Ringside Seat ||A Laughing Jack Love Story||

Chapter 13- Do I Know You?

Jack

It had been days since I was let out of this box. It was so cramped in here my poor limbs felt sore.

I pout, “When will Paris let me out so we can play?”

I look down at my colorful clothes. My lime neck tie contrasted with my neon orange top, the bandages around my torso were another lime green. My suspenders were a brilliant violet and my pants a unusually happy red, as red as cherries. My socks were purple and the fluffy clouds of feathers on my shoulders were blue and white. My scarlet hair fell into my face, I move it out of the way with my rainbow sleeves and my sky blue gloves. I smile at my beautiful shades. I loved how I embodied happiness! I was made to make people smile!

I giggle aloud to myself as I wait to be freed and put smiles onto everyone’s faces.

Just as I think that I hear the crank on my colorful box being turned, the perfect pitch of ‘Pop goes the weasel’ plays to soothe my ears.

I laugh happily, “Yay it’s play time!”

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Paris

I turned the crank on the box, it wasn’t a creaky or creepy pop goes the weasel now, it was happy and perfectly tune to the nursery rhyme. The box had been all but covered in the bright paint now and in a startling gold ‘Laughing Jack In a Box’ was written on the front and on the top of the box.

A puff of pink smoke came from beside me and I spun to be face to face with a smiling clown.

“Come one, come all! Whether big or small! To see the best clown of them all! Laughing Jack in a Box!” he giggles, his arms up in the air as if presenting himself.

The monochrome clown was gone, in his place stood a brilliant rainbow clown, completely unlike the Laughing Jack I had met a month prior. What was this thing?

“Paris! We should play a game! Like.. Pirates and go on an adventure!” he giggles.

“Play… pirates?” I gawk at this thing and stumble back.

“What are you?”

“Laughing Jack in a Box! I am here to make people smile!” he titters.

I didn’t know how to handle the situation so I just slumped against my wall and look up at this thing. “You aren’t like this Jack.”

“Whatever do you mean?” he pouts in a childish way.

“You’re the monochrome clown, not this… this thing.” I mutter.

“I’m not a thing, I’m the clown to make all the children smile!” he dances around my room.

I stared at him as he prances, bewildered how the killer could become something like this. How could this have happened? And why do I miss the killer side of Jack…?

I shook my head, “I don’t even know how to fix this.”

“Do you have any candy?” he looks at me with a hand on his stomach. “I’m a little hungry.”

“Don’t feed him anything!” a sudden voice came from under my bed.

I try to scream seeing blue eyes watching me but as fast as a flash an albino hand is over my mouth and a Chelsea grin is smirking at me.

“You’re the one that did this huh? Ooh, Slender’s gonna hate you! I almost don’t want to help.” He hisses.

“Oh my!” Jack put a hand over his mouth. “Who’s this? Get off of her!” yet he made no move to help, looking flustered as to what to do.

The boy just smirks and looks from Jack to me. “I’m only helping because he was my best friend and I don’t like this rainbow shit.”

I bite his hand like I had done to Jack and the jocks and he recoils and hisses in pain and anger. I scramble up and get the dagger I now hid under my pillow and point it at his forehead.

“Who the fuck are you? How the fuck did you get in here? How the fuck do you know Jack?” I growl.

Jack gasps, “Paris those are naughty words! And that’s sharp, be careful!”

I retain from rolling my eyes and continue to pin the boy to the floor. He looks up at me still smiling with his Chelsea grin and pale white skin, a dingy white hoodie on, past stains of something dark spotting a little bit of everywhere as his pants told the same story and his converse were worn out. His long black hair hung in his face as he looked at the ground.

I must have hesitated because just as fast as he pounced on me before, he did it again. He restrained me to the bed with him straddling my stomach, a large kitchen knife against my neck. The cold steel made me shudder as it pressed against the sensitive flesh. He cackles wickedly above me.

“Oh my!” Jack gasps, still standing idly by.

“I am Jeff. He was my best friend. And I’m the only one that knows how to turn him back and let you live.. if I feel like it.” He taunts in my ear.

“What do we have to do then, Jeff?” I snarl.

He sat up, but the knife was still against my neck, and he still overlapped my torso to keep me controlled.

“You put love back in his heart where it was supposed to remain empty, you’re the reason he’s a rainbow freak now.” Jeff says raising an eyebrow.

“I didn’t show him any feeling! He was the one who started it! I didn’t show him any kindness, he toyed with me! How could it be my fault?!”

Jeff looked irate again, “Stop your excuses; apparently you did it because if you hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here to save my friend.”

I look over at the rattled clown looking so abnormal to me, and so clueless I signed and looked up at Jeff.

“What do we do?”