#jvkexreader

I still couldn't believe Jake was here.

I followed him as he silently led me outside, his shoulders looked tense under his white button-up shirt.

God, he looked better than I remember.

The spring air was cold tonight, I was unprepared for it to be this cold. We sat down on a bench that overlooked the soccer field, I looked back to the ballroom behind us where the honors party was being held, silhouettes danced across the windows, I could hear their laughter from here.

Jake cleared his throat and I turned to face him, not realizing he had been staring at me. We looked into each others eyes for a moment, before my cowardly self turned away and I started to fidget with the hem of my dress.

We remained silent for a few moments more.

"I-I really missed you." Jake finally said, his voice a little unsteady.

I sat still, scared any movement would scare him away.

"I don't know if you've listened to my music at all, or if you even care, but-" he took a deep breath.

There was a rustling sound and suddenly a crisp piece of paper was slipped under my resting palm.

I looked at him, and then down at the note.

I was scared what it would say.

But I slowly picked it up and meticulously unfolded it.

After a moment of trying to discern his messy handwriting, I realized it was song lyrics.

"Last week, been a whole year but it feel like last week

When I was your boy falling hard in the backstreets

But you were there to catch me"

"My names Jake by the way, I'm a freshman here." It felt like yesterday we met,

"Then I grew up and the sun got cloudy

Used to fill the sun on my skin

Yeah, it's sappy

That's the last time I was truly happy

So I'm asking

If I fell down right now, would you catch me?

If I fell down right now, would you?

If I fell down right now, would you catch me?

"I'm really going to miss you. I can't imagine how this summer is going to be without you." We became inseparable,

"Catch me, baby, would you catch me?

I've been hurt before

Are you sure that you're still gonna catch me?"

"Thank you for always being here for me." We fell for each other, both lying to ourselves,

"Y/N, more than anything. I need you in my life. You. Please understand that." We didn't allow ourselves to realize it before it was too late.

"If I fell down right now, would you catch me? Catch me, baby, would you catch me?"

"I'll always be with you, I promise, Y/N. I promise."

We fell apart.

As I finished reading the lyrics tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Y/N." He gently breathed out my name.

My shoulders started to violently shake as I started to sob into my hands.

He quickly came to my aid and wrapped arms around me.

He buried his head into my neck.

I craved him, I needed his touch.

I missed him, I wanted him.

I hated him, I wanted him.

No, no, shut up, don't think that!

This will never work.

It can't.

Not now, not ever.

This will only lead to heartbreak.

I fought to loosen his grip, I couldn't, shouldn't surrender to his touch.

"Jake, Jake please let me go." I said in between shaky breaths. He righted his grip,

"Please let me go!"

"No, Y/N," he suddenly pulled away, but he still firmly held me in his grip.

Staring deep into my eyes he said,

"I let you go once, and it was the biggest mistake of my life."

I tried to interject, but he interrupted me.

"I can make hit after hit, become famous, do what I love, have my name in lights, sell out every show, but it will never be enough."

My lips trembled as he spoke the words I've wanted to hear for years.

"Not until I have you."

His gaze shifted from my eyes down to my lips, as his thumb caressed my chin.

"I love you Y/N. I always have."

The short distance slowly closed between us as our lips met.

I didn't feel those promised butterflies, no it was a violent storm convulsed through my body as his one of his hands cradled my head to deepen the kiss and the other one slipped to the small of my back to bring us closer together.

I was no longer cold, the warmth I felt from him could keep me warm for a thousand winters.

Regrettably, we pulled apart, still staring into each others eyes intensely.

"Y/N, I want you more than anything. If you want to try, I want to show you everyday how much I love you."

He took my hand and pressed a gentle kiss against it.

"I don't ever want to spend another moment apart from you."

A smile grew across my lips as I felt like exploding from happiness, if it was possible to die from such joy, undoubtedly my funeral would have been planned by now.

"Jake, I love you too. I want us to try."

He smiled, something so contagious as he gave me three small kisses.

"I'm never going to grow tired of doing that"

We laughed.

This felt right.

Everything finally made sense.

Even after all these years, this was so unexpected, and yet all that love I felt for him that whole time, he felt for me too.

It was crazy, but it was perfect.

"So, I guess we're officially? You're my girlfriend?" Jake nervously chuckled, I squeezed his hand

"And I think that makes you my boyfriend." I teased him and kissed him once more.

"I love you, Y/N."

"I love you too Jake."

—

The years passed us by quickly, I eventually found a job in the same city he lived in, as he became ever popular, writing hit after hit and eventually going on tour, not once, not twice, but four times. I became the (only) official groupie by the second tour.

We worked hard on our relationship, not everyday was perfect.

Some days we wanted to give up and go our separate ways.

But it was those kinds of days that made the good days even better.

It was on a trip to Paris when the unexpected happened.

I was leaning over the wrought-iron railing, over looking the city of lights.

Our view was astonishing, the brightness of Paris glittered against the dark hazy night sky made me tear up a little.

The wind played with my hair, as I smiled over Paris.

It was at that moment when something caught the sideline of my vision.

It was Jake, in his large dark hoodie and sweatpants, he was on a bent knee with a small box in his hand.

It took me a full moment to process what was happening.

"Y/N, would you make me the happiest man alive, and become my beautiful wife?"

I pressed a hand across my mouth as I found myself utterly speechless.

Tears fell from my eyes as I excitedly nodded.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he smiled wildly.

He slipped the simple, yet stunning ring onto my hand.

He rose up to his full height, grabbing the bottom of my chin he led me to his lips.

This is everything I ever wanted.

I couldn't ever guessed this is how my life would have turned out like,

But here I was, with the love of my life,

 I needed nothing else.

It's true in life, not every ending is a happily ever after,

"I love you."

but every moment is worth it.

I sat in my dorm, all the lights turned off, my roommate was gone for the weekend, giving me the space, I needed. For the past few days, I had felt like I was in mourning.

I missed Jake.

No texts, no phone calls, nothing.

I was scared I ruined our friendship.

I was so, so selfish, so stupid.

It was too soon, he was still upset about his breakup, and I decided to kiss him.

Kiss him!

Why, why, why?

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I quickly wiped them away with my hoodie sleeve.

I was frustrated, heartbroken and lost.

I wondered how long it would be like this.

Which one of us would break first and reach out?

I didn't know how long I wanted to wait to find out.

—

I went on with my life- the best I could anyways.

I went to my classes and to work, studied late in the library.

All by myself.

I never felt more alone. It was only the absence of Jake's presence in my life is when I realized how lonely I was. All my friends and family lived states away, and I wasn't super close with anyone else here.

I sat by the lake- our lake, and watched the remaining geese. Most had decided to go to a warmer south, these were the stragglers. It was cold now, almost December, the air had a bitter sting, I could feel my nose chill, and I prayed I wouldn't catch a cold. Suddenly I felt and ache in my chest. It felt like a knife, it twisted mercilessly. I missed him so much.

So damn much.

I wished he wasn't all I thought about.

All I wanted.

I impulsively grabbed my phone.

He had been posting cover videos on instagram, and they always cheered me up.

I refreshed my page, and sure enough he posted a new video...

—

The semester came and went, the holidays a blur. I went home to see my family.

My neighbor Iza, was home for the holidays, she was my childhood best friend and we decided got coffee to catch up. When she asked me about the "cute boy" who was always in my snapchat stories I reluctantly told her everything that took place over the last year.

She was the only person who asked me about Jake, the only one I really told anyways.

My parents asked if I made any friends, I lied. I told them me and my roommate were super close, when in all reality, I only saw her in passing.

We celebrated the New Year, Iza invited me to some party, some of our old mutual friends were there. As we stood counting down to the new year, I was alone. Iza brought her boyfriend and they stood out on the balcony, waiting for midnight.

"3, 2, 1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The room yelled and couples kissed as music blared and fireworks exploded outside. I watched, gave a small smile to no one and sipped my drink.

I hated how alone I was. Hated how sad I still was.

I missed him.

On the way home Iza and her boyfriend laughed and talked in the front seat, I sat in the backseat with my legs pulled up to my chin.

Suddenly my phone vibrated in my pocket.

jake

happy new year, hope ur ok

I squeezed my eyes and threw my phone across the seat.

I never responded.

—

When the spring semester started, I felt myself starting to heal and move on a little. After visiting home for the holidays and me and Iza reconnected, we made a point on staying in contact. I've been less lonely with her constant check ins and semi-constant FaceTime calls. My grades even started to look a little better. Finally for the first time in a long time, I started to feel okay again.

I realized that I didn't need Jake in my life to make me happy.

But god, he always did...

But just when I felt secure and sure about myself, a 15 second video made my world crash down on me.

Iza sent me a cute makeup video and I noticed the catchy song attached to it, I liked it so I decided to search it up.

It was called "Upside Down" by JVKE, and sure as hell. It was Jake.

"Up down, right down

Looking for your love, right now

La, la, la, la

Up down, all around

Turn my stomach upside down

La, la, la, la"

I went to his instagram (I recently unfollowed him...) and realized he was started to get quite a following. Turned out he got signed by a label and was queued to release more music soon. I heard the song everywhere and marveled how he could just in the last few months make a trending song.

—

As time slowly crept on, I wondered how he was, now with a popular song and an official artist name that people knew.

I always wanted to reach out, my hands ached for the motion of texting him. But it never happened.

I watched as he released more and more music, each song becoming more popular than the last.

I wasn't the same girl who cried over the mere thought of him, but I really missed him, and wondered if I severed our friendship forever. After all he did try to reach out and I did nothing.

It was already too late, I knew I'd just be a memory to him.

Someone in the past.

I was probably no better than Faith in his eyes.

—

This year I graduated college.

It was a day that I always dreamt I'd spend with Jake, us standing on stage, both proudly clenching our degrees, family and friends cheering us on. We always talked about it. Always talked about today.

We never talked about what would happen to us after we graduated.

But we never even made it that far, so what does it matter now?

As the Dean called me up on stage, I felt my nerves take over as each step seemed impossible. I held my breath as my shoes clicked against the smooth auditorium floor. I griped the rail as I got walked into stage. I graduated with honors, which meant I was to give a small speech. I hated speeches.

"Fellow class men, we all know how hard it was to get here. All the hours we spent studying, our eyes unfocused and teary. All the times we couldn't sleep because we were worried about our grades, and how no matter how hard we tried, we'd never be good enough." I paused as I scanned the room, vaguely recognizing a few graduates in the front row.

"We can now proudly say, we did it. It was all worth it."

Cheers echoed throughout the room as I accepted my degree. I was happy they were content enough with the stupidity small speech. But truthfully, everyone hates sitting through those kinds of things.

—

I found my family and Iza and we together all walked down to the reception dinner. I wasn't all too excited to go but, my family insisted (Honestly, they probably just wanted free food).

We stood in a circle as my parents talked with a faculty member, apparently my dad and him attended the same college. Apparently I was the only one who didn't really care about the conversation, because I paid little attention to them, instead I swirled my drink around in my glass.

Iza must have noticed my disconnect, because she suddenly tugged on my arm,

"Hey, I'm gonna go back and get some of those mini brochette things. Wanna come with?"

I laughed and agreed, thankful for some distraction from my thoughts. We locked arms as we made our way to the refreshment table.

"So what now Y/N?" she asked, I looked at her puzzled as I grabbed a small chocolate truffle and popped it in my mouth

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged, using the mini tongs to pick up a zillion pieces of brochette to fill her flimsy paper plate.

"Like what's the plan now?"

I bit my lip, annoyed that my own concern was being vocalized by someone else.

"Umm, I'm going to be looking for a job." That was the strongest answer I could give at the moment.

Iza ramped on, but by now I couldn't hear her.

I saw a ghost.

He stood against a wall, his dark eyes trained on me.

A small smirk grew on his lips and spread up his face.

In that moment I didn't even think, I just stood there as he approached me.

Iza was confused at first, but then she saw the look of recondition on my face and slowly backed up.

"Jake" I breathed his name, it was both foreign and familiar on my lips.

I thought I was imagining things, until he wrapped his arms around me.

I suddenly started to shake as emotion washed over me.

He held me, smoothing my hair. His familiar warm scent filled my senses as I buried my face in his shirt. I couldn't believe it.

He was real.

He was real.

But just as quickly as the moment of perfection came, it quickly ended.

"Y/N" he whisper next to my ear, his voice sent chills down my spine.

I could only manage a mumbled

"Mm?"

He pulled me closer

"We need to talk."

A mixture of shock and sadness washed over me, how could they break up? They seemed like the perfect couple. I always thought I would never have a chance because of how strong their relationship was. Jake started to stare of into the distance. I couldn't bare his anguish any longer, I stood up, rounded the table, and wrapped my arms around him. His head was level with my stomach, and he leaned against it. Neither of us said anything for what felt like an eternity. I unconsciously started to stoke his curly hair, and I quickly stopped what I realized what kind of impression my gestures could give. But as I stopped, he wrapped his arms around my midsection, and he started to cry. I was surprised, but I also welcomed our close proximity, and was strangely happy that he felt comfortable with me to show his vulnerability. I tried not to focus on our touch, but instead on soothing him.

I don't know how long we stayed in like that, an eternity seemed to pass by the time I cleared my throat and suggested that maybe we should find somewhere more private. I had previously noticed some of the cafe's patrons and baristas looking over at us curiously and I thought he would need the privacy to let his emotions out.

I drove us over to my dorm, texting my roommate ahead of time, but she was out with friends and wouldn't be back till later. I led Jake by the hand through the labyrinth that was the dormitory hall, until we reached my flowery decorated door.

He had been uncharacteristically quiet, trapped inside his head. Once inside my dorm, I asked if he wanted anything to eat or drink, but he didn't reply. So, I opted to give him a bottle of water.

I sat down opposite of him on my small futon couch,

"Do you want to talk about it?" my voice was almost a whisper. Jake looked up and met my eyes, they held onto for a moment too long.

"She cheated on me." his eyes dropped to his hands in his lap. Horror washed over my face, and I suddenly felt drained.

Faith never took me for the cheating type, every time I saw them together, she clung to his arm, played with his hair, held his hand.

"When did it happen?" I dared to ask.

He let out a dark chuckle,

"It didn't happen just once, a few times actually, with her ex, Evan."

Anger suddenly boiled in my blood. He didn't deserve this...

Jake continued,

"We went to a carnival, and he was there. I hadn't seen Evan, since high school, we used to be friends actually." he paused taking a breath. I could tell having to tell me about it made his wounds bleed more.

"He stuck around for a while; we played a few games. I was fine at first but then,

his breath hitches

"I saw the way she looked at him."

Tears slipped down his cheeks again, he was breaking down again. I hated seeing him like this, he didn't deserve it, and more importantly Faith didn't deserve him. I scooted closer to him, wrapped my arms around him, and he cried into my shoulder.

He stayed with me for a few hours, eventually falling asleep on the futon, I had a paper due, and he said that I should work, he just didn't want to be alone.

When my roommate got back Jake excused himself, said that there was something he needed to do.

Over the next week, I didn't see much of Jake, but one night around 2pm, I got a text,

jake 💛

audio file

Still half asleep, I fumbled around in the dark for my earbuds, the cords twisted together, and it took me a hot minute to untangle them.

As I listened, I realized it was a song,

it wasn't the first song he ever showed me, he had written quite a few, recorded them, I told him he needed to post them online, but he said he wasn't ready.

"Roses red and

Violets lookin' blue like me

So poetic

So pathetic

To think I ever thought you'd be

Sympathetic

I know you don't care at all

Please don't ask how I been

I ain't heard from you in months

So don't call me a friend when you're not-

um yeah, thats what I got-"

as the audio cut off, I could hear the heart break in his voice.

I wiped a tear I didn't even know was there, I didn't want him to feel this pain.

me

Jake, that was beautiful, you really should pursue music

jake 💛

thanks y/n, it's been really therapeutic actually, I've been writing a lot.

As I was typing a response he texted again,

jake 💛

there's something I want to talk to you about.

My heart suddenly started to beat rapidly, before I could respond again

jake 💛

goodnight <3

I fell back in my bed, shutting off my phone. I should've known he'd leave me with such a cryptic message. He is always one who wants to talk in person about serious matters.

I guess I would have to wait.

The within a few days we met up after our classes, we decided to go to our lake, soon it would be too cold to sit and enjoy it.

I was really nervous about what he wanted to talk about, whether it was my unhealthy habit of overthinking or my curiosity if he reciprocated my feelings...

which I seriously doubted.

"Hey, so how are you?" I asked awkwardly, up until this point we had just sat on the dying grass watching geese glide over the surface of the glassy lake.

Jake turned to me, giving me a faint smile

"You know, trying as hard to be okay. It helped since I took a shower and shaved." he looked at the lake again,

"I also may or may have not eaten three boxes of fruit loops in the last two days." I laughed, his comment caught me off guard, he smiled too.

"I'm glad that your humor and your appetite have started to come back,"

I started to fidget with my hoodie strings before finishing

"I was really worried about you."

suddenly I felt his larger hand slip over on top of mine which rested against the grass, I looked up to meet his warm gaze.

"Thank you for always being here for me." His tone was both kind and serious, I could tell his genuine sincerity by looking into his eyes alone, but his words only further cemented it.

I felt butterflies in my stomach as I searched his eyes.

Something unsaid passed between us, did he feel it too?

Suddenly, he pulled away and cleared his throat

"So, about what I wanted to talk to you about."

I darted my gaze towards the lake, hoping he didn't notice the blush creeping up my face

"Right, that" I tried to mask my disappointment with a laugh.

"I'm considering moving back home." he quickly said, and it took me a moment to process his bombshell.

"I was thinking about what you said, maybe I should pursue music, I-I mean, it's always been something I've been passionate about. You know how many songs I've written." by now seemed to be appealing to me.

"I think it's time for me to make a change in my life." he finally spoke after a moment of hesitant silence.

"After everything that happened with Faith, I realized that I wasn't really content with how my life was turning out."

He inched closer to me, trying to get my attention again.

"I think I liked the idea of teaching music, but what if wasn't just confined to that, to perform and create. It's a dream come true."

"I want to do something I love. You understand that right?"

My bottom lip started to quiver as I realized all the implications.

"I want to help people, to make a difference with music. Let them know they're not alone."

My shoulder slumped, he was so genuinely honest, I knew he had already made up his mind.

"You're going to leave?" those were the only words I could put together and vocalize.

"Yeah, probably like next month..." he confessed making my suspicions right.

I shook my head, taking everything in.

"Y/N, please say something." Jake pleaded, I know he wanted my approval, but I was too selfish to give it to him.

I wanted him in my life, I wanted him here with me.

I didn't want to lose him; he was my best friend.

"Jake-" I took a breath,

"More than anything I want you to be happy in life. So, if this is what makes you happy you should do it." my own words cut me like a knife.

I gathered up enough courage to look at him, I found a fierce look in his face, joy, relief, and adoration all seemed to compete for his emotion.

"Thank you-" he started but I cut him off,

"Wait, I need you to be happy, but I know if I'm in your life right now, I know you'll not get there. Not with me here at school and you at home, hours separating us." I started to pull away. "Y/N what are you talking about?"

"I think I need to go." I stood up quickly and started to rush away.

But he was quick, he was on my tail, and he caught my wrist and spun me to face him.

Only inches separated us.

"Y/N, more than anything. I need you in my life. You. Please understand that." tears started to line his eyes, he wasn't asking, he was begging.

I needed him just as much as he needed me.

He was my lifeline.

I collapsed into his arms crying, he gently cradled my head as he stroked my hair.

"I'll always be with you, I promise, Y/N. I promise."

The next thing I knew I was helping Jake pack his car with cardboard boxes. This would be the last time we did anything like it, but we pretended not to notice as we joked and laughed with each other. Jake was officially dropped out of college, and today was the day he was supposed to leave. Apparently not everyone in his family was very supportive of his dreams. He didn't care, he wanted to chase that dream. With the last box stacked Tetris style in his car, we stood facing each other, knowing that this moment would come.

"Well, this is it." his voice a soft whisper as he took both my hands.

I stared up into his eyes and wondered how long we'd be apart.

"My mom is actually pretty excited, she said that she likes the idea of music as my career, apparently, I was made to be something 'extraordinary'," we both laugh, I loved his mom.

A soberness fell over us and we quickly embraced.

"I'll wait for you." I said quietly, my face pressed against his chest.

He pulled away, opening his mouth to say something, but that's when I did something I never expected.

I kissed my best friend.

It was different from what I always dreamed, his lips were cold, slightly chapped, but there was that electric feeling.

I didn't expect for him to lean into the kiss.

Scared I pulled away, confusion and shock plastered over his face.

We both realized what we started.

"I-I have to go." I turned and walked off. He didn't follow me this time. But when I looked back, he was still watching me.

I knew I just screwed everything up.

The first time I met him, the world finally made sense.

I think the French have it right when they call it coupe de foudre, which means love at first sight, or lightning strike. Depending how romantic you are. I like to think the latter.

Although I never considered myself a romantic, I was down to earth, grounded, I didn't really believe in love.

But that was before I ever spent a moment with him.

It was the springtime, and the air was fragranced with blossoms and earthy aromas. With only months left in the semester my mind had been other places than paying much attention to the cute boy outstretched and relaxed, humming to himself under a giant sweet almond tree.

But little did I know my tennis shoes were untied and they waited for the perfect moment to embarrass me.

Just as I passed the tree and the boy, I slipped and fell flat on my face.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" An unfamiliar voice called, and the next thing knew two strong arms heaved me up to standing.

I met a pair of dark whiskey-colored eyes.

"You took quite the fall there. Are you bleeding?" Concerned laced through his gentle voice, and it took me a moment to process his words.

A blush spread across my face, the embarrassment setting me aflame

"Yeah, I'm okay, I just- I tripped."

He laughs, it was a soft, musical thing

"Well, I saw that, are you feeling, okay?"

I'm fumbling for words, they taunt me, like a cat in a tree, just out of reach. The tall boy is still looking down at me expectantly, his light brown curls tumble down his forehead, and frame his angular face. He was really... cute.

The boy must've realized my predicament,

"My names Jake by the way, I'm a freshman here."

Finally, my mind seemed to work, and I was able to speak,

"Sorry, I uh, my mind went for a hike or something..." I mumbled already regretting my words.

I took a breath and tried again.

"My name is Y/N. I'm a freshman too."

A contagious smile slowly spread across his face, it reached his eyes, which became little crescents.

"Nice, what do you do for fun?" He leans back on his heels, stuffing his hands into his corduroy slacks. He was asking a follow up question... this was no longer just something for formality.

He was... interested.

In me.

In me?

That small accident turned into a stroll by the lake, and a stop at a local cafe, apparently it had been a place we both frequented, although admittedly, I never saw him there.

We talked about our hobbies; I wasn't surprised to find out he was an aspiring musician, one glance at his long veiny fingers and I could tell he was a skilled player. We talked about our childhoods, favorite movies, foods we liked and didn't like. Crazy extended family members, friends we missed, and our hometowns. He felt like an old friend, someone I'd known for my whole life.

The sun was setting when we finally parted ways, we exchanged numbers and we agreed to hang out again.

—

As the months slowly faded into one another, and finals came and went, I lost track of how many times we had hung out together, our endless strings of text messages, goofy pictures and memes that we sent back and forth. Naturally, I saved them all, he was all too precious for his own good.

It was one of the last days of finals, and we decided to sit out by the bank of lake, it had long become our favorite spot on campus. We laid on our backs and pointed out funny clouds, as the gentle wind pulled at our hair, we laughed when my hair got caught in my mouth, it was always fun whenever we were together, no matter what we did.

I smiled at the closeness of our bodies. We were so close, our hands rested next to each other.

I didn't want to admit it at that time, I was all too stubborn, but I had started to fall in love with him.

He had done something to me, he broke me out of my indestructible shell, and I didn't care.

Our light conversation took a sharp turn when Jake brought up his girlfriend.

"So, I'm planning on taking Faith to Coney Island when I get back."

My smile quickly disappeared. It wasn't that he talked about his girlfriend or even that he had one, I had met Faith before, she seemed so nice, it was the reminder that I would lose him this summer. Our communication would be limited to text and facetime. Not only that, but I would have to compete with Faith, his family, and old friends for his attention, and I don't think even he could (or should) stretch himself that thin.

"What's wrong?" he noticed the shift in my mood, he propped himself up on his arm and studied my face. It took everything in me not to let a few tears slip by, instead I quietly said

"I'm really going to miss you."

he leaned in closer, taking the dandelion that he had previously been swirling between his fingers and tucked it behind my ear.

"I'm going to miss you too."

I'm not sure how long we just laid there.

We let the silence cradle our last remaining moments together.

The next thing I knew I was stacking cracked plastic containers into my car, packing up for the summer.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I fished it out quickly

jake 💛

one last hug?

I responded with him to meet me on the green in ten minutes.

And that's where I stood as I watched as his familiar lanky body approached me from the distance.

His hands were stuffed in his hoodie pocket, his hair and face partially covered by the red hood.

"Y/N."

He said my name, and it meant a million things.

We hugged for an eternity, I had to stand on my toes just to wrap my arms around his shoulders.

I breathed in his vanilla musk scent before I pulled away. His dark eyes searched my eyes, and unsaid words lingered between us.

I knew if we could say anything without any complications; we would still say two different things. I don't know what he would say. But I would say,

I love you.

"I'm really going to miss you. I can't imagine how this summer is going to be without you." He finally spoke.

"I'll still be around, just text me and I'll always be there."

As we exchanged our final words, so many emotions coursed through me that I felt that I would have a cardiac arrest.

As I made my way home the tears finally broke lose, and I couldn't make them stop.

—

It was around 1am when I laid in my bed staring at my phone with its dying percentage, waiting, waiting to hear anything from him.

He had only responded to her text asking if he made it home safely, but he hadn't even read the numerous texts and memes she had sent him in the hours since.

—

The summer had started to slip by, as I worked each day, too busy not to notice the absence of Jake in my life. 

We had a frail line of communication for a few days, and then it slowly severed itself.

My family had noticed that I had grown colder, when they asked me what was wrong, I could only say 

"I don't know."

because I didn't.

—

When August finally rolled around, I was anxious to start school again. 

I had a little bit of experience from last year, so getting back into routine wouldn't be terribly difficult.

It wasn't school I was worried about, 

it was Jake.

It took me weeks to gather up enough courage to text him,

me

hi.

His almost immediate response was shocking, it was as if he waited for me to reach out.

jake 💛

we should talk.

We decided to meet up at our favorite cafe. It was an uncharacteristically rainy and gloomy for mid-August, but it worked.

I found him slumped at a corner table near the back, he looked exhausted, and no signs of laughter or glimmer could be found on him.

"Jake?" I called to him as he slowly looked up from his phone. His eyes seemed hollow as darkness encircled them.

I quickly slide in the chair opposite to him and asked what was wrong.

He gave me a moment of silence before he decided to speak

"Faith and I broke up."

opening

~~~

hey lovelies,

this is THE first ever jvke x reader fanfic!

I first published it on wattpad back in December 2022, and on AO3 in January, and now it’s here!

if you want to read it on one of those platforms instead, you’re more than welcome to, has the same title and my username is the same everywhere!

I also have a jvke x reader one shot series called

“because I’m in love with you” and that will be posted here soon :)

enjoyyyyyyyyyyy

k.h.