"People like you always want back the love they gave away." ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS STAY- TAYLOR SWIFT
"Mom please don't make me leave I wanna stay, I'm a senior I'm graduating I should have a right to stay."
"Mariano gets your ass in the car," Juliette yelled from the backseat of the van. It was the final day of their break and they all had to go back to school. James, Nova, and Mariano were all suffering threw their seniority and not wanting to graduate and become complete adults, it was exactly what Julie, Sky, and Jake loved making fun of them with.
They had all officially said their goodbyes to Samantha and Joe while Nova forced James, Mariano, and Jake to clean the house for their parents from top to bottom and it was safe to say Samantha loved Nova and the girls to unimaginable amounts while Joe would fan girl to his wife how his sons finally found wives and to start planning spring fall and winter wedding for the three of them.
"Listen to your girl Mario we'll see you at graduation," Joe said patting him on the back.
"Mom you hear this man."
"Yes and I agree now go," Samantha said as she pushed her son into the car with his brothers and friends.
A wave of calmness washed over her in these moments as she blew a kiss to her kids watching as they drove down the road and the last face she saw before they turned the corner was Jake. Her miracle baby boy, the spitting image of his father, and every good part of Samantha that she wished would be the only parts of her. Those good pieces of herself all went to Jake and his father's protectiveness also went to Jake
Samantha loved Jakes's's friends because she knew they gave him purpose, a reason to keep going even in the darkest of times. After all, they needed his light.. his fire. The fire that died out of his sister Sabrina once she was killed. She took a piece of Jake that no one could ever give back so like Nova he had this whole in him a whole only his little sister could fill. It would be a long time coming before he ever could come to begin feeling whole again. But his friends especially Julie and Nova gave him a purpose and a sense of belonging to protect. Part whole again.
"How long is the drive again?" Sky asked as she bundled up in the back seat with Mariano once again trying to take her blanket.
"Eleven hours Sky," Jake said as he turned around in his seat to look at her face trying to restrain himself from moving that one strand of hair that covered her face all the time. It was also a daily struggle for him to restrain himself and not kiss her in front of everyone. Tell the world what belonged to him and only him.
What started as a casual hookup a stress reliever was now something Jake couldn't live without. He spent hours studying Skylar, wanting to know her, wanting to know every inch of her every curve every meaning being a scar on her leg she once told him we were stretch marks and although he loved each part of her Jake was far from stupid he knew it wasn't just stretch marks. It never once stopped Jake from worshipping the body that graced his bed with her presence multiple times a week. How he wish he could worship her every night and every morning and every afternoon.
He wanted to know every secret and every thought that went into the beautiful blond woman's head every day. What skeletons she kept in her closet so he could get rid of them for her. Take all that pain those "stretch marks" caused her and keep it for himself so all she could feel was a joy. He could go into the darkest parts of Skylar's past and shine a light on it all, turn the once ugly into beautiful masterpieces just like the girl he was beginning to love.
"Fuck, Julie babe you got a sedative or like sleeping pills," Skylar said throwing the blanket at Mariano's face as it swallowed him whole and the force pushing him back into the window while Skylar propped up beside Julie sitting beside Jake.
"Nope, sorry doll took 'em all already," Julie said as she looked through her bookbag just in case.
"I have melatonin if that's any help?" Nova spoke from the passenger seat
"How many?"
"About 20."
"Give it to me," Skylar said throwing herself forward to take the ziplock bag from Nova all while Jake and Julie attempted to make sure she didn't fall face-first into the center console. She seconded she got the bag from Nova. Mariano grabbed her legs and yanked her back into her seat. As she ate about three gummies she took the blanket right back from Mariano as he pretended to look hurt.
"Suck it up I'm going to sleep now," Sky said covering her head.
"Love," Mariano said, and with the same force that Sky had hit him with Julie did the same with the blanket she had given Mariano on the way to Florida she had just given to him once more.
"Please be quiet now"
"Anything for you love" Mariano smirked Julie rolled her eyes all the while James laughed watching the two in the rearview mirror while he drove with Nova by his side. Jake could tell even in his seat James was extremely nervous. It was a new sight for Jake to see, James loved cars, especially old fashion sports cars and he loved driving so to see him nervous to drive just because Nova was seated beside him was a whole new thing.
He watched as Julie curled up into a ball with her sweater over herself to try and fall asleep with her headphones on blasting music everyone could hear. The six spent about an hour in pure silence and just the humming of Nova Julie and Skylar's music from the headphones.
HOUR TEN
"James is Nova asleep," Mariano asked as he propped himself up onto the seat in front of him in the same manner Skylar had done.
"Yea is Sky and Julie?"
"Dead asleep, "Jake said
"Same here Sky snores" Mariano joked
"She does not" Jake snapped to her defense so quickly you'd think they slept in the same bed for years. It made James and Mariano chuckle
"Settle down lover boy it was only a joke" James grinned as shook his head Mariano lifted his hands in defense.
"Cause you would know about her sleeping patterns tell us Jake how are you little rendezvous" Mariano continued to tease him.
"Oh shut up would you at least I kinda have here more than you both," Jake said as he turned to face Mariano who lifted a brow at him.
"Is that so?"
"Mariano stop teasing Jake. Jake stop engaging with Mariano" James said looking at the two make faces at one another like children.
"Yea yea anyway, James kinda has Nova like she's there everyone can see there on the brink of a relationship they just need to be tipped over into that, you are my friend Julie couldn't be farther away from you than ever. She may be sleeping right here she may be at your grasp physically but in every other aspect the girl's miles and miles away from you" Jake said as he slumped back into his seat all while talking with his hands.
He could see the reality of his words hitting Mariano like a punch to the gut and immediately felt bad. He knew Mariano was playing around with him and he was well aware he took it too far. He also knew very well Mariano had been going to therapy to deal with his childhood. To deal with everything he needed to so he could be a better friend to them and a better man so Julie would finally pick him to be around.
"Look maybe I'm wrong and she's not as far as we think but you'll never know that until you drop this whole I hate you but I still flirt with your act," Jake said as realization had now once again washed over Mariano.
"He has a point Mariano we all know you like her the same way we've known Jake had a thing for Sky since sophomore year when she first got here which is around the same time you began hating Julie for no apparent reason. Jake speaks some truth you know" James said joining in on the conversation. Jake shook his head in agreement.
"I know this I know everything this fucker just said is true but in trying here you think I would go to a therapist for just any girl that I would stop entertaining every girl who shows interest in me just for a quick fuck I know I can get. It's all for her so I can be what she wants what she needs so she'll finally pick me and I'm not watching at a distance while she gets into a relationship again."
"Mariano we get it"
"No no, you don't because both these girls like you and you're both acting clueless to it and not taking what's already yours, what's right in front of you. I have to watch and wait fucking standing by while she picks every other guy but me it's pathetic. If I were either of you and I knew the girl for my fucking dreams had even the smallest thing for me I would have taken the opportunity to go fast so you know good on you Jake for at least hooking up with Sky but now you better fucking keep her and never let her go"
"I'm not planning on it any time soon"
"And you make a move on the girl already listen to a taylor swift song and do what she says or read on for the romance books she likes and do what the guy does just do something and get the girl already," Mariano said as he once said slouched down into his seat. Each word hit his brother like a pound of bricks.
"How are you not so secret taylor swift slash book club with Nova" Jake teased.
"Fuck off I'm stealing one of Sky's gummies goodnight" Mariano huffed.
"It's still daylight out though" James joked.
"Isn't that the name of a Taylor song" Jake continued.
"Go to hell both of you"
"And risk seeing Julie's creator and mentor I'm good," Jake said right before Mariano smacked his head and went to sleep. James looked back and Jake who looked deep in thought.
"What's on your mind Galleno?"
"Sky," he said with no hesitation. James sighed.
"What about her exactly are you thinking of," James asked and for some reason, Jake couldn't answer how could he? What certain part of the most wonderful girl could he think of? There wasn't just one part of her it was all of her.
"Just.. what I said to Mariano what if that's just me putting what I think about me and Sky onto him. I have her almost every night she's right there she couldn't be closer to me but then she'll smile at her phone and start typing and I can't help but think what guy is she talking to what guy is getting her attention that she supposed to be giving me" Jake said his anxiety getting the best of him.
"Hey hey listen to me, Sky's and complicated person all three of them are. Sky hasn't been in a relationship since high school when he cheated on her all senior year okay so you have to give her a minute to see what it would be like to be in a relationship with you and not some loser boy. You have to put in the work to make her feel seen and wanted cause you do right you do want her" James explained.
"More than anything"
"So make it happen," James said and Jake sat there for another hour thinking.
Hour Nine
"I think Mariano's a better man than I am" Jake suddenly spoke caching James off guard.
"What?" he said with confusion.
"Mariano he's trying you have to give him the credit he's not even in a relationship with the girl he's doing it cause he's confident enough that whatever he does will magically fix him and make him a better man for Julie when the time comes, you're overcoming you're fear of commitment in general for Nova and acting like.. like you're me when you're shitting bricks each time you fucking talk to her. Then there's me thinking I'm entitled to someone who I'm not. I can't be everything Sky wants me to be and I never will that's why I haven't made a move on her past sex cause I'm not good enough for her."
"Has she told you that?" James asked.
"No"
"Then stop overthinking it, don't listen to Mariano man possessive as fuck just go with the flow of things if yall date you date if you don't and she gets a relationship you play the long game but she better be worth it Jake" James warned him to not put his heart on his sleeve.
"She is she most definitely is, just like Nova's worth it for you" Jake smirked as he watched the terror in James' eyes.
"I never said that"
"You implied it" Jake continued to smirk. James looked to his side at the sleeping girl blasting Taylor Swift and The Smiths.
"We're so whipped you know that?" James said.
"We are"
|Author note|
surprise
word count: 2309
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