Secret Love (Jolby)

Knight In Shining Armor

      The restaurant is crowded, and all of the people make Colby feel light headed. Shaking the feeling off, Colby walks beside Sam as they walk further and further into the restaurant. From what Sam told them, John will be in the back waiting for them. The thought of meeting up with John makes Colby feel uncomfortable, and he's not sure if he should believe the man or not.

       As if he knew how Colby was feeling, Sam reaches over and grabs Colby's wrist — giving it a simple squeeze. The dark haired man spots a middle aged man sitting at a round table, his skin is pale and he is playing with a ring on his thumb. Taking a calming breathe, Colby puts on a fake smile and walks over to one of the empty seat.

"Hey, John. Nice to meet you." Colby hears Sam say, "I'm Sam." The blonde says as he holds his hand out for John to take.

"Nice to finally meet you." John says, his voice is deep, and it has a hint of a British accent in it.

      John's hazel eyes find Colby's blue ones, "You must be Colby." The man gives him a knowing look as he holds his hand out for Colby to take. Sort of hesitantly, Colby takes it and gives him a quick smile, "Nice to meet you, John."

      After everyone says their greetings, it isn't long before they order their drinks and are sitting in their respected seats. Colby sighs softly as he relaxes into his seat, he still feels uncomfortable around John but decides to push through it. For the fans, only for the fans.

•••
"What happened that night, John?" Sam asks, he's holding the camera toward John's side of the table. The older man only smiles as he sets his drink down, "I'm sure you know what happened, Sam. I doubt you would show up here if you didn't already know." John says, his eyes twinkling in amusement.

     Colby chuckles when Sam clears his throat, obviously shocked at being called out. Seeing as he's the other half of Sam and Colby, the dark haired man takes it upon himself to speak.

"I believe Sam means what happened that night... in your own words." Colby explains.

      John nods his head, "Of course. Well, I woke up to the feeling of being watched — which didn't make sense since I was alone — and I looked around my room to find no one there. Deciding that it was just my mind playing tricks on me, I went back to sleep. Maybe an hour later I woke up to the same feeling; except this time I wasn't alone. The figure at the end of my bed was tall, and I could clearly make out the outline of a man. I didn't scream, I didn't talk, and I didn't move. I just watched the shadow in front of me, and I swear mate... I heard it breathing." As he went into detail about that night, John's eyes looked off in the distance. Colby thinks to himself how the older man is probably reliving that night.

     After explaining that night to them, John cleared his throat and took a sip of water. His eyes didn't meet any of the three friends, he kept his head down — not looking at them as he tried to not get emotional over his memories.

"Listen..." Colby looks up to find John's eyes on him, "I don't recommend trying to catch that... thing on camera. Who knows what it's capable of." John says, his eyes filled with fear.

As John goes on about his experience at The Stanley, Colby finds himself not listening. His thoughts are all over the place as he sips his water, and stares at the table. He only comes back to reality when a hand is placed on his shoulder, Colby looks up to find John standing above him — a smile on his face.

"It was nice meeting you." John says, his smile turning into a smirk.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Colby gives him a small smile back, "Y-You too, sir." His voice is weak, and it cracks slightly.

"If you ever want to... talk, just give me a call." The man hands Colby a piece of paper.

Colby is about to hesitantly take the paper when an irritated voice interrupts him, "I don't think he wants it." Jake's voice is deeper than usual, and when Colby glances at him, Jake's eyes are narrowed at John and his lips are formed into a scowl.

Colby lets out a sigh of relief when John's pale face turns pink with embarrassment, and he walks away from the table.

"You okay?" Sam whispers in Colby's ear.

      The dark haired man smiles softly at his best friend, showing that he's fine. Colby turns his attention to a still scowling Jake, "Thanks, Jake." Colby says, a smile on his face.

"Of course." Jake answers, he smiles back softly before standing and pushing in his chair.

      The others do the same, and start to make their way back to the car, hoping to never see John Withering again.

•••
"Sam..." Jake whines from his place on the bed, his long legs are hanging off the side.

    The tall man's friend only laughs at Jake, "No, we're not ordering pizza." his cheerful voice makes Colby smile as he watches the two playfully argue.

      When they returned from the restaurant, the other three men of the group let their dark haired friend sulk in silence as they all lounged around the room. Colby could tell they were worried about him, and that makes the man feel bad as he stares at the ceiling.

"... right, Colbs?"

      Colby jumps when he hears his name come out of Jake's mouth. Looking around, he notices the worried looks of his friends. Not wanting to worry them any more, Colby smiles.

"Sorry, What did you say?" his voice comes out hoarse, and makes the man cringe slightly.

     Jake gives him a frown, "What's wrong, Colby? Ever since we got back to the room you haven't spoke a word, You've barely even looked at us." Jake's voice is worried, and makes the butterflies that Colby always get when he's close to Jake flutter about.

"Yeah, are you okay bro?" Corey says from his spot on the couch.

"guys-" Colby starts but is interrupted by Sam, "I agree with Jake. You're acting weird." The blonde says quickly.

       Colby sighs as he fights off his frustration, "I'm fine." he says through his clenched teeth.

"But-" Corey starts.

"I said I'm fine!" Colby yells before he stomps out of the hotel room, making his way away from the worried looks of his friends.

***

     As Colby sits at a bench outside of The Stanley, he thinks about why he's so upset.

'Why am I so upset over some old dude flirting with me? I mean, it's not like he did anything wrong.' Colby think to himself, his face full of confusion.

     Colby thinks back to the situation earlier, and how he felt uncomfortable with John. As he goes over all the information, the flirting, and the uncomfortable feelings; Colby also goes over how Jake stuck up for him, and how Colby has never seen his friend that mad before.

'Maybe that's why I'm upset.' Colby ponders, 'Jake's protective state earlier has made my mind think of unlikely things, like Jake actually liking me back.' Colby lets out a quiet laugh as he thinks that. He knows there's no way Jake would ever like him back, but just maybe...

"Hey."

     Colby jumps at the sound of Jake's voice, "Hey." he replies back, blushing slightly as he's pulled from his confusing thoughts.

     Jake gives him a smile before sitting next to him. They sit in silence before Jake clears his throat, "Can I ask you something personal? even if it might make you mad?" asks Jake.

     The older of the two smiles, "You can ask me anything, Jake." he chuckles slightly.

     Jake turns toward Colby, his expression serious - making Colby feel worried. His friend moves in closer, "I mean no disrespect when I ask this, but Colby... are you... are you gay?"

•••
Uh oh...

Enjoy the chapter! Love y'all!