When All I Have Left is You- Chapter Two Snippet
Three things that Maggie learns in the one week she's known Jake in the real world.
One. He was absolutely right when he said that he'd never answer the phone before 11am and after 9pm. She learned that the hard way when she sent him a message around 7:26 asking if he wanted to grab breakfast with her and his reply came in four hours later.
‘Guess that it's too late for breakfast. How does lunch sound?’
Of course, she absolutely took him up on that and found him sitting at a local burger joint in less than an hour. Being that this was her third time here with him, she knew that he’d be in the corner booth and ready to order the greasiest thing on the menu. Well, if he could ever properly wake up seeing as his cheek’s pressed into his hands and there’s almost a line of drool oozing from his cracked open lips. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t find it funny to see. She sat her purse down loudly against the booth table, jolting him out of his sleep. A quick sorry to him when he shot her a glare.
“You should be seeing as you’re the one who woke me,” He grumbled to her as he watched her read through the two page menu.
“Oh, it was my fault, huh? Doubtful, seeing as I didn’t get a response from you for hours after I asked to grab breakfast.”
“Whatever. Next time, just grab us breakfast and swing by the house.”
Two. He hated his job, but that wasn't something that she didn't know from their time in the Digital Circus together. When they were friends, around the time he first arrived, his memories were solely about a coffee shop job that he couldn’t stand. She wasn’t kidding when she said that she’s heard the horror stories given that Jake- Jax at the time- told her four year’s worth of them.
What she didn’t know was just how much.
“You look miserable,” She tells him as soon as she picks up his FaceTime call. Something that he definitely didn’t have to show her how to do in order to be able to see him.
He ruffles back dark locks out of his eyes only for them to fall back over. A frustrated groan that she has to bite back a giggle at, “We just got our holiday flavors in at work and I swear if I have to make one more pumpkin spiced latte, I’m gonna fucking lose it,” He shudders before fully looking at her through his phone. When he does, she can see somewhat of his tension melt away. She hates admitting the fluttery feeling it left inside her chest. She has to fight it back the only way she knows how.
“Remind me to order one the next time I pay you a visit at work.”
“I swear to God.”
Three. He never used her real name.
“For the last time, Raggy, that is not how you play Blackjack.”
“Yes, it is. Whoever gets the highest number of cards wins. I have twenty-four, so I win.”
“Wrong. Whoever’s closest to twenty-one without going over it wins.”
“What? That can’t be right,” Crossing her arms over her chest, she huffs out a sound, “What am I thinking of?”
“I have no idea,” Jake lets out a short chuckle at the sight. He decides that he’s had enough card games and drags the full deck back to his side of the table. As he does, she slouches back in her chair and brings both of her knees up to lay her chin against. It’s the third time this week that she’s spent over at his house- Soon to be their house- and she tries to adjust to something more stable than a single room with a used bed, old television set, and a broken mini fridge. The price of the motel she was staying in definitely reflected in the quality of it. Jake’s house, however, was a stark contrast. The living room was small with a two person couch pressed against the wall closest to the front door and a coffee table between it and the flat screen television mounted on the wall. One lone gaming console underneath it, not even sitting on top of anything. She’s watched plenty of times as Jake and his roommate, whose name she’s recently learned is Josh, would cram themselves in front of it to play whatever game they had decided at the time while she kept to the couch. Sometimes, they’d invite her to play along, but video games have never been her sort of thing.
From the living room, the kitchen connected and that’s where they currently sat. Two glasses of soda between them and she looks over at the double door fridge where small photographs are decorated. Some of Jake and Josh, some of people she’s never met. She makes a mental note to ask him about those people later on. For now, she turns her attention to the hall behind them where two bedrooms were at. One of which will be hers in less than a week and it’s slightly jarring to know. If only because she’s no longer acquainted with the idea of sharing a wall with Jake. Well, sharing a bathroom in between their rooms she must say. She hopes that he’s not too much of a slob, but given that he was that very thing in the circus, she doesn’t get her hopes up.
“You hungry? I’m thinking of ordering a pizza.”
Her line of sight becomes him again as he paces the kitchen floor and searches through his phone contacts.
“Yeah, that’s fine with me.”
“Cool. Just don’t tell me you’re one of those pineapple on pizza people. If so, we’re gonna have to rethink this whole friendship,” Looking up long enough to shoot her a wink, then exits the room, leaving her with a buzz throughout her body.
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What is it about this fic that has all of you so feral? It's blown up so fast. I appreciate all of you like crazy!
