Dealing with the pain...Mike tag Dare, Any

[Mike Spruill]

Mike had gotten Dare's text but it still was painful to move around, so picking up his phone and texting was painful. Mike felt bad not texting Dare back, so he finally managed to do it. "Miss you, sorry havent been talking lately, still in a bit of pain. come over later, I want to see you." Mike pressed the send button and went back to laying down on the couch.

It was either the couch or the bed for the last few days. Only cause he needed something soft he could lay down to help the pain in his back and ribs. he would be fine once the week mark passed. He had been beat enough to know this, but Mike would love visitors. the door was open if any of his friends stopped by to keep him company.

[Jade Edwards RCO]

Jade had been out all day with his grandmother who had taken them shopping for well just about everything, the grandparents were going back to Ireland tomorrow so she decided to spoil them. Like he ever needed that from his grandparents, he had taken to trying to drive himself again and so far all was good though he would probably pay for it later. Jade wanted to check in on Mike he hadn't seen him in ages and with a little bit of help he had found out where his friend was. He pulled the car into the lot thinking it wasn't clever to drive a car like this in the area Mike lived in but he would just have to live with it for now.

Jade made his way to the door to Mikes place and knocked the door opening with the knock his eyebrowns went up to his hair line as he entered the flat (Assumes its a flat).

"Mike you alive in here?" Jade called, he hadn't been in this place before but he thought it was cosy. It had a honelier feel than the house he lived in. Jade pushed the door open to the living room and stepped inside. "See I do house visits as well." Jade said with a smile. "Came to see how you were, since I haven't seen you in a while." he said to Mike with a smile.

[Mike Spruill]

Mike had been grabbing a drink when he heard a voice from behind him. A familiar voice that still sent chills through his body. But that was in the past for both men. Mike had to ignore the feeling. Not when he had someone else. Jade had someone else too of course. Still the feelings were quite intense at times. jade was Mike's first love, and you never forget something as powerful as that. Sure Mike was moving onto Dare, another person he cared a lot about, but you never forget.

"care for something to drink?" He asked. "Kian is letting me stay here. It beats being at my old place. i just couldn't stay there any more." he commented coming to stand in front of Jade handing him a drink. Mike wasn't even sure he had asked for it. it was only water. No alcohol and no drugs around.

"I wasn't in school the last few days. been her recuperating. had a bit of an accident. But I am doing better.' Yeah the accident was him getting his ass kicked, which the bruises clearly showed, but he had on a wife beater tank top so the bruises were mostly covered, except a few, but those were minor ones. "I am glad you came. Been a while since we talked. How are things?"

[Jade Edwards RCO]

Jade smiled, "Sure I could use a drink, before I do what you will call me monumentally stupid and drive myself home." Jade said to him as he took a sip. "I like this place, kind of cozy and more like a home than an abode." Jade said to him with a grin on his face. "Its nice of Kian to help you out." Jade said with a smile and he meant it to he hoped that this was a positive step forward for him.

Jade looked him over when he said that he had been in an accident, he could see a couple of bruises but didn't really know what kind of damage had been done to Mike. He still felt a pang of pain at the thought his ex had been hurt by something or even someone. But it wasn't his job any more that was someone elses job.

"I can see some bruising, did you get yourself check out or are you trying to be the big bad wolf and you know wing it through the pain." Jade asked him. "I know you can't take a lot of stuff for the pain and crap but well you should still have got yourself checked out." Jade said to him with a concerned look on his face.

Jade wrinkled his nose in disgust at the last week or so of his life, "You never met my grandfather did you, I threatened to leave home and set up my own place away from the family home. Thanks to his interference and testing of me again... you should be just glad that you never met him... I'm pretty sure you'd either want to kill him or you actually would kill him." Jade said with a shake of his head.

"I'm in physio which is going far to slow for my liking, I want to run before I can walk according to my physio anyway." Jade told him. "I'm driving my car around again, I am so sick of having some one driving me around... which is against doctors advice but still I can live with that if it gives me my independance back." Jade explained.

"How about you? Your looking good except for the bruises." Jade asked him.

[Mike Spruill]

"I won't say a word." After all Mike could be called stupid for a few things he had done as well. "Yeah i almost forgot what it was like to have real friends rather then ones who care more about where the next high is going to take place. I guess I lost my way some how." It cane with the territory when one was beaten by their parents. Mike had felt so alone and lost that he drifted away from the people who cared, because then those people would find out the truth and Mike would be seen as weak. Especially by Jade and Mike could not have that back then.

Now things were different and now he had people, like Dare who saw him as strong no matter what. "You know me. I am winging it, but no pain meds so I am doing good. Just a bunch of Advil and Tylenol." mike admitted. "Its not easy, there are says I want to go find some vicodin or Oxycontin, but I have been good. or rather trying to be good. I am fine. Nothing I haven't handled before. I get it worse on the football field." A bold face lie and not a very good one.

"I never met him, but you talked about him enough to make me want to hurt him if I ever saw him." Mike hated people who hurt Jade. He still hated them. No one hurt someone Mike cared about. You could forget it, but Jade had another knight in Shining Armour. So Mike had to step back and step off. "Have a seat." he only now realized Jade was standing. Mike sat at one end of the couch motioning that Jade could sit at the other or on the arm chair.

"You never change, still as stubborn as ever." Mike smirked. 'I am sure your injury is regretting meeting you by now." He told the other man. "We all want to walk before we can run, but...I get the whole wanting independence thing, I just cant believe you talked back to your grandfather. And now driving, look at you being the rebel."

Mike shurgged. "I am fine. My shoulder sucks since getting shot. I won't get full rotation back even with Physio. So right now I am working on being able to build my strength back up. Football might be an issue next year, but I am hoping it wont be." Mike told Jade. "Other then that, to be honest, my days are spent mostly avoiding my house and hanging with my old friends and Dare. The bruises are nothing new. I am just waiting for them to heal." Mike commented.

"How are things with Jeremy?"

[Jade Edwards RCO]

Jade laughed, "I had enough of someone thousands of miles controlling my life. my own parents dont have that kind of control over me, and here is a man who is my grandfather trying to control me like a puppet." Jade said to him. "I need to run my own life, if my grandfather can't see that I am ready for the real world away from school then that is his problem not mine." Jade pointed out to him.

Jade listened and nodded his understanding, the fact that he had been shot himself and known how painful it was. He knew what they had to do to get it back in working order, slow and painful is what it was with the painkillers let alone without them.

"I was hit on the plate or what ever they call the damn thing, so I had some pretty nifty yet not serious damage done to my shoulder. I guess you could say that I was very lucky in that sense. If you want we can coordinate physio sessions so we both have someone other than the physio to shout obscenities at, I find it very helpful to do that." Jade said to him.

"Jeremy and I are good, with the shows coming up he is busy and well I'm just me. I find something to keep me busy when he is, I tried to sit through one of their rehearsals and it did my head in." Jade said to him. "I hear rumours you might have found someone, I really hope this guy works out for you... lord knows you need a turn in fortune in your life." Jade said to him.

[Mike Spruill]

"Yeah i know a little about controlling you and it never works. I also know a little about being controlled, probably not in the same way you do or as badly as you do, but I sort of get it." Mike had a semi understanding cause he would get beat if he didn't do this or that, or do it this way and that way. He was sure Jade had it way worse, so who was Mike to judge, but he got it. he understood.

"They won't let me hit a punching bag, which sucks, so I just kick it and pretend its the physio therapist. I tore my muscles and ligaments. So it will take a while for them to heal. I am using Physio to regain control over the muscle and rework it since to atrophied because of the gun shot." Mike said with a shrug. Not a big one, just a small one.

Mike nodded, "Yeah no rehearsal for me. Not of a play anyway. A band rehearsal is more my style." Mike commented. "Dare is great. He loves me. I have never heard the words before. Or at least not when I was sober enough to appreciate just what they mean." Mike told Jade, "I can't lie sometimes I wish I could take back the past, but I am glad you are happy. I am glad we both seem happy. Dare had been good for me." He told Jade. "So has your friendship. Means a lot."

[Jade Edwards RCO]

Jade smiled, "Trust me I know how you feel, all they have me doing is like remedial stuff to try and regain some kind of strength in the damn thing. I just got tired of listening to someone telling me that I couldn't drive, actually their wording was closer to it wasn't advisable to drive for a while at least until the scarring and stitching had come out and well you get the idea." Jade said with a shake of the head. "Not that I minded being driven round in a limo every where I went, but that and relying on Alex or Jeremy to get me to and from my school was getting on my tit." Jade explained to him.

Jade smiled as he listened to Mike talking about Dare, he had to admit that he felt a pang of jealousy with that regard. He had let Mike go on his families ultimatum. But he had met Jeremy and which ever way you really looked at it he had won. Mike would be his friend for as long as the boy wanted him to be his friend, and he guessed that worked the other way around for that matter.

"I'm glad you found someone I don't think I have met this Dare so that will have to happen at some point. I'm glad to see you turned it around and you really do look good for it." Jade said to him with a grin on his face. "Of course I can be the protective big brother and threaten him to be good to you if it helps you out. The thing about having such a big family generally means that we have more than enough to go around." Jade explained. "We should maybe do something as couples, I don't know doing what but if we can show Dare and Jeremy that neither of us are a threat to their relationships it might stop them worrying. I know that Jeremy is worried about it or at least I suspect that he is." Jade said to him with a grin.

"Maybe do some bowling or go see some kind of sports event or something... I can usually get some free tickets if I ask nicely enough. Something to think about." he said.

[Mike Spruill]

Mike nodded, "Yeah people should learn not to tell you to do something. So how is the driving going? I bet it can't be easy to make those turns. " He said to Jade. "I promise I wont tell a soul. Just you can't tell anyone I am a big softie okay." Mike winked laughing. he took a big deep breath, "I am good. I mean it's not easy. I am constantly getting calls, my old friends bug me in school. It's not easy, but I refused rehab and quite cold turkey, and it's not easy. Helps that I have people persistent enough to actually check up on me every hour." So it was a big of an exaggeration, but semi the truth.

Mike felt jealous that Jade was happy with Jeremy. Part of him would always pine for his Irishman, but he had to let Jade go and fully move on. Mike knew it. Its what he was doing..slowly. "I don't need you to go all big brother yet. Dare is a good guy. I am trying to be a guy he deserves. Cause I was not that for you, but maybe I can finally be that good guy for Dare. i mean, it feels nice to know I can be a good guy." Mike had knew what kind of guy he had been. He knew it, there was no denying how badly he had acted in his past.

"You sure Jeremy would go for that. I figured next time I saw him, he would punch me for what I have done." mike commented with a chuckle. "maybe not bowling cause of our shoulders, but I would like to do something. A double date would be nice. I thin kit would be a good way to show we are moving on...right." the last word was kind like a question, but Mike knew not to go to far into that. "Maybe a pizza and arcade date or going to see a band after we eat..." Mike said trying to think of suggestions.

[Jade Edwards RCO]

Jade grinned, "Bowling can wait until after we are healed, but yeah the rest sounds good to me. Jeremy will go for most things I suggest we do, and if he thinks it will show that he has nothing to fear from you. Then I think he will go for it." Jade told him. "Jeremy is reasonable on everything that isn't you, but I think thats just because we have a past. Your seen as a threat to the future, but he has to get used to the idea that your still my friend and that won't change. I don't let anyone not even my family choose who my friends are." Jade explained to him. "Okay so I may have made some bad judgements and let my parents choose who I can date, and who I can't." Jade said with a shake of his head.

Jade smiled at him, "A band but nothing to heavy, I'm not huge on big heavy metal stuff... so you let me know what and when and I'll sort out my tickets for it. You let me handle Jeremy I'll let you handle Dare." Jade said. "After all, I have a track record of kissing you since I have been with Jeremy. He has a right to be slightly paranoid about my friendship with you or any guy and girl. I don't do over protective asses, but I can understand where he is coming from." Jade said with a smile.

He wanted to take Mike's hand his body screaming for him to do more than just talk, but he knew it wasn't right and that his feelings for Mike were secondary to what he felt for Jeremy. He would not screw this up for Mike or himself, playing with his friends feelings could push him back to the drugs or worse. That just wasn't worth the risk not for a kiss or something else. In someone else's house, someone he didn't know at that.

"You know my cousins are here now to, Mackenzie is about you age, his brother is older than both of us." Jade said to him with a smile. "The madness never stops around here." he added.