#muse jake

new year’s / new year’s eve starters

“Oh, is that where it is? I was wondering why it was so quiet out here,” he joked softly with a smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. He motioned over to the railing he was leaning up against so hopefully she could join him. “Parties can be a bit much for me sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I like catching up with everybody but it’s good to come up for air every now and then, maybe see something different.” He stayed silent for a little moment allowing the thought to breathe before he turned over to her. “How about you?”

Jake coughed, but there was nothing stuck in his throat, it was just a distraction so that he had more time to think of his response. He’d hoped this wouldn’t come out again, especially to Elsa or anybody at work, but especially to Elsa. Before he’d followed Skye back to Stamford, a sex video had been passed around the whole town of him cheating with another girl, ending up online, ending up with him feeling mortified and even worse, broken up with by his girlfriend at the time - a woman the very opposite to Elsa.

He pushed his head into his hands, unable to look Elsa in the eye. He’d given a group of teenagers a warning a few days prior and it seemed they’d found the video of him online and started spreading it. “That’s me getting sacked then,” he mumbled under his breath. “It’s not even what it looks like. This thing it...it haunts me. It was edited, to hide my anger and...and the fact I was trying to push her away.” Jake had never opened up to Elsa about anything before, he’d always kept a professional attitude and had always made it seem like he was always in control. He dreaded what she’d think of him after this. And the worst bit was only Skye knew the truth, only Skye believed him. “I tried to push her off but she wouldn’t go and I didn’t want to hurt her. But...nobody ever believes the man so I just have to suck it up and deal with this shit.”

𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 /  𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒.

Haley’s been gone for a few weeks now, and Nathan’s been a wreck. Jake kept trying to give him advice, but it fell upon death ears. He even felt it was making things worse. After a situation with too much beer at a class room, he knew it was only going to keep getting worse. Normally he wouldn’t meddle, or try to fix things for someone else, but this was a tough situation. He knew how his buddy was feeling, and he understood Haley’s need to try this new venture out. It would be impossible to take a side, but he knew he had to give it a try. Nate had changed, and now he was spiraling. He wasn’t sure how much the could take like this, and that worried him. Calling Haley and explaining everything, he sighed from her reaction. “But you’re not. Haley, please just talk to him. I get why you needed to do this, but I’ve never seen him like this. It’s like he’s given up on everyone.”

Basketball practice took longer than expected, as they would soon be entering championships. Always being pressed on time, he showered quickly and got dressed, heading over to Karen’s Café. After his team mates knew he had a kid, they stopped giving him a hard time for not hanging out after practice. Doing so had been a bargain since he enjoyed his privacy but not having that weight on his shoulders felt good. Getting to Karen’s, he opened the door quietly, poking his head in. “Hayley?” he opened the door further smiling over at her, dropping his bag by one of the tables as he walked over to them. “Thanks for watching her. Practice ran a bit late.” He looked down at Jenny and touched her small hand with two fingers. “She give you any trouble?”

@caudexiism​, Jake for Nathan

The custody battle was over, and Jake could finally return to Tree Hill. While visiting his parents he found out through the grapevine Nate was having a kid. It was a tough break, but it didn’t mean too much had to change if he didn’t want it to. Being that it was the summer before everyone started their first year in college, he met up with him at The River Court. Arriving before him, he started to practice shooting, as he moved around the court. He saw Nathan walking up, and he held back the ball. “Hey. Good to see you, man.”

Crossovers Welcome

Jake, where does your soul feel at home? where you are encouraged.

you're certain, you're convinced. you've built yourself up from the ground. it's not that you want to be encouraged to reach a distant goal or take some humble wobbly steps forward. you want to be encouraged in the decisions that you made for yourself. you want them to recognize that you know what's good for you. you don't need essays of advice or hugs the last for hours, you're satisfied with a couple of words and a look of recognition in their eyes, a friendly push in your back, a chuckle. you simply want to be recognized for your hard work. because it has been hard, hasn't it? it's okay to admit that, i know you know but i want to remind you regardless. because damn, it hasn't been easy whatsoever. yet there's a fire inside of you, a drive to keep going forward. do you know where you're going half of the time? are you endlessly chasing that moment of clarity you feel in the Exact second you make a decision, before doubt sets in? i say keep going, people like you are those who want to try, regardless of anything, to at least try. bruised knees, a twisted ankle but still, your flame, your hope. i think we might need you more than ever now. you take what's small, what's painful to touch and you embrace it, translate it. you blow your fire into it and watch it rise from the ashes and fly through the sky like fireworks. to know what you know, to feel what you feel, you care about the journey. you're an advocate for kindness and the power of rebirth. you find meaning in finding meaning and you hope people find meaning in you. that they do, without a shadow of a doubt, they do.

Tagged by: @adeathsentence

Over the years Jake played with a few of his buddies in a band. Every now and then they would do gigs, but it was never a full time thing. He had Jenny to look after, and he needed that security. He preferred to make his living in a more stable way. He was used to it and his priorities were clear: make her life the best it could be. Sharing custody with Nikki wasn’t easy of course, but it evolved after a while. They made peace, and it was in Jenny’s best interest to have her mother in her life. With Jenny spending the next few months with her, he found no excuse not to say yes to a 2 month low key tour with the guys. 

He kept up a little with this friends from high school, but not enough to say they were close. In one of the reunion groups on Facebook he saw a post about Brooke’s launch of a new fashion line in New York. He was already in the area, and the address was posted, so he decided to see if he could pass by after one of their performances. The venue asked for them to stay longer, so by the time he appeared it looked like most of the people were gone, except for a short haired girl sitting at a high-top table with a untouched glass of red wine looking over the view of the skyline. “Don’t tell me I missed the party. I was told this was for Brooke Davis, and no Brooke Davis party ends early.”