Chapter Text
Within a week, Monty and Jasper had adapted to each other’s schedules. Monty had his college classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays while Jasper had work Monday through Thursday. Bogged down by obligations, a girlfriend, and a strict mother, their time together was limited to the time before class started and the few minutes they had to waste after school before they went their separate ways. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for Monty. He was happier than he had been in ages, and their communication was minimal enough for him to ignore the fluttery feeling he felt in his stomach every time he saw Jasper.
On the Tuesday of the second week, Monty was leaning against his hand-me-down Honda Civic when he saw Jasper bounding out of the school to meet him. They had begun to make a habit of parking next to each other in the morning so they could spend the maximum amount of time together after school. As he jogged down the stairs and across the parking lot, Jasper waved his arms excitedly.
“Work called!” He gasped as he reached the other boy. “The scientist who I normally help is out of town today, so they don’t need me.” He bent forwards, gripping his knees as he tried to regulate his breathing. “Fuck, I haven’t run that much since middle school PE.”
Monty laughed, reaching down to jokingly check his friend’s pulse. “That was hardly even a jog, you lump.”
Jasper swatted Monty’s hand away. “Shut up dude, you know both of us are more brains than brawn.” He straightened up and reached for Monty’s bicep, intending to teasingly pinch a boney arm. Monty smirked as Jasper’s idea backfired and he was met with a toned, muscular arm. Jasper glared at Monty in a show of mock betrayal. “I expect an explanation for this later.”
Monty laughed, trying to play off the blush he felt creeping into his cheeks, when he suddenly processed the implications of his friend’s words. “Wait – ‘later?’”
A grin reappeared on Jasper’s slim face. “I was thinking that since you don’t have class and I don’t have work, we could hang out at my place. You know, like old times.”
Panic flooded Monty’s senses, changing his smile into a concerned look. “I don’t know about that…” He chewed his lower lip. He didn’t relish the idea of telling his mom about reconnecting with Jasper, but the notion of explaining to Jasper why he couldn’t be seen with him seemed even more shameful.
“Please?” Jasper widened his eyes, pouting. “I know your only other plans are to go study at the college library.”
“Jasper, that’s not it.” Monty sighed. If Jasper was trying to make him feel guilty for turning down the plans, it was definitely working.
“C’mon Monty,” Jasper began, his pout twitching into a small smile. “Your parents won’t find out.” He winked as he recited the same words he always used to say whenever he was trying to convince Monty to go along with one of his bad ideas.
“You always say that,” Monty quietly laughed. He thought through the situation. His mom would think he’s off spending his time at the library, like he normally did on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As long as he was back home before six, she wouldn’t question him. He sucked in a breath and met his friend’s eyes, nodding. “Okay. Yeah, let’s go.”
A large smile blossoming on his features, Jasper ruffled Monty’s dark hair and turned to mount his bike. He yanked his bandana over his mouth and his goggles over his eyes. His voice was muffled from behind the dark fabric. “Do you need to follow me there?”
Monty grinned as he slid inside his car. “I think I remember the way.”
Friday nights were always spent at the Jordan residence. It didn’t matter if Monty had his entire extended family visiting or if Jasper was grounded. Somehow, the two fourteen-year-olds would inevitably find a way to slip away and meet in the treehouse behind Jasper’s house. At this point in their lives, after knowing each other since the second grade, spending so much time together was almost a habit. They probably knew one another more than each knew himself – right down to the way that Jasper’s eyes flickered before reassuring Monty that his parents would never learn of whatever devious plan he had come up with that week. Monty’s reluctant agreement was even more predictable.
However, this week, the roles were reversed. “Come on. My parents won’t notice.” Monty nudged the taller boy as they walked their bikes home. “At least, I don’t think they will.”
“Mont, are you sure? I mean, that stuff is pretty important to them.” Jasper looked at his friend with concern.
Monty smiled. “It won’t be hard. We just have to wait for the right time.” As Jasper met his eyes and gave him a tentative nod, he felt a small wave of pride surge through his body. Jasper was always the one who came up with risky plans. Jasper was always the one who made their time together fun. Now it was Monty’s turn to do something a little crazy.
Monty’s house was at the edge of the block. It sat on the side of a major road, surrounded by shops and restaurants. Towering over the adjoining plaza, the narrow, two-story building seemed slightly out of place. The first story housed the Green family’s pharmacy while the second story had been converted into their apartment. The duo paused in the doorway. Their plan was a go. Monty led the way inside, weaving through shelves of first aid supplies and organic supplements. Jasper took a mental note of how many customers were on the floor. There was only one and he was standing at the counter, most likely asking about the shop’s most popular product.
Medical marijuana had been legalized a little more than two years prior and little by little, shops all around the area had begun adding it to their list of commodities. Monty’s family had jumped on the bandwagon as soon as they could and within the first week of advertising the herb, the shop had seen more business than in had in the last three months. Mr. and Mrs. Green loved their store as if it were their second child, but making ends meet always seemed to be a struggle. Many of their medicines were created in-house using combinations of plants from their hydroponic garden. Despite the care they put into their profession, the store never seemed to attract the amount of customers that it deserved. The store’s newfound popularity was an immense financial relief for the whole family.
Monty was grateful. He would never want to do anything that would jeopardize his family’s business. But surely a gram or two wouldn’t hurt, right? He and Jasper dropped their bags on the table in the back room and made themselves at home. All they had to do was wait until they heard the bell on the front door ring, indicating that the customer had left. Sure enough, all the customer needed was a quick fix and was on his way out the door in minutes.
Now was the time to act. Monty poked his head around the doorway. “Mom? Dad? I need help on a heritage project.” With no customers in the store, his parents were more than happy to help. For a few minutes, they sat in the back room, answering question after basic question about their family history. Monty scribbled them down dutifully.
Meanwhile, Jasper took Monty’s cue and crept out of the room as soon as Mr. and Mrs. Green were inside. Once he was behind the counter, Jasper located the shelves that held the green plant. There were several jars with the names of different strains printed on them, and below that, cabinets that held gallon bags of weed. Shit. He stared at all the options, blinking. There were so many. Which did Monty tell me to take from? He scanned the shelves, mind working fast. He picked up a small jar of green, clump-like buds. Unsure of how much was enough, Jasper used the tongs to remove a few buds and deposited them in a Ziploc bag before quickly taking a water bottle from the case that sat behind the counter.
When he reentered the back room, Monty’s parents were on their way out. “Hey Mrs. Green. This water is on the house, right?” He smiled, hoping that he wouldn’t reveal his nervousness. Mrs. Green’s eye roll and laugh as she exited the room was all the confirmation that Jasper needed. Once the coast was clear, he turned back to Monty and gave his friend a smug smile.
Monty excitedly punched the air before stooping down to pick up their bags. “Your place?” Without waiting for an answer, he rushed out of the room, Jasper close on his heels.
“So…” Monty began with a hesitant smile. “You and Maya? I mean, I don’t know her at all, but she seems way out of your league.”
Jasper laughed, punching his companion’s arm lightly. They were sitting on the porch of the old tree house in Jasper’s backyard. His dad had built it when they were only four and just barely tall enough to peer over his workbench. They pestered him with questions for a month, asking what it was and when it would be done and why he was being so cruel. Jasper’s parents had confined their after-school activities to only the small front yard and the rooms with windows that didn’t open to the backyard. It was the most miserable month of their young lives, but the big reveal on Jasper’s birthday was worth the wait. Jasper’s dad had instructed the two boys to close their eyes and led them out the back door, into the cool October air. When they opened their eyes, they fell in love with what would be their “home” for the next decade. Or at least until Monty was shipped off to boarding school.
Jasper’s eyes floated to the sign hung over the tree house door, reading “Jasper and Monty’s Place.” A knife had been used to carve an amendment after Jasper’s name – “+ Maya.” Staring at what used to be a proclamation of his and Jasper’s ownership of the house, Monty felt a strange mixture of emotions churning in his stomach. He resented the fact that this spot was obviously so important to Jasper and Maya that she would feel the need to add her name to the sign. He tried to ignore the implications that arose from his horndog best friend bringing a girl up to the house. However, at the same time, a strange warmth eased his jealousy by pointing out that even after nearly four years of no contact, Jasper never felt the urge to scratch out Monty’s name.
Closing his eyes, Jasper sighed and lowered himself to lay on the yellow wood, his legs dangling over the edge. “I can’t argue with that. Maya really is too good for me. I’m just glad she has low standards.” He paused his self-deprecation to listen for Monty’s chuckle before continuing. “I met her in art class.”
Monty choked on a breath of air. “You? In an art class? I hate to break it to you bud, but I don’t think high schools can hire nude models.”
“Shut up,” Jasper groaned, laughing softly. “I transferred mid-year, so I didn’t have many elective options. But she was there, and she was really good. I sucked, like, majorly. I tried to pass off the shit I made as artsy, but apparently only Jackson Pollock can pass off random splats as art. When I do it, I’m just being ‘lazy.’ Damn double standards.” He shook his head and ignored Monty mumbling a smart-assed comment about abstract expressionism and Jasper’s inability to understand anything that isn’t spelled out to him.
“So Maya helped me. Taught me how to draw a face and mix paint and things. She saved me from failing art class, which would have been a little embarrassing.”
“Meaning she did your projects for you.” Monty glared teasingly at his best friend, knowing him too well to be fooled by a sweet story. Jasper met him with a sly smile, giving him all of the confirmation he needed. Sighing at his friend’s predictability, Monty eased onto his back and made himself comfortable on the porch.
The calm lingered for a few moments until Jasper sat up suddenly, scrambling to his feet. Monty watched as the taller boy excitedly entered the tree house and began pulling at a floorboard. When they were young, the space beneath that floorboard housed jars of candy and Jasper’s dad’s star charts. Every Friday night, they would eagerly remove their stash and gnaw on candy while attempting to identify the constellations.
But what Jasper removed from the space was neither star charts nor candy. Instead, it was a grey tin with lifted purple designs. Jasper opened the tin and Monty narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out the contents, but his nose answered his questions before his eyes could.
“Shit, I’m out.” Jasper held up a pipe, its bowl still dark with traces of ash, and an empty Ziploc bag. “I was gonna suggest we play some puff puff pass, since our last session together got cut short, but…” He pouted at the empty bag, failing to notice the way that Monty’s face had drained of color.
Monty still hadn’t told him why he had left so abruptly back then. Frankly, he doubted that he would ever have the heart to.
Hearts pounding, Monty and Jasper pedaled furiously as they raced each other to Jasper’s backyard. Monty was always slightly faster than the other boy, as puberty had blessed him with muscles while Jasper only received height and awkward facial hair. At fourteen, Jasper towered four inches above his friend, thanks to a recent growth spurt. Monty was still growing at a more moderate pace, and sometimes he thanked his lucky stars for that as he watched Jasper, who often looked like a gangly, clumsy baby deer who is still trying to understand how legs work.
They reached Jasper’s house and deposited their bikes on the side before unhooking the gate to the backyard. Without even stopping to catch his breath, Monty jogged to the tree house ladder and climbed until he emerged on the porch of the yellow-brown structure. As he waited for his friend to catch up with him, he unzipped his backpack to remove a grinder, a lighter, and few pre-rolled cones that he had discreetly taken the last time he was helping his family unbox new stock.
Finally, Jasper’s head appeared at the top of the ladder. “Are you sure your parents won’t notice what I took?” He pulled himself onto the porch and flopped down onto the rough wood with a dull thump.
Monty shrugged. “If they didn’t notice what I took a few weeks ago, I doubt they’ll notice today.” He gestured to the supplies that were neatly laid out in front of him, ready for use.
Nodding, Jasper produced the weed and handed it to Monty. He propped his chin up on his hand and watched silently as Monty loaded some of the dry plant into the grinder and began to twist the object. The movement of the spiraling, rainbow mandala printed on the top of the grinder pulled Jasper into a fascinated trance as he listened to the sound of the hot, summer wind rattling the tree around them.
When Monty was satisfied, he twisted the top off of the grinder and pushed the container of green flakes towards Jasper. He pointed to one of the brown cones. “Here, just put this into that.”
Jasper groaned and buried his face in the crook of his elbow. “That’s a lot of work.”
“Fine, then I’ll just smoke it all myself. This is my family’s weed anyways.”
Jasper turned his head to glare at Monty, knowing that he could – and very well would – smoke the entire joint before Jasper could even get a hit. They weren’t particularly new to the activity, even though this was their first time smoking by themselves. Jasper’s family was the friendliest on the block, and growing up with the neighborhood kids gave him and Monty a free pass to all of their high school parties. They felt embarrassingly young when they first started showing up to these events; they were the two thirteen year olds in a sea of juniors and seniors. Neighbors such as Raven Reyes and Bellamy Blake would throw parties on Jasper’s street as soon as their parents left for the weekend, and to be honest, the only reason they would let Jasper in was because he was a form of entertainment.
Jasper seemed to lack self-control at parties. When only alcohol was available, he would drink himself far beyond tipsy within the first few minutes after his arrival. Lacking any inhibitions, Jasper would become the joke of the night by flirting shamelessly with all the older girls and doing whatever stunt the others dared him to do. When weed was available, his insatiable appetite for snack foods became a thing to marvel at. Monty would only join Jasper at the events where weed was promised and would, more often than not, spend his time on one of the couches, hogging a pipe until he felt like he was comfortably baked.
Unwilling to let Monty hog the weed they had just stolen, Jasper sighed and began packing the weed into the cone.
Minutes later, the pair were well into their first joint and settling into a calm buzz. Jasper was greedily packing a second cone while Monty took another hit off the first. As infrequent smokers, it still seemed to take a lot of weed for them to feel high.
“We’ll still stay close during high school, right?” Monty wondered aloud. Jasper had been accepted into a science and technology magnet school thirty minutes away while Monty was set to go to the local high school, Arkadia High.
Jasper grinned. “Yeah, of course.”
Monty returned the smile before continuing. “But what if you finally find some girl who will actually go for you? I won’t be around. And you gotta save some time for me. I’m still going to come here every Friday whether you like it or not.”
“If? Dude, I’m becoming a party legend. They’ll come to me.” Monty rolled his eyes at that comment, knowing very well why Jasper was a “party legend.” Ignoring it, Jasper continued. “But you’ll still be my number one.”
Monty felt a flutter in the pit of his stomach and he prayed that Jasper wouldn’t notice the color pouring into his cheeks. He was still in denial that his friend was making him feel some type of way, but a strange urge pushed him to get closer to the taller boy. Jasper didn’t notice and continued to pack the cone. Monty gazed into Jasper’s chocolate-colored eyes, dark and wide and pulling him in. Recently, he found himself dreading conversations with Jasper involving girls. As humorous as it was to see Jasper making a fool of himself in front of the opposite sex, Monty sometimes wished he were the one that Jasper wanted to be with. Jasper's reassuring comment only made Monty feel for him more.
Maybe it was the weed, or maybe it was sheer stupidity, but Monty found himself leaning closer to his friend. Jasper’s long, stringy bangs had fallen into his eyes, creating sweeping arcs of brown across his forehead. Entranced, Monty reached forward and lightly tucked a few stray pieces back behind Jasper’s ear. Startled by the touch, Jasper looked up and locked eyes with his friend. For a moment they hesitated before Monty leaned in, hoping his friend could close the gap. And he did. They met in a strange, chaste kiss before pulling away slightly, unsure of how to continue. It certainly wasn’t romantic and a rather disappointing first kiss for Monty. Jasper had sloppily kissed a few girls before, but only when he had been drinking.
Suddenly, Jasper’s fingers curled around Monty’s shirt collar, pulling him close again. This time, Jasper angled his head, tenderly locking his lips with Monty’s. It was still an inexperienced, juvenile kiss, but Monty found himself easing into it as Jasper’s tongue lapped at Monty’s lips, encouraging him to let the kiss go deeper.
A synthetic, chime-like tinkle suddenly began a repetitious anthem, causing both boys to drowsily look away, confused. Jasper opened his mouth to ask about the sound, but before he could articulate any words, Monty stiffened and let the joint in his other hand drop to the wooden floor.
Panic shook the haze in his brain away as he scrambled to open his bag and retrieve his phone. It was an old Motorola flip phone, passed down to him for emergency purposes only. No one called or texted it except for his parents, and in those rare occasions, the news on the other end normally wasn’t good. Eyes wide, he flipped open the phone and processed the messages from his mom.
“Monty.”
“Where are you?”
“Come home now. No buts.”
Monty turned to Jasper, who had stopped packing and was now watching from below drooping eyelids. “I have to go,” Monty explained. “I think something happened.”
Jasper scratched his head. “Yeah, okay,” He sighed. “More weed for me.” He blankly watched the other boy as he gathered his belongings for a moment before realizing with concern that Monty hadn’t reacted to his comment. “Be safe, I guess. I wouldn’t want you to become a headline.”
He watched as Monty made his way down the ladder and over to his bike without so much as sparing another word.
They laid on the wooden tree house floor for what felt like an eternity, watching the clouds move overhead and catching each other up on nearly four years worth of jokes, stories, and grievances. A few months earlier, Monty had assumed he would never be able to sit in this tree house again, but fate had brought them together again.
As if he were reading Monty’s mind, Jasper smiled and turned to face the other boy. “Fuck, it’s been a while. It never stopped being weird coming here without you.”
“Oh-kay.” Monty’s voice took on a sarcastic tone. “I don’t think you were particularly mourning me while Maya was up here though.”
Jasper’s eyes widened and his face shifted into an expression of sincerity. “I’m not kidding Monty. This was our place.” His voice dropped a couple decibels. “It still is.”
Monty turned to meet Jasper’s eyes, a sly grin creeping across his lips. “Jasper Jordan, were you thinking of how much you missed me during tree house sex? How sweet, I never knew you fe–” His words were cut off as Jasper sat up and clamped a hand over his mouth to keep him from finishing his sentence. Monty pushed Jasper’s hand away and laughed in an attempt to mask the strange hurt he felt when Jasper didn’t deny his assumption. He tried to forget the fact that he had had his first kiss in this tree house.
The sound of car tires on gravel pulled Monty out of his thoughts. He sat up and looked towards the front of Jasper’s home. The tree house was just tall enough so that one could see the driveway clearly, as well as the roofs of nearby homes and the skyline of the downtown area in the distance. Monty watched as Jasper’s dad got out of the car and gave a confused look to Monty’s silver Honda before looking up at the tree house. He gave a brief wave, which Monty eagerly returned, before continuing up the walkway to the door.
Jasper chuckled. “He probably thinks you’re Maya with a haircut from this distance.”
Monty laughed in agreement before frowning as he recalled the time that Jasper’s dad would always come home from work when they were kids. “Wait, what time is it?” He turned to Jasper with a new, more frantic look in his eyes.
Jasper pressed the home button on his phone. “Six,” He replied as he read the time on the bright display.
Shit. Monty had to be home soon so that his mom wouldn’t get suspicious. “I need to get going.” He got up quickly and began his descent down the ladder, hoping that Jasper wouldn’t comment. Jasper was his best friend, but Monty still didn’t want to tell him what had been going on at home or the reason he left town in the first place.
“Wait,” Jasper said, a hint of despair in his voice. He poked his head over the edge of the porch so that he could see his friend. “Just… tell me you’re not going to disappear. Because the last time you had to leave in a hurry, I lost you.”
Monty looked up, almost surprised at Jasper’s concern. He smiled slightly and gave the other boy a brisk nod. “I… yeah. I’ll be fine. I’m not leaving anytime soon.”
Monty returned home to find his mom standing in the living room, waiting for him. He was breathless from the bike ride and the panic was pushing the effects of the earlier smoking session out of his brain. “What’s wrong? Is dad okay? Is the shop okay?”
Hannah Green crossed her arms, her jaw set in a firm frown. “Everything is fine, but I’m worried that you might change that.”
Monty blanched. He didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”
“I mean the drugs that you took from the store.”
Monty fell quiet. He didn’t want to lie, but he also couldn’t wrap his mind around how his mom would have found out or why she would be this angry.
“Look, Monty,” Mrs. Green sighed, letting her hands fall to rest on her hips. “Your dad and I weigh the jars at the end of each week so we can make a record of how much we sold and how much we need to refill. One jar was missing a few grams. If I’m wrong, tell me now, but I have a feeling you and Jasper took it.”
Monty felt his stomach drop. By technicality, Jasper was the reason that they had gotten caught. He had told Jasper to take the drugs from one of the larger bags of stock that was stashed in the cabinet, not one of the jars. But it was his own idea and plan. He felt sick knowing that he had pulled Jasper into this situation. He took a breath, trying to calm himself. “You’re right.” He spoke in a quiet voice. “I took it. I’m sorry.”
His mother raised an eyebrow. “You did? Not Jasper? So all this was your idea?” She knew that Jasper had a tendency to get her own son in trouble, but she was far above accusing another family’s son if her own admitted to the crime.
Monty nodded, shame burning at his cheeks.
She sighed again and looked away, shaking her head. “Monty, I know you don’t think this is serious, but it really is. This store is our only income at the moment, and medical marijuana is the only reason why we’re doing so well. It isn’t a toy. If a police officer caught you and traced the drugs back to this shop, I could get charged for selling drugs to a minor. My license to sell would be revoked. We would lose all of our business. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I’m sorry.” Monty’s entire face was on fire now. He hadn’t thought about that. He thought that the only consequences would be for him and Jasper, not his family.
“I forgive you, but this can’t happen again.” Mrs. Green’s voice was resolute, but she hesitated to continue. “I already spoke to your dad about this. We want you to start boarding school in the fall.”
Monty looked up at his mom, stunned. “You can’t do that. My whole life is here.”
“We do what we need to do to survive, Monty. I can’t let you be a risk to the family.”
“But what about Jasper?” Monty’s voice was frantic. “What about all of my friends.”
“It’s already settled. You’re leaving in two weeks.”
“But Mom–”
“No buts. This is decided. You won’t be seeing Jasper before you leave either. Goodnight.” With that, she took her leave and excused herself to her bedroom.
Monty stood in the living room, shaken to the core and saddened beyond expression. He’d be leaving his best friend. But for how long? Where was he even going? Hundreds of questions circulated in his mind, but one horrifying, overarching question trumped all of the others: What have I done?
Jasper remained in the tree house long after the sun painted the sky shades of red and orange and the stars brought with them a blanket of indigo. He had wanted to ask Monty so many things ever since he first crash-landed back into Jasper’s world. Why had he left without even a single word? What happened that day? Why was he acting so shady even now? But he knew Monty too well. As soon as he saw Monty’s slight change of expression when he brought up Monty’s period of absence on that day they reunited, he knew not to ask any more questions. Monty would explain when he was ready. Or at least Jasper hoped he would.
Jasper’s dark eyes scanned the night sky, naming the constellations that he and Monty had memorized when they were in middle school. Pegasus, Sagittarious, Hercules… Some part of him had hoped that by bringing Monty to the tree house, they would be able to pick up their friendship from where it had left off. He bit his lower lip, remembering the kiss they had shared right before Monty disappeared. He knew he had a girlfriend now, as well as a job and a future, but…
He shook the other thoughts out of his head. Perhaps some things are better left in the past.