back to you | jadon sancho

ten

"We have to tell them today," Jadon insisted, his voice firm but laced with the kind of urgency that made my stomach churn.

"I know," I responded, my voice softer, tinged with reluctance. I looked away, my eyes drifting over the view from my apartment window, where the city buzzed with life below. "But how? They'll be so mad that we've kept it a secret for this long."

Jadon sighed, running a hand through his hair as he paced the length of the living room. "It's not like we can keep sneaking around forever, Imani. They're going to find out eventually, and it's better if they hear it from us."

I nodded, knowing he was right. The past few weeks had been a whirlwind of stolen moments, secret meetups, and hushed conversations. But as thrilling as it had been, the reality of our situation was beginning to weigh on both of us.

"We'll just have to be honest," I said, trying to muster up some courage. "Chloe might be upset, but she'll understand. Eventually."

"And Gio," Jadon added, grimacing slightly. "He's going to have a field day with this. Not to mention Karim and Loredana."

The thought of our friends' reactions made my heart pound. Chloe had always been protective of me, especially after Jadon and I broke up the first time. And Karim, well, he was as close to Jadon as a brother. Keeping this from them felt like a betrayal.

But the alternative—keeping our relationship in the shadows—was becoming unbearable. The tension between us was only growing, and it was getting harder to pretend that everything was fine when we were around our friends. We couldn't keep living this lie.

"So," I said, drawing in a deep breath, "how do we do this? We can't just drop it on them out of nowhere."

Jadon stopped pacing and turned to face me, his expression determined. "We'll tell them tonight. We'll invite everyone over, make it a casual get-together. And then... we'll just tell them."

I swallowed hard, the weight of what we were about to do settling in my chest. "Tonight," I repeated, more to myself than to Jadon. "Okay. Tonight."

Jadon crossed the room in a few quick strides, pulling me into his arms. "It's going to be okay," he murmured against my hair. "We'll get through this. Together."

I clung to him, drawing strength from his embrace. "I know," I whispered, though I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince him or myself.

As we stood there, wrapped in each other's arms, I couldn't help but think about how much had changed between us. We had gone from exes to secret lovers, and now we were about to face the consequences of our choices. I just hoped our friends would understand—and that our relationship would survive the fallout.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of nerves and anticipation. Jadon had left to pick up some things for the evening, and I busied myself with cleaning the apartment and preparing snacks. The mundane tasks helped to keep my mind occupied, but as the hours ticked by, my anxiety grew.

By the time I rang the doorbell rang that evening, my heart was pounding so hard I could hardly breathe. I glanced at Jadon, who gave me a reassuring nod before Gio opened the door to let us friends in.

Karim was already there, without Loredana, though. They all greeted us with smiles and laughter, completely unaware of the bombshell we were about to drop.

As everyone settled in, I exchanged a glance with Jadon. This was it. The moment of truth.

"Hey, everyone," Jadon said, his voice cutting through the chatter. "There's something we need to talk to you about."

All eyes turned to him, and the room fell silent. My heart was in my throat as I stepped closer to Jadon, taking his hand in mine. The shocked expressions on our friends' faces told me they had already begun to put the pieces together.

"We... we have something to tell you," I began, my voice trembling slightly. "And we hope you can understand why we've kept it a secret for so long."

The room felt impossibly still as everyone stared at us, their expressions a mix of confusion and curiosity. Chloe's eyes darted between Jadon and me, her brow furrowing in suspicion.

"We've been seeing each other again," Jadon said, cutting straight to the point. His voice was calm, but I could feel the tension in his grip on my hand. "For a few weeks now."

The silence that followed was deafening. Untill Chloe broke it.

"Hand over the money, boys!" Chloe said, holding out her hands towards Karim and Gio.

"Why today, out of all days?!" Karim said.

"Two more days, and I would have won." Gio interjected, while handing Chloe a 100 euro note.

Me and Jadon looked confused at eachother. "Um, what's going on?"

"We betted on when you would tell us." Chloe smirked.

The silence that followed was deafening. Until Chloe broke it.

"Hand over the money, boys!" Chloe said, extending her hands toward Karim and Gio, a triumphant smirk on her face.

"Why today, out of all days?!" Karim groaned, digging into his pocket and pulling out a crumpled bill.

"Two more days, and I would have won," Gio added with a mock frown, reluctantly handing over a crisp 100-euro note.

Jadon and I exchanged confused looks. "Um, what's going on?" I asked, still trying to process the sudden shift in mood.

Chloe grinned as she pocketed the money. "We bet on when you two would finally spill the beans about getting back together," she explained, her tone playful. "I had faith you wouldn't last another week without telling us."

"You guys bet on us?" Jadon asked, half-amused and half-annoyed, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course we did," Gio said, chuckling as he leaned back in his chair. "It was obvious something was up between you two. The way you've been acting around each other—come on, did you really think we wouldn't notice?"

"Honestly, you're both terrible at hiding it," Karim added with a teasing smile.

"Like how the closet 'randomly' fell down." Chloe said.

"Or how you both smelled like storage room after going to the toilet." Gio continued.

"And I saw Jadon's car outside of your apartment complex last time." Chloe added.

"Seeing you guys with Aaron and Lara was so fun." Karim said.

I felt a mix of embarrassment and relief wash over me. "So... you're not mad?" I asked, glancing at Chloe.

Chloe rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Mad? Maybe a little annoyed that you didn't trust me enough to tell me sooner, but I'll get over it. Besides," she said, waving the money in the air, "I just made 200 euros."

Jadon laughed, shaking his head. "I guess we underestimated you guys."

"You definitely did," Karim said, leaning forward with a grin. "But seriously, we're happy for you. Just... try not to mess it up this time, yeah?"

Jadon gave a mock salute. "No promises, but I'll do our best."

The atmosphere lightened considerably, and I felt the tension I'd been carrying for weeks finally start to dissolve. There was still a lot to work through—both with our friends and with each other—but knowing that they were rooting for us made it easier to face whatever challenges lay ahead.

As the conversation shifted to lighter topics, I found myself able to relax for the first time that evening. I caught Jadon's eye across the table, and he gave me a small, reassuring smile. Whatever happened next, I knew we could handle it together.