𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐔𝐆𝐀𝐑, COLBY MADDEN

1x09: Battle For My Brother

Jake ended his phone call with a satisfied smile. "That is a good one. Okay. Sounds good. Yeah, talk soon. Okay. Bye-bye."

Just then, Hartley and Y/N walked into the room.

"Hey, Jake. Were you just talking to who I think you were talking to?" Y/N asked, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Yup," Jake said casually.

"Starling?" Hartley echoed, blinking in surprise. "Oh. Well, I thought it was the middle-aged guy from tech support who you oddly became friends with."

"Dennis?" Jake chuckled. "No, I talked to him earlier. Good news—I convinced him to ditch the hairpiece and embrace the bald."

Hartley grinned, then leaned in with interest. "Well, did Starling ask about me?"

"Not by name, but she did tell me to say hi to my weird friend."

Y/N's face lit up. "That means she remembered you!"

Jake nodded, warmth in his eyes. "We've been talking every day since we went to our commercial shoot. And tonight, she wants to meet up in person."

"Oh my gosh, tonight? Really?" Y/N squealed softly. "That's amazing! What am I gonna wear?"

Jake grinned sheepishly. "Well, how about pajamas? Because you're staying home."

Hartley's jaw dropped. "Wait, what? You're not coming?!"

"This is the first chance Starling and I have had to hang out alone," Jake explained. "And I wanna make it special. So we're going to a junkyard."

Y/N gave a teasing smirk. "Sounds romantic. Was the sewage plant all booked up?"

Jake laughed. "It's special because that's where we had our first battle. I threw a rusted-out engine block at her, and she stopped it midair, then threw it right back at me. It was magical."

Hartley rolled her eyes but smiled. "Only you would call a junkyard magical."

"Anyway," Jake continued, "I need you to cover for me with my parents—and more importantly, Amy."

Hartley's expression tightened. "Oh no. I already feel guilty about keeping a secret from her."

"She's my best friend, and she wouldn't keep secrets from me," Y/N said softly.

"Yeah, she would," Jake countered with a smirk.

"Yeah. You're probably right." Hartley sighed, running a hand through her thinning hair. "But I don't like doing it to her."

"Neither do I," Y/N added gently.

Jake nodded. "I'm not gonna keep this from her forever, just until I can find a way to make her see the Starling that I see. You know, the one she won't wanna toss off a tall building."

Hartley exhaled heavily, a hand moving to her head as strands of hair slipped free. "Fine. But the stress of keeping this secret is getting to me. I'm starting to lose my hair. I mean, the shower drain looks like it's wearing a wig."

Jake laughed. "Come on, you can stay for dinner."

"And do you mind wearing a hairnet?" Y/N quipped, tossing him a playful glare.

The three of them burst into laughter, the tension easing in the room as they shared a rare moment of carefree fun before Jake's big night out. The kitchen was filled with the warm aroma of syrup and sizzling butter as Jake, Eva, Vic, Y/N, Hartley, and Amy gathered around the cluttered table for breakfast—at dinner time. Plates piled high with pancakes, scrambled eggs, and crispy bacon were scattered about, some already half-eaten.