Finally Free -- JATP Luke x MaleOC

Chapter 22

Once Jay had finished recounting his story, he looked carefully at Alex. The blonde was listening with rapt attention, a smile on his face as he heard about Willie. The bouncing of his leg had stopped and his posture was much more relaxed than it was before.

All-in-all, a success.

"Willie's a really nice guy," Jay said, leaning back on his chair.

"Yeah," Alex breathed out. "Yeah, he's amazing."

Jay raised an eyebrow at Alex's voice and tone, recognizing it.

"You like him, don't you?" Jay asked.

"What?" Alex said. "No, no, not me-"

"Dude, I'm happy for you," Jay cut him off, smiling at him. "Remember, a lot's changed since the 90s with all this stuff. We've still got our fights, but people accept us more now than they did back then."

"You're right," Alex sighed, looking at Jay with something he couldn't recognize before giving him a smile. "You're right."

"Maybe you and Willie can go to LA Pride next June," Jay suggested. "I've heard great things about it."

"Yeah, I've been wanting to go since you told me about it," Alex said, brows furrowing as he realized what Jay's words implied. "You've never been?"

Jay shook his head.

"They're not exactly cool with me going," Jay said, gesturing to the door of his room with his hand. Alex nodded in understanding and the room lapsed into silence.

Jay eventually stood, about to ask Alex to leave since it was late and he had school in the morning. Before he could open his mouth to ask, the door to his room swung open and his aunt came in with a package.

"Who were you talking to earlier?" she asked, walking to place the package on Jay's desk.

"No one," Jay said, eyes following his aunt's movements. "What's the mail for?"

"Stupid mailman put it in our box," his aunt muttered angrily. "It's the Patterson's, I'll need you to drop it off in the morning."

"You couldn't wait until the morning to tell him?" Alex asked, voicing Jay's own thoughts.

"Okay," Jay said, trying not to react to Alex's comment.

"Get to bed, you have school," Jay's aunt said shortly as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Jay let out a breath that got caught in his chest when his door opened. He looked over at Alex, who was staring at the door.

"You should get going so I can head to bed," Jay said, gesturing to the bed where Alex was sitting.

Alex jumped up from the bed, muttering a quick apology. Jay laughed and waved his hand, a silent way of saying 'get going.'

"Goodnight Jay," Alex said.

"'Night Alex," Jay responded, flopping onto his bed as the drummer poofed away. He put his hands on the back of his head, looking up at his ceiling. He wondered about Willie, how he was doing these days. Jay hadn't seen the ghost since his freshman year.

Jay had drifted off to sleep quickly that night, lost in thought about the ghosts that he knew, the band that was currently on hiatus, and a date that was coming soon within the week. A date where he would miss out on band practice, if those were still a thing.

After freshening up in the morning, Jay had quickly made his way over to the Patterson's household, hoping that he wasn't bothering either of them this early in the morning. He was ready for school, backpack swung over his shoulder, car keys in his pocket. Yet when he rung the doorbell, there was no response. Jay didn't think much of it, knowing it was early in the morning and that they were probably asleep.

Jay got in his car, placing his backpack and the Patterson's package on his passenger seat, and made his way to Flynn's house. He waited a few minutes for the girls to come out and was surprised when only Flynn left the house.

"Where's Julie?" Jay asked, watching in the mirror as Flynn hopped in the back seat.

"Asleep," Flynn answered, continuing quickly when Jay was about to speak up. "She said she would never show her face at the school again-"

"She was-"

"I know," Flynn said before Jay could finish. "But that girl needs some rest after last night."

Jay smiled and brought his gaze to the wheel in front of him.

"You're a good friend, Flynn," he says softly, putting the car in reverse.

"You mention a word of this to Julie and I'm coming for your career," Flynn warns.

"I don't have a career but okay," Jay replies with a chuckle.

"Then I'm coming for your man."

"Don't have one of those either."

"Don't let Luke hear you say that."

Jay glances at Flynn from the mirror before returning his gaze to the road.

"After yesterday, nothing's happening with him."

Jay wasn't sure if he was referring to any specific occurance or the entire day. Truth be told, Jay was scared to be in the same room as Luke, and it wasn't even because of anything the guitarist did. It was because Luke had taken the brunt of Jay's anger laat night. And because when Luke had thrown that dart with such force and yelled, Jay's surroundings had blurred out and he saw his uncle where Luke was standing. His conscious mind knew that Luke was not to blame, that Luke did nothing wrong, but the whispers in his ears and the knots in his stomach seemed to be trying to convince him otherwise.

"Hey," Flynn said, understanding Jay's tone and sudden silence. "Talk to me Jay."

"I don't wanna bother you with this-"

"You're not bothering me," Flynn cut off as Jay pulled into his parking spot at the school. "We have time before class starts. Talk to me."

"It's just," Jay began, taking a deep breath as he leaned his head against the headrest. "I feel like I've got a lot on my plate right now."

And it was true. Jay was stressed before with his senior year of high school, AP level courses, and college applications. Add on top of that the fact that he was applying to MBA programs across the country, filling out applications and writing essays in most of his free time. Then came the band, which he loved, but it took so much of his time and energy to play. Every time he played with them, he felt the rush of adrenaline and the warmth of the music consume him, but the moment that last chord rang out, all of that disappeared and was replaced with guilt and shame at the fact that he was being so selfish to choose music over preparation for his future. And what came with that was the stress of lying to his aunt and uncle every day, making sure not to stand out at school or during performances to lower the chance of his family ever hearing anything about him playing music instead of studying, filling out applications, doing something "productive" with his time.

"I don't know how much longer until I finally snap," Jay admits. "And I don't want to, but I have to stay strong for you and for Julie and for the guys."

"You don't always have to be strong Jay," Flynn said, wrapping her arms around Jay and the carseat, resting her chin on the seat. "Julie and I know you, we know how hard things can be. We'd be more than happy to help you take some things off your plate."

"Flynn-"

"And if the boys have anything to say about that, then Julie and I will give 'em something to talk about," she continued over Jay. "We want you to be happy and safe. And we'll do what we can to make sure you are. And if that means doing your homework and lying to your aunt and uncle, then that's what we'll do."

Jay laughed, releasing some of the tension in his body.

"I'm always here for you, Jay," Flynn says, ruffling the boy's hair. "Me and Julie. You've done so much to help us. Trust us to help you too."

"What did I do to deserve you girls?" Jay asked.

"Probably saved a queen or something in your last life," Flynn said, returning to her seat briefly to grab her bag and opening the car door.

"A queen and her girlfriend?" Jay asked, copying her action.

"Definitely."