elodie hunt (iaminfinite) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2022-03-02 13:22:00 |
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Entry tags: | #june 2018, elodie, elodie x jasper, jasper |
Who: Jasper and Elodie
When: Late evening, Tuesday, June 26th
Where: Ludlow, then the Harris/Lucas house
Status: Complete
Elodie was lost. Sort of. The street she walked down was recognizable but in Elodie’s mind, every street looked the same in Point Pleasant. Except for Overlook. Those streets were much nicer, which was probably why they were located on some cliff instead of down here with the peons.
At some point, she paused and stared blearily down the road for something to stand out. The houses on the street were shit, except for maybe one or two. Behind her were more shit houses and then a bunch of trees. She was pretty sure the party she had gone to was back there somewhere but now all the houses looked dark and quiet… so maybe she had walked longer than she thought. But how could she have walked for so long and not made any real progress? That made no sense.
A giggle caught in Elodie’s throat as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. Wouldn’t it be nice to have Jasper’s internal GPS system? Then she could just close her eyes and walk back to Dahlia’s apartment. Or Jasper’s house. His bed was always comfortable. Thinking of Jasper had Elodie tugging her phone out of her pocket and fumbling a bit to unlock it. Once she found Jasper’s contact, she sat down on the curb and stretched her legs out in front of her. It didn’t occur to her that she could just press the call button. Instead she stared intently at the screen, her tongue caught between her teeth as she focused on typing out a coherent message. The drugs she’d taken had made everything colorful and loud for a while, but now she felt like she was underwater and had no real control over her body. Still, her thumbs were working, so that was a plus!
can yu come get m??
Elodie pressed send with a smile of triumph, the whooshing sound of the text disappearing into the ether.
Being a working man was making Jasper tired earlier these days. Adjusting back to functioning on a daytime schedule was difficult, since he naturally wanted to sleep in and be awake through the afternoon and evening. It was like being in school but with dirtier physical labor. Jasper knew it might feel more worthwhile once he started getting paid, but so far he’d caught himself wondering here and there why he was doing it at all. At least Mr. Fox had been really nice and patient with him, so it was all going as well as it could.
In any case, Jasper was stretched out in bed and dozing in front of his TV when his phone buzzed against his leg. With a little groan, he picked it up and squinted at the screen, blinking rapidly to clear the haze out of his eyes. It was a text from Elodie, which was kind of unusual. Since he was sleepy, Jasper had to read it a couple of times to get what she was asking. Without even thinking about it, he reached out with his mind and located where she was, on the street in the middle of a not so great neighborhood, on Ludlow. Probably too fucked up to get home on her own.
Jasper sighed and started to climb out of bed, pushing covers aside with one hand while he texted with the other. omw. stay put. He got up to hunt down some sweatpants and a hoodie and his keys, hoping she wasn’t going to be annoying about this.
Elodie had started to zone out while waiting for Jasper's response, staring across the street at a darkened house. There weren't any blinds or curtains on the filthy windows. The grass was overgrown and the driveway had huge chunks of concrete missing from it. It wasn't anything special but she was hypnotized by it until her phone dinged loudly in her hand, giving her a start.
"Fuck!" She very nearly dropped it but managed to hold on before it slipped onto the street. It took a second for her to realize it was Jasper and she heaved a sigh of relief when he indicated he was on his way. Jasper GPS to the rescue! Elodie fumbled to find a proper gif response to thank him with, but once she sent it, she found herself lying back on the grass, her feet still stretched out into the street. Closing her eyes, she waited for Jasper, idly wondering if the whispers in her ears were from ghosts or just something in her own brain. Who knew what was real anymore.
Even the sound of a car coming down the street sounded distorted like it was driving through another time and place and simply taking a detour through Point Pleasant. Cracking one eye open, Elodie watched the headlights approach, wondering if it was Jasper. It looked like his car and she figured she had been lying there for a while. Feeling too heavy to sit up, she waited, rolling onto her side and pressing her cheek against the cool grass. If the car stopped and Jasper got out, then it would be okay. If it was someone else, well, a new adventure would begin.
Elodie’s gif didn’t make much sense to Jasper, but there were a lot of things about her that didn’t make sense to him, so he just let it go. He stifled a yawn as he climbed into his car and got on his way, rolling the windows down and turning his music up as he went. The people on Ludlow wouldn’t care. Or they at least wouldn’t complain to the cops or anything. He didn’t even have to pay much attention to find Elodie -- his body just knew where to go, and it guided the car straight to her. Jasper didn’t spot her with his eyes at first, but when his lights hit a body laying at the curb in somebody’s yard, he knew he’d arrived. Jasper hoped she wasn’t the extra stupid type of drunk, he didn’t feel like dealing with that tonight.
He stopped the car and put it into park, then climbed out and approached her, hitching up his sweatpants a bit. “You alive down there, El?” he asked as he moved to crouch down near enough to see her face. “Time to go.”
It was Jasper! Which meant things would be okay. She grinned lazily at him and pushed herself up with one hand, taking a moment to let her head stop spinning. "You found me. Jasper GPS." Elodie lifted her hands in a V for victory. Then she sighed heavily, letting her hands fall into her lap. "Where'd you wanna go? There was a party, but it disappeared." Fuck, how was she breathing underwater? It was so strange, but cool. She felt like a mermaid without the fins. Elodie looked at Jasper hopefully. "We can find another one. You wanna drive?"
Jasper couldn’t help but smirk a little as he raised one brow at her. “For one, you’re never even driving my car sober, so yes, I’m driving. You look all partied out though, so why don’t I take you home?” he asked as he stood up. Jasper offered both hands out to Elodie to help her up, but he was already thinking he might need to carry her. He definitely wasn’t comfortable with the idea of dropping her off at some other party, not when she’d been napping on the curb when he’d pulled up. Jasper generally wasn’t one to rain on anybody’s party parade, he liked to throw down pretty hard himself, but he also believed in taking care of his friends, and Elodie was sort of one of those.
Elodie whined briefly before taking his hands to try and pull herself up. "I don't wanna go home. Dahlia will do the disappointed face." For the most part her aunt had let her live her own life, which was awesome, but Dahlia was still an adult and bound to disappoint Elodie eventually. "Or she's fucking the Sheriff, so she won't even know I'm home. Did you know that she's fucking the Sheriff?" Something akin to a giggle slipped past her lips again once she was on her feet. Everything spun for a moment and she gripped Jasper's arm to stay upright. "I wanna go home with you." Jasper's bed would be comfortable and warm and he usually had pot, which was a bonus.
He put a supporting arm around her when she swayed a bit and clung to him, letting out a chuckle of his own. “No I didn’t know that ... but good for her, he’s kinda daddy-hot, right?” Jasper murmured, amused. He’d only seen Dahlia once or twice so far, and she was definitely hot, so he wasn’t surprised she’d found a boyfriend already. Or a fuckbuddy, anyway. Jasper didn’t think he would want to live in a place where the sheriff came around on a regular basis though, so he didn’t blame Elodie for all of her wandering. “Sure, you can come home with me,” he said as he turned toward the car to open the passenger door and help her into it. “I gotta actually sleep though, I got work in the morning.”
"What?" Elodie appeared genuinely distressed at the news that Jasper had to work. She wasn't ready to sleep yet and if he went to sleep she might end up bored. "When'd you get a job? What'd you do that for?" She found her way into the seat, slumping down like a petulant child. That was a major buzzkill for sure, even though it wasn't like they hung out as friends or anything, and rationally, Jasper having a job had no bearing on her life whatsoever. But it meant he was becoming responsible and crap and she liked having people in her life who were as much of a disaster as she was.
“Like last week, so I could have some money,” Jasper told her with a little laugh. “Why else do people get jobs?” He made sure all of her limbs were inside the car and then shut the door, circling around the car to climb into the driver seat. He’d left the engine running, and he reached to adjust the heat a little so she wouldn’t be cold. “Don’t cry too much, I’ll always have evenings off unless there’s like, a big project or something. So you’ll still see me.” Jasper didn’t think Elodie was truly worried about missing him while he was working or anything, and it wasn’t like she didn’t help herself to his house and his room when he wasn’t there. He put the car in gear and headed off.
Money. Pfft. She supposed having money would make things easier on her, but she liked swiping things and she was good at it. As soon as Jasper got into the car Elodie looked over at him before digging around in her bag for her cigarettes. "I met a guy a while ago who said he killed black eyed kids with an ax," she said simply, pulling her cigarettes from her bag to light one. Her fingers were shaking a bit but she managed to get the lighter to work. "Said he was a reaper and like... I think about that a lot. He gets paid lots of money for it. That'd be a better job..." It didn't occur to her that he hadn't even said where he was working. She just knew it was probably basic and boring.
A small chill ran down Jasper’s back at the words ‘black eyed kids.’ He’d never told Elodie about that incident, and while he wasn’t afraid of the actual little assholes anymore, it was jarring to hear them referenced. Especially in such a confusing-ass statement. Jasper shot Elodie an incredulous look, eyebrow raised. “A what? A reaper? What the fuck does that mean?” he asked with a huffed laugh. It sounded like some overly dramatic goth shit to him. He reached for his own cigarettes and lighter, suddenly needing one more than he had a moment ago. “Sounds like a good fit for you though, you’re psycho enough to chop up monster kids,” he added, smirking faintly. He was teasing her ... but only kind of. Elodie was pretty crazy, it was part of her charm.
"I don't remember," Elodie admitted after a moment of thought. "He kills things though and like... gets their souls or whatever. He was hot." Exhaling some smoke, Elodie looked over at Jasper. His face was a bit blurry, but so was the rest of the world. "I could do it though. Chop things up with an ax. Bad things though. I bet that'd be... what's that word? Like, when you do something that makes you feel better about stupid shit? I don't know. I could be the next Lizzie Borden." Squinting out the window, Elodie scrunched up her nose. "Where're we going?"
Jasper had no idea if souls were even a real thing, so he mentally chalked it all up to some weird guy hitting on Elodie and trying to impress her. It was probably all bullshit, guys tended to be full of it when they wanted to get laid. “I dunno the word, but yeah like, ax therapy,” he answered, shrugging one shoulder. He didn’t know who Lizzie Borden was either, but he wasn’t going to say so. The question made him snort a bit and Jasper glanced over at her. “You’re coming home with me, remember? So that’s where we’re going.” He hoped she wasn’t going to change her mind and whine about going to another party or something. Jasper wanted to just get back home, bury them both in blankets, and pass out with her.
Ax therapy. That sounded pretty incredible to Elodie. She just needed to find an ax! Take it out into the woods and have a go at a tree or something. Blinking rapidly at Jasper, Elodie tried to remember if he had told her they were going back to his place. Probably not. Or probably. Whatever. She would rather go there than go home where Dahlia might make a fuss. Or just sigh. Either way. Elodie brought her cigarette back to her lips. "Do you ever think about fucking me?" she asked, squinting at his face in the dimness of his car. "Or is that like, too scary for you?" She honestly didn't care either way, but she was curious. Jasper rode that fine line between friend and weird brother-type friend but it wasn't really like Elodie could control her mouth at the moment.
He couldn’t help but laugh softly at the second question. Of course Elodie would build a challenge into that kind of inquiry. Jasper got his cigarette lit and rolled his window down halfway before he answered. “Of course I think about it sometimes,” he answered, as if that was only reasonable. “I’m a dude, and you’re in my bed all the time. How could I not? I’m not scared of you, though.” Jasper arched a brow at her. “Do you ever think about fucking me? Or am I too boring for you?” His tone was amused, but he kind of meant it -- from what Elodie had told him, the sex she really liked to have was too violent for his tastes. Jasper liked it rough and dominant sometimes, but he didn’t think he could bring himself to punch a girl he was fucking, whether she was asking for it or not.
Elodie barked out a laugh and took her time smoking her cigarette before speaking again. She knew Jasper wasn't scared of her, though she knew that he thought she was nuts. He was probably right. "Yeah, I think about fucking you. I think about fucking a lot of people. But I don't think you're boring," she said. "Like, as a person. If you mean boring in bed, I can't answer that, 'cause we've never had sex. Even the most exciting guy could be totally vanilla and dull, or have a super small dick. So I don't know." Elodie fumbled a bit with the seat lever before finally being able to adjust it so she was laying back a bit more. "But I kinda think fucking you would be like... fucking my brother... or at least a cousin. Doesn't mean I wouldn't do it, 'cause you're not my brother, but still. I haven't had anyone fuck me in forever. I think I'm a virgin again."
“Well ... I’m not vanilla and you know I don’t have no tiny dick,” Jasper drawled with a little smirk. They hadn’t had sex, but they’d literally slept together enough times that he knew Elodie had seen his morning wood more than once. “Not vanilla by most standards, anyway. I don’t wanna beat you up, sorry. But yeah, fucking your cousin is kinda how it would be, in my head at least. But I mean ... whatever, some people do fuck their cousins. Cousins can be hot. Not that I’m tryin’ to talk you into it or anything. I don’t need to complicate my shit any more than it already is.” He flicked some ash out the window. Fucking Logan was one thing, Jasper didn’t know if his internal guilt surrounding Jules would allow him to fuck any other girl. That wasn’t the purpose of the break. Fucking Elodie seemed like it would be tempting fate to just make his situation worse. They were friends now, but he still didn’t totally trust her to keep her mouth shut.
"Your shit isn't as complicated as you think it is." People made things so hard for themselves, especially when they were in love, or lust, or whatever it was. Stupid, if you asked her. Stifling back a yawn, Elodie tossed the cigarette from the window and then rolled onto her side in the seat, curling up a bit. "I gotta be in the mood to get beat up. You remember Cam? He beat me up during sex. But he was psycho. I'm probably psycho too. Fuck. This car feels like it's floating. Are we there yet?" She really wanted to get out of her clothes and get into bed. Even if they didn't fuck, maybe Jasper would let her cuddle up next to him for a while.
Jasper rolled his eyes a bit at the mention of Cam -- Elodie had already told him that was who she’d had fun fight-fucking. He didn’t know the guy and didn’t really want to. “Nah, four minutes and twenty-three seconds, then we’re there,” he told her, the exact number rolling right off of his tongue without any thought from him. His mind was elsewhere, orbiting around Jules now that he’d let himself think about her. Maybe his shit wasn’t as complicated as he thought it was, but it sure fucking felt like it. He definitely wasn’t going to take relationship advice from Elodie, of all people, especially when she was drunk or high or whatever, so he let that part go. “Do you think you’re psycho?”
"Do you think I'm psycho?" Elodie countered before laughing. "I don't know if I am or not. I laughed when my mom was killed... who does that? Fuck. I want to die sometimes, don't you? Like... just let it all go blank." She wasn't suicidal or anything, not at the moment, but sometimes it sounded like a really good ending to all the bullshit in her head. She stretched out in the seat and kept talking, just letting her mouth move as her eyes closed. "I think everyone can be psycho... but like, some people have better willpower, or whatever it's called. They don't let it come out, right?"
There was a lot to relate to in everything she said, which would’ve worried Jasper if he wasn’t already so goddamn worried about himself. He still felt half crazy most of the time, even if it was sometimes hard to put it into words. Elodie had laughed while her mother was murdered ... Jasper had done the actual murdering of a family member, and then he had laughed. He knew he hadn’t been in control of his faculties at the time, but it had still felt like his doing, and he was sure Elodie felt the same. “I dunno if it’s willpower,” Jasper murmured, his tone quiet and flat. “But yeah, everybody can be psycho. I laughed after I killed my grandfather. I definitely want to die sometimes.” Was it more than just sometimes? Jasper didn’t know how you were supposed to measure that sort of thing, what would be ‘normal’ for people who had been through what they’d been through. “So you’re not the only psycho in the car.”
"Psychos who want to die sometimes. Cool." Elodie did feel a certain amount of guilt for what happened to her mom. And her grandma, since Elodie was pretty sure she had sucked all the life out of her before being sucked into hell. But if she drank enough, or took enough drugs, she would forget about it... or, at least dull the guilt enough to function. Elodie opened her eyes as her stomach rolled uncomfortably. With a groan, she moved to sit up, feeling shaky and a little too hot beneath her clothes. "Are we almost there?" She had a feeling she was about to puke and she knew how Jasper would feel about her doing that in his car.
Jasper immediately recognized the tone in that question and the queasy look on Elodie’s face, and he sped up down the residential street. “Almost, hang on, hang on,” he encouraged in a murmur. Within thirty seconds he was pulling up in front of Charlie’s house -- well, all of their house now, he guessed, though it still didn’t feel like home most of the time. Jasper hastily parked and looked over at Elodie with concern. He did not want her puking in his car. And to think, he could’ve been fast asleep by now. But he would hope Elodie would do the same for him if she was sober and had a car ... both of which were unlikely, but whatever.
Elodie might have laughed at Jasper's speediness if she hadn't been feeling so nauseous. As soon as the car stopped, Elodie pushed open the door and all but stumbled out onto the ground before she finally vomited. She was generally pretty good at holding her liquor... and the things she took with the liquor. But it all made a pretty mess in her stomach tonight and now it was all in the grass beneath her. "Fuck," she groaned, falling back onto her knees once she was sure she was finished. Wiping her mouth with her shirt, Elodie was positive everything around her was just becoming more and more surreal. Any moment now she would blink and the world would be gray and foggy and full of monsters. For a second she felt the burning begin behind her eyes so she quickly lifted her shirt higher to wipe at them. No need to do that or anything. "Are we here?" she mumbled to Jasper, squinting up to the sky, even though it was dark.
As soon as Elodie was out of the car and starting to retch, Jasper turned the engine off and climbed out himself. He was too late to hold her hair for her, but he crouched down next to her as she sat back. It was gross, but not the biggest mess he’d ever seen -- or made himself, for that matter. Jasper didn’t have to ask where she meant, he knew by instinct. “Yes, we’re here,” he mumbled quietly. “And I would know, Jasper GPS, right? Come on, let’s get you inside.” He moved in closer and put an arm around her to get her to her feet, then scooped her legs up to carry her into the house. “Just don’t puke on me.” Jasper nudged the car door shut with his hip and then started up the front yard. Hopefully everybody else was tucked in for the night and not paying attention to him coming home. Not for the first time, he wished Charlie’s basement had an exterior door.
Elodie didn't protest when Jasper picked her up. Couldn't protest, really, and she was actually grateful that he had done it. It probably would have taken longer for them to get inside if she had to make her way across the yard and into the house on her own. It sort of reminded her of when her brother would take care of her, making sure she got into bed okay when she came home late, or ridiculously early, from a party back in New York. When she was much younger, but her parents didn't seem to care about her comings and goings. She missed her brother now and wondered if he missed her too, wherever he was. Elodie rested her head against his shoulder, her eyes burning again. She didn't try to stop the tears from slipping out this time, but she held back on actually sobbing. The force of it burned her throat, but Elodie wasn't going to be that girl. The drunk, sobbing mess. Fuck that. She really just wanted to be in bed and curled up under a blanket.
Jasper saw the silent tears -- had he ever seen Elodie cry before? He couldn’t remember now -- but he wasn’t going to say anything about them. God knew he’d cried to himself a million times by now. She was way tougher than him and already feeling shitty, he didn’t want to hurt her pride by drawing attention to it. So Jasper just focused on unlocking the door without dropping Elodie, then taking her through the dim kitchen to the basement stairs. He heard nails clicking on the linoleum and shushed the dogs before they had a chance to announce him. Jasper took the stairs slowly, then headed toward the small makeshift bathroom that Gavin had installed for him. “Lemme clean you up a bit,” he murmured to Elodie as he gently lowered her feet to the floor and helped her sit down on the closed toilet lid. Once he was sure she wouldn’t fall over, he started running some hot water in the sink and grabbed a washcloth. There was some puke on Elodie’s face and shirt and he didn’t want it on his sheets. Jasper crouched next to her again and started to gingerly wipe her skin off. “Who all were you partying with anyway?” he asked quietly.
The hard seat of the toilet wasn't the bed, but Elodie was too tired now to whine about it. She could smell the puke in her nostrils and while she was well aware that she probably looked like a hot mess, she didn't really care. She flinched briefly at the feel of the cloth on her face, but then settled, her shoulders hunched a bit. "I dunno," she mumbled. Her eyes were barely open as she struggled to remember the party. There wasn't much there. Music, flashes of faces in her memory. But in a way, it didn't feel real to her. It was like a dream quickly forgotten when awake. "They all disappeared anyway."
If Jasper didn’t know Elodie as well as he did, he might’ve worried that someone had drugged her ... but he was pretty sure she’d taken whatever it was willingly, plus alcohol on top of it. He was dimly glad that she’d been able to text him before her grass nap. He didn’t really expect her to list off any names of people she’d been with, it was more to keep her awake until he could get her into bed. “Doesn’t everybody,” he muttered as he cleaned her chin and wiped off a bit of her hair. “Stay here, I’m going to get you a shirt to sleep in, okay? Two seconds.” Jasper stood and tossed the rag in the sink, then went to his dresser to pull out a roomy t-shirt. He returned to Elodie and started to pull her shirt up so he could get her changed.
Elodie might have stressed that she meant disappeared literally but she assumed he knew that and honestly, she wasn't even thinking of the party anymore. She was swaying a bit on the toilet seat and eyed the floor, thinking it looked pretty comfortable now. But then Jasper was back and she helped him get her out of her shirt. Almost as if going through the motions, Elodie tugged her bra straps down her arms but didn't feel coordinated enough to unhook her bra. Shoulders slumped further with resignation. Was it always this difficult to get into bed? "Can you get that?" she asked, twisting around so he could get to her bra clasp. There was nothing sexual about it. She just didn't want to sleep in it and Jasper had seen boobs before.
“Sure,” Jasper murmured, reaching to undo Elodie’s bra and let it drop to the floor. He couldn’t help but look at her tits a bit as he got his t-shirt over her head and helped her arms through, but it didn’t feel sexual to him either. He didn’t think he would ever understand how some assholes could take advantage of girls when they were fucked up like this. There was also nothing sexual about taking her pants off, which Jasper knelt again to do. He got her shoes off first, then undid her jeans and tugged them down. “This is not how I’ve pictured undressing you,” he said with a little smirk, glancing up at her face. She looked half unconscious already, at least she would pass out so he could sleep too. “You ready for bed?” Jasper asked as he moved to pick her up again.
Elodie didn't care much what he saw of her body. A lot of guys in his position would've probably tried to take advantage... and she probably would have let them. But she was dimly grateful that Jasper just helped her get changed without copping a feel or anything like that. His words made her snort with mild amusement and she did what she could to get up off of the toilet seat when he began to pick her up. "I'd ask how you pictured undressing me, but that can wait 'til tomorrow 'cause I'm too tired to remember it." God, she was ready for bed. Ready for a soft blanket and a warm body to snuggle up to, even if it was just Jasper's. She didn't know anyone else other than Dahlia who would've come out to pick her up like he had and she made a tired, mental note to thank him for it later.
“Lucky me, you probably won’t remember I even said anything about it,” he pointed out with a little chuckle. Jasper had already confessed that he’d thought about fucking her before, and undressing was usually involved in that, so he didn’t feel weird saying so or anything. He carried her the short distance to his bed, and settled her down on it, pulling the blanket over her. “Wake me up if you start to die or anything, okay?” he murmured as he brushed some hair out of her face. Jasper moved away briefly to turn off the lights and stripped down to his boxer briefs before he climbed into bed next to Elodie. The TV was still on from when he’d left the house earlier, volume low, casting a blue sort of glow over everything. Once Jasper was settled and his phone plugged back in, he reached for the remote to turn it off.
He was right. She probably wouldn't remember a lot of this, but that was okay with Elodie. As soon as she was beneath the blankets, Elodie tugged them up to her chin, waiting until Jasper had laid down too and turned off the television. The darkness was comforting and she scooted in close to him, curling up against his body. It was more to remind herself that she wasn't alone and while a lot of people found basements to be creepy or whatever, Elodie felt much safer down there than anywhere else up there. Jasper was fucked up, just like her, and maybe that was why she trusted him. They went through a lot of bullshit Over There and they were still dealing with bullshit here, even if it was on different levels. She meant to say goodnight or something like that, but as soon as they were both settled in bed and she felt the warmth coming off of his body, Elodie was fast asleep.