Ruby Fox (love_ruby) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2019-03-14 09:53:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | #december 2017, jules, jules x ruby, ruby |
Who: Jules and Ruby
Where: School
When: After school, Thursday, December 7th
Status: Complete
One of the nice things about game nights was that the cheerleaders didn’t have practice the next afternoon, giving them an evening off. Jules needed to study for her Biology test the next day, so it kind of put a damper on going out or hanging with Jasper, who was probably a little distracted by his uncle being in the hospital anyway. As she gathered her things from her locker, she made a mental note to send him a text when she got home to make sure he was doing okay.
As she shut her locker and started down the hall through the crowd Jules was taken aback by a voice in her ear. It was clearer and louder than all the other chatter around her and she recognized it as Carson. At least she was pretty sure it was Carson. Was it? She hadn’t spoken to the three guys in a few days and the voices in her head had gone from sounding muffled and far away to feeling like they were literally standing beside her. It also made her head hurt a little and Jules grimaced as she ducked into the closest girl’s room, one hand coming up to press at her temple.
She drew up straight when she realized the bathroom wasn’t empty and Ruby was there washing her hands in the sink. Jules stared at her, too distracted by the male voice in her brain laughing at something someone else must have said, to greet Ruby or even turn and leave. She had done a pretty good job at avoiding Ruby and Elodie, not really trusting herself not to be a total bitch. Not that Jules cared much one way or another, but she knew Jasper was still friends with Ruby. And she wasn’t entirely sure what to do about Elodie yet so… avoidance had been key. It all worked out because it felt like Ruby was avoiding her too. But now they were both standing there staring at each other, Jules hand still pressed to her forehead where her temple throbbed.
Ruby usually wasn’t one to run away from her problems, but when it came to the situation with Jasper and Jules that was exactly what she’d been doing. It felt like time was the only solution, time for Jules to potentially cool down and time for Jasper to forget about what a fool she’d made of herself. Even if he believed her that it had been the result of a spell or some other kind of manipulation, she knew it would stick with him. It would make things weird. She knew it because she felt it herself, but she didn’t know how to make things normal again. Plus, she didn’t want to make his life difficult when it came to Jules, who most likely wanted him to cut off Ruby completely.
The downside was that Ruby was basing everything on assumptions, and by cutting herself off she had no idea what was going on with anyone. When she looked up from washing her hands to see Jules standing there beside her, she didn’t know if she was about to get screamed at or bitch slapped or if everything was fine. Everything didn’t look fine, but in a way she didn’t expect. “You okay?” she finally asked. “I’ve got some Advil, if you want it.”
If Jules hadn't had some dude's voice in her head, she might have been tempted to scream or bitch slap, but doing it at school meant possible suspension and that meant missing games with the squad, so it was probably for the best that the headache was distracting her from her lingering anger with Ruby. "I'm okay," Jules said, walking over to the sink to turn on the taps so she could splash her face with a little water. She had no idea what was happening so telling Ruby that she was hearing voices felt like a really bad idea. Jules grabbed a paper towel to carefully dab at her face so she didn't mess up too much of her makeup. With that down she crumpled up the paper towel and tossed it into the garbage before turning to Ruby. "Have you talked to Jasper recently?”
Ruby knew that, if it was her, she had to be feeling pretty bad to splash water on her face. It would’ve made a mess of her makeup. But Jules managed to pull it off without looking like a smudged mess, so points for her. If she didn’t need anything, then Ruby was hoping she could get away without an argument, but when Jules spoke she stopped, sliding her hands into her back pockets. “No, not since— not recently,” she answered. “I talked to Amelia though. Turns out Elodie’s a first class bitch.” Jules might think the same thing about her, but Elodie had been out to stir shit up. Even under supernatural influence or drugs, Ruby hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone.
So Ruby found out from Amelia rather than Jasper what Elodie had done. That was weird. Even if she wasn't super fond of the fact, Jasper and Ruby were still friends and Jules figured Jasper would have warned her. Not that Jules had been hellbent on psychotic revenge or anything like that. She couldn't help the tiny sliver of annoyance that slipped into her expression. "Yeah, Elodie is a bitch and shouldn't have done what she did, but you shouldn't have either. I know we're not, like, friends anymore, but that was really shitty, Ruby."
“Yeah, I know,” Ruby said, resignation slipping into her voice. She didn’t blame Jules for being pissed at her. If she’d been in her shoes, she’d have felt the same way. It didn’t feel like any explanation really made up for it, even the truth, which felt too far fetched for anyone to believe except maybe Amelia and Jasper, and even then she wasn’t sure they truly understood. But she had to try. “I don’t expect you to believe me, but I didn’t mean it. Any of it. I wouldn’t have done that to you, even if we weren’t friends.” They’d kind of felt like it, just for a little bit, but Ruby realized that was off the table now. She’d be doing good just to keep Jasper as a friend at this point.
She expected Ruby to get defensive or pissy, so it threw Jules a little when she seemed accepting of how upset Jules was. It probably helped cool her own temper a little, even if she wasn't exactly feeling super forgiving. "But you did do it," Jules pointed out. Jasper had told her Ruby had been high or had the word-vomit stuff they experienced at the dance and bonfire, but still. Jules hadn't said anything she hadn't meant that night, so she just assumed the same thing had affected Ruby. It was probably for the best that they hadn't spoken in several days, because Jules wasn't feeling the fire she had initially felt watching that video. She shifted her bag strap on her shoulder and sighed. "Look, I just... I don't know what happened or why, and right now, I just don't care. You're Jasper's friend, so you should probably reach out to him and see if he wants to talk or anything."
Ruby remembered fighting it, the desire to go see Jasper, even when she’d been under the influence of whatever the fuck had been messing with her head. She’d known it was a bad idea, but she’d eventually given in and gone anyways. Now she wished her willpower had been stronger because if she’d made it through the day maybe no one would know about the bizarre 24-hour love bug she’d developed. Unfortunately for everyone involved, it had been caught on camera, there to remind her of the humiliating experience and question her sanity. “What do I even say?” she asked. “I sound crazy. I know I do. I want to forget the whole thing ever happened, but Elodie’s got it on her phone and I can’t do shit without worrying she’ll send it out to a broader audience. And Jasper… I want things to be normal.”
Jules frowned. Because as much as she would be okay with Elodie humiliating Ruby, that video would also humiliate her. God, she could only imagine what Victoria would say if she saw it. Rumors would start and people would gossip about it behind her back and Jules so did not want to deal with any of that. "I'll take care of the video," Jules said finally. Confidently. "I can't tell you how to make things normal with Jasper, but if you're not even talking to him, it's never going to even like, get on the road to normal. You should call or text him anyway. His uncle is in the hospital. Got stabbed by his girlfriend, so Jasper's pretty broken up about it. I mean, I'm there for him and everything, but you're his friend, so you should be too."
Jules was taking this way better than Ruby had expected her to. At the very least, she’d expected to be told to stay away from Jasper, and yet Jules was actually encouraging her to reach out to him. It was such a mature approach that Ruby felt bad for not giving Jules enough credit. It seemed like she’d changed a lot since the party where they’d resorted to yelling at each other. “Wait, Aaron? Or Caden?” she asked, shocked. It had to be Caden. Aaron didn’t even make sense. She couldn’t imagine anyone stabbing him, let alone his girlfriend, whereas it was just a matter of time before someone lost it on Caden. At least, that was her perception from the outside. “What happened? Is he okay?”
Jules supposed it could be said that she was maturing, but that was probably all surface. Deep down she really wished she could just tell Jasper she didn't want him being friends with Ruby anymore. But that was extreme and she knew it, and really, she didn't want to be That girlfriend. Jules knew she wouldn't feel secure knowing Ruby and Jasper were hanging out, but she knew she had to at least trust Jasper. She just had to put that video out of her mind, if she could. "Aaron," Jules explained. "Uh, I don't know what happened exactly, but he had to have surgery and everything. He's okay now, but still in the hospital. I'm sure Jasper would at least like to hear from you?" He didn't have a lot of real friends and Jules was doing what she could, like she had when Amelia had gone missing, but she couldn't always be there and she didn't like to think about Jasper being upset and alone.
“Shit,” Ruby muttered, dumbstruck. It was hard to wrap her head around anyone stabbing Aaron, especially his girlfriend. Ruby had never met her, but Aaron typically didn’t date raving lunatics. It had to be some kind of horrible accident. “Yeah. I’ll give him a call. Thanks for letting me know.” As awkward as she might feel about what she’d done and the distance it put between them, that could all be pushed aside for the moment. She wasn’t going to let her own insecurities stand in the way of being a good friend to Jasper. And Amelia, for that matter. The Lucas family had suffered far too much tragedy lately. They could probably all use a break.
Jules didn't really know what else to say. It wasn't like they were going to suddenly catch up and be friends again and she had more important things to worry about now. Hopefully Ruby would call Jasper and he would have a friend to talk to about Aaron if he needed one. Jules wasn't terribly thrilled about the thought of the two of them hanging out again, but she knew she didn't have a say in that, not without making Jasper upset or whatever, so what could she do? Jules shrugged softly at Ruby's thanks. "No problem." It felt like the right time to go now before things went south again, so she turned to leave, hating that she felt awkward about it given everything that had happened.
Ruby opened her mouth to say something, but then sighed instead, worried that anything she might say would just make things worse. They’d been in a good place before all this and now they were back to where they started, with Jules suspicious of her intentions towards Jasper. Except this time Ruby was to blame. It was hard enough getting Jasper to believe she didn’t mean what she’s said, but how the hell was she supposed to convince Jules? It was probably a lost cause at this point. She should be happy that Jules was allowing Jasper to remain friends with her, but she’d always hoped for better than that. Now it seemed permanently out of reach, so she let Jules go and pulled out her phone. She didn’t know what to do about Jules, but she could at least be there for Jasper, a friend if he needed one.