Jesse's entire life is a charade. Everything he does, he does to hide the truth. His girlfriend? Fake. His hair colour? Fake. His love for soccer? Fake. His life? Fake, fake, fake.
But after years of pretending, people simply believe everything he t...
"Oh, eh, in multiple ways, actually. I'm good with cameras, like taking pictures, or shooting videos. So whenever I have enough time, I offer my services at parties and such. During the summer, I work in a place that sells ice cream, and I sell pictures on the internet. It isn't getting me much, but enough to get around."
"No work during winter, though?"
"Not really, no. Though around Christmas I get booked for parties. I've been doing it for two years now and a few people always contact me whenever they need pictures taken." Jesse made himself comfortable on the couch with a small smile lingering in the corner of his lips.
"Ah, cool. I figured you didn't have much money. So, I can start asking for rent?"
Jesse shrugged a shoulder. "If you want me to pay, just tell me and I'll make sure to make enough money."
"Nah, dude. It's fine. Rent isn't high and we're fine. But there's one rule. If you break it, you're out no matter what."
"Which is?" Jesse felt a bit nervous.
"If you ever hurt my little brother, you're out, and I will possibly kill you," Mees told him seriously. And Jesse believed he would actually try to kill him if he would ever hurt Loek. Mees wasn't joking when it came to protecting his brother.
But Jesse wasn't planning on hurting Loek, at all. On the contrary, he really liked Loek and appreciated everything he had done for him. He appreciated Mees too, for giving him a place to stay and giving him a chance to prove he deserved their help. But with Loek... things were different.
Jesse just didn't know why it was different when it came to Loek.
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As soon as Jesse entered Gringo's, he was met with most of his friends, and presented with a lot of alcohol. He wouldn't say no to getting drunk and forgetting about everything that was going on. He needed distraction, and he found it in the form of downing a few shots with Axel.
Axel had been awfully quiet for most of the night, and Jesse worried about him and his obsession to get back with Donna. Twice, he had nearly blurted out how Donna wasn't ever going to take him back because he wasn't the right gender.
He refrained from saying it by drinking more, which he really shouldn't be doing. Eventually, he reluctantly allowed Calix to pull him outside. He was swaying on his feet a bit, trying to light a cigarette, while Calix was laughing at his clumsy attempt.
"Maybe you should drink less," Calix told him, still chuckling.
"I'm good," Jesse murmured, glad he finally managed to light his cigarette. "I'm all good."
"Are you really, though?" Calix asked while taking a seat on a stone bench on the side of the street. He kept his eyes on Gringo's, taking a drag from his own cigarette every so often.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Jesse knew he was slurring his words a bit, but not bad enough that Calix didn't understand him.
"Because you've been drinking a lot more than you usually do for the past few weeks," Calix answered with a calm voice. "You don't seem to enjoy soccer as much anymore, you seem more absent-minded than ever before," he summed up, counting on his fingers. "And who is that Loek you've been hanging out with a lot in the past week?"
