(Y/n) put down his sewing needle and looked over the trousers that he had just attached a patch to. The bright red looked out of place on the beige piece of clothing but that's what made it interesting.

Outside his bedroom the boy could hear his sister fighting with his mother. This was not unexpected but it wasn't something he enjoyed either. He turned the volume up on his earbuds as he placed the trousers on his desk.

(Y/n) didn't really know what to do now. He wanted to go out and meet with Jade since she'd be at the coffee shop soon but he didn't want to get pulled into the fight happening in the living room.

The boy sat there listening to the sounds coming through his earbuds for a moment until finally he stood up and grabbed Jade's trousers, throwing them into his backpack a moment later. He'd just have to hope he wasn't spotted.

—————————————————————

Jade sat in silence as she glanced over at the clock. She sipped her coffee as (y/n)'s hot chocolate that she ordered went cold. He was late.

She looked to the window again after a moment and sighed as she noticed that the sun had now gone down and it was dark out. Had she really been waiting here this long?

Jade was about to finally stand up and leave when she spotted the door open out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and smiled as she saw her friend entering the establishment with a tired look. "Bonsoir" she spoke kindly.

"Bonsoir" (y/n) replied back as he gave her his best smile. "désolé"

"It's fine" Jade replied with a shrug. "I ordered you a drink but it's cold now"

(Y/n) took the cup that was awaiting him and drank it all quickly. "Thanks"

"I think the owner wants to close soon" Jade spoke after a moment of silence as she stood up and packed her stuff. She put her bag on her back before picking up Toast and cuddling him in her arms. "How about you walk me home and as we do so you can tell me what took you so long?"

"Sure" (y/n) nodded as he walked ahead and held the door for Jade. Once she was out he caught up with her and walked by her side.

The two were silent for a couple minutes before Jade looked to (y/n). "So what was it?"

"Hm?" He asked without looking up from the ground.

"What took you so long" she clarified.

"Oh!" (Y/n) shook his head. "Family drama. I don't want to annoy you with it"

"I don't mind listening if you need someone to talk to" Jade replied as she elbowed the boys arm to get him to look at her. "I care about your well-being" she spoke once he was finally looking to her.

(Y/n) smiled and looked back down to the ground to hide it. "I know you do" he spoke as he scratched the back of his neck. "But still, I'd rather we stayed on a nicer subject"

"Alright" Jade wouldn't push the boy. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Non" he shook his head. "Just be my friend"

"Already doing that" Jade repositioned Toast so that she was holding him with one hand before using her free hand to take (y/n)'s hand. "I'm here for you" she squeezed his hand comfortingly.

(Y/n) squeezed her hand back. "Merci" he couldn't help but smile wider and continue to try to hide it by looking down.

The two walked hand in hand in silence for another few minutes before Jade spoke again. "We're almost there"

(Y/n) frowned but nodded. "This was nice"

Jade seemed to hesitate for a moment as she lead the boy towards her building. They stopped in front of the door. (Y/n) began to pull his hand away from Jade but she kept her grip on him. "Would- would you want to come in?" She asked quietly. "It's not like we spent nearly as much time together today as we usually do yet"

(Y/n) smiled and nodded. "I'd love to" Jade smiled widely in return before letting go of the boys hand and grabbing her key. She lead the way inside and up the stairs.

Soon they were on Jade's floor. She opened the door to her apartment and Toast jumped out of her hands, running off to some unseen area of the apartment. Jade took off her bag and her shoes as (y/n) came in and closed the door.

(Y/n) looked around the apartment as Jade made her way to a window and sat down. "Sit with me" the boy turned to look at her and nodded as he walked over to her, sitting with his legs dangling off of the little thing she was sitting on. Was it technically a bench? He wasn't sure but it wasn't uncomfortable.

"Take your bag off, relax" Jade smiled as she stared over at him. She stretched out and put her feet in the boys lap to try to annoy him.

(Y/n) took his bag off before remembering what was in it. He opened the bag before grabbing Jade's trousers and throwing them.

She yelped in surprise and laughed as they landed on her head and impeded her sight. She pulled them off of her head before looking them over. "These look good. Thank you" she smiled kindly as she folded them and carefully put them on the coffee table.

"Happy to help" (y/n) smiled back at her.

The two sat in silence for another moment before Jade spoke again. "Do you want something to eat? Or drink?"

"No" (y/n) shook his head gently. "I'm fine, thank you"

"Are you just saying that because you don't want me to move?" Jade giggled as she wiggled her socked feet around a bit.

"I really don't need anything" (y/n) replied simply as without thinking he put his left hand down on Jade's leg and stroked it gently.

Jade smiled and nodded. "Alright" again they were silent. It was a comfortable silence luckily.

Unfortunately Jade's mind was quick to remind her that this boy wasn't even in university yet. He wasn't that much younger than her but suddenly she felt terrible about the small age gap. She did her best to ignore this and luckily because of that the boy didn't pick up on it.

"Can I ask you something?" The boy was quick to look from the artwork on Jade's walls to the girl herself.

"Of course" he nodded as he continued to gently and subconsciously stroke her ankle.

It took Jade a second but she needed to know the answer to this question. "Why do you spend so much time with me? Why not someone from your class? Someone your own age? Someone more fun"

(Y/n) frowned and considered his words carefully. "Firstly I do spend time with people from my class" was the first thing he said. "Just because I free up so much time for you doesn't mean I don't do anything else. You've seen me out at the park with a friend"

Jade let out a small laugh as she realized she had thought the boy didn't have much of a life. "Right, sorry"

(Y/n) smiled at her laugh and nodded. "Secondly we are basically the same age. I'm eighteen and you're..."

"Twenty" Jade answered quietly.

"Right" (y/n) nodded as he pat her leg comfortingly. "It's two years. That's a small gap"

"I suppose so" Jade frowned and nodded.

(Y/n) noticed her frown but didn't know how he could reassure her about the age gap so he moved onto the next thing she had brought up. "And as for why I don't find someone more fun... fun is subjective"

"Please elaborate" Jade spoke simply as she watched the boy try to think up what to say.

"Well lots of people find parties fun right?" Jade nodded. "You don't, and I don't... usually" (y/n) continued. "I'd rather spend my time with you than partying or doing whatever is considered fun by most people" he let go of Jade's ankle and took her hand, squeezing it gently. "I enjoy it more. I have more fun with you than I would with anyone else. At this point-" he hesitated for a moment. "Well at this point you're pretty much my best friend"

Jade couldn't help the smile which emerged on her face after that. She squeezed the boys hand back and tried to ignore the nagging thoughts asking whether or not she had just been friend zoned. "You're my best friend too"

She smiled even wider at how the boys own grin widened at her response. "I'm glad to hear it"

The two were silent once again as they held hands. (Y/n) looked down at Jade's feet in his lap as Jade looked out the window at the city. Her discomfort at the situation was now gone, albeit replaced with those thoughts about whether or not she had been friend zoned tonight. That however was a problem for another day. She had put enough of her doubts on the boy for one night.

"I'm really glad you came here tonight" she spoke simply, prompting the boy to look up and their eyes to meet again. "Those questions have been plaguing me for weeks"

Of all the responses to that sentence Jade hadn't expected her best friend to chuckle. "You were trying to get me to open up earlier about my family life and you hadn't even opened up about your doubts about us?"

Jade felt embarrassed all of a sudden and hoped that she wasn't blushing. "I suppose that does sound a bit silly huh?"

"A bit" (y/n) smiled as he squeezed Jade's hand again. "If you ever have any more doubts about us then just bring them up. I'll do my best to make you feel better about them"

"I know you will" Jade replied simply as she used her free hand to cover her mouth and the little bit of doubt that she thought may be showing on her face. Doubt that being best friends was enough for her. "I'll come to you with everything that I feel I can"

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