If anyone had asked Gavin about it he'd have said that the school admins were pussies for closing the schools just because it snowed a lot. Nobody asked him though and he had to admit it was a good thing as it did give him a day to put his plans into action. Just because the schools were closed didn't mean he couldn't take them out of town to see his favorite tattoo artist. He had a good car on good tires and they had nothing better to do. He'd given his kids tattoos for Christmas but at this point they were just promises and ideas. After seeing the dark man this weekend the urge - and need - to make sure Jasper and Amelia had more protection had grown exponentially and he roused them before noon to finally go get this done. Amelia was usually the one who woke up more easily but she was sluggish and not as excited about it as he'd expected her to be. Jasper was far more lively about it however and that came as some surprise to Gavin but a pleasant one.
They didn't need to know about the dark man, not yet at least. He'd decided to keep all that bullshit to himself at least until some asshole let it slip that he'd been arrested. Why worry them when they had enough on their plate already, they really didn't need to know. There wasn't much to eat at the house and Gavin made note of shopping on the way back but for now they could get takeout on their way to Bangor. The dogs came with - but of course - and seemed pretty excited to ride in the car with the whole family and who could blame them, they rarely went anywhere together, all three of them.
Jasper was never sad to miss school, especially when he wasn’t going to get in trouble for it. Snow days rarely happened in their town, and he was always happy for them but today he felt especially jazzed about it. He had good reason -- it was tattoo day. Jasper was pretty damn excited to get his first tattoo, its protective qualities were just going to be a bonus. He wasn’t sure how much good it was going to do, but every little bit helped, right? Even if it was useless, it was going to look cool as fuck. Amelia didn’t seem as excited, she in fact looked pretty damn sleepy in the backseat, flanked by Max and Rude. Jasper glanced at her in the rearview mirror, then over to his father. “So the same guy’s doing both of us, right? You want me to go first, Amelia? So you’re not scared?” he grinned a bit as he teased her.
"I'm tougher than you are," Amelia mumbled and kicked his seat, giving him a somewhat sardonic grin in the mirror. "I'll go first so you're not afraid and then I'll hold your hand." She continued idly petting the dogs, mostly to try to get them to settle down because they were a little too excited for her liking.
Gavin grinned at the banter and hell, she might be right. She might be tougher than both of them for all he knew but he was still going to be fretting about her as she got her ink. She was still his little girl, even if she was older now, it wasn't an easy adjustment to make and he doubted he'd be used to it even if he'd been with her for all those years. "Yeah, same guy so we'll be there a while." Which kind of nixed his plans to go see Reagan Kelly at her place of business but this felt more important at the moment.
Jasper laughed at her response, but it was probably true -- Amelia probably was tougher than him. He hadn’t survived for almost a decade in some other-dimensional hellscape, after all. Thinking too much about her first arriving in that place, nine years old and terrified, still made his chest hurt, so he avoided it for the most part. However, as her big brother, he just couldn’t let her know that she had his utmost respect in that way. So, teasing. “How ‘bout you, Dad? You getting anything new?” Jasper asked, looking over, his smile staying in place. “Charlie’s prob’ly really into all your ink, huh?”
"Not today," Gavin muttered, smirking mostly to cover up how awkward that statement made him feel. Yeah, Charlie was into his ink, that wasn't something he needed to talk to his son about and it most definitely wasn't something Jasper needed to know about his teacher. It was hard not to think of the way she touched him and this was not the time or place. "We'll be there long enough with just the two of you getting yours." Though his tattoo artist would probably love him if he spent even more money there. "I know you kids probably wanted something more exciting for your first tattoos," he said instead. "Something personal. This is a good start though, it'll keep you safe." Safer at least.
"I hadn't thought about it," Amelia admitted with a shrug. "I'd still be deciding what to get. I bet Jasper wants like... a skull tattoo." She stuck her tongue out at her brother in the mirror. "An anchor on his arm or a lady who dances when he flexes his biceps." The classic idea of a heart with 'mom' in it was out for both of them so she didn't even joke about that. Fuck Ollie and her bullshit. "Jules in cursive over his heart," she sing-songed instead, squinting out the window.
Jasper rolled his eyes dramatically, totally oblivious to making his father uncomfortable. He was an adult now, they all knew he and Gavin were both getting laid on the regular, so why not be open about it? Not that Jasper wanted to dwell in the details, but he was weirdly happy for Gavin. He’d needed some sex in his life, and if that was coming from Jasper’s English teacher, whatever, right? “You really think I’m that basic? Jesus,” he replied to his sister, reaching back to pinch at her knee. Then he was all grins again. “Jules would probably love it but that’s like, a death sentence for relationships. You always break up if you get a tattoo of them. So fuck that. But I mean like ... yeah I’ve got ideas, but they can come later. For now this is good, this’ll help.” He sounded sure about that, and for the moment he was. He felt pretty damn sure of everything, really. It was a good day. All of everything would work out, and they’d all be okay.
Gavin laughed at their shenanigans as he drove up to the drive thru at Moxie's. It was so tempting to believe things would be okay now, that Jules was wrong about something being off about Jasper. He was so happy right now, happy and optimistic, full of energy. For a few seconds Gavin genuinely thought maybe he shouldn't go to Reagan Kelly at all, why involve himself with those terrifying witches if his son was so clearly alright? But his gut said otherwise. Jasper was... Too happy, if there was such a thing. For Jasper there was, he supposed. Jasper was an energetic boy on a good day, but there was something almost manic about his joy lately, especially in light of how dark he had gotten just a few days prior.
Gavin wanted to dwell in denial for now, to believe his son was just happy and it would have been easier if Amelia had been just as excited. She was smiling, he could see her in the rearview mirror if he leaned over just so, but there was something muted about her cheer in a way that bothered him. He ordered food to go, just some fries for himself since he didn't really want to park and eat and then they were headed out of town.
They were about halfway to Bangor when Amelia fell asleep and a little while after that Gavin noticed. "Someone stayed up late," he mused, sipping his soda as he focused on the road. He was tired too but that wasn't unusual. He'd worked last night and after the weekend he'd had he had a good reason to be tired. "So how are things with you?" he asked Jasper. He'd never been good at the heart to heart thing but this time he was fishing for information, trying to get a better grasp on what exactly he had to say to Reagan Kelly.
Jasper certainly didn’t feel like anything was wrong with him, even if he knew this was unnatural in some back corner of his mind. This happy go lucky, confident guy wasn’t him. Sure, he’d had ups and downs lately, bouts of anger that bordered on irrational, but for the most part he’d been feeling good. Full in a way he couldn’t describe. Content, like he didn’t have to worry about anything. Happy. He’d even cut back on smoking weed because he felt like he didn’t need it as much. He just wasn’t really registering that other people around him weren’t feeling the same way. Smiling fondly and shaking his head as he glanced back at his little-big sister, Jasper looked over at his dad with a smile. “Me? I’m great,” he said, finishing up the few Moxie’s fries that had survived in the takeout bag. “Feeling good, think I’m back on track to graduate, lookin’ forward to winter formal this weekend ... why, how are you?”
All of that sounded so unlike Jasper but in a way that made Gavin wish it was normal - natural. The question threw him a bit, for some reason he hadn't been expecting Jasper to ask, too focused on Jasper to really think of himself in the equation. What could he say? He was tired and scared, always scared and that fear just seemed to grow with every passing day. He didn't want to burden his kids with that bullshit, didn't want to be that vulnerable either. So he smiled and shrugged. "Everything is status quo," he muttered. "Seems like Jules doesn't need to worry so much about you." It was a strange feeling, that sudden hope that he'd get to see his son graduate, that Jasper would actually finish high school unlike his old man. He didn't have to have amazing grades to make Gavin proud, if he saw this through that would be enough. Gavin's chest felt tight as he thought about it, hope wrestling with worry until they were one bundle of complicated emotions. "Do you have a suit you can wear? They don't call it formal for nothing."
Status quo usually wasn’t very good in their family, especially for his dad, but Jasper wasn’t too worried about it at the moment. He did care how his dad was on some level, but even if the answer had been ‘terrible,’ his current mood wouldn’t allow him to really feel much about it. He laughed a little when Gavin mentioned Jules. “Oh yeah, she told me she talked to you,” Jasper said, letting his head fall back against the seat rest with a bit of a smirk. “She worries too much. You know how women are.” Nevermind that the woman who’d dominated both of their lives for years didn’t give a shit about anybody but herself. He gave a small grimace then, but it faded very quickly. “Nah,” he answered. “I borrowed yours last time, remember? It fit like shit.” Jasper tittered. “I dunno, I was thinkin’ of trying to ask one of the guys to loan me one, like ... Sebastian McCarthy or Greg Wheeler or somethin’. Jules’s friends. I would say Logan, but I know for sure he doesn’t have more than one.” It felt natural to chat about it with Gavin, something that didn’t really strike Jasper as weird at the moment.
Borrowing someone's suit was never a good plan, they might not be able to afford a tailor made suit but the size really made a difference even in a store bought one. It wasn't like a simple hoodie where it didn't matter if it was a little loose - or a little too snug - and Gavin was shorter than Jasper. He wasn't so sure any of those boys Jasper mentioned were similar to him in size but even if they were? It rubbed Gavin the wrong way. "We've got time later today if you want to go buy one in Bangor," he said. "It's probably time for you to own your own suit, something decent." He could afford it, he wasn't doing great financially but money was the least of his worries these days.
“Yeah?” Jasper asked, actually looking kind of pleased with that offer. Ordinarily he would’ve balked at doing any clothes shopping with his dad of all people, but right then it just sounded like a fun idea. He’d never been shopping for one special item of clothing before, it had always just been a general grab for t-shirts and jeans that fit well enough. He wondered vaguely if this was why girls got so excited to shop for prom dresses and shit. “We can do that, yeah. Probably good to have around, just in case of like, funerals and stuff.” Jasper glanced in the rearview mirror where Amelia was still sleeping, leaned against Max like he was an overgrown pillow. “If she’s up for it, at least. You noticed she’s been sleeping a lot?”
"I figured she was up late last night," Gavin murmured but the question rubbed him the wrong way. Had she been? Had he failed to notice or was Jasper exaggerating? He spent a lot of time at the bar so he couldn't always keep up with what was going on at home. What could he do anyway, his girl was seeing a therapist so if this was a depression thing that woman was getting paid to pick up on it and take care of it. He arched again to get a look at Amelia and not for the first time found himself almost expecting to see the little girl she'd been oh so recently. "We'll let her buy something too, should make it fun for her to tag along."
Amelia very well may have been up late last night. It wasn’t like she had any reason to keep a ‘normal’ schedule, so why not? But Jasper had noticed that she fell asleep super easy lately, and she’d been taking lots of naps. At least as far as he’d seen, anyway. But he wasn’t worried. It felt impossible to worry about anything at the moment. “Maybe she can find a pretty dress or something,” Jasper agreed, then gave a little titter as he tried to picture his apocalypse-survivor-badass sister in something frilly and sparkly. It was sad that Amelia had missed out on the usual high school experience, but knowing her as he did now, it was difficult to picture her as a girly-girl. He wondered sometimes how different she would be if she’d grown up in this world instead of the other. “So we can both get dressed up for you and Charlie’s wedding,” he added, glancing over with a sly grin.
Gavin snorted and shook his head. "Listen to you, mister funny guy," he muttered and the thought of getting married again was weird to him in ways he couldn't really articulate. Was it something he never wanted to do again? He couldn't really think it through, he always felt like Charlie was just a temporary light in the dark of his life. "She got some nice things when Charlie took her shopping but yeah, maybe she'll want something new." It was easier to talk about shopping for his little girl than it was to try to tackle his son's teasing, especially when it seemed to hit a spot. "I wish she could... go to school, attend her own formals."
Jasper was a tiny bit disappointed that Gavin didn’t really take the bait, but it passed quickly enough. He hadn’t liked it at first, it had been weird to think about his dad dating anyone at all, much less a woman he knew and had to see every school day. But now that it had settled in some and he’d seen a change in Gavin’s demeanor in general, Jasper didn’t mind so much. As much as he’d fucked up, his dad deserved some happiness. “Yeah me too,” he agreed, his thoughts turning back to Amelia as well. “Though like ... she’s more the type to get asked to a formal by tons of guys and turn them all down to go hang out with cooler people somewhere else, you know?” He chuckled a bit. “Like me, only without the socialite girlfriend.”
"Yeah she probably is," Gavin agreed. "But the way she was? If she'd... She was such a sweet little girl." Now she'd probably break someone's finger if they touched her wrong, if her reaction to Jasper tickling her had been any indication. It was reassuring and heart breaking at the same time. "But you? With your socialite girlfriend, shopping for a suit?" He smirked. "That's a change too." Jasper had hated all that crap, as far as Gavin knew. The dances, the cliques, high school in general. Now he was willingly donning suits to take his cheerleader girlfriend to the winter formal. It made Gavin weirdly happy and surprised for sure. "Jules seems- she's... I like her for you." How did you talk about your son's teenage girlfriend? Saying she was cool sounded so contrived, saying she seemed like a good girl made him feel 'old'. Gavin sucked at this.
It was both surprising and not to hear Gavin echo his thoughts from earlier -- of course he’d thought about this stuff, all the ‘what if’s that surrounded Amelia’s situation. But it still caught him a little off guard to have anything in common with his dad. Stupid, the Lucas traits ran strong in their blood, but feelings were stupid sometimes. Like the wave of happiness that washed over him at the rest of what Gavin said. He had no reason not to approve of Jules, she was amazing, but he didn’t have to say it. In fact it was obviously hard for him to say, but he still was. With the way he was feeling, it made Jasper want to hug him. “I like her for me too,” he said, his grin almost bashful. “But uh ... thanks, you know? I thought she was a bitch for the longest time, and like, she still can be, but she’s really awesome. The awesome outweighs everything.”
"Well she obviously cares about you," Gavin said and she cared about Jasper enough to go talk to his dad even if it was probably very uncomfortable for her. Gavin didn't go on to say she was probably a factor in how Jasper was suddenly so optimistic about graduating, he still felt like saying the wrong thing might put Jasper in a foul mood, reading something into the words that wasn't there, misinterpreting them to say he was somehow not enough without Jules or something, his boy had a knack for getting upset about shit Gavin had no idea he'd even done. Not today though it seemed, Jasper seemed happy and that in turn made Gavin feel good. "Well, you deserve awesome," he muttered and cleared his throat a little awkwardly. "You both do." He glanced back at Amelia again, wondered if she'd ever meet someone like that and if that someone was somehow not someone he and Jasper would immediately want to murder just for looking at her.
Jasper had the same thought -- she cared enough to approach his dad, at work in the bar no less, about a concern she had about him. Gavin Lucas was not the most approachable guy for anyone, much less a preppy cheerleader in the bluest of blue collar settings. Caden had probably been there too, and he just compounded the intimidation factor. Jasper was pretty proud of her, in a way, even though he didn’t think there was anything to worry about anymore. He was fine. Great, in fact. What Gavin said made him grin all over again. “Yeah, I love her. But thanks,” he said, another word he didn’t usually say to his dad. “You do too. So like ... I know I gave you shit about it in the beginning, but it’s cool you’re with Ms. Harris. She’s good for you.” Jasper wasn’t eager for a stepmom or anything, but he was almost grown and out of the house. Charlie was nice to Amelia, and that meant the world. She might’ve been bodily older than him, but she still needed a good female influence around.
Gavin wasn't sure he deserved anything but hearing Jasper say he approved of what he had with Charlie hit on something very vulnerable inside him and made him smile. "Thanks," he said and cleared his throat when he felt like his voice was too close to cracking. If Jasper said Jules was too good for him, Gavin would tell him there was no such thing and yet he couldn't convince himself of the same with Charlie. Maybe because Jasper was young and didn't really have any huge baggage, hadn't done all the shitty things Gavin had done. He was a tough kid but he was still a kid, fresh faced with a future ahead of him. God, Gavin hoped that was true, that he'd really be okay.
It didn't hit him until they were already there how weird it felt to introduce his kids to his favorite tattoo artist. These were two very different parts of his life clashing together and he felt weirdly nervous as soon as they were in the parking lot. It took some effort to wake Amelia up and she was a little sluggish as they headed inside. The dogs got to wait in the car and they weren't all that happy about it and neither was Amelia. She wasn't as stubborn about taking the chair first once they met the guy but Gavin chalked that up to Lenny being a bit intimidating to people who didn't know him. He wasn't a big man, or even bulky, but he had an aura of danger about him and tattoos that looked fitting for a criminal. He was a good guy though and he worked fast and efficiently which was what Gavin liked most about him. No bullshit.
"Jesus, these are you kids," was the first thing he said when they walked in and then he grasped Gavin's hand tightly and patted his arm. "Been too long, man." For a moment Gavin wasn't so sure he actually wanted him to put his hands on his daughter despite their friendship but he pushed that discomfort aside as he introduced Jasper and Amelia to him.
Jasper was pretty excited to be in a real tattoo shop for the first time in his life. There wasn’t one in Point Pleasant -- something he’d lamented a few times with Logan when they were drunk. And this wasn’t just any old shop, it was the one his dad went to. No matter how much they didn’t get along sometimes, Jasper had admired his dad’s tattoos since he’d been a little boy. It was kind of amazing he didn’t have any of his own yet, but he’d seen how those home-done ‘I have a cousin who has a tattoo gun’ ones turned out, and he wanted a good tattoo. He looked keenly interested in the artist as Gavin introduced them and they shook hands.
It was at times like these Gavin was reminded why not divulging a lot of personal information was a good thing. He'd never told Lenny about his kids, how old they were, what they were up to. Things would have been damn awkward if he had. Though now he wondered if he shouldn't be maintaining the lie about Amelia even if they were outside of Point Pleasant. He doubted it'd matter in the long run what he told Lenny but he had to get used to Amelia not being his daughter on paper. It just felt wrong.
They settled the details of the work they wanted and as Jasper headed to the chair Gavin idly wondered if he'd hate it, or if he was anything like his old man. Tattoo therapy, they called it. Gavin wasn't into pain but there was something soothing about this particular pain. Maybe it was just the knowledge that he was getting something meaningful etched into his skin, especially when it was protective stuff.
Jasper had seen his father’s tattoos since he’d been a little kid and always found them fascinating ... at least until the upheaval of puberty stole a lot of interest in his parents. But the ones that weren’t obviously Christian or straightforward had always interested him the most. Gavin never really told him much about them when he asked, and eventually he stopped asking. But now he knew, and now he was getting one of his own. It was a design like a wheel, the spokes branching off from a central point into rune shapes that pointed in all directions. It looked mysterious and magical, which Jasper supposed was the point. He’d chosen to put it on his upper right arm, to have it boldy visible whenever he was shirtless or sleeveless. He felt a small tickling of nerves as he settled into the chair, but he wasn’t really scared. It couldn’t hurt that bad, right? When Lenny got started, Jasper found that he’d been right. It stung, but it was very bearable, so he settled back and closed his eyes and let the man work.
Gavin hadn't expected Jasper to be sensitive to the needle but he still felt relieved and weirdly proud at how easy it seemed to be for him. Lenny wasn't a talkative guy but he had some music playing and the atmosphere was pretty relaxed in his little studio. Gavin opted against hovering and found a seat nearby with Amelia. He had expected her to perk up once they were at the tattoo parlor, no longer lulled by the car engine but she still looked so tired, even if she obviously tried to show interest in what was going on. Ten minutes in she was dozing again, resting her head against Gavin's shoulder, her hands limp in her lap. Gavin nudged her awake a while after that so he could go look at how Lenny was doing. It was a testimony to his trust in the man that he didn't feel compelled to sit and watch the whole procedure to make sure it was done right and he wasn't disappointed when he came over and looked at the nearly finished piece. "Looks good," he said, as much to Jasper as to Lenny. "Having a tattoo suits you."
It went faster than Jasper had anticipated, though he guessed that just doing a bunch of black lines was pretty easy. He was just looking down at it as Lenny put the finishing touches on when Gavin came in, and Jasper looked up and smiled. “Yeah?” he asked, even though he’d already known that would be the case. He’d wanted a tattoo for a long time, he just hadn’t figured out what yet, and then this came along. The next one would be personal, he promised himself. And he wouldn’t wait a million years to get it. “I like it,” he said. Lenny got done with the tattoo gun, then wiped his arm down with the cleaning stuff, which felt cool and soothing, then let Jasper stand up to look at it in the big mirror next to them. He flexed a few times to see how it looked over his muscle, then grinned again. “Yeah, I love it, actually.” Jasper let Lenny cover it lightly with a bandage, craning his neck to try and see where Amelia was sitting. “Is she ready?” he asked, glancing at Gavin. “Not chickening out, right?” He made the last part loud enough for her to hear, hoping to tease her into a better mood.
Amelia didn't dignify that with an answer, simply got up and walked slowly to the chair where her brother had been sitting. Sitting seemed like the thing to do now and she slumped down as soon as she had tugged off her sweater and gotten comfortable. Lenny was prepping his tools and cleaning up, glancing between the Lucases curiously. "You didn't take anything, did you?" he asked quietly. "You're sober?"
It almost made Gavin scoff, it was such a strange thing to ask but looking at his daughter, she did look a bit out of it.
"I'm fine," Amelia said with a little frown. "Just a little tired." She mimicked the way Jasper had been sitting, getting the same tattoo and in the same place. It was kinda cool, she thought, like they were all bonded through a shared mark though she knew these runes were all on Gavin's ribs. "Show me yours," she said, waving Jasper closer. "Did it hurt?"
Jasper was pretty sure she was getting sick. She looked pale and exhausted, and if they hadn’t driven all this way and had appointments and everything, he might have suggested Amelia come back to do this another day. He knew she could tough it out, but it wasn’t the most restful thing in the world. Jasper moved in closer so she could see and unpeeled the bandage for a moment to show her. The fresh ink was glistening a bit, the skin reddening around it. “See? It stung, but you can take it,” he assured her with a smile. Jasper straightened up again and re-covered his arm, then rolled down his sleeve again. He glanced between his sister and his dad. “You want an audience, or should I go check on the dogs?”
"Go check on the dogs for me," Amelia murmured, even if she didn't really mind him being in there. She was more concerned with leaving the dogs too long. Lenny was positioning the tattoo on her, making sure she was happy with the placement when Jasper left and a minute later, he was ready to start.
Gavin didn't want to leave and it was probably sexist of him how much more worried he was about her than he had been about Jasper. She seemed just fine when Lenny started though, giving him a tired little smile before closing her eyes. So maybe he wouldn't hover, he thought, and stepped outside after Jasper for the time being. At least he could trust Lenny not to start asking invasive questions while he was gone. He stepped outside and fished out a cigarette, smoking as he waited for Jasper to return. "I'm worried about her," he muttered when he did. "Think she's getting sick."
Jasper wanted a cigarette himself, so he didn’t mind going out to the car and getting Max and Rude out to trot around the parking lot and take a piss if they needed to. It was cold as hell out, so it was good to get their blood pumping anyway. He ran them around a little bit before taking them back to the car to load up again. Amelia ought to be finished in an hour or so, so he thought they’d be okay until then. He stepped up to where his dad was standing and fished out another cigarette for himself while they were out there. “Yeah, looks like it,” he agreed in a murmur while he lit his smoke. “Kinda hard to take her to a doctor, too, so ... hope it’s just a cold coming down on her or something.”
It was hard to take anyone to the hospital, but Gavin didn't mention that. That would bring up the expenses of Jasper getting hurt and they did not need to discuss that. "She has her ID now so if we have a reason to worry I'll take her to a doctor and pay out of pocket." And hope it wasn't one of those damn things that bankrupted people. "Are you happy with your tattoo?" he asked explicitly to change the topic, hospitals were a terrible topic but tattoos? Always a good one. Especially with the first one and Jasper did look happy in general.
Like most teenagers, Jasper had no sense of how expensive he was to maintain, and the hospital costs from the fog had never even crossed his mind. He just hoped Amelia wasn’t sick enough to need a hospital, for fuck’s sake. They didn’t need any more problems like that. Jasper rolled easily with the subject change, smiling as he nodded and flexed his arm again just to feel the soreness. It was weirdly pleasant, in a way. Like when Jules raked her nails down his back sometimes. “Yeah, totally, I like it,” he answered, exhaling some smoke skyward and smiling at his dad. “I see now why you’ve got like, hundreds of ‘em.”
Gavin let out a quiet little laugh and pulled up his collar to defend against the cold. "And still want more," he admitted. "I'm just running out of space." he wasn't, not really, but he didn't really want much on his legs or ass and his torso was already pretty crowded with ink. "Careful you don't get hooked." It was an expensive addiction and Gavin supposed he could call it that. He liked getting tattoos and they made him feel whole. So many of them had been to cover up scars or make him feel safe, how could he not love them?
“Eh, probably too late,” Jasper said with a faint chuckle of his own. It was always strangely satisfying to make his dad laugh. It wasn’t something that happened often in general, and especially not between the two of them. It was kind of nice. Maybe now that Jasper was growing up more, they could actually be friends eventually. “And pretty soon I’ll have more money, so ... we’ll see what’s next. I told you Mr. Fox is gonna hire me to work at the shop part time, right? I just gotta go talk to him and fill out the application and all. Ruby talked to him for me.” And once that was really underway, he and Logan could find a place and a more grown up life could really start.
Gavin was pleasantly surprised to hear about the job. It definitely sounded like something Jasper might enjoy, at least more than doing dishes at a restaurant. "That's good," he murmured. "Fox is a good guy, Aaron'll put in a good word for you too." He huffed softly. "Now I know what I can get you for your birthday this year." Maybe that was lame, always giving his kid the same damn thing, but if it was something he actually wanted and liked? Well, it was better than he'd been doing up until now. His kids' birthdays had always stressed him out, Jasper's more so than Amelia's since she had been more chatty about what she was into and was usually content with whatever she was given. With Jasper, Gavin always felt like he got it wrong and there had been that one summer where he plain fucking forgot to get him something and he didn't think Jasper had ever forgiven him for that. "Or a graduation gift. You can always find a good occasion for a new tattoo."
Jasper had already texted with his uncle Aaron, who seemed pretty excited at the idea of Jasper sort of following in his footsteps. At least as far as work was concerned. Part of Jasper knew he would end up running The Back Porch eventually too, so history was really repeating itself. He tried not to focus on that though, there was a shorter-term future to think about. “Hell, all of the above,” he said with a small laugh. He knew his dad wasn’t great at presents, and now Jasper didn’t want much that wasn’t expensive technology anyway, so maybe tattoo gift certificates were a good compromise between them. He felt like he’d long since given up on his father ever really understanding him and what he liked, so maybe this would be a good thing. Jasper reached up to rub a bit at the soreness in his arm though his jacket, and glanced behind him at the door to the shop. “Think she’s doin’ okay in there?”
"Yeah, she's in good hands," Gavin muttered but while he wasn't worried about Amelia with Lenny, he was worried about her in general. That didn't make him feel like he had to rush in there and watch her get her tattoo, Lenny was watching over her. "You got a store in mind? For later?" He supposed they could just look one up, he didn't imagine Jasper had been daydreaming about brand clothing lately so he was probably as clueless as Gavin but what the hell did he know. He was dating Jules Cooper, she might have had a say in what she wanted him to wear, girls could be bossy that way. If she wanted him in a very expensive suit though, that was going to have to come out of her pocket.
He didn’t know Lenny from Adam, really, in spite of having spent a couple of hours in his chair just now, but Gavin seemed to trust him, so Jasper was going to trust that. He hadn’t been a great dad to Jasper, but Jasper knew he adored Amelia and fiercely wanted to protect her. The question made him laugh a little and he shrugged. “No? Hell, I don’t even know a store that sells suits ...” Jasper pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and opened it up to start searching for one. If the suit had just been for his own benefit, he might’ve just gone to a thrift store or some shit, but this was partly for Jules so he wanted to find a good one. She hadn’t laid out any specifics for him, she knew better than to try and dictate his clothes, but now he was kind of wishing she’d had some guidance on where to shop.
"Thank fuck for the internet then," Gavin muttered before taking a long drag off his cigarette. He could only imagine how fucking horrible it would have been to go shopping for suits back in the day when the internet was still fairly new and phone internet was slow as balls. That meant asking people for help and Gavin had never been very good at that. The latest events in his life made him think maybe asking for help only made things worse and Reagan Kelly crossed his mind again, unbidden. "Tell you what, if we don't find anything today I'll just get you some cash and you can take your girl for a little city trip."
Jasper chuckled low in his throat. ‘Thank fuck for the internet’ applied to so many things, didn’t it? Shopping, social stuff, porn ... what else did you need? “We’ve only got ‘til Friday,” he reminded Gavin, amused. There was still school to go to as well, so he doubted he and Jules would make it out anywhere else to buy a suit. Besides, he wanted to surprise her with how good he looked. “Here, there’s a department store like, five miles away,” he said, turning his phone so Gavin could see. “Bet they’ll have dresses for Amelia to look at too.” If she had the energy for it, which Jasper wasn’t sure of. But they could always leave her to nap in the car with Max and Rude looking over her. “I’ll try to make it fast.”
"It'd be nice to see her in a dress again," Gavin said with a sad little smile. "Never thought she'd grow up to be a tomboy." But then she wasn't supposed to grow up the way she did so that was all out of his hands he supposed. "You can take your time, I just hope they have something good." That wasn't really his worry, they probably had great suits over there, but if he had to deal with one of those smarmy type salesmen he wasn't sure he'd want to spend money there. It was probably best if he held back and just let Jasper do the shopping. "Probably need some new socks and underwear too, we can grab that on the way."
He had the same sort of thought -- Amelia might have turned out completely different if she had grown up the way she was supposed to. It had been a big adjustment for all of them. Jasper loved who she’d turned out to be, of course, she was a straight badass, but ... it was still difficult sometimes to reconcile that person with the baby sister he’d known. All of that was too big a topic to get into with his dad at the moment though ... or maybe ever. It wasn’t like Gavin shared with him much. Jasper gave an affectionate roll of his eyes -- leave it to a parent to bring up sock and underwear -- and bounced his shoulders a little. “We’ll see. I’m fuckin’ freezing though, ready to go back in?”
Gavin took one last puff of his cigarette before tossing it, nodding in reply. He let Jasper lead the way inside, frowning softly when he saw Amelia was sleeping. "She's not the first one to fall asleep in this chair," Lenny told them reassuringly, maybe because he noticed the crease between Gavin's brows getting deeper. "Painful for some people, soothing for others, am I right?" He wiped at her arm before continuing, well on his way to finishing the symbol. "You know, Gavin, I might steal this design from you. Does it work? Do what it's supposed to?"
Gavin huffed softly because wasn't that the million dollar question. Did it work? The dark man hadn't come closer, Mila's entity hadn't liked his ink, he hadn't gotten hurt in a while but with everything else that was going on... Maybe they all needed to get tattooed, every single of one of them. Caden, Aaron, Kat, Mila, Roxy. He could just see how asking them to do that would go down, even after everything. "Doesn't hurt at least," he replied. "I've got faith in it. If you need it, go right ahead." He looked at Jasper, studying him for a moment. Would this tattoo help him at all with whatever was going on with him now? It felt so alien, but maybe Reagan had answers, maybe the tattoo would help.
Having just sat in the chair for over an hour getting it done, Jasper thought it was a little strange that Amelia had passed out, but like Lenny said, it was different for everybody. Maybe she was more okay with pain than he was, from everything she’d been through. He stood next to his dad and watched, hands tucked inside his jacket pockets, only glancing over when he felt Gavin looking at him. “Yeah, every little bit helps,” he murmured, thinking he was meant to chime in as well. He had no idea yet if it worked, it was too early to tell unless the tattoo shop was full of ghosts or something that were avoiding them now. Jasper didn’t have any specific hopes that it would fix whatever was going on with him, but maybe it would help. He was just pleased to finally have his first tattoo.
Gavin was starting to think that whatever was going on with Amelia might be contagious. He was starting to feel tired too and while it wasn't an unfamiliar feeling, it bothered him a little. Especially considering he still needed to drive them all home safely. Jasper seemed fine though, maybe he could drive. When Lenny finished up he went and sat down by Amelia's side, nudging her non-tattooed arm gently. "Amelia, you're all done," he said softly and as she opened her eyes and looked at him blearily, he felt certain this wasn't normal. "Look," he murmured, gesturing to her tattoo. "Your first ink. You fell asleep." He tried to sound amused by it but the worry cut deep.
"It was no big deal," Amelia mumbled and at least she smiled when she looked at her arm. "I thought it would hurt." She yawned as she struggled to sit up straighter, turning to show Jasper. "Twins."
Ameila was definitely sick, there was no denying that. But she was still funny and perfect, and Jasper grinned at her comments. “Twins for sure,” he agreed. He would’ve flexed his own arm to show his off, but it was currently buried under a few thick layers and the plastic wrap Lenny had put over it. They would have plenty of time to take fun selfies together with their new ink and flex at people and hopefully be more protected from the evil bullshit that lurked in Point Pleasant. That was one mission successfully down, now Jasper just hoped he could find a decent suit for the dance.