ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ｔｈｉｒｔｅｅｎ

Although Jasper had begged his sister to stay with him at their house, she told him she would be spending Thanksgiving with her boyfriend's family. And seeing as he would be the only child there for dinner that night, Jasper told his parents he would be going to Mikey's for Thanksgiving. They didn't care, they were just going to make a small turkey and mashed potatoes, vegetables, and eat it watching NASCAR racing.

Around two Jasper took out his phone and pulled up his and Mikey's text messages. He laughed at the conversation they had before—it was about Mikey's weird dream of being chased by geese and Aiden shooting him with a BB gun. The college student texted his best friend, asking to mooch Thanksgiving off of him.

👕

Idc, my grandmother won't care. She was even asking if you'd be over again soon

Thanks tell her I am now then, I have nothing else to do

Jasper slipped a red flannel over his black hoodie and put on his shoes. He tied the laces and felt his phone buzz, so he stayed kneeling and read the text. It was his sister telling him her boyfriend's family was okay if he wanted to come, but he denied and told her of his plans. She send back a, heard, and that was the end of their conversation.

On the way to Mikey's, music played through Jasper's headphones and he hummed to it. His hands were shoved deep into his pants pockets since the air was even chillier than he thought, and he could feel his nose freezing up from the whipping wind. Fortunately the walk wasn't long and he was walking in the Balm house.

It was even louder than usual and Jasper widened his eyes at the noise level. He let a low, "damn," come from his mouth, but then he was taking the stairs two at a time and turning to walk into his best friend's shared room.

"'Sup bitch?" He asked as he opened the door and saw Mikey, two of his cousins, and Aiden sitting in the room. Mikey smiled and moved his pillow so there was room next to him to sit.

Jasper nodded to the cousins, not saying much since he didn't really like them—they always looked for drama and stirred it relentlessly in the family. At one point they had tried to say Jasper was bullying them so Mikey and his family would stop talking to him, but the twenty-year-old knew his best friend would never bully anyone.

The group of now five talked aimlessly. Jasper stayed to the sidelines of the conversation unless Mikey or Aiden brought him in. Then, Marlene was yelling for someone to help and Mikey was jumping at the chance to escape. He grabbed Jasper's wrist and pulled him off the bed and out to the top of the steps.

Marlene smiled at Jasper. "Jasper! Oh, Mikey, would you two please drive to Target and get some things we need for Thanksgiving?"

Mikey nodded quickly and grabbed the first set of shoes he saw in his room and closed the door. He mumbled to Jasper, brushing against his arm and a hand trailing hood lower back as he walked around him to go down the stairs, "God, I hate my cousins. Ever since they tried to make you a bad guy they've just gotten worse!"

At the bottom of the steps Mikey's grandmother handed him a list and her debit card. She thanked her grandson and walked back to the kitchen where the adults and some of their noisy kids were at. For once in his life, Jasper was glad to get out of the house, the noise was getting to him.

The two boys stooped into Mikey's car and they drove off to Target. Inside, they headed to the food section first. Jasper leaned against Mikey's arm to look down at the list and read it over quickly. It was small end items, but he nodded and walked next to Mikey. He held the basket and occasionally pushed it forward so Mikey could just swipe the food into the basket.

"Oh," Mikey gasped and turned to look at Jasper. "I never told you! My manager tried to give me crap about my piercing."

Jasper's eyes looked to his lips, tearing them away so it wasn't weird, and rolled his eyes. He asked, "what'd she say?"

"Just about it being against the handbook, but other people have facial piercings."

Mikey reached around Jasper to grab the box of Cheez-its that was not on the list. Jasper smirked when Mikey did and they continued down the chip aisle. When they had everything Jasper put the items on the conveyer belt and walked to the end of the line, Mikey standing next to him with their shoulders brushed ever since lightly. The college student's heart beat quickly but he kept his expression under check. He felt too warm in his hoodie and flannel, but he knew it was chilly outside so he wasn't going to take either off.

Jasper settled with watching his best friend interact with the cashier with friendly eyes and attitude. He paid with Marlene's card and they grabbed the bags, walking close enough to each other to occasionally bump into one another, but neither stepped away. It was comforting for them with this. In the car they sang terribly to the songs, at one point Jasper snuck in a Christmas song and laughed as Mikey punched his stomach for it.

"Turn this off until tomorrow, bitch."

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I'm gonna split this chapter up as well, because I don't want the chapters to be long-ish. I usually set the limit as 1200 words. 🌶. Idk if I want to publish that or a clean, but implied version.

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