A/N: This chapter has a lot more fluff and humor. I hope you guys enjoy it!
A Street Over and a World Away
Chapter 6: The Conversation
Jackson didn't sleep at home the night he learned the truth about Isaac and his biological family. He couldn't bear to be under the same roof as the people who had spent his entire life lying to him, and he certainly couldn't handle the concept that his fucking brother was in the room across the hall. He wasn't sure how to even begin to process all the news he had received that night.
Going to Danny's house had been almost automatic. Jackson didn't like to admit it, but he wasn't that great at figuring out his feelings. Danny on the other hand...well Danny actually was kind of great at figuring out Jackson's feelings, and while that often annoyed Jackson, especially when he didn't want to confront what he was feeling, tonight it seemed like a necessity.
And so Jackson found himself knocking on Danny's front door not quite an hour after his entire world had been turned upside down. He hadn't texted Danny to let him know he was coming, just muttered to Vicky where he was going so that his stupid, lying adoptive parents wouldn't freak out and call the cops to look for him, then numbly drove straight to Danny's house.
"I'm staying with you tonight," Jackson said as soon as Danny, and thankfully not either of his parents, opened the door.
Danny shrugged and laughed, obviously in a good mood, just like Jackson had been a couple of hours earlier when they had parted after dinner. "Okay, sure."
Jackson cursed as he heard the sound of laughter coming from the living room and recognized the muffled voices that accompanied it: Ethan and Aiden. Jackson's three teammates must have still been hanging out after practice.
"Get rid of them," Jackson said as Danny relocked the door behind him.
"What?"
"The twins." Jackson winced. Twins wasn't a word he liked at the moment. "Get rid of them. I need–"
"Jackson! Hey man," Aiden called as he walked into the entryway and bumped Jackson's shoulder with his fist.
"Oh hey dude, I didn't know you were coming over," Ethan said, appearing behind his brother. "You here to watch the movie?"
"Go on." Danny nudged Jackson toward the living room, apparently disregarding his request to get rid of the twins. "We're watching The Winter Soldier."
Jackson didn't have the energy to argue, so he followed the twins into the living room as Danny disappeared to the kitchen.
"We're not restarting," Aiden remarked with a smirk at Jackson as he collapsed on the end of the couch while Jackson took a seat in the nearby recliner.
"We can restart if you want," Ethan countered, sinking down next to his brother and swatting his shoulder. Aiden retaliated with a shove and a moment later the twins were laughing and wrestling on the couch.
"Here Jacks," Danny said a little while later as he handed Jackson a glass of soda and took his place on the couch on the other side of Ethan. The brothers were still tussling and Danny gave them a fond look as he patted Ethan's leg. "If you guys hit me, I'm gonna have to kick both your asses."
The twins just giggled and kept playfighting, vying with each other for the upper hand. They weren't usually so silly, but Jackson had seen them act like this enough to know they wouldn't stop until one of them successfully pinned the other and made him give up.
It was annoying. They were obviously having a lot of fun, and it bothered Jackson that theoretically he could have had a relationship like that with someone – with Isaac of all people – but now he never would because it was too late. It wasn't Jackson's fault; it wasn't even Isaac's fault. It was Jackson's asshole parents and Isaac's evil father who were to blame.
"Dude, are you mad at us?" Aiden asked, catching Jackson's eye and pausing his efforts to pin Ethan against the back cushion of the couch.
Ethan turned his head and looked at Jackson too. A frown slowly replaced the wide grin that had been on his face. "Sorry, man, we'll stop horsing around and restart the movie."
Jackson cleared his throat and took a sip of his drink. He hadn't realized how hard he was glaring at them, but now that they had pointed it out, he felt the hostile scowl etched across his face.
Danny gave Jackson a thoughtful look, and Jackson both hated and savored the concern it conveyed. "Actually, guys, can we finish the movie next time? Jackson and I need to go over some plays for the game Friday."
"Oh, well we'll go over them with you," Aiden answered.
Ethan rolled his eyes and nudged his brother's arm. He gave Aiden a meaningful look, and understanding flashed across Aiden's face, leaving Jackson to once again wonder if twin telepathy was real. Was he supposed to be able to communicate with Isaac that way? Because that was never going to happen. They couldn't even interpret each other's tones on the rare occasions they texted.
"It's probably like a goalie/captain strategy plan, huh?" Aiden asked.
"Right, exactly," Danny answered.
Jackson grunted in irritation. This was stupid. Why couldn't he just tell them to get out so he could talk to Danny privately? They were his friends. If he couldn't tell his friends to fuck off, what was the point?
"Okay, I'll text you tonight," Ethan said to Danny. He turned and kissed him. Jackson and Aiden looked away as Danny whimpered and leaned back, and Ethan slid on top of him, signaling their kiss wasn't going to be a quick peck on the lips.
"This isn't inappropriate at all," Jackson muttered to Aiden.
Aiden laughed and grabbed the back of Ethan's shirt, yanking him off Danny.
"Cockblock!" Ethan growled playfully at his brother before grinning at Danny and squeezing his knee as he got up.
"Take it easy, Jackson," Aiden said, dropping a hand on Jackson's shoulder as he stepped past his chair. Ethan bumped Jackson's shoulder too, and Danny said that he'd be right back as he followed the twins out to say goodbye.
Danny was back a little while later and reclaiming his spot on the end of the couch. He patted the space in front of him and gave Jackson a pointed look. "So you wanna tell me what's wrong."
"No," Jackson muttered, getting out of his chair and taking his place on the couch next to Danny. It would be easier if he didn't have to talk as loud.
"Do it anyway," Danny ordered, a fond look on his face.
"It's my parents and" –Jackson set his jaw and made sure he had Danny's attention before he continued. He wasn't going to say this twice– "my brother."
Danny's brow furrowed, and he tilted his head. "You don't have a brother."
Jackson sighed. "That's what I thought too."
"Oh shit! Are your parents adopting Isaac?"
Jackson pursed his lips and nodded. "But it's not just that."
"Then what?"
"I found out who my biological family is."
Danny's eyes widened and his handed landed on Jackson's arm. "Who?"
Jackson didn't answer, just took a deep breath and gave Danny a sad look.
"Who?" Danny whispered, rubbing Jackson's arm.
Jackson frowned, confused by the tightness in his chest and the sting behind his eyes. He grumbled and gave in to his urge to pull Danny into a hug. It eased the ache a little when Danny held him tight, and his thumb traced along the line of Jackson's spine. Danny hummed, the sound meaningless yet somehow soothing, and Jackson felt like he could get the words out.
"The Laheys. Me and Isaac are twins."
Isaac stayed up until the early hours of the morning talking to the Whittemores. After Jackson had run out, Mrs. Whittemore had started to go after him, but Mr. Whittemore had stopped her, telling her to give him time. She hadn't seemed pleased with that suggestion, but then her eyes had landed on Isaac and a tight smile had pulled across her lips as she re-joined him on the sofa. A moment later, Mr. Whittemore got up from his chair and took a seat on Isaac's other side.
Isaac swallowed and stared at the floor between his feet. He had never liked being the center of attention and he was still reeling from everything he had been told. He wanted them to leave him alone, but he also felt like maybe they shouldn't, like it might hurt less if they stayed with him.
"Isaac, words can't express how sorry we are about what happened to you," Mr. Whittemore said, rubbing the back of Isaac's neck and squeezing his shoulder.
Isaac flinched as Mrs. Whittemore let out a sob and then dissolved into tears, hugging him from the other side.
"It's not your fault," Isaac said softly as he wrapped an arm around Mrs. Whittemore and leaned into Mr. Whittemore.
"Not directly, but...it was." Mr. Whittemore gave Isaac a long look, his face drawn with sorrow. "I should have recognized the signs."
"No, I should have!" Mrs. Whittemore wailed, clutching Isaac's shirt.
Isaac coughed, his body starting to tremble and his own fragile composure slipping. "You barely knew me."
He couldn't help the thoughts that popped into his mind. What if they hadn't barely known him? What if they had adopted him instead of Jackson? Did it make Isaac an asshole for wishing they had? For wishing away his childhood and the good times he'd had with Camden and his dad? And by extension was he basically wishing Jackson had gone through what he had? Because he really wouldn't wish that on anyone, not even Jackson – hell not even Theo.
Mr. Whittemore squeezed Isaac's shoulder, and Isaac let himself slump against Mr. Whittemore's chest. "I heard it happening that night from my study. So if I had been home more...If I had heard it years ago..."
Mrs. Whittemore sniffled and sat up. She gave Isaac a look that broke his heart as she took his hand. "If I hadn't been drunk all the time maybe I would have heard something."
Isaac gaped at her. It was the first time he had ever heard her acknowledge her drinking.
A little while later Vicky appeared to tell them that Jackson had gone to Danny's house. Jackson's parents looked almost relieved by the news. Isaac thought it over and decided that he was pleased too. He didn't want to face Jackson that night, and he also liked Danny and found himself glad that Jackson wasn't alone, that he had a best friend he could turn to. It was a nice change in thought after Isaac had just mentally condemned Jackson to a life of abuse a few minutes earlier.
That night Isaac told the Whittemores everything, details he hadn't shared before, feelings he had never acknowledged. He talked to them about Camden and their dad. He even talked to them about school and the way he had been bullied. The only thing he didn't mention was Jackson's role in it, because that would have hurt them, and he didn't want that. It also would have felt like tattling, and he wasn't that kind of person.
The Whittemores talked too. They told him how hard it had been watching him grow up when they felt like he should have been a part of their family, how painful it had been keeping the secret from him and Jackson, and how much they regretted not figuring out a way to be in his life sooner.
By the time Isaac went to bed, he felt a sense of belonging he had never felt before in the Whittemore home. It felt like he had been meant to live here all along, like the Whittemores weren't just nice people who were doing him a favor, but family who wanted him, who had always wanted him.
The next morning, Jackson got up early so he could go home and get ready for school. Danny may have been the one who was gay, but Jackson was no less meticulous about his appearance, and he wasn't going to go to school in borrowed clothes without his regular hair product. He also didn't have his school stuff, and just because he was having a personal crisis didn't mean he was going to let his grades slide. He'd only be fucking himself over if he did that and hurt his chances of getting into an ivy league school.
He got home and started getting ready before people were up and around. However, it took him long enough that he was no longer early by the time he descended the stairs. He gritted his teeth as he walked into the dining room to find his parents and Isaac already there. A plate of steaming food, consisting of an omelet with sour cream and picante sauce along with hash browns covered in melted cheese, was laid out in Jackson's usual place at the table.
"Vicky, what's this?" Jackson asked, ignoring his parents' greetings and refusing to look at them as he addressed the maid.
"It's your favorite breakfast, honey," his mother interjected.
Jackson rolled his eyes. As if he were going to eat junk like this two days before the championship game. He held the plate out to Vicky. "Take this away and bring me a protein shake, a piece of chicken breast, and an orange."
Vicky nodded crisply and took the plate.
"I'll have those cheesy hash browns," Isaac said with a grin.
Jackson glanced at him, surprised he was speaking up. His plate was already picked over and judging by the scraps of cheese on the edges, this would be his second helping of cheese-covered hash browns.
Great. Getting fat ought to really help his social standing at school.
"Thank you, ma'am," Isaac said cheerfully as he scraped Jackson's rejected food onto his plate with a fork and knife and passed it back to Vicky.
Jackson's parents beamed at him like he had just saved a toddler from a burning building.
"Jackson, is there anything you'd like to discuss?" Jackson's father asked as he stirred his coffee.
"Nope."
"I'm sure you must have some questions for us, honey," his mother said.
"No."
"Would you like us to make you an appointment with Isaac's therapist?" his father asked.
Jackson glared at the man. "Certainly not."
"We were thinking about going for a group session," he added.
Jackson scrolled through the messages on his phone as he responded in a voice thick with sarcasm, "That's nice. You guys have fun."
"We'd want you there as well, honey," his mother said.
"No, thank you."
He continued shutting down his parents' efforts to talk to him until they finally gave up and let him eat his breakfast in peace. When he was done he dropped his fork on his plate with a clink and looked up at Isaac. "Are you ready for school?"
"Yeah," Isaac answered as he pushed out his chair and got up.
Jackson's parents got up too. His father gave Isaac a hug, and his mother hugged him and kissed his cheek. Jackson put up his hands and backed away as they moved to repeat the process with him.
"Don't," he warned, his tone losing any pretense of civility. There was no way in hell he was going to let them act like everything was okay.
"We love you, honey," Jackson's mother said, a tight-lipped smile on her face.
Jackson didn't acknowledge the statement, just turned and walked out of the room.
...
...
"Ready for your algebra test?" Jackson asked a few minutes later as he and Isaac got into his car.
"I didn't do the homework last night," Isaac answered, his voice soft and eyes averted.
Jackson forced a laugh. "Gee, did something come up?"
"Yeah." Isaac buckled his seatbelt, still not looking at him.
Jackson turned on the car and switched off the radio. "Come meet me at lunch, and I'll help you do the homework and cram for the test."
Isaac's head snapped up. "We can't do that. People will see us."
Jackson raised his hands and trembled them in mock fear as he pulled out onto the road. "Oh no, people will see us doing schoolwork at school."
"I meant they'd see us. Together."
Jackson shrugged, trying to pretend he didn't care. He did, but he'd go through with it and deal with the consequences.
"I'll just review by myself. I think I'll be fine. I'm starting to get it now."
Jackson cleared his throat and tried not to choke on his next words. "Yeah, you're making good progress."
"Did you just...give me a compliment?"
Jackson kept his eyes on the road and shrugged. "Yeah, well it's true. You're improving very fast."
"What?"
"I think you'll be a good student soon. You're...smart."
"WHAT?!"
"Isaac, chill." Jackson smirked at him. "I mean you do have me as a tutor, so of course you're doing better."
"Whoa, wait, what did you just call me?" Isaac's eyes were wide, and he was looking at Jackson like he had never seen him.
"Your name?" Jackson asked, irritation slipping into his tone.
"Yeah but...my first name?"
Jackson growled. Isaac was such an asshole. Why did he have to make this a big deal?
"Well it's not like I'm going to keep calling you 'Lahey' when apparently" –Jackson cringed– "I'm a Lahey too...Besides, now you're going to be a Whittemore like me. So, obviously last names aren't the way to go with each other."
Isaac looked at him in silence for a few seconds before snickering. "That is a good point."
"Isaac Whittemore." Jackson pretended to retch. "Yeah, that'll take some getting used to."
"Are you...joking?" Isaac asked.
Jackson laughed. "No, that's seriously going to take some getting used to."
"Yeah, but you don't sound..." Isaac tilted his head, still looking at Jackson like he had no idea what to think. "As angry as I expected?"
"Oh I'm fuckin' furious at my parents," he answered, clenching the steering wheel. "But...they're the ones who lied to me, not you."
"So you're not going to–" Isaac looked around and raised his hand. "Hey wait, you missed the drop off spot."
Jackson grumbled. Fucking Isaac Lah– Whittemore. He has to make me spell everything out.
"You're not walking to school like some loser. You're my brother."
Isaac almost swallowed his tongue at lunch as he sensed someone approaching and looked up to see Jackson, Danny, and one of the twins walking directly toward his empty table with their trays of food.
"What are you doing?" Isaac whispered urgently as Jackson sank into the seat next to him, and Danny and Ethan took spots across from him.
Jackson glared at him and hit his shoulder with his own just hard enough for it to not quite count as a nice gesture. "Having lunch."
"How's it going, Isaac?" Danny asked, all dimples and a friendly smile.
"Good." Isaac answered, nodding a little too hard and a little too fast. Damn it, why did Jackson have to put him on the spot like this?
"Isaac." Ethan said with a pleasant nod.
A thought occurred to him as he struggled for something more original to say than just repeating Ethan's name. He recalled that when Ethan and the others had forced him to watch that movie with them a couple weeks ago, Ethan had recommended something to him as part of his efforts to make conversation with him.
"I checked out that YouTube channel you mentioned."
Ethan looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Huh?"
Isaac's cheeks heated in a blush. Ethan probably didn't remember, and why would he remember a random conversation he'd had with a loser over two weeks ago? Isaac thought about dropping it, but decided it might be less embarrassing if he just prompted Ethan with a little more information.
"I saw that one video about the city in Alaska where everyone lives in the same building." Isaac was sure Ethan would remember that. They had talked about it for several minutes.
Yet he didn't seem to. He was looking at Isaac like he had lost his mind, and so were Jackson and Danny. Isaac awkwardly hid his face behind the apple that had come with his lunch and wished to hell everyone would just leave him alone.
Suddenly understanding flashed across Ethan's face and he let out a sharp bark of laughter.
"Dude, wrong twin. I'm Aiden."
Isaac gasped and choked on the bite of apple he had just taken. Oh god, he was talking to the mean twin. Jackson was glaring at him and Danny and Aiden, Aiden, hadn't stopped laughing.
"I know the video you mean though," Aiden said still sniggering. "On Thoughty2, right? Ethan loves that channel. He makes me watch a lot of 'em."
"Yeah," Isaac mumbled, staring at his tray and wondering what Aiden was going to do to him. Fortunately, he seemed to be less offended than Isaac expected.
"Wait, did you think just because we were sitting next to each other, he had to be Ethan?" Danny asked, breaking into another fit of giggles.
"Maybe," Isaac mumbled. There was no point in denying it.
Aiden chuckled and draped an arm around Danny's shoulders. "What do you say, man? Wanna upgrade to the better twin?"
"Can I watch?" Malia asked as she appeared from behind Isaac and walked around the table to sit beside her boyfriend. Aiden and Danny laughed, but she gave Aiden an earnest look. "I'm serious. You have my permission to experiment with Danny if I can watch."
"Well they don't have my permission!" Ethan declared, pulling Aiden's arm away from Danny's shoulder and squeezing in on Danny's other side.
"But we could both watch!" Malia insisted, giving Ethan the same serious look. "It would be really hot."
"I don't wanna watch my brother have sex," Ethan answered, cringing dramatically but smiling at her and showing no signs of actually being annoyed.
"Oh." Malia considered his response for a moment before turning to Aiden. "Don't show Ethan that video we made."
Isaac laughed and covered his mouth as Aiden turned a dark shade of pink. "I wasn't going to. That's just for us."
"He likes to masturbate to it when I'm not around," Malia announced matter-of-factly to the rest of the table.
"Malia, stop talking. Now." Aiden's elbow was on the table, face in his hand.
"Don't be ashamed." She pulled his hand away and gave him a kiss, then looked up at the others. "I like to masturbate to it when he's not around too. It's just a very hot video." She leaned past Aiden and addressed Danny. "Danny, you're missing out. Aiden's excellent at sex."
Danny laughed and nodded. "Ethan's excellent at sex too."
"It must be a twin thing," Malia answered with a grin and a nod.
"I didn't need to know any of that," Lydia remarked as she took her place next to Jackson.
Jackson turned and smirked at her. "Feel free to comment on my performance."
Lydia sighed. "Jackson likes to do it in front of a mirror so he can watch himself."
Everyone burst into laughter including Isaac.
"For the record that's not true." Jackson shot everyone glares.
"It's a little true," Lydia stage whispered behind her hand.
"So why are we sitting at this table today?" Malia asked a moment later. "And what's Isaac doing here? I thought no one liked him."
A cold, sharp pain stabbed Isaac's gut, and the smile fell away from his face. He stood to leave but was alarmed when Jackson grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back down.
"I like Isaac," Lydia said with a light, easy tone.
"Me too," Danny answered.
"So do I," Ethan added.
"He's got alright taste in YouTube videos," Aiden remarked, smirking at Isaac.
"Oh, I didn't realize you were so popular," Malia said, addressing Isaac for the first time ever. "Do you like sex videos too or just YouTube videos?"
"That's more of a second conversation type question, babe," Aiden told her.
Malia nodded and returned her attention to Isaac. "We can also talk about deer hunting if you'd prefer. What's your favorite rifle?"
"Oh I just love 'em all," Isaac answered, glancing around the table to make sure it was a weird question and not just something he was incredibly out of the loop about.
"I'm partial to the 35 Remington myself," Malia answered. "It's old-fashioned but underrated."
"Just smile and nod," Jackson whispered to him.
-000–
End Note: So, obviously this chapter was meant to be a lighter contrast to the last chapter, but alas, Isaac and Jackson aren't out of the woods yet and there's plenty more drama and tension coming in the next chapter.
