Narrator POV
When Drew woke up, Jake was no where to be seen. Drew hopped out of bed, and exited the room looking for him. He checked the whole house, and finally found him in the kitchen. Jake was sitting on a chair by the counter, a full plate of food next to him; his head was laying next to it, awfully still.
Drew sighed with relief and approached him. "There you are, Jake. You had me worried," Drew giggled. Jake didn't respond. "Jake..?" Drew slowed his walking pace, as his eyebrows curved plastering a worried look on his face.
He looked to the boy to see that his eyes were lighter then usual, nearly white, and he seemed to have stopped breathing long ago. Drew's heart sank as he quickly shook Jake to make sure he was okay; nothing happened. Drew quickly grabbed Jake's wrist for a pulse. Nothing. He was.. Gone.
Drew felt tears roll down his face as he started screaming, "No.. no.. NO! This isn't real! This can't be real!"
Suddenly, Jake sat up, his eyes still lighter then the moon. He smiled creepily and said, "Why hello, Drew," In an odd tone. Drew jumped, stepping back. Jake's smile soon faded as he said, "Why couldn't you save me?"
Drew then quickly awoke in a cold sweat, tears threatening to flow out of his eyes. He then sat himself up and turned to see Jake laying there next to him, sleeping peacefully. He watched as Jake's chest rose and fell, and gave a quiet sigh of relief.
It was just a dream.. He thought.
Drew then laid back down, and cuddled closer to his sleeping partner, wrapping them both in the warm blanket and easing at his warm touch. Drew quickly fell back asleep, his worries washed away.
---
The next day, Jake and Drew walked to school together. Their fingers intertwined as they grasped each other's hands gently, and locked eyes with each other for nearly the whole way. Henry and Liam caught the two getting lost in each other's different shades of brown eyes.
"Heyo!" Henry beamed, waving at the two. They didn't quiet hear him. "Huh. Honeymoon phase," Liam scoffed.
"I thought they already-"
"They're still in it. It's not like they've been able to spend tons and tons of time together because of all the crap they've been going through,"
"Oh. That makes sense,"
"But my guess is that they'll be back to their regular selves in a few weeks, since Drew moved in with Jake-"
"Drew moved in?!"
"Did you not see the group chat last night?"
"My phone was dead,"
"Of course it was," Liam giggled, ruffling Henry's hair. "You're such a dork, y'know?" Henry giggled in response, his cheeks warming up. Liam noticed and took the moment to quickly pull Henry closer, planting a kiss on the smaller boy's cheek. Henry turned all shades of pink, and Liam just chuckled at him, taking his hand and walking to the other couple ahead of them.
"Drake!" Liam yelled, cupping his mouth with one hand. That must've gotten Drew attention, as he quickly turned to Liam looking redder then a strawberry. "Liam! I told you to stop calling us that!"
"No can do, buddy. It's quicker,"
Drew grumbled a bit, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hey Jake, how are you feeling about, well, you know?" Henry poked in, obviously asking about the situation with the music club. Jake's eyes dimmed as he looked to the ground slightly. "Uh.. It's fine," He lied. The three looked at him with concern.
"'Kay, so, it's not fine," Henry said. Jake shrugged. "It's just hard to think that a little story on Instagram would make them kick me out," He sighed. "It was so blatantly not me, I don't even know how they fell for it."
"Hey, let's not worry about that now! They're in the past. Now all you need to do is focus on your little problem down here," Drew spoke, jabbing at Jake's stomach. Jake giggled a bit before swiping Drew's hand away. "Yeah, I know, I've been working on it," He said with a smile.
---
Jake and Drew walked to their class after Liam and Henry had left to get something from their lockers. The two were giggling and teasing each other, but the moment was ruined when they saw a couple of familiar faces walking to their direction.
The purple eyes stared daggers at the two, while black ones stared guiltily. and they stared back. "What do you two want?" Drew grumbled, getting protective. "Oh, nothing. Just wanted to check up on you. How's life being talentless again?" Zander scoffed.
"Leave us alone, Zander," Drew growled.
"Why should I?"
Drew tried to come up with a response, but nothing came to his mind. "Zander, they didn't do anything to us, just leave them alone," Hailey pleaded "Jake put that on his story! Was that not enough for you?!" Zander yelled at Hailey.
"For the last time, it wasn't me! Why would I even do something like that?" Jake exclaimed, stepping forward. "You used to bully us Jake. It's not that far from your capability," Zander snapped. Drew's blood was boiling at this point.
"HE HAS BEEN LOYAL TO EVERYONE IN THE CLUB THIS ENTIRE TIME! HE HAS A PASSION FOR MUSIC, WHY WOULD YOU GUYS EVEN BELIEVE A STUPID INSTA STORY?!" Drew shouted, noticing Jake getting more fearful by the second. "If you guys were really his friends you would believe him! He has helped you fre- I mean you guys so many times! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE HIM? HE HAS BULLIED US FOR YEARS. IT'S NOT THAT FAR OF A STRETCH TO SAY THAT ABOUT US!"
"What if, he's right Zander? If he didn't put that on his story th-" Hailey tried to reason with Zander, but it was a failed attempt. "NO WAY IS HE COMING BACK IN THE CLUB! I'M NOT RISKING HIM HURTING ANY ONE OF US AGAIN!" Zander continued.
"HE WOULDN'T DO THAT AND YOU KNOW IT! HE CARES ABOUT YOU GUYS! IF HE DIDN'T WHY WOULD HE CARE IF HE WAS LATE?! WHY WOULD HE CARE ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS?! WHY WOULD HE EVEN CARE IF YOU GUYS ARE HIS FRIENDS!?" Drew screamed. Luke heard shouting coming from Drew, and ran over to see what was going on.
"What in the world-" Luke started, taking his place next to Zander and Hailey. "Drew? Why are you yelling at them?" Luke's eyes narrowed as his golden eyes lost their shine. "Because he was accusing Jake of posting that Insta story again!" Drew explained quickly.
"Did he not?"
"NO! He DIDN'T! Are you guys that blind?! He CARES! Why the hell would he say something like that?!"
"Because it was just fake, maybe?! All he did was use us for popularity!" Zander snapped. "You don't KNOW THAT!" Drew roared, clenching his fists. "He saw you guys as a FAMILIY! You were his family!" Drew choked a bit saying that last bit. Jake's heart was aching more and more, as tears threatened to escape his eyes.
"Then why would he treat us so horribly?!"
"DID YOU HEAR I WORD I SAID?! ZANDER, IF IT WEREN'T FOR JAKE YOU AND LUKE WOULD STILL BE NOTHING MORE THEN CHILDHOOD FRIENDS! BE GRATEFUL FOR ONCE IN YOUR DAMN LIFE!"
"AND IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU JAKE WOULD STILL BE A NICE PERSON!"
Drew's eyes widened. Tears welled up in his eyes, blurring his vision. His breathing paced up, as he began to grow lightheaded. He clenched his fists once more, staring daggers at Zander as his blood boiled. "SHUT UP!" He screamed, lunging to punch Zander right in the face. Luckily, Luke jumped in front of him, grasping Drew's fist in his own. "Don't you dare hurt Zander!" He yelled, shoving Drew backwards into the lockers behind him. "DREW!" Jake screamed, running to his boyfriend.
"Are you okay?!" Jake looked at him with eyes of worry. "Yeah- I'm fine," Drew winced. Luke walked over to Drew and lifted him up, slamming him into the locker. Jake attempted to get him off of Drew, but Luke just pushed him away. "Listen here, Mr. perfect," Luke growled. "I don't know who you think you are, but nothing on this God's green Earth gives you any right to hurt Zander. I've had enough of your sh*t. Leave Zander the hell alone."
Drew was washed over by overarching fear. Jake took note of this; kicking Luke in the shin to free Drew. Luke yelped in agony, dropping Drew to the ground. Before Luke could get back at him again, the bell rang; saving Jake and Drew.
Zander scoffed, as he watched Jake helped Drew to stand up. The trio walked away, brushing past the two. As Hailey and Luke continued on, Zander stopped next to Jake to whisper in his ear, just quiet enough for only Jake to hear..
"Oh, forgot to say, but.. Have you finally stopped?" Jake turned to him in confusion. "Your stomach, it's.. enlarged." Zander smirked. Jake's eyes widened as his face darkened. Zander was soon strutting down the hallway next to Hailey and Luke. His words bounced around in Jake's head. Drew took hold of his hand, leading him to class. "Wait- I-I.. I need to do something really quickly.. I-I'll be right back!" Jake said, and started down the hallway to the bathroom.
"Wait, Jake-!" Drew called, but it was no use. Jake was already out of sight. Drew sighed, trying to decide weather or not to go to class or help Jake. Of course, he would chose Jake over class any day, so it was an easy decision. Drew ran down the hallway after Jake.
As Jake finally made it to the bathroom, he froze in front of the mirror. He slowly slipped his jacket off of his shoulders, lifting his shirt up to see his stomach. Jake stared at it intently, before letting go of his shirt and leaning on the sink. A few tears dripped down his face. "He's right.." He muttered to himself, closing his eyes tightly.
Suddenly, Drew appeared in the doorway. He saw Jake crying and his heart sank. "Jake!" Drew called out, running up to him. He stopped at seeing his jacket on the ground. "Oh no.. What did he say?"
"Wh-What do you mean-?" Jake smiled, clearly fake, as he violently wiped his tears away. Drew took hold of Jake's wrists, moving them away. With his other hand he held Jake's cheek, wiping his tears gently. "Zander. He said something, didn't he?" Drew said softly.
"H-He didn't.. He didn't say anything.." Jake lied again, turning away from Drew. But he only moved Jake's face to look at him again. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You're horrible at hiding things," Drew giggled lightly. "Now tell me, what did he say? You know you can trust me."
Jake looked him dead in the eyes, before throwing himself onto Drew, burying his face in Drew's shoulder. "H-He.. H-he.. He said that.. Th-that I-I was.." Jake couldn't even bring himself to say it. Saying it in his head 24/7 was easy. Saying it out loud to the person you love the most is harder.
Drew began rubbing circles on his back to calm him down. "Shh.. It's okay.. Take your time. I have all day," Drew hushed softly. "H-He.." Jake gave up. He pulled away from the hug and motioned it. Drew got the memo as his eyes widened. "Jake, don't listen to him," He said sternly yet softly, placing his hands on Jake's shoulders. "He just said that to get inside your head, to make you vulnerable. He's wrong. You're perfect just the way you are. You aren't overweight, and even if you were you'd still be perfect in my eyes. Who cares about what others think? As long as you love you, you'll do amazing things. I know it."
Drew's words made Jake smile like an idiot. A sad idiot. "God, what did I do to deserve someone like you?" Jake smiled, pulling Drew in for another hug. Drew just chuckled and placed a tender kiss on his cheek. The two stayed like this for awhile. Just standing there, holding each other. They soon gave in to gravity and sat on the ground, but still in a warm embrace.
About 10 minutes passed and Drew finally spoke up. "We should get going, don't want to be late-" He said, but Jake shook his head. "No.. I like this.. I wanna stay here for a little while longer," He muttered, sounding tired. Drew nodded, agreeing to stay. Not even the sharpest of edges could tear these two apart.
---
Word Count: 2122
A/N: HERE IT IS! Im sorry it took so long!! my procrastination rlly hit hard- qwq
also oh god im gonna make myself hate zander nooo-
also also BIG THANKS to Amy for helping mee with the arguing scenee i rlly appreciate itt <33
lets hope 29 doesnt take another week like this one lmao-