Someone To Bring Home. [Part 2/?]
Rating: Eventually NC-17, but as of now, PG~
Summary: A Jesse/Andrew High School AU, where Jesse goes to school in America, and Andrew in England, and there's a pen pal programme between their schools. They exchange letters every fortnight, and their friendship develops quickly, perhaps into something more?
A/N: This chapter is horribly short, because I'm currently sick and my brain is not functioning. D:
Apologies in advance for this~~
Part One.
Jesse wrote back, answering Andrew’s questions and asking more, making comments that sounded witty in his head and not caring so much about how he sounded. He, in all honesty, felt comfortable - which was ridiculous, because he didn’t know Andrew, and he never felt this way around people, whether he knew them or not. It was disconcerting at the very least.
He received Andrew’s reply a week and a half later, noting that this time, instead of dreading his reply, he was anticipating it. He felt as though Andrew’s letters made up one big book, each individual letter just a chapter - and he wanted to read the book now, find out everything about him, every twist and turn in the plot line of his life, but instead, he was forced to read one chapter every two weeks.
Reading Andrew’s reply, he couldn’t keep the small smile off his face - he’d replied with just as much - if not more - gusto, sounding interested in Jesse’s everyday life, answering Jesse’s countless questions, along with informing him that he, Andrew, had in fact fallen off his chair laughing at the comments Jesse had made.
It wasn’t that, though, that had Jesse feeling nervously excited, (which wasn’t a familiar feeling to Jesse). No, it was the small P.S, right down the bottom of the page.
P.S - You should email me! Only if you want too, I mean, but it’s a lot faster than writing, and I get impatient waiting for your letter! But please, don’t feel obliged, because I probably do need to learn how to wait, hahahaha.
andrew.r.garfield@hotmail.com
Andrew wanted Jesse to Email him! Jesse was nervous - because Email, like Andrew said, is a lot faster than writing a letter and sending it across the ocean. It’s nearly instantaneous. It’d be a lot more pressure and a lot more.. personal. It scared Jesse, and for what seemed to be the millionth time, Jesse was annoyed at himself because it was just an Email. He wasn’t going to meet Andrew, ever. He didn’t know why he wound himself up so much.
Still, it took him six days of writing Haiku and working at the Animal Shelter before he actually did it. Six days of wondering what was wrong with him and six days of receiving strange looks from his friends because he was jumpy and nervous as if Andrew was going to waltz right into the Cafeteria when they were eating their lunch. Not that he’d actually know if it was Andrew, because he’d never seen him in his life, and Jesus, they’d only exchanged three letters, because Jesse’s reply hadn’t even been sent yet. It was tiring and Jesse had no idea what on earth to make of it.
That night, he sat on his computer, signing in to his rarely used Email account, his fingers twitching nervously on the keyboard.
-
To: andrew.r.garfield@hotmail.com
From: jesse-eisenberg@hotmail.com
Subject: Hi.
Hi. Here I am. Emailing you awkwardly.
If you didn’t realize from the account name, it’s me, Jesse. Your pen pal thing. Yes.
I’m going to stop now.
Oh, and happy birthday for the other week.
-
It only takes Andrew an hour to reply (not that he was constantly refreshing his inbox), and Jesse wonders what the time it is there.
-
To: jesse-eisenberg@hotmail.com
From: andrew.r.garfield@hotmail.com
Subject: You’re delightful!
Hi! You Emailed! I was a little worried that maybe I’d suggested it to soon, but you’re interesting, and I like talking to you! Sorry, I tend to use a lot of exclamation marks whenever I talk to you. Don’t mind me.
Anywho, how was your day? And your week? How are you?
Asdfghjkl, sorry. I always end up asking a lot of dumb questions.
Thanks for the birthday wishes!
-
To: andrew.r.garfield@hotmail.com
From: jesse-eisenberg@hotmail.com
Subject: I’m really quite the opposite.
Yes, I did Email. You’re so strange. But don’t worry, because I am too. And it’s okay, I probably need more exclamation marks in my life because I rarely use them. Bring on the exclamations.
My day was okay. My week was fine. I’m good. Thanks for asking. Yourself?
No, they’re not dumb questions, I just give dumb answers. Sorry.
You’re welcome.
-
To: jesse-eisenberg@hotmail.com
From: andrew.r.garfield@hotmail.com
Subject: No way.
!!!!!!!!!! There’s some exclamations for you. I hope they bring exclamationy joy and happiness into your life! We can be strange together!
You’re answers aren’t dumb! They’re mysterious!
Have you done anything exciting?
My day was great. School was boring but I had a great coffee this morning. Well, I should say yesterday morning, because it’s 1 AM here now! My week was nice. I’m Emailing you, which makes it a whole lot cooler! I’m good, Jess. If I may call you that?
I like you!
-
To: andrew.r.garfield@hotmail.com
From: jesse-eisenberg@hotmail.com
Subject: Yes way.
Thank you for those exclamation marks, kind sir. And I don’t know, I’m more of a lone weirdo. But I think I can make an exception for you.
Yes, mysterious. I can go with that.
Exciting? Not really, unless you find writing Haiku and spending a lot of time at an Animal Shelter exciting.
I’ve never tried coffee. I don’t think I want too. It smells strong and looks strange and I don’t want to risk it.
It’s 1 AM? It’s only 8 PM here. Time zones are so weird.
I’m glad to hear you had a good week. And sure. I mean, if you want. My friends call me Jess sometimes. So you can too.
You don’t really know me.
-
To: jesse-eisenberg@hotmail.com
From: andrew.r.garfield@hotmail.com
Subject: You’re great and you know it.
I’m an exception?! Why, I’m honoured, Jess. :D
On the contrary, I do find Haiku and Animal Shelters interesting! Tell me about it!
You’ve never tried coffee? My God, get your ass to the nearest coffee shop pronto. You haven’t lived till you’ve tried it.
Only 8! Wow! Looks like I’ll be having late nights, then.
Good! Jess it is. Jess Jess Jessity Jess. Oh my GOD I’m the most annoying person ever. Sorry!!
I want to, though.
-
To: andrew.r.garfield@hotmail.com
From: jesse-eisenberg@hotmail.com
Subject: I’m ridiculous and I know it.
Yeah, but don’t let it go to your head.
Well okay. I wrote like a billion Haiku because I do that sometimes when I feel like it. My mom tends to get worried when I write them because when I was younger I used to do them when something was up I guess. But now I just write them cause I like too. And as for the Animal Shelter, I volunteer there whenever I need distracting or feel like working. Usually a combination of them both. So yeah.
But what if I don’t like it?
You can sleep, if you want. I feel like I’m keeping you awake.
You’re not annoying, you’re nice.
Okay.
-
To: jesse-eisenberg@hotmail.com
From: andrew.r.garfield@hotmail.com
Subject: I’m ridiculous, not you.
Of course I won’t! :D
I’d love read a Haiku of yours sometime! I’m sure you’re fantastic.
That’s so nice. You’re nice. Seriously Jesse, why are you so great? It’s unfair on the rest of us normal people!
What did you need to be distracted from? Is something wrong? :(
It doesn’t matter if you don’t, but if you haven’t tried it, you’ll never know!
No, no! It’s fine. My sleeping schedule is erratic anyway.
You’re nice, too! It’s refreshing.
Sorry. That was kinda heavy, wasn’t it?
-
To: andrew.r.garfield@hotmail.com
From: jesse-eisenberg@hotmail.com
Subject: Hush, you.
Good. I guess that means we’re officially weirdos together.
I’m not. I suck, actually. Most of them don’t make sense because I don’t really think when I write them, it’s just a lot of nonsense strung together.
I’m not nice! Really, I’m actually weird and not at all great. Trust me.
No, I just missed being there, that’s all. Nothing’s wrong. Everything is dandy, really.
But I’d rather live not knowing if I like it or not rather than live hating it.
If you’re sure. I don’t want you to be tired for school.
Refreshing? Aren’t people nice there?
No, it’s okay!
-
To: jesse-eisenberg@hotmail.com
From: andrew.r.garfield@hotmail.com
Subject: Never! :D
Yay! :D Made my day!
You don’t suck at writing Haiku, Jess. I bet you’re amazing!
You are so. Don’t argue, because I know for a fact that you are. You, Jesse Eisenberg, are nice.
Oh, okay! Phew! I was worried.
Why? Wouldn’t you rather know? :D
Meh. I’ll go to bed soon. Talking to you is funner than sleeping.
They’re nice, yeah. But you’re so, real. I don’t know. They’re kinda fake nice, whereas you’re genuinely great. Know what I mean?
Okay! (:
-
And so, for the rest of the night, they exchanged Emails, getting to know each other, Jesse laughing out loud more times than he could recall. Andrew was funny, and everything was so easy going between them, so natural. It was great. Different, but Jesse liked it a lot. Jesse eventually ordered Andrew to go to bed when it was 11, because it was 4 AM where he was and that was plain ridiculous. Bidding him goodnight, he forbade him to reply to the message until morning; but of course, Andrew ignored that completely.
-
To: jesse-eisenberg@hotmail.com
From: andrew.r.garfield@hotmail.com
Subject: Goodnight!!
Okay, okay, I’ll sleep. BUT I HAD TO REPLY. :D
Goodnight, Jess!
Have a good sleep, and all of that. Hope you have a nice day at school tomorrow - I know I will, with all of the sleep I got (;
Joking, I’ll be fine.
NIGHT! x
-
And when Jesse received the reply, he couldn’t help but stare at the little, parting ‘x’, for perhaps a moment too long. But it was friendly, of course, because they hadn’t even gotten onto the topic of sexuality, so Andrew didn’t even know he was gay, and plus it was likely that Andrew himself was straight. It was a friendly x, because they were friends now. Yes. Good.