Not Together

Friendly Wake-up Call

This isn’t a lemon, just a heads up. Sorry.

I know I haven’t said this in a while, but… Don't worry... I have a plan.

You jumped, a hand grabbing you making your brain go a thousand mikes an hour trying to process where the hell you were, what was happening, and if you were in any danger. Your eyes darted around, wide and alert now, softening when you realized it was simply Jotaro’s hand as he retracted it seeing that he’d startled you, your shoulders relaxing.

You’d fallen asleep in the car. It was inevitable after the long day you’d had, not to mention the long car ride. You were thankful that this time you’d opted to sit by the window, not having to risk falling asleep on Miss Holly or Grandma Suzi, instead just resting your head against the window. “Sorry,” You mumbled sleepily as he reached for you again, helping you out of the car, “I fell asleep.” You looked around, noticing that it was just the two of you, everyone else probably already inside. You could easily imagine Jotaro seeing your sleeping form in the back, muttering a ‘Yare Yare’, before telling everyone he’ll take care of you, waving them towards the house.

“It was a long drive.” He said as he closed the car door, turning to see you politely cover your yawn with a hand, stretching your neck side to side as your sleeping position left you stiff feeling. “What time is it?” You asked, your nap rendering all your sense of time off kilter; when you napped you usually woke up not even know what day it was, let alone able to pinpoint the hour. “Late,” He looked down at his watch, “it’s past midnight.” Your eyes widened. Past midnight? You inwardly panicked, pulling your phone out to see if you’d missed any calls from your mom. Surprisingly, there wasn’t any calls, just a few text from (B/f), probably wondering how things were going, lacking reception in the mountainside, you didn’t get a chance to respond earlier. You assumed that your mom once again thought you were with (B/f) as that was usually who you were with when not at the house; probably secretly thankful to have you out so she could get her last minute Christmas gifts wrapped without your curious-self present. “I didn’t realize it was so late.” His eyes flicked over to his house for a moment before returning back to you. “You can stay here tonight.” You recoiled at the idea, “Jojo, your grandparents are here, I can’t just go sleep in your room.”

“I meant in one of the guest rooms.” He defended with furrowed brows, arms crossing as a blush became faintly visible against the muted lights seeping through the house windows. You looked at him skeptically, wondering if that was indeed what he meant or if he was just amending the statement to sound better. You bit your lip, caught in a dilemma. If you got caught coming home this late, your mom would definitely catch on that you weren’t at (B/f)’s house and demand an explanation from you. You supposed that it wasn’t an obscure idea for Jotaro to not want his “friend” to wander the streets this late whilst it was snowing, should his family ask; even though Grandma Suzi and Rosas had caught on to you and Jotaro’s feelings towards one another, Jotaro hadn’t given you the all clear to open that floodgate, and you would respect that. Besides, you’d be in the guest room, probably in a completely separate wing from Jotaro’s room, what could it hurt?

“Alright.” He blinked, apparently surprised by your own volition. Under other circumstances, you’d probably have declined his offer, but it was late, cold out, and the wrath of your mother swayed you into staying. He turned, one hand on the brim of his hat, the other in his pocket as he led you into the house, you praying that his family wasn’t standing around inside. While you weren’t doing anything wrong or totally obscure, it still felt odd to you. You mentally rehearsed what you’d say if his family was still loitering around, making up several excuses should anyone ask why the hell you were still here; though you knew that likely the family would have the opposite reaction, you prepared for the worst just in case.