" 𝕵une".

She blinks, staring right into his eyes.

"Yeah?".

"I . . . .I, uhm", he swallows but she stays quiet waiting for him to finish whatever he's about to say.

"Jack—what the fuck?".

The words fill out the relative quiet of the room in a sudden panic, both June and Jack immediately going stiff.

June shoves him off her and he complies, shifting to the other side of the bed so quickly that if she weren't conscious enough of why he's doing so she'd think he's repulsed by her.

Their gazes catch onto the doorway and there stands Luke, his hair messy and eyebrows scrunched together, mouth gaping and eyes practically falling out of his skull.

June's heartbeat quickens as the seconds tick by and no one utters a word.

It's too quiet.

It's like they are all holding their breath waiting for someone to intervene and take them back to two minutes ago when neither of them had to face this.

"Luke—".

"How long?".

June blinks opening her mouth and closing it but Luke's eyes stay fixed on Jack, the two brothers seemingly having a silent stare-off.

"It's not—".

"May. End of May. Since the party", Jack states calmly.

Luke's eyes narrow, both still refusing to acknowledge June.

"Didn't think this was worth mentioning to me? A secret, seriously? From me? Sneaking around behind my back? Are you actually for real right now?".

Jack inhales, his posture rigid but face relaxed.

"It's not a big deal".

They say you can feel your heart sinking, rupturing slowly the moment something infests it and leaves a rotten core behind.

June never fully understood that — and that's saying something because this is June — until now.

It's not a big deal.

It's not a big deal.

Her lips part but no sound comes out, she has no idea what expression covers her face but she knows one thing for sure, she has never experienced pain quite like this.

Yes, she went into this knowing what she signed up for.

Yes, she's told herself a thousand times that this isn't a big deal.

Yes, she knew that on some level Jack too was always aware of it.

So, why does it hurt so much when he says it out loud?

Luke scowls, "Friends with benefits? You—oh my god. Jack. What the fuck? Why—what? Why would you do this? Why would you do this to her?".

Hearing the raw concern in Luke's voice is enough to splinter her heart, slowly and painfully.

"She agreed".

"Of course, she agreed! But why would you do this to her? That", he finally glances at June as he points a finger at her, "is June. Our June. You don't fucking play with her. You're either all in or you're out. You don't get to—".

She needs to leave. Now.

June pushes off the bed, walking purposely towards the door, Luke stepping over to her as she goes to pass him.

"Junie—".

"No", she pushes his arm aside and stumbles out of the room, not caring about Jim having to witness the commotion when he comes to stand at the base of the staircase in confusion, and swiftly descends the stairs blocking out everyone's voices to head for the door and rush out of the house.

She speed walks to her house and shuts herself in, leaning her back against the door to breathe heavily.

God.

"What's going on?", back at the Hughes house, Jim yells as he sees Jack shove his way past a clearly annoyed Luke to barrel down the stairs and follow June.

"She's not a damn toy for you to play with! What the hell were you thinking?", Luke bounds down the stairs after him and moves to block the door the moment Jack pulls both his sneakers on and straightens up.

He exhales, glaring at his baby brother whilst he tries very, very hard to control his temper.

"Move".

"No".

"Luke—".

"I said no. You are not leaving this house until you answer me. Hasn't she been screwed over by enough people for you to add onto that list? You couldn't back off? Friends with benefits? Are you fuckin' kidding me? You know how June is. She has never in her life done casual—".

"You're either going to move or I'm going to hit you".

"Hey, stand back", Jim steps in between them, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder.

Luke squints, "Hit me? Really? That's the best you can come up with? How about 'Sorry I can't fucking control myself so I made your best friend's life even worse'?".

"Luke", Jim warns, placing a hand on his youngest son's chest but Luke stands relentless.

"I told you to move".

"What is your problem?".

"My problem, Luke, is that God knows why I suggested we do friends with benefits when I knew damn well I was only going to fall more in love with her!".

That perfectly shuts him up.

In fact, both Jim and Luke go completely stoic which allows Jack to move Luke to the side and jog over to June's house.

He presses the doorbell several times but she doesn't answer.

He bangs on the door, his heart in his throat and frustration with his brother over the roof.

"June, I know you're in there! Open up, I need to talk to you!".

She doesn't answer the door.

Not on the first few bangs and not on the consistent sound of the doorbell echoing within the walls.

"June!".

He steps back, breathing heavily.

He brings his phone out of his pocket and fires off a text before turning back and heading to his house.

JACK: 'we'll talk in the morning'.

— && —

Jack, freshly showered and full of nervous energy walks up to June's door.

He knew he had to see her the second he woke up but it was too early because he spent the entire night tossing and turning which is why he decided to go for a run, shower, kill some time before going to her house.

He rings the doorbell and stands back, waiting.

The door opens after a few seconds and his eyes dim when he sees the confused gray gaze that meets his.

"What are you doing here so early, Jack?", Maureen asks.

He clears his throat, "Here to see June. I'll wait if she's still asleep".

Suddenly, realisation dawns on her and the way her face twists into a frown has Jack's insides revolting.

"She . . . . she left with her grandpa. For Flint. He went back today. She's gonna stay with him for a while before coming back to pack up soon, at the end of summer break".

He releases a ragged breath, not quite believing those words.

"Are you sure?".

Maureen bites her lip and leans into the doorframe, shaking her head.

"I knew something was up. But yes. I'm sure. She's coming back next week".

He swallows, nodding.

"Thanks", and turns to leave but halts momentarily when she speaks again.

"Give her time. She'll come around".

He looks over his shoulder, attempting to avoid the way his throat has begun constricting and blinks in hopes of keeping the tears at bay.

Jack nods again and walks back to his house, the aching fire within him a catalyst for the blistering plaguing his heart.

***
i had a completely different plan for the whole 'luke finding out' thing but while i was writing the previous chapter i thought "wouldn't it be so funny if luke walked in on them just as jack's about to confess his love for her?" and so here we are 😋