Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2007 05:32:19 +0000 From: Chris Salter Subject: How I Met Jake: Chapter 34 Under legal age? Offended by two men? Illegal in your area? Close now and go play outside! Disclaimer: I don't know Jake Gyllenhaal. I don't claim to know him, his orientation or relationship status. This work is entirely fiction. Chapter 34: Jake had been in New York for a few days, having lunch with friends and catching up with family. He even caught up with his father and told him all about Chris. Much to Jakes surprise, his father took the news incredibly well. He felt proud that he had such a loving and caring family. However, he knew while he was in New York, there was something that Chris wanted him to do. Waking up early one morning in his bedroom at Maggie's place, he leaned over and grabbed his cell phone along with the small handwritten card. Dialing in the number, he pressed connect and waited for the other side to pick up. "Hello Daniel Foster speaking..." Jake was incredibly nervous, he'd met Danny, but never on his own. The last time he met him was when he was in the protective grasp of Chris. Finally he spoke up, "Hey Daniel, it's Jake, Chris' boyfriend." "Hey man, of course I know who you are Jake, you didn't have to say that." "I know, I just like saying it," Jake admitted. Looking around the room, he pulled the pillow last used by Chris closer to his body, "So I'm in town for a few days, I thought I'd take you up on your drink offer." "I can meet you for lunch," Danny responded as he was obviously thumbing through something, "Is that okay?" Sitting up in the bed, Jake continued to hug the pillow. "It's fine with me; just tell me where your office is." After grabbing the address in a text message from Danny, Jake peeled himself out of the comfortable bed and padded his bare ass towards the bathroom. After turning the shower on, he quickly lathered up, rinsed his body before washing his hair. Toweling himself dry, Jake then padded his way back into the bedroom and pulled on a pair of shorts, followed by socks, jeans and a light sweater. Not wanting to deal with his hair that day, he then pulled one of his baseball caps from one of the suitcases crevasses. Heading out of the bedroom door, Jake was greeted by the pleasant smell of coffee brewing, along with his sisters beaming smile. Pulling the cup away from her face, Maggie looked over at Jake, "Good afternoon to you." "Quiet you!" Jake scoffed as he made his way over to kiss her on the cheek. "I'm off to have lunch with Danny actually." "Be nice to him, he's been through some shit." Maggie responded quietly. Jake furrowed his eyebrows and looked back at her, "What do you mean?" "Well," Maggie continued after tapping on the couch for Jake to join her briefly. "Don't tell Chris, but Alex and Danny are over." "What do you mean?" Jake asked, "What happened?" Maggie thought for a moment about how to tell Jake. Finally, she decided honesty was the best policy, "Turns out Alex was addicted to cocaine, he was pretty abusive too." Jake looked worried, Alex seemed so sweet and caring when they were there for dinner. "I better go, I will see you later." "Just don't be too shocked okay Jake?" Maggie responded distantly as Jake made his way out the apartment door. What the hell did Maggie mean? Jake contemplated as he waited for the elevator to reach the ground floor. Was he about to find Danny in a complete emotional mess, or worse still, was he going to find Danny all cold and bitter? Confused, he hailed a cab and set off towards the office. **** ******************************************************************* "He can see you now Mr. Gyllenhaal." Standing up, Jake looked at the secretary behind the desk, "Thanks man." As he headed towards the office, the door suddenly opened allowing him to enter. From behind it he could hear Danny mumble, "Come on in." Entering the room, he turned and saw Danny. He gasped as he noticed the black eye and the swollen lip of Chris' ex boyfriend. He looked like he was in pain, especially with his glasses rubbing slightly against the swollen eye. "A bit of a shock, isn't it?" Danny replied quietly as he closed the door and looked Jake in the eye. Jake smiled wryly, "To be honest, you've looked better." Making his way over to Danny, he carefully hugged him. "What happened?" Sighing deeply, Danny took a seat on his desk and indicated for Jake to take a seat. "I don't really want Chris knowing, I don't want him worrying about me." He continued, "To be honest I don't know how it all happened." Placing his hand on Danny's bruised fingers, Jake whispered, "Go on." "It's hard to think about it," Danny replied as he began trembling and a tear crept out of his good eye. "He seemed so sweet when I first met him, but after you guys left, things got bad." "That's awful." Jake replied as he stood up and hugged Danny again. Danny sighed and continued, "Apparently he was pissed off at the fact I still love Chris, then things started getting abusive." Furrowing his eyebrows, Jake asked, "Continue. What do you mean?" "Things got pretty rough, I found out he was doing coke in my house." Suddenly Danny burst into tears. "I kicked him out, then he broke into the apartment and attacked me." Jake could feel the anger building up inside him. He wanted to kill Alex, but there was nothing he could do, he was worried about what Chris would say too. "He's gone now, isn't he?" Jake asked as he held Danny close to his body. He was beginning to see why Chris loved him so much, he was strong, yet soft, generally seemed in control, but also had a childish side. "Are you going to tell Chris?" Letting go of Jake, Danny made his way back around to his office chair and sat down. "I really don't know." "He deserves to know, he would want to be there for you." Jake replied. Danny shook his head, "I'm the ex, you're the boyfriend...." He was suddenly cut off by Jake. "Ex or not, he still loves you." Jake continued, "He loves me to death, but he's said a part of him will always love you." Touching his glasses to move them away from his swollen eye, Danny winced in pain. "I might give him a call." "Are you safe at home?" Jake asked. "I'm sure Maggie would be more than willing to let you stay with her for a while, until you get back on your feet." Pausing for a moment, he forged on, "Or I could..." Looking at Jake, Danny smiled, "Could what?" "Is there any chance he would show up again?" Jake enquired. He was genuinely concerned for Danny's safety. "If you need someone there for you, I can stay with you." "That's really sweet of you." Danny responded. He was happy Jake was at ease with him now. He then smiled, "I can see why Chris loves you. You're so kind." ***** ******************************************************* *********** "Where do you keep the pasta?" Jake asked as he searched desperately through the cupboards in the black and white kitchen, while simultaneously keeping an eye on the simmering water. Stumbling his way into the kitchen, Danny smiled weakly at Jake. "It's right there, in front of you." Jake laughed at his own stupidity and unscrewed the cap of the jar. Emptying the contents into the boiling water, he then turned his attention back to Danny. "So are you feeling okay now?" "A little," Danny conceded. "I guess it just feels slightly better now I'm not here alone." Looking at Jake with adoring eyes, he smiled, "Thanks, you're such a sweetheart." Jake turned and smiled at Danny. Chris obviously had impeccable taste in men. Battered and bruised, he still looked cute wearing a grey pair of striped lounge pants and a white t- shirt. "Chris cares about you, which means I care about you. I don't like seeing people hurt by assholes." Blushing profusely, he continued, "I guess part of me thinks having you near me means I have a part of Chris near me too." Feeling weak in the legs, Danny quickly navigated his way to the first available barstool. "He is really lucky to have you; you're sweet and so caring." Suddenly his eye began throbbing more than usual. Standing up, he made his way to his supply of painkillers. He popped a few pills and downed them before enquiring, "Does he know you're with me right now?" "No, not yet." Jake conceded. "He knows I'm seeing you, but he doesn't know about you just yet." Jake stirred the pasta, making sure it wouldn't stick to the bottom of the pan. "I don't want to get him panicking." Danny smiled and retook his seat for a moment, "How is he by the way?" "Well," Jake replied. "He's hating the new place," Throwing the various meatballs into the saucepan, he went on, "like me, he's lonely. And I think he was coming down with something when I left, which makes me feel awful. I want to be there looking after him." "And what about you?" Danny asked. "I've put the idea in his head that we should get a place together." Jake responded. "I've been secretly hoping he'll move to New York, it would make me so happy to get an apartment with him here." "That'd be great!" Danny yawned. Turning to see Danny looking extremely tired, Jake indicated for him to leave, "Go lay down, I should be able to find everything now." Before leaving, Danny stumbled his way up to Jake and hugged him tightly, "Chris is so lucky to have you." Then, stumbling his way back into the living room, he crashed on the couch. Returning to his self-appointed cooking duties, Jake looked out the window, admiring the leaves on the tree moving in the breeze. The sun was just beginning to set, so the street had a fairly orange glow to it. It looked incredibly romantic; all he wanted was for Chris to be with him. Noticing the meatballs sizzling in the pan, he carefully turned them over to allow the other side to brown. As he continued to turn them, he was suddenly splashed by a small amount of oil, causing him to yelp, "FUCK!" "You okay?" Danny shouted. Running his hand quickly under the cold water, Jake yelled back to Danny, "Yeah I'm fine." Once the meal had finished cooking, Jake carefully placed everything on the plates and carried them out to the dining room. Noticing Danny lying on the couch with his eyes closed, he softly crept over and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Are you awake?" He whispered. Opening his good eye, Danny smiled, "Yeah, barely." "I can bring the food in here, if you're not up to sitting at the table." Jake replied softly. Danny slowly began to sit up, "I think that would be best actually." Grabbing the plates and utensils, Jake strutted back into the living room and handed Danny the plate as well as knife and fork. "I hope you like it." "It's good," Danny responded. "You really are an excellent cook, Chris wasn't joking." Jake was about to reply, when suddenly there was a loud bang on the door. Looking over at Danny, he could see a look of terror sweep across his face. "I know you're there! Give me my stuff back you fuckwit!" Came a muffled voice from the other side of the door. Slinking down in his seat, Danny shot Jake another look of terror. "I'm too scared to answer." "I can deal with him." Jake replied nervously. "Do you have his stuff?" Standing up he slowly headed towards the door. Lying down so he was out of sight, Danny explained softly, "It's in the guest bedroom, the large brown box..." Approaching the door, Jake made sure the chain was attached before carefully opening the door just enough. He kept his shoe pressed against the door, doubling the safety measures. "What the hell do you want Alex?" "Is he there?" Alex replied in an angry tone. "I want my fucking stuff back. Let me in, I want to see him." Jake thought for a moment, he wasn't about to let Alex into Danny's place. He was worried what might happen. Instead, he looked quickly at the back of the couch, "He's not here, wait here." He then slammed the door shut and headed to the spare bedroom. Spotting the box immediately, he smiled as he saw the bed he made up with Chris on. Grabbing the cardboard box, he switched the light off and then headed back towards the door. Securing his foot near the door, Jake pulled the chain off the door and quickly pulled the door open just enough to pass the box through. "You have your stuff, now just go, okay?" "I know he's there. I want to see him!" Alex demanded. Thankful he was an actor, Jake replied with sincerity, "I'm telling you the truth, he's not here. He's just letting me stay here while he's out of town." Alex groaned with anger, "Fine, I will be back then." "Just go Alex," Jake responded. "Don't come back, leave him alone or I will personally deal with you." Slamming the door shut, he triple locked it and moved his head to the peephole. After watching Alex shrug and walk back to the elevator, Jake turned and returned back to Danny, who was still lying on the couch shaking. "Is he gone?" Danny asked while trembling. Immediately sitting down close to Chris' ex boyfriend, Jake put his arm around his trembling body. "Yeah he's gone for now. But I really think you need to get out of town for a while." "I think so too." Danny replied. Jake smiled. He couldn't believe a few weeks ago he was jealous and insecure over Danny, but now he felt absolutely comfortable with him. He felt like he needed to be the one to look after him. Jake finally understood why Chris loved him so much. "I'm going to Boston for a few days, come up with me." **** ********************************************************** ********* Padding his way out of his own bedroom, Jake crossed the small internal corridor between his hotel room and Danny's, after knocking on the door he turned the door handle and peaked his head through. Danny was lying on his bed crying. Immediately padding his way over to the bed, Jake planted his butt on the mattress and gently took the thick black framed glasses from Danny's face. "How you feeling today Mister?" "Messed up," Danny replied as he tried to console himself. Turning on his side, he winced as he leaned on the bruised rip. Quickly he turned back to leaning on his back. "It just hurts so much." Gently stroking Danny's hairline, Jake smiled weakly, "I bet it does. Can I get you something?" Danny shook his head slowly, "I should get up. You're dragging me to that baseball game later aren't you?" "If you're up to it...." Jake responded. Sitting up, Danny swung his feet over onto the floor and slowly pulled himself up. "Great, I love the Red Sox." "We'll kick you're ass." Jake joked before he suddenly became filled with feelings of guilt. "Sorry, I didn't mean-." "It's okay, I know what you mean." Danny defended with a smile. Sitting on the bed, Jake watched as Danny padded his way across the large hotel room and towards his suitcase. Danny was cute, dark hair, a slightly goofy appearance when dressed in only pajama pants, and had an absolutely adorable body, he was slightly muscular, but an overall cute nerd. After watching him fishing through the bag, Jake realized what Danny was looking for. "Your pills are in the bedroom, remember?" "That's right." Danny replied as he began to blush. Standing up, he then padded his way past Jake and into the bathroom. Popping several painkillers out of the bottle, he grabbed the glass and filled it with water. Holding the pills between his impeccably white teeth, Danny then took a sip from the glass, swallowing the pills at the same time. "I hope this stops the pain," He muttered as he then searched for the antihistamines. After finishing with his morning medications, he then padded back out towards the bed. Spotting Jake looking at him, he asked, "Whatchu smiling at?" "You." Jake replied. "You're absolutely adorable; I could just hug you all night." Danny smiled and stumbled closer to the bed, "I don't think Chris would like that." "I didn't mean like that," Jake defended. "I just want to look out for you, like a big brother kind of thing, you're younger than me right?" "Only by a year," Danny replied. "One year exactly, actually." Jake smiled and looked over at him, "Go lie down on my bed, it's got a great view of the harbor. You should try and get some sleep; you look like you've been up all night." Standing up, Danny agreed, "I think I will. Thank you Jake. I really appreciate this." Making sure Danny was out of the room; Jake leaned over and picked up the phone. Dialing the number of his agent, he waited for the line to pick up. Finally it did. "Hey, it's Jake, I need a favor..." Even though Jakes bed was identical to Danny's, he felt slightly more comfortable lying on it. Looking out the full-length glass windows, Danny admired the small boats bouncing their way through the harbor, off on various fishing excursions. It was a fairly cloudy and rainy day, so he wasn't able to see too far out to sea. Eventually the feeling of the medication got to him as the pain in his body began to die. Finished with the phone call, Jake replaced the handset and padded his way back into his own bedroom. He chuckled as he saw Danny lying on top of the bed rather than making himself comfortable under the blankets. "Poor guy," Jake whispered as he ripped the blanket from the left side of the bed and folded it over onto Danny. Then making himself comfortable on side of the bed he was unfamiliar with, he grabbed his laptop and quickly emailed Chris, letting him know where he was. **************************************** ******************************* "We're not coming back here?" Danny asked as he spotted the bags sitting next to the hotel door. Jake smiled and grabbed them. "No, we're going back to New York after the game." Shooting Jake a concerned look, Danny enquired, "So you decided to drag me away from home, but only for 3 nights?" "Something like that." Jake replied coyly. ******************************************** *************************** Jake giggled as he saw the look on Danny's face as the limo pulled up at the airport. Bypassing all the terminal buildings, they were driven onto the tarmac and towards a private jet. "This is a bit extravagant isn't it?" Danny asked as he looked out the window with one eye. "It's only like an hour flight; I could have handled a normal airline for that." As the limo pulled up, the driver immediately jumped out and opened the door. Grabbing Danny's hand, Jake helped him out of the low seat and into a standing position. "You okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine, it's just sore." Danny confided as he limped towards the stairs. Heading up first, he was greeted by a young flight attendant. "Good evening Mr. Foster and Mr. Gyllenhaal, I hope you enjoy your flight." Danny turned to look at Jake, "This is really extreme you know." "I know, but I can't have you sitting in pain on a 5 hour flight." Jake confessed. "You can lie down properly here, and it's a lot more comfortable..." Shooting him a concerned look, Danny enquired, "Where am I going that takes 5 hours?" Jake smiled and indicated him to take a seat on the extremely comfortable looking red couch, "I'm going to New York, you, my friend, you're going to Los Angeles." --35 to come-- Hope you liked it, a very Jake heavy chapter! Some interesting developments too. Anyway, I told Nick I wold shove this up today after my test, so here it be! I love hearing from you guys. I am completely shocked that that many people are reading my story! I adore getting emails from my readers, when MSN decides to deliver them! If you wanna drop me a line, I can be reached on email/MSN at chezmoi_ou_cheztoi@msn.com Hope you guys like where I'm goin' Chris.