lightning - jonah marais

chapter nine

Days pass and the heartache in your chest is still heavy, Jonah's actions making it worse. You agreed to continue acting as if nothing were out of the ordinary and you wanted to do that for the sake of your friendship, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt a little more each time he kissed your head or wrapped you in his arms. You laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling fan. Jonah was in the shower and you were still in your pajamas, too unmotivated to get up. The bathroom door swung open, letting the steam from the hot water escape the small space. Jonah walked over to his closet and began skimming through his clothes to find something to wear. Your body was still glued to the sheets, eyes focused on the spinning blades of the fan. You didn't even notice him sit down at the end of the bed after he got dressed and tap your leg. "Y/N." he said, and you didn't move, only speaking. "Jonah." you said and he moved farther up the bed, laying down next to you and following your gaze to the fan. "Is there something interesting about my ceiling fan that I don't know about?" he chuckled. You laughed a little and shook your head, "Nope. I'm just thinking." "About?" "My existence." Jonah let out a heavy sigh, "Woah, that's pretty deep for 9 in the morning." You clicked your tongue, "Shit happens, Jo." He grabbed your hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, making your blood pump a little quicker. He sat up and looked back to you, showing no signs of getting up. "C'mon, I'll make you coffee." he suggested and you pondered the offer for a minute, groaning as you sat up. Jonah clapped his hands and you giggled, making your way over to the shower.

Breakfast with Jonah slowly turned into breakfast with Jonah, Daniel, and Jack. The four of you were sat at the kitchen table eating and making conversation. In the middle of your peaceful breakfast, Corbyn runs down the stairs and bursts in, "We have a problem." "What?" everyone asked as Corbyn tried to catch his breath. Corbyn shoved his phone in Daniel's face and Daniel's eyes went wide. "Oh, fuck." he said, passing the phone to Jack. Jack bites his thumb and cautiously passes the phone to Jonah. Jonah's worried expression suddenly goes cold and he puts Corbyn's phone face down on the table. He gets up and lets out a dry laugh before storming off upstairs. You looked around the three remaining boys in absolute confusion, "What the hell is going on?" Daniel nudges the phone towards you, and the image on the screen made you nauseous.

@themadisongrant tweeted:
must be hard to wake up in a new city every morning knowing that you don't deserve any of it. keep up the good work, xoxo his ex

Your jaw dropped, but it got even worse in the replies.

@grantbabe replied to @themadisongrant:
yes madi call her out QUEEN

@sweetavery replied to @themadisongrant:
is this about jonah

@wdwtea replied to @themadisongrant:
this is definitely about @jonahmarais & @yourusername

You felt your cheeks heat up as you read through the replies, feeling three pairs of eyes all burning into you with their stares. You handed Corbyn his phone back and let out a deep breath before standing up from the table. "I'm gonna go check on Jonah." you stated and walked towards the stairs. As you left you heard the boys whispering and mumbling and tried to fight back the tears pricking your eyes. You knocked on Jonah's door, even though it was technically your room too, and waited for him to say something. He didn't say anything, but you heard his socks shuffle against the floor and the door swung open. He immediately returned to his place on the bed and you followed, sitting down next to him. "We didn't break up because of you, she cheated on me. I don't understand why she's being so, so—" "Bitchy?" you finished, letting out a watery laugh. Jonah turned to look at you and his face quickly dropped when he noticed your teary eyes. "Yes, exactly. C'mere." he said, pulling you into his side. You debating fighting his comfort, but you didn't; you leaned into him and let out a few stray tears. "Your fans are going to think I'm a horrible person." you said and Jonah pulled back, "No, they won't. They know you and they love just as much as we do. If they're real fans, they won't believe her bullshit." You sniffed and let out a deep breath, "Thank you, J." Jonah lifted his hand to your cheek and tucked a piece of hair behind your ear. "Of course." The two of you locked eyes for a moment, neither of you looking away until you heard someone clear their throat. Both of you turned to see Daniel standing in the doorway. "Am I..interrupting?" he awkwardly asked and you and Jonah were quick to respond with a mix of 'Not at all' and 'No, what's up?'. Daniel narrowed his eyes and looked at each of you, "Hmm, okay. Well, we just got invited to a house party over at TJ's. Are you guys in?" he asked. "Hell yeah." Jonah said and you shrugged, "Yeah, sure." Daniel pulled out his phone to text TJ, "Sweet, I'll let him know. We're leaving at 7." Once Daniel left the room you and Jonah sat in silence. "Wanna help me find an outfit?" he finally said, and you nodded with a smile on your face.

You arrived at TJ's party around 7:30, the party scene immediately sucking the six of you into the house. You didn't know TJ that well, but he was a popular YouTuber and he made friends with the boys a year or so ago. You'd met him once very briefly when you visited Jonah, but from what you were seeing: he was a lot richer than you assumed. The house was huge, lights dimmed and colorful swirling beams filling the space. People were crawling throughout both floors and out into the yard. You saw people shotgunning beers in the pool and others taking shots on the main staircase. You looked around the room in awe, Zach poking at your side, "Pretty sick, huh?" You nodded in agreement with your mouth still agape and followed the boys over to the kitchen bar. "My favorite guys! I'm glad you made it!" TJ shouted as he hugged all of the boys. He wasn't drunk but definitely buzzed, and maybe a little high. Once he got to you, he smiled, "Have we met before?" You chuckled and looked to the guys, "Maybe once, I think. I came to visit them last year and you were over at the house. I'm Y/N." TJ's eyes grew as wide as his smile as he remembered you, "Y/N, right! Jonah's best friend. Nice to see you again." You smiled in return and Jonah tapped your shoulder to hand you a solo cup. You looked up at him skeptically and he wiggled his eyebrows at you, "It's vodka and lemonade. Just trust my drink making skills." You rolled your eyes and took a sip, genuinely surprised at how good it was. The six of you eventually split up amongst the party and you ended up alone dancing between people. You were having real fun, forgetting about the day's events until your phone buzzed.

@jonahmarais tweeted:
people can really show you exactly who they really are and make you wonder why you ever wasted your time hoping they'd change

You took a few more shots and poured yourself another drink, trying to get away from any more sadness. The speakers boomed through the house and you caught up with Corbyn, laughing and dancing along to the music. You caught a glimpse of Jonah out of the corner of your eye and told Corbyn you'd be back, pushing through the sea of bodies to go after him. He seemed to have vanished once you reached the backyard, but then you found him sitting on the edge of the deck by himself. You stumbled your way over to him and plopped down, tapping your cup with his. "How are you holding up?" you said, a bit of a slur to your speech. Jonah let out a hearty laugh and you couldn't help but join in, drunk and clueless as to what was so funny. "What?' you said and he tried to catch his breath, "You're so drunk." Jonah said before taking another sip of his drink. You scoffed, "So are you." He smiled, "Hmm, yeah I know." The two of you talked and drank some more, enjoying each other's company. "This reminds me of when we used to hide in my garage the summer before sophomore year and share a can of that nasty beer." you said and Jonah gasped, "Oh god, that stuff was disgusting but we thought we were so cool." You laughed once more and let silence settle over you, the sounds of the music and chatter softly in the background. "I saw your tweet." you said and Jonah swirled his drink around. "What about it?" "You didn't have to do that." "Do what?" "You know, snap back at her." Jonah set his cup down and grabbed your arm, pulling you to face him. "You didn't deserve that, Y/N." he said, his bloodshot eyes staring into yours. You smiled a little bit and let out a small laugh, causing him to crack a smile. "You good?" he chuckled and your smile didn't fade, "Yeah, I'm perfect! Just, wow. Madison is missing out on a lot." The alcohol flowing through your system was masking any worries you had about Jonah and your feelings for him. "Oh yeah, like what?" Jonah asked and you shoved his shoulder, "Seriously? Jonah, you're one of the hottest and sweetest people on the planet, which is so rare. And she ditched this for a quick fuck? A literal idiot." you explained, completely unafraid of how he'd respond. He didn't say anything, he just stared at you in amusement. You couldn't tell what he was thinking, so you asked, "What?" The smile hanging on your lips was starting to hurt your cheeks but you didn't care.  "I'm thinking about kissing you." Jonah said and you set your cup down, trying to keep yourself composed. "Then do it." Jonah leaned in and you met him in the middle, his lips connecting with yours. He tasted like alcohol and mint gum, which made sense when you though about it. He put his hand on your waist, moving you closer to him. You let your hand rest on the back of his neck and fought to keep from smiling into the kiss. This was everything; this was what you'd been waiting for for years and you were drunk, but you weren't dreaming. Suddenly, Jonah pulled away. "Wait, we shouldn't be doing this." You dropped your arm to your side and cocked your head, "What? What do you mean?" Jonah grabbed his cup and rushed to stand up, "I-I shouldn't have done that. I gotta go." he said. Jonah walked off back into the house and you were left sitting alone on the deck. You were hurt, and upset. You wanted to cry it all out right there on the spot. You let out a choked sob and covered your hand with your mouth, not wanting to let other people hear you. You put your head in your hands and held back tears, hoping this was all some kind of sick joke. In a split second, your dream moment turned into a nightmare.