Where Lost Ties Meet

Hi! I'm back again, this time with a short story. Short stories are always easier since you don't write as much as a full novel. I wrote this short story for a wattpad contest and decided to post it here. Enjoy! 
(Unnessary wattpad advertivement: https://www.wattpad.com/user/starsonggg)
- Isabella Strickland 
Jared stood in the kitchen sleepily, stirring creamer into his coffee. His roommate, Darcy walked into the kitchen, still in her sweats from last night. Mornings were Jared’s least favorite part of the day- both because he always seemed to have a cloud of grogginess following him around, and because he was always filled with melancholy from the moment he woke. Whether this stemmed from his depression or his urge to promptly go back to sleep, Jared didn’t know. All he knew was that mornings could be very hard for him. But when people asked him why this was, he simply replied, “I’m not a morning person.” and would quickly change the subject. 
Darcy was quite the opposite. Upbeat and bubbly, like a machine that never stopped running. She tended to have dark circles and baggy eyes, due to the fact that she was an insomniac and spent half of her nights binge-watching shows. Her tiredness never seemed to dampen her mood, though. Sometimes, Jared was even jealous of her nonstop can-do attitude. He wondered if maybe he was just a little more like Darcy, people would hang around him more. 
Darcy rifled through the cupboard and settled on some salted-caramel coffee. She put a pot of water on the stovetop to boil and walked back to the entryway. She stuck her hand in the mailbox slot and pulled out its contents. 
“Bill… Bill…” Darcy began muttering under her breath as she shuffled through the envelopes. “Garbage… Oooh!” Darcy paused and looked up at Jared excitedly. 
Whenever Darcy got excited- which happened quite a lot- she always got this glint in her eyes. Her lips would widen into a smile and her eyebrows would raise slightly. Though most people didn’t notice these little quirks of hers, Jared didn’t really fit in with “most people”. Jared was always fond of observing, rather than speaking. 
“What?” Jared asked, hoping it wasn’t a letter from his parents. 
Anytime Darcy found something she dubbed ‘interesting’ in the mail, it was almost always a letter from Mr. and Mrs. Howard. Jared couldn’t explain the dread he felt when his parents sent him a letter. He knew the only reason the two ever put effort into sending him a letter was to try and bring their beloved son back to the ‘good side’. His parents hadn’t been exactly happy when he had come out to them a few years ago, and tried to explain it away as a ‘phase’ or an ‘illness’ to their equally-homophobic neighbors. Darcy liked to call them sadistic, with the way they found pleasure in prodding at Jared in every single letter. 
“Is it…” Jared asked, crossing his fingers. 
“No.” Darcy smiled as Jared relaxed. Everytime Mr. and Mrs. Howard was brought up, Jared would stiffen, and it looked like he would topple over like a china doll if you touched him. It made Darcy happy to see him calm, but she wished she could help him more. 
“Well, are you going to just stand there staring at me, or are you going to explain what the letter is?” Jared questioned. 
“It’s an invitation to-” Darcy began. 
“No.” Jared interrupted coldly. He had stiffened again, and his hand clutched his coffee cup like it was his only way to stay upright.
“Jared…” Darcy said softly. “I know you don’t like parties, but this is going to be fun! Can’t you let yourself have fun for once?” 
“It’s not that easy…” Jared sighed. It was hard to explain his fears of being around crowds of people to someone like Darcy. Shit, he didn’t even like being around people, period. The worry of saying or doing anything wrong was too much for Jared. 
“Just… listen.” Darcy uttered quietly. “The party is at my friend Hailey’s house, to celebrate her birthday. We don’t have to stay for long, but I still want to pop in and say hi.” 
“Why do I have to come?” Jared protested.
“Because anytime I go somewhere, you just spend your time in bed, all alone, not enjoying yourself at all.” Darcy remarked sadly. 
“That’s not true! I- I paint! Sometimes…” Jared said, trying to make any excuse to stay home from this party. 
“Jared,” Darcy said, looking at him knowingly. 
“Darcy- I- I can’t!”
“When was the last time you tried?” Darcy asked, raising her voice. She paused and looked at the floor. “I’m sorry… I just hate to see you like this.” 
Jared looked at her, contemplating his decision. He knew Darcy didn’t understand his dislike toward social interaction, but at least she was trying. He owed this to her. 
“I- I’ll come…” Jared said quietly. 
“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to!” Darcy stammered. 
“Darce, I’m coming.” Jared said softly. 
“Really?” Darcy grinned. “Thank you, thank you, thank you Jared! We don’t have to stay for long! Maybe you’ll even meet the man of your dreams there!”
Jared hesitated. “I’m… not interested in dating right now.” 
Darcy nodded deliberately. When Jared was in high school, he had the biggest crush on Reed Dawson. That was, until Reed started dating Claire Smith. 
Darcy winked. “You might change your mind. Hailey has at least three gay friends. I don’t know them, but she assured me in the invitation that they’ll be there. Hailey knows you want to find someone, deep down.” 
“Darce, I appreciate the effort, but not everyone gets a happy ending. And with how crappy my life has been so far, I don’t expect anything much better.” Jared commented. 
“Well,” Darcy noted, “Some happy endings need a little push by one of the characters to make the ending come along.” 
— — —
“Are you ready for this?” Darcy implored. Jared stood by the door of their apartment agonizingly. He and Darcy were dressed comfortably, though Darcy’s stature was much more relaxed than Jared. 
Jared had spent all day regretting his decision to come with Darcy, but his only reminder was that he didn’t have to stay long. Jared didn’t answer and Darcy nodded. He followed Darcy down the elevator and to her black Honda Civic. Darcy grabbed her key ring, which had at least six different brightly-colored keychains. Darcy’s favorite was a big fluffy pom-pom her ex-girlfriend had given her. Darcy and Starla hadn’t broken up, but two years ago, Starla had committed suicide. Darcy’s lips pursed for a second, her eyes lingering on the pom-pom. 
“Maybe you can find a new happy ending too.” Jared whispered, trying to help. Darcy smiled, but it was painful. 
“Yeah, maybe.” she said bitterly, starting the engine. 
The drive to Hailey’s house was quiet, an elephant in the room. Or, in their case, an elephant in the car. As Darcy pulled up to Hailey’s house, an alarm seemed to go off in Jared’s head. The cogs in his brain were turning, trying to find some way out of this situation. Darcy honked the horn at Hailey, grinning. Her smile faded as she turned to see her friend frozen in his seat, his eyes darting around. Darcy grabbed Jared by the shoulders and stared at him. 
“Half an hour. Then we can leave. It’ll be okay.” Darcy said firmly. Jared nodded, but his hands trembled as Darcy led him up the walkway. Hailey hugged Darcy and then Jared excitedly. 
“Happy 22nd!” Darcy exclaimed. 
“Thank you!” Hailey said. She turned and looked at Jared. “Thanks for coming too. I wasn’t sure you’d show. Come on in, you two!” 
Jared followed Darcy, his shoulders scrunched and his palms sweaty. Jared stood by himself awkwardly, fidgeting with his hands. He didn’t want to go with Darcy and Hailey, because Hailey was just as energetic as Darcy, and sometimes, he couldn’t even handle Darcy’s energy. Loud chatter filled the air, and the smell of pizza, mozzarella sticks, and alcohol wafted through the house. 
Jared wandered over to the table of food, and took a paper plate. He placed a few mozzarella sticks on the plate, put some salad on the side, and grabbed a bottle of water. Jared couldn’t stand alcohol, and was grateful Hailey had left out some waters too. As he looked around the room for a seat, a girl stumbled up to him. He wasn’t sure how drunk this girl was when the party had just started a little while ago, but she draped her head against his shoulder. Jared stiffed even more, as she breathed heavily into his face. 
The stench of alcohol caused Jared to wrinkle his nose, and the girl giggled. She tried to pull him away from the table and pulled him forward. As she made to kiss him, a rough hand pulled Jared away. Jared turned and saw Reed Dawson standing before him. Sirens blared in Jared’s head. REED DAWSON IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!
“Hi,” Jared said breathlessly. 
“Jared Howard. I haven’t seen you in almost three years. Not since… Starla’s funeral. How is Darcy, by the way?” Reed said comfortably. 
Jared was in awe. How could this man be so perfect? 
“I- uh- she- she’s good.” Jared stammered. 
Reed smiled. “Good. Anyway, sorry about, y’know, grabbing you. I know you’re not exactly good in situations like this, but you don’t exactly like girls, so I wasn’t just gonna let her kiss you.” 
Jared furrowed his brow. How did Reed know he would have a hard time pushing that girl away? What Jared didn’t know, though, was that Reed Dawson was just as good at observing things as he was. Jared felt uncomfortable, though. Why was he still in love with Reed, after years of knowing he had a girlfriend? 
“How is… Claire?” Jared asked softly. 
Reed laughed. “Claire and I broke up a while ago. I finally told her I was still in the closet because of my parents, and she cut it off.” 
“You’re…” 
“Bi.” Reed finished. Jared’s eyes widened. This whole time, he had assumed Reed was straight! That ‘Mr. Perfect” with his perfect parents could never be anything people found “disgusting”.
“You look surprised.” Reed noted. 
“No- I just- I never expected you to be anything other than straight.” Jared said. He covered his mouth and apologized. Sorry, that was rude.” 
“It’s fine.” Reed grinned. “It makes sense, considering how my parents made our entire family pretend we had no flaws. Truth be told, for a while I knew I was bi deep down, but I just kept telling myself I was straight.” 
Out of the corner of his eyes, Jared saw Darcy’s eyes wide. She smiled and mouthed, “Tell him.” 
“I- uh- I always thought you were straight. And y-you know, for a while it-it kind of bothered me b-because I had th-this massive crush on you. I was- uh- kinda obsessed.” Jared blurted out. “S-sorry! That was so stupid!” 
Reed’s eyes widened. Jared stuttered, “I- I’m just going to go find Darcy. Please, just forget this conversation happened.” 
Reed hesitated and said, “I- um- in 9th grade, had this crush on Felix McArthur- remember him?” 
Jared nodded, wondering where this was going. 
“Well… then you moved here and showed up and it was like in one swift moment, Felix McArthur was the least of my worries, because I thought Jared Howard was the cutest person I had ever met. And- and then, I just dated some basic Starbucks-addicted girl to please my parents when all I wanted to do was to ask you to prom. And then, in a snap, high school was over and you finally came out as gay, but then completley dissapeared off the grid with Darcy. And all I could think was ‘Dammit, I didn’t even get to kiss Jared Howard before he went and left.’”
Jared stood there, startled. For a second, he wondered if this was some sort of sick joke. He had thought for so long that loving someone like Reed was a bad thing, because it would never work out. Jared looked at Reed, and then did the most courageous thing he had ever done. He kissed the one and only Reed Dawson in a room full of over thirty other people. And in that moment, it was as if Jared had gotten his happy ending, like Darcy had said. 
Jared stepped back, his hands shaking, but this time with excitement. Reed leaned forward and kissed him again, whispering in his ear, “I love you, Jared Howard.”