Jericho's Diary: No Escape

Another week has passed, and the Dance Brothers are back together. I bet you aren’t surprised - I mean, we are a pretty unbreakable boy gang, if I do say so myself. I knew I’d be friends with Malachi and Anthony again eventually, I just didn’t know how I’d get there.

I felt like something was holding me back, but I couldn’t figure out just what it was. Well, seven days later, and who knew it would take an Escape Room to get to the bottom of everything I’ve been feeling.

When Sophia brought us all together, I felt like I wasn’t ready at first. I’ve spent the past week trying to forget the surprise of seeing Aiden and Anthony kiss, not to mention the shock of Malachi 2.0 being a total facade. It’s enough to get through my own life without feeling the pain of being lied to by my best friends.

It wasn’t until I broke down my walls and opened up to Malachi and Anthony that I actually figured out what was going on (Kyle and I did yell at them first, but we don’t need to talk about that part). I felt more than betrayed, I felt disappointed. I realized that Malachi and Anthony had broken my trust: not just about the guys they liked, but about the fact that we were supposed to be single and independent together.

Having my friends in the same boat as me was making me feel like I could get through with Cortez and Jace ignoring me, and that I could come out on the other side a stronger Jules. With Malachi running back to Bryant and Anthony sneaking around with Brayden, it was like I couldn’t trust anyone. I couldn’t even trust that I was going to be okay.

Here’s what I realized in the Escape Room. Trust isn’t just about telling other people the truth (though that’s pretty important). It’s about trusting that my friends are good people, even if they made some mistakes. It’s about trusting that Cortez may actually care about me, even if he ghosted me before. It’s about trusting that letting go of Aiden might be the best thing I can do for my future. Most of all, it’s about having faith in myself, and knowing that everything is going to be okay.

Note to future Jericho: if you ever want to learn some big life lessons, try an Escape Room with your best friends. Now, it’s time to get my homework done and try to write a letter to Aiden and try to craft the perfect text back to Cortez. Wish me luck!

♡, Jericho.