Strings Attached ➤ Jay

|| Thunder in the Dark

🎸

Dear god -

⋆˚꩜｡"I pray it ain't him I'm missin'
Dear God, I hope you're listenin'".⋆♱

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I didn't expect him to hand it back.
Not like that, not so quickly, not with that... respect.

Jay's hands had moved over the guitar's glossy surface with a kind of reverence I wasn't used to seeing in him. Normally he was persistent, spoiled, pressing for what he wanted until you either snapped or caved. But here, in the dim wedge of light from my phone, his thumb had traced the edge of the fretboard gently before he angled the neck toward me and let go. No whining about playing a chord. No bargaining. Just this small smile tugging at his lips.

"Beautiful," he murmured, voice low, almost as if he was scared to raise it. "Thanks for letting me hold it."

I blinked at him, honestly caught off guard. "You're welcome... I guess."

He chuckled, faint but genuine, before I tucked the guitar back against me like an old friend. For a second, it was quiet—the storm outside slamming itself against the shop's windows in a fury, the faint hum of my phone light buzzing on the floor. It felt like one of those fragile in-between moments where something unspoken was happening, though I wasn't about to say what.

And then, like the universe enjoyed making things worse, my phone screen blinked. Once. Twice. Dead.

Darkness swallowed the corner whole.

A crack of thunder rolled right after, so loud and close it rattled the glass panes. I jumped, but Jay—Jay flinched hard. The sound ripped a shaky inhale from him, his shoulders stiff as he shrank into the wall. And before I could even react, his hand found mine in the dark, gripping tight.

My eyes widened. The air seemed heavier in the pitch-black corner, like everything was sharper, louder, closer. His palm was clammy, fingers digging in just enough to make me realize he wasn't just startled—he was terrified.

I didn't move. Didn't tease. Didn't say anything sarcastic, which should tell you just how serious it was. Instead, I shifted slightly, lacing my fingers tighter with his and giving a small squeeze. "Hey," I said softly, barely above the rain's hammering, "you're okay."

His breathing slowed—not much, but enough. Still shaky though.

To distract him, I cleared my throat. "So... tell me something. Are you an only child?"

His laugh came out uneven, nervous. "No. Younger sister. Sooah." His voice wavered with another crack of thunder. "She's... dating Jake."

"Jake?" I tilted my head, even though he couldn't see it.

"One of my best friends. Since high school."

"Wait—" I smirked a little despite the tension. "So your best friend is dating your sister? That sounds... dangerous."

A soft huff of amusement escaped him. "Yeah, well. He's a good guy. I trust him. Doesn't mean I liked it at first, though."

I grinned into the dark, still holding his hand. "So you're the overprotective brother type."

"Maybe," he admitted, quieter.

Good. Keep him talking.

I kept throwing questions at him—his favorite movie, whether he'd ever had a pet, the worst haircut he'd ever gotten, if he ever cheated on a test in school. His answers were short sometimes, longer others, but his voice steadied, grew calmer the more he focused on my stupid questions instead of the storm outside.

By the time nearly two hours crawled past, the rain had shifted into something softer. And then, with a sudden flicker and a low electrical hum, the lights above us blinked back on.

We both blinked too, pupils shrinking, the sudden brightness jarring after so long in the dark. I glanced at him—hair a bit messy now, hand still clutching mine like he hadn't realized—and gently pulled away. He didn't stop me.

We stood, brushing off our clothes, and I dragged my guitar case onto my shoulder. The windows were still streaked with heavy rain, but at least the storm wasn't pounding as viciously.

"Still pouring," I muttered.

Jay tilted his head, then asked, "Do you... have a car?"

I barked a laugh. "Do I look like I can afford a car?"

He raised a brow like I'd just confessed to something illegal. "You were going to walk?"

"Yeah. It's only like fifteen minutes."

His eyes narrowed slightly, like I'd insulted him personally. "Absolutely not. Come on. I'll drive you."

"Jay—"

"It's the least I can do. After..." His throat worked like he didn't want to say "after you calmed me down" out loud. But his meaning hung there anyway.

And damn it, I couldn't exactly argue with that.

So we gathered our things. I quickly locked up the shop, and then the two of us bolted into the rain. Water soaked my shoes instantly, and my hair plastered to my face, but I was too busy laughing as we ran through puddles to care much.

Jay's car sat just down the street, sleek and shiny even under sheets of rain. Definitely not the kind of thing that belonged in our neighborhood. We dove in, dripping and breathless, my guitar case making the seatbelt sensor go off until I snapped it in.

I gave him directions—five minutes, maybe less. The drive was quiet but not uncomfortably so. The storm muffled against the glass while the wipers swished rhythmically, his hands steady on the wheel now that he had control of something.

When we pulled up to my building, I reached for the door, but his hand shot out, catching my wrist gently.

"Byeol," he said, voice low but firm.

I turned, eyebrows raised.

"Thank you. For earlier. For... not making fun of me. For distracting me." His grip eased, but he didn't let go yet. "I appreciate it more than I can explain."

For once, I didn't have something sarcastic lined up. I just smiled faintly, soft but real. "You don't have to thank me. Everyone's scared of something."

His lips curved into something small and tired but genuine. "Still. Thank you."

I nodded, pulling my wrist free gently. "Goodnight, Jay."

"Goodnight, Byeol."

The rain hit me immediately when I opened the door, but I sprinted to the steps, hugging my case close. By the time I unlocked the front and slipped inside, dripping, I glanced back once.

His car was still there. Engine running, headlights glowing against the wet street. He was waiting—watching to make sure I made it in safely.

I lifted a hand, giving a small wave. He didn't honk, didn't roll down the window, just nodded once before I shut the door.

Leaning back against it, I exhaled a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

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A/N: DEAR GODDDDDDD