Chapter Text
Jay flipped through the book, while Matt waited impatiently. He was always so picky with the spells, as if any of them weren’t going to do horrible things to him. He expected this to go on for another hour, but then Jay finally found a spell that interested him.
“This looks like a normal song. Nothing weird is happening to the guy!” Jay pointed to the image next to the song, which was just a figure standing there.
“Bird, none of them are normal songs.”
“You never know until you try!”
Jay played the song, and it was a jaunty little tune. Matt liked it a lot and found himself tapping his foot to it. Maybe they could incorporate it into their act! He’d do a little tap dance while Jay played away. The crowd would surely love that!
Jay finished the song, and nothing seemed to happen.
“See, I told you it was a normal song.”
“I guess you were- OH MY GOD?!”
“What?”
“Your-your arm!”
A strange grey substance was spreading its way across Jay’s arm. Matt touched the spot on his arm, and it was cold and smooth. He quickly realized that Jay was turning into a stone statue. Jay realized it too, and started crying.
“I don’t wanna die Matt!”
“Jay, you won’t. I’ll figure out a way to save you. I promise.”
“You better.”
He helped Jay over to the couch, but movement only made the stone faster. They reached it before the stone covered Jay’s legs. Matt noticed that Jay was holding his hand, something that he never did. Jay’s eyes were full of terror and tears.
“I gotta tell you something important.”
“What?!”
Jay hesitated for a second.
“Jared didn’t eat all of your candy. I did. I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok, Birdie. It’s fine.” Matt said through tears.
Jay looked like he had something else to say, but the stone covered his mouth before he could say anything. It left his eyes for last, and Matt watched as his beautiful brown eyes became solid grey. Jay was so cold now, and Matt was worried he’d never be warm again.
He wished that he could’ve been a statue too. He imagined being put in an art museum with him. They would be admired by everyone the world over, boosting tourism in Toronto. People would admire the amount of detail put into both of them, and wonder how long it took. They’d have a nice name too.
Best Friends Forever, by Jared Raab.
Matt took great effort to remove his hand from Jay’s grasp without shattering him. He instantly got to work on the whiteboard, and began writing down cures. Magic was out of the picture, since neither Matt nor the camera guys knew how to play piano. That was the only idea he had.
He wracked his brain for more, searching through all the movies he’d seen. He finally landed on the Pokemon movie, where the tears from the Pokemon freed Ash. Matt had plenty of tears, but Jared and Andy did not. Matt suddenly realized he’d never seen the two of them cry.
He went to the kitchen, and found some onions. The camera men looked slightly annoyed, but they understood that it had to be done. Tears formed in all of their eyes as Matt cut the onions. Matt’s were a mix of sadness and onion smell. He glanced over to Jay, who was still a statue.
Of course that didn’t work! They weren’t little weird monsters after all! Matt put the onions away for later and got back to work, combing the files in his mind. Something in there would save Jay, he just had to figure out what.
—
Sunlight beamed through the windows onto Jay’s stony skin. Matt watched as he sort of sparkled, like stupid Twilight vampires. He waited and waited for Jay to return to normal, but it looked like that this plan was a bust.
Matt didn’t like giving up, but it looked like he had to in this case. Every single thing he had tried didn’t work. At one point, Jared suggested chiseling Jay free. Matt objected to that idea. Not only did they not have one, but there was a chance that it would just hurt Jay.
He sat on the couch, and leaned on Jay. The hard stone was uncomfortable compared to Jay’s soft body.
“Sorry, Bird. I couldn’t help you out of this mess.”
There was no reply, but Matt imagined one in his mind.
“Try harder Matt! You have to save me! How else are you gonna get a show at the Rivoli?”
“I don’t know how. I’ve tried everything.”
“No you haven’t.”
An idea suddenly shot through Matt’s mind. It was a bit stupid, but he just had to try it. He gave Jay a hug, a loose one compared to his tight hugs.
“You’re my best friend ever, Jay! You mean so much to me! I’m sorry for being an asshole.”
Nothing. Not even a crack in his facade. Matt was out of ideas again for real. Well, there was one more, but he wasn’t even sure if it would work.
He could tell Jay that he loved him.
This was a very risky idea. He wasn’t really sure if Jay had feelings for him at all. He disliked the kiss plan after all, and he never liked when they slept together. But every now and again, Matt caught a stare from Jay that was undoubtedly love. He often heard Jay mumble something in the top bunk about Matt’s pecs.
There was also that time where Jay was so drunk, he said he loved Matt. He brushed that off as general drunken Jay behavior at the time. Matt brought it up later, and Jay was embarrassed. He blushed, and ran upstairs saying he needed to pee. He didn’t come back downstairs until dinner.
Matt breathed in and out. This was probably his only shot at saving Jay, so he had to have the best confession ever. He thought about all the action movie characters confessing to their poorly written love interests, and realized that it would probably be better than them. Oh well, here goes nothing.
“Jay, I love you. You’re honestly the only person I’ve loved like this. When we met on that bridge, I had no idea how to process it.”
He saw the stone crack a bit, and his heart started racing. It was working! He had to tell him more!
“You became so handsome as you grew, and that only made my love grow stronger. Whenever you went out with a girl, I was scared you’d choose her over me.”
The cracks spread all over Jay, but still it wasn’t enough to free him. Matt hugged him, and told him more.
“I was so happy when you agreed to move in with me. I feel lucky to live with you, to see you every single day. I want to grow old with you, and I want to be buried alongside you. I want everyone to know that I love you.”
The stone started to fall off Jay’s body, disintegrating on the floor. It started as little tiny pieces, before becoming big chunks. A big chunk fell off part of his face, and his eye focused on Matt. Matt successfully removed the rest from his face, and Jay smiled. Once his body was free, he hugged Matt back. Jay was warm again, and he savored that warmth.
“I love you too Matt. I should’ve said that years ago.”
“It’s ok Bird. We can make up for that time! We have our whole lives to look forward to!”
The two kissed in the November sunlight. Matt imagined them as a painting in an art gallery. This one would be carted from museum to museum, never staying in the same place for long. It would be studied by artists for years to come, and be loved by every single person ever.
Freedom, by Andrew Appelle.