Midnight Blues // Jake Kiszka

nine

Jake and I took extra care when leaving the hotel room yesterday. I snuck out around 6 am, determining there would be no way to explain to Josh where I was all night. I realized if Josh had been knocked out the way he was, I could surely find some excuse. I had racked my brain all night, unable to sleep out of sheer fear of being caught. I had opted to grab breakfast for Josh and I from the corner bakery. I made sure to grab coffee in addition to their fresh bagels knowing that Josh would be cranky. He wasn't really a morning person, unless it was on his own terms. I took a deep sigh before inserting the hotel key card into its designated slot and turning the handle. When I pushed the door open, I was surprised to see Josh sitting up on the couch where I had left him to sleep last night. 

"Where were you?" 

"I went out to get us breakfast." I smiled. 

"Don't lie to me, Freya...please." He said, defeated. 

I felt bad lying to Josh and I knew that the truth would hurt him too, but in that moment, with his puppy dog face meeting mine, I couldn't lie. 

"I was with someone last night." 

The partial truth, that's fine, Freya. 

"With someone?" He raised his eyebrow, indicating he wanted to know if I was sleeping with someone. 

"Yes. I have a friend who was visiting the city who I haven't seen in a while." 

And there was the lie.

"Really? That's great! I want to meet them!" 

"She left today, that's why we met up last night." 

"That's too bad.So you're not seeing someone else then?" 

"No. Why would you think that?" 

"Well you were out all night and um, maybe because of this?" He said, turning his laptop to face me. 

The article was vibrant, banners flashing all over the screen. The headline read "Jake Kiszka's mystery girlfriend???" Luckily the photo was the back of my head, so it was unidentifiable. 

I didn't say anything, but looked at Josh, waiting for his reaction. 

"Freya, you could have told me you were seeing Jake." He sighed. 

"I'm not really seeing Jake though, we just spend time together. He doesn't seem like he wants a relationship and I'm your girlfriend publicly anyway." 

"If Jake is spending time with you, then he likes you too. He doesn't waste his time like that. You two need to be more careful." 

"You're not mad then?" 

"No, I love the both of you and I want you both to be happy. Did I have a crush on you? Maybe, but if Jake is spending time with you then that is way more meaningful than a little crush. I'm just sorry you didn't feel like you could confide in me about it." 

"I'm sorry, Josh. I really did want to tell you. You're my best friend, but this is your brother we're talking about. I didn't exactly think you'd be over the moon about it." 

"Freya, do you like Jake?" 

I nodded. 

"Then that's all that matters. Jake hasn't been happy in a long time and if he's actively trying to hang out with you, it means you matter to him. I want that for him. I really do." 

My heart melted both at the love that Josh had for his brother, but also at the fact that there may be something with Jake in the foreseeable future. Josh was right though, we needed to be careful, especially with the way that the fans were following us around last night. Either way, there was a weight off my shoulders after Josh knew. He was the only one who would have potentially had a problem with it. Now Jake and I could take a deep breath and not have to sneak around. 

"How about this? We do a group movie night tonight in our room. We can order pizza and watch the shittiest movie on and just be a group of kids for the night. Not rock stars, just a normal group of kids." I suggested. 

"That sounds amazing, I'd love that. I'll bring it up while we're in the studio, but we have to get going now otherwise we're gonna be late." He said, slightly panicked.          

The entire time in the studio, I had a reason to steal glances at Jake. I was entranced as his fingers floated over the frets effortlessly, the sound so haunting there was a chill down my spine. It was weird to be blatantly staring at Jake. I kept feeling the need to hide it from Josh. With Danny and Sam throwing questioning glances my way, I figured they'd figure it out within a minute. 

**

Obviously, when a movie night was mentioned, all the guys were down, so Josh and I decided to blow it out of proportion. We readjusted to hotel room to make it more homey, requesting as many pillows as possible to make a massive fort that would fit all 5 of us. The pizza was ordered, the beer was chilling and some Melanie Safka was playing in the background. There was a knock on the door, and I ran to go answer it. Jake's frame took up only a small portion of the doorway, but he looked as radiant as ever even though he was practically in sweats. Heat crept over my cheeks, creating a rosy blush. I moved aside to let him into the room. 

"Wow, you guys really went all out." 

"Josh knows." I blurted out. 

Jake raised his eyebrow at me and then at Josh. Josh nodded. 

"That's a relief. Are you cool man?" He asked, suspicious. Josh nodded again, coupled with a smile. 

Jake's arm was around my shoulder within a split second, flashing a toothy grin my way. I wasn't really one for public displays of affection, but there was something so comforting about that gesture that caused me to practically melt into him. Sam and Danny followed shortly after and we decided that Spaceballs was the movie of choice for tonight. It could've been paradise. That's when everyone's phones started buzzing. They all simultaneously checked it, horrified looks plastered on their faces. 

"What?" I questioned. 

Jake put his phone in front of my face. 

The title of the article read 'Twin fetish? Josh Kiszka's girlfriend moved on to twin?' 

I brought my knees into my chest. The boys were going to get such bad backlash for this. It was all my fault too. 

"That's not even the kicker, check who the source is." Sam said. 

Jita Khera. 

Of course.