feel. “Oh you know, same old same old. Just a long day of working. I made stir fry for dinner.”

He sighs into the phone. “Now that sounds good. I’ve been living mostly on takeout and party foods.”

You huff a laugh. “Party foods? Oh poor you.”

He returns your laugh. “I know it’s rough out here. Hey listen they’re about to call back for me. It was good to hear your voice. I’ll give you a call tomorrow?”

“You better. Have fun, be safe.”

You collected yourself and cleared your throat before heading back into your living area. You found Jake in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner.

“Everything okay?” He asked, rinsing a plate.

“Mhm. Yeah yeah, just checking in. Hey you don’t have to clean up. I can do it.” You offer, stepping in to help.

He shakes his head. “No, I got it. I’m going to finish up and I’ll be out of your hair. I know you have work tomorrow.”

You nod, trying to decipher if you were relieved or disappointed.

“Care if I come back by tomorrow to put that other shelf in?” He asks with a soft smile.

“Sure. I can make dinner again.”

And you did. He had come over again Thursday night, installed your shelf, and you two had made pizzas together. A flood of nostalgia flooded you as you two had rolled the dough out. Jake put a dab of flour on your cheek and you returned the favor with pizza sauce. This was a date you two had before, but this time there was no arguing. In fact, the night had gone quite pleasantly. You had watched a movie and Jake went home after. He kept his hands, mostly to himself- which surprised you. You had woken up on Friday morning in a haze. The past two days had felt surreal with Jake. Part of you had believed maybe you had hallucinated the whole thing, but when you saw how perfectly your shelves were hung you smiled to yourself. Josh would be home Sunday morning, but all you could think about is if Jake would try to come by again. You checked your phone. Nothing but a Snapchat from Josh. In the past two days you had unblocked Jake and even shared a text or two. You decided to try and push him out of your mind and switched it up today, going for a hot yoga class. This was a little further of a drive than your pilates studio, but the drive cleared your mind. After yoga you felt energized and grabbed a coffee to get you through the rest of the day. You decided to stop at a shopping plaza to treat yourself. While gandering at all the pretty little things you felt your phone vibrating in your purse.

Jake.

Your heartbeat picked up and you felt a rush go through you as you answered.

“Good morning Sugar. Do you have any plans later?”

You decided to play it cool. “Nothing too concrete. Why?”

“Great. I’ll pick you up later. Before you ask, wear whatever you want. You look good in anything. I’m about to head to the studio, but be ready by 8.”

You glanced at the black lacy matching set you had in your hands. This would do.

**

7:58. You stared at the clock on your wall, tapping your fingers absentmindedly on your couch as you waited for Jake. You felt unusually nervous, as if you hadn’t been on a date with him before. Was this a date? Who in the hell knew. Your feelings were scattered everywhere. But the one thing you knew was that Jake had sunk his claws right into you again. Everything inside of you was screaming no while also simultaneously screaming yes. You had decided on a casual little orange dress that complimented your tan perfectly with platform sandals and gold jewelry. You put loose curls in your hair and did an ample amount of makeup. You felt summery and pretty. You hoped Jake would think so as well.

A knock on your door at 8 pm sharp jolted you from your thoughts.

“Hello gorgeous.” Jake said, stepping in and handed you a small bouquet of red roses.

“Do friends buy each other flowers?” You ask, trying to play off that this was the first time he had ever gotten you flowers.

He smirked at you. “They can. Ready to go?”

You two had ended up at a stylish little cocktail garden across town. Jake had reserved a table on the rooftop, pretty hidden from the rest of the crowd. You both selected different specialty cocktails and ordered a quite large charcuterie board.

“This place is cute.” You said sipping your drink and surveying your surroundings.

He flashed you a smile. “I thought you might think so. Very ‘Nashville.’”

You laugh. “Jake, baby, not every place with neon signs is distinctly Nashville.”

You feel your blood run cold as you just realized you had let that word slip out. Fuck these drinks were strong.

Of course he had noticed it too and bit down on his straw giving you a sly smile with those eyes. “Sure, but the fake flowers on the wall and shitty country music makes it feel that way.”

You hold your hands up in defense. “Hey I know you love your dingy little hole in the walls. But time and place for everything. At least enjoy the oxygen that isn’t littered with cigarette smoke.”

He raises an eyebrow at you. “Since when is cigarette smoke a problem for you?”

You grab your straw and perhaps suggestively take a sip while locking eyes with him. “Time and place for everything Jake.”

When the charcuterie board arrived you both had picked at the selections while continuing to drink. You giggled and laughed and then giggled some more. You were smitten with him yet again. You weren’t dumb, you knew it wouldn’t last. The hell would come. But for now, you allowed yourself to keep your head in the clouds.

“I don’t think I can drive Sugs. Care if we Uber back?” Jake asks, finishing off drink number-hell you had lost count.

“That’s a smart idea. Gonna go to the bathroom before we leave.” You slightly slurred.

The walk to the bathroom proved a little off-kilter. You were on the cusp of tipsy and your brain was swirling with bad decisions.

You glanced at yourself in the mirror, lightly rolling on lipgloss and fluffing your hair before making your way back out. Jake had already taken care of the tab and was waiting for you out front.

“Uber should be here in about 15 minutes.”

You nodded and followed him into a crowded elevator. You two had to squeeze in, which meant you were pressed into each other. Jake glanced down at you with a certain look in his eye that made your mouth water. His hand snaked around your waist, his fingers pressing into your hip. A spot that he knew would rile you up. You bit your lip and held your breath. You didn’t dare breathe again until you were at the bottom.

“That elevator was pretty cramped huh?” You played, stepping outside of the building.

He shrugged, matching your walking pace up the sidewalk. “I didn’t mind it.”

You lightly shoved him. “I’m sure you didn’t.”

He smirked at you. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

You shoved him again, slightly harder. “Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?”

He signed. “You’re done Sugs.” He scooped you up and tickled at your side.

“Jake!” You giggled out through laughter. “Put me down! Jake I swear!”

He continued. “Or what Sugs?”

“Jacob Thomas!”

He laughed. “Okay fine. Fine. No need for government names.”

He placed you down and you braced up against the concrete wall and you fixed your hair that had gone wild. “You don’t play fair.”

He stepped up closer to you and tucked a piece of hair behind your ear. “There. Perfect as always.”

His eyes searched for yours, his gaze intensely switching to your lips. Fuck it. You pushed yourself up on your tiptoes and kissed him, hard. There was zero protest from him as his hands immediately found your waist. Warmth flooded your senses and you felt entirely weightless. You lightly bit his bottom lip which caused a small groan to leave his mouth.

“Now who’s not playing fair?” He growled into your ear as his fingers found that spot on your hip.

The intense session was interrupted by Jake’s phone buzzing. He cleared his throat. “Uber’s here.”

You nodded and took his hand as he led you into the car. Neither one of you spoke the whole entire ride home. Jake kept his hand firmly planted on your upper thigh while both of you took stolen glances at one another.

“Thanks.” Jake said, tossing a stack of bills at the driver.

He guided you up to the door, standing close as you fidgeted with your keys.

Finally, once inside and the door was closed. His lips were on yours again. His hands running wildly up and down your body, your hands in his hair as you two shuffled through your house. Somehow you two had made your way into the kitchen.

“Fuck, you don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this.” He panted in between kisses.

He backed you up against the counter, his eyes glaring into yours. Then his rough hands run under your thighs as he lifts you and places you on the counter. Neither one of you had dared to speak yet. Then Jake broke the silence.

“So pretty.” He spat, as his hands ran up under your dress.

You were impossibly turned on. Anticipation sat in your throat like a softball.

You bit your lip as his hands hooked around your panties. He pulled them down and scooted you closer to him. He bunched up your dress right to the very beginning of your thighs.

“So fucking pretty.” He stated again.

You squirmed under his touch as he raked his fingertips around your inner thighs.

“Jake, stop teasing.” You said, though it came out more as a beg.

He smiled at you, then craned his head down and kissed you on your sweetest spot.

A jolt ran through your body.

“So needy. My pretty girl, so needy for me.” He says with a smirk. “Let’s see how wet you are, Sugar.”

He takes one finger and slides it in between you, just grazing. You slightly buck your hips, desperate for some sort of friction. Desperate for that feeling that only Jake had given you.

“Whew, fuck Sugar.” Jake says, taking that same finger and popping it in his mouth. “So sweet, just like I remember. So wet for me.”

You huff out at him. You’re beyond ready to beg, but he can’t have that satisfaction. You have to play the game right back. “As if you’re not about to bulge out of your pants right now. Face it Jake, you’ve never had better.”

He grips your thighs. “You’re right about that. You drive me crazy Sugar. Especially when that pretty mouth says such filthy things.”

“Jake.” You say looking down at him, batting your eyelashes. “Can you just shut up and fuck me?”

His mouth falls open slightly at that and he stares up at you completely enamored.

You use this as an opportunity to tease him. You slide back and open your legs a little more.

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” You say with as much sex in your voice that you could muster.

Jake takes in a deep breath and then a devilish smirk appears on his face. “No.” He starts. “But it’s about to.”

He licks a stripe up your thigh whilst holding eye contact with you. Then, he smiles before burying his face in between your legs.

You arch your back and tilt your head backwards as soft moans escape your lips. Jake shimmys your dress up even further, then slides his fingers into you.

“Fuck.” You whined, which only egged him on further.

“Yeah come on baby. Give me all of those pretty little sounds.” He begged.

His fingers worked expertly with his mouth. Like he had your body etched into his mind and he knew how to make you unraveled. Just as you were right there, white hot- he stopped. You unclenched your eyes and looked down at him in shock. He smirked back up at you and lightly bit your thigh.

“Come on Sugs. What’s the rush? Let’s take this to your room.”

You scoffed at him, hopping off the counter and pulling your panties back up. You were bewildered, but you knew him edging you was a sick little kink of his. You followed him into your bedroom where your lips connected once more. You unbuttoned his shirt while he kicked off his shoes. You pushed him back onto the bed where he raised up on his elbows and watched you intently. You slowly began to pull at the sleeves on your dress and dropped it to the floor, leaving you just in the black lacy little number you had just bought.

“God damn.” Jake barely whispered as he watched you with full blown lust.

“Oh this little thing?” You teased running your hands over the lace.

He swallowed hard. “Fuck. You are so fucking hot. I- Get over here please.”

You laughed. “I thought there was no rush?”

You turned around walking towards your dresser, giving him a nice show of your plump ass.

“Oh my god.” He all but groaned. You could sense him twitching over there, just itching to get his hands on you.

You struck a match and lit a small candle. “That’s better isn’t it?”

He nodded.

You walked over to him, slowly. His eyes were trained on you. You straddled his lap and his hands immediately found your hips, the whole entire time you stared into each other’s eyes. So much unspoken. So much unsaid. He leaned in and kissed you with fervor. His hands immediately gripping at the flesh of your ass. You were the first to slip out your tongue, but were met eagerly with his. You worked quickly to undo his belt and pants. He managed to shimmy them off while never breaking the kiss. You both leaned by entirely, you slowly grinded down onto his boxers causing him to almost lose it right there. You would start and get him worked up, then stop. Playing his own game right back at him. This earned you a swift smack on your ass. “You little tease.”

You sat up, fully shifting your lower half on top of him. “What’s wrong Jakey? Can dish it out but can’t take it?”

He let out a laugh. “We gonna play these games all night or are you going to let me fuck you? I can ruin that pretty makeup by having you in tears, begging me to let you come. Or I can fuck you so hard you won’t be able to think straight. Both are equally intriguing to me. Your choice baby.”

You tilted your head to the side. “Still think you’re up for the task? Can you even make me come, Jake?”

In a swift motion he flipped you over, him now on top of you. He pinned your hands above your head, holding them there. “Such a little brat. I could think of a better way to put that mouth to use. Looks like you chose the hard way.”

Excitement bubbled in your chest. No one ever got you this worked up, it was only him.

He released your hands and ripped your panties off of you. He pulled the fabric apart until it ripped.

“Jake!”

He didn’t flinch. “I’ll buy you one hundred more of these, especially if I can take them off of you like this.”

He grabbed your hands again, tying them up in the now ripped lace fabric. He slides down next to you, his fingers finding your center to begin work. After a few seconds you’re already squirming.

“Thought you were clever huh Sug? Asking me if I still can make you come?”

You flutter your eyes closed, trying to recenter yourself. Jake slapped your core. “Eh uh. Eyes on me.”

You pry your eyes open to watch him, trying your best to act like you weren’t on fire inside.

He kissed below your navel, making your shutter. “Did you miss me?”

You refused to answer that.

“Mhm I think you did. Do you touch yourself and think of me?” He asked, in a sickeningly sweet voice as he continued his descent.

“No.” You say, calmly.

He nips at your thigh. “It’s okay if you do. Sometimes I find myself thinking of you, late at night.”

You huffed as he continued to tease you.

“Not as sweet as the real thing though.” He made contact making an obscene slurping sound that made you twitch.

Then he stopped again coming back up to kiss you.

“Taste that? That’s you. My sweet girl.”

“You’ve made your point. Just fucking touch me.” You all but whined.

He chuckled at you. “So demanding.”

He unties your hands while freeing himself from his boxers. Then he flips you around and spreads your knees wider. You arch your back, silently begging for him to enter you.

“Fuck. Now there’s a view I would never get tired of.”

He slides himself all around you, still trying to tease you, but you could tell he was faultering. Slowly, he sunk into you. A moan left both of your mouths. He took his time but finally pushed himself all the way in.

“Ah fuck. Fuck baby.” He cooed.

He reached down and pulled you up, so you were flushed with him. Then reached down and rubbed at your bundles of nerves, sending you almost right over the edge.

“Jake- fuck don’t stop.” You whined.

He bit at your jaw. “Who fucks you like this? Who is the only person who will ever fuck you like this?”

“You! It’s you.” You barely spit out.

That warmness spread all over your body and you were about to explode. You squeezed him with everything you had.

“That’s right. You’re such a good girl Sugar. Fuck.” He grunted.

“Jake I’m- I’m.”

He removed his hand. “I know. I wanna see your face when you come for me.”

He unclasped your bra, tossing it to the side and flipped you over on your back.

“Fucking gorgeous.”

His hands massaged your breasts before lightly biting at your hardened nipples.

You were now in the home stretch, both of you struggling to hold on. Jake hooked your leg up over his shoulder and started to pound into you.

You could see the sweat beginning to trickle on him as his hair stuck to his face and neck. He guided your hand down to your sweet spot and guided you. “Almost there baby. Eyes on me.”

You locked eyes with him and that’s all it took. That wave came crashing down, completely washing you away with it. Jake was right behind you and you could feel him release into you. You gripped his shoulders while his mouth found yours, swallowing all of your sounds.

“Shit.” Jake groaned, rolling off of you. Both of you absolutely spent. Sweat, sex, and panting still filled the air. You reached over and grabbed a pack of American Spirits from your bedside table, they were old but necessary. You flicked a lighter and lit it while Jake looked at you with a smirk.

You shrugged and met his eyes. “Time and place for everything. Remember?”

**

Light filtered in through your blinds the next morning gently waking you. You turned to your side. Empty. Should have figured. Fuck, you were sore. You groaned as you stretched out making your way to the bathroom. You jumped in the shower to wash off the smell of sex and nicotine then brushed your teeth. You couldn’t tell if you were slightly hungover or slightly sad. Of course he left, that’s what he does. Coffee. You needed coffee badly. You tossed a giant band tee on and some cotton underwear and combed through your hair before padding out into your living room. Also empty. The refrigerator was embarrassingly barren. Leftover pizza, expired creamer, and strawberries. You needed to go to the grocery store, badly. You snickered at the thought of Josh seeing your refrigerator like this. He would playfully scold you and force you to Publix. You missed him. A loud noise crashed through your apartment and you jolted out of your thoughts.

“Jake? What the fuck! You scared me!” You clutched your chest.

Jake had bounded through the door with a coffee carrier and brown paper bags. A sight you never thought you would see.

“Don’t look so surprised to see me Sugs. Did you think I would have just up and left.” He asked with a smirk.

You can’t help but let out a small laugh. “Well yeah.”

He shakes his head at you. “I stole your keys so I could let myself back in. Had to Uber to get my car and then I got us breakfast. Hope you like breakfast burritos and coffee that’s a little too sweet.”

A smile twisted up on your lips. That was thoughtful?

“I do. Thank you.” You say, walking over to the counter to grab a coffee. You took a sip, it wasn’t your normal complicated vanilla latte. But it would do.

You both had plopped down at your table, somewhere you had found yourselves often the past few days and ate breakfast together.

“So, Danny and I have a meeting today. Some sort of podcast thing, but I’ll be free after. Care to go out again?” Jake asks, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

You bite your lip. “Josh comes back tomorrow.”

He shakes his head. “Uh huh.”

“Jake, he can’t know- about any of this really. He would freak out.” You say cautiously.

He gives you a sly smile. “S’okay Sugar. I’ll be your dirty little secret.”

You tap his arm. “I’m serious.”

He sighs at you and holds up a hand. “Fine. Scout’s honor.”

“Then yes, we can go out again tonight. But it can’t be a repeat of last night, I have to pick him up from the airport and do not want to be hungover.” You say, standing your ground.

Jake shrugs. “I dunno, maybe it could just be a little bit of a repeat from last night.”

You crack a smile and shake your head at him. What in the hell had you gotten yourself into again.

**

“I am so happy to see you!” Josh says, climbing into your car and squeezing your shoulders with a hug.

You smile at him. “I missed you too. I can’t wait to hear about all of your adventures.”

He huffs. “I have so many to share. Can I run by my place and shower and then come over? I am craving a home cooked meal so badly.”

You click your blink and laugh. “Well yes, but I don’t have much to cook. You would be appalled at the state of my refrigerator right now.”

“Hey, you have to take care of yourself. Change of plans; I’ll call in Chinese tonight and pick it up on my way over. First thing in the morning we are going grocery shopping.” He says in a caring tone.

“Deal.” You agree.

After dropping Josh off you had decided to tidy up a bit before he came over. You had already done a sweep of your house, making sure there were no remnants of Jake lying around anywhere. You had spent last night together again in a similar fashion to the night before. The last thing you wanted was for Josh to know that.

“These egg rolls are fresh today.” Josh said, stepping into your house.

“Oh I can tell it smells good.” You took the bags from Josh and placed them on the counter.

“Can you turn on that documentary we were watching last week? I’ll be right back, my bladder is about to explode.”

You chuckled and set out all of the food on your coffee table then started searching for whatever you two had previously watched. Once it was queued up you grabbed and extra blanket and waited for Josh. A few moments later he came walking into your living room.

“Shelves?”

You turned around and made a face at him. “What?”

He pointed behind him. “You hung your bathroom shelves?”

Fuck.

“Oh-uh yeah. It wasn’t too hard actually.” You tried to say as nonchalantly as possible.

He made a face at you. “Where did you get the tools?”

You shrugged. “I borrowed them from a neighbor. Come on, I'm starving and this food is going to get cold!”

He chewed on his cheek and eventually joined you on the couch. You hated lying to him, but the alternative would be worse.

That night you two had ended up asleep on the couch. You were wrapped in Josh’s arms, but his twin was the one occupying your mind.

***

Thank you for reading!!! <3

[age-of-greta]

The Sun

The Sun presents a feeling of optimism and fulfillment. It represents the dawn which follows the darkest of nights.

Author’s note: hi!!! Welcome back to The Sun :) no posting schedule for this one, just as soon as I can crank it out. Please ignore my typos. I hope you enjoy this little chapter!

Pairing: Josh x reader & Jake x reader

Warnings: cursing, angst, adult content

Word count: 4.3k

PART 2:

It had been a few weeks since the show and things were going better than you had anticipated. You steered clear of Jake and he didn’t try to reach out to you either. But to your surprise you had been spending a lot more time with Josh than you thought you would. It was as if things were slowly getting back to how they used to be. Before… everything else. Typically, after work most days you would meet Josh for pizza, drinks, a movie, shopping. Really any excuse you two could find to hang out together. On the weekends he would accompany you to farmers markets and come over to cook dinner. Last weekend he had even stayed the night, both of you making a pallet full of blankets and pillows in your living room. You were elated with your newly rekindled friendship. Even Jake couldn’t put a damper on the happiness that Josh had brought into your life in just a few short weeks. But you were betting he would still try. Tonight you were all going to a local fair that was in town. Originally it was just you and Josh planning on going, but then Sam and Danny caught wind of it. Of course they wanted to go and you couldn’t exclude Jake. So it was a group night you had supposed. Josh was still coming to pick you up so you two could sneak in a few shooters to mix with your slushees. A silly notion that made you feel like a teenager again, but somehow Josh made it fun.

You grabbed a pair of light washed jean shorts with frayed edges and paired it with a cropped ribbed white tank top with an image of a western pin up girl in red. Under the pin up it read “save a horse.” You snickered at how Josh would get a kick out of it. You threw on your black high top converse and a few small gold necklaces, hoops, and rings. Finally you did a messy half up half down hairdo, coated your lashes in mascara, added some bronzer and lipgloss, then sprayed yourself down before admiring how cute you looked in the mirror. Tonight would be fun.

**

Josh sat at the kitchen island sending a quick text to you that he would be on his way shortly.

Jake bounced around the corner and rolled his eyes at the small smile on his twin’s face. “Going to spend time with my ex-girl friend again?” There was a hint of annoyance in Jake’s tone as he opened the refrigerator scanning for a beer to peak his interest.

“She was my friend first.” Josh says, letting out a sigh.

Jake cracks his beer and scoffs. “Right.”

“Okay, then. See ya tonight.” Josh mutters, grabbing his keys and heading for his Jeep.

**

“Malibu? Really Josh?”

“What? Would you rather have had Fireball?”

You make a face. “Bleh, no. That has always been your drink.”

He smiles at you. “See? Then Malibu will do. It goes well with the flavor blue anyway.”

You let out a laugh. “Mhm yes. The flavor blue! My favorite. So complex… so blue.”

He nudges your shoulder. “Smart ass. I know they says it’s blue raspberry or cotton candy. But it all tastes the same. It’s like-“

“Blue?” You cut him off.

He huffs a laugh. “Exactly. Thank you for admitting it.”

You smile at him appreciating how his antics compliment yours. “Okay okay. The sun is starting to set, we need to go get in line before it backs us up all the way to Michigan.”

Your attempts to get there early were feeble. The line was massive. You and Josh made small talk, but you barely shuffled in. Almost an hour had passed and you could finally see the gate. You thought about downing your Malibu shooters that you had stuffed in your bra many times while in line, but decided against it. Josh’s phone began to ring and he answered, but you didn’t pay too much attention. Still daydreaming of what it would be like to be in the front of the line.

“Ah fuck okay. Yeah we are near the front. You better hurry, I'm not waiting on you.”

That had gotten your attention. You turn to look at Josh who was shaking his head. “Sam. They just got here and saw this line.”

Soon enough you could see them all heading your way, including Devan? She had herself tucked by Jake. She was dressed somewhat less business casual with her hair in a loose ponytail and gray romper with black flats. You turned towards Josh when they all finally made their way to your spot, still trying to avoid his twin.

“Hell of a line huh? Maybe don’t record this part of the tik toks.” Danny jokes, nudging Devan.

That’s why she was here. To film content for social media. For whatever reason that made you feel happier inside.

Once you finally all made it through the gates you were a bit mesmerized by all of the lights and aromas. You felt like a kid again and you were ready to let loose and have fun.

“Tilt a whirl first?” Josh turns to you with a big smile.

You nod. “You read my mind.”

As you two head off towards that direction you're halted by a voice. “Josh! Wait! I need to get a shot of you by the lights!”

“Oh yeah sure. We're just going to head over to the tilt a whirl ride really quickly. Maybe after?” He offers.

Devan claps her hands. “Oh good idea! We’ll come with you to get some filming in.”

You cringe a bit at the thought of everyone now doing everything together.

The line for the first ride wasn’t too long. It took maybe 10 minutes to get to the front. Devan was filming Danny and Sam almost the whole time. The gates opened and you and Josh headed off to find a suitable cart for you two. You sat down and debated ways to spin faster.

“It’s definitely left and then right!” He shouted animatedly trying to prove his point.

“No no Joshy it’s right then left!”

Both of you laughed as you tried to latch the bar down.

“Hold up. Sorry we have to put three in each cart.” The ride operator says, coming by and unlatching the bar.

You frown at the thought of a stranger coming and squeezing in next to you or Josh. But it’s not a stranger who comes. It’s Jake.

“Funny seeing you two here. Dev is filming Sam and Daniel for this one. Mind if I squeeze in Sug?”

You give him a flat smile as he climbs in, ridiculously close to you.

The operator comes by and latches the bar, squeezing you all even closer to one another.

“You know we spin this left to right to go faster.” Jake states matter of factly.

“Thank you! That’s what I’ve been saying!” Josh exclaims.

The ride begins and Jake and Josh both begin working on spinning the wheel. Immediately the cart begins to spin and pushes you closer into Jake. You begin to giggle like a schoolgirl at the adrenaline rush as all of you work together to spin.

“Try my way now!”

You put your hands on the spinner, accidentally grabbing Jake’s hand. You briefly glance up at him and see him smiling at you in pure adoration. That made a lump sit in your throat. You hadn’t seen that look from him in forever. You all begin to spin the way you had suggested and you know it’s faster as your body now smashes into Josh’s.

“Okay I think you were right!” Josh says through laughter.

“Nope.” Jake says as he grabs the wheel and starts to whisk it the other way.

“Jake!” You giggle as your body presses back into his.

“I’ve got you Sugar.” Jake replies, rather valiantly.

You aren’t sure exactly what you saw due to all of the commotion, but you swear out of your peripheral you saw Josh cut his eyes at his brother.

You couldn’t be sure so you chalked it up to your imagination. The ride began to slow down and you knew you were going to be dizzy. All three of you were left panting and smiling ear to ear when the ride fully stopped.

“Can we at least all admit I was right?” You asked, trying to tame your hair.

“Never.” Jake replied with a smirk.

**

The next ride you had gotten on was the Himalaya. The ride that slung you to one side and went fast to various songs. It was your favorite and you were so happy to be on it with Josh, although you were sure you had crushed him just a little bit. Jake had ridden directly behind you with Devan, while Sam and Danny were in front of you. You loved the ride, but you and Josh were more entertained by Danny crushing Sam.

“Can we get a funnel cake or something? I’m starving.” Sam whines while stretching after the torture of the ride.

“Oh that would be a good tik tok!” Devan yells, furiously tapping on her phone.

“Is everything for social media?” You whisper to Josh.

He grins at you. “Apparently.”

“Let’s take the chair lift to the other end of the fair and we can get funnel cakes there. Okay?” Danny offers.

“Deal.” Sam says.

You all make your way to a rather short line to get on the lift.

“Your shoe’s untied.” Josh says, pointing down to your unlaced Converse.

“Good catch.” You say, starting to bend down.

Josh throws his hand up. “I got it.”

He kneels down and starts intertwining the laces.

“And they say chivalry is dead.” You joke.

“Josh!” You two swivel your heads to see Devan waving wildly. “Josh! Come up here! I need more shots of you!”

Josh glances at you with an annoyed look.

“Come on, I barely have any footage of you!” She continues.

Josh flashes a disappointed face at you before shuffling his way up front to catch the next lift with Devan. You watch as they quickly get seated and take off. Then you watch Sam and Danny pair up for the next one leaving just you and Jake.

“I guess we’re chopped liver huh?” Jake pokes.

You glance over at him. He’s leaned up on the railing looking incredibly handsome with his navy shirt hardly buttoned. His silver pendants dangle on his chest, dancing on his tanned skin.

“Apparently.” You reply coolly.

“You know,”He starts, walking up to the front of the line with you. “I really like your shirt. I believe I have a cowboy hat somewhere at home.”

You roll your eyes at him, but still crack a smile. He’s pleased with himself as a smirk overtakes his face.

“Next!” The operator yells.

You and Jake walk over to the footprints and get ready to sit. He glances over and gives you a wink before you both plop down and are off.

“Wow what a view huh?” Jake states, glancing around at all of the lights.

“Oh yeah. Look at all of those porta potties.” You retort.

Jake laughs. “Grandiose I suppose.”

You laugh back at him.

His eyes catch yours. “I miss that laugh you know. Hearing it so carefree on that spinning ride… It brought me back. Made me think of the good ole days I guess.”

You offer him a small smile. “I don’t know how you even remembered it. All we ever did was fight Jake.”

He furrows his brows slightly. “Oh come on. I don’t remember it that way. In fact, I remember a date just like this. That random mall had the half set up carnival. I won you a teddy bear.”

You smile at the memory. “Yeah, but we left mad at each other. Arguing like always.”

Jake sighed and paused. “We fixed it when we got home if I recall correctly. We always fixed our problems Sugar.” Jake says in a suggestive tone.

“I wouldn’t say they were fixed. We both know there was only one thing we were ever good at.” You say, giving him the side eye.

A smile creeps across his face. “Were? Let’s not talk in the past tense, Sugar. I bet we would still be good today. Hell, better even.”

A dust of pink spreads across your face.

“Jake! Y/n!”

You take yourself out of your trance and see Danny turned around pointing a camera at you two.

“Smile!”

Jake slides closer to you and throws his arm around your shoulder. Resting his head on yours. You give a meek smile, suddenly aware of how this photograph will look.

“Aw so cute.” Danny laughs before turning around.

“So what’s on the agenda for the rest of the night Sugs?”

Jake asks, nonchalantly.

You click your tongue. “Hm probably going to get pizza and go home. I need to send a few emails. Exciting things.”

“Care for some company?” He asked, with a small smile.

“Oh tempting.” You say, unamused. “But I have an early pilates class.”

“Smoothie after?” Jake smiles and raises his eyebrows at you in question. “I’m just kidding Sug. Don’t look so uptight.”

You flash him a smile and shake your head.

He extends his hand out to you. “Truce? I mean we can be friends right?”

You scan his face, looking for a reason to say no. You falter finally and shake his hand. You feel the calluses and let your mind wander for a half of a second. “Truce.”

He smiles, pleased with himself. “We could be more than friends in certain ways even.”

Yoh groan at him. “Jake.”

He holds his hands up in defense. “Okay okay. Friends it is Sug.”

**

After you had finally gotten off of the chair lift you had tucked yourself back by Josh. Everyone had split off to grab their own food. Danny and Sam had made it back first with beer and pretzels, snagging a table for everyone.

“Josh oh my god! They have dill pickle pizza!” You say, lightly slapping his arm in excitement.

“What? No way.” He whips his head around.

“Yes! We have tried to find some forever. Remember that night we stayed up high out of our minds trying to make one with homemade garlic pesto?”

Josh fake grimaces. “Don’t remind me. Ya know I’m fairly certain that apartment still smells like garlic.”

“Good thing you don’t live there anymore. Come on!” You link arms with him and hurriedly shuffle towards the pizza truck to get your coveted dinner.

Josh put an order in for your pizza while you went off to get your slushees. You had both reconvened at the table.

“Okay, watch my six.” You said to Josh as you started to attempt to grab the shooters from your bra.

Josh understood the mission and got up, making himself bigger to cover you. Both of you sneakily emptied two little bottles into your slushees.

“Okay I will say Malibu does go great with blue.”

Josh cracks a smile at you. “I’ll never steer you wrong kid.”

Eventually everyone else joints you guys back at the table, munching down on the various high caloric fair food.

“Is that pickle pizza?” Sam asks, nodding in your direction making a face.

“Yes Sam it is. And it’s the greatest thing I have ever put in my mouth.” You say, biting off a piece.

“Mhm.” Jake says, catching your eyes with a knowing smirk.

You don’t acknowledge that.

“It’s actually fantastic Sam. You want to try some?” Josh offers.

Sam turns his nose up. “Ew pass. I doubt it’s even vegan friendly.”

“I’ll try some.” Devan says.

You had almost forgotten she was there. She had been unusually quiet.

“Here you go.” You say, handing a piece to her.

“Oh wow.” She says taking a bite. “That is a lot of garlic. I can only imagine how bad that’s going to make your breath for days!” Devan laughs.

You make a face at her.

“I happen to just love your garlic breath.” Josh says, poking your arm trying to ease the tension.

You let out a small half laugh. “Guess we’ll have to quarantine ourselves together since we have the garlic plague.”

Josh licks his fingers and smiles brightly at you. “I could think of worse fates. At least the vampires won’t get us.”

You giggle at him and Devan rolls her eyes.

“Sooooo what’s next?” Danny asks, slurping up his dark beer.

“Oh let’s ride the fireball coaster and then the skull crusher!” Sam exclaims.

“Yes to the rollercoaster, absolutely not to the skull crusher.” You say through a sigh.

“Oh how come Sug? Don’t tell me you’re chicken?” Jake antagonizes.

You shake your head. “Not a chicken. I just use common sense. A ride called a skull crusher doesn’t entice me. You guys do know that they assemble these rides in like 2 days and that one flips and goes upside down. No thank you.”

“Bock bock bock bock bock!” Sam mocks.

Josh laughs. “Hey come on, give her a break.”

Devan giggles. “Yeah! Besides that will be better anyway so I can get footage of just you four on the ride.”

Josh makes eye contact with you and snickers as you return the favor.

**

The coaster was a lot of fun and you were a little surprised that you had felt the effects of the two little shooters. You and Devan watched as the boys all waited patiently in line to get on their ride. She was fidgeting with her camera. Not really speaking to you, but finally she broke the silence.

“You know.” She began, clicking through settings. “Next time we are trying to film, it might be a good idea for you to stay behind. You’re sort of a… distraction for Jake and Josh.”

You furrow your brows at her. “Except Josh and I had been planning to come here. Like by ourselves. Before any of this was hijacked with social media bullshit.”

She doesn’t look up at you and just shrugs. “Here, backstage at shows, meetings at smoothie places.”

You scoff at her. “What is your problem?”

She looks entirely bored of this conversation. “It’s nothing personal, I just don’t think you understand how their lives are now. Everything is for their careers. Millions of people would kill to have what they do. So this social media bullshit is very necessary to continue building their futures. That’s why they hired me. I’ve been meeting with them for over six months now and ever since you came along those two have been different. So it might be best if you keep your distance.”

You feel the sting of her words. Was she right? You blink rapidly. “You don’t even know them.”

She cocks her head at you. “And you do?”

You feel a fire begin to flame. “Yeah I do. I really do. I especially know Jake. He and I are very familiar with each other. Does that bother you? Is that what all of this is about?”

Her face turns bright red.

You hadn’t even noticed the ride had stopped and they were getting off. You saw Josh approaching you and quickly wiped the scowl off of your face.

He wrapped his arm around your shoulder as you two started to walk around. “Did you see that- Woah you okay?”

You nod your head. “Yeah, I’m good.”

He raises his eyebrows at you. “Are you sure? What happened?”

You clear your throat. “It’s nothing. Just creative differences I suppose.”

He looks over at Devan, who has attached herself right back to Jake. “What did she say?”

“It’s nothing. We’ll talk later.” You say dismissively.

Josh gives you a long look before nodding. “You wanna get out of here?”

You suck in your cheeks and nod.

“Okay boys I think we’re going to head out. I’m beat.” Josh says, stretching his arms out.

“Aw boo. We haven’t even played any games yet!” Sam says, sticking his tongue out.

“That would be a really good clip. If I could get you all on camera throwing darts or something.” Devan adds.

Josh looks at you, as if asking for permission. You lightly nod your head, not wanting to give Devan any more ammunition.

“Fine.” Josh pinches the bridge of his nose. “One game.”

One game turned into three. All of them played a round of balloon darts, in which Sam won a whoopee cushion. Then they played a water spraying game, which Danny had won. Lastly they decided on the horse race game determined by ball rolling. It was a close race, but Jake took the win.

“Okay you can choose your prize young man.” The lady said.

Jake turned around and smiled at you. “Whadda think Sug? Anything catch your eye?”

You wrack your brain, thinking of how to play this in front of everyone. “I think you need to get what you want Jake. Something to sit in your room and remind you of your immense victory.”

He huffs a laugh. “So no friend for teddy then. Yeah, just hand me that little guy.”

The lady gives Jake some tie-dyed frog. He smiles at it in his hands. “Here ya go Dev. For all your hard work.”

She giggles and takes it. “Oh, thank you!”

It takes all of your willpower not to groan.

“Okay! Well then, I think we are all set. We will catch you guys later.” Josh says, throwing his arm around your shoulders and giving you a squeeze.

Jake gives you a weird look, you just throw up your hand to wave and follow Josh.

It’s a rather silent walk back to the car, but when you finally make it Josh lets out a huge sigh.

“Tell me about it.” You say with a small smile.

He pats your hand and starts the engine. “So you gonna tell me about what all that was about?”

You huff. “Devan. I don’t know, she just hates me. She said I’m a distraction and I’m hindering your futures essentially.”

Josh makes a face at you. “What?”

You nod. “Mhm. Says my arrival has disoriented you and Jake.”

Josh takes in a breath and shakes his head.

You swallow thickly. “Which I guess… maybe you. I have been taking a lot of your time lately. But Jake? No, I don't even speak to him.”

Josh presses his lips into a line. “I guess we need to talk about it.”

You furrow your eyebrows. “What? Should we spend less time together? Fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take away-“

“No, no. Not that at all. You don’t take up my time. In fact, I’m more than happy to spend my time with you.” Josh says clears his throat. “I mean you and Jake.”

You felt relief at the beginning of his words, but confusion at the next. “What do you mean?”

He sucks in his cheeks. “You know what I mean.”

You let out a small laugh. “Josh, I assure you I don’t.”

He taps his fingers on the wheel. “The tension between you two, the glances, the flirting.”

You scoff. “There is none of that. Jake can be a jackass, you know that. But there is none of that happening. I will not go there again.”

He’s quiet for a minute. “I just don’t want you getting hurt again.”

You shake your head. “Won’t happen.” You grab his arm slightly. “I promise.”

Josh gives you a glance before nodding. He offers you a small smile that you return. It starts to rain now as you’re driving back to your place. The warm streets, being cooled by droplets falling from the heavens. Josh has something soft and pretty playing through the car and you begin to feel melancholy. Much like the rain, soft tears began to roll down your cheeks. You quickly wiped them away, not even sure why they were there. Was it Jake? After everything you can’t deny that spark that he ignites. Was it Josh? The way he cared for you so deeply even after you had discarded him. Was it both? You had no idea, you pushed those thoughts all the way to the back of your mind.

Josh had walked you inside holding a coat from his backseat over your head to shield you from the rain. You giggled as you both tried to make small maneuvers up to your porch without losing the coverage of the coat.

“Whew thanks Joshy.” You said, flicking water off of your arms as you fumbled around for your keys.

“My pleasure. I had fun tonight.” He says with a bright smile.

“Me too. Would you like to come inside for some ice cream? I think maybe we could make sundaes and watch that Stanley Kubrick documentary that we never finished?”

He beamed at you. “I would love nothing more.”

**

The next morning you woke up happy. Josh always puts you in a good mood. You two had stayed up for hours just enjoying each other’s company.

“Hey! Yeah I’m grabbing my smoothie now and I’ll head your way after.” You said, holding your phone up to your ear while wiping sweat from your forehead.

“Great. Drive safe, see you soon.” Josh replied on the other line.

You threw your bag into your car and waltzed over to the smoothie place from your pilates gym. You were so excited to spend another day with Josh. He was taking you rock climbing, a brain child that was born from your conversation last night. When you opened the door you swiveled your head around. Nothing. Just a few hipsters in expensive athletic gear sipping on over priced smoothies. A twinge of guilt stabbed you in the gut when you realized you were disappointed that Jake wasn’t there.

****

• thank you for reading :)

[age-of-greta]

The Sun

The Sun presents a feeling of optimism and fulfillment. It represents the dawn which follows the darkest of nights.

Author’s note: wow hi!!! It’s been a minute! Life has been busy, but I have been thinking of this fic for a while. This one is entirely spontaneous and will have no posting schedule. Just as soon and I can get it written it will be out. I hope you guys enjoy :)

Pairing: Josh x reader and Jake x reader

Warnings: cursing, angst, adult themes, alcoholic consumption, smoking

Word count: 10.1 k

PART 1:

“I can’t fucking stand you! Matter of fact, I hate you!” You scream, your voice raw with emotion.

He lets out a laugh. “Yeah, right back at you Sugar.”

You’re boiling inside. Filled with rage, sadness, and anger. You can’t decide which emotion is the most prominent at the moment. You blink away the hot tears that have formed in your eyes. You feel the sting of them rolling down your cheeks.

“I’m fucking done. We are done. It’s over.” You say, with still a hint of anger, but at least you weren’t screaming this time.

He stares at you for a moment. Blank expression, impossible to read. You think maybe for 0.1 seconds you see a hint of sorrow in his eyes, but with him that would be impossible.

Eventually he scoffs at you. “Fine by me.”

He stays for a few moments with his eyes lingering on you.

“Get the fuck out!” You shout, while tears spill down your face.

Then he’s out the door as fast as it started. Leaving you there in a puddle of your own tears and rage.

Nothing had ever made you feel this way before. You were unsure how you would ever feel normal again. But there was one thing that you were entirely sure of- you fucking hated Jake Kiszka.

**

Teal is so tacky. It’s one of the tackiest colors to exist, you had decided. That's what you were doing at this very moment staring at a teal handbag that you would like to set on fire. It was sitting on a bar next to an equally tacky girl. You realized how insane you felt, but you needed to do something to distract your mind from the truth. Tonight was your third date with a guy named Aiden. He was fine, there was nothing wrong with him. He was attractive, ambitious, successful, and nice. But a part of you knew you were already so bored with him. You never knew how to pick a good guy. Which is why you tried your best to give Aiden a fair shake. Nonetheless, here you were sitting at a booth only thinking of a teal purse. You had decided to meet for drinks after work. You wore a hot pink blazer with a white tank turtleneck and a matching hot pink skirt, that might have been a little too short for work. You wore white tall boots, with gold jewelry. Your hair was done in loose curls and you had on a full face of makeup. This wasn’t your normal attire to work, but you knew you had a date tonight. Out of the corner of your eye you see Aiden pop in. You breathe in and prepare yourself. He’s in a nice gray suit. He always looks nice.

“Hey! So sorry I’m late. Traffic was awful.” Aiden says, reaching down to hug you.

You hug him back. “Oh no you’re fine! I just got here myself. How was your day?”

He smiles at you. “It was great actually. I had a really big pitch that I think went well for me. But I’m happier now that I’m here with you. How was your day?”

You make sure to smile at that, even if it did make you cringe a little. “Well that’s great. My day was good. Rather mundane I suppose, but work feels like that everyday.”

He chuckles. “You’re right about that. Ready for some drinks? A martini right?”

You nod your head. “Yes please.”

“Great. I’ll be right back. You look beautiful by the way.” He says with a smile before he heads over to the bar.

You take a moment to breathe in a little. Aiden was so nice. You had already decided that you would go on another date with him when he would inevitably ask later. You picked at your nails while you waited for your date and drink. You eyed the door constantly, that wasn’t a good sign. It was somewhat stuffy inside, but maybe that was in your head. You were just finding something to complain about. You had been like that for a while. Anytime a man would show interest you bounced. The truth is you were looking for someone to set your soul on fire. You craved a love so deep, that even the ocean would be jealous.

Instead you got guys like Aiden. Again, nothing wrong with him. But he didn’t ignite you. You knew who was to blame, but you hated to even think of him. So you chose to do this same routine over and over. Dating- then never speaking again. It’s not like you necessarily needed a man in your life, you were perfectly content with your life as is. But you wanted excitement again. Maybe if you gave Aiden a chance he could be that for you. Though you doubted it. You continued to eye the door. It wasn’t really busy, but every now and then someone would walk in. Mostly people in suits off to commence nefarious activities, then wake up and do it all again tomorrow. That life never spoke to you, but here you were smack dab in the middle of it. Funny how life works.

You fiddled around with your nails some more, damn you needed to get them done. You glanced up and thought your eyes were playing tricks on you.

Hair.

Then he spoke.

Immediately you felt chills run down your spine. There’s a voice you hadn’t heard in years. There’s no way. You creep your head around the corner and see four very familiar faces. Your blood runs cold and your face becomes incredibly pale. Holy shit.

You whip your head back into your booth trying to stay out of their line of sight. What were they doing here? Why were they here? What?

Just then Aiden returns and hands you your martini. He frowns at you when he sees your face. “Hey, is everything okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

You blink a few times and nod your head. “I’m um- I’m fine.”

He sits back down across from you and takes your hand. “Are you sure?”

Just then that voice rings from right behind you. Now it’s closer.

“Oh shit. Well hey Sugar.”

You turn around and Jake is standing over you with a shit eating grin plastered on his face. You’re absolutely shocked and horrified. You try to speak but nothing comes out.

“I thought I heard your voice.” He flicks his eyes over to Aiden and extends his hand. “Hi. Jake Kiszka.”

Aiden gives him a strange look, but eventually extends his hand and says “Aiden.”

Finally you are able to muster up the courage to speak. “Jake.” You say calmly. “What are you doing here?”

He smirks at you. “I could ask you the same thing, Sugar. We were out scouting bars. We just moved here and I’ve got to say, you were the last person I was expecting to see tonight.”

You furrowed your brows while your voice goes up an octave higher. “What? You just moved here? Like from Michigan?”

Then the rest of them make their way over. You see Sam, Danny, and your old friend Josh.

Aiden clears his throat, clearly sensing your tension. “How do you guys know each other?”

Jake flicks his eyes to you and gives a wide smile. “Old friends.”

Aiden huffs a little at that. “Okay. Well looks like you have some catching up to do, with your old friends. I’ll call you tomorrow? I’d love to plan something if you’re free Saturday.”

You look back over at Aiden and nod your head.

He excuses himself and slides out of the booth.

“Bye Aiden! Lovely meeting you!” Jake yells out.

Jackass.

The other three are now approaching the table.

“Holy shit!” Sam exclaims when he sees you.

“Oh, hi Sam.”

Then you’re standing up and Sam hugs you, then Danny’s hugging you. Then you see Josh.

“Hi.” He says, standing there with his arms around his back. “Long time no see.”

You are unsure of what to say to that. “Hi Josh.”

“So, can we join you or what?” Jake asks.

You let out a breath and then motion your hand for them to all sit in your booth.

Jake scoots in right next to you. Immediately you feel the need to down your whole martini so you do.

“Whew. Damn Sugar. You okay?” Jake asks, nudging you.

You nod. “Yeah. Just wasn’t expecting such a-“ You pause. “Reunion.”

Josh smiles at you. “I can tell. Well don’t fret if it’s unpleasant for you. It’s just temporary. We are here with a new label working on an album. They decided to rent a house out to us for the next few months.”

You feel bad all of a sudden. You loved Josh. You and he had been friends for years. That was until you started dating Jake. You see, you and Josh had been friends after meeting in a coffee shop in Detroit. You had grown close with all of them, but Josh was your best friend. You two were practically inseparable. You pretty much did everything together. Then, one night you and Jake hooked up and the rest was history. It was hard on Josh. But you were too enamored by Jake to quit. You both had fallen fast and hard. Taking things way too fast, but it felt euphoric. Jake was like a drug. The highs were so high. But the lows were so low. You and Jake were only together for around 10 months. It was a toxic and crazy relationship. The only thing you and Jake were ever good at was sex. To this day no one made you come as hard as he had. But Jake acted like a selfish child. You two spent more time arguing than anything else. When you had broken up you had cut off all contact with all of them. You couldn’t bear it any longer. Josh had tried to reach out to you, but you ignored it. You wanted to forget Jake had ever existed- and that meant cutting off all people who reminded you of him. Then, you had moved to Nashville and gone on with life. You hadn’t seen or spoken to any of them since the break up.

“No it’s not that it’s unpleasant at all. Just unexpected. I never pegged you guys to settle down in… Nashville.” You said, trying to give a convincing smile.

Jake chimes in. “Settle down? We aren’t necessarily doing that. It’s temporary. I fear domesticity.”

You scoff. “Yep. I know.”

Jake laughs at you. “Good one.”

Josh changes the subject. “So what are you up to these days?”

You shift your gaze to Josh. “Well nothing as exciting as you guys. I work at a marketing firm and I have a Beta fish.”

Josh smiles at you. “That does sound exciting. Marketing huh? I can totally see it.”

You nod. “Congratulations to you all by the way on your success.”

“Thank you! We’ve been trying. It’s been a while since the garage band days.” Sam says.

“Yeah. It seems as if we’ve all grown up.” You say, still trying to push back negative feelings.

“Sam, Josh, you guys wanna go get drinks?” Danny asks, obviously trying to give you and Jake a moment to speak.

They both agree and follow Danny to the bar.

“I’ll take a whiskey on the rocks!” Jake yells to them and Sam gives him a thumbs up.

Then it’s just you two alone again. You turn around to face Jake. He’s still wearing that same smirk.

“You know Sugar, I’m digging the pink. You look good.”

You try not to let those words affect you. “Thanks.” You reply flatly.

“So, Aiden?” Jake asks.

You take a sip of the other martini on the table. “What about him?”

Jake hums. “Doesn’t really scream to me your type.”

“Oh yeah? Well what is my type?” You poke.

“Me.” Jake says and grins ear to ear.

You swig the martini again. “Funny.”

“C’mon Sugar. Lighten up. We’re just two old friends catching up.”

You pinch your face up and look at him. “Oh is that what we are?”

Jake smirks at you. “Okay well you know- ex lovers, future lovers. It’s all the same.”

You roll your eyes at him. He was always so full of charm which drove you crazy.

The other three returned with drinks in hand.

“So what are we getting up to tonight? It feels just like old times now.” Sam says with a bright smile.

You start to shut that down. “Count me out unfortunately. I have to work in the morning.”

It gets a little quiet.

“Well what are you doing this weekend?” Josh asks.

“I have pilates, but other than that I guess I’m free.” You reply.

“Does Aiden know that?” Jake teases.

You roll your eyes again.

“We have a show we’re doing this weekend. Would love if you could come and see us play after all this time.” Josh adds.

You pause for a minute, contemplating your options. But you didn’t want to seem so abrasive to Josh, you really did feel bad for ghosting him the way that you did. “Yeah, that sounds fun. I’ll be there.”

Josh smiles at you. “Great.”

“We can have a pass up front for you. Then I guess maybe uh Jake could text you the details?” Sam says cautiously.

Jake chuckles. “I’m blocked.”

Sam falls quiet, fearing maybe he had stirred something up between the two of you.

You try to lighten the situation. “Oh yeah? How do you know that?”

Jake shrugged. “I’ve reached out here and there. It’s never gone through.”

Yikes.

You clear your throat. “Josh? Do you still have my number? If not I can text you.”

“I’ve still got it.” Josh says lightly.

You half smile. “Great. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to slip out of here. It was truly great seeing you guys.”

“Care if I walk you out?” Josh asks.

You weren’t really expecting that.

“Oh yeah sure.” You reply.

You smile and nod everyone else off and Jake has that same smirk on his face.

“See ya soon Sugar.” Jake says, eyeing you up and down.

“Jake.” Is all you say with a nod.

Then you and Josh are walking out of the bar. It’s definitely awkward and there’s so much to be said, but you’re so unsure where to start.

“I’m just right here.” You say motioning over towards your car. “Thank you for walking me.”

Josh gives you a small smile. “So if I text you are you actually going to respond?”

Ouch.

“Josh I-“ You start.

He holds his hand up to you. “I’m only teasing. I know it was a weird situation.”

There was the sweet and understanding Josh he had always been. “It was. But there was still no excuse for me to do what I did to you.”

Josh shakes his head. “Consider it water under the bridge.”

You give a small sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“I’ll see you Saturday?” Josh questions.

You nod. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Josh smiles. “Good.”

“Hug?” You say extending your arms out.

Josh obliged and stepped in and hugged you. It felt like comfort. You smiled into his shirt. When you both let each other go. Josh was reciprocating that smile.

“I’m glad I ran into you tonight. Get home safe.”

“Me too. Bye Josh.”

“Bye.”

Then he stood outside and watched you pull out, waving you off.

Your head was running a million miles an hour. What just happened? You felt like you wanted to vomit, half bile, half rainbows. All you knew was that now you had to prepare for a Saturday with your ex-boyfriend, old best friend, and their band.

**

Saturday had rolled around quicker than you had anticipated. You huffed as you threw your pilates bag into your car. In a way you were ready to work out all of the anxiousness and frustration you felt. Your pilates studio wasn’t too far from your townhouse. It was in an upscale little plaza next to a smoothie shop, which you would definitely be taking advantage of after. Once you arrived you checked into your class and rolled out your mat. You took a few deep breaths and adjusted your attire. You wore a rather loud pair of green leggings that fit you like tights, and a white sports bra top. You unlaced your white sneakers, letting your bare feet hit the mat. You felt grounded, drained of negative energy. Pilates was always an outlet for your stress, better that than alcohol.

After an intense session you felt reborn. You rolled up your mat and hit the locker room, splashing cold water on your face. You took your hair down and watched it cascade down your shoulders, it had gotten so long. You dried your face with a clean towel and wiped the sweat from your hairline. You rolled on some deodorant and you were vibrating with excitement at the thought of the peanut butter banana protein smoothie you were about to inhale. After dropping off your items in your car you walked with some pep in your step to the entrance of the smoothie cafe only to be met with confusion.

Jake?

He saw you through the door as soon as you saw him, his face lighting up with a smile as he got up to meet you at the door.

“Hey Sug. What a pleasant surprise.” He greeted, as you stepped in.

“Are you stalking me?” You ask, half serious.

He lets out a chuckle. “You wish. No, Josh and I are here meeting with our social media manager. She wanted smoothies, but I’ve got to say I was hoping this pilates studio next door was the one you frequented.”

You glance around him and see Josh at the table giving you a wave while a blonde girl scrolled through a laptop.

“So why this smoothie place? Did you search for one closest to a pilates studio?” You ask in an accusatory tone.

“You overestimate me Sug. This was just the closest one to our house.” He replies coolly.

“Closest?” You ask with pinched brows.

“Yeah. Our house is somewhat secluded I guess. It’s a few miles behind that block of townhomes.”

“Motherfucker.” You whisper.

Jake looks at you strangely. “What?”

”Nothing.” You say dismissively.

He cracks that annoyingly perfect smile at you. “Don’t tell me you live close to there?”

You glance up at him, always finding it hard to lie to him “I do.”

”Well I’ll be damned. What does fate have in store for us Sug?” He asks through a smirk.

You scoff at him. He was ridiculous.

“Let me at least buy you a smoothie and you can come join us.” Jake offers.

You make a face at him. “I don’t need you to buy my smoothie Jake.”

He cracks a smile at you and places his hand on your lower back ushering you towards the ordering station. “I know you don’t need me to. But I want to. Y’know good karma and all.”

You scoff. “It would take a lot more than a smoothie to give you good karma.”

He lets out a small laugh. “You’re right.”

You two order and stand by the counter while you’re waiting on all of the smoothies. He had ordered one for him, Josh, and the laptop girl too.

You try to tune Jake out but you can feel his eyes burning into you.

“What?” You ask, looking over at him.

“Ah nothing. I thought pink was your color, but it might be green.” He suggests with a smirk, while nodding his head towards your tight green leggings that are practically painted on you.

You roll your eyes but feel your face flushing red. Thankfully, they call your order number up and you grab your smoothie and Josh’s while Jake waits for whatever else he ordered. You walk towards the booth and are greeted with a smiley Josh. You decide to slide in next to him, the blonde girl barely looks up from her computer.

“Ah I thought that was you. I didn’t know you would be joining us this morning?” Josh questions, almost as if he would believe that you and Jake had planned this.

You lightly laughed at that notion. “Yeah me either. My pilates studio is next door. I come here religiously for these protein shakes.”

“Pilates and protein? What happened to my beer and mac & cheese girl?” He teases with a bright smile.

You huff a laugh, but before you can respond Jake comes buzzing over to the table. “Here ya go Dev.” Jake says, sliding over to the blonde girl who was so wrapped up in her computer. However, that’s not the case anymore.

She flashes a smile to Jake. “Oh thank you Jake.” She says, her voice thick with sweetness.

Oh she likes him. You can tell by the way her eyes light up when she sees him. You get it, you really do. But why is it bothering you?

Josh clears his throat. “Okay, well maybe proper introductions are in order here? Devan this is y/n. We all go way back.”

Jake snickers at that. “Yeah, way back.”

You flick a brief look of judgment at Jake, but you notice your heart rate quicken.

“Yes… and this is Devan, she is our newly hired social media coordinator. She’s brilliant. I figured you two might have some common ground with your marketing career?” Josh offers.

Devan meets your eyes. She’s pretty. Moderately short dirty blonde hair with platinum highlights, blue eyes lined perfectly with black eyeliner and encased in black rimmed large eye glasses. You weren’t sure if they were for seeing or fashion, but they looked great on her. She was trendy in a business casual way. Very much a Nashville girl.

You flashed her a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Devan.”

She offers you a tight lipped smile before averting her eyes back to her computer. “Mhm likewise.”

Oh. You would completely understand her demeanor had she behaved like this the whole time. Work is work. However, she lit up like a Christmas tree for Jake. So you were led to believe that you and her would not be making each other friendship bracelets anytime soon.

“Jake, can you tell me what you think of this filter?” Devan asks in that sickeningly sweet voice again.

Jake glances up at you slightly with a grin and scoots closer to Devan. He brushes his hand with hers as he scrolls on the mousepad and you see her cheeks dust with pink. “Oh wow. Devan this is beautiful. We really are so lucky to have hired you.” He says nudging her shoulder. “Josh, look at this.”

Jake spins the computer around and you glance at the photo. It’s a fucking black and white picture with grain. You now know Jake is trying to put on an act since you’re here.

Josh purses his lips. “Yeah… absolutely. Looks great.”

He has always been so kind.

Your attention is diverted when your phone starts to vibrate on the table.

Aiden Rodgers flashes upon your screen and Jake sees it before you do.

“Sorry guys. I’m going to get out of here and take this call.” You look over directly to Josh. “I’ll see you later?”

Josh gives you a polite smile. “Yeah of course.”

You grab your phone that’s still lighting up the table and glance up at Jake before shuffling out of the booth.

“See you tonight. Do feel free to bring Aiden, Sug.” Jake says with a sly smile.

You make a face at him. Why did he always manage to get under your skin? As you walked off you took a deep breath and answered your phone.

**

Lunch with Aiden went perfectly well. You had fibbed a little and said that you had a family thing come up for the evening, so Aiden offered lunch. He took you to a cute little patio restaurant where you indulged in a salmon and goat cheese salad with a lemon blueberry mojito. He was funny and charming. But you couldn’t help but let your mind drift elsewhere while he was speaking. You sent Aiden off with a hug and a promise to call him soon. Now you sat in your living room nursing a wine cooler contemplating what you would even wear tonight. What is the attire for attending your rockstar ex-boyfriend’s concert? Part of you wanted to bail on the whole night and not even go, but you couldn’t do that to Josh. Despite all of the shit with Jake, Josh was always there for you. It was about time you showed some reciprocation after all this time.

You groaned and peeled yourself off of your couch. There was a laundry list of things that needed to be done before tonight and you had better get started. Your phone buzzed whilst you were in the middle of an everything shower. When you climbed out you check it immediately to see a text from Josh:

After party tonight at our house. Would love for you to come and you’re more than welcome to stay. Pack a swimsuit!

You felt a swirl of emotions hit you. You missed them and you knew going would be fun. But were you ready to be around Jake for longer than 10 minutes? You dried off and tried to do anything but contemplate how the night might play out. Once you had completed all of your skincare, you threw your hair up to dry in a turban towel and picked through your closet. You fingered through your dresses, business casual blouses, and blazers. Nothing spoke to you. Then, it hit you.

Black.

Jake had said he loved you in pink and green, but you still remember the way he trembled when you wore black. You tried to reason with yourself that the sole reason you were choosing your outfit was not based on him, but you were drawing blanks.

Once you applied sultry makeup and put bouncing curls in your hair you were ready to get dressed. You picked up your lingerie-esk black see through cami adorned with lace. It was entirely sheer except for the front. You decided to pair it with a longer silk black skirt with a high slit and black strappy heels. Once, you were dressed, you accessorized and sprayed yourself with a perfume that made you smell like a walking dessert. You might have taken a liquid shot of courage before you got into your Uber to head to the venue.

There was a line of fans outside and you smiled to yourself knowing that their dream was coming to fruition. You clicked your heels on the pavement up towards the box office, carrying your small duffle bag and gave them your name. You were given a lanyard and entrance to the side door where a rather muscular man led you down empty hallways. He smiled and attempted to strike a flirty conversation with you while taking your bag to carry it, but you were already bored of him as he droned on about how important he was. Finally you had made it to a lounge area where you saw Danny rummaging through the fridge with Sam hot on his heels. You laughed to yourself at a memory that had come to mind seeing the scene before you. Josh had always called them tweedle dee and tweedle dumb in the most endearing way. Where there was one the other surely would be in tow.

“Y/n! Hey! You look hot!” Sam yelled, rather loudly as soon as he noticed your presence.

“I believe this is where I leave you ma’am.” Muscles said, sitting your bag down on a chair. “If you require my assistance later or need help getting to your seat, here’s my number.”

You politely accepted his small slip of paper and tried to pretend like you didn’t see his wink.

“You made it!” Josh stated enthusiastically heading your way.

You wrapped him in a warm embrace. “I’m done dodging you.”

He smiled at those words. “Promise?”

”Pinky.” You said, extending your finger out towards him.

This was something you and Josh had done in the past. The most serious of vows, your pinky promises.

You saw his heart swell at your action, happy to have his best friend back. That was short lived when you felt a cloud come into the room. You could sense his eyes on you.

“Want a drink?” Josh asked, nodding towards the small wet bar.

“Just a vodka soda please.”

As one twin left you, another approached. Jake didn’t say a word as he took you in with his eyes. Scanning you up and down no doubtably undressing you with his eyes. You tried not to let that affect you.

”Jake.”

He nodded towards you. “Sugar. You look… just wow. Takes me back to a different time.”

Your face slightly reddens at his admission. You expected more of a sleazy conversation from Jake rather than an unintentional trip down memory lane.

The mood shifts entirely when Josh comes back with a vodka soda and two limes.

“You remembered.” You say to Josh with a smile, gesturing towards the extra lime.

“Of course. How could I forget?” He replies with a grin.

Jake clears his throat. “Well glad you could make it. We have a hell of a show tonight and I assume you’ll be at our house later of course for the party?”

You give a quick glance to Josh, who is looking at you hopefully. “Yep. I’ll be there.”

Jake flashes you a mischievous grin. “Excellent. Enjoy yourself tonight Sug.” Then he heads off to converse with one of his technicians.

“Rather brooding isn’t he?” Josh jabs.

You snicker at that. “I’ll say.”

Josh turns towards you and places a hand on your back. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve missed you.”

A wave of guilt mixed with sentimentality rushes through your veins. You loved Josh. No matter what happened with Jake, he was still that beautiful shining beacon of light for you. It was then you had decided to focus on him rather than concern yourself with whatever Jake may do. “I missed you too Josh, so much.”

“Alright everyone! Openers are about to go on. I need you all dressed and ready to shoot some social media content in ten!”

You glance across the room and see Devan with an iPad in hand. She was wearing a similar stylish business casual outfit like she had previously worn. When she finally looked up from her screen she noticed you immediately and gave a harsh face. It was brief, but you had caught it.

“Devan can we push this back a little? Y/n just got here and I’d like to show her around.” Josh asks.

Devan makes a face a Josh before tapping furiously on her tablet. “Eh sorry no can do Josh. The best I could do is an additional fifteen minutes but that will cut into Danny’s tik tok later. Besides, we need to make sure we are staying somewhat confidential with our filming so that nothing gets leaked.”

You felt a pit form in your stomach. She didn’t want you around and you were intruding on their work.

“Uh Devan she’s basically family.” Sam chimes in. “She wouldn’t dare leak anything.”

“No, it’s fine!” You try to say as nonchalant as possible. “I wanted to catch some of the opening act anyway. You guys go and get dressed and do your thing.”

Josh gives you a sad look, but eventually nods on.

“I’ll call that security guard to come fetch you. Oh! Jake! I need your feedback on something.” Devan says, hurrying over towards Jake who looks at you with raised brows.

“One sec Dev. Gonna walk y/n to her seat.” He says, shuffling past her.

He walks up to you with a pleased smile and sticks his arm out. “Shall we?”

You give him a pointed look and huff before grabbing his arm. “Break a leg.” You say to Josh with a smile.

He gives you a half hearted smile back and nods. You wondered why his mood had seemed to change, but Jake’s voice quickly snapped you out of your thoughts.

“Excited?”

You hum. “I supposed. Eager to see how much you’ve all changed.”

Jake chews on his cheeks before he speaks. “I guess we all have… changed quite a bit. Grew up a little.”

You laugh. “Oh, have you? That seems far-fetched for some of you.”

He huffs a laugh back. “You’re talking about Sam right?”

“Oh most definitely.” You snicker, but can’t hide the smile that creeps out. “You didn’t have to walk me, you know. I can manage.”

“And leave that meathead to try and sweep you off your feet? No way Sugar, I’m the only one who can do that. Besides, these halls can be empty. No one around. Private really.” He retorts with a shit eating grin.

There he is. You roll your eyes. “Oh Jake, you really always have been ever so charming.”

“You flatter me. But in all honesty it can be difficult to navigate around backstage. When we first started playing at bigger venues I would get lost just trying to find somewhere to smoke a fucking cigarette.”

“Cigarettes? That’s a nasty little habit.” You say with faux disapproval.

He turns towards you and sets his eyes on yours. “Quite. Sometimes the things that can hurt you the most are what you want more than anything. You crave it.”

You feel your heartbeat quicken at that statement. Your chest starts to blaze with an indescribable feeling, but before you can respond you’re interrupted.

“VIP guest? I’ll usher her over to side stage.” A crew member says approaching you and Jake.

Jake clears his throat and nods at the man. “Yep, thank you.”

Then he turns away and heads in the opposite direction without looking back at you. You felt your brain spinning as you blinked to come back to reality. You were taken to your seat where you were surprisingly close to the stage. You weren’t necessarily in seats, but had a foldout chair side stage on the floor. Your mind drifted to what they might play and if Jake played with as much passion as he used to. When you two had dated you were mesmerized watching him play. His dedication, his intensity, the way his body swayed around that guitar, the facial expressions, the sweat, his…hands. Stop. You couldn’t think that way. That time was over. You have moved on. You were over Jake. Right? You hated him. Didn’t you? You massaged your temples and requested a drink from a crew member. When it arrived you nursed the burning liquid in attempt to suppress whatever in the hell your psyche was feeling. You tried to concentrate on the openers, but before you knew it their set was over and you were left thinking what the next setlist might be. Since you went no contact, you did not go out of your way to search for them or their music. You only know the early days. The early days. Would they play it? Your song? They used to play it all the time. A catchy song written drunkenly by Jake and Josh one night when they were younger, but you were the driven force behind its publication. They played it all the time. It was a great jam song, but no one knew Jake had dedicated it to you. Anxiousness swirled in your stomach as you anticipated the mere minutes before they would take to the stage. You had to admit there was quite a turn out. They had fans and not just casual ones either. A part of you felt proud while another solem that you had missed the build up to this moment.

The lights dimmed and cheering ensued. Then you heard those familiar chords billow through the speaker. It couldn’t be. Your song? They started with your song? Josh’s wailing fills the venue and Jake’s fingers move at lightning speed to match his twin. Highway Tune. Your song.

So sweet. So fine. So nice. Oh my.

Jake used to jokingly say this to you all the time. Your body betrayed you as you swayed to that ever so familiar sound, the build up to the catchiest little riff that has haunted you for years. For a moment Jake’s eyes meet yours and a bright smile appears on his face followed by a wink. He knew what he was doing. The song comes to a close and you hold your breath in anticipation to see if they do it. Danny beats the skin off of his drums, Sam plucks wildly at his bass, Jake strums and struts, you see Josh take a breath and then look at you before the close out.

Sugarrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

**

You were reeling after the last two hours of whatever that was. A rush of conflicting emotions assaults all of your senses as you make your way backstage. Starting off with your song and then you heard a song that made a pit form in your stomach. You’re The One. Was that about you? Timeline wise it would make sense. You wouldn’t dare ask in fear of being embarrassed if it wasn’t about you. But you had a gut feeling that it was.

All of a sudden they all rush back into the green room high off adrenaline.

“So, what did you think?” Danny asks, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from his chest.

“You guys were phenomenal. Seriously, I was blown away.”

Danny smiles, clearly pleased with your answer while Sam pulls you into his side for a hug.

“Feels so nostalgic in here huh?”

You let out a small laugh. “Sure does Sammy.”

“Nostalgia for sure Sug.” Jake says, pressing a freshly poured glass of some dark liquid to his lips. His eyes are intense as they study you, trying to see if there’s any falter behind you.

You breath out when you see Josh and take the opportunity to get you out of this weird eye contact that you have with Jake. “Josh! Oh my god, your voice! You were absolutely amazing. So grown up now.”

He smiles sweetly at you. “You’re too kind. It’s been a work in progress for a while.”

“I can tell. I always knew you were talented but I just- wow.”

He blushes slightly at that.

“Yeah yeah enough of the love fest. Can we please go home and start drinking?” Sam says in a faux annoyed tone while sending you a wink.

“Don’t have to ask me twice. Wanna ride with me Sug?” Jake asks looking towards you with raised eyebrows

You swallow thickly at that. “I’ll hang back with Josh. Gotta find my bags anyway.”

“Suit yourself.”

**

“Josh!” You say in a fit of giggles as he matches your laughs.

“What? It’s true! He absolutely looked like he was snorting steroids.”

You and Josh had left the venue and were headed back to the house. You thought you would be anxious, but neither you nor Josh had shut up or quit laughing. It all felt so natural, just like it once did.

“We’re just around this corner here.” He says, whipping his jeep to the left.

“Josh.” You start. “I have a confession.”

He raises his eyebrows at you. “Yeah?”

“See those trees back there? Just to the right of that little park?”

He quints and nods.

“I live back there.”

His mouth falls open. “No shit?”

You laugh and nod. “I’m so serious! I live in one of those townhomes. That’s why I was so weirded out when I ran into you guys at the smoothie cafe.”

Josh grins and taps the steering wheel. “Hell. Small world. Who would have thought?”

“It’s the universe bringing us back together Joshy.” You say playfully giving his arm a light tap.

His grin turns into a full on smile at that. “I’ll hold you to that.”

When you arrived Josh grabbed your bag and ushered you inside. The house was quite big, definitely bigger than your townhome. There was loud music blasting inside and a slew of bodies which didn’t look familiar to you.

“Wanna take this to my room?” Josh yells over the music.

You nod and grab his hand as he leads you up the stairs.

“Shit it’s loud down there. I’m going to fix that when we get back there. I don’t wear earpieces to protect my ears on stage only to have it ruined at a shitty house party.” Josh says, as he shuts his door.

His room is so very Josh. There’s a white plush king bed in the center, perfectly made. A John Denver poster hangs on a blank wall with a few plants scattered around. But your favorite feature is a small reading nook that Josh has made out of his relatively small windowsill.

“Josh, this is so cute.” You say, running your fingers through his books. You two had always been avid readers and you were delighted to see his new found fame hadn’t changed him.

He gives you a bashful grin. “I guess. I just need a space that’s just for me. Somewhere to escape from the normal insanity that is my life.”

You shrug at him. “Understandable. The reason I chose the townhome I’m in is solely because of a clawfoot tub in my bathroom. I will sit in that thing for hours after a long day at work.”

“You still stay in there long enough to be a mermaid?”

You nod and smile. Josh use to always call you a mermaid because of your extensive baths.

“Ready to head down? I’ve got to kill this music before we get the damn cops called on us.”

You agree and follow him down the stairs. He introduces you to a few dozen people who you couldn’t possibly remember before taking two tequila shots. He throws you a seltzers and a leaves you with a promise to return as soon as he gets the music turned down. You sip on your drink as you can feel the two shots of tequila already working it’s way into your system. You took the time to walk around the house and explore. Careful to avoid any unwanted interactions. You finally found yourself in a small corner of the living room observing some vinyl that was hanging. It seems their collection had almost doubled since you last saw it.

You weren’t alone for long when you felt his presence near you. It was magnetic the way you two had always gravitated towards one another and you knew he was fighting that pull just as much as you had.

“Enjoying yourself Sugar?” Jake asks, leaning in closer than necessary so you can hear him. Immediately you can smell the booze on him. Was he trying to drink away the feelings he felt just like you were?

“Having a splendid time Jacob. Thank you.” You reply, cordially.

He laughs and presses his back up to the wall, observing the party with you. “Why do I always find you in a corner by yourself? You should be out there mingling and mixing.” He teases.

You scoff. “We all aren’t social butterflies like you I suppose.”

Jake turns back and leans in closer to you. “Don’t play coy with me Sug. Don’t forget, I know you. You are very personable. Dare I say charming even?”

You take this opportunity to poke back at him. “Charming? I think I use my charm a little bit differently than you.”

He clicks his tongue and brings his glass up to his lips. “Whatever do you mean?”

“I use my charm simply in a way that any human would; for the purpose of social interaction. Right? You use your charm to try and get panties to drop. So why are you lecturing me? You need to get out there and mix and mingle instead of standing in this corner.”

Jake studies you as you speak and takes a step even closer. He stares directly in your eyes, his slightly red and half-lidded. “Fair, but there’s only one person here that I want to try that charm out with.”

You tried not to flinch at his words, but that hit you like a bullet train. “Yeah?”

He leaned down, bracing himself on the wall. “Yeah.” He whispers into your neck. His hot breath fanning on a sweet spot that caused goosebumps to form everywhere. “And I can only get to her in this corner. Unless of course she would like to accompany me upstairs? We could do a lot of mixing and mingling up there.”

Fuck.

You feel a rush in your chest as Jake’s eyes bounce from your eyes to your lips.

Oh but his lips.

Slightly wet from nursing his drink, but so perfectly plump and pink. You tried to remember how they felt when they used to graze every inch of your skin. That thought alone sent shivers down your spine. You felt frozen in time as your heart was thudding. Maybe it was the alcohol in your system or maybe it was the burning sensation of lust coursing through your veins, but you were going to kiss him. No you were going to fuck him. You didn’t care, all of your inhibitions had long flown out the window. You stared back at him intently and fluttered your eyes tilting your head forward. He leaned in slowly and parted his lips. You followed suit. His nose brushed yours and electricity shot down your spine. This was it.

“Jake!”

Damnit.

You both spun around to see Josh heading your way. Jake huffed a few curse words under his breath as you instinctively took a step back.

Josh makes his way over to you and runs his fingers through his hair. “Thank god I found you. That redhead is looking for you. She’s been following me around for the last few minutes. Something about plans you had?”

Redhead?

Your stomach sinks slightly at that and you feel embarrassed that it did. Of course he has little flings or hell even multiple girlfriends.

Jake cocks his head at his twin and narrows his eyes at him. Almost like he cannot believe what he just said. There’s a long pause of silence between the two of them, neither breaking eye contact from the other.

Finally, Jake lets out a huff and glances back at you before walking off.

You were now beyond grateful that Josh cockblocked you.

“Such a sour puss. You ready to go swimming?” Josh asks you with a grin.

You match his. “Absolutely.”

**

You stared at yourself in the mirror feeling a little self conscious as you took in your body in the black bikini. Jake hadn’t seen your body in a while. Not since you had become more womanly and of course the months of pilates classes. You knew you looked attractive, sure but you still had those voices inside your head criticizing every imperfection. You massaged your temples to get out of your own head and threw on a large Nirvana t-shirt with some leather flip flops before leaving Josh’s bathroom.

“Ready?” He asked you, sitting patiently in his windowsill. “I got us towels.”

You let out a small laugh. “Thank you. Yes, let's go.”

You and Josh descend the stairs and head outside. There’s a decent amount of people there. You don’t scan around looking for Jake, instead keeping your eyes on Josh as he plops your towels down on a chair. He’s wearing light orange swim trunks that match his tan perfectly. It’s just now that you realize how fit he looks. He has really filled out since you last saw him.

You take off your t-shirt and slide off your flip flops, placing them all on the chair. When you glance up your eyes meet Jake’s. He’s staring at you, mouth slightly agape. He’s in the pool, with a fair skinned girl with red hair laughing and straddling him. Her arms are on his shoulders and instantly jealousy creeps down your spine. Why were you jealous? You couldn’t say, but you were. You peeled your eyes away from Jake and headed towards Josh, who was at the cooler fetching you drinks.

“Hot tub?” You ask him walking up behind him.

“Oh yeah sure-“ He turns around and his eyes scan your body. He’s not being nonchalant about it and when he catches himself his face dusts red and he clears his throat. “Yeah hot tub it is.”

You and Josh pad your way to the hot tub, opposite to where Jake and the red head were. You see Sam sitting in there animatedly speaking to Danny. You giggle because you can tell he’s intoxicated.

“Wow wow wow!” Sam whistles wildly at you two approaching. “Josh, you look incredible!”

Josh laughs at his brothers antics while taking your hand to help you climb into the hot tub. The warm water goes from slightly uncomfortable to pleasant the more you sink down in it. You crack your watermelon tequila seltzer and cheers with Josh as you get settled, opting to share a jet together.

“Sammy boy, how much have you had to drink tonight?” Josh pokes.

He throws his hand up at you two. “I lost count. I’m just trying to celebrate! Enjoy the lovely night with lovely people!”

Danny groaned at the end of that sentence and handed Sam a bottle of water. “Drink this.”

“Ah! The gang’s all back together. Where’s Jake? I’m surprised he peeled himself away from you.” Sam giggles. “He was eye fucking you all night on that stage.”

It got quiet.

“He’s in the pool.” Danny offers, bluntly.

Sam cranes his head around to look for his older brother. “Oh. Shit. Is that one Holly or Katie?”

“Holly.” Josh interjects. “Katie is the other one.”

Other one.

Sam sucks in his cheeks and turns towards you. “Sorry. I know that might be awkward for you. It’s nothing serious.”

You let out a laugh. “It’s okay Sam. It doesn't bother me.” You lie. “That was a long time ago.”

“Sam, no one was thinking that. You’re the one making things weird.” Danny says through a laugh.

Sam lets out a breath. “Pshhhhhh. Nope. Come on we all remember how they used to-“

“Sam!” Josh snaps, somewhat abruptly. “Let it be. Can we not traumatize her again?”

You play it off. “It’s fine I promise. But tell me about this house? It’s insane! You guys are living here for how long?”

Josh faces you. “It is. I’m very grateful they gave us such a big place to write this album. We used to go in the smallest cabins in the woods and hold up for weeks. But I think we should be here for at least a good six to nine months.”

You swallow at that. How would you be around them or him for that long? “Wow. Sounds like you guys will be busy then.”

Danny rolls his eyes. “We would be if we could stay on topic.”

You smile at that. “Not much has changed, has it?”

Sam sips his water. “Not even a little bit.”

**

Eventually the party had died down and the crowd began to disperse. Danny and Sam were on cleanup duty while you and Josh both quickly took a rinse shower and put dry clothes back on. You were done first, so you decided to head back down wearing gray sweat shorts with a white cropped tank. Your hair was slightly damp and had curled up significantly.

“Need any help?” You ask Sam as you see him throwing cups on a trash bag.

“That would be great.” He offers with a big smile.

You get to work and grab a bottle of cleaning solution with paper towels and being spraying and wiping down the sticky surfaces, while Sam finishes picking up trash and begins to sweep.

“You’re too sweet, you know that? I’ve always thought so.”

You giggle at his drunk confessional. “Thank you Sammy. So are you.”

He shrugs. “I guess. I’m sorry if I made you upset earlier. I’m just glad to see that you don’t have an achy Jakey heart.”

You can’t help but laugh at that one. “It’s okay, really. I’m a big girl.”

Sam grins at you. “I know you are. But for what it’s worth, he hasn’t really been the same since- you know. Despite how he acts it really fucked him up. He never said a word to indicate it, but we could all tell. I’m sure you heard that song tonight. He would absolutely kill me for saying all of this to you right now, but I feel like you should know it. If for nothing but closure. Fuck, I know I’m drunk and I’m oversharing here.”

You feel like the wind has been sucked out of you. A pool of emotions you absolutely cannot identify swirl in you. Does Jake have feelings for you? After all this time? That song? Were you right?

You’re interrupted abruptly by Josh climbing down the stairs. “Sammy, why do you have our guest working?”

Sam clears his throat, trying to drop all of the conversation that had just occurred between you two. “She volunteered because she is kind. Unlike a certain diva I know.”

“Please. Jake and I have the next clean up- that was the agreement.”

Sam rolls his eyes. “Yeah yeah. Help me take this trash out.”

Josh gives you a head nod as he grabs two bags of trash and walks with Sam towards the door.

Then you’re left in your own thoughts, absentmindedly putting away things that you have no idea where they go.

“So who are you?”

You whip your head around to see redhead approaching you. She’s still in her neon pink bikini tracking pools of water on the floors Sam had just cleaned.

You try not to narrow your eyes at her as you tell her your name. “Old friend of theirs.”

She takes in what you say. “Hm, old friend? I don’t think I’ve ever heard them talk about you.”

You’re a bit taken back by her nastiness. “And you are?”

“Holly.” She says with a smile. “Jake’s good friend. Thank you for helping clean up and all, but the party’s over. I think we’ll get it from here.”

Okay now you narrow your eyes at her. She doesn’t know you and you have a good inkling she doesn’t know how much of good friends you and Jake used to be. “Appreciate your tip and all, but I’m staying here tonight.”

She makes a face at you. “What are you taking the couch or something?”

“No.” Josh’s voice peaks from behind you. “Not that’s it’s any of your concern, but she’s staying with me.”

She drops a considerable amount of attitude with Josh in the room. “Oh! No, yeah I just didn’t know.”

She heads back outside as Josh scoffs. “Don’t worry about her.”

You flash him a smile. “What? She seems so friendly.”

He nudges your shoulder. “You have no idea.”

You and Josh had decided to go outside to make sure everything else was done before you had retired to bed. You found Jake sitting in a chair with redhead practically on top of him. His eyes found yours when you stepped outside, but you looked away quickly and refused to look back.

“Is Sam making a fucking fire?” Josh asks through a laugh.

Danny walks by and places his hand on Josh’s shoulder. “Indeed he is. Something about old times sake and a card game?”

A smile spreads across your face. “Rummy? That’s what we used to all play when we were high out of our minds.”

“Bingo!” Sam yells from a distance. “And you’re in luck baby because look what I have!” He holds up a sandwich bag full of joints.

You shake your head and smile at Josh. “Oh my god.”

He throws his arm around you. “Are you up for this?”

You think about it for a second. Contemplating being around Jake and redhead even longer. You didn’t want to be a buzzkill though, so you bit your lip and nodded your head.

You all eventually gathered around the table. You seated yourself next to Josh and Sam, trying to steer away from Jake. It was to no use when he sat down directly in front of you. His eyes bore into yours, but again you wouldn’t look at him.

“Wanna shuffle Sug?” Jake asks you, attempting to hand the cards in your direction.

You can see redhead squish her face up at the pet name.

“Sure.” You take the cards and begin to shuffle them around before dealing.

Sam lights up and starts to pass the joints around. You collect your cards and take a joint from Josh, watching him take a drag. You bring the joint to your lips and take a small hit, not wanting to do too much for the night. The smoke fills your lungs and you feel that light sensation rush to your head. You close your eyes and exhale, deciding to take another puff before passing it back to Sam. It’s not long until all of you are red eyed and smiley. The first few games were won by you and Danny, then the cards got tossed to the side stories began to flow. At this point the cotton mouth began to set it.

“Gonna go grab a bottle of water. Want one?” You turn to Josh.

He gives you a smile. “Please.”

You head towards the house and go to the bathroom first, relieving your bladder. You wash your hands and stare at the mirror, trying to fix the slight black smudge under your eyes. You were tired and ready to call it a night. Once you headed back into the kitchen you were startled by a body standing there.

“Fuck! Jake, you scared me.”

He laughs. “Sorry Sugar. Just wanted to come and check on you.”

“I’m fine.”

“You are.” His voice was like velvet. He was always somehow more attractive when he was stoned.

“Careful Jake. Don’t want your friend out there to hear.” You say nonchalantly, grabbing two bottles of water.

Jake gives you a devilish grin and steps closer. Backing you up into the countertops. “Oh come on now Sugar. Just say the words and she’s gone.”

You look up at him, studying that beautiful face. “I’m good actually.”

You shimmy out from underneath him heading back outside to Josh. You let out a deep breath before returning to the group.

“Thanks love.” Josh says, taking the bottle from you.

Jake returns to the group not uttering a word.

“I’m tired.” You announce to Josh.

“Yeah me too.” Redhead states. “Jake can we go to bed babe?”

You glance up at him. He looks at you with raised eyebrows, almost asking you. You avoid his glance and he mutters a “yeah” towards her. It sort of felt like a stab to your gut, but you wouldn’t give it any attention.

“Good night guys!” Redhead yells, toting Jake’s arm all the way inside.

You and Josh helped put the fire out before heading back inside.

“What a damn day.” Josh jokes, handing you toothpaste to put on your toothbrush.

You huff a laugh. “Tell me about it. Also I’m freezing, why is it so cold in here?”

“Daniel insists we keep the house at a crisp 68. Michigan blood isn’t used to this Tennessee heat.”

You snicker. “You would all boil if you came to my place.”

“You’ve adapted well I see.”

You shrug. “I’ve always preferred to be closer to The Sun I guess. Makes me happy.”

Josh smiles at you. “I know what you mean.”

You both brush your teeth side by side. A part of it felt so domestic, like it was something that you two had done every night forever. You chalk it off to being high and climb into bed with your once best friend.

You snuggled down into his plush sheets and both crack a few jokes before drifting off to sleep. Somehow, Josh’s arm found it’s way wrapped around you. You were no longer freezing; you were now warm.

Both inside and out.

***

Thank you for reading :)

[age-of-greta]

The Sun Masterlist: WIP

The Sun presents a feeling of optimism and fulfillment. It represents the dawn which follows the darkest of nights.

Pairing: Josh x reader & Jake x reader

Warnings: adult content, minors DNI

Playlist

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

[age-of-greta]

Season Of The Witch

Author’s note: hi!! Saved the best for last, here is week 4/ the finale of our spooky series!! Hope you guys have enjoyed reading them as much as I did writing them. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! Stay spooky I’ll see you guys back soon with tarot series #3 ;) vibes!!

Pairing: Jake x reader

Warnings: cursing, alcohol consumption, angst, lots of sexual content, minors DNI

Word count: 8k (oops)

Rain lightly drizzled as you stared out the window of your Uber. Orange and red luminescent glow lit up the pavement and the streets were lined with fall leaves. Despite approximately two shots of tequila coursing through your stomach you still felt odd about tonight.

“You okay babe?”

That sounded foreign coming from his mouth. You forced a small smile and nodded.

“Yes Matty. I’m good.”

He smiled back and placed his hand on your thigh. You had been seeing Matt for 2 weeks now, give or take a few days.

“Who’s party is this again?” He asked, turning his head to look at you.

“A friend’s. I’ve known him for what feels like forever.” You respond, smiling back on fleeting fond memories.

“Ah.” Matt starts. “Does this friend have a name?”

You nod and laugh. “He does. It’s Josh.”

“Josh.” Matt says slowly. “Well I’m glad he allowed me to come. I’m excited to be your date.”

“Me too.” You say with faux confidence.

A part of you felt bad. You already knew how this night was going to go, but Matt didn’t. There wasn’t anything wrong with Matt. He was conventionally very attractive. Dark curly hair, blue eyes, firm build, tall- god he hated when you went out with tall guys. Matt was a doctor. He was kind, smart, and funny. But there was one problem: he wasn’t him.

You and Jake had just broken up again around a month ago. But you hadn’t seen him in 3 weeks, since you last hooked up. You see, you and Jake were always on and off. Hot and cold. Burning passion with freezing intensity. At first things were fine. You met a few years ago and a drunken hookup in a bar flourished into a relationship. It was great for almost two years. Completely head over heels. Then one day it all went to shit. No real rhyme or reason, just a giant fight that you can’t even remember. The problem was neither one of you could let go of the other. Tethered to each other like an eternal curse. Ever since you have bounced in and out of each other’s lives like ping pong balls. Tonight was no exception. A Halloween party thrown by Josh. You had been invited before but Josh had texted you last week confirming you would still be there. Despite the shit with you and Jake the others felt like family to you.

“I believe we’re here.” The Uber driver says, putting the car in park.

“Thanks man. Happy Halloween.” Matt says, pulling out his wallet and handing the guy a twenty.

Matt gets out of the car and rushes to open your door. He reaches in and grabs your hand, helping you out of the car. Your outfit was relentless. It was definitely the sluttiest outfit you had ever put on your body. That was done intentionally. You wore a black latex bodycon dress, skin tight with your breasts pushed up and spilling out of the top. The material barely hit your mid thigh. You wore matching latex black platform calf boots with it. Your hair was full and blown out with loose curls and glitter hairspray. You had on a full face of sultry makeup, heavy on the eyelashes, bronzer, and lipgloss. You were calling yourself a witch, though the only indication of that would be the small black pentagram choker you had on with matching earrings. Your whole body was shimmering with glowy body oil and your nails were black almond shaped. You almost suffocated yourself with the amount of perfume you applied. It was the most extra you had ever been, but Halloween was your favorite holiday and seeing Jake’s face would be priceless. When Matt had come over to your apartment he had to adjust his pants after a mere hug in this get up. Matt was dressed as a zombie doctor. He had just tattered up a pair of his old scrubs, but he did look good. You saw their house illuminated with lit pumpkins and purple lights. Soft thuds lit up the house as you heard Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix get louder with every step. The rain had stopped and Matt had his arm linked with yours to balance you up the driveway. When you finally got up to the porch you adjusted your dress before opening the door, you were beyond knocking. The smell of fog machines, marijuana, various liquors, and sweat assaulted your senses as you entered the house. It was dark, only lit by soft automatic candle lights or fluorescent orange string lights. It was loud as Hendrix continued to billow out of the speakers.

“Oh shit!”

You heard from across the room, your eyes darted to see Sam beelining towards you. You grinned and embraced him in a hug.

“Fuck look at you.” He said, giving you a twirl. “So spooky.”

You let out a laugh. “Thanks Sammy. I dig your costume too. Eh- what exactly is it?”

He stares at you blankly. “I’m obviously a Niagara Falls tourist… that fell in.”

He points towards his outfit, cargo shorts, a white “I <3 Niagara Falls” t-shirt with blood smeared, a broken camera around his neck, a yellow tattered poncho also blood stained, and a fake bloody nose.

“I fucking love it.” You said with a laugh. “Very original.”

“There you are!”

You see Josh heading towards you, he’s dressed up as Elvis. “I was starting to think you had bailed on me.”

You smile and hug him. “Never.”

“Ooh you look hot.” Josh compliments, then looks to the side of you. “Oh sorry. Who’s this?”

You had almost forgotten Matt was standing there for a moment. “Josh, Sam, -this is Matt. He’s my date.” You say with a smile.

Sam smirks as Josh throws his hand out to introduce himself.

“Hey man, thanks for letting me come. I’m excited to get to meet all of her friends.” Matt announces politely, shaking hands with Josh.

Sam snickers. “Oh yeah. You’ll enjoy meeting everyone. Listen hot stuff, I’ve got to refill the fog machines and find Daniel. I’ll catch up with you later.” He quickly pecks the top of your head and scurries off to the crowd.

Josh smiles at Matt. “He’s a little shit, pay him no mind. You guys should hit the bar and grab some drinks. If the good shit is gone you know where to find the stash. Have fun you crazy kids.” Josh says, patting your back and starting to walk off yelling at someone to put a vase down.

“Shall we?” You ask Matt, taking his hand.

“Lead the way.” He replies with a smile.

You were only at the entrance of the house, so you tried to keep it cool and not scan around for Jake. You knew he’d be slinking around here somewhere with a drink in hand. You pushed past bodies and smiled when you saw Danny in the kitchen making drinks. As you headed that direction you saw him out of the corner of your eye. You only caught a brief glimpse of him in your peripheral, but you could feel his eyes searing into you. He was standing by the bathroom door, arms folded, and drink in hand just as you had predicted. You felt emboldened by that.

“Hey Matty?” You fluttered your lashes at him and got closer to his ear. “I’m going to run to the bathroom and fix my lipgloss. Would you mind getting us drinks? See the guy with the long curly hair? His name is Danny, he’s a friend. Tell him you’re with me and he’ll hook us up.”

He looked down at you focusing on your lips and placed his hand on the small of your back. “Yeah of course. I’ll meet you over there.”

You smiled up at him and nodded, before parting ways. You knew Jake was still watching you. You headed straight for the bathroom, not even bothering to glance at him. He beat you to the bathroom door.

“Sorry doll. Out of order. You can go use mine though.” That cocky grin spread on his face.

You scoffed and looked at him. “They made you bathroom police tonight? That’s quite a fitting job for you Jake.”

He smiled briefly at your banter. “Funny. What exactly are you wearing?”

“Did you get confused again? It’s Halloween, this is a costume.” You said, in a patronizing tone.

Jake’s eyes raked all over your body as he bit his lip. “A costume huh? I think dental floss would have been less revealing.”

“Oh please. As if you have room to talk. What are you? A half assed pirate again?”

He flicked his eyes up to you. “What is your costume? A whore?”

You rolled your eyes. “Yes Jake, I’m a whore. That’s my costume. You’ve cracked the code with that big brain yet again.”

He looks straight in your eyes, somewhat of a playful tone creeps out. “Yeah? Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Ha.” You state blankly. “Actually I’m a witch.”

You point to your pentagram necklace and Jake chuckles.

“I said, tell me something I don’t know, doll.”

He reaches up and lightly touches your necklace. That was enough to send goosebumps up your spine, but you would never give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

He took a step closer to you. “Wanna just skip all of this and go upstairs?”

You felt something bubble inside of you. But before you could retort someone came up right next to Jake, putting her hand on his arm and handing him a cup.

He smirked at you and glanced back at her. “Thanks Mere.” Then he wrapped his arm around her. Fucker.

She was short and petite with a blonde bob and fair skin, dressed up as Alice from Alice in Wonderland in a store bought costume.

This was one of the sick and twisted games you would play. Dangling other people in front of each other. You had only done it two other times and it drove Jake crazy. The first, all you had done was flirt with a guy in a bar and Jake snatched you up and brought you home to remind you who you belonged to. The second, you had gone on a date with someone right next to their studio. It didn’t take long for Jake to see your car and catch on to your antics. Jake had done this on countless occasions. Flirting, using his undeniable charm on poor women he had no intentions with. These things never went really far. Just enough to piss you off before he inevitably took you home. You tried to pretend that it didn’t bother you, but he knew how bad it did.

You tried not to glare at her.

“You’re welcome. The beer by the fire is so much better than what’s in the kitchen.” She beams at him. Gross.

Then she turns towards you, absolutely judging what you’re wearing. She made a reactionary face that she quickly tried to hide. But you saw it. Before any words could be exchanged Matt is by your side again.

“Here you go babe.”

He hands you a cup full of something that Danny had made and you smile up at him.

“Thank you Matty.” You put a little bit of a show on, but not too much. Yet.

You glance back over at Jake who is visibly scowling at you.

“Oh sorry. Matt this is Jake and- Mere is it?”

The blonde extends her hand. “Meredith.”

“Meredith.” You say with a smile. “How long have you known Jake?”

She seems a little taken aback by the question, you could care less.

“Well I guess only a few days.” She admits with a laugh. “We met through some mutual friends. How do you know each other?”

You smiled at her. “Oh same!” Then you look directly into Jake’s eyes. “Mutual friends.”

Meredith glances oddly between you and Jake. She clears her throat and looks at Matt. “And how long have you two been together?” She asks, trying to change the subject.

Matt smiles and wraps his hand around your waist. “Almost three weeks now. I’ve got to say, no complaints. Time flies when you’re having fun.”

Shit had it been three weeks? You glanced over at Jake who was shooting daggers at you. You snapped yourself out of your thoughts and smiled up at Jake and Meredith.

“Well it was lovely to meet you. We’ll get out of your hair. Don’t want to intrude. Have a good night Jake.”

He makes a face at you as you grab Matt’s hand and lead him away. Matt looks at you slightly confused once you find a spot.

“What?” You ask with a shrug.

He smiles and shakes his head. “Nothing. I take it you’re not a fan of them?”

You breathe out a laugh. “Now why would you say something like that?”

He grins at you. “So mischievous. What am I going to do with you?”

You step closer to him and put your hand on his chest. “Hopefully something inappropriate.”

His eyes were filled with lust as he took you in. This is the most forward you had ever been with him, but you knew Jake’s eyes were still on you. You leaned in and placed a small kiss on his cheek. His hands wrapped around your waist, but you pulled away quickly, shooting him a smile. His cheeks had dusted a light shade of pink as he bashfully grinned back at you. You saw Jake already heading towards you, but you took Matt’s hand and led him outside.

“Let’s see the fire!” You half yelled over the music.

“I’ll follow you anywhere.” He responded in a giddy tone.

You lead him outside, quick to evade Jake’s interruption. There were only a few people standing outside, Danny being one of them.

“Hi stranger.” You said, coming up behind him.

He spun around on his heels and gave you a knowing smile. “There she is. I take it, you liked your drink?”

You nodded. “Best damn bartender at every event.”

He bows at you. “I aim to please. I’ve already met Matt here. Seems like a stand up guy.”

Matt chuckles at him as Danny gives him a glance.

“You’re right.” You respond. “Hey you wanna make s’mores?”

“I’ll get them. You guys finish your conversation.” Matt offers, rubbing your back and heading to the fire.

Danny looks down at you.

“What?” You ask.

“He seems nice.” Danny offers.

“He is.” You say, glancing at Matt dipping three marshmallows in fire.

“Uh-huh.” Danny pauses. “And how does Jake feel about that?”

You shift your eyes back to Danny. “It doesn’t matter how he feels about it.”

Danny sucks in his cheeks and lets out a laugh. “Right. You two are trouble, you know that?”

“Oh I’m well aware.” You retort. “Did Sam ever find you?”

Danny sips his beer. “I haven’t seen him in- I dunno an hour maybe?”

“Oh. Well when I arrived he was looking for you. Something about fog machines?”

Danny cuts his eyes. “Oh hell no. I am not doing that shit again. That was his job.”

You chuckle. “Sounds like Sam.”

“Fuck. There he is. I’m dipping before he catches a whiff that I’m out here. Don’t rat on me.” Danny says, holding his finger up playfully at you.

You salute him. “Scout’s honor.”

“Good luck with that.” Danny points towards Matt.

You wave him off and he quickly walks the other way toward the house.

Sam catches your sight and approaches you. “You seen Daniel?”

You purse your lips at him. “Nope.”

“Slippery fucker.” He says, barely above a whisper.

You cackle.

“Oh by the way Jake’s pissed. He’s slamming shit in the kitchen. Want a beer?”

You let out a breath. “Most definitely.”

Sam heads towards the keg just as Matt is making his way back to you with three s’mores.

“Where did Danny go?”

“Bartender emergency.” You lie, taking the s’more he made for you. “Thank you.”

Sam came back over and handed you a cup of beer before patting your back and heading back to the house. If you had to guess he saw Danny in a window.

Matt knitted his brows together and gave you a strange smile. “Your friends are weird.”

You chuckled. “You don’t know the half of it.”

You and Matt spent around thirty more minutes outside enjoying the fire, s’mores, and beer. Before long you had gotten chilly and wanted to go back inside. The drink Danny had made you along with the beer had started to make you feel a little fuzzy. Once back inside you spotted Jake at the beer pong table with Meredith. He had just sunk a shot and she jumped for joy when he did. Gross again.

“Hey I’m going to go pee! I’ll be right back.” You say, giving Matt a heads up.

He nods and you head for the original bathroom you had gone to. Once inside you peed, washed your hands, and stared at yourself in the mirror. A part of you wished you had just stayed home. As much as the thrill of being with Jake excited you, seeing him with Meredith made you feel like shit. You hated that it was this way. When you two were good, you were great. The highest highs and in turn, the lowest lows. Neither one of you were effective communicators, putting your pride above all else. You fluffed your hair and went to open the door, but to your surprise someone had barged in. Jake, with a wicked smile on his lips.

“Need some help in here?”

You crossed your arms. “Certainly not from you.”

“Oh tough girl, are we?” He steps closer to you and puts his face inches from yours. “I know what shit you’re trying to pull. Cut it out.”

You glare at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He backed you up to the sink and put both arms out next to you, propping himself on the vanity while sinking closer towards you. “Yes you do. Tell your friend to fucking leave.”

You smirk at him. “No. I don’t think I will.”

He slides his hand down to your thigh and you feel like you could explode.

“Don’t start with me.” He warns, gripping at your flesh.

You swallow hard and look at him. “We’re not together Jake. I can do whatever or should I say whoever I want.”

That renders him speechless as his eyes bore into yours.

You remove his hand and get out from under him heading to the door. You turn back around and laugh.

“Oh and you should get Mere to do something about… that.” You tease, motioning to the beginning of an erection bulging in his pants.

Before he can respond you walk out and close the door. You take a deep breath and adjust your dress before returning to your date.

“Tequila shot?”

Matt smiles and nods. Then you’re heading off into the kitchen. You spot Josh and yell “tequila!” It doesn’t take him long to reach you.

“Let me get the whole gang, start pouring the good shit!” Josh yells, before diving back into the crowd.

You smiled and headed to their pantry, bending down to find a liquor cabinet with a keypad on it. You type in the four digit code and grab a brand new bottle of Casamigos. It was your favorite. Then you shut the cabinet and head back to the island, reaching for the shot glasses. Danny and Sam arrive and begin to start on the shots.

“We need seven right?” Danny asks.

“Yeah. I assume when Josh finds Jake he’ll bring blondie with him.” Sam answers, digging the pre-cut limes from the refrigerator.

Sure enough Sam was right. Josh brought back Jake and Meredith, his hand was guiding her on her back.

“Alright, gather around everyone!” Josh announced. “To the original crew and a couple of new friends. Happy Halloween you fuckers! I love you all!”

You giggle and yell back, “Cheers!” in unison with everyone else. You slam the shot down on the island before shooting the liquid down. It burns but in the best way possible. Meredith chokes hers down, spilling it down her chin. Amateur. Then Jake does something that catches even you off guard. He looks down at her and swipes his thumb over her bottom lip cleaning up the spilled tequila. Then he cuts his eyes over to you. You chew on your cheek and lock eyes back with him. Sam must have noticed because he let out a small laugh.

One thing about Sam? He loved to start shit. It was one of the reasons you loved him so much.

“Hey sexy witch!” Sam called over to you. “How about one of your specialties tonight? I mean it’s only right that the newbies get to bare witness.”

Jake’s expression stiffened, but you softened and smiled.

“Pour it up Sammy.”

Josh and Danny collectively “oooooh’d” and slapped the island. Sam began to grab a shot of birthday cake vodka, topping it with whipped cream. Then he sets it down before you.

“You know the rules mama, no hands.” Josh reminds, while you nod.

You tuck your hair behind your ears and place your hands behind your back, holding your wrists. Matt looks down at you with his eyebrows slightly raised, you just wink at him and part your lips. You wrap your lips around the rim of the shot glass and just for a split second lock eyes with Jake before sucking your cheeks in. You propel the shot glass back and stand up while the sweet liquid pours down your throat. You take the shot glass out of your mouth while the guys around you, minus Jake, erupt cheer. You can feel a tinge of whipped cream on the corner of your mouth, you start to wipe it but Matt beats you to it.

“Let me.” Matt says, taking his pointer finger and wiping the small white spot.

Without thinking you take his finger into your mouth and suck the remnants off.

Matt takes a sharp inhale.

Josh clears his throat and mutters “Oh fuck.” Before turning his boisterous self back on. “The talent! Thank you for blessing us with such a sight. Sam, Danny, come with me really quick. I need help with these speakers back here.”

You glance over and Sam makes wide eyes at you while smiling. Then all three of them trudge off, just leaving the four of you in silence.

“Wanna go dance?” You ask Matt, pulling on his arm.

“Lead the way babe.”

You take him in the crowd where everyone is dancing. If you were sober maybe you would have been embarrassed with your forward actions, but as the liquor sloshed around in your stomach you couldn’t care less. You two were close, really close. Swaying on each other. Matt leaned down and placed a kiss on your neck. Then his hands trailed further down your body until they met your ass, giving it a light squeeze. You looked up in surprise at him. He leaned forward and whispered into your neck, “Wanna get out of here?”

Before you could respond you felt a firm grip on your arm. You spun around and there was Jake, seething.

“Let’s fucking go.” He growled as he pulled you away.

Matt furrowed his brows and went to grab your other wrist. You stopped and Jake turned around with a death stare. “Get your fucking hands off of her. Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to touch things that don’t belong to you?”

Matt let go and continued to stare at you in disbelief. Your feet continued to move with Jake as you mouthed “sorry.”

Jake didn’t let go or loosen his grip as he continued to drag you through the crowded house. He took you upstairs and towards a familiar door. Once inside he slammed his door and locked it before turning his attention towards you. He was mad. Furious even. Possibly the most upset you had ever seen him.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He yells with a scowl plastered on his face.

“Oh fuck off.” You say, completely disinterested.

“You’re going to bring some random fuck to my house and then rub all up against him blatantly in front of me?”

You laugh. “What about your little Meredith? You wanna put your hands all over her and when I am enjoying myself with another person it’s a problem?”

Jake scoffs. “I wasn’t letting her kiss all over me and feel me up!”

“So what? Let her.” You spit.

Jake looks at you pointedly. “You need to learn who you belong to.”

You let out a maniacal laugh. “Inform me Jake? Who do I belong to? Because it sure as hell isn’t you!”

You see his face clouding with darkness. “That’s where you’re wrong. You do belong to me.” He steps up closer to you. “You’re mine.”

That causes warmness to swell in your stomach, but you wouldn’t let him know that.

“Not anymore.” You say with as much confidence as you can muster.

“Don’t say that.” He says taking a step towards you. “It’s a lie. We don’t lie to each other. Remember?”

You scoff. “I don’t think we have ever followed through with that promise to one another. Are we done here? I’m getting bored.”

Jake half smirks at you. “Bored?”

You glare back at him unimpressed. “Yeah, bored. I didn’t stutter.”

“Bored… That’s funny. Don’t act like you didn’t wear this little.. outfit to get my attention. You know you could wear a trash bag and my eyes would be on you.”

You roll your eyes trying to keep a blank stare on your face, but internally you’re on fire.

“It turns you on that I’m jealous, doesn’t it?” He asks.

You suck in your cheeks.

“You knew exactly what would happen when you brought him here. You knew exactly where you would end up tonight regardless, but you still brought him here.”

You crack a smile at him. “I brought a tall hot guy on a date and then you cockblocked me. That’s what happened.”

Jake steps closer to you until his body is touching yours. He lightly grabs your wrists and pins them to the wall. His eyes scan your face for some sort of reaction. You’re falling apart trying to remain unaffected. You can feel your heart thudding as his breath fans over your neck. “Let’s see how long it takes for this little confidence facade to crack. Shall we?”

“Fuck yo-“

Then his lips crash onto yours. Slow and warm, which is the exact opposite of how you expected. Suddenly that hardened exterior has cracked entirely as you kiss him back with every ounce of passion in your body. Fuck, you missed his lips on you.

He takes his mouth off of yours and stares down into your eyes. Neither one of you dare say a word. Then he goes back in, kissing you feverishly. His hands grab at your waist and pulls you closer into him. Your tongues meet and you swear you could feel fireworks throughout your whole body. The truth is, no one could ever make you feel the way that you felt with Jake. This was just further proof. Jake’s calloused hands begin to rub up your thigh as you take in sharp breaths from his mouth. He fumbles around with the hem of your very short and very tight dress. Finally he makes his way up your dress spreading your legs apart. He takes two fingers and swipes them over your drenched clothed center and you shutter at the feeling. You can feel that smirk on his face while your lips are still connected. He bites your bottom lip and pulls away.

“Look at you. Already making a mess of yourself.”

You take a breath. “Yeah, Matt did a number on me on the dance floor.”

You see Jake let out a small laugh at your boldness while he also clenched his jaw. He was right, jealousy did turn you on.

“Just when I thought you were going to be sweet.” He says, popping the two fingers in his mouth. “Strip.”

You cross your arms at him.

“Strip. Now. I’m not asking again.”

He backs away from you and you give him a glare. You’re going to do exactly what he says because you’re weak for him and beyond turned on.

His eyes stare intensely at you while you reach back and grab the small zipper. You tug it down and begin to peel yourself out of the dress. You see him take a noticeably deeper breath when your breasts are freed. You grab the material from around your waist and shimmy out of it, dropping it to the floor. Only in your boots and black silky thongs, you step out of the dress and look at Jake.

“Goddamn.” He says lowly, raking his eyes up and down your body.

You reach down to begin removing your boots when Jake speaks up. “No. Leave them. You wanna dress up like a whore tonight so I’m going to fuck you like one. Knees.”

You swallow the excitement that draws up your throat from that statement while you take a few steps closer to him. You sink to your knees and Jake reaches down and softly runs his finger through your hair. He reaches down and hooks your chin under his pointer finger.

“So pretty and this makeup looks so good. Unfortunately it’s about to get ruined.”

He unbuckles his pants and lets them hit the floor, he’s already hard. You look up at him waiting for instruction. His hand returns to your face running his thumb along your lips.

“You know the rules mama. No hands.” He spits, referencing earlier.

You look up at him and nod, opening your mouth and sticking your tongue out. He slightly twitches at your action. The way you affected him always turned you on even more. His cock grazes your tongue and he already lets out a breath. You lick a hot stripe up his length then swirl your tongue around the tip and his hand finds the back of your head.

“Quit teasing.”

You take him into your mouth, rolling your tongue around as he travels further back into your mouth.

“Fuck.” He lets out through gritted teeth.

He sinks your head further until you gag lightly, then he pulls you back. You begin to bob up and down around him while his grip in your hair tightens. You glance up and make eye contact with him through your lashes while hollowing your cheeks around him. He looked so fucking hot. Brows furrowed, a sheen amount of sweat broke out on his skin, face pinched in concentration and bewilderment. But when your eyes meet his he lets out a groan and pulls you off of him so he doesn’t finish already. You let out a small laugh and he looks down at you still on your knees.

You start to wipe the corner of your mouth. “What’s wrong Jakey? Made a mess of yourself already?”

He smirks at you. “That mouth is going to get you into trouble. On the bed. Ass up.”

You get to your feet and make your way to the bed, propping your ass up like you were told. You’re already throbbing with anticipation, you know when he gets like this he fucks you mericilessly. You feel him step up behind you and widen your legs. He runs his hands all up and down your ass before giving it a swift smack. You let out a whimper. Then, he quickly rips your panties down to your knees. You’re expecting him to ease himself into you, but to your surprise you hear him get down on his knees. He uses both of his arms to pull your ass back straight to his face. He begins kissing the inside of the back of your thighs and you’re already worked up. He flattens his tongue and licks up your center, popping his tongue at your most sensitive spot. He continues to lick and suck until you’re gripping his sheets for dear life. When he adds two fingers, you’re done for. You can feel that heat burning in your core coming to a high, you clench your eyes shut as your legs begin to shake.

“Fuck-“ you moan.

Just as that feeling is about to bubble into euphoria, Jake stops. You whip your head around and he stands up and wipes the slick off his face.

“Jake!”

“Shhh. You know I always take care of you.” He smirks. “Come here pretty girl.”

He flips you over and climbs on top of you. He leans down and kisses down your neck while his erection presses on your stomach. Slowly but surely he makes his way down to your breasts, kissing and nipping at your nipples. You indulge in the sensation and your hands quickly wrap into his long hair. He reaches down and rubs himself all over you, you both let out breathy moans. He finally sinks into, slowly, letting you adjust. You can feel your eyes roll into the back of your head as he picks up the pace. His mouth sloppily meets yours. You’re both moaning into each other's mouth as you wrap your knees around him. You lace your fingers into his hair giving it a light tug. This causes him to lift his head slightly and he groans while diving back down to kiss your neck.

“Oh god- fuck.” You whine, as his mouth and tongue roughly suck at your throat.

“Nothing compares to you. Nothing ever will.” Jake pants into your ear. “You’re like a drug to me. I’ll swallow you every night for the rest of my life baby.”

He knows when he’s vocal like that it sends you into oblivion. And here you are right on the edge.

“Jake-“ you whine.

“I know, baby. I know. I’m right there with you. Ah fuck.”

Jake slams one of your hands down onto the bed, lacing his fingers with yours. Your other hand is gripping his shoulder for dear life. His hair is tickling your face and shoulders adding to the sensation. That familiar burn is back and you know this time that flame will spread to every orifice of your body. Jake is also rapidly becoming undone as his strokes become faster but more sloppy. You throw your head back into the pillow and let go as you feel yourself leave your body for a moment. Jake finishes just as you’re beginning to recover, he’s a mess of curse words and heavy breathing. He stays on you, as you can feel both of your hearts beating rapidly. You both stay like this for a few minutes, just trying to recover.

Finally he gives your forehead a kiss and then rolls off staring up at the ceiling for a moment. It’s quiet, but then Jake sits up and grabs a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his nightstand. He lights up a Camel and takes a puff before passing it to you. You let out a small laugh and accept it, inhaling the minty flavor. Jake tilts his head to the side and stares at you. It seems as if he is studying every characteristic about you. Like he had forgotten how beautiful you looked after he ruined you.

You exhale and turn to him. “What?”

He shrugs. “I like looking at you.”

You scoff a little.

“I do.” He insists. “I’ve missed you.”

“Funny way of showing it.” You retort.

“I don’t want to do this tonight. But I would like to have a conversation in the morning about it. Would you like to go back down or stay up here and watch scary movies?”

You think about continuing the harshness with him, but truthfully you don’t want to. “Up to you.”

Jake sucks in a breath. “Okay, can we go back down there and cook a pizza? I’ll start kicking the randoms out and then we can come back up here and put on a movie. There’s a new slasher film on Netflix, I thought you might like it.”

You didn’t have the heart to tell him that you had already seen it, so you just smiled and said: “Yeah, okay.”

Jake matches your smile then leans over and plants a kiss lightly on your mouth before rolling off the bed. He threw you a t-shirt before heading to his bathroom. You finally peel your boots off and pad into the bathroom with him. He opens up his medicine cabinet and grabs a pack of your feminine wipes. He kept them here, which means that all of your things would still be in that cabinet. You try not to smile as he sets them down on the counter and leaves to give you privacy. You stare at yourself in the mirror and try to fix your makeup. You weren’t sure if you were buzzed off of the alcohol or something else entirely. After fixing yourself, you exit the bathroom to see Jake plopping a pair of his slippers on the floor for you.

“Probably don’t wanna walk out there barefoot.”

You nod and accept the slippers. “What about-“

Jake cuts you off before you can finish. “He’s gone. They’re both gone. Sam escorted them out.”

“Oh.” You say plainly.

Jake narrows his eyes at you. “Try not to sound so disappointed.”

That elicits a giggle from you and Jake playfully rolls his eyes, then grabs your hand. He laces his fingers with yours and leads you out of his room.

To your surprise, the party had thinned out significantly. How long were you two up there? It seemed like maybe thirty minutes but it looked as if hours had passed. Music still bumped as you made your way downstairs in nothing but Jake’s shirt and shoes. You scanned the room and didn’t see Matt or Meredith. That gave you a sigh of relief. Eventually you would have to speak with Matt and apologize. You felt a little bad as he was nice, but he wasn’t Jake. That would always be a flaw in any potential partner you could ever have. One that you weren’t sure you could ever get past.

Jake took you to the kitchen and preheated the oven yelling at a few people to “fuck off and get out” along the way.

You heard a familiar voice echo towards you. “Jake are you telling my guests to fuck off and get out? It’s only 2am what’s wrong with y-“ Josh pauses when he sees you standing there in his twin’s shirt and a smile spreads across his face. “So you two have worked things out I assume.”

You blush a little feeling silly for the show earlier in front of everyone. You see Sam and Danny approaching Josh.

“Well well. What do we have here?” Sam asks, glancing between you and Jake.

“I’m shocked- truly.” Danny adds, facetiously.

“Mhm.” Jake answers only to Josh, taking your hand back in his. “Also yeah it’s 2am it’s time to wrap this shit up.”

“Yeah which is why we need to keep this party going all night because you two have weeks of sexual frustration to let out!” Sam exclaimed.

“To be fair Sam, by the look of it, they already have.” Danny snickers.

Sam erupts with laughter. “That won’t be the last of it. Remember that last cabin trip we took? They’re like bunnies-“

“Okay fuck enough! Keep drinking, it’s obviously making you all more intelligent. Just keep everyone down here.” Jake concedes, shaking his head.

Josh laughs. “Well you heard the man! Party stays down stairs everyone!” He shouts, although no one pays him hardly any mind.

Sam slinks by you and wraps his arm around you while Jake throws the pizza in the oven. “Feel better?”

You roll your eyes at him. “Hush.”

He gives you shoulder a squeeze. “I’m just teasing. I’m glad you’re back around. They’re all so dreadfully boring.”

Jake huffs at him. “Don’t you all have a party to get back to or something?”

“Good point.” Danny says. “Have fun you two. Be safe!” Then he heads off to the crowd with Sam close behind shouting: “What he said! Daniel, wait! The fog machines!”

Josh chuckles at them and walks over to you. He wraps you in a hug and kisses your forehead. “We have missed you mama.”

“Watch it.” Jake warns half heartedly.

Josh scoffs. “Oh please. Also let it be known that Jake has done nothing but sulk around for the past few weeks! He made me text you to remind you about this party tonight!”

Jake grins at him and playfully shoves him along. “Get out of here.”

Josh throws his hands up and winks at you before diving back into the party.

Jake shakes his head and looks at you.

You grin back up at him. “Is that true?”

He blushes and takes your hand. “Ask me about it in the morning.”

**

Sunlight bathed in through the splits in the curtains. You half opened one eye, still trying to recover from your slumber. You turned your head to catch a glimpse of Jake’s alarm clock. It read: OCT. 31ST 10:42am. Jake was still asleep, softly snoring next to you as his arm draped over your side. Last night had ended quite perfectly. You had taken your pizza upstairs, watched that movie, and fucked two more times. It was almost 6am when you both had finally dozed off. You smiled a little when you thought of it, but that smile faded when you realized how full your bladder was. You attempted to wiggle out from under Jake’s arm, but he just pulled you in closer to him.

“Morning.” He says with his eyes still closed and a grin on his face.

“Good morning Jake. I really need to pee.”

He pulled you even closer and started kissing all over your face and neck. “C’mon stay in bed.”

You giggled. “Jake!”

He groaned. “Okay, off you go.”

You bolted up as soon as he released you and he laughed. After peeing you washed your hands and had yourself a glance in the mirror. There were purplish love bites all over your neck and collarbone. They wouldn’t be fun to cover up. You grabbed your toothbrush and started brushing your teeth. Jake opened the door, illuminated in sunlight with a smile on his face. He stepped in and hugged you from behind, giving you a peck on the cheek. This seemed a little unlike him, but you went with it. He grabbed his toothbrush and said “Breakfast?”

You hummed and nodded.

After you had made yourself somewhat presentable you went through the clothes on the floor to try and find your dress from the night before.

“What are you doing?” Jake asked with knitted brows.

“Looking for my clothes.” You replied.

He sucked in his cheeks. “I’ll give you a pair of my sweatpants and a hoodie. You can wear my slippers too.”

“Jake I’ll look homeless.” You say with a laugh.

“No you won’t. I like it when you wear my clothes.” He offers with a smile.

You playfully roll your eyes and accept his offer.

To your surprise you come downstairs to a somewhat clean house. Josh is poking about the kitchen, wiping down counters and softly humming to himself.

“Good morning you two- ugh! Fuck!”

You make a face at him. “What?”

“What happened to your neck? It looks like you were attacked by an octopus. Holy shit.” He states, dumbfoundedly staring at you.

“Gotta mark your territory. Right?” Jake interjects with a smirk.

Josh makes a fake gagging sound as Jake grabs your arm and leads you to the door.

“Sam was right! God that’s something I never thought I would say.” Josh yells after you two head for the door.

**

You crunched the leaves beneath your feet into a 24 hour breakfast diner that you and Jake had frequented before. There were little spider webs and skeletons hung up everywhere. Jake had ordered you both the Halloween special that had consisted of some sort of pumpkin coffee, witchy waffles, and batty bacon.

“So.” Jake said as he sipped his coffee.

“So?” You answered.

He lets out a huff. “You make me nervous.”

You laughed at him. “No I don’t.”

“Yes you do.”

Before you can speak he continues. “Okay fuck it here it goes. So yes I asked Josh to text you. In fact, I bugged the piss out of him about it for days. I did sulk for those three weeks. And when I saw you walk in yesterday with that fuck I felt a feeling that I never want to feel again.”

You swallow and glance up at him. “Oh…”

He huffs again and pushes his hair back. “What I’m trying to say here is- I want you. I want you in every way all of the time. I don’t want to keep fueling the stupid fights and breakups. I’m done with that. I’ve done a lot of reflecting and… well, I love you. I’ve loved you for years and I want to keep on loving you for years. I want us to be together and actually give it a shot. A permanent shot. You and me.”

You blink and stare at him, entirely unsure what to even say. You and Jake had technically been together for years and this was the first time you had heard him say he loved you stone cold sober. You felt like you could vomit, but in a good way?

“Please say something.” He spits out, slightly anxious.

“Jake- I…” You take a breath and swallow. “I love you too.”

A visible sigh leaves his body as that perfect smile creeps over his face.

“But I’m scared. I’m scared that you’re going to hurt me. That we’re going to hurt each other.”

He grabs your hand and laces it with his. “I know. A big part of that is my own fault. But I’m serious. I want to try. I want to communicate with you. I want to make it work. I want you.”

You chew on your lip, still unsure of his words. It felt surreal, like you were in a dream. You had been waiting for years to hear this come out of his mouth. Slowly, you nod your head and muster up a very small “Okay.” With a smile.

Jake jolts up and leans across the table grabbing your jaw and pulling you in for a kiss. Then he puts his forehead up against yours and mutters a “thank you.” Before sitting down like all eyes weren’t on you two.

“How’s your coffee?” He asks you nonchalantly.

You look up at him and laugh. He does the same.

“It’s perfect. How’s yours?”

He smiles at you with those beautiful white teeth that you rarely see.

“Perfect.” He answers back.

Your waitress brings your Halloween specials and you both eat and giggle at one another. When you’re finished, Jake takes your hand and leads you outside. The crisp air raises goosebumps on your skin, yet you had never felt more warm.

“Can I take you back to your place to get changed then we go have a spooky day? I still think we have time to pick out a pumpkin and carve it. We just need to be back before dark because I shelled out on Halloween candy this year.”

You laugh in a surprised way. “Jake Kiszka are you getting soft on me? Handing out candy to children?”

He rolls his eyes. “No. It’s a competition. The best costumes get the most candy.”

You throw your head back. “That’s sort of fucked up.”

“But you’re going to do it with me. Aren’t you?” He asks with a smirk.

“Obviously.”

He kisses your cheek and laughs. “That’s my girl.”

****

[age-of-greta]

(Don’t Fear) The Reaper

Author’s note: hi!!! Week 3 of our spooky Halloween series here!! It’s Sammy’s turn! Next part will be out on the 30th at midnight, it’s longggggggg hehehe. Pls ignore the typos and enjoy :)) vibes!

Pairing: Sam x reader

Warnings: cursing, alcohol consumption, heavy petting, minors DNI

Word count: 4.2k

It was cold. That was the first thing you noticed as you stepped out of Poppy’s car. The air was thicker with the fog machines going off everywhere, some Rob Zombie song was playing quite loudly in the background, and laser lights were everywhere. But you were cold and slightly irritated. Poppy had dragged you here to this haunted house with her tonight so she could be with her boyfriend, Josh. You liked Josh, you really did- but being around Josh meant being around all of them too. They were just simply too extroverted for your liking. In group settings you felt strange and out of place. They were always so on, something that Poppy had adapted to well. You, not so much. You and Poppy had been best friends for years, and when she met Josh all those months ago you were truly happy for her. Finally, a decent guy. She absolutely deserved it, she deserved the world, and Josh could give that to her. She wanted you to go everywhere with them, which stuck out to you as odd at first. You didn’t want to third wheel. However, once you finally got the hang of things you realized that Josh didn’t go anywhere hardly without his brothers. Alas, you were all giant third wheels that would eventually turn into a group dynamic. In these group hangout sessions you kept to yourself mostly, you had guessed you were shy. There had been plenty of times you had shown another side to you, but that always involved alcohol. Perhaps you felt so strange because you always felt two eyes that found you. You weren’t sure if you were being dramatic or imagining it, but Sam Kiszka always stared at you. You positively could not figure out why. He never even spoke to you, unless you were both inebriated- then you two carried on like you had known each other for years. However, there was this one night. You were both drinking and he kissed you. Without rhyme or reason. You wondered if you hallucinated it. He never spoke of it and you never told anyone. Despite his online persona, Sam was relatively quiet too. Often observing before talking unless it had to do with their music. He was probably the reason you felt so uptight tonight, but you didn’t know how to tell Poppy that. It would sound strange and delusional.

Now you fumbled with your fingers as Poppy scanned the crowd for Josh and company. You glanced down at your Doc’s, you should have worn thicker socks. You could feel a blister begging to begin. You stopped and bent down, tucking your light wash jeans into the spot where your boot was rubbing you. It felt better, but now you had to speed walk to catch up with Poppy. You followed her bright salmon colored vest through the crowd and the mass of blonde curls. She was always so bright and cheery in contrast to your black bodysuit that you stupidly didn’t wear a jacket with. At least there were heaters in the line portion.

“Josh!” You heard Poppy let out a squeal as she ran and embraced him. It had only been a week since she last saw him, but it looked like a reunification from war.

Then you saw the whole gang. Jake in his typical array of silver necklaces, Danny with his perfect curls, Josh in all white like a cult leader, and Sam with his hands in his pockets, his eyes had already found you.

A spark and a scream had jostled you away from your thoughts. You jumped as a clown in sliding knee pads continued to harass you.

“Fuck.” You muttered as the clown got right up in your face. “Okay, thanks for that.”

Fucking clowns.

Your face got slightly red as everyone had seen that interaction.

“He almost got ya didn’t he!” Danny yelled as you approached the group.

You let out a half laugh. “Yeah, he did.”

“Isn’t this place marvelous? Look at that giant spider! Just spectacular effects. Shall we get in line? We have everyone’s tickets.” Josh says, turning his head in awe.

“Lead the way babe!” Poppy says, taking his hand.

They lead the pact as you try and squeeze to be near Poppy, but a conversation from Jake doesn’t allow that.

“New boots?” He asks, as he matches your stride.

“They are- and I am stupid enough to try and break them in here.” You reply with a laugh.

“Ah that shit is rough. That’s why I wear my shoes until they are quite literally bursting at the seams. I hate breaking in shoes.”

“Yeah I have a feeling you will be investing in blister patches.” Danny says, jumping into the conversation.

“Thankfully I already have some.” You say, as you all get into line. It was Josh and Poppy, Danny, Jake, you, then Sam. You had hoped that Poppy would have pulled you up there with her, but she was too engulfed with Josh to pay attention. You were on your own.

“So, how was the festival?” You ask, generally to make small talk.

“It was great. There were so many people there it was a little overwhelming honestly.” Danny said, throwing his hand through his hair.

“Yeah way more than we anticipated. It ended up being electrifying, but at the beginning we were shitting bricks. Sam even took a little tumble on stage.” Jake said with a smirk as he looked at his younger brother.

Sam huffed. “Never going to let that one go- are you?”

“No.” Jake replied with a laugh. “But yeah, overall really good. Great weather, astounding atmosphere, plenty of drinks. Speaking of..” he trailed off and reached over to get his twin’s attention. “Shooters?”

Josh’s smile grew wide. “Absolutely dear brother. Alas, Daniel and I are DD-ing so only one for us.”

Josh passed around the shots, sending them down the line. Jake handed you two and raised his brow, silently asking if you were doing one.

“Fuck it.” You said with a nod.

You turned around to give one to Sam. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” He said, taking the small bottle from your hand. “Cheers.”

“Cheers.” You replied back with a small smile.

Then you all tried to secretly ingest your shot, but doing anything with them secretly was a challenge. You had gotten strange looks from everyone else in line. You never knew if it was because they were famous or slightly obnoxious when drunk. Oh well.

As the line grew shorter you began to feel anxious. You loved going to haunted houses, but typically you held onto Poppy. Now you were going to have to fight your way up there to her. Inevitably, everyone took another shot minus Josh and Danny. You could see the front now, you had retreated back to quietness as Jake and Danny carried on a conversation about some new project they were working on. Leaving you and Sam to stand in silence. You decided to try and break the ice.

“Have you been to this place before?” You turn to him and ask.

He seems off in his own world until he realizes you’re actually speaking to him. “No I haven’t. Last year we were touring around this time. Didn’t have a lot of free time for festivities and all. Have you been here?”

You shake your head. “Nope. It looks cool though. I just hope there aren't a lot of strobe lights, they make me dizzy.”

He cracked a smile. “You would hate our shows then.”

“Oh shit!” You heard Poppy giggle out.

You shot your head towards her and Josh who were giggling at one another.

“What?” You asked, confused.

“It’s two at a time!” Poppy yells back to you. “They won’t let more than two go in together!”

Jake immediately links arms with Danny. “Dibs on Daniel!”

You feel your stomach drop. That means it’s you and Sam, by yourselves. Fuck.

You slowly inch yourselves closer and closer to the front. Until before you know it Poppy and Josh go in, her arms nervously linked with his. You hear her scream immediately when they shut the doors. Jake and Danny move up to the front and Jake gives you a salute.

“See ya on the other side.” Then they go in.

Finally, it’s just you and Sam standing there awkwardly under the red neon blinking signs.

“Hello madam! Are you ready to experience the horrors behind this door?” A tall man in a twisted up clown mask asks you as he leans down close to your face. “Mhmmmm she is pretty. They’ll like her back there a whole lot. Better hope your boyfriend holds onto you real tight!”

You glance over at Sam who is looking at the clown man entirely unamused.

Fucking clowns.

“Tough crowd tonight. Let’s see how long it takes one of you to scream.” The clown yells, opening the doors of the haunted house.

It’s smoky and pitch black inside. You glance over at Sam who gives you a shrug before heading inside. You two take a few steps in before the door shuts behind you. Immediately your senses are assaulted with loud sirens as three masked figures pop out of the shadows. Pure reflexes kick in and you grab onto Sam’s arm. You thought this might annoy him, but there was no way you could go through this without holding onto someone. If he did mind, he didn’t show it. He continued to lead the way through the darkness. You made it to the first room, a ghastly kitchen seen with blood and guts splattered. Sam laughed a little at the pig chef that jumped out from behind the door. You swore you could hear Poppy scream from what sounded like a few feet away. Sam continued to lead you through rooms full of animatronics, loud noises, screaming actors, and plenty of props. You were a little frightened, but it was a fun haunted house. You were having a good time until you entered a room where immediately you see a strobe light going off. You closed your eyes trying to brace yourself from the flashing lights. Then something strange happened. You feel Sam grab you and squeeze slightly with his free hand. He guides you out of the room rather quickly, but not before a masked bloody bunny jumps out and screams at you.

As you enter the next room you can faintly hear Jake’s voice. You must have caught up with everyone.

“You okay?” Sam leans down and whispers in your ear.

His breath on your neck raises goosebumps, but you can’t fully understand why.

You look up at him and nod, unable to figure out what to say.

“Ah there they are!” You hear Poppy’s voice ring from up ahead.

Just ahead in the distance you can see everyone else halting to wait on you. It’s still dark, only illuminated by red lights. You can see Jake, he raises his eyebrows at Sam and shoots a smirk as you two approach. Danny does something similar.

“Thank God, Sam has her. Okay now that we are all together again, are we ready?” Poppy says looking back.

“Onward!” Jake yells in a moderate British accent.

Even though you’re in your group again, you still clutch Sam’s arm.

It seems as if you all have made it to the last leg of the haunted house. In a group setting, everything seemed less intimidating. Jake and Danny couldn’t take a single aspect of it seriously, that made you giggle. Poppy still shrieked and laughed with Josh at every turn. She was so happy with him. You loved that for her. You had made it to a tunnel where it was insanely dark. You could only hear your friends in front of you. But you also heard masked figures screaming and growling.

“The door is shut! What the fuck!” Poppy yelled out, attempting to lead the group out.

“Welcome to hell.” Jake laughed.

You stood around but could feel someone standing directly behind you. You still couldn’t see. Then, you felt someone grab your shoulder and pull you. You yelped as they jerked you back away from Sam in the pitch black.

“Hey what the fuck! Let me go!” You yelled trying to find your way back. Once you had been dragged to the back a split second later, a switch flipped and neon lights lit up the room to reveal a carnival tunnel. A masked bloody clown had pulled you back around two feet away from everyone else. As soon as your eyes adjusted to the light, you saw Sam making a beeline for you. He looked, angry?

“The fuck is your problem?” He spat, still barreling towards you.

Is he yelling at you?

You stood confused for a second until he reached out and grabbed your hand, pulling you back to him.

“Don’t fucking touch her. You don’t just grab and pull people.” Sam said to the masked clown, taking you back to the group.

The clown just started laughing and shrugging.

Fucking clowns.

“Oop. Sammy’s pissed!” Josh says with a laugh.

Then the door opens and you’re all herded outside into a tiny maze. Sammy still had a hold of your hand. It made you… nervous. You could feel your hand getting clammy, but you tried to ignore it. Through the maze you were met with more actors, props, and loud noises. Finally, you knew you had made it to the end when Leatherface began to chase you out with a chainsaw. Everyone roared with laughter when you all had cleared the weapon wielding maniac.

“I’ve got to say. That was pretty damn fun.” Josh said, clapping his hands and laughing.

“It was! We should go to the bonfire over there!” Poppy exclaims, matching Josh’s energy.

“That’s a yes, because they have spiked cider.” Jake replies.

“It was fun, but what in the hell happened in the tunnel?” Danny asks, perplexed looking towards you and Sam.

You hadn’t realized, but you were still holding hands. Immediately you let go and wiped your hand on your jeans, trying to play it cool.

“I don’t know. That fucking clown literally yanked me back and dragged me by my shoulders.” You said, through a laugh.

“I thought they weren't supposed to touch you?” Poppy said, puzzled.

“They aren’t.” Sam said, finally speaking. “What in the hell goes through someone’s head to yank another human like that? He pulled her so hard. It was ridiculous.”

Josh chewed on his cheek trying to hide a smile while Jake snickered at the ground.

What was so funny?

“Yeah, that's a bit much. Glad you were there Sam.” Danny says, with a shit eating grin.

Sam rolled his eyes and you stood there unsure of what to say.

**

The bonfire was interesting. There weren’t horror characters there, just a lot of people drinking. There were hay bales by the fire, which is where you and Poppy sat while the boys went off to get drinks and snacks.

“So… how was going through with Sam?” Poppy asked you, innocuously.

You shrugged at her. “I felt bad that I grabbed onto him. I’m sure he felt strange, but there was no way I was going through by myself.”

Poppy let out a laugh. “I don’t think he minded too much.”

Before you can ask her what she means Josh appears with a drink for Poppy and a bag of popcorn.

“Sam has yours.” Josh says to you with a smile.

You turn your head and see Sam carrying two drinks and a bag of popcorn. He sits on the hay bale next to Poppy. You get up, letting Josh have your spot and sit next to Sam.

“Thank you.” You say, taking the cup from Sam.

“You’re welcome.” He starts. “You can have some popcorn too, I won’t eat the whole bag.”

“Okay, thanks.” You say, reaching in to grab some.

You two sit in silence for a moment while you watch Jake and Danny find their seats on the hay bale next to you.

“This is so good.” You say, sipping the cold spiked cider.

“Yeah. You can tell it’s fresh. None of that artificial shit.” Sam offers in response.

“Sorry I grabbed onto you like that in there. I love haunted houses, they just make me anxious sometimes.” You say, trying not to sound weird.

Sam lets out a small laugh. “It’s okay. I’m the same way. I’m glad you were my partner. It would have been embarrassing to hold onto Daniel and too obnoxious to go in with Jake.”

You laugh at that and sip your cider. You were having a fun time. Maybe you had been too judgmental about doing things with them, letting your own anxieties get in the way. You enjoyed being around Sam, he just made you feel nervous. You couldn’t figure out why, he had always been nothing but nice to you.

Conversations began to flow and so did more drinks. You all had polished off the shooters and Josh and Poppy got cozy together. Inevitably, you had started to feel the alcohol and came out of your shell, having a lively conversation with Jake and Danny about Taco Bell.

“Baja blasts are so gross! It tastes like cotton candy acid!” You say giggling.

“Blasphemy! Usually I love it when you drink, because you’re fun. But tonight you speak nothing but blasphemy!” Jake practically yells.

“Okay okay. Sorry to kill these vibes but I think Pops and I are going to head out. Danny, would you mind driving y/n home?”

“Yeah of course.” Danny responds, throwing a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

Your stomach sinks. You had very seldom been alone with them without Poppy as a buffer. You hoped you weren’t a burden.

“Call me tomorrow!” Poppy states, giving you a small hug before running off with Josh.

“Have fun you crazy kids!” Jake yells at them.

You all watch them walk off. Then Jake nudges Danny and smirks at Sam. “We’re going to grab some more drinks.”

Then, it’s just you and Sam again.

“They’re going to be so sick in the morning.” Sam says with a small smile.

“Yeah I can imagine. You guys can drink like tanks.”

Sam laughs. “Thank you?”

“Just being honest. Speaking of, sorry you’re pawned off on me again. If you want to go grab drinks with them you’re more than welcome to.”

Sam frowns at you. “Pawned off on you? Is that really what you think?”

You furrow your brows at him. “Yeah I mean you had to go through with me in the haunted house and now you’re stuck entertaining me at the bonfire.”

Sam sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Fuck okay here we go. Do you not think that it has all been done intentionally? You really haven’t picked up on the way these assholes smirk and smile and scoff at us- well more specifically me?”

You’re taken aback at his words.

“I like you. There it is. Okay? I have a stupid little crush on you, I always have. Do you not remember when I kissed you? You never said anything about it, so I tried to ignore what I felt. But fuck it I can’t. I like you, and obviously I have done a piss poor job of showing it if you think I’m some sort of babysitter for you.”

You sit there absolutely stunned. No idea what to say. Maybe it was the liquid courage coursing through your veins, or the adrenaline at the admission. But you leaned over, and you kissed him. Right on that hay bale by that bonfire. He kissed you back immediately, shocked initially. His hand cupped your face and your whole body flooded with warmth. You disconnected your lips and Sam’s face was dusted with pink.

“Well… fuck me. I guess I should have said that a long time ago if I knew I would have gotten that.”

You giggled at him. “I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me. This is unprecedented to say the least. I kind of thought you hated me.”

He scoffed at you. “Hated you? No, I have pined over you for months. I was just unsure how to even navigate that. You make me nervous.”

You make him nervous? What the hell was going on?

“You make me nervous!” You admit with a laugh.

“Well here’s to being nervous together I guess? Wanna go grab another drink?” He asks, getting up and reaching for your hand.

“Sure.” You respond with a smile extending your hand to take his.

He leads you to the drink stand and orders two more. You sip on them and giggle at one another.

“I could use a smoke. You down?” He asks.

You glance around. “We will have to go somewhere secretive. No one else is smoking.”

He smirks at you. “Go somewhere secretive? With you? Absolutely.”

You bite your lip at his playfulness as he takes your hand and leads you behind a shed. It’s darker over here, he’s only illuminated by a blue light. He fumbles with his pockets before pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He shakes then vigorously against his hand before selecting one. He puts it between his teeth and flicks the lighter. You can’t help but think how attractive he looks at this moment. He takes a drag and exhales, his eyes flicking towards yours. Then he hands you the cigarette. You take it between two fingers and bring it to your lips, taking a puff. He looks at you the same way.

“What?” You ask with a small smile.

“You’re so fucking hot. You know that? It’s been so hard for me to keep my hands to myself everytime we have drank together. I damn sure didn’t keep my thoughts to myself. I just can’t believe this is finally happening. I didn’t think I would ever have the guts to tell you.” He says, running his fingers through his hair.

You take one more drag and hand it back to him. “Yeah? Good things come to those who wait.”

He leans in, dangerously close to you and tucks a piece of hair behind your ear. “They do.” He coos.

His eyes are bouncing between your eyes and lips. His hand is impossible hot and you can hear your heart thumping in your chest. He swipes his thumb across your bottom lip before slowly leaning in. You kiss him back, feverishly this time. Not wanting to come up for air. This time a different sensation takes you over, not a warmth but a fire. His hand finds your waist and he squeezes you lightly, causing an unintentionally moan to leave your lips. “Fuck.” He growls in your ear as he attacks your neck with kisses. You can feel him pressed against you and you want nothing more than to take him into this shed. You pull him closer to you, practically as close as you can get and run your hand through the back of his hair, lightly tugging. He returns back to your lips, devouring every kiss. You run your hand over his waistband as he shutters into you. You’re entirely unsure how you two are going to progress this situation. However, the universe had different plans.

“Sam! Where the fuck are yo-“

Jake. Danny. Caught.

Your eyes get as big as saucers as you see them standing there with their flashlights on their phones pointed directly at you two.

“Oh goddamnit really?” Sam asks, trying to cover his pants.

“No FUCKING way!” Jake yells out. “You finally did it Sammy boy!”

“Woooo about time!” Danny yells, as he cackles and bumps shoulders with Jake.

“Would you please fuck off?” Sam seethes.

They both throw their hands up in response. “Leaving in ten with or without you!”

Sam returns his attention back to you, clearly flustered. “I’m sorry. They’re fucking brain dead.”

You clear your throat. “Uh, yeah. This will be fun to explain.”

“What are we going to explain?” Sam asks, testing the waters.

You wrinkle your nose. “I don’t know… What exactly is this?”

Sam laughs. “What do you want it to be?”

You bite your lip. “I’m not sure, but I like kissing you.”

He smiles. “I like kissing you too. Tell you what, how about I take you on a proper date. We can go from there.”

“Hmmm. I guess I could be open to that.” You say, batting your eyes.

He laughs and shakes his head. “You’re going to drive me crazy. You know that.”

“Is that a challenge?”

He leans down and kisses your head. “Let’s get out of here.”

He takes your hand and leads you back towards the cars, passing the haunted house.

“This drive back is going to be brutal. They’re not going to shut the fuck up.” Sam says, sighing.

“If my intuition is correct, Josh will be at mine and Poppy’s house. They will come in and our secret is up.” You add.

“Maybe we should just get an Airbnb for like a month. Away from them.” He jokes.

“Don’t tempt me with a good time.” You find his eyes and smile.

As you’re exiting towards the parking lot a familiar face jumps out in front of you and screams. You recognize him as the clown that sent you into the haunted house at the beginning of the night.

“Well well! Looks like loverboy finally figured out how to hold on to his girlfriend!

Fucking clowns.

Sam smirks at him. “I did and I’m never letting her go.”

**

[age-of-greta]

Freaks Come Out At Night

Author’s note: so… hi!! Welcome back to week two of my spooky Halloween series. DANNY LANE WHERE YOU AT????? Truly, I don’t know what compelled me to write this, but here we are. Pls ignore the typos and ENJOY! <3 vibes

Pairing: Danny x reader

Warnings: a lot! Cursing, sexual content, slight violence? Minors DNI

Word count: 3k

“Yeah I’ll be over in about thirty minutes. We just finished recording. I’ll stop by and grab wine on my way.”

“Okay.” You answered, kicking your feet. “I’ll see you soon.”

“See ya.” He responded with a sense of joy in his tone.

You hung up the phone and smiled to yourself. You had approximately 20 minutes before he arrived. Your apartment was close to a lot. Plenty of shops, restaurants, just a few blocks away from their studio. Lucky you.

It started around 3 months ago maybe? You went to a party of a friend of a friend, smoked a little weed, and made eye contact by the bonfire. You still remember his smirk and the way your cheeks dusted pink when he looked at you. He was nervous to talk to you, but that only furthered your intrigue. The first night you met you had slept together. But it wasn’t a typical one night stand. He asked to take you to breakfast after that, then a movie, then lunch, before you knew if you were back in his bed the following night. It had remained that way for weeks. An unspoken agreement that you were faithful to each other, but both of you were too scared to try and slap a label on anything. You didn’t dare to potentially ruin something that felt so good. And that’s what Danny was to you- good.

You padded around in your living room in your impossibly short silk black pajama shorts with a matching tank top. You chose to forgo a bra, you knew Danny would notice as soon as he walked in. You needed to refill your wine glass that was nearing empty, but you didn’t want to drink too much before he got here. You decided to throw together a small charcuterie board for the two of you to snack on. You opened your refrigerator and grabbed some dry salami, an array of cheeses, and olives. You spread them out on your board and adorned them with nuts and dark chocolate blueberries. You smiled at your impromptu little board. Once you sat it on your coffee table you clicked on the tv, turning on Fear Fest. You loved scary movies. Danny was indifferent towards them, but had been watching them all month long with you. You were grateful for that.

The doorbell went off and you jolted out of your trance as the credits began to roll on the original Nightmare On Elm Street. You waltzed over to the door and opened it, smiling at the tall boy in front of you.

“Hi pretty girl.” Danny said, leaning in and giving your cheek a peck.

“Good evening.” You replied with a bright smile.

He stepped in and placed the bottle of wine on the counter.

“Starting without me?” He asked, looking at your baren wine glass.

“Had to have something to hold me over. You took foreverrrrrrrr.” You playfully spoke.

“Apologies my lady.” He said, grabbing your glass and replenishing it with the new wine he had bought. He got a glass out for himself and poured his glass before coming to the living room to join you on the couch.

“You’re too cute.” He said with a smile as he saw the charcuterie board you had made.

You reached your hand out and plucked the glass from him. “It’s the least I could do for the wine darling. Now, what are we watching tonight? I’m feeling something scary.”

He let out a laugh and pulled you to cuddle into him. “Scary? You? Who would have guessed.”

You flicked your eyes at him and smiled. “Have you ever seen Hereditary?”

**

“Okay that was like… super fucked up.” Danny said, his eyes still glued to the tv after the final harrowing scene.

You scoffed at him. “Would you believe me if I told you the second time is worse? If you stare long enough into the background you see all kinds of things you missed upon first viewing. It’s so fucking cool.”

He looked over at you and gave you the strangest look. “You’re a little bit demented. You know that?”

“In a good way?” You ask, already knowing his answer.

He laughs and shakes his head. “In the best way.”

You two had all but drained your bottle of wine and picked over most of the foods on the table. Now you laid over on him as he stroked your hair. Another one of the Freddy Kreuger movies playing in the background. You grabbed your phone and started to mindlessly scroll through your social media. You flipped over to TikTok and turned your volume down. You scrolled through cooking recipes, cats doing funny things, and skincare tips. A certain video of a cat screaming at a plant had Danny chuckling behind you.

You turned your head and glanced back at him. “You like cat videos?”

“I’m a human, of course I like cat videos.” Danny says, matter of factly.

“Boy do I have some good things for you.” You say, snickering to yourself.

You click on your likes videos and begin to scroll. Danny laughs and coos at the cute cat videos. You continue to scroll through the posts you have liked. Your breath hitches as a certain video starts to play and you scrolled past it immediately, hoping he didn’t notice.

“What is that?” Danny asked with a sideways laugh.

“Nothing, just horror movie stuff.” You say, trying to play it off.

“Mhmmm let me see.” He says with a smirk.

Shit. He knows.

You shake your head and he clicks on the video anyway. You could have died when the Ghostface thirst trap played. Your cheeks filled with redness, not wanting him to judge you for a stupid fantasy.

He laughs at it. “You’re into this?”

You blow out a breath. “I don’t know. I mean kinda? It’s stupid, but the whole masked killer being a kinky freak is viral right now. I mean you should see some of the insane lingerie photo shoots people take with Michael Myers.”

Danny nods his head. “Sure, but are you into it?”

You weren’t sure how to answer. You wouldn’t say it was a prevalent kink you had, but the thought of it turned you on a bit. The horror genre had always been your favorite and the first Scream movie made you feel some type of way about the “bad boy” trope. You assumed this was a logical progression in a way.

“This is embarrassing.” You say, hiding your face into a pillow.

He chuckles. “Nothing to be embarrassed about doll, but I’ll leave it. Come here.”

Danny pulls you into his lap and you two continue watching your movie marathon. After this one wraps up, you started to clean everything up before starting another.

“Want some popcorn?” You asked Danny, as he helped clean up the charcuterie board.

“Sure.” He replied. “But we are out of wine.”

“Damn. It’s okay, we can switch to water I suppose.”

Danny stood still and thought for a minute. “You know I can run down really quickly and grab some more. Before they close?”

You give him a pointed look. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll survive.”

He shakes his head. “No really it’s not a big deal. I’ll be right back.”

With that he grabs his coat, kisses the side of your head, and bolts out of the door.

Okay?

You wash all of your dishes, put away the food, and pop a big bowl of popcorn. Then you sit down on your couch and scroll through your phone. The thought of getting on TikTok at this moment still embarrassed you, so you opted to check your email instead. You were so engulfed in your vast amount of emails that you had neglected you barely noticed when Danny came back in.

“Wine secured.” He said with a smile walking towards you with the bottle.

“Amazing. You’re the best.”

He popped the bottle and poured two more glasses. You knew after this glass you would probably be on the cusp of tipsy. Wine always opened you up and made you more flirty. It was why you always wanted some when Danny came over, not that you needed to be inebriated to be with him, but it was damn sure fun.

Danny grabbed you again as you both nursed your glasses of wine. His fingers lightly grazed over your shirt causing a sensation to build in your chest. Suddenly, the movie had lost your interest. You chugged down the rest of your glass of wine and placed it down on the side table.

“Woah take it easy tiger.” Danny said with an impossibly gravely voice.

You flicked your eyes to him and gave him a smirk. “Gonna run to the bathroom real quick.”

He gave you a nod as you slinked down the hall into your bathroom. You peed, washed your hands, and glanced at yourself in the mirror. Showtime. You hiked your silk shorts up a little higher and pulled your tank top down. Then you spritzed yourself with a salted caramel body spray, brushed out your hair, and popped a mint in your mouth. You were ready, you had waited long enough.

You padded back out to the living room and gave Danny a smile. He returned your grin.

“Bored of the movie?” He asked.

“No…” You said, moving languidly towards him. “This might be one of the best Nightmare sequels, but I am ready to-hmmm switch gears a bit? Are you down?”

You stand right in front of him and peer down at him. You can see him swallow hard before giving you a smirk.

“I suppose.” He replies, grabbing your legs and pulling you onto him.

Just like that your lips finally collided. It was like an explosion of anticipation finally being exorcised. Danny’s large hands ran up and down your legs, back, and ass. You slowly began to grind on him, feeling him harden beneath you. He squeezed your hips, hard, which caused you to let out a bated breath. You bit his bottom lip and pulled, causing his eyes to flutter open. When he finally looked at you, he was ready to take you to bed. He picked you up and carried you into your bedroom as you giggled. When he laid you on the bed your shirt and shorts were almost immediately removed. You manage to get his shirt off before he tied your hands to your headboard. It’s always the quiet ones who are the freakiest. Once you were stuck in place he crawled on top of you, peppering kisses down your torso. You thought you would get the normal treatment, but he stopped just above your panties.

“I’ll be right back. Remember your safe word?” Danny asks, giving you a smirk.

You furrow your brows at him and nod.

Then you watch him leave your room in nothing but his black jeans.

Where in the hell is he going? Safe word?

You take a few breaths, obviously worked up from the past few minutes. He knew how to get you hot and bothered rather quickly. You felt frustrated as you waited on him, you couldn’t even touch yourself. Finally you heard his footsteps come towards you again as you prepared yourself for what would come. You felt his presence when he entered the room, but when you looked up your eyes almost popped out of your head.

There he was, standing there still in his jeans. Shirtless, his chest beautifully chiseled. But instead of his perfect face there was a mask. A Ghostface mask. He stood and looked at you, not saying a word. His head cocked ever so slightly looking down at you. You gulped and looked back up at him. Then you saw it, a small pocket knife in his hand, the one he always carried.

Fuck. Is this where he went when he got wine? To buy this mask?

“Danny…?” You spoke out, but you knew it was him.

He continued to stay quiet, but nodded his head. You squeezed your legs together just for the slightest friction. Finally, after what felt like 10 minutes he moved slowly towards you. He straddled you and took his finger, drawing a line from your breasts to your navel. You let out a shaky breath as you saw the blade in his hand. He took it and lightly grazed it over your stomach. The cold sensation made you nearly jump.

He has never done this before. This is why he reminded you of your safe word.

Part of you felt uneasy or unsure. But the other part of you felt absolutely ravenous.

He stroked the blade in the same line his finger had just drawn, not putting hardly any pressure on it. He wasn’t going to cut you, not really. He leaned in closer to you and brought the blade to your jaw, lightly dragging it around. Then, he leaned in close to your ear, the fabric from the mask tickled your collarbone. You felt him inhale your scent before asking; “What’s your favorite scary movie?”

You drew in a breathy laugh. “I think you know the answer to that one.”

He let out a dark laugh. “Oh I do.” He starts as he lightly trickles the blade down your chest again. “Had to give my girl her little fantasy.”

You take in a gulp.

My girl?

His hands fumble around a bit before they meet your clothed center. Slowly dragging circles around, making you whine and squirm. You threw your head back as a finger slipped in the side of your black panties.

“Fuck-“ You let out in a small moan.

You could feel how wet you were, soaked even. As he started to slowly pump a finger into you the room quickly filled with obscene sounds. He was so good with his hands. With each pump you were beginning to rapidly come undone. When he added a second finger and his thumb found your clit you were all but done for.

“Danny- fuck. Please- oh god.”

He grunted at your undoing. “Almost there baby. You’re so fucking hot.”

“Danny, I want to come with you. I want you to fuck me. Take that mask off and fuck me, hard. Please.” You manage to whine out.

You could tell he was slightly taken aback, but he had no objections to your request. Slowly, he took off the mask. His hair was a tousled mess of black curls and his eyes were full of lust. He crawled back on top of you and cupped your breast as his lips found yours again. You reached your leg up and wrapped it around him, needing him closer to you. With his other hand he reached up and yanked on the knot, setting you free. You wasted no time letting your hands melt into his body, tugging at his hair and sliding your nails up his back. He let sighs out into your mouth and you swallowed them whole, greedy for more. The time for foreplay was over, you needed him. You took your hands and undid his pants, starting to slide them off his hips. He got your hints and rolled off of you, stripping himself bare. It was your turn to be in control. You rolled your body on him and pressed yourself onto him.

“Oh fuck.” He said through gritted teeth, as you both made contact.

He drank in your body on top of his as if you were the last glass of water in a desert. You grabbed his length and slowly sunk down on it, both of your breathing through the pure ecstasy coursing through your veins. Slowly you started, rolling and rocking your hips, but as he began to get deeper and deeper you wanted more. His thumb found your clit again and you started bouncing up and down. You could tell it was a show for him, the way he watched you in bewilderment. You could also tell he was dangerously close, trying his hardest to hold on for you. He wouldn’t have to wait long as you felt that fire start to spread in your core. Then it happened, total bliss. You swore you saw stars and you couldn’t even form a coherent sentence. Just strings of expletives, moans, and his name leaving your mouth as if it were dipped in honey. He was right behind you, breathing heavily and full of praise. After, you were entirely too fucked out to even move- so you stayed there as one synching breaths. When you finally rolled off he grabbed your hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Did I go too far?” He asks, nervously awaiting your response.

You turn your head to him and give him a look. “Too far? I think that might have been one of the most enthralling experiences of my life. I mean fuck Danny.”

He huffs a laugh. “Mine too.”

A few moments of quiet fills the room as he still has your hand in his.

“Would you like to do this again?” He asks.

You scoff. “Now?”

He shakes his head. “No, no. As much as I would love to it’s going to be a challenge for me to move out of this spot.”

You giggle at that. “Then yes I suppose we could do it again.”

He turns his head to you and smirks. “Y’know almost like we’ll make a sequel. Sequel rules are different.”

You can’t help the full smile that envelops your whole face. “Someone has been paying attention to their Scream movies.”

“Have to. They’re my girl’s favorite.”

“Your girl?” You ask with a smile.

“Is that okay?”

“Yes.” You answer eagerly.

He leans in and kisses your forehead. Then you both clean yourselves up before returning back to bed. You found yourself cuddled up in his arms as he turned on the television in your room. You knew whatever was on would serve as background sound and light to your slumber. Your eyes flickered as Danny clicked through the channels. You opened them once more when you heard a laugh escape his throat. On your screen was the original Scream movie. You snickered and cuddled further into his side as he stroked your back. He sat the remote down and left your movie on.

How perfect you thought to yourself as your eyes fell heavy again.

And he was, he really was.

[age-of-greta]

Harvest Moon

Author’s note: hi it’s been a minute!!! Here we are starting our Halloween szn series eeeekkk!!! I meant to post this last week but I got caught up. My plan is to post the next two on Fridays and the final one on Halloween. Anywhoooo this was my first crack with a Josh fic so I hope you love it!! Click here for the vibes :)

Pairing: Josh x reader

Warnings: cursing, sexual content, minors DNI

Word count: 2.8k

It was a particularly yucky day outside. It was overcast, windy, chilly, and a light drizzle fell from the sky. Definitely not the weather you had anticipated when you suggested a pumpkin patch date with your boyfriend. You had been so excited to go, take pictures, choose pumpkins, drink cider, and enjoy the day with your favorite person. But the weather had quite literally put a damper on things. Maybe it’s because it was your first fall together or maybe it’s because you had felt extremely sentimental, either way you wanted this day to go perfectly. You and Josh had been together for around 10 months now after a drunken hookup at a New Year’s party blossomed into something beautiful. Almost out of a fairy tale. You struggled to put it into words, but it just felt like he had completed you. You felt whole when he was with you. Which is why you tried to remain optimistic about this day despite the goddamn weather. You adored fall, and all year long you looked forward to having someone to share these activities with. Josh had even made sure to schedule his band’s tour around your fall calendar. That melted your heart into a million pieces.

You sat now by the window staring out into the gloom fidgeting with the frays on your cream cable knit sweater. You wondered if you should change your outfit to dress more appropriately given the circumstances. With your chunky sweater you wore a brown corduroy skirt with sheer black tights and brown chelsea boots. Josh always joked when you wore them that they looked like they were straight out of Jake’s closet.

You saw headlights flash in your driveway and you jolted up with excitement and fled to your door. When you opened the door he was walking towards you with a perfect smile and flowers in hand. He looked so handsome. Light khaki pants, white high top vans, and a white sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up. He sported a triangular necklace and his hair was perfectly unkempt.

“Hi beautiful. How are you?” He asked, as he pulled you into a tight hug.

“Better now.” You gushed, taking in his scent of patchouli and teakwood.

“Got these for you.” He said with a bright grin as he handed you the orange daisies.

You smiled and accepted them. “So romantic! Let me put these in water and we can go.”

You walked back into your kitchen and found a cream colored vase under your island. You filled it halfway with water and plunged the stems in, Josh had already pre-cut them. He was exceptionally thoughtful like that.

“Ready?” You asked with excitement.

“Let’s go.” Josh said, reaching out his hand for you.

You climbed into his Jeep and he shut the door behind you. You clicked your seatbelt as Josh flickered with his phone before entering the car. The engine whirred to life as he smiled and placed his hand on your thigh. Josh hummed Neil Young softly in the background. You glanced over and studied his features. He was so pretty. So soft. Your Josh.

About ten minutes into the drive you realized that Josh wasn’t going the direction he needed to get to the farm you had said you were going to. You furrowed your browns and glanced over at his silent GPS. Forty five minutes away? That seemed impossible. The farm you had discussed was only 19 minutes from your house.

“Where are we going?” You asked.

Josh looked over at you and gave you a lazy smile before shifting his eyes back on the road. “The pumpkin patch.”

You cocked your head to the side. “This isn’t the way to Abbott Farms.”

His eyes stayed on the road but he lightly gave your thigh a squeeze. “Nope.”

You made a face, but before you could speak he continued.

“We are going to a different farm, somewhere where the weather will be nicer. I checked the radar the past few days, so I’ve been planning for alternate farms all around here based upon the weather. We are traveling southeast and the bad weather is going more northwest. We should be clear. I know how excited you are for today, so I figure the least I could do was drive you into some better weather.”

You were floored and your heart swelled with love and adoration. That was Josh. The most kind, thoughtful, always planning two steps ahead. Your Josh.

“That’s very thoughtful Mr. Kiszka. How’d I get so lucky?”

He let out a laugh. “I don’t know how you landed such a catch. By the way there are some snacks in the back if you want some. I packed them for the longer car ride. Your favorite m&ms are somewhere.”

You let out a laugh. “Josh! You’re the best. Thank you.”

He grabs your hand with the hand that’s been on your thigh and laces his fingers with yours. “You’re welcome my dear. I love you.”

**

“I like this one!” You yelled to Josh as he jogged to keep up with you.

You had just set your sights on the perfect pumpkin. It was large, round, and was the prettiest shade of orange. You and Josh had arrived at the pumpkin patch nearly an hour ago. First he took you through the corn maze, which you had both figured out rather quickly. Then you got warm apple cider before your mini photoshoot together. Josh never complained once about the hundreds of photos you made him take with you or of you.

“So this one is it huh?” Josh asked, staring down at you with your pumpkin. His hands were on his hips and he was slightly out of breath from jogging uphill.

“Mhm.” You said, giving your new prized possession a rub.

“And you’re sure this pumpkin is better than any pumpkin down that giant ass hill?” He asked, in a joking tone.

“This is the one.” You assured. “And the hill is not that giant.”

He sighed and gave you a smile. “Then we shall have it.” He grabbed the rather large pumpkin and threw it on his shoulder as you both headed back down the hill. Eventually, he would get a cart as you saw the gourds in boxes. By the time you had left you had acquired three large pumpkins, 2 smaller ones, and a plethora of gourds. You were beyond satisfied with your haul. Now it was time to go back to your house and carve them.

Josh loaded up his jeep and began the drive back to your house. It had been quite a blissful way to spend two hours. Josh slightly cracked the windows and blasted the heat so you two could admire the foliage. He truly made you swoon.

When you returned to your house Josh carried in your pumpkins while you lit fall candles and changed into more comfortable clothes. Josh had brought over his “spending the night” bag and changed as well. You wore a pair of fuzzy brown joggers with a white cropped tank. You put on a pair of socks that had little pumpkins all over them. Josh had gone with cream colored sweatpants and a black t-shirt. No shoes of course. You both settled down in your living room, an array of carving tools at your use, both pumpkins plopped down on top of trash bags. There was a black and white horror film that Josh had chosen just beginning. It was one of the many Frankenstein movies. He was such a film geek and you loved that. Your Josh.

“Okay pumpkin. What are you carving on your pumpkin?” Josh asks, giving you a particularly bright smile.

“A scary face I think. Jagged teeth all the way. What are you planning? Something elaborate?”

“Spooky. And no nothing elaborate. Probably a happy face. Everyone loves a happy pumpkin.” He says, reaching up and giving your cheek a pinch.

“Don’t forget to save the best guts! Our homemade pumpkin pie will be what dreams are made of.” You remind him.

“Got it.” Josh says, reaching over for the big knife.

He stabs into his pumpkin and pops off the top. Then he helps you get your knife into your pumpkin, safely. You two spent around 30 minutes de-gutting and carving your pumpkins. It was a surprise reveal type of situation. You had both turned your pumpkins away from one another, sitting in near silence as you both focused on your craft. You had given your pumpkin a set of triangular eyes, a small triangle nose, and a sharp set of gnarly teeth. You left a bit of the flesh out of your pumpkin to give it the appearance that it had just eaten something. You smiled at your creation, satisfied with your work.

“Almost done slowpoke?” You asked Josh, who had a look of sheer concentration masked on his face.

His expression broke and a small smile appeared. “Slowpoke? You can’t rush art baby.”

“Then how do you write songs in less than one day?”

He lets out a chuckle. “I plead the fifth. Anywho yeah yeah I’m done. This is going to blow you away.”

“Ready?” You ask, he nods.

“1…2…3…!”

You both reveal your pumpkins to one another. Josh had created, possibly the cutest pumpkin you had laid eyes on. It had round eyes with small triangles remaining as pupils, a heart nose, and a cute toothy smile.

You giggled at his pumpkin. “Josh! It’s so cute!”

He stifles a laugh. “And yours is horrifying!”

“Thank you.” You reply back with a smirk.

“Okay I’ll clean, light these guys up, and stick them on the porch. You wanna start your pie and I’ll meet you in there?” Josh asks.

You nod and get up grabbing the bowl of pumpkin guts. Josh had already picked out all of the seeds. Thoughtful.

You went through the bowl and pulled out the best chunks, putting them in your food processor to make a purée. Then you gathered the rest of the ingredients you would need. You had already pre-made the crust, so you dusted flour around your island to knead it a bit and press it in the pan. Once the crust was pressed you started to bake it slightly before putting your filling in. Josh returned to the kitchen and began to help. He was actually really good at baking. You two were always baking something together, it was a bonding time between the two of you.

“I think we should add some more nutmeg than the recipe calls for. It will give it that extra pow!”

You let out a laugh. “More nutmeg? Someone’s feeling a bit wild right now.”

“Oooh call me a rebel baby.” Josh said, in a buttery velvet voice as he approached you and planted a rather wet kiss to your lips. He reached behind you and grabbed the nutmeg, returning to the batter.

He dashed some more in and gave it a nice big stir. You grabbed the crust out of the oven so it didn’t overbake.

“Wanna try?” Josh asked, scooping some batter onto his index finger.

You nodded and opened your mouth. You made eye contact and sucked on his finger for just a second longer than necessary.

A smirk appeared on his face. “So naughty.”

“Extra nutmeg was a good call.” You said, innocently.

You grabbed the batter and began to pour it into the crust. Once the bowl was essentially empty, you sprinkled the pie with extra cinnamon and threw it in the oven.

You turned around to see Josh eyeing you. You knew what he was thinking.

Still, you pretended to be oblivious, and started to throw the dishes in the sink and clean up the island. Josh grabbed the batter bowl and slinked around to you.

“You got something right there.”

You slightly furrowed your brows. “Where?”

He stepped close to you, incredibly close.

“Here.” He said, obviously wiping batter onto your neck.

“Josh!” You said with a surprised laugh.

“So messy.” He said as he clicked his tongue. “What ever am I going to do with you?”

“Whatever you want.” You said faltering, voice just above a whisper.

He leaned in and licked a stripe up your neck, getting all of the batter off. He didn’t stop once it was gone, giving you a small bite on the most tender of flesh.

You leaned your head back and let out an exhale and his hands met your hips. He kissed up your neck until he met your lips, his tongue already eager for yours. You reached up and wrapped your hands into his hair, giving a few gentle tugs. That always drove him crazy. He groaned into your mouth and pressed his body into yours, his hands touching everything he could. Then, in a swift motion he gave your ass a nice squeeze and lifted you up onto the island. He stood in between your legs and began to kiss down your neck. You shuddered with anticipation and butterflies circled throughout your belly. He nipped at your collarbone while his hand found the swell of one of your breasts. He slowly pulled your top down before continuing his descent. His tongue rolled over your nipple as he began to suck and bite. Your head fell back and you were fighting to keep your eyes open as the sensations overtook your body. One of his hands met your hip and you were about to start begging. Luckily, he was working rather quickly as he slid your pants down leaving you just in your panties. His warm hands traveled all around your thighs as his mouth met yours again. When your lips disconnected, he made eye contact with you before sinking to the floor on his knees. He grabbed the back of your thighs and threw them over his shoulders, pulling your body closer to him. He started to lightly kiss the inside of your thighs. You threw your hands back to brace yourself, still wanting to sit up just the slightest to get to see some of the show. His tongue licked up over your clothed center and you let out a soft moan.

That’s one thing that always got Josh going. Your sounds. He loved being cheered on, call it a frontman thing.

He hooked his fingers under your panties and yanked them down, leaving you bare in front of him.

“So perfect.” He growled as he connected his lips to your center.

You let out shuddering breaths trying to breath through the ride you were currently taking on his face. Josh continued to send you over the edge as he added two fingers into you, dipping first then taking the plunge.

“Josh…” You whined lowly.

He briefly disconnected his face from you, replacing his tongue with his caressing thumb.

“C’mon baby I know you’re almost there. Be a good girl and give it to me.”

His encouragement and tongue back in that certain spot was enough to send you over the edge as you threw your head back and gave into pure bliss. Josh dug his fingers into your flesh as you ground yourself further and further until you swore you saw stars. You were a mess as you tried to come back to your senses. Josh always made you feel like you were in a sensory deprivation tank when he was done with you. The only thing that made you come back to Earth was a timer dinging.

Fuck. You thought. How long had Josh had you on this counter? The second ding is what really brought you back to life as Josh continued to slowly kiss your thighs to ease you back.

You took a deep breath to collect yourself. “The pie’s done.” You said, reaching down and wiping your slick off of his face. “Hopefully you haven’t ruined your appetite.”

He grins at you. “My appetite? Darling I’m insatiable, particularly for you. But, I’ve just had the sweetest thing known to man, not sure if the pie will compare.”

You giggle at his antics. “Wanna continue this later?”

He starts to get up and leans over and plants a kiss on your lips. “Yes ma’am. Let’s see how this pie looks.”

He helps you down off the counter and pulls your pants back around your waist, giving your ass a squeeze.

You clean up a little, then grab your oven mitts so you can get your pie out to cool. Josh opens the window above the sink as you sit it on the windowsill.

“Smells good. You’re so talented.” He said as he wrapped you into a hug from behind, pressing his lips to your temple.

He was so kind, so supportive, so gentle, so sweet. He got you in a way that no one else could even begin to. He was the flame that lit your soul. Ignited you. Preserved you. Saved you. That was him.

Your Josh.

[age-of-greta]

The Moon

The Moon represents illusion and deception, and therefore often suggests a time when something is not as it appears to be. Perhaps a misunderstanding on your part, or a truth you cannot admit to yourself.

Author’s note: hi!! Welcome to the last part of The Moon, the epilogue. I hope you have loved this fic as much as I did. Thank you all for following along. With that being said, I am working on a new fic (where my Josh girls at?)! Originally I planned to start it at the end of next month, but upon further reflection I might postpone it because… I am working on a very spooky Halloween series!! I plan to release one special a week in October. So stay tuned for that!! Again, THANK YOU & enjoy The Moon <3

Paring: Sam x reader & Jake x reader

Warnings: adult content, cursing, alcohol consumption, fluffffffff, maybe slight angst?

Word count: 4.3k

EPILOGUE

ONE YEAR LATER:

“Shit! Sam, can you check the oven?” You yell down the hall, still grasping for the zipper on your sundress.

“Got it out five minutes ago my love! All is well here I promise!” Sam yelled back from the kitchen.

You took a deep breath. Thank god. You had been running around all day like a chicken with your head cut off; cooking, cleaning. Now you have to make yourself presentable in twenty minutes or less. Well, that was when they were supposed to be here anyway. Realistically, you knew it would be at least thirty to forty five minutes before someone walked through that door. It was your housewarming party, sort of. You and Sam had moved into your own house in Nashville around three weeks ago. As much as you tried and worked, things still weren’t fully unpacked. Moving was dirty work, it was even harder when Sam would pause from unpacking to “christen” a new room. As stressful as it was, it had been blissful. Except now you were all sorts of stressed. When you had planned this party surely you thought everything would be in order and decorated. That wasn’t the case. Sure, some of it was. The kitchen was in okay shape and the living room. Yours and Sam’s bedroom was okay too, it was really the spare rooms and basement that was a disaster. All of that swam through your mind, but your biggest enemy today was this goddamn zipper on your dress. It wouldn’t budge.

“Motherfuck.” You spat. Then, you heard laughing in the hallway.

“Need some help?” Sam said, leaned against the door frame with an amused look.

You gave him a glare and nodded. He scooped your hair to the size and ran his hands over your back, grabbing the zipper and tugging at it with ease.

“There.” He said, looking at you.

You were wearing a pink linen sundress, it was sort of short, but it complimented your body and tan gracefully. It was a square neckline with fun ruffled sleeves. You had crimped your hair and pulled some of it back in a golden butterfly clip. You wore a gaggle of gold necklaces and a medium sized pair of hoops. Your makeup was dewy and glowy, with your eyebrows brushed ever so slightly up. You felt pretty. Genuinely pretty. Sam must have thought so too, as you could see the way he was looking at you in the mirror.

“You smell good.” He said, as he spun you around and placed his hands around your waist.

“Thank you Sammy.” You said, beaming a smile up at him.

He smirked at that familiar nickname and pecked a kiss at your neck.

You giggled. “It’s almost five and I have so much to do!”

“Relax.” Sam said, still kissing up and down your neck while his hands roamed. “I got the cheese board out of the fridge, the green beans are in the crockpot, pasta salad in the fridge, and the fish is in the oven on warm. Besides, they're always late anyway.”

You start to give in, you’re always putty in his hands.

Then the doorbell rings.

“Goddamnit.” Sam says, tearing his face away from you. “Really? The one time they’re actually on time?”

You laughed and pressed your forehead to his.

“Get the door. We can finish this later.” You said with a smile.

He kissed your nose. “Yes ma’am.”

Then he’s off and you're cleaning your appearance up. He didn’t do too much damage, thankfully. You exit the room and walk down the hallway with your woven platforms thudding against the hardwoods. You see that familiar black curly hair and smile big.

“Hi cousin, welcome to our home!” You say.

He smiles back and wraps you in a hug.

“So this is the harlot’s den that stole my best friend and roommate from me?” Danny jokes.

You roll your eyes while Sam chuckles.

“Just you?” You ask.

Danny laughs. “Yeah what do you think? I thought I’d come by early and help a bit.”

“Early?” You say furrowing your brows. “Danny it’s 5:03. Everyone was supposed to be here at 5.”

“And yet here I am, the only one here. I would say that constitutes as early.”

You groan a laugh. “Okay fine. Sam, can you give him a tour?”

**

It had in fact been 45 minutes until that doorbell rang. In that time Sam had given Danny a whole tour, had a few beers, then started eating the fruit off of the fruit pie you had made. You figured the next to arrive would be Jake- and he was bringing his girlfriend. When you heard Josh’s boisterous voice from the other room you smiled and headed out of the kitchen.

Standing in your doorway was Josh with a bottle of wine with an obnoxious red bow. But next to him was Jake, his sunglasses still on, and his girlfriend with a plate wrapped in tin foil in her hands.

You swallow before speaking. “Well nice of you to join us!” You say, making your presence known.

“My apologies for being late, my lady.” Josh says, handing you the bottle of wine and pecking your cheek.

“You’re forgiven, but only because you brought wine.”

“Hi, Jake.” You lean in giving him a light partial hug.

“Birdie.” He retorts lightly tapping your back.

“Gwen!” You exclaim, pulling her into a hug.

She hugs you back. “Sorry we’re late. Jake didn’t turn the oven on before he popped these in.”

She unwraps the plate and displays an array of cookies. Gwen was always well intentioned, but her cooking skills were awful. You couldn’t help but think that Jake may have intentionally turned off the oven.

You chuckle at her. “Sounds like him. Wanna come pop these in the kitchen with me?”

“You bet.” She says, offering a smile.

Gwen and Jake had been dating for about three months now. You liked her, you really did. She was very kind, a little soft spoken, and she was pretty. One night Josh drunkenly leaned over and said: “You know she kinda looks like you.” This caused Sam to grip your thigh a little tighter, but you brushed it off. If you were being honest, she did resemble you slightly. Except your style was a little more refined or extra if you will. Gwen loved the basics and she could effortlessly pull it off. Perhaps that’s why Jake was attracted to her. You didn’t think Gwen knew anything about history with you and Jake. Why would he tell her? If she did know, she didn’t seem too concerned with it. She was always kind to you. You couldn’t help but like her, but personality-wise you two would never be beyond surface level friends and that was okay.

“Where do you want these?” Gwen scanned the room for empty counter space.

“You can put them on the stove, it’s not on. Thank you for making them by the way, you didn’t have to do that.”

She waved her hand at you. “Happy to. I love this kitchen by the way. Your style is so eclectic.”

You laughed. “Thank you. Wanna grab the guys and start the grand tour?”

You two made your way back to the group making small talk on the way there. You took your place next to Sam, who absentmindedly wrapped his arm around your waist.

“Birdie, where’s Margo?” Josh asked, furrowing his brows slightly.

“Florida. She got called into a travel meeting yesterday. She was upset about it to say the least.”

Josh groaned. “Oh boo.”

“Tell me about it.” You replied.

Josh and Margo were… friends? They hung out randomly it seemed. You didn’t believe anything romantic had popped up, but truthfully you didn’t fully know. They seemed like the opposite version of the other but also somehow the same. But in group settings you could find them side by side joking and cackling in a corner somewhere.

“Alright!” Sam exclaimed with a clap. “Ladies and gentlemen prepare yourselves for a once in a lifetime tour this evening where your tour guides will show you every square inch of this lavish home. Except for the basement, because all of the weird sex shit is down there and my partner here gave us a red flag for that part.”

You scoffed and lightly smacked his chest. “Oh my god that’s enough beer for Sam tonight. Our basement is still a disaster right now, but next event I promise it will be open to the public.”

“So you need time to clear out all the weird sex shit?” Danny asks, in an amused tone.

You huff and roll your eyes. “Okay right this way everybody.”

**

After the tour had come to a natural conclusion everyone was sipping beers on the back porch.

“This is where we’re going to put a pool in.” Sam announces, talking with his hands.

You look at Gwen and smile. “So what did you think?”

“It’s really nice. I can’t wait to see it once you get everything finished. You should come by and decorate their house.” She says, nudging Jake.

He offers her a small smile and nods in return.

“I actually sort of did for a few days when they moved in last year. It was absolutely hectic.”

She chuckles. “With this group? Never.”

You felt as if you needed to keep the conversation progressing. “I really like your jumpsuit. Where did you get it?”

She was wearing a navy sleeveless jumpsuit and sandals with her hair pulled up in a ponytail, a few whispys framing her face, and pearls on her ears. She looked cute, sort of nautical.

“Ah, thanks. It’s from Nordstrom Rack I think? But I mean look at you. You look and smell like a birthday cake.”

You laugh at that. “A birthday cake? That’s a new one.”

“She’s just as sweet as birthday cake too.” Sam smirks, putting his fingers in his mouth and pretending to lick them clean as a lewd gesture.

Your cheeks turn pink. “Jesus Christ okay seriously no more beer for you Sam.”

Gwen laughs with no thought behind it as Jake looks off in the backyard.

Sam didn’t typically act this way, but you assumed he was taking a chance to say something like that in front of Jake. Almost as a reminder. He never brought up what happened, but you could tell sometimes he still felt some way about it. You couldn’t say you blamed him.

“I’m going to cut up some more fruit to top the pie with.” You say excusing yourself away. “Danny, no more beer for this one.” You point at Sam.

He laughs and salutes you as you walk inside.

Once back in the kitchen you take a breather and pour yourself a small glass of wine while grabbing the fruit, cutting boards, and a knife. You take a sip and begin washing the produce. You hum absentmindedly as the water runs. Once washed you begin to dry the fruit and start to chop up some strawberries. Then you cut up pineapple and decide to clean up the mess before you get to your last fruit.

“Wine?” A voice pops up from behind you.

You jump, slightly startled. Then you see Jake standing in the doorway with his hand up on the frame. His sunglasses are finally off and he has a beer in his other hand.

You huff a breathy laugh. “Yeah. Just something to take the edge off I suppose.”

He steps closer towards you. “Want any help?”

You shake your head and look back to the fruit. “I think I’m good. I just need to cut the kiwis now.”

You begin placing the sliced strawberries and pineapple on the top of the pie.

“Nonsense. I’ll cut these up for you.”

You both reach for the kiwis at the same time and your hands touch, grazing by one another. You look over and Jake’s eyes are staring back into yours. Silence. Mere seconds have passed and you feel as if it’s been forever.

“Hey Jake they’re playing cornhole if you wanna-“ Gwen states stepping into this kitchen. “Oh sorry if you’re helping I can just partner with Josh.”

You rip your eyes away from Jake and shake your head. “No, no. Go play Jake. I’ve got it from here.”

You can see in your peripheral he glances back down at you. “Okay yeah. Let’s go.”

Then he leaves the kitchen and grabs Gwen’s hand wrapping it in his.

You chug the rest of your wine and cut the kiwis.

**

“Fuck that was so good.” Josh states, leaning back in his chair.

“Yeah it really was. You two could call yourselves chefs.” Gwen says, taking a sip of her water.

You and Sam laugh simultaneously.

“What? Did you poison us or something?” Josh asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Something like that.” Sam starts. “The fish filets? They’re plant based. We’re full veg now baby.”

Sam wraps his arm around you as you continue to giggle at his antics.

“Oh son of a bitch. You two have somehow now become more annoying.” Danny teases.

“I mean what a better opportunity to make this announcement than at a dinner party where you actually enjoyed your vegetarian food?” You ask, lifting your wine glass off of the table.

“I think I would rather have been poisoned.” Josh jokes.

You all laugh at that.

“I think I’m going to grab some pie. Anyone want some?”

Jake asks, starting to get up.

Everyone raises their hand.

“Well shit let me just go put on my butler uniform and I’ll get to work on bringing that out for you all.”

Gwen laughs. “I’ll get a bell for you babe!”

You tip your wine glass towards her and nod. “Now that is a good idea.”

She lets out a laugh and inches closer to you. “Right? He’s been so weird today, it’s good to see him smile. I think he’s just tired, they were in the studio last night.”

You force a smile. “Oh definitely. They might as well take overnight bags when they go.”

Except, they weren’t in the studio last night. Sam was at home with you and you knew Danny went ax throwing. It was seldom Jake or Josh went without the other two, especially since they had their own studio in their house. You tried not to read into that too much.

Jake returned a few minutes later with the pie cut and portioned. He plopped a slice down on everyone’s plate. You all ate with an array of small talk bouncing around the table. When you were finished Josh and Danny did the dishes and cleaned up while you and Sam had gotten the fire pit going outside. Jake had grabbed one of Sam’s guitars and was sitting by tuning it. Gwen stared at him in awe, you remember those days.

But your head was glued on Sam. Watching him try to light some fancy logs you two had bought as he cursed under his breath. A smile curled up on your lips and a light laugh left you. Sam turned around and beamed a smile at you. “Hush.”

You threw your hands up in defense. Finally, he got it to light. Then everyone gathered around the campfire while Jake softly strummed. You laid your head on Sam’s shoulder while he held your legs. He smelled so good, just like himself. You swear you would turn his scent into a candle if given the opportunity.

Josh and Gwen were talking about something in depth while Danny entertained Sam. There were a few bottles of wine that were brought out, so everyone poured a glass. Sam took the light sweet liquid and brought it to his lips, softly humming and running his thumbs over your skin. He glanced down at you and gave you a wink as you grinned back at him.

You were so in love and you felt so at peace. Surrounded by the people you love the most: your friends, your soulmate, your family.

**

THREE YEARS LATER:

Wedding planning was a bitch. You shut your laptop and groaned. If you got on Pinterest one more time you might have thrown up.

“Hey it’s okay. I don’t care what anything looks like. All that matters is that it’s you and me up there.” Sam offers in a kind voice. “I’m going to make you some tea.”

You sighed. “I know Sam, it’s just so fucking stressful. I thought us having a tiny wedding would be easy. I stand corrected.”

Sam chuckled and placed a teabag in a mug. “Baby nothing with me is ever going to be easy.”

That brought a smile to your face. “I know. That’s why I’m marrying you.”

He placed your tea down next to you and placed a gentle kiss on your lips.

“Just a few short weeks and you’ll be mine forever.”

“I already am.” You remind him with a grin.

**

The day had arrived. It was hectic to say the least, but you and Sam had spent last night together cuddled up in bed discussing how no matter what everything would be perfect. You were all back in Michigan, choosing to get married at a lake house you had been to as kids. It was secluded and beautiful. There weren’t many people invited to your wedding and you and Sam had chosen to skip the groomsmen/bridesmaids aspect. Per tradition, you hadn’t seen Sam all day, but you could hear him. He was getting ready on the third floor while you were on the second floor. You could hear him pacing about and raising his voice at his brothers. It made you giggle. He was nervous, as if you would ever say no.

“Makeup and hair is here. You ready?” Margo asks you.

You smile and nod. “Send them in.”

You were about to begin your getting ready process. You had already had various hair treatments done, your teeth whitened, nails done, toes done, spray tan, you had even gotten a special facial (not from Sam). All that was left was makeup, hair, jewelry, then dress. The dress of your dreams. It was just a plain and simple white silk dress that hugged your body perfectly. The train was rather small and you opted out of a veil. Sam would be in a classic black suit, tailored specifically for him. You had seen the previews of the suit and it made your heart skip a beat. The theme of your wedding was florals. Really just purple, blue, pink, and orange wildflowers. These flowers were scattered amongst white roses on the small wooden arch and dusted around the aisle. You would be married right in front of the lake, with a small reception at the lake house after. It was simple and small, but everything you could have wanted and more.

Your hair sat in rollers while the makeup artist rolled a nude pink lip liner over your lips.

“I’m going to run something down to Josh.” Margo announced, leaving the door slightly ajar.

You gave her a nod as you heard her click down the stairs. The makeup artists continued to focus in on your lips and you stared at yourself in the mirror. You looked beautiful. Dewy plump skin, natural contour and blush, light warm smokey eye with lashes, paired with this nude pink satin lip.

“Margo hold up!” You heard your fiancé almost yell out.

“What’s wrong Sam? Getting cold feet?” She asked with a laugh.

You heard him scoff. “No. I probably have the hottest feet in the history of feet right now. I need you to please come and fix Daniel’s tie. He thinks it’s straight and it isn’t.”

You chuckled at Sam’s concern. He had tried to be the calm one about this wedding. But deep down you knew he was just as much of a perfectionist as you were. He had been there to ground you through the stress of the planning, but you had secretly heard him get snippy with his brothers on the phone when they chimed in on the wedding. He had put a lot of thought and effort into this day, but didn’t want you to stress about it.

You sat in your chair as your rollers were taken out and your hair was sprayed and teased. Truthfully, you loved the way your hair had turned out. It was full of volume and light curls. You added your gold and pearl earrings and sprayed perfume onto your hair and body. The last thing you had to do was put your dress on. You smiled as you slipped the white fabric up your body and Margo got to work on pinning.

“Oh fuck. You look so beautiful.” She said, giving a small sniffle.

Margo looked beautiful too. She was in a light green midi dress that tied in the back. Her light pink hair contrasted it perfectly.

“Stop it right now.” You say, pushing a tear away. “I’m not crying on my wedding day.” A half sob half laugh escapes your throat.

Margo wraps you in a hug and then clears her throat. “So we’re ready then?”

You nod and give her a smile.

“I’ll go rally the troops.”

Margo heads down to get everything in motion and you stare out the window at the arch and the beautiful scenery around it. There would be no more than twenty people attending, but you still felt a little nervous.

Just then you heard a knock on the door frame. You turned around to see Jake. He had an indescribable look on his face with a soft smile.

“Wow.” He breathed. “You look absolutely breathtaking. Sam is going to cry his eyes out.”

You laughed at him. “He better.”

“I just wanted to come down and say, I’m happy for you. I’m happy for you and Sammy both. It’s a beautiful day.”

You smiled brightly at him. “Thank you Jake.”

He returned the same smile. “I’ll see you down there.”

Then he’s off down the stairs filing in with everyone else.

Only one thing left to do now, and that was to get married.

**

Sam did cry; borderline sobbing. That melted your heart. The ceremony was beautiful. Your family, Josh, Danny, Jake and Gwen, Sam’s family, Margo, aunts, uncles, a few cousins, and a photographer friend were in attendance. They all followed you and Sam into the “reception.” Which was really just the large outdoor patio. Josh rigged up speakers and acted as the DJ.

“For the first time Mr. & Mrs. Kiszka!” He bellowed into the small karaoke microphone. Everyone collectively cheered. There was the first dance, a few speeches, and of course food. You had catered a vegetarian burger joint and a modest sized vanilla cake. Everything was delicious. After the champagne toast, you took a few pictures before a majority of the crowd shuffled out knowing once the alcohol began to flow things would get out of hand. You hugged your parents and family who came, promising to meet for brunch tomorrow. Then turned your attention back to Sam who was more than eager to have you to himself. He kept his hand around your waist the whole night while everyone played drinking games and danced. Gwen had gotten incredibly intoxicated as she swayed around in her lilac dress. Jake eventually had to sit her down and force water and bread onto her, before resuming his drinking activities.

Josh was pouring more tequila shots for everyone while his vape hung out of his mouth. “Gather round! Gather round! I have the nectar of the gods!”

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother and turned towards you. “I can’t keep my hands off of you Mrs. Kiszka.”

Sam’s eyes were a little red and he had the slightest smell of alcohol on his breath. He had been incredibly diligent with pacing himself on the extracurricular activities, as you know he wanted you both to enjoy your wedding night.

You smiled mischievously at him. “We’re married, Mr. Kiszka. You don’t have to.”

Sam reached down and scooped you up while you erupted in giggles.

“Sorry Josh! No can do! I’m taking my wife to our room. An apology fair in advance to everyone staying in this house tonight. We won’t be quiet!”

You lightly smacked his arm as he walked into the house, still carrying you. “Sam! Goodnight everyone! Thank you for coming!”

You and Sam both laughed giddy with each other. He finally got you both into your room. Then, he unzipped you out of your dress and let it fall to the floor. You had on white lace lingerie underneath and Sam gave your ass a light smack as you plopped down on the bed. He sat beside you with soft eyes.

“I can’t believe I get to call you my wife. Forever.”

You grin at him. “Forever baby. I love you.”

“I love you. You’re so beautiful. Ethereal even.”

“Don’t make me blush. Why don’t you get out of those clothes? Do a little strip for me.”

He smirks at you while starting to undress. “Your wish is my command. Happy wife, happy life right?”

You playfully roll your eyes. “Shut up and come here.”

**

The next morning you woke up next to your husband sleepy eyed and well rested. You glanced over and saw him sleeping peacefully bathed in sunlight, his arms still wrapped around you. You looked over at your ring sitting proudly on your finger and couldn’t help but smile. This was your life. He was your life. You would follow him to the ends of the Earth, and he would for you as well. You started to scoot over slightly and he subconsciously pulled you closer into him. You nuzzled into his chest, content to lay like this all morning as your breaths synched. It was a preview as to how your life would go.

You and Sam, moving together fluidly as one.

Forever.

***

Fin

[age-of-greta]

The Moon

The Moon represents illusion and deception, and therefore often suggests a time when something is not as it appears to be. Perhaps a misunderstanding on your part, or a truth you cannot admit to yourself.

Author’s note: hi!! Welcome to the LAST chapter of The Moon ahhh! Can’t believe we have finally made it, and I hope you guys love it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has read, liked, or interacted with this fic. Epilogue will be out either next week or the following. Stay tuned for a surprise at the end ;) enjoy!!

Pairing: Sam x reader & Jake x reader

Warnings: cursing, angst, sexual content, adult content, minors DNI

Word count: 6.5k

PART 13:

Lavender.

So calming and beautiful. It grows wild, with no care. Sprouting up wherever it pleases, leaving beautiful splashes of purple. Free, without conviction.

Something that was the opposite of how you felt at this moment. That’s what you chose to lather yourself in, lavender lotion, in some mediocre attempt to calm yourself down. A portion of you was full of dread and anxiety. Knowing whatever conversation would take place soon would be uncomfortable and upsetting. A part of you was fucking over it. You had been so sick over this and you were over feeling this way, vomiting anytime your brain would run. Then lastly, a small part of you was excited. He was here. He was back in your house. You glanced up at the mirror, your eyes were sunken. God you looked like shit. You wished you had known he was coming by, you would have cleaned and fixed up. You didn’t want him to know how pathetic you felt on the inside. In your mind, if you looked better and your house was neat, it would help Sam remember how you two lived here- happily. Instead you felt like a shell of a person inside of a house haunted by past times.

Sam sat in your living room patiently waiting for you. You had an instinct just to hide in your room rather than face him. You had told yourself a thousand times if you had only had a chance to speak with him you could make things right. You would know exactly what to say and everything would be okay.

That wasn’t the case in reality.

You rummaged around in your room for something to wear. What was the dress code for getting your heart re-broken? Your stomach swam with anxiety as you tried to piece together what exactly Jake could have said to him. Did he go into detail as to what happened between you two? Did he tell Sam what he told you? The possibilities seemed endless. Fuck. Focus. You stomped around your room eventually grabbing a large army green band tee with small holes in the bottom and a pair of black satin sleep shorts. Your hair was a sopping mess and there was bubble bath behind your ear. You scrunched your hair out with your towel a few times until it was no longer dripping, then ran a brush through it. Not your normal hair care routine, but it will do. Next your face, also fucked. You attempted to fluff out your lashes, but they had been destroyed with all of the crying. So you took a spoolie through them and at least had them all in the same direction. You slathered on a small amount of moisturizer, hoping it might make you look more human again. Then you threw on a pair of slippers and a spritz of body spray. It couldn’t help to smell good. Right? You stared at the wall for a few minutes before gaining the gall to venture out of your room. You felt like you were in a horror movie, walking through an eerie hallway before an impending jumpscare. But that feeling abandoned your chest when you saw the silhouette of the man you loved sitting on your couch. You froze in your tracks, taking in the outline that you hadn’t seen in days. You wanted to crawl into his lap and never leave. Before your mind could catch up your feet were moving again. You could feel your heart thudding in your chest as you entered the room and crossed your arms in a protective way.

“Hi.” You said, meekly. Hovering near him, afraid to move.

Sam saw you and looked somber. “Hi.” He replied. “Wanna sit?”

You nodded your head and took the chair, not wanting to invade his space.

Sam took in your choice and nodded back. You both sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, but it was hardly a minute. Then Sam spoke.

“You look sick. Do you need soup or medicine?”

There he was, thinking of you right before a difficult conversation. That sweet Sammy, your Sammy- well, at least he used to be.

You shake your head. “No. I’m not sick, just haven’t been holding up well I suppose.”

He chews his lip, as if biting his tongue. “I’m sorry. I haven’t either.” Another minute goes by full of silence before he speaks again. “I didn’t come here to fight or yell or scream. I just want the truth. Can we do that?”

Your stomach twists at his words. You nod your head.

Sam returns a nod and lets out a bated breath. “Can you tell me what happened? I don’t need or want details. Just a general idea.”

You want to throw up. You know each word will be like a tiny stab wound. “Do you really want to know?”

Sam nods.

You take a deep breath.

“Okay. So I guess it started the day you guys moved in. The bar that night, Jake was pretty handsy in the backseat. Uh, the first night I stayed over he kissed me in the kitchen. From there it was just flirting. When he stayed behind the weekend you three were out of town, we spent the day together. We went drinking, then we went back to the house and slept together. That was it.”

Sam closed his eyes for a few seconds before re-opening them. “Then what?”

You dreaded this part. It was going to sound bad no matter how you phrased it.

“Then we stopped all forms of communication, Jake did. He didn’t want to address what happened, so I confronted him about it on the camping trip. He told me he wasn’t ready for commitment. That’s not me saying I was ready to jump into a relationship with him. I was just so angry because the whole situation felt dirty.”

Sam sucks in his cheeks. “So the same trip that I kissed you for the first time was when you and Jake ended things?”

You let out a sigh. “Technically yes, you could say it like that. But Sam I need you to understand that since that night it’s been you I was focused on. Not Jake.”

He nods. “It’s just hard not to feel like I was a rebound.”

“You weren’t.” You try to state as convincingly as possible.

“You can see why it’s hard for me not to think that though, right?” Sam asks in a calm tone.

“Sam I have never felt things for anyone that I feel for you.” You choke out. “If you want more information, at the Fourth of July party when we showed up together Jake was pissed. He wanted me to end things with you and discuss him and I. I said no. It wasn’t the only time I told him that either. If my motive was to be with him I could have been. I wanted to be with you- I want to be with you Sammy. Just you.” You say, with a white hot blistering heat arising in your stomach.

Then you feel a wet sensation on your face. You just realized you were crying. Great, there goes your composure.

Sam looks over at you and the back at the floor, his hands fumbling with one another. You can’t quite see his entire face, but it looks like a slight grimace is plastered on his face.

“I don’t like seeing you cry.” Sam says, quietly.

“Sorry.” You say back, wiping tears from your face.

“Don’t apologize for your emotions.” He says looking back up at you. He huffs and clears his throat before continuing. “You know ever since we were kids I’ve had a crush on you. You were never afraid of anything yet always the most compassionate person in the room. You loved animals, music, reading, and adventure. I always saw stars when I looked at you. But when I would look at you, you would look at Jake. So I would look away in hopes of sparing my heart. I’m done looking away.”

You stare at him. Not entirely sure what he means in this situation.

“I tried to look for other people that made me see stars, but it was never the same. I chalked it up to childhood infatuation, but then the day we moved here I saw you; puffing a cigarette in your little gym clothes, hair up but still cascading down your back, skin sunkissed, a smile that could bring the heavens down to Earth. I remember just thinking fuck. Then I saw your face light up when you saw him. I continued to notice for weeks, but I looked away. Hoping that if you just gave me a chance, I could show you we were right. Then you gave it a chance, and everyday felt like a breath of fresh air. I thought it would work, but that doubt crept in and plagued my mind. Then it destroyed it. For me, it’s always been you. Perhaps it always will.” He pauses and collects himself before speaking again. “But for you, it’s always going to be Jake. And I can’t do it. As much I want to, as much as I love you. I can’t bare having you by me while taking stolen glances at my brother.”

You feel like a hot knife has been plunged into your heart and twisted. “You’re wrong Sam. You’re so wrong.”

He takes a deep breath and looks at you with kind eyes. You know it’s over, but you can’t help but try to salvage this.

“It’s you. It’s you Sammy. You’re my person, you’re who I love. I don’t want him, I want you. I want you in the mornings when I wake up and in the evenings when I lay down. I want you, all of you for the rest of my days. And I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry that I kept that from you. I regret it immensely.”

He starts to speak, but you cut him off. “But fuck how many times do I have to tell you?” Your voice starts to pitch higher. “I love you! I want you, I want us. It’s us or nothing for me. I know you must feel shitty right now. I can’t even imagine how awful you feel. But you know what we had, what we have is real. If it wasn’t I would be fighting as hard as I am. You mentioned childhood infatuation? Yeah that was Jake. But in regards to who I love? That’s you Sam, it’s always going to be you.”

He looks at you, still contemplating thoughts. He blinks away the threat of tears. “Are you sure?”

You nod while another tear creeps down your cheek. “Yes I am.”

He takes another breath. “Are you entirely sure? If not, I’m giving you an out here.”

You stand up out of the chair, your legs are more wobbly than you thought they would be. You make your way to the couch and sit down beside him, still giving him an ample amount of space.

“My mind isn’t going to change. I don’t want an out. I want an in.” You extend your hand out and try to take his hand. To your surprise he obliged.

“Okay.” He says quietly.

Your head is spinning. “Okay?” You ask, unsure.

He sniffles and looks up at you and nods.

“I’m sorry.” You say quietly.

“Me too.” He responds, rubbing his thumb over your hand.

Your brain feels like it has shut off. You have no idea what to take away from this situation. You both told each other that you loved the other, you were certain Sam was breaking up with you, but now here you sit in comfortable silence- hand in hand.

“Sam?” You ask, mustering up the courage to speak.

He hums in response.

“So what is it exactly that made you come here? I tried to contact you for days, I even went to your house.”

Sam paused for a moment. “I know.” He says, collecting his thoughts. “I needed solitude. I wanted to try and clear my head. I shut off my phone and only turned it on for meetings. I went to this run down hotel, it was the first place we had ever stayed in Nashville when we played here years ago. Honestly I would probably still be there sulking if Jake hadn't come.”

You flinch slightly at that name leaving his mouth.

“He practically banged down the door. And the first thing he says to me is:

‘Are you fucking stupid?’

Then he marched in my room and proceeded to chew my ass for a while. At first I didn’t want to hear anything from him. His presence pissed me off. But after a while of arguing and yelling, we spoke amicably. It’s probably for the best that it was a run down hotel, if it were anywhere else the cops would have been called.”

You nod your head. “What did he say?”

He takes a breath. “He told me that you had come to the house looking for me and you were a fucking wreck. He told me it was blatantly obvious that I was who you wanted and you made that clear to him. He said you would always be the one who got away for him, but he wouldn’t stand in the way of our relationship because he loves us.” Sam clears his throat before continuing. “To be completely honest, that was hard to hear. I thought by taking the ignorance is bliss approach I could spare myself, that was incorrect. All this time I chose to ignore my suspicions rather than confront them. So that’s why I came here. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I knew I wanted to give you an out. If you wanted him you could have him. I guess I just wanted to see if he was being honest or trying to mend our relationship.”

You squeezed his hand at the end of that sentence.

“I should have told you.” You said, lightly.

He sighed. “I understand why you didn’t.”

It’s quiet for a few moments before Sam looks back up at you. His caramel eyes make your heart melt. “I missed you, a lot.”

“I missed you too.” You say, starting to choke up.

Sam notices your impending tears again and pulls your body into his. He embraces you and immediately all tension leaves your body. He’s warm and smells so good, just as you remembered. No, better than you remembered. His hand wraps in your hair stroking your scalp ever so lightly. You both lay like that, embraced with one another for at least ten minutes. You don’t dare move and neither does he. Just staying there in each other's arms, breaths syncing, hearts beating as one.

Finally, you break the stillness and glance up at him. The hurt, pain, and dullness is gone; now replaced by admiration, warmness, and love. He finally looked like Sam again, your Sam. The heat in your chest began to spread as he glanced from your eyes to your lips. You wanted nothing more in this moment than to feel his warm plump lips on yours again. You were aching for it, but you didn’t want to be the one to instigate it just in case he still had reservations. He took his hand out of your hand and lightly gripped your face, taking his thumb and grazing it over your jawline. You melted at his touch. He slowly took his thumbs and dragged it across your lips, leaving little trails of fireworks wherever his flesh touched yours. You couldn’t help but look up at him in pure awe. Slowly and finally, Sam reached down and connected your lips. This caused a blast of sensation to wash through your whole body. The kiss was slow but intentional. Full of passion and unspoken promises. The urgency for one another began to seep in shortly after. You brought your hand up and laced your fingers lightly in his hair. This caused a light moan to spill out into your mouth, which you swallowed greedily. You would like to hear that sound everyday for the rest of your life. Sam’s hands ran up and down your body as if he were discovering it for the first time all over again. In a swift motion Sam was up and lifted you barely breaking the kiss. His hands were locked under your thighs as you wrapped your legs tightly around him. Muscle memory had seemed to have taken over as he effortlessly made way into your bedroom. He paused slightly to lay you down before his mouth was on yours again. Once he was hovering over you, you felt more emboldened and slipped your tongue into his mouth. You were greeted with his and the kisses grew from passionate to needy. You needed Sam in every way and he needed you. You were panting like a dog in the summertime, trying to keep up with him. The adrenaline coursing through your veins felt better than any drug could. Sam pulled away from you first and began kissing down your neck.

“I love you.” You whispered, breathless.

He came up and stared down at you. “I love you, beyond words.”

He returned to your neck, making a line of kisses. “In fact there are no words to describe how much I love you. So I’ll just have to show you.”

He nipped at your collarbone after he spoke that last sentence which caused a high pitched whine to erupt from your throat. He continued to make his way lower and lower. He helped you out of your shirt and slid your shorts down your legs before removing his shirt as well. He wasted no time as his kisses met your core. You whipped your head back into the bed and clenched the sheets for dear life. When he added fingers you were done for, all you could do was moan. Despite his absence Sam still knew your body, memorizing every trigger and curve. Tonight he had no reservations as he devoured you like you were the last supper, and he was your savior. You were nearing the end, but he didn’t slow his relentless pace. Normally, he would ease you into it, but right now he was plunging you over the edge. You arched your back and gripped strands of his chocolate brown locks as if they were the only thing keeping you on this Earth. You whined his name, but it dripped like sweet honey as those familiar syllables danced off your tongue. Euphoria engulfed your whole body and you swear you saw stars.

“Fuck.” Sam muttered, watching what you could only imagine was a sight to behold.

Hearing his voice brought you back down to Earth, grounding your consciousness. But he wasn’t done with you. He made his way back up to your mouth, kissing you so that you could taste yourself on his tongue. You tugged at his shorts as your mouths moved rhythmically around each other. You palmed over him to feel him unbelievably stiff, just as needy as you were. You breathed heavily into each other’s mouths as he slid his member around your entrance. No words spoken, just eye contact and breathy moans. In that moment, you decided it was the most erotic experience you had ever had. It was more than just fucking, you were making love. He slipped into you with ease, letting out an animalistic moan as he sunk into you. Your eyes rolled back, finally having him inside of you again felt like home.

“So beautiful.” He cooed into your ear while sloppily kissing your jaw. “All mine baby. You’re mine.” He continued with vigorous thrusts.

“Yours Sammy. I’m yours.” You moaned back, as he continued to bury his face in your neck.

He was rapidly becoming undone. You wrapped your legs around his torso deepening his thrusts. Sam wrapped his left hand around your wrist before moving it up and lancing his fingers with yours. You both moaned as one, trying to get as close to each other as physically possible. It felt as if you were coated in ecstasy, a constant orgasm if you will. Sam’s breath was ragged as he tried to delay the inevitable just to get you there one more time. You hadn’t recovered from the first orgasm, you definitely weren’t ready for the second, but you were about to give it to him.

“Sammy.” You whined out. “So close baby.”

He groaned at that. “Together?”

You nodded feverishly as you began to feel that burning sensation come to a boil. Then, a release like no other. You felt all worry and anxiety drain from your body as an indescribable pleasurable sensation took over. You saw white, and for a moment you thought maybe you had entered some sort of afterlife until a light kiss on your shoulder brought you back into reality. You fluttered your eyes open to see him there looking like an angelic mess. Sweat dripped down his face and his hair stuck to it, breathing heavily, trembling, looking at you in a way you had never seen before. You both stayed there for a few minutes until he gave you a final kiss and rolled off of you. Your whole body was damp. You weren’t sure what was sweat and what was saliva, honestly you didn’t care. You felt absolved. Born again. Right where you needed to be. Sam grabbed you and pulled you close to him, burying his nose into your hair. You could still feel his heart beating rapidly.

“I love you.” He whispered into your ear.

“I love you too.” You responded in another whisper.

For the first time in days you felt okay again and for the first time in years you felt alive. You never wanted to leave your bed, but eventually Sam got you up and in a shower together. You shared laughs, tears, kisses, and time together that had been missed. That night you laid in your bed beside one another clinging to each other. You never wanted to let go, and you never would again.

**

“Have you seen my tie?” Sam yelled from your room, his voice borderline frantic.

“It’s on the dresser babe. I steamed it for you.” You replied, casually flipping through channels.

He was then quick on his heels retreating to the room. He came back out a few minutes later, straightening his tie and smoothing his pleated white shirt.

“How do I look?” he asked, his eyes meeting yours for affirmation.

You smirked at him. “Quite dapper.”

He grins at you. “I love you. I’ll see you soon. Make sure you text me when your car is close and I’ll come out and get you.” He says, placing a kiss on your head.

“Sir yes sir.” You say, giving a salute.

He playfully rolls his eyes at you. “Keep talking like that and we won’t make it to this party.”

You giggled at his innuendo. “Okay, okay go before you’re late. Be safe, love you.”

He gave you the same salute before heading out of the door.

It had been three weeks since you and Sam had gotten back together. In all honesty, things fell back into normalcy somewhat quickly. Margo was right when she said it before, you were obsessed with each other. Neither one of you cared who knew that. You were happy beyond words. A week after your reunification you and Sam had dinner at their house. Danny and Josh had no idea what had happened, but you got the feeling they knew that something happened. Jake was extremely reserved, which was unlike him in almost every way. You were sure that Josh noticed, with that strange twin telepathy thing they have. But poor Danny seemed oblivious. It had gone well, Jake and Sam didn’t interact much. Jake barely looked at you, but you could feel his eyes on you whenever he thought no one was looking. You could tell by the seldom glances that you did share, he wanted to speak to you. But you both remained content with a subtle nod. The truth was you loved Sam, more than anything. But, deep down you would always feel something for Jake. You would never dare say that outloud, but you assumed Jake felt a similar way. It didn’t matter though, as Sam was who you wanted- forever.

Today there was a big studio meeting followed by a party. The boys had to be there early for photos and contract signing. You would be meeting them there in a few hours. You were beyond excited to surprise Sam with how you would look. It had been all you could think about for the last week. You had meticulously planned every detail. Given the past few weeks, you thought this is exactly what your relationship needed; an excuse to dress up and further the infatuation with one another. Sam looked fantastic when he left. He wore a silver suit with black velvet loafers and a black pocket square. His hair framed his face perfectly, so long and pretty. You almost wished you had taken a picture of him just for yourself, one you would never share with the world.

About thirty minutes after he had left you had decided to go ahead and start getting ready. You put on a Pink Floyd record and began your long journey of getting ready. First, you took an everything shower and scrubbed your skin of all impurities before drenching yourself in shower oil. Then let your skin and hair air dry as you applied various creams and serums to your face. You partially blow dried your hair, putting the rest up so you could focus on makeup. You went with a classic look with a seventies flair; brown cat look eyeliner, brown shadow to define your eyes, extra lashes, full coverage face, layers of bronzer, and warm pink blush matched with a pink glossy lip. You were impressed with how it all came out. You danced around your kitchen as you prepared a glass of warm tea, you still had at least another hour and a half before you had to leave. As you steeped your tea, your phone began to ring. You looked down, it was Margo.

“Hi.” You said in a cheery tone.

She laughed. “Hi. It’s strange hearing you sound like you’re an optimist.”

“Lots of things to be optimistic about Margo.” You retort.

She scoffs. “Yeah like what? How many ways Sam is going to fuck you tonight once he sees that little dress you bought?”

You let out a laugh. “So vulgar! That’s not lady-like.”

“Mhm. I take it your look is going well then?” She asks.

“Better.” You respond. “I still have quite a while to go though.”

“Somehow that doesn't surprise me.” She snarks. “I’m just now leaving the hair salon, so I’ll probably be late. I know that doesn’t surprise you either.”

“Nope.” You respond in a teasing tone.

“Alright well I’ll see you tonight then. Save some champagne for me.”

Then you get off the phone to continue your getting ready process. You had called Margo to come over once your dress came in to get her opinion, she had said you looked like a “slutty Aubrey Plaza in the best way possible.” Whatever that meant.

You added a few lengthening hair extensions and put light curls in the ends, then added volumizing spray to your roots. You opened your closet and pulled out a black bag you had been trying to hide from Sam. He had offered to take you dress shopping, but you declined telling him that you would find something in your closet to wear. That’s when this little plan of yours was born. You took the garments out and began to place them on your body. It was a very short, very tight, black bodycon dress with black feathers lining the top. It came with matching black gloves also lined with black feathers at the top. You rolled on a pair of black sheer tights, knowing that Sam would probably rip them off of you as soon as you stepped foot back in this house. Then you put on a pair of black chunky heels that strap around the ankle. To accessorize, you put on a Vivenne Westwood pearl necklace with a small planet attached at the middle with matching slightly oversized pearl earrings. You practically drowned yourself in Gucci Guilty perfume, spraying it on every inch of your body that you could reach. You glanced at yourself in the mirror and smiled. It’s easy to be so negative when looking at yourself, that was something you had always struggled with. But being with Sam gave you a new confidence you had never had before, which is why you stood before this mirror staring at yourself. Right on cue, Sam had texted you saying that your car should be pulling up any minute. You grabbed your small black clutch and threw in some essentials before heading outside. A black Escalade was waiting at your door. The driver rolled down his window. “Picking up for Mr. Sam Kiszka?”

“That’s me.” You stated, walking forward.

The driver hastily got out and opened the door for you. Then you were off. The venue wasn’t too far, but traffic sucked as always which delayed your arrival. You felt excitement swirl around in your stomach as you neared a familiar street.

About to pull up!

You texted your boyfriend.

You caught a glimpse of him almost immediately. He was standing outside waiting for you, hands in his pocket. He walked up to the car before it was even fully stopped and gripped the handle. Once it was safe for you to exit, the door opened and his hand was extended to you. You threw your legs to the side and took his hand, stepping out of the car. His face was priceless as he gawked at you, eyes scanning you up and down.

“Jesus fuck.” He said, barely above a whisper.

“All good Mr. Kiszka?” The driver suddenly asked.

Sam cleared his throat. “Mhm yes. Thank you Langston.”

Sam took your hand and led you towards the entrance, stopping just before you got to the doors.

“Goddamn baby. You look fucking gorgeous.” Sam said, giving you a little spin.

You giggled. “Thank you Sammy. You clean up nice as well.”

He bit his lip at that familiar pet name and pulled you closer. “From your closet huh?” He says, giving your ass a light grip.

“Maybe, maybe not. Just wait until you see what’s under it.” You said with a wink.

Sam groaned. “Such a tease. Come on, let's go drop some jaws.”

Sam took your hand and led you inside, where all eyes were on you two. You noticed the group tucked away in the corner. Typical. Josh and Margo were chatting, she had already beaten you here. Danny and Jake were eating little shrimps from a bowl.

“Holy shit!” Margo nearly yelled when she saw you. “God bless, look at you!” She said embracing you.

You laughed at her. “No, holy shit to you! Look at this hair. So pink and shiny.” You said, playing around with her freshly pink curls.

“Hm should we kiss?’ She jokes.

“I’ll veto that one.” Sam says with a laugh.

“I, however, am completely for you two kissing.” Josh says poking fun at Sam. “Hi beautiful.” He says embracing you.

“You look nice. I’m happy someone else in the family got the good looks besides me.” Danny retorts, half hugging you.

“If only you got the humor too.” You said with a sigh. This garnered a snicker from Sam.

You turned your head and caught Jake taking all of you in. It was like he was fighting demons trying to rip his eyes off of you. Finally he gave you a small smile and nodded.

“Hi.” Was all he said.

You returned the small smile. “Hi.”

Then you felt Sam wrap his arm around your waist. “Wanna grab a drink?”

You nodded. “Yes please.”

You two ended up at the bar ordering two glasses of champagne. While you were there you met a few executives and friends in the industry. Sam introduced you as “my girlfriend” which made your heart skip a beat or two. It wasn’t all sunshines and rainbows. Every now and then you would catch a cold stare from a few girls in the room. You chalked it up to being hot and dating a rockstar, but you wish you could say it didn’t bother you. Which became a big realization to you that night, there would always be people who hated you because of who you were dating. But for Sam that was a risk you were more than willing to take. You couldn’t think of much that you wouldn’t do for him.

“It feels good, you know.” Sam said, smiling a toothy grin behind his champagne glass.

You furrowed your brows at him. “What?”

“Being able to show you off like this. Introduce you as mine. It’s always been a fantasy of mine, now a reality.”

You bat your eyelashes at him. “We know how good I am at fulfilling your fantasies huh Sammy?”

He smirks at you. “Naughty girl.”

You laugh and tip back your champagne glass.

“I’m going to run to the bathroom really quickly. Are you good here?” He asks.

You nod your head. “What are you going to be doing in there?”

He lets out a quick laugh. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it, multiple times. But there are too many people here.”

He gives you a wink and heads towards the bathroom while you giggle to yourself. You stand at the bar and turn towards the bartender to go ahead and order you and Sam another round. Then you feel a familiar presence beside you. Jake.

“More champagne?” He asks, tilting back the dark liquor in his cup.

You nod, but don’t speak. Jake grabs the bartenders attention. “One glass of champagne and one whiskey on the rocks.”

“Two glasses of champagne please.” You interject.

The bartender nods and gets to work.

“Ah yeah.” Jake says, finishing his drink. “You look nice.”

You glance around half expecting to see Sam walking back towards you.

“Thank you.” You say, in a calm tone.

“Are you having fun tonight?” He asked, fidgeting around with the rim of his glass.

You nod your head. “Yes I am. Are you?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Oh yeah. The best. Love the ambiance here.”

You let out a small laugh at his sarcasm, then turn your head once more looking for Sam.

“He’ll be a minute Birdie. I saw him head to the bathroom the same time one of the most talkative execs were.”

You chewed on your lip. You didn’t want to seem rude to Jake, but you also didn’t want to give Sam any reason to be upset as things were finally looking up.

The bartender sat down your drinks and Jake handed you your two glasses. “Don’t wanna bother you. Just wanted to say you look nice and it was good to see you. Have a good night.”

Before you could respond he takes his glass of whiskey and slinks away into the crowd. It was the last time you saw him that night.

Sam came back to you a few minutes later. By then you had already downed your second glass of champagne.

“Someone’s thirsty.” Sam said, eyeing your glass.

You laughed it off. “It’s good champagne.”

Sam never said anything about it, but he saw you and Jake speaking.

You spent the rest of the night waltzing around with Sam, saying hellos to people you had never seen before. Then you tucked away in the corner with Josh and Margo. Danny and Jake had left already, Josh wanted to, but didn’t want to seem impolite.

“Can we go yet?” Sam asked Josh. “We’ve been here for hours.”

Josh nods. “Yeah I suppose. But we need to say our goodbyes and not sneak out like the other two jackasses.”

“Should we get pizza?” Margo asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

Josh smiled at her. “That’s a delightful idea. Birdie? Sam?”

You grab Sam’s hand. “We’re in.”

Josh clapped his hand. “Hot dog! Well ladies, let’s stroll out of here and say goodbyes. Pepperoni pizza is calling my name.”

“How about cheese?” Sam asks, with humor in his tone.

Josh fake groaned. “You two kill me. Fine, I guess cheese will suffice.”

Then Josh takes Margo’s arm while Sam takes your hand and guides you towards the entrance. You two ended up walking a few blocks to a 24 hour pizza joint that served you the greasiest pizza ever. Nonetheless, it was still a night to remember. It felt good to feel normal again. Laughing with Josh, Margo, and Sam. When you went your separate ways Sam grabbed his car from the valet and took you home. He promptly removed your clothing as soon as you stepped inside and you two finished the night eating ice cream on your couch wrapped in just blankets.

You studied him, watching some old horror movie enthralled while mindlessly tracing small circles on your thighs. It was dark, but he was illuminated by the moonlight cascading through your bay windows. After a few minutes, he took notice of you studying him.

“What?” He asked, scrunching up his nose.

You smiled and shook your head. “Nothing. You’re just so pretty.”

He laughed at you. “Not as pretty as you, my love.”

He pulled you into his chest and gave you a light kiss on the top of your head, continuing the small circles but this time on your back. He was so warm and you took in the scent on his skin. It was both of you. Us. You thought as you inhaled deeply. It wasn’t long until you were almost lulled to sleep, right in his arms. Somewhere you would stay, day or night. 10 minutes or 10 years. Until your last breath left your chest. You smiled to yourself at that thought. It wasn’t a bad way to live a good life.

You had heard stories about the Sun loving the Moon so much that every night the Sun would die to give the Moon life. Then the process repeated for the Moon to die in order for the Sun to rise again.

You were the Sun and Sam was The Moon.

Always giving life to one another, rising and falling for each other. Bringing light and dark into full cohesion.

For without the Sun there would be no warmth; and without the Moon there would be no stars.

You quite liked the stars.

**

• thank you for reading!!! new fic coming end of August :)

[age-of-greta]

The Moon

The Moon represents illusion and deception, and therefore often suggests a time when something is not as it appears to be. Perhaps a misunderstanding on your part, or a truth you cannot admit to yourself.

Author’s note: hi!! Welcome back to the moon! I’m sorry this chapter is a little, short but the next one will be meaty, I promise. Speaking of, we have ONE more chapter left, then an epilogue. Ah!! I’m leaving the country for vacation today(6/12), so please be patient for the next two parts :) As always, all parts will be posted on Wednesday at midnight est. I proofread, but typos happen. Thank you all SO much for following along. Enjoy!!

Paring: Sam x reader & Jake x reader

Warnings: angst af, cursing

Word count: 2.3k

PART 12:

127 hours.

No not the shitty movie with James Franco, that’s how long it’s been since you had seen Sam.

You’ve called him countless times, but he hasn’t picked up. You hadn’t texted him. What would you say? You hadn’t reached out to Danny. You didn’t want him to know. Of course you hadn’t texted Jake either. You didn’t want Sam to think any worse than he already does. You were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Okay so kind of like 127 hours.

You had barely left your place. It hurt, fuck it hurt. You knew you cared about Sam… a lot. But now it was evident that you loved him. You couldn’t even tell him. You think back to that day often. Part of you wishes you would have deleted the text messages. Part of you wishes you would have just told Sam from the beginning. You remember the giddiness you felt when you saw that text from Jake. That spark of excitement now felt like disgust sitting in your stomach. It wasn’t until Sam was gone, that you realized you didn’t want Jake anymore. You wanted Sam. That was a hard pill to swallow. It shouldn’t have taken this to happen to appreciate what you had, but often that’s how it works. You were completely at odds on how to handle this situation. If you showed up on his doorstep, they would all be aware of the situation. Even worse, what if Sam kicked you out? That scenario made you want to claw your eyes out. But the other option wasn’t working. You’ve called and called, he won’t answer. The last option was the worst. Give up? That didn’t seem possible to you. You had to talk to Sam. But before, you needed advice. You had rotted in your bed for long enough. You needed Margo. You shakily pulled out your phone and dialed her number.

“Hello?” She answered after a few rings.

“Hi.” You start. “Can you come over please.”

Margo laughs. “About time I heard from you. Are you and Sam trying to have a threesome? If so, I'm sorry to say I’m not into it.”

You flinch at hearing his name.

“You there?” She asks.

You swallow thickly. “Yes. Sorry, can you just please come over?” Your voice breaks.

“Honey what’s wrong? Are you okay? You know what fuck it. Yes. Yes. I’m coming. I’ll be there in twenty.”

You hang up and wipe tears from your eyes. You should probably clean up a little. You threw your bedding in the wash and took a quick shower. By the time you got out and dressed Margo was pounding on your front door.

“Hey, fuck, are you okay?” She says, taking your face in her hands.

You nod, but tears begin to well. You hated crying in front of people. It was so embarrassing.

“What happened?” Margo asked, sitting you on the couch with her.

“It’s all so fucked.” You say, wiping tears from your eyes. “I had sex with Jake.”

Margo looks at you almost bewildered. “What?”

“It was before Sam and I. It happened once. I didn’t tell Sam and he found out because Jake sent me a stupid fucking text.”

Margo puffs out. “Fuck.”

She remains quiet and then pushes her faded pink hair behind her ears. “How long was it before you and Sam?”

“I dunno. Maybe a couple of weeks?” You say.

Margo takes a deep breath. “Okay you know I love you. But I’m about to hit you with a hard truth. First, I know you care deeply about Sam. But also, I can see that you feel the same way about Jake. I’ve known that since the first time I was around you two.” She pauses for a moment. “I guess it might be hard to perceive that you’re all in on Sam. I mean you guys fucked and you didn’t tell anyone. If that were just a casual thing you would have spilled. It feels like there needs to be some self-reflection or closure there.”

You swallow hard at her words.

“But Margo I-.” You pause and collect yourself. “Yes. I had been in love with Jake since I can remember. Yes. We had sex. Yes. Jake hurt me. But that has nothing to do with my feelings for Sam. I didn’t anticipate Sam and I to be anything. It just happened. Now I wouldn’t trade it for the world, not even Jake.”

She looks at you blankly. “Have you told him that?”

You shake your head. “I haven’t had the chance. He won’t return my calls.”

She pinches the bridge of her nose. “You haven’t gone to his house.”

“No, absolutely not. I can’t face the rest of them.”

She sighs. “Babe, you’re going to have to. If you want Sam to know how you feel, you have to tell him. It doesn’t matter what the rest of them think.”

You take a breath. She was right. Fuck.

“You know I’m right.” She chimes in.

You nod.

“Well let’s go then.” Margo says, getting up.

You furrow your brows at her. “What?”

“Go clean yourself up and go see Sam.” She says calmly.

You make a face. “But Margo I-“

“Shhh!” She holds up her finger. “No more excuses. If you want him you have to go get him.”

You swallow thickly and nod your head.

It was time to go and get your man.

**

You sat in your car for twelve minutes. Staring at the front door. It was hot outside, but your blood ran cold. Your stomach was in knots going over every scenario in your head. You had never felt more anxious in your life. Margo had made you throw on shorts, a t-shirt, concealer and bronzer to make you look somewhat normal. Your hair was a mess but at least it was clean. You took a sip of water and shut your car off. You padded to the front door and prayed to god Sam would be the one to open it. You knocked and waited. Waited for what felt like 100 years. Finally the doorknob began to twitch and a sharp pain ran through your whole body. But it dissipated when you saw who was behind the door. Jake.

“Uh hey Birdie. What’s up?” He asked.

“Is Sam here?” You managed to speak out.

Jake gave you a strange look. “What?”

Fuck. Did he tell everyone already? Did he tell them that you two are over? Your mind begins to run a million miles per second, but it comes to a halt when Jake speaks again.

“What do you mean? We figured he’s been with you?” Jake asks, brows knitted together.

“He hasn’t been home?” You ask, with slight panic.

Jake shakes his head. “Not since he came and got mason jars and cucumbers.”

You feel like you're going to pass out. Was he okay?

“Hey.” Jake says, taking your arm. “Come inside.”

Your body mindless follows Jake as he takes you to the kitchen and sits you down at the island, grabbing a bottle of water for you.

“He’s okay, you know. He’s been calling into meetings. Josh has been quite hard on him because he hasn’t been there in person. We thought he was just shacked up with you.” Jake says lightly.

He’s okay. Thank god. You nod at Jake.

Jake chews on his lip. “Are you okay?”

You let out a deep breath. “No.”

Jake cautiously moves closer to you. “What happened?”

You stare up at him before responding.

“He found out we fucked Jake.” You say flatly. “He saw those stupid fucking text messages.”

Jake freezes and makes a face. “Shit.”

“Yeah.” You say, sniffling back a few tears.

“I’m sorry.” Jake says quietly. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“I know.” You reply.

Jake looks over at you conflicted. “Did he end things? If he did he would be fucking stupid.”

You shook your head. “I dunno. He said he needed time. That was almost a week ago. I haven’t heard from him.”

Jake places a hand gently on your back and you flinch.

“Jake.” You start feeling a slight panic at his touch.

“What?” He asks, removing his hand.

“We have to hash this shit out. This is what has and is hindering Sam and I.” You start. “It’s fucked. Sam is absolutely in the right to feel the way he does.”

Jake furrows his brows at you. “No he isn’t. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I didn’t tell him. I started our relationship without trust and-“ You pause and run your fingers through your hair. “I entertained it. I thought about the what-ifs with you even though I was happy with Sam.”

Jake looks down at the floor. “That’s my fault. I should have let you go.”

You take a breath. “A lot happened and we never got closure.”

Jake looked back up at you with tender eyes. “Let me give you closure then. Birdie, I love you. I’ve loved you since we were kids.” He pauses and thinks before speaking. “I’m fucking selfish. You were right, I wanted you and the world. I didn’t treat you like my priority- Sam did. I can see that you love Sam and I want you to be happy. If Sam is who you want, I will not get in the way anymore. I promise.”

You feel tears welling in your eyes. “I do. I love him. I want him for the rest of my life Jake. But I’m not sure he wants me anymore.” You say starting to choke up.

Jake takes in the sting of your words but keeps his poker face. “That’s not true. Sam is crazy about you. Just give it some time, he will come around.”

You wipe a tear from your face. “Yeah. Hopefully.”

Jake stares at you for a moment. “Do you think we can still be in each other’s lives? I don’t want to live in a world without Birdie.”

You stiffen a laugh. “One thing at a time. But I don’t think I want to live in a world without Jake Kiszka either.”

He smiles at you. “Okay.”

You stayed there for a few moments longer producing minimal small talk before leaving. You felt slightly better hashing things out with Jake. You knew no matter what happened with Sam, you would never venture down that road with Jake. It was Sam or nothing now. That clarity and closure felt good. The only problem was, you still hadn’t heard from Sam.

**

It was now Sunday. Still no word from Sam. In a way you had come to some sort of devastating peace. It was hard to navigate your emotions. Margo didn’t want to leave your side, but you wanted to be alone. It gave you a lot of time to think, even though your head felt like a jumbled madhouse. You took things day by day. Sometimes you would think or see a reminder of Sam, cry, then continue on with your day. Others you didn’t want to get out of bed. Grief isn’t linear. That’s what was occurring, grief. Today had been somewhat positive. You made breakfast, cleaned your house, did laundry, and even made it to the gym. That productivity bug had died now, but it was Sunday. So you drew yourself a warm bath and made a warm cup of tea to drink. You stripped down and poured in bubble bath. Then lit a candle and turned off the lights. You stepped into the bath and sunk down as the warm water engulfed you. It was hard to feel anything other than contentment at the moment. When the water began to cool off, you drained some and refilled it with hot water. You then did that about two more times. Unable to fathom leaving the bath. You were unsure of how much time had passed but you guessed it was night by now. The thought of staying in your bathtub all night had crossed your mind, but you decided against it. Ten more minutes, you thought to yourself as you closed your eyes. Then you heard a strange sound, almost like someone was in your kitchen. You stayed still and listened, then nothing. Your mind was playing tricks on you. At times your imagination could run wild. Just as you had convinced yourself it was nothing you heard another sound, this one closer.

Could it be Margo? No. She would have announced herself.

Your heartbeat began to pick up as countless thoughts swam through your mind. Before you could formulate somewhat of a plan, your door knob twisted. Unable to think, you sank down deeper in your tub, hoping that whoever or whatever was on the other side of the door wouldn’t see you. The door opened and fear spread through your body, but it quickly subsided when you saw a familiar shape.

Were you dreaming? Did you accidentally drown in the tub and this is your brain's way of processing?

The figure stood there looking directly at you. You didn’t dare move.

“Sam?” You said in a near whisper.

“Hi.” He said quietly. “I let myself in.”

You were completely flabbergasted as to what to say to him. So you just said: “That’s okay.”

“Would you mind meeting me in the living room when you’re finished?” He asked.

You nodded. He began to close the door. “Wait- Sam.”

He popped his head back in.

You bit your lip before speaking. “Why are you here? I’m glad to see you, but after days of no contact I didn’t think we would speak again.”

Sam sighed a little. “Yeah.” He says running fingers through his long hair. “I talked to Jake.”

***

[age-of-greta]

where is the next chapter of the moon im on the edge of my seat!!

I’m finishing it up now!!! I’m going to have it scheduled to be posted this Wednesday at midnight EST, but I’ll be out of the country so I hope it works! After this one, I’m pretty sure there will be one more chapter and an epilogue. Thank you so much for following along :)

[age-of-greta]

bestie i absolutely love the moon, it’s such a good fic the last chapter just broke me!!!

omg hehe thank you!! It means so much when you guys say things like this about the fics 🫶🏼

[age-of-greta]

The Moon

The Moon represents illusion and deception, and therefore often suggests a time when something is not as it appears to be. Perhaps a misunderstanding on your part, or a truth you cannot admit to yourself.

Author’s note: hi!! welcome back to The Moon! This chapter is… a lot! Get ready. Anyway, no posting schedule, but all parts will be uploaded on Wednesdays at midnight est. There are only a few chapters left, but I’m unsure when it will get wrapped up as I will be on vacation soon. Just bare with me! Enjoy this chapter :)

Pairing: Sam x reader & Jake x reader

Warnings: alcohol consumption, language, adult content, sexual situations, angst

Word count: 4.6k

PART 11:

The threat of cooler air began to creep in. That’s the first thing you noticed as you sat out on your porch. It was still summertime, but you noticed the warmth had begun to fade ever so slightly. That was the opposite of how you felt. It had been a few weeks since the Fourth of July party. You and Sam were incredibly solid. You were blissfully happy. He made you laugh until your stomach twisted. He made you smile until your cheeks were numb. He made you grip the sheets until your knuckles turned white. He gave you butterflies everyday. But there was still a twinge of doubt deep down in you. You two had never been tested. You didn’t fight. The secret you had been keeping about you and Jake loomed over you like a dark cloud. You had thought about telling him, but could never muster up the courage to say those words to him. The thought of his face twisting up in hurt made you physically ill. The thought of him leaving you over it was unbearable. So you decided you would just keep it bottled up, like a curse.

“Are you ready for tonight?” A beautiful voice asked as he sat down next to you on your patio.

You sighed. “I guess so. We haven’t been out in so long it feels a bit foreign. Are we old?”

Sam laughed. “No, we aren't old Birdie. I do get the sentiment though. However I have an inkling that once you get a few tequila sodas in you that social butterfly will bloom.”

You scoffed. “I’m embarrassing when I’m drunk.”

Sam makes a face at you. “You are not. You’re cute, and I cannot wait to see her tonight.” He says giving your cheek a light pinch.

You giggle and swat his hand away. “Yeah yeah. If you plan on showering you better go now. I have so much to do tonight.”

Sam sucks in breath. “Ooh sounds like I’m in for a treat. Not sure I can wait. Want to come jump in the shower with me?”

You playfully roll your eyes. “Go!”

Sam holds up his hands while chuckling as he heads back inside.

You two were going out with the rest of the gang. Which will be the first time you’ve all been out in a while. As well as the first time you’ve been out as a couple. That means you would be seeing Jake. Truthfully, you hadn’t seen or spoken to Jake much. A part of you mourned the friendship you once had. Sam had been staying with you for the majority of the time. You two often did things with Danny. You two had gone out to lunch with Josh, but had done nothing with Jake. You wondered if Sam or the other two had picked up on the shift. It was hard not to. Before you all were going out it was decided that you and Sam would come over for dinner then Uber to the bars after. You sat in the middle of your bedroom wrapped in a towel trying to figure out an appropriate outfit for both. You finally decided on a mini black dress with sheer puffy sleeves. It was a loose puffy dress and dipped down slightly low, but it wasn’t too much. You put it on and grabbed a pair of lacy heels to tie around your calf. After, you did a full face and took a while with your hair placing curls and fluffing. Then added jewelry and perfume before presenting yourself to Sam.

“Ready?” He said, still glancing down at his computer. He must have been working while you were getting ready.

“I think so.” You said back.

“Oh goddamn.” He said when he looked up. “Babe you look fucking incredible. Wow.”

You smiled at him and twisted your hair. “Thank you Sammy.”

He let out a breath. “You’re killing me. I’ve changed my mind. I’m taking you into that bedroom and we aren’t coming out.”

“Don’t tempt me with a good time.” You say batting your eyelashes.

Sam smiles at you and groans. “Fuck.”

You laugh. “We really should be going though Sammy. We’re going to be late.”

Sam nods his head. “You’re right, although being late is on time for us.”

**

When you got to their house they were still cooking. They had made chicken carbonara and some “vegetarian bullshit” which is how Danny put it, for you and Sam. It smelled good. Jake was in the kitchen breaking a sweat over the hot stove, he didn’t really acknowledge you. You weren’t surprised. Josh was working on making the dining room into a suitable eating environment, he was such a good host. Danny was hanging around talking with you and Sam until he was summoned into the kitchen.

“How much longer?” Sam asked, grabbing a beer.

“I dunno, maybe fifteen minutes?” Jake said, still not looking up.

Sam nodded and grabbed your hand, leading you down the stairs. “Wanna show you something.”

He led you right to his piano. “I’ve been working on this new little ballad.”

He took a seat and you propped up against the piano. He began to play and beautiful melodic chords grazed your ears. Sam was a fantastic musician, but something about him playing the piano made you feel feral. He was so focused, mouth agape, eyes fluttering, hands sliding back and forth like butter. He was a spectacle, and you were in a haze watching him. When he finished he looked up for your approval and was met with sultry eyes.

He smirked at you. “What? Did you like it?”

You smirked back at him. “I loved it Sammy.” Then you sit down next to him on the bench. “It was hot.”

He curls his lip up. “Yeah? I got something else too. Go ahead and sit up here for me baby.” He says, tapping his hand on top of the piano.

You look at him strangely for a second before doing as you were told. You had to do some wiggling to get yourself up there, but you made it.

“Sammy what does-“ You began, but then he started playing. Your eyes got a little wide and a giggle came out of you as the spot underneath you vibrated with force. He continued on and so did your giggles.

“Sammy! Oh my god.” You said with laughs. If the situation weren’t as ridiculous as it was you probably would have had a different reaction, because fuck it did feel good.

“Stay right there baby.” He said, continuing to play.

This was torture. It was like edging you for his actual touch. You took a deep breath and rode out the vibrations, still watching Sam. You were beginning to become flustered. Then, he stopped.

“Did you like that one?” He asked, smiling innocently.

Your face was starting to flush. “Yes.”

Sam bites his lip for a minute. “Can I tell you something?” He says getting up and putting his hands next to your waist.

“Please do.” You reply.

“So I’ve always had this… fantasy right?” He says with a wicked smile.

Excitement grows on your face. “Oh yeah? Do tell.”

“Well the thought of bending you over this piano has crossed my mind a few times. I think about it sometimes when I’m playing.”

You swallow hard at that. You were beyond into it.

“Won’t they hear?” You ask, but it comes out more as a whine.

Sam leans in close and nips at your neck. “Nah. They have records on, plus the kitchen noises. We should be just fine.”

You close your eyes and slightly arch your back. Sam continues to kiss down your neck and collarbone. Then gets down on his knees. He pulls your dress up and kisses your thighs. Each kiss searing into your soft skin. You take a few breaths to try and compose yourself, but it’s no use. He takes his hands and begins raking them down your thigh before he slips your panties off. A soft moan slips past your lips. He grabs your legs and pulls you towards him, then his tongue meets your center. Obscene sounds are coming from below your dress, but at the moment it’s like music to your ears. When Sam incorporates his fingers you know it’s only a matter of time before that dopamine high courses through your veins.

“Fuck fuck.” You whine out.

Sam takes his hand that was planting you in place and instead covers your mouth. Now your moans and sounds are muffled, which only further riles you up. Your legs begin to shake.

“That’s it baby.” Sam says.

Hearing that was all you needed. You moan out into Sam’s hand while arching back on the piano. Your hand hits the keys which make an abrupt sound. You don’t care. Sam comes up and sees you slightly panting, but you can tell he’s not done with you. He grabs your waist and carefully helps you down.

“Bend over for me doll.” He says undoing his belt and taking off his shirt.

You happily obliged. Sam runs his hand over your ass before giving it a light smack. Then he glides the tip around your entrance which elicits a shiver to run up your spine.

“Sammy quit teasing.” You whine.

Sam takes in a quit breath and then sinks into you letting out a groan. He starts slowly pumping in and out of you, but quickly picks up the pace. Sam reaches over and pulls your breasts out of your dress, giving your nipples a slight squeeze. You look over and see a mirror- what a sight it was. Sam’s face, the way his hands are running over your body. It was so pornographic and so fucking hot. As he starting bucking into you faster the piano began to make sounds as the keys were rattling. You and Sam didn’t care you were too busy chasing that high.

“Fuck baby can you give it to me again? I need you to try- I’m so close. Fuck you’re so good. You feel so good.” Sam praised.

That makes fire burn in your core again.

“Yes Sammy I can just for you. Keeping fucking me just like that. Oh fuck.” You say back.

Sam loves when you talk dirty, and you knew saying those words wasn’t playing fair, he would really have to restrain himself to keep going. But you knew he would get you there. He always did, typically more than once.

Sam said nothing in response, you knew he couldn’t keep talking without coming. Instead he just let out a moan and pinched his face up in total concentration. When you saw that in the mirror you were done for. Between the obscene sounds, the piano keys sounding off, Sam’s face, and the feeling-oh god the feeling. You were burning up inside.

“Sammy- I’m- Sammy” You moaned out as you fluttered around him.

Sam was right behind you. He let out a grunt as he released inside of you. Then you both stayed there catching your breath and attempting to come back down. Finally Sam departed, and you winced from the loss of contact.

“Stay right here baby.” Sam said softly.

You attempted to shove your breasts back into your dress while Sam came back with a wet cloth. He ran it up and down your legs and softly pulled your dress down while placing a kiss on your shoulder.

“Now, let’s go see if dinner is ready.” He said, taking your hand.

You let out a laugh. “You’re going to have to give me a minute to clean myself up.”

You hurried into the bathroom and fixed your hair, makeup, and dress. Then went back out to Sam. You were less of a mess, but still looked slightly disheveled. You took his hand and climbed the stairs then made way into the kitchen. It looked like they were wrapping everything up.

“Ah there you two are.” Josh said, giving you a side eye. “That was uh an interesting tune coming from the piano. What were you playing, Sam?” Josh continued with a smirk.

Sam sucked in his cheeks. “Nothing in particular. Just fooling around.”

Josh nodded his head. “Well that was evident.”

Your face started to turn red, but before any more conversation stimulated Danny cleared his throat.

“Okay well everyone to the table. Come on now.”

You started to follow the other three into the dining room but stopped when you felt a tap on your shoulder. You turned around, there was Jake with a look of discontent on his face.

“Yeah?” You asked.

He reached down and tugged at your shoulder strap on your dress then grazed his fingers on your skin, fixing the material. That sensation caused you to shudder slightly.

“Your strap was all fucked up. Wonder why?” He stated, then walked past you.

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes before going into the dining room. It was going to be a long night.

**

“Hey thanks man.” Sam said, climbing out of the Uber XL and taking your hand.

Somehow you all had ended up at the same bar you had been at that first night they were in town. Everyone was in a somewhat good mood. Even Jake seemed to have lightened up by 0.1% - which was a vast improvement. You walked in with Sam and giggled.

“What?” He asked with a sly smile.

You shook your head. “Nothing. It’s just the last time I was here I was in bike shorts and a tank top and now.” You say motioning to your outfit.

Sam smiles at you. “I thought you looked hot then, and tonight?” He chuckles. “Baby, I’m pretty sure I showed you how hot you look tonight. But genuinely, I believe you look beautiful all the time.”

You smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “My sweet Sammy.”

Suddenly, Josh had shimmied himself between you and Sam and put arms around the both of you. “As much as I love to see you two groping each other, can we drink now?”

You huff a laugh. “Lead the way to the bar Josh.”

Josh somehow got all of you to the bar and decided to order. “Can we get two salty dogs for me and the guy with the luscious curly hair down there, a bourbon on the rocks for the slightly less handsome version of me, and two tequila sodas for the lovebirds?” He says motioning to each of you.

The bartender gives Josh a strange look before nodding.

“You don’t always have to be so obnoxious.” Jake pokes.

Josh sighs. “You see dear Jake, I actually do. It was in my contract, just like yours says to be perpetually mopey.”

Jake snickers a laugh at that. You’re positive Josh is the only one who could say that to him and get away unscathed.

Your drinks arrived moments later and you all thanked your bartender while Josh got the first round.

“Alright, jukebox, pool, and darts anyone?” Josh suggested.

You all followed suit. The next hour consisted of pool games and a fair amount of drinks. You were buzzed, Sam was very touchy with you, Danny & Josh were intense with their pool game, and somehow Jake’s mood had lightened.

“Bullshit!” Danny yelled out.

“Yes! That’s it! That’s the money shot! I win!” Josh exclaims back.

“Gentleman! Let’s settle this in darts huh?” Sam suggested, while the others nodded.

“Birdie?” Sam questioned.

You shook your head. “No thanks. I need to pee, I’ll come watch in a bit.”

Then you head off for the bathroom, pee and freshen yourself up. You still looked good, you thought, just maybe a little undone. When you emerged from the bathroom you could see the dart game, but Jake wasn’t participating. He was sitting at a booth near them on his phone. You decided it would be weird to sit somewhere else, so you walked over and sat down at his table. He looked up at you and raised an eyebrow.

“What?” You shrugged.

He shook his head. “Nothing. Just didn’t expect you to sit here.”

“Hm. Last time I checked you didn’t own this booth, but maybe your name is etched under the table.” You quip, then pretend to check under the table top. “Shit. Nope I didn’t see it Jake.”

He cracks a smile at that. “Smart ass.”

You couldn’t help but smile back.

You both sat and watched them play, in the corner of your eye you saw an older woman head to the jukebox. You were curious as to what her music taste might be. Then you heard the opening to Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac. You laughed to yourself at the situation you found yourself in and the song.

Time cast a spell on you but you won’t forget me.

I know I could have loved you but you would not let me.

I’ll follow you down til’ the sound of my voice will haunt you.

You’ll never get away from the sound of a woman that loves you.

“Yeah, cheers to that.” Jake says, suddenly raising his glass towards you.

You look at him and laugh, roll your eyes, then clink glasses with him.

It was nice to know Jake’s sense of humor was still intact, and maybe, just maybe you two could get past all of this.

**

You woke up the next morning slightly hungover. You were in your apartment alone, as Sam had to go to the studio for a while today. You couldn’t help but feel giddy. Jake seemed to be softening, Sam continued to enthrall you, and you were starting to feel at ease with everything. You climbed out of bed and began to clean up. Margo was coming over with lunch in a bit, then Sam would be over later. He was so excited because he was going to show you how to make pickles with the cucumbers he had been growing. Secretly, you were just as excited about it too. You took a shower, did some skincare, and put on a record while you made coffee. After all of that the hangover finally started to go away. Then a knock on the door made you grin, Margo was bringing salmon and cream cheese bagels. That was just what you needed. You opened the door and gave her a smile.

“Hi.” You say.

She gives you a look. “Hi. Someone’s cheery this morning. Did you get fucked last night?”

You scoff and take the food bag from her as she walks in. “Can I not just be happy to see you?”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” She pokes.

You two head into the living room and sit on the couch.

“So.” She starts. “How are you and Sam? You two seem to be living in a fairytale- you’re obsessed with each other.”

You smile at his name. “We’re great, but we are not obsessed with each other. Just the right amount.”

She laughs. “Yeah right. These bagels are so fucking good.”

You take a bite and savor as the flavors hit your tongue. Definitely what you needed.

Your phone makes a ding next to you and you pick it up. You had a text, from… Jake?

Found your panties under my bed. Shall I give them to Sammy boy?

Then accompanies that text with a photo of the black lace panties in hand.

A small smile appears. You know Jake was joking, it was nice to see him interacting with you like this again.

Bold of you to assume they’re mine.

You replied back.

You get a response within seconds.

Believe it or not, you’re the only one who has been in my bed. Plus there’s no way I could forget who these belong to. I’ll slide them under my brother’s door.

You know it feels wrong, but you giggle at that. It leaves a strange feeling in your chest.

Very funny. Just toss them.

You said.

“Oh is that Sam now?” Margo says through a laugh.

You look up in mild horror for a moment before you nod your head. “Yes.” You lie.

“See! I could tell by the way you giggled like a schoolgirl. You totally love him.” She continues.

Now you feel guilty. It’s not like you were flirting with Jake right? Just harmless banter. You shake your head at Margo and change the subject, you don’t want to revisit what you had just felt moments ago.

**

“Hi babe.” Sam says, setting down countless bags and pulling you into a deep hug.

“And that’s my cue to go!” Margo says, dramatically grabbing her things.

You laugh at her. “You sure you don’t want to make pickles with us?”

Margo snorts a little. “I’m good, but thank you for the generous offer. Call me tomorrow?”

You nod, then she pats Sam’s shoulder and bolts out the door.

“She is so strange.” Sam says through a laugh.

“She is. That’s why I love her.” You reply.

He smiles down at you and then leans in for a kiss. His hands run up and down your body, it feels like fireworks in your skin. His tongue slips in your mouth and you let out a soft moan, which causes Sam to grip your flesh harder.

Before things escalate you pull away and take a breath.

“We have pickles to make Mr. Kiszka.”

“Fuck the pickles. Take me to your bedroom.” Sam replies.

You laugh. “Later. I promise. I may or may not have gotten a new little outfit in the mail that you would like.”

Sam groans. “You’re killing me.”

You kiss his nose. “I’ll make it worth your wait.”

Sam chews on his lip. “I know you will, but right now I need you to back up about ten feet away until I can collect myself.”

“I think I can do that.” You say with a giggle, taking some bags into the kitchen.

You loved that Sam always wanted you. It made you feel so confident.

You and Sam set down the bags in the kitchen and begin to unpack them.

“Are these the cucumbers from the farmers market?” You ask, taking them out of the mesh bag.

“Yes ma’am they are. Organic.” He says, holding one up.

“You’re the best.” You say, giving him a smile.

“I know.” He replies chipperly. “So, are you ready to learn Birdie?”

“Oh I’m so ready. Teach me your ways Sammy.”

He pulls out a few mason jars, vinegar, garlic, dill, and red pepper flakes.

“Interesting.” You say, staring at the spread before you.

“Can you grab a cutting board for me?” He asks.

You nod and grab the biggest one you have as well as two knives. Then you two began cutting and washing the cucumbers.

“We are going to do spears and chips here. You cut the chips.”

You can’t help but giggle at how serious he was. “Yes, chef right on that for you.”

“Don’t cut your finger off.” He says with a smirk.

You two get all of the cucumbers cut up and Sam instructs you on the next steps.

“Okay now we are essentially just going to throw everything into the jars. So mix the vinegar with plenty of fresh dill, garlic, and a splash of red pepper flakes. They’ll be a little spicy but delicious.”

You two get everything mixed together and portioned.

“Okay actually this smells kind of good. I’m impressed.” You compliment.

“Now you get it.” He says with a smile. “But I actually wanted to add something to the chips batch that’s supposed to preserve the crunch but I can’t remember what it is.” He says furrowing his brows a little.

You start soaking the cucumbers in the vinegar mixture. “You don’t remember what it was?”

He shakes his head. “No, for the life of me I can’t. It was something simple too.”

“Just google it.” You suggest.

He shrugs. “Good call.” Then he begins patting down his pockets. “Shit. I left my phone in the car.”

You shake your head. “It’s okay go grab mine. It’s in the living room I think.”

“Okay.” He says, heading out of the kitchen.

Your hands are deep in this mixture, but you're almost done. You can’t wait to wash this off of you, and hope you don’t smell like it later when you show Sam your new lingerie.

A few minutes pass and Sam still hasn’t returned.

“Um, did you get lost? I'm putting the lids on!” You slightly yell, then begin to close the mason jars. You are sure he will make you reopen them for some reason.

No response.

You tightly secure the lids and then begin washing your hands and finally he appears with your phone in hand. He looks weird.

“Can I ask you something?” He asks with concern in his voice.

You look at him strangely. “What?”

“Why does Jake have your panties?” He says, turning your phone around to show you the photo.

Your blood runs cold and a wave of anxiety crashes through you.

Sam has a look on his face that you have never seen before. You’re so caught off guard you can’t even speak right now.

He shakes his head. “I wasn’t even snooping. I unlocked it and this immediately popped up.”

You take a breath in. “It’s not what you think.”

He frowns at you. “Did you cheat on me? With my brother?”

You begin to shake your head vigorously. “No Sam, I would never do that.”

He continues to stare at you. “So what? Did you fuck him?”

You look up at him and tears begin to pool in your eyes.

He huffs out. “Oh my god. You fucked him. You fucked Jake.”

“No Sam it was before you and I. I swear- we were drunk and it just it- I don’t know.” You frantically spit out.

The way he is looking at you makes you want to crawl out of your own skin. There’s no look of love or admiration. Just solemnity and hurt.

“And you didn’t tell me?” He asks, almost in a whisper.

“I didn’t know what to say… I don’t want to hide things from you, but it didn’t feel right to say those words to you.” You reply back, meekly.

Sam stares at the wall for a minute. “Am I some sort of second choice to you?”

“What? No, of course not.” You begin, but Sam cuts you off.

“I guess I’ve always known how you felt about him.” He says quietly.

“Sam please just-“

He holds his hand up at you. Sam sucks in a deep breath and pushes his hair back. “I need some time.”

Your face falls. “What does that mean?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know, but I need time.”

He grabs his keys and heads towards your door.

“Sam…” You say.

He stops in the doorway and his eyes linger on yours.

Then he’s gone.

And you’re standing in your kitchen by yourself with six jars of fucking pickles.

Once your body catches up with your mind, you grab your phone and immediately try to call Sam.

Straight to voicemail.

You sink down to the floor as tears begin to fall.

Fuck.

***

[age-of-greta]

The Moon

The Moon represents illusion and deception, and therefore often suggests a time when something is not as it appears to be. Perhaps a misunderstanding on your part, or a truth you cannot admit to yourself.

Author’s note: hi!! Welcome back to The Moon. Sorry it’s been a few weeks, life has been busy. As always I proofread, but typos happen. No posting schedule, but all parts will be posted Wednesdays at midnight EST. There are only a few more chapters left eeek! Thanks for reading along :) enjoy!!

Paring: Sam x reader & Jake x reader

Warnings: cursing, alcohol consumption, sort of angst, adult content

Word count: 3.7k

PART 10:

“Hey, there is nothing to be nervous about babe.” Sam says, rubbing his hands on your shoulders.

It was the night of Danny’s big party. You were uneasy to say the least. You and Sam had decided to come out of hiding and announce that you were together. Not like making a grand announcement or anything, but allowing yourselves to hold hands and be as touchy as you liked. Danny and Margo were still the only ones who knew. You knew they would keep it a secret for as long as you wished. Tonight was a gamble. You would be staying the night at Sam’s house because everyone would be drinking. The party started ten minutes ago and you were still at your place, dragging out the inevitable. Sam noticed and tried to comfort you.

“I know. It’s just going to be… weird?” You say, unsure of how he might react to that.

“We don’t have to tell anyone if you’re not ready.” Sam says, lightly.

You shake your head. “No, I want to. It’s just- fuck it. Can you pour me a shot of tequila before we go?”

Sam laughs. “I can do that.”

After your shot you collected your things and got in Sam’s car. You had an overnight bag packed and ready. Currently you wore a strappy black bikini top with frayed jean shorts and sandals. Your hair had a nice beach wave and you wore natural makeup. You felt cute, but you were still ridiculously nervous. You had gone over a million scenarios in your head as to how this evening might play out. The shock that would grip the twins. How Jake would react. Of course it’s not like you didn’t want to tell Jake because you feared it would diminish your relationship. It was more because you were scared that what happened between the two of you might come out. You never wanted Sam to know that. In that moment it’s like Sam could sense your tenseness, because his hand found your knee and he lightly rubbed his thumb on you.

When you pulled up, you decided to take a deep breath and put on your big girl panties. The last thing you wanted was anyone to see that you were anxious and think Sam was holding you hostage or something. You giggled at that thought.

“You good?” Sam asked with a puzzled smile on his face.

“I’m great Sammy. Let’s do this.” You muster up and say, taking his hand.

There was a considerable amount of cars already outside. Knowing how these things go though, you knew more would show up. Sam left your bag in the car for now focusing only on holding your hand and getting you inside. It smelled like beer, hotdogs, and rum when the door opened. You heard Jimi Hendrix playing the Star Spangled Banner inside and you could already see that there were more people inside than you had thought there would be. Your eyes scanned the room, so far no familiar faces. You really didn’t recognize most of these people at all. They had more friends than you thought. Then your eyes landed on curly hair bouncing through the crowd heading straight towards you.

“Well look who finally showed- No fucking way!” Josh yelled through the house.

Then all eyes were on you and Sam.

“Birdie? Samuel?” Josh questioned with a huge smile on his face as he approached you two. “Is this why you haven’t been around much these days Birdie?”

You feel your cheeks turn pink and you start to answer but are cut off again by Josh.

“And you!” Josh says, pointing at Sam. “Is this where you’ve been running off to after sessions? Holy shit! I cracked the code!”

“Settle down Josh. You’re going to bust a blood vessel.” Sam says, nonchalantly.

“Settle down? This is a revelation unfolding before us!” Josh shouts. “Daniel, did you know?”

Danny just raises his eyebrows and his cup.

Josh scoffs. “Jake?”

Then you find yourself flicking your eyes over to Jake for the first time. His hair cascades down an off white linen shirt. Sunglasses dangling around his neck next to his silver necklace. His stance becomes abrasive. He looks pissed. There is a scowl on his face and he’s gripping his glass so hard you can see the white of his knuckles. He just shakes his head at Josh’s question.

“Well I’ll be damned! Congratulations you two. I think I already hear wedding bells in the distance!” Josh continues.

Sam laughs and shakes his head at his brother’s antics, giving your hand a squeeze. “I’m going to go grab us some drinks and say some hellos. Are you okay here?”

You shake your head. “Yeah I’m going to go annoy Danny.”

Sam kisses your cheek before he takes off through the house. Then you feel a hand grip around your wrist.

“Can I fucking talk to you?” Jake says, with annoyance in his tone.

You suck in your cheeks and nod your head. Jake never lets up on his grip as he leads you through the house. He takes you downstairs and inside of the recording space, shutting the door.

Then he turns around and glares at you. “What the fuck?”

“What?” You say back, crossing your arms.

Jake lets out a dry laugh. “Don’t fucking do that.”

You stay quiet.

“So what, you’re just with my brother now? Like you two are together or something? I mean you show up here with him holding hands and then he kisses your cheek. What are you in eighth grade?” Jake spits.

Now you’re irritated. “Oh Jake will you just fucking spare me?”

He scrunches up his face. “Spare you? You’re walking around publicly all cozied up to my little brother.”

“Oh would you prefer I do it in private?” You ask, condescendingly.

He scoffs. “Are you really going to act like nothing happened between us? Like nothing is here between us?”

You feel a hot bubble of anger rise. “Are you fucking kidding me Jake?” Then you laugh. “You must actually be joking.”

“I’m not, and I’d love to know what’s so fucking funny.” Jake says, crossing his arms.

“Oh fuck you!” You yell. “Jake I have been pining over you for half of my fucking life! Yet time and time again you gave me nothing except little shreds of hope. Leading me on, flirting. Then you pop back into my life like Freddy fucking Kreuger and what do you do? Continue to flirt with me, touch me, kiss me, oh and fuck me! Then say oop nevermind! I don’t want to be with you, I just want to fuck you.”

Jake is quiet for a moment. “Birdie… I- it’s not like that. I’ve felt things for you for years. I always thought you would be who I would settle down with. But it’s just… it’s not necessarily what I want right now. There’s just so much going on and traveling and-“

You cut him off with a laugh. “So you want me to be the person you end up with, but only when you’re ready right? So you can travel the world and fuck whoever you want. And I’ll stay here like a good little girl and wait for you to return in the hopes that one day I’ll be your fucking girlfriend?”

Jake sighs. “No, that's not what I meant. I do care about you.”

“Save it.” You say spitefully. “I’m not someone who is just here out of convenience anymore Jake.”

He then takes a deep breath and runs his fingers through his hair. “Fuck. Birdie will you just listen? I’m not just saying all of this shit to you. I’m not blind, I’ve always seen this thing between us.”

“But you’ve ignored it because you want to fuck other people?” You spit.

“No- I. Goddamnit okay fine. Here you go.” He pauses and paces around the room for a moment before continuing. “I care about you. I do. Hell I even think I might I lov-“

“Stop.” You say shaking your head and putting your hand up. “Stop. Do not say that to me. I’m not doing this with you. I am with Sam. I’m happy with Sam. I’m going to continue to be with Sam.”

Jake clenches his jaw. “I don’t want that.”

You feel the threat of tears brimming in your eyes, you need to get out of there. “Well this is what I’m choosing. So you’re going to just have to come to terms with it.”

“My brother? Really? Is this your way of getting back at me?” Jake says, absolutely dumbfounded.

“Fuck Jake not everything is about you!” You say, storming off.

You climb up the stairs as hot tears stream down your face. As soon as you emerge upstairs you beeline to the bathroom. You give yourself a few minutes to cry, before cleaning your face up. You know by now Sam is looking for you and you pray to god Jake doesn’t do anything stupid. Finally your face has returned to normal, so you clean yourself up and head back out to the party. You see Sam talking with Danny and his face lights up when he sees you.

“There you are. Here’s your drink.” Sam says, giving you a cup.

“Thank you.” You say with a smile. “Sorry Margo had called me.” You lie.

“No worries. Care to go for a swim?” Sam asked.

You nodded your head and took Sam’s hand as he led you outside.

Sam introduced you to a few people along the way, but no real conversation stimulated. Surprisingly, no one was in the pool. There were a few people outside, but no one was actually swimming. You stripped out of your shorts and Sam winked at you. You laughed and took his hand as he guided you in the pool.

“Fuck it’s cold.” You said as you submerged your legs.

“Aw Birdie, don’t worry, I’ll keep you warm.” Sam said, pulling you further in.

You giggled. “Sam!”

Then you’re almost all the way in. Sam grabs you by the waist and sits you on his lap as he squats in the shallow end. You wrap your legs around him and he keeps his hands on your waist.

“Told you I’ll keep you warm.” He says with a smile.

“Oh you’re too kind sir.” You jab.

“Sammy sweetheart right?” He jokes.

You laugh. “I never saw myself dating a comedian.”

You didn’t really even think about it before you said it.

A smirk spreads on Sam’s face. “Date huh?”

Your cheeks turn pink, but you don’t back down.

“Yeah.” You say, wrapping your hands behind his head.

“Now I like the sound of that.” Sam says, kissing your shoulder.

You bite your lip and your mind slips elsewhere when his lips touch your skin.

“Um, excuse me? PDA take it upstairs!”

You look up and see Danny grimacing in your direction.

You roll your eyes at your cousin.

He walks over and starts fumbling with the grill that’s next to the pool. “Josh! The grill is on. Tell Jake to get out here.”

You see Josh walking around with a cocktail, but nods his head to go retrieve his twin.

You decide to get off of Sam, but he halts you.

“Hold up baby. Let me adjust myself.” Sam says, almost in a whisper to you as he fixes the bulge in his shorts.

Right on cue Jake walks out and locks eyes with you still on top of Sam. He clenches his jaw and looks away. Well.

Jake heads to the grill and begins working on burgers and hotdogs for the party.

“Hey Jake, did you grab those veggie burgers I bought?” Sam asks.

Jake doesn’t look up from the grill or respond.

Sam makes a face. “Hello?” Then he cups his hands around his mouth. “Jake! Veggie burgers!”

Jake spins around. “No Sam I haven’t seen your fucking burgers.”

Sam sighs. “I’ll be back. I’m going to go grab our burgers and give them to captain pleasant while he has the grill on.”

You nod your head. The air is thick with tension when Sam leaves. But you nor Jake speak to each other. Jake lets out a snicker, but no words. You suck in your cheeks and let out a deep breath.

Well, this was awkward.

**

“Guys food is ready!” Josh yells.

You were sitting on a lounge chair with Sam, securing your spot for the fireworks.

“Hey I’ll go make our plates and get drinks. You stay here so no one steals our spot.” Sam says, rubbing your back.

You smile and nod your head, then Sam disappears. A few moments later Josh saunters by with Jake behind him.

“Birdie, you aren’t eating?” Josh asks with a puzzled expression on his face.

“No I am. Sam’s getting plates. I was instructed to save our spot.” You say, meekly.

Josh grins. “Aw Sam is making your plate. How cute. Danny and I are starting fireworks as soon as it’s dark. I’m excited to play with fire!”

Then Josh jets off. Jake pauses and looks at you. “So cute.” He says flatly, then follows his twin.

You take in a deep breath and close your eyes.

“All good?”

You open your eyes and Sam is back with plates in hand.

You give him a smile. “Yes, everything is great. Thank you for making my plate.”

He sits down next to you. “Of course babe.”

That made you feel warm inside. Sam kissed your cheek and you two ate while you waited for the show. It had just begun to turn into the beginning of dusk and you knew fireworks would follow shortly. You also knew Josh was itching to play with lighters. Sam laid back on the lounge chair with you in between his legs. You were laid back into him and his arms were wrapped around you. You felt comfortable, secure, and happy. You would stay wrapped in Sam’s arms forever if given the chance. Just then, you were jolted out of your thoughts when a flare of red shot up into the sky and sparkled.

“Woooooahhhhh.” Sam said, being a little cheeky.

You giggled. “Horrible for the environment, veterans, dogs, and generally all other creatures that don’t understand what’s going on. But yes, woah.”

Sam let out a laugh and rubbed your arm. “There’s my cynical girl.”

Then you caught a glimpse of Jake heading back towards the house.

“Jake!” Sam yelled.

No response.

“Hey Jake! Come watch with us!” Sam continued.

Jake threw his hand up and continued inside.

You could feel that Sam was furrowing his brows, even though he was behind you.

“The fuck is his problem?” Sam asks, with a hint of nastiness in his tone.

You swallow slightly hard and then shrug.

**

After the fireworks, a lot of people had cleared out. Only a few stragglers remained, and it seemed like they were just waiting on their rides. Josh was positively buzzed while simultaneously high on his firework display. You were currently sitting in the kitchen nursing a margarita with Sam by your side, listening to Josh ramble to the remaining guests. Jake and Danny were still cleaning up outside.

“Tired?” Sam asks, wrapping his arm around you.

You look up and nod.

“You better not be! The night is still young and we are playing poker!” Josh says, entirely too loud.

Sam groans and you sigh.

“No no none of that now! I’m going to grab the other two and I’ll meet you guys in the living room. Sam get the poker set from under the table.”

Then Josh pads off while the last of the guests exit. Sam takes your hand and leads you into the living room.

“One game.” He says, trying to reason with you.

You nod. “One game.”

Josh returns with the other two and they all plop down on the floor. Jake makes a point not to look at you, in fact he looks bored or annoyed.

“What kind of poker are we playing here?” Danny asks.

Josh lets a smirk creep up on his face. “Strip poker?”

Sam shakes his head. “I’m going to go ahead and veto that one.” Then he puts his hand on your leg.

Jake scoffs.

“You’re no fun Samuel. Texas hold ‘em it is then. Jake you’re dealing first.”

**

One game turned into about 6. Danny had won the most, he was a card shark.

“Okay okay I think we’re out.” Sam says, placing his cards down.

“Aw, how come?” Danny says with a laugh.

“We are ready to go to bed and I’m tired of getting my ass kicked.” Sam replies.

Josh whistles at that. “Uh oh! Try to keep the noise to a minimum please.”

Your face burns red at that. Jake crosses his arms.

“Didn’t need that visual, Josh.” Danny says lightly.

Sam takes your hand and leads you upstairs to his room. Already you feel as if a weight has been lifted off of you. It’s been so full of tension, but you persevered for Sam.

“Fuck.” Sam says with a chuckle sitting down on his bed.

You laughed and sat down next to him. “Tell me about it.”

Sam wrapped his arms around you. “Shall we have a shower?”

“Hmmmmm.” You contemplate. “I’m game but we have to be quiet, remember?”

Sam smirks at you. “Oh baby I’m going to have you screaming my name.”

You let out a laugh and lightly smack his chest. “Yeah right loverboy.”

“Okay, maybe just lightly moaning my name then?” He suggests, cheekily.

You get up and take your shorts off. “Maybe. If you work hard enough.”

Sam smiles at you and follows you into the bathroom, undressing himself as well. His mouth meets yours before the water is even turned on.

**

You awoke the next day wrapped in Sam’s arms. You smiled to yourself. You loved waking up this way. Sam was still peacefully sleeping, but woke up when you began to stir.

“Good morning, beautiful.” Sam said, in the raspiest voice you had ever heard. Then he planted a small kiss on your jaw. Your heart swelled at that.

“Morning Sammy.” You say softly.

“Did you sleep well?” He asks.

You nod your head. “I did. Did you?”

He grins. “Best sleep of my life.”

“You’re so cheesy.” You say, joking while getting up.

“I’m going to pee and brush my teeth. Do we have plans today?” You say stretching.

Sam eyes your body before responding. “Babe, we always have plans.”

You let out a laugh. “Thought so.”

When you came out Sam went in. He needed to shower, so you decided to get dressed. You threw on a black tank top with the same shorts and sandals from yesterday. Then you slapped some makeup on your face and decided to go find Danny. But, to your dismay when you came down the stairs all you saw was Jake sitting at the counter with a mug.

You chewed on your lip for a bit before finally deciding to say, “Morning.”

Jake glanced up at you. “Morning.” He replied flatly.

It was quiet for a few minutes and you were plotting ways to get out of this situation, but then Jake spoke again.

“Coffee?”

It was good he was talking to you, you guessed.

You shook your head. “No thanks. I think we’re about to go get breakfast.”

Jake looks at you blankly before letting out a snarky laugh. “Right.”

You were annoyed with his attitude. He had no right to be acting like this, and you were about to let him know.

“You know Jake you don’t have to be such a fuckin-“

“Ready babe?” Sam cuts in, entering the kitchen.

You take a small breath and smile. “Yes.”

Jake smirks at you and raises his mug.

Asshole.

You walk over to Sam and grab his arm while he leads you to his car. Your inkling was correct when you pulled up outside of a pancake house. Sam grabbed your hand and took you inside to your table.

“So.” You say, sitting down.

“So.” Sam replies back.

“Did you have fun last night?” You ask.

Sam smiles brightly. “Oh I had a lot of fun last night baby.”

You snicker at that. “No I didn’t mean that. I meant at the party.”

Sam shrugs. “Yeah I guess so. I wouldn’t say I’m the most patriotic guy out there, but the red, white, and blue shots were damn good.”

“I know what you mean.” You say through a chuckle.

“Jake seemed weird though.” Sam said, grabbing his coffee.

You felt your blood run cold a bit at that, you have no idea what to say so you just nod.

Sam looks at you. “I mean I’m not crazy right? He did seem like something crawled up his ass last night.”

“Yeah, I noticed too.” You say.

Sam nods his head. “Oh well. He’s probably just weirded out about us. But I’ve got to say, they all took the news pretty good. Josh was annoying, but that was to be expected.”

“Feels good just to get it out there. Not have to hide or keep some big secret.” You say.

Sam smiles at you. “Birdie, are you getting soft on me?”

“Never.” You reply back with a smirk.

**

After breakfast Sam took you home. You two spent the day cuddled up on your couch watching movies. Then Sam put on some records and you two cooked dinner and baked cookies. While the cookies were in the oven Sam slow danced with you in your kitchen to John Denver. It was a perfect day. One of your favorite days. That night you couldn’t sleep though.

You glanced over at Sam. He was sleeping so peacefully. He was so beautiful, inside and out. You wished you could engrave this view into your brain forever.

You weren’t sure why you felt this impending doom sensation in your chest. You were prone to self sabotage, but you didn’t want Sam to go anywhere- ever. He made you happy, deeply happy. But there was that part of you that still deep down felt something for Jake. You weren’t sure what that something was, and it wasn’t close to being on the same caliber as to what you felt for Sam, but it was there. You let out a small sigh and stared at the ceiling until you had fallen asleep.

The sensation of impending doom had faded.

Eventually you would find out why it was there.

But that’s a story for another day.

***

• the next chapter is…. well just buckle up!!