Best For Last || Jacob Elordi AU

stranger

present day
       You pretended not to notice that Jacob's breath hitched slightly upon seeing you.

It was devastating. You'd hoped he'd gotten less attractive over the years but honestly, he'd matured infuriatingly well. His hair was styled differently, and his fashion had changed with the times, but he still had those full lips and that knee-weakening look in his dark eyes.

You broke the eye contact almost as soon as it was made, and shifted your focus to taking in the décor of the room. You wouldn't expect Dante and Arya to be the kind of couple that had things on their walls like Our Happy Place and Bless This Nest-- but they were. They had a pass-through in the wall that separated their kitchen and living room, and little souvenirs and knick-knacks lined the shelf of it. The living room walls were such a light blue you could mistake them for white if you didn't look hard enough. Photos of the two of them, along with Arya's childhood cat, Layla, were in a collage picture frame over the TV.

On their light grey leather loveseat was a girl you'd never seen before, and you quickly realized it was Arya's other bridesmaid. She had black hair chopped a couple inches below her ears, cerulean blue eyes accentuated by dark lash extensions, and while her lips looked nice, it was obvious she'd had work done on them.

"Y/N, this is Sabrina," Arya began as Dante and you set your bags down behind the couch. "Sabrina, Y/N."

Jacob came from where you could see him via the pass-through to sit on the other identical loveseat across from Sabrina. You didn't acknowledge this change in the slightest, and instead kept your eyes locked on the noirette in front of you. You two shook and exchanged pleasantries, and Arya began speaking again when you took a seat next to the other bridesmaid.

"We just waiting on the last groomsmen, he should be here any minute," she pulled her phone out and started scrolling, clearly in search of something. "He's known the plans the longest though so I'ma just tell y'all the itinerary while we wait." She got where she needed to be on her phone and cleared her throat a little before speaking again.

"Day one -- so right now -- we gonna get in the RV and take hour long turns driving. Speaking of, is anyone dying to go first?" She beamed.

When no one said anything, Dante spoke up, "Shit, make Sid do it since he wanna be all late."

Your surprise was evident at this new information, and you so badly wanted to look over and check Jacob's reaction, but you stopped yourself somehow. He and Sid's last interaction was less than pleasant, last you knew. He got all the blame for ruining you guys' relationship and "not keeping bro code." Yours and his relationship however was a pleasant neutral. You two hadn't remained as closed as either of you had with Dante, but you had no hard feelings. You occasionally liked each other's post on social media or sent congratulatory messages as necessary.

"Works for me," Arya replied with a playful grin.

She carried on telling everyone the details of the trip, ones that you'd already gotten from Dante a couple months ago. You'd all stay at the campgrounds two days, then drive an hour each again until you reached the AirBNB in Georgia. There, the Maid of Honor and Best Man would be waiting, having spent the previous few days preparing things for the big day. You'd all go sightseeing the first day you were there, have the wedding the second day, and the next morning head to the airport to get all of you -- excluding the newlyweds -- back to Pennsylvania.

Almost as if he was waiting for her to finish, Sid knocked on the door just as Arya wrapped up. He walked in with a cheerful demeanor, meeting Dante in that typical one-armed "bro hug" where guys just slap each other on the back. When they separated, Sid locked eyes with Jacob. They gave each other identical nods as greeting, and then he finally saw you.

"Y/N, holy shit," he approached with a pleasantly surprised grin, and you stood to accept his hug. "Jesus, how long has it been?"

"Too long," you replied when you parted. "I didn't know you were in the wedding."

"Yeah, I didn't know you were either," for a split second he glanced over to where Jacob sat tensely, an awkwardly polite smile on his face.

From there, he introduced himself to Sabrina, they shook hands, and then Dante re-entered the living room and clapped his hands together once.

"We good? Everyone ready?"

There were excited murmurs of agreement as you all stood and trailed after the happy couple. As bad luck would have it, you and Jacob were the last ones out, meeting nearly side by side at the door frame. You glanced grimly at him, and he gestured for you to go first. You did so without saying a word. It was a bizarre feeling being so close again to a man that was now just a stranger with whom you shared your most precious memories.
Outside, Dante shot you a look that conveyed sympathy and gratitude all in one. The girls piled into the RV one after another as the guys did last minute things like locking up the house and making sure the bikes strapped to the back of the car were secure. The inside of the spacious vehicle, there were two larger beds in the back separated by a thin carpeted wall, and two smaller beds against the side walls that made a tiny hallway through the middle. The toilet and shower were 5x smaller than what you were comfortable with, but for your friends you'd grin and bear it. Cackling from outside the screen window caught your attention, and you looked to see Dante, Sid, and Jacob looking like they were already having the time of their lives. This familiar sight sent you right back to the last time you'd heard that laugh.

//

8 years ago
    The house was on the market, your mother's funeral was over, and you'd moved into Drew's spare bedroom. You planned to move at least two states away as soon as you could afford any apartment that would get back to you. Finally, one did-- sort of. A girl in Michigan desperately needed a roommate and described an ideal living situation for you. Mostly everyone you knew had been told of your plans at this point, and you were making your rounds saying goodbye to those you'd miss the most. Right now, that person was Dante. You two were in his compact new apartment, across from each other at the dining room table while you waited for your shared fries to be done.

"I know, I know," you said for the tenth time that night. "You were in a tough spot, I get it. Plus, you were friends with him before you were friends with me."

He'd been explaining for the past five minutes how he felt just awful about not coming to you immediately when Jacob admitted he'd fallen for someone else. You assured him that without his dropping hints at the bowling alley, who knows how much further it would've gone or for how long. The timer for your food dinged, and while you two ate, you reminisced about school, jobs, day trips, and eventually, old loves.

Just then, you got a troublesome idea that you hardly tried to fight off. After eight months of no contact, you were going to call Jacob.