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Time with the Trojans moved slower. Jeane heard the expression 'Time flies when you are having fun' many times. He found it to be very true when he was with the Ravens. It felt like every pleasant moment would be over in a snap. A quiet lunch alone, some free time to read before bed, a quiet field with dew on the grass, a day when no one talked to him. Those would hardly last for too long. It was very different with the Trojans. Each day felt endless.
Morning would typically start very early, sometimes he would wake up to the sound of someone getting ready at 4 in the morning. Jean was used to a strict 8:00 am wake up call, since the majority of the training was done in the late evening. The concept of someone to choose to wake up in the early morning then was baffling. He would understand if it was to get to the field. This was the first time he met a group of people who would do this seemingly for nothing. It was actually full of nothing. Talking to each other over coffee, do their hair for half an hour, walk around with face masks, play videogames, doing last-minute homework, making elaborate and sugary breakfasts, and some times just sit around on their phones.
He remembered when he first moved in with the Trojans and Alvarez was giving him a tour. "And here, we usually eat. Typically anywhere but the table." The place had an excess of bean bags and pillows. The scariest part was the Trojans' rooms were on the eleventh and twelfth floors. No windows to safely jump out of. "What time is the wake-up call?" he asked. "Oh right..." she bit her lip "Jeremy is up at 4 most mornings." Jean stopped dead in his tracks. "Why?" he stared at her as if she said Jeremy makes dolls out of cat hair. "I have no idea," she said, "but he is very loud. It was either that he would sleep longer or the twenty-eight people on the team would wake up when he does. And well," she grins a little, "he would no be our captain if he would bend to our sleeping desires."
The only person who made sense in the morning to him was Alvarez. She would make herself a green smoothie and go to the roof to do yoga. He could see the benefit of that. But as he got woken up at 4:21 am this morning, he could not understand why Jeremy wanted to make waffles then.
Jeans just can not adapt even though he has lived with them for two months. Jean makes his way towards the kitchen and sits down at the bar only to stare at the large mixing bowl for a solid minute. "Earth to Jean." Jeremy waved in front of him. Jean looked up at him and just had to squint. He is too bright to look at directly. "You good? Coffee?" he asked. Jean nodded as a response to both. Jeremy pours him a cup of coffee and puts a vanilla creamer right next to his mug. The cup had a happy puppy on it. Ugh. Before he could have a sip of his black coffee, Jeremy placed a large plate with two huge waffles on it covered in syrup, berries, and whipped cream. "Jeremy..." Jean says.
"Oh come on. It is Saturday. We have a lot of training to get to." Jeremy pushed the plate closer to him. Dermott sat down next to Jean and poured herself sugary cereal. She looks at him for a while before grinning. "Poor Jean, smothered with waffles."
Jeremy looks around the kitchen and everyone around. Four people were playing Mario Cart, five people were standing on the balcony, other people were scattered across the common room. "I think everyone is up," he said. ' I wonder why ' Jean thought to himself as Jeremy turned on the blender and mixer again. "Time to party!" Oh no. Jeremy ran over to the speakers plugging in his phone and turned on cheerful music. Returning to his waffles, he would loudly sing along. " I'm on tonight, You know my hips don't lie, And I'm starting to feel it's right... " Jean tried to fight it but it was impossible to not smile into his coffee.
The day slowly slipped into routine. People eventually were ready and everyone made their way to the field. Being the sugar-coated sadist that he is, Jeremy had everyone run drills and give their 150% while giving his own 160%. It was incredible to find that he still had the energy to try to motivate people even after hours of working out. Everyone scattered after training. Most people were planning to go to the beach but Jean just wanted to take a nap. He dragged his feet to the eleventh floor and as he was about to lay down, he suddenly got some strong second wind.
With sleep impossible, he just made his way to the balcony which was empty. He stood and looked down. Life has changed so much in such a short amount of time. Jean's hair grew out enough after he first shaved it all off when he came to California. His skin became a little darker although he was still the palest on the team. Everyone wore shorts. There were a lot of maniacs who would get up in the morning. People seemed so busy and never had a lonely moment. But apart from Exy and classes, there was nothing really for him here. People had boyfriends/girlfriends or both. Some had family that they would visit on the weekends. Most just had friends with whom they had something to do that they would enjoy. Saturday afternoons were always very quiet. That is why the shuffle from the kitchen caused Jean to jump.
Jean found Jeremy putting away his equipment in the hallway closet. "Didn't you go with others?" he asked him from the balcony. Jeremy jumped a little and relaxed when he saw Jean leaning against the balcony door. Jeremy just shrugged and got himself some cold water from the fridge. "I was thinking of being responsible for once in my life. I left the kitchen be this morning. Plus I started washing my boxers in the sink the night before because I put off laundry for so long." Jean didn't say anything but he could not help but love how Jeremy had the talent of talking out of his ass and not even blush. Jean watched him starting to work on the mess he left soaking in the sink.
Jean contemplated his further actions for a moment. He could always go to his room and get studying done. But decided to try. At least this once. He walked over to Jeremy, pausing for a minute before asking, "Why do you always like to wake up so early?" Jeremy looked up at him, a little shocked since Jean mostly kept quiet and to himself. He gave him a shrug as his response. "Well, do you want the short version or would you like to hear the story?" he asked.
"Go ahead," Jean said. Jeremy smiled a little and kept working on the dishes. "Well, I am not from California. My childhood was full of snow, burning chimneys, and very long nights. When I was a kid, I was always sick. The second I would stop coughing my lungs out, I would get a stuffy nose. Just when it would seem like I was doing well for a few days, I'd get a nasty fever. When I was in fifth grade, there was a period when my nose was never not runny. And I mean like I would have it for solid months and months. It became the norm for me. Doctors said I had chronic sinusitis. I was just a kid who wanted to run around regardless of my snotty nose. But as it kept going, my mom was worried. Doctors decided that I needed something called endoscopic sinus surgery. I cried because I was scared. Actually, that's an understatement. I tried to run away from home by hiding at my best friend's house." He paused for a minute before continuing. "I got a little side tract. Anyway, my aunt's kids moved out so she invited me to live with her in Florida. She lived very close to the beach and despite being a fifty-year-old lady, she kicked me out of bed every morning and took me swimming. The salty water helped with my sinuses and after a month of living there, I didn't have any problems. Like absolutely any. I was so happy that I would get up before her and she would always find me in the kitchen, dripping wet, eating cereal from the box. As a sort of adult, I completely understand why she would yell at me so much." He put away the last plate to dry. "I go super productive in the morning. I would meet random people at the beach. I started playing Exy around that time. My aunt would always make elaborate breakfasts and teach me as well. I would have time to bike to school even though it was far." Jeremy shrugged. "Basically, I love mornings so much because all good things happen in the morning."
Jean didn't know what to say for some reason. He didn't know which part got him. The supportive and caring family. The simplicity of his life. The life of simple pleasures. Or maybe it was the idea of a young Jeremy standing drenched in the kitchen and eating cereal. Jeremy thought for a moment before saying. "Look... if it is honestly hard for you, I can arrange for your room to be a few floors lower, you can join us whenever you had enough sleep." Jean thought about it for a second. He wanted to get some more sleep and he could escape the building easier if he was on the second or third floor. But he shook his head, surprising himself. "I'd rather learn to get in better sync with my team." Jeremy smiled so brightly it was difficult to look at him. 'How does he even do that?'
With their unexpected free time together, Jeremy finally lured Jean out of the safety of known places. He took him to a farmers market, an exotic food supermarket, and his favorite shop of random trinkets. Jeremy bought a lot of fresh berries, honey, and enough ingredients to make waffles for a month. Jean did not plan to get anything but ended up with home-made wine, brie cheese, a second-hand book, a bottle opener keychain, pistachio nuts, and a pack of cigarettes. It was so weird to go out and do a lot of nothing with Jeremy of all people. He would talk to every little old lady who he met. It was impressive how many times his cheeks go pinched and he just smiled. One flower seller just gave him a bouquet.
Jeremy was secretly really happy when after talking at Jean non-stop, he would open up a little. He shit talked the people on the team for having the audacity of letting boxed wine anywhere near them. He told him that he loved smoked salmon. They slowly drew to the topic of early school years. That was a part of Jean's life that he was comfortable with because it was mostly normal.
"I was born in Marseille and I lived there until I was ten or so. I don't remember too well. My mom had tried absolutely every activity she could possibly think of on me. I remember swimming, ballroom dancing, drawing, English classes, taekwondo, and almost every instrument she could find a tutor for. That is why I would often hide in the attic of our house." Jean told him. Jeremy listened like it was the most interesting thing ever. "Did anything stick?" he asked.
Jean smiled a little bit. "Maybe. But I need to keep some mystery." Jeremy rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. "Yes, because you are such an open book," he teased. "I really would like to get to know you better." Jean felt like shared already too much so he changed the subject. "What about you? Did your parents make you do any activities?" Jeremy sighed. "I am doing this only because I really want to build our friendship... My reputation is too fragile to handle this getting out." Jean could not help but grin. It was the most he smiled in a really long time. "Well, you know I love to partake in gossip." Jeremy eyed him a little. "Your smile is evil right now." But he would also tell him almost anything just to see him smile. He takes out his phone, swiping away all the missed messages he got calling him to the beach, and pulls out an old photo.
Jean's jaw drops open as soon as he sees that. "Oh, you look precious." The picture was of Jeremy in tights, doing perfect splits, and his hair much longer. Around him were little girls doing gymnastics. "Well, it didn't last long. Most of it hurt and I did not have the patience for it. I just wanted to run around, scream, and kick girls' shins." Jean could very much picture that.
They made their way back pretty late, with the sun already set. After a few words, they made their way to their rooms. Jean felt tired but he could not even think about sleeping. His heart kept racing he did not know why. He tried to read the book he got but he could not focus. The only thing he can think about was Jeremy with his freckles, blonde hair, tan skin, and stupid smile. Jean's eyes focused on the bouquet Jeremy left in his room in a cut-off plastic bottle. Oh no .
It was one in the morning when Jean knocked on Jeremy's door. Jeremy opened the door looking at him with an unbearably cute sleepy face. "What's wrong?" he asked. Jean still wanted to dart away but he could not turn back now. "Would you mind coming with me to the roof?" Jean asked. Jeremy blinked a few times before rubbing his face. "Of course. I'll join you after I find pants."
Jean waited for him, wishing he took his cigarettes. Jeremy ran up the stairs to the roof and almost gasped when he got there. Jean stole all the decorative pillows from the couches and a bunch of blankets. There were some of the strawberries, cheese, and the wine Jean got earlier that day. "What's this?" Jeremy asked.
"You said you wanted to know more about me. When I lived with the Ravens, I would often run off in the middle of the night to look at the sky. It is the same everywhere I went. I was hoping you'd like to join."
That is how Jean and Jeremy ended up on the roof, looking at the stars and crescent moon, finishing up the wine and cheese between them, and with just enough distance to not be touching each other. Jean's eyes were fixed on the sky but he focused on Jeremy's breathing. It was low and quiet.
Jeremy took a really big sigh and took a moment to speak. "Look... I am really happy you opened up to me... But you can't do this to me..." Jean's heart sank through, feeling immediate fear and panic. He knew it was not the best idea to wake the captain of one of the best teams in the middle of the night but he thought... He should not have thought. He learned that long ago. "I'm s-"
"If you keep doing things like this, my crush on you will get much worse and I don't want mope around all day because I am so smitten with you." Jeremy bit his lip after saying that. Jean lost his ability to speak for a moment. When he finally found his tongue, all he could say was "What?"
"Please don't make me repeat myself. I already feel stupid," Jeremy twisted his fingers. "I like you. Quite a bit actually. I would really like to kiss you." After a few seconds of panicked silence, Jeremy tried to get up and run away with his stupid feelings but Jean automatically grabbed him by his arm. "Wait," Jean said. Jeremy turned to look at him and he could see in the dark that Jean was red up to his ears. He felt his own back on fire.
It took all the strength Jean had to meet Jeremy's gaze. "I- I have never really been with anyone in any way. But, I would like to kiss you." He used up the rest of his courage on those last words. Jeremy felt the heat spread across his own face. "Are you sure?" he asked. Jean could manage a nod as a response.
Jeremy leaned into him and Jean could just let his eyes slip close as Jeremy's lips touched his. The kiss started off soft and sweet, getting hotter and more urgent. They fell back into the pillows and kissed each other numb. The shyness passed with the countless kisses and Jeremy did not object when Jean ran his fingers through his hair.
Eventually, they made their way back downstairs with everything. Jeremy ended up staying in Jean's room until they both just pass out. Even though Jean had slept very little that night, the second the sun began to rise at 4, his body just woke him up. He woke up to the sight of Jeremy asleep right next to him. It was so strange that he just passed out with him so close but he could not remember when he last slept so deeply. No dreams, just deep deep sleep. He felt as though he sank to the bottom of the ocean. He probably slept three hours but he was wide awake.
Not wanting to wake up Jeremy, who was too cute to wake up, Jean crept into the common area and smoked a cigarette on the balcony. He wanted to do something. He then remembered all the stuff Jeremy bought at the market.
When the team woke up to the sight of Jean in the kitchen making crepes and Jeremy sleeping in, people started making tin foil hats to protect themselves.