#hope this pleases the javid gods 🙏

[rasbburr]

david wasn't exactly ready for living on his own

he knows he should've been and he knows his parents did absolutely everything they could to get him ready and he knew he felt like he had it. but a week after moving out of his parents' house, he realizes he really doesn't. he doesn't get it. everything made so much sense in life and in school and everywhere else. why didn't it make any sense now? he wasn't codependent on his family or slow or anything like that. it just caught him off guard.

eventually, he gets a part-time job at a nearby gas station that holds him over for a little while. nothing like his dreams of writing children's books, but hey, every author has their own gas station phase, right? the job can be slow and sometimes the customers aren't the most pleasant as nicely as he can put it, but it pays decently well and he makes enough money to barely pay the rent for his small apartment each month. it's pathetic, and he's okay with that.

he considers briefly asking his parents or his sister for advice, but sarah's already moved out of state with her girlfriend and is working on setting up her own sewing business (he wouldn't want to make her life any more complex than it already was. he knows how hard she worked to earn this and doesn't wanna get in the way.) and his parents have so much faith in him that he feels like he has to figure it out on his own. he'll get it soon, he tells himself, it'll all work out in a month or so.

and in a way, it does. it's one night during a late shift that a boy oddly familiar walks in. there's something strange about the way he walks and the look in his eyes as he scans the store's shelves that keeps david's eyes glued to him. finally, he walks up to the counter, setting down his items. and as he fishes in his pockets to pull out the coins he needs to pay, he glances up and squints at david's nametag. "..davey?"

oh, he hadn't heard that nickname in what felt like centuries. turns out, reconnecting with your old highschool best friend was a lot more relieving than he thought. sure, david had plenty of friends, but most of them were the "pass by eachother in the hallway and acknowledge eachother for a minute or two" friends. jack was a Friend friend. it started with jack asking for help on homework and studying, and quickly turned into meeting up after school every other day to see a movie or just hang out where they weren't supposed to on the school grounds. jack was a year behind him, so they didn't share any classes, but they always made it work. it was fun. so seeing him again was like a breath of fresh air, a trip back in time. they exchange numbers and promise to meet up with eachother sometime when david doesn't have work to catch up.

david quickly finds out that a lot's changed the moment they start talking. he knew jack had always been a bit of a pathological liar, but he was weirdly honest throughout recounting the year they'd been apart. apparently, after david graduated, it wasn't too far into senior year that jack decided to drop out. he tells david it was just a personal choice, and david doesn't ask for any further information. then all the sudden, it's his turn to share, and he doesn't find himself hesitating when he tells jack everything. his worries, struggles, work stories inbetween to lighten the mood. jack just sort of. takes it all in. honestly, david was the last person he ever thought would be in a tough spot after high school. so when he's done getting out his story, jack sort of smiles, and tell david he'd been looking for a place to stay for a while now.

flash forward about a week or so, and suddenly they're roommates. it was a hassle to get it all figured out and jack's stuff all moved in, but it gets resolved pretty quickly. jack's definitely not the.. cleanest roommate, but honestly? any company at that point was welcome, and david couldn't think of anyone better. they spend more time catching up, and figuring out exactly how the other person lived and the best ways to work together on things. it's the most normal david's felt in a long while.

jack cares. jack takes care of the things he doesn't quite understand, and helps him through other things. jack never once makes david feel like he's relying on him. it felt just how it should. he gets the hang of things, and it works out. money's still hard to get, but he's got a job interview coming up for something bigger and jack's started actually selling his art and for once he knows things are gonna be fine. he doesn't feel like a failure when jack's around. he learns to loosen up and not be so uptight. he learns it's okay to feel like you're behind sometimes. it's okay to want something better from yourself. it's okay to not have it all down the first time. it's okay to be himself. and that's all he could've ever asked for.