Work Text:
Matt couldn’t believe it! His very first sleepover with Jay! He’d finally get to see what his house was like! He’d be able to eat his mom’s food when it was fresh! He’d finally be able to see Jay’s room! It was probably super cool!
“We’re here now Matthew.” His mother said.
“Bye mom!”
“Get out of my fucking car.”
Matt did as he was told. He ran up to the door and rang the doorbell. No one came. He rang it again. And again. Another time wouldn’t hurt. Yet another one. Maybe one more-
“We heard you the first time.” a stern old man said as he opened the door. He didn’t look too pleased to see him, but Matt ignored him and ran inside. It was a cozy little house. Very different from his parent’s big fancy house.
Jay was in the living room, playing video games. He was totally hypnotized. He was playing Donkey Kong Country, and he’d reached the final boss. Matt had come in at the right time, because he’d finally beaten him.
“That was awesome, Bird!”
“Matt!”
The two friends celebrated for a bit, before noticing that the credits were all weird. Jay readied himself for another go. Matt cheered him on as he fought K. Rool. It wasn’t long before he was beaten for real. Perfect timing too, because Jay’s mom was done with dinner.
It was spaghetti with the biggest meatballs Matt had ever seen. He took one bite, and instantly fell in love. Before he knew it, he had eaten 5 servings. If he ate another one, he’d probably throw up. Jay hadn’t even gotten through his second serving.
It was now time for the sleepover to really begin! Jay’s room wasn’t really anything special compared to his. There were a few issues of Nintendo Power strewn about, and some Mario posters on the walls. He wanted to sleep in his own bed, but Matt had convinced him to lie on the floor in a sleeping bag.
“Goodnight Bird.”
“Goodnight Matt.”
KRACK
A storm! It was loud too, so it must be close! Matt loved when they were close, especially at night. It made sleeping more exciting.
KRACK
This time he could see the flash! It lit up the room briefly. Everything looked really scary in the dark, but he liked being scared. That’s why he watched horror movies!
He heard Jay crying a bit in the dark. He moved his sleeping bag closer to Jay’s. Maybe this would help him.
“Bird, it’s just a storm! It’s not gonna hurt you.”
“I-I know. I’m just scared it’ll shock me through the window.”
“I’ll protect you! I’ll use the sleeping bag as a shield!”
KRACK
“Are you sure that’ll work?”
“Yep!”
There was a knock on the door, which meant it was time to shut up. They said goodnight to each other again, and tried to get some sleep. He dreamt that he was a knight protecting prince Jay from a lightning dragon. He promised himself that he’d protect Jay from lightning somehow.
—
“What movie do you wanna watch Bird? I think we should watch Speed.”
“Sure man.”
Jay had bad luck with a girl again, so Matt decided to do an impromptu movie night to cheer him up. Whatever had happened with this girl had made him extremely mad. He wouldn’t even talk about it with Matt. Which was fine. He didn’t want to hear about Jay’s stupid escapades anyway.
Matt popped in the movie. He watched as Keanu Reeves crawled around the elevator shaft. This wasn’t one of his favorite movies, but he loved the suspense, even though he knew what was going to happen already.
He looked at Jay, who wasn’t even watching the movie. He was just staring at the ceiling. Whoever this girl was must have done something horrible to him. Or he was an asshole to her and regretted it. Or both.
KRACK
The sound of thunder startled Jay out of his funk. He’d become less scared of lightning as an adult, but he was always startled when the first thundercrack struck. Matt hoped that he actually wanted to watch the movie now, but he immediately went back to sulking.
“Why’d you even agree to watch this, man?! If I knew you were gonna be like this the whole time, I wouldn’t-“
“So that you wouldn’t talk to me about the girl.”
“Fine! I’ll watch the movie in silence!”
KRACK
fzzt
“Goddamnit.” Jay said with an exasperated tone.
The apartment was dark, except for little slivers of light from cars passing by outside. Nothing to do except sleep down here until the transformer got fixed. Nothing to do.
“Can you tell me about the girl now?”
“F-ck no. I’m never telling you what happened.”
“You’ll say it in your sleep.”
“I don’t talk in my sleep. Wait, do I?”
KRACKKOOM
Jay yelped in fear. Matt could tell that he was badly frightened by it. He had curled up into a small little ball, and was shaking.
“You ok?”
“It sounded like it was right above us!”
“It’s probably far away from us, Bird.”
That didn’t make Jay feel any better, so Matt moved closer to him. He hugged him, and Jay slowly went back to sitting like normal. Soon, the two fell asleep on the couch. Matt dreamed that he and Jay had to stop the bus from Speed. The sky was stormy, unlike the actual movie. Keanu Reeves was nowhere to be found.
—
Matt explained his newest plan. Jay was going to dress up as a mime, and do typical mime stuff on Queen street. Matt would be a clown, and they’d battle. Then they would reveal themselves to be Nirvanna the Band!
“Are you sure you wanna do this plan today? It’s going to rain.”
“We don’t have to wear makeup!”
“Not that! There’s going to be lightning!”
“The weather is never accurate, Bird! We aren’t going to be holding any pointy metal objects anyway!”
“What about Jared and Andy?!”
“They can just stay home if you’re so worried. Come on, put your costume on.”
-
Matt should’ve tested the clown outfit. It sucked to walk in. He was going to trip over his own shoes, or the baggy pants. Hey, people might like that! People love clowns hurting themselves. Or did people love to hurt clowns? Hopefully not the latter.
He watched as Jay did his routine from across the street. It was his idea to play an invisible piano. He slotted himself next to the other musicians in front of the Rivoli, and started playing. Matt imagined piano music in his mind.
A busy looking woman walked up to him. She looked overjoyed to see Matt, even though he’s never seen her in his life. She looked at his outfit from the front and the back.
“You’re perfect! Can you perform at my son’s birthday?”
“No. I’m actually not a clown. I’m trying to get a show at the Rivoli.”
The lady started walking away, before she noticed Jay across the street. He was doing the classic mime trapped in a box routine. She walked up to him and tried to start a conversation. It didn’t go well at all. He was too good at being a mime.
As Matt watched the two try and have a conversation, he felt something fall on him. Then another thing fell on him. Then another, until a steady rhythm of rain started. He was glad he didn’t go with makeup.
The lady walked away, trying to get away from the rain. At least he could actually do the plan now. He walked across the street as the rain became worse and worse. He walked up to Jay and tried to look as angry as he could be.
“You’re in clown-“
KRACK
Oh. Jay had been correct. He had an exaggerated expression of fear on his face. Maybe he should pivot to be a mime. That didn’t matter right now. They had to execute the plan! Matt motioned for Jay to start his part. Jay mimed getting angry and starting an argument.
KRACK
The sound was further away this time, but the storm wasn’t letting up. Maybe they really should’ve done this plan another day. They were both cold and miserable in this rain, and Jay would be worried about getting struck by lightning.
Matt abandoning plans was very rare. But in this case, it was probably the best idea.
“Jay, the plan is over. Let’s go home.”
“Thank god.”
They had caught a bus home. Matt was just happy to feel warm again. He wasn’t excited about one of them becoming sick. Both of them getting sick would be even worse, but Jared and Andy were capable people.
KRACK
Jay wasn’t afraid of the thunder or the lightning this time. Maybe that was because he was focused on getting warmed up. Or maybe it was because he was getting older. Whatever the reason was, Matt was happy for him. That night, he dreamt about clowns and mimes doing tricks with lightning. It was boring.
—
KRACK
Jay’s eyes shot open on instinct. He found himself getting out of his bed, and moving to Matt’s room. He had to see him, to see if he was safe, to see if he was alive. He couldn’t stop himself. He didn’t want to stop himself.
KRACK
Jay swung Matt’s door open. Matt had already woken up. Maybe from the thunder, or maybe from anticipating Jay’s arrival due to it. Jay stared at his best friend for a while, and began to cry. He had to. He just had to.
“You’re alive. You’re alive.” he kept saying to himself.
“It’s ok, Jaybird. It was just a dream. I’m alive.”
KRACK
Jay found himself walking towards Matt’s bed. He found himself hugging Matt. Matt hugged him back. That felt nice. He wanted to like forever and ever and ever. The storm would last forever and ever and never stop. The storm would come and take Matt away from him again.
KRACK
“I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“Me too, Bird. Sleep with me for the night.”
Jay cried himself to sleep while holding Matt. He wondered if Matt was tired of him doing this every time there was a storm. Jay kind of was. But he just couldn’t stop himself. He couldn’t stop himself from seeking Matt out. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.
“I’ll protect you. I have to. I have to.”
Jay’s grip didn’t let up until morning, until he was sure it was safe. Until he was sure that the storm was gone. It would come back, and this would happen over and over and over again. He wondered if today was the day he told Matt what happened.
He considered it.