Now or Never

As he gave her an answer, Hana felt this want to take away whatever negative feeling his birth parents caused him to have because, although he did not say so, the look in her eyes made her believe that he is negatively affected by what they did. “I am sorry.” was all she could say as she reached for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze again. She shook her head as he apologized. “You don’t have to apologize to me about anything. “You did not name them after an anime character and a superhero respectively, did you?”, she asked to lighten the mood.

Looking up into her hazel hues, he smiled faintly. “Why are you apologizing? I’m okay. You know - I always think that that it’s a blessing. If I wasn’t adopted, I wouldn’t have my siblings, parents, Apollo... you even. I just can’t fully think what it would be like if I hadn’t been adopted.” Jae said as his thumb gently rubbed the back of her hand. Chuckling at her question. “I did not name Thor, that was my dad who is really into Norse mythology, and comics. But I did name Sora... and you are right, it’s from an anime character.”

❛ nah, just don’t . what happened between me and her should have never went down that way and our friendship shouldn’t suffer because of this . ❜ he adored jae way too much to let his studio mistake cost him their friendship ❛  shes like you , shes more family than she is friend .❜ it was true , jackson had been there for him in numerous occasions and josslyn kind of came with jackson , before he knew it . it was like the little sister that he never had  ❛ yeah but millie was conflicted you can’t base your things on that . ❜ he and millie were good friends but he knew she wasn’t really the relationship type ❛ haylee has her charms but she is more rough than kind , believe me . i dated her and she told me to move on and as for joss i mean i see where you might be coming from . ❜ he adored joss and regretted that they had been intimate , information that jax had no recognition of . ❛ oh you are in love with her .  ❜ he begins to poke at his stomach but his smile fades once he hears her won’t meet her ❛ if i won’t meet her through you i guess i have to meet her myself , i do have her for trig.  ❜

He nodded his head. He hated seeing his sister hurt by it, but he knows she would get over it. “I know, but sometimes Joss doesn’t know the full story yet before she starts talking.” He rolled his eyes. Sighing, Jae knew the truth about why he and Millie never got past the summer fling, but for him it still had stung. “I know, hence why she is out of bounds but her words can be venomous. But Joss is like our sis man, it would just be gross. No offense to her though.” He said quickly. He groaned, knowing full well that this was just the start of forever teasing from his best friend. “Dude, I haven’t even asked her to be my girlfriend officially yet. You want to scare her off before I have the chance?”

❛ long story short . i spoke to her and she said that she hated my guts and never wants to see me again but you know we can always sit in a circle and sing kumbaya .  ❜ he knew there was no way in hell that lola was going to forgive him but he was honest and true to her but it seemed like that wasn’t enough for her . ❛ plus you know josslyn couldn’t keep her mouth quiet even if her life depended on it . she told me everything .  ❜ he shakes his head as a laugh escapes his lips ❛ i mean i am sure she’s perfect . i just thought you would go for someone like joss or haylee —-  well not haylee. ❜ even if him and then raven haired femme hadn’t spoken since freshman year she was still off limits , it was just a guy code thing . ❛ so when do i get to meet her officially ? ❜

Jae nodded his head, feeling slightly defeated. “I’ll talk to her, okay?” It did suck for him that two of the people who he was closest to were not on speaking terms. “Why are my close friends such nosy people?” He joked. The giant boy shook his head. “I tried to be serious with Millie in the past, but she screwed me over and just wanted a summer fling. And I could never date those two, I’m kinda scared of Haylee and I have never seen Joss that way. I thought so too since Hana’s very different to the girls I’ve liked in the past. But it’s so easy to talk to her and she’s sweet.... and pretty...” His voice trailed off. Jae chuckled at his question. “Never. You’ll only embarrass me, and that’s also her already knowing about my drunk habit.”

“I learned that it’s rare nowadays to have a good, healthy family so you really are. I hope you don’t mind me asking but did you ever think about taking your parents up on that offer? Like, if you were given the assurance that things would not change, would you want to meet your birth parents? It probably was the most personal question she asked that day so she would be okay with it if he did not answer it. “Ooh, what are their names? Scientists will argue that it’s because of oxytocin but I think there is more to it than that so that is a good question.”

Jae thought for a good minute before speaking. “Not really. All I know is from news clippings about me that my mom dumped in front of a hospital, but I thought she would have given me up for a good reason. I also think if I ever found them, it could turn their lives upside down if bad memories are brought up.” There were moments in his life that he thought about what his life would be like if he wasn’t adopted; however it made him sad that he probably would never know his parents, siblings, friends - even Hana. He twiddled his thumbs. “Sorry. Sora and Thor are their names.”

Hearing him go on, Hana felt a little jealous that she didn’t have a similar relationship with her brothers. She used to think that it was because she was the only girl in the family but, growing up, she realize that the three of them were just too stubborn to get along despite their differences. “I love that for you.” Although it was hard to believe, she genuinely did. “Hopefully, it could be. I see it as a power that can be used to defeat a villain without causing them any harm. What’s the first animal you will talk to if you had that power and what will you tell them?”

Smiling at her, Jae could see how most people would be curious about his family life considering his situation. “I guess I’m just lucky to have a family like mine. I mean my parents were always honest about us all being adopted, and with me they offered to find my biological parents. But I don’t want my family to change.” He explained, sighing. “Thanks.”  He said faintly.  “I guess my dogs, or any dog to be honest. I curious of what they think, and they are so affectionate towards humans so I’m curious to why.”

“Another thing to be grateful for then.”, Hana thought out loud as she finally reaching her favorite part of the treat in her hands, the bottom of the cone. After finishing it in one bite, she wiped off any ice cream on her face. “I’ve heard stories about adopted kids not getting along because of their differences. Has it ever been that way for you or did you 3 click growing up?” She really needed to stop her curiosity from taking control of her. “I always wanted to have the power to sing people to sleep.”

Smiling at her, Jae thought about his family. “No. Lola and I are only a couple of months apart, and we we toddlers so we connected then. And then our younger brother, he came last but we looked out for him. We have a small arguments here and there but we care about the others.” Beaming, he shook his black hair out of his face. “Interesting, I would never thought of that to be a power. I have  always want to talk to animals.”

❛  do you honestly believe that she’s going to want to talk to me ? I’ve messaged her and she has read all of them and hasn’t even replied . ❜ he doesn’t think that this is something that he should be doing but nonetheless he looks towards his best friend ❛ can you talk to her for me , tell her that I’m sorry or maybe not . ❜ he shakes his head and then hears the others words ❛  I don’t kiss and tell sorry —— ❜ he rolls his eyes and he knows that he will tell him ❛ I spoke to josslyn this morning and she told me about your little flirting with hana —— hana really ?! ❜

“She may not want to, but she also knows that we’re best friends. She’ll talk to you sooner or later, otherwise I will lock the two of you in a room until you sort your shit out.” Jae rolled his eyes. “I’m not your messenger but I’ll try to convince her to talk to you.” He sent a small pout at his best friend. “Joss - dammit I knew she would have said something when I saw her smirking at the lockers.” He groaned before glaring at the comment. “Hey, what the hell is that supposed to mean? Hana’s great.” He huffed.

his question about lola made him take a deep breath ❛  i did —- i feel horrible about what happened between both of us and i want to talk to her and try to apologize or try to make it better ? ❜ he didn’t know whether he was going to do anything of what he was saying but for the first time he was happy to talk to his best friend ❛ i’m just sorry i hurt her , you know ?  ❜ taking a deep breath he sits on the table putting his bag down ❛  but enough about me —- a little birdie told me that you have a little fling gong on , should i feel offended i haven’t heard about this ? ❜

“Dude, I think you should talk to her. I much rather you two talk and sort everything out than you two be awkward whenever you come over.” Jae pointed out. He was a little annoyed that his best friend hurt his sister, but at the same time Jae knew his friend was going through a rough patch at that time. “I know you are.” Jae coughed in surprise at the last comment. “I want to know who this birdie is who told you I had a fling. It’s not a fling. You know I don’t do flings. And I hadn’t had the chance to tell you because you’ve only just got back; I’ve only been on one date with her and if I did tell you beforehand you would have made me look like even more of an bumbling idiot.”

“Oh no, definitely not worse but… I feel really embarrassed when I get reminded of it. So if that day comes and you see me drunk, I really hope you don’t like me less.” For the first time that day, Hana was nervous and she did not really know why. “Have you?”, she asked him as she too looked into his eyes. “I love how you have a good relationship with both your siblings. You’re lucky for that.” As for herself, she didn’t think that she was. “I think it’s your turn.”

Jae chuckled. “With what I have seen my friends do when drunk... and myself - I’m not one to judge.” He smiled as he rested his chin on his hand. “I think so.” He thought about his family, and his smile grew. “We’re all adopted, and my parents have us so much and sacrificed a lot, so I’m grateful for that.” “For asking a question? Right... umm... if you got given a superpower, what it be?”

Hana clapped for him for a bit upon hearing him put into words what she couldn’t earlier. “Wait until you see what my decision is. It’s going to surprise you.” At least, she thought it would because when she saw it through the video of her that her friend recorded, she was surprised herself. “It’s scary, right? Makes you feel like you’ll never be ready for that kind of thing again.” She mimicked his action of tapping his nose in hopes of making him smile again. “Cute and dorky is a good combination. Oh, you have a sister and a brother then! That’s nice to hear.”

Jae looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow. “You honestly can’t be worse than me Hana. But I will look forward till that day occurs.” He pursed his lips in agreement. “Yeah, until you find another person who you are willing to try again.” He said, looking at her hazel hues. “Well a sister and two brothers if you’re including Apollo. My actual brother we hang out together a lot at home but not much at school as we’re in different years unlike me and Lola.”

“No, don’t do that! It’s fun to drink. It can cause to make bad decisions but it’s fun.” Hana could remember the things she has done because of how drunk she was and it wasn’t a story she was ready to tell. She scrunched her nose shortly after he tapped it and, if his goal was to make her smile by doing so, he accomplished that. “Are you okay?”, she asked just to make sure. “Yeah, the more I talk to you, the more I see that you are. It’s cute.” She laughed as well. “You and Apollo are really close, huh?”

“Yeah, my bad decision is always to take my clothes off and running around.” He rolled his eyes before laughing. Beaming, Jae nodded. “I am now. Took a little time but it made me more cautious I think.” He smile turned into a pout. “Cute? I think dorky would suit me more.” Smiling once again, he looked at the window briefly before his hues came back to her. “I’ve known him pretty much since I was adopted and came here. I honestly do consider him my brother.”

“It was worth a shot.” Hana knew he was right, that it did entertain people, but she decided not to go into detail about how much because it would probably make him more embarrassed. “Another thing I’m wrong about then. Being screwed over does not very feel nice so I’m sorry that you experienced that.” She frowned a little then but she tried to not make it obvious. “So you’re only in it for the serious thing, huh? Please don’t tell me you don’t see that as a bad thing. It’s actually like a breath of fresh air.”

“Well I’ll just have to make sure I don’t drink again.” He said with a laugh. Jae smiled slightly at her frown, before tapping her nose with the side of his index finger. “You never knew, so no need to say that you were wrong. It was a while ago, the disappointment is gone now as I don’t have any feelings for her now.” Jae looked at her before nodding his head. “Yeah. I’m just a romantic cheeseball, huh?” He laughed. “I don’t see it as a bad thing. It’s annoying when Apollo teases me for it, but I’m also not phased by him teasing me.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I looked away right away so I only saw the upper half of your body.” But Hana felt like that would not make that much of a difference. “That is totally understandable.”, she said because it seemed like he needed to hear those words from her. “Don’t worry about it! You were having fun and I don’t think you should be embarrassed about that. Oh and it’s surprising because I kind of thought that you would have had that experience already.”

“It doesn’t help much but thanks. It does entertain people though.” He did let out the tiniest of chuckles. Leaning back into the booth seat, Jae shook his head. “To be honest, not really. I tried once in the past to have a long relationship with a girl I liked but she only wanted a summer fling. I got screwed over by her. And I’m not one for one night stands or hookups. So I guess you can say I’m probably the most inexperienced jock you’ll meet.”