-Jax-
My fucking god, what did I get myself into...?
I followed Daniel inside his home, my heart already beating fast. I was getting increasingly uncomfortable, and then we were inside in the large entrance hall. I stopped, unable to take another step.
Why did I ever agree to this...? I didn't know these people. These people, the richest of our city and friends with Nic's father, and I was a guy in a fucking dress, in full makeup and hair, standing in the middle of all of them with only one friend by my side.
And they were looking at me.
"Jax?" Daniel spoke my name, but I couldn't move.
I couldn't do it. Why did I ever think I could do it? I was hardly able to stand in a dress in front of my friends, and now there were... There were so many people... I didn't realize there would be so many people... Why were they all looking at me? Why did they all look so... hostile? Why were my ears suddenly ringing, drowning the other voices? And why did everything look so strange and dark and scary all of a sudden?
I couldn't breathe...
I couldn't...
And then... it all stopped. Like the whole world had turned blurry and muffled, but I could see Nic. He was hurrying to me with a smile on his face, looking so good in his new suit... He was so hot... The hottest damn thing in this world...
I smiled, breathing again, and the world turned back to normal. There was no darkness, no ringing in my ears. These rich people didn't look scary anymore, only snobby. They didn't matter anymore, nor did the swift, uninterested glances they gave me because I didn't matter to them, either.
When Nic stopped in front of me, his eyes glued on me, he seemed unable to speak.
"Surprise," I said quietly.
"You're so... Wow... Just... Wow... But why are you here?" he asked, his eyes shining in happiness, making me feel so good in my red dress, in full makeup and hair, standing in the middle of all these rich people.
I came here for him, after all, and that look on his face was worth it all.
"Well, I happened to have this dress lying around, and I didn't have anything else to do, so..."
His smile grew wider at my little joke.
"You're so fucking hot..." he breathed out. "Is it all right if I kiss you? Will it smudge your lipstick?"
"You may kiss me," I told him, and he carefully cupped my cheeks and pressed his lips on mine.
And I didn't even care who was there to watch us. I only cared about my boyfriend.
When he pulled back, he had to take another good, long look at my appearance. His smile grew wider when his eyes met mine again.
"I'm so happy you came here," he said quietly. "And you look so... so..."
He stopped to stare at my dress, and for a moment, I thought he forgot to finish his sentence, but then he breathed out, "Gorgeous."
"And you're as hot as ever," I said, giving him a flirty smile. "But I do admit, you in a suit...? Even hotter."
"Okay, it's my time to take a hike," Daniel said. "Where did you leave my girlfriend?"
"She's somewhere," Nic told him without looking at him.
"Well I guess I'll go find her, then," Daniel said, shaking his head in amusement.
"Thanks for the ride," I told him before he left, and he waved his hand dismissively over his shoulder.
"He came to pick you up?" Nic asked.
"Yup. This was his idea, actually," I told him.
"What? Really?" Nic asked, turning to look after his brother. "Wow, he's a bigger rebel than I thought."
I laughed at his words. "He's been hanging out with me."
I got shoved a little when an older couple tried to get inside. They apologized, and so did I for standing in their way. It didn't seem like they realized I was a dude, which eased my mind a little.
"Can we... Find a quieter place?" I asked.
"Sure, of course. I was actually trying to find something to drink when I spotted you," he said, and led me toward the kitchen.
"Did you see your dad yet?" I asked carefully.
He groaned lightly and told me about the little moment between his mom and dad.
"I'm sorry," I muttered.
"Yeah, yeah... It's fine," he muttered and sighed.
"I wish it weren't like this," I said.
"Yeah, same, but I don't want to think about that right now. I just want to be happy that you're here," he said, hugging me with one arm. "You made this party a hundred times better."
"You're welcome," I said, kissing his cheek.
We found a bartender who gave us large glasses of sodas – of course there was a whole-ass catering crew present – and then headed into the living room, away from the biggest crowd that was heading to the largest hall in the mansion. The ballroom, apparently. We spotted Nic's mom just by the doorway leading to the living room, talking to an older woman.
"I wonder if Mom will recognize you," Nic spoke in my ear.
"Probably..." I muttered back.
"Let's see," Nic said with a grin. "You don't mind if we talk to her?"
I shook my head, so we made our way to her. She smiled widely when she spotted us.
"I don't think I ever introduced you two properly," Nic said to her. "Mom, this is Jax."
"Jax?" she said, staring at me in confusion, but only a moment later, her eyes widened. "Wait? What? How? I thought...?"
"I'm a dude, yes," I said quietly, making sure no one else heard me. "Currently in a dress, yes."
"Oh, but that dress looks so pretty! Is this the one?" she asked Nic.
"That's the one," Nic said. "Annamarie did great fitting it."
"She sure did," she said, staring at my outfit, but then she shook herself a little, smiled at me, and offered her hand. "I'm sorry. Jax, of course. I'm Laura Gabriel."
"Chase Jackson, actually, but everyone calls me Jax," I said as I shook hands with her.
"It's nice to meet you. And thank you for everything you've done for my son. He's... He really needs you right now," she said, her eyes tearing up a bit. "I will be forever grateful to you and your parents for giving my sweetheart a safe place to stay."
I shook my head a little. "Turning our backs on him wasn't an option," I said. "And I'm happy to have him all to myself."
She laughed lightly. "That is a relief to hear. Listen, I'd like to take you and your parents out for dinner sometime soon, would that be all right?"
"Sure. My dads would like to meet you, too," I said.
"Wonderful! It's the least I can do after you've taken so good care of my son," she said. "Would this weekend be all right?"
"I'll ask them, but I'm sure they're free," I said.
"Great," she said, smiling, but then she let out an annoyed sigh. "Let's get through this night first, shall we...?"
"I like that plan," Nic said. "Where's Dad?"
"Ugh, I don't even know, but you don't have to be there during his speech if you don't want to," Laura said.
"He'll never stop bringing it up if I don't..." Nic muttered.
"Fuck him," Laura said gently. "Now, go mingle. I think I saw Jess and Daniel in the living room."
"All right, thanks, Mom," Nic said, kissed her cheek, and we continued our way.
And we did not get too far before I stopped another familiar face.
My heart froze. I froze.
"Jax...?" Nic spoke my name and turned to see what I was staring at. He froze, too.
It was his brother.
Kenneth.
He was talking to an older man who looked so much like the Gabriels he had to be their relative. There was a girl with them. Blonde, around our age. Kenneth never moved his hand off her back, and he kept giving her adoring glances, so I assumed she was his girlfriend. They all were smiling and laughing and talking in an excited manner.
Nic let out an angry breath and took a step toward them, but I stopped him. He turned to glare at me, his eyes flashing, but I shook my head.
"It's fine," I said, and turned to look at the girl.
She was missing a leg.
I let out a slow, deep breath. And so... There was only one Gabriel I could hate left.
"He was just a kid," I said quietly. "Just a stupid, immature teenager..."
"But he bullied you!" Nic said angrily. "I'm not letting him get away with that!"
"He bullied me, so what? What are you going to do about it? Beat him in front of his disabled girlfriend? And your, what, grandpa?"
"He's my brother. I have to do something," he said.
"Baby... You can't change what happened," I told him, taking his hand in mine to make sure he couldn't go do anything stupid. "But you changed me. And it looks like Kenneth changed himself. That's... Honestly? That's all that really matters to me anymore. That's the best outcome there can be."
"I can tell him I'm very disappointed in him," Nic said, still fuming.
I laughed. "Well, if I'm stuck with your family, I can tell him that myself one day. It's going to be one hell of an awkward Thanksgiving, though."
"But–"
"Nic. I don't care," I breathed out with a smile. "Come. Let's find Jess and Dan."
He did follow me, but reluctantly. He glanced at Kenneth over his shoulder a few times, but finally let it go.
"You know what? With a father like yours, I wouldn't be surprised if Kenneth was bullying people just because his own life was so messed up."
"More like he was following Dad's example..." Nic muttered. "Dad's the worst bully around here."
"Would I be wrong if I guessed your father gives nasty looks to his girlfriend's missing leg?"
"No... You would not be wrong..." he said.
"In that case, I'd say Kenneth has grown a lot after he got away from your father," I said.
"He'd better," Nic said, then sighed, shaking his head. "I fucking hate Dad..."
"Now you and Dan and your mom will all get away from him, too," I said quietly.
"Yeah," Nic said, cheering up a bit. "There's Jess and Dan."
I followed him through the living room, into a quiet corner where our friends were. Jess hugged me when we joined their company. I froze for a moment, but hugged her back, figuring I was just better get used to it.
Used to not being scary anymore...
I chuckled at that thought. I'd changed quite a lot in these past few months... I wasn't the angry guy caught in his past anymore. I was... Well I was the guy people wanted to hug now. In a red dress. With the hottest Gabriel as my boyfriend.
"You look so pretty!" Jess told me when she pulled back. "And I absolutely love your accessories! And the hair! You have to teach me how to get these curls!"
"Sure," I said, smiling.
I was myself again.
"So... Do we go listen to Dad's speech?" Dan asked Nic, who let out a groan.
"Will he ever let us hear the end of it if we don't?" he asked.
"I mean, we could go. Take our spots right next to the podium," Dan said, but he wasn't up to no good.
It was the way he glanced at me with mischief in his eyes.
"You want him to see me standing in his house after he specifically banned me," I guessed.
"Only if you don't mind," he said.
I breathed out. Part of me didn't want to... But a hell of a lot bigger part did.
I grinned at Dan. "Let's go listen to his little speech."
"Hell yeah," he said, grinning.
When it was time for Mr. Gabriel to give his speech, we made our way into the ballroom and headed straight to the front. I was a bit intimidated by the packed hall, but Nic held me close while Jess and Dan took their places next to me. Being surrounded by friends gave me courage, and I quickly forgot about everyone else in the ballroom.
Then Mr. Gabriel climbed up on the podium, holding a microphone. He quickly glanced over at us, looking smug because he'd managed to force his sons to watch against their mother's wish, then turned his attention to the rest of the crowd. Daniel moped next to me. His father clearly hadn't noticed me.
I patted his arm. There was still time.
And boy, there really was time. Mr. Gabriel's speech was long as hell. He kept going on and on about his company and himself, listing accomplishments, thanking his biggest supporters, and blabbering about future goals. The whole thing reeked of narcissism. He spoke like he had single-handedly made everything happen.
Then he mentioned his sons. And wow... He thanked Kenneth and Daniel shortly for being there, then proceeded to completely ignore them so he could bring up Yale. And Nic who'd get accepted into Yale because he was such a great father who had done everything he could to help his dear son to achieve this big, important goal that would mold him into a great lawyer and the co-owner of his company. His words, not mine.
"Wow..." I breathed out in a low voice. "The nerve..."
"Thanks, Dad, for supporting us, too," Daniel muttered.
Nic stood still, his expression harsh as he slowly ground his teeth together, fuming. Jess put her arm around her boyfriend's waist to give him the love and support he definitely wasn't getting from his father.
And it really hit me...
That man had poisoned his family. He was the reason for everything negative in this family. It was a miracle at least two of his sons had turned out as decent humans.
Then he spotted me. It was a quick glance he gave me, but he immediately took another look. Oh, he recognized me, all right. I really wanted to give him the finger, but I chose to be the mature one here, while he sure did look like he was about to have a stroke. I smiled when he forced himself to turn back to his audience and continued with his speech, trying to hide his rage.
"Mission accomplished," I told Dan, who grinned at me.
At least he cheered up, but Nic still watched his father in silent anger. I touched his back, but he only gave me a short glance. He was hurt. He'd promised to come here if his father would finally get off his back, and there he was, still talking about Yale like it was Nic's biggest dream. I understood why he was angry, but I was sad he'd actually believed his father. The only way Nic could ever escape his lies would be by cutting him off completely.
And I feared that was never going to happen.
The second Mr. Gabriel was done with his speech, Nic took my hand and led me out of the ballroom without looking back. I said nothing as I followed him through the house and up the stairs. We entered one of the rooms along the long hallway, and once we were in, he slammed the door shut and locked it.
It was his room. While Nic took a moment to glare at the door, I glanced around in the big room. It was really, really big, but it looked abandoned. It was really fucking clean, with not a speck of dust anywhere, and there was nothing lying around. Nothing that made the room personal. Like it was... Like it was a five-star suite.
"Fuck him..." Nic finally said, his voice quiet and weak.
"Yeah, fuck him," I said, placing my hands on his shoulders to give him a light rub.
He took a few deep breaths, then turned to face me. "I can't believe he did that... Does he really think he can still manipulate me into going to Yale?"
"I think so, yeah," I said quietly.
He shook his head. "Fuck... I hate all of this..."
"Hey, babe... Forget about him," I told him. "I know it's hard, but he just keeps doing this to you. He keeps treating you like possession. I can't let you get hurt by him over and over again."
He gave me a little nod, then looked down, sniffing. "Yeah, you're right. I know you're right..."
I hugged him tightly, and he rested his head on my shoulder. "Everything will be all right..." I muttered soothingly, caressing him gently.
"He completely forgot Dan and Kenny exist..." he muttered.
"Yeah..."
"He's such a fucking jerk..."
"Uh-huh..."
I let him calm down at his own pace. I muttered soothing things whenever he said something, and just held him when he wanted to be silent. I hated how hurt he got because of this... But maybe he would now forget him. Maybe he finally saw just how horrible his father was, and that he was better off without him.
Eventually, he pulled back to look at me. He was still sad, but when I smiled at him, he smiled back at me. Then he sighed.
"I don't know why I was expecting him to keep his word..." he said.
"Because you still want to have a relationship with him," I said quietly. "But... I don't want to say this, but..."
"I know..." he muttered. "It's... It's just not going to work out. He only cares about his company..."
I cupped his cheek and caressed his skin. "I know it hurts. But you are better off without him. I think it's time you cut him off completely."
He nodded, his sadness growing again.
"I hate to see you so sad," I whispered. "I wish I could do something. To force him to be a father to you or something."
He let out a short chuckle, then hugged me. "You're doing so much already. I don't know what I'd do without you. You've kept me sane through all of this. And you make me so happy."
"Just like you've made me the happiest person on earth," I whispered.
I really wanted to make him smile...
"Nic, I..." I pulled back to see his face. "I think I'm in l–"
"No!" he suddenly gasped, his expression changing. "No... Don't say it. Not yet..."
"What...?" I asked, and suddenly his eyes were filled with... pain.
"Please don't say it yet," he said. "There's still eight days left."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, frowning.
He closed his eyes like he was badly hurt, then lowered his head, his fists clenched.
"There's something I need to tell you."