Jake was happy to be home and ready to relax. It had been a long, fun night of drinks and partying. It was awesome to hang out with everyone without Amir jumping in and destroying things...although thus admittedly predictable. He unlocked his door and stepped in. Relaxation was only moments away. He dropped his bag on the ground, took another step, and-
"Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake. Where have you been my frien?"
Jake rubbed his face with his palms, sighing. Why was Amir in his apartment? There was no way he was going to recooperate from the night while Amir was here bugging him.
"Frien is not a word, you can't just drop off a letter to make a shitty rhyme. What are you doing in my house?"
"Well I think I just did, and that rhyzime was off the hizook. I'm just playing games, the boss is mad rad, but I'm kicking his ass."
"You do realize that you're just pressing buttons on a controller, right? It's not plugged into anything, and the TV isn't even on."
"Whatevs," Amir responded, maintaining eye contact with the blank television screen and mashing buttons with his thumbs. He suddenly threw the controller at the table in front of him, looking in agony at the screen. Jake flinched, hearing the glass of the table shattering and immediately getting angry. Amir was always destroying his stuff. "That was cheap! Not even fair! Jakey, did you see that?!"
Jake sighed again. He didn't feel like dealing with Amir today.
"Listen, Amir. I'm tired. I need you to leave."
"Of course you're tired, tired of partying without your bff! You owe me! We need to chillax together."
"How did you know where I…" Jake trailed off. Amir always knew where he was. He shivered. So creepy. "Amir, I need you to leave. I'm tired. He grabbed Amir's forearm, and was suddenly greeted with a horrified yelp. He let go, confused. He was even more confused when his eyes were met by Amir's. They weren't excitable and full of energy as usual. They were scared and teary. This was a kind of fear Jake had never seen in Amir, and Jake was taken aback.
"Dude are you okay?"
There was a pause. Amir stared at Jake, a face like a deer in headlights. And then, Amir broke down. Tears started streaming down his face, he was sobbing hard. Amir practically jumped on Jake, grabbing him tightly in an embrace. It was then Jake noticed the bruises on Amir's body. How had he not noticed them before?! He must've been so tired, he wasn't paying attention. There was a large bruise on Amir's face, another on his neck. Amir was wearing a long t-shirt, but Jake assumed there must've been more bruises underneath.
Normally, Jake wouldn't return a hug from Amir, but this was a special case. Thoughts rushed through Jake's head, what had happened? His first idea was that Amir had been mugged, but he doubted Amir would react to a mugging like this. Amir would probably would have shrugged it off and said something silly.
Then Jake looked at where Amir had been sitting. At first, he thought it was just a product of Amir's refusal to keep clean. Then he realized what the spot was.
Blood. Blood where Amir had been sitting. Blood was on the back of Amir's pants. Jake realized what happened.
His grip on Amir tightened, and Amir's took this as an invitation to hug harder. Jake was pissed. How dare someone do this to his friend. Yes, his friend. Although they were constantly fighting, they were friends, and Jake loved him. So, he was furious. He wanted to find the guys who did this and beat their fucking asses. Amir had done some awful things, but he didn't deserve this. There were so many things he wanted to say to Amir, assurances and compassions. But the thoughts were going to fast in his mind for him to speak his thoughts. Instead, they sat there in silence for several minutes, until Amir's sobbing ended. He pulled away from Jake, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.
"Jake, I'm sorry I broke in again, I just-"
Jake put a hand on Amir's shoulder. "I know, buddy. It's going to be okay, you're going to be fine. You can stay here for the night."
A faint smile appeared on Amir, the tears still dripping down his face.
"Thanks, Jake."
Another minute of silence. Then, Jake said something he'd never verbally admitted.
"I love you, man."
Amir's smile grew. "I love you, too."
For that night only, Amir slept in Jake's bed. And Jake held him until Amir quietly cried himself to sleep.