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You are my midnight, midnight yeah
When Jake discovered that Josh had invited Alexandra Becker for the weekend without conferring with him, he'd been understandably irritated. He didn't mirror the same fascination everyone else seemed to hold for the reporter. Not one bit.
However, he'd been struck down when making his grievances known. "It'll be fine," his twin had simply stated, brushing off his numerous complaints. "It's your own fault you never learned timeliness is a virtue."
Jake scoffed at the insinuation that he was the only one with a tardiness issue and not that it was a collective fault they all shared. He was never going to live that shit down.
"You're only interested in who her father is," Jake muttered indignantly, eyes slanted downward to maintain his footing on their hike.
Usually, their treks into nature were calming, centering, but not today. Instead, he hoped there was a cliff nearby to shove his meddling brother off of. The bugs hovering antagonistically around his person served as a metaphor for Alex's incessant, irksome presence.
Josh threw his sweaty arm over his brother's shoulder. "Now, that's not entirely true, Jakey," he countered in a singsongy voice.
He shoved Josh away from him with an eye roll but only received a chuckle in return. "Partially true," he bit back. There was no winning when Josh set his mind to something, Jake knew that, but it didn't mean he was going to suffer in silence. He could be just as stubborn if he wanted to be, and he wanted to be.
That's why he'd asked if she played any instruments, to illustrate how much she didn't belong. His challenge had meant to further the divide between his family and her.
What he'd gotten, instead, was something wholly unexpected.
She played annoyingly well, almost as well as Sam. And her voice, it was gentle, like the soft fluttering of wings.
He'd wanted her to be terrible, but she wasn't, and it was maddening.
After the final note faded, Alex gradually lifted her gaze sheepishly. Jake expected her to look towards anyone else for verification, but their eyes were the ones that met. Somewhere in the back of his mind, it registered that this was the first time he was really seeing her, not just the perception of her he'd been holding onto with derision.
He'd never admit it aloud, but maybe Josh hadn't been so far off the reservation when inviting her.
"Nick Cave was a good choice," Jake offered in the barest of compliments. Just because he was growing to tolerate her didn't mean he intended to broadcast his newfound sense of acceptance.
"Excellent choice," his twin agreed with far more enthusiasm. "Brava!"
Josh was such a kiss ass, Jake noted. The other two, cheering her along with him, were brown nosers as well, far as he was concerned.
