Cute Voice

Epilogue pt. 2

Jason pulled Nick into a gruff hug. The sky was stained a neon yellow where the mansion he called home was set against it. 

"Thanks," Jason said and found he couldn't continue.

Nick looked at him, long and hard, before running a hand through his hair. "Sure, bro." It was a regular response. The expected response. Jason swallowed hard. "So I'll see you tomorrow? You know, after I recover from driving all the way to and back from Seattle with your dad and his annoying phone calls?"

Jason inhaled, sharp, as the Tesla door opened behind him. The ride back had been long. Fun, even, by the time they were all drunk on chocolate and using extremely creative measures to keep each other awake. Jason had even driven at one point, but his father had insisted he'd almost killed all three of them and Nick had seemed to go into shock, so he was banned from the steering wheel. Honestly, they were both so dramatic! The truck hadn't even touched them! Still, though, Jason knew that the fun experience wouldn't ease what he was about to say, not to any of them. 

His father came beside them, eyes down on his phone. 

"Um, Nick? So, no."

"No what?" 

Jason's dad looked up, something he had become good at over the past day. "What's going on here? Aren't you going home, Nick? We all need sleep, and Jason-"

"I was just telling him no," said Jason.

"No what?"

"I won't be seeing him tomorrow."

Nick looked confused. "Okay, cool. Then whenever-"

"I just- I'm going to New York, I decided."

They all stood there for a moment, motionless in the silent triangle. 

"What are you talking about, Jay?" His dad said. 

"I-" Jay met the eyes of his best friend and his father, then glanced once at his phone. It was locked, screen black, but Jason knew the second it would see his face, it would spring open to the picture he'd been inspecting the whole night. It had come into his phone, a single picture texted to him from an unknown number. A girl. Red hair and brown eyes. A hint of freckles brushing a button nose. A forehead creased with signs of thought. Lips pressing into a beautiful half-smile. The number was disconnected, though. Nothing went through to it. The single picture was the only un-failed message in the chat and the only thing the number had sent.

Jason shook his head slightly, snapping back to the present. "I need to think about everything that happened, and I can't just- I'm not just going back to the way things were. I have things to work out, things to think about, I need to be alone for the time being. Also..." He lifted his gaze, meeting his father's pale eyes. "I got into Columbia."

First anger, assumedly at the surprise of the information, then glee. The actor grabbed Jason's hand smile erupting across his groomed face. "Really? That's amazing! When?"

"Last week," said Jason. He turned, meeting Nick's eyes.

"That's great, man! But the college semester isn't starting for another-"

"I know. But I need to go. I need to be independent, to think, to-" he breathed in sharply. "To process."

Nick's eyebrows were pressed together tightly. "Listen, I've been through breakups too, and it feels like everything changed, but it didn't, I swear, just fool around, things will be back to normal soon-"