Midnight Smiles

It has been quite a long time since the last time Jake Caley had a good night's sleep. Hell, even a good nap had become a myth to him. Every day found this young man already awake, with wide open bloodshot eyes, for he never actually fell asleep.As one more night came and went just like that, Jake sighed in his heart and closed his eyes.Today it's her anniversary...Those four words tired him even more than the long sleepless nights. Jake didn't want to get up, didn't want to lie down. He didn't want to stay awake anymore, nor did he want to sleep. Hell no, sleeping was out of the question. Still, with a headache that seemed to split his head open, Jake closed his eyes. His brows were furrowed and the corners of his mouth were lowered in a frown that never left his face whenever he was alone in the quietness of his room.The turquoise-colored eyes burned as if begging for sleep even if it lasted as long as a wink. Yet Jake refused to sleep. However, he knew for sure that today... to

While walking back home, Jake noticed that Jeremy had called him several times, the same thing was for his father, but since he always kept his phone on silent at best and on airplane mode at worst, he hadn't noticed anything.Jake stared at the name "Dipshit" on his screen, the well-chosen name for his father, and he didn't know how to feel. Ever since his mother died, Mathew distanced himself from him and Aiden. All he did was work, work, and more work. They barely saw him for ten minutes at most every two or three days.Jake knew that Mathew was trying to distract himself from pain with work, but this didn't make him any less angry with him. He didn't care if his father didn't want them to see him cry, he wanted him to stay by his side and cry together. He needed him the most back then, but what happened? In just a few days he lost both of his parents. One left this world, and the other behaved as if he had no relations with any of his sons.This was the case for almost two years u

Nevertheless, he headed to Ryder’s house. Maybe it was because his stomach was filled or because this time he had Ryder’s consent for visiting her that his footsteps were quicker than the previous nights.He walked to the backyard, strangely in a good mood, but as soon as he got close, a loud shout startled him. Sure enough, when he checked behind the face, what faced him wasn’t only Ryder but also another girl with wild curly hair and a petite body.Jake recognized her immediately. That was Jasmine… that girl was quite the odd type. She had a rather violent nature, but back when he was still in school, Jake had also noticed that despite the fierce attitude, Jasmine was extremely kindhearted. She was the only person Jake had seen around Ryder.If

He was lying on his bed, a warm blanket was thrown over his body. The curtains over the window were pulled closed, only a crack left open for a few sun rays to invade his room. On his desk, there was his laptop, a video playing on it. It was there where the voice came from. It was his mother. Old videos of his mother, talking and laughing playing around the house with a little Jake and a baby Aiden... Seeing her, Jake teared up, feeling like he had wool stuck in his throat, choking him. In the end, he could only say one word, half talking, half sobbing. "Dad." Mathew was sitting in the chair. His arms were crossed on the desk, his head resting on them, apparently sleeping. When he heard Jake's voice, his body tensed. Worried eyes landed on Jake, looking at his face that was on the verge of sobbing. Mathew didn't even think about it before walking to Jake and cupped his face, wiped the tears that escaped from those beautiful turquoise eyes while he checked for scars or whatever mi

Needless to say, both Jake and Jeremy had very peculiar tastes in women. One had a crush on a hermit who looked as if she didn't know what a hairbrush was and didn't quite have an understanding of how society worked, while the other was into girls that looked like they could either beat him up or stab him in an alley.The Grinch often came to the restaurant with her family, and they would almost always fight. The fights were so loud, that it was impossible for people who worked there not to have an understanding of what was going on with them. Apparently, the girl's parents were quite rich and were dissatisfied with their daughter's appearance. They would nag and nag at her about how she was studying for a degree in business, yet looked like Shrek dressed like Death.Today, however, this Grinch had come here alone, which was a first and probably the only chance Jeremy could have. He had already had a crush on this girl for a few months, which had never happened ever since Leah was born