Who: Greer and Jasper Where Fox’s auto shop When: Afternoon, Friday July 6th Status: complete
Greer wanted to follow through with her promise to Ty that she would talk to Jasper and Elodie, so it seemed only natural to track one of them down on Friday. And since she knew Jasper was at work, it seemed easiest to drive to the auto shop and try to catch him on a break. She didn’t want to disrupt his day or upset him or anything, but the sooner they all understood what had happened to them, and what was happening, the better.
Greer pulled into the parking lot and spotted Jasper underneath one of the cars in the open garage. They had spoken before so she wasn’t afraid of him being curt or unwilling to talk again. He would probably be more open with her than Elodie so… this is where Greer would start.
Climbing out of the car, Greer began to walk toward the garage, not wanting to frighten or startle him, but it was possible that he might already be aware of her presence. “Jasper?” Her tone was light and unhurried.
Jasper’s mind had been wandering while he changed the oil filter in the sedan above him, the process fairly routine to him by now, so he could afford to daydream. It was all about Jules and Logan, of course, his mind much more able to wrestle with all of that than the sanity-breaking shit that he still hadn’t fully processed. Maybe he never would, Jasper didn’t know. Maybe he could just wall off those months and leave them behind, like veterans had to do with memories of war, or whatever. His angsty love life was much easier to dwell on.
No matter what he wanted, the incident wasn’t done with him though, and Jasper felt Greer nearby as soon as she stepped out of her car. He immediately felt a little guilty, he kept meaning to call her ... but denial was addictive. When he heard her voice, he rolled himself out from under the car and sat up, reaching for a rag to wipe his hands off. “Hey Greer,” he greeted, not sounding surprised to see her. “What’s up?”
Greer smiled when Jasper slipped out from beneath the car. There he was. "Hey there," she said, pushing some of her long hair behind her ear. "Do you have a few minutes?" She didn't want to say nothing was up when there kind of was, but she also didn't want to jump right into things while he was still on the ground and she hadn't even asked how he was doing yet. But if they could have some privacy, Greer would try to get something substantial to tell Ty.
It wasn’t hard to guess what she was there for and wanted to talk about, though Jasper supposed there could be some new form of bullshittery going on he wasn’t aware of yet. He hoped not. “Yeah, sure, I can take a break,” he said as he stood up. Jasper glanced around the shop and lifted a hand to get Mr. Fox’s attention. After signaling that he was going to have a smoke, Jasper led Greer back out the bay door and over to the side of the building. There was a picnic table there where the guys took most of their breaks, and Jasper plopped down on one side of it as he fished out his cigarette pack. “You smoke?”
Greer followed Jasper to the picnic table and sat down across from him, folding her arms on the top of the table. At his question, Greer smiled. "No, not really. But I'll have one anyway." For a moment she regretted not bringing a joint, but then she realized it probably wouldn't be very professional for Jasper to be smoking pot on the clock. So for now, cigarettes would do. "How have you been?" she asked. It sounded like small talk but Greer genuinely wanted to know. He was so young and had been through so much already. Jasper was looking healthy, at least, and she had to remember to keep her hands to herself, despite wanting to reach out to brush her hands over his growing hair.
Jasper handed her a cigarette and the lighter to use first while he tucked another one between his lips. “Up and down, you know,” he answered, shrugging one shoulder. There weren’t really many other answers he could give. “Depends on the day.” Sometimes he felt pretty good, or at least mostly normal. Other times he was an anxious mess, or trying to self medicate into oblivion. He lit his own smoke once Greer gave the lighter back and leaned on his elbows on the table. “How about you?” he asked. Jasper knew he probably sounded cagey even though he wasn’t trying to be, and Greer might push him to be a little more specific, but he wanted to return the question to her anyway.
Greer nodded in understanding, studying Jasper as she lifted her chin away to exhale the smoke. "About the same. It's hard sometimes, trying to adjust to being back. Not that I'd ever want to be back there, but... you know, sometimes being here feels... like I'm out of place, too." She smiled a little and shook her head. "I don't know if any of that makes sense. But I can't imagine I'm the only one feeling that way. That's why I wanted to check in on you." It wasn't the only reason, but she understood how difficult all of this was, and maybe it was harder on teenagers like Jasper. His young life was already full of trauma.
It made perfect sense to Jasper, too much sense. He eyed Greer a bit warily, trying to figure out if she really felt that way or was just correctly guessing how he felt and trying to relate. That was a cynical sort of suspicion though, and Greer had always been nothing but nice to him, so Jasper tried to stop assuming the worst. “Yeah,” he said slowly. “I still feel like an alien here a lot of the time. Like ... I dunno, like I don’t actually belong anywhere. I get really bad dreams and like, panic attacks sometimes? And uh ... yeah, you remember asking me if anything weird was happening with me?” Jasper sounded a little sheepish, a bit ashamed he hadn’t reached out to Greer like he’d told her he would. But she was here now, so now was the time, he supposed.
Unfortunately Greer was being sincere. She hid things well enough and she loved being home and with her two boys, but... yes, sometimes she still felt out of place, like she was merely visiting, surrounded by people who would never understand. But she was pushing hard to get things back on track, because that's what she wanted. Greer smoked and listened, nodding a little when Jasper brought up their previous conversation. This was why she was there, to find out if he had changed the way she and some of the others had. "You've discovered you can do something... unexplainable," she said with a small smile. "Since you've been home from that place."
“Yeah,” Jasper confirmed. He wet his lips and took another drag from his cigarette, eyes briefly on the sky. “I’m uh, I’m like a human GPS? Like I can think about a person or a place and I just suddenly know right where they are and how to get there. And it’s kinda different from how we can all feel each other now, you know? It just ... feels different. Like there was this little girl who got lost at the carnival, and um -- well, I heard about it, long story how, but I found her. And me and my friend were drunk and turned around in Portland a while back and I found our hotel super easy.” He shrugged a shoulder as if to say it wasn’t that big a deal, even if he knew it kind of was. Jasper just didn’t know how to handle anyone being impressed with him and what he could do.
A human gps. Greer's brows rose as she brought her cigarette back up to her lips. "Wow. That's a pretty handy tool. So how does it work, exactly? You just have to think about something or someone and you just know? Do you have to know the person personally, or have seen them?" He had already done something good, helping find a lost little girl at the carnival. It made Greer proud in a strange way, like maybe they were all given these abilities to make a difference. Then again, maybe they weren't given anything. Maybe it was all random and chance and the air Over There simply changed their body's chemistry or something. She wasn't very good at science so Greer had no idea how to explain it.
“I think it helps if I know what they look like,” he said, though he couldn’t sound completely positive about that. Jasper had done some experimenting, but a lot of the time he just wanted to avoid thinking too much about it. “But yeah it’s kind of ... I have a really good map in my head now, way better than I ever used to. And when I focus on finding something, it kinda pings on the map? And once it pings, I kinda feel a pull to it, like a beacon.” He made a gesture toward his head before he took another drag from his cigarette. Jasper hoped that made sense and didn’t sound stupid. It was hard to explain something so internal and strange. It was like nothing Jasper had ever felt before.
Greer wondered if Jasper had always had a good sense of direction before and this new internal GPS was just a heightened version of that, or if this new ability was completely random. "As much as I hate to say it, finding people would be an especially handy tool to have in this town. If nothing else, you'll never lose your keys." Smiling faintly, Greer took another pull from the cigarette before continuing. "Ty... he can't feel pain anymore. Physical pain. Another one, he turns invisible, which is just crazy, isn't it?" She had already told Jasper what she could do, but she wanted to make sure he knew this wasn't isolated to just a few of them. "Has Elodie said anything to you? Has she experienced anything different?"
Jasper gave a huffed little laugh at the keys comment and nodded. Finding people was much more useful, and ever since the incident with Rebecca, he’d been wondering who else he could find. Point Pleasant had so many missing people, and if any of them were still alive out there ... As always when he began to ponder it, the whole prospect felt too huge and terrifying all of the sudden and he pushed it away, trying to focus again on what Greer was saying. The news about Ty was a surprise, but he nodded a bit at the rest. “Yeah, uh, Sage showed me what he could do. The invisible thing. It’s so freaky, but kinda cool. Elodie ... yeah, she’s got a thing, too.” Jasper took another drag and tried to think about how to explain it. “She can like, feel other people’s wounds? But old ones too. Like if you had surgery years ago or broke a bone or something, when she’s near you she’ll feel it like it just happened to her.” It sounded like a pretty shitty ‘power,’ like Greer’s, and it put a damper on the whole idea that they were turning to superheroes.
Greer tried to imagine how useful feeling injuries would be. It sounded painful more than anything else. "I guess the only person that might be useful to is Ty," she said dryly. Was there a reason to any of this? Was it all random? Every time Greer thought she was getting close to an answer, there was something to make her doubt it all. "Maybe that place was nothing but poison," she mused. "And we just... breathed in a whole lot of it, making us the way we are now. I guess some of these new abilities are helpful, but the others... I don't know." Greer sighed and then offered Jasper a small smile. "Are you doing okay, though? I mean, beyond the obvious stuff."
Jasper doubted there was any rhyme or reason to any of it, or any purpose behind what they were experiencing. His thoughts about it were usually cynical, and he hummed some agreement when Greer mentioned the air over there being poison. It sure as hell had looked and felt like it at the time, even if it had kept them from starving somehow. Jasper still didn’t understand how any of it worked, and he didn’t think any of the rest of them did either. He returned Greer’s smile with a wan one of his own and shrugged a little. “I dunno,” Jasper murmured, fiddling idly with his cigarette. “I mean, I got a job, that’s something, right? Me and my girlfriend are getting back together.” He was happy about that, he wanted it, but there were mixed feelings too, so the statement came out a little subdued.
Greer arched a brow and nodded. "A job is definitely a good thing. I really ought to do that too. My boys both have jobs now and I feel like I'm just reaping the benefits of their hard work. I'm just not sure what I'm qualified for and... gods, the idea of being stuck inside for hours at a day." Greer shivered dramatically before she put out the remainder of her cigarette. "But jobs, those are the responsible thing to do. Are you doing what you really want to do? With the job... and the girlfriend?" Greer didn't want to pry but it was impossible to miss Jasper's tone. She knew she was lucky to have two men who loved and supported her, and whom she loved and supported in return, but returning from that place after being so long was a difficult thing, and not every reunion was going to be a happy one.
He definitely related to not knowing what he was qualified for -- really, he only had the mechanical skills he did from working with his uncle on his car. Jasper felt lucky he knew how to do anything at all, because this was the extent of it. He could bust tables and do dishes, but pretty much anybody could, it wasn’t exactly marketable. It felt impossible to think very far into the future though, when he was just trying to make it from one day to the next. “Yeah, I like doing this kinda work,” he said with a nod. “And it’s pretty much all I can do. I can’t even like, type super great, you know? And I’m sick of food jobs. As for Jules ... I love her. I really do, and I do want to be with her, I just ... I dunno, have mixed feelings. And other feelings, for someone else.” He winced a little. “And they’re not the same, and I can’t like ...” Jasper made a helpless vague gesture to indicate he couldn’t sort anything out or make it work.
Greer couldn't type super great either, so she definitely understood where Jasper was coming from. As long as he was doing something he enjoyed, that was really all that mattered. He was still young and had plenty of time to figure things out, and with so much more than just what kind of career or job he wanted. "You know, I think it's human nature to nurture a bevy of feelings for different people, even at the same time," Greer said, casually folding her arms on the table top. "How are your feelings for this other person different than what you feel for your girlfriend?"
Jasper didn’t really know what ‘bevy’ meant, but he could guess well enough with the context. He hesitated before he answered, stubbing his cigarette out and flicking the butt away, then started picking at a splinter in the picnic table surface with one dirty fingernail. “Well he’s a guy, for one,” he half-muttered, tossing Greer a fleeting glance. “My best friend since forever, and the only guy I’ve ever like, really been with. That was why me and Jules broke up, I kinda ... well, we took some mushrooms and I just blurted out that I had some like ... other desires.” Jasper cringed a little, though he was sure Greer could figure out what he meant. “And during our uh, break about it ... I dunno, I love him too. Just different. It’s hard to explain.” Jasper paused, then turned his gaze away again. “And I know that makes me a piece of shit.”
Greer listened and rested her chin in her palm, her brow raising only once when Jasper mentioned the mushrooms and subsequent revelation. "You don't have to explain anything to me," Greer said after a moment, her lips curving in a small, understanding smile. "And you're not a piece of shit, Jasper. You're a young guy who is just starting to figure himself out. You don't have to have all the answers right now. And it's not abnormal or horrible to have feelings for your friend, whether they're different than the ones for Jules, or they're the same. I'm living proof that a human being can love more than one person equally. That love may have different layers and complexities, but that doesn't mean it's more or less. Do you want to be with your friend?"
He didn’t know a lot about Greer’s relationship situation, just that she had two men in her life and they all seemed to make it work. Jasper didn’t think that was even a remote possibility for him and Jules and Logan. Her question gave him pause as he tried to think about how to phrase it. “Like ... in a way? He’s kind of a free spirit, he doesn’t really do like, committed relationships. Which would be okay with me, you know? I wanna be with Jules, but still get to hang out and love on Logan sometimes too without it being cheating. But she’d never go for that, so ...” Jasper picked some more at the wooden table and shrugged. “It’s like she thinks I love her less if I can even think about somebody else that way, but that’s not how I feel. I dunno how to make her believe me, except just ... give him up and try not to want any guys anymore.” He gave her another uncertain look. “Your boyfriends ... they don’t get jealous ever?”
Ah, young love. It could be so needlessly complicated. Greer smiled again and shook her head gently. "No, no jealousy there. They love each other as much as they love me. Maybe we're an anomaly but there's plenty of trust between the three of us. We communicate, which is probably the most important thing." Before Rost entered their lives, she and Dev had had a happy, open relationship. These days, Rost and Dev both fulfilled her in completely different ways and she hadn't felt the urge to be with someone else in a long time. Greer studied Jasper for a moment before adding, "Having been a teenage girl once myself, I can tell you that they can feel a lot of insecurity, especially when it comes to love. Have you talked to her about how you're feeling?"
So they loved each other too, huh? Jasper briefly wondered if he could get Jules and Logan to love each other -- he knew Logan would have no problems sleeping with her if he got the chance, but that was different. He hadn’t really meant to get into all of this crap with Greer, but she was being really nice about it and seemed wise about people and all that shit, so he was kind of glad for it. “Not really,” Jasper murmured. “We broke up a few weeks ago, didn’t talk a lot during that time ... then she got into this pretty bad car accident and ended up in the hospital. She’s home now, but we haven’t really talk-talked about it. About him. I can’t tell her I love him though, I already know that’d hurt her feelings, and I’m ... fuck, I’m so tired of hurting her.” He abruptly moved to rub his hands over his face. “She told me when we broke up to not come back until I was sure I wanted her and only her, so that’s just how it has to be.”
At the mention of the car accident, Greer frowned a touch, though it was obvious the girl was okay so she didn't dwell on it too much. Sometimes potentially life altering things happened that put people's thoughts and feelings into perspective and maybe that's what happened here. Although it didn't seem like Jasper was really sure of anything going on in his life at the moment. "Not to make things seem more difficult for you, but... it seems pretty clear that you're not sure that it's only her that you want," Greer pointed out gently. "Repressing how you feel about someone else isn't going to make for a happy relationship. It's not going to make you happy either. You'll be lying to yourself, and to her and that's not fair to either of you. I know it's hard and she might not take it well, but it seems important that you talk to her about this. Maybe she won't take it well, but maybe she'll surprise you. Either way, at least you're being honest with yourself and her."
Jasper was sure that was all good advice, it was just exactly what he didn’t want to do. Jules had reacted badly enough to Jasper confessing that he wanted to sleep with Logan, he was sure he would break her heart all over again if he said anything about having feelings on top of that. He didn’t know how to make her understand that the love he felt for Logan was different from the love he felt for her, and one didn’t diminish the other. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he understood it all fully. It was too much to juggle while he was trying to get through all of this lingering trauma and uncertainty, and Jasper was tired. He didn’t want to be the bad guy anymore, and he couldn’t help but think that what Jules didn’t know couldn’t hurt her. “Yeah well ... who says I get to be happy,” he muttered, his gaze on the wood table again. “This way I’m the only one hurting, and that’s okay. It’s better, anyway.” He hadn’t been raised with any emotional honesty besides his mother’s insane outbursts, so lying in a relationship seemed normal and even necessary sometimes. He was sure what he felt for his best friend would fade away eventually, or Logan would leave town again, and then it would all be moot.
Greer's smile was a little sad as she watched him. "Everyone deserves to be happy, including you. Denying that isn't better for anyone." She knew she couldn't make Jasper see the world the way she saw it and at the end of the day, it was certainly none of her business what he decided to do or be with. But she knew lying to people he cared about, and to himself, would never end well. But that was life... learning from mistakes. Greer rested her arms down on the table top, though she resisted reaching out to touch him. Being an overly affectionate person, she wished she could, but Greer didn't want to risk seeing something terrible happening. "This is your journey and you're free to make whatever choices you feel is best. But if you ever need to talk, or just vent, I'm sure you know how to find me." She smiled and gestured to her head. "I think we're all still dealing with this traumatic thing that happened to us, so even the simplest of life problems feels pretty heavy. And there aren't many people who are going to understand that."
It all definitely felt heavy to Jasper -- even though sometimes all the relationship stuff seemed so petty compared to what they’d been through, it still weighed on him. Greer was probably right, but that didn’t square with Jasper’s self esteem issues, so it was hard for him to really believe. He was the one with desires outside of the norm that hurt his girlfriend, so he was in the wrong for indulging them. Good people sacrificed for love, didn’t they? So Jasper should give this up. He’d been happy before without that kind of relationship with Logan, he could do it again. He hoped so, anyway. There were maybe more barriers to happiness now, but he thought he could muscle his way through this one. “Yeah,” he agreed with Greer. “Nobody else really gets it. I mean, Elodie does, but she would probably just say I’m stupid for caring about any of this, so ... thanks.” Maybe now Jasper would feel more comfortable reaching out to her, now that he’d opened up a little.
"You're not stupid for caring about the people in your life," Greer pointed out, mildly amused at the mention of Elodie. "We've all been through a lot, but life continues." Some people found it easier not to care and Greer wasn't going to judge them for it. People would cope however they needed to. "If Ty and myself tried to get everyone together to... talk about what's going on, would you be willing to come? Do you think Elodie would?" It felt important for everyone who had been through their experience to get together and compare. If there was a reason behind all of this, maybe they could try to figure it out.
The suggestion didn’t surprise Jasper too much, though he wasn’t super eager to see all of those people again. “I’d come,” he said after a moment’s thought. “I can probably get Elodie to come too, I just dunno if she’d talk.” He didn’t know if he would do much talking either, but there was part of him that was kind of curious to hear what they all had to say, what other weird powers they were all getting. “Just text me, I guess. If I’m not working, I’ll be there.” Jasper tossed a glance toward the shop as he started to get up. He’d taken longer than a smoke break now, and he didn’t want to piss off Mr. Fox. “I probably better get back to it though.”
Greer was pleased that he’d agreed and if he could convince Elodie, even better. She didn’t think she would need either of them to be overly chatty, but it would be good for them to be there. Hopefully it wouldn’t pain Elodie too much, especially if she could feel old wounds and injuries as keenly as Jasper said. Standing, Greer stood and smiled at Jasper. “Thanks for spending your break with me. I want to hug you, but…” She trailed off with an air of apology. “You have my number. If you ever need someone to listen, I’m always available.” He was still a young kid in her eyes so it might be too weird for him to reach out, but Greer hoped he would at least think about it. Growing up was hard enough, and Jasper had a lot of extra trauma piled on top of it.
Jasper didn’t want to be glad for something that hurt her, but god, he was so awkward about hugging all but a tiny list of people, so he was a little grateful they could skip that part. Greer was an attractive older woman, but that just made it weirder. He gave her a small smile of gratitude and nodded a bit. “Thanks,” he murmured. “Just lemme know about the thing, and ... yeah. Bye Greer.” What else could he say? He hadn’t really meant to dump all of his personal shit onto her, and now that ever-present self-consciousness was starting to creep back in. Jasper gave another nod and turned to jog back to the bay door to get back to work.