The Good, the Bad, and the Harrison Boys

two // different light

Jaiden and I attempted to do our homework for almost two hours, but kept getting distracted by the creation that was Twitter. Eventually we gave up, and Charlie came bouncing in to hang out with us.

"Hey, little guy!" Jaiden picked him up and tickled him, sending Charlie into a giggling frenzy. He thrashed and squealed, trying to get away as his face slowly turned red and his shaggy honey hair flopped messily on his head.

"Stop, JJ!" Charlie squirmed out of Jaiden's grip and ran to hide behind me, the five-year-old radiating excitement. Jaiden smiled and opened his arms, and Charlie ran back to give him a hug.

"As much as I hate being called "JJ," I'll allow it from him." He whispered to me with a wink, and I smiled. Charlie slipped out of his arms and on to the floor, beginning to play with a loose string from the bottom of his jeans.

"Have any idea when Hanna's due?" Jaiden asked.

I shrugged. "Nope. She's nervous everyday but I'm pretty sure she'll send herself into labour with the way she's stressed."

Jaiden ruffled Charlie's hair. "How do you feel about being a big brother, Charles?"

Charlie looked up at me, looked at Jaiden, and then sighed as he began playing with the loose string again. "I dunno."

"You don't know?" I repeated.

Charlie nodded and said nothing.

"You don't have to be worried, Charlie." Jaiden picked him up and placed him on his lap. "I was scared when I found out I had a brother another brother the same age as me and had to share our dad's love. But guess what?"

Charlie looked up at him with curious eyes. "What?"

Jaiden smiled gently and pushed the young boy's dark hair back. "Nothing changed."

Charlie perked up. "Nothing?"

"Nothing." Jaiden smiled gently at him. "My dad loved the two of us exactly the same, if not more."

"But what if my mommy and daddy forget about me?" He whispered.

Jaiden frowned, kissed the top of Charlie's head, and brought him close to his chest for a hug. "They won't. I swear."

"You swear?"

"Mhm, I swear."

"Pinky swear?" Charlie held out his finger. Jaiden smiled and linked this large finger through Charlie's.

"Pinky-swear." He said.

Charlie seemed satisfied with that answer and hopped down from Jaiden's lap, running out of my room probably to go play. I smirked and folded my arms over my chest.

Jaiden's stone expression returned. "What?"

"Softie," I whispered.

"Who?" Jaiden scoffed. "I don't know the meaning of that word."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please. Charlie had you wrapped around his little finger."

"So what?" He mumbled as he pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket. "He needed the reassurance...plus he's fucking cute."

I giggled and shook my head. The time on my alarm clock read 9:30pm. "Shouldn't you be going home?"

"Wanna get rid of me so quickly?" He chuckled.

"No...I just don't want Reece getting the wrong idea." I ran my hands through my hair. "He tends to burst into my room with no warning."

He said nothing and raised an arched eyebrow. He sighed and picked up his bag. "See you tomorrow, Hunter."

"Yeah, see you." I replied quietly, and he left.

***

I waddled into the kitchen around 1am. The feeling of hunger kept me from falling asleep since I didn't eat with the rest of the family.

Opening the fridge, my eyes landed on a bowl of spaghetti. I pulled it out and portioned some into a separate bowl, sticking it in the microwave and waiting for it to heat up.

"What are you doing up?" I jumped at the voice behind me and whipped around. Reece stood shirtless in the doorway of the kitchen, his arms folded over his bare chest.

I placed my hand over my racing heart. "Jesus Christ, you scared the shit out of me."

He shrugged in response and walked past me to the pantry. "What are you doing up?" He repeated.

I titled my head to the side a bit at his tone, but shook it off. "Uh, couldn't sleep. I was hungry." I explained. The microwave beeped and I pulled the steaming bowl out. I reached into the drawer behind me and grabbed a fork, twirling the noodles around it. "Why are you awake?"

"Couldn't sleep." He mumbled. Reece paused what he was doing and sighed, hanging his head and staring down at the floor. "Did you have fun with Jaiden?"

I froze halfway through chewing. "Hm?"

"You heard what I said." He stood up straight.

"Who are you catching a tone with?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Just answer the fucking question, Hunter!" He slammed his fist down on the counter.

I jumped and took a step back. "I, uh, it was fine; nothing special."

"Must've been something. He was up there for long." He grit his teeth in annoyance. I could almost feel the anger radiating off of him.

I scoffed. "Babe, this is Jaiden we're talking about. He's my friend. He just came to chill and then Charlie hung out with us for a bit."

"Yeah, just unannounced like that?" I watched as he clenched and unclenched his fist. "Does he do that all the time when I'm not home?"

"Reece, how was he supposed to know you weren't home?" I sighed.

He shook his head and pushed past me as he walked out of the kitchen. I sighed and put the spaghetti down, suddenly not feeling very hungry anymore.

***

hey loves!

HAHA SOOOO i've been gone for a while.

this schedule life is not for me LOL.

it's my senior year and everything is everywhere and i'm just stressed all the time but here we are.

this chapter is kinda weird and all over the place but it's setting us up for great things hehe. :))

anywho, uhhh, what's going with reece? is someone, how you say, jealous? crazy.

i love you all to the moon and back.

--mj xx