Jazz Red's Anomaly

c h a p t e r. 7

"The Earth is littered with the ruins of empires that believed they were eternal." -Camille Paglia

Just so you're all aware, Jazz has REALLY bad anxiety.
He's a very anxious person, he panic and overthinks a hella lot. As the book goes on and he learns ways to cope with that, it'll get better but I just wanted you guys to understand why he lowkey gets stuck in his head and is anxious almost every chapter.

chapter 7

"Fuck," Jazz quickly turns off the shower, his phone ringing Cas' usual tune. He fumbles to dry his hands, stepping out and onto the towel he previously put down before answering the call. "H-hey?"

"Hi," The celestial sounded lowkey frustrated. "I was a dumbass and locked myself out of the dorm and it's fucking cold out here. Can you let me in?"

"Course," Jazz nodded to himself, getting a small towel to quickly run through his hair. "Just give me a sec, I was in the shower."

Then, not thinking much, he ended the call and quickly wrapped a towel around his hips, hiding everything important. Shrugging to himself, he quickly goes out of the bathroom and runs a hand through his crazy, dripping wet curls going in front of his eyes.

Grimacing, he realizes that he probably looks like a drowned rat like this, but was also thankful that his body always ran hot enough that stepping out of showers and into the regular room temperatures never turned him into a popsicle.

Opening the door, he moves to the side to let Cas in, running a hand through his hair slightly as confusion overtakes him as the celestial just stares.

"Uh..." Jazz tilts his head at him, grabbing the towel to make sure it didn't fall in one hand but knowing it was also kinda dangerously low. "You okay?"

"You-- bit hot innit!-- don't have any clothes on?"

"Oh! Right!" The musician quickly turns around, stepping further into the dorm but a choking noise that Cas makes made him tense and look back at the now strawberry blushing boy. "Cas?"

"Ya?" He replies distractingly.

"Are you... are you checking me out?"

"Never would!" The celestial squeaks out, expression going into mortification as his hands come out into a 'oh no' gesture. "That was a tic, I'm sorry! Yeah-- bit hot innit!-- I was checking you out."

"Hm..." Seeing Cas shut the door but stayed by it, Jazz returned to his former position facing his roommate, stepping a bit closer, a tiny smile on his face. "You're okay with me answering the door like this?"

The celestial met his eyes, "Not with anyone else." Then pauses before saying, "You should change before I jump you."

Not that I'd mind, he thinks.

Jazz chuckles deeply as he flushes, one arm coming across his chest so he could grab onto his shoulder, "I don't understand how you just say stuff like that."

"How else am I going to flirt with you?" Cas asks, sounding a little amused by how the musician reacted.

His gaze snapped back to the celestial, mint meeting gray as his eyes widened.

"Flirting?" Jazz says. "I can, well I know I already have been, but I-I have permission to flirt with you?"

"Of course," Cas laughs as if he can't believe what the musician just said. "If I didn't want to be flirted with, I wouldn't have flirted at all."

"B-but I'm um..." Just jazz. Just his weird roommate. Just him. Just a little too much. "I'm me?"

Besides, Cas was attractive, pretty. Jazz was not.