Hope you enjoyed this as well as I did. ;) This was soo fun to write.
28 – Liar, Liar
"If you're going to test me, I want them to test you," Jeff's voice is cold and uncaring and he feels all too betrayed without Matt's trust and Matt slowly nods his head as they prick him first then they prick a reluctant Jeff who still doesn't want to admit that he might have a phobia of the needle and when both of them are done and when both of them are ready to go home, the doctor stops them. "Boys. One of you is sick. Not HIV sick but…"
Both of their bodies freeze in a second. Right now, whatever the doctor's going to say is going to change their lives forever.
The doctor walks towards them and holds onto Jeff's shoulder, "I've seen signs of heroin in your blood, Jeff—"
"HEROIN?!" Matt explodes, taking Jeff by his wrist, and pulling him to him and that makes Jeff let a sob escape from his lips as he rips his hand away from Matt and runs off, nausea rolling in his stomach and Matt runs off after him, watching as Jeff stops at Matt's car, shaking and shivering, Jeff crosses his arms over his flat and smooth chest and he still feels so sick to the stomach as Matt places a hand on Jeff's shoulder. "Why did you have HIV medicine in your drawer, Jeff?"
Jeff bites his lower lip, as hard as ever, "Randy has HIV."
"Then why are you hanging out with someone who has—HIV?" Matt says the last words as if it's an illness and Jeff looks back at him, punching him straight in the stomach, and Matt clutches his stomach, gasping, shocked at his brother's sudden outbreak.
"Why am I hanging out with someone who has HIV? Because he's a great friend and I don't want you saying who I can make friends with and who I can't."
"He has HIV!"
"Stop! Stop! Stop! Don't say that! Randy got HIV because of a blood transfusion. It's not his fault!"
"—so you left your old friend for these new ones?"
"Old…" Jeff's eyes widen as he realizes what Matt's talking about and the nausea in his stomach doubles over, intensity, flesh burning inside of his body and he feels his flesh turn hot.
"Jeff, where the hell are you? It doesn't take you ten hours to come from Mike's house! It's doesn't even take you ten minutes."
Jeff bites his lower lip. Mike. "Oh, Mike, the poor kid—"
"I am taking you to Mike's house right now. You are going to apologize and set this straight."
Jeff's hot boils. "What if I told you I don't want to be friends with Mike?"
In all truth and in the details, Jeff does miss Mike. That's what four years of close friendship does to them and he remembers on how they used to laugh together, watch and make fun of Dr. Phil together, snuggle and eat ice cream during reruns of House and Friends, steal Matt's boxers and wear them just because they want Matt to chase them around the house—all gone…and Jeff doesn't even notice it until Matt points it out. He feels sick and cheap, he feels like he's let down Mike in some way and it just hurts him as hard as ever.
"How can you not? You've been friends for four damn years! How could you, Jeff? What are you turning into?"
"I'm me, Matt. That's just it."
"The normal you wouldn't go two hours without phoning Mike! This new you…I just don't know. This new you—is a slut."
Jeff's heart might've stopped in his place. Did-did-did he call me a slut? And it slaps Jeff in the face, thinking that Matt thinks about him this way but in some way, he's been right, so many men have pushed their hands inside of Jeff's pants and have been kissing him so senselessly just because they think that he's a slut and before Matt can apologize, Jeff nods his head. "Yes. Yes, I'm a slut but at least I'm not a liar."
"Liar?" Matt repeats, chewing on his lower lip. "Liar?"
"You lied about Brice. You lied about loving me because you don't, or do you? You're lying about yourself and you don't even care. You're lying so much that I don't know the truth and you don't either. You hate me. I know that but why, Matt, why?"
"I don't hate you."
"Another lie."
Matt just walks towards his car door and opens it, slamming it in anger and frustration and Jeff follows and the car ride home is almost silent as Jeff stares outside of the window, thinking about Mike…his best friend, Mike Mizanin, who he has no idea what's happened to him and when Matt stops at Mike's house, it snaps him out of his trance and Jeff stares back at Matt who's eyes are demanding that he'd go outside and with a grunt, Jeff steps out. He wants to make Mike his friend again but then again, he doesn't want to do anything Matt tells him to do. He doesn't want to give Matt the satisfaction of knowing that he can make him do the things that Matt wants him to do.
He stops as he knocks on the doorway and it's opened by Mike's mother and that makes Jeff smile as he steps inside. "Oh, Jeff," she coos, her voice is bubbly and sweet, "Mike hasn't been feeling well these past few days and I was just hoping that you'd figure out what's wrong."
Jeff nods his head and walks upstairs, knowing each place in this house, the familiarity finally banging him as hard as ever as he knocks onto the doorway of Mike's door, waiting for the blue eyed Ohio native to open the door and just then, he notices just how much he's missed Mike's scent and face and eyes and just as Mike's opening the door, Jeff's heart skips a beat when he sees how distorted and horrible Mike looks like. His always cheery blue eyes are now cracked with pain and his pale skin is almost gray and his pink lips are chapped and his brown-blonde hair looks so brittle from where Jeff stands and knowing that Mike always cares about how he looks like, from designer clothes to fedoras and now that Mike's standing there in black and red sweats, Jeff's heart beats faster. "Mike?"
"Get away from me." Mike's ready to snap the door shut but Jeff steps in front of him and looks around to see how messy his room is and he knows that Mike's not tidy but he's not this messy and when he sees that Mike's still standing there by the doorway, with a slouching back and still too hurt eyes, Jeff hugs Mike who starts shaking hard. "Get away from me! Please!"
"Mike…what happened?"
"It's—I'm—"Mike presses his body towards the wall and his stomach flips violently, "just get out, Jeff. I don't need anymore drama in my life."
Jeff nods his head and walks off, walking out of the house to a sad mother and he steps out of the house only to see Matt sitting in the chair seat, looking all too confident and he walks inside, without another word, "no need to thank me, Jeff."
"THANK YOU?! Mike is a fucking mess! I can seriously go on with my life without seeing that! He doesn't need me around anymore—and God, Matt, I HATE YOU!" Jeff takes his head in his hands and Matt doesn't say another word. He really does feel like Jeff's lying but seeing the pain in Jeff's eyes, he knows that it's the truth. He really did mess up Jeff and Mike's relationship even more.
I know. I forgot about Mike at first too. But rereading the first chapter, I was just shocked to my damn brain. Review??
X Sam.
