rp for jaggedjared

[starlightfell]

She'd followed him down from her parents, mostly because she'd had some tracks to listen to before they were sent off to the producer and because she was a workaholic, she opted to do it there rather than in the morning. So she'd had another glass of wine and talked to her father about life on the road before loading extra food for Jared into her

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[jaggedjared]

Of all the fucking times.

Of all the fucking times.

Of all the fucking times his parents could have called him, they chose fucking now.

It didn't make sense, for a number of reasons. For one, he never talked much with his family anyway, and two, he was always the one who usually had to initiate the contact in the first place. He never wanted to, but he had promised his nana before she had passed away that when she was gone, he wouldn't just forget about the rest of his family. She knew, even then. She knew he was nothing like them.

So he called once a year. That technically counted as keeping his promise to her, right?

They always talked about stupid shit, skirting around the gigantic elephants stomping all over their cellular data network. Talking with his mom wasn't bad. They could at least be civil. When his dad got on the phone, though, was usually when the phone call turned into a shouting match and he hung up on them.

So suffice to say, he didn't like calling more often than he felt obligated to.

He had been watching some old Joan Jett and the Blackhearts music videos on YouTube when his phone buzzed. He figured it was Elena, maybe asking for help with bringing stuff in, but when he saw his mom's cell phone number, he had to gather himself.

He almost hadn't picked up. Almost let it go to voice-mail. But this was weird, and he was half-afraid something had happened, so he picked up the phone and here he was.

He had talked to his mom for ten minutes before Elena walked into the kitchen. They were making small talk. She was asking about the tour, if they had had fun, how Travis was, all the usual stuff. Mostly.

"So I see here on the Internet it says you're dating someone."

Jared rubbed his hand over his eyes. "Uh... yeah. I am."

"A girl. I'm so glad you're seeing a girl this time, honey. Is she nice? She looks nice, although I wish she wouldn't dye her hair."

Jared turned to Elena and motioned for a beer. He was going to need it.

[starlightfell]

Elena frowned and handed over the beer, got a new one for herself, and reclaimed her spot at the table. Jared looked physically pained and she was started to actively worry. Wooten had come into the kitchen and was pawing at her leg a bit, so she scooted back and let him climb into her lap, shushing him.

"Who?" She asked, mouthing the word.

[jaggedjared]

To answer Elena's question, Jared nestled his cell phone between his shoulder and his ear and made an air noose, letting his neck go limp. Incase that was too sardonic, though, he mouthed back, "My mom."

"Jared? Are you still there?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah, Mom, I'm here. What were you saying?"

"I was saying this girl you're going out with, Elena? She looks nice."

"Yeah, Mom, she is. She's... well, she's pretty amazing." This time he shot Elena a smile and took a sip of his beer.

"I'm glad, honey. You sound good. And you two... I mean... this girl, have you two..."

Jared furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Have we what?"

"Look, Jared, I'm not going to judge your choices in romantic partners, but have you had yourself tested? A lot of these people get STDs, and it doesn't hurt to--"

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Jared jumped out of his chair like he had just been burned. "Mom, what the fuck!"

[starlightfell]

Elena slipped an arm around Wooten as he let out a quick Woof! - as he'd been taught to do. She soothed him and frowned at Jared's sudden wording. Especially since this was the very first interaction between the two she'd ever witnessed. Gently, she nudged the dog down off her lap, ready to get up if Jared needed her.

[jaggedjared]

"Jared, watch your language."

"Jesus fucking Christ, Mom," Jared sat back down and rubbed at his eyes again. His head was starting to hurt. "Mom, that is so incredibly fucked up."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it in a bad way, I just want you to be safe."

"Mom, I'm a grown fucking man. I know these things, and even if I didn't, I trust Elena."

"Alright, I understand. So she plays in another band? What was it called, Starfell or something?"

"Falling Starlight."

"That's the one. You know, honey, I've been listening to some of their songs, and they're awfully depressing. Don't you think you should maybe be with someone who writes more uplifting material? You always sound so sad when we talk. And this article, it says something about mental health issues? Is that the girl you're seeing? You know, Jared, I think maybe you should think about what you're doing here--"

Jared set his phone down, covered the microphone with the palm of one of his hands, and covered his mouth with the other, shouting into his hand.

[starlightfell]

Wooten made his way to Jared and pawed at his leg, clearly confused at the whole situation. Why were the humans weird?

Elena sighed and walked over, placing her hands on Jared's shoulders. She kissed his cheek and then went for the anxiety meds, just in case he needed to calm down. And also for the shot glasses. Because he was going to need something stronger than beer when he told her his mother's side of the conversation.

[jaggedjared]

Jared reached down to scratch Wooten's head, and he grabbed the phone with his free hand.

"Jared? Are you--"

"Yeah, Mom, I'm here. Look, I'm tired, okay? I think I'm just going to turn in."

"Wait, though, your father wanted to talk to you before you went to bed."

Jared grabbed his beer and chugged it as fast as he could. He set it down heavily on the table and tried to make his voice sound neutral. "Oh, really? Because I could call you guys tomorr--"

"Hey Jared."

"Fuck," Jared muttered when he heard his dad's gruff voice on the phone.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Dad. How's it going? Mom said you wanted to talk to me or... something?"

"Just thought I'd check in and see how things were with you. Your mom showed me a picture of the girl you're going out with."

"She's a woman, and yeah, that's Elena."

"She told me you said she was nice. That's good, son. So you've finally gotten that gay thing out of your system?"

"Oh my fucking God, for the last fucking time, I'm fucking bi. I'm not gay."

"Jared, watch your mouth when you're talking to us. So this girl, does she know that about you?"

"No, Dad, I never told her, and I have orgies with guys and suck dicks when I'm not with her."

"Jesus Christ, Jared, why do you always do this bullshit? Every time we try to have a normal goddamn--"

His dad's voice trailed off, and Jared could hear his mom talking to him in the background. Trying to cool him off. Trying to get him back to making small talk. He quickly turned around in his chair, looking for Elena.

[starlightfell]

She handed him a shot glass of Tequila and slid his pills onto the table just in case.

"Baby," she whispered, "the orgies are so much fun." She winked at him, trying to get him to calm down, and slipped back to lean against him. Yeah, this was going to be a fun conversation. Thank god her parents liked him.

[jaggedjared]

Jared spotted the pills and the booze, and he took a breath. Klonopin. That'd help take the edge off a little. He grabbed them and popped them into his mouth, then downed the shot of booze with them.

"Alright, so... what else is going on? There's something about a busted guitar..."

"Yeah. Skull got busted," Jared rubbed at his forehead.

"What?"

"Skull. The guitar Nan gave me."

"It got busted? The guitar your grandma bought you for your high school graduation with her savings?"

"Wait, what? Nan had to dip into her savings to get Skull?"

"What the hell happened, Jared? How did it get busted? How could you be so irresponsible? Do you have any idea what that guitar meant to your grandmother when she bought it for you? I mean Jesus Christ, Jared, I thought you would at LEAST be careful with something that meant so much. I TOLD her before she bought it that something like this would happen, but she wouldn't listen to me. My own mother, and she would never listen to me, always insisting that you knew what you were doing--"

Jared felt involuntary tears spring to his eyes, and he clutched his cell phone more tightly. He really couldn't deal with this right now.

[starlightfell]

Elena squeezed her boyfriend's shoulders. Standing so close she could hear the other side of the conversation and this wasn't fair to him. They really didn't get it. And they didn't want to. No wonder Jared just assumed the worst when he had to talk to them. She was tempted to just grab the phone and tell them to fuck off (in Spanish) but she wrapped her arms around him. "Hang up," she whispered. "You don't need to hear this."

[jaggedjared]

Thank God Elena was there. Thank God. If she wasn't, this would definitely have been more than enough to send Jared into a spiral, and as it was, it was already happening.

"Dad, look," Jared's voice cracked a bit as he spoke, "I really have to go. I'm tired."

"Wait a minute Jared, don't hang up on--"

Click. Jared ended the call, and tossed his phone onto the table, burying his face in his hands.

It just wasn't fucking fair. They didn't fucking know. They didn't fucking know anything about him or his life or what had happened to make him the way he was and yet they felt fucking entitled to comment on his every misstep and add to his guilt. And as angry as he felt at them, whenever he was done talking to them, he mostly just felt depressed.

[starlightfell]

Elena kissed his cheek and linked their fingers. "Come on. Wooten says you need to go lie down." She tugged him up and walked back into his bedroom, where she nudged him onto the bed and curled up next to him, waiting for him to talk if he needed to. She wasn't going to push.

Woot, however, did. He pushed right up against Jared, put his head on his stomach, and huffed.

[jaggedjared]

Jared let Elena lead him to the bedroom, grateful that she was taking the lead. Talking to his parents was always so fucking exhausting, and it was hard sometimes to even make himself move afterwards.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her close, and he finally laughed at Woot and reached down to scratch his head. "You're a good boy, Wooty. Elena doesn't like that name, but I still think it's a good one. Wooty."

[starlightfell]

Wooten snarfed and then started to doze off. Life was hard for a service puppy in training. "He's going to be good for both of us," Elena said quietly. She didn't want to mention his parents unless he did. She didn't want to stress him out. So she just cuddled close, tracing her fingers over his chest.

[jaggedjared]

"He is," Jared replied with a smile, and he continued to gently rub the dog's head as he dozed off.

It was quiet. He let the silence hang there, briefly, and then he sighed. "Fuck, E, I don't know why I still let them get to me like this. I left home so I wouldn't have to deal with this shit. So I could do my own thing. And they still get to me."

[starlightfell]

"They're your parents. And you want there to be some kind of real connection. It makes sense. It isn't your fault they are complete idiots and can't see the amazing person you really are. The man I love." She kissed the closest bit of him she could.