Lights Out

[gay-for-the-snz]

I love where this is going! Please update when you have time!

[lalaland~]

I confused myself ignore this

Edited June 19, 2017 by lalaland~

[KD02]

This is sooo good!! Matthew is just too cute I love him. 

Cant wait for the next update.

[gay-for-the-snz]

I know I already commented but I was rereading it and I honestly must commend you for your work. I wish I could write this well. Your characters are intricate, and your plot is complex yet easy to follow. Honestly, fantastic work

[lalaland~]

On 5/14/2017 at 2:29 AM, JustAnotherGuy said:

I love where this is going! Please update when you have time!

coming right up  Thank you!

On 5/14/2017 at 4:12 PM, KD02 said:

This is sooo good!! Matthew is just too cute I love him. 

Cant wait for the next update.

• ✲ﾟ｡.(✿╹◡╹)ﾉ ahhh thank you! I'm so happy you love him <3 

On 5/14/2017 at 4:27 PM, JustAnotherGuy said:

I know I already commented but I was rereading it and I honestly must commend you for your work. I wish I could write this well. Your characters are intricate, and your plot is complex yet easy to follow. Honestly, fantastic work

this is one of the best compliments I think I've ever received  (*ฅ́˘ฅ̀*) .｡.:*♡
I'm overwhelmed but in the best way
wow
thank you, truly.

 

I'm going to start pasting all these nice comments into a document for personal use to look at for inspiration and happiness.  

I usually feel like I have an excellent way with words but I feel like every time I respond to comments it's not conveying the full amount of joy that I'm actually feeling (even with the cute emoticons). Really, truly

Thank you all <3

 

[lalaland~]

Chapter 19

Matt leant against the wall while Jake sat in his desk chair - the only chair in the room. 

“This room needs more furniture,” Matt commented.

Jake joked, “What, so I can have more things to run into?”

The Brit laughed, “No, I mean, you don’t have anywhere for people to sit.”

“Oh. That’s a good point, I guess.”

Matt gasped suddenly, bubbling over with excitement, “Ooh! Let’s go to IKEA I’ve always wanted to see one!”

Jake tried to talk through his laughter at how ridiculous the older man sounded, “What are you, five? Why are you so excited about IKEA?”

“Please please please,” the older man pleaded.

“Sure, sure, l’affaire est ketchup*,” he couldn’t help giving in to Matthew’s playfulness. (*it’s cool)

“Something-something Ketchup?”

“Hmm? Oh, sorry, sometimes I talk faster than I think, so I forget to use English!”

Matthew’s eyes twinkled, “That’s so charming! It’s adorable!”

He seemed embarrassed at being called ‘adorable’, “Um, anyway it just means ‘that’s cool with me’ or along those lines.”

“Let’s goooo!” Matthew spun out of the bedroom singing an impromptu song about going to Ikea.  Jake hid a smile with his hand.

With the flick of his hand, the British man spun his key ring around his finger, catching the car key in his hand.  “I looked up how to get there on my phone, it’s only about a 20 minute drive.”

Jake tried to hide his apprehension, “Oh, in a car.”

“Something wrong?” he questioned.

“NonoI’mfine!” he spoke so quickly his words ran together.

“Um. …Aright then,” he led the way to his car and opened the door for Jake after watching him pat down the door trying to find the handle.

“Breathe in, hold it…, breathe out slowly 1, 2-” the blind man sat trying to calm himself while waiting for Matt to get in.

A hand touched his shoulder, “Jake are you alright? You look unwell,” Matt’s voice was laden with concern.

He tried to smile, but was much too consumed with trepidation, “I’m fine, I just don’t like cars much,” he offered vaguely, his voice shaking the tiniest detectable amount.

Realization hit Matthew, “You said that before, the last time I drove, didn’t you?  And you were shaking; I remember that.  Jake, we don’t have to go if you’re really that uncomfortable being in a car.”

He shook his head, “But you really wanted to go to Ikea…”

Matthew scoffed, “Do you really think that’s more important at the moment?  Jake, look- your hands are shaking, I’ve never even seen you like this before; I’m concerned about you. Tell me what’s wrong.”

He turned his head away toward the window in an attempt to hide his face from scrutiny.  “I’ll be fine, just drive,” he spoke quietly.  Matthew sighed; knowing he wouldn’t get the truth from him hurt a bit- it meant Jake still didn’t trust him.  Not that he felt he deserved to be trusted after all the pain he’d caused.  He felt guilty putting the car into drive but didn’t know what else to do.  He drove in silence most of the way, trying to ignore his conscience and the man trembling in the seat next to his.  It was harder to ignore now, though, since they’d reached some stop-and-go traffic.  Jake’s posture was stiff and withdrawn, and he clutched his cane with white knuckles.  He stared in the vague direction of the glove box with a quivering frown.  A peculiar tickle in his nose distracted Matthew and he rubbed at it to diminish the sensation.  A few minutes later it came back, but persisted this time. 

“HEK’SHHww!” he sneezed into his arm, away from his passenger, but unfortunately the action caused him to tap the brake harder than he’d meant to, lurching the car to a harsh stop.  He glanced over, and, to his horror, the other man’s face had drained of colour and he’d begun hyperventilating. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!  It’s alright nothing happened I just tapped the brake a bit too much I’m sorry Jake!” He rambled, panicking.  He tried to act calmer upon realising that his freaking out was going to make things worse, “Try deep breaths; is it alright if I touch you?”  Jake nodded a very small and shaky yes, so Matt took one of Jake’s hands in his left hand and held it firmly.  “Breathe with me and count to 10, alright?  Really slow- just focus on that, okay?”  Jake tried to breathe slowly with him; it was mostly choppy gasps at first, but he kept trying until he could breathe fairly normally again.  “You’re doing great, and we’re almost there, too,” Matt encouraged.  He noticed Jake had even stopped trembling- an excellent sign.

Soon he’d parked the car and helped Jake out, as his legs weren’t quite steady yet.

“How do you do that?” Jake asked vaguely.

“How do I do what?”

“How are you so good at helping me calm down?”

“I’m not sure, instinct I suppose.  But I’m glad it’s effective,” Matt beamed.

“You did it…that one night…when I was sick…and then tonight,” the younger man seemed uncharacteristically bashful at the moment.

“I’m happy to help you any time you need it, you know,” Matt suggested.

He smiled slightly but quite sincerely, “Thank you.”

---(Extra)---

“You know these don’t come assembled, right Matt?”

“Oh, well I’m sure it’s not hard, you just slide a few pieces together, probably.”

“.……..”

“Why are you staring at me like that? It’s extra creepy knowing you can’t even see me.  I feel like you’re looking at my soul or something!”

“I’ll ask how much it costs to have them assemble it.”

“No, no I’m sure we could handle it!”

“We? As amusing as it would probably be to watch a blind guy try and assemble a piece of IKEA furniture, I doubt it would result in anything resembling what was on the box!” he laughed.

“Right, right.  You’re much better at thinking things through than I am.  Don’t worry about assembly then; I’ll cover the cost.”

He smirked, “Is that your way of saying you have no idea how you’d do it by yourself?”

“Perhaps,” he half-admitted, “Hey, don’t laugh at me!”

“C’mon let’s go get meatballs.”

“You’re pointing to a wall.  It’s a good thing you have me here!”

“I’d figure it out, eventually.”

“Yeah, after running into the wall.”

“I’d feel it with my cane first!”

“You’d still be walking into a wall!”

He clung onto Matthew’s elbow and pouted, “Please don’t let me walk into a wall.”

-----Author’s Notes: This chapter idea was a request and I loved this idea, so thank you for that.  It also helped me fill some plot holes that I was shuffling around, so that was also great.

l’affaire est ketchup = it’s cool / everything’s cool / it’s all good (Québécois slang)
Arguably the BEST slang phrase, aside from “attache ta tuque!” (which I’m determined to put in this story somewhere)

 

I don't know why some of the lines have this weird white highlighting I'm so sorry I don't know how to fix it I think it was all in my head?

 

Edited May 18, 2017 by lalaland~

[lalaland~]

Chapter 20

November 1

Matthew pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Levi.

[message to Levi:] “Do you know what kind of cake Jake likes?”

[message to Matt:] “He doesn’t really like sweet things tbh”

[message to Levi:] “What about something savoury?”

[message to Matt:] “If ur talking about his bday I recommend pizza :3”

[message to Levi:] “How did you know? *shocked face emoji*”

[message to Matt:] “LOL it’s November + ur asking me & not Jake meaning it’s a secret…not hard 2 figure out ;p”

Levi put his phone back in his pocket and pulled his hands up into his sleeves to keep them warm as he walked to class.  “It’s always so cold in November,” he shivered, “but at least it’s warmer than Canada…”

He arrived at his chemistry lab before his partner, taking the opportunity to wipe his nose with a tissue- it’d been running all morning.  “I hope I’m not getting sick,” he thought ruefully.

A feminine, airy voice called out, “Hyvää huomenta*, Levi!” (*good morning, in Finnish)  Levi’s lab partner, Lotte had arrived.  She was a very petite girl, with dainty, doll-like features, big blue eyes, and long, braided blonde hair with blunt bangs.

“Good morning, Lotte!” he greeted her enthusiastically.  The pair got started right away on the lab, setting up equipment and measuring chemicals.  As the top students in the class, they usually finished before all the other pairs.

“Levi, is something wrong?”  Lotte’s soft, sweet voice was touched with concern.

“Hxx’t!”  He stifled a sneeze into his wrist.  He absolutely hated sneezing in front of people. 

“Terveydeksi!  That is wishing you health.”  He wished she’d just said nothing and pretended it never happened.

They continued working studiously, with Lotte tossing him the occasional worried glance as he sniffled through the procedure.

“So the last step is- huh- hold on…”  Levi turned away from the Finnish girl and pinched his nose tightly to stifle two sneezes almost silently, “nx! nx!”  He had to sniffle to keep his nose from dripping.

“I can do the last step.  Why don’t you pack up and go home to rest?  You sound sick,” she offered.

He contemplated being stubborn and finishing the lab but more than anything he wanted to get out of there before he sneezed again.  “Okay, I’ll do that.  Thank you, Lotte, sniff.”

“Feel better, Levi,” she called after him as he stifled another sneeze on his way out.

He slipped into a washroom and locked himself in one of the stalls.  He took this time to blow his nose, which made him cough.  “Well that sounded terrible.”  He blew his nose one more time for good measure before facing the chilling outdoors.

November 2

“Someone gave me the plague,” Levi coughed harshly into his blankets.  He sounded much worse than yesterday.  He sat up slowly, all his usual energy drained.  He bent over from a few hoarse coughs, then, again, “hit-CHU!”  The Asian man sniffled miserably.  He grabbed the thermometer from the bedside table tray and popped it in his mouth, trying not to cough too much.

“…39°. Great. I guess today’s plans are: cough and be sad.” 

November 3

“Does 32 cough drops count as breakfast?”  Levi wondered as he popped the 32^nd one in his mouth.  He’d snuck into Jake and Matt’s flat to wait with Matthew to surprise Jake.  Matthew was hiding behind a counter.

“Why are you hiding- he’s blind?” Levi whispered, to avoid making too much noise, but also because talking louder hurt his throat.

Matthew stood up, also whispering, “Well now I feel like a twat.”

Both men turned their attention to the door as the knob turned.

Jake walked out into the room and stopped when his foot touched something light.  Puzzled, he reached down and snatched up the item.

“…a balloon?”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”  Matt and Levi shouted in unison.  Levi winced as it hurt his throat.

Jake was so shocked, he almost dropped the balloon, and fumbled with it, earning a laugh from the other two men.

A warm smile spread over the blind man’s face, “Matt? Levi?  Thank you guys!”

“There’s balloons all over the floor,” Matthew said.

“And streamers on the counters!” Levi finished.

Jake’s smile flattened out, “Levi you sound really sick.”

“I feel okay though!  Don’t worry about me today,” Levi insisted as he cleared his throat.

“If you’re sure…” he sounded unconvinced but shrugged.

As the morning went on, Levi quickly lost stamina and couldn’t hide all the coughing, sneezing, and exhaustion.  Neither of the other men said anything but worried silently until lunchtime.

Matt left to go get something and Jake decided that was enough.  He asked an odd question, “Levi, is there something on my face?” 

Levi, who was sitting next to him on the couch, glanced over with a glassy look in his eyes, “mmm, no I don’t see anything.”

“I know, I just needed to where your face was so I can do this-” He stuck the back of his hand against the Asian boy’s forehead, then quickly yanked it away, “Crisse de câlisse! Tu es très chaude!”

“I don’t know what that means,” the sick boy mumbled.

Jake wore a very worried frown, “You’re burning up.”

Tears welled up in Levi’s glassy brown eyes, “I’m sorry Jake,” he started crying.

Jake pulled him close and held him in a hug, knowing that might make him stop crying.  “For what? You didn’t do anything?”

“For ruining your birthday,” he sobbed into Jake’s shirt.

“What are you talking about? You didn’t ruin anything, Levi.”  Levi mumbled something incoherent and coughed harshly though his sobs.  “Shh,” Jake awkwardly stroked his hair, “You didn’t ruin my birthday.  In fact, I’m having a pretty good day!  But I’m worried about you, okay.  Um, that isn’t a bad thing though.”  Levi started to calm down and leaned against his chest, sniffling (mostly from crying), coughing deeply, and even sneezing a few times (Jake cringed but didn’t move).  Being with Jake felt safe and comforting to Levi.  They stayed in that position until Matt came back.

He set a box on the kitchen counter, “Levi said you don’t care for sweets so I got you a birthday pizza!” he announced the words ‘birthday pizza’ with an absurd voice.

Jake laughed, “Tiguidou!* That’s perfect!” (*sounds good!) then directed at Levi, “Do you feel up to eating right now?  If not, it’s okay.”  Levi shook his head ‘no’ against Jake’s chest.  “Okay, lay down here and I’ll get you some things. I’ll be right back, depending on how long it takes me to find them…”  Jake came back quickly with a pillow and blanket for Levi then went back in his room to get something else.

Levi sighed miserably as he curled up with the blanket.  He wished Jake had stayed with him; he was much more comforting to have wrapped around him than a blanket would ever be.  Teardrops clung delicately to his lashes.  He coughed into his sleeves until he was out of breath.  Wheezing, he opened his eyes to Matthew offering him a cup of water.  “Thank you, cough, cough.”  He took a few sips and put it on the table.

Jake finally came back with a few more things that looked like medicines labelled with braille (which obviously, Jake had stuck on).  His held one last item up, “Is this the thermometer?  It wasn’t labelled and there were three things that felt the same…”

Matthew laughed and answered him, “Yeah, that’s the thermometer.  I don’t even want to know what the other things were.”  Jake made a face at Matt’s comment and handed it to Levi, who frowned but took it and stuck it in his mouth until it beeped.  He took it out, looked at it, and groaned, flopping back down with his face in the pillow.  Matt took it from him and peeked.

“Bloody hell!”

“So is no one going to tell me or-“

“39.4°!”

------Author’s Notes: Tiguidou = sounds good/ all good (very common Québécois slang)

Tu es très chaude = you’re very hot to the touch (as in have a fever)

Crisse is “Christ” & Câlisse is “chalice”.  In Québec, many swears are religious words (sacres).  The sacres are typically interchangeable and don’t really have their own specific meaning but can be used for all kinds of swears/profanity and can be strung together as long sentences.  In this case what Jake says could mean anything like “fucking fuck” or “fucking shit” or “motherfucker cockface” etc.  It’s basically untranslatable Québécois profanity.  Did I mention I love Québec?

If you’ve ever watched videos by Dan & Phil (British YouTubers) that weird announcer-y voice they sometimes use is exactly how I pictured Matt saying “birthday pizza”.  If you have no idea what I’m talking about then just ignore this and picture what you want.

Jake isn’t the type of person to offer hugs but it’s Levi.

Don’t worry Levi, your Dads will take good care of you. (the Dads part is a joke)

It’s not that Jake is reluctant- he’s just not a natural caregiver.  A few steps up from patting someone with a broom saying “there, there”.

Whoops they took his temp after he drank water, well they’re not med students!  Well Levi should know better but

39° = 102.2 °F 
39.4° = 102.9°F

Edited June 10, 2017 by lalaland~
fixed the texting part

[KD02]

2 more parts?! I really love this!!!!

Thanks for the updates, can't wait for more 

[jawzzbubblez]

Could you please write a chapter on Jake getting injured and Matt is trying to stitch him up but Matt keeps sneezing from allergies? Love this story. 

[jawzzbubblez]

And could you also  please describe Matthew's facial expressions as he's about to sneeze? I love to read those parts in stories. 

[lalaland~]

Chapter 21

“Let’s start with this,” Jake grabbed the bottle labelled: ⠁⠉ ⠑ and held out a couple of the white pills for the sick boy.

Levi stared over at the other bottles, “What’s ‘T-O-U’ mean?”

“Cough medicine.”

“That makes no sense!  What does T have to do with cough medicine?” he broke into a harsh fit of coughing.

“Yeah, you’re taking that one too,” Jake decided for him, “It’s the French word, toux, abbreviated,” he explained.  He handed the ‘TOU’ bottle toward Matthew, “Hey sighted person, since you’re here would you pour it please, it’s just…way easier if you did it.” 

“Of course,” Matthew took it and peeked curiously at the label: ⠞⠕⠥, even touching it. He wondered, “Levi can read that?” and made a mental note to himself to learn, too, as a stroke of competitiveness flared inside him.

After medicating Levi and ensuring he was as comfortable as a sick person could be, Matt and Jake left him to rest on the couch while they ate ‘birthday pizza’, standing around the kitchen counter, not even bothering to sit.

“Thanks, Matt.  This was really thoughtful of you,” he referenced the pizza. 

“Ah, technically the credit should go to Levi, as he’s the one who suggested it.  I only bought it,” he admitted, “I was going to buy a cake but I’m glad I asked him first.”

“Did you two plan this whole thing together?  You guys did this all for me?” he looked mildly surprised.

“Maybe~,” he said slyly.

Jake couldn’t help smiling, “I feel so lucky to have friends like this.  I-” his voice waivered with emotion, “Before I moved here, I didn’t think people would ever want to include me in their personal lives and-and certainly didn’t expect not just to feel welcome, but to feel wanted,” He wiped at the tears that had begun welling up in his eyes, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get emotional like this.” He continued with a shaking voice, “Last year my birthday was so different- I felt really alone,” he paused for a bit, staring blankly in the direction of the floor.  When he spoke again, his tone was much more solemn, “That whole year was really hard; I guess I should explain…,” he was shaking, “In March last year I very suddenly lost my sight and lost my dad,” he held up a finger signifying ‘hold on’ while he paused to collect himself; he looked up teary-eyed but not crying, “and after that, I lost my mind; I was a disaster, and, because of that, I lost all my friends.  The only people that stuck with me were Levi and my mother.  I don’t even know why they did, but I’m glad.” He was trying with all his might not to cry.

“Oh, Jake…”  The British man wrapped his arms around his trembling figure.

“And…so that was my…my first birthday without…” he could barely bring himself to say the last two words of the sentence, “My dad. We always did something together, just the two of us, for my birthday.  I was going to pretend that today was just another day so it wouldn’t hurt like last year, but, I could never have dreamed- this year I’m so happy,” he was finally crying.

“I’m glad, I really am.  And, Jake, I promise you (that) you’ll never be alone, I lo-“ the word ‘love’ eluded itself from his tongue. 

“Why am I crying when I’m happy?”

“Maybe you just needed to set free some of the emotions that were holding you back?”  Matthew mused.

“I do feel better now,” he noted, wiping the last few teardrops away.  “Today has been so much better than I could’ve dreamed.  Thank you, I mean it,” he finished gracefully.

“Well you’re very welcome,” Matt glanced over to the couch, “I suppose I should go check on The Sick One.”  This was mainly to give Jake some privacy to recover, since he seemed like the kind of person who’d want that sort of thing.

“Yeah, poor Levi.  I’m glad he wasn’t alone all day though.”

“Levi?”  Matt called out softly before touching him, as to not startle him, but he appeared to be sleeping soundly.  “He feels heaps better, not as warm, I mean.”  He commented.

“That’s good,” Jake was absentmindedly playing with one of the streamers, batting it around lightly, like a cat.

Matt observed him, feeling almost voyeuristic, “That’s adorable, but he’d probably stop if I said anything…”  Eventually, Jake lost interest in the streamer and grabbed another slice of pizza.

Matthew walked back to Jake, “So it’s still your birthday, you have the whole evening- how are you going to celebrate?  Want to get legless at a dodgy pub? That one’s a classic,” he joked.

“I’m not sure what kind of slang that was but I don’t think I’ll be doing any of those things.”

Matt laughed, “I didn’t think you would.  You don’t strike me as the type.  Do you even drink?” 

“No. Imagine being drunk and blind, that would just be a mess,” he shook his head.

“Yes, yes it would,” Matt agreed, “You’re not missing out on anything, my personal opinion.  I never cared for the taste of it all.”

“So you really were joking…”

“You weren’t sure?!”  Matt asked incredulously.  He laughed, “I mean I’d take you if you’d said yes but I abso-lutely would’ve wondered if you’d gone batty.”

“I’m fine staying here.  I’m enjoying the company.”  Jake laughed to himself and mimicked Matt’s accent under his breath, “Gone bat’y…”

“Are you making fun of me?” he asked, not really upset, though.

“Nope. I like the way you talk.  It’s weird and it suits you,” he repeated from months ago.

“So…you’re teasing me.  It’s that, isn’t it?”  Jake simply smiled and walked away toward the living room.  “Wait, I have one more thing for you, come back,” Matthew pulled out a medium-sized box and placed it on the counter. 

“It’s not a trick, is it?” he asked, suspicious.

“No, of course not!  Why on Earth would you think that?  It’s a gift!”  Matt laughed.

Jake seemed surprised, “But you already got me pizza!  I don’t need anything, really!”

Matt scoffed, “Pizza isn’t a gift! Oh. Um, I wrapped this,” he referenced the gift, “I don’t really know why I did that, looking back, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“You dork,” he smirked.  The older man ushered him over and watched, amused, as he first tried to figure out how to get the wrapping paper off, then examined the box within, trying to find where to open it.  Eventually, Matt opened one end with scissors and pulled the item out for him. 

“All this work and I still have no idea what it is,” Jake said, handling it curiously.

“Just watch!,” Matt winked (at some point he’s going to realise Jake is blind and winking is pointless; we’re still waiting) and grabbed a campus map that was laying on his desk, “You put a normal paper in one side,” he demonstrated as he spoke, “and it comes out the other side with the print raised!”  He handed the newly-raised paper to Jake.

“Wha-“ he touched the paper in awe and his eyes sparkled with amazement, “This is, umm, a map? Maybe? Yeah, it’s a map!”  He kept tracing the paths with his fingers, clearly elated, “C’est trop kiffant!* And it was flat before? Wow.  Thank you, Matt!”  (*That’s so cool!) He continued to play with the map for some time, while Matthew etched that pure and joyous expression into his brain; and later into his sketchbook. 

------Author’s Notes:  C’est trop kiffant = That’s so cool/neat! (slang)

The cool thing about Braille is any language that uses a Latin alphabet uses the same letters (and punctuation and special letters)

Yeah, Levi can read braille.  He can even read Jake’s blind handwriting, which, at times, is an arguably more impressive task.

In case you were curious, Jake’s medicine bottles are labelled:

⠁⠉ ⠑ (ACE) for acetaminophen/tylenol
⠞⠕⠥ (TOU) for toux (cough)
⠗⠓⠥ (RHU) for rhume (cold)
⠛⠗⠏ (GRP) for grippe (flu)

Braille takes up lots of space so you usually can’t fit whole words on things like labels.

I’m always nervous putting in tiny bits of British slang because to me that sentence looks ridiculous and what if it looks ridiculous to EVERYONE?  I try to research the use of the terms the best I can, but the best way to know you’re using it correctly is to frequently talk to people from that part of the world.

I don’t think anything like the print raising machine exists irl, at least not that I could find, so I guess that’s just my mind’s invention.  Also, it probably costs more money than I’ll ever have in my bank account, but, hey, that’s Matt for you.

Oh look I’m making another absurdly long Author’s Notes section again.  Me? Being extra? Rambling on and on about things I love and care about? Never.

I'm currently on vacation so updates may take longer
the awkward moment when my friend was all "ooh you're writing a story? I'll have to read it sometime" lol no 

[KD02]

I love this thanks for updating!!

[lalaland~]

/sneaks online to post new chapter (this one's just cute)

 

Chapter 22

 “I can’t believe Levi convinced me to do this,” Jake laced up his skates perfectly, making it seem like the easiest thing in the world.  Meanwhile Matthew still struggled to pull his first ice skate on. 

“Matt, you have to loosen it first!”  Levi bounded over and helped him get his skate on.

“Well, I’ve never done this before.  It’s not exactly a common English pastime.”

“I’m really nervous,” Jake confessed, “I haven’t skated since, well, since the accident.  Do you mind if I go out ahead and test this by myself?”

“Go for it.  I’ll help Matt get his skates on,” Levi replied.

“Deep breath.  Okay, you can do this.”  Jake stepped out onto the ice tentatively at first.  “Wow.  I can hear all the other skaters perfectly.  I can tell where they are and how they’re moving just from the sounds of their skates on the ice.  I never even thought about that before.”  Feeling calmer, he started skating around the rink, gliding with such precision and smoothness, it was like he’d never left the ice.  He skated a few laps around the rink, focusing on the elation that filled his chest and pulsed through his limbs.  He never thought about how much he’d missed skating until then.

“I’m not ready,” Matt clung to the wall as he stepped onto the ice with quivering legs.

“Here, take my hands,” Jake offered as he skated over to him.  Matthew slowly transferred his weight from the wall to Jake’s hands while Jake managed to keep the wobbling man upright.  Very slowly, he skated backwards, supporting the British man as he struggled and slipped around. 

He led Matt back to the wall, “Hold on to that for a second and watch me.  I’ll show you how to move your feet.”

Matthew watched as the blind man demonstrated for him, captivated by how fluid and masterful his movements were.  He was so transfixed with the visual that he missed the auditory explanation.

“Does that make sense?”  Jake finished.

“I, um, sorry, I didn’t catch what you said; I was too distracted watching.  It looked so professional, it had almost a magical quality.”

“Magical?  I don’t know about that,” Jake said bashfully, “it probably has more to do with the fact I’ve been skating since I was two years old.”

“You’re really mesmerizing to watch, though.  You seem so much more graceful on the ice than elsewhere.”

He laughed, “honestly, I didn’t know if this would be a complete disaster or not.  But, I’ve found out, it’s a lot easier to tell where people are on the ice…everyone’s movements make sound, so it’s much easier to navigate than land. And to think I wouldn’t have even had the confidence to try without Levi!  He sees past all my doubts and insecurities.  I’m really glad.”

Jealousy tugged at Matthew’s chest, “Levi makes me feel so inadequate.  He knows everything about Jake, he knows how to make him smile, and can bring out the best in him.  Why can’t I do any of that?”

Jake offered out his hands, “Try to move your feet like I showed you; I’ll try to keep you upright.”  The nervous Brit took his hands and gripped them tightly as he slipped around trying to stand.  Once he seemed to get his bearings, Jake began to pull him along very slowly as the older man fumbled his skates around, attempting to imitate the flawless, smooth movements of his friend.  His legs were shaking so much they felt like cooked noodles trying and failing to support his weight.  If Jake could see the nervous, focused expression on his face, he probably would’ve laughed. 

“You sound like you’re pushing straight back and kind of ‘running on the ice’, so try pushing out to the side and you won’t slip as much,” Jake suggested.  He attempted to follow the advice and slipped badly, falling into Jake, who laughed as he helped the man re-steady himself.

 “Matt, bend your knees!”  Levi offered advice as he skated up to them, “But, don’t lean so far forward.  And look up, not at your feet!” he corrected.

“That’s too many things!” the novice skater complained.

“They’re all important though,” Jake added, “But for now just try bending your knees and we can work on the rest later.”  Matthew tried again, bending his knees and pushing out more to the side than back.  It was marginally more successful until he tripped and fell, this time pulling Jake down, too. 

“Sorry, I’m just no good at this,” Matt lamented.

“C'est bien, you’re fine,” Jake said with a carefree smile as he got up and wiped himself off.  Matt attempted to get up, but kept slipping.

“The ice is too slippery,” he pouted. 

“It’s ice.  It’s supposed to be slippery,” Jake teased him as he and Levi helped the older man up.  He teetered a bit but managed to stay standing this time.

“Don’t give up, Matt!” Levi cheered. 

Jake tested a movement by himself and skated back over, “Okay, I figured out why you tripped, I think.  It made the same sound when I did it just now so, and we’re wearing the same skates, so were you digging the front of the skate into the ice?”

“I don’t know.  I don’t know anything I’m doing.”

Jake frowned, “It’d be useful if I could see what you were doing instead of guessing by the sound and how you put your weight on me.”

“I can be your eyes!” the Asian man enthusiastically volunteered.  Matt attempted gliding forwards again, trying to remember all the technique that was thrown at him by the two Canadians.  Jake listened carefully to the sounds of Matt’s skates scraping the ice as he held onto his hands, facing him and skating backwards, matching his pace and stride perfectly.  He heard the sound again.

“You’re right,” Levi confirmed, amazed at Jake’s detective abilities, “He’s digging the toe pick into the ice.  He’s leaning too far forward.”

“What’s that mean?” Matt asked, a bit frustrated.

Jake explained, “These skates* have a part on the front called a toe pick.  It’s meant for figure skating stuff, but for normal skating you should avoid tipping it forward into the ice. I’m used to skates without it, but it’s not too hard to work around it for casual skating.” (*see the author’s notes)

“Oh.  I had no idea ice skates were so complicated.  Show me some of this ‘figure skating stuff’, I’m curious,” Matt said, trying to take the focus off himself.

“Well I was never a figure skater so I don’t actually know how-” He objected.

“Just try! I’m tired of you looking so perfect at everything.”

He reluctantly accepted, mostly because he felt flattered by the compliment, “Ugh, fine. What kinds of things do figure skaters do again?  Oh I guess spins,” he spun around a few times with the clunky grace of a hockey player, “Woah these skates spin a LOT.  I’m not sure what direction I’m facing anymore…”

“Try gliding then lifting your back leg up and holding your skate!” Levi joined in.

“I hate you,” he said laughing.  He humoured them by attempting this, fairly successfully, though not without a bit of clumsiness.   For laughs, he finished his ‘routine’ with a jump and skated out of it in a not-so polished camel position* (*both legs straight, with one leg straight back in the air, leaning the body forward, with arms also held back or up), “How did I do?  Will I win any Olympic medals?” he joked.

“Better than me!” Levi giggled.

“Actually, it was a better than I expected it to be and I’m kind of upset about that,” Matt laughed. 

Jake gave a cheeky grin and glided over next to Matt, grabbing one of his hands, “Your turn again.  Try gliding again, but this time I’ll be next to you instead of in front.”  The Brit started out shaky, but had improved from earlier.  Jake complimented him, “See?  That was much better!”  Jake’s smile was warm enough to cut the chill from his aching limbs.  He wanted to see that smile every day until he died.

 

That evening, after coming home, Jake messaged his mum asking her to please mail his skates to him.  She cried.  His skates, along with all his hockey gear were shoved in boxes in the attic, far from sight and mind.  He’d wanted nothing to do with any of that after the accident and she worried it would always be a bitter memory for him.  She immediately packaged up the skates, tucking in a few snacks from home, to mail in the morning.

------Author’s Notes: ice skates- most rental skates from what I’ve seen tend to be figure skating skates (vs hockey skates, which are built slightly differently), probably because they’re easier to use for beginner skaters (and if you’re not a beginner you probably have your own pair).  Hockey skates do not have toe picks and have a different blade shape.  They’re built for speed and power vs being able to spin and do jumps, etc.

*Jake and Matt are wearing rental skates (figure skating style) and Levi is wearing his own skates (hockey style). 

[RipleyToo]

This story just keeps getting more better and better every update! I'm just in love with it ?

[lalaland~]

An allergy chapter? An allergy chapter.

Chapter 23

Matthew’s fingers clacked quietly on the keyboard as he typed a search into Google, “How to date a blind person”.

“Hey Matt!” a cheery French-accented voice came from right behind him.  He reflexively slammed his laptop shut before remembering that Jake couldn’t actually see what was on his screen.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Matthew repeated himself, opening his laptop.  Even though he knew Jake couldn’t see, it still felt incredibly awkward and vulnerable.

“I just wanted to let you know I’m walking to the store and I’ll be back in an hour or so.”  He walked around toward the door, holding onto his guide dog’s harness.  The dog’s tags made a small jingle as he walked and his claws clicked quietly on hard surfaces.

“Are you sure you’re okay going by yourself?  Don’t you need someone to read the labels?”  He questioned, as Jake was sliding on his shoes by the door.

“I’ll be fine.  I only need one thing; I can just ask a stranger to help.”

“I’m not really busy I can come.  It would be nice to get some fresh air,” Matt offered, already shutting his laptop and placing it on the table in front of him.

Jake stood up, “Okay.  I’ll wait.  Um, is it okay if I use my guide dog, though?  He’s already suited up and would be really disappointed if I left him.”

“Why are you asking me?  You’re the one that needs a guide dog; that seems silly to ask me.”

Jake seemed mildly confused, “Oh, I guess I misremembered then- I thought you had some kind of issue with dogs.  That’s why I keep him in my room.  And why I never walked with him and you together.”  He gave the dog a command in French and he sat, patiently waiting, while Jake stood next to him.

“Oh, he’s right.  I did mention I’m allergic.  I wasn’t even aware he was accommodating me like that.  Well.  We’ll be mostly outside so maybe it’ll be okay.  It’s not like I’m going to tell a blind guy ‘no don’t bring your guide dog’ honestly how awful would that be?”  Matt lied, “No, it’s all fine.”  He quickly put on shoes and joined the other man by the door, leering nervously at Noir*. (*the dog)  Noir yawned at him.  “The dog is mocking me, I can tell.”

As they walked, Matt noticed just how large Noir was- Jake was a tall but otherwise average-sized person but that dog was probably at least half his size.  “So much fur…my eyes itch already.”

Jake stopped in front of a flower shop, “Okay, I think this is it.  It smells like it.”

“Why are you going to a flower shop?” Matt questioned.

“Oh good it is the right place,” Jake explained, “My professor’s husband died and her first day back is tomorrow so we were all going to bring her flowers.”

“Oh, well that’s very kind,” Matt commented as he followed him inside, “I’m not allergic to flowers that I know of, but maybe I can blame them if I start sneezing.  Ugh, that dog.  More like ‘when’ I start sneezing.”

“Let’s try to get out of here quickly it’s giving me a headache,” Jake said, with discomfort evident on his face.  A salesperson came up to them and asked if they needed assistance.  “I just need something pretty, I’m not even sure what she likes-“

“Oh, for a girlfriend?” The salesperson interjected.  Jake didn’t know what to say to that.  He definitely didn’t think of his professor that way, but it would probably be less awkward to just say yes rather than explain.  Before he could even give an answer though, she interrupted again, “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell!”  She briskly walked over to a display and Jake tried his best to follow the sound of her apron swishing against her legs, but the store was a bit of a maze.  Matthew followed, sniffling.  His eyes were too watery to properly see where he was walking, much less help someone else.  The peppy salesperson brought back a small set of cute pink flowers, “What do you think of these?”

“HEK’SHHww!”  The group reflexively turned toward the sound.  “hhKISHH!”

“Matt are you alright?” Jake asked with concern.

“I’m- hhhKISSH! Fine- KISSSHH-ah! sniffle, excuse me.”  He caught his sneezes in his hands.  His eyes kept fluttering shut and his pink nose twitched like he was going to sneeze again.

“À tes souhaits,” Jake said, frowning.

“I’ll berightback,” the British man rushed off toward the exit, sneezing once more before making it outside, “heh-KIISH!”  Even the salesperson looked concerned about him.

Once outside, he leant against the building and sneezed seven times in a row, pitching forward.

Back inside, the salesperson continued where they left off, “So, what do you think of these?”

“I can’t see them, but if you think they’re pretty then that’s fine with me,” Jake answered honestly.

She noticed the dog for the first time and put the pieces together in her head, “Oh!  Are you blind?  I’m so sorry!” “It’s okay.” “I love these flowers, so I’d recommend them for anyone.”

“Okay, I’ll get those then.  Thanks for the help,” he said, really wanting to get out of there.

Outside, Matthew had stopped sneezing quite so much, but he knew he was sure to be a sniffly, itchy mess for hours.  Jake came through the doors with his purchased flowers.

“Matt? Where’d you go?”

“Right here,” he replied, tiredly, standing right next to him.

“Oh good, you’re still alive,” he teased, “I’ve seriously never heard you sneeze that many times ever, I was worried.”

Matthew sniffled, “I guess the flowers were just too buch,” meanwhile, the true culprit stood next to Jake looking adorably innocent.  He glared at the dog with itchy eyes.  Noir seemed indifferent and still adorable.  Luckily, the walk back would not be long and he knew that soon he could get far, far away from the fluffy devil.

“hhKIISHH-ah-KISHhhhu! ‘scuse be,” he sneezed wetly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you miserable by bringing you there,” the blind man felt guilty.

“No-no it’s dot your fault-“ he turned away to sneeze again, “heeeh hehKSSSH’ww! ugh, sorry, I was sayi’g, I chose to go, rebember?”  That didn’t make Jake feel any better about it.  “sniffle, hey, Jake, do you even dnow what your dog looks like?”

“As much as I know what anything looks like, I suppose.  I know he’s large and black and looks like a dog.”

“KIIISSHHH’ww!  Sorry, wait, how do you dnow he’s black?”

“You just told me,” he smiled slyly, “So have other people, and, also, that’s his name so I really hope he’s black.  He could be red and everyone’s just lying to me.”

Matthew laughed, but was plagued by the tickle in his nose, “ohhh boy and I have to sdeeze againd,” his jaw went slack and his teary green eyes fluttered shut right before he sneezed twice and sniffled into his hands.

“À tes souhaits.  It’s my dog, isn’t it?”

“How did you- yheh-KESH’www!”

Jake’s tone was very factual, “I remembered our conversation from the day I moved here, when you started asking about Noir,” he turned to face the older man, “Don’t lie to me again, okay?”

“Scary…Y-Yes sir.”

“…What’s with that address, anyway?” he sighed softly, “I just don’t want you to be miserable because of me, that’s all.”

They approached the door of the flat they shared and went inside.  Matthew quickly dashed off to find some allergy medicine, and he could hear Jake talking to the dog in French, still by the front door.  “I heard my name.  What’s he saying about me to that fluffy demon? Oh bloody hell,” he sneezed again, four times, and quickly chased it with the pills.

------Author’s Notes: ahhh ok writing this chapter made me really nervous I hope it was satisfying for all the people who love allergies!  If people like it, I can probably make more like it.  The dog’s not going anywhere.

He probably got lots of search results for “blind dates” haha (/rimshot sound effect)

I added some visual description of Matt to this chapter.  Normally I don’t have a lot of that because I sort of write them from either their own perspective or the other character’s (even though I technically write in 3^rd person), and, obviously, there’s not going to be a lot of visual descriptions from Jake’s end.  But that doesn’t have to be a rule; I’ll go back in and add more if that makes people happy!

Thank you all for the feedback <3 I'll reply to it later when I'm not at risk of being caught on this website lol

[Ciuty80]

OOOHHHH HELL YEAH!!!

that was amazing!

PLEASE much much more

 

[lalaland~]

Chapter 24

It was winter final exams week and Matthew’s room had become a dumping ground of paints, canvases, partially used palettes, and other assorted supplies strewn around carelessly.  He bit his lip and tried to focus on his piece but this was becoming a herculean task thanks to the sounds coming from the room next to his.   

Every few minutes or so he’d hear a, “hhpp’schew! Sschew! Hah-ah-hhpp’schew!” followed by several wet sniffles and a gurgly nose-blow.  The sneezes were soft but very wet and he could tell Jake stopped bothering to cover hours ago.  Finishing this piece was going to be impossible.

Blue eyes fluttered shut as he drew in another shaky breath,  “Hhh-pp’SSHEW! ESS’HEW! ESS’HEW! Huh-he’sschew! Heh-“ the last one escaped and his nose ran freely to his lip. “Tabarnak!” He swore as he felt around for a tissue that hadn’t already been used.  Not finding one, he cringed, wiping his nose on his sleeve as a last resort.  He leaned back in his chair and sighed.  How in the world was he going to finish his paper when he couldn’t even think.  He was sick yesterday and the day before, too.  His head was pounding and his nose constantly felt ticklish, not to mention his throat hurt and he was certain he ran a fever during his exam this morning.  Maybe he would ask Matt to buy him some cold medicine, but, he didn’t want to get him sick.  After all, it was final exam week and he was sure to be very busy himself.  Instead of walking over to Matt’s “art dungeon” and risking sneezing on stuff, he pulled out his phone to text him and waved his finger over the icons as VoiceOver read them in the quick voice he was so used to.  Before he could start writing a text, he heard a knock at his bedroom door.  “Cobe id,” He cringed at how stuffy his voice was.

“How’re you feeling?” Matt asked, already knowing the answer, as he opened the door and stood in the doorway, visually examining the younger man.

“I’b so sick,” he truly sounded miserable, “Ah, actdually, I was ab-“ he interrupted himself with a fit of half-covered sneezes, “hhpp’schew! Sschew! Hah-ah-hhpp’schew! sniffle désolé.”

“Bless you.  Don’t apologise every time you sneeze you’ll lose your voice.” He’d learned the meaning of the word through context not long after living together.  He was enamoured by Jake’s disheveled curly hair, his sniffly pinkened nose, those slightly parted, chapped lips that he wanted oh so badly to kiss-

“Nod agaid…” Jake brought his hands up to cover a round of particularly messy sneezes in rapid succession, “hhh-he’sschew! ESS’HEW! ESS’HEW! Eh-Het’sshew! ‘Schew! ‘Schew!”

Matthew couldn’t take his eyes off the man, taking in every expression, every sound.  “Bless you,” he said softly.

Jake sniffled thickly without removing his hands and followed with a very tired sounding, “désolé.”  He sighed, “Dhis cold is the- the-heh heppp’TSHU! worsdt I- ISSSHHue! I can’d- heh-Het’ssshew! stob- he’sschew! sdeezing- hah-hhpp’schew! Sschew!  hhh-he’sschew! sniiiffle.”  He looked over toward Matt and sarcastically exclaimed, “Wow! I sdeezed so buch I cad see agaid!”

“wha-“ Taken off-guard, Matthew lost his footing and grabbed the doorframe to keep from falling over.

“Jusdt kiddi’g~,” he sniffled, with a trace of a devious grin, “Did you really thigk sniffle thad could happe’d?”

Somewhat gaining composure he ventured with mock-confidence, “No, no of course not!”

“So thad’s why you grabbed by doorfrabe? sniffle…” he glanced over pointedly, for the sole purpose of showing off a satisfied smile. He mocked him in a very poor (and very stuffy) imitation of his British accent, “D’no, d’no of course d’not!”

Unamused, Matthew tossed a (soft) packet of tissues at the blind man, hitting him in the face.  “Blow your nose already.”

-----Author’s Notes: In Québec, swears are often religious words.

There is a tiny adult bit in Ch. 24 available only in the 18+ board.

Sorry if my joke was lame. I thought it was cute.

Edited June 2, 2017 by lalaland~

[gay-for-the-snz]

I've been slacking on my reviews as of late, but I can assure you that you are blowing away my expectations every time. It's a joy to see you update. Thank you for this

[KD02]

I just love this so much!! Please let Matthew get jake ?

[jawzzbubblez]

Yes. I would love if Matthew and Jake kissed and started dating 

[lalaland~]

On 5/18/2017 at 6:57 AM, KD02 said:

2 more parts?! I really love this!!!!

Thanks for the updates, can't wait for more 

<3 thank you!!

On 5/22/2017 at 0:13 PM, KD02 said:

I love this thanks for updating!!

Thank you for your support!

On 5/24/2017 at 4:48 PM, Toon Vlux said:

This story just keeps getting more better and better every update! I'm just in love with it ?

I'm so happy you love it!!

On 5/27/2017 at 0:14 PM, Ciuty80 said:

OOOHHHH HELL YEAH!!!

that was amazing!

PLEASE much much more

 

I wrote like 40 something chapters (not all complete but) so don't worry there's more lmao

21 hours ago, JustAnotherGuy said:

I've been slacking on my reviews as of late, but I can assure you that you are blowing away my expectations every time. It's a joy to see you update. Thank you for this

ahhhhh ＼(≧▽≦)／ thank you!

17 hours ago, KD02 said:

I just love this so much!! Please let Matthew get jake ?

thank you!!( ´ ▽ ` ) 

15 hours ago, jawzzbubblez said:

Yes. I would love if Matthew and Jake kissed and started dating 

*evil author laughter* writing a plot without 500 twists would be too simple 
 

thank you all for your feedback <3 I'm back from vacation so I can resume updates as usual and work on the story.
It's so hard not revealing anything about the future plot in reply to some of these comments 

(ノωヽ)

[lalaland~]

Chapter 25

Later that evening, Jake shuffled out of his bedroom wearing a warm jacket and a blanket wrapped around himself.  He seemed zoned-out and exhausted.  He felt like he was going to fall over and focused all his energy on not doing that.

“Jake?” Matt called out, a third time, “are you okay?” Jake snapped out of the trance-like state and offered a tired smile, “hmm?”

Matt gently placed his hands on the sick man’s shoulders and guided him to the couch.  “You didn’t respond the first two times I called you, are you alright?” he repeated with a gentle tone of voice.

“je vais bien*,” he mumbled sleepily. (*I’m fine)

“You sound better than you did this afternoon.” They sat on the couch together.

“I don’t feel any better,” he sulked.  More than anything Matt wanted to scoop the poor boy up in his arms and carry him to bed and then climb in the bed next to him, but instead just asked if there was anything he could do to help.  Jake shook his head.

Noting both the jacket and blanket Jake was sporting, Matt commented, “Are you really that cold? I’ve got the heat on.”  The sick man frowned slightly, saying nothing.  “Maybe you have a fever?” Matt suggested as he placed the back of his hand against the other man’s forehead.  Jake drew in a sharp breath as the cool hand met his warm face.  It felt nice and he wished they could’ve stayed like that longer.  Matt withdrew his hand commenting, “a bit warm but not too bad. You need to rest. Are you dizzy?”

“A little.”

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“I dunno, 10?”

“I only have one hand up…”

“It was a guess.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

Changing the subject, Jake mused, “I remembered why I came in here now. My throat hurts, I was going to make tea.”  He cleared his throat as if to illustrate this.

“I’ll take care of it!” The British boy popped up from the couch, happy to finally have a way to be helpful.  “What kind of tea?” he asked, flipping through tea packets tucked messily into a drawer in the kitchen.

“Um, lemon I guess? If you have it.” Jake replied from the couch, touched by his flatmate’s enthusiasm.

“Brilliant choice.  Oh, I have everything. You should know that by now! I’m somewhat of an addict,” Matt laughed.  He hummed to himself as he put on two cups of lemon tea, one for himself and one for Jake.  He returned to the couch with the freshly brewed cups and placed them on the table in front.  Jake was laying on the couch with his eyes closed and Matt couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or just relaxing.  He gave no reaction to the sound of the cups being placed on the table.  “Tea’s ready.” This seemed to rouse Jake’s attention as he opened his eyes and propped himself up into a sitting position, his motions a bit lethargic.

“Merci, thank you.” He held out his hands as a cue for Matt to place the mug in them, smiling softly.  He handed him the mug and assumed the seat next to him, blushing stupidly at how adorable Jake was being without even trying.  Jake held the cup carefully in both hands and took a sip. He froze as a tickle blossomed in his nose from the steam. He tried setting the cup on the table but was unable to locate it before launching into a set of desperate sneezes, “hehhh-hhpp’SCHEW! Pp’schew! Hahhhh-ah-hhpp’schew! sniffle, sniffle désolé.”  The stuffiness in his voice from earlier that day returned.  His face burned with embarrassment at how disgusting he must seem right now.  He sniffled constantly, placing the sneezed-on tea on the table, wishing he could disappear.  

Meanwhile, Matthew reverently touched his hand to his cheek where he’d been sprayed with the sneezes.  All remnants of self-control were smothered by his overwhelming desire as the Brit gave in.  One hand gripping sweaty, messy curls, the other firmly holding his shoulder and pulling him closer, he lustfully kissed Jake, parting the other man’s lips with his tongue.  Jake was too shocked to respond, letting the older man explore his mouth, giving in to but not returning the action.  Jake pulled away harshly when he ran out of breath, due to his nose being blocked, and scrambled to the end of the couch wearing a mixture of astonishment and mortification on his face. 

He stammered a lame excuse to get away from Matt, “I’m-I’m- I have to go over there,” he pointed in a vague direction and stumbled off the couch, almost tripping and falling on his face.  He managed to stumble into his room and shut the door so he could sort through all the emotions swimming through his head. 

“What the hell?” Jake tried grasping what had just happened. “I’ve never even kissed anyone before. I never even thought about how I felt…that way.  Why didn’t I stop him?  Did I like it? Why did he even kiss me? What’s going on?” He felt dizzy with so many confusing thoughts.

“Brilliant job Matt, you right fucked things up.” He scolded himself.

------Author’s Notes: There is a tiny adult bit in Ch. 25 available only in the 18+ board.

[KD02]

OMG YES!! I love it!! You can't keep us in suspense please update soon.. 

Edited June 3, 2017 by KD02

[lalaland~]

Chapter 26

The next morning, Jake sniffled past his flatmate awkwardly, trying not to acknowledge him.  He still hadn’t decided how he felt about last night.  He pulled out a kitchen drawer, felt the contents, then closed it, opened the adjacent drawer and did the same. 

When he shut a third drawer he mumbled to himself, “Why aren’t these drawers brailed?”  He opened a fourth drawer and felt inside, this time, appearing to have found what he was searching for.  He pulled a tea bag out of the “tea drawer” and walked over to the sink.

“That’s English breakfast, by the way.” Matt’s voice was a bit dull.

“I knew that,” Jake snapped back, a bit meaner than he intended, putting the tea bag back into the drawer and pulling out another, identical bag.  Matt said nothing this time.  He watched in hurt silence as Jake filled the kettle with water and plugged it in, struggling a bit with matching the plug to the outlet, but determined not to ask for help.  He clipped a level indicator to a mug and stood in tense silence, punctuated only by his sniffles, as he waited for the kettle to boil the water.  The sniffling irritated Matthew.  He steeled himself and walked back into his room, shutting the door firmly but not slamming it.

Jake felt relief from the tension with Matt out of the room.  He just didn’t know how to act around him- confusion still swirled in his head surrounding all these new feelings.  When the kettle was done, he poured water into the mug until the level indicator beeped at him.  He waited impatiently for it to steep and finally brought the cup up to his mouth, grimacing as he took a sip- he hated English breakfast tea, but at the moment he’d rather drink the disgusting crap than ask Matt to help him.  At least it made his throat feel better.

He had an exam today that he was nowhere near prepared for.  He made sure to dress warmly for the walk to school, which certainly wasn’t going to help this cold.  He shoved a bunch of tissues in his pockets and tossed the box in his bag.  He used a scarf to hide his sure-to-be red, drippy nose- at the moment it was running constantly.  He grabbed a few tissues from his desk and blew his nose a few times, but it seemed to run endlessly.

He hugged his dog and sighed, “Noir, je me sens terrible.*” (*I feel terrible)

For once, he was glad (compared to neutral) to be writing an exam in a room by himself, with just a proctor to watch him.  He just wished the proctor would stop asking if he was alright- there’s a limit to how many times you can say “I’m fine”, proceeded by several more sneezes, before it becomes awkward.  The exam itself wasn’t too difficult, but writing it with a terrible cold and a fever made focusing a challenge.

While Jake was gone, Matt tried to focus on his finals art pieces but self-pity and self-hatred dragged his concentration off-course.  He decided to take a break and try to think about anything that wasn’t Jake.

It was no use- everything made him think of Jake. 

---------Author’s Notes: Jake doesn’t use the drawers in the kitchen much, and therefore can never remember which is which.  Also, when he says “brailed” he simply means having a braille label.

A level indicator is a small device you clip on a cup or whatever and it beeps at you when the water rises to a certain level so visually impaired people don’t have to worry about over-pouring and can avoid using their finger to tell when boiling water is near the top.

Jake takes exams in a separate room because he can’t see a paper test, so either a computer or a proctor has to read it to him (and that can be distracting to other people). Computer tests are even better because he can type his own answers instead of also needing someone to write them.

There is a tiny adult bit in Ch. 26 available only in the 18+ board.

[lalaland~]

On 6/3/2017 at 2:26 AM, KD02 said:

OMG YES!! I love it!! You can't keep us in suspense please update soon.. 

*happy twirling* 
though,,,I didn't do much for ending suspense hahaha