The Deal

Chapter Two - The Confession

To say that Jonas looked "good" tonight, was an understatement. Though loud pop music blasted throughout the house, the world seemed slow and peaceful as I caught his gaze. I quickly managed to avert my head away, pretending to check my makeup in the mirror nearby.

"Relax, El. You look fine." Jay assured as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

I sighed. "Are you sure?"

"Stop overthinking it, just go!" He nudged towards Jonas.

"Ugh fine! You talk to Annalise first, though."

He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could say anything, Jonas and Liam approached us.

"Hey! You made it." Jonas smiled, and I returned it.

"Jay, you gotta ask out Annalise tonight. You've been wanting to, right? And she's hot." Liam grinned.

I glanced at her. She wore a violet off-the-shoulder dress, clashing with her suntanned skin. Her blonde hair was styled in a neat, effortless up-do. Annalise had the personality of an angel. She was sweet and innocent; everyone adored her.

"Oh. Yeah, I know." Jay laughed, nervously.

With that, Liam dragged Jay over to Annalise, and I stood with Jonas.

"I guess it's just us, for now." Jonas chuckled.

I narrowed my eyes, playfully. "Are you complaining?"

"Yes," he smiled with his perfect teeth. "Yes I am."

I laughed, as I stared into his hazel eyes. They looked green, tonight.

"I need some air. Come outside with me?" Jonas asked, and I nodded.

He grabbed my hand and lead me towards the back door. I flinched at the gesture, as I felt sparks fly from his touch. I craned my neck around and glanced at Jay, before stepping out the door. He was laughing with Annalise, and I smiled to myself. We stepped out onto the patio, and he released my hand. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Did I mention how beautiful you look tonight?"

The feeling of butterflies exploding in my stomach overcame me. My palms became sweaty, and my heart was pounding in my chest.

"Thank you, Jonas. You look pretty great too." I smiled, sweetly.

He grinned. "Thanks. Did you come here with Jay?"

"Yeah, he gave me a ride." I stated.

"Oh. Cool, so are you guys like, a thing?" He asked, casually. 

I darted my eyes at him. Are Jay and I, a thing?  I never thought about it like that, despite everyone's accusations. 

"Oh, god no. He's like a brother to me. We've been friends since like, second grade." I explained.

"That makes sense," he nodded.

I wanted to believe that he sounded a bit relieved, but I ignored it. The conversation continued, and the thought of mutual affection disappeared in my mind, once again. After a couple minutes, we decided to head back to the others. Within seconds, I spotted Jay in a group of friends, such as Liam, Annalise, Lauren, David and Matthew. I marched over and plopped down on the coach, beside Jay. He seemed distant, as he focused on one of the guys.

"Hey." I said. Jay glanced at me, then back towards them.

"We'll be back." Jay announced, and they nodded.

Jay grabbed my wrist and pulled me into an empty room upstairs. "Where have you been?" Jay asked, nervously.

"I'm sorry, I was outside with Jonas. I didn't know Liam would drag you away like that."

"What? I don't care. Tell me what happened." He urged.

"Nothing happened, we just.. talked." I chuckled.

"That's all you have to say?" Jay laughed.

"Well," I began. "He just took me outside and we talked about things. School, friends, you, Annalise." I nudged. He gave a small smile, before Lauren burst through the door.

"Jay, god, what are you doing?" Lauren questioned.

"What?" Jay replied, in confusion.

"Why did you just leave like that after kissing Annalise?"

"I.. I don't know." Jay ran a hand through his hair. I stood there quietly, unsure of what to say. I bit my lip.

"You don't like her?"

"That's not what I said. She's great, but-" Before Jay could finish, Lauren cut him off.

"But what? You got all weird during Seven Minutes in Heaven, too." Lauren stared at him in confusion. I cocked an eyebrow up, and looked at Jay with empathetic eyes.

"I'm just not in the mood for anything tonight," he confessed.

Lauren shrugged, as she left the room. "Whatever, I guess. You gotta talk to Annalise though, you really blew her off."

Jay sighed, and leaned his back against the wall.

"Jay? Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" He said, blankly as he averted my eyes.

"Hey, seriously what's up?" I took a step closer to him. He was silent. He closed his eyes for a minute, then slowly paced across the room.

"Jay."

I examined his emotions. He seemed puzzled and glum. He looked near me, but not directly at me. Suddenly, he stopped pacing, and turned around to face me. I nervously twisted a strand of hair around my finger.

"It's just.." he began. "I-I'm gay," he said, in barely a whisper.

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Hello! Thanks for reading. Please don't forget to comment, share, vote, etc. Sorry that this was a shorter chapter, but I have some great longer parts coming up! Stay tuned.