You || Krii7y

12. Accidental Encounters

Jaren is blessed with a peaceful sleep that lasts until 9 a.m. when the shining sun creeps in through his living room windows and forces him awake. He spots Octavia stretching in the same corner he'd left her last night and watches her approach him.

She licks the side of his face and he laughs, walking with her to the kitchen where he feeds her. "I'm such a bad owner, aren't I?"

She lifts her head from her bowl and looks at him innocently.

"I don't deserve you. You're so patient and the only one who's always there for me, no matter what." He watches her lick her lips and swears she can understand everything he says as she walks over and nuzzles his legs. He leans down and pats her back.

"Today is going to be an Octavia day. We'll do what you want. We'll go to the park, yeah?" She clearly perks up at this, spinning in the kitchen and barking. Jaren chuckles.

*****************************

An hour later, they're at the park they came to almost a week ago, before John had stopped talking to Jaren. He chooses to ignore those thoughts and instead focuses on the faint smell of rain from last night. The sun has made a grand appearance and he can feel its heat despite the grass still being damp from the rain. The weather is warm enough that he didn't feel a jacket was necessary but had still worn a thick T-shirt and jeans.

Octavia trots by his side, keeping a pace she knows Jaren can keep up with. He looks around, not finding many people in the park. There are a few people roller skating along the path, gracefully whizzing by. John had told him he'd teach him how to roller skate but he never had. And now Jaren doesn't see him ever keeping that promise.

Octavia barks at him as though sensing him withdrawing from the present.

"I'm here, Octavia. Don't worry." He kneels to her level and gives her a scratch behind the ear before he hears a shout.

"Jaren! It's so nice to see you!"

His head snaps up at the cheery female voice and his gaze lands on John, eyes wide and evasive of Jaren's, before it settles on the source of the greeting. Kasey walks towards him and Octavia, beaming. John follows, clearly reluctant, and Jaren scoffs to himself. It's not like I took you home when you turned up to my house drunk and deranged yesterday.

He plasters a fake smile onto his own face. "Hey, nice to see you too," he replies, stepping closer. Kasey pulls him in for a hug and he feels his prejudicial dislike seep away. She holds him close and gives him a gentle squeeze; it's such a genuine hug. They both pull away and he searches her eyes for even a glimmer of ill-meaning and finds nothing. Nothing but sincerity. It's so hard to not like someone when they're so fucking nice. Jaren would find his jealousy so much easier to justify if Kasey wasn't a genuine person.

"How are you?" she questions, looking back to John and beckoning him over. He stuffs his hands in his jacket pocket and awkwardly shuffles over.

Jaren watches him as he approaches. "I'm alright. How are you?"

"I'm really good! John and I decided to go on a walk so here we are. I see you and your dog had the same idea." She crouches to Octavia's level and strokes her head. "What's her name again?"

"Octavia."

"Oh yes, I remember. John was telling me all about her the other day. And about you. He doesn't stop going on about you sometimes, I swear. I'm supposed to be the girlfriend." She laughs.

Jaren doesn't find her admission about John very funny as he snaps his gaze to the blonde-haired man, whose eyebrows knit together.

"Is that so?" Jaren challenges.

He can see John battling several responses. "You wish, bitch." He smirks and Jaren is surprised at the playfulness in his voice.

"Well, Kasey here just outed you, so..." He shrugs, a small smile finding its way onto his own face. He watches John's gaze shift from Kasey to him and back as he grins at them both.

"Sorry, John. I had to let him know you care."

That one sentence is enough to sour both men's moods. Jaren sees John recoil as he remembers that they aren't talking. This is ridiculous. He sighs, again, and fastens his grip on Octavia's lead. He knows their conversation is over now. There's no point in trying to salvage any of this.

He remembers what John had said last night about drunk him being the real him. He wishes the intoxicated but nice guy from last night would reappear in the man in front of him and stop running from him.

"I'm going to get going, anyway. I'll see you around. Enjoy your walk." Jaren talks exclusively to Kasey because he sees no point in bidding farewell to someone who will ignore him.

"Bye Jaren! Enjoy your day." She squeezes his shoulder as he walks away.

****************************

Jaren meets John a second time that day but this time it is virtually as they play CS:GO with Fitz and Toby.

"Hey hey lads, are you ready for some exquisite gameplay and commentary?" Toby announces.

"Aye aye Captain!" Jaren shouts and hears John's voice simultaneously yell the same thing. They both burst into laughter.

"Smii7y, there's no way we just did that again." Oh, they're speaking now?

Jaren wants to keep quiet, he really does, but his entire being is drawn towards John and has been for years. They are, or were, best friends. He isn't sure where they stand now.

"You have bear fists?" Jaren mocks one of the other times they'd synchronised their minds.

"You two really are the same person. It's scary how perfect you are for each other," Cam comments.

Jaren feels his face heat up and he tries to cover up how dry his mouth feels. "Alright, let's play this shit game."

They all talk and laugh as usual, John less reserved against Jaren than he had been for the last few days. Jaren's grateful that, though he's not his usual self, John is at least able to talk to him.

"So Kryoz, how's the old girlfriend?" Toby queries, static from her mic buzzing in Jaren's ear.

"She's good. She came over this morning to see me because I was apparently drunk out of my mind last night and left the party without her. It was really sweet of her to come over. I don't even know how I managed to get myself home though, to be honest. I was completely wasted so it's a miracle I got home in one piece."

Jaren tries to keep his mouth shut yet again, but he can't. "It was me."

"What?"

"I'm the one who got you home. You came over completely shit-faced and I drove you home."

"Right. Thanks." He can hear the irritation in John's voice. What the fuck has he done now? Jaren clenches his teeth and exhales through his nose.

"I've got a headache, I'm going to bed." He doesn't even try to make his excuse sound believable. John is frustrating the hell out of him right now and he just needs to get away before he explodes.