𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 07
3𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐯
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— THEY HAD ONE MORE DAY IN TEXAS, and Jasper knew exactly what he wanted to do — nothing.
Unfortunately, Sam and Colby did not get the hint and had already invited him to hang out and explore the nearby area, so when it came time he dragged himself out of the hotel room and met the duo in the lobby. He walked up to Sam and greeted him but paused when he realized Colby wasn't beside the blonde.
"He had to grab a jacket." Sam explained knowingly making Jasper snicker, "Texas weather is a bit more temperamental than he thought."
"He does realize we're from Kansas, right?" Jasper responded in turn, the blonde chuckled and shrugged however he didn't manage to reply before Jasper caught sight of Colby walking up to them.
His body froze and suddenly he regretted ever hesitating to agree to this outing as Colby approached in a black leather jacket over an XPLR T-shirt and black ripped jeans. His blue eyes were sharp and unwavering like the ocean, piercing his eyes and Jasper was happy to drown in the blue.
"Hey, Jas." Colby greeted. Jasper managed to forcefully compose himself with a nod in return, "Ready for some fun?" He asked and Jasper once again lost all composure.
"You good?" Sam asked with a knowing look and a laugh.
"Can we ban leather jackets on you?" Jasper blurted out, gesturing to Colby's... everything as he continued, "'Cause that's just not fair."
And... is his cheeks getting red? No, Colby did not blush because of him. Nope, that's a figment of his imagination. The same imagination that had him falling for a man he just met.
Again.
"Come on. His ego's big enough." Sam laughed.
"Nah, Jas is wrong." Colby shook his head, staring into Jasper's eyes, "I don't look that good, actually I think you'd look better in my clothes."
Jasper blinked and then had to check to make sure he was still breathing. He wasn't sure if he was and couldn't find it in himself to care. What a way to go, huh?
Death by Colby Brock.
"We are never getting out of this lobby." Sam deadpanned with an exaggerated sigh of disappointment.
He blinked again and found that huh, he was still breathing. He blushed and shook his head at Colby, "Dangerous game, blue eyes."
At this, the shorter brunette laughed in disbelief, "You've got blue eyes too!"
Jasper chose not to respond to this as he followed Sam out of the hotel, Colby quickly rushed to follow and then sat in the backseat with him so he "wouldn't be lonely," while Sam drove. At first, they didn't have a destination in mind and Jasper was perfectly content to sightsee with the horses in the pastures, however, it seemed he was the only introvert of the group (or they were much better at hiding it) as they decided to check out the shopping center. With that, they drove the rental car out to the nearby shops which admittedly were an obvious tourist store trap, but hey it was cute at least.
Nonetheless, they all had fun wandering in and out of stores, messing around with cowboy boots and hats, at one point Colby and Sam put on vests and acted out a western movie in the back of a store while Jasper recorded, barely containing his girlish squeals when Colby declared him the damsel at the end of the duel and got on one knee to kiss his hand with a smirk that said he knew what he was doing. Jasper didn't stop blushing until they reached the next store and Colby still had a smug look on his face.
In the next store, it was another western-styled collection. This time, they managed to draw Jasper into their chaos and they all ended up wearing cowboy hats. Laughing, Sam took a picture of them. He was in the middle with Jasper and Colby on either side — he pretended not to see them looking at each other and took another photo with each of them tipping their hats to the camera.
"You should so post those." Jasper laughed as they looked at the photos.
"Aren't you on break from social media?" Colby asked curiously, "Maybe we shouldn't."
Jasper nodded in acknowledgment, then shook his head with a small laugh, "I've got a better idea. Send me the picture?" Sam sent him the photo and Jasper only smirked as he went on his phone for a few moments. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and watched as they pulled out their phones a minute later revealing a notification from Jasper's Instagram — he'd posted the pictures, tagged them, and captioned it howdy with no other words.
"You're a little chaotic." Sam pointed out as they laughed.
"A little?" Colby and Jasper responded in unison.
Putting away the cowboy hats, the trio laughed as they headed out onto the next adventure. They were on their way to a nearby cafe for lunch when Sam made a quick run into a store for a reason Jasper had not paid attention to.
"Just the two of us." Colby said with a smirk as they sat down at a table across from the store. We can make it if we try, Jasper thought laughing at himself and blaming his ADHD for the reason the lyrics immediately came to mind.
They found themselves gazing at each other as they occupied their drifting thoughts with easy chatter that ignored the feeling of familiarity between them.
"I want to dye my hair." Colby blurted out.
"I could help." Jasper said without even a second of hesitation, or a thought about the fact that after this trip they may not even see each other, "I dye my hair all the time."
Colby let out an exaggerated gasp, "You're not a natural blonde?" He asked genuine surprise seeping through his dramatic tone.
Jasper shook his head with a small laugh, "Brunette." He told him casually, "I went blonde after high school, once you go blonde you never go back." He joked.
Colby nodded, trying to picture Jasper with brown hair he ended up freezing when a familiar face he did recognize came to mind. Jasper Jett, he knew the name was familiar but he looked so different... it couldn't be the same person. Memories of holding hands, kissing behind closed doors, passing smiles in the school hallway while everyone around them ignored that friends don't look at friends that way unless they're more.
He shook his head to clear himself of the memories that twisted Jasper with the Jay he knew. It couldn't be the same person, he thought, but now with this revelation, he couldn't look at Jasper the same. Not until he knows.
"What town are you from?"
Jasper frowned, "In Kansas?" He clarified despite knowing. Colby nodded, staring at him with a serious look he wasn't used to seeing on him. He went to answer when a new voice called out to them.
"Excuse me?" A teen girl asked standing in front of them with her phone held tight and a nervous smile on her face. "Can I get a picture?"
"Of course." Colby responded, standing up.
"Want me to take it?" Jasper offered, not expecting Sam and Colby fans to recognize him as well.
"Could you be in it?" The fan asked surprising him, "I know you're on a social media break." She added apologetically.
"Yeah, I can be in it." He agreed with a kind smile, he stood next to Colby but put a good distance between them as the girl stood on Colby's other side. Colby frowned, pulling Jasper in closer before she could take the picture. She seemed oblivious to this as she snapped a few pictures and thanked them profusely.
"It's no problem." Jasper told her kindly, oblivious to the fact that Colby was still holding him from when he pulled him closer for the picture.
"Thank you again, you two are such a cute couple by the way." She told them with a bright smile, she walked away before they could tell her they weren't a couple.
Left alone again, they stared at each other uncertainly until Sam approached, Colby seemed to realize he was still holding Jasper and backed off with a quiet apology.
They moved on and continued to the cafe without acknowledging anything that had happened while Sam wasn't there and if Sam noticed their gazes being drawn to each other even as they avoided looking — well, he wouldn't say anything yet.
＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*＊
1,430 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
So we now know why they seem familiar to each other but how long can they ignore the truth?
— the reason Colby didn't realize Jasper is the same Jasper Jett he knew in high school is because Jasper used to have brown hair and glasses (plus just generally grown and changed of course)
— (the reason Jasper hasn't realized Colby's the same person he knew (despite Colby always looking the same) is just general obliviousness. He's a chaotic gay who refuses to connect the dots)