Bulletproof Love
We Breathe, Don’t Leave
Mike’s P.O.V
I opened my eyes and was greeted by a room not much darker than the insides of my eyelids, which my eyes had just gotten used to. I reached over to my nightstand and pressed the button on top of my iPhone to check the time, and I quickly slammed my eyes shut again at the intense light that flashed from it. “Fuck,” I cursed as I rubbed furiously at my eyelids. I exhaled slowly and tried again, this time with success.
My phone read 12:28 a.m. I sighed, frustrated. I had crashed really early, around about 9, but now I was wide awake, meaning I probably wouldn’t be sleeping much that night. The boys should still be up, anyway, I thought to myself, deciding to go downstairs and see what everyone else was doing.
I rolled out of bed, yawned and stretched, and made my way downstairs, not even bothering to put on a shirt. “Guys? Guys!?” I called as I descended the stairs, my mind set on a bottle of whiskey that was resting in the fridge. Instead of an answer to my call, however, I heard the bass line to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” playing softly in the living room. I amusingly shook
my head and went to retrieve the whiskey.
I then made my way to the living room, opening the bottle in my hands as I walked. I saw a head full slightly deflated spiked hair over the couch. “Hey, Hime Time,” I said, walking into the room. He completely ignored me. “Jaime,” I said, a little louder this time, but he still didn’t answer.
“JAIME!” I yelled, flicking the back of his head.
“WHAT THE FUCK!” he yelled and yanked his earbuds out of his ears. He turned to look at me, and his angry expression turned into a more lighthearted one. “Oh hey, Mike,” he said, gently chuckling.
“Sup, Hime,” I responded, sitting on the loveseat. “Are we the only ones home right now?” I asked, noticing the unfamiliar silence in the house.
“Yep,” he said, placing his bass on the stand next to the couch.
“Good, ‘cause I wanna talk to you about something, man.”
“What about?” he looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“So you know Drew, right?”
“Yeah, Dylan’s sister,” he chuckled. “I haven’t said much to her since the concert when we first met them. Why?”
“Well, I’ve been, uh, seeing her,” I looked down and took a swig of the drink in my hand.
“I mean, yeah, we’ve all been seeing her, Mike. She was just here the other-“
“No, Jaime! Like we’ve been dating,” I allowed myself to trail off at the end of my sentence.
“Oh, congratulations, man,” Jaime said, leaning back into the couch. I looked at him with my eyebrow raised for about three seconds before he shot back up. “Wait, isn’t she engaged?” I waved my free hand in an exasperated fashion. “Oh! That’s why you wanted to talk about it!”
“No shit, man.” I took a gulp of the whisky and threw my head back. “What the fuck do I do?”
“Have you talked to anyone else about this?” Jaime asked me, a bit more serious than he was before.
“I can’t. Vic’s probably just gonna give me some weird fatherly lecture, and Tony would probably just tell Dylan, if she doesn’t already know. I don’t know if she does, and I don’t wanna run that risk.”
“Speaking of Dylan and Tony, what’s going on between those two? I’ve barely seen Tony the
last five days or so.”
“I have no fucking clue, Jaime. It’s obvious that they’re into each other, but I doubt that it’s official.” I looked at Jaime to see him slightly nodding his head with a distant look in his eyes. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked down at the bottle in my hands. “Do you want a swig, Jaime?”
He looked over at me and held out his hand for me to give him the bottle. He took it, and took a nice long drink. “By the way, where are they now?” I asked him as he wiped his mouth.
“I dunno. A little earlier, Tony, Vic, and Ashley just walked out the door, saying ‘we’ll be right back.’ But they left before I could ask where they were going.” I nodded. “But, about you and Drew. How did this happen?”
“Well, we were just real into each other the first time we met, and a few days later, I got her number from Dylan. We’ve been talking ever since. She’s really not that into her fiancé, man. I can tell. I mean, yeah, she tells me that she doesn’t love Jerry, but I whole heartedly believe it’s more than just cheap talk, you know? I trust her.”
“That’s good, that you trust her. And it’s about to sound real corny, but trust your heart. Just don’t forget your head.”
Just as Jaime said that, I heard the front door open in the hallway. “Ashley, please talk to me,” I heard Vic’s muffled voice say.
“No, Vic. Thanks for coming tonight, but I’m not in the mood, okay? Goodnight, guys.” Ashley said that. Her voice was followed by the sound of feet going up the stairs.
Jaime and I looked at each other, then got up and walked out of the living room, where we were greeted by Tony and Vic, who seemed exhausted. “Where were you guys?” Jaime asked them.
“We were at the police station,” Vic sighed and answered Jaime. I made a gesture with my hands to tell him to keep going.
“Well,” Tony interjected. “Evidently, Drew’s fiancé is the brother of Ashley’s insane ex-boyfriend. Dylan and Drew connected the dots earlier, and we all decided to take Ashley to report Jack. The police were looking for him anyway.”
“Wait,” I spoke this time. “Where are they now?”
“Drew, Dylan, and Micah all left together, but we have no idea where they went.” Vic said, rubbing his tired eyes while stifling a yawn.
“I should go call Dylan,” Tony said, reaching in his pocket to grab his phone.
“No!” Jaime interjected, earning confused glares from each of us. “I mean, I’ll call her. Maybe she’s more likely to answer when the person isn’t closest to her, you know?” he rambled on for a while trying to explain his reasoning.
“Okay!” Tony finally said, cutting him off. “Just call her, damnit.”
“Okay,” Jaime replied, a bit too excitedly, and hurried off to the living room where he would be alone.
Jaime’s P.O.V
Once I was in the living room, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts, searching for Dylan’s name. Once I found it, I chose the option to call her and put the phone to my ear.
“Hello?” She answered, sounding sweet as always. I’d always loved the sound of her voice, but that was something I’d kept to myself.
“Hey, Dylan. Where are you? I haven’t seen you in forever!”
She giggled, another sweet sound. “Jaime, it’s 12:30 in the morning. How did you know I’d be up?”
“Well, Vic and Tony just got home and told us where you guys just were so…”
“Oh right,” she said, giggling again. “Well, I’ll tell you where I am, but I don’t want you to tell the other guys.” This time, she sounded a bit more serious.
“I promise I won’t, just tell me where you are.”
“Drew, Micah, and I are on our way to the east side of town to a hotel. I don’t want Drew and Micah to go home or be alone with Jerry and Jack.”
“I see, but why don’t you want me to tell them that? That makes perfect sense, you’re just staying safe, right?”
“That’s not what I want you to keep quiet.”
“Dylan, you’re making me all anxious,” I let out a nervous chuckle. “What is it?”
“Well, Drew and I just finished talking, and by tomorrow or the next day, we should be on our way back to Boston.”
I opened my eyes and was greeted by a room not much darker than the insides of my eyelids, which my eyes had just gotten used to. I reached over to my nightstand and pressed the button on top of my iPhone to check the time, and I quickly slammed my eyes shut again at the intense light that flashed from it. “Fuck,” I cursed as I rubbed furiously at my eyelids. I exhaled slowly and tried again, this time with success.
My phone read 12:28 a.m. I sighed, frustrated. I had crashed really early, around about 9, but now I was wide awake, meaning I probably wouldn’t be sleeping much that night. The boys should still be up, anyway, I thought to myself, deciding to go downstairs and see what everyone else was doing.
I rolled out of bed, yawned and stretched, and made my way downstairs, not even bothering to put on a shirt. “Guys? Guys!?” I called as I descended the stairs, my mind set on a bottle of whiskey that was resting in the fridge. Instead of an answer to my call, however, I heard the bass line to Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” playing softly in the living room. I amusingly shook
my head and went to retrieve the whiskey.
I then made my way to the living room, opening the bottle in my hands as I walked. I saw a head full slightly deflated spiked hair over the couch. “Hey, Hime Time,” I said, walking into the room. He completely ignored me. “Jaime,” I said, a little louder this time, but he still didn’t answer.
“JAIME!” I yelled, flicking the back of his head.
“WHAT THE FUCK!” he yelled and yanked his earbuds out of his ears. He turned to look at me, and his angry expression turned into a more lighthearted one. “Oh hey, Mike,” he said, gently chuckling.
“Sup, Hime,” I responded, sitting on the loveseat. “Are we the only ones home right now?” I asked, noticing the unfamiliar silence in the house.
“Yep,” he said, placing his bass on the stand next to the couch.
“Good, ‘cause I wanna talk to you about something, man.”
“What about?” he looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“So you know Drew, right?”
“Yeah, Dylan’s sister,” he chuckled. “I haven’t said much to her since the concert when we first met them. Why?”
“Well, I’ve been, uh, seeing her,” I looked down and took a swig of the drink in my hand.
“I mean, yeah, we’ve all been seeing her, Mike. She was just here the other-“
“No, Jaime! Like we’ve been dating,” I allowed myself to trail off at the end of my sentence.
“Oh, congratulations, man,” Jaime said, leaning back into the couch. I looked at him with my eyebrow raised for about three seconds before he shot back up. “Wait, isn’t she engaged?” I waved my free hand in an exasperated fashion. “Oh! That’s why you wanted to talk about it!”
“No shit, man.” I took a gulp of the whisky and threw my head back. “What the fuck do I do?”
“Have you talked to anyone else about this?” Jaime asked me, a bit more serious than he was before.
“I can’t. Vic’s probably just gonna give me some weird fatherly lecture, and Tony would probably just tell Dylan, if she doesn’t already know. I don’t know if she does, and I don’t wanna run that risk.”
“Speaking of Dylan and Tony, what’s going on between those two? I’ve barely seen Tony the
last five days or so.”
“I have no fucking clue, Jaime. It’s obvious that they’re into each other, but I doubt that it’s official.” I looked at Jaime to see him slightly nodding his head with a distant look in his eyes. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked down at the bottle in my hands. “Do you want a swig, Jaime?”
He looked over at me and held out his hand for me to give him the bottle. He took it, and took a nice long drink. “By the way, where are they now?” I asked him as he wiped his mouth.
“I dunno. A little earlier, Tony, Vic, and Ashley just walked out the door, saying ‘we’ll be right back.’ But they left before I could ask where they were going.” I nodded. “But, about you and Drew. How did this happen?”
“Well, we were just real into each other the first time we met, and a few days later, I got her number from Dylan. We’ve been talking ever since. She’s really not that into her fiancé, man. I can tell. I mean, yeah, she tells me that she doesn’t love Jerry, but I whole heartedly believe it’s more than just cheap talk, you know? I trust her.”
“That’s good, that you trust her. And it’s about to sound real corny, but trust your heart. Just don’t forget your head.”
Just as Jaime said that, I heard the front door open in the hallway. “Ashley, please talk to me,” I heard Vic’s muffled voice say.
“No, Vic. Thanks for coming tonight, but I’m not in the mood, okay? Goodnight, guys.” Ashley said that. Her voice was followed by the sound of feet going up the stairs.
Jaime and I looked at each other, then got up and walked out of the living room, where we were greeted by Tony and Vic, who seemed exhausted. “Where were you guys?” Jaime asked them.
“We were at the police station,” Vic sighed and answered Jaime. I made a gesture with my hands to tell him to keep going.
“Well,” Tony interjected. “Evidently, Drew’s fiancé is the brother of Ashley’s insane ex-boyfriend. Dylan and Drew connected the dots earlier, and we all decided to take Ashley to report Jack. The police were looking for him anyway.”
“Wait,” I spoke this time. “Where are they now?”
“Drew, Dylan, and Micah all left together, but we have no idea where they went.” Vic said, rubbing his tired eyes while stifling a yawn.
“I should go call Dylan,” Tony said, reaching in his pocket to grab his phone.
“No!” Jaime interjected, earning confused glares from each of us. “I mean, I’ll call her. Maybe she’s more likely to answer when the person isn’t closest to her, you know?” he rambled on for a while trying to explain his reasoning.
“Okay!” Tony finally said, cutting him off. “Just call her, damnit.”
“Okay,” Jaime replied, a bit too excitedly, and hurried off to the living room where he would be alone.
Jaime’s P.O.V
Once I was in the living room, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts, searching for Dylan’s name. Once I found it, I chose the option to call her and put the phone to my ear.
“Hello?” She answered, sounding sweet as always. I’d always loved the sound of her voice, but that was something I’d kept to myself.
“Hey, Dylan. Where are you? I haven’t seen you in forever!”
She giggled, another sweet sound. “Jaime, it’s 12:30 in the morning. How did you know I’d be up?”
“Well, Vic and Tony just got home and told us where you guys just were so…”
“Oh right,” she said, giggling again. “Well, I’ll tell you where I am, but I don’t want you to tell the other guys.” This time, she sounded a bit more serious.
“I promise I won’t, just tell me where you are.”
“Drew, Micah, and I are on our way to the east side of town to a hotel. I don’t want Drew and Micah to go home or be alone with Jerry and Jack.”
“I see, but why don’t you want me to tell them that? That makes perfect sense, you’re just staying safe, right?”
“That’s not what I want you to keep quiet.”
“Dylan, you’re making me all anxious,” I let out a nervous chuckle. “What is it?”
“Well, Drew and I just finished talking, and by tomorrow or the next day, we should be on our way back to Boston.”
Plot twist! Dx
3/17/14