Ruby Fox (love_ruby) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-03-14 23:03:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | #october 2017, jasper, jasper x ruby, ruby |
Who: Ruby & Jasper
Where: School
When: Tuesday, Oct 10, Lunch
Status: Complete
Monday had been hellacious. It felt like everyone had heard about Ruby’s fight with Jules, yet the stories ranged from hair pulling and eye gouging to one of them actually killing Jasper in the process, something that was absolutely insane, but not at all helped by the fact that Jasper wasn’t at school on Monday. She was so done repeating herself-- it was an argument, that was it, and it was none of their damn business-- that she was snapping at people by the end of the day. She might not have hit Jules, but she’d hit the next person who accused her of it. People seemed to take a hint. Tuesday was better, to the point that she was laughing and smiling with her friends, hoping to put the weekend behind her.
She knew it wouldn’t be quite that simple. Jules wasn’t likely to forget. Normally she wouldn’t care, but she really did consider Jasper a friend. Ruby liked to think that it wouldn’t matter, that they could still hang out on occasion, but she had the feeling that Jules would have strong words on that matter. Then again, Jasper didn’t really seem like the time to bend to a woman’s will. She could only hope that applied this here.
The bell rang dismissing them for lunch and Ruby headed out into the hall, moving towards her locker. Only a few more classes to go and she’d be out of there. It always felt like an accomplishment to make it through the beginning of the week. She was definitely one of those people that lived for the weekends.
Considering he had to get up in the middle of the night to go fetch his drunk father from the bar, Jasper had decided to skip school on Monday. He’d made himself scarce from the house once he’d woken up though, not really wanting to hang out all day with Gavin, just hanging around a friend’s place until it was time to go to work. He still felt kind of weird about what had happened, having to help his old man in and out of the car, that drunken mumbled apology. Sorry for all of it, Gavin had said. Jasper still didn’t know how to take that, it was like something stuck in his throat.
He couldn’t skip school two days in a row though, so Tuesday morning he actually obeyed his alarm and got up to go to school. Jasper managed to stay awake through his morning classes, but he was more than ready for lunch by the time the bell rang, torn equally between hunger and his nicotine craving. He spotted Ruby at her locker before he got to either of those destinations, and Jasper felt a bit of guilt gnaw at his gut. They’d known each other a long time, and he didn’t want things to get weird between them. Jasper diverted his course before he could overthink it, walking up to Ruby and leaning his shoulder against the locker next to hers. “Hey,” he said. “Grab a smoke with me?”
Jasper’s appearance startled Ruby from her thoughts and she stared at him for a second before laughing softly. “Sure,” she said, switching out her books for the ones she needed after lunch. “You’re gonna give me a habit at this rate.” She probably already had one, but her absolute refusal to buy herself a pack helped curb her intake. They were reserved for parties and when she was with friends who could share with her, which she supposed this was, even if it was the middle of a school day. “Where were you Monday? I could’ve used this then,” she said, hefting her bag onto her shoulder and shutting her locker. “Everything okay?”
At least she didn’t seem pissed at him, that was a good thing. Jasper appreciated the laugh, at least. He straightened up and started walking when Ruby was ready, heading toward one of the many exits that he ducked out of during the day to smoke. “Sorry,” he said, giving her a sheepish little look. Jasper wasn’t sure what he was really sorry for, he hadn’t wanted to come to school, but it had kind of left Jules and Ruby both alone to deal with whatever people were saying about the party. He knew how people were. Ruby might not be pissed, but Jules probably was. “My dad kinda had a crisis in the middle of the night, I was up really late with him, slept through my alarm and shit. How’re you doin’?”
Ruby waved off his apology, not really sure he had anything to apologize for. Yes, she could’ve used a cigarette yesterday, but it wasn’t his fault that she hadn’t bummed one from someone else. “Oh shit,” she frowned. “That sucks. Everything okay?” She knew they didn’t have the best relationship, but a lot of that fell away when people went into crisis mode. “I’m okay. People are stupid. They’ll believe anything.” And they were bored, which made them eager for a front row seat into someone else’s drama. God, she hated drama, but this time she knew it was partially her fault. “Are we okay?” She asked, glancing over at him. He didn’t seem pissed at her, but it never hurt to check.
Jasper nodded that everything was okay with his father. He wasn’t about to get into all of his dad’s problems with anyone, or their problems. He still didn’t know what had set Gavin off to get wasted enough that he could barely stand, and Jasper wasn’t sure that he wanted to know in the first place. Incapacitation wasn’t a state that his dad got into very often, so it had to have been something bad. Especially if he was apologizing to Jasper for ‘all of it.’ Which was still on his mind. He tried to push it to the side to focus on Ruby though, because she was his friend and he didn’t want to lose that, no matter what Jules thought of it. “They really are fuckin’ stupid,” he murmured, pushing the door open for them. Jasper squinted against the bright sunlight -- it was downright hot today. “But yeah, we’re okay. Which was what I was gonna ask you. So ... all good on my end,” he said with a faint chuckle. He pulled his cigarettes out and offered one over to her. “Everybody probably knows me and Jules are like, officially going out now, but ... that won’t fuck with this.” Jasper gestured between them. “I talked to her about it.”
The second they stepped outside, Ruby dropped her bag to shrug her jacket off. It felt like the weather couldn’t make up its mind and the school’s A/C didn’t help anything. She shot him a little smile as she picked out one of his cigarettes and waited for him to offer her a light. “I wasn’t really worried about everyone else,” she said, then raised a brow. “Really? ‘Cause she was so not chill about it the other night. Like… I’m surprised you’re allowed within ten feet of me.” Ruby couldn’t imagine Jasper being with someone that was that controlling, but she also didn’t see Jules being “okay” with this either. Not that she was going to talk him out of it. Good friends were hard to come by and Ruby wasn’t willing to give up Jasper just because their friendship put Jules panties in a twist.
Jasper lit Ruby’s cigarette, then his own, irritation flaring up in him at the idea that Jules could tell him what to do when it came to having friends. It wasn’t really directed at Ruby, and he was sure it was something he was going to have to contend with that attitude from a lot of different angles. Jules was just that kind of girl. But they didn’t work like that, and they wouldn’t work like that, or it wouldn’t work at all. “I’m allowed wherever I wanna be,” he said firmly after his first smoky exhale. “She doesn’t get to tell me who to be friends with. But we talked about why she freaked out, and that I’m only interested in her right now, blah blah. Should be fine.” And if it wasn’t? Jasper would just cross that bridge when he came to it. He leaned against the brick at the side of the door and took another drag. “You okay though? I know you were like ... friends. That’s gotta suck.”
Ruby listened, taking the moment to enjoy her cigarette, a little smile curling on her lips as he spoke. It was really just as she thought; Jules couldn’t tell Jasper how to live his life. “Good,” Ruby said. “If you were cool with her making those kind of decisions for you, we’d be having another talk.” Her ability to hold her tongue could only be pushed so far. “Why’d she freak out?” Ruby knew the obvious reasons-- that Jules was drunk, that Ruby was being a bitch, and that she maybe felt threatened, but she did wonder if there was something more that she’d missed because she wasn’t completely sober herself. She sighed, taking a drag off her cigarette, trying to find the words to explain now that her mind wasn’t all cloudy. “We were, but… It’s been a long time. You think you get past things, but…” Ruby shrugged. “I guess I’m still a little bitter. She brings out the bitch in me.”
Jasper could understand that to an extent, there were a few people in his life who rubbed him absolutely the wrong way. His mother was one of them. His dad was also on the list. Jasper knew about being bitter, that was for sure, so he nodded. He’d just never lost a best friend because he’d never really had one, not a close one like girls seemed to always have. He had dude friends, and he loved his uncles and all, and he and Ruby had been close, but she was a chick so it was a little different. He wasn’t sure how to answer why Jules had freaked out, sure that she didn’t want him talking about her insecurities, so he tried to hedge around the question. “Everything’s just so new with us, it’s kinda possessive, and she didn’t know you and me were friends, and it all just kinda blew up with the liquor,” he said with a shrug. “She chilled out the next morning, so I think it’s okay. She’ll get over it.” Jasper had placated Jules with assurance of his single interest in her, and by making things official between them. He just hoped that was enough.
Ruby nodded as she exhaled away from Jasper. Liquor tended to make things exponentially worse. Things seemed like a much bigger deal, and she was more likely to yell and threaten. She doubted it would have come to that if they’d both been sober, no matter how bad things were between her and Jules. “You really like her?” she asked, watching Jasper closely. Jules stating they were dating was different than Jasper agreeing as well. And dating was more than fucking. Ruby couldn’t imagine a guy putting up with this level of bullshit unless it was about more than getting laid.
Ruby sounded skeptical to Jasper’s ears, and ... he couldn’t really blame her, he guessed. He hadn’t really liked Jules Cooper, not before they’d drunkenly hooked up at that party over the summer. There was that liquor influence again. Looking back now, he felt like he didn’t really know her back then. Did he even know her now? Better, at least. Maybe better than a lot of the other people in her life. It seemed like she didn’t pretend with him, not as much. “Yeah,” he answered after giving it a moment’s thought. Jasper looked over and met Ruby’s eyes with a small half-smile. “I do like her. I mean, she can be a handful, but I kinda dig it.” That was a weak explanation, but he didn’t know how else to put it. Jasper put the cigarette to his lips again. “Might not last, but at least I can say I gave it a shot.”
It sounded like a lot of work, but Ruby knew she could be a handful herself and hoped she eventually found a guy who might grant her the same. She couldn’t exactly fault Jasper for it. Besides, she suspected dating Jasper wasn’t exactly a cake walk. “Just curious. I figured the answer was yes, but you never know.” She’d support him, even if she wasn’t crazy about Jules, because that’s who he wanted to be with. It didn’t feel right to wish him failure in a relationship with anyone. “You won’t know if you don’t try. Some people say oil and water don’t mix, but then you have the others who say opposites attract. I think it just takes some work, no matter who you are.”
Jasper chuckled a bit over the idea that he and Jules were oil and water. Maybe they were. Or maybe they were perfectly matched, both of them temperamental and stubborn enough to not let the other walk over them. Like Ruby said, they couldn’t know if they didn’t try. Jasper was sure this relationship would be over after graduation anyway, since Jules had a future outside of Point Pleasant and he really didn’t, but he tried not to think about that yet. They had months and months to sink or swim. “Yeah, everything’s work,” he agreed mildly. Impulsively, and since no one was around, Jasper hooked an arm around Ruby’s shoulders to pull her into a side hug. He kissed her temple. “‘Cept you, you’ve always been easy to be around. You should come by the house sometime when Amelia’s over, it’s trippy how big she is now.”
Ruby laughed softly, surprised by the impromptu affection, but appreciating it. Her biggest worry about the blow up with Jules was that it would create distance between her and Jasper. She didn’t have a lot of close friends and hated the thought of losing him, especially over something so stupid. Jules could hate her, that was fine. Annoying, but she could deal with it. She wouldn’t be the only one. “You’re, like, the only guy I know that thinks that,” she smiled, giving him a squeeze back. “But yeah, I’d love to drop by. I swear she was just learning to walk a few years ago. She’s, what, eight now?”
Maybe they got along so well because they’d never dated. Jasper had never been actively opposed to the idea, but he’d spent so much time with Ruby as kids that she just didn’t seem available to him like that. He didn’t know if she’d ever been interested either, but he definitely didn’t want to lose the friendship. He didn’t hold onto her long, stepping back again to finish his cigarette. “Nine,” he said with a fond smile. Amelia was the one female in the world who he was sure he loved. “Ten in November, so it’s comin’ up. She’s all sassy now, you’d love it.” He took the last drag off of his smoke and rubbed the cherry out of it against the side of the building, then flicked the butt away. “Your dad and everybody doin’ okay?”
“God, she’s getting so big,” Ruby said with a shake of her head. “Before you know it she’ll be wearing makeup and chasing boys.” And Jasper might truly go into big brother mode. It would be cute, in it’s own way. He’d probably drive Amelia nuts. Ruby took another drag of her cigarette as she nodded, then lean back against the wall as she exhaled. “They’re good. Nothing new, really. Dad’s still running the garage and Dom… I think he’s trying to figure out what to do with his life. Can’t live at home forever.” It was her hope that she’d get accepted somewhere with a decent scholarship. Even with a loan, it would be worth it to get out of Point Pleasant for a while. It wasn’t super likely, but she hoped.
Jasper pulled a face at the idea of Amelia doing teenage girl stuff, but didn’t dwell there. She was cool and smart, he couldn’t see her turning into a really stupid high school girl. He would gladly glare at any boys who stepped out of line though. Or break their limbs if they got handsy or something. Still, he wasn’t eager for her to grow up, he liked how things were now. Especially since he would get to see her more, living with their dad. “Yeah, ‘bout time he got out,” he agreed with a faint chuckle. He didn’t have a problem with Ruby’s older brother, really, they’d just never been the ones hanging out. “Mom was so pissed that I moved. I still haven’t really talked to her. Everybody else is okay though.”
“Right?” Ruby smiled, taking one last drag before stubbing out her cigarette. “He’s got a job. He can pay rent and stop mooching off dad.” It was nice having him around sometimes, but she also thought it’d be better for everyone if he’d grow up. It wasn’t like he was going anywhere far. “Has she tried to call you? Or text?” she asked, wondering if Jasper’s mother had made any sort of effort. She hated that they had fallen apart, but he seemed to be in a better place with his dad. Which was also weird. She’d always assumed he was with his mom because living with his dad wouldn’t work, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
“Nah. She tried to apologize to me through dad, but fuck that,” Jasper told Ruby with a chuckle. Living with his mother had always been tumultuous, and it had been downright hellish as his parents’ marriage fell apart. He’d hoped her attitude would improve once she and Gavin were separated, but her ire had just been turned on him a lot of the time. It was either screaming fights or neglect, and he was glad to be out of there now. Gavin at least left him alone most of the time. “You like dogs, right? Dad’s got two bullies now, they’re the sweetest things, but they don’t look like it. We oughta take ‘em out sometime to run around.”
Ruby shook her head, annoyed at his mother on his behalf. As someone that had lost her own mother, she normally would have said it was worth anything to try and rebuild that relationship, but she’d known Jasper long enough to know this was no fault of his own. Some people’s parents were just fucked up. She didn’t know which was worse: not having a mother or having one that didn’t seem to care. Eventually she’d come to the conclusion that at least she could more easily move on. “Oh-my-god, now I have to come over and love on ‘em,” she grinned. “We should take ‘em to the park or something. What’re their names?” She’d always been a dog lover. Some day she’d get one for herself.
Talking about dogs was way better than talking about his mother. Jasper would take those big babies over his mom any day of the week. “Max and Rude,” he told Ruby with a little grin. “He got Max first, but he was a giant chickenshit about everything, so Dad got him a buddy, and he’s way better now. Rude kinda shows him how to dog.” They were sweet and they would love Ruby, he had a feeling, and Jasper knew Gavin would be cool with them getting even more exercise, so it wouldn’t be a thing. Jasper straightened up and nodded at the door since Ruby had finished her smoke. “You eatin’ here? Or gonna run and get something?”
“Awww, scared little bulldog,” Ruby grinned. “It’s good that he has a friend. They can entertain each other while you’re busy. Which could always be a bad thing, but they can be so cute when they play.” All dogs were cute when they played, even pitbulls. She was definitely going by his house. Amelia was one thing, but playing with the dogs was even better. “I was gonna run out real quick. Wanna go with?” There was never anything good in the school cafeteria. If she had to choose, it’d just be junk. The administration didn’t like them to leave campus over lunch, but they had a hard time stopping them. It wasn’t worth it to write them all up.
The cafeteria did suck, and Jasper was hungry, but he still hesitated. He was still going to preserve his friendship with Ruby, but going to lunch with her off school property only a few days after Jules had blown up about her didn’t seem like the smartest move. “Uhh ... rain check?” he asked, squinting one eye apologetically. “Just wanna ... let the hornet’s nest calm down, you know?” Jasper shrugged and slipped his hands into his pockets. He wasn’t going to ignore Ruby, but he also didn’t want to give Jules any reason to get paranoid all over again. “Sorry, I didn’t think at first,” he added in a mutter.
She was disappointed, but she understood. It was too soon since the blow up. Plus, if people saw them leave together and rumors started, it would make things so much worse. It sucked, but it wasn’t his fault. “No problem,” she said, giving him a little nudge. “Another time. I’ll come round and see the dogs sometime soon?” Hopefully that was still okay. “But I’m gonna run, otherwise I won’t make it back in time.” She hefted her bag back onto her shoulder and started to back towards the parking lot. “Enjoy the cafeteria food,” she teased, then headed out.