coffee

part fourteen

It's Brendon that Jon calls two nights later, far past midnight, when the blinding, dizzying pain becomes nearly unbearable. He means to call his dealer, he means to give up on getting clean entirely, but Blake looks so much like Brendon in the dark.

"Hello?" Asks Brendon's tired voice, and it might be better hearing that than heroin could ever be.

"Brendon?" Jon says, because he hurts, and he's so confused.

"Jon?" Brendon whispers. "Jon, is that you?"

"Brendon," Jon sighs, like he's just taken a particularly good hit.

"Jon," Brendon says. "Jon, where are you? I'll come get you, just tell me where you are."

"M'at home, it's okay."

"You're at the apartment? Is Ryan there with you?"

"Spencer, too."

"Put one of them on the phone, alright, J?"

"Okay," Jon says, then takes his mouth away from the speaker to shout, "Ryan!" Then he says into the speaker, "Ryan's coming."

"He's still alive?" Brendon asks, trying to sound indifferent, and Jon nods to no one.

"Jon?" Ryan asks, poking his head into Jon's bedroom. "It's, like, two in the morning. What's wrong?"

"Someone's on the phone for you," Jon says. Ryan raises an eyebrow, glancing at Jon's cell phone.

"Who?" He asks.

"Secret," Jon says, and hands the phone to Ryan.

"Hello?" Ryan says hesitantly, ready to punch Jon if he's playing a joke.

"Ryan?"

"Bren?"

"Is Jon okay?" Brendon asks, trying to wrench the knife that stabbed through his heart at the sound of his nickname.

"Oh. Yeah, he's just detoxing."

"From the drugs," Brendon says.

"From the drugs."

"Do you want me - uh, should I come over?"

"If you want to," Ryan says. "Yes. He - we - miss you, and I think it might be good if he saw you. For morale, you know?"

"Give me five minutes," Brendon says, and hangs up. Ryan hits the end button, and looks at Jon.

"Brendon's coming for a visit," he says, and Jon beams.

"He misses us!" He cries, delighted. "He really does.

"Well," Ryan says. "He misses you. And Spencer."

"He misses you the most, I think," Jon says.

"I don't think so," Ryan mutters. "I'll just step out while he's here. Spencer will be around if you need anything."

"Okay," Jon frowns. "But I think he'd like to see you."

"Yeah, well," Ryan says. "He wasn't too keen on seeing me the last time." Jon frowns at the disappointment that tinges Ryan's voice, and Ryan shrugs. "It's okay."

"Well," Jon murmurs, cringing as a wave of nausea rolls through him. "Be careful. It's late, so stay close."

"Hey," Ryan says. "Who's taking care of who here?" He puts his hand on his hip, and pretends to look offended.

"Yeah, yeah," Jon scoffs. "Big, strong Ryan taking care of poor, frail Jon. Because that's likely." Ryan glares, shaking his head, and bends down to kiss Jon's cheek.