Great Plains High School AU: Chapter Five
Savin frowned as they walked into the funeral home. Jazz bit his lip as they were directed towards Ryin’s casket. This was real. This was really happening.
“I’m surprised there’s a fucking viewing,” Dylan murmured. Jazz turned to glare at him, causing Dylan to shrug his shoulders. “What? I am. He died in a car accident, dude -- it couldn’t have been pretty.”
“Dylan,” Savin snapped, glaring at Dylan as well. “It’s a fucking funeral, man. Try to be a little more sensitive. Or at least keep your voice down.”
Dylan’s face flushed at that, causing Jazz to snicker. “He’s not very good at being sensitive,” Jazz said, managing a soft smile at Savin. “I kinda expected him to be a bit of an ass while we were here.”
“Hey! I resent that!”
Jazz just shook his head, suppressing a snicker. Savin seemed to be doing the same thing as he his part of his face with his hand, then pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. When Savin looked over at him, he looked away, instead focusing on the crowd in front of them.
It felt like damn near half the school had come to the funeral. A lot of faces Jazz didn’t recognize, but he figured some of them had to be Ryin’s family, right? As he scanned the crowd for anyone else he knew, Savin stopped in his tracks, a horrified expression crossing his face.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Savin groaned, running his fingers through his hair. “The fuck is Egan doing here?”
Jazz felt his blood turn cold, as if someone had dumped ice down his veins. He shuddered as he remembered the feel of Egan’s arm around his waist. “I don’t know, but let’s stay the fuck away from him, okay?” Jazz asked, tugging Savin away from the blond-haired god.
“Jazz! There you are!”
Jazz stopped, glancing over his shoulder. He felt a grin spread across his face, relief flooding his body. “Gemma! You made it, after all,” he said, letting go of Savin’s arm and walking towards her. He hugged her briefly. “I didn’t think you would,” he whispered as he pulled away from her.
Savin cleared his throat, gesturing towards the casket. “I’m -- gonna go ahead and say hi to Ryin’s family,” he said. An odd emotion crossed his face, causing Jazz to frown. Was he -- was Savin upset? Granted, they were at a funeral, but this looked different than sadness. “Let me know if Egan tries to bother you again, okay?”
Jazz nodded, wishing his face wouldn’t burn so much at just the memory of his last encounter with Egan. “Actually, Savin, I’ll go with you,” he said. “You coming with us, Gemma?”
“I think I’m gonna sit down. I’ll save you two a seat, alright?” Gemma said, smiling at Jazz. As she walked away, Jazz focused his attention on Savin again. Frowned slightly as he followed Savin towards the casket.
“You okay?” Jazz asked, putting a hand on Savin’s arm.
Savin looked at him over the edge of his glasses, managing a small smile. “Y-Yeah... Egan just creeps me the fuck out. He and Nico both do,” he answered. Savin then kept walking, Jazz finding he had no choice but to follow.
Jazz was just glad to hear he wasn’t the only one the gods creeped out.
***
Savin should have known. Should have fucking known. He could feel eyes on him the whole time during the funeral service. Could feel them burning into his back.
It had to have been Egan. Those eyes never once left him, not even once they arrived at the wake. Jazz had insisted they go -- and for whatever reason, Savin couldn’t say no to him. But now? Now he wished he had.
“Talk about a lame party.”
Savin jumped, nearly spilling his drink. “It’s a wake, Egan,” he muttered, avoiding the god’s eyes. “It’s not a party. And I think it’s disgusting that you’re here, when I know you and Ryin weren’t friends.”
Egan raised an eyebrow at that, leaning in close to Savin. Savin pulled away as quickly as possible, thankfully avoiding Egan’s touch as he headed back to his table. “But he was a classmate,” Egan breathed, putting a hand on Savin’s shoulder.
Savin shuddered, feeling a familiar jolt of lightning run through him at Egan’s touch. He remained rooted to the spot, unable to shrug out from under Egan’s touch. He couldn’t shrug away from him last time, either, despite having a girlfriend at the time.
“Why don’t we go somewhere where we can talk about Ryin a little more...privately,” Egan murmured in Savin’s ear. Another shiver rolled down Savin’s spine, causing his stomach to turn.
It wasn’t like he could deny Egan. He couldn’t before, had no hope of doing so now. Every touch felt amazing, felt electrifying, even if they turned his stomach. Swallowing thickly, Savin nodded, letting Egan guide him wherever. The sensations just grew worse as Egan slipped an arm around Savin’s waist.
He just hoped Jazz couldn’t see him now -- and that Egan would finish with him quickly.
***
Jazz picked at his food, hardly looking up from the table. Dylan chattered on about something, though he wasn’t paying much attention. Something about some pretty new guy at school. Not that Jazz particularly cared -- or at least, he thought he didn’t. Who his brother wanted to date wasn’t any of his business, after all.
But... “Hey, Dylan?” Jazz asked, keeping his voice quiet.
Dylan looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, bro?”
“How -- how did you figure out that -- that you --” Jazz fumbled for words, feeling his face heat up warmer than it had all night. “-- liked boys?” he finished in a hushed whisper.
Dylan just smirked at Jazz. “I thought you said you didn’t like guys?” he asked, pointing his fork at Jazz. “And I knew when I was like, thirteen. Maybe younger. There wasn’t anything to figure out -- I thought this guy or that girl was hot and that was it.”
“I don’t like guys,” Jazz insisted, stabbing a tomato with his fork. “I just -- was curious, that’s all. I don’t even know if I like girls, let alone boys, so...”
Dylan just grinned at him insufferably. “Sure you don’t. Okay, let me ask you this -- between Gemma and -- I dunno, let’s say, Savin, who would you rather kiss?”
Jazz couldn’t even imagine himself kissing Gemma. There was just something very, very unappealing about it. But he couldn’t bring himself to answer Dylan’s question -- especially not when he noticed Savin walking outside with Egan, Egan’s arm wrapped around Savin’s waist.
He couldn’t see Savin’s expression from where he sat, but Savin’s body language spoke volumes. Without thinking, Jazz tossed down his fork. “I’ll be right back,” he murmured, getting up from his seat.
What the hell was Savin doing with Egan? Jazz tried to ignore how his heart pounded in his chest, how his stomach had leapt into his throat. Savin wouldn’t have wanted to do anything with Egan, would he?
As Jazz pushed the doors open, he looked around frantically, trying to figure out where Egan and Savin had gone. Savin had told Jazz to come to him if Egan bothered him -- and Savin had saved him once before from Egan’s “charms.” It was only fair if Jazz tried to return the favor, right?
But what if Savin couldn’t pull away like Jazz had? Jazz didn’t even know why he had pulled away -- he just did. As soon as he laid eyes on Savin, he could.
“Egan, stop. Please. Please, just -- just fucking stop.”
To his left. They were to his left. As fast as he could, Jazz ran off in the direction of Savin’s voice. He gasped when he finally spotted them. Egan had Savin pressed up against the wall, his head buried in the crook of Savin’s shoulder.
Jazz couldn’t find his voice, tears filling his eyes instead. This was wrong. Everything about this felt wrong. “Leave him alone!” Jazz cried, grabbing Egan and wrenching him away from Savin. “He said fucking stop, damnit!”
Savin’s eyes snapped open as he pushed himself away from the wall -- away from Egan. Egan staggered from the force of Jazz’s shove before regaining balance. As he turned to glare at Jazz, Jazz felt his eyes grow wide.
What the fuck did he just do? Egan was a god. Could do anything he wanted to both Jazz and Savin. His stomach leapt into his throat again, though he couldn’t stop his feet from moving. Couldn’t stop himself from standing between Savin and Egan, putting his arm out protectively.
Egan’s glare intensified, then a barking, bitter laugh escaped his lips. “Seriously?” he spat, walking over to Jazz. Jazz just straightened his back, standing as tall as he could -- though he was at least half a foot shorter than Egan. “I’m a god. I get what I want, when I want it -- and you lowly humans can’t do anything to ‘stop’ me.”
“Go home, Egan,” Jazz said, surprising himself with how strong his voice was. He held back a flinch as Egan reached out to stroke his cheek, glaring at him with all his might.
He could still feel Egan’s touch. Could feel that damned electricity run through him yet again. As much as he didn’t want to give in to it, he couldn’t pull away like he had before. “If you won’t let me have fun with Savin, I’ll just have fun with you, instead.”
“C’mon now, Egan, this is a fucking funeral.” Dylan. When did Dylan get out here? “Leave my little brother and his boyfriend alone, will you?”
Egan scowled at Dylan but dropped his hand away from Jazz’s cheek. He then stalked away from Savin and Jazz, throwing his head back as he did so. Jazz let out the breath he had been holding, turning to face Savin. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Savin shook his head, his breathing choppy. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked away from Jazz. “No,” he moaned. “I think -- I think I’m gonna be sick.” He then pushed Jazz aside, finding a nearby trashcan and heaving into it. When Savin finished, he stood up again and leaned his back against the wall of the building. “H-Hey, Dylan?”
“Yeah, man?”
Savin pulled his keys out of his pocket, tossing them to Dylan. “Can you -- get my car started and bring it around? I think I need to go home.”
Dylan nodded, holding the keys tightly in his hand as he went to look for Savin’s car. Jazz almost went to follow him, but Savin put a hand on his shoulder and kept him in place. “You didn’t have to do that, you know,” Savin muttered as Jazz turned around to face him again. “He could have gone after you instead.”
Jazz bit his lip, wishing his eyes didn’t sting with tears. “I couldn’t -- I couldn’t let him hurt you like that.” He then launched himself at Savin, hugging the taller boy close to him. “I had to make him stop.”
Savin tensed under his touch before slowly relaxing in Jazz’s arms, hugging Jazz back hesitantly. A different type of warmth flooded through Jazz at Savin’s touch. “Thank you,” Savin gasped, his arms tightening around Jazz. Jazz could feel Savin’s body shake. “Thank you so much. I don’t -- I don’t know what I would have done if he had -- if he did that to me again.”
Jazz felt his stomach bottom out. Again. Savin had said again. And by the sound of it, Savin hadn’t wanted it to happen the first time, either. “Well, you’re safe now,” Jazz whispered into Savin’s shoulder.
“Y-Yeah,” Savin murmured, pulling away from Jazz. He then managed a tiny smile at Jazz, his hand still on Jazz’s shoulder. He leaned forward a bit, stopping when a horn honked behind Jazz. Quickly, Savin pulled his hand away from Jazz’s shoulder. “C’mon, it’s been a long night. I should be getting you guys home.”
Jazz nodded, feeling slightly bewildered as Savin began to walk away from him, his shoulders slumped and head hanging. Slowly, Jazz gave himself a light shake as he followed Savin to his car. If he hadn’t known any better, he’d have thought Savin was going to kiss him, just now. His heartbeat quickened at the thought -- in a good way as Jazz climbed into the backseat of Savin’s car.
He really did like boys, didn’t he?
“I’m surprised there’s a fucking viewing,” Dylan murmured. Jazz turned to glare at him, causing Dylan to shrug his shoulders. “What? I am. He died in a car accident, dude -- it couldn’t have been pretty.”
“Dylan,” Savin snapped, glaring at Dylan as well. “It’s a fucking funeral, man. Try to be a little more sensitive. Or at least keep your voice down.”
Dylan’s face flushed at that, causing Jazz to snicker. “He’s not very good at being sensitive,” Jazz said, managing a soft smile at Savin. “I kinda expected him to be a bit of an ass while we were here.”
“Hey! I resent that!”
Jazz just shook his head, suppressing a snicker. Savin seemed to be doing the same thing as he his part of his face with his hand, then pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. When Savin looked over at him, he looked away, instead focusing on the crowd in front of them.
It felt like damn near half the school had come to the funeral. A lot of faces Jazz didn’t recognize, but he figured some of them had to be Ryin’s family, right? As he scanned the crowd for anyone else he knew, Savin stopped in his tracks, a horrified expression crossing his face.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Savin groaned, running his fingers through his hair. “The fuck is Egan doing here?”
Jazz felt his blood turn cold, as if someone had dumped ice down his veins. He shuddered as he remembered the feel of Egan’s arm around his waist. “I don’t know, but let’s stay the fuck away from him, okay?” Jazz asked, tugging Savin away from the blond-haired god.
“Jazz! There you are!”
Jazz stopped, glancing over his shoulder. He felt a grin spread across his face, relief flooding his body. “Gemma! You made it, after all,” he said, letting go of Savin’s arm and walking towards her. He hugged her briefly. “I didn’t think you would,” he whispered as he pulled away from her.
Savin cleared his throat, gesturing towards the casket. “I’m -- gonna go ahead and say hi to Ryin’s family,” he said. An odd emotion crossed his face, causing Jazz to frown. Was he -- was Savin upset? Granted, they were at a funeral, but this looked different than sadness. “Let me know if Egan tries to bother you again, okay?”
Jazz nodded, wishing his face wouldn’t burn so much at just the memory of his last encounter with Egan. “Actually, Savin, I’ll go with you,” he said. “You coming with us, Gemma?”
“I think I’m gonna sit down. I’ll save you two a seat, alright?” Gemma said, smiling at Jazz. As she walked away, Jazz focused his attention on Savin again. Frowned slightly as he followed Savin towards the casket.
“You okay?” Jazz asked, putting a hand on Savin’s arm.
Savin looked at him over the edge of his glasses, managing a small smile. “Y-Yeah... Egan just creeps me the fuck out. He and Nico both do,” he answered. Savin then kept walking, Jazz finding he had no choice but to follow.
Jazz was just glad to hear he wasn’t the only one the gods creeped out.
***
Savin should have known. Should have fucking known. He could feel eyes on him the whole time during the funeral service. Could feel them burning into his back.
It had to have been Egan. Those eyes never once left him, not even once they arrived at the wake. Jazz had insisted they go -- and for whatever reason, Savin couldn’t say no to him. But now? Now he wished he had.
“Talk about a lame party.”
Savin jumped, nearly spilling his drink. “It’s a wake, Egan,” he muttered, avoiding the god’s eyes. “It’s not a party. And I think it’s disgusting that you’re here, when I know you and Ryin weren’t friends.”
Egan raised an eyebrow at that, leaning in close to Savin. Savin pulled away as quickly as possible, thankfully avoiding Egan’s touch as he headed back to his table. “But he was a classmate,” Egan breathed, putting a hand on Savin’s shoulder.
Savin shuddered, feeling a familiar jolt of lightning run through him at Egan’s touch. He remained rooted to the spot, unable to shrug out from under Egan’s touch. He couldn’t shrug away from him last time, either, despite having a girlfriend at the time.
“Why don’t we go somewhere where we can talk about Ryin a little more...privately,” Egan murmured in Savin’s ear. Another shiver rolled down Savin’s spine, causing his stomach to turn.
It wasn’t like he could deny Egan. He couldn’t before, had no hope of doing so now. Every touch felt amazing, felt electrifying, even if they turned his stomach. Swallowing thickly, Savin nodded, letting Egan guide him wherever. The sensations just grew worse as Egan slipped an arm around Savin’s waist.
He just hoped Jazz couldn’t see him now -- and that Egan would finish with him quickly.
***
Jazz picked at his food, hardly looking up from the table. Dylan chattered on about something, though he wasn’t paying much attention. Something about some pretty new guy at school. Not that Jazz particularly cared -- or at least, he thought he didn’t. Who his brother wanted to date wasn’t any of his business, after all.
But... “Hey, Dylan?” Jazz asked, keeping his voice quiet.
Dylan looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, bro?”
“How -- how did you figure out that -- that you --” Jazz fumbled for words, feeling his face heat up warmer than it had all night. “-- liked boys?” he finished in a hushed whisper.
Dylan just smirked at Jazz. “I thought you said you didn’t like guys?” he asked, pointing his fork at Jazz. “And I knew when I was like, thirteen. Maybe younger. There wasn’t anything to figure out -- I thought this guy or that girl was hot and that was it.”
“I don’t like guys,” Jazz insisted, stabbing a tomato with his fork. “I just -- was curious, that’s all. I don’t even know if I like girls, let alone boys, so...”
Dylan just grinned at him insufferably. “Sure you don’t. Okay, let me ask you this -- between Gemma and -- I dunno, let’s say, Savin, who would you rather kiss?”
Jazz couldn’t even imagine himself kissing Gemma. There was just something very, very unappealing about it. But he couldn’t bring himself to answer Dylan’s question -- especially not when he noticed Savin walking outside with Egan, Egan’s arm wrapped around Savin’s waist.
He couldn’t see Savin’s expression from where he sat, but Savin’s body language spoke volumes. Without thinking, Jazz tossed down his fork. “I’ll be right back,” he murmured, getting up from his seat.
What the hell was Savin doing with Egan? Jazz tried to ignore how his heart pounded in his chest, how his stomach had leapt into his throat. Savin wouldn’t have wanted to do anything with Egan, would he?
As Jazz pushed the doors open, he looked around frantically, trying to figure out where Egan and Savin had gone. Savin had told Jazz to come to him if Egan bothered him -- and Savin had saved him once before from Egan’s “charms.” It was only fair if Jazz tried to return the favor, right?
But what if Savin couldn’t pull away like Jazz had? Jazz didn’t even know why he had pulled away -- he just did. As soon as he laid eyes on Savin, he could.
“Egan, stop. Please. Please, just -- just fucking stop.”
To his left. They were to his left. As fast as he could, Jazz ran off in the direction of Savin’s voice. He gasped when he finally spotted them. Egan had Savin pressed up against the wall, his head buried in the crook of Savin’s shoulder.
Jazz couldn’t find his voice, tears filling his eyes instead. This was wrong. Everything about this felt wrong. “Leave him alone!” Jazz cried, grabbing Egan and wrenching him away from Savin. “He said fucking stop, damnit!”
Savin’s eyes snapped open as he pushed himself away from the wall -- away from Egan. Egan staggered from the force of Jazz’s shove before regaining balance. As he turned to glare at Jazz, Jazz felt his eyes grow wide.
What the fuck did he just do? Egan was a god. Could do anything he wanted to both Jazz and Savin. His stomach leapt into his throat again, though he couldn’t stop his feet from moving. Couldn’t stop himself from standing between Savin and Egan, putting his arm out protectively.
Egan’s glare intensified, then a barking, bitter laugh escaped his lips. “Seriously?” he spat, walking over to Jazz. Jazz just straightened his back, standing as tall as he could -- though he was at least half a foot shorter than Egan. “I’m a god. I get what I want, when I want it -- and you lowly humans can’t do anything to ‘stop’ me.”
“Go home, Egan,” Jazz said, surprising himself with how strong his voice was. He held back a flinch as Egan reached out to stroke his cheek, glaring at him with all his might.
He could still feel Egan’s touch. Could feel that damned electricity run through him yet again. As much as he didn’t want to give in to it, he couldn’t pull away like he had before. “If you won’t let me have fun with Savin, I’ll just have fun with you, instead.”
“C’mon now, Egan, this is a fucking funeral.” Dylan. When did Dylan get out here? “Leave my little brother and his boyfriend alone, will you?”
Egan scowled at Dylan but dropped his hand away from Jazz’s cheek. He then stalked away from Savin and Jazz, throwing his head back as he did so. Jazz let out the breath he had been holding, turning to face Savin. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Savin shook his head, his breathing choppy. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked away from Jazz. “No,” he moaned. “I think -- I think I’m gonna be sick.” He then pushed Jazz aside, finding a nearby trashcan and heaving into it. When Savin finished, he stood up again and leaned his back against the wall of the building. “H-Hey, Dylan?”
“Yeah, man?”
Savin pulled his keys out of his pocket, tossing them to Dylan. “Can you -- get my car started and bring it around? I think I need to go home.”
Dylan nodded, holding the keys tightly in his hand as he went to look for Savin’s car. Jazz almost went to follow him, but Savin put a hand on his shoulder and kept him in place. “You didn’t have to do that, you know,” Savin muttered as Jazz turned around to face him again. “He could have gone after you instead.”
Jazz bit his lip, wishing his eyes didn’t sting with tears. “I couldn’t -- I couldn’t let him hurt you like that.” He then launched himself at Savin, hugging the taller boy close to him. “I had to make him stop.”
Savin tensed under his touch before slowly relaxing in Jazz’s arms, hugging Jazz back hesitantly. A different type of warmth flooded through Jazz at Savin’s touch. “Thank you,” Savin gasped, his arms tightening around Jazz. Jazz could feel Savin’s body shake. “Thank you so much. I don’t -- I don’t know what I would have done if he had -- if he did that to me again.”
Jazz felt his stomach bottom out. Again. Savin had said again. And by the sound of it, Savin hadn’t wanted it to happen the first time, either. “Well, you’re safe now,” Jazz whispered into Savin’s shoulder.
“Y-Yeah,” Savin murmured, pulling away from Jazz. He then managed a tiny smile at Jazz, his hand still on Jazz’s shoulder. He leaned forward a bit, stopping when a horn honked behind Jazz. Quickly, Savin pulled his hand away from Jazz’s shoulder. “C’mon, it’s been a long night. I should be getting you guys home.”
Jazz nodded, feeling slightly bewildered as Savin began to walk away from him, his shoulders slumped and head hanging. Slowly, Jazz gave himself a light shake as he followed Savin to his car. If he hadn’t known any better, he’d have thought Savin was going to kiss him, just now. His heartbeat quickened at the thought -- in a good way as Jazz climbed into the backseat of Savin’s car.
He really did like boys, didn’t he?