Disclaimer: I do not know or claim to know Jake Gyllenhaal and I don't mean to imply any knowledge of his personal lives or sexual preferences. This is FICTION and nothing more. If your under 18 or don't like to read fan-fictions about same sex romances then DO NOT read this story. Now that that's out of the way, sit back and enjoy!
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Christian stepped out of the shower early one morning, toweling off as he walked to his bedroom and leaving wet foot prints on the wooden floor with ever step taken. Two days remained until Christmas morning and the Christmas tree was already set in the living room corner next to the T.V. station. It was covered in a string of lights that has been turned off during the day but glowed as if it was on fire during the night. Boxes wrapped in bright and shiny wrapping paper scattered around the bottom of the tree, highlighting the beautiful rocks and stones underneath used as a special and different type of décor. Christian changed in the other room, drying off his moist skin that had been drenched in warm shower water minutes before. He pulled open his wooden drawer, the bottom dragging along the metal track and scraping at the sides furiously, then pulled out a pair of jeans that had been folded neatly inside. Christian pulled them on and zipped up the zipper on the crotch after snapping the top button closed. Stepping out into the hallway, Christian noticed Sargent sniffing around the foot of the tree, his wet nose pressing up on the gifts and gently moving them aside. "Hey, Sargent! Get out of there." Christian snapped. Startled, Sargent looked at him and walked in his direction, his tongue dragging at his side. Christian went to pick up his mail from the many mail boxes downstairs, near the apartment building entrance. After trotting out of the elevator, Christian moved out of the front doors and opened his mailbox with the small key he carried along with his other keys kept on the oval key chain. Inside was partly empty, the waiting envelopes leaned to one side of the box awaiting their escape. Christian pulled out the envelopes and looked through them while cautiously walked back inside the building, he was shortly stopped by a calling of his name. "Chris---Christian!" The man called out. Christian turned and saw Randy jogging towards him with a wide eyed smile on his face. "Randy, hey." Christian watched Randy slow down and come near. "Hey." He replied out of breath, hunching over and trying to catch his breath and holding himself up with his hands on his knees. "I caught you on time." "Yeah, what's going on?" "Don't go into work today." Randy sighed. "The theatre is closed for the holiday." "Closed? Are you sure? Why are you telling me and not Mr. Stephens?" "He called me earlier and told me to tell you since he was about to get on a plane and couldn't call you himself." He gasped placing his hands on his hips and leaning up against. "Oh alright---are you okay?" Christian asked, noticing Randy's lack of breath. "Yeah, its just that--- running isn't something you should do when you smoke a pack a day." He smiled. "Do you want to come up? Get some water?" "Sure." Christian put the bills and grocery coupons under his left arm and walked with Randy to the elevator inside. "Where you about to get into the shower?" Randy asked, noticing Christians lack of shirt. "No, I just got out." They waited for the red numbers above the elevator doors to lower from 12 to L. Once the doors opened, they stepped inside and rode to the top floor. The music inside the small room played gently over the speakers hidden inside the walls; giving Christian and Randy something to listen on the way up to Christians apartment. It was probably the worst music ever, maybe the type that played on a loop inside a retirement home. They were relieved when the steel doors opened again; showing them the way to the outside where they could escape the bad music. After entering the apartment, Christian shut the door behind them and tossed the keys and mail down on the kitchen table. "Aww, look at that." Randy referred to the Christmas tree in the corner, keeping the gifts on the bottom safe. "It's so cute." "Thanks. I have to constantly keep an eye on the presents to make sure Sargent doesn't eat any of them." "Where is that lovable mutt?" Randy looked around. "Running around somewhere, probably shitting on the floor in my room." Christian walked to the kitchen, taking down a glass cup and filling it with water from the tall water gallon in the corner, walking back to Randy and handing it to him. "So you have everything ready for Christmas, huh?" Randy said, taking a sip of his water. "Yeah, got all the gifts for everyone right there, got the lights up, the cards are ready to be sent out. Everything is pretty much ready. What about you? You got all your stuff done?" "No, I still have a little bit of things left to get for family, some last minute gifts. Since we don't work today I thought I'd go on a shopping trip to the mall in Beverly Hills. Do you want to come with me? I would go alone but I'm scared of getting kidnapped." Randy was quite the joker and constantly came up with the most random and off beat things to say. Of course, sense of humor is the most important quality that sticks out when people meet him. That's what attracted Christian to him, anyways. "Yeah, sure. Wouldn't want some bad man touching you're danger zone. I don't want to end up seeing you on the news after they find you half naked in the bathroom, I'd feel bad." Christian joked. "What a gentleman." Randy smiled at him, showing off his stunningly white teeth. His deep dimples showing proudly at the corner of his lips. There was a sudden moment of awkward staring followed by complete silence and finally the uttering words slipping out of Randy's full, pink lips. "So, I'll come back in a little bit, give you some time to get fully dressed." "No---stay. I'll just go put a shirt on and we'll go in my car." Christian said. "Okay, great." Randy watched Christian walk into the hallway and disappeared into the room on the end of the hallway and to the right.
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"Jake---Jake!" Maggie called from the living room inside the house. She stopped for a moment, waiting to hear any response from her younger brother. She heard nothing. "Jake!" She called again this time more strongly. Jake ran in through the sliding glass doors that lead to the backyard and looked at Maggie, breathing hard from the jog. "What?" He asked. "Phone." Maggie held out the cordless in her right hand while her left hand rested comfortably on her hip. "Who is it?" "Jenipher." Jake took the phone and placed it over his right ear then walked back outside, into the early morning sun. "Hey Jen." He answered. "Hey Jake, I just wanted to make sure you knew what was going on during the next few weeks." "Okay." "Alright, first of all I know its the holidays and you didn't want to worry about work but I need you to come in to pick up a few things." "Right now?" Jake said nearly speaking in a whisper. "The sooner the better. Now, you don't have to really worry about anything else until the new year comes up but once we get into 2005 you're going to need to buckle down because of all the award shows and appearances you're scheduled for and from then on it's pretty much all promotion for 'Jarhead'." "Okay." Jake replied. "Are you okay?" Jen asked, sensing that something was wrong by the way he sounded over the phone. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired." "Don't ware yourself down." "I know. Is that all you needed to tell me?" "Yep, that's it. do you have any questions about your upcoming schedule?" "No, everything sounds good." "Okay, well happy holidays and I will talk to you later." "Yep, see you later. Bye." Jake walked back into the cool house and hung up the phone then made his way out the door to go and meet with Jen to pick up the stuff waiting for him at her office.
The sky was clear, not a single cloud in sight for miles. The sun shun down, light sneaking in between the small, thin trees lining the sidewalks; shadows of moving leaves and swaying branches cast down on the concrete floor. Cool air rushed in between the dead leaves causing them to dance and rattle like a rattle snake would rattle its tail, warning off any who come too close. Jake walked with his hands deep in his pockets, his right hand fingers playing with the lighter inside, twirling it around inside. His head up, looking directly in front of him, black sunglasses covering his eyes, shielding them from the bright sunlight falling down over him. The sunglasses were not only to keep the sun away but also for the purpose of warning anyone who may be fans of his that he wasn't in the mood to be swarmed by blushing women stopping him and asking for his signature on a dollar bill or a picture taken on their camera phones. Jake arrived at the small building where Jen waited inside, her name on the windows corner advertising the public relations agency. Walking inside, a cloud of cold air hit Jake; chills played along his neck and arms. "Are you here to see Ms. Wayne?" The receptionist asked kindly. "Yes." "You can go on in." "Thank you." Jake slid the sunglasses down from his eyes, unhooking them from the back of his ears and hanging them from his shirt collar. He walked into that familiar hallway aligned with big framed paintings showing self portraits and full, bright landscapes with children running through the green fields and animals grazing happily in the plains. Jenipher's office door swung open and Jake stepped inside, carefully letting the door close itself behind him. "Jake, you made it." Jen stood up from her office chair and stood up behind her wide desk. "Yeah, came to pick up what you had for me." "Okay, just give me one second." She said, pulling her desk drawer open and reaching inside. "This is your pass to the Independent Film Awards, don't loose those or you wont get in, and..." Jen turned to reach into the thousands of files stacked on the wall behind the chair then pulled down a brown folder. She slid out a few thick stacks of papers then turned to hand them over the Jake. "These are some scripts in progress that directors wanted to show you incase you were interested in reading through them." "Great." Jake said, taking the papers from his assistant and curling them under his arm. He took his pass from the table and slid it into his pockets. "Is this everything?" He asked. "That's it!" Jen placed her hands on her small hips and smiled happily, letting out a tired sigh. "Okay, thanks." "No problem. I'll see you later and have a happy and safe new year." "You too." Jake opened his arms and hugged Jen then back way. "See you later." Jake walked out of the office and building and headed home.
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Randy walked into the mall, holding the door behind him open for Christian who was following not far off. "Thanks." Chris said taking the door into his own hand and stepping into the cool inside. Soft pop music played through out the place as other people walked around the top floor above their head like a colony of bees gathering hunny for the queen. Inside was like a vein rich with blood; gently pulsating along, giving live to the lights and shops scattered about. Christian and Randy started on their quest for the last minutes Christmas presents and unfortunately so was everyone else. The mall was completely full, every inch of the floor covered by feet belonging to the men and women carrying countless paper bags at their finger tips. "Where to first?" Christian asked following Randy, dogging around the many people, careful not to bump into anyone on accident. "Um..." Randy thought about everyone he had not yet purchased presents for. "Well there's a Footlocker over there, my brother could use some new shoes." "Great, let's go." They walked along the bit of ground that they could manage with out having to step on anyone's feet to get to their destination. After purchasing the shoes for Randy's brother, they began to walk around again, Randy keeping track of the family list in his head. "Oh wait! Let's stop in here for a minute." Randy referred to the book store at his right. They walked inside where the sound of heavy footsteps and chattering people was drowned out. The bookstore was quiet except for the soft sound of the cash register opening and closing and the small kids reading the children's books to themselves. It was as if time itself stood still inside, the display books showing off proudly on the tables near the entrance of the store, calling out to the patrons to be bought and read. Randy browsed through the endless books stacked on the right side wall while Christian walked slowly through the narrow isles, sliding his finger tips along the books spines; reading the title of each book hoping to maybe find one that peaked his interest. He moved to the other side of one of the isles and looked around. To his surprise, Christian saw a whole area dedicated to the act of sex and the kamasutra. "The Joys of Sex." Christian read to himself. He pulled one thick book out with his index finger and flipped through it. There were so many position a man and woman could do that he's never even heard of let alone seen in pictures elade in such details like the ones in the book. He felt like a ten year old again, looking at something he was forbidden to go near. He placed the book back into it's place and continued to browse. Before he knew it he was in the fiction section, his eyes overwhelmed by the sight of all the adventure and romance novels at his reach. "Harper Lee." Christian read. "To Kill A Mockingbird." He was suddenly overcome by thoughts of Jake and the time they sat in his living room watching the movie version of the book he held tightly between his fingers. His mind ran freely, not only remembering the early morning dinner but moving past that to what had happened afterwards: the early morning fuck. His crotch began to tingle and soon felt his jeans tightening around his groin as the limp penis inside started to blow up like a balloon. "Hey, look at this." Randy whispered into Christians ear. Chris jumped up; startled by Randy's words and covered himself with the book, trying desperately to hide the growing bulge in his pants. "Jesus." He sighed. "Sorry." Randy smiled. "Look." He held open a magazine in front of Christians face. "When was this?" Christian looked at the pages in front of his eyes, he suddenly became warm in the face when looking down at the magazine. Pictures of him and Jake walking out of Avalon the night of Jake's surprise birthday party, the headline under one of the pictures reading: "Jake and his mystery friend walking out of Avalon nightclub in Los Angeles on the night of Jake's 24th birthday." "You're actually in the tabloid and you're boyfriend looks pretty good." Randy joked. "Put that away, he's not my boyfriend." Christian said, forcefully lowering the magazine out of his eye sight. "Could' a fooled me." Randy replied and walked away, still looking down at the magazine in front of him. Christian looked back at the book he had almost forgot he was holding and scanned through it, picking up a few words every now and then. He put it back on the shelf and turned to exit the labyrinth of novels to rejoin his friend at the door. "Ready?" Randy asked. "Yep, who's next on the list?" "My friend Cory and his sister Angela." They once again walked out to the noisy and chaotic world that was the inside of a mall before Christmas Eve. Randy and Christian spent a good two-and-a-half hours walking around, shopping and what not. When they realized how late it had gotten, Christian led the way outside into the daylight that stung their eyes and to his car. After dropping Randy off at his house in downtown Los Angeles, Chris drove home to get some last minute preparations for the holiday party he was going to attend the next day at Ashley's house. Christmas Eve approached fast, sneaking up on Christian like a lion on the prowl. He scramble about inside his miniature kitchen, pans rattling and stirring while he tried to put something together for the party later on. Open cook books lay on the counter top, letting their cooking secrets escape the pages. "Add one table spoon of vegetable oil and stir lightly." Christian whispered to himself, fear devoured him whole as he thought about how the end result would look and taste. After finishing, he cleaned up and moved to the outside to smoke a cigarette and loosen up after the war in his kitchen was done and over with. He stood out on his balcony and blew a cloud of smoke out from deep inside his mouth, the wind grabbing hold and whisking it away; entangling it in its grasp and taking it out of view. The cars underneath him zooming past with tremendous fury; screeching down the street, only coming to a stop when a mother pushing her child inside a stroller came into view for the driver. People walked about joyfully, completely oblivious to the fact that they were being watched over by Christian and his cigarette. He felt as though he owned them, as if he was ruler of his little minions working to please him. Off in the distance, the heavy traffic on the narrow freeway slowed to a stop and continued on. Cars of all sizes leaving and entering the Los Angeles overpass. For a moment, Christian began to think about where the people inside were going. Were they going home or leaving? Were some coming to try and make there dreams of becoming actors and singers, directors and dancers or were they leaving to start a new life, away from the glitz and glamour of the fake and paralyzing city Christian called home. Thinking of this made him feel depressed all of a sudden. He ground the burning end of his cigarette into the black ashtray with his thumb and index finger; ashes scattered about like red hot dancers along a black stage. Afterwards, turning and stepping back into the safety of his apartment.
Night fell early, covering the bright sky with it's dark canopy. The only light source coming from the stars and glowing moon that had replaced the sun up in the sky. Christian threw clothes on: A pair of black dress shoes covered his feet, fitted blue jeans that hung low on his hips and a gray sweater covered by a black pin stripe blazer that clung tightly to his torso. While digging through his drawers, looking for his watch, he slammed closed the sliding drawer and heard a gently clinging. Christian looked up and saw the dogs tags hanging down from the long silver chair swaying back and forth, hitting together slightly. He reached up and took the necklace down and looked at the tags. One was his information and the other belonged to Jake. The clock on the nightstand showed the red numbers glowing brightly on the small rectangular screen. It was an hour until the party so Christian slipped the chain into his pants pocket and walked to the front door. The stars outside were hardly visible to the naked eye due to the amount of lights the city gave off at night. It was as if God had forgotten to turn on the natural night lights. Christian walked out of the apartment complex, his arms stretched out in front of him and holding two wide, glass trays close to his chest. With his right hand, he dug into his pocket and pulled out his keys to open the driver side. Once open, he laid the trays down on the passenger side and started to engine. Christian drove down the street to Ashley's house when suddenly taking a right instead of a left. Driving, he realized what he had done but didn't feel the need to turn back around. The car stopped on the foot of the rising driveway, up to Jakes front door, and shut off. Christians eyes traveled upwards, barely able to see the cars parked on the high hill. He got out and made his way up the long road and up to the front door. He was unable to stop himself; his legs had a mind of their own now. He was face to face with the big wooden door, there was not turning back now. He raised his left hand and curled his fingers in towards his sweaty palm, making a fist and hitting it against the door. Christian prayed Jake wouldn't be the one to swing the door open and greet him. Fortunately it was Maggie who did so. "Hey Christian. What are you doing here? Jakes not home right now." "I uh---I wanted to drop this off." Christian pulled out the chain from his pocket and held it out. "Is this Jake's?" She asked. "Um, yeah. He left it in my apartment the other day." Christian lied. "Oh okay, I'll make sure he gets its. You look nice by the way." "Thanks. I got to go." "Okay, have a good night." "You too." Christian said and walked down the driveway, disappearing out of Maggie's view. The door closed behind him and he could finally breathe easy, his heart began to slowly pace at it's normal rate. He got into his car and dove away to Ashley's house. Cars littered the garage and driveway, taking up two, three spaces of the neighbors parking space. Christian cautiously pulled up behind an already parked Toyota, setting his foot on the break and coming to a complete stop. Undoing his seatbelt, he turned around and reached for the warm pans by his side, pulling them to his lap and opening the door to his left. The night air, cool and calm, blowing gently at him and sweeping across his warm cheeks. The crickets in the bushes chirped their night songs, producing the evening soundtrack as Christian strolled to the front door with the pans in arms. He rang the doorbell and waited under the light as heavy footsteps moved near. The door swung open and Ashley appeared in view. "Hey!" She said excitedly. "You made it. Come on in." Christian moved inwards, Ashley taking the food off his hands and giving him a moment to rest his arms by his side. "Hi Ash." "Everyone's in the living room, go ahead in." Ashley said, kicking the door shut and taking the food into the kitchen.
The house was wide and roomy, it consisted mostly of five large and spacious rooms placed around the building. First there was the dining room where the great, rectangular table sat comfortably on it's four legs etched with hand carved designs. A small yet complicated light fixture hung down from the off-white ceiling, illuminating the table settings, light bouncing off the crystal clear champagne glasses thus causing blue and white stains of light onto the floral and lace cloth covering the table surface. The dinner plates decorated with a golf rim sat still, anxiously awaiting the time of their use while glistening silver forks and spoons on either side. As if the light shining down wasn't enough, the small candle flames danced and jumped; adding that extra hint of tender atmosphere. In the center of all this was the small arrangement of garland and mistletoe shaped to look as though it was falling down off of it's place on the steel flower pot. The kitchen sat dark and quiet, resting from the endless hours used to create the evening meals. A wall with the small door opening separated the living room from the kitchen. The most busy spot of the house was this room where men and women gathered together to conversate and rejoice over the holiday. A tree burning with lights and small glowing globes sat neatly in one corner of the room, the star at its peak showing brightly in the dim lights. The chimney to the right decorated in ropes of garland and four over sized red and white striped socks hanging down off the higher stone chimney shelf. Underneath was the fire roaring and cracking, sending up small glowing embers and heating up the room. The logs engulfed in fire, coming apart and becoming ashes that were carried up and out of the house. The sound of the smoking chimney barely heard over the talking and cheerful laughter of the people. Christian walked into the room while everyone was blissfully unaware of his appearance at the doorway. "Hey!" One lady sitting with her legs crossed and a glass of sparkling champagne in her hand said as she leaned forward. Christian placed his hand up in a sign of regard and stepped deeper inside. Randy stood from his seat besides the glowing fire and walked towards Christian with eager eyes. He took Chris into his arms and hugged him, not bothering with the run of the mill handshake, and smiled. "Finally." Randy said. "I thought you weren't coming for a second." "No, no. I'm here." Christian pulled away from the hug. "Do you want a drink or something?" "No, I'm good." "Okay, come on, sit down." They walked to an empty arm chair and took a seat. "Have you been here long?" Christian asked, crossing his right leg over his left and turning slightly in Randy's direction. "Not really, just a few minutes." Ashley walked into the room and stood near on the right side wall, talking to a few of her friends and taking small sips from her glass. Soon after, everyone got seated around the big table in the other room to begin eating dinner. "Uh---before we begin I want to make a small toast." Ashley began to speak, standing up and raising her glass high in the air. "I want to thank you all for coming tonight and for being such great and amazing friends who I could always come to. I know it's not Thanksgiving or anything but I'm thankful for all of you so... cheers!" Everyone sitting brought their glasses up and cheered, the sound of glasses hitting together filled the room.
Dinner ended fast, everyone stuffed from t he big meal they had just devoured and sat around in a sloth-like state. "Dinner was great, Ashley." Said their friend Mason. "Everything has been absolutely fantastic." "Wasn't all me. Everyone brought something so thank all of you." Ashley replied while turning on the television in the living room and flipping through the endless channels, finding something to watch. She came upon the movie "A Christmas Story" and everyone in the room laughed at the sight of one of the characters in the movie coming down the stairs in his pink bunny suit. Christian stood up and walked towards Ashley. "I'm going outside to smoke a quick one." He whispered into his friends ear. "Okay." Christian walked passed all his friends and to the front door. Randy noticed him moving out of the room and abruptly stood up to follow in his footsteps. He saw Christian sitting on the porch sitting down on the first step and reaching into his coat pocket. Randy opened the door and stepped into the evening. The air was frigid and unforgiving, it felt as if it was going to snow any minute even though it was Los Angeles. Randy stepped down and sat besides Christian, watching him hold his hand up and shielding the light flame from the lighter as it burned the end of the cigarette. The thin, white cigarette burned and Christian took a long drag from it. "Geez, it's fucking cold out here." Randy said, wrapping his own arms around his body. Chris blew the white smoke into the air and looked at his companion. "Yep." "Having a good time?" "Yeah, for the most part." "You're wearing the bracelet I gave you." Randy looked down at Christian wrist to see the silver strand shining in the light showering them from outside. "Oh, yeah. I thought it was a great occasion so..." "It looks good." "Thanks." Christian took another long drag from his cigarette and blew into the air, the smoke slithering out from the hole formed by his bottom and top lip. "What are you doing out here anyways?" Randy shrugged his shoulders. "Thought you could use some company." He smiled kindly. "You look like your freezing your ass off, here..." Christian put the cigarette down and stepped on it with the toes of his shoes and slid off the blazer and handed it to Randy so that he could keep warm and stop his teeth from hitting together. Randy took the coat and put it on, the warmth from Chris' body still lingered inside the fabric. "So what are you planning on doing after you leave?" "Leave here?" Christian asked. "Yeah." "I don't know. Go home and sleep, wait for Santa." Randy chuckled. "Santa, that's funny." The two looked at each other in silence. Their eyes locked, force brought in Randy closer and closer. Christian saw this but couldn't move, he was frozen in the moment. He knew what Randy was planning to do but didn't bother to move away. It was as though Christian wanted it to happen even though his head was screaming at him: "Move away! Move away!" but he didn't listen. Only stayed put as Randy inched himself closer until their lips touched. After what seemed like hours, Randy pulled away and looked down at his feet. "Sorry." He giggled. "I got carried away I---must have been the spur of the moment thing." Randy stumbled over his own words. With out missing a beat, Christian leaned forward and planted a long kiss on Randy. The sound of their lips smacking and saliva being transferred from one mouth to the next echoed in their ears. Randy shifted his body towards Chris and leaned in closer, pressing his full lips harder together and holding onto Christians neck and placing one hand on his leg. Randy's hand slowly moved up Christian thigh, finally coming to a rest on top his crotch. The long fingers rubbing and clawing at Christians jeans, feeling the surprise inside, hoping to get an early holiday treat. The heavy petting was stopped by Christian; he grabbed Randy's hand and moved it away. Randy slid his mouth to Christians neck and began to suck the supple skin. "Just friends..." Christian sighed. Randy backed away and looked at him. They smiled at each other and Randy put his arm around Christians shoulder, taking him under his arm and giving him a final quick kiss on the lips.
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Jake walked out of his house with his luggage bags being carried by his side. Maggie followed behind with her own bags and placed her things along with Jakes in the taxi parked at the end of the driveway. "Got everything?" Peter asked as he and Jake passed each other. Jake was heading back to the house while Peter walked down to the waiting car. "Almost." Jake replied. "Better hurry up or else we'll be late." "Yeah, yeah." Jake shrugged him off and continued on his way. They were all heading across the country to New York City to spend the new year with friends and family. New Years Eve was two days away and they needed to hurry up to get to the airport. The morning was as cold as it usually was at four in the morning and the lack of more sleep was making everyone move slow and drowsy. Jake yawned while he closed the house door behind him and locked it with the main key on his key chain. After reaching the street, the big gate slowly came to a close and everyone got inside the white and red taxi car there to pick them up. during the drive to LAX Airport, Maggie closed her eyes and lay her head on Peters shoulder while Jake put his head back onto the seat and covered up with his blue jean jacket. the drive was only forty minutes but seemed shorter since everyone inside was sleeping for most of the way.
The taxi came to a stop outside the airport and Jake woke up to see the driver leaning out of the car and opening the trunk behind him. He woke up nudged Maggie and Peter then opened his door to walk out to help the driver. After everyone took their bags, they paid the man and walked up to the glass doors to enter the huge building. The glass doors automatically opened and Maggie got inside first, followed by Jake and Peter. Jake and Peter walked boldly with dark shades over their eyes and heavy bags by their sides while Maggie strolled along with the most ease and grace. "Maggie, what's the number of our gate?" Jake asked, placing the small round headphone of his iPod into his ear and scanning through the hundreds of album tittles on his play list. "G-11." Maggie replied. They saw their gate number on a small glowing box over their heads and took a seat on one of the many empty seats. It was still very early so being inside the airport in clear view wasn't as big of a deal as it would be if they had gotten there at a later time. Even though there was no one staring at Jake or whispering to their friends or family in shock at seeing a Hollywood celebrity up close, Jake decided to keep his sunglasses on and try to curl up in his seat and rest his head on his jacket that was turned into a ball to act as a pillow. After tossing and turning in the chair, Jake opened his eyes and looked over at Peter to see him talking to a woman behind the computer, punching in computer keys at a rapid pace. He stood up and walked up to Peter and placed on hand on his back. "Hey, I'm getting some coffee. Want some?" Jake asked. "No, thanks." Peter said. "Where's Maggie?" "She went to the bathroom." "Okay, I'll be back." Jake turned and walked out to the rear of the building, looking at all the small souvenir shops and snack stands around him. There were several places to stop and get coffee but he decided to stop at the Starbucks that was right in front of him. Walking inside, Jake saw a man sitting down at a small round table near the door, reading a newspaper and drinking from his paper cup. Jake walked up to the wooden counter and looked at the menu of drinks. "Hello." The woman wearing a green polo shirt with her name embedded on the left hand side and a black visor over on her head said happily. "Hi." Jake replied. "What can I get for you today?" "Uh, can I have a medium latte." "Sure." The lady placed his order down and took a cup from the tall pile at her right along with a back wax pencil. "Is that all?" "Yes." "Okay, what's your name?" She asked, holding the pencil and cup together, ready to write down his name on the bottom. "Jake." "Great, your order will be ready in a moment." "Thank you." Jake turned and sat down at one of the tables near by to wait. He slid his sunglasses down from his face and placed them down on the table while looking around for something to focus on. He noticed a magazine rack up against the cashier booth and looked through the many tittles. Most of them were business oriented magazines but there were a few Entertainment Weekly and Star Magazines. Jake reached for one catalog folded in half and stuffed carelessly in the back. He pulled it out and opened it with out looking at the cover. After taking a seat again, Jake flipped through the magazine pages at the many well dressed men and women posing outside club openings or being chased by a mob of paparazzo's. He kept on flipping through the pages and stopped abruptly when noticing a picture of him inside. Although seeing himself in a magazine wasn't unusual, he had to stop because two of the pictures were of him and Christian walking down the street on the night of his surprise birthday party. He looked at the article and was bombarded with old thoughts of Christian and time they've had together. Every time he thought back, he would feel shivers run up and down his back, crawling up his neck and disappearing behind his ears. After reading the article and closing the magazine, the woman at the counter called him by his name. Jake turned around, gathered his sun glasses, and stood up to reach for his drink and after paying, he made his way out and walked back to his gate. A few more people were sitting, scattered around inside the waiting area, some sleeping and others reading a book. Maggie and Peter were seated besides each other, talking and smiling when Jake arrived. He sat down in his seat and took a long gulp from his white paper cup then looked over at everyone else. "Flight 351 from Los Angeles to New York City is now will be boarding in thirty minutes. I repeat, flight 351 from Los Angeles to New York City will be boarding in thirty minutes. Thank you." The man came over the speakers and alerted everyone. To all the other passengers, the message asked them to get on in thirty minutes but to Jake, Peter and Maggie it meant that they needed to get on board now. The three gathered they're things and went to the gate, walking in between two thin and black ropes, handing their tickets over to the man standing behind a thin booth under a small computer. "Have a nice flight." The flight attendant said after allowing them to walk into the long shaft leading to the planes open door. Jake stepped foot into the plane first, smiling at the female flight attendants and nodding at the two captains there to greet them. "Good morning." One of them men in blue uniforms and gold wings pinned to his shirt said nicely. "Morning." Peter and Jake said in unison, Maggie speaking next. "We're excited to have you on board with us and we hope that everything goes as expected along the way." The shortest of the two pilots said, flashing a big smile. "Hope?" Jake laughed. "Nothing's set in stone?" "Well..." "We might be set in stone if the plane goes down." Peter joked. "That's not funny." Maggie smiled, hitting Peter lightly on the arm. "No, I'm sure everything's going to be alright." Said Jake, nodding his head and laughing. They thanked the pilots and went to take their seats. Peter and Maggie placed their bags in the over head bins while Jake did the same. Luckily, there were three seats in a row so they all got to sit besides each other on the plane. The plane was somewhat empty, at least in the front of the plane where they were seated. One young couple sat in the opposite row as them, four seats down, talking and laughing cheerfully at the whispers the man gave to his beautiful girlfriend. More people poured through the plane door and sat down in their seats. Soon, all the seats in the area had somebody in them, waiting to be taken to their final destination.
The place shook and rattled when the plane wheels touched down on the black gravel of NYC airport. Jake shook lightly and opened his eyes from the deep sleep he had fallen into and leaned across Maggie and Peter and looked out the small window to see the ground rushing past them rapidly, the airplanes wing shook and came to a rest when the speed decreased. "This is your captain speaking. We've officially landed in New York City airport. Please remain seated until the plane has come to a complete stop and enjoy your stay." "Maggie, Peter." Jake shook his sister. "Maggie, we're here." She woke up and looked at Peter sleeping by her side. "Are we there yet?" Peter started to come to. "Yeah, get up." The plane finally stopped completely and everyone stood up. The three had to wait until everyone was off the plane then they made their way out, thanking the flight attendants and pilots for the smooth and joyous ride. After heading to baggage claim to grab their things, the three of them walked outside and waited for the rental car scheduled earlier to pick them up. Jake sat on one of the two steels benches up against the rough and white building. Maggie sat besides him with her cell phone tightly clenched in her soft fingers, pressing it against her ear and talking in a friendly tone of voice to the person on the other end of the line. Jake leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and looking down at his own mobile phone in his hands. He didn't know what exactly he was looking for but he just kept on the many buttons; getting into and out of his phone book and picture folder. A long black limo pulled up to the curb and the driver hurried out, looking down at his watch and holding a sheet of paper. He stood in front of the long car and held up the paper reading "Gyllenhaals and guests." "Limos here." Peter said, turning to look at Jake and then at Maggie. Jake stood up and grabbed his bags. "Okay, our limos here. We'll see you in a little bit." Maggie spoke into the phone, picking up her things and heading to the car. "And guests." Jake smiled while he, Peter and Maggie walked. "It's bullshit, I tell you. Never get the respect I deserve." Peter joked. Jake laughed and looked at the driver. "Are you Gyllenhaal?" The man dressed all in black asked, taking the hat off his head. "Yeah, my sister and I are Gyllenhaals and this is guest." Jake turned to Peter with a smirk on his face. "Very fucking funny." "Let me help you with those." The driver known as Donald reached forward, taking Maggie's bags and placing them in the trunk of the car while Jake and Peter did the same. After everyone was inside the limo and ready to go, Donald looked back from his seat behind the steering wheel and said "Where to?" "Manhattan" Maggie spoke. "Okay, Manhattan it is." Donald turned around to face forward and started to pull away from the curb. Jake looked out of his window in time to see people walking around, scrambling to find their belongings and talking into their cell phones by the airport exit. Once they were far enough, he could see other planes pulling into and out of the roadway behind the airport building. One plane shot forward and lifted into the air with the greatest of ease like a bird getting a head start on the beach sand. To help him relax, Jake put on the small white headphones from his iPod deep into his ears and closed his eyes, the gentle shaking of the car acting as a cradle and slowly making his body fall into relaxation. The first thing he saw appear in the darkness of his closed eyes was the coming New Years party. He was excited to see who was coming and how things would go. Then he thought back at how great his birthday party had been and hoped that it would be as enjoyable as that was. His head wondered further and landed on a vision of Christian hovering over him, looking down at Jake with eyes soft and loving and a devilish smile on his face. He pictured Christian getting closer and forced his eyes open when he realized what his mind had brought him back to. Several minutes later, they entered Manhattan and Donald lowered the black window that divided the back seat from the front of the car. "We're in Manhattan, where to now?" Donald asked. "Can you drop us off at Greenwich Village please?" Maggie asked. "Sure thing." Donald, the driver, raised the window and drove them to their final destination.
The car pulled up to the sidewalk protruding out from under a great, red, brick wall covered by small windows with white wooden trim around the edges. Tall white doors set inside elaborate white, handmade, decorative trims sat in pairs, two doors for every four windows. The buildings rose high up into the air, the tops poking at the clear evening sky, causing enormous shadows to cascade down onto the floor, melting onto the shadows made by the small and thin trees on the sidewalk. Peter slid out from inside the car and helped Maggie out while Jake opened the door on the opposite side and stepped out while pulling down the headphones from his ears. He looked at the buildings aligned in perfect unison with the other apartments and went over to help the driver who was now opening the trunk and reaching in to grab the bags laying inside. "Let me help you out." Jake said, grabbing Maggie's bags. After everyone's things were sitting on the sidewalk, they paid Donald and he drove off. "What now?" Peter asked. Maggie quickly got on her phone and dialed furiously. "Hey Kate, we're already down here." Maggie said. "Okay, bye." She closed her phone and placed it into her pocket. "She's coming down." Minutes later, one door from many opened and Kate appeared with a huge grin on her face and arms out ready to hand out free hugs. She came to Maggie first then to Peter and finally to Jake. "Finally!" She said excitedly. "How was the plane ride?" Kate placed her hands on her hips and smiled a bright smile, showing every single one of her teeth. "Long." Joked Jake. "Well, let's go on in. I'll help you guys with you things." Everyone gathered their things and walked into the building. The lights were glowing brightly inside the apartment building. Painting covered the elegantly decorated walls inside the big living room taking up the entire first floor. Jake, Maggie and Peter all looked around in amazement at the great arrangement of the room they were standing in. "Wow." Jake sighed. "It's beautiful." Maggie added. "Come on, let's go get you settled." Kate smiled. They went up the flight of stairs at the right and walked up to the third floor that partly belonged to Kate. They stepped onto the white carpet and followed the small figured woman deep into the white and soft colored wallpaper covered hallway and came upon a door near the back of the floor where a large vase holding a thin tree-like plant sat comfortably in the corner. Kate took her key from her pocket and slid it into the key hole, turned the knob and pushed open the white door with her right shoulder. "Welcome to my home." She said as her friends walked inside. Her apartment was insanely large. It looked like an actual house rather than an apartment. Upon walking inside, they stood in the large living area where two big sofas sat in on opposite sides of the room. In the center was a glass coffee table covered with a stack of magazines and a small flower arrangement resting beautifully. The walls were painted with a soft blue tone and had small picture frames scattered about. It all reminded Jake of a dentist or doctors office since everything seemed to be really clean and sterile. He was almost afraid to make a move, fearing he would damage the polished hard wood floor and leave marks from his shoes. Kate showed everyone into the guest rooms where they would be staying and allowed them to put their things away and get comfortable. New Years Eve was now hot on their backs. Jake woke up early and snuck out of the apartment building to have a quiet walk around the neighborhood. He wasn't very familiar with the streets he was walking through but managed to find a familiar road to take. Walking among the other people on the street, Jake felt comfortable since he wasn't getting stared at and recognized by people like he would be back in Los Angeles. For once, he was just Jake the man rather than the actor, he didn't even have to put on his sunglasses. After walking around for a bit and doing a little sight seeing, he turned back around and head back to the village to meet with the others. When he arrived at the apartment, he ran into Peter who was just making his way out of the red building. "Hey." Jake said. "Where are you going?" "We're all going out for breakfast. Were you out here all this time?" "Yeah, I wanted to go for a walk." Just then Maggie and Kate walked out from inside the apartment building and stepped into the morning air and Maggie looked at Jake with confusion in her face. "What are you doing out here?" She asked. "He was taking a walk." Peter spoke on behalf of Jake. "Well, since you're already out here do you want to get some breakfast?" Kate said staring at Jake with a hint of hope in her eyes. "Yeah, sure." The four started to walk down the block to a quaint outdoors restaurant near the apartment complex. Jake sat down on one of the steel chairs with Maggie and Peter at his sides and Kate seated in front of him. "Do you guys want to order now or..." Maggie asked. "Yeah, I'm starving." Peter stood up from his seat. "No, I'm good." Jake reached up and slid his hand on the top of his head and arched his back to stretch it out. "I'll wait for a little bit too." Kate added next. She looked at Jake and smiled sweetly. "Are you sure?" Jake asked. "Yeah, you guys go ahead." Maggie and Peter disappeared into the restaurant while Kate and Jake sat alone outside, neither knowing what to say or do in this intimate moment. Awkward silence fell over them until Kate took the initiative and spoke first. "So, are you excited for tonight?" "Yeah, I'm totally excited. I can't wait." "Have you ever been to Times Square on New Years before?" "No, no. I've been to time square but not for any sort of party or special event." "It's the most amazing sight you have ever seen. Picture hundreds and hundreds of people all counting down the last ten seconds left for the new year, watching the big crystal ball lower and then the whole place explodes with screams, ah, incredible." Jake saw the excitement on Kate's face and he instantly felt excited as well. He smiled at her and she smiled back, both sending each other mischievous looks and turning away shyly when the other one looked in their direction. It felt to Jake like if he was back in grade school; sending flirtatious looks to the pretty girl across the room. Maggie and Peter returned from inside and sat down again. "What's going on?" Peter asked, looking from Jake to Kate, knowing exactly what was going on since he could see them from inside the restaurant. Kate looked at Peter with a knowing smirk. After a short breakfast, Maggie, Kate, Peter and Jake all got up to go for a walk around the city since it had been a while ago when the three were last in New York City. Around noon they returned to the apartment to get ready for later that evening. Once they were dressed in their finest outfits they called a taxi and were driven to Times Square where the entire street had been closed off with waist high barriers. People were being held back from entering the enormous street by men in uniform like animals clawing and scratching at their cages, trying their hardest to force an escape. No one was yet allowed inside because police men were still putting together all the safety percussions and barriers to keep the people secure while they partied the night away. Maggie and Kate decided it would be a good time as any to go for a little last minute shopping so they asked to be dropped off an Madison Ave. and let Jake and Peter know they would meet them later on at party. Everyone agreed and the cab drove the two men outside of Times Square since no cars were able to get inside. "You dog." Peter said, looking over at Jake sitting beside him. "What?" Jake giggled. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. I saw you two at the restaurant this morning." "You're insane." "Come on, Jake. It's obvious you like each other, I mean, timing is perfect." "What do you mean?" Jake asked, still amused at the fact that Peter was so intent on bringing him and Kate closer. "The midnight kiss. It's your chance to make a move." Peter smiled. Jake looked at him and actually contemplated on doing what Peter was bringing into the light but shook his to remove the thought from his head. It wasn't that Jake didn't find Kate attractive because she clearly was. It was more of the fact that they had been childhood friends and the whole idea of "making a move" on her would be a lot like making a move on his own sister, something Jake DID NOT want to think about. The taxi come to a halt and Peter paid the driver then got out with Jake following close on his heels. They started to walk around the street, enjoying being away from the women and talking about the usual stuff they talked about. Two hours few by soon and it was almost time to head over to Times Square. The sky had begun to darken and it seemed like everyone in the city was making their way to the huge New Years bash on the street. Jake was surprised to feel a vibration coming from his right pocket and reached in to see what it was. He had forgotten that his phone was on and took it out to answer the incoming call. "Who is it?" Peter asked while eyeing Jake as he answered. Jake placed the phone over his ear and answered. "Yeah?... You're already there?...Okay, we're leaving now...Bye." "Who was it?" Peter asked again. "Maggie, they're already at the party." "Alright, well we're not that far away so we better get going." Jake and Peter rushed through the heavy crowd to try and get to the girls so they could all go up to reception. They zig zagged through men and women like a fast paced game of football being played on the city sidewalk. Peter lead the way through the block, gently pushing people aside and excusing himself from accidentally bumping into others. Jake got in his phone again and dialed Maggie's cell phone to find out where exactly they were but noticed Kate up on an elevated platform, looking out into the crowd, scanning the faces and looking for the missing men. "Peter!" Jake yelled. "Peter! They're up there, man!" Peter turned and look in the direction Jakes finger was pointing and head that way. They made it out in one piece fixed themselves up, trying to look decent for the other party goers upstairs in the room with the loud music leaking through the walls. When they walked up and entered the club, they noticed a lot of their friends from L.A. sitting around or dancing with the other guests. The place was dark except for the high lights beaming on the dance floor. Bright white, blue, and red lights hit the black floor and the sound of the D.J. speakers bounced off the walls and into everyone's ears. Jake walked through the club, looking at everyone sitting on the lush red couches aligned on the walls. He noticed Jessica Simpson sitting besides several women, laughing and drinking from a tall champagne glass in her left hand. He walked deeper and looked to his right to see his friend Austin N Nichols talking to Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro. He walked up to them and placed his hand over Austin's shoulder to say hello. Austin turned and smiled when realizing his friend was behind him. He opened his arms and Jake did the same then hugged each other in regards. "What's going on?!" Austin yelled over the music. "Nothing, much." Jake smiled wide. "Hey!" He turned to Carmen and Dave and extended his hand out. "Hi Jake, how are you?" Carmen asked, shaking his hand. "I'm good. How are you guys?" "Great." Dave said. "I'm loving the shaved head." "Yeah, it's a hot look on you." Carmen added, feeling the top of Jakes head. "Thank you, thank you." "Is Maggie here?" "Yeah, she's somewhere around here with Peter and Kate." "I want to say hi I haven't seen her in a long time." Carmen spoke sweetly. "I'm going to go look for her and I'll tell her to come over." "See you later man." Dave nodded. "Alright, see you." Jake turned and walked away. He went to get a drink from the car and met with Maggie on the other side of the room. She was seated with Peter and Kate along with Carson Daily and Rosario Dawson. Jake sat down besides his sister and joined in the conversation.
Time was winding down and there were only ten seconds left until the new year rolled in. Jake, Peter, Kate and Maggie all stood in front of the large glass wall of the club that looked out into Times Square and watched as the glass ball lowered behind the dim 2005 numbers atop the Ones Times Square building. The D.J. stopped the music and began to count down: "10...9...8..." He spoke loudly into the microphone, ordering others to join in the cheering. "7...6...5..." Jake yelled out, his voice fading in with the sound of thousands of others in and outside of the building. "4...3...2..." One second left and everyone was feeling the excitement. Anticipation filled the skies as well as the yearning for a new and safe year bringing hope and faith to those who desperately needed it. The city went black, everyone held their breath as the ball disappeared and the titanic numbers shone brightly. "1!... HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The world cheered and clapped. Jake looked over at Maggie and saw her holding onto Peter, pressing herself on him, giving him a gentle kiss. He turned back and noticed that everyone had someone to kiss or hold onto. He felt left out but put on a smile and went over to shake hands with his friends. Jake hugged Austin and David then went over to Maggie and Peter. "Happy new year." Jake told Peter, yelling over the loud music. "Happy new year, Jake. Have you gone over to Kate yet?" "No." He smiled, knowing what Peter meant by that comment. "What are you waiting for? Get your ass over there." Peter gave Jake a friendly push into Kate's direction. Jake inched himself closer to the smiling, blond haired woman giving out free hugs to everyone she came across. When he came close enough, Jake smiled sweetly and put his hands into his pockets. "Kate." He said. "Jake, happy new year!" She squealed happily and brought Jake into a bear hug. "Listen, it's two minutes past midnight and I know that it's good luck to give someone a kiss at twelve and I was wondering if maybe you could make an exception just this once." Jake stated, he was partially nervous and spoke with minor hope in his tone of voice. "I don't know, the rule is midnight but..." Kate joked, teasing Jake and noticing the awkwardness that surrounded them. She leaned forward and tilted her head back to meet Jakes mouth with hers. The kiss was only a second long at first but once they became comfortable with each other and with what they were doing, the kiss became long and passionate. Peter looked on with Maggie, admiring what he had started between Jake and Kate. For the rest of the morning, Jake stood by his female companion, holding onto her and giving out random and loving kisses. He threw caution to the wind and decided to go a long with the satisfying and enjoyable feeling of having someone to hold onto in a moment when everyone deserved to be with a loved one.
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Sorry to dissapoint you all but no, TGE is not done with. I still have a few things I want to happen before ending it entirely. Guess you'll have to keep reading. Haha. Anyways, I'm happy to finally get this part up here since I couldn't do much writing lately because of work and such but I'm good now. I hope you all enjoyed this part of TGE and I'll talk to you all soon. Head over to the Gyllenhaal Encounter group, we need more participation other than the usual Gyllenhaal-ics. MSN Group - http://groups.msn.com/TheGyllenhaalEncounter/_whatsnew.msnw Email - synful_romance@sbcglobal.net