Jaded

[45] Delicate

He'll be okay.

Atty's got a soft heart, sure, but he's tough as nails when it counts. I know he'll be fine because he told me he would be, even if that means he needs to leave for a while.

I get it, when things came to a boil for me, I ran away from my whole life. Sometimes you just need some air.

Jay, on the other hand...

I quietly make my way back to the porch, where Jay is still seated on the steps with his head buried in his hands as wavy locks of blond hair gradually slip out of his track headband.

Since I have almost no idea what the 'right' thing to say is, I opt instead to just sit next to him, bumping my shoulder against his.

"Shouldn't you be on your way?" Jay mumbles.

"On my way? To where?"

"He left just now, didn't he? Shouldn't you go after him?"

Ah, I see. Thank god Jay's not looking, otherwise there would be trouble if he saw the tiny smile conquering my face. "Are you worried about Atty?"

He doesn't answer. I wait a few moments, but Jay keeps his face down.

Eventually, I sigh and give in, "he'll be fine, just needs some space. You, on the other hand... even though you were a real jackass just now, you're also the one with a broken heart. So, I can't help it, I need to be here. I can't leave even if I want to."

Jay lifts his head up just a little, enough so that his brown doe eyes barely peek over the outline of his pastel sweater. I meet his scrutiny head on and offer a soft smile.

He's completely silent as he studies my face with a gaze so intense it burns. Great, now I'm nervous over how closely he's looking and how incredibly quiet it is. 

Whenever someone decides to throw tact to the wind and unashamedly look at me for extended periods of time, I get worried I'll be outed as some kind of a liar, even if I'm not lying or scheming. I think it's the same thing people feel when they're around cops. Something like a 'fake criminal' effect.

Jay needs to say or do something quickly, before I go down a rabbit hole and get trapped in a quicksand pit of my own thoughts.

Thankfully, he seems to have gotten the answer to whatever he was searching for because he takes a deep breath and gets on his feet. He gestures for me to follow and swiftly heads into the house.

Jay doesn't stop at the kitchen or react to Collette's questioning glance; he simply starts ascending the stairs. Conversely, I do slow down near the kitchen, where Collette is busy chopping veggies, and flash her the peace sign. She raises an eyebrow, and takes a step forward- probably to ask me something, but doesn't get the chance because I continue moving, since Jay has no intention of waiting for me to catch up.

Collette is most likely aware that something has happened between Atty and Jay, so of course she's worried. But have no fear, Madeira-Jade is here. (Madeira-Jade comes with no guarantee of solving the problem, but promises her best effort and a damn good time).

God, I wish I had a wand that I could wave around to fix problems, erase mistakes, and create shiny things. That would be the life.

Jay leads me to his room, but when we enter, he doesn't stop at his faded sunshine-themed beanbag chair or his cluttered bed, he goes straight to the casement window at the back. Wordlessly, he pushes it open and pops off the net, then climbs through- disappearing from view.

Whoa, looks like an adventure. Nice.

Wait, what did he just climb out onto?!

Hmm... if I'm remembering correctly, then he's probably on the roof of the garage right now... I think?