(italics is wren bold is king joba)
hello?
hey, sorry to call you might be busy but i tried texting and you didn't answer are you ok?
sorry about that. today hasn't been good. i feel like ass
what's up?
don't know, i've been in bed all day.
babe, you could've told me. you should come over! you need to get out the house, plus the boys wanna meet you
word? i'll try. see you soon king.
—
wren had depressive spells like this often and she hated it. she wouldn't shower, get dressed or get out of bed. as a teenager, her parents always equated her feeling like this to being lazy so she's never gotten help. shit adds up.
she wanted to make and effort for joba because he sounded excited for her to come over and she really liked him. she rolled out of bed, took a shower and got dressed. nothing fancy, just sweats and a shirt joba had left at her apartment. she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and got in the car. she texted joba to send the address of the hotel and then she was off.
there was a soft knock at the door. ian was the only person downstairs so he opened the door for whoever it was. there stood a girl slightly shorter than him who looked like she just woke up. "hi. i'm wren. joba invited me over." she shifted uncomfortably, feeling out of place. a huge smile spread across ian's face. "joba! your girlfriend's here!" he yelled into the house. there was a loud thump and scattered, excited, conversations. soon, joba was running down the stairs, followed by 3 other boys. the smile on his face grew when he saw her.
"i see you've met ian." he says, motioning to the dread head. she chuckles and reaches out to shake his hand. "nice to meet you ian." he pulls her into a hug instead, which throws her off. he lets go and points to the boys who came downstairs with joba. "ok so thats matt, merlyn and dom. there's more of us but you'll meet them later." she waved at each of them, "hi. nice to meet y'all." after the brief introduction and some small talk, they all retreated back upstairs. "oh my god. they hate me." she said, taking a seat on the couch. "don't be silly, no they don't. they're awkward and you're awkward, it's fine." he shrugged and she smiled at him. god, why was he so damn cute?
_
"and here's my room!" he opened the door and wren walked into the space. "ok so, there's my bed, there's my little station where i mix beats and stuff, and there's my pile of laundry." he pointed to the heap of clothes in the corner of the room. wren liked his room, there wasnt much to it but it was so joba. from the little souvenirs, she assumed he got while on tour, to the pink beanbag chair beside the bed and the record player next to a stack of vinyls. wren sat on the bed and joba sat on the beanbag chair.
"how are you feeling?" he asked, genuinely. sighing a big sigh, she ran her hands through his hair. "better, now that i'm here. thanks for asking." "no problem. have you ever like talked to a therapist or something like that?" wren shook her head. "nah. my parents never believed in that. they told me to get over it and get a job." she said in a mocking tone. "so, i had to get over it and get a job." joba noticed the sadness in her voice and grabbed her hands gently. "that's bullshit. "
they sat in silence for awhile. he understood exactly how she felt, he'd grown up in a similar situation. his father was a drunk who was never home and his mom worked late shifts. when he started showing signs of depression and anxiety, his mother told him he was faking for attention. that was the first and last time he'd ever bring it up.
"hey." wren's soft voice was like music to his ears. "i must admit that i've never heard any of your music. will you play me some?" his face lit up and he pulls out his phone. the first song he played was FACE. as the song played, wren's eyes widened and when it was over she grinned. "oh my god that was amazing. who was that singing. his voice gave me chills." she beamed. "you really liked it! that was me singing! let me play more."
