Happiness ↣ Jon Mess

5. pussy vultures

"this is the best fucking pasta i've ever had." wren wasn't lying. jon made the best fucking sauce she had ever tasted. they were actually on stools across from each other at her kitchen island now. "where were you hiding these impeccable chef skills?"

"so far up my ass," he said in an exaggerated tone, shaking his head. "you wouldn't even know."

"we should watch a movie or something." she said. "i never have friends over. i am taking full advantage of your company. we can get wine, junk food, the works."

"you make yourself comfortable with strangers fast, you know that, right?" he laughed, slurping up the fettuccine.

"i'm a glass half full kind of guy." she smiled. wren has a cute smile, jon had thought to himself. it spreads over her entire face. he studies the way her eyes wrinkle and her brown eyes seem lighter.

suddenly there's a banging at the door knocking them out of the relaxed vibe. five bangs at the door. the smile fades from wrens face. "who's that?" jon asks.

wren doesn't answer as she gets up and opens the door, the chain still hooked so it cracks. "why haven't you been returning my calls?" he hears a voice say in an angry tone. "i've been texting and calling you like crazy. you can't just throw me away when you don't want me like i'm fucking trash wren!"

"evan just leave," she says, looking down. "i thought i made it clear to you it was over, i just don't want anything with you right now."

jon walked over, alert to what was probably going on. "is there a problem?" he asked wren.

the guy pushed the door just enough to snap the chain. "really?! is this the guy you leave me for!" the man states. he's about eye level with jon, with light brown hair and about twenty pounds less than him.

"hey man what's your fuckin problem, she made it clear she wants nothing to do with you, so why don't you find another random chick to harass?"

"who the hell do you think you are buddy?" he tries to shove jon. jon barely budges.

he leans in. "someone who will make sure if you try and fuck with wren that you'll be shitting your intestines for weeks, so why don't you turn around and go back the way you came?" he slammed the door in the guys face, locking it. he didn't move until he heard the guy go back down the stairs.

wren is silent, biting her hand. "he just doesn't know when to quit. mom liked him."

"how long were you together?"

"since my senior year of high school. on and off. currently off."

"currently or forever?" jon implored. "because i think he's a little worried about his intestines."

she managed a laugh. "he cheated on me expecting me not to break up with him."

"i should've kicked his teeth in, in other words." he nodded.

she walked back to the island, taking their empty bowls and putting them in the dirty dishes. "you ever walked in on your boyfriend and your best friend?"

"nah but i've walked in on my EX girlfriend and best friend." the smile on his face put wren at ease. "guys do this thing where as soon as you break up they fuck your ex. man was my high school best friend."

"that's fuckkkeedd." wren shook her head.

"yep, even wrote a song about it."

"NO WAY! you have to show me." she ran to the couch.

"you know how much i hate—" he stopped as he walked to the couch. wren had a look of an excited puppy on her face, how could he say no? "oh my god, fine." he typed in the title to youtube and brought up a lyric video so she could understand.

he sat on the couch and she put her head on his lap, laying down across him. she listened to tilian and jon's voices in sequence. "can't send a postcard, from the future to the past. cant warn your old self, that these memories fade too fast. and when it's over, you can't recreate the past. my mind is an ocean, wish i'd built a bigger raft."

he thought she was asleep when her eyes closed but she was swaying her head back and forth, tapping her foot on the side of the couch. it meant a lot to him that she was really observing the music, listening to the meanings and lyrics and chords. "i can understand your voice clearer on this." she said quietly.

"practice makes perfect." he said back. why was he fighting back the urge to move her hair from her face and put it behind her ear right now?

when the song ended her eyes fluttered open. "i feel like i've been missing out on so much music i just didn't grow up with. my mom had me thinking the generic satanism shit was lumped with this kind of stuff. that was beautiful."

"oh you flatter me." jon said, batting his eyes and flipping his hair.

"seriously you moron!" she swatted at him. jon didn't think he had smiled this sincerely since before tour. "it's so unique!"

"are we having a movie marathon or what?"

-

wren had collected more bags of chips and gummy worms than jon knew were even in the house, and two bottles of red wine. jon was more of a white wine guy but he wasn't gonna complain. they got a pile of blankets and pillows and cranked out the footrest on the reclining couch. "horror, romance, comedy?" she said, grabbing the remote and burying herself into the blankets. jon joined her, on the opposite end of the couch.

"lil miss child of god and all, i didn't expect you to fuck with horror." he shook his head.

"oh it's on, we are marathoning saw."

"a lady of taste i see," he said, as she hit the first movie on hulu.

they went through a lot of junk food, slowly getting closer together. jon wasn't a horror guy specifically. it's not like it scared him or anything, he just didn't notice when wren ended up right beside him clutching his arm. "the end always gets me." she said. they were both a little wine drunk, eyes glued to the screen. as soon as the movie ended she hit the second movie, but soon enough, she was asleep by halfway through, against jon.

he couldn't move without waking her up so he slowly moved his arm, but the only way it would go non awkwardly was around her. he slowly wriggled his way to the side, eventually falling asleep too.