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Turn back the clock within your glass of sand To a time of love within this blackened land
"Oh, you dickhead," Josh scoffed, seeing the table vacant except for his twin. Jake had a sneaking suspicion that, had his hands not been full with two flights, Josh would have punched him to punctuate the statement. "What did you do?"
Jake immediately took offense and scrunched his face at the insult. "Fuck you, dude," he said indignantly. Not everything was his fault all the time, just some things most of the time. "I didn't say shit, and she," he waved his hand in the direction Alex had disappeared to, "just ran off."
"I don't believe you," Josh remarked, setting him with a suspicious stare. Of course he didn't. In all other matters, Jake could rely on his brother to side with him, but not when it came to Alex. Since the day they'd met, Josh had some warped fascination with the reporter that made him prioritize her feelings over his.
It was unfair and significantly frustrating.
"You know I'm your twin, right?" No amount of permed hair or rattails or kitty ticklers promising distinction would change that, but it remained to be said. "You're supposed to be on my side," Jake argued.
Josh slid into the seat beside him, elbowing Jake in the ribs, clearly not by accident. "I'm only on the side of love," he quipped. Sometimes, his hippie, can-do attitude was annoying. This was one of those times.
Snatching his tray of wine, Jake threw the first one back without even bothering to register what it was. The liquid teased his tongue before he swallowed it whole—Chardonnay, he realized. "You need to stop stirring the pot," he grumbled before grabbing the next glass and repeating the action.
Josh placed a heavy hand on his shoulder, which Jake immediately shrugged off. "I will not," he smirked playfully. "You're my brother, and I love you, and that's why I want you to be happy." Josh probably meant it to be comforting, but it came off as condescending.
"Are you saying I'm not happy?" Jake huffed in irritation. It wasn't like he was unhappy. Well, maybe he drank too much, but they all had their vices. Music had become his number one priority, really, his only priority, but it didn't make him melancholy or whatever Josh was implying.
Josh answered without hesitation. "Yes. You've been a miserable malcontent for the last few years, and everyone's grown tired of it."
That couldn't be true, could it? Jake peered around at the other two, who were decidedly not meeting his eyes. Sam and Danny were suddenly too engrossed in discussing the various wines lined up before them. Bastards.
It was nice to know what they really thought about him but weren't willing to say directly to his face. Probably another conversation they had behind closed doors when Jake wasn't around. The recognition fermented his already sour mood.
