𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗔𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥 ⚔︎

2

and as he was told to do, jesse did in fact get his shit together.

first and foremost, before he even began doing anything, he told tracy about his plans. since he had been an absolute head case for the entire span of their fifteen year friendship, tracy was undoubtedly unfazed; she told him to be safe and have fun, and to absolutely positively call her as soon as he got back.

but convincing giovanni proved to be more difficult than he thought.

the day after the gig, he and giovanni took a walk around central park after breakfast at a cafe near the strathmore. with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his duffle coat and his bottom lip between his teeth, jesse bit the bullet and told him the news.

he took a deep breath, looking out at the still and tranquil waters of the turtle pond. "so... you know that thing i went to yesterday?"

giovanni looked at him. the collar of his coat was popped to keep his neck warm. "m-hm. the music, with tommy."

"yes, the gig," jesse nodded. "well, listen, they, uh... they asked me to be their drummer."

giovanni's face lit up and he put his arm around him. "really?! congratulations, jesse. that's great."

jesse smiled humbly. "thank you," he said, his cheeks rosy from the cold. "listen, there's another thing..."

"go on."

"they want me to go on tour with them," jesse said, his voice shaking with nerves. "nothing major, just a few shows along the east coast."

giovanni titled his head in thought. "the east coast... hm, okay. whereabouts?"

"we're stopping off in a few cities from new york all the way down to miami," he said. "it'll only take a few weeks."

to this, giovanni stopped in his tracks. "... a few weeks?"

"yes, a few weeks. four at most," jesse said, nodding again. "is that... i mean, are you okay with that?"

giovanni clenched his jaw and sat down on the nearest wooden bench, leaning back and looking onto the tall reeds that surrounded the pond. "i... i don't know."

jesse sat down beside him. "why not?"

"okay, don't get me wrong, i'm happy for you. this... it's a great opportunity. i just..." giovanni glanced around for any passers-by and lowered his voice. "we've never been away from each other that long. what if..."

jesse stared at him with round eyes, patiently awaiting his drawn-out answer. "if...?"

giovanni avoided his gaze and shrugged. he could feel the cogs in his brain churning erratically with the amount of overthinking he was doing. "what if something happens?" he murmured. "... you know how those famous rockstars are. what if after a show you meet someone, y'know, that likes you and you like them and then..."

jesse's heart dropped as he heard him say those words. he knew he shouldn't be mad at him — the poor man didn't know any better. his last girlfriend had cheated on him, of course he was bound to have trust issues when it came to matters such as this. but he couldn't believe that giovanni thought he would do such a thing.

"none of that is gonna happen," jesse said, rubbing giovanni's back reassuringly. "i promise you. i'm not like that, i've never done anything like that. you can trust me."

giovanni was reluctant, but he knew there was no use trying to convince him. jesse was still going on the tour, whether he liked it or not.

"okay... okay," he eventually sighed. "i trust you."