To him, rhythm is the pattern of music. To her, rhythm is movement on a page.
JATP season 1
[reggie x female oc]
[alex x male oc]
Disclaimer: I do not own Julie and the Phantoms and the associated characters. I own all original characters and orig...
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"I know, but it's like you said: we're friends now. We get clingy. That means no leaving."
Warnings: continuation of last chapter so the themes are still present though not always directly talked about, physical pain. Read at your own risk.
HOW did he not see it? He should have. He has spent enough time with Jess that he should have seen it, right? Unless he's just completely oblivious, but Reggie likes to think that with Jess, he understands.
Obviously not enough.
He knows the guys feel something similar; they were all so caught up with Trevor and Caleb and their band to even catch that something was going on. They should've known at the ghost club when she pulled away or the other night when she made that noise that had initially startled all of them.
Once all three guys appear on the beach, they quickly find Jess with two canvases right below the pier. She sits in front of one of the canvases, running her hands over the open area. They watch silently as she struggles to her feet before she kicks her foot clean through the canvas with a shout that does not reach their ears before she flings the canvas into the water only for the wave to bring it right back to her feet. Instead of dwelling on it, Jess wets her hands with the water and turns to the next canvas.
"Guys, we've gotta approach this carefully," Alex says.
"Look, man, I just want her to know that we're here for her," Luke adds as he glances back at her over his shoulder. "She was there for us, now it's our turn."
"We are a bit emotionally stunted."
"Which is why this is so nerve-racking!" Luke clicks his tongue. "I just...I don't like feeling this helpless, you know?"
"It doesn't matter what we feel right now," Reggie snaps. He doesn't mean to, it just comes out aggressive. "What matters is Jess."
His bandmates exchange a look. "Maybe you should go first," Alex says softly. "That way, she doesn't get overwhelmed. We'll think of what to say. Just...wave us over when she's ready. And if she isn't, that's ok too."
"I can roll with that." He shakes out his arms as he nods his head nervously. "Yeah, I can do that." He opts against poofing and starts to walk over to the pier, glancing back at the others as his palms grow sweaty.
She notices him very quickly. Her body seems to freeze in front of the canvas with her gaze locked on him. He can see the pain there with the wrinkle of her brow and the scrunch of her face. She quickly looks back at the canvas. "I told you to leave me alone." Her voice is raw from what could have been hours of sobbing. "I-I can't deal with this now, just leave me alone."
