Delicate Love || The Music Freaks AU

Chapter 6: Relationship Problems

Lia's POV:

"Is there anything going on between you and Hailey?" Jake's eyes averted from the TV screen to me. "What are you talking about?" He didn't keep his gaze for long, as if he was embarrassed. "I mean, you gave her your blanket today. I thought you two hated each other." I smiled. Jake rubbed his neck slowly, his face becoming redder by the second. "It's nothing. She just looked cold," I rolled my eyes at his response. "Mm-mm. You sure you don't like her?" Jake stared at me, his eyes wide and his cheeks burning. 

"What? No!" He said quickly. "Jeez, calm down," I looked back to the screen. We were watching some boring movie in Italian. Jake didn't have anything else. I picked up the remote and shut off the TV. "This movie sucks. I know something more entertaining we could do~" I winked at Jake. He brushed me off immediately. 

"Not tonight." He stood up and walked away. "You never want to do anything. Why am I even your girlfriend?" Jake stopped but said nothing. He walked into his bedroom and shut the door. "Gee, thanks," I muttered. I unlocked my phone and started scrolling through Instagram when my phone started buzzing. 

Zoey was calling me. I hadn't spoken to Zoey in months, but I answered nevertheless. "Hello?" I said as the phone connected to the other side. 

"Hey! How are things with you and Jake?" She asked. I felt strange. Zoey typically wasn't interested in my personal life. "Boring," I sighed. "He never wants to do anything. Especially not after Hailey started working with us." Zoey's voice dissipated from the other end for a couple of seconds. 

"Which Hailey? I know like eight." I ran my fingers through my black ponytail. "Hailey from high school." Zoey squeaked a gasp. "Oh! That music nerd? Oh, that makes sense! Jake was totally into her." I won't lie. Hearing this, I felt jealously rise in me. 

"Well, she's working here now. And Jake's getting all cozy with her." Zoey hummed in response. "That stinks. Anyway, Drew and I are visiting town for a few weeks. We thought we'd visit you guys." 

I walked into the kitchen, checking the calendar. "All right." I yawned. "Oh, and Henry and Liam wanted to come too. That okay?" I rubbed my eyes. "Yeah, that's fine." Zoey thanked me and hung up. I shut off the lights and walked into Jake's bedroom. He was sitting on his bed, the light from his phone shining on his face. "Who are you texting?" I asked, pulling the blanket over my legs. 

"No one," He shut his phone off quickly, putting it on his side table. His lies didn't manage to trick me. "It's Hailey, isn't it!" I shouted at him. He made no reaction. "Whatever," I said, shutting the lamp off and laying on the cool bedsheets. A ruffle from my side indicated that Jake had done the same. 

We went to bed, not sharing a good night.

Hailey's POV:

"I still say he's untrustworthy," Zander said, sliding a chip in his mouth. "We don't know his full intentions." I laughed at Zander's words. "'Intentions'? C'mon, Zander. He's not a Disney villain--he doesn't have some secret agenda." I ate a chip. Zander rolled his eyes. "You can never be too sure." He said. Milly swiped a chip from Luke as she jumped into our conversation. "I'm sort of excited to see him again!" Milly said happily, stealing another chip. "You can get your own bowl, you know?" Luke said, exhausted. Milly smiled and took a final chip. "No, thanks. This is more fun." She chuckled. 

"I'm not thrilled to see him again," Zander said sternly. "He's only going to be here for an hour. You'll be fine. It's been three weeks. He's been nothing but nice to me." Zander's mouth refused to speak. 

"Hailey's right. It'll be good to see him again." Sean said, mostly paying attention to the movie. Milly spoke. "I didn't tell you guys this, because I thought we hated him, but I missed him. A lot." Luke nodded his head, sharing Milly's emotions. "Me too," Sean said quietly. 

Milly laid flat on the ground, kicking her feet out. "Remember when we went shopping that one time? And you and Jake made out!" She laughed. My face boiled red. "We didn't make out!" I screamed. "We didn't even kiss!" Milly kept laughing. Zander casually ate another chip. "Damn right." He said. Milly blew a raspberry at Zander's face, reaching for another one of Luke's chips. 

Luke made more of an effort, pulling the bowl away from her grasp. "Don't worry, Zander. It'll be fine!" He smiled. Zander said nothing but nudged closer to him. 

"Oh! I was going to tell you guys earlier, but I forgot. But, Jake told me that he stopped being friends with Drew!" They all looked at me like I'd grown an extra limb. "He did? Really?" Luke said, baffled. "He also said that Drew was the reason he didn't come to the band competition." 

"It doesn't look like he's too hard to convince," Zander muttered. Milly threw a pillow at Zander's face. "It's not Jake's fault that he's so gullible!" She crossed her arms. Zander growled at her. Milly took his opportunity to steal another one of Luke's chips.

-The Next Morning-

Jake's POV:

I dressed nicely. Nicer than usual. Hailey had invited me to her house. I was nervous because the club was going to be there. I hadn't seen them in eight years. It was a rush. I never thought I'd see them again. I left my room. Lia was leaning over the counter. A cup of steaming coffee is next to her. "Oh, Jake." She said when I walked up to her. "Hey," I said, reaching behind her. She grabbed her cup and moved out of the way. "I have to tell you something," She said softly. I grasped a granola bar and opened it. With my mouth full, I answered. "What is it?" She breathed sharply. 

"Zoey called last night and said she and Drew were in town, and she asked if they could visit us and -" I didn't let her finish her sentence. "You said yes!?" I yelled at her. She twirled her hair. "I was tired, all right? Plus, Zoey's my best friend and I haven't seen her in forever." I walked past Lia and opened the door.

"I've been trying to avoid Drew--him coming here is my ideal day." Lia caught me before I left. "Where are you going?" She raised her voice at me. I grabbed my jacket and flung it off the hook. 

"Hailey's." I slammed the door and walked away.