[Homestuck] Nicest Thing
Title: Nicest Thing
Fandom: Homestuck
Author: inksmears
Characters/Pairings: Dave/Jade, John/Rose
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13 [Warning for Language because Dave.]
Summary: Once, there were four friends with an unbreakable bond. They grew up. Things are different. For better or for worse?
Author's Notes: N/A
It was still raining in the morning, the steady pitter-patter of water against his window rousing Dave just before noon. A few seconds later someone was banging on his door.
"Wake up, you bum!" Jade's voice filtered through the wood.
If it was anyone else he would've told them to shove off. Instead he dragged himself upright and blinked blearily at the wall. Jade knocked again.
"Okay, okay…" He grumbled and forced himself out of bed. He rubbed sleep from his eyes as he pulled on his pants over his boxers. He patted down his hair to try and make it semi-presentable, didn't bother with a shirt or his shades, and pulled open the door after he was done yawning.
Jade smiled at him, dressed casually but clearly with no plans to go anywhere.
"What?" He asked when she didn't say anything.
"Nothing, I was just getting your lazy butt out of bed. It's almost noon!"
"Okay. Am I suppose to care?"
Jade rolled her eyes and turned away, sauntering back down the hallway into the living room. He heard John's voice greet her right before he shut the door. He had half a mind to just go back to bed. It was raining out, after all. Nothing much to do. Instead he sat on the edge of the bed and stared blankly out the window as he tried to wake up.
Since they had gotten here a week ago it had rained quite a bit. It was pretty lame. Rose had gone through a lot of trouble to set this vacation up for the four of them. Strangely Dave was happy to get away from the large city in which they had all come to reside in. The peaceful countryside they were staying in now was isolated, away from all the other people the world had to offer. Not that there weren't other people in the small town this cabin connected to but at least there were less of them. At least Dave didn't have to interact with them.
Out of all four of them it was Dave who had had the most trouble adjusting to life after the game had ended. The sudden transition from unbridled action to mundane normalcy was a difficult one for someone who had always lived a less than ordinary life. The result was that he closed himself off from everyone around him. He became strangely introverted sans the cool kid facade he always had going. As it turned out, no one really liked insufferable pricks and insufferable pricks didn't like others. So he was outcasted by most of society. For all his talk Dave just could not get along with other people. Dave was fine with this arrangement. He didn't need anyone else but John, Rose and Jade to keep him company. He made a life all on his own. He had a job and a place to live. He made it just fine without depending on strangers. It wasn't like he was a complete shut in or anything. He just didn't really have any friends.
The problem was that John, Rose and Jade had adapted to a more social lifestyle. They had other friends, other lives, other outings… and although Dave didn't want any of that he didn't want to be left behind, either. He wanted the best of both worlds but, as reality was quick to remind him, that's not the way life worked.
Dave begrudgingly got dressed. He was awake now. There was no way he'd fall back asleep. As he shuffled out the door the phone rang.
"Jade, that's for you!" John said from the living room.
Oh, really, Dave mused and moved with all his catlike grace into the kitchen. The phone was so old it was somewhat of a surprise it even worked. Dave answered it with an uninterested, "Sup."
There was a moment of silence before a male voice replied, "I'd like to speak to Jade, please."
Dave paused. He'd met him enough times by now to recognize his voice. Jade stepped into the kitchen suddenly and Dave promptly hung up the phone.
"Hey!" Jade protested. "John said that was for me!"
"John lied. It was a wrong number," Dave replied with a small shrug.
"Oh. I wonder why he would say that…"
The two returned to where John and Rose were in the living room. The scene looked almost exactly how Dave had found them last night except Rose had her laptop on her stomach instead of her nose buried in a book. John was peeking over at her with a serious expression on his face. Jade plopped down beside him.
"Jesus, are we still doing this?" Dave demanded, exasperated. "It's been four years since we lost contact with the trolls. Come on."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean they're gone," Rose countered. Her eyes did not stray from the screen, the sound of her typing nearly drowning out the sound of the rain.
"It's worth looking for them," John agreed. "I mean, you never know."
"They were living on a hunk of rock in outer space. There is no way they survived there for four years. They're dead."
John looked hurt by Dave's harsh words. "Maybe, but I wanna know for sure one way or the other. Don't you miss them?"
To that Dave had no reply. Living on Earth was hard enough for him without dealing with the problems of aliens. He sank down on the lone chair and watched the three of them on the couch. It was a fruitless search but as long as John wanted to try, Dave would help. All four of them often took time to look for information or even try to message them via Pesterchum. It had been four years without a response.
"We'll find something, John. I'm sure of it," Jade reassured him. John smiled weakly and nodded.
Because of the rain, their search for the trolls became the focus of the day. Jade fetched her laptop and aided Rose in the search. There wasn't much to be done that they hadn't tried already but Dave knew it helped John to just talk about it because out of all of them he had been the most upset when contact with the trolls had been lost. Eventually the rain cleared and Dave couldn't have been more grateful. He felt stir-crazy all of a sudden and escape was necessary. Only if Jade went with him, though.
"More pictures?" She asked hopefully.
"Sure. Whatever you want. Let's just leave and not come back until later."
Jade cocked her head at him. "That is a weirdly specific request. Okay."
If she wasn't in the cabin then she couldn't answer the phone. Right? Right. It wasn't like he was meddling or anything uncool like that.
Just keep telling yourself that, his subconscious drawled.
---------
The rain brought cooler weather with it. A nice breeze laid itself across the countryside and dissipated a lot of the oppressive heat. Rose was very thankful as she was no fan of the humidity. Lounging in the shade in her purple summer dress she felt much more comfortable outside now that the rain had done its work. The wind rustled the leaves above her and created moving shadows across her sprawled out figure. Droplets dripped steadily from some of the leaves but the high afternoon sun had dried off a lot of the landscape. Even so, Rose made sure to sit on a towel and now the muddy ground. She stared up through the leaves and drank in the beams of light that poked through them. Then a heavy weight half fell, half leapt onto the grass beside her. Rose sat up slightly and propped herself up against the tree trunk, lowering her book to turn her attention to John. He looked a little damp.
"I almost got to the top but then I felt bad because there was a nest up there," John said as he plucked some wet leaves out of his hair. "The mother wasn't very happy."
Rose smiled. "Are you and Dave still having that childish competition?"
"Hey, it isn't childish. This is serious business. I'm going to beat his record and climb the highest. You watch."
"Only if it provides me with entertainment. I have my fingers crossed that I will witness the bird dive-bomb you both."
"Well… I'd be okay with that if it'd make you laugh."
Rose arched an eyebrow at him. "I try to keep such boisterous displays at a minimum."
"I know!" John said in an exasperated tone but grinned. "It's just, I like when you laugh."
Rose turned her head away quickly with a small huff and hid her face behind her book. She could feel the smile on her lips and her cheeks grow hot, which was embarrassing. But it was okay so long as he couldn't tell. John chuckled and leaned back on his hands. There was silence for awhile.
Then John broke it by asking, "It's pretty lucky we were even able to come here, isn't it?"
"Quite," Rose replied without looking up from her book. "Given that the self righteous men in suites are still verbally sparring over long tables about my mother's wealth, it is nothing short of a miracle I was able to arrange this."
John frowned, brows furrowing in annoyance. "Oh man. Still?"
"Yes. It is never ending."
"Man, I don't get it. It's your inheritance. Why do they think they can take it from you?"
"Because my mother did not leave a will and so there is no specification for who gets it. They also claim my age of seventeen is a problem but I'm sure that's just more fine print that doesn't actually exist." Rose lowered her book and watched John look up into the leaves thoughtfully. He was always so much more troubled by this than her and she found it sort of endearing. To Rose it made no difference whether she got all her mother's money or not. She knew she would make a life either way. To her the only thing that money meant was whether or not she had to start from scratch.
"My situation is not as dire as… well."
John frowned and now he looked upset. Rose felt guilty immediately. "I apologize."
He sighed. "No, it's okay… I'm just frustrated. I keep trying to think of a way to fix it but I just can't. Jade didn't even want to tell me in the first place. I only found out because of that letter she got."
Rose set her book across her flat stomach and folded her arms over it thoughtfully. "It isn't something easily fixed. Dave still doesn't know, does he?"
"Nope. Technically I'm the only one who does as far as Jade knows. You only know because you overheard it. Jade made me promise not to tell Dave or you."
"I know."
John sighed and flopped sideways, sprawling on the grass on his back beside her. Rose peered down at him as he stared heavenward. He really did look upset and frustrated now. She shouldn't have brought it up.
John continued irritably, "I keep telling her, 'Tell Dave! You've gotta tell Dave. He's going to be so mad if he finds out you kept it from him.' But Jade says that's why she doesn't want him to know. She says it's because he'll get mad and then probably do something stupid. Because he's Dave Strider and Dave Strider is a certified dumbass."
"I believe he claims to be a 'man of action', if I recall."
"He is the exact opposite of that thing you just said."
"Indeed. I believe Elliot is also making things more complicated than they need to be."
"Tell me about it. Once they were in the same room together and I thought for sure Dave was going to start a fight. It was very stressful!"
"I know."
"It's okay. I think I have a plan," John said triumphantly.
"Oh?"
"Yup."
The two lapsed into silence again and Rose couldn't help but think that the world had been so much better without rules. Back when it had just been the four of them in the game, working together to reach the end. They had gone to hell and back, gone through so much pain, only to end up being just more lost faces in the crowd.
"If the trolls really are gone…" John started but trailed off.
Rose, who had been staring absently into the leaves in thought, turned her attention back to him. "Yes?"
John turned his head to her and grinned. "Do you think that means we still have to get married?"
Rose stared blankly at him for a moment. Then she threw her book at his face and laughed.
---------
True to his goal, Dave kept them both out and busy until sunset. When night had fallen and they were making the walk back, Jade stopped.
"Okay, I'm going. I'll meet you back later!"
"Are you ditching me again?"
"Hehehe, no! Well, yes. But not because you're not fun to be with. I just have something I wanna do!"
"You're building a mystery here, Jade. I'm itching to know what kind of secret cult you're sneaking off to. It's starting to eat at my mind."
Jade rolled her eyes and stepped off the path, waving at him as she backed away toward an incline. "It's a secret but I promise it isn't a cult where we sacrifice chickens."
"That is the weirdest thing you have ever said and that's a pretty big fucking accomplishment."
Jade laughed and paused, smiling warmly at him. There was something about the look on her face that was distinctly off. It was something Dave had notice the other night and, come to think of it, something he'd noticed even before this trip had happened. That nagging sensation returned from before, telling him there was something really wrong here.
But then the moment passed and the look on her face faded. She called cheerfully, "Don't follow me! And I better get to see those pictures when I get back!"
She turned on her heel and took off down the hill with another cheerful laugh. Dave watched her go and thought long and hard about following her. This was the second night in a row she'd disappeared at sunset. No big deal but he wasn't being ironic when he had said he was getting a little curious about where she kept going. Plus now he was a little concerned too. He hesitated to turn back but after a few minutes standing in semi-darkness he did so. He checked the sky a few times but the stars were out and the moon was nearly full. She shouldn't be caught in anymore storms this time.
When he returned no one else was home. He crashed on the couch and began scrolling through the pictures he'd taken today.He deleted a lot of the ones Jade had taken only because a) she was a terrible photographer and b) she took a lot of photos of him.
The phone rang.
Dave had begun to really hate that sound and jegus, why hadn't Jade just brought her damn cell phone? He let it ring, waiting for the person on the other end to give up already. Ten minutes later it was still ringing. Dave yanked it from the receiver and hung it back up. Two minutes later it rang again.
Fuck it. He tore the phone out of the wall and set it on the counter. After a brief pause he took it off the counter and hid it.
Definitely not meddling.
The fifth night in a row Jade wandered off by herself just after sunset, Dave was less curious and more inflicted with a burning need to figure this out. Every time he asked Jade wouldn't say and Rose told him to mind his own business, but didn't know either. John admitted to also being curious but said Jade wouldn't tell him either. If Dave were being honest with himself he would admit this wasn't about Jade sneaking off every night. Rather, it was about her strange bouts of sadness that seemed to cross her face when she thought no one was paying attention. Her expression would become forlorn and her shoulders would slump. Then it would pass the moment she was addressed and she would smile again like everything was fine.
But it wasn't fine and Dave didn't like her being alone if something was up. He also decided the only likely culprit was That Guy. And the only person who knew That Guy besides Jade was John.
So Dave took a gravel path from their cabin down to a daycare that belonged to the town. John was there in the playground, sitting in a swing that was ridiculously small for the taller boy. Dave was bitter that John had grown up to be taller than him.
"Egbert, you look like a pedophile creeping on children," Dave said as he approached.
"What? Shut up, I do not. The daycare isn't even in use today. It's Saturday," John replied and dramatically rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"
"I want to know about that guy."
John's eyebrows furrowed. "That guy?"
"Yes. Him."
It took John a few seconds and then he rolled his eyes. "His name is Elliot."
"Don't care. Just tell me if he has anything to do with it."
John rocked back and forth on the swing, his feet still touching the hollowed out hole in the sand right below. "Anything to do with what?"
"Jesus, haven't you noticed? Jade hasn't really been herself."
John stopped. Something crossed his face that only fueled Dave's suspicion. Then he stood up from the swing and shoved his hand into his pocket.
"Wait, that reminds me!" He produced a folded piece of paper and held it out for him. "Here! It's important."
Dave took the proffered paper and unfolded it. His eyes scanned the writing. It appeared to be an invitation for some kind of dance. "Okay, Egbert, I'll be your date for the prom. But you're wearing the dress."
"All my dreams have finally come true," John deadpanned. "Why don't you actually read it, smartass."
Dave did so, reluctantly. It was actually a festival, not a dance, and had something to do with summer and traditional town bullshit. In short, it was not something that held any of Dave's interest and he couldn't fathom why John was excitedly showing it to him.
"So?"
"So? Jade really wants to go. Why don't you take her?"
Oh. Dave gave John a leveled stare from behind his shades. He was grinning triumphantly as if this was the most obvious and brilliant plan in the world. And, really, it kind of was. Dave decided he must be sinking to pretty pathetic levels if he needed John to set up dates for him. At the same time he was also appreciative. He wanted to spend as much time with Jade as he could here, alone and away from all the distractions of their life in the big city. Now he had the chance to take her on a date except not really a date because she wasn't datable. But he could pretend, which was also really pathetic.
He had completely forgotten his initial reason for finding John as he thought about this. But perhaps he didn't think this was entirely a good idea. There was already so much tension in him simply being around her lately. At the same time, he would hate himself forever if he let this chance slip by.
Dave pocketed the paper. "Okay, so I have to admit, this is pretty suave of you."
John swung an arm around Dave's shoulders and grinned. "I am your wing man, Dave. It's me."
"Well, shit. I guess I have to turn in my official cool kid club card now because that's just sad," Dave quipped, but he was smiling.
Good John. Best friend.
Fandom: Homestuck
Author: inksmears
Characters/Pairings: Dave/Jade, John/Rose
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13 [Warning for Language because Dave.]
Summary: Once, there were four friends with an unbreakable bond. They grew up. Things are different. For better or for worse?
Author's Notes: N/A
It was still raining in the morning, the steady pitter-patter of water against his window rousing Dave just before noon. A few seconds later someone was banging on his door.
"Wake up, you bum!" Jade's voice filtered through the wood.
If it was anyone else he would've told them to shove off. Instead he dragged himself upright and blinked blearily at the wall. Jade knocked again.
"Okay, okay…" He grumbled and forced himself out of bed. He rubbed sleep from his eyes as he pulled on his pants over his boxers. He patted down his hair to try and make it semi-presentable, didn't bother with a shirt or his shades, and pulled open the door after he was done yawning.
Jade smiled at him, dressed casually but clearly with no plans to go anywhere.
"What?" He asked when she didn't say anything.
"Nothing, I was just getting your lazy butt out of bed. It's almost noon!"
"Okay. Am I suppose to care?"
Jade rolled her eyes and turned away, sauntering back down the hallway into the living room. He heard John's voice greet her right before he shut the door. He had half a mind to just go back to bed. It was raining out, after all. Nothing much to do. Instead he sat on the edge of the bed and stared blankly out the window as he tried to wake up.
Since they had gotten here a week ago it had rained quite a bit. It was pretty lame. Rose had gone through a lot of trouble to set this vacation up for the four of them. Strangely Dave was happy to get away from the large city in which they had all come to reside in. The peaceful countryside they were staying in now was isolated, away from all the other people the world had to offer. Not that there weren't other people in the small town this cabin connected to but at least there were less of them. At least Dave didn't have to interact with them.
Out of all four of them it was Dave who had had the most trouble adjusting to life after the game had ended. The sudden transition from unbridled action to mundane normalcy was a difficult one for someone who had always lived a less than ordinary life. The result was that he closed himself off from everyone around him. He became strangely introverted sans the cool kid facade he always had going. As it turned out, no one really liked insufferable pricks and insufferable pricks didn't like others. So he was outcasted by most of society. For all his talk Dave just could not get along with other people. Dave was fine with this arrangement. He didn't need anyone else but John, Rose and Jade to keep him company. He made a life all on his own. He had a job and a place to live. He made it just fine without depending on strangers. It wasn't like he was a complete shut in or anything. He just didn't really have any friends.
The problem was that John, Rose and Jade had adapted to a more social lifestyle. They had other friends, other lives, other outings… and although Dave didn't want any of that he didn't want to be left behind, either. He wanted the best of both worlds but, as reality was quick to remind him, that's not the way life worked.
Dave begrudgingly got dressed. He was awake now. There was no way he'd fall back asleep. As he shuffled out the door the phone rang.
"Jade, that's for you!" John said from the living room.
Oh, really, Dave mused and moved with all his catlike grace into the kitchen. The phone was so old it was somewhat of a surprise it even worked. Dave answered it with an uninterested, "Sup."
There was a moment of silence before a male voice replied, "I'd like to speak to Jade, please."
Dave paused. He'd met him enough times by now to recognize his voice. Jade stepped into the kitchen suddenly and Dave promptly hung up the phone.
"Hey!" Jade protested. "John said that was for me!"
"John lied. It was a wrong number," Dave replied with a small shrug.
"Oh. I wonder why he would say that…"
The two returned to where John and Rose were in the living room. The scene looked almost exactly how Dave had found them last night except Rose had her laptop on her stomach instead of her nose buried in a book. John was peeking over at her with a serious expression on his face. Jade plopped down beside him.
"Jesus, are we still doing this?" Dave demanded, exasperated. "It's been four years since we lost contact with the trolls. Come on."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean they're gone," Rose countered. Her eyes did not stray from the screen, the sound of her typing nearly drowning out the sound of the rain.
"It's worth looking for them," John agreed. "I mean, you never know."
"They were living on a hunk of rock in outer space. There is no way they survived there for four years. They're dead."
John looked hurt by Dave's harsh words. "Maybe, but I wanna know for sure one way or the other. Don't you miss them?"
To that Dave had no reply. Living on Earth was hard enough for him without dealing with the problems of aliens. He sank down on the lone chair and watched the three of them on the couch. It was a fruitless search but as long as John wanted to try, Dave would help. All four of them often took time to look for information or even try to message them via Pesterchum. It had been four years without a response.
"We'll find something, John. I'm sure of it," Jade reassured him. John smiled weakly and nodded.
Because of the rain, their search for the trolls became the focus of the day. Jade fetched her laptop and aided Rose in the search. There wasn't much to be done that they hadn't tried already but Dave knew it helped John to just talk about it because out of all of them he had been the most upset when contact with the trolls had been lost. Eventually the rain cleared and Dave couldn't have been more grateful. He felt stir-crazy all of a sudden and escape was necessary. Only if Jade went with him, though.
"More pictures?" She asked hopefully.
"Sure. Whatever you want. Let's just leave and not come back until later."
Jade cocked her head at him. "That is a weirdly specific request. Okay."
If she wasn't in the cabin then she couldn't answer the phone. Right? Right. It wasn't like he was meddling or anything uncool like that.
Just keep telling yourself that, his subconscious drawled.
---------
The rain brought cooler weather with it. A nice breeze laid itself across the countryside and dissipated a lot of the oppressive heat. Rose was very thankful as she was no fan of the humidity. Lounging in the shade in her purple summer dress she felt much more comfortable outside now that the rain had done its work. The wind rustled the leaves above her and created moving shadows across her sprawled out figure. Droplets dripped steadily from some of the leaves but the high afternoon sun had dried off a lot of the landscape. Even so, Rose made sure to sit on a towel and now the muddy ground. She stared up through the leaves and drank in the beams of light that poked through them. Then a heavy weight half fell, half leapt onto the grass beside her. Rose sat up slightly and propped herself up against the tree trunk, lowering her book to turn her attention to John. He looked a little damp.
"I almost got to the top but then I felt bad because there was a nest up there," John said as he plucked some wet leaves out of his hair. "The mother wasn't very happy."
Rose smiled. "Are you and Dave still having that childish competition?"
"Hey, it isn't childish. This is serious business. I'm going to beat his record and climb the highest. You watch."
"Only if it provides me with entertainment. I have my fingers crossed that I will witness the bird dive-bomb you both."
"Well… I'd be okay with that if it'd make you laugh."
Rose arched an eyebrow at him. "I try to keep such boisterous displays at a minimum."
"I know!" John said in an exasperated tone but grinned. "It's just, I like when you laugh."
Rose turned her head away quickly with a small huff and hid her face behind her book. She could feel the smile on her lips and her cheeks grow hot, which was embarrassing. But it was okay so long as he couldn't tell. John chuckled and leaned back on his hands. There was silence for awhile.
Then John broke it by asking, "It's pretty lucky we were even able to come here, isn't it?"
"Quite," Rose replied without looking up from her book. "Given that the self righteous men in suites are still verbally sparring over long tables about my mother's wealth, it is nothing short of a miracle I was able to arrange this."
John frowned, brows furrowing in annoyance. "Oh man. Still?"
"Yes. It is never ending."
"Man, I don't get it. It's your inheritance. Why do they think they can take it from you?"
"Because my mother did not leave a will and so there is no specification for who gets it. They also claim my age of seventeen is a problem but I'm sure that's just more fine print that doesn't actually exist." Rose lowered her book and watched John look up into the leaves thoughtfully. He was always so much more troubled by this than her and she found it sort of endearing. To Rose it made no difference whether she got all her mother's money or not. She knew she would make a life either way. To her the only thing that money meant was whether or not she had to start from scratch.
"My situation is not as dire as… well."
John frowned and now he looked upset. Rose felt guilty immediately. "I apologize."
He sighed. "No, it's okay… I'm just frustrated. I keep trying to think of a way to fix it but I just can't. Jade didn't even want to tell me in the first place. I only found out because of that letter she got."
Rose set her book across her flat stomach and folded her arms over it thoughtfully. "It isn't something easily fixed. Dave still doesn't know, does he?"
"Nope. Technically I'm the only one who does as far as Jade knows. You only know because you overheard it. Jade made me promise not to tell Dave or you."
"I know."
John sighed and flopped sideways, sprawling on the grass on his back beside her. Rose peered down at him as he stared heavenward. He really did look upset and frustrated now. She shouldn't have brought it up.
John continued irritably, "I keep telling her, 'Tell Dave! You've gotta tell Dave. He's going to be so mad if he finds out you kept it from him.' But Jade says that's why she doesn't want him to know. She says it's because he'll get mad and then probably do something stupid. Because he's Dave Strider and Dave Strider is a certified dumbass."
"I believe he claims to be a 'man of action', if I recall."
"He is the exact opposite of that thing you just said."
"Indeed. I believe Elliot is also making things more complicated than they need to be."
"Tell me about it. Once they were in the same room together and I thought for sure Dave was going to start a fight. It was very stressful!"
"I know."
"It's okay. I think I have a plan," John said triumphantly.
"Oh?"
"Yup."
The two lapsed into silence again and Rose couldn't help but think that the world had been so much better without rules. Back when it had just been the four of them in the game, working together to reach the end. They had gone to hell and back, gone through so much pain, only to end up being just more lost faces in the crowd.
"If the trolls really are gone…" John started but trailed off.
Rose, who had been staring absently into the leaves in thought, turned her attention back to him. "Yes?"
John turned his head to her and grinned. "Do you think that means we still have to get married?"
Rose stared blankly at him for a moment. Then she threw her book at his face and laughed.
---------
True to his goal, Dave kept them both out and busy until sunset. When night had fallen and they were making the walk back, Jade stopped.
"Okay, I'm going. I'll meet you back later!"
"Are you ditching me again?"
"Hehehe, no! Well, yes. But not because you're not fun to be with. I just have something I wanna do!"
"You're building a mystery here, Jade. I'm itching to know what kind of secret cult you're sneaking off to. It's starting to eat at my mind."
Jade rolled her eyes and stepped off the path, waving at him as she backed away toward an incline. "It's a secret but I promise it isn't a cult where we sacrifice chickens."
"That is the weirdest thing you have ever said and that's a pretty big fucking accomplishment."
Jade laughed and paused, smiling warmly at him. There was something about the look on her face that was distinctly off. It was something Dave had notice the other night and, come to think of it, something he'd noticed even before this trip had happened. That nagging sensation returned from before, telling him there was something really wrong here.
But then the moment passed and the look on her face faded. She called cheerfully, "Don't follow me! And I better get to see those pictures when I get back!"
She turned on her heel and took off down the hill with another cheerful laugh. Dave watched her go and thought long and hard about following her. This was the second night in a row she'd disappeared at sunset. No big deal but he wasn't being ironic when he had said he was getting a little curious about where she kept going. Plus now he was a little concerned too. He hesitated to turn back but after a few minutes standing in semi-darkness he did so. He checked the sky a few times but the stars were out and the moon was nearly full. She shouldn't be caught in anymore storms this time.
When he returned no one else was home. He crashed on the couch and began scrolling through the pictures he'd taken today.He deleted a lot of the ones Jade had taken only because a) she was a terrible photographer and b) she took a lot of photos of him.
The phone rang.
Dave had begun to really hate that sound and jegus, why hadn't Jade just brought her damn cell phone? He let it ring, waiting for the person on the other end to give up already. Ten minutes later it was still ringing. Dave yanked it from the receiver and hung it back up. Two minutes later it rang again.
Fuck it. He tore the phone out of the wall and set it on the counter. After a brief pause he took it off the counter and hid it.
Definitely not meddling.
The fifth night in a row Jade wandered off by herself just after sunset, Dave was less curious and more inflicted with a burning need to figure this out. Every time he asked Jade wouldn't say and Rose told him to mind his own business, but didn't know either. John admitted to also being curious but said Jade wouldn't tell him either. If Dave were being honest with himself he would admit this wasn't about Jade sneaking off every night. Rather, it was about her strange bouts of sadness that seemed to cross her face when she thought no one was paying attention. Her expression would become forlorn and her shoulders would slump. Then it would pass the moment she was addressed and she would smile again like everything was fine.
But it wasn't fine and Dave didn't like her being alone if something was up. He also decided the only likely culprit was That Guy. And the only person who knew That Guy besides Jade was John.
So Dave took a gravel path from their cabin down to a daycare that belonged to the town. John was there in the playground, sitting in a swing that was ridiculously small for the taller boy. Dave was bitter that John had grown up to be taller than him.
"Egbert, you look like a pedophile creeping on children," Dave said as he approached.
"What? Shut up, I do not. The daycare isn't even in use today. It's Saturday," John replied and dramatically rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"
"I want to know about that guy."
John's eyebrows furrowed. "That guy?"
"Yes. Him."
It took John a few seconds and then he rolled his eyes. "His name is Elliot."
"Don't care. Just tell me if he has anything to do with it."
John rocked back and forth on the swing, his feet still touching the hollowed out hole in the sand right below. "Anything to do with what?"
"Jesus, haven't you noticed? Jade hasn't really been herself."
John stopped. Something crossed his face that only fueled Dave's suspicion. Then he stood up from the swing and shoved his hand into his pocket.
"Wait, that reminds me!" He produced a folded piece of paper and held it out for him. "Here! It's important."
Dave took the proffered paper and unfolded it. His eyes scanned the writing. It appeared to be an invitation for some kind of dance. "Okay, Egbert, I'll be your date for the prom. But you're wearing the dress."
"All my dreams have finally come true," John deadpanned. "Why don't you actually read it, smartass."
Dave did so, reluctantly. It was actually a festival, not a dance, and had something to do with summer and traditional town bullshit. In short, it was not something that held any of Dave's interest and he couldn't fathom why John was excitedly showing it to him.
"So?"
"So? Jade really wants to go. Why don't you take her?"
Oh. Dave gave John a leveled stare from behind his shades. He was grinning triumphantly as if this was the most obvious and brilliant plan in the world. And, really, it kind of was. Dave decided he must be sinking to pretty pathetic levels if he needed John to set up dates for him. At the same time he was also appreciative. He wanted to spend as much time with Jade as he could here, alone and away from all the distractions of their life in the big city. Now he had the chance to take her on a date except not really a date because she wasn't datable. But he could pretend, which was also really pathetic.
He had completely forgotten his initial reason for finding John as he thought about this. But perhaps he didn't think this was entirely a good idea. There was already so much tension in him simply being around her lately. At the same time, he would hate himself forever if he let this chance slip by.
Dave pocketed the paper. "Okay, so I have to admit, this is pretty suave of you."
John swung an arm around Dave's shoulders and grinned. "I am your wing man, Dave. It's me."
"Well, shit. I guess I have to turn in my official cool kid club card now because that's just sad," Dave quipped, but he was smiling.
Good John. Best friend.