i need you | in stereo

八 | chris.

to: chris lanzon

from: david (manager)

hi chris,

i just read your email about the video.

i think its a good idea, considering the fact that we haven't told anyone outside the company. i've organised the shoot for you and ethan as well. you will be doing it on saturday, two days from now, from 2pm - 5pm at the studio.

i suggest thinking about what you and ethan are going to say to your fans. make sure every detail is included, even the details about jakob's coma. try to make a speech about 2-3 minutes long.

see you then.

thanks.

i shut my phone off and throw it onto my bedside table.

ethan was sleeping next to me, the sound of his soft snores filling the otherwise quiet room. he had cried again before he fell asleep, repeating the same thing he has been saying the past few nights.

"it's all my fault, chris."

i would constantly tell him it wasn't.

i don't think he truly believed me, but he would just nod and try to wipe his stream of tears off his rosy cheeks.

i wanted to help him, i wanted everything to go back to normal. i had to keep my emotions in because ethan couldn't. it was like our roles reversed. if we were in a bad situation, it would be ethan wiping my tears away, telling me everything would end up being okay. now it was me telling ethan to stay strong.

i wipe away a small tear that slipped from my eyes and push the blanket off my body. sighing, i get up and walk to my kitchen. i pull a can of red bull out and open it, hearing the satisfying pop and fizz of the drink.

as i drink, i hear the soft thump of footsteps from the hallway. ethan comes out, his hair sticking up on one side, and blanket is wrapped around his body.

"do you have beer?" he asks sleepily.

i point to the fridge. "you can have one can, i don't want you getting drunk alright?"

he nods and shuffles to the fridge. he pulls out a beer can and hands it to me. "can you open it?"

i grab the can and open it up for him. he takes it back and takes a sip.

"why'd you wake up?" i question him.

he lifts the can back to his lips and takes another sip.

"i don't know. i started thinking of jakob."

"oh," is all i reply.

silence passes over us again. i was starting to get sick of it, the silence that always had to linger around ethan and i.

"how are you?" i manage to ask. "its kind of a stupid question but, you know."

"i'm okay," he says softly. "well, i'm trying to be."

i nod. "in a time like this, i think its okay to not be okay, you know what i mean? i know you and jakob were close and everything."

before their fight and the accident, jakob and ethan started to hang out more. we were all close as a band - practically like brothers - but it made me happy to see that they would hang out when they got the chance. since i did most of the songwriting, they had more time off than i did.

"we were..." he trails off. he sighs.

"can i tell you something chris?" he asks softly. "please dont- uh- freak out though?"

"well you've been telling me a lot of things lately," i say. "go ahead, and why would i freak out, ethan?"

"you know how you said jakob and i were 'close' right?" he starts. i nod in response.

"we..."

he sighs and sips his beer again.

"we...what?"

"three nights before the fight and the accident," he says, looking at the can in his hands. "i- asked jakob to be my boyfriend."

in shock, i nearly choked on the red bull that was in my mouth.

ethan asked jakob to be his boyfriend?

"you...you...what?"

he sighs. "i'm gay, chris."

"oh..." i trail off.

"if you have something wrong with that-"

"no, ethan." i say, cutting him off. "i'm completely fine with that. i mean your sexuality shouldn;t change the state of our friendship or how i think of you. you have my support okay?"

he nods quicky and mutters a small thank you under his breath.

"but...did something happen? between you and jakob that night."

"we fought." he says, his voice monotone. "i told him i wanted to be in a relationship with him, but he didn't. he said he wasn't ready for that type of commitment and he said that the fans wouldn't accept us as a gay couple. we just yelled at each other a lot, and he stormed out of my house."

"is that why you two were so bitter towards each other that day?"

"yeah..."

he throws his empty can into the bin.

"ethan..." i start.

"should i tell the fans about what went on with jakob and i that night in the video?"

i look up at him and he's staring blankly at the floor.

"it's your choice."

he nods.

"i- i'll just- uh- go back to bed then."

"okay," i say, patting him on the shoulder awkwardly. "um, goodnight ethan."

"goodnight."

———

read this authors note please !!

so even though i'm probably gonna deactivate instereomemes i promise yall i'll complete this story + text me !! and i might publish more stories on here so yeah :) i'll be active on here, not on ig anymore, just in case anyone was confused or anything.

also plot twist? my jethan shipping ass needed some jethan oops

anyways that's all i guess?? thank you for reading this chapter!! see yall sooooon

xo, kaitleen