greta van fleet imagines (requests closed)

star - jake kiszka

"Don't worry, (y/n). It's really not that bad!" Danny assured you, chuckling as you paced nervously around the kitchen, absentmindedly tidying up.
"Yeah, we've all had it done and it went fine." Sam smiled, gesturing to the rest of the boys at the table who had been attempting to console you.
"But none of you have a crippling fear of the dentist!" You grumbled, having resorted to shifting around the fridge magnets. You heard someone push back their chair and come toward you. The faint scent of your best friend's body wash revealed that it was Jake as he wrapped his arms around your waist and rested his chin on your shoulder from behind.
"I'll make sure nothing bad happens to you, star." You chuckled at the affectionate nickname he had given you in eighth grade, the year you two had become friends. Despite your endless pestering, Jake had never told you why he called you that.
     "Let go of me, Jakey! Your hair is still wet!" You laughed as you squirmed out of his arms, running away while he shook his recently showered brown locks onto you. "Jake! You're getting my shirt all wet and I don't want to change it!" The normally unaffectionate boy (at least with other people) had caught you between the table and the wall, and was shaking his head like a dog.
     "Yeah, Jakey, let star go." Josh piped up from his spot between Sammy and Danny. He grinned as Jake froze, turning around to shoot him a death glare. Josh knew how much Jake hated it when other people used his nickname for you, and he enjoyed annoying his brother to no end with it.
     "We should get going." Jake stated flatly, still giving Josh the eye as he moved toward the door. At his words, a fresh wave of fear washed over you, and you found it hard to move your legs forward. You really didn't want to go to the dentist for anything, let alone getting your wisdom teeth pulled.
"Maybe I'll just call and reschedule for next week." You said weakly, swallowing hard. All of the boys let out muted groans and Jake came back toward you, softly grabbing your hand.
"You did that last week, star. Come on, we can do it." He assured you, and you couldn't help but feel immense relief as you peered into his eyes. The exact eyes that made your heart melt and your brain turn to mush. The exact eyes that made you wonder what it would be like to fall in love with him. Because you told yourself weren't in love with him, but sometimes you felt dangerously close.
"Why do you never look at me like that, (y/n)?" Josh whined after you had spent a prolonged moment staring at your best friend. "I mean, we look the same! The only difference is my superior head of hair." He smiled cockily at you, and you lightly pushed his face to the side with your fingertips.
"You wish, rat boy. And I do look at you like that. I look at you all like that because that's how I look at my friends." You said in a matter-of-fact tone, even if you didn't believe yourself. Unfortunately you could tell that none of the boys believed you either.
"Jakey, shouldn't you go and warm up the car? It's freezing outside." Josh quickly changed the subject, but you knew what was coming. Jake shrugged, completely oblivious to the situation (typical boy), and headed for the door.
"Not now, Josh. We're going to be late for the dentist." You had been looking for an excuse to cancel the appointment all day, but the talk you were about to get was not ideal.
"It's at 2:30, (y/n). You've got a half hour." Danny pointed out, and you immediately glared at him, making him smirk. The three boys took any opportunity they could to try and convince you of something you had sworn not to think about.
"You were staring at each other with lovesick puppy eyes, and you can't change my mind." Josh started and you groaned, shaking out your hands in an attempt to calm your nerves. Before you could get a word in, Sam spoke.
"We don't want your usual lame excuses, either. Can you please at least consider that maybe you and Jake are compatible, like, romantically?" Your cheeks burned at Sam's words. The kitchen felt like an oven-baked prison.
"Compatible? Try literally destined to be together. It's probably written in the stars." Josh sighed, closing his eyes. Despite your ongoing nerves, you had to try not to laugh.
"Very funny, Joshy, but we all know you're wrong. Jake didn't like me in eight grade and he definitely doesn't now." You felt the air somehow suck out of the room as you craned your neck down to stare at your toes. You hated bringing up the eight grade incident, but you had no other cards to play in your defence.
     "(y/n)-" Sam started, but you cut him off.
     "It's fine. I'm sorry I brought it up. I just- I don't think I could get over it if I told Jake my feelings and got rejected again. I can't lose his friendship, it's way too important." Tears had welled in your eyes, but you did your best to stop them from falling. Your throat burned.
     "Ready to go?" Jake's voice made you jump slightly as he appeared at your side. His eyebrows furrowed when he noticed your expression.
     "I know you're scared, but I promise I'll stay the whole time and let you squeeze my hand." He placed a warm hand on your back. He had mistaken your crestfallen, teary eyes for ones of worry about the dentist. You just shook your head, trying to clear your thoughts.
     "Okay. Thanks for warming up the car." You muttered half-heartedly, shuffling awkwardly out of the room. You heard Jake tell the boys that you would be back soon, and he quickly followed behind you to the car.
You couldn't bring yourself too look at him as he drove, rambling about how you wouldn't even feel anything during the surgery. You tried to listen, but you found it extremely difficult as your thoughts got stuck on what had happened in the kitchen.
"Star? Are you really gonna be okay? I know there's nothing I can do, but I hate it when you're not feeling well." Jake briefly glanced at you with a worried frown before returning his gaze back to the road. You forced yourself back into reality.
"What?"
"I'm not trying to get all mushy," He continued as if you had heard him the first time. "But you're my favourite person, and I wish I could just take away all your worries." He placed his hand on your knee as he drove, and you stiffened. He had done it thousands of times before, but this time it gave you goosebumps. He's your best friend, it's friendly affection. You told yourself, though the feeling his touch gave you seemed to tell you otherwise.
     "Can we just blast Kansas or something? Maybe that will ease my nerves." You highly doubted it, but trying to have a conversation with Jake was rather painful at that moment. The long-haired boy nodded.
     "Anything for you, star." His lips turned up into a comforting smile as he put the CD into the stereo and turned up the volume. You sighed, leaning back into the seat and closing your eyes. Not anything. You resolved, sinking into your disheartening reality.