(*sigh* sorry guys. I had to throw in a second Kleinphy chapter or else the whole plotline would get fUcKeD. So... yeah-😂)
~I see stars. You shine as bright as day. I will look out for you, we'll light each other's way~
T.W: Mention of suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts(?), talk of self-harm
After a tense car ride- well... it felt tense to Jared. Little did he know Connor was actually sleeping- Jared finally parked in the driveway to his house. He turned to Connor, about to speak before he realized he was asleep. He smiled, lightly shaking his shoulder.
"Hmphf- what?" he snapped, still half asleep.
"We're here."
"Then I'll come in when I'm done sleeping. Now fuck off."
"Wow," Jared snorted. "I bet you're fun to deal with in the mornings."
Connor just huffed, falling back asleep before Jared climbed out of the car. He went to the backseat, grabbing Connor's bags and stumbling inside. He dumped them onto the living room floor, placing a pillow on the couch.
"Timmy! I'm home!" he called out, walking back out the door.
He walked to the car, opening the door on Connor's side. The meme teen smiled down at him before reaching over, unbuckling his seatbelt. Connor stirred when he did, groaning.
"Jare. I told you I'd-"
Jared instantly ignored him, picking him up bridal style.
"J-JareD!" he gasped, holding around him tightly as the meme boi walked the both of them to the front door. "What-"
"Shush. I'm just carrying you inside. You can finish your nap on the couch. In case you haven't noticed, it's much more comfortable than a car seat."
Connor scoffed, leaning against him.
"Yeah, no shit. But how does that involve you carrying me?" he asked groggily.
"Like you would come inside if I told you to."
"...Fair point."
Jared snorted, shaking his head and nudging the front door open. He walked inside and into the living room, placing Connor on the couch gently before tossing a blanket over him.
Connor instantly wrapped it around himself, mumbling a small 'Thank you' and instantly falling back asleep.
"H-hey JJ!" Jared's brother exclaimed, jumping down the stairs.
Connor stirred and hid his face under the blanket, instantly making Jared turn to Timothy and hush him.
"W-what is it? Wait. W-who's t-that?" Timothy asked in a slightly quieter tone.
"It's my friend, Connor. He's staying over for a bit, but he's asleep right now."
Timothy's eyes widened before taking a small step back.
"Connor Murphy? C-Connor Murphy, the d-druggie, is in our h-house?" he asked in obvious fear.
Jared rolled his eyes with a nod, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, Timmy. Jesus. Look, Connor isn't a bad person, you hear me? He's just rumored to be. So I don't want my brother to be one of those assholes who make life harder for him. So take it back."
Timothy blinked, nodding and adjusting his glasses.
"I-I take it b-back."
"Thank you," Jared sighed. "You wanna watch a movie while we wait for Ben to get home?"
"U-uh sure. But w-wont Connor wake up?"
"Well... he's a deep sleeper. As long as we aren't loud it's fine."
The younger brother nodded, sitting down as Jared put on Monster's Inc.
~~~
There was a long but quiet time of watching the movie and Jared explaining to Timothy how he and Connor ended up as friends. Purposefully avoiding the whole overdose story.
Connor jolted awake when he heard the front door open, Timothy jumping up and running over to greet his brother.
"Shit. Was I just casually sleeping while your brother was down here?"
Jared shrugged with a smile, nodding.
"It's no big deal. C'mon. Lemme introduce you to my bros."
"Y-yeah..." Connor muttered, standing up.
The meme teen patted his shoulder reassuringly, walking him to the front door.
"Hey Tim! How was your-"
Benjamin froze after closing the door, seeing Connor instantly.
"Hey Jared. Who's this?"
"Ben, this is my friend, Connor. Connor, this is my older brother Benjamin and my younger brother Timothy," the cronch boi introduced.
Timothy waved cheerfully, scooting slightly closer to Benjamin.
"Hey," Connor muttered, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
"Hello," Ben smiled politely.
"Connor is gonna stay with us for a bit. If that's okay?"
Jared shot Timothy a subtle glare before he could say anything, and the younger nodded before walking into the kitchen.
"U-uh yeah! Yeah that's fine," Benjamin nodded, Jared knowing they would talk about this later.
Connor mumbled a small 'Thanks,' glancing at Jared.
"I'm gonna show Connor my room, so we'll be down when dinners' ready."
Benjamin nodded again, shooting Connor a small, awkward smile before joining Timothy in the kitchen. Connor sighed, following Jared upstairs and to his room.
"Well, it's official," he grumbled, flopping onto Jared's bed. "They hate me."
"No, they don't," Jared shook his head, as he closed the door behind himself. "Timothy just doesn't do well with new people, and Benjamin wasn't expecting you."
"Please tell me they at least support the LGBTQ+ community?" he sighed.
"Are you kidding?" Jared scoffed, gesturing to his room.
That was when Connor noticed the picture on Jared's desk. It was of him, Timothy and Benjamin in sideways superhero poses, decked out in pride stuff. Jared had a rainbow flag for a cape, Benjamin a pink, purple and blue one, and Timothy a pink, green and blue one.
The same flag that Jared was wearing was hung up on a wall over his bed, making his room noticeably full of pride.
"That picture was our first pride parade," Jared smiled.
"Woah. You guys went to a pride parade?" Connor asked.
"Yeah. We did. It was really fun, too."
Connor nodded with a smile, looking around again.
"Wait wait. Is that a Mean Girls poster?" he asked with a snicker, standing up.
He went over to the poster, looking up at it and back at Jared.
"Oh yeah. Timothy gave me that. He knows how much I love that musical."
"I love it too," Connor chuckled, tugging at his sleeves.
Jared beamed slightly, glancing up at Connor with a slightly shy smile as they both fell silent.
"Boys! Dinners ready!"
~~~
After a bit of awkward silence, a very late meal of spaghetti, and Connor avoiding eye contact as much as he could, they were all getting ready for bed.
"Jared. I know it's a pain to let me stay here, so just tell me to go home," Connor sighed, sitting on the couch in pajamas.
"Fuck no. If I let you go, the next time I see you is going to be at the hospital," Jared whispered. "You're not a pain, Connor. You're not making a bad difference by being here. So lay the fuck down, and go to sleep."
"I... fine. But if I cause any inconvenience-"
"Which you won't."
"Let me know," Connor huffed.
Jared nodded with a small eye roll, flashing Connor a smile before going upstairs.
"N-night C-Connor!" Timothy chirped before following Jared.
"Night Timothy!" the emo boi called out in response.
Jared went into his room, waving at his younger brother before closing the door. He sat on his bed, about to lay down before his door opened again.
"Explain," Benjamin demanded quietly while walking in and closing the door behind himself.
"U-uh I mean-"
"Jared, why is he staying with us?"
"Because his family sucks ass, okay? They treat him horribly, and he's already in a bad mental state. I didn't want to leave him there. I care about him."
Benjamin blinked, nodding slowly.
"What do you mean by 'bad mental state?'"
"I..." Jared paused, looking off to the side. "I saved him from an overdose attempt."
"J-jesus christ."
"Look, Ben-"
"Shut it, Jared. What you're doing right now? It's not healthy."
"What do you mean?"
"You're taking responsibility for Timothy, now Connor? What about yourself? I know how you act at school. You're just taking responsibility for others so you don't have to take responsibility for yourself. You're being irresponsible."
Jared glared daggers at him, adjusting his glasses.
"Goodnight, Benjamin."
The older scoffed, walking out. "Cut the act, Jared. While you still can."
And with that, he closed the door.
Jared couldn't fall asleep after that.
He had his glasses off, tossing and turning every 5 seconds. He sat up when he heard a soft knock on the door, whispering a small 'come in.'
Connor walked into the room, short sleeve shirt on- he probably got too hot- and hair a complete mess.
"Connor?"
He walked in silently, sitting next to Jared on his bed. His eyes were slightly wide as he turned to the nearby window, breathing quiet but quickened.
"Nightmare?"
He just nodded, scratching at his wrist. The moonlight didn't just outline his face, so when Jared looked down at where Connor was scratching...
"O-oh god..."
Connor instantly flipped his wrists over; until Jared stopped him. He held his hands, looking over his wrists quickly.
"J-Jared-"
"No fresh ones," he sniffed, looking up at Connor with watery eyes. "That's progress, right?"
"I'm s-so s-sorry-" he cut himself off, instantly hugging around Jared tightly. "Thank you."
The meme teen let out a breath, relieved about at least one thing, and nodded as he hugged back.
"Why'd you come up here?" he asked softly.
Connor looked out the window again, pulling away.
"You ever realize how much of a contradiction stars are?"
"What do you mean?" Jared asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.
"They're gone, but still here. Extinguished, but still burning bright. It just feels like I don't understand it anymore."
"'It?' What do you not understand-?"
"Everything. I try to follow it. All of it. I just still turn up empty. In all cases. I can't help but feel like I'm like those stars. A place in the universe, just not here."
Jared grabbed Connor's hand again, trying to catch his gaze.
"You do. You have one with me."
Connor finally looked at Jared, a shy look on his face.
Jared couldn't help but smile.
"You knew that already. That's why you came to me."
The emo nodded, letting out a small breath.
"You mean so much to me. Somehow, you've managed to make me feel something other than a massive burden. I can't thank you enough for that. I... I owe you my life, Jared. And I..." he paused, looking down at Jared again.
"Just... just say it, emo," Jared teased, placing a hand on his shoulder and the other on the back of Connor's neck.
Connor let out a breathy laugh, holding around Jared's waist with a slightly noticeable blush.
"I really, really like you," he breathed out, leaning in so they were just centimeters apart. "Geek."
Their lips collided, as a sense of relief flooded over the both of them. It was just Connor, Jared and the stars.
^These are the bros😆
1843 words