BE-E AGGRESSIVE! (be_aggressive) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2019-10-28 12:55:00 |
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Entry tags: | #january 2018, carson, carson x jules, jules |
Who: Jules and Carson
Where: In their minds
When: Thursday morning, January 4th
Status: Complete
When Jules woke up she was feeling groggy and headachy. The doctor she had seen in the ER the day before hadn’t found anything wrong with her, but had given her some pretty mild pain medication for the aches she had started to feel after the accident. On the way home they filled the prescription and then met the cops at her car. Well, acop. It was a woman Jules had never seen before, but she had seemed nice enough as she took the accident report. Jules had lied and said she was texting, which had really upset her mother, but seeing as how Jules wasn’t dead, how mad could her mom really get? But Jules knew it would probably be a while before her mom got her a new car if the auto shop decided they couldn’t fix the hood and all that crap. Thankfully Greg had offered to give her a ride to school next week, and Jules figured Sebastian might be willing to do it too if Greg wanted to take his girlfriend instead.
It was all really annoying, the lies she had to tell and keep. Her mom and the lady deputy had spoken a bit longer while Jules waited in her mom’s car and Jules could tell her mom was asking about Edward. Given the expression on Margaret’s face when she climbed into the SUV, Jules could tell there was no news. They had called the tow company to get her car taken to the auto shop and ordered a pizza for lunch.
That night Jules spent the evening with her mom and the two of them stayed curled up on the couch together watching old movies. Jules had laid there with her head in her mom’s lap and it felt… nice. Like maybe all the bad shit could just stay away. She was too tired to tell her mom about Jasper, and really, she didn’t want to prompt any sort of glee in Margaret that would end up upsetting Jules even more and ruining what turned out to be a halfway decent night.
Now that she was awake she grabbed the pain medication from her nightstand and swallowed two with the bottle of water her mom had placed there. Her hands felt a bit better, but there was a tingly sort of sensation beneath the skin. Jules stared at them, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. She didn’t want to try and make anything happen either. Sighing, Jules reached out for her phone. There was nothing new. Just a text from Jasper from the night before, one which she hadn’t answered and wasn’t sure if she would. Every time she felt the urge to call him she just remembered he had called her a dumb bitch. And the way his hand felt around her arm. Then the anger surged again and the temptation to hear his voice faded.
But right now she was feeling lost and after a few minutes of staring at the ceiling, Jules closed her eyes and sought out Carson. It was strange how natural it felt to do it, despite the fact that they had only spoken in their heads a couple of times. But it felt like she knew how to reach him without accidentally calling out for Nic or Neil.
Carson? It’s Jules…. Obviously sorry. Are you awake?
Carson was indeed awake, but he hadn’t made it very far yet in the day. Rylee was working, so he’d taken his time getting up, shuffling to the kitchen with his crutch to get some cereal and yogurt before plopping onto the couch. He didn’t have any clients until later in the day, and he was enjoying just being lazy until then, lounging and slowly eating and thumbing through his social media.
There hadn’t been any more weird dreams so far. Carson had confirmed with the others that they’d had similar dreams, but about other people. Nobody knew what to make of it, which was a familiar feeling by now, as frustrating as it was. Carson had called Vex and confirmed that what he’d seen had been a real occurrence, but the woman he’d talked to didn’t have red eyes. Carson warned him that she might not be trustworthy, but the man had sounded angry and erratic at the time, so Carson had hurried off the phone. That dude was nuts.
The voice that was suddenly in his head was so clear, it made Carson look up automatically, like Jules was just standing in the room with him. Obviously she wasn’t, and he gave a little huff and rubbed his hand over his face. I’m awake, he sent back to her, setting his phone down for the moment. Everything okay?
No. Nothing was okay. But he wasn't exactly a girlfriend she could spill her guts too. Jules had quickly come to realize she didn't really have any friends like that. The ones she did have probably wouldn't believe any of this stuff, let alone understand it. But Carson understood some of her problems, and she felt like he would listen better than Nic or Neil.
Sort of? I mean. No. Not really. Something happened yesterday and I'm not sure what it was, or if it was just me. Have you have anything weird happen with your hands? Like, you know how Neil can make that lightning? I know we said we couldn't do anything like that when we were with the others... but can you? Not make lightning exactly, but... anything else? Anything weird?
Jules didn't really expect him to say yes, but if he did... that would be a relief. If he said no, Jules was still pretty sure she would tell him about what happened. Because she needed someone to know. Someone other than Greg Wheeler.
Carson had noticed that Jules had latched onto him specifically in the group to talk to the most, and while that was a little weird-feeling on some level -- she was seventeen, for Christ’s sake -- it was also sort of comforting. Neil was a strange finicky little man, and Nic was okay but still weird too, being a witch. Carson was the most approachable, he guessed. He didn’t mind it, glad that she trusted one of them, at least. He just hoped he didn’t unwittingly step over that line somehow to violate that trust.
He looked at his palms like his hands might spontaneously do something weird now that Jules was asking, but they looked completely normal to him. Part of Carson was tempted to say no, but I AM a werewolf but quickly smothered that urge. No, nothing weird with my hands, he told her after a pause, his brows drawing together. It was a super specific question, so he followed up with, Did something happen with yours?
She sighed audibly when he told her nothing strange had happened with him. So was it just she and Neil who were the weirdos? Nic was a witch but at least that was kind of cool. Her stuff was scary. It was just a bit surreal and confusing, because she hadn't been experimented on like Neil and Jane had been. Her dad had died when she was a baby. He wouldn't have done anything like that to her, right? The thought made her feel slightly nauseous, but ugh, she was so not going to throw up today. She had gotten all of that out of her system yesterday.
Yes. I think so. They've been kind of sore the last couple of days. Tingly, but not in a ticklish way. Yesterday I was driving home and then it felt like they were on fire. It was like something was inside of them, trying to push out, like my skin would rip open. Jules bit into her lip anxiously for a brief moment. Then things like... changed. I was near the woods by my house and like, the colors were gone. It was just black and white, like a movie. Like I pulled a curtain back to another place? Does that make sense? No, no it didn't, and she knew it didn't. But it had happened. She even had Greg as a witness if Carson didn't believe her.
Carson listened, his sense of unease growing the more she talked. Neil had just discovered he had some kind of power, and now Jules had too? What if some weird shit did start happening to him? Beyond what he was already juggling, of course. The idea made Carson want to run and hide -- like that would help -- but he tried to push that away and focus on the scared teenage girl in his head. Can you show me what it looked like? he asked, not a stitch of disbelief in his tone. Carson didn’t know what he wouldn’t believe now, everything was so insane on the regular. Like send me the memory?
Send him the memory? Like her brain was a phone and she had captured an image and could just text it to him. Jules's brows drew together curiously as she stared up at the ceiling. How was she supposed to do that? Maybe if she just closed her eyes and thought about what happened, Carson would see the images too. She was only used to talking to him in her brain, and she had no idea if he could see things there too. I'll try, she said finally and Jules thought back to the day before, trying to keep the fight with Jasper out of it. It was too difficult to erase the fact that she had been upset when she had been driving, so she tried to focus on when her hands had begun to hurt on the road leading up to the Overlook. She had tugged one glove off and had to yank her steering wheel to the left to avoid going off the road. That had only caused her to slide off into the ditch on the opposite side, hitting the tree. The airbag. Her hands burning. Lifting them and expecting to see them ripped open it had hurt so bad. Could Carson feel the remnants of the pain too? Probably not, because she wasn't feeling the pain now.
But then she had lifted both hands up towards the woods and watched as the color faded away, leaving everything dull, painted in black and white. The creature, thin and white, dancing behind the tree trunks, playing hide and seek with Jules until Greg interrupted. Jules had meant to keep the creature monster thing out of it, but it was a part of the experience and it wasn't something she would ever forget. Greg either, she was pretty sure. Can you see it? she asked, realizing she had been holding her breath as she relayed the memory.
Carson knew that sharing images with each other was possible, since he’d done it with Neil. Thoughts weren’t always words, and visualizing that big blank wall had been what helped him keep his mind to himself. He was unprepared for what Jules sent him though, his eyes glazing over as he focused on what he was seeing unfold in his mind. The accident was jarring enough, but the way the color drained out of the world and then that thing appeared sent chills down his spine. “Jesus Christ,” he whispered out loud. Carson couldn’t feel her pain or any terror but his own, but that was enough. Yeah I see it, he told her in his mind, his internal voice awed and scared. Holy shit, Jules. Just ... holy fuck.
She hadn't wanted to scare him, but it made Jules feel better to share it with someone who was dealing with freaky stuff himself. She wasn't sure what she expected from it though. Carson couldn't protect her, and she doubted he had any real answers. But Jane had wanted them to let them know if something weird happened, and this was definitely weird. That's not all, she said, sounding a little apologetic about it. It was the thing in the woods, coming closer, ducking behind trees, smiling, its eyes milky whites. Greg had seen it too, had opened the door to get her out before it could get to them. But Jules had kind of lost it mentally and had started laughing, because she was so thrilled she wasn't crazy and that Greg was seeing what she was.
And that thing, that thing dancing around and hiding from them was laughing with her, not missing a beat, matching her pitch. And when that laughter trailed off into tears, the thing cried with her too, even if she couldn't see its face. It was hiding behind a tree in front of her car, it's long, white fingers curling around the front of the bark. It took heaving breaths in between sobs when Jules did, but the sound of it hurt her ears. Jules was breathing heavily in bed now, anxiety prickling her skin and she tried to forward the memory to when Greg got her out of the car. How she had screamed, because she was scared and frustrated and her hands had burned again. The tree line had lit up like a firework at the marina on New Year's, and then the colors faded back into view, the creature from behind the tree gone. Everything was normal again. Jules shut down the memory because she had started puking after that and Carson didn't need to see or hear that. It was like it came out of my hands? Even though I didn't see anything. But I felt it. Like when it felt like it was ripping open my skin, it was ripping open something... in the air? I don't know how to explain it.
It was a lot to take in, and Carson was stunned into silence for a stretch of minutes, though he tried to project to Jules that he was still there, just thinking. Her memory of it all was so vivid, it was like watching a movie, but more. More visceral and real and immediate. He had no doubt that it had really happened, he just still wasn’t sure what had happened. It was like she’d opened up a hole to another dimension or something. Which sounded like nonsense, but how the fuck else was he supposed to interpret that? And that’s the first and only time it’s happened? Carson asked Jules, then winced a little. And are you okay? That looked like a nasty accident. He was kind of amazed they hadn’t heard anything going on in her head during any of that -- they were obviously better at blocking each other out than he’d thought.
I think so. Jules thought about Jasper asking her if she was responsible for the fog, and for him getting hurt. Her chin trembled and she wondered if she had actually done it, without knowing. Maybe she had. Because those fog monsters had been in their dreams. Maybe she had unlocked them somehow. Jules didn't know. She had no idea how any of this worked. It was the first time my hands hurt that bad. But I'm okay. My car is in the shop and everything. No broken bones or anything like that. My friend Greg was there to help me. I just thought maybe you might have started feeling stuff too. With it happening to Neil, and now me, I guess. I don't know if I want to tell the others.
At least she’d had someone there to help her, that was good news. If she hadn’t, Carson might have chided her for not reaching out to one of them. Though he supposed she had plenty of other stuff on her mind. Totally reasonable thing to think, he assured her. And it might still happen, I guess. Just ... nothing so far. Telling the others was going to have to be her decision, of course, so Carson didn’t really comment on that. He was inclined to think it would be a good idea to keep everyone informed, but that also kind of made him a gigantic hypocrite. Because no fucking way did he want to tell nervous Neil and teenage Jules that he was a goddamn werewolf. I’m glad you’re okay though. Did you like ... I mean your hands hurting was kind of a warning, right? I’m just trying to think for like ... the future, you know?
Jules felt like she could trust Carson. And even Neil, and Nic. But she still wasn't sure about Jane, and Jules was afraid of what might happen if she told them what had happened. She wasn't even sure what it was, or if it would happen again. But what if the wrong people found out? Jules had only been sort of joking when she told Greg some crazy doctor might chop off her hands to experiment on them. Or worse, just experiment on her. And maybe she wouldn't have to tell anyone else until it happened again, or she had a better idea of what it was. I guess it was a warning sign. I don't know for sure. I don't know if I can do it on command now, or if it's just going to happen when I'm not expecting it. Oh, god, what if it happened at school? Or here, in her bedroom? Jules was silent for a moment, trying to work through the crippling fear that had seized her chest. She began to search for a solution, any solution, to make her feel better about all of this. I know Nic is a witch, but... do you think there's someone else in town who might know about this stuff? Like, another witch who like... knows more?
Jules wasn’t putting those worries into words for him, but Carson would have related to them. He sometimes worried about being caught as a werewolf and experimented on, especially after talking to Nick, who had strongly indicated there were places that did that. People who held ‘creatures’ like him hostage to poke and prod at them. He wanted to be an experiment even less than he wanted the people in his life to know that he was a monster. For a moment he wanted to encourage Jules to practice, but considering what had been on the other side of the portal Jules had opened up, that seemed like a bad idea. He wasn’t sure how else she was going to learn to control it though. Maybe it’s just a thing that happens in high stress situations? he suggested, though it was kind of a lame one and he knew it. I don’t know, I don’t really ... know a lot of witches, sorry. Nic might though, if you feel up to telling him. His girlfriend’s, uh ... friend, he rambles on about other dimensions all the time, but I dunno if he’s just crazy or what.
Jules wasn't sure she wanted to tell Nic. And she wrinkled her nose at the thought of involving more people, especially people she didn't know. That sounds like someone I for sure would not want to talk to. But she appreciated Carson trying to help, even if he didn't have any specific advice. Jules felt a little better having told him, even if she was still terrified. Between this and her stepdad, Jules kind of just wanted to ditch town and start over somewhere. As a seventeen-year-old girl with no job, and no money. It sounded like a great idea. Though he might not be crazy. I don't know. Is he crazy if he's right? Jules sighed. Sorry for bugging you with all of this stuff. I didn't know who else to tell. I don't really know what to do. I thought maybe you were going through something weird too, like Neil.
Sorry I’m not more helpful, but ... kinda not sorry it’s not happening to me too, Carson thought, giving the mental equivalent of a low chuckle. He had enough shit on his plate already, for fuck’s sake. Carson would definitely be looking for signs of something to start happening though, he would probably get downright paranoid about anything having to do with his hands. I don’t even know about crazy versus right anymore, to be honest. Everything seems fucking crazy. But he’s mixed up in all this anyway, he’s one of the ones Neil didn’t want to invite ... name’s Vex. I don’t know him super well or know his story, but if he knows real stuff ... I dunno. Carson sighed aloud and rubbed at his eyes. He knew he couldn’t help her, and if she didn’t want to talk to anybody else, he wasn’t sure what to tell her at all. Don’t be sorry though, I’m glad you told me. None of us should be alone with any of this shit, you know?
Jules remembered the brief talk about Nic's friends and she chewed her lip thoughtfully for a moment. She wasn't even sure about telling Neil and Nic, let alone some guy she has never met. Especially a guy named Vex. That name alone sounded ominous. I know. I'll think about telling Neil and Nic. It's just kind of scary and I don't know what it means, or if it's going to happen again. But if you start to feel anything weird, will you tell me? Maybe it would be none of her business but it would certainly make her feel better to know she wasn't alone. Well, alone with Neil, anyway. Nic hadn't had anything weird happen. He was a witch before all of this started.
Carson felt guilty for a brief moment for keeping his curse a secret, but he reminded himself that it was different. It wasn’t some new psychic thing that was coming to the surface, it was something separate he was saddled with. I promise I will, he told Jules. It wasn’t a lie -- if something new started happening to him, he would tell her. I know it’s scary. But I feel like the only way we’ll get through it is together, so ... think about it. I won’t tell anybody anything though, I promise that too. If Jules was going to keep trusting him, Carson felt like it was important to keep her secret until she was ready to tell the others. Just ... keep me updated, okay?
I will. Jules thought about trying to make it happen on her own, just to see if she could. But she didn’t want to do it alone and she was afraid that she might fuck things up if she was successful. Maybe she would just have to wait and see if it happened again. Or maybe she ought to just bite the bullet and ask her mom about what her dad did at that research place before he died. At least she knew she could reach out to Carson if something happened again. Jules didn’t know what he could do about any of it but just knowing someone was there helped ease her mind a lot. Thanks Carson. She would have to decide if she wanted to tell Nic and Neil. She probably should but... just not yet. Soon, maybe.