#jakeseresin

“Hey, it’s going to be ok. Nothing is gonna happen, Baby.” He reassured you, bringing you in for a sweet kiss. You melted into his lips and instantly felt a little better.

“I know. I’m just nervous, I’ve never been in your plane before.”

“Well, this is a perfect time. It’s normally quiet in the evenings so there won’t be many people to catch us.” He gave you his signature cheeky smirk, before jumping out of the car.

You followed after him quickly, his long legs striding across the tarmac and towards the locker room. Natasha had said that you could borrow one of the female flight suits, she let on that Jake had been planning to take you up in his F18 since you’d met. Your heart swelled in your chest at that thought. You loved Jake Seresin with all your heart and although he was reluctant to say those three words back, you told him every day. You knew that he loved you, from his actions and the way he kissed you. You understood why he was afraid. Jake’s family hadn’t exactly been the most stable and loving and so he’d grown up knowing that emotions were a weakness so you’d take it slow, building up the trust between you. In the back of your mind, you knew that one day he would say it when he was ready.

You changed into one of the flight suits quickly, glancing occasionally over to your boyfriend as you watched him change, the muscles of his back rippling under his tanned skin. Once you were ready Jake set you up with a helmet and your oxygen, ensuring that you were all ready before he did his own. He grabbed your hand, smiling as he eagerly pulled you towards the hanger. Once inside he pulled you toward the plane furthest away and as you approached you couldn’t help but smile proudly. On the side of the plane in dark grey letters read “Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin”.

“Pretty cool, huh?” You could see the excitement on Jake’s face as he waved his hand towards the plane.

“Very cool,” you admitted, and it was true. You might not have been into planes but this was something else. You felt a great sense of pride knowing that your boyfriend was protecting his country.

“Unfortunately we both can’t fly it because it’s a F/A-18E.” You looked at him, utterly confused but he quickly corrected himself, realizing that he was talking a completely different language to you.

“It means it’s a single, but Phoenix said we could borrow her and Bob’s plane, as long as we didn’t have sex in it.” He laughed as he watched your face contort in horror, “don’t worry, Darlin’ we won’t and anyway you know how much room I need when I make love to you.” You cringed inwardly at Jake’s awful attempt to seduce you. Honestly, this man always had sex on the brain. He helped you climb up into Bob’s seat before hopping into the seat in front of you. You picked at the ends of your gloves nervously as the plane began to move. Once you were out on the hangar Jake put the canopy down and you could hear his voice come through on the radio.

“Are you ok back there, Baby?”

“Yep, all good,” you tried not to sound too nervous, after all, you were excited to be in a plane with Jake. He’d told you so many times about the amazing sunsets and views so you were excited to see them for yourself.

You could feel your stomach churning as the plane picked up speed and you had to suppress a scream as you felt the ground disappear beneath you. You climbed higher and faster before you eventually levelled out. You could see the base far below you as you cruised above the clouds. Jake’s voice echoed in your ears but you barely heard him, too enthralled by the view.

“Jake this is incredible,” you whispered and could hear Jake laughing lightly.

“I told you it was worth it.”

The colours danced past you as you placed your hand up the glass in complete awe.

“I’ve always loved this view. It’s one of my favourite parts of the day, except for coming home to you, Baby.” He added and you could tell he was smiling.

“I love it, Jake.”

“I knew you would. I wanted you to be a part of something I love so much because… well… I love you, (y/n). It’s always been you. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to say it and I know now I seem like an idiot because it was so easy to say but… I was just scared. I was scared that after I said it that would be it and the magic would be gone and you’d want to leave.” You could tell Jake was starting to tear up slightly and you leaned forward the best you could, trying to gently touch his shoulder. Jake very rarely showed his emotions so this was a real breakthrough for him. He nodded as you reassured him and soon regained his composure. The rest of the flight was smooth, you finished your circuit of North Island before descending and back to base. You held your breath as the plane touched down and finally sighed with relief once Jake had parked it back in the hangar.

As the canopy opened, Jake hopped out, helping you down. As soon as your feet touched the tarmac you wrapped your arms tightly around his neck, hugging him. “I love you, Jake Seresin. Thank you for sharing your world with me.”

Jake chuckled, placing a delicate kiss on your forehead.

“You’re welcome, Darlin’. Thank you for being in my world. I love you so much.” You wove your fingers into the hair at the base of his neck, pulling him down into a delicate kiss. Your lips met passionately and Jake’s hand trailed up your stomach, unzipping your flight suits.

“Seresin? Is that you?” You jumped away from Jake quickly, trying to compose yourself.

“Shit! It’s Cyclone. Quick. Quick. Go! Go! Go!” Jake pushed you out of the hangar, grabbing your hand as you raced towards Jake’s car, your clothes forgotten. Once inside the car you burst into a fit of giggles, nervously looking out the window to see Cyclone looking around the empty hangar.

“That was too close,” you whispered but Jake just hummed, his lips already attacking your neck. You tried to push him away. “No, Jake, we can’t. Phoenix said I could borrow one of the flight suits, not have sex in it,” you groaned.

Jake pulled away briefly, “she said we couldn’t have sex in her plane, she never mentioned anything about the uniform.” It was safe to say that you washed the flight suit three times before giving it back to Natasha, rather embarrassed, luckily she was none the wiser putting it back in the pile with the other spares, although knowing Jake’s big mouth you soon wouldn’t be able to look her in the eye.

I couldn't blame them for staring, I really couldn't. I truly looked like a hot mess and not the kind of hot mess that is portrayed in movies.

My hair which was supposed to be a messy bun now resembles something similar to a bird's nest.  My shirt, which in reality wasn't even mine, was about three sizes too big which resulted in it looking like I had no pants on. My feet were clad in miss matching socks, one had cactus while the other had Christmas weiner dogs, which wasn't unusual for me but usually, I have tennis shoes on but my feet were shoved into some Nike slides that were about 100 sizes too big for me.

The Hard Deck was absolutely jam-packed and full of people. There wasn't an empty inch in this bar it was so packed, so crammed with people. Everywhere you looked you either saw pilot suits or college guys repping their frat house.

Pushing up onto my toes, I try to find the reason that I was forced to crawl out of bed at almost 1 in the morning. I couldn't see shit due to the number of people so with a heavy sigh I drop down to my feet and being to make my way through the sea of people.

After seemingly going from one side to the other, I finally manage to push my way to the back of the bar.

My eyes immediately landed on a slumped-over Jake who was struggling to keep his head up. I look around and notice that Jake wasn't the only one who seemed to be struggling. There were multiple people who were taking over any available space. One with a Hawaiian shirt was laying down on a piano bench. A blonde-haired man was knocked out on the pool table. A dark-haired man with a killer mustache was standing up against a railing with his head resting on his hand while that hand rested on the tip of a pool stick.

"Hey Squish"

A smile makes its way onto my face as I walk over to Jake, letting him pull me into the space between his legs. Jake wraps his arms around me tightly and rests his forehead against my stomach. I bring my hands to his back, letting my nails scratch up and down the expanse of his back, "Hi, Jakey."

"So you're Squish?"

I turn my head, my gaze landing on a girl with dark hair, and let out a little laugh, "That would be me."

"I'm Phoenix, I'm the one who gave you a call."

I move my hands to his head, gently scratching my fingers against his scalp, "What happened?"

Phoenix lets out a laugh, "We were playing pool and everything was fine until this group of guys came over and boosted about how their frat was the college pool champs and blah blah blah. Well one thing led to another and it turned into a battle of egos, the loser bought drinks. Game after game, the college lost and kept buying stronger and stronger drinks hoping they'd get these guys drunk enough so they could win."

"Did they?"

She shakes her head, "Those guys never stood a chance, even as drunk as these guys are they still whooped those college guys' asses."

I laugh, "Men and their egos."

"So how come he's never brought you around?"

I glance down at Jake, focusing on the feel of his hair through my fingers. We were best friends, and have been for the past couple of years. We've always been closer than normal best friends, acting more like a couple than friends. We haven't crossed that line of being more than friends but I have definitely thought about it and I'm 99 percent sure that he has as well.

"We're a bit complicated."

Before she could say anything else, Jake lets out a groan, his hands moving to squeeze my hips, his forehead coming off my stomach so he could look at me, "Squish, I'm not doing so hot."

I nod, glancing over to Phoenix, "I think that's our cue. Phoenix thank you again for calling me and watching him for me."

She nods, "I hope you come out with us next time."

I smile at her before turning all my attention Jake. I move my hands so they were gripping his arms as he starts to stand. One of his hands holds his head, eyes squeezing shut, while his other arm wraps around my shoulders. I place a hand on his chest to make sure he's up right before securing my arm around his waist.

We slowly begin to make our way to the door. I could tell he was trying to keep most of his weight on his side but he was still heavy as I tried to help him through the crowd.

By some miracle, we made it outside. "Jake where's your car?"

Jake mumbles something inaudible before using the hand that was holding his head to point somewhere to the right. I squint as I looked through the cars before landing on his truck. We slowly start to make our way towards the truck, trying our best to avoid holes that would send us both flying to the ground.

I prop Jake up against the truck before reaching into his pockets to find his keys.

"Baby, if you wanted to feel me up all you had to do was ask."

I spare a quick glance up at him, taking notice of the drunken smirk that was plastered on his face. I pull the keys out and press the unlock button before opening the door for him. I nod my head towards the cabin, "Hop in."

Once  I made sure he was secure, I close the door and quickly make my way to the driver's side. I jam the key into the ignition before reaching down to grab the button that moves the seat up. The seat is slow to move which causes Jake to laugh, "You've got such short legs baby." I wave him off as I start to pull out of the parking lot.

                                                                        ***

I toss his keys into the bowl by the front door before making sure the door was locked before we made our way to the stairs. I watch from the other side of Jake as he tightly wrapped his hand around the banister, an image of him wrapping his hand around my throat flashing through my mind. I quickly shake the thought away before making sure I had a hold of him as we began our ascent up the stairs.

We slowly made our way to the top of the stairs and into my bedroom, heading towards the bathroom where I help him sit on the toilet. Once I made sure he wasn't going to fall off, I turn to my right and reach across the counter to grab his toothbrush. I push toothpaste onto it before turning back to face him, "Open."

Jake's teeth were probably in the top five of his favorite things about himself. He told me that if it wasn't his hair, muscles, or good looks that pulled the ladies in then it was his teeth. Jake literally made me promise that if he was ever too drunk or incapable of brushing his teeth then I had to do it for him. He couldn't afford to miss brushing his teeth.

It was no lie that Jake was adorable when he was drunk. He always had a little smile on his face, he was touchier than usual, and his eyes were usually half-lidded. His hair would always be a mess because he was constantly running his fingers through it. Him being drunk was a rare sight, he usually could drink anyone under the table.

I rinse off his toothbrush before telling him to stand so he could rinse his mouth out.

I begin to push his shirt up, standing on my tip toes to get up his arms before having him pull it the rest of the way, letting it fall to the floor. I glance at his pants before looking up at him, "Think you can manage those all by yourself?"

He smirks, about to let out a comment before noticing my look. He brings his fingers to the tops of his pants while I head out to grab him some water and Advil from downstairs.

When I returned he was already on his side of the bed, eyes closed and mouth parted,  he had pulled my side of the covers back for me.

I place the water and pills on the bedside table before reaching under the light and turning the nob, letting the darkness consume the room.

I never would have thought I would find myself on the beach at almost two in the morning, drunk off my ass with what seems to be the brightest pink face mask known to man with three girls I just met about two weeks ago but here I am.

I had "officially" met Phoenix, Penny, and Lina, Bob's wife, a few days after I had picked up a drunken Jake from The Hard Deck. I guess everyone kept bugging Jake so he finally introduced me to everyone and the girls and I clicked instantly. We had talked the night away as if we had known each other for years.

"Girl are you even awake?"

I slowly lift my head off my fist, nodding, giving Phoenix a tired smile, "Wide awake."

Phoenix lets out a loud laugh, shaking her head at me, "Hangman was right, you are a tired drunk."

I wave her off with my hand before resting my head back on my fist.

Phoenix had texted me, talking about how it was just going to be a girl's night, we'd do some drinking, eat junk food, and gossip. What she neglected to tell me is that we would be drinking like we were twenty-one. I have always been a tired drunk but now that I'm older I just can't hang like I used to. I am struggling to keep my eyes open and find myself beginning to pray that it's almost time for Jake to come get me.

Lina clears her throat before turning to face Penny, "So Pen, we've all been wondering, what's Mav like in the sheets?"

My tired eyes widen as I almost break my neck to look at Penny. Lina wasn't wrong, I know that in the short time I've known the ladies, and been around The Hard Deck, there have been many conversations about the pilot.

Penny's cheeks turn a bit pink before she offers a little smirk, "Let's just say he knows what he's doing."

Lina and Phoenix boo Penny at her lack of response while I laugh, "What about Bob, Lina?"

"I'll have you know while he may be quiet on the outside, my little Bobby is quite the freak in the sheets. We broke our bed the other night because Bob wanted to try this new position where-"

Phoenix cuts Lina off before she could go any further,  making gagging noises, "I cannot, emphasis on CANNOT, hear about my WSO doing kinky shit. I'll never be able to look at him the same."

Penny turns her body towards me, an eyebrow raised, "And what about Mr. Bagman?"

Both Lina and Phoenix nod their heads, leaning forward in their chairs a little, "Yeah, is he as good as he says he is?"

I shrug my shoulders, "I wouldn't know, we haven't slept together."

"Wait for a second, so you're telling us that you two look at each other like that but haven't slept together?"

Even in my drunken state I could tell how sad that sounded. There was no denying that we were hopelessly in love with each other. I've seen the way he looks at me and I'm sure he's seen the loveydovey gazes I shoot in his direction. I truly have no idea why we haven't crossed that line, god knows that I've thought about it.

"Don't get me wrong, there have been many times were we could have but it just never happened."

While the girls start plotting ways to get Jake and I into bed, I let my head lull back. I was struggling to stay awake, the longer I fought it the more the alcohol seemed to be winning. My eyes were on fire the more I held them open.

As my head rolls to the side, I squint my eyes as my gaze lands on the parking lot where I immediately spot Jake's truck.

Phoenix let's out a groan, shoulders slumping as she spot Rooster make his way over with Jake, "The fun police are here."

Jake nodded his head towards the other girls before setting his gaze on me, giving me one of lopsided grins, "Hi Squish."

"Hi Jakey."

I watch as he bends down to grab my discarded shoes, slinging my bag over his should before he turns to look at me, "Ready to go home?"

Slowly nodding, I use his shoulder to push myself up from the chair; my other hand shooting to his head as I found myself stumbling a little bit.

Jake chuckles as he stands up, letting one of his hands fall to the backs of my thighs with his other going to my back and slowly lifts me up, "Ladies, I think it's time that I get this one home. We will see y'all later."

I give everyone a lazy wave goodbye before letting my head fall to Jake’s shoulder, completely forgetting that I had a pink face mask on and it would completely stain his black shirt. I bring one of my hands up to his face, "I missed you Jakey."

"I missed you too Squish."

                                                                         **

My eyes shoot open as I feel a hand on my thigh, "It's just me Squish, come on, we're home."

I slowly step down from his truck, letting out a little groan as my headache begins to set in

We slowly begin to make our way inside, Jake having me make my way up the stairs while he locked everything up. I didn't even make it up halfway before Jake had caught up with me.

Just like I did with him, Jake helped me the rest of the way up the stairs and into my bathroom.

Jake places his hands on my hips, which causes what feels like fire to course through my whole body, "Let's get the pink goo off your face, yeah?"

I nod and watch as he shuffles around my bathroom, grabbing a washcloth before turning the tap on and letting the warm water run onto the cloth, "You know, the girls and I talked about you tonight?"

Jake raises an eyebrow, briefly glancing at me before turning his attention back to ringing out the washcloth, "Oh yeah?"

I close my eyes and tilt my head back as Jake brings the cloth up to start washing my face, "They asked if we had ever had sex and if you were as good as you say you are."

I peak one eye open as I feel Jake’s actions halt, his eyes were trained on me.

"While I said no, what I wanted to say was that no we hadn't but I want you to completely rearrange my insides."

Jakes jaw falls as he slowly blinks at me, "Just how drunk are you?"

I hold my index finger and thumb, closing the space between them, "A little, the nap in the car really did me good."

Jake clears his throat before going back to wiping my face, "You can't say things like that to me, Squish. Especially when you're drunk and might not mean it."

"Oh I mean it Jakey."

Once he was finished with my face, he throws the washcloth to the side before placing his palms flat on the counter on either side of me, "I'm not going to have sex with you when you're drunk."

Take a deep breath in, praying for some confidence, I throw my arms around his shoulders and let my forehead fall against his, "Well if you;re not going to rearrange my insides, then the least you could do is kiss me."

Jake lets his eyes fall to my lips for a brief second before he pushes forward, lips colliding with mine with such force that it almost had me crashing into the mirror. His hands slide up my sides before he locks them around my jaw while my legs wrap around his waist and my hands travel from his shoulders to grip his shirt in my fists.

After what seems like forever, he pulls away but keeps his forehead attached to mine,"Do you know how long I have wanted to do that for?"

I dig my heels into his butt, bringing him closer to me, "Probably as long as I have. Now, can we go cuddle?"

“Hey Phoenix, you good?” Jake called, hanging out the side of the truck.

“Yeah I’m fine,” Nat croaked back, moving back towards the truck but keeping a hand on her stomach in the hope that it would calm her slightly.

“Do you want me to drive the next part?” Jake was sat on the bonnet as she approached and she simply nodded at her, climbing into the back of the truck. The others had all gotten out to stretch their legs but you followed him round to the passengers side.

“Mind if I ride shotgun?” You’d asked, looking up at him through the window.

“Course not,” Jake lent over, throwing the door open for you. “You can be my wingman anytime.” You hopped in beside him, giving him a small smirk. He had his aviators on and was looking incredibly cool as he took the wheel, pushing the keys into the ignition and the engine hummed to life. With the windows down and Jake humming along to a random CD he put on everything seemed normal. For a moment you felt as though you could relax, like it was a normal summer's day and you and your boyfriend were driving to the beach but nothing about this situation was normal. You could feel your engagement ring hanging heavily on the chain around your neck and you turned your gaze from Jake, looking out of the passenger window as the world passed by absentmindedly. Why was this so difficult? Before all this Bradley had been your world, you’d spent all your free time with him and when you were apart you called and texted every night. Bradley had been your rock through so much so how was there a question? But then Jake came along and somehow you thought about Bradley less and less, Jake was exciting and adventurous and he made you feel things that Bradley never had. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You must have drifted off to sleep again because the next thing you remembered was the truck jolting forward and Jake cursing loudly. The engine was smoking and the truck was juddering along the road before finally coming to a screeching halt.

“FUCK!” Jake slammed his hands into the steering wheel before looking over at you apologetically.

“Jake, stop fucking around!” Coyote shouted from the back and Jake turned, glaring at the green canvas separating the compartments.

“I’m not, Dipshit, the fucking radiator’s gone.” Jake threw open his door, climbing out and popping the bonnet to survey the damage. The others all followed suit, climbing out of the truck and crowding behind Jake to get a better view.

“It’s shot,” Nat declared, “there’s no coming back from this, not without a proper mechanic and tools.”

Everyone groaned. “Where the hell is Bob when you need him,” Fanboy grumbled and instantly regretted it from the glare Nat sent his way.

“Bob’s at home with his family, which is exactly where I should be. So while you lot can stand around moaning I’m going to find my wife.” Phoenix grabbed her bag and marched off triumphantly.

“She has a point,” you said, looking up at Jake. “If there’s nothing we can do then there’s no point hanging around here in the open. We’ll be sitting ducks.”

Jake and the others agreed, even if a little reluctantly, grabbing their bags and following Nat down the road.

“We need to find cover as soon as we can,” Natasha informed you, as you hurried to catch up with her. “You ever seen one of those things?”

“What things?” You asked, watching as Natasha’s face wrinkled into a grin.

“Those alien things. The enemy. I don’t know what to call them.”

“The fuckers that ruined the world.” Mickey chimed in, causing you all to laugh.

“That sounds about right,” Jake laughed, his eyes reached yours from over your shoulder and you couldn’t help but stare back at him, he smirked at you causing the colour to flood your cheeks. You turned back around to Natasha. “No, I’ve never seen one. I’ve seen their ships and I’ve seen pictures of them but never one in real life.”

Nat gave you a reassuring smile, “well then you’re in for a treat. Don’t worry, we’ve got your back.”

“How long do you think it will take us to walk there?” You asked, turning to Jake. He tried to give you a reassuring smile but you could see it was pained, he didn’t have that normal smirk and his lips were set in a thin straight line.

“Well, we’ve got over 2,000 miles to go so I’m guessing about 30 days at a minimum and that’s without detours or stops.”

“Right,” you said, “well we better pick up the pace.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group continued in silence with only the odd comment pointing out different things you passed. You began to see signs for Phoenix, which everyone except Nat found funny. You reached the outskirts of Tucson by nightfall. The town was eerily quiet, with no street lamps to guide you. The only sound was the group of heavy combat boots thudding against the tarmac and the occasional whispers. There was an abandoned warehouse that didn’t look remotely inviting, with doors screeching noisily and broken windows. It was the last place you wanted to spend the night.

“Fanboy and Payback you take the east side, Phoenix and Coyote you take the North and we will take the south,” Jake said, turning to meet your gaze. “Shout if you see or hear anything. We’ll meet back here in 15.” Everyone nodded before forming groups of 2 and heading off into the darkness. You stuck to Jake’s side like glue, wanting to reach out and grab his hand for comfort but you resisted the urge. You watched as he walked, broad shoulders taunt and stiff, his walk slow and he looked from side to side. He was in full soldier mode, ready to protect you from the slightest thing. Although you were nervous you were still in the Navy, a point that you thought Jake had forgotten. A rustling from your left caused Jake to stop, raising his hand in a fist. You waited with bated breath as something moved in the shadows, lurking. It moved slowly, stumbling over its own legs that creaked and groaned, sounding like a chain being dragged across the concrete floor. Its breathing was heavy, muffled in the darkness as it snuffled about. Your heart stopped as it came into the dim light, its pale form seeming to shine in the moonlight. It had a small head with a beady black eye, sunken into the side of its head and a long nose with a large jaw lined with hundreds of sharp teeth. Its body was thin, each bone protruding sharply out of its flesh, looking almost painful.

Jake’s hand pressed firmly but slowly against your chest, pushing you back towards the door, without even looking at you. Your steps were in slow motion and you tried to control your ragged breathing. As you reached the door Jake hurried out behind you, closing the door as quietly as he could and letting out the breath he’d been holding.

“We have to warn the others…” you began, moving to follow where you’d last seen Nat disappearing into the dark but Jake grabbed your arm, strong fingers digging into your flesh.

“Not a chance in hell are you going back in there,” he said firmly.

“But Jake, they're our friends. I care about them, we have to.”

“And I care about you,” you could see the pain behind his eyes as he spoke, “I care about you a lot actually and I’m not letting you risk your life. My only goal here is to protect you and that’s what I’m going to do.” Jake had moved closer to you and his large form towered over you. You took a sharp breath, trying to fight the urge to reach up and kiss him. Jake leaned a little further forward. His soft pink lips were within touching distance when the sound of heavy boots appeared behind you. You both pulled away quickly, Jake clearing his throat and watching to see who was coming.

Natasha and Coyote came running around the corner, closely followed by Payback and Fanboy.

“RUN!” Nat shouted, her voice closely accompanied by what could only be described as an animalistic scream. Payback and Fanboy were firing at something behind them, the gunfire lighting up the creature in the darkness. Only this time there were two of them.

“Run!” Jake shouted, grabbing hold of your arm and dragging you after him and you ran. You watched as the others scattered, running into the dark. You completely lost your bearings, tripping over more than once but Jake’s firm hold of you stopped you from tumbling.

Jake pushed you forward before turning to fire a few rounds at the creatures.

“KEEP RUNNING!” Jake shouted and you did as he said, turning back to watch as the creatures approached him. You ran until your lungs were on fire and your muscles burned. You didn’t know where you were running to, you only knew you had to keep running. You’d lost sight of the others and you couldn’t hear their voices anymore, only the sound of gunfire and the creatures' screams filled the night.

When you finally stopped running you collapsed against a tree, gasping for the oxygen that your lungs desperately craved. Your vision was blurred and the only sound you heard was your heart hammering in your ears.

“Jake?” You called out breathlessness but there was no answer.

“Phoenix? Payback? Fanboy? Coyote? Anyone?” You scrambled to your feet, head spinning but you ignored it, desperately trying to gain your bearings.

“Hello?” You kept calling and calling, stumbling around in the darkness. This was the last thing you needed. You held on tightly to your gun, checking the safety was off and raising it slightly, ready to fire at the slightest movement. You crept forward, cautiously avoiding the tree roots as you followed the narrow path. You didn’t know if you were going further in the forest or not, but all you knew is you had to keep moving. A sudden crack beside you caused you to jump, swinging your gun around to face the noise. You went to call out but thought better of it. If it was one of those creatures you’d be dead before the words even left your mouth. You stepped forward cautiously into the gloom as the figure came closer, it wasn’t the creature, no this figure was human. The figure moved forward, shoulders slouched, into the clearing, the moonlight illuminating their face.

“Jake?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist: @wkndwlff @a-reader-and-a-writer @callsign-phoenix @imjess-themess @averyhotchner @basiccortez @mayhem24-7forever @sunlightmurdock @callsignmaverick5 @ssprayberrythings @smoothdogsgirl @xoxabs88xox @luckyladycreator2 @abaker74 @elenavampire21 @classyunknownlover @okiegirl24 @flashyourgreeneyesatme @airedale17 @shadowolf993 @flyboyjake @topguncultleader @callmemana @marchingicenotes7 @t-nd-rfoot @bradshawseresinbabe @amortentiadrops

“You’ll feel better once you’ve done it,” he kept telling you and he was right, once you made the first step everything would fall into place. But you still couldn’t do it.

You glared at the message you had written out while stirring your now cold pasta with your fork. You wrote a new message out to Bob during your lunch break, but once again hadn’t worked up the courage to send it. Natasha was sitting opposite you, she’d eaten her lunch and was now answering emails, occasionally glancing up at you when you kept sighing. When you sighed again she snapped her laptop screen shut, glaring at you in annoyance.

“Just send the damn message, please. It will put us all out of our misery.” She shuffled her chair round the table snatching the phone out of your hand and pressing send.

“NO!” You gasped, grabbing the phone back and staring in horror at the now blue message. It had been delivered. That was by far not the best message you had written, it wasn’t witty or friendly or anything like what you had written in the letters. It was simple.

“Hey, Bob. It’s Y/N. Jake gave Bradley your number, who gave it to me. I thought I’d reach out to say hi. Feel free to give me a call if you fancy a chat.” It wasn’t well written and you felt like you'd just spewed words out, but now there was nothing you could do. Natasha looked at you smugly like she’d won. “They owe me 20 bucks each,” she said plainly, shrugging her shoulders.

“What!?” You looked at her exasperated.

“We all had bets on how long it would take you to message Bob. Bradley thought you’d do it straight away and Jake thought after a week. Sophie bet a fortnight but I had more faith in you.” She smiled at you as you let out another sigh.

“But Nat, it wasn't the perfect message. I’ve been writing them and writing them but nothing seems to come out right.”

Natasha sighed, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder, “it doesn’t have to be perfect. It just needs to be true. Hopefully, he’ll give you a call by the end of the day.”——————————————————————————“Shit! Shit! Shit! Jake come quickly, I need your help,” Bob half gasped, half shouted from his room. Jake appeared in the doorway wrapped in a towel, water still dripping down his body.

“What? What is it?” Jake asked, hurrying towards him while trying to stop himself from tripping over his towel.

“She sent me a message. She texted me,” Bob's eyes were wide and full of worry. He gulped.

Jake raised his eyebrows, “I’m sorry, but you didn’t just make me run in here halfway through my shower because a girl messaged you?” He used his sarcastic voice and used quotation marks with his fingers as he spoke. Bob groaned, this was a big deal for him, it was the next stage in your relationship and it frightened him that someday soon you might meet again in person. Bob had only had a few girlfriends before, nothing serious and none of them had lasted more than a few months. With you this was different, it was special and he was desperate for it to be more. Jake must have seen it in Bob's eyes because he sat down carefully on the bed, not worrying about making the sheets damp.

“Bob, there’s nothing to be scared of. You really like this girl and you’ve known each other for months. You’ve told her some of your biggest secrets and now you're frightened to message her back? That's not the Bob I know.” He raised his eyebrows and looked at Bob sincerely. “The Bob I know fights for what he loves, so message her back. Just meet up for coffee or something.”

Bob nodded slowly, pulling the phone back out from where he had hidden it under his pillow and opening up the message. He wrote a simple reply asking if you’d like to meet up tomorrow. He stared down at the message nervously. His stomach churned and he could feel the bile rising in the back of his throat, his palms damp with sweat. With a deep breath, he pressed the blue arrow and the message zipped on to the screen. Delivered.

“Atta boy, Bob. I’m proud of you.” Jake sauntered out of the room, his towel hanging low enough that Bob diverted his eyes awkwardly, shaking his head. He’d done it.

Bob stretched, pushing himself off the edge of his bed. He pulled his pyjama top over his head, running his hand through his unkempt hair, his spectacles balancing on the bridge of his nose. Grabbing his towel off the radiator he moved towards the bathroom when his phone rang out. He turned slowly, hardly daring to pick it up off the table. The screen lit up, revealing a picture of him and Jake when they went to Disneyland for Jake’s birthday. Jake had set the picture as his lock screen when he fell asleep on the way home and Bob had never bothered to change it. There were two notifications, one reminding him that he had to pick up Mr Cain’s suit from the dry cleaner, Bob made a mental note to do that on his way to work. The second message was short and sweet, simply stating: “I’d love to. See you at 11 am at the bookshop,” with a little heart-shaped emoji next to it. Bob blushed fiercely, averting his eyes from the screen and trying to contain his smile. His heart swelled at the thought of finally meeting you. Bob could honestly say that he’d never felt this way for anyone before, and yet he felt like he’d known you his whole life.