Goodbye Don't Last Forever
Javey. Kind of funny ngl. Enjoy.
David Jacobs was eighteen and newly graduated when his girlfriend, Francis Sullivan, left for Santa Fe, leaving no goodbye and no way to contact her.
David went crazy when she left. He loved her and she left without a word to him. He made some stupid (but not too regrettable) decisions in the time after. Dyed his dirty blonde hair a dark shade of brown. Started wearing his glasses again. Went outside only when required (as in almost never). Stopped talking to many of his friends.
Only two of the habits died, and fortunately it was those last two. He found himself to be pretty fine within a few months of her being gone.
Six years later, David Jacobs was 24 years old and getting a new roommate.
"Hi, are you David?" A confident voice came from behind him.
He turned to face- woah he's hot- the person asking the question.
"Yeah, yes, that's me. David Jacobs. Hi."
The man smiled and held out a hand to shake.
"Jack Kelly."
Those eyes... that handshake. So familiar. But the familiarity was out of reach in David's mind.
So he stood up a little straighter, smiled back, and said, "Nice to meet you in person finally. I mean I trusted Albert enough to not find me a serial killer roommate but... I feel very assured now, haha..."
"I won't kill ya, Davey."
Davey...
"Good to know. Same here. Do you need help taking anything up?"
Jack shook his head. "All I's got is this." He nodded to a moderately sized suitcase that he was gripping.
"Oh. Sorry, I didn't-"
"It's nothing, Dave. I just had to leave kinda quickly and didn't have much anyways."
"Well, uh. Let me uh... I guess, follow me?"
...
David was down bad for his roommate. And, down bad as in like, Taylor Swift "if I can't have him/I might just die it would make no difference."
Something about him, Jack, felt so familiar in all the most wonderful ways. His smile was a smile David felt like he had seen dozens of times.
David wanted to know why. He wanted to know why this boy felt so natural in the environment. Why he seemed to be the missing piece in David's life.
He was going to find out.
Not today though, he decided, when Jack entered the apartment looking like he was about to burst into tears.
"Hey, are you okay?" David asked slowly.
Jack nodded stiffly, putting his head down and throwing his bag and coat to the floor.
"Jack, you look sad."
"I'm fine."
"Jack."
"I ain't- you don't gotta be all in my business." Jack was heading to his tiny bedroom, so David grabbed his arm to stop him.
"You can tell me, you know?"
Jack leaned forward, hugging David, beginning to cry.
"Woah, hey. Hey, it's alright, let it out..." David wished Jack would hug him more often, and not while crying.
Jack continued to cry for maybe three minutes, David didn't know exactly. What David did know is that when Jack made eye contact with him, he looked like he had done something horrible.
"I ain't a real boy, Dave."
David's heart could have shattered just then, hearing Jack sound so broken.
"What do you mean, you aren't a real boy?"
"I wasn't- I'm not- I am a boy. I know and promise that I am but I just- wasn't born that way and I feel like a fraud and I get sad sometimes."
"That's okay to be sad, Jack. But you're a boy, I know you are. If you say you're a boy, you're a boy. No, how old are you?"
"Twenty-four."
"Okay, Jack Kelly, you are no boy, you're a freakin' man."
Jack smiled a little, wiping his eyes dry.
"Thank ya, Davey."
...
David was having none of this "stay up until 3 AM painting" bullshit.
"Jack Kelly, you will start going to bed at a decent time or so help me-"
"I'm fine, Dave!" Jack defended himself.
"You drank four coffees today and three energy drinks. I don't even know how you're still alive!"
"Fine, fine. I will be in bed no later than midnight."
"Is that the best I'm gonna get?"
"Yup."
David sighed, deciding to give in.
"At least show me what you've been working on into the ungodly hours of the night?"
"Maybe someday." Jack smiled mysteriously and disappeared once again into his room.
David was not staring at his fine ass as he retreated. He wasn't.
...
"Davey, do you got any food?"
David was regretting getting a roommate but also enjoyed having someone around. He didn't appreciate having to buy random shit every other week because Jack had a craving and pretty much no money. (He spent his money on rent and art supplies, which David didn't mind because his apartment was cheaper and Jack's art was amazing.)
"We have fruit snacks and spaghetti-o's if that qualifies as food. We might also have a banana."
Jack strolled into the kitchen area after David's previous statement and pulled out a packet of fruit snacks, a can of spaghetti-o's, and the blender.
"What the fuck are you doing?" David asked, shocked and amused all at once.
"I'm making me some dinner, you want some?"
"Jack, there is no way in Hell you are going to eat- drink spaghetti-o's and fruit snacks put through the blender. It's gonna be terrible."
"Actually, no it isn't. My old friend dared me to do it and it actually tastes good."
David had a brief memory flash through his mind.
"Francis! I dare you to put the two most different things you can think of in the blender and then drink it." Race shouted.
"Okay, I'll do it." Francis smiled that daredevil smile of hers and got started. Spaghetti-o's and fruit snacks.
When it was complete, Francis took a long drink.
"Wow. That's actually not terrible."
"Davey, you good?"
David nodded. "Sorry, just. You just reminded me of something."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Ex-girlfriend."
"Thought you said you're gay?"
"She kind of helped me out on discovering that."
"Well. That's nice of her. How so?"
"Uh. It's a long story."
"I bet I can handle it. Besides, I have an abomination to drink. I'll listen."
"Oh. Okay. Well. Basically, she decided she was going to Santa Fe and wasn't going to, you know, say goodbye to me or anyone. And I spent a long time angry and then realized I didn't really miss her romantically at all and just was pissed, and then me and my friend Albert accidentally fucked when we were drunk and I was like 'wow that's allowed?' and anyways uh Al and I aren't and weren't interested in each other at all, we were just drunk like I said, but then it all made sense why I wasn't like, sad over the 'love of my life' leaving because it was just a high school girlfriend and I'm not even into girls. So I'm not even mad at her anymore really I'm just gay and confused and I've talked a lot now sorry."
David looked up at Jack for a reaction. He was wearing this face... David could not name the emotion.
"What was her name?"
Huh. Weird question.
"Why?"
"Well, I was just wonderin' if maybe I met her, since I's come here from Santa Fe and all."
"Oh. Yeah, uh. Her name's Francis Sullivan."
"Have a picture?"
"Yeah, one sec." David scrolled through his phone's camera roll until he found her. "Here."
The picture made Jack frown, and David kind of would have done anything to make him smile again.
"You know her?" David asked.
"Yeah, uh. I knew her."
David's heart sped up.
"Really? Is she doing okay? Is she alright? Do you know where she lives, cause I might need to go-"
"Davey. Stop."
"What?"
"You can't exactly go visit her."
"Why not?"
Jack seemed to be looking inside himself instead of at David when he spoke.
"She was... the real depressed type, Dave. Always sad. She never smiled, I don't think. She was in a real bad state of mind."
"What're you-"
"She ain't alive no more."
Everything stopped in David's head.
"What?"
"I'm real sorry, Dave. She just ain't... But I'm here."
"What's that supposed to mean? 'You're here?'"
Jack hesitated before opening his mouth. "She didn't exactly... die the way you're thinking. She, uh. She just... more... changed? She ain't Francis anymore. She cut her hair and went on T and got top surgery and goes by a boy's name now, and he/him. So, uh, tellin' ya she died was probably not the brightest idea but that was an in-the-moment decision."
"Good for him. What does that have to do with you being here?"
Jack made absolute eye contact with David, wondering how he could be so fucking stupid, and held it. Held it as he crossed the room and held it up until the moment he pulled David into a hug.
"I'm sorry for leavin' you. I just had ta get away."
David jerked away from Jack in a quick movement.
"You? You're... You- I can't-" David's brain was moving too quickly and all he could think to do was punch Jack in the face as hard as humanly possible.
Which he did.
"Son of a bitch- Dave! I only told ya cause I thought you said ya weren't mad anymore!"
"Yeah, well. Now I am, asshole. You... You deep friend burnt-ass dino nugget dickhead. You absolute.... I can't even. How dare you? I fucking loved you, yes even if I'm gay now, and you, you just ran the fuck off and never bothered contacting me for six years. I would have understood if you needed to leave, needed to leave me, needed... whatever. I would have given you your space. I hate you."
Jack looked hurt. It made David feel good. All that pain he went through and it was being passed on.
"Davey-"
"David."
"Right, sorry. David. I'm really sorry. I don't- I never meant ta hurt you. To be honest, I thought you'd be glad if I left and never came back."
David felt less good.
"I just- I wanted to feel like I could be free. It didn't really... go as planned. Because I just realized I wanted to come back. Mostly for you."
David didn't stop to think. David just kissed Jack like he was hungry for it.
"I fucking hate you." He said, pulling away.
"No you don't."
"Don't test your luck."
A small moment of touching silence passed.
"So..." Jack started. "You slept with Al?"
"Now I actually do hate you. Get out, I'm calling him. Maybe he'll be nice to me."
"Davey... I love you. I always did."
"I'm... good to know. I can't- I'm still mad, bitch."
Jack just laughed, and he knew right then that it would all be fine.
A/N: hope y'all liked it :) It'll be on ao3 asap
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