You've Got It Made - Tay Jardine Fanfiction

Chapter Nine

“Hallelujah, praise the lord.” I muttered as I dropped my bags onto the floor. “My back kills.” I whined to myself as I flopped on my stomach on my bed. Vans Warped Tour was immense, but man, it sure as hell drained all the energy out of my body. The running around, the jumping about, the constant falling over - I’d never felt more tired in my whole life.

No doubt I smelled horrible. I guess constant sweating and falling in mud tends to have that effect on people. My stomach was growling violently and my clothes were covered in dried mud. In short, I didn’t look very attractive at that moment in time. I needed to eat, shower and change my clothes, but my lack of energy was making me unable to move off of my bed. For some reason, it felt comfier than it ever had in two years of owning it. How Jordan hadn’t been embarrassed by the way I looked was beyond me.

Jordan... My mind flicked to him. He’d hardly said ten words on the journey home. I guessed the Pierce The Veil ordeal was getting to him more than I expected. Since they left, he hadn’t really mentioned them. In fact, he acted like they never existed. If we mentioned them he’d change the subject immediately. They hurt him a hell of a lot, and just as he had forgotten about what they did, they popped back into his life. I couldn’t think to imagine the hurt he had been and possibly still was feeling.

I wanted to sleep but I couldn’t knowing Jordan wasn’t his usual self. I lazily pulled my phone out of my pocket and tapped in Jordan’s number.

“Hello?” He sounded weak and sad once again. He sniffled.

“Jordan, have you been crying?” I frowned at the thought that something could upset him so much. This wasn’t like him at all, and I was beginning to think that maybe it was more than just the encounter with Pierce The Veil that was getting to him.

“N-no.” He mumbled, clearly trying to stop me from worrying. At times, he was a really bad liar.

“I’m coming over.” I put the phone down before he could even try and argue with me. Despite how tired I was, I jumped up off my bed and changed into cleaner, comfier clothes. I tied my hair up into a messy bun and drowned myself in body spray.

I ran down the stairs as quick as I could without tripping over and headed straight for the kitchen. Searching in the refrigerator, I found a big bottle of Mountain Dew and cradled it in my arm as I fumbled for my car keys. Without a second thought, I was out of my front door and running towards my car.

~

I ran towards his front door, shivering in the crisp night air. I knocked repeatedly on his door until he answered. He looked rough and extremely unhappy. His hair was a mess and was standing up in every direction. He stood flaccid as if all the energy he usually had had just been drained right out of him. Even when normal Jordan was tired, he had better posture than that. Something was definitely wrong.

“Code red Mountain Dew.” I smiled weakly and gestured to the bottle that I once again held cradled in my left arm. ‘Zombieland’ was one of mine and Jordan’s favourite films, and ever since first watching it, ‘code red Mountain Dew’ has been something that we’ve used ever since. A good drink for emergency situations.

“Good call, Tayls.” He hardly ever called me that. He moved to the side and let me in. I followed him into his living room and flopped down on his sofa. Staying silent, he disappeared into the kitchen and wandered back in with two glasses, sitting down next to me.

“So-” I started, pouring Mountain Dew into both glasses. “-Are you gonna’ tell me what’s going on in J-land?” I asked, looking at him as I handed him his glass.

“Not much.” He lied, giving me a weak smile.

“You’re a really bad liar, Mr Eckes.” I stated, looking at him for a moment. I knew just how bad bottling up feelings could be; I’d done it practically all my life. It’s horrible, and I didn’t want him to have to do that. It’d eat away at him. He let out a heavy sigh after a moment.