friends | jorbyn ✓

five

TWO WEEKS BEFORE the wedding, jonah lay in corbyn's bed, drumming his fingers on the comforter.
"jo?"
"yes?"
"am i coming to your dad's wedding?"
"yeah, why?"
"i just didn't think i was invited."
"of course you're invited, and if you're not then you're going with me."
"like a date?" corbyn giggled.
"if you want it to be like a date," jonah laughed.
his heart hammered in his chest  wildly as corbyn laced his fingers into his hair. he thought nothing of it, though– well ignored it, more.
"i'm scared, corbyn," he breathed.
"scared of what?"
"what if they get divorced? this is the happiest he's been in a while."
"they'll be just fine." corbyn bent over to press a kiss to jonah's forehead in reassurance.
jonah's heart did the thing again as he opened his eyes to look at his best friend.
"thanks," he mumbled.
"for what?"
"i don't know, everything?"
he watched as corbyn's cheeks flushed pink slightly.
corbyn's eyes scanned jonah's face as he removed his fingers from his hair. he smiled at him nervously.
he didn't know what he was feeling, if he was being honest.
"um, goodnight, jonah." he reached over and turned the bedside lamp off.
"goodnight."
he made himself comfortable under his duvet, yet didn't close his eyes. his thoughts jumbled whenever he even thought about sexuality, he was so confused.
and even more confusingly, his cheeks heated at the simple drop of the first syllable of his best friend's name.
feelings are dumb and i'm not dealing with them tonight, he thought as he turned over, trying to get some rest.
for corbyn, sleep came in the early hours of the morning.
he was tired and upset when jonah woke him up at eleven.
"what's wrong?" he huffed, unmoving.
"your parents want you up for breakfast."
"i don't want any stupid breakfast, i wanna go to sleep. why aren't you sleepy?"
"because i– well, i don't know."
"yeah, so get back in."
when jonah and corbyn eventually got up, ate and got ready to drop jonah off at his mother's, it was around three pm.
"bye jonah," corbyn called, half energized. jonah waved back and corbyn slumped down in his seat.
"what's wrong, sweetheart?" saskia asked as she pulled out of the driveway.
"um, i," he sighed, eyes glued to the dashboard. "don't say anything, like, bad when i say this okay? you have to promise."
saskia nodded, eyebrows knitted together.
"i promise."
corbyn cleared his throat, sliding close to the car door.
"mom i think i like boys, not just all boys, jonah. and not just boys. but i don't want to, like boys i mean. i like girls, a lot, i do."
saskia nodded, lips tilting into a grin.
"does jonah know?"
"no."
"and i hope you know that not everybody will accept that, bean. twelve and thirteen year olds are assholes."
corbyn nodded, humming his acknowledgment.
"anyways, which suit are you wearing to timothy's wedding?"
"i don't know, maybe the white one."
when the day of timothy and harper's wedding actually came around, corbyn had decided on his blue tux instead. it'd taken countless sessions of trying on different suits and a larger abundance of conversations with his parents on what color he didn't look abysmal in.
he was sitting in the backseat of the car, folding and unfolding his legs underneath him.
"quit, you'll wrinkle your suit," ray said without turning around.
"what if i die?"
"i wouldn't let you die before me."
at the wedding, corbyn cried twice more than he would've liked to admit. timothy and harper were smiling the whole way through, and aspen's makeup was running down her cheeks before her mom was even fully down the aisle.
jonah, though, kept a stoic expression through most of it, save for the few times he cracked an excited smile. when the reception started, harper wrapped one of her arms around jonah and the other around aspen. jonah smiled when harper kissed his forehead, likely to leave a burgundy smudge in the place of it.
corbyn could tell his best friend was happy, despite the worries reflecting in his mind.
when the night and fun was over, jonah found corbyn by his parents' car.
"sorry we didn't talk a lot earlier, but i'll see you tomorrow?"
"yeah, tomorrow." corbyn tossed his arms around jonah, who returned the hug.
"jonah, come on," aspen sighed behind him.
"okay, chill out."
the next day, when jonah came to the bessons', he came with aspen.
"you must be aspen," saskia said excitedly.
"yep. that's me." aspen rocked back and forth on her feet.
"it's a pleasure to meet you, you'll be in the guest room this weekend."
she swung her hair over her shoulder and followed saskia to her room. as she passed corbyn's  room, she stopped. corbyn looked up from the book he held in his hands, eyes sliding to meet aspen's.
aspen shot him a bright smile, which he returned.
"what're you reading?" she glanced at saskia and marched her way into corbyn's bedroom and planted herself beside him.
"oh, um," corbyn glanced at their touching thighs and blinked. "i'm just reading the book thief."
"well-"
"aspen, what're you doing?" jonah asked from the door.
"i'm having a talk about 'the stolen book,' what's the issue?"
"the book thief,"  he corrected her. "and the issue is how close you two are. what's, uh, what's happening?"
corbyn shrugged.
"she asked what book i was reading."
jonah didn't answer, just stared.
"whatever. keep corbyn to yourself. clinginess isn't cute jonah." arden swiftly walked past jonah, blue eyes boring into his face.
jonah shut the bedroom door and let his eyes meet corbyn's.
"don't, don't do that. don't mess around with my little sister, corbyn, what is wrong with you?"
corbyn furrowed his eyebrows, confused.
"i'm not 'messing around' with arden, jonah, i don't mess around with people, i'm freaking twelve."
"still, you're flirting with her. she's eleven."
"whatever jonah. see you in the morning."
he closed his book and glanced up at jonah again before he turned the lamp off.
after the two were enveloped in the darkness, corbyn spoke up.
"i seriously wasn't flirting with her. she asked what book i was reading and she came and sat by me."
"i know. i just got... defensive. over both of you. i'm sorry."

—

all the drama really starts nxt chap 😬.
also i was rewatching pll and i got my mom into it so if ur like "i wanna watch pll" fucking watch it.