There are nights when the moon shone and set everything aglow, and there were nights like these, when the lights got there first, and her beauty was ignored.

It happened to be a party at Jade's house. A party to celebrate a new business partnership between a Mr Steve Cross and Josh Wyatt. A partnership that was literally sealed with his virginity.

He couldn't look Steve in the eye, even if he tried to.

He'd made sure to keep his distance the whole time, and never be alone in the same space with him. That was how he ran into one of the guests.

He had the whole 'I'm rich and really young' look going on.
Hair swept to one side, piercing grey eyes and a permanently smug look. A suit to cloth it all up and there you had it.

Disgusting. Jade thought. Something was just off about this guy.

He would have walked away if the man wasn't clutching his hand like they knew each other.

"What? Do I know you?"

"You could if you wanted to. My name's Brian. Chat with me?"

Jade decided there was no harm in that and so he did. Besides, it was the best way to avoid Steve.

The man didn't even have the decency to start a proper conversation.

"June's dress is quite sexy. I wish it could go just a bit higher," he said, ogling June and trying Jade's patience.

"Watch it! That's my sister. What do you want anyway?"

"You could get her in my sheets right? I could pay you."

"What?!"

"Oh come on now, if you love cock as much as I hear you do, then I bet it runs in the family, I'm a very kinky man and we both know she'd spread those legs like the wh-" Jade was already lunging at him.

He had broken his first nose that night.

He'd break a hundred more if they were stuck to the faces of assholes like the one in front of him. Blood gushed out and stained his pretty suit.

Insulting him was one thing and then there was insulting his family. He couldn't stand it.

Soon he was being pulled off by Josh, leaving a struggling Brian on the ground.

"He came on to me and I'm not even gay!" he practically shrieked.

There were whispers now as all the attention turned to them. Why Jade didn't stand up for himself at that moment, he didn't know.

Jade heard their words loud and clear, "Oh yeah I heard he's such a slut for cock."
"He even slept with... "
"Shameless"

The words had stung, especially because his family didn't bother defending him.

He couldn't care less if the whole world thought him a cock slut, just as long as his family didn't. But June had snickered at their comments, and all he'd tried to do was be a good brother.

Maybe he should try better. Family didn't dislike you for nothing, there had to be something he was doing wrong.

"Stop embarrassing us for once and go somewhere else," Josh whispered aggressively in his ear before releasing him.

The desire to shut out all the hatred was stronger than anything at that moment, so he stormed into the house. Leaving them to stare at his retreating back, doing a pretty good job of keeping his composure.

_________________

At the side of the house that faced away from the party and commotion was a balcony.
And at that balcony was a chair. A chair that rocked with the weight of his only refuge.
Nana.

Jade silently sat at her feet, forehead resting on the side of her lap and hand draped across it.

He'd sucked in a deep breath he didn't know he was holding, releasing it only when her hand came up to pet his head, smoothing out his hair and breaking all the tension.

Using her other hand, she'd intertwined her fingers with his and suddenly the night had grown wings and lifted off some of his weight into the dark.
_____________________________________

Thank you for reading ❤️