Who: Luke and Jade Where: Home When: Evening, Wednesday, October 11 Status: Complete
Luke had made it a point to be home at a decent time tonight to try and spend some time with Jade. They had been sort of staying out of each other’s hair over the past few weeks, but Luke was starting to feel like giving ‘space’ was beginning to equal ‘neglect’. Yes, he was busy and trying to get as much work in before the colder weather hit, but he didn’t want his brother to think he was avoiding or ignoring him.
He had every intention of cooking dinner for the two of them, but Luke was not much of a chef, and after a failed, rather pathetic, attempt at boiling pasta, he gave up and called the Dino’s to get a pizza and some breadsticks delivered. Luke could provide the soda, at least. He just hoped Jade would be in the mood to enjoy it tonight. And now that the pizza was ordered and Luke had twisted the cap off of his beer, he was realizing… he had no idea if Jade was even home.
Sighing, Luke walked over to the bottom of the stairs and looked up them. “Jade,” he yelled. “You home?”
Jade was struggling this week. The sense of wrong pervaded everything, even though they’d found out that putting a salt barrier around their beds enabled them to sleep and helped with the after effects of the nightmares everyone was having. In odd moments he wished he hadn’t been present at the gathering where the Ouija board had been brought out. Hindsight was everything. Not that there was much he could do about any of it except keep using the salt. He had a case of the blahs and he couldn’t see much way out of it, but he guessed that happened to everyone sometimes.
When his brother called for him, he was sitting in the window seat in his room, one cheek pressed to the slightly cool glass, looking down at the yard. He’d finished his homework at school, so there wasn’t much he had to do at the moment. Sighing, he hauled himself up and started downstairs, not wanting Luke to come into his room and see the salt circle that he reinforced each night. Closing the door behind him, he walked down the hall and to the top of the stairs. “Yeah, what’s up?” he asked.
“I ordered some pizza,” Luke said, relieved when Jade appeared at the top of the stairs. “Figured we could eat dinner together.” They ought to try and talk, at least. Luke wanted to get on some common ground with his brother. He was realizing he had no idea what Jade got up to during the day, or after school, or on the weekends. He knew Jade had friends, but he didn’t know much about them. Luke feared he was becoming his father in that sense… the old man had loved his kids, but he hadn’t known much about them beyond the surface. It was just he and Jade now, so Luke wanted that to change. “You busy up there?”
Sometimes he and Luke went days without any significant conversation, and Jade had to wonder if something was up. It was hard to tell with his brother; Jade hadn’t really learned to read him that well. Did he have some big announcement to make, like they were moving to Alaska? He wasn’t all that hungry, but that could change when he had a couple slices of hot pizza in front of him. “Nah, I’m not busy. You didn’t get anything gross on it, did you?” he said, coming down the stairs with one hand skimming the rail.
It would probably be easier to talk to Jade if something was up. But no, things were what they were. Nothing had changed much since Luke had taken over as Jade’s guardian. He just wasn’t entirely sure how he was supposed to act. He was still Jade’s brother, but he felt like he needed to be a father figure too, and it was a difficult thing to balance. Luke grinned at Jade from the bottom of the stairs. “Nah, nothing too gross. Pineapple chunks, anchovies and some avocado. Everyone loves avocado now, don’t they? It’s like a thing or something.”
Jade stuck a finger down his throat, pretending to gag. Maybe a few lighthearted, silly moments were just what he needed. Fake it ‘til you make it. “I hate avocado,” he said, sliding past his brother with a friendly shoulder-bump as he reached the last stair. “And I hate anchovies. So I sincerely hope you’re joking.” He padded into the kitchen on bare feet to find some glasses for drinks, hoping he looked reasonably okay. He’d had dark circles under his eyes for a while now, although hopefully they’d lessened since he’d had a few nights of reasonable sleep. He just didn’t want a lot of questions he couldn’t answer, honestly. “How long ‘til it’s here?” he asked.
“Of course I’m joking,” Luke said with a snicker, following Jade into the kitchen. He had noticed that Jade was looking a bit more tired than usual, though he wasn’t sure if Jade was getting sick or just staying up late texting or snapchatting or whatever teens his age did now. “Should be here in about twenty minutes,” he said, leaning against the counter to watch Jade. “Just got pepperoni and mushroom if that’s okay. I was gonna try and make pasta, but… think I need to watch some more of those cooking shows before I attempt it again.” Luke took a quick pull from his beer and gestured toward Jade. “You feelin’ okay? You look tired.”
“Yeah, that works,” Jade said. He pulled down a couple of glasses and then noticed Luke already had a beer. Shrugging, he left them and went to the fridge to get some Coke; it felt like a rule to him that you had to have Coke with pizza. Hesitating after he’d shut the door, he almost closed the curtains, but he didn’t want Luke to ask why he’d done it. Maybe he just wouldn’t look outside in the gathering darkness. “Fine,” he said, glad for the distraction of successfully pouring his soda without spilling it. “School, newspaper, homework.” Being haunted by ouija board demons. Yeahhhh that might not be the thing to say.
"That all?" Luke asked, because he didn't want to push, but he also wanted to make sure Jade knew he could talk to Luke if he needed to. Luke remembered what it was like to be a teenager and busy, but Jade kind of looked like he was overdoing it a bit. Luke couldn't ever remember having such dark shadows under his eyes in high school, but... everybody was different, he supposed. "We seem to keep missing each other between school and work. What's been going on?"
There was so much Jade could have said to that. He was feeling a little tired of keeping secrets, but he wasn’t entirely sure he could count on his brother not to freak out, and he wasn’t sure if the summoning bad things with ouija boards part or the I’m pretty sure I’m gay part would get a worse reaction. “It’s just senior year,” he said with a half shrug. “I bet this is nothing compared to next semester.” He drank from his glass. “How’s your work going?” It might not work, but he was a fan of trying to create a diversion by shifting the focus of the conversation to Luke.
Luke wasn’t entirely sure Jade was being honest with him, but he couldn’t exactly push and prod to make Jade talk. He suddenly felt like a parent - teenagers! They’re impossible - and Luke scratched the nape of his neck before taking another drink. Maybe with time Jade would feel comfortable enough talking to him about… stuff. That’s all Luke could hope for, anyway. “Work is fine,” Luke said with a shrug. “Same old stuff, you know? Trying to get some more jobs in before the snow hits. I’ve got stuff lined up.”
Their dad had been more gruff and not really the type to push for conversation. He’d been more prone to lay down the law and not allow discussion. Luke could be a little on the quiet side, but with him Jade felt that if he wanted to confide there’d be a better chance his brother would listen. That was reassuring, honestly. It was good to know he had a hand up if he needed saving. “I guess work is work,” he said. “Kind of like school is school.” He rummaged in a cabinet for some paper plates and paper napkins, because who wanted to wash dishes for pizza? Not him.
“Yeah,” Luke agreed with a soft chuckle. He wasn’t much of a talker, no, but neither was Jade. At least not with Luke. It made for some quiet moments, some of them awkward as hell. But Luke knew they would have to push through it. He didn’t want this to be the norm until Jade went off to college. If he went off to college. Luke realized he had no idea what Jade’s plans were. “So, how’s senior year going, anyway? Seems to be around this time that guidance counselors would be pushin’ college applications on you.”
“They started that last year,” Jade said ruefully. “Kinda late in the year, but still.” He leaned against the counter, feeling bone tired all of a sudden. Maybe some food would revive him at least until bedtime. “We’re supposed to set up a couple of college days… you know, where you visit colleges to see if you might want to go there? I don’t know which ones to pick.” He wasn’t sure about going to college anyway. Could they afford it? Could he do some kind of work-study thing? His grades were pretty good but he wasn’t sure if they were scholarship worthy.
“Oh.” Luke supposed it had been awhile since he gave a lot of thought to school. And he’d never much of a college guy anyway. “Well, I mean, do you want to stick close to home? Spread your wings and fly out west?” He smiled and motioned toward Jade with his beer. “That’d be a good excuse to take a mini vacation, yeah? Visit some college in a warmer climate. Do you know what you want to do after school is over?” He realized that was something else he had no clue about - Jade’s future plans. Now was as good a time as any to ask.
“I wish I knew what I want to do,” Jade said, feeling mildly hopeless. How could he leave here, leave the cemetery that was the only place he could visit his parents now? How could he leave Luke alone? Or maybe Luke was hoping he’d leave so he could get back to his life without having to raise a kid. “I mean… money.” He shrugged. “I guess if I wanted to go I could get a job and save up and then go someplace.” He found himself hoping the pizza would arrive. Wasn’t it about time?
Luke didn't say anything at first, but drank some more of his beer. He realized Jade was probably worried about money, because it cost a lot to go to college anymore, even some of the community schools. "You don't have to know right away," he pointed out after a moment. "You can always start getting your requisites out of the way. Math and all that." Luke cocked a brow. "You know mom and dad left you a bit of money, right? For school. I mean, it's not enough for like, Harvard, but it's enough to get a couple of years paid for in a smaller school...if that's what you want to do."
Jade blinked, his surprise obvious. “If I ever knew that, I forgot it,” he said. It was a strange feeling to suddenly have choices of which he hadn’t been aware. “That’s kind of awesome.” He’d had no idea. If he’d thought about it, he would have figured that medical bills would have eaten up any savings. But what the hell did he know? He smiled faintly. “Lots of English, less math,” he said. Any future job he’d want to have wouldn’t be that heavy on math or science; Jade was a fan of knowing his strengths and weaknesses.
"You may not have known," Luke pointed out. "I guess I would've figured dad told you, but... dad didn't talk much, so..." He set the bottle of beer on the counter once he heard the knock at the front door. "Hold on, let me get the pizza." He left Jade in the kitchen and walked out to the living room. Minutes later he returned to the small table with the pizza and breadsticks. "So English and no math," Luke said with a grin. "That probably gives you plenty of options. You don't have to know now, but I guess start putting some thought into it, yeah? That way you've got some kind of plan for after school."
“Yeah, he didn’t,” Jade agreed ruefully. He helpfully moved Luke’s beer and his own glass of soda to the table while his brother was getting the pizza, grabbed a handful of paper towels for them to use as napkins and sat down. He realized he felt better and less mopey, and the smell of fresh hot pizza helped with that too. Opening the box and grabbing a slice, he nodded. “Having a plan is everything. I wouldn’t mind being an English teacher or maybe a journalist. Famous novelist?” He took a huge bite and chewed quickly; he could never seem to wait for it to cool down enough.
Luke sat with Jade and piled his plate with several pieces of pizza before he took a bite of one. He was starving, and Dino’s had the kind of pizza Luke had never been able to find anywhere else. “So you like to write,” Luke said, gathering as much from those three options. Maybe that should have been something Luke knew already, but he was still learning. “You should see if the paper is looking for any interns,” he suggested after swallowing his piece of pizza. “Might be good experience and you can put it on a college application, yeah?”
“It’s a good idea,” Jade said, not having thought of checking out the newspaper office. “If they could work with my school hours, I guess.” If not, there was always the summer, maybe. He made short work of his first slice and reached for a second, smirking. “More likely they’d ask me if I wanted to be a paper boy.” It didn’t bother him that Luke knew only minimal information about him, because they really hadn’t talked all that much. Maybe they’d hang out more than they had. He’d have to admit that it was nice.
Luke chuckled. “Do they even have paper boys anymore?” It seemed like everything was digital these days, though he still got a physical newspaper on the doorstep every morning. He wondered how long his dad had paid ahead for that. Their dad had never been much of a technology guy. “But hey, it never hurts to try. Everyone’s got to start at the bottom, right? Paper boy to editor in chief?” He grinned and reached for his beer. “Do any of your friends have jobs yet? Seems to be hit or miss anymore, but dad made me get one as soon as I was able to. Not the most ideal way to spend free time, but having extra cash was always nice.”
“Well, somebody brings the paper,” Jade pointed out. “I know a lot of people’d rather read online.” He enjoyed actual books, but everyone was different in what they liked. He could see the advantages of reading on a tablet or a Kindle too. He nodded when asked if any of his friends worked. “Ruby works at Moxie’s, and Sabrina’s a host at the Boathouse. Not sure about Hunter.” Was Hunter a friend? He wasn’t entirely sure. One day they might talk a lot and then not really speak for days. No point in dwelling on any of that, he thought. “I should find something, somewhere.” Maybe he could meet more people. There were times he was entirely too introverted.
Luke just sort of figured someone drove around now to drop off the papers, but it was entirely possible there was a paper boy. He supposed it didn’t matter. He wasn’t sure Jade would want to be up at the ass crack of dawn just to deliver papers. “You should,” Luke said, wanting to be encouraging. “I’d offer you a job, but I’m usually done by the time you’re out of school. But I know the Orion is always hiring. Free movies and popcorn?” He grinned and reached for another piece of pizza.
“Not the worst idea I ever heard,” Jade said to the mention of the movie theater. Getting to watch movies for free would be cool too. He got up and moved to the fridge again for another soda, thinking over if he’d rather apply there or keep looking around. He might drive his car more if he had a way to pay for gas; he didn’t like to ask Luke for money unless it was something he really needed. “Want another beer or a water?” he asked while he was standing there.
“Nah, probably shouldn’t with the beer. Water would be good, thanks,” Luke told Jade, watching his brother as he chewed a piece of his pizza. It felt like a comfortable dinner conversation, for which he was thankful. Some days felt a bit hit or miss when it came to talking to Jade, and maybe things would get easier for them both. That was all he could really hope for.