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Ezekiel Jones loved movies. Any kind: sci-fi, action, comedy, you name it, he’s watched it. Eventually, he got to the point where he had seen all the DVDs in the Annex’s theater multiple times. Which is how he ended up letting Netflix pick his movie for him, and the great people at Netflix had decided that he should watch Mamma Mia. When he put it on, he had only wanted something to have in the background while he played on his phone. As it turns out, Mamma Mia is really good. Ezekiel ended up watching it multiple times, singing along each time. Then he had an idea, one that would be perfect to piss off Stone. He grinned and started to set up his speaker system.
He got the back door set to the right coordinates and his portable speaker set to the right song. By the time Stone walked in the next morning, Ezekiel was all ready. He was sitting on the edge of the Round Table (nobody else called it that, but he was determined to make it catch on). Jake walked in with a stack of books a foot high and headphones blasting a country song that made it so that he didn’t notice that he wasn’t alone. The desk nearly cracked when Jake dropped his pile of books on it. Ezekiel sighed and walked over to him.
“What was that for?!” Jake yelled as his headphones were yanked out of his ears.
“You didn’t notice me, so I had to get your attention somehow.” Ezekiel said, laughing a little bit.
“And why did you need to get my attention, Jones?” Jake said, slightly calmer.
“My Clipping Book gave me a new mission, and I need your help.” God, even as a lie he hated saying that.
“Really? Ezekiel Jones, the greatest thief in the world, needs help with a mission?” Jake was almost grinning now, but still suspicious.
“Do you really think I would be asking you if it wasn’t absolutely necessary?” Ezekiel shifted so he was leaning on the desk and crossed his arms.
“Alright, but it has to be quick. I have a paper to write.” Jake started walking to the back door and Ezekiel jumped up to meet him there.
“Jeez, didn’t think you’d agree that quickly, Cowboy.” Jake tried to look annoyed at the nickname, but there was a smile behind the glare he shot Ezekiel.
“Yeah, yeah. Just get the coordinates set up, will ya?”
“Already are, Cowboy.” Ezekiel grinned when he added the nickname again. He used his phone to activate it and check his pocket for the speaker. They walked through, out into the Greek afternoon. Ezekiel grabbed Jake’s hand and started running. Jake yelped but tried to keep up. They got to Ezekiel’s destination and Jake turned to him, confused and annoyed now.
“Jones, what the hell are you doing?” he demanded once they stopped.
“Okay, so I might have lied a bit about why we’re here. I just didn’t know how get you here without an excuse, ‘cause I knew you wouldn’t come here if I told you the real reason.” Ezekiel looked anywhere but at Jake.
“So, what’s the real reason?” Jake stared at him. God, he hated when he did that. Maybe this was all a bad idea.
“Uhm, maybe I should just show you?” Ezekiel pulled out the speaker and connected it. Fuck, this was a terrible idea. Well, no way to go back now without having to explain it to Jake. He started the song and focused on his phone. While he was looking down, Jake had started to grin. Little did Ezekiel know; Mamma Mia was one of his favorites. Jake grabbed his hand and Ezekiel looked back up. His nerves lessened when he saw Jake’s smile. The music started, and Jake started to sing along with it.
If you change your mind
I’m the first in line
Honey, I’m still free
Take a chance on me
Now that he looked around, Jake could see that there was a set of stairs to the roof of the building they were in. He dragged Ezekiel with him this time and kept singing while they climbed the stairs to the roof. Ezekiel laughed as they climbed, realizing that they were now acting out the movie, sorta.
If you need me
Let me know, gonna be around
If you’ve o place to go, when you’re feeling down
They were standing on the roof now. The sun glinted off the Aegean and reflected on the white walls of the buildings. Jake wished that he had remembered his hat, but the look on Ezekiel’s face was worth it. He was grinning, and clearly trying not to laugh.
“C’mon Jonesy! We gotta run on the roofs now!” Jake said while jumping over the edge of the roof onto the neighboring building. Ezekiel followed, the speaker still playing in his back pocket.
If you’re all alone when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I’m still free, take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best and it ain’t no lie
If you put me to the test, if you let me try
Ezekiel followed onto the roof, almost falling off, but saving himself at the last moment. Worry flashed on Jake’s face for a second until Ezekiel righted himself. Ezekiel didn’t notice though, since his speaker had almost fallen with him. The singers didn’t care, they just kept on.
Take a chance on me
Take a chance on me
We can go dancing, we can go walking
As long as we’re together
Listen to some music, maybe just talking
Get to know you better
“We’ve got the music, the walking, and the talking. Now all we need is the dancing.” Ezekiel looked up from the roof to see Jake holding out his hand with a laughing grin. He took it with a similar smile, and they started to dance on the roof. They had to be careful not to fall.
‘Cause you know I’ve got
So much that I wanna do
When I dream I’m alone with you, it’s magic
You want me to leave it there
Afraid of a love affair
But I think you know
That I can’t let go
“Yeah, that’d be great, if you didn’t let go right now.” Ezekiel quipped from where they were precariously dancing on the roof.
“Don’t worry Jones. I’ll never let you go.” Jake said it softly, with a sort of vulnerability that Ezekiel hadn’t heard from him before.
“I know, Cowboy.” He added the nickname to lessen the seriousness of their words, but Jake could tell that Ezekiel meant it.
If you change your mind, I’m the first in line
Honey I’m still free, take a chance on me
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
If you’ve got no place to go, when you’re feeling down
They jumped from rooftop to rooftop, never letting go of the other’s hand. Laughing and running and jumping. The last few months had been filled with stress and little sleep, with everyone running around on their own missions along with ones from the big Clipping Book. This was the lightest they had felt in over a month, and even with the lack of sleep, they were having a great time.
If you’re all alone when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I’m still free, take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best and it ain’t no lie
If you put me to the test, if you let me try
Take a chance on me
Take a chance on me
Ezekiel hoped against hope that this meant that Jake wanted to take that chance too. The fact that he hadn’t run away screaming was a good indicator that he hadn’t quite scared the cowboy off yet.
Oh, you can take your time baby, I’m in no hurry
Know I’m gonna ge you
You don’t wanna hurt me, baby don’t worry
I ain’t gonna let you
Let me tell you now
My love is strong enough
To last when things are rough, it’s magic
You say that I waste my time
But I can’t get you off my mind
No I can’t let go
‘Cause I love you so
They had certainly been through some rough things together. Even when they had all split up, Jake hadn’t been able to stop worrying about Ezekiel. He hadn’t told anybody that, but he had been relieved when the Clipping Book had brought them back together. That was one thing he had been certain to keep hidden, figuring that Ezekiel hadn’t cared. Oh, how wrong he was. That same worry had plagued Ezekiel the whole time, it was the one truth that he had kept from Cassandra in the tomb.
If you change you’re mind, I’m the first in line
Honey I’m still free, take a chance on me
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
If you’ve got no place to go, when you’re feeling down
That lyric made Ezekiel think of all the late nights in the theater, both of them nearly asleep but trying to watch a movie. He thought of the comfortable silences in the rows of shelves, Jake reading and Ezekiel’s keyboard clacking. The way that they had gone from doing their best to piss the other off to just joking in the lost tunnels and rooms of the Annex and the Library.
If you’re all alone when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I’m still free, take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best, baby can’t you see?
Gonna put me to the test, take a chance on me
They stopped dancing for a moment and locked eyes. Ezekiel had just started to lean forward when one of the tiles beneath him slipped. His eyes widened and his grip on Jake’s hand tightened as he started to fall. That brought Jake tumbling after him. They dropped off the side of the roof, right into the sea. Of course, the roof that they fell off had to be right next to water. Ezekiel tried to cushion the landing by tucking into himself, but it still hurt like hell when they hit the surface. They franticly swam to the surface. Jake had a harder time with his jeans and boots weighing him down. They washed up on the rocky beach, out of breath and drenched. Then, Jake started to laugh. Which made Ezekiel laugh, and then they just couldn’t stop.
“What the hell were you laughing about?! We almost died!” Ezekiel cried, out of breath.
“I was picturing Jenkin’s face when we show up drenched through the back door.” Jake started wheezing again at the image, and Ezekiel chuckled.
“Well, we don’t have to go back soon, do we?” Ezekiel looked at Jake hopefully. Jake just smiled and nodded, before he wiped Ezekiel’s wet hair off his forehead. Ezekiel leaned slightly into the touch, much to his inner horror.
“Can I…” Jake started before leaning in and cupping Ezekiel’s cheek. Ezekiel huffed a laugh and closed the gap between them. Jenkins didn’t even bat an eye when they showed up drenched and slightly more disheveled than they had been when they got out of the water.