Heat Haze

Tea Time

A/N

*crawls out of grave* Sorry for not updating, I've been avoiding this chapter like the plague, mainly because I didn't know how I wanted to write it. Well, see you later! *crawls back into grave*

Don cupped his face with his petite hands. It was finally over. The cycle of death had finally ended. He could barely find the words to describe his relief. But what was to become of everything? He still had to kill DDawn, but what was he to do after that? He didn't have anywhere to go, all of his friends would still be imprisoned, but at least he wouldn't have to constantly look over his shoulder. The haze of confusion seeped through the room. Don couldn't think of a plan, his normal plan required all three of them. He needed a second opinion on this, one outside of this tangled web. The jester puts his phone down on the soft bed before opening the drawer in his nightstand.

"I know it's in here," he mumbled, shifting through the clutter and junk. He pushed aside the loose paper until he found a folded up one. He takes it out, unfolds it, and pushes the drawer close. The redhead punched in the phone number and waited. When he first got it, he didn't think he would ever have a use for it. After all, they would almost never meet again as equals. After a minute, a voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi. It's Don,"

"Oh, you kept my number! I thought you would throw it way. Anyways, what do you need from me?"

"I need your opinion on something. I have to...I have to...um, so there's this thing and... I don't know how to fucking say it without a lot of context,"

"I don't have the time right now for that, but this obviously seems a little personal. How about we meet in person? I should be free around, three-ish? You can come over, I'll be the only one home,"

"Yeah, three is fine," the receiver hung up. Three would be fine.

Don exhaled as he stood in front of the house. It was a considerable distance from his apartment, almost on the opposite side of the city. He wasn't worried that he wouldn't help him, no, he was concerned about what they thought of him. Taking one more deep breath, Don knocked on the door. The door opened within a few seconds.

"Hey, Don! C'mon in!" Jon welcomed. He tried to give his counterpart a small smile, but he quickly abandoned that idea. Unlike him, Jon had vibrant lime hair, neatly kept and tied back into a ponytail. He was also a full foot taller than him and his sleeves were not nearly as baggy as his was. Jon also was ghostly pale compared to Don's darker complexion. The taller male had a slightly higher pitched voice and royal purple eyes. His smile was bright and warm, something that Don could never achieve. He stepped into the house and Jon closed the door behind him.

"It's a little weird talking to you, we've only met once before. And I don't know why you'd want to talk to me," they were in the kitchen of the house when Jon asked him that question. The aforementioned male was fixing two cups of tea as Don sat at the island.

"Yeah, I guess..." there was a little bit a silence before Jon piped up again.

"Do you like milk or sugar in your tea?"

"Uh, I actually don't like either," Don replied simply. Compared to his friends, he had a preference in bitter foods. The other male's eyes seemed to light up.

"So do I! Everyone else either doesn't drink it or puts ungodly levels of sugar or milk in it," Jon sets down the two cups and sits across from him. "What did you want to talk to me about?" Don loosely explains his situation, leaving most of the more fantastical details out.

"So that's about it," he states, taking a sip out of his tea. Jon nods.

"That's a rough situation, buddy. Let me guess, you need a plan for where you're gonna go?" he asks. Don curtly nods, putting his cup down.

"I just don't know what to do. I planned my future around what I was going to do with my friends, but since that isn't an option anymore," there's another moment of silence between the two to them. It seemed like hours had passed before one of them broke the silence.

"Don...I don't know you very well - this is just an offer, you don't need to really take it - but I can talk to the gang and ask them maybe you can spend time with us? I'm sure they won't mind, well, at least Ashlie and Nick won't mind, Uni will probably be suspicious," stay with them? It wasn't a bad idea, but as he stated, there would be some suspicion. And what would his friends think of him? Would Dashlie and Richard see him as a traitor? He would have to tell them eventually about freedom.

"I hope so. The other two will find out eventually, and I need a place to stay," Jon gave him a glowing smile.

"I'll try and I'll let you know if they agree to it. For now, let's just sit back and get to know each other," he assures him. He had a plan for after the deed, that was settled. But he would need to think of something when actually killing DDawn. He had the chip, but how to approach him? Jon interrupted his thoughts before he could soundly think of a solution.

"So how do you feel about baking?"

A/N

It's a headcanon of mine that both Jon and Don have a preference for bitter foods (Jon usually uses dark chocolate in baking). I wanted to add at least one of the OG gang into this story, so I settle on Jon because he and Edge Lord don't get much screen time together.