Who: Jules and Jasper When: mid-morning, Wednesday, October 11th Where: School & then Roque Bluffs State Park Status: Complete
It hadn’t exactly been the best week of Jules’s life despite it starting out pretty great. She had been mildly perturbed on Monday, going to school and dealing with the gossip that had stemmed from Homecoming and her party alone. It wasn’t unusual for Jasper to ditch school but it had still annoyed her, only because she had no one there to commiserate with. Jasper probably hadn’t cared what people were saying but she did… sort of. A little. And then yesterday morning she had woken up in a horrible mood. Jules had felt no motivation to even get out of bed, so she’d stayed home from school, aware of how that might look to her friends, but she didn’t care. Jules had ignored them for most of the day until their barrage of annoying texts prompted her to turn off her notifications completely.
The only person she had eventually responded to was Jasper, and that was only because he’d threatened to come by her house to check on her. On any other day, that would have been sweet, but Jules had been on edge and borderline ragey all day, so she only found it super irritating. She’d caved and told him she was fine and to stay home. A tiny, vindictive part of her thought about letting him come by, because then they could fight and maybe she would feel better somehow. But Jules had resisted and turned her phone off shortly after sending the message.
She was feeling much better this morning. Definitely more like herself, at least. Jules hated the unpredictable emotional rollercoasters she found herself on lately, but she didn’t want to go to her mom about it. Jules did not need to see a therapist or whatever, and she knew that would be the first thing her mother would suggest. Jules could only imagine what her friends would say then. Jules Cooper dating Jasper Lucas and seeing a shrink. Jules Cooper was starting to lose her shit.
Jules had been running late to school so she hadn’t had time to track down Jasper. They didn’t have any classes together but for lunch, so she waited until after fourth period and opted to wait by his locker to see if he’d show up. Jules was hoping he wasn’t too pissed with her about the day before, but she supposed she would find out.
Jasper had been kind of worried about Jules for most of the day Tuesday ... at least once he realized she wasn’t in school at all and she hadn’t answered his initial texts. Maybe it was hypocritical of him to be upset that someone was skipping school, but it was Jules, and with everything else going on, the lack of response had admittedly freaked him out a bit. He’d been determined to go over there and do a welfare check and told her so, then she finally snappy-replied to him that she was fine and to stay away. It was kind of a cold comfort, considering her continued silence afterward, but Jasper didn’t want to fight with her, so he did as he was told. At least being at work was somewhat distracting.
Wednesday was a new day, and he was relieved to see her car in the parking lot when he arrived at school. Jasper relaxed enough about it through the morning to let his worry-frustration die down. The bell for lunch rang, and Jasper headed for his locker to drop some books off before he ducked out for his midday cigarette. He spotted Jules standing there waiting for him and felt his stomach do that flip-flop thing. He still had no idea what to expect from her in school, so he tucked his thumbs into his backpack straps as he approached. “Hey,” Jasper greeted quietly once he was close enough, studying her face. “Feeling better?”
Jules knew all about that flip flop stomach sensation. She had always sort of felt it after that first initial hook up whenever they met each other somewhere in town to find a place to fuck. But it had gotten stronger over the past month or so, and it felt even more intense now, being at school and having him approach her rather than the two of them just walking by one another in the hall. Despite her mood yesterday, and her apprehension at school, Jules couldn't help but smile when he approached her. "Definitely better," Jules said. She couldn't resist reaching out with one hand to grip a little bit of his shirt. "I just needed a break, I guess. I don't know what it was." Except she sort of did? Because she had felt it before, that day she told Jasper she hadn't wanted him to fuck anyone else. It was the same sort of emotional rollercoaster, but she didn't really want to explain it. "I'm sorry I blew you off."
The smile was reassuring, and the words, and then she was touching him and Jasper felt a weird surge of mixed feelings about that. He started to warily glance around without thinking about it, then stopped himself. They were Together now, a Couple, and if Jules was cool with being open about it, who the fuck cared about anybody else, right? He freed up his hands and ran one of them lightly up her arm to her upper back to pull her in for a hug. It was a light one that she could pull out of at any second if she wanted to. “It’s cool, I get needing a break,” he murmured, moving to kiss her temple. She smelled good, as always. “You wanna, uh ... get lunch together?” he asked as he pulled back to look at her.
Jules really didn't want to break away from the hug, and really, she sort of wished it had been tighter, and lasted longer. But she understood why Jasper might have been cautious about it. This was kind of new for both of them. She was relieved when he seemed to forgive her fairly quickly, because she hadn't wanted to fight, and some of her ex-boyfriends might have been petulant about her behavior for a while, dragging out the issue until Jules was annoyed with them all over again. "I definitely want to get lunch," Jules said, more than happy with the suggestion. Somehow she didn't think Jasper would want to join Jules at her usual table with her friends, and she didn't really want to push him into that kind of stuff yet. Maybe he would feel comfortable with it with time, but... yeah. "Do you want to go somewhere off campus? Or, like, get food and hide somewhere?"
It had occurred to Jasper that being Jules’s boyfriend now meant he might have to hang out with her friends, and he still wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He didn’t really know any of them very well, but he’d not had many good interactions with them either. They were the popular, rich crowd, and he definitely didn’t fit into those categories. So he was a bit relieved himself when she seemed amenable to going out. “Let’s go grab something off campus,” he said, giving her a little half-smile. “I really need a cigarette anyway.” And it would put them in his car, which was a far more comfortable space for him than the cafeteria ever was. Jasper moved around Jules to unlock his locker and shove his books inside, then offered her an arm on goofy impulse as he slammed it shut again.
Jules really wanted to do everything in her power to keep Jasper and Victoria Chapman from sitting at the same table. There were people in her life she knew would be cool to Jasper, but there was always those few who Jules knew well enough to know she needed to keep them separate from Jasper. At least for now. She had no problem with going off campus. It would probably help relax her a little and she grinned as she took Jasper's arm to walk with him outside. "How was yesterday?" Jules asked, not feeling at all anxious about touching him like this in the halls. That had to be a good sign, right? "No one gave you any crap, did they?" Not that she thought Jasper cared much if they did. Sometimes she wished she could give zero fucks about high school the way Jasper seemed to, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help it.
Having Jules’s arm in his kind of relaxed Jasper further, which was possibly backwards, but whatever, that was how he felt. It was like the more physical validation she gave him, the better he felt about this. It was like reassurance that she wasn’t going to suddenly turn around and back out of this, mock him in front of her stupid friends or some shit like that. Jasper didn’t seriously think she would do that -- he was pretty sure he didn’t, anyway -- but it was still some inarticulate paranoia in the back of his mind. It was dying off though, now that they were actually walking through the halls like a legitimate couple, and Jules was still smiling at him without a hint of insincerity. “Nah, nobody said shit to me,” he told her, shaking his head a little. “‘Course, you weren’t here, and I wasn’t here Monday, so maybe they don’t quite believe it yet.” Jasper flashed her a little grin as they headed toward the closest exit to the student parking lot.
Jules continued to shift back and forth between wanting to keep her reputation pristine and honestly not caring in the least of people saw her with Jasper. It was a complicated emotion, and stupidly frustrating, though her feelings for Jasper seemed to trump everything else at the moment. She would have never wanted to go “public” with him if her feelings weren’t real. And deep down she knew that if anyone challenged her on how she felt about Jasper, she would cut them. Ruby was just one, albeit mild, example. She rested her head against his arm for a second before smiling up at him. “Do you want to like, kiss and grope each other between classes so everyone can see and confirm? We’d probably get in trouble but I don’t care.” Jules was teasing, but that didn’t mean she would shy away from kissing her boyfriend at school. It wasn’t like she’d be the first to do it. Somehow being with Jasper at school sort of stiffened her resolve about this whole thing. Maybe some of his “fuck everyone” attitude rubbed off on her or something. If so, she’d take it.
The more touchy and snuggly she got with him, the warmer Jasper’s chest felt. He’d heard guys talk about being proud of having a certain girl on their arm or whatever, and it just kind of sounded like old-fashioned bullshit, but ... he thought he was feeling some of that now. He laughed at her words, looking over with a brighter smile. “Uh, do bears shit in the woods?” he posed like a true philosopher. “Fuck trouble, we gotta make out all over this fuckin’ school.” Jasper glanced up as they approached the double doors and caught eyes with a dude giving them a weird look. He just stared for a heartbeat or two until the guy looked away, and gave Jules’s arm a possessive little squeeze. Jasper reached out to push the door open for them and squinted as they stepped out into the sunlight. “Whatcha wanna eat for lunch, my queen?”
It felt right to be touchy. Jules didn't want some awkward 'no touching' rule at school... obviously before they'd decided to be an official Thing, they didn't even talk to each other at school, but this was different. Jules laughed at the thought of making out all over the school, but she was pretty much on board with it. Part of being a real couple now meant she wasn't going to be ashamed of being with Jasper. Yes, there was a lot of that in the beginning, but things changed. He was hot, and she liked him. He wasn't as bad as people thought he was. Jules sort of figured a lot of what he showed at school was some kind of persona that maybe he felt like he had to have. The same could be said for herself, she supposed, but Jules was in no mood to analyze it.
Once they were outside, Jules took a breath and then exhaled slowly. Sometimes high school felt like it was suffocating her. The fresh air was nice. She slipped her arm from his and took his hand instead to walk toward his car. "I don't care where we eat. We don't have a ton of time, so if you want to just grab fast food or whatever, that's fine with me. Or we can get something from Moxie's to go and eat it in your car." Now that he had a real room, they weren't hanging out in his car as much as they used to, and in a weird way, Jules sort of missed it.
Eating fast food together in his car sounded appealing. That was probably trashy of him, but oh well. He kind of missed the two of them hanging out there too, now that it felt marginally safer. It was daytime anyway, so his newfound paranoia about being out at night was moot. Jasper took Jules’s hand and squeezed it a little while they walked, fishing his keys out of his pocket with his free fingers. He just nodded about the food, thinking they could grab some burritos from the quickest place he knew of and just ... spend some time together. Jasper was already kind of tempted to talk Jules into skipping the rest of the day. Once they were settled in his car, he turned the engine over and glanced at her. “So ... what was up yesterday?” he asked as neutrally as possible. He didn’t want to start a fight, but he still kind of wanted to know. “I kinda thought you were like, pissed at me for something.” He’d also worried she was dead, murdered by some freaky monster, but Jasper left that part out.
Jules was probably more willing to talk about her mood yesterday now that she wasn't actually in that mood anymore. She had at least known she was terrible to be around, which was why she'd stayed home and ignored everyone. If Jasper had actually shown up at her house, she had a feeling she would have probably bitten his head off about it. Jules had just wanted to be left alone. But now yesterday sort of felt like a very vague memory to her, so when Jasper asked about it, it took her a moment to try and sort through the right answer. Unfortunately, nothing sounded terribly convincing other than she hadn't been feeling well. But even when Jules was sick, she was still texting her friends all day when she wasn't sleeping it off. "I don't know," she admitted finally. "I just felt weird. It wasn't because of like, us or anything. It was like I was totally bipolar all day long." Jules's brows drew together thoughtfully before she looked over at Jasper. "Remember that day I had you pick me up and like, bit into you about fucking other girls? Like, my emotions were all over the place? That's how it felt yesterday. Again."
Jasper got a bit nervous when Jules took a couple of minutes to answer, which was dumb because if she was going to dump him or something, she probably wouldn’t have been acting so affectionate and glad to see him. Jules tended not to keep it a secret when she was upset with him, in his experience so far. He was relieved when she said it hadn’t had anything to do with him, and he listened with a small nod as he pulled them out of the parking lot. Jasper glanced over and raised an eyebrow. “Is it like ... PMS or something?” he asked. Women seemed to get pissy when you asked them that question, but it seemed like a valid one to Jasper. Not that he knew much about periods, besides his mother’s bitching all the time about cramps. She was PMSing constantly though, it seemed like, so he wasn’t sure what was valid and what wasn’t about it all.
The question did rankle her a little, because it was like girls couldn't have pissy days without it being PMS. She gave him a look of mild annoyance before shaking her head. "No, it wasn't PMS. Even when I PMS I don't get that crazy. Like, I felt really aggressive, but like had no outlet for it so everything just annoyed me. A lot. That's why I was ignoring people. It would have been really easy to piss off people with how I was feeling yesterday. It's just hard to explain." Of course her last weird ass mood like that had been after the strange hallucination thingy in her bathroom mirror. She had felt weird about it again the day Cam drove her home. It seemed to keep popping up at random times, but Jules felt sort of stupid about it. Who was afraid of mirrors, honestly. But she supposed if anyone would believe her, it would be Jasper, especially now that he'd had his own creepy encounter with something weird in this town. "It sort of feels like the whole mirror thing is still creeping me out. Because I didn't feel that way before it happened."
Jasper accepted the irritated look, pushing down a smirk that threatened to surface because that would only irritate her more. He nibbled absently at his bottom lip as Jules talked and he drove them toward the Mexican fast food place. Part of him wanted to shrug it off, that everybody had bad days ... but he remembered how rollercoaster-y she’d seemed that day, and how creepy all that mirror shit was. “Huh,” Jasper murmured after a moment, glancing over at Jules’s face again. “I dunno, but that’s weird.” He knew she probably didn’t expect him to have any insight or answers, but Jasper still felt kinda shitty that he didn’t. He wanted to help her if he could, but what could he do about something like that? So instead he reached over to put his hand on her leg. “Glad you’re feelin’ better today, though,” he added quietly.
Jules wasn't really expecting Jasper to have any answers. Sometimes she wondered if anyone else in town had experienced the same thing, but how did she even go about checking? People would think she was nuts, and she didn't have a dad like Jasper, who believed in this kind of stuff. There wasn't like, a creepy mirror twin support group out there. So she sighed and nodded. "Yeah, me too." It was still really annoying. What if it happened again? Was she just going to keep locking herself in her room when she like, freaked the fuck out? What if it happened when she was with Jasper? Or at school? God, talk about getting labeled a nut job. No thanks. Jules chewed on her bottom lip before she glanced at Jasper. "You want to fuck off for the rest of the day? I don't have cheer practice after school." It probably was stupid to skip the afternoon after being gone the day before, but whatever. If the school called her mom, Jules would deal with it. It wasn't like she was failing any of her classes except for math.
Jasper had been thinking about weird mirror shit and the hex bags now strategically placed in his life when Jules suggested skipping school. His eyebrow raised in surprise for a beat, and then he grinned. “The answer to that will like, always be yes,” he said, glancing over at her again as he gave her leg a squeeze. “Wanna do or go anywhere in particular?” He was game to just go straight to Jules’s place while her family was gone and fuck the rest of the day away, but he wasn’t going to assume that was the plan without Jules’s input. The weather was nice and she’d been at home all of the day before, maybe she would want to do something outside.
Jules had her hex bag still in her purse, but she wasn't sure if that would actually make the mirror thing go away completely. She didn't even know what it was now, or if the lingering effects were just in her head. Paranoia, or whatever. She was relieved when Jasper agreed to skip school with her, even though she didn't really harbor any doubt that he would, and she could just imagine her mother accusing Jasper of being a bad influence over her daughter. As much as Jules didn't want her mom knowing about Jasper yet, the thought still made her grin a little. "I don't know. Do you work tonight? We should like... drive somewhere. Like, Roque Bluffs." The state park and beach was an hour away, but so what? Jules was suddenly feeling the itch to do something stupid - or something fun - and it was better than just hanging out in her room all day. Sure, they'd probably fuck, but they could do that anywhere. It was senior year, might as well do something exciting, right?
Jasper had to think for a second about whether he did work or not, then shook his head with a little grin. “Nah, I’m off,” he answered. He hadn’t been to Roque Bluffs in years, and it seemed like a perfect day for hanging out by the water. Especially water that was farther away from Point Pleasant and wouldn’t have anybody they knew around. Jasper gave Jules’s leg a little squeeze before he switched steering wheel hands and pulled his cigarette pack out of his pocket. “You wanna eat around here first? Swing by home? Just drive and then go skinny dipping?” He tossed her a grin -- that surely wasn’t going to happen, the water this time of year was stupidly cold, but it was a fun mental image. Jasper didn’t much care about what he was wearing, but girls seemed to need a costume change for everything, so he was game to take Jules home first if that was what she wanted to do.
"Let's just drive until we see somewhere we want to eat," Jules suggested, thrilled at the prospect of ditching school and leaving town for several hours. Would her mom even notice? Probably not, unless the school called her. Jules had a feeling she would end up with detention or something, but whatever. She wasn't bothered by it at the moment. It wasn't cold outside, but it wasn't super warm either, and Jules was comfortable enough in her jeans and flowery top. She'd left her jacket at school, but she wasn't worried about it. At least the sun was shining. Her lips quirked as she shook her head. "I am so not going in the water. I want to have fun, not catch hypothermia. Do you have any weed in your car?" Jules didn't want any right now, but it would be kind of fun to have some later.
The happier Jules sounded about it, the more excited Jasper was too. Usually when he skipped school he just stayed in bed or on the couch most of the day, or he drove around Point Pleasant to find somewhere to get high and chill. He’d never really done an impulsive road trip with a girlfriend before. Sure, an hour there and back wasn’t really a trip, but whatever. They were going to have fun no matter what they called it. “Always got some to spare,” he answered with a lopsided grin. Jasper tucked his smoke between his lips and dipped his hand down in the space between his seat and the door, coming up with a slightly crumpled old cigarette pack. He thumbed the top open and showed Jules the three joints that were tucked in there, then put it back where it came from. He never smoked and drove on an interstate, the state cops were way worse than the local ones. Jasper took a turn to get them on the main road out of town. “So am I like, a bad influence on you now, officially?” he asked with an amused huff.
Jules could feel some of the tension she had been carrying around since the day before start to ease as they began to get farther away from Point Pleasant. She probably wouldn't have done anything like this with anyone else, so she supposed in a way Jasper was a bad influence, but probably not in the way he meant. She didn't want to do it to impress him, or piss off her mom, or rebel against school. Jules was doing it because she wanted to spend time with Jasper. And honestly it was kind of nice to do something different for once. "I'm the one who asked you to skip with me, but I guess that could be considered your influence, so we'll go ahead and say yes." Jules smiled and reached over to slip her hand against the back of his neck where she played with some of his hair. "But you've been a bad influence on me since summer started, so it's nothing new. I was a good girl before you, you know."
Jasper gave that the laugh it deserved, tilting his head forward just slightly to enjoy the feel of her fingers at the back of his neck. He was always such a sucker for having his hair played with, maybe that was why he insisted on keeping it longer no matter what anybody else thought of it. “See, I badly influenced you long enough that you’re inviting me to skip school now,” he assessed, grinning. “It’s like ... reverse psychology or some shit.” He wasn’t sure that was what that actually meant, but whatever, it sounded good at the moment. Jasper flicked his ashes out the crack in his window, enjoying how this felt. His car, his girl, the light breeze from the window, going somewhere cool and isolated. Jasper was willing to bet the beach would be all but deserted, too. Maybe he could convince Jules to fuck outside with him.
"Oh well, who cares? It's senior year. We're supposed to be doing stupid stuff like this," Jules said, just to justify it in her mind. That's exactly what she would tell her mom if she was asked about it later. "By the end of the week everyone in school can talk about how we ran away together. It'll be a lot of fun." Jules decided she was just going to confirm every stupid rumor that she heard about herself, just for the hell of it. Let people believe whatever they wanted to believe. Jules twirled some of Jasper's hair idly around her finger as she watched the world fly by the windows. "Think about it. I've got you coming to Homecoming and you've got me skipping school. We're so bad for each other."
Jasper snickered and shook his head a bit over what people might think happened to them today. He knew he didn’t give a shit what they said, as long as nobody tried to fight him over it or something stupid like that, but for Jules’s sake he hoped they minded their own goddamn business for once. Unlikely, but whatever. Jasper was down with the ‘oh well, who cares’ philosophy. It was pretty much how he lived his whole life. It was weird to have something to actually care about now. “Hard to tell which is worse, right?” he teased, glancing over at her again before he pulled them onto the interstate. Once Jasper had finished up his cigarette and had both hands free again, he reached one over to smooth it over Jules’s thigh again. “That ain’t all I got you doin’ though,” he added in a much more suggestive tone.
Jules couldn't think of a single person who would want to start shit with Jasper over dating her. She was pretty friendly with most of her exes. They may not think Jasper was good enough for her, but it wasn't any of their business. Jules smiled and rolled her eyes, well aware that Jasper coming to Homecoming for her was a much bigger deal than her skipping school with him was. But she sort of felt like they were on even ground now, because he'd proven he wanted to be with her, and she had done the same by wanting him there in the first place. Her body responded almost immediately to his hand on her thigh, as it always did whenever Jasper touched her, and Jules slid her hand through his hair, running the strands through all of her fingers now. "It's not?" she asked, feigning innocence before she leaned over the seat to pepper kisses up his jaw to that delicious spot right below his ear. "What else do you have me doing?" she murmured before nipping gently at his earlobe.
Guys could be weird creatures, especially teenage guys, and Jasper wouldn’t have been surprised if some jock meathead idiot got it into his tiny peabrain that Jasper was overstepping some boundaries by dating Jules or whatever. He could physically handle anybody who tried to put him back into his place, but Jasper didn’t really want to get expelled for beating somebody’s ass. Not when he was so close to actually graduating. He put all that out of his mind for the moment though, much more interested in the girl in his passenger seat. He grinned slowly as she started kissing his neck, keeping his eyes on the road as he shifted his hand to cup Jules’s crotch through her jeans. “Being a bad girl, getting wet for me at a moment’s notice,” Jasper murmured, pushing up against her with his fingers a bit.
Jules didn't currently care about high school boundaries, and while the thought of Jasper kicking some guy's ass over her was pretty hot, she didn't want it to actually happen. She wanted Jasper to be at school and she wanted him to graduate. Jules had no idea what the end of high school would bring, but she wanted to know that they had options or whatever. And if he failed senior year, that sort of put a damper on everything. Jules hummed a happy little sound into Jasper's ear before trailing her lips down his neck, biting gently at the skin. "Please. Like you don't get hard for me as soon as I start touching you," Jules said, bringing her other hand over to slip it under his shirt where she could splay her hand over his abdomen. It was a slightly awkward angle, but she didn't care. They had a long drive ahead of them, and Jules kind of liked the thought of just teasing him and then pulling back from it. Usually she would just unzip his jeans and give him a blow job, but what fun would that be right now?
“See, I never claimed to be good,” Jasper pointed out, liking the feel of Jules’s hand against his skin, as always. She wasn’t wrong, his dick did always respond to her, which he thought might get pretty inconvenient now that their relationship had gone public. All he needed was Jules knowing she had the power to give him a boner whenever she wanted in school.Though he guessed she’d always had that and always known it. Whatever, he wasn’t complaining, especially not at the moment, when he was already half hard just a couple of inches below Jules’s hand. Jasper wasn’t expecting them to fool around going eighty down the highway, but he was more than on board for some teasing, and Jules’s mouth against his neck and ear were giving him happy little internal shivers.
"Mmhmm." Jules nuzzled and kissed his neck for another couple of minutes, breathing in his scent and enjoying the feel of his skin against her lips. She idly stroked his abdomen and let her fingertips graze against the waistband of his jeans before she pulled back to sit comfortably in her seat again. "I think you can be good as much as I can be bad," Jules said, reaching down to take his hand from her crotch to hold it instead. She was totally on board with teasing him, but she would get restless and cranky if he teased her and she didn't get to come when she wanted to. "But that just might be my influence on you." As far as Jules knew, he hadn't done anything terrible at school but ditch it, and she would have known if he'd gotten in trouble around town.
Jasper felt a pleasant sort of rumble of disappointment when Jules pulled away from him and re-settled, then took his hand away from the warmth of her pussy. It wasn’t truly upsetting, because he knew they would make good on the teasing before the day was out, he just liked to touch her. He squeezed her hand instead, looking faintly amused. “I dunno, you can be pretty fuckin’ bad,” he teased, glancing over at her again. “Not sure I have that same level of goodness in me.” Jasper knew he could honestly be a pretty shitty person and often exercised that right. He kind of thought that Jules was actually a good influence too in some regards, but he wasn’t jumping to admit to that out loud.
Yes, she could be bad. And that was definitely Jasper's fault. He did something to her that was hard to explain so she didn't bother trying half of the time. But he drove her crazy in all kinds of way, especially during sex. She had liked it when they first started hooking up and she still liked it. Jules knew he was just teasing her, but she squeezed his hand back, looking out her window to see where they were. Point Pleasant was far in their rear view. "Yes, you do," she said simply. Yes, Jasper could be a shitty person, but so could she. He wasn't as much of a dick to her anymore, just like she held back on her bitchy side - mostly - when they were together. "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
Something had definitely changed between them, and while Jasper still felt the urge to pick at her sometimes and get her riled up, he cared more now about how she really felt. Fighting with Jules had become less sport and more genuinely distressing. Jasper wasn’t sure when that shift had happened, or what it really meant, but it was there. He glanced over at her again with an arched eyebrow, because it sounded like Jules really believed that. He had good in him. Jasper wasn’t sure why that felt so pleasantly surprising, but it did. He didn’t answer, just rubbed his thumb over her knuckle. He was half tempted to make some joke about his reputation, but it didn’t feel right. So instead, after a moment, he murmured, “Wanna pick some music?”
Jules knew all about Jasper's reputation. And she was sure a lot of it was probably true, but that didn't matter so much to her anymore. She felt like she knew him differently, just like he knew her differently. Jules didn't feel like she had to be 'on' all the time with Jasper like she did with her friends. It was refreshing, to be honest. She glanced at him and smiled before reaching down to pick up her purse and pull out her phone. "Yeah." Music was good. Music was distracting, especially flying down the highway. She plugged her phone in and pulled up the newer album by Bleachers, figuring it was something Jasper might actually tolerate.
She was feeling pretty good by the time they actually got to Roque Bluffs. Its regular hours had ended at the beginning of the month, and the ranger stations were closed for the season, but the park was still open to those who wanted to explore. That was kind of convenient, because Jules didn't want any rangers popping up while she and Jasper were getting high, or making out, or whatever else. Jules slipped her phone into the back pocket of her jeans - ignoring the text messages from her friends no doubt asking where she was - but left her purse in the car for the time being. The two of them started walking toward the path that would lead them to Englishman Bay. "We come skiing here sometimes," Jules explained, not that she thought Jasper cared much how she spent time with her family. "My stepdad sucks at it, so sometimes I kind of hope he'll hit a tree." She grimaced. "That sounds morbid of me. Whatever."
It was good to get there and park and get out to stretch his legs. The place looked pretty damn deserted, and Jasper was kind of glad for that. It was nice to be somewhere with Jules where they were completely alone, with no risk of any interruptions, and where they could actually get out and move around. It made him wish he kept a blanket stashed in his car or something. He didn’t, but he grabbed an old extra hoodie back there in case Jules wanted something to sit on. Jasper tucked his own phone into his pocket -- nobody was calling to check on him, that was for sure -- and walked along with his girlfriend. He laughed at what she said about her stepdad, morbid or not. Maybe even because it was. “Now if it happens, you’ll totally feel bad,” he said, though he sounded light about it. “Like, the last time I remember coming here, Amelia was pretty little. Dad was usually working too much for us to do family trips and shit.”
Jules wrinkled her nose and shrugged. "I won't feel too bad. My mom would find a new potential husband in no time." That was probably mean of her, but oh well. Jules knew what was expected of her, but she had no intention of going through men at the speed her mother seemed to after Jules's dad died. She walked beside Jasper and reached out to take his hand in hers. It was quiet where they were, with peak season being over, but she liked it. Maybe it would have been smart to let someone know where they were, just in case, but Jules wasn't too worried. Roque Bluff probably wasn't as fucked up as Point Pleasant. She glanced at him, realizing that he had mentioned his sister before but Jules had never met her. Then again she hadn't met any of his family, or vice versa, but it was still weird to think of him as a brother to someone. "How's it going with your dad? Like, living with him. Are you guys getting along and everything?"
Jasper realized yet again, in a dim way, that his family had been weird. His parents hadn’t even had a normal divorce, just separated for years, neither of them seeming to look for any other partners ... until his mom had started fucking some moron from KMart. He held Jules’s hand and mused idly about how different their lives seemed on the surface. But maybe not so different once you started to dig deeper. “Yeah, we’re doin’ all right,” he answered after a pause. “We don’t see each other a whole lot, with work and everything, maybe that’s why it’s working so well.” He chuckled faintly and shrugged. “It’s a fuckton quieter than living with my mom, so it’s definitely a step up.” And being able to have Jules over that one night had been pretty fucking heavenly. Jasper was definitely hoping for more of that.
Jules was aware that a lot of people assumed her life was pretty much flawless, since she was pretty and lived in Overlook and had money. And honestly, she was happy to let them believe that, for the most part. It was difficult for Jules to admit things weren't perfect, that she wasn't perfect, so she was okay with letting people believe what they wanted - to an extent. But Jasper's relationship with his dad sounded oddly similar to the one she had with her mother. At least on some level. She didn't see her mom a whole lot either, which was sometimes preferable to Margaret being home and constantly in Jules's business. "That's good," Jules said, happy to hear that he and his dad weren't fighting all the time or whatever. She grinned a little, remembering what Jasper had told her about his dad's house once, when she had been whining about wanting a bed to have sex in. "So the 'depressed old man' vibe isn't getting you down?"
He quirked a brow and then laughed a bit as he remembered saying that. “It’s a little better with me living there,” he said. “But it still gets pretty thick sometimes. That’s when I gotta play music loud and open the windows and like, spray Axe around the house. Banishing the old man demons.” Jasper didn’t actually do that, of course, since Axe was mostly gross and he had a sanctuary to retreat to that was really starting to feel more like his space than his dad’s. “Did you feel it when you were over there?” If Jules kept coming over, Jasper knew it was inevitable that she would meet Gavin, but he wasn’t looking forward to it. He knew his dad would be civil to her, and maybe even try to grunt some polite questions before he shuffled off somewhere else, but he also felt like Gavin prefered to avoid that part of Jasper’s life and pretend it didn’t exist.
Jules grinned, enjoying the mental image of Jasper blasting music and walking around the house spraying Axe everywhere to cleanse it of depressing old man demons. "I think you did a pretty good job at banishing those vibes, because I didn't feel it at all when I was over," she told him. "A monthly cleanse should keep it feeling pretty normal. But let me know if you ever want to exorcise those vibes for good. All I'd have to do is come over with some of my perfume and spray it in every room while I talked about a bunch of girl things. Depressed old man vibes can't survive when they're going up against perky teenage girl, just so you know." A silly conversation, to be sure, but it was better than fighting or talking about actual depressing shit.
“God, please, yeah, come and do it,” he said with a laugh. “My sister’s not old enough yet, her teenage girl magic isn’t active.” They were being ridiculous, of course, but Jasper was kind of glad to hear that the house didn’t just radiate unhappiness to anyone else. Granted, he and Jules had been stoned and distracted pretty much the whole time, but it was still a bit of a comfort. Maybe, given enough time there and new, more chill memories made, he would feel better about it all. And his father. In spite of the way they’d bonded lately, Jasper still felt like he barely knew the man, and vice versa. All of that shit was shit to talk about another time, though. He and Jules had reached the beach, and he paused to get out of his sneakers and socks and roll his jeans up enough for them not to drag in the sand.
Jules hadn't had any issues with Jasper's house. It was obviously much different than her own, but she had liked it, mostly because Jasper inviting her over had been kind of a big deal, especially after she had complained all summer about having to have sex in his car, or her house if her mom and stepdad were gone. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about maybe meeting his dad someday. Meeting the parents was so different than just going public in school and it had nothing to do with the level of 'seriousness' of their relationship. Her mom could be a bitch, and Jasper had never talked very favorably of his dad, so... Jules really didn't know what to expect. Not that she was giving it a lot of thought right now. The beach was all but deserted but for she and Jasper, and Jules pulled off her boots and socks, leaving them in the sand for the time being. The sand was cool beneath her bare feet, but that was okay. She pulled out her phone to take a picture of the water, smirking softly. "My mom's going to be so pissed at me," Jules said, not caring much as she posted the picture to her Instagram. "Do you think she'd buy it if I told her you kidnapped me?"
It felt nice to walk on the sand, as it always did. Jasper went to the little beach back home pretty often when it was warm out, but it was tiny compared to this one. There was nobody in sight as they strolled along, leaving footprints behind them. He chuckled a bit over Jules’s words. “Uh, in a heartbeat, and she would send the whole police force out to catch my ass,” he said with a smirk. Jasper dipped into his pocket for the cigarette pack with the joints in it, and took one out to tuck in his lips. His steps slowed as he cupped his hands around his lighter to fire it up, and Jasper took a deep pull before he offered it over to Jules. “You uh, told her anything yet? About us?” he asked, voice strained as he held in as much smoke as possible.
He was probably right. Even if Jules told her mom in a joking manner that Jasper kidnapped her, her mother would be on the phone in a second dialing Sheriff Barrett's number. It was easier for her mom to believe Jasper Lucas, town delinquent, would kidnap her daughter straight from the school premises than to believe Jules went willingly. God, she hoped the school waited a day before they called to blab about Jules skipping classes. Jules slipped her phone back into her back pocket and took the joint Jasper offered. She was thankful for it, because it allowed her to put off answering his question as she took just as deep a pull as Jasper had. Jules was silent as she held in the smoke and offered it back. When she finally released it, Jules shook her head. "No, not yet. No offense or anything, but she's not going to take it very well and I'd rather, like, enjoy this for a while without her butting in." Jules dug her toes into the sand a little before continuing to walk. "Does your dad know?"
Jasper was far from offended. He’d expected that Jules hadn’t told her parents anything about him, so her answer didn’t surprise him in the least. Even if she was comfortable with their peers knowing they were dating, parents were a whole other ballgame, and not one that Jasper was eager to get into. He didn’t know much about Jules’s stepdad, so he wasn’t too worried about the whole ‘dad with a shotgun’ thing, but her mother could be just as scary in other ways. And the last thing anybody needed was some angry mother stomping down to The Back Porch to wag a finger in Gavin’s face and tell him to keep his delinquent son away from her daughter. Shit, maybe Jasper ought to tell him, he thought suddenly, at least as a warning that might be possible. He took another hit and kept strolling with her. “Not yet,” he said. “He won’t really like, care, but ... that’s the thing, he won’t care.” He wasn’t sure if that made sense to her, but it did to him. Jasper took another sip off the joint and offered it back. “No worries though, take your time telling her. I ain’t exactly a ‘nice Sunday dinner’ sorta boyfriend.” Jasper offered her a lazy grin.
Jules couldn't see Edward caring much about Jules's boyfriends at all. They barely spoke except when he was being sort of creepy toward her. Margaret only seemed to be interested in what Jules was doing when there was a boy involved, so it had been kind of nice hiding her non-relationship from people all summer. It kept her mom off her back, except for the times she tried to push Jules in getting back together with Sebastian. "You don't think your dad cares what you do, or who you're doing it with?" Jules asked, taking the joint back and taking another hit. She would probably start getting giggly soon. Or horny. Maybe both. But this was so much better than school right now. It felt like they were on a completely different planet, away from Point Pleasant and their friends and family and all that bullshit. "He never like, asks?" No, Jasper was not a 'bring to Sunday dinner' kind of boyfriend. Even if Jules wanted him to come to dinner, she liked him too much to do that to him. Her mom could be insufferable, and she wouldn't be nice to Jasper. Jules really wanted to keep Jasper and her mom apart as much as possible.
“Nah, neither one, he doesn’t give a fuck,” Jasper stated, sounding pretty sure about that. Of course, it was possible that Gavin never asked because Jasper never answered in a cordial way, but that didn’t much occur to him. He was caught between wishing his dad would take more of an interest in him, and being angry and bitter that he hadn’t for so long. Or let other shit get in the way, or whatever the fuck his problem was. It didn’t really matter, he guessed, their relationship was what it was. Broken. “We barely talk about surface shit, much less important shit. He’s just ... like that.” He paused as he took the joint back from Jules for a deeper hit, then added, “I mean, besides talking about creepy shit now, but that’s like, a special case.” He thought vaguely about introducing Jules to his dad, and really couldn’t imagine anything but Gavin avoiding looking straight at her and just grunting to communicate. Maybe warning him later to stay away from rich girls, like Caden sort of had. “He probably won’t be a dick to you, but just don’t expect any like, parent questions or anything.”
It felt a little instinctual to want to reassure Jasper that his dad probably did give a fuck, but Jules bit her tongue on actually saying the words because the truth was, Jules had no idea if Jasper's dad gave a fuck or not. He probably didn't, given how many nights Jasper had probably slept in his car instead of at home. Both of Jasper's parents sounded pretty fucked up. Obviously his dad helped Jasper with the hex bags and stuff, but how far did that really go in the grand scheme of things. Jules was starting to feel a little floaty, and she didn't want to keep talking about Jasper's dad, especially when she knew he would eventually get annoyed by it. "Does that mean I'm important shit?" Jules asked with a grin. "Or just surface shit. Or maybe I'm somewhere in between. I don't care if he's a dick to me or not. I don't need him to ask me questions either. I don't even have to meet him, if you don't want me to. I don't care about any of that. I just... you know, care about you. I think that's the only thing that matters."
Jasper figured the two of them meeting was kind of inevitable, if Jules kept coming over to the house. They were bound to run into one another sometime, and he guessed they would just deal with that when it happened. The rest of what she said kind of pushed all thoughts of his parents out of Jasper’s head though. Because Jules was important shit, he’d just never put that mental label on it ... and then she said she cared about him. Which on one hand was like ‘duh,’ but on the other, it took him by surprise a bit. Sure, it had more been in comparison to how she felt about parents, but still. Jasper looked over at her, not sure for a second if he should call attention to it or not. It was hard to decide when his brain was starting to feel nice and fuzzy. But the weed made everything feel More, too, so the off-handed comment meant something to him. Jasper switched the hand he was holding the joint with so he could link their fingers together again. “You’re definitely important shit,” he murmured. “And all I care about, too.” Both of their sets of parents could fuck right on off, if you asked him.
Jules wasn't really giving much of it any deep thought. The weed always helped relax her and sometimes she was less worried about choosing her words carefully, or keeping them to herself. Obviously she cared about Jasper or she wouldn't be dating him, right? And it wasn't like with her other boyfriends, where she felt like she needed to impress their parents. Sure, she didn't want Jasper's dad to hate her, but she cared more about what Jasper thought than what his mom or dad thought. She sort of wished she could pinpoint the moment when all of this had become more than just sex to her. It was annoying that she couldn't. Jules smiled, tightening her fingers around his. A giggle did bubble up in her throat, but caught on her words as soon as she began to talk again. "I've never been called important shit before," she said. "I like it. You're important shit too, Jasper. We can be important shit to each other. That'll be a nice change, right?"
He couldn’t help but laugh a little bit, pushing those squishier feelings back into the back of his mind. They were out here to relax and have fun, not for him to go getting all weird and emotional on her. “I’ve never been called important shit before either,” he said, letting out his own snicker. He was feeling progressively more stoned, and it was nice. Lighter. “Tough shit, yeah ... little shit ... piece of shit ...” Jasper trailed off into another laugh, giving Jules’s hand a squeeze and bumping his shoulder into hers. “So yeah, nice change. I’ll take it. We are important shit, and everybody else can fuck off.” Really, it was the only sensible way to live, in Jasper’s opinion. It was way too exhausting, trying to please everyone all the time, especially when they all wanted different things from you. So why not just live to please yourself? And being with Jules pleased him, so ... her opinion was the only other one that really mattered. Impulsively and with only a little awkwardness, he leaned in while still walking to kiss her cheek and the side of her neck. “You’re a nice change,” he murmured as he straightened up.
It was so much easier to adopt the 'everyone can fuck off' attitude when she was with Jasper. He just didn't seem to give a shit about what other people thought. Jules wished she could be like that. In a way, she was, but she couldn't deny that she wanted people to like her and she did care what people thought of her on some level. But she had somehow managed to get to the point where she wanted to be with Jasper and she didn't care if some people didn't like it. God, it was making her brain hurt, so Jules opted to forget about it for now. Everything inside of her seemed to warm as soon as Jasper kissed her cheek, and she was realizing what a stark contrast this was to when they first started hooking up. It was strange, in a good way, to be seeing a different side of Jasper. But he got to see a different side of her too, so at least it was even. Jules tugged at his hand to get him to stop walking, and she moved in front of him to kiss him properly on the lips, her free hand coming up to slip behind the nape of his neck. Maybe the weed was making her feel stupid and squishy, but in the moment, Jules didn't care. She was feeling something and she just wanted to go with it for once.
It was only human to want acceptance and understanding, and there were of course people whose opinions Jasper did care about. One of them was right next to him, though his caring about what Jules thought of him was a fairly recent development. He’d just grown up believing himself to be a constant disappointment. Too much of a handful. A burden. Unwanted. So it was easier to build a Don’t Give A Fuck wall around himself. If he didn’t let people affect him, he couldn’t be hurt, right? It wasn’t exactly a conscious thought, but Jasper had been having it all the same. Except now there was someone who knew him fairly well now, someone beyond his usual social scope who wasn’t a piece of trash like he was, who actually wanted to be with him. Out in the open, now. He still hadn’t fully grasped what that meant, but it meant something. Jasper didn’t question it when Jules stopped him to start kissing, he just wrapped both arms around her -- careful of the still-burning joint, of course -- and kissed her back. He closed his eyes and just let himself feel it for a moment, his brain blissfully quiet.
It was probably silly how good this felt, being outside, away from Point Pleasant and their friends and families and all of that noise. There didn't seem to be anyone around, and the sand felt good against her feet, and Jasper's body was arm, pressed against hers and he tasted amazing, even with the pot and cigarette he'd smoked. Jules enjoyed the kiss, letting it linger for awhile, her tongue brushing against his until everything inside of her felt hot and achy. It didn't very long. It usually didn't when she was with Jasper, but that was okay. She finally pulled back, releasing a satisfied sort of sigh before taking his hand again to keep walking. It was kind of funny to think that only a few weeks ago she'd been trying to enforce her 'no kissing' rule and now she couldn't get enough of his mouth. "Thanks for skipping with me today," Jules said, reaching over to take the joint from him so she could take another quick pull. "It'll be totally worth it if I get grounded."
Something had definitely shifted toward the sweeter between the two of them. Jasper wasn't sure why or how, but he could feel it. Jules still drove him crazy, of course, in a myriad of ways, but it felt less annoying somehow. Like he understood her better or something. Or maybe he was getting soft, who really knew. All Jasper knew was that it felt good right now, so that was what he was going to focus on. He smiled lazily and scraped his teeth over his bottom lip when she pulled back, his own body feeling warm and full at the moment. As tempting as it was just to tackle her down into the sand to really make out, Jasper started walking with her again. “No thanks necessary,” he said with a low chuckle. “I’ll skip with you anytime. And pull you into broom closets at school and fool around with you after cheer practice and pretty much anything else to get you grounded.” He glanced over at her with a wicked grin.
There was no question that Jasper could still get under her skin and annoy the hell out of her, but it just seemed to be happening less and less. "Oh, you're so sweet," Jules said, stifling a laugh as she handed over what was left of the joint for Jasper to finish. "What do I get to do to get you into trouble?" Everything she could think of basically involved her getting into even more trouble, and it didn't sound like Jasper's parents did a whole lot of disciplining. Oh well, it would probably be worth it anyway. Jules couldn't help but smirk a little. "If you get me grounded, do you really think you can go more than a couple days without sex? Because like, that's what grounded would mean."
Jasper took the stub of the joint and sucked the rest of the smoke out of it, then flicked it away from them, up the beach. Let some bird eat the resin and feel good for a while. “Tell one of your meathead football friends that I did something bad to you?” he suggested, shrugging and grinning at her. “Other than that ... you can’t get me into trouble.” Well, that wasn’t entirely true, she could get pregnant, but that would be both of their faults, so it didn’t count. He laughed at the rest of what she said. “I can ... doesn’t mean I want to. Can you? Especially with me sending you like, jerk off videos and shit?” That trick didn’t really work on him when he knew that Jules liked to fuck just as much as he did. Jasper smirked at her. “And who says I can’t sneak into your house?”
Jules rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I want to get you into trouble, not get your ass beat," she pointed out, still sounding a little amused. "Not all my football friends are meatballs... no, not meatballs, meatheads." Jules brought her hand up to her face and snickered into her hand. "Sebastian's not a meathead. Greg... okay, he's a little meathead, but not a super meathead. Besides, I bet you'd kick their asses anyway, so it wouldn't matter." Jules groaned, feeling a little dizzy now and she tugged at his hand. "Can we sit? I want to sit." She flopped down on the sand without waiting for an answer, her hand still clinging to his. Jules breathed in the fresh air deep into her lungs before exhaling and closing her eyes. She lifted her face up until she felt like she could talk again and make sense. "I can totally go without sex," she said, looking at Jasper like there hadn't just been a break in the conversation. "I don't want to, obviously, but it's like... punishment material. If I have to suffer just to make you suffer, it works. But you can still send me videos if you want. And... okay, you can sneak into my room, because that would be kind of hot, as long as you didn't get caught."
Jasper probably could kick at least some of those football assholes’ asses ... at least if he took them on one at a time. If they all ganged up on him it would be a different story, but that wouldn’t save them from his vengeance later on ... Jasper shook off that train of thought, because it would only uselessly piss him off. He was hanging out with his girl, he only wanted to feel good things. Jasper plunked down next to Jules when she sat, digging his toes into the sand and resting his free arm on his upraised knees. He would hold her hand as long as she wanted. “Bet I could do it and not get caught,” he murmured, gazing thoughtfully out at the ocean. It wouldn’t be his first B&E, but maybe the first time he didn’t steal something on his way out. Except for time with Jules. Something occurred to him and he clucked his tongue then, looking at her almost like he was disappointed. “Bet you have an alarm though, huh? Just leave your window open though, I can get to it.” He was pretty sure, anyway. And now he kind of wanted to, just to prove that he could.
He probably could do it without getting caught. If the rumors about his not-so-shiny reputation were true, Jules figured Jasper knew how to do a lot of things he shouldn't be doing. Not that she imagined he was doing any of them now. It would be stupid to risk getting arrested during his last year of school. And wasn't he eighteen now? Even worse. "We do have an alarm," Jules said before she laughed a little. "But as much as I really like the idea of you scaling my house and sneaking in through my bedroom window to fuck me in the middle of the night, I'd rather you not like, risk breaking your neck. You can just text me and I'll come downstairs and let you in. I would offer to try and break into your house, but your dad's dogs would probably try to eat me."
He’d been trying to turn over a new leaf this school year, at least as far as getting in trouble went, so Jasper hadn’t done anything really illegal since the early summer. He didn’t count all of the weed. He laughed a bit at Jules’s much easier and more sensible solution to him sneaking in, but where was the fun in that? Half the thrill was in the surprise. But Jasper wasn’t eager to get arrested or break his neck, so they would probably end up doing it her way. “They’d do more than try,” he said with a chuckle. Then realized that might make her more scared of them, and added, “They’re big babies if they see that me and Dad are cool with you, but intruders? Don’t stand a chance.” Even besides the dogs, his father had plenty of guns and knew how to use them. Jasper was smart enough to leave that part out though. He leaned over to bump their shoulders, giving her a goofy little grin. “Would you really get up and let me in?”
He might have amended his statement but Jules still wrinkled her nose at the thought of his dad's dogs eating her. Jasper could call them big babies all he wanted, and yes they were big, but they also had mean faces and sharp teeth. Jules had never owned a pet before, but she figured if she ever did, she would have a small, fluffy cat. No chance of being mauled to death with a cat. Maybe next time she went over to Jasper's, she would let him keep the dogs out just so they could see Jasper was cool with her. Maybe. At the shoulder nudge, Jules looked over at Jasper and smiled. "Duh. You'd let me in if I came knocking at your window, right? Then again, you sleep like the dead, so I'd probably have to knock really loud, then your dad would wake up and sic the dogs on me."
Jasper would of course let her in the instant he woke up, but it felt different somehow. “Yeah but you’re like ... princess in a castle with a security system and parents who give a shit,” he pointed out, sounding amused about it. “They gotta like ... protect your virtue and shit. No bad boys, especially not after midnight.” He gave a little laugh, because he knew firsthand just how fucked Jules’s ‘virtue’ was, but her mom probably didn’t know that. Besides the dogs being protective against intruders, nobody in his house gave a fuck what he did. “But nah, I’d let you in. I wake up when they bark.” And he would call off Max, Rude, and Gavin with a gun in his hand, probably. “Safer just to call me a million times first though.”