Christmas, Year Three
Title: Christmas, Year Three
Author: kissoffools / wakeyourheart
Pairing: Jacob Hoggard/Kalan Porter, and some people have called it Jacob Hoggard/Theresa Sokyrka, too. Wtf, het in this writing journal?!
Date Posted: December 25, 2007
Rating: PG-12, probably. Very tame.
Summary: Kalan and Theresa continue their yearly Christmas get-together, but get interrupted by an unwelcome blast from the past.
Disclaimer: Do you honestly believe that I claim to own anything here?
Notes: Written for a fic exchange for lonesomeoctober , who requested Kalan/Jacob/Theresa with gift wrap, notebooks, and apple cider. I took this all kind of loosely and I really hope you don't hate it?
On December 23rd, instead of snow for Christmas, rain began to fall steadily and heavily upon Toronto. Kalan Porter should’ve known this was a bad sign.
By five in the afternoon, Kalan was seated in his apartment with Theresa Sokyrka, drinking apple cider and swapping stories, Chinese takeout on the way. It was a Christmas tradition of theirs - year one had started out in the company of Shane, Josh, Jason, and Elena. Year two had whittled down to only Theresa, Kalan and Jason - Shane was stuck in Chilliwack, Elena was busy with school, and Josh was on his honeymoon. And now, year three, only Theresa remained to celebrate with him. Jacob Hoggard, of course, had never bothered to grace them with his presence.
At six pm, at the sound of the apartment buzzer, Kalan stood and crossed the room towards the front door. He pressed the intercom button and said “Yes?”, expecting to hear the broken English of one of the city’s many Chinese deliverymen.
“Kalan?”
Well, that wasn’t exactly a Chinese accent.
“Kalan, that’s you, isn’t it? I recognize your voice. Listen, um… can I come up?”
Theresa had caught on too by this point, and hurried to Kalan’s side to hear better. She shook her head viciously.
“Kay, I know T’s there with you. I know you guys are doing that annual Christmas thing. I just wanna talk to you guys. I won’t stay long, I promise.”
“Look,” Theresa said loudly, stabbing at the intercom button. “You’ve never shown up before, you don’t need to start now. Please go away.”
“Guys. Kalan, you never gave me your new address. I had to beg the delivery guy from that Chinese food place you like so much to tell me where you live now. Speaking of, there’s a tiny Chinese man standing here with me holding a bag and asking for money. You wanna come pay this dude or what?”
The two remained silent. Theresa looked furious.
The intercom crackled with static once more. “Please?”
“Okay. Apartment 14G. Bring the Chinese food with you.”
Kalan removed his finger from the intercom and ran a hand through his curls. Theresa turned her gaze on him, face flushed and eyes blazing.
“What are you doing?!”
“Oh come on, Theresa. Just hear him out, okay? He’s changed.”
She snorted in disbelief. “Changed?! As if. Kalan, face it. He’s not the guy we knew three years ago, and he’s never going to go back to that. He’s too far gone. There’s a reason I haven’t seen him since then, you know.”
“Exactly! You haven’t seen him in three years. I have. And I’m telling you, he’s gotten a lot better lately. He’s not back to the way he was, but god, none of us are. Give the guy a chance.”
“We’re better off without him.”
She turned around and went back into the living room, sinking down sulkily on the sofa. At that, a sharp rapping came at the door.
Kalan pulled open the door and there stood Jacob Hoggard, all dark eyes and inked arms. In one arm he clutched a big paper bag from the Chinese food place. For a second, his eyes flicked back and forth between Kalan and Theresa, almost timidly. But just as soon as it had appeared, the timid look was gone, and he was passing the bag off to Kalan and entering the apartment.
“You know, if you’d just given me your new address in September, it would’ve saved me the trouble of trying to figure out what ‘Bestie’ meant,” he said, settling himself on the edge of Kalan’s coffee table. “But I got it in the end.”
“You followed the delivery guy, didn’t you,” Kalan stated with raised eyebrows.
“I never said I managed to figure out what he was saying. I just said I tried.” Jacob smirked “So, um… I had to pay the delivery guy twenty-six bucks for your order. But I think I’ll let it slide - it is Christmas, after all.”
“Whatever,” Kalan said as he unpacked the paper bag. “At least they remembered to send us everything this time. They always seem to forget my sesame noodles.”
“What a shame.”
“So, um… you want something to drink, or anything? Theresa brought cider,” Kalan mumbled. If the guy was going to be here, he may as well try and be hospitable.
Jacob raised his eyebrows at the domesticity of Kalan’s words. “Uh, yeah. Cider would be good.”
Kalan poured him a mug and brought it over to him, steam rising off the drink’s surface. He then brought the Chinese food and some plates over to the living room, balancing the greasy cartons on the wooden coffee table after shooing Jacob off it.
The three settled into the meal, and for several minutes there was nothing to be heard but the dull tap of silverware against plastic. No one spoke. Kalan hadn’t even bothered to put on any music - no CD in his collection would please both of his guests. And he suddenly wasn’t quite in the mood for Christmas tunes.
Jacob jiggled his knee nervously (nervously? When did the great Jacob Hoggard feel anything but an overwhelming sense of superiority?), causing his chicken balls to roll around his plate. He popped his lips in the silence. “….so. This is a nice place.”
“Oh my GOD.”
Kalan and Jacob whipped their heads around to stare at Theresa, who’d been silent ever since his arrival. She’d dropped her plate on the rug in her haste to stand up, a look of pure loathing in her eye.
“T -”
“Don’t you call me that,” she spat. “You have no right to! You can’t drop out of someone’s life, peppering insults as you go, and then try and worm your way back in three years later with some compliments and cutesy nicknames. That isn’t cool with me and I’m not going to smile and let it all slide!”
“Theresa, hey, maybe you should just calm down a little…” Kalan began, rising to his feet and crossing the room towards her.
“No, Kalan! Don’t you even remember how he treated you before? Three years of public lashings about everything from your music to your clothes to your hair. And after one meeting, you guys just kiss and make up? Well I won’t do it! I’m not going to let him sweet talk me, not anymore.”
Theresa gathered her purse quickly and stormed towards to door. “Where’s my fucking coat…”
“Theresa.” Jacob lept over the couch and caught her arm. “Theresa, please just let me talk to you.”
She wrenched her arm out of his grip and shrugged her coat over her shoulders. “No, Jacob. I don’t want to listen to you. I’m done wanting that.” She jammed her feet into her shoes and pulled open the door. “Look, Kay, here’s your Christmas present. Call me later.” She dropped a small, gift-wrapped package onto the tile floor by the door.
“T, I still want to be friends with you,” Jacob dropped his voice, a pleading note creeping into his words.
Theresa stopped and turned to face him, framed in the doorway. She shrugged her shoulders, disappointed.
“The best part of our friendship was when it ended.”
The door slamming seemed to jolt Jacob out of his stupor. He turned to Kalan, looking more helpless than Kalan could ever remember.
“I just…” Jacob sank down onto the nearest couch, staring across the room, “wanted to make things right with her. I mean… it’s Christmas.”
He tipped up his head and met Kalan’s gaze. Kalan at once sank down onto the couch beside him and without thinking wrapped an arm around the other man’s waist. “She just wasn’t expecting you, is all. You kind of ambushed her and she wasn’t ready for it.”
“I’d been trying to call her all week. She wouldn’t take any of my calls,” he said in a hoarse, hollow voice.
“You’ve just gotta give her time, Jake.”
“All I want to do is make things all right again. I screwed everything up last year, I know that. And I’m trying to fix it, I really am. I’ve been sober since March and I haven’t touched pot or coke since April. I’m writing again and enjoying being onstage again. And I’ve been trying to make things right with you guys… all of you guys. Shane took my call earlier this month. Josh and I had coffee. Even you’re talking to me now, and you were the hardest one to look in the eye again. I want to get my life back, and she’s… I just want everything to be okay again.” His voice broke as he choked back a sob.
Kalan looked at him - really looked at him this time - and it was like he was seeing someone much younger than himself curled up on the couch beside him. He idly wondered what Jacob had looked like as a child.
And as suddenly as the pain had appeared in Jacob’s voice, it was gone again. The man stood up, coughed once, and reached for his coat. “I should probably get going.”
“No, Jake, you can stay if you -”
“Nah, I gotta meet Dave anyway.”
“Are you -”
“Man, I’m fine,” Jacob laughed, but there was an emptiness about it, and his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Seriously, don’t worry about me.” He stepped into his shoes, pausing for a moment to tug on the left one.
“Look, um…” he pulled a small notebook out of his jacket pocket, and scribbled something into it. Tearing out the paper and folding it once, he handed it to Kalan. “Just… give this to Theresa next time you see her, okay?”
He opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. “I’m not giving up on her yet.”
After Jacob left, Kalan unfolded the paper and read Jacob’s almost illegible handwriting.
“My new CD. Track 3. I wrote that for you.
I can change and now I mean it.”
end.
Author: kissoffools / wakeyourheart
Pairing: Jacob Hoggard/Kalan Porter, and some people have called it Jacob Hoggard/Theresa Sokyrka, too. Wtf, het in this writing journal?!
Date Posted: December 25, 2007
Rating: PG-12, probably. Very tame.
Summary: Kalan and Theresa continue their yearly Christmas get-together, but get interrupted by an unwelcome blast from the past.
Disclaimer: Do you honestly believe that I claim to own anything here?
Notes: Written for a fic exchange for lonesomeoctober , who requested Kalan/Jacob/Theresa with gift wrap, notebooks, and apple cider. I took this all kind of loosely and I really hope you don't hate it?
On December 23rd, instead of snow for Christmas, rain began to fall steadily and heavily upon Toronto. Kalan Porter should’ve known this was a bad sign.
By five in the afternoon, Kalan was seated in his apartment with Theresa Sokyrka, drinking apple cider and swapping stories, Chinese takeout on the way. It was a Christmas tradition of theirs - year one had started out in the company of Shane, Josh, Jason, and Elena. Year two had whittled down to only Theresa, Kalan and Jason - Shane was stuck in Chilliwack, Elena was busy with school, and Josh was on his honeymoon. And now, year three, only Theresa remained to celebrate with him. Jacob Hoggard, of course, had never bothered to grace them with his presence.
At six pm, at the sound of the apartment buzzer, Kalan stood and crossed the room towards the front door. He pressed the intercom button and said “Yes?”, expecting to hear the broken English of one of the city’s many Chinese deliverymen.
“Kalan?”
Well, that wasn’t exactly a Chinese accent.
“Kalan, that’s you, isn’t it? I recognize your voice. Listen, um… can I come up?”
Theresa had caught on too by this point, and hurried to Kalan’s side to hear better. She shook her head viciously.
“Kay, I know T’s there with you. I know you guys are doing that annual Christmas thing. I just wanna talk to you guys. I won’t stay long, I promise.”
“Look,” Theresa said loudly, stabbing at the intercom button. “You’ve never shown up before, you don’t need to start now. Please go away.”
“Guys. Kalan, you never gave me your new address. I had to beg the delivery guy from that Chinese food place you like so much to tell me where you live now. Speaking of, there’s a tiny Chinese man standing here with me holding a bag and asking for money. You wanna come pay this dude or what?”
The two remained silent. Theresa looked furious.
The intercom crackled with static once more. “Please?”
“Okay. Apartment 14G. Bring the Chinese food with you.”
Kalan removed his finger from the intercom and ran a hand through his curls. Theresa turned her gaze on him, face flushed and eyes blazing.
“What are you doing?!”
“Oh come on, Theresa. Just hear him out, okay? He’s changed.”
She snorted in disbelief. “Changed?! As if. Kalan, face it. He’s not the guy we knew three years ago, and he’s never going to go back to that. He’s too far gone. There’s a reason I haven’t seen him since then, you know.”
“Exactly! You haven’t seen him in three years. I have. And I’m telling you, he’s gotten a lot better lately. He’s not back to the way he was, but god, none of us are. Give the guy a chance.”
“We’re better off without him.”
She turned around and went back into the living room, sinking down sulkily on the sofa. At that, a sharp rapping came at the door.
Kalan pulled open the door and there stood Jacob Hoggard, all dark eyes and inked arms. In one arm he clutched a big paper bag from the Chinese food place. For a second, his eyes flicked back and forth between Kalan and Theresa, almost timidly. But just as soon as it had appeared, the timid look was gone, and he was passing the bag off to Kalan and entering the apartment.
“You know, if you’d just given me your new address in September, it would’ve saved me the trouble of trying to figure out what ‘Bestie’ meant,” he said, settling himself on the edge of Kalan’s coffee table. “But I got it in the end.”
“You followed the delivery guy, didn’t you,” Kalan stated with raised eyebrows.
“I never said I managed to figure out what he was saying. I just said I tried.” Jacob smirked “So, um… I had to pay the delivery guy twenty-six bucks for your order. But I think I’ll let it slide - it is Christmas, after all.”
“Whatever,” Kalan said as he unpacked the paper bag. “At least they remembered to send us everything this time. They always seem to forget my sesame noodles.”
“What a shame.”
“So, um… you want something to drink, or anything? Theresa brought cider,” Kalan mumbled. If the guy was going to be here, he may as well try and be hospitable.
Jacob raised his eyebrows at the domesticity of Kalan’s words. “Uh, yeah. Cider would be good.”
Kalan poured him a mug and brought it over to him, steam rising off the drink’s surface. He then brought the Chinese food and some plates over to the living room, balancing the greasy cartons on the wooden coffee table after shooing Jacob off it.
The three settled into the meal, and for several minutes there was nothing to be heard but the dull tap of silverware against plastic. No one spoke. Kalan hadn’t even bothered to put on any music - no CD in his collection would please both of his guests. And he suddenly wasn’t quite in the mood for Christmas tunes.
Jacob jiggled his knee nervously (nervously? When did the great Jacob Hoggard feel anything but an overwhelming sense of superiority?), causing his chicken balls to roll around his plate. He popped his lips in the silence. “….so. This is a nice place.”
“Oh my GOD.”
Kalan and Jacob whipped their heads around to stare at Theresa, who’d been silent ever since his arrival. She’d dropped her plate on the rug in her haste to stand up, a look of pure loathing in her eye.
“T -”
“Don’t you call me that,” she spat. “You have no right to! You can’t drop out of someone’s life, peppering insults as you go, and then try and worm your way back in three years later with some compliments and cutesy nicknames. That isn’t cool with me and I’m not going to smile and let it all slide!”
“Theresa, hey, maybe you should just calm down a little…” Kalan began, rising to his feet and crossing the room towards her.
“No, Kalan! Don’t you even remember how he treated you before? Three years of public lashings about everything from your music to your clothes to your hair. And after one meeting, you guys just kiss and make up? Well I won’t do it! I’m not going to let him sweet talk me, not anymore.”
Theresa gathered her purse quickly and stormed towards to door. “Where’s my fucking coat…”
“Theresa.” Jacob lept over the couch and caught her arm. “Theresa, please just let me talk to you.”
She wrenched her arm out of his grip and shrugged her coat over her shoulders. “No, Jacob. I don’t want to listen to you. I’m done wanting that.” She jammed her feet into her shoes and pulled open the door. “Look, Kay, here’s your Christmas present. Call me later.” She dropped a small, gift-wrapped package onto the tile floor by the door.
“T, I still want to be friends with you,” Jacob dropped his voice, a pleading note creeping into his words.
Theresa stopped and turned to face him, framed in the doorway. She shrugged her shoulders, disappointed.
“The best part of our friendship was when it ended.”
The door slamming seemed to jolt Jacob out of his stupor. He turned to Kalan, looking more helpless than Kalan could ever remember.
“I just…” Jacob sank down onto the nearest couch, staring across the room, “wanted to make things right with her. I mean… it’s Christmas.”
He tipped up his head and met Kalan’s gaze. Kalan at once sank down onto the couch beside him and without thinking wrapped an arm around the other man’s waist. “She just wasn’t expecting you, is all. You kind of ambushed her and she wasn’t ready for it.”
“I’d been trying to call her all week. She wouldn’t take any of my calls,” he said in a hoarse, hollow voice.
“You’ve just gotta give her time, Jake.”
“All I want to do is make things all right again. I screwed everything up last year, I know that. And I’m trying to fix it, I really am. I’ve been sober since March and I haven’t touched pot or coke since April. I’m writing again and enjoying being onstage again. And I’ve been trying to make things right with you guys… all of you guys. Shane took my call earlier this month. Josh and I had coffee. Even you’re talking to me now, and you were the hardest one to look in the eye again. I want to get my life back, and she’s… I just want everything to be okay again.” His voice broke as he choked back a sob.
Kalan looked at him - really looked at him this time - and it was like he was seeing someone much younger than himself curled up on the couch beside him. He idly wondered what Jacob had looked like as a child.
And as suddenly as the pain had appeared in Jacob’s voice, it was gone again. The man stood up, coughed once, and reached for his coat. “I should probably get going.”
“No, Jake, you can stay if you -”
“Nah, I gotta meet Dave anyway.”
“Are you -”
“Man, I’m fine,” Jacob laughed, but there was an emptiness about it, and his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Seriously, don’t worry about me.” He stepped into his shoes, pausing for a moment to tug on the left one.
“Look, um…” he pulled a small notebook out of his jacket pocket, and scribbled something into it. Tearing out the paper and folding it once, he handed it to Kalan. “Just… give this to Theresa next time you see her, okay?”
He opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. “I’m not giving up on her yet.”
After Jacob left, Kalan unfolded the paper and read Jacob’s almost illegible handwriting.
“My new CD. Track 3. I wrote that for you.
I can change and now I mean it.”
end.