One shots || Jake and Johnnie

Reunion after the dark || Jake & Johnnie

Jake finally decides to come back to his childhood town, trying to forget all the bad and dark memories from this place. It all comes back to him when he walks into his childhood friend.

—

Jake stood outside his childhood home, breathing in the familiar scent of freshly mowed grass and flowers. He had gone away to college, and then work took him to distant cities, but the pull of home had always lingered in his heart. Now, at 26, standing before the old house, he was a young man on the precipice of nostalgia.

He threw a glance toward the main street, the small town that had always felt like a refuge. But as his brown eyes scanned the changes, the new coffee shop where the old bakery used to be, the upgraded park with its big playground. He felt a sense of disconnection, as if a veil had been drawn over the place he once knew so well.

With a sigh, he slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans and headed toward the town square. It was there he hoped to find Johnnie, his childhood friend. They had been inseparable throughout their childhood, Jake could hardly imagine life without him. But the memories of their friendship were complicated, twisting through a haze of unspoken words and unresolved issues.

Jake spotted a familiar figure leaning against a wall, arms crossed, blue eyes looking down at the ground. Johnnie wore a worn black leather jacket that looked even more aged than the last time Jake had seen him, a color that seemed to embody his prickly demeanor.

"Hey, Johnnie," Jake called out, trying to sound casual as he approached.

"Jake," Johnnie responded, not bothering to meet his gaze. His tone was flat, almost dismissive. "You're back."

"Yeah, for a bit," Jake said, stuffing his hands deeper into his pockets, feeling the weight of the silence that enveloped them. Memories flooded back, the late night talks about dreams and aspirations, and laughter shared over ice cream on hot summer nights.

"So... how's life?" Jake asked.

"Same old, same old," Johnnie replied. He shifted his weight, still avoiding Jake's eyes. "No one really changes much in this town, do they?"

The edge in Johnnie's voice was unmistakable. Jake felt the stirrings of confusion surge within him. "Listen, I know it's been a while. But I really wanted to catch up —"

"Catch up?" Johnnie scoffed, finally meeting Jake's gaze with sharp, icy intensity. "What's the point? You left. You chose to go, remember?"

Jake swallowed hard. "I didn't just leave. I had opportunities. And I thought..." He trailed off, grappling with how to articulate that he had thought of them, of their friendship, often.

"Thought what? That you could just walk back in and everything would be the same?" Johnnie's voice was laced with a tone that hit Jake like a slap. "That you could just pretend nothing happened?"

"What do you mean?" Jake demanded, feeling anger and hurt bubble beneath his calm facade.

A flicker of pain crossed Johnnie's face, quickly masked by his usual sarcasm. "Oh, come on, Jake. You really don't recall? The last time you were here, you made a choice. A choice that affected more than just you."

"Are you talking about the party? The accident? I had no idea..." Jake hesitated. The weight of the past bore down on him. He remembered the laughter that had turned to chaos, the moment when everything had spiraled out of control. He would never forget seeing Johnnie's face when he learned about the fallout, how it suffocated their friendship.

"Did you really not know? Or did you just not care? I didn't think I'd see you again after that," Johnnie replied bitterly, his voice breaking slightly.

"I cared, Johnnie! I didn't mean for any of that to happen. It was terrible, what happened to Kyle." Jake confessed, his heart racing. He hadn't spoken Kyle's name in years. The unfortunate accident had left a stain on their group of friends, drawing invisible lines between them.

Johnnie's demeanor softened slightly, but the distance remained. "You went off to live your life. And I stayed here, dealing with the aftermath... all the whispers, the judgment. You think that it was easy?"

"I came back because I wanted to make things right," Jake replied earnestly. "You're my best friend. We went through so much together. We're still in this together, aren't we?"

"Best friend?" Johnnie laughed, but the sound was hollow. "That was a long time ago, Jake. Things aren't that simple anymore."

Jake took a step closer, eyes cast down as he wrestled with his emotions. "Then let's talk about it. I'm here now, and I want to understand. I want to help if I can."

After a long silence, Johnnie exhaled sharply, the tension hanging in the air like a string ready to snap. "Fine. But it's not just about us. It's about the whole damn town. You think you can just come back and fix things? You don't know what all of us have been through. You don't know what people say."

The mention of people's opinions stung deeply. "What do you mean?" Jake asked, bewildered.

"There are rumors, Jake," Johnnie started, the bitterness returning. "They talk about you, about Kyle, and they think the worst of people. They want someone to blame. And guess what? You were the easiest target."

Jake felt like the ground had shifted beneath him. How could this small town, with its long streets and friendly faces, fall victim to such cruelty? "I wasn't perfect, I know that. But surely, they don't think I—"

"Yeah, they do," Johnnie cut him off, his voice rising in frustration. "They think you were reckless. They think you ran away instead of facing it."

Jake's heart sank. He had tried to escape the whispers haunting him from a distance, not realizing they had followed him back home. "That's not fair... I came back hoping to make things right. To find closure."

"Closure?" Johnnie said incredulously. "You think it's that easy? People don't just forgive and forget. You've lost that right when you chose to leave. And now I don't know if that rift can be mended."

"I know I made mistakes," Jake admitted, feeling the weight of regret pressing down on him. "But if you're still hurting, then we can figure this out together. Kyle wouldn't have wanted this."

A flicker of emotion sparked in Johnnie's blue eyes as if the walls he had built around himself were beginning to crack. "You don't know what it's been like to stay here, trapped by all the memories and whispers. I thought we had each other's backs, but you turned your back on this town... on all of us."

Jake's heart ached as he saw Johnnie's vulnerability seep through his tough exterior. "You're right. I did, but I didn't think I had anywhere to turn. I was scared. Can we... can we just try to fix this, at least for ourselves?"

Months of distance seemed to swirl around in the air as Jake waited for Johnnie's response. Finally, Johnnie's expression softened a fraction "Maybe... I just don't know if we can ever go back to being friends. Too much has happened."

Jake nodded, understanding that trust was not something easily regained. "I'll be around. We can take it one step at a time. I want to hear you, to listen to you. You're still important to me, despite the pain"

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