TIBERIUS IS A FAMILY NAME

“Nothing sexier than those two things working together,” said Toby with a slightly forced smile. He was overjoyed at JT being back, he really was, it was just… so much to worry about, really. There was so much that could go wrong. What if the guy broke out of jail and came back? what if JT’s stitches came loose and he bed out in class? How long would it take for Toby to look at JT and not see JT, laid out in the hospital bed? 

He put his arm from being squished between him and JT to wrap around JT’s waist with a long suffering sigh. “Not sure how pheromones even smell without BO. Can’t imagine the two not paired, you know?”

“ who am i to disagree with the tobias isaacs , boy genius and absolute ? it’s like the stinky peanut butter and jelly of our high school years ! ” jt was keeping it light , as light as he could because , if he was being honest , he was worried about toby. he knew the other boy almost as well as he knew himself and if he knew anything it was that toby’s capacity to overthink was his downfall. he’d focus so much on a problem , or other people , that he’d neglect himself and this... this was a recipe for an isaacs-style disaster.

“ speaking of peanut butter and jelly , you owe me a dinner date. i’ll accept it cafeteria style today , but also wouldn’t say not to lady and the tramp stylings. ” he gave toby a little squeeze ( not too tight , didn’t wanna fuck with the stitches ) before going on tippy-toes and planting an exaggerated kiss to the top of his friend’s head. “ i know you’ve got miss manuella , but i had you first ! ”

danny: ok but to be fair, i did say i'm happy you're ok.

danny: but like, you kinda go from like, not being together to like, being together after a life altering asshole who's face i need to cave in? just seems sort of quick.

jt: yeah that's all very fair. and chivalrous of your , danny boy

jt: i get the whiplash it's a lot but i guess if anything it's like life's too short to not be with the person you love most and i do. i really love her. i may be an idiot but i know how lucky i am she loves me too

heather was walking down the hallway with a book in hand until she was stopped by j.t. yorke who had just come back. “seriously?” she raises a brow but then shrugs. “your shirt looks so stupid. that hair of yours? it looks like it belongs on the street on a mutt. you’d think with this second chance of living you would make better choices.” she stops herself thinking all of that should do it. obviously she didn’t mean any of what she said but she was glad to still see him all in one piece. heather can’t help but she reaches towards him to give him a quick hug before speaking once more. “should i take your lunch money too?”

jt knew that heather was just appeasing him , though the insults were the exact distraction he was looking for. felt good. felt normal. even if heather didn’t usually throw insults at him one after the other completely unprompted. and okay , maybe the little hug caught him off guard , but that he didn’t mind so much. it was nice to know she cared , if only just a little. “ see , and here i was about to say that you’d gone soft. ” they’re out of the hug , but jt nudges heather and grins. “ see ? that’s what i love about you , you always think i’m wealthier than i am. rich i am in charm , but not so much in money. ” his cheeky grin softened a bit , though his smile was far from solemn. “ it’s good to be back , like you said -- second chance and all. ” more like third , but hey , semantics.

she lets out a gasp, placing a hand over her heart in pretend shock. “i can’t believe you would lay such a shock on me so early in the day” she playfully teased. “I really don’t know how i’ll ever go on. Sports events won’t even be worth it anymore,” though, that last part wasn’t much of a lie. 

manny had felt like all eyes were on her for the past few days but now those eyes had shifted to jt.  “ummmm,” manny thought for a second and leaned back against the lockers. “i could tell you all about me and toby hooking up,” she chuckled knowing that he would never take her up on the offer but that it would probably bring a smile to his face. 

jt shifted his head to the side , forehead still pressed against the locker , and opened one eye to look manny. “ see... you say that like i won’t want to hear all the juicy details. and that’s where you , manuella santos , are dead wrong. ” okay maybe he didn’t want to know ALL the details , but it was still so weird that he hadn’t noticed immediately that two of his favorite people in the universe were boning ! “ seriously though , how did it start ? ”

         “ i can’t believe i’m saying this. me , of all people , but... ” jt stood next to manny , face to the lockers , and sighed. it was a big adjustment , bigger than he thought it would , going back to school. and it didn’t help that literally the entire school knew what happened. or at least , the stabby stab part. “ i would like to not be perceived for at least the rest of the week. ” he leaned forward and rested his head against the cool metal locker. “ please tell me something-- anything to distract me. ”

danny: dude i am so happy you're ok.

danny: buuuut i think enough time has passed for you and me to have a man to man talk about your intentions with my sister, young man. 🎩

jt: enough time has passed since when exactly?

jt: because if you're talking about ME GETTING STABBED then it's been all of uh a couple weeks???

         “ so , guess i got a lot to a lot to talk about in group this week , huh ? ” it was almost funny , which is maybe why he could joke about it , but the last time he’d talked to ellie about group , he was so... optimistic ? like nothing in the world could bring him down. not that he could have predicted a real life reenactment of julius caesar , but still. “ i took your advice about approaching it with humor and i’ve had plenty of time to work on my stand-up , ironically , lying down in a hospital bed. ”

         “ tobes , i’m okay , i promise. ” and he was. armed with the helpful hand of heavy duty painkillers and a note from his doctor , jt was itching to be back to normal. yeah yeah yeah , he’d been , well , stabbed. but lying in the hospital , contemplating his own mortality was getting old. the dude was caught , he was alive , things should just go back to normal. he threw an arm around his best friend’s shoulders and took a deep breath. “ ah , the sweat smells of b.o. and unbridled hormones ! ”

          “ i’ve got some bad news , fiona. ” jt never hated school. sure , he could do without tests and holier than thou teachers , but the school itself felt like home. he just hadn’t realized how much he could miss the place before spending two weeks in and out of a hospital bed. he shook his head solemnly at fiona , realizing it wasn’t so much the place. it was the people. “ i may be back , but your favorite mascot’s gotta go on a brief hiatus. ”

adam: hey man sorry it took so long for me to reach out.. how are you? did you get to head home yet?

jt: no worries. honestly so many people reaching out has been kind of overwhelming. don't get me wrong i usually love the attention! but maybe not for... you know...

Toby: Hey not to be sappy and whatever but I really missed you and I'm overjoyed that you're okay

Toby: Like. Crazy relieved.

Toby: You're kind of the most important person in the world to me and I can't imagine what I'd do without you so uhh ❤️

JT: it takes a lot more than a knife to kill ol james tiberious yorke

When he tries to sit up she shakes her head and lets her hand rest on his chest  for a second. “You’ll need to take it easy for awhile. That means resting.” Lola explains as she gives him a small smile. She bites her lower lip as she looks at him. “Yeah that would have been me. I’ve been worried. Wanted to make sure you’d be okay. I didn’t know if what I did before the ambulance came helped any but I tried.” 

Liberty’s hand was clutched tightly onto Jt’s when they finally let her in the room with him, refusing to let go for one second. She had been running on empty, not being able to sleep in case there was a change in his condition. She had started to nod off, her head resting on the bed when she heard the familiar voice. “Jt?” She asked, looking up to see the boy, knowing that it wasn’t just a dream. “Baby? You’re okay? You’re really here.” She felt her eyes watering, giving the boy’s hand a small kiss.

when jt first woke up and found liberty next to him , her hand clutching his , he wanted to cry. because after everything they’d been through , here she was. and he never wanted her to leave. but then , there was the guilt. this whole... fiasco had happened on her birthday. a birthday he... didn’t remember. the doctors told him it was normal , amnesia of the day of the accident. but whatever went down , it had ended on , well , not the best note.

once fiona heard jt was awake, she went to visit him. and it was a little uncomfortable at first, fiona not really knowing what to say. but, then jt spoke and fiona let out a relieved breath, a slight chuckle escaping her lips. 

“i think you’ll get a free pass for the rest of the semester, at least” she joked back. “i’m just glad you’re okay” she admitted, trying not to start crying anymore than the small tears that pushed at her eyes. 

jt was fully aware of how he was perceived , hell , he worked for his laid back , fun loving persona. jt yorke: goofball and friend to all ! it must be jarring for his friends to see him in a place like this. in a situation like this. which is why he tried to lighten the mood now. 

“i think you just might,” terri laughed, pulling a chair up to his bedside. “if you went through all this trouble just to get more time on a history assignment…well, really, i’d just have to say i’m impressed.” her tone was entirely light, because she couldn’t imagine it going any other way. at this point, this was only the latest in terri and jt visiting one another at the hospital, so there was only so much severity they could have. “and, hey, i think everyone’s forgotten to pity me because they’ve got you now! so, thanks for that, it was starting to get old.”