friends | jorbyn ✓

thirteen

AFTER CORBYN HAD his first drink, he loosened up. he lingered near jonah wherever he went.
"you know, my mom told me you told her i drink."
"did she? i told her that in confidence."
jonah placed his arm over corbyn's  shoulder and looked down at him. his eyes softened as corbyn smiled at him.
he struggled to tear his eyes away from his best friend, but he eventually did when something wet splashed against his shoe.
"what the hell?"
corbyn slipped from underneath his arm and glanced into his cup.
jonah looked to the holder of the drink that had soaked into his shoe; daniel. jack stood behind him, eyes glued to the floor.
"what're you doing?" daniel asked, upset.
"what?"
"you got your arm slung all over my boyfriend like you want him or something."
"spending time with my friend? sorry you're overprotective, but that's what friends do, seavey."
jonah swiveled back around to corbyn, trying to ignore the alcohol soaking into his sock.
he could hear daniel's cup crush in his hand, but he still did not turn around.
he didn't until daniel grabbed his shoulder and pulled him aside.
"hey what the fuck?"
daniel only stepped past him and neared corbyn.
"you cheating on me?"
"no," corbyn whispered, eyes wide. he'd never heard daniel use a tone so harsh, especially with him. "no, i'm not cheating on you." 
slowly, the guests trickled out of the front and back doors, leaving behind their messes.
aspen quickly texted jonah that she was going home and for him to tell her when it was over with.
jonah watched aspen slip out of the back door, but remained planted in his spot.
"i don't believe you," daniel mumbled, voice low and gradually becoming angrier by the second.
corbyn cut his eyes to jonah, worried. he placed his cup on the nearest table.
"um, dani, i think you've had too much to drink. how about... we go to my room?" he suggested, hands no doubt shaking.
daniel took it as a sexual offer, therefore he agreed to go upstairs with corbyn.
after corbyn and daniel disappeared upstairs, jack turned to jonah.
"sorry that... happened. i told him not to."
jonah didn't reply, only stared at the stairs, hoping corbyn would come down them.
his prayers were answered as corbyn rushed down the stairs and to his side.
"you two can go home, i think. i'm just gonna try to get him to sleep and drive him home tomorrow."
jack was glad to leave, but jonah was confused.
"wha– seriously?"
"i think i can calm him down, yes."
instead of arguing, jonah nodded.
"okay. see you tomorrow." he exited through the back door. he crossed the stream splitting their homes without a word, entered his house in the same exact fashion.
"jonah is that you?" aspen asked from the kitchen.
"yes." he slipped upstairs and into his darkened bedroom.
he swapped his jeans for basketball shorts and removed his shirt and shoes, leaving them all in a heap next to his bed.
he couldn't properly comprehend the feeling that coursed through his body earlier that night, when corbyn smiled at him; so sweetly and innocently. he felt like he couldn't breathe and everything else around them no longer existed.
it was a dumb feeling, he believed. it confused him and bothered him to a high extent.
he climbed into his bed and let himself be lulled to sleep by the silence in his room.
in the middle of the night, jonah was poked awake.
"hm?" he rolled over, letting his eyes fall on a red eyed corbyn.
"what the hell are you doing?" he asked, turning his bedside lamp on.
"i–i... do i have to talk about it right now?"
"are you hurt?" jonah asked, ignoring corbyn's question.
"no, no, he didn't." corbyn answered an unspoken question, eyes wide.
jonah pulled back his duvet, letting corbyn slip in next to him.
in the silence, corbyn sniffled.
minutes that felt like hours passed before he spoke again.
"i don't– he– i tried to calm him down, and he got so mad, jonah."
"what did he do?" jonah hoped his worry and anger was disguised well enough behind the sleepiness in his voice.
"he only pushed me, then he said i was a cheater, a slut. it was so much in one timeframe, it was so confusing."
"what? you're serious?"
"yes."
jonah's anger fizzled behind his eyes in the darkness as he remained silent.
"i don't know what i did, jo."
"you didn't do anything, you're perfectly fine."
it was then that corbyn broke down into tears, and jonah's heart broke in two for the boy.
"jonah?" corbyn asked after a while.
"yes?"
"what if i told you i thought i loved daniel?"
the silence from his best friend was absolutely deafening as corbyn buried his head in jonah's chest.
"i don't know, bean," jonah managed after a few beats passed.
for some reason, corbyn cried harder.
"hey, corbs?"
a hiccup served as his answer.
"you remember on your sixth birthday, when i got you that bracelet? the one that matched mine?"
he nodded into his chest.
"i still have it. granted, i can't fit it, but i still have it."
"i have mine, too. it's in a box at the back of my closet." corbyn's words were wet and muffled against jonah's shirt.
"i'm sorry by the way," he mumbled once he was no longer pressed against jonah.
"for what?"
"poking you at four in the morning."
"there's no issue," jonah said, obviously falling back to sleep as the time passed.
"good night jonah."
there was no reply, as jonah was already sunken into a sweet dream.
for the next twenty two minutes, corbyn considered leaving, but the thought of daniel waiting in his driveway only made tears spring back to his eyes and questions pop back into his mind.
the next morning when aspen came to wake jonah up for breakfast, she paused upon seeing the blonde in his bed.
the two slept soundly, legs entwined, jonah's arm wrapped around corbyn.
she left and came back twenty minutes later. they were basically in the same position.
she put her brother's love life aside and shook him awake.
"jonah. breakfast is ready. mom says you can bring corbyn down too, she misses him."
"okay."
jonah untangled his and corbyn's limbs and turned onto his side, falling back to sleep.
"jonah! she said now."
he sat up, staring down at corbyn, who remained asleep.
aspen left the room.
he crawled off of his bed, avoiding corbyn, and started towards his bathroom.
"you and corbyn...?" aspen asked, referring to jonah's shirtless state.
"no, god. don't be stupid."
"what's that supposed to mean?"
"it means i don't want you in my sex life."
"so you did?"
"no, aspen! corbyn doesn't like me and even if he did, he's my best friend and we wouldn't do that."
aspen leaned against the wall adjacent to the staircase.
"you're gay?"
"i never said that, don't put words in my mouth."
"but you're not denying it."
"i don't put labels on my sexuality."
"so you're saying you'd date a dog?"
"shut up and go downstairs."

—

🤪🤪🤪! so i've ~officially~ made dani the bad guy. i also changed my mind i don't wanna write dorbyn smut 😔.
anyways i don't like sad corbyn, it made me sad to write ab that :(.
anywayyyy it got weirdly formal sounding at 'he crossed the stream splitting their homes' and it's weird but that's what happens to my writing at 6 in the morning oddly enough 💀💀
also: idk how i'm gonna have daniel learn his lesson 😔 i could have jonah like beat his ass or smth but i. don't. know.