This chapter is published in honor of CheekyBrunette's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GIRL, I hope you enjoy it :D
You shouldn't be worried, but maybe I should.
That single line concerned Nick more than any crazy things a drunk Jeff could do; did he think that some random, granted, he was cute, stable boy would drive them apart or something?
Nah, he wouldn't think that, I bet he's just overanalyzing things.
Jeff pushed the scarred door open, exaggeratedly motioning for Nick to go in, his sad expression replaced by a familiar playful, lopsided grin. Stepping into the small house, Nick was instantly greeted by a large number of bright-haired individuals, some with the same bright green eyes as Jeff, some with blue, and then , who was the only other dark-eyed individual in the room.
"Well hey there! You must be Nick, come on in, pop a squat, we got a whole bunch of stuff to ask you, you bein' all new to the family and whatnot." A boy older than the two of them with a very thick Southern accent greeted Nick, whisking him over to a small area full of mismatched, hole-y couches filled with similarly accented boys, all wearing the same warm, welcoming smile. "I'm Andy, the oldest. You know, I went to that fancy Dalton school too, like, five years ago? Somethin' like that? I dunno anymore, it was a while ago, and I didn't do too good. Anyway, you'll prolly wanna be knowin' who the rest of these guys are!" He went around the circle, each Sterling waving, winking, or belching in greeting when their name was called. "Let's see, we got Joel, he's next oldest after me, Mark, I don't even remember how old you are, buddy, Ryan, he's the baby, only thirteen! Then last is Ty, he's somewhere 'round y'alls age, you and Jefferson."
The process of being whisked away from his boyfriend and planted among a squadron of Southern blondes had Nick pretty disoriented, but he did manage to process everyone's names. Also, Jeff thankfully took that moment to make his presence known, coming in from the kitchen and pretending to be angry. "C'mon, Anderson, you know I'm not Jefferson. And besides, you got Ty and Mark backwards, Mark is my age, and Ty is…well, I don't know how old you are either, bro."
One of the boys, presumably Ty, just shrugged, either deeming the detail unimportant, or actually not knowing himself. Jeff shrugged too, shooing Andy out of the way to plop down next to his boyfriend, subtly lacing their fingers together as a conversation started between the five of them, smiling to himself when none of his brothers even blinked at the gesture.
Nick was trying to assimilate into the blonde family's boisterous way of conversing, but that was made significantly more challenging as he was distracted by the poignant, underlying sadness radiating off his boyfriend. For the most part, they both kept their mouths shut, Jeff less so than Nick, but Nick could tell that something had ruffled the blonde's feathers. He tried questioning the blonde with his eyes, but every time Jeff would see the inquiry, he'd quickly turn away, plastering a smile on and laughing along with his family. To Andy, Ty, and Mark, Jeff seemed completely normal. But Nick saw right through it; Jeff's eyes didn't crinkle when he smiled, and his laughs were way too forced. Nick was trying to come up with a subtle way to whisper something to the blonde when a new click of boots came through the front door, bringing a tepid draft in behind whoever the newcomer was. Nick would have guessed Bobbi, but the footsteps were too light.
Mark, being the one facing the door, waved to the person, drawing everyone else's attention, including Nick and Jeff's. A tall girl with long brown, naturally highlighted hair was unlacing the pair of scarred black leather boots on her feet, leaving them to flop in a corner with some other dusty shoes. When she stood up, Nick could see that she was a classically beautiful face, with angular, but not sharp, dark green eyes, a petite nose, and slight lips. Her skin was dark like Bobbi's, presumably from spending most of her time out in the sun, and her arms were matted with scars and a layer of dirt, her legs closely resembling them.
"Well, is someone gonna introduce me to the new kid, or am I gonna have to do that myself?" Her accent wasn't as thick as the boys', but it was still there. She locked eyes with Nick and smiled sweetly, vaulting over the couch Ty and Andy were on, landing so she was on her back across their knees.
"Alright, well, Nick, this is Melanie, and don't worry, she's the only sister we got, so there's only one of her we gotta deal with." Mark laughed as Melanie glared at him.
"Just call me Mel, it's easier. You must be Nick, the boyfriend, then, right?" Nick nodded. "Hm, you aren't much for words, are you? Don't worry, I'll have you talkin' by the end of the week." She winked, earning another glare, this time from Jeff. "Relax, Jeff, I know he's on your team. Besides, I got Blake, remember?"
Nick recoiled a bit, surprised. "Wait, you're dating Blake?"
Melanie nodded. "Yeah, why?"
"Oh, well, um, he just, well…never mind." The three other boys raised an eyebrow at him, clearly unimpressed with his failed coverup.
"Nick, you might not know us, but we can basically say whatever the hell we want in this house, so I don't care if you're about to tell me he felt you up, or whatever, just say it, I actually won't care."
Nick looked to Jeff for confirmation, skeptical to tell his boyfriend's sister that her boyfriend had just been flirting with him, but not wanting to seem closed off to them. Jeff nodded slightly. "Yeah, well, Blake was just hitting on me out in the barn, or at least I thought he was, it kinda felt like he was undressing me with his eyes, or something…." Jeff's breath caught in his throat and he quickly stood up, muttering something about going to see about getting dinner as he hastened out of the room, mistakenly heading down a hallway that definitely wasn't leading to the kitchen. Confused, Nick started after him, but Melanie motioned for him to stay where he was.
"Yeah, Blake does that to people, and I know it, but as long as he doesn't actually do anything, I don't really give a flip. He swears he doesn't like guys, which I don't believe for a second, but hey, to each his own, I say. And you'll wanna give Jeff a few minutes to calm down before you go talk to him; talking about Blake's flirting works him up." Her green gaze was apologetic, but if it was for her brother or her boyfriend, Nick couldn't tell. He thanked her before going down the same hallway Jeff had just disappeared into, thanking Ty when he called out "third door down on the right" after him.
The third door down on the right was one of the newer ones, almost as if the Sterlings had replaced it in time for their son to come home. Silently, Nick pressed his ear to the door, but only heard someone pacing inside.
"Jeff?" He softly tapped twice on the door. "Jeff, can I come in?" He heard the blonde sigh, but not angrily, he sounded more defeated than anything else, much to Nick's dismay. The footsteps grew louder as Jeff approached the door, and Nick stepped back so he wouldn't fall in when the door was opened. Consistent with his theory that the door was new, it swung open without a creak on shiny hinges.
Jeff brushed his bangs away from his eyes, which were darting around the floor, not able to meet Nick's. "Sorry I just left like that…I bet they explained all my issues with Blake to you already, didn't they?"
Nick felt his own sadness growing at the sheer amount of dejectedness he heard in his boyfriend's tone. Softly, he stepped forward, brushing Jeff's bangs away and running a finger over the blonde's cheekbone. "Can I come in?" Jeff sighed again, but stepped back anyway, out of Nick's reach.
Stepping inside, Nick shut the door and set a hand on the blonde's side, the other tilting his chin up, forcing their eyes to meet. "Jeff, what's wrong?" He spoke softly, hoping that asking about Blake wouldn't get Jeff even more worked up.
Instead of answering, Jeff removed Nick's hand from his chin, placing it back at his side before weaving his own fingers into the brunette's belt loops, staring at the floor again. "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine."
Just that I feel like I'm going to lose my boyfriend to a slutty, sexually disoriented stable hand.
"No, actually, you're not, and I know you too well for you to get that by me. Please, tell me what's bothering you?"
Jeff stopped playing with his boyfriend's belt loops to start pacing again; an attempt to quell his anger from fury to sadness. He heard the wall creak as Nick leaned against it, and the blonde forced himself to stop pacing his problems out for once, stopping dead in the middle of the room. He locked eyes with his boyfriend, surprised to find concern lying beneath the brown, instead of impatience, like the rest of his family always had. "Sorry. I just hate when Blake does that to the people I know, and in this case, the person I love…it pisses me off, then I hate when I get pissed in front of people because I either get really angry or really ramble-y, and neither of those is very good, and god, you're laughing at me, which means I'm rambling." Jeff ran a hand through his hair in exasperation, trying to suppress the torrent of emotion threatening to take over his actions, but having little success.
He felt Nick take his hands, which he hadn't even realized were balled tightly into fists. "Jeff, Blake doesn't even have a chance, not when he's claiming to be straight and dating your sister. I'm not gonna lie and say I don't think he's attractive, but you actually have nothing to worry about. We are together, and I'm not stupid enough to let you go."
Jeff squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring the persistent anger trying to break through. "I know…Nicky, I know we're together, but that's what he does, he gets all in your mind with his…." He gestured randomly around in the air. "Southern charm, or something, and next thing you know, he's broken up another couple. He's a freaking homewrecker, Nick, I'm sorry if that kind of history gets me worked up like this." The blonde took his hands back and resumed pacing.
"Jeff….I can promise you that's not going to ha-" He was cut off midsentence by Jeff wheeling around and locking their lips together, but it wasn't the normal, sweet Jeff. This Jeff was angry, and desperate to keep his boyfriend from whoever he had pegged as the bad guy. Surprised, but quickly recovered, Nick reciprocated the gesture, but not liking the sheer desperation he felt in his boyfriend. Jeff kissed him roughly, hands sliding from the brunette's shoulders down his chest, twisting in the hem of his shirt for a moment before making quick work of tossing it to the floor.
Despite the underlying need and hopelessness, Nick couldn't bite back a gasp as his boyfriend's long, warm fingers clawed down his chest. The sound seemed to egg the blonde on, as he trailed his mouth down the brunette's neck, leaving a few marks in his wake as he worked up to his boyfriend's ear, grazing it teasingly with his tongue before whispering softly.
"Nicky….please, don't let him…don't let him get between us."
Nick was thoroughly distracted at this point, but still managed to come up with a coherent response. "No, he won't, I….I promise you that."
Jeff hummed, sealing their lips together once more, the degree of urgency still as high. Nick tried to snake his tongue into the blonde's mouth, but Jeff pulled away before that could happen, smirking when his boyfriend hummed in discontent. When the blonde spoke, his lips feathered against Nick's, making his tone even raunchier than it was to begin.
"Nicky…make love to me, please…"
Before he could respond, their lips were sealed once more, breaking only when the blonde's shirt joined Nick's on the floor. Gathering his previously scattered mind, Nick put his hands on his boyfriend's chest, who leaned into the contact, humming in protest when he found himself being pushed away. Desperation glowed in Jeff's eyes, threatening to drill a hole in Nick's resolve.
"No, Jeff, I'm not going to sleep with you because you think some slutty stable hand is gonna get to me."
Pain coarsed over the desperation, but Jeff soon after realized that, when presented like that, he was being a little stupid; were it anyone else, he'd be concerned, but he knew Nick well enough to see he was right.
"I'm….I'm sorry, Nicky, I do trust you, I really, really do, but…yeah…I can't really make excuses, but I'm so sorry, can we just maybe….pretend I'm not some insecure guy who throws himself at his boyfriend when said insecurities are obvious?" The last part came out as a blur, but Nick still understood.
"You're insecure, but you're my insecure boyfriend, so…no, we're not gonna say you aren't, because then you wouldn't be mine, would you?" A familiar twinkle was back to Nick's eye, and Jeff laughed softly, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's waist.
"Alright, works for me." He released him to meet the other's deep brown gaze. "So…are we good? Like, if I don't flip a shit every time Blake looks at you, you promise you won't dump me for him?"
Nick laughed at the ridiculously blunt nature of his proposition. "Yes, we're good, of course we're good."
Jeff grinned, softly kissing his boyfriend once more, as the door swung open without even a knock in warning. "WOAH, guys, break it up, dinner's ready, so come and get it." Jeff blushed and Nick laughed, nodding to Melanie, who had a hand on one hip and an eyebrow raised in amusement. "Oh, and boys? Might wanna find some shirts while you're at it. Nick, you're hot, but it looks like someone got….busy with you, know what I mean?" With a wink, she slipped out the door, padding back down the hall.
There was a moment of silence between them before they burst out laughing simultaneously, quickly muffling it to snickers, occasionally snorting when they saw the nail marks up and down Nick's chest.
"Oh, hush you, I blame you for this." Jeff just laughed more, tossing Nick's shirt at him, turning his own the right side out.
"Don't act like you don't like it, love." The blonde winked, twisting the doorknob, but waiting 'til his boyfriend had his shirt on.
Nick put a hand on the door, keeping it shut as he kissed the blonde, the other hand lightly tracing a line of muscle on Jeff's stomach. "Well, I must say, I liked you better before you put this on." Jeff hummed in agreement.
"Nicky, you have the worst possible timing to be a tease." Nick laughed, kissing him once more, dragging his tongue along the blonde's top lip as he did so.
"I try." He winked, pulling the door open and cavorting out to the hallway, winking at the blonde. "C'mon, you can get me back later, but right now, I'm starving."
Glaring, Jeff shut the door behind them. "Alright, so am I, but I'm holding you to that!"
Nick wove their fingers together, pulling his boyfriend towards food. "Hmm…just don't tell Mama, pretty boy…."
Hehehe, YAY! I like publishing.
A fun game in this chapter...I was recently in a musical at school, and I put in the name of one of the songs here somewhere! If you can find it, you get a plate of cookies for the week :) if you want a hint, feel free to PM me and I'll tell you the name of the musical, who sang it, whatever. If you don't care, then feel free to go on your merry way :)
I'd add who reviewed the last chapter…but alas, I don't have that kind of time as of yet. Which is also why this is unedited! For the most part. Anywho, if you reviewed the last chapter, I LOVE YOU LIKE A MATH TEACHER LOVES THE LETTER X. Later tonight, if I remember, I'll come back and put y'alls names in here.
Anywho….lastly, but not leastly, happy birthday again to CheekyBrunette! Her day of birth is why I got off my ass and finally wrote this. So thank you, chica, for bugging me :D