School had just gotten out and Jake was walking up his driveway. He punches the code in for the garage and waits for the door to open before sliding inside and walking into his house, closing the garage door behind him. The door shuddered to a close behind as he walked to his bedroom, sliding his backpack off of his shoulder and onto his desk. He then headed into his bathroom and looked into the mirror. His left eye was purple and bruised and his knuckles were red and raw. Grunting, he reached down and pulled off his shirt, revealing his abs that were red from the kick to his gut. He turned sideways to see his back. Right below his shoulder blades was a nasty purple bruise the shape of Mason's fist. He rifled through the drawers and found what he was looking for: a bottle of concealer. Unscrewing the cap, he took the brush and gingerly applied it to his black eye. He looked into the mirror and smiled when he saw that it was almost completely gone except for a faint line of purple just below his eye that was nearly invisible. Reaching down, he grabbed his shirt and pulled it back on over his head. He kept his bad eye closed as he walked back into his room and sat down at his desk, starting on his homework. 

After about an hour or so, he heard the garage door open. He set his pencil down on his desk and stood up with a wide yawn, stretching his arms above his head. He made his way over to his bedroom door and opened it, seeing his mom walking into the kitchen with Hannah in tow. 

"Jakey!" Hannah called out when she saw him. She ran up to him and jumped up, wrapping her arms around his chest and her legs around his waist. Her hands pressed against the bruise on his back and he winced in pain, but kept a smile on his face. When she finally lets go, his mom turns to him as she runs her fingers through her dirty blonde hair. 

"Jake, pull on a bit of a nicer shirt. We don't have to be dressy but I want you to be presentable, preferably not just a t-shirt," she says with a laugh. 

"Ok. As long as I don't have to dress like at the premieres," he replied earnestly.

"No," she chuckled. "Just maybe a polo or button-up." Jake nods and pads back to his room, pulling out a light blue button-up and trading his grey shirt for it. He combs his fingers through his light brown hair and tucks in the shirt before padding back out of his room. "Aw! There's my young man!" Emma coos before licking her fingers and smoothing it down. 

"Mom, stop," he says as he pushes her hands off of him. 

"Fine. I'm just so proud of my little boy!"

"What about me, Mommy?" Hannah whines as she tugs on her shirt. Jake looks at his little sister in her light blue dress and white headband, rolling his eyes with a smile.

"You too," she laughs. 

"What time are they getting here again?" he asks as he checks the clock, 3:42.

"Around 4:45 so we can have time for appetizers," Emma replies.

"Can I help cook?" he asks, his eyes wide with excitement at the idea.

"Yes, of course, sweetheart." She places her hand on his back as she guides him, finding the bruise which makes him wince again. Why, even though the majority of his back is uninjured, do they always seem to find the one bad spot? His mom then started showing him the recipes she'd selected and he helped get the ingredients out and then started measuring them out. After about half an hour, the taco shells were being heated up in the oven while the queso and beef were boiling on the stove. The lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes were all in bowls in the fridge. Jake was pouring some salsa into a bowl and Emma was pouring some chips into another for the queso. With another half an hour until they get to his house, his mom went to take a shower and he took to setting the table for the eight of them. Haz and Lily, Zendaya, and his namesake, Jake Gyllenhaal, were all invited. He then headed back to the kitchen and kept stirring the queso and beef so they wouldn't burn. Soon enough, Emma walks out of the bathroom, her dirty blonde hair tied up in a messy bun above her head. She has a v neck pink blouse, a golden necklace, and earrings, and a pair of dark blue jeans held up with a brown leather belt. 

"Should we get the bowls on the table?" Jake asks, turning his around as he stirs the queso. She nods and he turns off the stove and grabs two bowls, emptying the contents into them. He also grabs a plate and puts the shells from the oven onto the plate. He and Emma then grab the bowls and plate and bring them to the table, placing them in the center. Tessa starts barking wildly as she limps slowly to the front door. Jake walks over to see a convertible pulling into the driveway. Lily and Haz stepped out of the car and made their way over to the front door where Emma was there to greet them.

"Lily! Oh my gosh, it's been ages!" His mom cries out, wrapping her arms around her redheaded friend.

"I know, right? How have you been?" Lily replies with a laugh.

"Pretty good. I heard that you and Haz are expecting. Congratulations!"

"Aw thank you!" The two women release each other and take a step back. Waiting as Jake Gyllenhaal and Zendaya drove up a few minutes later. Soon they were all seated around the table, dishing up chips and queso and filling their taco shells. 

"So, how has school been going, guys?" Zendaya asks with a mouthful of her tofu taco in her mouth (she had brought some of her favorite brand so that the Hollands didn't have to buy or make it themselves). 

"It's amazing!" Hannah exclaims. "I have so many friends in my class and Mrs. Jacobson is amazing! She lets us talk so much!"

"That's great," Zendaya laughs. "What about you, Jake?"

"It's pretty good. I tried out for the football team again on Tuesday and he said the team roster would be posted by the end of the week. I sit with Mark and Evan at lunch, so that's pretty cool, too." The group keeps on chatting about work, school, and anything else that comes to mind as they eat their dinner. After a little, Jake excuses himself to the bathroom and quickly touches up on the make-up, worried that it might be starting to fade. When he walks back into the dining room, his dad is talking excitedly and has dropped back to his British accent like he does when he gets enthusiastic.

"...it's just bloody brilliant! I can't believe it!" 

"You can't believe what?" Jake asks as he slides into his seat.

"There's this new stunt that we're going to try," he explains. Excited, Jake leans over the table. Hannah lifts her glass of water to avoid his arm, but ends up dumping half of it out on his head.

"I'm so sorry, Jake!" She apologizes as she quickly gives him her napkin and starts wiping the water off of his face. He lets her keep going until he realizes that the make-up will wash off with the water.

"Wait, stop!" But it's too late. Emma is gaping at his left eye, black and purple bruises surrounding it.

"Oh my word, Jake! What happened?" she exclaims as she gingerly brushes her finger beneath his eye, causing him to wince back.

"Nothing," he replies sternly, pushing her hand away.

"Well, obviously some-"

"NOTHING!" he shouts and he slides out of his chair and races to the front door, unlocking and opening it before racing out and slamming it with a thud behind him. Racing down the street, thoughts race through his mind. 

I can't let them know about Mason. If they find out, then they'll do something drastic like tell the dean or worse, his parents. If he finds out that I told on him I will never hear the end of it. I'll be 'Mommy's little boy' for the rest of my life. I can't have that. I should have made something up, like Mark chucked a ball at me and missed, hitting my eye, but she can see through every one of my lies. No matter how believable they are. 

He comes to a stop at a familiar place: a park a couple of blocks from his house. Seeing the familiar climbing dome, he scales it and sits down at the top. Once he makes sure he is alone, he lets his tears stream down his face, washing off the remainder of his make-up. Suddenly, a warm hand is on his shoulder. He turns sideways to see Ryan sitting beside him, giving him a small smile.

"Hey, Jake," he says simply. Just letting the two words hang in the air while he recomposes himself.

"Hi, Ryan," Jake replies with a sniffle as he wipes off his tears from his face.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, really. My mom saw my eye and freaked out, but I didn't know what to tell her and ran away."

"Is that all? Just you and your mom?"

"No," Jake says hesitantly, realizing his mistake at once. "We were in the middle of a big dinner. We had Lily, my mom's friend, and her husband, my dad's friend, Haz, over. Also Big Jake and Zendaya." When Ryan looks at him questioningly, Jake quickly corrects himself. "Jake Gyllenhaal. They all call him 'Big Jake' and me LJ or 'Little Jake'," he laughs.

"So, you're telling me that you ran out of a pretty big dinner because of a black eye?" He nods sheepishly, ducking his head as he combs his fingers through his light brown hair. "Look, Jake. What Mason and his buddies are doing, it's not cool. That black eye, it represents you standing up for yourself. It gives the other kids at the school hope to fight for themselves and their friends. Everybody at school has heard of the fight, one kid recorded it and that video is going around school. If he hadn't gotten your back, you would have beaten him. I don't know if you saw, but his arm was pretty messed up. Not broken but sprained at least. His injuries don't matter, though. What matters is that you stood up to him. Everyone says 'violence is not the answer' and that often times is the case, but it's the only way to get through Mason's thick skull." 

Jake can't help but let out a low snort of a chuckle at this, making eye contact with him before quickly turning away. "Anyway," Ryan continues with a cough, "if you don't want to tell your mom what happened, that's fine. I just want you to know that it's nothing to be ashamed of." They make eye contact again, but this time Jake maintains it. He stares into Ryan's bright blue eyes, butterflies appearing in his stomach. Then he feels what seems like a gravitational pull that tugs him towards Ryan, his eyes fixed on his. Their faces are inches apart now, he can feel Ryan's warm breath on his face, his blue eyes electric as they pull closer and closer. Right as their lips are about to touch, Jake jerked his head back and combed his fingers through his hair.

"Ok, well, thanks for the talk, Ryan. You're really good at that," he says with a forced laugh as he climbs down the dome and hops to the ground. As he walks away, he turns back and waved. "Goodnight. Love you, bro."

Why did I say that? That sounds so- 

"Love you too," Ryan shouts back, interrupting his self-scolding. He feels a warmth creep up his face, a blush forming on his cheeks and ears. Jake continues walking home, his hands fiddling with each other as he pads down the road, the streetlamps and building lights helping him see his way home. The butterflies stay in his belly, relentlessly fluttering about as he pictures Ryan's face so close to his. Eventually he feels the floor slant up beneath him as he walks up the driveway and to the front porch, the lights looking eerie against the sky that was as black as pitch. He hesitates before ringing the doorbell. Frantic footsteps echo in his ears as his mom races to the door, opening it with a look of utter relief and anger.

"Jake Nathaniel! Don't you dare run off like that again you had me worried sick!"

"I'm sorry," he says, his cheeks flushing red from shame. He can feel the anger radiating off of her, but then he saw their guests in the background and realized she would wait to explode until tomorrow morning when they were gone. 

"Hey, LJ! We have some cheesecake sopapilla! Come get some!" Big Jake calls out with a huge grin plastered on his bearded face. Jake gives his mom a questioning look, wondering when she had the time to make it without him knowing, but she just gives him an approving nod and he heads into the kitchen, grabbing a slice of warm sopapilla from the counter and biting into it. The warm cinnamon pastry on the outside was cooled by the creamy cheesecake filling inside. 

"Where did you go, Jake?" Lily asks as she rubs her hands together, wiping the stray cinnamon off.

"Right here, where I've always been," Big Jake replies with a laugh, his face confused. Jake can tell he's acting, though because his eyes are twinkling with laughter instead of his constant confusion.

"Oh shut up, 'Big Jake'," she says, emphasizing his nickname. "I'm talking to the Jake who left for half an hour." Jake Gyllenhaal smirks at her and she rolls her eyes before turning to face 'LJ'.

"To the park. I talked with a friend for a little and then headed back here. Nothing big." Lily gives him a small smile and nods in understanding. 

"So, where'd you get that epic black eye?" Haz asks earnestly.

Should I tell him the truth? Or one of my stories about Mark and Evan? Or something completely different? He sighs before combing his fingers through his hair. He looks up to see that Lily and 'Big Jake' had left the kitchen and it was just him and Haz.

"Can you promise not to tell anyone? Mom will get way too worried and if you tell Dad, he'll tell Mom. Please?" Haz nods, looking curiously at him.

"There's this kid at school, Mason. He and his friends have been teasing me about dancing and cooking non-stop. Stuff happened at lunch today and we got into a fight." After checking around the room to make sure no one is there, he pulls up his shirt and shows his bruised abs and back. He sees Haz's eyes widen, but he stays quiet to let him continue. "We fought for a while, but then he hit my back, where that bruise was, after he hit my eye and I collapsed. The next thing I knew I was in the nurse's office."

"At least tell me you got a few good hits in?" Jake laughs, relieved that he seemed to be taking this well.

"Yeah, I twisted his arm, punched his shoulder, and pushed him a couple of times."

"Nice," Haz replies with a smirk. "I should probably say 'fighting is not the answer', yadda yadda yadda, but I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself." Jake smiles at Haz, who gives him a light push on the shoulder. The grin plastered to his face, he heads to his room and pulls off the stiff dress shirt. He flops on top of his bed and turns on some Netflix, watching The Flash, one of his favorite old shows, and letting the familiarity of it soothe his thoughts and calm him. Taking the memories of the fight and the thoughts of Ryan away as he watches Barry Allen zoom across the screen, golden lightning trailing behind him.