Who: Jade and Ruby When: Thursday, shortly before dusk Where: Moxie’s Status: complete
After school, Jade hadn’t been in the mood to go home so he’d ridden his bike to the town’s library to do his homework. That had gone okay until the moment when he’d dozed off at the study table where he’d been sitting. Nothing like waking up in a puddle of drool on one’s own binder. At least he’d finished everything except the reading for English, and he could do that before bed. He gathered all his things and strapped his backpack on his back, yawning as he walked out to the bike rack. It hadn’t been a great day to ride since it had rained on and off, but who gave a shit? Not Jade. Maybe some rain would wake him up a little.
He still hadn’t been sleeping great and he looked it, unfortunately. The bottle of sleeping meds he’d bought was looking more and more tempting, but as yet he hadn’t used any. Impulsively, instead of turning toward home once he was on his bike, he steered it toward Moxie’s. Maybe Ruby was working tonight. He could never keep up with her schedule. Once inside, he headed for the counter, seeing that his friend was indeed there and that nobody else really was. It was dinner time for a lot of people, probably. “Hey,” he said, giving Ruby a little smile.
Thursdays always felt like that last stretch before the weekend to Ruby, the day she had to make it through before she could really relax. Yes, she had school on Friday, but no one actually did any work on Friday. And with the Homecoming game and the dance coming up, class tomorrow was pretty much a joke. She doubted anyone would be doing anything other than hanging out, regardless of what lessons the teachers prepared.
The night had been slow enough that she’d finished what little homework she had and she looked up when someone came in the door, looking forward to a distraction. “Hey you,” she smiled when she saw it was Jade. He looked a little worse for the wear, but it was the end of the week and maybe he’d just had a long day. “Come to keep me company for a bit?”
“Yeah, that and ice cream,” he said. Never mind that he’d been in here Sunday night with Hunter for ice cream… there could never be too much of that in his opinion. The ice cream could be his dinner, maybe. He had no idea what was at home, and so far as he knew, neither he nor Luke had any plans to cook. Not like they really had a schedule for that. Glancing around, he added, “Looks pretty slow. Has it been like this all afternoon?” Maybe the rain had interfered with business.
“Should’a known it was your sweet tooth that brought you in and not me,” Ruby grinned. “Counter or booth?” she asked, prepared to seat him wherever sounded comfortable. He definitely had his pick tonight. “There was a little bit of a rush after school, but the rain’s kinda made it miserable out there. People started to clear out about a half hour ago. I thought we might get some in for dinner, but it’s one of those nights that people stay in, I guess.” No, she knew. The moon was full tonight. People tended to disappear when the moon was full. Ruby wasn’t looking forward to her ride home.
Jade stuck his tongue out at her briefly. He’d known her long enough that he was completely comfortable acting like a dork; it wasn’t like either of them was going to be crowned king or queen of Homecoming, anyway. “I’ll sit up here,” he said, putting his pack down next to him. “That way I can bug you while you work. Or not work.” He sat down, his brow creasing when she said it was a night people stayed in. That was very true, and he wasn’t looking forward to riding home on his bike, either. He hadn’t really been on it since he’d wrecked. To distract himself, he said, “One scoop double chocolate, one scoop peanut butter chocolate in a cup, please.”
Ruby laughed and mimicking the gesture, sticking her tongue out before grabbing a cup for his ice cream. “Peanut butter chocolate ’s the best,” she said, locating the ice cream scoop and setting to work. This was possibly the easiest thing he could have asked for, which was nice. She didn’t even have to ask the kitchen. “So what’s been going on with you?” she asked, putting the cup of ice cream down in front of him. “Anything new? Going to the homecoming dance maybe?” It was all anyone could talk about at school-- who was going and who with, what they were wearing, and what they were doing afterwards. The after-parties were all she was concerned with. Ruby was pretty sure she was going to pass on the dance itself at this point.
“Anything chocolate’s the best,” Jade said. Some days he felt sure that if someone cut his veins, chocolate syrup would come out. He took a second to rub his eyes while Ruby was getting his ice cream ready and then smiled wanly when she asked if anything was new and if he was going to the dance. I’m being chased by a red eyed thing and having nightmares constantly. What’s new with you? That didn’t seem like it needed to be said so he didn’t. “Oh… you know,” he said vaguely. “Not sure about the dance. I don’t have a date or anything.” He might go anyway for a while or he might not; it seemed like a tough decision and he wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like he’d be the only one in the whole school without a date. “You going?”
“Did you want to have a date?” Ruby asked, wondering if there was someone that Jade had thought about asking. Maybe it hadn’t panned out. Maybe he hadn’t tried. She should’ve poked him about it earlier. “Probably not. I don’t have a date either, so I thought I’d just go hang out at The Fallow or something. You’re welcome to join, if you want,” she smiled, giving him a little poke with a spoon. She was ninety-nine percent sure that wasn’t his thing, but she’d rather extend the invitation than make an incorrect assumption.
Jade used the excuse that he had a mouthful of ice cream to put off answering Ruby’s question for a few seconds. He wasn’t that sure how to answer it, really. He’d love for this to be a world where he could have the date he wanted, if said person even wanted to go with him. But he didn’t. He could have asked a girl who didn’t have a date either, but he’d hate to feel like he might be leading someone on. “Nah, I guess not,” he said once he’d swallowed. He lifted his eyebrows at her suggestion, feeling a shiver run down his spine. “Why would you wanna hang out at the Fallow?” he asked. “It’s creepy there.” No way in hell would he have any interest in that, especially with everything that had happened just lately.
So far her experience with The Fallow had been of the less creepy sort, otherwise she wasn’t sure she’d be going there herself. She’d heard some people talk about seeing something in the high grass, but it was all someone told someone told someone. No one was willing to admit they saw something. “A little,” Ruby admitted. “But then everywhere around here’s a little bit creepy. It’s a nice place to get away. We’ll probably just drink and goof off.” Maybe smoke some weed, but that was more if someone offered her some and she just couldn’t imagine Jade partaking. Then again, he could surprise her. Jasper certainly had.
“Yeah,” Jade said, nodding and poking at a chunk of peanut butter in his ice cream. Personally, he wasn’t going anywhere near there at night. He’d had too many bad experiences just lately. “Be careful if you do,” he added, trying to lighten the mood a little by his tone. “Don’t get too stoned.” He’d never smoked weed but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try it if he got the chance. To him that didn’t seem like any big deal, not like deciding to shoot up heroin or whatever.
“Is there such a thing as too stoned?” Ruby laughed, then shook her head. “I won’t. There’s having fun and there’s passing out in The Fallow, which seems like a bad idea all around. If I’m not home by dawn, my dad ‘ll have my ass.” Her curfew was much earlier, but it was rare that her father actually knew what time she came home unless she pushed it too far. Realistically, one or two am was probably her limit.
“Well, I dunno… I’ve never been stoned. Not that I wouldn’t,” he added, not wanting her to think he was a complete nerd. “But yeah, passing out there sounds like one of the worst things that could happen.” He had a sudden picture of himself there, inebriated and unconscious, with the red-eyed, shadowy thing standing over him. Immediately he noped on out of that scenario, taking another bite of ice cream and focusing on Ruby. “Luke has this insomnia thing going on,” he said. “So I can’t get away with too many late nights.” His brother had told him to let him know if he was going to be out late, and Jade had tried to do that, but sometimes he didn’t feel like people knowing his every move.
“Well… if you ever wanted to, we’d do it someplace safer, with people you trust,” Ruby said, giving him a little wink. That was the key to having a good time with it, in her opinion. She didn’t like to let her hair down around people who were going to make fun of her for it later and it wouldn’t surprise her if Jade felt the same way. “I get that. I’m supposed to be home by midnight, but I’ve learned I can get away with later, so long as I don’t push it too often. And obviously not on a school night.” Her father had always pressed upon his kids the importance of a good education. Skipping school was not an option, which meant getting to sleep at a decent time, otherwise she’d never get out of bed in the morning.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jade said. That was cool. He could see doing something like that with Ruby. Friends you’d known since you were a kid could be great that way. He was self-conscious and wasn’t big on people making fun of him either, so definitely somewhere not public was the way to go. After another couple bites of ice cream, he said, “I don’t really have a time, I guess. He just doesn’t like me to be out really late.” Now that he thought about it, he was lucky that Luke wasn’t super strict. He could have been, being military and all.
“Well, and you probably don’t want him to worry,” Ruby said, thinking that might be a part of it as well. “I know I never want my dad to wake up and me not be there. Not for any reason, ever.” Because they’d dealt with that and it hadn’t gone well. Her mom was a permanently missing person. The thought that she’d put that fear in her father for even just a minute was what forced her back home, no matter what time it was, no matter how tired she might be. “Are things good with your brother? What’s the insomnia about?”
Most days Jade and Luke didn't talk all that much, and he felt mildly ashamed of himself that he hadn't really thought of it from Luke's point of view or hadn't considered not wanting to worry his brother. The idea that Luke had problems of his own was slow to settle in sometimes. It couldn't be any picnic for the guy to have to live here in this podunk town and finish raising a younger brother. "It's fine," he said of living with Luke. "He was in the military, and that might be what it's about. I'm not sure. He doesn't seem to want to talk about that stuff." He glanced over and saw how dark it was getting and took a couple more bites, already dreading his ride home. Maybe he could manage not to wreck this time..
Ruby gave a little nod, getting that somewhat, even if she didn’t know exactly what his brother had done in the military. It didn’t sound like Jade did either, but it was a sensitive subject for a lot of people. And Jade had it rough-- she’d lost one parent, but he’d lost them both. She couldn’t even imagine what it would be like if her brother had to raise her. At least at this point there wasn’t much raising to do. “Are things good with you?” she pressed gently. Jade was always on the quieter side, but he seemed more than normal today. Or maybe that was her, that the whole restaurant was quiet and she wanted to keep talking, knowing it would be even worse when he left.
Luke had no interest in talking about that time in his life; Jade would have been willing to listen if he had. But he never pushed his brother, because there were things in his life he wasn’t ready to share, either. He managed a rueful smile when she asked if things were good with him. “Mostly,” he said, not wanting to lie. He was sure there were tons of people who had it worse than he did… if he could just get past the nightmares and not sleeping well before and after them. At least it wasn’t just him. According to Hunter it was everyone who’d been fooling around with the ouija board that night, whatever tiny consolation that was. “Everything’s weird here. You know.” He gestured with his spoon and then reached for a paper napkin when said gesture flung drops of ice cream all over the counter.
“I know,” Ruby said with a nod. ‘Weird’ could mean so many things, but no matter which way he meant it it was still true. Ruby had a hard time believing there was any place like Point Pleasant, that the weird couldn’t possibly be widespread. If it was, everyone everywhere would know about it. “You get through the fog okay?” She asked, swatting at his hand as she used a rag to wipe up the ice cream. “I know that made everyone a little crazy. I thought about going out, but ended up locking myself in my room.” Which also sucked, but was better than taking a chance outside.
“I mostly stayed inside,” Jade said as he finished up the remains of his cup of ice cream. “Got caught out on my bike one night and crashed it, though.” He still had scrapes on his face and he figured she’d easily make the connection to what had caused them after he’d said that. “That was dumb.” He hadn’t been able to resist the urge to go to the graveyard, although he should have, and he’d paid for it. He had to wonder if he would have crashed if he hadn’t seen red eyes behind him, whether they’d actually been there or not.
Ruby cringed, her eyes ticking over to the scrapes up his face. It looked horribly painful, even if it was a crash from a bicycle, rather than a motorcycle. The pavement was hard regardless. “That sucks, sweetie. I’m sorry,” she said before shaking her head. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not dumb. Shit happens, and I’ve heard way worse things happening in the fog. I’m glad you came out okay.” He’d been lucky. Considering some of the reports she’d heard, they both were.
Jade’s cheeks flushed slightly when she called him sweetie. It was pathetic how needy for affection he was, even though he tried not to show it the vast majority of the time. He busied himself wiping his fingers on his napkin before saying, “I’m glad you’re okay too. I think staying in the house was the best of all possible plans.” He smiled wryly. No, the best plan would have been if they’d never picked up that ouija board, but it was too late for that now. “How much longer you here?” he asked.
It was cute how easy it was to make Jade blush, even if she wasn’t sure what she’d said this time to cause it. Ruby just smiled back at him, giving him a nod of agreement before making a face. “I’m here till close tonight, so a few more hours, but I’ll have all my homework done by then and will just crawl into bed and crash when I get home,” she said. And she’d have some spare cash as a result. She didn’t really like working, but she liked the freedom it gave her. “You ready to head out?”
Jade had considered asking if she wanted company going home, although that would just be silly if she was in a car. If she had hours to go, though, it wasn’t practical to wait around. “I guess I’d better,” he said of leaving the shop. “I stopped at the library to do some of my homework but I kind of dozed off, so I still have some to go.” He gathered up his empty ice cream cup, napkin and plastic spoon and threw them away, not wanting to leave a messy counter for Ruby to clean up. He shouldered his pack and then paused to ask, “You’re not walking home, are you?” He knew what night it was, even if nobody really talked about it. He was nervous going home on a bike now that it was dark, and he wanted to know he wouldn’t have to be worrying about her later on.
Ruby almost told him not to worry about the stuff on the counter, but he had it cleaned up before she could get her hands on it, so she just wiped down the empty spot, cleaning up any remnants left behind. “Oh hell no,” Ruby said with a little laugh. “I’ve got my bike, which kinda sucked in the rain, but hopefully it’s done for the night.” If not, she’d just deal with it. That was one of the pitfalls of riding a motorcycle. Some days a car would’ve made more sense, but she loved it anyways. “I’ll be okay,” she told him with a little smile, even if she couldn’t guarantee it. Either she would or she wouldn’t. If something wanted to grab her tonight, she wasn’t sure she could stop it. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”
“Be careful,” Jade said. It wasn’t just words in this case; he meant every bit of it. At least her bike was motorized, unlike his. Hopefully that would make it a lot less likely that anything would happen. Maybe he’d text her much later tonight to be sure she’d gotten home. Not like he’d be sleeping anyway. At the door, he hesitated for a few seconds and then said, “See ya.” Then he was out into the night, rushing for his bicycle, anxious to be home.