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godlygreta · 3 months

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god is fair | j. t. kiszka

title | god is fair

word count | 7.7k

warnings | swearing, mentions of alcohol - nothing too terrible... yet ;)

author's note | i've had this in the chamber for some time now, i just lost the inspo to write, which is why i haven't in a long time. this isn't a promise that i'll post more fics as they come to me, seeing as i'm a senior in college who has a fuck ton of other things to do. there will be a part 2 to this fic, but i couldn't tell you when it's coming :)

also, very much so listening to god is fair, sexy nasty by mac miller while writing this & starting the next part, so take that as you will ;)

unedited as hell so pls excuse any mistakes !

You always had this rivalry since the beginning of freshman year. This guy, Jake, would never show up to any of the classes the two of you had together, but always got the highest grades on every single goddamn exam that your Intro to Bio professor gave out. It infuriated you.

You figured that in the spring semester, you would be freed from the disappearing boy, but you weren’t. While the teacher called roll, everyone shouted out here. She landed upon his name, calling out to the class and looking through the rows of students. He had been there for orientation, sitting in one of the middle rows, slouched in his seat.

You planned to confront him the next day you had class together, on Wednesday, but Jake was nowhere to be found. Your roommate and your friends had heard your exhaustive theories as to why he was never in class. “Babe, you sound insane. Just let it go.”

But you couldn’t.

Competition lived deep within your roots, having an entire competition with the second top student in your graduating class in high school. Though the rage held between each other was never taken far outside of the academic realm, the two of you never thought to be friends and encourage one another. Thankfully, the two of you resolved the competition when the two of you realized you would be going into two very separate fields of study in college.

Camren, who knew she was going to be a chemist from the time she first learned about chemistry, had told you she loved the competition – made it fun and kept things interesting. And there you were, going to school for Pre-Med with the same feeling. The two of you kept in contact, updating each other on the strive for greatness in college as well.

You kept a close relationship with a lot of your teachers, making sure to get on their good side before classes had really begun. You emailed most of them, especially your Anatomy and Physiology professor, Dr. Sahnya Heinz.

She was incredibly skilled in her field, leaving the active medical field to teach the new and future minds of medicine. It was a cliche line she delivered on the first day, but it encouraged that familiar competitive fire that dwelled within you.

You don’t quite remember how you came to figure out that Jake was ahead of you, but you had found out somehow from your professor, although it was an accident.

It made everything in you burn with anger and frustration. Anytime someone mentioned him, or mentioned the fact that you were second, you clenched your jaw and your teeth gritted together. Your friends had an inside joke that you were only mad because you had a huge crush on him.

“I barely even know what he looks like, Mel! I fucking hate the guy. Don’t start shit.” You’d plead, beer can in your hand in the lounge of some fraternity floor.

Over the next few semesters, you kept trying your hardest, spending most of your free time in the library, reading everything that you could to prepare for every exam. You wrote papers early, having them done at least three weeks in advance. As soon as you would be told about a new one, you’d immediately start finding sources.

You sauntered around campus, thinking that you would be way ahead of him. He still never showed up to any classes, aside from orientation and exam periods. You’d stare at him for a few moments while the teacher passed out the exam, looking over his face as much as you could.

His long hair would obscure your vision on occasion, making it hard to catch any of his features at all. From what you could see though, he had nice, full lips. His nose was something you could have stared at the entire exam period.

You watched him as he licked his lips, whispering a thank you to Heinz before grabbing his pencil from his desk and getting to work. You looked away from him as soon as Heinz put your exam on your desk, offering her a small smile and a quick thank you before getting to work.

It was almost spring break, meaning some of your assignments had been slowing, some of them had been increasing. A group of your friends from different majors told you about one of the lounge parties a fraternity on campus was throwing. “Sigma Tau has the worst lounge parties, Tamia. You know this.”

“They’re joining forces with the Delta’s though, so it’ll be better than normal! You have to come, you’ve always got your nose in a book. You haven’t drank with us in so long, I forget what you’re like when you’re drunk.”

“I don’t know… I need to work on this Midterm paper I have in Kainz’s class, it’s due next week.”

“Babe, it’s been done for weeks! You just keep editing it trying to find mistakes and there are none! I’ve literally read it five times. Please, go out with us, just tonight?”

You looked between Tamia and Mel, knowing in the end you would give into them anyways. “Ugh, fine! Tonight, and tonight only, just this once. If I don’t like it, though, I’m leaving and going to bed early.”

“You’ll have so much fun, I swear!” Mel and Tamia looked between each other, sharing expressions of excitement and happiness on their faces. You rolled your eyes, standing up from your chair.

You let them raid your closet, trying to throw something together quickly. Most of the time, Tamia and Mel never obeyed the dress code for the lounge parties, hating the idea of giving into the male gaze of the fraternity brothers. Tonight, however, was a bit different. The theme was Western, meaning it was cowboy hats and very tiny shorts.

You looked over the outfit that laid out in front of you, straw cowboy hat that Tamia had bought from Amazon (one for each of you), a pair of short shorts that may or may not show your ass a bit, and a red bandana top that Mel let you borrow last semester that you forgot to return. “I don’t know about this. I don’t even have the right shoes.”

“You forget we wear the same size, bitch, you’re going. No backing out.” They joked, tossing you a pair of white boots. “Just put that shit on while we heat up the curling iron, okay?”

“Fine, fine, okay.” You peel off your shirt, throwing on the one they picked out. Next to go were your pajama pants, which were replaced by the shorts. You kept the same socks on, knowing that nobody would see them anyways with the boots going up to the middle of your calf muscle. “I look fucking ridiculous.”

“You look fucking hot, now sit down while we do your hair and makeup,” Mel spoke, pulling out your desk chair while Tamia smiled wickedly with the curling wand in hand. You were nervous, looking at the both of them, but the good kind that settled under your skin and was left hidden behind the smallest smile.

You talked about upcoming exams with them while they did your hair and makeup, much to their dismay. They attempted to fill you in on the various drama situations going on around campus while you had been heavily plugged into your textbooks. You gasped often, finding shock and awe in some of the things they had been telling you about classmates.

They spoke about Jake, letting it slip that he had been planning on attending the party, joined at the hip with one of the girls he had been rumored to have been dating. One of the many. “Ugh, he just sounds like a douche. Gives me even more reason to hate him.”

“We’re not feeding into your delusion that he’s some douchebag. Dropping it.” Tamia spoke, putting her hands up in a surrender. Mel laughed, pulling away from you with an eyeliner pen in hand. “Maybe we’ll get you drunk enough to admit you like him.”

“I don’t like him, and I thought we were dropping the topic.” You looked at Tamia in the mirror, watching her face deadpan as she looked back at you.

“I have something hot in my hands, don’t be rude to me.” The three of you laughed, getting back into the rhythm of getting ready. You let them do their thing to you, curling the last bit of your hair and putting the finishing touches of highlighter on your brow bone.

You looked at yourself in the mirror, marveling at the job they did. You thanked them for getting you all dolled up, watching them change into their outfits. It was mostly just them taking off the sweats they were wearing, throwing them over the back of your desk chair. You took a few pictures with them in your mirror before finally deciding to head out.

The party had started a half an hour ago, walking into the party late like most people did. The three of you got in easily with matching the dress code, immediately looking for the drinks table. The boys in charge handed the three of you a free shot of anything you wanted. Mel chose for you, starting the night out roughly with a shot of Svedka.

You grabbed a Sprite from one of the boys in one hand, the shot of Svedka in the other. The three of you tapped your glasses together before downing the shot. The alcohol burned as it slipped down your throat, trying to soothe it with the taste and coolness of the Sprite. You shook a bit, throwing the cup away in a nearby trash can.

“That was fucking gross, I hate you so much for choosing Svedka.”

“I could’ve chosen something even more nasty, like Jack.” Mel laughed, leading the three of you over to a section in the lounge where you could stand a decent enough distance away from one another, instead of being piled on top of one another.

“I would have rather taken a shot of Jack, Mel.” You spoke, sipping more of your Sprite. Tamia pointed out a few of the people they had talked about earlier, letting you put names to faces.

In the midst, two of the Sigma brothers decided to start a dance battle, capturing the attention of those around them. Everyone joined in, gathering around the two guys. Mel and Tamia joined too, but you had slipped out of their grasp by telling them you had to use the bathroom.

You were happy to escape the party, sneaking out with a bottle of Smirnoff the boys had left unattended. You walked outside, taking a deep breath in. You were thankful to be met with the smell of fresh air, not smelling sweat and booze everywhere. Your peace and tranquility was ruined by someone’s voice, “Well, don’t you look adorable.”

Your head snapped towards the voice, seeing Jake sitting up against the bike rack with a cigarette between his fingers. “Shut up.”

“What? I can’t compliment you?”

“No,” you started, crossing your arms with the bottle still in your hand. “No, you can’t.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I hate you.” Jake looked at you, up and down, taking a drag of his cigarette. You screwed off the cap of the bottle, taking a pull. You tried your hardest to not make a face, looking away slightly when the familiar sting settled in your throat.

“Why do you hate me? I’ve never spoken to you before.”

“Do I have to have a reason?” You asked, walking closer to him.

“Suppose not. But if I knew why you hated me,” he tossed his cigarette butt on the ground, stomping on it with his boot. “Then maybe I could find a way to make you not hate me.”

“Unless you flunk your next exam, I guarantee that won’t happen.”

“Oh, I get it.” He chuckled, standing up from the bike rack he was leaning against. He grabbed his cigarette butt up from the ground, tossing it into the nearest garbage can. He turned towards you, staring at you with his brown eyes. “You’re just mad because I’m smarter than you.”

“You’re never in class. You shouldn’t be ahead of me.” You glared at him, lips moving into a frown.

“Just because I’m never there doesn’t mean I’m not getting the information. I work five, sometimes six days a week. We only have class three days a week. Typically, I gotta work those days. Heinz sends me the powerpoints and the assignment notes so I never miss anything.”

“Oh yeah? Where do you even work then?” You asked.

He chuckled, fingers brushing yours that were wrapped around the bottle. “Now if I told you that, it would ruin all the fun,” he looked you up and down once more, licking his lips slightly. “Well, maybe I’ll see you and your bottle inside.”

You waited til the doors closed behind him to roll your eyes, and huff outwardly. You took the bottle of Smirnoff, turned on your heels and walked towards your dorm hall. You hated Jake. You really hated Jake.

—

Your midterms came and went. The stress decreased slightly, but only to be raised again as the end of the semester loomed around. Assignments started piling up, various papers and presentations due all around the same week. Since the end of Spring Break, you had been holed up in your room, left to your mountains of homework.

Your Microbio class had a presentation due that coincided with the research project you had been working on all semester long. Human Anatomy and Physiology (or affectionately known as BIO 312) had a major cumulative exam on the entire semester, which stressed you out more than any other homework assignment or exam you had.

Thankfully, your school held an all day event that attempted to boost the morale of the students on campus. Filled with a bunch of free things, you took advantage of everything offered.

Lined up on tables were various student organizations set up, with their own little games and prizes. A few of them had speakers that played the music they wanted to listen to, all speakers attempting to outman the other. However, the one that ended up winning was a tie dye station located in the lawn, handing out free t-shirts to dye.

One of the guys at the tie dye station had a wide smile on his face while his hands were dripping with dye. Setting your prizes down at a table where Tamia and Mel had put their things, you walked over to him. He welcomed you over with a smile, “Hey! Lookin’ to tie dye?”

“Yeah, I’m a medium.” You smiled at him, blocking the sun with your hand. He called over to Benny, asking him to pull a medium out for you. Benny handed you the shirt with a smile. “I’ve never dyed anything before.”

“Never?! That’s a crime against mankind, darlin’, let’s get this shirt dyed.” He spoke, talking you over the colors in each of the buckets. He explained to you some basic color theory, although you had remembered that from your high school painting class, you didn’t stop him; he was pretty when he spoke.

The curls on his head stuck out from the shaved sides, the gold of his earrings stood out underneath the blistering April sun. He licked his lips often, using the back of his hand to wipe sweat from his forehead. He helped you pick out the style you wanted, making sure the rubber bands were placed exactly where you wanted them. “I’ll dip them in the bucket for you so you don’t get your hands dirty.”

“Thank you. I could’ve managed on my own, but I definitely appreciate it.”

“Of course. What’s your name?” You offer up to him, before he lets out a chuckle. You question him with a pull of your eyebrows. “Jake talks about you.”

“You know Jake?”

“Yeah, he’s my twin.” As soon as the word left his mouth, you could see the resemblance; you almost scolded yourself for not realizing it sooner. They were similar, especially in their features and their eyes, although the two of them had very distinct color differences. Josh, as he told you after dropping the bomb on you, had warmer eyes, filled with caramel colored hues of brown in relation to Jake’s colder tones; his eyes were a darker shade of brown, with the occasional gleam of flirtation laced within the reflection.

He spoke quite differently from Jake, mostly just with the sound of his voice. It matched their eyes, their personalities. Josh’s bright, bubbly stature followed in his voice, almost theatrical as he spoke. “I guess that makes sense, you two do kind of look alike. Minus the hair, of course.”

“Well, of course. Mine’s better,” you liked that about him - how kind his tone was. You attempted to grill him about what Jake was saying about you, curiosity flowing violently through your bloodstream as if it lit your body on fire. “He just says that you’re second in the Bio class you have with him, and that it makes you mad.”

“It does, Jake’s never there. I’ve seen him three times, and two of those times were for exams.” Josh wrung out the part that had been soaking in the dye for a bit, watching the water fall back into the bucket.

“Yeah, it’s cause he’s working all the time, if I’m honest. Jake stays home during the week to work at the nursing home in our hometown. We don’t really have a large CNA population, most of the people who work there are highschool kids, so Jake’s really been their guy. Especially since high school, as soon as he graduated he moved to full time. All the old ladies love him.” He snorts, dipping your shirt into the blue dye.

“I didn’t know that.” You thought he was lying about where he was, which is why guilt started to eat away at you. You felt terrible for making assumptions, but you couldn’t take any of that back now.

“Jake doesn’t talk to a lot of people, but we love him anyway.” You chewed at your bottom lip, rethinking your opinion of Jake. “You goin’ to the concert later tonight?”

“Hadn’t decided. Mel and Tamia want to, so I’ll probably end up going. Are you?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll probably go.”

“Do you know who’s playing?”

“Some local band I think? I’ve heard a lot of the girls think the frontman’s pretty handsome.” He spoke with a smirk. You promised him you’d go, just to see if the girls had been right. He handed you your t-shirt to hold while he grabbed you a plastic bag. He also handed you a piece of paper with instructions on how to take care of your new tie dye.

“Make sure when you wash it, you wash it by itself. Otherwise, you’ll dye all of your other clothes and believe me, you don’t want that,” he chuckled, as if he was speaking from experience.

You thanked him with a warm smile, waving to him before returning to your room. As soon as you got back, you opened your window, allowing the air flow to travel inside. It kept you cool, allowing you to walk around comfortably with a t-shirt and shorts on. You put your plastic bag in the closet of your room, writing on your white board to remember to take it out and wash it tomorrow.

You texted Mel and Tamia, knowing that Mel would probably have some smart comeback about why you want to go to the concert. It wasn’t that you didn’t join them on nights out, you just had a lot riding on your academic success. Not only because you were the first one in your family to go to college, but also because of your mass of scholarships that only continued to flow if your GPA was at a suitable level. Anything below a 3.2, and you would lose almost all of them.

To: The 3 Dumb Sluts

Are we going to the concert tonight?

From: The 3 Dumb Sluts - Mel

Are you offering to come with us without us needing to beg and plead for you to join?

To: The 3 Dumb Sluts

Don’t make me take it back, Mel

From: The 3 Dumb Sluts - Tamia

We’re absolutely going. Come to mine whenever you want to get ready :)

To: The 3 Dumb Sluts

The doors open at 8 right? I’ll be over about 5:30-6ish. Gotta finish up this paper for Heinz real quick

You locked your phone before they could scold you for doing homework on a day that was designated for relaxation and recuperation. You pulled out your Anat and Physio binder, pulling out the sources you printed off in the library. You ran through the last one with a blue highlighter between your teeth.

You set an alarm on your phone for five o’clock, saving enough time for you to shower. You were about halfway through the last page when your timer went off. You silenced it, attempting to hurriedly finish highlighting the page. The article was placed onto your desk, highlighter returned to the cup on your desk filled with various writing utensils.

You pulled out your shower caddy, putting it on top of your dresser before pulling out your robe. You laid it over the edge of your bed, removing all of your clothes. You threw them into your hamper and put on your robe. You slipped on your slides, grabbed your caddy and traveled to the bathroom.

Underneath the uneven streams from the showerhead, you thought about Jake.

Maybe your first impressions of him were wrong. When Josh told you about the nursing home back in their hometown, you felt instantaneously bad for assuming that he just never showed up. You knew from what Jake had told you, that he had work, but you figured that was just an excuse.

You bit at the skin of your lips, hands on your shoulders as you soaked the warmth of the water in. You were pulled out of your thoughts very quickly as someone flushed the toilet, making the water fade in from super hot to super fucking cold. You hated the school’s water system.

You finished your shower quickly, drying off with the towel slightly before putting your robe on and throwing your hair up into your towel. You walked back into your room, locking it behind you. You set your caddy back where it originally was.

You threw on a pair of jean shorts that hadn’t seen the light of day since early October, pairing it with a long sleeve shirt that you had gotten back in high school for Christmas. It was plain, brown, but hugged your body well. The sweatshirt debate lasted a few seconds before you remembered how hot it was going to be outside. A record temperature for mid-April, almost 80 degrees outside.

When you checked your phone getting back from the shower, it was just barely five thirty. You texted the groupchat again, asking if it would be cool to come over a half an hour earlier than you had originally said. You knew it was a dumb question, you would always be welcome in their room. You chuckled at Mel’s response of, “Are you fucking dumb? Of course you can come over. Bring wine if you have any left! No carry-in’s allowed at the concert.”

You put your phone down for a second and slipped on a pair of shoes that were comfortable enough for you to stand in for a long time. They used to be white, but had gotten progressively dirty from the years of use. You shoved your phone in your back pocket and slid a few different bottles of wine into your backpack, separated by extra clothing so the bottles didn’t clink together.

You walked down the stairs, out the door and over to the other dorm building across the walkway. You scanned your keycard to get into the building, walking through the hallways waving to the RA on duty, McKenna. She had been in a few of your classes and was always incredibly nice.

Her room this year was actually a few down from where you were living. McKenna was a great RA, knowing exactly how to handle the rowdiness of the floor while still keeping the resident’s respect. She didn’t bother them unless she needed to, and they didn’t bother her unless needed. She kept it underwraps about the underage drinking that would inevitably happen, mostly by telling the floor they could do what they want, as long as they were quiet by quiet hours (which was around ten thirty on the weekdays, and one in the morning on the weekends).

You took the elevator to the second floor of East Sunderland, getting off as soon as the doors opened. The booths that had previously been up had begun to dissipate, bringing the plastic tables back into the buildings they belonged in. You took a last glance at the people cleaning before heading into Mel and Tamia’s dorm building.

You knocked on the door, coming as soon as you announced yourself to Mel and Tamia. The girls laughed as you walked in, looking at a picture of Mel from when they were a kid. The two of them showed it to you as you settled your bag onto Mel’s chair in the corner of their room. “Your buck teeth! Oh my God, you were adorable, Mel.”

“Oh shut up, I bet you didn’t look any better.” Mel spoke to Tamia, making the three of you laugh. “Anyways, what wine did you bring?”

“The Barefoot we didn’t finish the other weekend, and then I still had some Rose, so I brought those over too. I wasn’t sure what we were feeling.” Tamia pulled some glasses from her shelves, passing them out to the two of you. You filled their glasses with the Rose you brought.

The three of you talked specifics on the plans for tonight, hitting up another fraternity party as soon as the concert ended. There were two separate ones going on at the same time, so the two of you weighed your options over which one to go to. “The Sigs are throwing one, but I’d rather die. Delta’s throwing one, too, we’ll go to theirs instead. And maybe see if anyone’s at the Sig party that we like and stop there before heading back to the dorms.”

You walked down with them to the Athletic Department, hoping to have gotten there early enough to get a good spot. As soon as the doors opened, you were filtered through the doors, making sure that you were students with the college. The three of you half ran to the barricade, settling yourselves against it on the right side, although still somewhat in the middle.

The show wouldn’t start for quite some time yet, the three of you talked amongst yourselves about upcoming finals, what you had to do for various classes. You also found a few people around you to chat to while you waited, hearing laughter roaring through various parts of the crowd.

A few students from the Admissions Office had taken the stage, playing a random playlist of music that matched what the band was going to be playing. Rock thundered through the speakers, filling audience members with anticipation. Rochel addressed the student body, “Hello everyone!” welcomed by the sounds of cheers and screaming.

“We’ve got about fifteen minutes before the band comes on stage, so help us warm them up to the stage!” Everyone clapped, although some of the girls around you looked unenthused as they stared down at their phones. You checked yours for any text messages from any family members. You had nothing, so you put it back in your pocket.

Around four songs played before Rochel turned the microphone on again. Everyone shouted before she talked. “Well, it’s that time! Please, give a warm welcome to Greta Van Fleet!”

Rochel and the two other students walked off the stage, passing by what you had assumed to be one of the band members. He sat behind the drums, smiling and waving off into the crowd. You cheered for him along with Tamia and Mel, cheering just as loud when their bassist walked onto the stage. Both of their hair was longer, goofy smiles on their faces as they got situated with their instruments.

Your mouth hung open as you watched the last two boys walk on stage, seeing the twins. Jake’s eyes scanned the crowd as he slung his guitar over his shoulder. He found you after a moment, sending a smirk your way. You closed your mouth, glaring at him. Mel laughed at you, noticing your demeanor shift. “How we doin’ tonight everyone?”

Everyone cheered. “A lot of you might know me and Jake, seen us on campus and stuff. It’s wonderful to see all of you here, coming to support us as we celebrate the onslaught of spring! It’s been a particularly warm one today, so make sure to drink water! There’s plenty to go around.”

Jake started them off, pick between his fingers as he strummed the beginning chords to one of their songs. Some of the girls had begun to scream, shouting at Jake’s response to Josh’s little speech before he began playing. His signature smirk formed, watching the girls go crazy, eyes scanning the crowd before he found you again.

As Jake continued to play, he looked over to you any time he could. It was hard to tear your eyes away from him, enthralled by the way he looked on stage. You tried your hardest, truly, to look at any of the other boys on the stage aside from Jake but you just couldn’t. He fit the stage just right, bringing the attention away from Josh and demanding to be seen by the entirety of the crowd. He belonged up there.

Jake went to the center of the stage during his solo. Josh lingered around the drummer, keeping to himself, drinking whatever was in his cup. They kept on playing as Jake took the spotlight, everyone cheering and screaming for him. You kept silent, wanting to hear him play. His fingers worked against the frets of the guitar, not before sliding down and up it quickly.

You tried to hide the awe you were in, but your friends knew. They saw it written all over your face. The frustration and annoyance you felt when you first spotted Jake on stage dissipated the second his guitar solo began. You swallowed thickly, watching as his attention turned from his guitar to you, pointing it in your direction. Your cheeks flushed, and your thighs pressed together.

This was going to be a long night.

The second the concert was over, Josh thanked everyone for coming. His smile was wide as he waved goodbye to everyone, walking off next to Jake who had his guitar by the neck before he passed it off to one of the stage hands. Josh put his hands on his shoulders as they walked off stage.

You stuck around mostly waiting for the crowd to die down before trying to leave the building. Mel and Tamia talked about the show, saying that it was fucking dope, commenting on how excellent Jake’s playing was. You didn’t speak about Jake’s playing, mostly praising Josh for his spectacular performance. “I never expected that voice to come out of him, how heavenly.”

“Talking about me?” Jake cuts through your conversation, walking over to you with Josh not far behind. You roll your eyes. Tamia and Mel congratulate him on such an amazing performance, gushing about how sweet his guitar looks. “Why thank you, ladies.”

“Mel! I didn’t think you were going to be able to come.” He gushed, wiping his hands on the sides of his khaki shorts he had changed into.

“Yeah, well, Miss Quiet over here wanted to see her archnemesis, didn’t you?”

“I-I–” You turned your head slightly towards Jake, who had an amused smirk written all over his face. “I did not, Mellie, stop lying.”

“By the redness of your cheeks, sweetheart, I’d say she was telling the truth.” You had barely noticed that Mel, Tamia and Josh had slipped away from the two of you, leaving you alone.

“I didn’t even know you were playing.” You admitted shyly, hiding underneath a guise of innocence.

“Even if you did, you looked pretty hot and bothered by my playing.” You held the back of your arms, trying hard to maintain eye contact with him. You looked into his eyes, they were staring straight at you.

“Yeah, sure. I actually came because Josh said he was going. He neglected to mention that he was going to be singing,” you looked at Josh who wore a smile that read ‘guilty as charged’ before patting you on the shoulder.

“Hey, you didn’t ask. You just asked if I was going.” You rolled your eyes and chuckled slightly. “Anyways, Sam and Danny are gonna spend the night in my room, so I’ll have to find somewhere else to be tonight. Are you guys going to either of the frat parties tonight?”

“We’re going to the Delta party. The Sigs’ reputation is not the best, and I don’t feel like seeing whether or not it’s right.”

“That is completely understandable. I shall see you ladies there then. You coming, Jake? We still have a lot to put away.”

“Yeah, in a second,” he turned towards Josh who had begun to walk away, waving him off before turning back to the three of you. “I hope you guys enjoyed the show, maybe I’ll catch up with you at the party.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah, actually, I would.” He smiled at you before joining the other boys cleaning up their amps and cords.

“Jesus Christ, the two of you just need to fuck or something. I don’t think I can handle another interaction like that,” Mel joked, making a gagging face when she finishes her sentence. You pushed at her arm, turning around and walking out of the gym.

Tamia and Mel giggled profusely about your and Jake’s rivalry. The two even started making bets on when the two of you would finally ‘get it on’, as Tamia put it. You just rolled your eyes at the conversation, changing the subject to something different.

—

The party, though filled with lots of fun and drinking, was a bust. While Josh had shown up with his younger brother and his brother’s friend, as you learned, in tow, Jake was nowhere to be found. You thought to ask Josh why he wasn’t there, but he was too busy dancing with Micah. Through the grapevine, you learned that Micah and Josh had been together since high school.

You stayed around the party for almost two hours before you wanted to go back. A small part of you had wished Jake had actually come. You wondered if maybe the two of you would get along if you put your competitive nature aside. You tried not to dwell on thoughts of Jake’s absence for too long, wanting to enjoy the rest of the night with your girls. But when you had enough of the party, you shouted in Mel’s ear to let her know you wanted to leave.

Mel and Tamia had made sure you got back alright about two hours into the party. Your legs were tired and your feet had begun to hurt. The two of them stumbled with you back to the door of your building, making sure you were inside before leaving to go back. They almost came in with you, until you insisted otherwise.

Laying on your bed with your head pointed towards the ceiling you started thinking about Jake again. What was his reason for not being at the party? Did he just make those comments beforehand just to rile you up? It seemed like the only valid reason your impaired mind could come up with.

You grabbed your phone, almost dropping it on the floor. You sluggishly opened Instagram, and searched for Jake’s profile. You scrolled through, looking at the few photos he did have on his page. Most of the pictures he had were of his guitar, or places he’s traveled. You were sent into a panic when you realized you had accidentally liked an older picture of Jake’s, one from freshman year of college. Hurriedly, you unliked it and immediately locked your phone.

That had been a few days ago.

Now it was Wednesday and your first final exam was here. It was for the class you shared with Jake, BIO 312. It wasn’t exactly final exam time, but Professor Heinz was going to be away at a conference for a week starting Friday. You didn’t mind, though, since it spaced out your other finals enough to have a decent amount of time to study for them.

You sat at your desk, looking over your notecards one last time before the exam began. A frequent look around the room and you noticed Jake walking in, going to a random seat a couple rows in front of you. He set his bag down next to him, before bending down to grab his laptop. He noticed you watching him and sent a wink your way.

You looked away as you tried to hide the rush of rosy skin that fanned over your cheeks and heated up your ears. You tried to ignore him again until at least when the test started, embarrassed that you got caught looking at him. Your phone pinged and you pulled it out of your bag to look at it, as well as turn it on silent.

jacobtkiszka wants to send you a message.

You swallowed and hit the notification taking you straight to the message.

“Person who turns their test in last pays for coffee?”

Your lips curved into a small smile, feeling your fingers type the first thing that comes to your head.

“Hope you brought your wallet with you, Kiszka.”

You put your phone on Do Not Disturb and shoved it back into your bag. The professor walked through the door, setting her things down on the desk in the front of the room. Her coffee mug still had steam coming from it, freshly poured. A quick look of her watch after getting settled and it was time to start the exam. “Okay, everyone. It’s time for class. Take out your laptops and begin your exam. You may leave when you have finished. Thank you for a great semester, and good luck.”

The questions on the exam were all ones that you knew and had studied for for weeks. It was strenuous, trying to remember everything on the cumulative exam. You had hoped it would go quickly and you would answer them faster than Jake could. Occasionally, you turned to look at Jake, seeing if maybe he was trying to look at you too.

With one question left of your exam, you click the answer and press submit after a minute of debate. You had a bad habit of second guessing yourself occasionally; it was actually the bane of your testing experiences. You hated when you felt confident about an answer, until you really sat with the other possible answers it could be.

You put your laptop back into your bag, zipped it up and noticed that Jake had already left. You cursed to yourself, knowing that now you had to buy Jake a coffee. You waved goodbye to your professor with a smile and walked out the doors. Jake sat outside of the classroom at one of the tables they had throughout the building. “Whatcha reading?”

“Josh recommended it to me, but I’m going to be honest, I fucking hate this book.” He laughed, shoving it into his bag. “You know any good coffee shops around here? I’m kind of tired of Starbucks.”

“I just so happen to know the best coffee shop in town, but it is a bit of a walk, if you don’t mind that?” You asked, walking through the door that Jake was holding before muttering a thank you to him.

“I could also drive, if you’re okay with that.”

“I’m more than okay with that,” you chuckle, letting him know that your dorm building had enough stairs; any chance you could get to use an elevator, or get driven somewhere, you would take that opportunity in a heartbeat.

The drive was short in comparison to the twenty minute walk it would have taken to get to the shop. Jake tried to offer the radio to you, but you let him play what he wanted to listen to. You didn’t know exactly who was playing, but the blues music that played through the speakers was a breath of fresh air.

Your typical shuffle had a plethora of music from differing genres, whether that be rap or old country. You hadn’t known much when it came to blues music, especially the difference between good blues music and bad. Eventually, you got the courage to ask who was playing and Jake answered, letting you know that the song was by Buddy Guy. “It’s called She Suits Me To A T. I tried for weeks to learn this song when I first started playing music more seriously.”

“This is the coffee shop, at the next corner.” You watched his hand as he made a right turn, noticing him steering with just the palm of his hand. Letting the leather steering wheel glide back to its original position in his hand, elbow propped on the door with the window rolled down.

It’s all you thought about on your way into the coffee shop, completely relying on autopilot. Your responses to Jake were almost textbook, one word sentences that could continue the conversation without much effort. “What’re you thinking of getting?”

“Oh, um, I’m not sure. I usually have them surprise me,” you admit, shoving your hands into your jacket. “Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not. That’s the gamble you take.”

“I like that a lot, actually. I think I’ll have them surprise me too, if you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all.” You smiled at Jake before he went to order for the two of you. You found a place to sit in the meantime, offering a spot towards the windows so you could watch people come and go, each on their own paths of life.

By the time Jake sat down, both of the coffees were in his hand. After a few questions, Jake set the iced drink down in front of you, and the hot drink in front of himself. “Yours is an iced chai, with brown sugar syrup and vanilla. Mine is some sort of tea, I wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying. I just wanted to remember what she put in yours in case you liked it.”

“Oh,” you spoke, bringing the cup towards you. “Thank you, that’s really sweet. Do you like your drink?”

“You know, it’s really not bad. I wouldn’t have gotten it otherwise, but it’s really not bad.”

“You hate it.”

“I hate it. It’s not good.” The two of you chuckled before you offered him a sip of your drink. “Mhmm,” he moaned. “That’s good, oh my God.”

The two of you continued small talk, whether it was over the classes you had previously taken, memories of parties from past years – anything. You shared previous high school experiences, mostly about the ridiculous things that were considered parties in your teenage years.

Conversation with Jake was surprisingly a lot easier than you thought it would be. Especially since you’ve hated him pretty much your entire college career. You figured he’d be stuck up, aware of his academic achievements and ready to flaunt them in front of anyone who’d listen.

He was the opposite. His sentences were wrapped with kindness, and the reflection in his voice seemed nothing but positive. His voice was like silk, he could’ve talked you into damn near anything as long as his voice sounded like that. It hurt when the conversation slowed, spending a few moments to take in the scene around you two, as well as finally being able to drink more of your drink (which was very delicious, it was almost like crack).

“How long have you been playing guitar?” You asked after the silence became almost uncomfortable to sit with.

“Oh jeez. I’ve been playing since I was… like three? Yeah, three.” You stared at him with eyes slightly wide, mouth agape. “What?”

“N-Nothing, that’s just a really long time. You’re what, 21 now?” He clarified that he was only twenty, his birthday roughly a week away. You poked fun at him, mentioning how you were older, even if it was by less than a year.

“Josh is throwing us a birthday party, if you want to come. Since it’ll be our 21st, we’re having it at our parents cabin on Lake Michigan. You’re welcome to bring Mel and Tamia if you’d like. Sam and Danny are going to be there, even though they’re underage, but we’re gonna pretend like they’re older.” Jake spoke with one last sip of his drink, letting the empty cup echo on the table as he set it down.

“I will let Mel and Mia know. I can’t make any sure decisions without talking to them first, but I’m pretty damn sure that they’ll say they would love to go.”

“Yeah, I don’t think they’ll say no either. They seem pretty adamant that you have a little crush on me or something,” he said, putting your cups inside of a bus tub to be picked up and washed.

“I don’t have a crush on you,” you laughed, walking out of the coffee shop with Jake. “I actually hate you, remember?”

“You may say that you hate me, but you’re not really good at showing it.”

#jake kiszka fanfic #jake kiszka fanfiction #godlygretawrites #godlygreta #pretty boy #jake kiszka x reader #jake kiszka x y/n

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godlygreta · 3 months

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this is like one of the first fics i've read since being back that actually gives me the energy and the fuel to write again, so thank you for this bestie hannah i cannot wait for the rest of this to unfold !!!!!!!

Masterlist

Previous chapter

Sam Kiszka x Reader

Words - 8k

Warnings - Swearing, drinking, use of marijuana, I think that's it, let me know if I missed anything!

♫ Skeptical Playlist ♫

a/n - Oops, I disappeared again. I have been struggling so bad with having any motivation to write, but here we are... Hope you enjoy this chapter, just writing it gave me butterflies ♡ (disclaimer, I am making this a scheduled post, so the rest of the taglist will be posted when I eventually wake up ♡)

There’s something truly liminal about a grocery store when it is, for the most part, unoccupied.

You stood alone, listening to the quiet music playing over the speakers as you deliberated on which cereal you wanted.

“You know, personally I’d go with the Count Chocula, or Apple Jacks, but maybe that’s just me.”

The sudden voice next to you caused your body to tense up, and you whipped around, coming face to face with Sam as he stood with his usual goofy ass grin plastered on his face.

Your eyes rolled, but a smile quickly formed on your lips. “You know, a hello would have sufficed, rather than scaring the shit out of me.”

He shrugged, and reached past you to grab a box of the aforementioned Count Chocula cereal. “Maybe, but where’s the fun in that?”

It had been a couple weeks since you last saw him, since the night at the pub… and since you woke up the morning after having dreamed about him all night, about how his lips felt against your own, how gentle he was as he held you close to him… It was a lot to grapple with, and it left you in desperate need of a cold shower and a strong cup of coffee.

But there he stood, leaning against the handle of your cart as he watched you pick out cereal.

“You know, it’s funny I ran into you actually.”

You turned to him as you reached for a box of Apple Jacks, a curious look on your face urging him to continue speaking.

“I was gonna text you to see if you were free tonight. I’m having some friends over for a game night, gonna get some pizza, have some drinks, if you’d like to come.”

Your eyes caught something, well someone walking past the end of the aisle, and your focus drifted from Sam. He quickly noticed the change in focus, and turned to see what you were looking at.

“You alright, Y/n? Is that the uh… the dreaded ex?”

You slowly nodded, continuing to watch as he walked around with his new girlfriend on his arm.

“What’s his name?”

“Adam”

“Well, Adam is a loser, and what he did to you is fucking awful.”

You turned to him, confused as to how he knew about what happened between you and your ex, but he was still looking down the aisle at Adam. “How do you know what happened?”

He turned back to you, shaking off the sour look he had been directing at your ex before speaking. “Eleanor gets chatty after a few drinks.”

You nodded in agreement, but stayed quiet, peeking over his shoulder again to see Adam looking back at you, and you froze.

“Hey.” The feeling of Sam’s hand on your arm calmed your nerves, and his voice brought your attention back to him. “I mean what I said, he’s a fucking loser, and you’re way out of his league. Pay him no mind, he doesn’t deserve your attention.”

You nodded, and looked down at your shoes for a moment before you felt the gentle pressure of Sam’s finger beneath your chin, lifting your face to look at him. “Can you repeat that back to me? He’s a loser…”

“He’s a loser.”

“You’re out of his league.”

You stared blankly at him for a moment, and he sighed. “Come on, say it for me.”

“I’m out of his league.”

“Yes you are, and he doesn’t deserve your attention.”

“He doesn’t deserve my attention.”

“Atta girl.” You watched a smirk form on his lips as his finger dropped from your chin. “Now, would you like to continue shopping together? I could use a second opinion on what snacks to get for tonight.”

The simple nod you gave him was enough for the smirk to turn into a wide grin, and you turned back to lean against the handle of your cart. “So, what kind of games should I be preparing to play tonight?”

“So you are gonna come?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it.”

The two of you made your way to the end of the aisle, and you turned to Sam. “Where to next?”

“Deli, need to pick out some meat and cheese.”

Your gaze dropped to the small basket he was carrying before lifting back up to look at him. “There’s no way you’re going to fit everything you need in that basket.”

He looked down at his basket, then at your cart before looking at you. “Would you mind if I put my stuff in your cart?”

You shook your head, and gestured for him to add his stuff into the cart. “Of course not, go ahead.”

You stayed stationary while Sam placed the basket of his groceries into the cart, and waited for him to take the lead, but he simply made his way back to the space beside you. You turned to look at him, and were met with movement as he tucked himself closer behind you and placed a hand over each of your own on the handle of the cart before slowly pushing it, and in turn, you forward. “Lead the way, gorgeous. I’m perfectly content following you around.”

There was an undeniable feeling in you that your brain short circuited the moment he touched you, but his words brought a blush to your cheeks that would make a rose jealous. He stuck to you for the first few steps before he let his hands slip from yours and he fell into step with you.

You could imagine the smug look on his face without having to look at him, but what you didn’t see was the way Adam watched you turn into a flustered mess at Sam’s proximity and words, or the way Sam made a show of holding back to watch you walk away for a few seconds before making a move to catch up with you.

The two of you made your way around the store, slowly filling the cart with whatever you chose before you finally ended up in the produce section. You watched as Sam sped ahead of you a little, making a b-line for the assortment of melons on display. He pondered over the pile for a moment before he picked up two cantaloupes and turned to you. “Which one looks better?”

Your eyes dropped to the melons in his hands, and you couldn’t help but giggle at the way he had them held against his chest. He seemed to catch the small laugh as it escaped you, and his eyes dropped to look at what you were seeing. An airy chuckle came from Sam as he looked back up at you. “My eyes are up here you know.”

You rolled your eyes and stepped away from your cart to take one of the cantaloupes from his hand and place it in the cart. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Sam.”

“I could say the same to you, dear.”

When you turned to look back at him, somewhat taken aback by what he had called you, he had already walked away, looking instead at the array of different peppers.

You were only in the store for another ten minutes before you and Sam walked out into the parking lot.

“Where are you parked?”

You turned to look at him quickly before swiveling to find your car and point at it. He hummed and stepped away from you and the cart. “Why don’t you head over to your car, I can see an empty spot next to you. I’ll grab my car and make my way over.”

You gave him a quick nod and began to walk over to your car, trying your best not to get hit by the idiots who don’t know how to drive in a parking lot. Your head was hung as you searched through your bag for your car keys, leaving you unsuspecting of someone walking up to you.

“What happened to your little boyfriend? Did he get sick of you already?”

You knew exactly who the voice belonged to as it invaded your ears, but you kept your gaze focused on your task as you pulled your keys from your bag and popped the trunk of your car.

“If that was some attempt to make me jealous, that’s kind of-”

Before you had the chance to turn around and snap at him, the sound of a car horn cut him off, and you turned instead to see Sam’s car idling as he waited to get into the empty parking spot that Adam was standing in.

You watched as the window rolled down and Sam turned to look at Adam. “Hey asshole, the brakes in this car are on the fritz, so I can’t promise that it won’t run you over if you don’t leave her alone and move the fuck out of the way.”

Adam scrambled out of the way, looking over at you one last time, seeing the shocked look on your face, and the fresh blush creeping up onto your cheeks as you looked at Sam, before walking back to his car. Sam pulled into the spot and got out of the driver's side before making his way back to you, popping his truck as he walked.

“Are your brakes actually broken, Sam?”

He turned to you and chuckled, shaking his head as he gave the car a soft pat. “God no, I just bought this car, if the brakes were broken I would cry.”

“So you just-”

“Lied to get your jackass ex to move, yeah. Why? Did you not want me to? I can call him back over” his voice was teasing as he slowly turned and lifted his hand.

You quickly closed the distance between you and Sam, grabbing his arm and lowering it back to his side. “Please, god, no.”

He chuckled and lifted his free hand to your arm. “I would never, I’m just teasing.”

Your hands loosened from around his arm, falling back to your side as Sam turned to grab his groceries from the cart. “So… when should I make my way to your place?”

“Well.” He placed two bags into the trunk of his car before turning to you. “I know you’ve got lots to put away when you get home, so I won’t say right now, but whenever you’d like to make your way over the door will be open. Be warned though, I may put you to work helping me out with plating all this food if you come over too early.”

You rolled your eyes playfully, and stepped back to close the trunk of your own car. “Well, we’ll just have to see then won’t we?”

His lips turned into a small smirk as he watched you slowly back up toward the driver's side door of your car. “I guess so.”

You pulled open the car door and tossed your bag into the passenger's seat before turning back to him. “I’ll see you soon then.”

The smirk on his face grew to a smile, and he gave you a soft nod. “See you soon.”

The second you closed the car door you leaned over to your purse to grab your phone.

Your fingers hovered over the keyboard for a few seconds, but before you could begin to type a knock on your window scared you back into paying attention to your surroundings. Sam was leaning toward your window before you could even roll it down, his knuckle still resting in the spot it had been even after the glass had lowered.

“Figured you might need these.” His hand opened, revealing your keys. “You know, for driving and getting back into your apartment.”

Slowly, you lifted your hand to pluck the ring of keys from his palm, retracting your hand back through the window before you chanced a glance at him. “Thanks, I must have dropped them while I was packing the trunk.”

“Guess you’re lucky I noticed them.” He straightened himself out and slowly began turning back to his car. “I’ll see you later, Y/n. Don’t miss me too much.”

There weren’t many times that you felt as frantic as you did walking into your apartment, grocery bags hung from each arm as you kicked the door shut and shuffled into the kitchen. If there were an olympic category for putting away groceries, you would have won gold, and only once you were sure that everything had been placed in the correct spots did you pick up your phone. You spend the short walk to the bathroom staring at your screen as you typed out a detailed account of what happened at the grocery store to send to your friends.

The realization dawned on you as you walked into the bathroom that you hadn’t put much effort into how you looked before going to the store. You looked in the mirror, noting the fact that your hair hadn’t been washed in a few days, which you had attempted to hide with a bit of dry shampoo and a claw clip, and the clothing you had plucked from your “chair pile” of clean clothes that you had yet to fold and put away.

A shower was exactly what you needed, and you spent ample time beneath the blistering heat of the water before you stepped out and back into your bedroom.

After spending almost an hour just laying on your bed scrolling through a variety of apps, and some much needed deliberation over FaceTime with your friends, you were finally dressed and ready to go. You were thankful for Nadine, who had informed you that she would be joining in on the fun as a fellow friend… and plus one to Danny.

You hadn’t realized just how badly you had been fidgeting in the back seat of the car until the sound of the driver's voice pulled you from your own thoughts.

“You alright back there? You seem nervous.”

A nervous chuckle bubbled out of you, and you looked down at your hands as you twiddled your thumbs. “That obvious, huh?”

“Just a tad.” The chuckle that came from the older man in the front seat was much lighter than yours, and when your gaze lifted, you were quickly met by his warm smile and kind eyes in the rear view mirror. “So what’s got you feeling so nervous, first date?”

You choked on your own spit at the thought, immediately even more flustered than you were before. “No… no nothing like that, just going to hang out with some friends.”

“Just hanging out with friends… hm. Am I correct in assuming that you have feelings for one of these friends of yours.”

“Yeah…”

“And do you know if this friend has feelings for you as well?”

“I… I don’t really know.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, the last time we hung out we shared an Uber to go back to our respective houses… and when we arrived at my place he got out to say goodnight, which isn’t unusual… but then we kissed.”

“Well that’s a great sign!”

You could still see the soft expression that crossed Sam’s features as he looked at you that night. You could feel the weight of his gaze as his eyes took in every little detail on your face, and the way his lips pressed against your own.

“Sure, except that immediately after he muttered goodnight and scurried back into the car.”

“Well that just sounds like the poor boy was just as nervous as you are now.” His eyes flickered back to the rear view mirror as he pulled up to the curb outside of what you assumed to be your destination, and when he saw the skeptical look on your face he made the effort to turn and look at you properly. “Let yourself relax, darling. The longer you get stuck in that head of yours, the worse it’s gonna be.”

You nodded and looked back down at your hands.

“I was the same as him at some point in the distant past. Just a nervous, idiotic young man that would forget how to function around a girl that I had feelings for. Let yourself relax, if it’s meant to happen, it will happen.”

You looked up at him, offering a small smile to match his, and he gave you a reassuring nod. “My late wife, the love of my life, used to tell me that fate always meant for the two of us to end up together, we just had to allow ourselves to believe that love would find us when we were ready.”

Something caught his attention, causing him to turn away from you and look out the window. “Is this the guy?”

You turned and followed his gaze, finding Sam as he walked curiously down the driveway of the house. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

Sam’s eyes squinted in an attempt to figure out who was on the backseat, and you watched a wide grin break out on his face when you lifted your hand to offer a small wave.

The moment he stopped at the side of the car, your door was opened, and Sam offered a hand to help you out. “I was beginning to think you had taken a wrong turn.”

You thanked the driver as you stepped out of the car, and watched as Sam dipped his head down to look into the car. “Thank you for getting her here safe.”

“Any time, kid. It was a pleasure, she was the best passenger I’ve had in a long while. You two have a good night.”

“That’s the plan.” Sam stood up straight once again, giving the driver a wave as he shut the car door. “Have a good one.”

“Well.” Sam turned to you, and the intoxicating smile on his face caused a flurry of butterflies to erupt within you. “Come on then, I’ve got to give you the grand tour.”

You followed closely behind him and as the two of two walked through the front door, you immediately felt some of the anxiety you had been carrying fall away. Sam continued to walk as you shrugged your coat from your shoulders and bent over to untie your shoes.

“Where’d you go?”

His voice had become distant, having passed through what you had suspected to be at least one hallway of sorts before he finally noticed that you weren’t following behind him. “Taking my shoes off.”

He came shuffling back into the entryway within seconds, standing and watching as you pulled your shoes off and straightened up. “Sorry, I got a little ahead of myself there.”

You chuckled and stepped closer to him, your lips curling into a smile that you couldn’t fight, not in his presence at least. “No need to apologize, now show me around.”

A giddy energy blanketed the two of you as Sam reached for your hand, wrapping it within his own before dragging you along behind him further into the house.

After painstakingly showing you every inch of the main floor, Sam ran ahead of you and beckoned you up the stairs. “Alright, so we’ve got another bathroom here.”

His hand brushed along a closed door, and continued along the wall. Your gaze travelled along the decorated hall, pictures of family and friends leaving little room in the space between door frames.

“And this…” The soft tapping of his fingers against the dark wooden door brought your attention back to him. “Is where the magic happens. Also known as my bedroom.”

A playful smirk crept its way onto your lips as you turned your attention to the way he continued staring down the hall. “Where the magic happens, huh?”

His head whipped around to look at you, and he quickly mirrored your smirk. “Do you doubt me?”

And just like that, any thoughts that may have crossed your mind were washed away into the gutter. You wanted to say no, you didn’t doubt him, in fact you wanted him to prove it, but instead the two of you simply stood staring at one another until he chuckled and broke the silence. “Do you want to see the music room?”

You shook from your trance and gave him a small nod. “You have a music room?”

He beamed and nodded, waving for you to follow him as he turned and walked to the end of the hallway. He opened the door and made a dramatic show of displaying the now open room to you as you walked up to the doorway. “Holy shit. I knew you liked to play guitar, but I wasn’t expecting this.”

It was beautiful, a comfortable couch resting against the wall beneath a cascading display of various guitars. Across the room was a standing desk with a keyboard resting beneath the main deskspace. You watched as he made his way toward the couch, letting himself freefall into the cushions before looking back at you. “Kind of comes with the job I do, I guess.”

“You know, we never really talk about your job.” You were still leaning against the door frame, your eyes taking in all the small details of the room.

“There’s more interesting things to talk about.”

You turned back to him, your eyes locking with his as a small smile pulled at the corner of your lips. “Well I’d like to know more about it than you just ‘working in a music store with your brothers.’ Seems like it would be fun.”

His smile returned, and one of his hands dropped from behind his head to pat the empty space beside him on the couch. “Well come on over then, I’ll tell you all about it.”

You shuffled across the room, lowering yourself into the seat across the couch from him and turning to give him your full attention. “Go on.”

He turned himself to face you, readjusting himself to get comfortable. “It’s nothing overly special. I work with my brothers, and Danny. The store is owned by an old family friend, but the four of us have been keeping the place going now that he is getting a bit too old to manage it on his own.”

You pulled your legs onto the cushion to sit cross legged as you listened to him talk, nodding along, but when he paused, you worried that’s all he was going to say. “Well that can’t be all of it. What do you do?”

He looked somewhat surprised by your genuine interest, but quickly picked up where he left off. “Well, Josh pretty much runs the place. Danny helps with customer service and most of the heavy lifting. Jake does maintenance, he’ll fix pretty much whatever instrument someone brings in, he’s kind of a whiz with that stuff. He also does guitar lessons.”

“And you?”

He smiled and watched you sink further into the cushions, getting comfortable as you listened to him. “I mostly do customer service, but I also give guitar and piano lessons.”

“It’s nothing special… Sam, that’s such a cool job, you’re teaching people to play music, that’s so special.”

He seemed taken aback by what you said, and you watched him stare down at his hands as a light blush blossomed across his cheeks. “You think so?”

“I know so.”

There was a moment of quiet before Sam looked back up at you. “Do you play any instruments?”

“Not really, no. I wanted to learn how to play guitar in high school, but I never really got the hang of it so I just gave up.”

The smile on his face fell to a small frown, and you watched the cogs turn in his brain for a moment before his eyes locked on yours once again. “Would you let me try.”

Your eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion as you looked back at him. “Let you try?”

“To teach you.”

“You’d really do that?”

Sam became somewhat sheepish at the question, but held eye contact with you. “Only if you want to. I’m not going to force you to learn.”

“No, I uh… I’d like that.” His smile returned, bright and warm at your words, and this time he got to watch as a blush rose to your cheeks. “I’d like that a lot actually. Maybe this time it’ll stick.”

The two of you fell into a comfortable quiet for a few minutes until Sam groaned and stretched before standing from the couch. You watched as he made his way to your side of the couch, and he made a show of offering a hand to you with a dramatic bow. “Shall we make our way downstairs to get the food plated?”

You giggled, nodding as you placed your hand in his and felt him pull you from the cushions. The two of you made your way downstairs, and Sam took the time to show you where all of the food was before he ran into the living room to turn on some music.

“We can’t be working in silence, that’s insane.”

Within an hour the two of you managed to put together a table full of various snacks. Bowls full of different flavors of chips, and platters covered in various meats and cheeses laid before you, organized to perfection along the length of his dining room table.

A low whistle passed through Sam’s lips as you made the final adjustments to the display, and you turned to see him staring at all of the food. “You think there’s enough?”

You shrugged and straightened up, turning properly toward him. “Good question, I don’t know how many people are going to be here, so you’d know better than me.”

His eyes flickered up from the table, meeting your eyes as the music kept the room from falling into silence. Sam pulled his hand from the pocket of his jeans and lifted it towards you. “Come here.”

You looked at his hand, then back up to his face, a curious look crossing your features as your hand slowly lifted away from the table you had been leaning against. He caught the look and chuckled. “Come on, let’s dance.”

“But—”

His hand breached the gap, wrapping around your own. “Nope. No excuses.”

“Seriously, Sam?” You relaxed into the gentle pull of his hand, making a show of dramatically rolling your eyes. “Don’t you remember the wedding?”

“Very well, yeah.” When your eyes landed back on Sam, you felt a flash of something you hadn’t felt in a while, bliss. Something in the way he smiled at you released the tension in your body, you felt relaxed with him.

You stepped forward, planting yourself in front of Sam, keeping your eyes “So you remember what I said?”

Your gaze fell to the hand enclosed within Sam’s, watching the way he readjusted his hold to be more comfortable for the both of you as he spoke. “I remember you enjoying yourself until what’s his name interrupted us.”

“Oh, I was enjoying myself was I?” Your words were accompanied by a small smirk and a quirk of your brow as your eyes once again found his.

“Sure seemed that way” Sam gently pulled you closer, and you could feel the tingle of his touch as his free hand ghosted over your waist, as if giving you an out of you genuinely didn’t want to dance. “Of course you’re free to tell me otherwise.”

You hummed as your free hand came to rest on his bicep. “As fun as it is to bicker with you, I agree. I did enjoy myself, quite a lot, actually.”

Sam’s smile widened, and his lips parted, but before he could speak the sound of the door opening and closing stole the attention of the both of you.

“Honey, I’m home.”

You and Sam separated when the sound of Danny’s voice echoed through the house, instead you watched as Sam popped his head into the living room. Sam was the first to speak as he took a large step out of the dining room. “You’re back early.”

“No… not really. It's actually later than I planned to get home.”

There was a beat of silence before Danny spoke up. “It’s quiet in here, where’s Rose?”

“Shit. I put her in her crate earlier and meant to let her outside before everyone showed up.”

“And have you?”

“Clearly not, I’ve been a bit distracted.”

“Distracted, what could have distracted you from your dog?”

Nadine popped out from around the corner, and as quickly as she found you, she was back out of the dining room with you in tow. “I think I know.”

Danny turned at the sound of her voice, and a smile quickly formed on his face when he caught sight of the two of you. “Well hello, stranger. Where were you hiding?”

“She wasn’t hiding, she’s been here for a while.”

Everyone turned to see Sam standing at the base of the staircase, and in his arms was the cutest puppy you had ever laid eyes on. “She was passed out when I walked into my room.”

Your gaze lifted and locked with Sam’s, earning a small smile and wave from him, beckoning you towards him. Rose was eagerly wiggling in Sam’s grasp when you walked over to them, her little tail thumping against his side. “Well hello, Rose. You are so cute.”

Rose gave your hand a brief sniff before lowering her head as if to ask for you to pet her, which you gladly did, running your fingers along the soft fur between her ears.

“I’m gonna take her out for a bit before everyone gets here. Might smoke a joint as well, care to join?” Sam’s voice pulled your attention from the puppy, though your hand remained scratching a spot beneath her chin as you looked up at him and nodded.

Sam’s head briefly lifted to look toward the others, but your attention remained on him and Rose as he spoke. “Danny, Nadine, you two coming along?”

You turned then to look at them, and found both shaking their heads. Nadine spoke up when her eyes locked with yours. “Gonna wait till later, don’t want to get tired super early.”

“Alright, well looks like it’s just gonna be you and me.” You turned back to Sam and found him already staring back at you with a small smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.

“Lead the way.”

The two of you got to the sliding glass door, and Sam opened it. He looked down, and your eyes followed, watching as he slipped on a pair of shoes and looked back up at you. “Hold on a second, I’ll be right back.”

He turned and sped off, leaving you watching and wondering what on earth he was doing, until he came back holding your shoes. “Figured you wouldn’t want to go outside in your socks.”

You looked back down at your feet, eyeing the mismatched socks you had pulled from your pile of clean laundry in a hurry before your gaze found him again. “Honestly, I hadn't even realized, thank you.”

He placed your shoes on the floor and straightened back up before sliding open the door and stepping outside with Rose in tow. You slid your shoes on as quickly as you could and stumbled behind him onto the patio as Rose barrelled ahead into the large backyard.

It took a few steps to catch up to Sam as he leaned against the railing. “This house is amazing, how did you two manage to find such a nice place?”

Sam turned to you, body still leaning against the wooden railing, with a joint between his lips and his hand lifting to light the end. He took a long drag, clearly enjoying the way you were simply watching him, before blowing the smoke from between his lips. “We got lucky.”

He took another drag before holding the joint out for you to take, and watched as you plucked it from between his fingers. “Elaborate.”

“The owners are friends of Danny’s grandparents. When they retired they bought an R.V. to travel, and offered to give us cheap rent if we helped fix the place up.” He watched you intently as you breathed in the wondrous substance within the perfectly rolled joint, and his attention only broke when Rose let out a hushed bark from across the yard.

Both of you turned, watching as she stared back at the two of you, lowering the front of her body onto the grass, but keeping her rear end, and wagging tail off of the ground.

“What is it Rose? Do you want to show Y/n the garden, is that it?”

She hopped from her spot, her small body swaying from the force of her tail wagging, and you turned to Sam. “You have a garden?”

He eagerly nodded, and accepted the joint as you offered it back to him. “I do.”

Sam passed the joint back to you on the walk over to the garden, and Rose happily trotted along behind the two of you. The two of you made your way over to an area off to the side of the patio and you were honestly a bit surprised at what you found. A long garden bed spanned the gap between fence posts, filled to the brim with flowers of every color, shape and size you could imagine. Across from it stood multiple raised garden beds, each with a different cluster of fruits and vegetables growing within them.

“So…” Sam turned to look at the sound of your voice, and watched as you took another drag of the joint before holding it out for him to take. “What do you have growing in this garden of yours?”

He plucked the joint from between your fingers and carefully tapped the side until the ash scattered to the ground. “You really want to know?”

His question was followed by a deep drag of the joint as he looked to you for an answer. What he found was a soft smile across your lips as you nodded encouragingly for him to tell you. “Yeah, I really do.”

“Well, uh…” You watched Sam look between all of the planters, eventually stopping at the one at the end of the row. “This one has beets and carrots in it.”

“That one.” He pointed to the next box, and you followed his movement. “Has a few kinds of lettuce, and green beans growing up the lattice.”

A quiet bark sounded from between the two of you, and you looked down to see Rose sitting next to you, wagging her tail as she looked back up at you.

“I think she wants a green bean, she loves them.”

You quirked an eyebrow, and kneeled to pet Rose. “You like green beans, Rose?”

She yipped, and pressed her head into your hand.

“Here.” You looked up and found Sam holding out a green bean for you to take. “Give her one, she’ll love you forever.”

You took the small green vegetable from his hand and looked back at the small puppy that was damn near vibrating with excitement at your feet. “Does she know any tricks?”

“I’ve been teaching her how to shake, but she’s still learning.”

“Rose, would you like a green bean?” Her tail was whipping back and forth as she continued to stare at you. “Can you shake a paw for me?”

You offered your free hand to her, and watched as she stared blankly at you for a moment before she lifted a paw and placed it in your palm.

You lit up, and gently shook her paw before letting it slip from your grasp, instead you held the green bean out for her and watched as she gently took it between her teeth, bolted up onto the patio and jumped up onto one of the chairs to lay down as she ate her treat.

“That was impressive.” You straightened up and looked back at Sam, who was beaming as he continued to look at Rose. “She doesn’t usually listen that well to new people.”

“I guess she just really likes me.” It was a cheeky comment, paired with a goofy grin as you continued to look at him.

“She’s not the only one.”

He still wasn’t looking at you, and for a moment you wondered if you had misheard him, but before you could respond another voice echoed into the backyard. “Now what on earth is going on out here?”

You turned to follow the sound of the voice and found the twins leaning against the railing. Josh’s eyes found yours, and seeing his bright smile, you couldn’t help but smile yourself. “Sam was just showing me his garden.”

“You don’t say. You know, usually Sam waits until the third date to show a girl his cucumber.”

Jake’s comment was followed closely by a booming laugh from Josh, and a scoff from Sam. After a few seconds of tense silence, Rose broke through the quiet by barking and scratching at the sliding glass door.

“Well, didn’t mean to interrupt your tour, just wanted to let you two know that we had arrived.” Josh’s words were quickly followed by him dragging Jake back into the house, leaving you and Sam alone in the garden once again.

“We should probably head inside if people are starting to show up.”

“What, you’re not going to tell me about each and every one of the flowers you have in this garden bed?”

He chuckled, and shook his head and he began walking back towards the patio. “There’s too many to list, plus it’s not that interesting.”

“I beg to differ.” You followed closely behind him, falling into step as you made your way toward the door.

You were startled when he suddenly came to a stop, which caused you to bump into him as he turned to you. “Maybe next time.”

His gaze dropped to watch as you lifted your hand into the small gap between the two of you, with all of your fingers tucked away, except for your pinkie. “Promise?”

He chuckled and lifted his own hand, looking back into your eyes as he wrapped his pinky around your own. “Promise.”

You followed Sam into the house and quickly found both the twins settled into the living room with Danny and Nadine.

“So, has Sam told you that he makes pickles?”

You made your way over to one of the remaining empty spaces on the loveseat being occupied by Danny and Nadine. “He did not, but I am eager to hear about it whenever he chooses to share.”

The remaining guests slowly trickled into the house, and suddenly the space was filled with boisterous laughter and conversation. Everyone dug into the food as they talked, and you found yourself comfortably conversing with Sam’s friends, listening as he made jokes with them, and joining in as they asked questions to get to know you.

“Who’s up for some drunk uno?”

You leaned over to Sam, who had made himself comfortable leaning against the table next to you, close enough to warm his body with the heat radiating off of you. “What is drunk uno?”

Sam let out a quiet chuckle before turning to Jake, who had brought up the idea. “I’ll go grab the cards, you guys will have to explain the rules to Y/n and Nadine, I don’t know if they’ve ever played, and it never hurts to refresh everyone on how to play.”

Sam scurried off to find the game as the rest of you made you way into the living room and settled into spots around the coffee table as Jake explained the rules, they were as follows;

If you forget the rules, or you must ask a question, you take one drink.

If you lose a turn because of a skip card, or miss a turn, you take one drink.

+2 cards = two drinks

+4 cards = four drinks

If you don’t have a matching card and have to pick up from the deck, you take one drink.

If you forget to say Uno on your last card, take four drinks.

If you play an identical card (same color and action/number), everyone takes one drink.

The player with the most cards at the end of the game must finish their drink. In the event that their drink is less than half full, they must get a fresh drink to finish.

Sam returned with the game in his hand, and he quickly maneuvered his way around his seated friends to lower himself into the empty spot beside you.

You listened to the small conversations that had sparked up in the time since you all sat down, but your attention had been stolen by Sam the moment he sat beside you. You watched as he sat quietly, pulling the cards from their box and checking to make sure that they were all facing the same way before he began to shuffle them.

It wasn’t hard to become transfixed, watching the way his nimble fingers handled each card with such care, you had tuned out your surroundings, and figured that the weed was finally settling in your brain, bringing with it a serene sense of calm.

“So, did Jake confuse you enough with the rules?” Your eyes flickered up to see Sam still concentrated on the cards as he dealt the hands for each player.

“Might take me a round to get used to, but I’m a quick learner so I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out.”

His eyes left the cards, and he caught the way your gaze lingered on his lips as he ran his tongue along his bottom lip. A smirk quickly formed as he leaned towards you to nudge his shoulder against your own. “Well if you have any questions, ask me, I won’t make you drink.”

—

“Dickhead!”

Sam’s boisterous laugh filled the room as he dramatically tossed his final card onto the pile. “Sorry baby, it was all I could play.”

Your cheeks flushed pink at his words, and he watched you pick up four cards from the deck, and when you lifted your drink to your lips, he kept eye contact with your icy gaze, watching intently as you took four sips of your drink.

Thankfully, even with the addition of the cards at the last second, you still weren’t holding as many as Josh, who made a show of standing for everyone to watch as he downed his drink.

The group was in the fourth round… or was it the fifth? Of uno, and you were finally on your last card. At least you were until Sam played that damned plus four. You weren’t sure how much time had passed, as breaks had been taken between each round to eat, go pee, or smoke.

“Alright, someone has to open the store tomorrow, so I’m going to head out.”

Josh’s statement was followed by a chorus of boos from those still sitting on the floor, but once it had quieted down, Jake piped up with a loud groan as he stood and stretched. “Josh is right, gotta have a couple people capable of working tomorrow morning, so you two-” He turned to Danny and Sam, waggling his finger at them briefly “-are off the hook, but you’ll have to be in to close tomorrow.”

Slowly people began making their way around the house, cleaning up and collecting their belongings before bidding farewell and heading out. Danny and Nadine said goodnight as they made their way towards Danny’s room, and soon enough you were left in a quiet house with Sam.

One of his friends had passed out on the couch, so the two of you kept your voices low as you followed close behind him, helping to clean up what remained of the food.

You took the liberty of filling the sink with warm soapy water to do the dishes while Sam packed up whatever food had to be refrigerated, music playing quietly from his phone on the counter.

“You know.” The ghost of his touch on your waist jolted you from your own thoughts. “You don’t have to do the dishes, it was more than enough that you hung around to help me clean up the food.”

You reached for the drying towel beside the sink to wipe your hands as you slowly spun around to face him, and found yourself within inches of the man that had been invading your every sense since you came to realize the depth of your feelings for him.

You swallowed the lump in your throat as you looked up into the warmth of his deep brown eyes. The majority of the lights in the house had either been dimmed, or turned off, so the two of you stood in the dim orange light of the kitchen, staring at one another and waiting to see who would break the silence.

“It’s the least I could do, really.”

He hummed, dropping one of his hands from your waist, but before you could mourn the loss of his touch, his fingers brushed your own. “Could I ask one more thing of you?”

You nodded, looking down to where the tips of his fingers danced with yours as you awaited his request.

“Dance with me?”

A smile graced your lips and you nodded once again, and you felt the pressure of his skin against yours as he took your hand in his own, and pulled you closer with the one that remained on your waist. The song changed, and the dulcet voice of Nat King Cole graced your ears as Sam began to sway with you.

You weren’t sure whether to credit the weed, alcohol, or Sam’s presence for the drowsiness that overcame you, though it was a safe bet that all of the above had a part to play in it.

You could feel the steady beating of his heart as your head rested against his chest. “Hey, Sam… can I tell you a secret?”

“Of course.” His voice is hushed, much like your own, as if despite everyone else either having left or gone to sleep, you were making an effort for only one another to hear what was being said.

There was a beat of silence as your brain tried to comprehend what you were going to say. Eventually a soft sigh escaped from your lips, and you finally said it. “I think I’ve fallen for you.”

You could have sworn you felt his heart skip, and though you couldn’t see it, Sam’s smile was as dopey as ever as he took in what you said. “Is that so?”

You nodded as best as you could with your head still against his chest, and it once again fell quiet as you relaxed further into his hold.

Your eyes had fallen closed not long after you began to sway with him, so the feeling of his breath suddenly tickling the shell of your ear sent a shiver running down your spine. “I think I’ve fallen for you too.”

He was still wearing the goofy grin when you leaned back, looking up at him with dreamy eyes. “Really?”

He simply nodded, lifting the hand from your waist to move a stray hair from your face. Your eyes were growing heavier with each passing moment, and Sam clued in before you could try to fight it. “You tired?”

You nodded, and Sam’s smile softened. “Alright, let’s get you to bed. We can talk more when we’re both sober, but for now you need to rest.”

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