“…I’m her husband”
“Jezebel?”
Jordan’s eyes glazed over, seeing the girl in front of him. He froze; what… what the hell was he even supposed to say? He wasn’t… it was 11 PM on a Friday night… he just… didn’t expect to see her. Maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise - they both lived in Beryl… well… usually. Jordan traveled quite a bit but since the divorce, he had been… more of a homebody than anything else. And… from what he read about Jezebel, she traveled for her company with Parker Industries. So this… running into each other… he just… didn’t expect it. Not that she hadn’t been on his mind… with his life turning out the way it did, all he had was the ability to reminisce and the memory of her often joined him. “I…I… I… god I’m so sorry, I was just stuck in my head.” Jordan let out after a few seconds of staring.
It didn’t take a genius to realize what she was staring at - Jordan didn’t exactly look like himself. There were dark circles under his eyes after days… weeks… hell, months of barely sleeping. Well… could anyone blame him for that one? Sleep was just hard for the past year or so. Back to his appearance, there was a rugged, unkept beard that Jordan had no energy to shave. And his clothes… well… at least it was cold so he could hide the fact that he was basically wearing pajamas out - a large coat adorning his appearance.
“Hey…Jordan. It’s okay… honestly don’t worry about it. Were you just headed out?”
He felt his heart quickening at just… hearing her voice for the first time in years… in person, that is. He had seen interviews with her talking to news reporters about where her company was headed. Jordan could never hide the smile that met his lips seeing her so… in control. Jezebel Parker knew who she was, and she looked happy. Not to mention, her smile only grew whenever she was with her boyfriend - an actor from what he remembered. Look… Jordan watched a lot of TV okay… not much else to do when you confine yourself at home.
“Ye…yeah. Just a late night coffee run, I… couldn’t sleep.”
“That makes two of us. I have a PR issue I need to deal with. You know Daniel and his crazy stunts.”
“What?? Daniel? I can’t imagine him ever getting into trouble,” Jordan replied, a small smile making its way to his lips as he joked with her… feeling almost natural in the response despite the nervousness he felt about standing in front of her.
“Sureeee you don’t. It’s honestly an every-week occurrence. I actually thought I was going to have a break this week, and then he gave a random intern at Kimmel a Parker Phone that’s not supposed to be released for another year and a half… At least he didn’t blow the interview up, probably because Valerie was doing an interview after him, but now I have to deal with dozens of investors asking why we released the phone early, and… this is too much information, isn’t it? I doubt you want to know about…”
“No…no please go ahead. I never mind hearing about Dan messing up.” A chuckle left Jordan’s lips at how comfortable she got… talking about all of this with…him. Maybe it was one of the things he loved most about her - the way she could talk to him about anything. Even… if their situation was… different than before.
“Do you want to go inside? It’s a little cold out here and they have a really good hot chocolate… on me for bumping into you.”
“You… sure I don’t want to bother…”
“Trust me, you’re not bothering me Tink…Jez… Jezebel Sorry… I’m not sure what…”
“If anyone’s allowed to call me Tink, I would say you are.”
Flash Forward 2 Months
“OKAY WE’RE DOING THIS,”
Jordan ran to the other side of the room, throwing a decorative pillow in Jezebel’s direction. “I’m starting to like this look, I think… yeah I think I’m good Jez.”
“You look like a hobo. We’re shaving the beard Jordan. Anyways, you lost the bet, meaning we shave it off.”
“HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? As a great friend, I wanted to trust Daniel and say that he wouldn’t make fun of Dorian on live television…”
“Clearly you put your trust in the wrong person, now. Sit down in the damn chair and let me shave it off.”
“…but”
“No buts, sit down.”
A joking frown met his lips and after an exaggerated sigh, Jordan walked to the bathroom and sat down in the seat that Jez had set up. It had been like this for the past few weeks… them becoming… friends again. One conversation in a coffee shop that lasted… way longer than it was supposed to… like… they were up until the sun came up. They did, of course, get thrown out of the coffee shop at 1, which ended up with Jordan inviting Jez to his place to work some more since she still had to finish up her work and his place was closer… and her… making fun of his place being a mess… which it was because he had no motivation to clean up but… but it was good. It led to Jez leaving for work and then showing up again in the afternoon to help fix the place up which ended up in them having a little dance battle as they cleaned up. It felt… good… for the first time in months, Jordan felt normal.
After that day, the two of them just started hanging out more often. Jordan missed her… he really freaking missed her. There was such a long time that Jezebel felt like the person who knew him the best and though that time was gone, a part of him understood that she still knew him better than most people… and he missed that feeling.
Over the past few weeks, Jordan had felt better than he had in a… really really long time. He felt happy again… even if it was just to have a… friend… back in his life.
“I’m closing my eyes,”
“You do whatever you want to do, but this beard is coming off Jords. And after this, I’ll finally convince you to release a new song.” With that, He felt Jezebel gently put shaving cream on his chin, and involuntarily he felt himself hold his breath. Not really due to the anticipation of the blade… but more the feeling her touch gave him: the slight flutter in his chest. Though, it was a flutter he had been ignoring since the day he saw her - after all… she had a boyfriend and she was happy. This was just… she was just a really good friend.
“The beard can come off, but I don’t know about the rest of that sentence, Tink” he responded after a second, feeling the blade gently on his skin.
“Come on Jordan, how long am I going to have to keep begging you? You have hundreds of songs scattered in that living room. Trust me, I’ve seen them and I’ve heard them, they’re amazing. You can’t just keep selling them to other artists without getting any credit.”
“I just… I can’t do it right now Jez. It’s not the right time.”
“… fine. I won’t push, but I will convince you sooner or later.”
To that, Jordan didn’t say anything. He just… didn’t have the heart to say anything. A few days ago, Sadie had released a new song Sue Me and it was amazing… but it brought the spotlight back onto Jordan to release a song in response. The last thing Jordan wanted was to add fuel to the fire - it wasn’t his place. This was Sadie’s time to shine, and Jordan would support her from afar as much as he could.
“Okayyy open your eyes,”
With that, Jordan’s eyes opened finding a clean shaved… him… looking back at him in the mirror. He looked… well… like himself again - and honestly, he was starting to feel like it too.
Fast Forward 4 months
“I BROUGHT CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP AND A SURPRISE”
Opening the door to Jezebel’s house, Jordan walked towards the kitchen immediately. The two of them coming over to each other’s house nearly… every day had become common place over the past few months… though it was usually when the kids were gone meaning that Laurel was currently in school. It wasn’t really for… any bad reason - it was simply an agreement that Jordan and Jezebel had made to keep their kids out of their friendship for now… especially when it was now Jordan’s turn with his kids and it just seemed like something not worth messing with. Plus, Jez had revealed that Laurel was having a hard time with male figures since her dad hadn’t called for a few months due to being on a photography trip in Africa without much internet connection in general.
For now, it seemed, Jordan and Jezebel’s friendship was just for them and, on that note, Jezebel Parker was currently sick - hence the soup. Grabbing a bowl, Jordan moved the sup from his container into hers before walking upstairs to where Jezebel was… what could be best described as half awake.
“Hey… don’t come near me… you’ll get sick too.”
“Tink, I’ll be fine. I don’t think anything could make me as sick as your coconut dessert made me - so this doesn’t even hit the top ten. Now come on, I brought soup.”
With that, Jordan took a seat on the edge of her bed, grabbing the warm bowl and blowing on the spoon before bringing it to her mouth. What? Jez was sick. It wasn’t… anything else… no… right? “So, is this better or worse than the time you had chicken pox when you were 11? Annnd you had to spend the next few days with Dan complaining about every little thing because he had it too?”
He heard a weak laugh from Jez before she took another bite “Better… because Dan kep…kept asking me to scratch his back before ordering his maids to scratch when I said no.”
Jordan chuckled before giving her another few bites, before placing the bowl on the night stand when she shook her head.
“Well at least it isn’t that bad… I brought something.” And with that, Jordan grabbed a scrap book that had “JEZ AND JORDS” in misplaced letters. It was something the two of them made when they were children - technically Jez made when Jordan wasn’t feeling his best. His dad had sent him to school and told him to stop being a whimp which ended up with him sitting in the back of the class sniffling every few seconds because of his runny nose. The class was working on scrap books that day and Jordan was… well… not. He was a little too busy watching everyone while laying his head down before Jez took a seat next to him and started making one for him.
It was a small gesture, but it was something he really appreciated and… well… since then, the two of them just kept adding to the scrap book… even when they started dating. Adding pictures, memories, and whatever else they wanted to.
“Want to go down memory lane?”
“You still have that?”
“I never had the heart to get rid of it… it reminded me of… you.”
Fast Forward 2 months
Laughter filled Jez’ house among the music as the two danced to Jordan’s new song - one that he only had the heart to write with Jezebel’s encouragement. It hadn’t been released yet but he… wanted to show Jez first. Spinning his… friend, Jordan brought Jez back towards him - his left hand on her waist and the other in her hand as the music finally came to an end. His heart was racing with the dancing… or maybe it was racing because he was near her. And that’s when… well… Jordan felt this urge to close the distancr. Time felt like it stilled as he looked into her eyes, and all he knew was he needed her… wanted her. He found himself slowly bending towards her, and he found her doing the same… but both of them were brought out of the trance with the ringing of her door bell.
Jordan cleared his throat as he took a step back . “I…I thanks… um… for listening to the song.”
“Yeah…yeah of course Jordan. It was… it’s great you need to release it. Let me… go get that.”
He watched as Jezebel walked to the door, and the minute the door opened, he found Jezebel off her feet. A man walked inside, grabbing Jezebel and instantly spinning her around with the words “Hey babe. Miss me?” . It took Jordan a second to realize who had just walked in… but with the flowers in hand and… way he soon kissed her… it didn’t take a genius to realize. With his heart dropping, Jordan walked towards Jez’ computer grabbing the flash drive with the song. With that, Jordan walked towards where Jez and Chase were catching up - so entranced in each other that they probably didn’t even realize he was there. Grabbing his jacket, Jordan made his way towards the exit. “Hey… you must be Jordan?”
“Hey… yeah… sorry I didn’t introduce myself I didn’t want to be a bother. I was actually just on my way out… Jez…Jezebel thanks for the help. I’ll leave you two to catch up.” He didn’t look at her… but with those words, Jordan walked out, a fake smile adorning his lips as he closed the door behind him. Jordan knew he should be happy… but why was it so hard to be?
Fast Forward 3 months
It wasn’t the same… for two people who had been seeing each other nearly every other day… things… changed. After Jezebel’s boyfriend came back, she was busy… and he understood. Jordan found himself reverting back to the way he used to be - staying at home, alone… especially with his kids being with Sadie. The song he wrote stayed unreleased… despite begging from his producer to release it. He remembered the text he had gotten from Jez a few days ago asking about it… and all he could say was that his producer had told him to wait a little longer. What else was he supposed to say? That he was a coward?
Don’t get him wrong, Jordan had spent some time with Jezebel and Chase… and he liked him for her. Chase… made her happy… something he could never do, not with his past. The three of them had just gone out for drinks a few days ago… drinks meaning Jordan told the two of them to drink as much as they wanted since Jordan didn’t drink. Though, he noticed Jezebel had chose not to drink too while Chase apologized for the invite since he didn’t know that Jordan didn’t drink.
Right now, Jordan was doing what he often did: sitting down at his piano, playing a tune as the rain outside added to the ambiance. His eyes were closed… his mind filled with Jezebel as words came out of his lips.
Who knew
I’d be falling like I am with you
Heart’s up in my throat that’s what you do
Love is pretty scary when it’s true
It was a song he recently sold to an artist, and the girl was going to release it in a few hours… but the tune was just… stuck in his head. Until, of course, he found himself distracted by the light knocking outside. Who… the heck was coming to his door in this weather?
Making his way to the door, Jordan opened it – freezing when he saw Jezebel standing there in the rain. “Jez… oh my god… get in here. You’re going to get a cold.” Jordan opened the door wider, but he found her simply staying there, unbothered by the rain as her eyes remained on him. In a somber tone, she finally started talking. “We broke up…. Well, he broke up with me because he asked me if I love him as much as I love you and I couldn’t say yes because… honestly, I don’t think I’ll love anyone as much as I love you, Jordan.”
Once again, Jordan found time slowing, his eyes on Jez as those words left her lips.
“And I know it’s stupid because you don’t love me like that but I don’t think I can…”
Jordan didn’t give her a moment to say anything else, because within an instant, he found himself taking a step forward and his lips on hers.
Present Time
“Hi…” Jordan whispered, looking at his two daughters through the window. For the past few hours, Jordan had been running between sitting with Jezebel who was currently passed out, to sitting with his daughters… to being with his son who was in the NICU. Jordan’s entire body was running on overdrive - with his memory coming back… to learning from the doctor that one of his children was currently in critical condition. It was… a lot… and most of the time, he just wanted to fall apart but he knew he couldn’t. He knew he couldn’t let the memory of how he treated Jezebel all these months break him… because if he broke now, he couldn’t be there for them.
“I wish I could hold you… but even though you’re okay, the nurse told me that you’re too small and your mom should be the only one to hold you… and I want your mom to hold you first… she loves you so much.” Jordan knew they couldn’t hear him but… he needed to talk. It was maybe the only thing keeping him sane right now. Daniel had called him an hour ago for updates – despite already knowing everything because it was Daniel. Well… maybe besides the fact that Jordan had his memory back. In any case, Dan would be there as soon as he could so for now, it was just him.
Despite being in his own head, he found his attention now on the nurses that had entered the room making their way straight to his daughters… why… were they taking them. “Mr. Williams… your wife is awake now. Would you like to go see her?”
And there was his answer. His heart started racing, and he didn’t even give the women a chance to speak as he ran all the way through the hospital to where Jezebel was… ran… well… until he reached her door. He had gotten there before the kids had… and part of him was scared to go in. What was he even supposed to say with the way he had treated her? I’m sorry just… didn’t mean as much as he wished it did. All he knew… however… was that he couldn’t just keep standing outside her door.
Knocking, Jordan opened the door and looked at his wife who… well… looked pale – likely in response to hearing that one of their kids were in the NICU. “I…I’m… thank god you’re okay Jez,” the words came out in a whisper as he walked over and made a movement to wrap his arms around her – though stopped when he saw her flinch in response. He wanted to say something… but he didn’t get a chance before one of the nurses walked in with their girls. “These two would love to meet you, mom – if you’re ready to hold them?”
@Littlefeets - Jezebel (Laurel also Mentioned)
@novella - Sadie slightly Mentioned
@astxrism - Dorian VERY VERY VERY slightly mentioned
@CerealKiller - Val slightly mentioned in regards to Dan