A/N: More twists and turns!
The months wore on, bringing the US Classic and the start of the elite season in the US ever closer. With the rod out of her leg and her physio thrilled with her progress, JJ was back to full strength in her training. Her routines were coming along really well, and she was feeling that familiar burning passion that always rose up when they got close to competition season.
As May rolled into June, and then June into July, her friends began to trickle in on summer break. Even so, if she had been surprised when Clayton contacted her out of the blue and asked to meet up, there wasn't really a word to cover how she felt when he had requested somewhere reasonably private. Worried? Uncertain? Just the tiniest bit anxious?
She had no idea. But here she was, in her parents' kitchen, making two cups of coffee, while Clayton sat at the table.
He had filled out since she had last seen him. Once a tall, lanky teenager, he was now heavier built. Muscles bulged where they hadn't before, and his face looked more chiseled, making him look more like a man than a boy.
"Thanks JJ," he said softly as she set a cup of coffee down in front of him. He took a sip as she sat down in the next seat, sighing appreciatively. "Man you really do make the best coffee. It's a wonder, considering you can hardly boil water"
JJ cracked a grin, clutching her own cup between her hands.
"Seriously… you have to teach me-"
"Clay," she said softly, reaching out and covering his hand. "What's up? You sounded really upset on the phone"
Clayton took a deep breath, drumming his fingers against the mug. He kept his eyes down, avoiding JJ's gaze, but even so, she could see his jaw clenching. Patiently, she waited for him to find his words, knowing he would speak up in his own time.
"I… this is about… when I broke up with Lani… why I broke up with Lani," he said softly.
"Ok," JJ said quietly.
"I… I'm sure you know that we broke up because the distance was just too much, it was too hard," he said slowly. "And that still is a part of it… but there's something I… I realised after I started college that… probably contributed without me realising at the time"
He lifted his coffee to his lips, taking a long sip. As he set the cup back down, he took a deep breath.
"JJ… I… I think I'm," he stammered out. "No… no… I don't think… I know. I know"
"Know what?" JJ prodded gently.
"I'm gay," he said, so quietly that JJ barely heard him.
"You are?" she asked in surprise.
"Yeah," Clayton said nervously. "Does… does that upset you?"
"No, no… I'm just surprised. I mean… you and Lani… you were together for so long… you loved her," JJ said.
"I did love her… I do. Just not in the way she wanted me to. Not in the way Will loves you," Clayton replied.
"But you had sex… like all the time"
Clayton chuckled. "Yeah… it never felt right. I always felt weird about it. It took forever for stuff to happen… I always thought that was just how guys were"
"I mean, I've only been with Will, but in my experience… it doesn't take long at all," JJ replied with a grin. Clayton laughed.
"Well… yeah. Now I know. What it's like to be truly attracted to someone. And as much as I cared about Lani, I don't think I was ever attracted to her like that"
JJ reached over, squeezing his hand.
"What made you come to me today, Clay? Not that I'm not touched you did, but… you've always been closer with Will than me"
Clayton sighed. "That's why… I want to tell Will. I need to be honest with him, he's my best friend. But I don't know how he's going to react… only recently I've remembered some comments he's made in the past"
JJ nodded. "I know what you mean. But I don't think you need to worry. It's Will, I mean… he's the sweetest goofball around. I know the comments you mean, but you have to remember he grew up in the south with two older brothers… I don't think he actually feels any of the things he says, he's just conditioned to say them"
"Yeah… I just… after how my parents reacted… I want my best friends on my side," Clayton said sadly.
JJ looked at him, concern shining in her blue eyes.
"How did they react?" she asked softly.
"They told me not to come home for Christmas," Clayton said in a voice barely above a whisper.
Her heart giving a painful ache, JJ rose from her chair, moving closer to her friend and pulling him into a tight hug. "Clay, I'm sorry," she said softly. "That's not fair"
"It's ok," Clayton said thickly.
"No, it's not," JJ said gently, pulling away and sitting back down. "And you know what? You're more than welcome to come here for Christmas. Will and his family will be here, my brother is coming in from Florida… it'll be great"
"I don't want to intrude," Clayton said.
"You won't be," JJ replied, giving him a small smile. "Everyone deserves to have a family for Christmas"
"Just you wait Jareau, this dinner is gonna be so good you'll have to roll to training on Monday," Will called out from the kitchen as JJ came down the stairs from his room. She had come over in the afternoon after seeing Clayton off, and with his parents in New York visiting his sister, who was nearing the end of her pregnancy, they were eager to spend the weekend together.
As she stepped off the last stair, she felt an uncomfortable rolling starting to rise up from her stomach. She swallowed hard, freezing where she was and waiting for the sensation to pass. But despite her willpower, her mouth began to flood with saliva, sending her dashing for the downstairs bathroom.
She was already heaving as she threw open the door, meaning she only had time to make it to the sink before she began to vomit.
Spitting into the sink, she turned on the tap, cupping her hands under the faucet and scooping some of the cool water into her mouth. She rinsed it quickly, leaving the tap running for a moment to clean out the sink as she leaned against the counter and stared into the mirror.
Why had she suddenly gotten sick? And weirdly, now that she had thrown up, she felt fine.
Then a thought occurred to her. She looked at her reflection, her blue eyes widening as her face seemed to drain free of colour. It couldn't be… surely not…
Turning off the faucet, she took a deep breath and left the room. Will was singing to himself in the kitchen, completely undisturbed as she entered the room.
"West Virginia… mountain mama. Take me home, country roads," he sang, exaggerating the accent as he turned from the stove. He stopped in his tracks when he saw JJ, breaking into a huge grin. "Like my singin'?"
JJ stared at him, seemingly unable to muster up the words she needed. She watched, her stomach falling as she watched Will's chirpy demeanor seem to drop off of him.
"Jayje, what's wrong? You look awful pale all of a sudden," he said gently.
"I think I might be pregnant"
The words were so soft, yet to Will, it felt like someone had come and cracked a plate of glass over his head. His hands scrambled for the edge of the counter, searching for something to help keep him upright as he tried to process the words JJ had just forced out of her mouth.
"You… what?" he breathed, the colour draining from his face as he spoke. "How… why?"
"I'm late… by like three weeks. And that's not like me," JJ said timidly, nervously picking at her fingernails as she stood before him. "I just got sick as well… and I realized I've been feeling kinda crappy for a few days-"
"But… you're on the pill, I-"
"Nothing is 100%," JJ reminded him softly, swallowing hard as she spoke. "We… we rely on the pill, it's not often we actually use two forms of protection"
Will let out a long breath, hanging his head and running a hand through his hair. He closed his eyes, trying to think of what to say next, but words had completely betrayed him. Parents at 20?
"What do we do?"
"Well… I think we need to go and get a test," JJ replied quietly. "Then… then we know for sure what we're dealing with"
Will nodded, slowly pushing away from the counter and walking towards her. Even in his numb state of shock, he gently wrapped JJ into his embrace, holding her to his chest and pressing his lips to the top of her head.
"I love you," he breathed. "We'll figure this out"