I flinch when the door slams. Slowly I look at Jake, and I'm pretty sure we're wearing the exact same expression. His green eyes are wide, lips parted slightly, a very "Oh, fuck" look. For some moments we just stood, frozen, staring at each other. Then as if some spell broke, Jake runs a hand through his hair.

"Fuck, Tristan, I'm-"

"He's right," I say quietly, sinking back down into my seat.

Jake screws up his face. "He is?"

I sigh heavily, rubbing my hands over my face a few times. "I've been a right bastard, Jacob"

Jake chuckles. "I don't think you're capable of being a bastard, Tristan."

"Oh, I'm perfectly capable, and I have been."

Jake doesn't say anything, just licks his lips.

I sigh. "I've made a fucking mess of everything, Jake."

Instead of replying, Jake just leans forward, pouring himself the rest of the red wine.

"I never should'a left Orion that day. It was a shit move on my part."

Jake shrugs, swirling the liquid, looking at the streaks instead of me. "I mean...That was a pretty intense situation. I don't blame you."

"Well I do." I chuckle and tilt my head back, looking at the ceiling. "I'm a bastard for abandoning him."

"Orion doesn't feel that you abandoned him."

My head snaps down. "He doesn't?"

Jake sighs and puts his wine on the glass coffee table. He then leans back, clasping his hands with the tips of his index fingers pressed together against his lips. The look in his eye is serious, head tilted down slightly.

"Look, Tristan. I'm going to be up front. He doesn't talk about you, much."

I feel completely crestfallen.

"But," Jake continues before I can say anything, "I guarantee you that he doesn't feel any ill will towards you."

I cross my arms and scoff, glaring off to the side.

"Tristan."

I look at him.

"Besides you, I'm damn near positive I know him the best."

He did have a point.

"I also heard it through the grapevine he does actually talk about you."

"You did?" I say, and I don't like the excitement in my voice.

Jake chuckles. "Apparently, according to Amy, he confides to Scott Davis a lot."

I furrow my brow. "Scott Davis, Scott Davis... Why does that name sound familiar?"

"The actor?" Jake deadpans.

"Oh!" I screw up my face. "Orion knows Scott Davis?"

"Met him in rehab." Jake points at me. "You cannot repeat that."

I hold up my hands.

"Also, just so you know, Orion did admit to me once recently he couldn't sleep because he was thinking of you."

"Really?" I ask, a smile coming to my face immediately.

Jake pauses. "Look, Tristan. I'm not trying to give you false hope. All I'm saying is, for all intents and purposes, it seems like he's in the same position you are."

"He is? What do you mean?"

Jake sighs and takes up his wine again. He looks at me pointedly. "Have you reached out to him?"

I blush.

"You haven't, have you?"

I still don't reply.

"Besides that time he called you, you guys haven't talked, right?"

"Correct, and that was hardly speaking. I just said his name over and over and he muttered 'sorry'."

When Jake speaks, he draws out the 'o' of the first word. "Do you wanna talk to him?"

I look at my hands, and when I talk I can only manage a whisper. "Yeah."

When I look up, Jake simply raises his eyebrows at me. Heaving a huge sigh, I continue.

"I met Dave at a party and I feel horrible for leading him on. I just-"

Jake doesn't say either way, to encourage me to speak or to stop. I appreciate his hands - off approach to this. It's so very thoughtful, and I can see why Jake is such a great guy for Orion.

When I speak, I go back to whispering. "I think I was just trying to convince myself that I would get over Orion."

"You love him, don't you?"

Blinking, I pick my head up.

"Don't you?"

I nod.

Jake finishes his wine, stretching. He comes over to me then, patting my shoulder. "Try to get some sleep, Tristan. G'nite."

~

I ended up falling asleep on the couch. At some point, Jake had draped a blanket over me. I was awoken the next morning to shuffling feet and quiet voices. It was still dark out, the faintest signs of purple morning on the horizon. I saw Jake and Dave walking past. I didn't want them to know that I had woken up, so I shut my eyes.

I thought nothing of it, assuming they had run out to get Dave's car. I, surprisingly, managed to fall back asleep. When I woke up for good, the sun was pouring in through the window. It looked warm out.

In the distance I heard an acoustic guitar being played, so I sat up and stretched. Afterwards I padded up the stairs, following the music to a shut door. After hesitating a second, I knock.

"Jake?"

A pause in the music. "It's open."

I opened the door, greeted to the sight of Jake on his bed. He was dressed similarly to how I was, blue and black flannel pants, a dark grey t-shirt, and slippers. He sat cross-legged, holding his guitar. I nearly laughed at his impressive bed-head.

"Morning."

Jake grins and put the guitar down. "Ah, you're finally awake!"

"Finally? Shit, how late is it?"

"Around nine."

"Sorry."

Jake shrugs, picking quietly at his guitar. "Not a big deal. Dave left already, so I thought I'd let you sleep."

I'm stunned. "Dave...left?"

Jake looks like a someone who knew they were just about to die. "You didn't know?!"

"No I didn't know!" I reply, trying to keep myself from snapping at him.

Jake looks mortified. "I am so, so sorry. I thought you were awake when we came downstairs."

"Well, kinda, but I just figured you were towing his car up here..." Without asking, I go to Jake's bed and flop down, holding my head in my hands. "Fuck."

"I can bring you back home," Jake tells me with hesitation in his voice.

I wave my hand dismissively, wiping the sleep out of my eyes with my other hand. "It's fine. I'll book a flight."

"You most certainly will not!"

Surprised, I twist to look at him.

"I'll pay. Although I had the idea of driving you. That way we could catch up some more. But if you'd rather fly out, that's fine. And you can go as soon as you want."

"Well, I was looking forward to spending the weekend with you, like we originally planned." I sigh. "But I fucked that up too, didn't I?"

Jake scoots forward on the bed until he's sitting next to me. I look at him.

"I'm going to say this as a friend, got it?"

Steeling myself, I nod curtly.

"This whole woe is me bullshit isn't like you, Tristan. You sound like Orion. Get over it."

I'm surprised, and I sort of half-laugh, even though I still feel guilty. Jake puts his hand on my shoulder. "I would like nothing more than to hang out with you this weekend, okay? You can stay as long as you want."

"You sure? I mean, that was super awkward last night. I wouldn't hold it against you if my presence here is no longer welcome."

Jake rolls his eyes, and then very gently slaps the back of my head. "Tristan Smith, you're polite almost to a fault, you know that?"

After a moment of just smiling at him stupidly, happy he still wanted me as a guest, my smile fades away wistfully. "Did I really remind you of Orion?"

Jake smiles sweetly at me, his eyes soft. "Yeah, you did. Now c'mon, you lumbering dolt, let's go have some fun."