#protective!jake

Series description: After your five year relationship comes to a blazing end, you seek comfort in your friend group as you try to pick up the pieces of your shattered life. When the night of your breakup with your psycho ex takes a wild and unexpected turn, you begin to question the nature of your relationship with your lifelong best friend, Jake. As the boundaries of your friendship begin to blur, Jake struggles with an internal battle to tell you a secret he’s been keeping for years as you begin a journey of self growth to always be your own first-choice.

Warnings: talk of toxic ex, cursing, and physical fighting so read with caution

Taglist: @theweightofstardust @maverick-rose @weightofdreams-gvf @doodle417 @milkgemini

A/n: Here’s chapter 3 finally! I know updates have been sporadic, but I’m doing a lot of revising and editing as I go. I don’t have a specific update schedule in place, but let me know if you want to be added to the tag list for chapter 4! Im currently writing off my phone which is a pain and I can’t get the read more link to work correctly, so if anyone has any tips on how to do that from the mobile app I would be so appreciative!!

Chapter Three: The Morning After

You probably wouldn’t have woken up, but you were burning up. A thin layer of sweat stuck to your hairline line and the back of your neck as you tried to wiggle away from whatever was making you so hot. When that didn’t work, you tried, and ultimately failed, to kick the blankets off of your body.

With a huff, you finally cracked your eyes open to try and untangle yourself, but you turned bright red when the sleepiness cleared from your brain and you realized you were laying on Jake’s chest. He had one hand in your hair loosely and the other wrapped tightly around your waist with your legs tangled together.

You had no idea how the two of you had ended up sleeping so…closely. You had shared many beds (and even a few couches) together over the years and you occasionally ended up spooning if you were really cold, but typically, you woke up facing opposite directions.

You wiggled slightly as you tried to get out of bed when your bladder started screaming causing Jake to stir. A long sigh left his nose as he pulled you closer.

“You okay,” Jake asked with a voice full of sleep and concern. His lips lightly brushed over your forehead as he gave your body a gentle squeeze. You tried to ignore the fact that your face had turned an embarrassing shade of scarlet at the gesture.

“Yeah, but I’m about to piss the bed if you don’t let me up.” You gave him a gentle shove as you reluctantly tried to detach yourself from his side.

His brown eyes shot open as his body stiffened and was suddenly very awake. You looked up at him through your eyelashes and openly laughed at his bedhead. Jake’s brow furrowed in confusion as he gently pulled away from you and sat up to stretch.

“Uh…sorry, Y/n. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable or anything,” Jake said with a yawn. When the golden rays hit his face, you were able to make out bruises that littered his forearms and a slowly forming black eye was starting to appear. You gave him a soft smile as guilt wracked your body. Shaking it off quickly and opting not to think about it, you stretched as you continued on your journey to the bathroom.

You were already halfway out the door as you waved his concerns away before running to the bathroom across the hall. Despite drinking into the wee hours of the morning, the sunshine sparkling through the bathroom window told you that it was still relatively early. More than likely before noon.

There was a bloody washcloth haphazardly flung into the bathtub that Jake must’ve used to clean his knuckles and face after the fist fight. The dark red was a harsh contrast to the white rag. Your stomach did a small flip as you shook off the creeping feeling of anxiety that trickled up your spine.

If you don’t think about it, then did it even happen?

You quickly finished up knowing that boys would need the bathroom soon and washed your hands and face before following the rich smell of coffee into the kitchen. A small smile broke across your face at the state the other boys were in. Jake must’ve woken them on his way in to make breakfast. Josh was sleepily chewing on a bagel with his curls sticking up while Danny sat on the couch with his sunglasses on as if the sunlight filtering in from the large windows would make his sight evaporate, but he was doing better than his best friend. Sam was laying on the floor with his eyes closed and face pale taking deep breaths clearly fighting the urge to throw up. A snort left your mouth at his slightly green complexion.

“Is Sammy okay,” you asked quietly as you grabbed a coffee cup.

“He’s fighting for his life right now,” Josh stated matter of factly as he poured coffee into your mug.

“Oh my God! I’m never drinking tequila again,” Sam eventually responded in a small whisper that barely reached your ears and you laughed loudly at his dramatics as the lanky man pulled himself up from the ground with Daniel’s help. Jake shook his head at his little brother’s obviously miserable state as he continued to crack eggs into a skillet. His messy hair had been pulled into a low bun as he cooked breakfast for everyone, but his bed head was still evident.

Slowly, Sam and Danny made their way to the kitchen and forced food down their throats in the hopes it would miraculously cure the hangover. Being the ever helpful eldest brother, Josh grabbed the grape flavored pedialyte that Jake always kept on hand and placed it between the two boys with a mischievous look.

A comfortable silence settled into the kitchen as everyone enjoyed their breakfast. The five of you had spent many hungover mornings together after a wild night out on the town. The only person really missing was Ronnie. A sad sigh left your nose at the thought of it being a few more months before the only Kiszka sister would be back in the United States from studying abroad. Another wave threatened to flood your body when you realized that your next FaceTime call with her would require you to retell the entire story of your breakup.

“So, what are your plans for the day, Y/n,” Danny asked, effectively silencing your brain and interrupting the silence as he flicked the cap off the pedialyte and took a chug. You felt your inner peace falter and shatter as you realized there was no escaping the events the previous night.

“Well…I don’t know. Was Thomas actually arrested last night,” you inquired softly as you played with the eggs on your plate as your appetite evaporated. A heavier silence settled in the kitchen, replacing the peaceful one from earlier. Out of the corner of your eye, you watched Jake unconsciously clench his right hand into a fist at the mention of your official ex-boyfriend. His knuckles looked bruised and angry.

Danny rubbed his face as he thought about your question. “I don’t know. Neither you or Jake pressed charges, so chances are slim if I had to guess. We can always call the officer lady from last night and ask.”

“He should’ve been arrested honestly,” Sam said around a mouthful of eggs resulting in Josh slapping him upside the head as he scolded him about his manners.

“Prison is too kind for Thomas,” Jake uttered under his breath as he put his plate in the sink and lazily stretched his back. You glanced at the clock on the stove as you rubbed the nape of your neck.

10:31 a.m.

He had until midday to have his things out and knowing Thomas, he probably had no intention of actually leaving. Your breath caught in your throat at the thought of Thomas lounging in your living room, just waiting on you to come home.

“We don’t have to be at the studio until this afternoon to clean up some of the new music. We can just go with you whenever you’re ready to leave. Consider us your personal bodyguards for the time being! Hell, do you just wanna borrow some of ours,” Josh offered with a brotherly smile when he noticed the panicked look in your eyes.

“I’m not a rockstar, so I don’t think I need an entire team of burly men to protect me from Thomas,” you laughed.

“Nope! All you need is a Jake,” Sam followed up with, laughing loudly and clearly proud of his joke.

The laughter eventually ebbed into comfortable conversation as you, Danny and Sam began to discuss their newest album. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Jake had finished his breakfast and put his dishes in the sink before disappearing down the hallway. You stared at his back for less than half a second before Danny’s infectious laughter filled the room and effectively pulled you back into the conversation.

While you were caught up in the small talk, Josh topped off his own coffee and bounded after his twin brother with purpose. His brow was scrunched as questions raced through his overly active mind, but he knew better than to voice them with you even remotely close.

While Sammy and Danny may have had suspicions of their own, Josh knew exactly how his brother felt about you. He could read Jake’s expressions as if they were his own. In a weird way, it felt a lot like looking in the mirror whenever strong emotions flooded through his twin brother.

The door to Jake’s bedroom was slightly cracked and a small sliver of sunlight filtered into the hallway. Without knocking, Josh pushed open the door and stepped in quickly, but ensured it closed behind him.

Jake was standing in front of his dresser as he sorted through his folded shirts looking for something to wear for the day.

“Okay, Jake. We’ve gotta talk about all this,” Josh said quietly as he perched on the edge of his brother’s unmade bed.

“There’s not really anything to talk about though,” Jake stated with a shrug of his shoulders as he peeled the old Metallic shirt off his torso. “Should I wear this white shirt or a Cream shirt?”

“I’ve literally shared a womb with you and I’ve never seen you lose it like you did last night,” Josh addressed while ignoring Jake’s question, but quickly faltered when his twin snapped around to face him.

“What are you saying, Josh,” Jake spat as he crossed his arms defensively over his chest.

“I’m saying you can’t keep hiding how you feel about, Y/n. We both know your head over heels in love with her.”

Josh held his breath as he watched Jake’s spine become rigid as he glanced to the door. Once he saw that it was firmly shut, he turned to face his brother. Josh took in his wide brown eyes and for a moment, he felt like he was looking at Sammy instead of his twin.

“Keep your fucking mouth shut, Joshua,” Jake spat as he flung the Metallica shirt at his older brother’s head.

“You’re not my fucking boss, Jacob,” Josh spat back as he flung the shirt back at his brother. A tense silence filled the air as Jake’s mind raced.

“Pinky promise me right now you won’t tell anyone. Please,” Jake said almost pitifully as he extend his hand to his brother. Without an hesitation, Josh extended his hand and wrapped his pinky around Jake’s. They each kissed the tips of their thumbs before pushing them together to lock it in.

“Promise. And wear the Cream shirt. It’s your favorite.”

“You had better not ever tell anyone that we still do fucking pinky promises,” Jake scoffed as he continued pulled the gray shirt over his head.

Josh babbled out some random story about how pinky promises are basically blood vows between twins as he opened the door and made his way back to the kitchen. Jake would be a liar if he said he had listened to a word his brother had said on his way out.

After your five year relationship comes to a blazing end, you seek comfort in your friend group as you try to pick up the pieces of your shattered life. When the night of your breakup with your psycho ex takes a wild and unexpected turn, you begin to question the nature of your relationship with your lifelong best friend, Jake. As the boundaries of your friendship begin to blur, Jake struggles with an internal battle to tell you a secret he’s been keeping for years as you begin a journey of self growth to always be your own first-choice.