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rtsecretsanta2016

Dec 26, 2016

As Days Pass

For @gvnfr

“C’mon Jeremy, you have to come with us!”

Jeremy sighed, his intense apprehension making his chest feel heavy with dread.

“I don’t-”

“Shut up and stop being a pussy, Jerr. You’ll make us look weak.”

As the words left his friend’s mouth, Jeremy cringed and he frowned. He knew that the people he hung around with thought of him as the weaker link; afterall, he was the one who refused to take part in most of the activities that they typically chose. When Jeremy thought about how he wanted his life to be, he definitely didn’t like the idea of doing jail time, and with most of the things his “friends” did, his chances of that happening rose extremely higher than his typical zero percent.

Though Jeremy felt this way, it usually didn’t matter much once they began to talk with him, which consisted of blatant bullying and harassment nearly all the time. After that, he always folded and ended up following them to whatever stupid thing that they had planned for that evening, mentally berating himself the entire time for being as weak as they said that he was.

Afterall, why would they lie to him?

“So what’ll it be, Jerr? Are you gonna listen to us when we say that you’ll have a fuckin’ awesome time and come with us, or are you going to be the weak child that you always are and throw a fit about going, even though you know that it’s always fun,” his friend, Chase, demanded. His voice was taunting, and Jeremy knew the implied bullying and harassment that he would experience if he declined.

“Y-yeah, of course I’m going!” Jeremy forces out, the fake smile on his face more resembling a grimace. “Why wouldn’t I go? It’s always fun…sneaking into clubs and bars…breaking the law…” Jeremy’s voice faded away as he continued to speak, but the others didn’t pay any mind to him after he announced that he was indeed going.

“Fuck yeah, bros!” Chase yelled, and the other three guys in their circle of “friends” whooped in response. They all high-fived one another, all ignoring Jeremy as if he had become invisible. Sometimes, he wished he could be invisible. Maybe then they could leave him alone, along with the rest of their stupid school and other people around Los Santos that felt the need to be mean-spirited for no other reason than a quick laugh at Jeremy’s expense.

“Alright, let’s go guys, we want to get there for the prime club scene time. Everyone have their fake ID’s? I feel like getting trashed tonight, I don’t know about you guys,” Chase chanted, a smug smirk tugging at his lips. All of his friends cheered along with him, a chorus of ‘fuck yeah’ and ‘damn right’. Jeremy simply just sighed and turned his eyes towards the floor, listening to how it sounded as his sneaker scraped the concrete sidewalk of downtown Los Santos.

After quite a few moments of mindless babble and pointless loud whooping, Chase began to lead the pack of his friends in the direction of a local club located just outside of the large downtown center of the city. It was around 10 PM, Jeremy noted as he clicked a button on his slider phone. The sky was dark around them as they walked down the street, street lights and the occasional neon sign illuminating the air around them as they continued onwards.

As they all walked, in a pack as always, Jeremy lagged behind, watching from a distance as his friends joked and laughed with one another, fighting back the tears that he could feel coming on because of the all too familiar sting in his eyes. He wouldn’t cry, not again, not in front of Chase and his group; that was just more fuel to add to the fire that always burned him when it came to them. They always had something to insult him about, and the last thing that he needed was to add to their reserve.

Before he knew it, they were arriving at the club which Jeremy didn’t recognize, to his surprise. The line was already beginning to form outside of the clubs front doors, and Jeremy realized too late that his group had stopped at the end of the line, and he ended up slamming into Chase’s back. Jeremy stumbled backwards, partially out of shock and the other out of a degree of fear. He wasted no time whirling around to glare at Jeremy, eyes full of anger.

“What the fuck, Dooley?” Chase snarled, and the other guys turned to watch the confrontation, just as they always did.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to!” Jeremy blurted out, terror in his voice. “I swear, I just didn’t see that we stopped walking! I got distracted-”

“Shut the fuck up, Jerr. Watch where you’re going, and don’t be a clueless dumbass like you always are. Be someone other than who you are, that’s my personal recommendation. Maybe that’ll keep me from smashing my fist into your nose like last time,” he barked, and Jeremy flinched, his hand flying up and touching his nose subconsciously as the vivid memories of the ‘last time’ playing through his mind.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Chase smirked, and turned back towards his friends who all began laughing together. Jeremy sighed as his eyes began to water, but he wiped a strong hand over both of his eyes, effectively removing the tears from visibility. Even though the tears were gone, Jeremy still hated the hurt that he felt in his chest. That could never be solved, as it had become clear to him over the years.

Eventually, they made their way up to the club entrance where a large bouncer stood, checking ID’s. Jeremy smiled to himself slightly, relieved that there was a bouncer at this club. Sure, Chase and his other crew had their fake ID’s, and they had made one for Jeremy too at one point, but Jeremy had shredded it as soon as he got it. He had no interest in doing anything with a fake, he didn’t care too much for drinking, especially when it was with Chase and his crowd.

All of them gladly showed their false ID’s to the bouncer, and he simply just nodded and sent them in. When he got to Jeremy, Jeremy showed his regular ID, clearly displaying his birthday and the red lettering that wrote that he was underage. He knew the bouncer was smart enough to do the mental math and realize that Jeremy was only 18, clearly under the legal US drinking age.

Just as he had expected, the bouncer looked at his ID and back up at Jeremy, who had a pleading look in his eyes. Please send me away, Jeremy chanted over and over in his head, a silent prayer to the man stood in front of him.

“You’re underage, I can’t let you in,” The man explained to Jeremy, handing his license back with a shake of his head. Jeremy cheered inside his mind, but put on a fake frown to deter Chase from knowing that he really didn’t want to be here.

“Oh, shit, I had no idea,” Jeremy lied, trying to not sound happy in the slightest bit. Behind him, people who were waiting to enter the club began to grow impatient, grumbling at Jeremy to get out of line so that they could commence their night of drinking. Jeremy shrugged his shoulders in mock disappointment, muttering a quick thank you under his breath as he turned around to begin walking home. But just as he was walking away, he heard Chase’s voice.

“Wait up Jerr!” He called out, and Jeremy spun around just in time to watch as he pulled a one hundred dollar bill from his wallet and not so discreetly passed it to the bouncer. The bouncer looked at the money, and within a matter of seconds he was stepping aside and ushering Jeremy in. As he was pushed along, through the black door of the nightclub, his heart sank into his stomach and he began to feel ill.

“Alright, now that we’ve got all the boys together, let’s go get started with some drinks, shall we?” Chase asked the crowd, and all of them whooped and set off for the bar. Chase began walking with them, not taking any time to glance at Jeremy to see if he was coming or not. Jeremy knew he didn’t actually give a shit about him, and in a way it was quite relieving to watch him walk away.

“Nah, I think i’ll pass, I’m gonna run to the bathroom real quick. I’ll catch up with you guys later, though,” Jeremy said to no one, the sarcasm dripping from each word. He rolled his eyes and sighed, glancing around before he saw the very sketchy looking restroom. He made his way over to it, having to push past several people in the process, but once he was inside he sighed with relief. He made his way to a stall, pushing it open and thanking the lord that he didn’t run into anyone performing any sort of sexual activities. It sure as hell wouldn’t have been the first time.

He closed the door behind him, sliding the lock of the metal door before he sat on the seat of the toilet. He still had his pants on, and as he sat he placed his head in his hands. He took a deep breath, attempting to calm his stomach that had been riled up due to his intense anxiety.

Jeremy remained in the stall for around ten minutes, breathing deeply and counting in his mind. Eventually he felt mildly better, as good as he was going to get given the situation, and he stood up to make his way out of the stall.

As he walked out he walked straight towards the sinks, scrubbing his hands together furiously to clean them. He scrubbed for awhile, and he looked up at the mirror while he did so. Next to him, he noticed the man standing at the counter, dark circles under his eyes, but his green eyes still shone nonetheless. He stared at himself intently in the mirror, never breaking eye contact with himself- he appeared to be incredibly focused on something, and that something was what Jeremy couldn’t decipher.

He barely noticed that he had been staring at the man, and he never became fully aware of it until the man glanced at him in the mirror briefly before turning on his heel and walking out. Jeremy shook himself out of whatever trance he had been in, drying his hands on his jeans before walking out. He decided that he would go ahead and walk towards the bar and lounge area, concluding that it would be the lesser of two evils in the club. It was either the lounge or the dance floor, and Jeremy was not a fan of dancing, especially not right now. So, he headed off towards the neon sign that read “Lounge and Bar”.

Once he had entered the area, which was slightly quieter than the dance floor, but not by much, he scoured the area for a good spot to sit for a few hours while playing around on his phone, given that he wasn’t going to drink, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to dance. He needed to dance with people, and Jeremy had no desire to seek Chase out at all.

In the corner, he spotted a tall round cocktail table, and he quickly made his way over to it. A cocktail waitress came around to him, offering him a drink menu, but he politely declined and just ordered a water instead. She nodded and set off back to the bar to retrieve the water, leaving Jeremy alone once again.

As he sat, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his slider phone, checking it for texts quickly before opening up one of the very few games that he had on it. He elected to play bejeweled, deciding that it would pass the time the quickest. Though, he underestimated his own attention span, and after only 45 minutes he closed his phone and slid it back into his pocket.

From the table that he was sat at, he could see out onto the dancefloor, and Jeremy sipped on his water as he watched all the people on the dancefloor move with the beat of the music. He scanned the crowd with his eyes, snorting when he saw Chase and his group bouncing up and down on the dancefloor, very evidently already completely shitfaced. The already couldn’t dance for shit, that Jeremy knew, but this was a whole new level of bad. He kept his eyes on them for a few moments, enjoying the horrid sight, but he removed his eyes from them as another person caught his eye.

Walking across the dancefloor tentatively and cautiously, eyes focused intently on all the people around him, was the emerald-eyed man from the restroom earlier. To Jeremy, he appeared to be looking for something, but he couldn’t be sure what it could be. Though, he was intrigued once again, so he sat and watched the man from afar, curious about what he was going to do. It was pretty clear that he wasn’t there to dance, if his tight and stiff demeanor told Jeremy anything.

Within seconds, Jeremy observed as the man began to dance, though he was clearly not into it at all. He was just bobbing up and down to the music, occasionally swaying or raising his arms slightly to mix it up. Dancing appeared to be a complete afterthought, and Jeremy watched the man as he moved, and he attempted to follow the man’s gaze to see what he was so focused on. Though, his curiosity was satiated as he watched the stranger move close to a few people on the dance floor, quickly reaching into their back pockets and removing their wallets before swiftly removing all the cash before replacing the wallet back to where it had come from. Jeremy was amazed that nobody even realized the theft that was happening, and he watched as the man just walked to another part of the dancefloor before repeating the same thing once again.

Just as Jeremy was about to alert someone to the blatant robbery happening, he heard Chase’s voice from across the dancefloor and all the way into the bar.

“Dooley! Come the fuck out here, dance with us you pussy!” He yelled, slightly slurring his words. Jeremy panicked and looked around, but felt a wave of relief wash over him as he noticed that there was nobody watching him. As he sat at his stool and contemplated, Chase was clearly becoming impatient and irate with each passing second, so Jeremy decided that it would save him a lot of pain in the future if he just obliged to his drunkass whims.

He made his way to the dancefloor tentatively, hyper aware of all the people around him; he wasn’t the best with large crowds, never had been. The only thing that made the situation worse was that he knew that Chase knew Jeremy couldn’t handle crowds. Yet, here they stood anyways, Chase being drunk, as usual, and Jeremy, panicking as usual.

Once he finally reached Chase, he was yanked in by all of the guys, forced into the middle of their group and he felt his eyes began to sting and his heart began to beat faster as his anxiety rose. Though, he went along with it, telling himself over and over in his mind that this was for the best, or else he’d certainly end up in the alley behind the club with another black eye and a bloody nose. So, he kept on dancing.

“I’m gonna run to the bathroom, stay here and have a good time, yeah guys?” Chase announced over the booming of the music, and all the guys nodded in response to him before choosing to run off to a different area of the club, leaving without saying a word to Jeremy. Though, he didn’t mind at all, and took the event as an opportunity to escape. Jeremy quickly ducked around all of the dancing forms of people around him, muttering the occasional “excuse me” as he bumped into them, even though he knew that they didn’t really care. They spent all night grinding on one another anyways, so a small bump was nothing in terms of their night.

Eventually Jeremy made his way back over to the bar area, but was very disappointed when he saw that his prime cocktail table had been stolen. He looked around and saw no other tables available, only a few random seats around the bar. With a sigh, he walked towards an empty seat at the farthest end of the bar, calling the bartender over with a wave of his hand. Once the man approached him, Jeremy ordered a RedBull and pulled out his wallet from his back pocket, ready to lay down cash and tip as soon as the man returned with his drink.

However, once he opened his wallet, he noticed that there was no cash in it. He spun around in his stool, anger in his eyes as he scoured the room for one man in particular. As soon has he made a 180 degree turn in his barstool, he laid eyes on the man. He was sat at a cocktail table with a beer in his hand, scrolling on his smartphone idly. Jeremy growled, getting up from his seat and stomping towards the stranger, too focused on what he was going to say to the bastard to hear the bartender screaming after him as he walked away.

Though, it didn’t matter to him as he reached the table, slamming his hands down onto it in order to grab the man’s attention.

“Bloody hell!” The man exclaimed in an English accent, dropping his phone down onto the table out of shock. He glanced up at Jeremy, eyes softening for a moment before he narrowed them again, clearly showing no signs of backing down or having a civil chat. “What the hell was that for?”

“Someone took all my cash from my wallet-”

“Well that sucks for you, but I don’t know why you’re telling me this. So, if you don’t mind, could you please leave and talk to someone who gives a rats arse?”

“No, I won’t, because you’re gonna fucking listen to me,” Jeremy swore, and the man’s eyes widened at his harsh tone. “All my cash is missing from my wallet, even though I know for a fact that I came into this shitty club with 32 dollars exactly. I had one ten dollar bill, four fives, and two ones. Sound familiar?”

“Why are you telling me about your money?” The stranger exclaimed, emerald eyes confused, “I don’t care about your sodding money, Jeremy, so just leave me alone.”

Jeremy opened his mouth to continue the argument, but he shut it quickly in shock.

“How…how do you know my name?”

“N-no reason! I heard your friends scream your name earlier, is all…yeah.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“They haven’t said my name in here. They never do, honestly, it’s always insults or nicknames,” Jeremy tells the green eyed man. “So how do you actually know my name?”

The man was silent for a moment, eyes staring down into his pint glass of beer, watching the foam inside the glass as if it would tell him his life’s secrets. Eventually, he just sighed, realizing that Jeremy wasn’t going to give up anytime soon.

“I just…” He started to say, but his voice faded off as it wavered slightly. He turned his eyes back to his beer, and Jeremy just let out a deep breath.

“Did you take my wallet while I was on the dancefloor?” Jeremy asked the man, his voice as level and calm as he could make it, given the strange and intense circumstances.

“No, I didn’t take it-”

“Let me rephrase, did you open it, take my cash, and put it back in my pocket?”

He remained silent briefly, before just nodding.

‘I’m sorry, Jeremy,” He said earnestly. “I can give you the cash back.”

Jeremy exhaled, remaining silent for a minute while he gathered his thoughts.

“Nah, keep it. I don’t really care.”

The stranger’s eyes grew wide, making the green in his eyes shine even more than it had in the restroom earlier that evening.

“Are you sure? I can give it back-”

“I’m sure,” Jeremy insisted. “But, the least you can do is buy me a drink.”

“Oh- of course! What do you want?”

“I guess just a soda is fine by me, I’m usually a water guy when I go out,” Jeremy told him, trying to ignore the shock at where this casualty and charisma came from. It was extremely out of character, given that Jeremy trusted no one always. Though, for some reason, this man was easy to talk to, and he wasn’t too sure how he was supposed to feel about that.

“Nah, i’m gonna buy you a beer,” the man says, smiling as he flagged down a waitress.

“What?” Jeremy questioned, shocked. “I can’t even legally-”

“I know you aren’t 21, Jeremy. That’s why I’m buying this for you.”

Jeremy remained stood next to the table in astonished silence, staring at the stranger as he spoke with the cocktail waitress.

“Can we get a beer here for my friend? It’s on me,” He tells the waitress as she approaches, and she nods as he flashes his ID to her. After she has the order written on her notepad, she walked away, casting a gaze over to Jeremy as she left.

“Close your mouth, Jeremy, you’ll catch flies,” Gavin jokes, reaching over and using his hand to shut Jeremy’s mouth. Jeremy allowed him to do it, smiling and laughing slightly at his stupid joke. The stranger gestures to the chair directly across from him at the cocktail table with his hand, and said “Go ahead, take a seat. We’ll be here for awhile.”

He simply just nodded and climbed up onto the chair, and the man smiled at him from across the table.

“So, I’m guessing you have a fake ID then?” Jeremy questions, leaning forward in his chair slightly.

“What? No, why would I need a fake ID?” The man asks, confused.

“Because you’re clearly not 21. You have baby face,” Jeremy discloses, and the stranger lets out an offended squawk of some kind while using his hands to cover up his cheeks.

“I do not!” He yelped, and Jeremy laughed. “Jeremy, I am actually 21, Jeremy!”

“Okay, okay, whatever you say,” Jeremy concludes, chuckling to himself. He jumped slightly as the waitress returned to the table with his beer, shocked by her appearance. For some reason, when he was talking to this man, he couldn’t do anything but; he was just so interesting, in all the weirdest ways.

“If you’re actually 21, let me see your ID,” Jeremy stated, and the stranger slid his ID across the table with one finger as he took a sip from his beer. Jeremy looked over the card, and hummed before passing it back.

“Gavin, huh?” Jeremy mentioned, and the man raised his eyebrows and nodded his head as he continued to drink from his pint glass. “That’s a good name. It fits you, I like it.”

“Thank you, Jeremy. I think your name fits you too,” Gavin told him, and Jeremy just smiled before sipping from his glass as well.

The two of them sat, both staring at each other, stupid grins on their face. However, the nice and serene moment was interrupted as Jeremy heard loud yelling coming from the dance floor as a group of people formed a dance circle. Jeremy wasn’t particularly fond of loud noises, and the man, Gavin, must have noticed that since he slapped the money down on the table before he stood up, gesturing for Jeremy to follow him. He was hesitant at first, not too keen on following a complete stranger around a nightclub, but eventually he got over it and grabbed his beer from the table and set off in the direction that Gavin had disappeared off to.

Eventually Jeremy spotted Gavin leaning up against a grimy wall near a large door. Jeremy watched as Gavin gestured for him to follow with a nod of his head, and as Jeremy approached where he was stood, Gavin muttered a quick apology. Before Jeremy had the chance to ask why, Gavin had him pressed up against the metal door, and he used his free hand that wasn’t clutching his beer to shove the handle open, allowing them to stumble backwards into a concrete stairwell.

Once Jeremy’s back hit the cement wall behind him all the way inside the room, Gavin pulled back with an awkward chuckle as he rubbed his free hand on his neck in embarrassment.

“Sorry about that, had to make it look believable for us to get in here,” Gavin apologized again, and Jeremy just nods.

“Yeah, I understand that. But where exactly are we going anyways?” Jeremy inquired, and watched as Gavin gestured up the concrete stairs before beginning to climb them. Jeremy set off after him, and once they reached the top, he found himself stood atop the roof of the club, 5 stories high.

“You didn’t seem to like the noise too much, and I knew it was way quieter up here,” Gavin explained to Jeremy as he walked over to the side of the roof, sitting down and dangling his feet over the edge. Jeremy remained where he was for a moment, debating whether or not to follow the guy, but he eventually resigned and decided that it wasn’t that big of a deal. Besides, there was a plus side to all of this- he didn’t have to be anywhere near Chase for the time being. Jeremy took it as a silent blessing and walked over to where Gavin was sat and he mirrored his position exactly before taking a sip of his beer.

“So, Jeremy?” Gavin begins, and Jeremy hums into his beer in acknowledgement.

“If you’re underage, why did you even come to this club? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I know you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover or something like that, but to me it didn’t seem like you were ever really having a good time.”

Jeremy nodded in response.

“Yeah, it wasn’t my idea to come here,” he admitted, “it was my stupid friend Chase’s idea to come out with the boys or whatever the fuck to get hammered and hopefully drag some unlucky girl home.” Gavin squeaked out a laugh at that which made Jeremy smile as well, despite the fact that his mood was still slightly sour from the way that the whole evening had gone. Though, for some reason that Jeremy couldn’t quite put his finger on, being around the stranger made his night start to seem a little less horrible.

“So if you didn’t want to come, then why did you?” Gavin asked, and Jeremy sighed.

“I only came here because I knew that if i didn’t, I’d be getting beat to shit by Chase and his fuck bros when I get back to school on Monday. They think I’m weak, and they’re constantly telling me to ‘man up’ or to ‘stop being a bitch’. So at this point I’ve just figured that it’s easier on me if I just do something that I don’t want to do rather than not doing it and getting beaten in public,” Jeremy explained, and Gavin frowned.

“You should be able to do whatever you want to do, not what they want you to do,” Gavin pointed out, and Jeremy nodded again.

“I know I should have that choice, but I just don’t. They’re so horrible, Gav, you have no idea.”

“Punch ‘em in the dickhole, then. That shit hurts mega badly, man,” Gavin said, and Jeremy grinned at him.

“I’ll keep that plan in mind for the future,” Jeremy joked before taking a sip of his beer.

Once Jeremy had let his guard down more, he and Gavin hit it off wonderfully, and they spent the next three hours talking about anything and everything that they could think of that a person would need to know when they’ve met a new person. They talked about favorite colors, video games, foods, drinks, desserts- everything. They were in the middle of laughing at a stupid joke that Gavin had made when Jeremy froze.

Below him, coming out - more like stumbling out - of the club doors was Chase and his crew, all looking wasted beyond belief. They all staggered together out towards Chase’s car, talking extremely loudly to one another about something that Jeremy couldn’t care less about.

“Hey Chase,” One of the boys called out, and Chase spun around to face him, almost falling directly on his ass in the process.

“W-what the fuck do you want?” Chase snapped, but everyone remained calm and collected, having grown used to his loud outbursts.

“I feel like we’re fo-forgetting something?”

“If we didn’t walk out with it then it’s not important to us in the least,” Chase announced, and Jeremy felt as though his heart has just plunged out of his chest.

“Wow, those guys are real pricks,” Gavin muttered, and Jeremy just nodded in an attempt to hold back his tears that were threatening to spill over once again.

“Oh well, good riddance I’m guessing. I can take you home now if you want,” Gavin offered, and Jeremy raised one eyebrow in confusion.

“If you’re pickpocketing for money, why do you have a car?” Jeremy asked him, and Gavin’s eyes shone with amusement.

“Well, it’s certainly not a car, Jeremy, it’s a motorbike, and a dirty sanchez at that,” Gavin explained, and Jeremy just rolled his eyes.

“Did you buy it or steal it?”

“Well, technically I didn’t steal it-”

“It’s a yes or no question, stupid,” Jeremy told him, a slightly amused smile threatening to break out on his face.

“I did take it, yeah,” Gavin admitted, and just as Jeremy was about to say something, Gavin interrupted him. “It wasn’t being used though! It was being ready to be turned into scrap metal. So, instead of letting it die, I took it ad invested some savings to make it driveable. I’d say it all worked out according to plan.”

“Okay, Gav, whatever you say.”

Gavin stood up and stretched, his back popping in the process. Once he had finished stretching, he extended a hand out to Jeremy in order to help him stand up from the rooftop. Jeremy took it quickly, mumbling a ‘thank you’ under his breath as he stood. The two of them made their way downstairs back into the main club area, set their now empty glasses on the bar top before walking out the main doors.

“So where do you live?” Gavin questioned.

“Down in the shadier part of LS,” Jeremy answered before reading off the actual address. He watched as Gavin put it into his phone’s navigation. Gavin hopped onto the bike first before extending an arm to help Jeremy get sat directly behind him. Gavin pressed his foot to the clutch and the bike roared to life, it’s loud engine echoing off the walls of the concrete buildings around them.

“You’re gonna want to hold on,” Gavin informed, and Jeremy fumbled with his hands before he eventually wrapped them around Gavin’s waist. Once he was secure, Gavin slammed on the accelerator and off they went, speeding through the city without a care in the world. Eventually they pulled up in front of Jeremy’s apartment complex and Jeremy swung his leg over the bike and hopped off easily.

“You should give me your number, Jeremy, we can text and possibly hang out again?” Gavin said, the end forming as a question.

“Yeah, sure, here’s my number,” Jeremy smiled and opened his phone, showing Gavin the number. Once he had it in his phone, Gavin sent a swift text to Jeremy, and he programed the number into his phone as soon as it came in.

“I’ll see you around, Jeremy?”

“Yeah, for sure. Thanks for the ride, I really appreciate it.”

Gavin smiled and waved his hand in dismissal as he revved his engine.

“See you, Lil’ J!” Gavin exclaimed as he rode off, down the quiet streets of Los Santos.

Jeremy smiled to himself and cheered internally; the first day he had met Gavin Free, he had given Jeremy a nickname and Jeremy didn’t completely fall apart.

Jeremy took that as progress.

Day two had quite the strange beginning.

Jeremy found himself staring up at the ceiling, mind wandering to all kinds of different topics. The thoughts started out happy, though eventually they wandered into a darker territory, and suddenly Jeremy’s chest was aching with anxiety. He hadn’t thought about Chase and his ragtag group of assholes since the previous night, given that Gavin had provided an excellent distraction from the mental torture Jeremy subjected himself to every day. However, Gavin wasn’t here now to stop the thoughts from coming, so the only choice that Jeremy had was to roll with whatever came and hope that it didn’t end up badly.

He quickly grabbed his phone off of his bedside table, sliding it open before opening up his and Gavin’s brief conversation thread from the night before. He smiled as he read the final text Gavin had sent to him before he had fallen asleep before clicking a button to begin a new message.

Hey, are you busy right now?

Jeremy kept his phone open for a few minutes, staring at the small illuminated screen and wishing for a reply to come through. Though, after 5 minutes of no reply, he sighed and slid it closed again, returning it back to the table where it sat most of the day. He hoped that by some stroke of a miracle that Gavin had nothing to do today, given that it was a Sunday, but he wasn’t too certain about how Gavin’s daily life went. For all Jeremy knew, he could have very important family plans or something else important along those lines. If that was the case, Jeremy didn’t want to bother him or hinder him from doing anything that he needed to get done.

He puffed out a breath as he continued to stare at the white ceiling, his gaze tracing the lines of light on the ceiling created by his blinds. Slowly, he felt as his thoughts drifted to happy thoughts of Gavin to darker and more dreadful thoughts of Chase.

He knew for a fact that Chase wouldn’t be happy with him when he saw him at school tomorrow, and Jeremy knew that no matter how hard he tried to hide, they would eventually find him anyways, so the ending was always inevitable. Even though Chase had been completely hammered the night before, Jeremy was certain that he’d remember that he had brought Jeremy along with him to the club and would be quite angry when he awoke this morning, seeing as Jeremy was nowhere to be found, or he would grow angry when one of the other idiots informed him that they didn’t recall seeing Jeremy the night before. Then, of course, Chase would devise his plan to get revenge on Jeremy for being the weak spineless idiot he was, as they never hesitated to inform him, and Jeremy would end up on the ground, some part of him bleeding and another part of him bruising, along with the feeling of his heart shattering in his chest.

As his thoughts wandered to what Chase could have planned for him tomorrow when he returned, his heart rate quickened and he found it hard to breathe, feeling the beginnings of a panic attack coming on. He hated these, especially when he still hadn’t quite mastered how to fend them off once they had started.

However, he was yanked from his thoughts as he heard a loud yell come from the alley directly outside his window. Normally, he wouldn’t concern himself with such noises, but this one intrigued him and piqued his curiosity. He had never heard a noise as strange as that one before.

Jeremy quickly sat up, threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, stretching briefly before making his way over to his window. He pulled the cord to pull his blinds up before opening the heavy glass window, then carefully crawled out of the now agape glass. He walked across the dark metal of the fire escape and looked over the edge of the fence, smiling once he did so.

“What the fuck kind of noise was that?” Jeremy asked loudly, his voice projecting down into the alley 3 floors below him.

“It was my bird noise, didn’t you like it Lil’ J?” Gavin questions, a huge grin on his face as he stared up at Jeremy from where he was stood in the alley.

“It was definitely strange, i’ll give you that,” Jeremy laughed, his smile growing as he watched Gavin below him. “What are you doing here?”

“I was bored, thought maybe you’d want to come hang out with me? Spend the day wasting time away as we do nothing significant,” Gavin explained, and Jeremy continued to smile. He nodded his head and Gavin laughed in response.

“Give me a minute, I’ll be right down!” Jeremy called out to him before crawling back inside his window to grab his shoes from off of his cluttered bedroom floor. Once he had them on and tied tightly, he made his way back out the window, turning around once outside to close it until only a crack remained open. As soon as he was satisfied, he began descending the stairs of the rickety fire escape, each footstep resulting in a loud creak! Eventually he made it down to the last level of the fire escape, where the stairs ended and the ladder began. He carefully lowered himself onto the ladder before dropping down a few feet onto the dirty pavement of the alley.

As he recovered from his drop, standing back up from where he had landed in a crouched position, he was met face to face with a smiling Gavin.

“Nice drop, Lil’ J.”

Jeremy laughed in response, returning Gavin’s smile.

“Thanks, Gav.”

The two of them walked close to one another as they set off towards Gavin’s sanchez that was parked on the street, the bike’s kickstand barely holding it upright. The two of them climbed on with ease, Jeremy leaning forward and wrapping his arms around Gavin’s small waist. Gavin turned around and shot Jeremy a grin before he kicked up the kickstand and revved the engine, jolting to a start that sent them racing down the road.

“So what are we doing?” Jeremy asked him, leaning in close to his ear and speaking loudly in order to be heard over the bike’s loud engine.

“Just trust me, it’s a surprise. It’ll be fun though!” He called out in response before slamming on the accelerator, sending them soaring down the road. Eventually, Gavin made his way to the highway by the beach, speeding and weaving around cars expertly as he made his way northbound along the coast.

Jeremy smiled in fascination as he watched the scenery change from a beachy terrain to a steeply sloped one, large pine trees growing all over large mountains. They rode over a large bridge that went over a river, before darting into a tunnel that went underneath the military base. Jeremy was amazed as he looked back at the base once they had exited the tunnel, eyes wandering and looking at all of the jets that they had. Man, what he wouldn’t do to someday fly one of those, he thought to himself.

After around ten more minutes of driving, eventually they reached a small parking lot at the base of a very large mountain. Jeremy had never been this far out of the city before, given that he had no means of transportation, so his eyes were wide as he looked around him, smiling as he took in all of the greenery and elevated hills that he could see.

“Where are we, Gav?” Jeremy asked, turning to face an excited Brit, who was beaming at Jeremy.

“Haven’t you ever heard of Mount Chiliad, Jeremy?” He questioned back with a laugh.

“Well, yeah… but I’ve never been out here before!” Jeremy exclaimed in response, still amazed at the surroundings. He couldn’t stop his eyes from looking all around him, just enjoying the fact that he was finally able to see something different than just the dirty concrete of downtown Los Santos for once.

“C’mon,” Gavin said, gesturing for Jeremy to follow him with a wave of his arm. “Let’s go up to the top, shall we?”

“How are we gonna get up there?” Jeremy asked, and Gavin laughed at his confusion.

“There’s a tram that goes all the way up to the top. Let’s go buy tickets and get in line.”

“Oh, yeah. That makes sense,” Jeremy realized, his voice growing soft with his embarrassment. Though, Gavin made no comment, just laughed as Jeremy ran to catch up with him, the two falling into step side by side. After around 20 minutes, they found themselves standing on the tram, Jeremy’s eyes practically popping out of his head as he got an aerial view of all of the stunning landscape. Gavin was stood next to him, watching the scenery along with him, but occasionally looking away to sneak some glances at the fascinated Jeremy next to him. Each time he looked over, he would smile and laugh a little, admiring the excitement of his friend.

Once they finally reached the top, Gavin walked with Jeremy in tow over to a rickety looking wooden platform, sitting on the edge with his legs dangling off the side. It looked horribly dangerous, Jeremy thought, but he trusted Gavin and took a seat right next to him, mirroring his exact position and posture.

“This is…” Jeremy began, searching his mind for the perfect word.

“Enchanting” Gavin finished for him, and the two of them laughed together, Gavin squeaking a few times as he laughed, which just made Jeremy laugh even harder.

“Only you would use the word enchanting, Gav, I swear,” Jeremy told him, his voice very fond. In response, Gavin squawked which only made Jeremy laugh harder.

“What?” He exclaimed, clearly taken aback. “Jeremy, it’s an actual word, Jeremy!”

“I know it is, dumbass, no one uses it anymore!”

Gavin pouted, his lower lip jutting out with his feigned sadness. Jeremy just shook his head, chuckling as he did so.

“It’s even more beautiful at night,” Gavin told Jeremy, and Jeremy just hummed in response.

“Really? It sucks that we won’t be up here to see it.”

However, Jeremy found himself shocked, when hours later after the two of them had been sat talking, the sun had completely set without him noticing, and he sat staring directly up at the starry night sky, amazed at how many stars littered the dark atmosphere above him.

“Holy shit,” Jeremy breathed out in awe, laying on his back in order to look at the sky without hurting his neck. Gavin did the same, laying onto his back and staring up into the darkness with Jeremy.

“Isn’t it enchanting?” Gavin asked with a shit eating grin on his face, and Jeremy reached over and shoved his arm.

“Shut the fuck up, Gav.” He swore at him, nothing but affection in his voice. Gavin chuckled in response, the air around them going silent for a few moments.

“Hey, Lil’ J?” Gavin asked, and Jeremy hummed in response. “What do you see in the stars?”

“Well,” Jeremy began, thinking deeply while his eyes gazed upon the sky. They stayed there for hours, pointing up at the sky, talking and laughing as they looked up.

Day two of knowing Gavin Free went down in Jeremy’s books as one of his favorite days, and he knew that it would take a lot of force to ever make him forget it.

Before Jeremy knew it, it had been two months since he had met Gavin Free in a nightclub that he was forced to against his will. Though, as he thought back on it, he was truly glad that he had gone to the club that night. Without that night, he wouldn’t have met Gavin, and he honestly couldn’t think of what he would ever do without him. He supported him in ways that he had never been supported, made him laugh even when he felt as if there was nothing worth laughing about; he had made his life better.

“What do you see this time, Lil’ J?” Gavin asked as he gazed up into the sky. Jeremy hummed as he searched the stars above him, just like they had done several times since the first time Gavin had brought Jeremy up here.

“I think- okay, so, hear me out here. I’m pretty sure that those stars over there kinda look like a yoshi egg from mario, you know?” Jeremy points out, his finger raised to the sky. Gavin giggled slightly and nodded in agreement.

“Heck, Jeremy, I see it! Nice!” Gavin cheered, and Jeremy grinned in response. He had gotten so used to having Gavin around him so often that he had become so accustomed to his made up words and random phrases that actually made no sense at all in the context they were being used.

“Do you see anything, Gav?” Jeremy inquired, and Gavin stared up at the sky for a long while before speaking.

“Do you ever just get so comfortable somewhere that your mind wanders and leads you to thinking about things you never really think about?” Gavin questioned, diverting the subject away from the stars. Jeremy didn’t mention it though, he always loved when his and Gavin’s conversations varied. It’s what made every night more interesting than the last.

“Yeah, that happens to me quite a lot,” Jeremy agreed, and Gavin hummed in acknowledgement. “What are you thinking about?”

“I just… I was thinking about what I want my future to look like, you know? I don’t think about it very often, it stresses me out to even think about it since it’s so uncertain; I guess that’s the struggle when you have no reliable job or income or anything that really sets you apart from the rest of the people stuck on Earth at the same time as you,” Gavin rambled, sighing at the end of his answer.

“Since you were thinking about it, what do you want your future to look like, Gav?” Jeremy asked, his curiosity taking hold of him. Gavin paused for a moment, chewing on his lower lip as he thought.

“My ideal future, if I was allowed to choose exactly how I would want to live, would be to be rich, as awful and stereotypical as that sounds. It sucks having to rob people of their own money in order to keep me fed and alive, and I honestly just wish that I could support myself but also have everything that I’ve ever dreamed of, you know?

“For example, I’d own so many things, like a penthouse, a few nice cars, maybe a better bike than the dirty sanchez,” Gavin paused to laugh before continuing on. “Maybe I’d even buy a helicopter or something, who knows. Actually, I know exactly what I’d buy, Jeremy!”

“What’s that, Gavin?”

“I would buy a fire truck!” Gavin exclaimed, turning his head to beam at Jeremy. Jeremy just rolled his eyes and laughed at his ridiculous statement.

“Can you even buy a firetruck? Like, is that even a thing that you can do?” Jeremy queried, a dumb smile on his face.

“If I have a ton of money, then what can’t I do, Jeremy?”

“Lots of things still, Gav.”

Gavin scoffed and waved his hand in the air.

“Who cares about technicalities anyways, the most important thing that we have to focus on here is the fact that if I bought a fire truck, I could drive around with the siren on all the time, and I could honk that absurd horn whenever I want at random pedestrians, and you know what the best part would be? I could spray people with the water, Jeremy! They would be sliding all over the gaff, it would be an absolute mess!” Gavin shouted with delight, and Jeremy couldn’t help but smile along with him.

“Well, in that case, I hope that someday you have enough money to buy yourself a nice fire truck, Gav. It sounds like you’d have a ton of fun with it,” Jeremy told him, his voice earnest.

“Of course, I’d buy you an apartment or a house or something as well, whatever you’d want. Heck, you could even live with me in my penthouse…if you wanted to, that is….” Gavin said, his voice trailing off in embarrassment at the end. Though, Jeremy didn’t even notice his falter.

“God, it would be so nice to live somewhere other than where I am now,” Jeremy groaned, Gavin remaining silent in order to hear Jeremy speak more on the topic he had never heard much about.

“Honestly, where I live now sucks dicks, because I’m pretty sure that 99% of the time, my parents don’t even know that I’m there, and if they actually do know, then they just honestly don’t give a shit. I just…” Jeremy’s voice wavered slightly, and he took a deep breath before continuing. “I just want to live somewhere and be somewhere where people actually give a shit about me- where people actually care if I don’t come home at night, where people notice when I’m upset again, or just where I could walk in the door after school and have someone greet me fondly rather than just ignore me and act as though I didn’t exist. I just…I want something like that.

“But that doesn’t happen for people who are poor, have no job, and have no car. So I get to live with it until I can someday find an escape, if one exists. For my own sake, I honestly hope it does,” Jeremy sighed as he came down from his rant, his face red and blotchy as one tear rolled down the side of his head before falling onto the wooden planks underneath his head. Gavin remained silent for a few minutes, chewing on his lip and staring at the stars.

“You could come live with me,” Gavin spoke, his voice quiet and cautious. Jeremy’s jaw fell agape at his words, and he sat up from where he was laying down to stare down at the Brit.

“What?” Jeremy asked, completely shocked. Gavin propped himself up on his elbow and looked at Jeremy seriously.

“You can move in with me,” Gavin repeated, adding “I’d actually really like the company, my flat is incredibly boring when it’s just me there all the time. Plus, we’re already together pretty much every day anyways, so might as well just live together right?”

Jeremy contemplated for a moment, but just as he was about to speak, Gavin continued on.

“Honestly, Lil’ J, if you’re not wanted at home, I’d love to have you living with me instead, because I would enjoy your company, and I would hope that you would feel enjoyed as well,” Gavin finished sheepishly, a small blush creeping up to his cheeks. Luckily for him, the night prevented Jeremy from seeing the red as it became clear, and for that Gavin was grateful.

“Seriously?” Jeremy asked, taken aback by Gavin’s proposal. “You’d be okay with me moving in?”

“More than okay, actually,” Gavin confirmed, his tone genuine. Jeremy smiled one of the largest smiles he’s ever done, beaming at Gavin with complete elation.

“Okay then, I guess I’m moving in!” Jeremy announced, and the two of them beamed at one another, pure joy evident on their faces. They spent a while making plans for how they were going to get Jeremy’s stuff to Gavin’s flat, before finally just concluding that they’d just play it by ear and see what happens. They were usually pretty good at that, one could say that it was their specialty.

“So, Lil’ J?”

“Yeah? What’s up, Gav?”

“You never told me what you want your future to look like,” Gavin informed him, and Jeremy frowned slightly.

“I guess I didn’t say anything because I’m almost certain that you’re going to think that it’s dumb and cheesy. Yours was a lot better, honesty,” Jeremy confessed, a little bit dejected.

“Who cares if it seems stupid, Jeremy. I mean, c’mon, I just told you about how I want to buy a firetruck in the future. Whose ideas are stupid now?” Gavin asked, his words slightly humorous but his tone remained serious. Jeremy groaned, but eventually caved under Gavin’s gaze.

“I guess the only thing that I want in my life is true love, as cliche as it sounds. I want someone romantic, who’s charming, and knows all the perfect moves no matter what the situation. I want someone to make me feel like I’m home when I know that I don’t have one. I want someone who can make me laugh when I feel like there’s no reason to laugh anymore. I just want…I want…-”

“Devotion,” Gavin finished for him, and Jeremy nodded quickly in affirmation.

“Yes, exactly! I just want something perfect that doesn’t end up going away as soon as I get it. I just don’t think I can handle that feeling anymore,” Jeremy confessed, his head lowered and his eyes focused on the wooden planks he was sat upon. He heard shuffling as Gavin sat upright completely, taking on the same posture and position as Jeremy. Though, Jeremy made no move to look at him, he just kept his eyes focused on the ground beneath him.

“Jeremy,” Gavin called out softly, his voice barely above a whisper. Jeremy still didn’t look up, refusing to look him in the eyes because of his own embarrassment. However, he ended up looking into Gavin’s stunning green eyes anyways as Gavin placed a gentle hand underneath his chin, tilting his head up to make eye contact with him.

Gavin observed the small droplets that had begun to gather underneath Jeremy’s bottom eyelid, and he reached up to swipe them away tenderly with his thumbs, resting both hands on either side of his face. Right as he began to pull his hands away, slightly ashamed and worried that he may have overstepped some boundaries unknowingly, Jeremy reached out and grabbed Gavin’s wrists, pulling him back towards him quickly and wrapping his arms around his neck. Gavin went along with the motion, wrapping his arms around Jeremy’s neck quickly, and the two of them sat staring into each other’s eyes for a moment, seemingly lost in one another.

Eventually Jeremy snapped out of his trance and flicked his eyes down to look at Gavin’s lips, and Gavin immediately took the hint and began to lean forward. However, just as he began to lean forward, Jeremy yanked him in roughly, which caused Gavin to bang his nose into Jeremy’s, and the two of them fell down laughing while holding their noses in pain. Gavin had fallen on top of Jeremy, who was now laying flat on the wooden platform, staring up at Gavin with a large grin on his lips. Once the two of them stopped laughing with their hands over their bruised noses, Gavin spoke again.

“Should we, I don’t know…try that again?” Gavin suggested sheepishly, and Jeremy nodded and smiled shyly. Gavin chuckled once before he placed both hands back onto the sides of Jeremy’s head, allowing himself more control this time.

He leant down slowly, stopping a centimeter before their lips would be touching.

“Oh for fucks sake, just kiss me you moron,” Jeremy exclaimed, exasperated. Gavin laughed in response before lowering his face the remaining distance and closing the gap.

It was slow, nothing too rushed or frantic; just two people genuinely enjoying the moment that they were sharing. They remained like that for a few moments, lips moving together in sync, but eventually Gavin pulled back, staring into Jeremy’s eyes fondly.

“That was…” Gavin began, a breathy laugh escaping his lips.

“Enchanting?” Jeremy suggested, and Gavin began to laugh. The two of them sat together in silence as they stared into one another’s eyes, getting lost in each other once again.

“I can’t believe you’re comically large nose fucked up our perfect first kiss,” Jeremy lectured sarcastically, a smirk on the edge of his lips.

“Shut up, Jeremy,” Gavin grumbled before cracking a smile as well, leaning in for another kiss.

By the time month 6 rolled around, Gavin and Jeremy’s lives fell into sync with each other. The two of them worked perfectly together on everything, whether it was dishes, laundry, and anything else that they could think of that could use two people. They were always together, except for when Jeremy had been in school, but he had graduated two days ago and was now free to live his life away from high school.

Luckily, with high school over and the fact that Jeremy no longer lived with his parents, Chase and his crew knew nothing of his new location, and Jeremy had been bruise free for almost 5 months, and he had never been happier. To add to the excitement, it was June 4th, and Jeremy was elated that his 19th birthday had finally arrived.

Jeremy sat on the couch, idly playing minecraft while he waited for Gavin to return back to the apartment. He was excited that it was his birthday, yes, but he was also excited to celebrate it with his boyfriend that made his world bright day after day.

Pulling out his phone, which Gavin had upgraded to a smartphone for him one day as a surprise gift, he checked the time, frowning once he saw it. It had been 6 hours since Gavin had left earlier in the day, and the sun was beginning to sink lower in the sky. Worried, Jeremy dialed Gavin’s phone number and hit call, holding the phone up to his ear. The worried sinking feeling didn’t subside, but rather it increased as Gavin’s phone went straight to voicemail. Realizing that there wasn’t anything more that he could do at the moment, he sat back down onto the sofa and began to do some more mining to preoccupy his mind from the thoughts of Gavin.

Three hours later, in the darkness of night, Jeremy heard a rasp at the front door, and he quickly stood up, practically running over to it. He yanked it open quickly, a huge grin on his face, but the smile fell as he opened the door and was met with another man other than Gavin.

“You’re Jeremy?” The man asked, his voice gruff.

“Uhm, yes?” Jeremy answered hesitantly, unsure as to why this man was stood at his door. He was hearing a full suit and had a perfectly sculpted handlebar moustache, which added to the weirdness factor of the whole situation.

“Gavin told me to come here and give you this,” the man said as he extended out his arm to hand Jeremy a white envelope.

“What is it? Also, where’s Gavin?”

“You can open it yourself, I personally don’t make it a habit to look through other people’s mail so. Yeah.”

“Okay, but where’s Gavin?” Jeremy asked, anxiety building rather quickly inside his chest.

“We had an issue…Gavin won’t be coming back for awhile. So, that’s why he left you the envelope, as well as there,” the man said as he pulled keys out of his jacket pocket before throwing them at Jeremy. He instantly recognized them as the keys to his sanchez, and he felt his heart sink.

“Is he dead?”

“What the fuck?” The man exclaims, “No! He’s just…taking some time away.”

“But-”

“I can’t give you very many details, but I can tell you this; You will see him again. That I can promise you. Don’t worry Jeremy, it’ll all come back to normal and it’ll make sense soon.”

Jeremy just sighed, resignation washing over him.

“Okay…if there’s nothing that I can do, I’ll just wait.”

“Hopefully you won’t have to wait for too long,” the man said, and Jeremy gave him a weak smile.

“Good luck, Jeremy. I hope that i’ll see you again soon.”

“Yeah…” Jeremy responded, “bye.”

He slammed the door shut and leaned on the back side of it, letting his back glide along it as he slid down until he was sat on the floor. He felt like he wanted to cry but he just couldn’t make himself do it. He stared at the envelope in his hands, unsure of what to do with it in that moment. Eventually, after 20 minutes of staring at the envelope, he decided to open it.

He carefully slid his finger along the fold of the envelope, allowing the contents to be exposed. He turned the envelope upside down and dumped out everything inside, seeing a card and a piece of paper fall out. He reached for the card first and began to read it.

Smallest J,

I am so sorry that i’m missing your birthday. 19 is a big number and I feel awful that I’m not there with you. I promise you that the next time I see you, I will make this up to you a million times if I have to, if it means that i’ll get to see you happy.

My new friend, Geoff, the weird one that came to your door, cut me a check to allow you to take care of yourself while I’m away. It should be included in this envelope, and it it’s not, then someone’s a bloody thief.

I promise that I will see you again, I just can’t promise when as of right now. Just know that I’m thinking about you while I’m gone, and I’m desperately wishing that I could be there with you. I’ll be back someday, and I hope that it’ll be soon, but if it’s not, and I arrive home to find that you’re not there, I would understand.

I am so, so sorry, Jeremy.

Take care of yourself, kid.

~Gavin

Jeremy set down the card and reached for the paper, which he now knew was a check, and he flipped it over so that he could read the amount.

“Holy fuck,” he swore under his breath as his eyes scanned over the number over and over again. “One hundred fucking thousand dollars?”

Jeremy’s whole world was spinning, and he leaned his back up against the door again in an attempt to get his bearings. It was all too much to process, too much at once time, and Jeremy was going to struggle to work it out. He just hoped that Gavin would return soon so that he didn’t have to start from scratch.

Month six, in Jeremy’s terms, sucked dick.

5 YEARS LATER

Jeremy groaned as he sat atop the nightclub that he had frequented all too much since Gavin had gone. Every Friday night, Jeremy came into the club, bought the same exact beer, and trudged up the stairs until he reached the roof. Then, he sat. He just sat in the exact same spot that he and Gavin had first talked and gotten to know one another, hoping that maybe he if did it enough times and for long enough, it would somehow bring Gavin back.

Though, it had been 5 years since he left, and Jeremy was starting to doubt whether or not this ritual that he had created would ever be good for anything other than draining his bank account weekly.

Since he had received that first check from Gavin when he left years ago, he had managed it well, and he still had a very large amount left, so much that he would most likely be set without a job for a significant amount of time. Jeremy had thought about staying home all the time and never finding work, but eventually he did some hunting and found a job that he sort of liked, and it got him out of the house during the day which was the main reason he wanted to find a job.

He was still living in Gavin’s old apartment, he never had the heart to even think about giving it up. The same went for the sanchez as well, he could never even think about getting rid of something that had been a key part of Gavin’s life when they had met. He knew that Gavin had wrote in his letter that he would understand if Jeremy came to the decision that he didn’t want to wait any longer, but he could never get past the first 30 seconds of thinking about leaving and not being there when he comes back.

He knew he would come back eventually, Geoff promised him that he would see him again someday. In Jeremy’s mind, 5 years was significantly long enough, and someday should be approaching any day now. Though, he had been thinking like that since after the first week he was gone.

Jeremy sighed deeply and brought his pint glass to his lips, taking a large swig of the beer. Each and every time he thought about Gavin, it made his heart hurt, but he couldn’t stand not thinking about him at all. The whole situation was a double edged sword, and Jeremy was all too familiar with the feeling of it being driven straight into his stomach.

Jeremy watched the cars below drive by, smiling sadly as he thought of what it would be like to have Gavin next to his side to talk and laugh with. He thought about that a lot these days. 5 years had really taken a toll on him. The last car drove by quickly, and within seconds it was silent- no cars, no screaming people. Just nothing. Jeremy leaned back and propped himself up on his hands, relaxing in the silence.

“This isn’t the first place I’ve checked, you know,” a voice spoke from behind him, and Jeremy’s heart nearly leapt from his chest. He quickly spun around, and he gasped when he took in the sight of them man before him.

His brown hair was now much more blonde, and his clothes were impeccable. They looked expensive and well-made, and possibly even specifically tailored to fit his tall, slender body. He wore gold-rimmed sunglasses over his eyes, and once he saw that Jeremy was looking into his eyes, he removed them, and Jeremy melted when his eyes met those emerald ones that he had fallen in love with.

“Gavin?” Jeremy asked, his tone one of pure disbelief. Gavin smiled and walked closer to where Jeremy was still sat on the floor of the roof.

“I checked Chiliad first,” Gavin continued, and Jeremy just watched in absolute awe and adoration as he spoke. He took in the way his lips moved, how his eyes sparkled when he talked about certain things. To Jeremy, it felt as if he was falling in love all over again, and it was the best feeling in the world. “I thought, ‘if there’s anywhere that Lil’ J would be waiting for me, it has got to be Chiliad, right?’ I mean, we had our first kiss up there, and that was-”

“Enchanting,” they both said at the same time, and Gavin beamed down at Jeremy, his eyes so full of love that it seemed like with the time apart, Gavin did the opposite of what Jeremy had suspected was going to happen, which was that he would fall out of love with him. Clearly, as he stared into Gavin’s eyes, he was very, very wrong.

“So why are you up here, then?” Gavin questioned, stepping closer to Jeremy, who was still sat down out of pure shock.

“Are you kidding? Yeah, Chiliad might be important, but this,” Jeremy gestured around him before looking back at Gavin, “This is where it all started. If it hadn’t been for our first talk on this roof, we wouldn’t have become friends, which means we wouldn’t have ever done any of the other things that we’ve done as well.”

“Hmm,” Gavin hummed, “I suppose that’s quite true, Lil’ J.”

“Of course it is.” Jeremy insisted, and Gavin laughed.

“So, I came to find you, because I have news.”

“Yeah?” Jeremy prompted, excitement shining in his eyes.

“My dream is slowly on it’s way to becoming a reality,” Gavin began, and Jeremy nodded. “But I realized that while my dream is coming true, there was someone else out there who’s dream hasn’t been fulfilled yet.”

Gavin approached Jeremy and held out his hand, yanking him up as soon as their hands were together.

“So, Jeremy-”

“Oh for fucks sake,” Jeremy began, fake exasperated with the largest smile spread across his face, “Just kiss me you moron.”

Once Gavin recognized the exact same words he had said to him the night of their first kiss, he immediately took the lead, grabbing both sides of Jeremy’s face with his hands, holding him close. Jeremy wrapped his arms around Gavin’s shoulders, pulling him in as close to his own body as he could, seemingly as if when Jeremy let go, he would fly off with the wind, and he would be gone again.

After a few moments, Gavin stepped back slightly and they pulled apart, just staring directly into each other’s eyes.

“That was…” Jeremy began, and Gavin grinned.

“Enchanting?”

“No… that was fucking incredible.”

Gavin laughed loudly and took a large step forward and wrapped his arms around Jeremy tightly, cherishing the fact that he could finally hold him again, and he couldn’t only see him in his dreams anymore. It was pure paradise at it’s finest.

“So Jeremy,”

“Yes, Gav?”

“Do you want to see my firetruck?”

Jeremy just laughed loudly, so loud that it echoed off the buildings around them. Gavin smiled fondly as Jeremy as he walked up and slung an arm around Jeremy’s shoulder, and the two of them began walking towards the exit together.

It felt good to be back.

#rtsecretsanta #rtsecretsanta2016 #submission