Not Him

"Whatever. Jaden's brought home worse." - 9/10

September 10th, 2022
8:21am
Ranboo woke up on his own. He wasn't surprised when he checked the time, his phone laying on the nightstand, plugged in despite the fact that he hadn't plugged it in himself.

Jaden was thoughtful. As much as he didn't want to let it show, he was thoughtful. That was apparent in the note left on the nightstand, too, apologizing(as if Ranboo wasn't aware that Jaden had work) and saying that he was free to use anything in Jaden's flat. A small key was also sitting on the nightstand, the note reminding him to lock the door if he left.

Thinking. This left him time to think.

About a lot of things, obviously, but his brain was particularly fixated on the fact that he and Jaden had gotten just about nothing clear. Ranboo tried. It just didn't seem like Jaden was ready to... confirm anything.

That was fine. Ranboo didn't... care. It was just a matter of... well, when Ranboo was sitting there longing, he imagined that if he and Jaden had mutual feelings, they'd just... start dating. Simple as that.

Should he have known that Jaden wouldn't be ready for that? Probably. He was barely fully out of a relationship with someone else. There was just a stark contrast between thinking about a scenario where he confessed his feelings and actually confessing his feelings. This was the real world, unfortunately. Things were more complicated than finding out there are mutual feelings and becoming an item.

Ranboo didn't really feel comfortable staying in Jaden's apartment on his own for two long, so he went out to get breakfast. He didn't have a change of clothes, but he didn't really have a choice on that end.

It was cool out, but not cold. Ranboo's hoodie was more than enough to keep him warm as he wandered the streets, looking for somewhere he could buy something quick and easy for breakfast. He obviously didn't know the area, but he knew he'd find something. He'd passed through the city multiple times, eventually he'd think of or find a place.

And he did. It wasn't anything special, and he got his food to go, eating it somewhat nearby at a bench he found while wandering. Spending the day in the city waiting for his not-boyfriend to get back from his job. Ranboo didn't know if it felt normal or wrong or somewhere in between.

He didn't want to go back and sit in Jaden's apartment all day, but at least Jaden's apartment had a TV. The outside world just had cars and people walking. He did not feel like sitting outside.

Nearly getting lost, he found his way back to Jaden's apartment. He situated himself on the couch with some random Netflix show he'd heard vaguely of on Twitter and let the time pass.

Except it didn't quite go like that, because as the clock hit twelve, Ranboo heard the front door open. That wasn't right. Jaden would still be at work until four. Ranboo knew what he was expecting, and he hoped he was wrong, because god Jaden would probably start sobbing if he found out that someone was somehow getting into his apartment. Ranboo put on his best "what do you think you're doing here?" expression as he stood from the couch, deciding to wait for the person to turn the corner.

This was not Linden. This was a girl. And this girl was now screaming. Like, a lot. Ranboo had no other reaction in him than to freeze. The girl stumbled back in panic as she stared up at Ranboo, her yell finally ending.

When Ranboo thought things couldn't get more awkward, someone else rushed into the apartment.

"Londyn? Who is this? Do you know him?"

Ah, so this was Londyn. And now Ranboo looked like he had broken into Jaden's apartment. Whoops.

"I KNOW HIM. SORRY JOEY. I PROMISE I KNOW HIM. I JUST DIDN'T THINK HE WAS HERE. WHY ARE YOU HERE. WHAT THE FUCK."

"Should... I go?" asked Joey, who was seemingly Jaden's neighbor.

"YEAH. YEAH YOU CAN LEAVE."

"...So you're Londyn?"

"WHAT ARE YOU FUCKING DOING HERE."

"I– uh– waiting for Jaden to get home from work."

Londyn pushed past Ranboo and into Jaden's kitchen, grabbing a bag of chips from a cabinet. The chips were a flavor that Ranboo was 80% sure Jaden openly disliked. They definitely seemed like the type of siblings to have food for each other laying around their houses– of course, Londyn looked to be sixteen, so she obviously wasn't on her own just yet, but if she was? Jaden's preferences for snacks would likely be laying around her place.

"Jaden said you were coming over yesterday."

"I stayed over."

"Oh. Oh that's weird." Londyn popped a chip into her mouth as she leaned up against Jaden's kitchen counter. "I know you two are close, but I didn't think you were that close. I was surprised that Jaden even let you in here."

"Well– I mean– I–"

"This is fucking insane. I literally watch you on twitch. What are you doing in my brother's flat?"

"...Oh yeah, you... yeah. Yeah." Ranboo didn't know what to... do. This was the weirdest fan experience he'd ever had, definitely. If you could call it that. Fan experience-slash-meeting your romantic interest's sister.

"You're not conversational. Are you always this awkward in real life?"

"...Well, when I'm meeting my–" oh, here's that word again, this time with a twist– there would actually be reason to use a different word, but Jaden probably didn't need Ranboo explaining their relationship to his sister, whatever that relationship was, "–friend's sister, who also happens to be a fan of my content, after she literally screamed when she saw me..."

"Oh, fuck off. Imagine you walk into your brother's flat and someone a foot taller than you is standing there looking like he wants to kill you."

"Sorry... about that."

"Whatever. Jaden's brought home worse."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me. You've met that worse, too."

"What do you... mean?"

"I've walked into Jaden's flat and seen worse people. You've met Linden. You haven't met the rest of them, though. Jaden has a lot of friends that... I'm not a fan of. I don't think he talks to them much anymore, though."

Oh, yeah. Obviously she meant friends. Ranboo definitely didn't read that situation wrong at all. Thank god. It would be so embarrassing if he thought that Londyn was implying that Jaden and Ranboo had something going on.

"Why are you... here?"

"This is literally my brother's flat. I come here all the time. You're the one who got kicked out, like, last week. I knew you were coming over yesterday, but I didn't expect this."

"...Fair point. Uh... so... what are you... doing here?"

"Waiting for Jaden."

"He won't be back until four."

Londyn found that extremely funny, apparently. "You think I don't know his schedule?"

"I was just–" Ranboo sighed. He was getting bullied by a fan. He was standing in the middle of his definitely not-boyfriend's apartment being bullied by a fan.

"Sorry, sorry. It's been a while since Jaden brought a friend for me to bully. Just because I watch your streams doesn't mean you're exempt from that."

"...Good to know I won't be treated differently, I guess."

"That's the spirit. What're you watching? We've got four hours until Jaden gets back, and I'm not leaving, so we might as well waste time somehow.

Ranboo sighed. He seemed to keep ending up in the weirdest situations when Jaden was involved.