Quentin James (boycott_love) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2011-03-06 20:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | #flashback, jadyn, quentin |
I read about the afterlife but I never really lived
Who: Quentin James and Jadyn Cole
When: April 28, 2009 - immediately following Kevin James' funeral
Where: The James mansion in Kennebunkport // Bull Feeney's in Portland, Maine
The more the day wore on, the more Quentin's emotions were starting to get the best of him. No one could really blame him - they'd spread Kevin's ashes out to sea not more than a few hours earlier, after all. With him, though, everyone and their grandmother could tell he was upset. Not just because of the look on his face, or the conversation he'd just had with his dad, but because everything around him was starting to move. Wine glasses, car keys, if it was small and not tied down, it was going to float.
Quentin ignored it, going up to his room to change into something more appropriate for going out. At this rate, he was never going to wear this suit again, and that fact should have bothered him, but it didn't. Maybe he'd burn it, along with the painting in the corner of the room, hidden well in its box. Part of him wondered if anyone was going to take him up on his offer to go drinking - but then he remembered seeing Jadyn cheering when his dad went down. She'd go, at least.
Several candles knocked over on the decorative shelves as he walked down into the foyer, looking around to see if anyone else was already there. The only one he saw was his sister, Renee, who paused in the doorway to the Drawing Room. She didn't say anything to him, the exchanged glances were enough. His family wouldn't approve him going to Portland tonight, and Quentin didn't care. He needed out of here, and this was the best way he knew to achieve that. Worse came to worst, he knew enough people he could crash with and hell, he had the money, he'd just get a hotel room if he was that drunk.
Keeping a tight grip on his car keys - that and his wallet were the only small objects on him - he caught sight of Jadyn waiting by the front door. Trying to smile, and barely managing a slight lift of one corner of his mouth, he came up to Jadyn. "Take it you're coming with me?"
When Jadyn had received a call in Michigan with the area code being from Maine, she had figured it was from Kevin. He rarely called, but when he did, it was comforting. At least for the first thirty minutes. Then it always slipped into some depressing topic about why he bothered playing puppet for mommy and daddy and how Jadyn wished he wasn't so committed to that life so they could be happy together. Then she would always ask him the same thing - are you happy now? She wasn't sure if the extended pause on his end was a good or bad thing, but she always hung up the phone by then to hear a response. When she picked up the phone this time, it was Kevin's kid brother on the end, Quentin. And it was then she realized she would never get that response from Kevin.
Jadyn was utterly torn apart. She locked herself up in her bathroom for days just to bawl her eyes out, not knowing how to handle it any other way. Though she knew Quentin called her for a reason, because the other James wouldn't even dare to do so. She was the crazy, lowlife, dock worker who seduced their poor baby away from reality. Jadyn couldn't stand his parents and vice versa, but Kevin was dead and like fucking hell she was going to skip out on this because the rents didn't approve of her. Well then, she was going to have some fun with this. Fuck buying a plane ticket to Maine, she rode cross country on her Harley to get there. And when she did show up, she was fresh off the road, hair a complete mess, not a single dab of make up on her face, and her outfit reeked of gasoline. She knew Kevin wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Oh, and that t-shirt she was sporting off? She bought it a couple days ago at some thrift shop just to see how far the James' jaws could drop at that. "What? At least I fucking wore black," she spat at some gawking yuppies before scoffing and rolling her eyes.
And she saw what happened with Quentin and his father. Damn it, she was two seconds away from knocking back her rum and walking straight up to the man and slugging him straight in the face. Poor kid was taking it just as badly as she was. He didn't need some asswipe fucking up his moment. and then Quentin went off and let his telekinesis do its thing and she tried so hard not to laugh. Really, where was a camera when you needed it? She made a mental note to buy some drinks for Quentin later. Oh wait, he apparently just invited everyone to Portland for a real party. Nodding her head with a smirk, Jadyn yelled out a mighty, "FUCK YEAH!" while throwing up some devil horns. Oh right, THAT'S why they didn't want Kevin marrying her.
When Quentin eventually came out from his room, Jadyn was there, leaning against a wall, twirling the keys to her Harley around her finger. It was hard not to give Renee the death stare - god, she hated that woman. Couldn't she leave more Quentin alone for even two seconds? Really now... "Dude, you have no choice! I hauled ass all the way from Michigan. You think I'm going to say no to a little Maine hospitality?" She pulled Quentin in for a tight hug, patting him roughly on the back like she was one of the guys. "Missed you, kid. Feel like it's been too long."
Quentin could feel Renee's eyes staring holes into his back as he came up to Jadyn and pulled her into a hug, just as tight as the one she was giving him back. He didn't care if his family didn't approve of her, because they didn't approve of him much, either. What mattered was the fact that he knew she'd made Kevin happy, even if the James family would never approve of the match. Of course he had to call Jadyn and let her know what happened. It was legit one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do, and upon hanging up with her he'd gone straight to the bottle of brandy and drank the rest of the night away so he didn't have to think about it anymore, but it had to be done. She needed her chance to say goodbye as much as the rest of them did.
"Drinks it is then," he said, ignoring his sister completely as he let Jadyn go, grabbing the door so he could lead them both out of the house. Granted, it was his home, but he couldn't stand to stay here a second longer if he could help it. "And you're right, I haven't seen you in forever. Shouldn't be like this, but you know." He gave a little shrug, not wanting to talk about it - but of course, they'd have to. Quentin couldn't escape the subject forever. Alcohol would help. "You driving up to Portland, or you want me to?" Didn't matter either way, they both knew where the bar was.
Oh thank god, they could finally leave this place. Not that she didn't want to be there to support Quentin or Kevin in spirit, but she couldn't stand being around such a stuffy family. Kevin wouldn't have wanted it this way. He would have wanted them to go out and celebrate instead of being prim and proper and not mourning the right way. His life needed to be celebrated over a few rounds of Shipyard at a damn good bar. Jadyn knew this. Quentin probably did, too. And thankfully they could finally do just that. "I got a better idea," Jadyn raised an eyebrow with a smirk, "How about we race on up? My Harley versus your Mustang. At the very least, we can show Portland how it's really done, eh?" She didn't have any intentions of winning a race, but merely to be brash and outlandish in an attempt to jab at the James family and have some fun. No other way to do it. "Come on! It'll be fun!" She punched Quentin playfully in the arm with a fake giggle and walked on out with him, rather excited at this prospect.
Quentin was not in the frame of mind to play nice with all the people his family knew anymore. The brandy he'd been drinking earlier probably had something to do with it, too, but that was neither here nor there. He and Kevin might not have been best friends, but he knew his brother well enough to give him a proper send off, and he'd do it his way, under his conditions. That meant a good bar with his good friends and remembering the good things. Not holding in his emotions and playing nice with people he didn't even fucking like, much less respect. Closing the front door to the estate behind him, it was the first time all day that something akin to a smile crossed his face. "A race? Hell yes, I'm in." Again, alcohol in his system, probably interfering with his judgement. And Jadyn's Harley could probably out run the Mustang, but who cared? At least he wasn't thinking about the funeral for the moment. "You need me to give you a headstart?" he teased.
"Oh please! Dude, I'm from Massachusetts and you know how we all drive there. Fucking speed limit is just a suggestion." She laughed at Quentin while fishing out her keys to the Harley, spinning them around her finger while shaking her head. "Headstart my ass." It was conversations like these that reminded her of home back on the east coast. She missed the guys and hanging out with everybody. Michigan was tough for her, especially with how isolated she could be at times. Even if she was back for not a memorable time, she and Quentin would make it memorable for Kevin's sake. Oh god, how she wished he was there so he could hold her right then. As much as she was laughing and smiling and putting on the tough girl act, Jadyn was shaky at best. She needed a stiff drink in her hand fast and no better man to help her out with that than Quentin. Mounting her lovely bike, she placed the key into the ignition and revved it up. "See you in an hour, grandpa," she teased back at Quentin while backing out of the parking lot and began their epic race. At least Portland would know when they were coming in.
Any sign of laughter was a good thing right now, or both of them. Quentin was going to take what he could get, in that regard, even if he knew both of them weren't happy. There wasn't such thing as "happy" on a day like today, and it was all he could do not to remember what they'd done. Spread his brother's ashes out to sea, said goodbye to someone they'd never see again. "Done and done, just don't bitch when I leave you in the dust." Okay, so Quentin could talk some smack too, but in the moment, he didn't care. He called his keys into his hands via telekinesis without even thinking about it, or wondering if anyone else was watching him. At this rate if they hadn't figured out that something was different about him, they needed to get their head checked. Then he jumped into the Mustang and tore off after her, not really waiting to even pick a song to listen to. Right now, the music wasn't needed. They both knew how to get to Portland, and the highway was the fastest, even with the stupid tolls - the ones Quentin blasted right through without even so much of a thought as to paying them. He had a tag on his car, his parents took care of that shit.
On her Harley, Jadyn felt absolutely free. No one could stop her or tell her no and hearing Quentin behind her catching up just made the raven-haired rockgirl laugh and speed up. She had no issues tearing up the road and it wouldn't be the first time she had a cop chase her on the highways in Maine. Would be one hell of a welcoming back. And Jadyn wasn't a fan of the tolls either, but had her Fast Pass on her to flip out and flash to the cameras before chucking back into her jacket and speeding off. It was a complete blast racing with Quentin, even if most of it consisted of her staying by his side and flipping him off with a giddy grin. She liked to think that Kevin was watching over them, happy to see his lover and kid bro were still getting along. At least someone in the family was. And Jadyn knew when she was in Portland. She didn't need any signs or a GPS. She could feel it. Just the presence of the water made her body tingle. Oh, she could smell it from the highway, too. Being landlock in Michigan for so long made her stircrazy after a while. Sailing and taking baths in the tub only replaced the real thing for so long.
So on that note, Jadyn actually took a detour, taking an early exit to hit a backroad and view the water a bit before hitting Bull Feeney's. So it would make her all of two minutes late and Quentin would rag on her forever, but if he was a water elemental, he would understand this so much better. Jadyn needed this, especially in a time of mourning. When she was done, she peeled on out and ended up at the lovely pub, easily spotting Quentin's Mustang and parked next to it. "I don't even want to hear it from you, pal!" Jadyn declared, removing her helmet. "Be happy I didn't get lost!"
Every time Jadyn leaned over to flip him off while riding next to him, Quentin could only laugh and flip her off right back. He had one window of the Mustang open, though the weather wasn't really warm enough to warrant taking the top down - maybe on the ride back, whenever that ended up being. It was almost May for Christ's sake, it had to warm up sometime. Maybe this wasn't how his parents felt he should be handling Kevin's death, but right now? It was helping. Anything that was out of that stuffy house was helping.
When Jadyn veered off the highway, Quentin almost followed, but decided against it. They'd both been through a lot today and he wouldn't blame her for needing some time alone. There was the fact that the water was so close by too; Bull Feeney's was only two streets away from the waterfront and like his big brother, Quentin knew how much that meant to Jadyn. When she finally arrived he was leaning against the side of his Mustang, checking to see if there were any messages on his phone. He held up his hand, just smiling. "You knew I wasn't going to go in without you," he said, reaching out to put an arm around her shoulders. "C'mon. Let's go get drunk."
Jadyn laughed in response to Quentin, welcoming the friendly embrace and wrapped an arm around his waist. Oh, if only Kevin could see this now. Probably shake his head and chuckle at the two while demanding they hurry up so they could get wasted. "Sounds like a kick ass plan to me! God, I can't even remember the last time I been here. Not the east coast in general, but Bull Feeney's." For all Jadyn knew, her last time was probably with Kevin. Nothing but fond memories. She and Quentin were going to keep it like that. Heading on over to the bar, she pushed the door out of their way, still chuckling all the while. She spotted a few familiar faces from the funeral, apparently those who heeded Quentin's words about heading to the bar for a proper send off for Kevin. Better than seeing his parents there. That would be grounds for punching them in the face. "Hey guys! Let's get this party started!" Flailing her arms about, Jadyn let out a sharp whistle while gesturing to the bartenders. "Hey! Get us a couple rounds of Shipyard!"
To that, the bartenders just blinked. "...dear god, is that-"
"Yup," the other one sighed while lining up the mugs. "Looks like Jade is back in town."
"Are you kidding? This place is one of my favorite haunts." There was a bonus to going to school in Portland, Quentin knew where all of the best places to go drinking were, and Bull Feeney's was right up there with the best of them. And hell, if his parents were here, he was turning right around and finding them another bar to drink in. Because fuck that, they'd already had their "proper" funeral for Kevin, it was Quentin's turn to pay his respects in his own way. Following Jadyn to the bar, Quentin shrugged off his jacket, tossing it over a bar stool before reaching into his pocket for his credit card. Thank god his parents were rich, and used to Quentin doing stupid shit like this. "You heard the woman," he said. "And don't be cheap with it, either. We've got a life to celebrate and we're going to do this right." Kevin deserved nothing but the best, and that was what Quentin was going to do for him.
Following Quentin on over to the bar, Jadyn slipped off her own leather jacket and took a seat by her friend. Thank god he was covering this, because Jadyn would have gone broke with the amount she was needing to drink right then. "I still can't believe they had a stuffy as fuck funeral for Kevin," Jadyn scoffed while running her fingers through her hair. "Seriously, it's like they didn't even know their damn son." Both of them knew Kevin better than that and Jadyn was certain the poor guy was cringing at the whole thing. The bar, though? She hoped Kevin approved of that. And then the bartenders slid down the first round of drinks to Quentin and Jadyn, to which she smiled and played with the rim of the glass. "He was a good guy, your brother. He'll be missed."
Thank god the bartender didn't wait too long to bring their drinks over. Quentin thanked the guy with a nod of his head and a long sip of the beer; Shipyard would always be his favorite, hands down. "I can," he said, and the bitterness in his voice came through loud and clear. "They made it about them, not about Kevin or who Kevin was. Just about who they wanted him to be." Who they wanted Quentin to be as well, a notion he'd rebelled against as hard as he possibly could the moment he could. Most people weren't able to tell Quentin and Kevin were brothers unless you knew them, or you could see past all the tattoos and dyed hair that Quentin was sporting. What mattered was that they were, and that Quentin was going to do the right thing by him. Kevin would approve of this. His parents had, at least, spread his ashes out to sea, the only part they'd done right. "Damn straight he will," he said, thinking again of that painting, hiding in his closet. I'm so sorry, Kevin. I tried to reach you. I didn't know. I didn't know....
And this was why Jadyn couldn't stand rich people. Always doing it for themselves and nobody else. That money went straight to their heads. Thankfully that wasn't the case for Quentin or his brother. Jadyn could certainly tell they were related. Something about their facial structure and eyes, but Quentin was more of the rebel, where Kevin always seemed to be holding back. She took a moment to reminiscence about the time they spent together and how Kevin truly let go and forgot about his "proper" lifestyle and gave into that rebel side. Jadyn loved that side. And now it was just a memory. Her thoughts were interrupted as she caught a glimpse of the door opening, a good sized crowd coming in, all of them from the funeral earlier. "Looks like we got ourselves a party," Jadyn smirked while nudging Quentin. Waving her hand about, she beckoned for the others to come on over. "Glad to see that some people around here know how to live it up! Grab a beer, guys!"
The rebel side of Kevin James was something so few people saw, truth be told. It wasn't loud like Quentin was, because Quentin made damn sure everyone knew he wasn't going to play by the prim and proper rules everyone set for him. With Kevin, he just wanted to sail his boat. He was active at the marina so much because he loved the water, genuinely loved the business. It wasn't out of love for their father, and Quentin knew that. Just like how Quentin knew that was the same reason Kevin stood up for him all the time, looking out for him. Though he was old enough now to take care of himself, at least in theory, he wouldn't have Kevin to fall back on anymore. That, on top of how he'd seen his brother die, was hard to deal with. When Jadyn nudged him, he looked up to see everyone coming in, and something like a grin lit up his face. "Thanks for coming," he said, toasting them with his beer. "Tonight's on me."
And, seeing as they now had a real party, and everyone was set up with a drink in hand, Quentin did something almost out of character for him. Ignoring the way the bartender was looking at him, Quentin jumped up onto the bar, miraculously not spilling his beer as he did so. Score one for his telekinesis helping him to keep the liquid in the glass, for real. "We're here tonight to celebrate the one and only Kevin Cornelius James!" So what if Kevin didn't want everyone to know what his middle name was? Quentin was beyond caring at this point. "A great sailor, an even better friend, and the best brother a guy could have asked for. We're not gonna have anything sad here tonight. Nothing but good times and good memories for my brother." He raised his glass, and a cheer went up through the bar. "To Kevin!"
With Quentin jumping up on the bar, Jadyn almost laughed herself off the stool. Oh, he was a boy after her own heart and she loved it. Sitting there, sipping on her drink slowly, she listened to Quentin's words and how they moved her to tears. She couldn't help it - she was an emotional water elemental. And as Quentin raised his glass, Jadyn was there to raise hers and yell back, "To Kevin!" Once everyone else joined in with saying his name, Jadyn downed the rest of her beer and just picked up another. She was going to need it. "Way better speech than what your dad gave at the funeral," Jadyn commented with an eye roll. "Speaking of your dad, nice stunt you pulled on him," some guy had mentioned to Quentin with a smirk, probably half drunk from the stench of him along. All Jadyn had to do was give him a single glare and he backed off. Didn't Quentin just mention there would be nothing sad here? No bringing up bad thoughts. No, there would be good memories and Jadyn would do just that to get Quentin's mind off of it. "Hey, did I ever tell you how I met your brother?"
The fact that the majority of the bar was paying attention to him was something new, actually. Quentin might lash out in order to attract attention, but it was often to piss off his family, not so he could be the center of a crowd of people. Hearing them all say the words back to him, to truly be here to honor his brother's memory? Shit, if Quentin wasn't out in public, he might have broken down over that. Instead he chugged back his beer and then jumped off the counter, a little drunkenly, and then sat back down next to Jadyn. Having other people around helped keep him in check, keep him from losing his cool completely. Right now, Quentin needed that. "Damn straight," he said, shaking his head. Sure, Joshua had included a lot of the details, but there wasn't any emotion behind his words, no passion. The whole affair felt so empty to him, like they hadn't known who Kevin was. He just glared at the guy along with Jadyn, not bothering to enlighten him about why it had happened. Thanks, telekinesis for acting up! "Not really," he said, flagging the bartender down for another round. "I know you met up with him at the docks in Salem."
More drinks were going to be needed for this story, or at least in Jadyn's mind it did. She waited a second for more booze to come their way, then took her beer in hand for a quick swig and started her story with a genuine smile. "We, um... met down at Salem out on the bay. I was taking it easy and just sailing along, laying back and enjoying the sun, you know? Then I heard a couple of screams and felt my boat collide into something. Just happened to be your brother's boat." She snorted a bit while recalling those memories. "He was so awkward and didn't know what the fuck to do. It was really adorable. He kept apologizing and wanted to make sure I was ok and all I could do was laugh my ass off. Totally a classy broad." Another gulp of beer and she flipped her hair out of her face. "He brought me back to the docks and said he'd repair for any damages done to my boat, but told him it was ok. I worked on the fucking docks, I could do that shit on my own, right? But, uh... I bumped into him later that night at a bar. You know, fake ID and everything. We talked and talked until we closed the bar, and even then we walked the shore until the sun came up. I felt... alive around him. Like the world could go to shit, but it was alright because he was there." A warm, yet longing smile washed over her lips. "He was my rock in my hurricane. He'd never let me down."
This was the Kevin Quentin wanted to remember, the one who got all awkward around a girl he actually liked - rather than the quiet gentleman he'd seen when Kevin was around his other girlfriends. The ones his parents set him up with, "socially acceptable" matches without half a brain in their heads. Of course, Quentin was biased. He knew Kevin was happy with Jadyn, the kind of happiness you gave everything to keep. Jadyn might not have seen it, but Kevin hadn't been the same since. "Of course he wanted to see if you were okay, he thought you were hot," he said, nudging Jadyn's shoulder. Taking a sip of his new beer, Quentin paused, looking down into his glass for a moment. "I remember when he came home from that trip, talking about this girl he'd met. My mom thought - well, who gives a shit what my mom thought. The bottom line was that he was so just - lit up. He was happy." To keep the glass from rattling, he held onto the glass with both hands, not wanting it to get away. "There's seven years between us, you know. I always looked up to him, even though we were different. Though there wasn't much we could really talk about because we didn't have much in common. But he always knew when I needed out. We'd just take the boat and leave, go up to Portland or all the way down east, just... be on the water. No worries whatsoever."
Jadyn broke out into laughter the second Quentin reminded her that his older brother thought she was attractive. Back then, such a concept never blipped on her radar. She was the tomboy dock worker who just rolled out of bed, threw on whatever didn't smell, combed a few fingers through her hair, and was out the door. Jadyn mastered that messy bedhead-rockstar look and only did it because it was convenient, not so she could hook up with guys. She was happy that she could make a difference in Kevin's life and that Quentin could remind her of that, just like how she was going to remind him of how much he meant to his big bro. "He cared about you probably as much as he cared about me," Jadyn pointed out while tipping the neck of her bottle in his direction before taking a long swig. "I think he always envied you for being that rebellious, you know? He was the oldest and had responsibilities or some shit to take care of. That's got to be hard. But he had you to remind him that you couldn't just life your whole life with a tree up your ass, being proper and shit. I just know he was always at his best when he was at sea." A soft, nostalgic smile washed over her features as she dwelled on Kevin. She always wondered if he was secretly a water elemental who was unaware of his abilities. Jadyn could have shown him the ropes along with many others.
Attractiveness, at least in Quentin's opinion, was not always about how someone looked. Sure, a cute girl could turn his head, but then she'd open her mouth and ruin everything by being dumb, stuck up, bitchy, or all three. He'd found a lot of those hanging around Kennebunkport, and they never appealed to him. It was good to hear Jadyn laugh, though, because hell, they could both use it at this point. Maybe it was the alcohol in his system, but he'd take what he could at this point. When the subject changed back to him, though, Quentin ran a hand over his hair, looking down into his glass. "Maybe." Or not. I don't know. His relationship with Kevin had always been weird, hard for them to be close when they were so far apart in age, but Kevin tried. "He was the responsible one. The one who carried all the weight. He was supposed to." That made more sense in his head, but that didn't make it any less true. His parents expected a lot from him, but the burden was so much more for Kevin, and all of them knew it. "Whenever we could get away, he was - he was himself. Hard to find that guy when we were home."
Halfway through her bottle of beer, Jadyn was starting to feel the fuzzy effects of the alcohol embrace her. She loved it. It made her forget why she was crying or why she was angry and just focused on the moment. Fuck medication, this and a good blunt was all she needed. Smiling at Quentin, she smiled some more, even if it wasn't the most cheerful one in the world. "I know you probably don't think it, but you got a lot of your brother in you." Jadyn took a swig of her beer to let that sink into Quentin before going on. "I mean, not in the same way, because no offense, I'd rather rot to death than hook up with you, but you have his cocky tendencies, his need to wander away from home, and even responsibility. All in a different sense, though. Kevin felt responsible for the family and carrying that bullshit on. You-" She tipped her bottle in his direction before leaning back. "-take responsibility for yourself. You're a rebel at heart, like me, but you're not the type who flips off the consequences when they come your way. Just because you're not traditional doesn't automatically make you wrong." She tilted her head to the side with a bit of a smirk. "It's a shame your parents don't see that, but you don't fucking need them. I mean, hello." She pointed at her tshirt that was bought solely for the funeral and just laughed. "I'm totally with you on that!"
Quentin didn't lift his eyes from his glass, merely polishing it off and then waving the bartender over for another. Kevin might not have expected him to spend the day of his funeral drunk, but it was a good plan in his mind, anyway. The sight of Jadyn smiling, even if it wasn't a genuine one, was a start in his book. "No offense taken," he said, because hooking up with Jadyn wasn't on his agenda either. Jadyn was Kevin's. Always was and always would be. That would be akin to hooking up with his sister and all he could think of was a giant FUCK NO to that. "At least it's proof that I'm related to one of them." It explained a lot about why he and Kevin had gotten along, too. He tried with Renee, he really did, but it didn't always work. Quentin never wanted to be traditional about anything he did, because if he was then he'd be just like his parents, following all the rules and playing nice. "And I'm glad, I'm glad I got you, y'know. That you came out. Meant a lot to me." Fuck what his parents thought about her. That wasn't why Quentin invited her to the funeral. This about Kevin, not what people thought about Kevin.
She snorted at that. Thank god he was more like Kevin instead of Renee. The damn bitch annoyed Jadyn way too much. Then again, so did any girly girl, but that was besides the point. "I'm glad I could come on out. If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't have ever known what happened." The thought saddened her, but it was the truth. The James family would probably be content leaving the water elemental in the dark than ask her to come on out to the funeral. Oh, the looks on their faces when she came walking in. "...it was kind of hard when you first called me and stuff. I didn't want to believe it, but I know you don't lie about that kind of shit." She took several sips from her beer, swaying over to reach out and pat Quentin on the shoulder. "Anything for you, kiddo. You're my little bro now and I'm here for you." It was the least she could do for Kevin now that he was gone.
"I wouldn't leave you in the dark about something like that." He didn't know what would have been worse, telling Jadyn Kevin was gone, or her calling to talk to him months after he died. Either way was shit and Quentin had his moments, but he knew the right thing when he saw it. He nodded, sipping at his new drink, the coaster it had been on rattling a little as he did so. One telltale sign when Quentin was starting to get drunk was how his powers acted up, so he just put a hand over it and stared at it until it stopped moving. "Always gonna be hard," he admitted. "But we'll deal. We always do, right?" You didn't ask for half the crap life threw at you, but they always got through it. They were both still here, sitting at the bar having drinks in his brother's memory. It was what Kevin would have wanted. "That goes both ways," he reminded her. "You need me, I'm there."
Quentin's powers going off was always good times. Or at least Jadyn thought so. Shit, she was getting drunk, too, so everything was hilarious. Best medication ever. She nodded to the fellow psychic, rather liking this informal pact they just made. It wasn't like she was never looking out for him before, but now seemed to be a perfect time to cement it. Besides, Kevin was looking over them, so might as well. So Jadyn lifted her beer up in Quentin's direction to propose a toast. "To the future, then," she spoke proudly, albeit drunkenly, and with a smile. "Always looking out for each other and never forgetting the good times." Because it was those memories that they needed to hold onto for strength. They would be each other's support. Even if tonight was suppose to be a night of mourning, drinks would still be shared in good memory of Kevin. He might have not been there anymore, but his spirit definitely was. And that was all it took to make Jadyn smile like that.