Disclaimer- Sadly, I don't own any of the Fake characters; I'm just borrowing them for my own enjoyment.
A/N: This takes place after the Like Like Love segment. Reviews make my world go round. If you review, I'll post another chapter. BTW, the entire story is written, so there won't be any drop offs like a lot of stories do.
Summary: JJ starts running after his partner, but is finding it too be a bit more difficult than he first realized. When a girl gets thrown into the picture, will JJ ever find his happy ending? Or will he be forced to except the fact he keeps running after the wrong people? JJxDrake and of course RyoxDee
Collide
1- A Sad Excuse for an Apartment
"Evicted!" Brown eyes flitted across the yellow sheet. "Dammit." The paper was ripped in half, then in thirds and thrown into the trash.
"I only missed three payments…"
"So what're you going to do?"
Drake banged his head against his desk and muttered, "I have no idea."
"You should probably look for another apartment," his partner suggested.
Drake moved his head so he saw the other detective. He gave him the most thanks-for-stating-the-obvious look he could muster. "No shit, Sherlock?" he expressed. "But there's one tinsy-tiny problem."
"What's that?"
"I don't have money! Don't have great short term memory do you, JJ? That's why I was kicked out in the first place."
JJ scowled and tartly replied, "You should've managed--"
"--your money better," Drake finished. "Please, I have a mom."
"Well, fine," JJ huffed. "I was just trying to be a good friend."
Drake's face turned from agitated to mischievous in a split second. "If you want to be a fantastic friend…"
"No." JJ glared at his partner. JJ knew Drake too well after the nine years he's known him. Drake was definitely not spend thrifty and wasted half his weekly paycheck on toys and gadgets. He is just like a little kid in a toy store when he goes into an electronic store. The saying is true for Drake: As men grown up, the only thing that changes is that their toys get bigger. JJ would gladly omit himself from that quote; however, he knows that he acts like a little boy on occasion and he definitely loves all the new devices. But if that glint in Drake's brown eyes meant what JJ thought it meant, JJ was in a world of trouble.
"But--"
"No, Drake!"
"Your up to your eyeballs in money!"
JJ smacked his hand on his desk, sending the file he'd been working on to the floor. Drake jumped at the violent smack, and instantly stopped begging. He started down the pity road instead. "I'm in so much trouble, JJ," he whined. "I will have no where to sleep in a week. Do you want me to spend my days on the streets? No shower, no bed, no roof over my head….ha, ha, that rhymed." Drake giggled to himself. "What am I supposed to do?"
JJ rolled his eyes. "Let's see…" He scrunched up his face in thought. As if it were the most obvious answer, he suggested, "Move in with your girlfriend?" JJ instantly regretted filling Drake's mind with such a horrible suggestion. Or maybe JJ was the only one who didn't want Drake to move in with his girlfriend.
"NO!" Drake exclaimed in horror. JJ had to smile at the revulsion. Drake had been going out with this pretty blonde with a perfect body for months now. JJ noted that it had been four months-- a Drake Parker record. He couldn't recall a single time where his friend had dated someone for longer than a month.
As JJ was trying to remember Drake's previous failed relationships, the door to their office flew open. Two of their coworkers popped their heads in. Drake's eyes glistened happily when he saw Ryo and Dee. He opened his mouth, everything he was going to say already planned in his head. Just add some compliments, bribery, and lots of pleading and all would be set.
But before anything passed through his lips, a harsh voice warned the two other detectives. "He's going to beg you for money."
"Damn you, JJ!" Drake bolted from his chair over to his seated partner. He swung a hand out and swatted JJ on the back of the head. Drake then wrapped his fingers around JJ's slim neck and threatened strangulation.
"I'm sorry, Drake," Ryo said. "But we're tight on money too."
"Yeah, dude. It's not easy paying for yourself and college expenses for the brat," Dee explained with frown.
JJ untangled Drake's slender fingers from around his neck and pushed the older man away from him. Drake decided his desk was too far, so he settled himself on the edge of his partner's desk. "You know," Drake pointed out, "this wouldn't be a problem if we were paid enough." Ryo and JJ laughed and nodded their heads.
"You said it!" Dee agreed. As an afterthought he asked, "What do you need the money for anyway? Your girlfriend?"
Drake's body visually shivered. "No way. I need it for rent."
"Ah, well, why don't you lend him some money Mr. Moneybags?" Dee asked to JJ.
"That's a bigass NO," Drake answered for JJ. He gave his friend the worst look to tell JJ he was simply evil for keeping all that cash to himself.
JJ smiled as Drake's angry expression melted into pure pleading with big puppy dog eyes. "I wuv you," Drake said with a cheesy grin.
JJ replied unmoved, "Do you now?"
"Yes, and I would give you money if you asked."
JJ burst out laughing, "Sure you would--but wait, you need money to be able to do that." Drake swatted JJ's cheek, enough to burn but not hurt. Rubbing at the tingling flesh, JJ asked, "What will you do for me?" He reached into his back pants pocket and waited until his friend answered.
Drake wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and added a big grin to his features. "I'd let you do whatever you wanted to me," he answered in a seductive, low tone.
"Woah!" Dee cut in. "You better take that back." He spotted the lust in JJ's sapphire eyes and added, "And quickly, before you regret it."
Drake shook his head, keeping his brown eyes locked on blue. Slowly, he repeated, "Anything."
JJ pulled put his wallet and opened it. Every eye locked on to what he pulled out. "How much?"
"All of it!" Drake made a grab for the wad of cash, but JJ pulled it away quickly.
"Specific amount, please."
"Well, I have to pay three-hundred to the landlord and then skidaddle to a new place," Drake figured. "So technically, I need like four-hundred for everything. Got that much in there?" JJ seemed to take this into consideration. He then shifted through the clump of bills and handed his partner the money.
Dee and Ryo watched as Drake counted the five bills placed in his hand. "Five dollars?" Drake stared at the money in his hand, not liking the cruel joke.
Noting the disappointment, JJ said, "If you don't want it, I'll take it back."
"NO!" Drake stuffed the money in his back pocket. "At least I can eat now." JJ patted Drake on the head affectionately. He shuffled through his money again, pulling out a more generous amount. Drake's eye lit up as he saw three twenties being handed to him.
Dee leaned over and whispered into his lover's ear, "He never gave me any money when he liked me." Ryo's only response was a short giggle. Dee was somewhat resentful at the response, feeling like it would have been more appropriate to say something like, 'He loved you too much, and giving you money would make him seem like he was trying to buy your love.' Okay, so maybe that was a little over the top. And if Dee had ever taken money from JJ, who knows what JJ would have expected in return.
Drake leaned down and engulfed his partner in a giant bear hug. He whispered, "Thank you." JJ returned the hug and smiled fully contented.
"Lucky day for both," Ryo murmured. Dee smiled as he on looked his two friends. "JJ looks happy," he noted quietly.
"Drake does too."
"Too bad it's not for the same reason."
Ryo smiled sadly. He spotted the longing deep inside JJ's sapphire eyes, much like the glint that appeared years ago when he was with Dee. Although the passionate feelings for Dee were over, it was clear that someone else had overtaken JJ's heart. The hunger that showed clearly meant he cared so much for Drake. However, Drake just looked overjoyed at the fact he had a generous friend who happened to have gobs of money in his back pocket.
"Are you sure you want to live here?" JJ asked while his eyes skimmed the unusual surroundings. It was a small apartment. No, small was an overstatement. JJ had a bathroom at his home bigger than this whole apartment. This place had three rooms. It seemed to him that you would have to have your bedroom in the same area as your kitchen. Not to mention it was very dull and lifeless; not even someone living there could make it seem alive.
Drake appeared by JJ's side carrying a large box. He answered, "It costs an arm and a leg to live in New York. And since I don't have any appendages to spare, this is the only thing that works with my pitiful salary."
"Your salary minus all your expenditures," JJ said. "As you very well know, all your friends live in larger apartments and can afford it."
Drake snorted. "Ryo and Dee combine their money. Marty has a lawyer wife who pays. Ted uses ten year old clothes and appliances and never shops anymore. And you come from a millionaire family." Drake had always been resentful at the fact that he had no help whatsoever when it came to money. His parents made it clear that if he moved to New York City he would be on his own. Supposedly, it was their way of telling him that he should stay home and not to become a cop. Now he was giving second thoughts to the twenty-year-old decision and that his parents were right.
"It's a billionaire family," JJ corrected, his mouth twitching slightly.
"Oh, excuse me." Drake rolled his eyes.
"Besides, it's not like I see a penny of it anyway."
Drake stared at JJ not believing one word he just said. "JJ, you claim live in an enormous apartment with two floors. You mentioned once that you own it and have already paid everything for it. You own clothes from the most expensive clothing lines. You have two laptops, the biggest size ipod, a plasma tv, a huge stereo system, and I could go on. And your trying to tell me you never ever have gotten one cent from your parents?"
"That's right."
"That's bull."
JJ smiled sheepishly. "Why don't you believe me? Is it so hard to believe that I know how to manage my money well?"
"It's very hard to believe. Especially when your parents have millions of dollars."
"Billions."
"Screw you. You're just saying all this to make me jealous."
The corner of JJ's lip twitched again. "…You believe me?"
Drake eyed him oddly. He asked, "You made everything up?"
"I didn't say that."
"But you implied it."
JJ let the smile he'd been holding back come out. "I lied."
"I figured as much. But about what exactly?"
"Mostly everything."
Drake dropped the box he was carrying to the floor. "Then spit out the truth."
JJ sighed heavily and said, "I come from a dirt poor family from the bad side of Los Angeles. I had to deal drugs, while my sisters had to sell themselves."
"You are such a liar."
"You know me so well." JJ giggled and threw an arm around Drake's shoulders. He gave him an awkward sideways hug and kissed his stubbly cheek. Ever since JJ smacked a kiss on Drake up on the rooftop, Drake learned to ignore the touches, and brushed it off like always. "I was just messing with you," JJ said. "I have a substandard amount of savings. Well, more than you, but that's not saying much."
Drake glared at his partner. "You're lying again. You wouldn't have given me sixty-five dollars if you didn't have enough money. Why don't you tell me the truth? You always dive into your personal affairs. So, are they fake too?"
JJ laughed. "No. I tell the truth about everything!"
"Then tell me the truth right now."
"Fine," JJ uttered. "You know perfectly well that I live in a huge apartment in Manhattan, you've been there. It was my twenty-first birthday present from my aunt. She doesn't have any kids of her own, so she likes to consider me as her son. And she's not real rich either, but she loves me so much she bought it for me. Then she likes to send me nice, big checks for my birthday and Christmas."
Drake raised an eyebrow. "The truth?"
JJ raised his right hand. "I swear." JJ looked around at his surroundings again and shuddered. "And I am telling the truth when I say that this place is a shabby hole that is a sad excuse for an apartment."
He began to pull Drake out of the 'apartment.'
"What are you doing? I need to get---"
"You can't live here," JJ declared.
"Where am I supposed to go then?"
"With me."