(req) - friendship au with cobie, a wholesome day at the park
word count - 1.7k
"It's summer all the time
With you, you make me feel alright
All swings and waterslides
We're summery and pretty high
I like to watch the tide
Come and then go out at night
With you."
- Swings and Waterslides by Viola Beach
Happiness felt like something of a luxury right now. You often felt like the world was closing in on you, making everything much more difficult than it had to be.
It wasn't that happiness was rare during this time, it was more so that it you didn't know quite how to feel about anything.
A heartbreak is what you expected. He did leave, after all. But something strangely held you back from feeling the pain you anticipated.
Maybe it was the boy beside you, his eyes awkwardly shifting around the park as you looked sulky.
"Why doesn't it hurt that much?" You asked, furrowing your eyebrows as your best friend shrugged.
"Because he was a bit of a dipshit," Jacob said casually, earning a chuckle from you.
He was glad that he could still see you smile. There was many a'times where he thought about playing the protective best friend role, but that was no use.
He would watch as you looked around cluelessly, except for without him - he knew you weren't lost. And that was enough to make him feel content.
"I always prepared myself for someone falling out of love with me," you started again, looking up at the cloudless sky. "But I don't think I was prepared to fall out of love."
"You think you fell out of love?" Jacob asked, raising an eyebrow. It didn't seem that way when you were with Changmin, but then again, what did he know?
"Maybe I did," you shrugged, looking over at the boy. "And that's why I don't feel so heartbroken just now."
Jacob nodded slowly, he didn't know much about love or relationships. It wasn't his place to say anything.
You stayed silent for a moment longer, the only noise that surrounded was the subtle commotion from children in the swing park beside the two of you.
It was autumn, but a nice autumn day at that. Jacob knew this was your favourite season, he just didn't want it to be flooded with memories of him leaving you.
"Let's go," the boy stood up suddenly, looking down at you as your knees touched your chest whilst you sat upon a low banister.
"Where?" You asked confused, standing up slowly as you grimaced in pain, the boy humming as to ask you why. "The banister has definitely indented my bum."
"Probably," Jacob shrugged, turning around casually to look at his own as you chuckled. "Besides the point, we're going."
You simply trailed after the boy, your legs somewhat numb from the previous position.
His gentle stroll soon turned into skips, a spring in his step that made you laugh again. "Get on, I'll push you."
"What age are we?" You chuckled at the boy who stood there with an anticipating smile upon his face.
"Forever young, are we not?"
Your voice was hoarse from the squealing, Jacob pushing you slightly higher on the swing-set than you wanted to go, but it didn't matter.
Something about being higher up towards the sky made you feel free, until you realised that now - you really were.
"Was I ever in love in the first place?" Your words slipped out without a second thought, making a hand fly up towards your mouth as your best friend looked over in disbelief. "What?"
"Who knows?" Jacob answered simply, his words offering the strangest sense of comfort. "Does it matter, though?"
"Not really," you nodded slowly, looking at the clock on your phone. "Gosh, I should stop talking about it already."
"You can talk about anything," the boy chuckled. "But yes, maybe you should."
His words made you chuckle, because of their snarky manner but also because it was only you who saw him this way most of the time. To everyone around you both, he was the kindest, most polite soul.
Not that he wasn't when he was with you, but with you he was definitely more himself. That's what best friends are for, though.
He would often find himself speaking his mind, saying the first thing that came to his head even if it was slightly sassy or abrupt.
At first, he worried that your reactions would be an indication of your changed perception of him. But when he saw you let out a laugh and often pick up on his outbursts, he knew he had found something special in you.
Your friendship was one that was unexpected, nonetheless beautiful and true.
"I wasn't being wholly serious, by the way," Jacob said, an old habit surfacing as you looked over your shoulder at him. "You can talk about it. I've noticed that you haven't spoken about it enough."
"I feel like it's wasted energy," you sighed, looking down at your shoelaces. "He left and that's it. As you said, it doesn't matter how I felt or what went wrong."
"It does, really," the boy contradicted himself. "So you know for next time."
"There won't be a next time," you said confidently, a small part of you knew that maybe there would be. Just not any time soon.
Jacob knew that, too, chuckling at you whilst he looked down at the grass. "Whatever you say."
Your gasp was more audible than expected, nonetheless - a chuckle escaping your lips. "You don't believe me?"
"I do," the boy nodded, glancing over at the girl who stared back with confused eyes. "I just think that you deserve a next time, and it should be a good next time at that."
He always had a way with words, even if he was worried that he would slightly offend you in the process of whatever he came up with.
You sent the boy a soft smile, your eyes closing as the day had grown colder than you had gotten used to over these past few months. The sun no longer warmed up your face, and it was enough to make you feel yourself begin to slump again. "Why can't it be summer all the time?"
"Scientifically impossible," Jacob shrugged casually, not quite realising your slightly emotional state. "Are you cold?"
"Kinda," you muttered, opening one eye to see the boy open his backpack, rummaging a little through the useless stuff you knew he kept in there.
"Here you go," he grinned, the hoodie which was creased and messily folded in his palms.
Nonetheless, you took it with a smile, quickly throwing it over your head. You glanced over to see the boy had stood up, looking at you with waiting eyes.
"Let's go to the sea front," Jacob suggested, although as he began to walk backwards, you knew that it was more of an order. "Make the most of that little bit of summer we have left?"
You couldn't say no, he knew that much. But as the darker clouds cast over earlier than they usually did, you couldn't help but feel slightly gloom.
It was as though those clouds above you also hung metaphorically. They had hovered for weeks now, and it showed upon your face.
"Are you still cold?" Jacob asked, sinking slightly further into the sand.
You shrugged. It was cold, but you didn't have the heart to tell him this hoodie that he had brought all the way here wasn't doing enough. Instead, you remained grateful and focussed on something else other than the crisp wind.
Jacob knew when you were lying. You would often keep your mouth closed instead of speaking up, and now was no different.
With nothing else needed to be said, the boy shifted over, placing two arms around your shoulders and held you to his chest.
To passerby's, you would look like nothing short of a couple, but neither of you minded. It was words you had heard from people since you were young.
"Was it that obvious?" You chuckled, wrapping your own arms around yourself for that extra warmth.
"Yeah," Jacob nodded, his chin gently hitting off the top of your head. "And I'm cold too, so, it's a win-win."
You let out a hearty laugh, one that the boy enjoyed hearing, especially these days.
As much as you weren't heartbroken or hurt, something remained off about you. Your bright personality was dimmed by something, and you didn't talk about it as much as Jacob wished you did.
He wouldn't dream of pressuring you, so instead he simply held you, being that support that he knew you needed. Albeit, the support that you would always have, no matter what.
You knew that much, a tear slipping down your face at the strange mixture of emotions that you had been feeling for weeks on end. "Am I a bad person?"
"What?" Jacob almost gasped, his voice louder than usual. "Why would you ask such a thing?"
"I don't know," you shrugged, feeling his arms get tighter around you. "I was with him for so long, and now I don't feel hurt. What does that make me?"
"A human," he answered simply, almost tutting at your silly words. "There isn't some sort of handbook for feelings nor love, Y/n. You feel how you feel and you shouldn't feel guilty about it. He wasn't the greatest to you."
You nodded, the tears drying up now but no quicker than Jacob noticed them.
"Since you're my best friend I'll let it slide," he joked, wiping your tears gently. "I'd otherwise be very offended if I took someone out for the day and they cried during it."
"Sorry," you mumbled between laughs, glancing over your shoulder at the boy. "Thank you for today."
"It's not done yet," he rolled his eyes, making you laugh once again, which is all he truthfully wanted to do right now. "We'll stay until the tide comes in, okay?"
"Sure," you smiled, sucking in a deep breath as the wind picked up again. Except for now, you felt warm and secure in the arms of the person who loved you platonically unconditionally.
Here, you felt just fine for the first time in a while.
"To answer your question," Jacob trailed off smiling, pulling you closer to his chest again as you watched the last of the sunset. "I actually happen to think you're not a bad person. If anything...
You're the best person ever."