Who: Jason and Jules When: Late night, Saturday, January 20 into Sunday, January 21 Where: Home Status: complete
Jules wasn’t really sure how she got home. After Jasper left Ashton’s party Jules had put her heels back on and her coat, and then grabbed Jasper’s to take with her, since he had left without it. The party was still in full swing when she left, despite how late it was. Jules walked around the cars parked in the long driveway, already feeling pretty numb so the chill in the night air didn’t bother her much. Her heels crunched in the snow and she almost slipped a couple of times, but once she got to the salted and shoveled street, she found her footing.
With Jasper’s coat bundled in her arms, she headed for home. It was dark but for the street lamps and as she crossed to the next street the sounds of Ashton’s party faded behind her. She kind of wanted something to come out of the dark and just put her out of her misery. That was probably melodramatic, but in that moment, she felt it. Everything was falling apart and she was a total freak. Her boyfriend… ex-boyfriend?... thought she was out to get him. Not only that, but as she neared her house she could see Jason’s bedroom light was on. It was weird having him home again. A constant reminder that his dad was dead, and it was Jules’s fault. Well, mostly her fault. What was worse is that Jason didn’t know it. Well, maybe he did. Edward was officially missing, but… I mean, who went missing in this town and lived? Besides Amelia. And that woman from the tunnel. Okay, she supposed there was a slim chance, but she knew with Jason’s dad… he was definitely dead.
The smart thing to do would be to go inside, take off her stupid dress, which she planned on burning, or at least throwing away, and go to bed. Instead she unlocked the front door, kicked her heels off and started up the stairs. As she did so she reached out to Carson, Neil and Nic to tell them, mentally, what had happened with Jasper. Not all of it. Just that he knew something was going on and thought they were out to get him. She told them to be careful and then, wanting to avoid questions, shut them out. Not the most mature thing to do, but Jules was tired. Slightly drunk and tired.
As she neared Jason’s door, Jules hesitated before knocking quietly. He might tell her to go away, but whatever.
Jason wasn’t sure how he felt about being back in Point Pleasant. Before his grandma had received the call that his dad had gone missing, he’d thought he might stay where he was, maybe even finish out the year there. Why not? He was smart enough that he could keep up online and still graduate, he didn’t care about seeing the majority of the people at school and he was away from the toxic stew that was his dad and stepmom. Jules was still there, and he might have felt a twinge of guilt about that part of it, but it hadn’t been enough to get him back to Maine. Until something had happened to his dad and Margaret had asked him to come home.
Home. What a joke. He wouldn’t have any idea what a home felt like but it was all he’d known for several years now, so Jason had decided to go back. It was odd to not know where his dad was or what had happened even though they weren’t close and never had been. He wasn’t going to cry about it, but it stirred mixed emotions that he wasn’t sure how to handle. So he didn’t. It was his usual m.o.
He knew the winter formal had been tonight but he cared as little about that as he did most things around here. Jason didn’t feel like he’d missed out on anything. He’d had dinner, watched a movie, done some snacking and was currently sitting at his desk perusing Reddit on his laptop, dressed in a long-sleeved t-shirt and plaid pajama pants, glasses perched on his nose. He hadn’t heard Jules come into the house and the knock surprised him a little, but he raised his voice slightly to call, “Come in.”
Jules hesitated again and considered ignoring his invitation. She could just go crawl into bed and try to shut her brain off for a while. But she had a feeling she would just lay there and torture herself with a constant loop of Jasper threatening to kill her, so Jules opened the door and peeked inside. She found Jason sitting at his desk and for a very brief moment Jules wanted to tell him what happened to his dad. She wouldn't mention Ruby, but maybe if she could take the blame for something, she could shift all her emotions to something else. But then her mom would find out and Jules didn't think Margaret Cooper would be very forgiving.
"Hey." Jules's voice was hoarse so she paused to clear her throat while pushing the door open a bit wider. She probably looked like shit right now, but she didn't really care. Jason would probably chalk it up to her partying all night. "What're you doing?"
Jason minimized his browser and turned around in his chair so he could get the full effect. Probably the only time he’d seen Jules look worse had been when she’d come into his room to see if he knew how to stanch a nosebleed. Still, it was her business and he figured if she wanted to talk about it, she would. “There’s a rocket ship outside my window, thought I might take a road trip to the moon. Want to come along?” It was a typical Jason retort to being asked an obvious question, but there was no real snark in his tone. Something about her expression prohibited that.
It was a response she expected from Jason, but it lacked any bite, for which she was thankful. If he was going to be mean to her tonight too she would have likely just burst into tears instead of retorting with a bitchy comment on her own. "Yeah, I do actually," Jules said with a huff. He hadn't invited her into his room but she walked inside anyway, sitting on the edge of his bed, still clutching Jasper's coat. While Jules knew she wasn't alone alone - not with Carson and the others involved in all of this too - she still felt a bit isolated. Jasper had kind of been her tether to sanity and now he was... temporarily unavailable. The thought prompted her to snort with strained laughter before she sobered up again and looked at Jason. "Do you believe in parallel universes?" It was probably a strange and abrupt question, and maybe she was still a little drunk, but Jules was watching him intently now, desperate to know his views on it.
Jason slumped back in his chair, almost wanting to laugh but holding it back. It was rare that his stepsister managed to intrigue him, but she had tonight. He wouldn’t have imagined Jules knew what a parallel universe was. “I believe it’s a strong scientific possibility,” he said, stretching his legs out and crossing his ankles. “Whether it’s the Many Worlds theory, the Heisenburg Uncertainty Principle or string theory…” He shrugged a shoulder. “Has to do with quantum physics and whether or not time is linear.” He eyed her, sitting on his bed and holding a coat that didn’t look like any of hers he’d seen. “Would why do you ask be too weird a question?”
"Oh god." Jules groaned, exhausted and exasperated that she had no idea what string theories were and wasn't Heisenburg a character on that math show? "All you had to say was you thought it was a strong possibility," she said dryly. She clutched Jasper's coat more tightly in her hands, resisting the urge to bring it up to her nose to smell it. Because it probably smelled like him. "I don't know about quantum physics, or anything like that. If I told you I've seen something... other than this universe, would you believe me? Or if it was like... a different plane. Or maybe not even those things but... like, if I'm looking at you right now in your chair, but I've seen a mirror of that chair, but in a different... place." She had no idea if she was explaining herself properly. Jules felt like her words might have been a bit slurred, but that was probably from drinking and how numb and out of it she felt. Coherent thought was difficult, but she couldn't really stop her train of thought now.
“I never explain when I can over-explain,” Jason said matter-of-factly. She should know that about him by now. Mild puzzlement took over his expression as he listened to her, and he might have said something extra cutting or snarky if he hadn’t fathomed that she was upset. See, he wasn’t completely devoid of emotional intelligence; it just didn’t come easily to him. “You want an honest answer? I’d probably ask if you were high at the time.” Jason simply didn’t believe in things that couldn’t be seen or proved, and she had no way to prove that to him. He’d heard tons of rumors about this town and the woods and the graveyard and blah blah blah, and he wasn’t going to take any of it for truth until he saw it for himself.
Jules shrugged one shoulder dejectedly. She couldn't blame him for that. Six months ago she would have snorted and laughed at anyone who suggested something could happen that had happened to her. She didn't even need to know Seinfeld's Theory of Whatever either. Jules's lower lip began to quiver before she buried her face in Jasper's coat. The subtle scent of his cologne in her nostrils only prompted her to cry harder. She didn't want comforting and she didn't want to talk about it, and Jules was pretty sure all she was doing was making Jason uncomfortable, but Jules didn't care. She was so tired and hated everything in that moment. And she wanted to prove to Jason that scary, unexplainable things could happen without science. There were so many conflicting emotions rolling through her that all Jules could do was cry. She tilted over, falling on her side on Jason's bed, her face still buried in Jasper's coat.
Crying girls really weren’t in Jason’s wheelhouse, so he took a few seconds to gather clues. Jules was home after a party upset and looking disheveled, she was holding what looked to be a guy’s coat like it was a person that needed cherishing and she was crying when he didn’t think he’d said anything that would be that upsetting. Also, her boyfriend was a lowlife. It wasn’t a mathematical equation, but Jason figured he could put at least some of it together. He rolled his chair closer to the bed, finishing up within touching distance of her head and shoulders. “Has he hurt you?” he asked, a low note of menace in his voice. Jason might not be able to beat up Jasper Scumbucket Lucas, but he was sure he could come up with other devious ways to make the guy’s life miserable if need be.
Jules thought she might spend most of the night crying but maybe she was more exhausted than she thought because by the time Jason drew closer her eyes seemed to have given up on producing any more tears. But her face was wet, pressed against Jasper’s coat and her nose was leaking against the material. She turned her face slightly to look at Jason. Had she not had the shittiest month ever, she probably would have laughed at the tone in his voice. At the same time, he sounded sort of protective, so admittedly that made her feel good too. And Jules couldn’t really explain why Jasper had behaved the way he did tonight without telling Jason everything. She wasn’t sure he’d believe her. At least she still had her coat on, so he couldn’t see where Jasper had bruised her arm again. And he hadn’t choked her hard enough to leave marks. Just enough to scare her. “No, not physically,” Jules muttered before wiping away a piece of damp hair stuck to her cheek. “It’s my fault. I kept something from him and he found out. Now he thinks I’m...I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.”
Oh God, teenage drama. This was one of the many reasons Jason didn’t date: he hadn’t yet met anyone he thought would be worth the hassle. At least she didn’t look injured. Jason would have been furious if he knew Jasper had put his hands on Jules and he would have definitely started thinking up some creative forms of vengeance. “Did you guys break up?” he asked, figuring they probably couldn’t be that lucky. It would take a lot to convince him the guy wasn’t a total ass, especially after that fistfight they’d had. Why couldn’t Jules find a decent guy? Objectively he knew she was attractive enough, and he wondered again why girls always went for total shitheads.
Jules hesitated, because she thought they had broken up the last time and then they'd made up. But that had been different. Jasper had been angry then, but he hadn't been convinced Jules was somehow plotting against him either. There was something going on now, something had triggered that thought in his head, about her and Carson and the others. This was serious. "I think so," Jules said miserably, pressing her face into his coat again, mostly to wipe her eyes and nose. She didn't care if she got mascara all over the place. Jules turned her head again to look at Jason. She wasn't super comfortable, but laying on Jason's bed now seemed to be seeping out any remaining energy from her muscles. The alcohol and emotional exhaustion was making her feel sleepy and Jasper's coat was a nice pillow. "I just need to figure out how to fix it," she murmured. "But I don't think it's going to be easy." That was the understatement of the year. Jules couldn't help but smile faintly, her eyelids growing heavy now. "I can open worlds with my hands. Did you know that? It's true."
It was all Jason could do not to snap back good when Jules said she and Jasper had broken up. He wasn’t that great at holding back impulsive words at any time, but it seemed like she was already miserable enough. He settled for “I don’t see why it falls on you to fix it. He should be the one groveling to get you back.” He pushed his glasses up again and hmphed under his breath, shaking his head a little. What she said next made him smile though, and he wasn’t even sure why. “All the worlds,” he agreed. It was fanciful, and she was drunk, but hey. What if all the theories were correct? What if there were worlds inside of worlds? Jason could go with anything based on scientific principles.
It occurred to her in a vague sort of sleepy way that Jason didn't really understand what she was saying, and that was okay. He didn't know the circumstances they were dealing with. He had groveled last time, but Jules didn't think that was going to happen now. It felt Over over... unless she could find out how to fix him, and everyone else. But deep in her gut, Jules was starting to realize that there might not be a way to fix them. But Jason was sort of being a brother to her right then, so she didn't want to try and explain everything. It would only confuse things, and he wouldn't believe her anyway. "I don't know about all of them. But some... they're scary and gross... they look like our world, but covered in blood and breathing hole thingies." Jules closed her eyes. "I want to find one that's pretty, you know? Then I can just stay there. How'd your bed get so comfortable anyway?"
Jules had a way with imagery that he never would, even when she was so drunk she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Blood and breathing hole thingies sounded almost Stephen King-esque. Jason sighed quietly, sliding his chair back in the direction of his desk. His step-sister seemed on the verge of passing out, and it looked like it was going to be on his bed. Ah well. No big deal. He could go down the rabbit hole of Reddit for hours. “Probably because I keep it clean, unlike most teenage boys,” he said, taking off his glasses and setting them next to the laptop so he could rub his eyes. Maybe they’d get lucky and Jasper would vanish into the night like his dad had. It was a mean thing to think, but Jason wasn’t in a charitable mood at the moment.
“'Cause you’re so special,” Jules said, shifting up onto Jason’s bed and pulling Jasper’s coat closer to her. She was still in her own coat so she was warm now and tired and the thought of having to get up and walk across the hall to her own bed now seemed so daunting. Jason wasn’t booting her out, so she stayed where she was and let herself doze off. When he wanted her to go, he’d wake her up. But falling asleep to Jason being there, even if he was staring like a nerd at his computer, was so much better than falling asleep alone in her own room.
Jason was pragmatic and practical by nature, but occasionally he had to wonder if his childhood was ever going to end. What would happen if his dad never came back? College scholarships were a given, but beyond that what would he do? Would he come here for breaks or would he go to his grandparents? There was also the very true fact that he hated this town; it seemed to negatively impact just about everyone he knew. Exhaling his breath in a sigh, he put his glasses back on and tried to think of nicer things as he continued to scroll Reddit. At least there were tons of pathetic people with issues on there that he could read about instead of thinking about his own; it was like the world’s biggest advice column. Listening to Jules’s soft breathing behind him wasn’t terrible either. It was good to not feel completely alone here.
As often happened when he got on the internet, it sucked him in for close to two hours before he realized he should probably go to bed. He’d almost forgotten about Jules beyond the thought that he hoped she wouldn’t puke on his sheets, but he remembered she was there when he powered down his computer and glanced in that direction. Jason winced while getting up because even with a padded desk chair, his ass hurt. “Okay,” he said under his breath as he got the chair pushed in and the desk straightened up as he always did last thing, even now in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
Taking the few steps to the bed, he said, “Jules.” When that didn’t produce any results, he gently shook her shoulder. “Wake up, I need my bed.” Yeah, they had a guest room, but it wasn’t his bed.
As she slept in Jason's bed, Jules dreamed she was outside, but in the woods. It was a familiar place and she knew exactly where she was. But the others weren't there. Carson, or Nic, or Neil. So she knew this wasn't real like those dreams were. Her palms still itched, and slowly began to burn. There was a feeling in her gut that she was supposed to let it happen. Let the fog come out before she locked it back in. Locked it in. Locked them in.
"Jules."
Jules looked around, seeing nothing but darkness and trees. Then she felt Jason's hand on her shoulder and her eyes snapped open, locking onto his face as a sharp noise caught in her throat. Her stepbrother was looking at her and Jules realized she was still in his bed. Had she been drooling? She brought her hand up to her mouth to check and then groaned. "What time is it?”
Jason took a step back as soon as he knew for sure she was awake. “Almost 2:30,” he said to her question. “Bedtime for me, which means you need to get up.” He would have never admitted it, but it had been nice to have her nearby. Still, quiet but there. He knew his stepmom was in her room asleep but it wasn’t anywhere near the same thing, especially since he’d never liked her all that much.
2:30. Jules closed her eyes again and figured she could just doze off again. But Jason wanted his bed which meant she had to move. For a moment she wanted to whine about him waking her up, because he could sleep somewhere else, but she was too tired to start bickering now. So she pushed herself up, waiting a moment for her mind to clear a bit. Then she grabbed Jasper's coat, sharply reminded of what had happened earlier. "You stay up too late," she said instead, standing from his bed and rubbing her hand over her face. "Thanks for the bed though."
Jason kept an eye on her to be sure she was safely on her feet and didn’t appear to be going to fall over before he moved to the window to close the blinds the rest of the way. “I don’t always, but there was someone in my bed,” he pointed out with a faint smile. It was a full-size bed but he wasn’t going to climb in with her; that would just be weird. He would’ve been the envy of at least three-fourths of the guys from school if he had, but whatever. He thought he was actually tired enough to sleep now, so that was good.
Jules hummed an acknowledgment, not feeling guilty at all about falling asleep in his bed. She figured if Jason had wanted her to move earlier, he would have said so. Her brain still felt a bit foggy, and she was worn out from everything that had happened. All Jules wanted was to crawl back into bed and sleep. Hopefully without any dreams. Maybe in the morning everything would be okay. Jasper would text her and they would talk and it would work out. She didn't know what she would do otherwise. "Night," she murmured to Jason, stepping out into the hall to make her way down to her bedroom.