Finally Free -- JATP Luke x MaleOC

Chapter 40

"Well, what was their unfinished business? Maybe they crossed over," Alex asked, still watching Jay carefully as the boy ate.

"Um," Jay swallowed his food and felt his throat dry, from both the food and the question he was asked.

"You don't have to answer that, I was just curious," Alex said, noticing Jay's hesitation. Jay shot him a grateful smile and the two boys stood in silence as Jay finished his food.

"So," Jay said, moving to wash his hands and the dishes he used. "What's going on with you and Willie?"

Jay wasn't expecting the exasperated sigh that came from Alex's mouth and made sure to give his full attention to the drummer boy.

"Honestly, I don't know anymore," Alex said. "I thought we really had something. We were having fun that night at the club and he was just so amazing."

"But..." Jay prompted.

"But he's just been weird lately," Alex sighed again, leaning forward against the kitchen counter, resting his weight on his crossed arms. "He's been watching us and then runs off as soon as we notice. He's been so distant and every time I try to talk to him he just skates off."

"That..." Jay wanted to say that Willie wasn't like that, that that didn't sound like him. But truth be told, Jay wasn't sure what was happening with Willie. He hadn't seen the skater in years, and even when he did, they didn't talk much about Willie's current afterlife. Much of their conversation was about his time alive.

"Guess it's my fault for getting my hopes up," Alex scoffs. "Cute boy skates into you and you think you have a chance with him."

"Hey, no," Jay says, turning off the water tap. He was done with most of the dishes, he could finish up later. "You're not at fault for wanting to know him. You shouldn't blame yourself for him acting weird."

"I just wish he would talk to me, you know?" Alex said. "If he needs help, if he's in a situation, then I want to help him."

"It's not that easy to ask for help sometimes," Jay says knowingly after a moment's hesitation.

"I know," Alex sighed again. "But I wish he would."

Jay nodded, moving next to Alex and leaning back against the same kitchen counter.

"For what it's worth," Jay begins. "I think you're an awesome guy. You're nice, witty, smart, and super talented. And if Willie can't appreciate that, that's on him."

"That's worth a lot," Alex said with a soft smile, looking up at Jay. "Thanks Jay."

"No problem," Jay said, patting Alex on his back as he stood tall and made a move to walk off. But he quickly froze and turned back to Alex, who had the same look of shock on his face.

"Did you just-"

"I think so."

Jay and Alex stared at each other, the latter resting his hands on the counter while Jay's hand was hovering in the air. Alex stood and turned to Jay, holding a hand out carefully. Jay felt the breath get caught in his chest as he slowly brought his hand to meet Alex's. But as their hands passed through each other, both boys released their heavy breaths.

"Should've known."

"Just imagining things."

Jay and Alex looked at each other and Jay noticed a nervous smile appear on the drummer's face. He had said they were just imagining things, but Jay knew that Alex was in denial. Jay wished he could deny it as easily as Alex did, but he couldn't.

"I should get going," Alex said, breaking Jay from his thoughts.

"Yeah," Jay nodded a bit too quickly. "Thanks for stopping by."

"Yeah," Alex breathed out. "Um, thanks again for...talking to me."

"Anytime."

Alex warped out as Jay left the kitchen, heading up the stairs to the bathroom. He went straight to the sink and splashed his face with some water, not exactly cold but not warm either. He stared down at the sink as the water dripped down and off his face.

Jay had just touched Alex. A Lifer had just touched a ghost. And what shocked him even more was that this wasn't the first occurrence, it was just the first time he had noticed it. It happened once before with Luke and once with Reggie, but both times Jay was too caught up in his head to notice or care.

Jay grabbed a nearby towel and wiped the remaining water off his face. It was for sure a decorative one, but it didn't matter. Alex could write it off as a one-time thing, as something that he had just imagined, but Jay couldn't. And that just led Jay to wonder why he was able to and how often he could and under what circumstances he could.

As he made his way to his room, Jay's brain switched into more logical thinking. There must be some sort of commonality between the three times where he was able to touch ghosts. When Luke had touched him, they were in the school hallway talking about their music and briefly touched on their families. When Reggie had touched him, Jay had gone into panic mode and was scared out of his mind. When he had touched Alex, the drummer was opening up about his anxieties regarding Willie. What did all three events have in common?

"Jay!"

"My room!"

Jay had responded to his aunt's call on instinct and clapped a hand over his mouth once he did. He would need to ponder this at a later time, he was being watched now. But he needed to figure out how he was able to touch the ghosts when Julie couldn't, that was vital.