Haly's Circus ~ Jerome x reader

2: Jerome Valeska

I've always felt bad leaving the house without my parents knowing where I'd go. To have permission to do something as big as this feels like a relief to me.

When I came to the circus the first thing I spotted were some running kids around the area with a big smile on their faces. It's a bit bigger than I thought it would be, it's a shame that I've never been here before. Put my bike in the stand and then realized I have no idea where I should go to. An older woman with brown hair and a sweet face came up to me with some candy in her hands. "Oh, you look hungry child. Here, take a lollypop!" "I'm fine, thanks." I felt a little nervous about her voice and didn't quite trust it until she started talking again. "You aren't here for the entertainment are you?" "I came here for the job." She started smiling. "Follow me." I followed her into a tent with at least thousands of colors on it. "The man with the red suit will help you." I walked over to a man who was a bit more built and to my surprise, looked like a kid-friendly clown, with his face paint.

Didn't have to do much before he started talking. "Can I have your name please?" He asked a few more questions about myself and I answered them one by one. "And what exactly made you think that you wanted to work here?" I just got to be honest with him. "I want to work in the circus, Haly's circus. Something special like acrobatic stuff... You know..." He started laughing at me and I felt uncomfortable with it. "We can talk about this later, first you'll have to do some easier jobs." What was he talking about? I came here to be a star, not to be his slave.

He gave me a cap with the park logo on it and I followed him to the inside of the circus. It was huge inside and what struck me was that I wasn't the only employee here. "In the small room behind it are shovels and more stuff that you need to work here." Okay then. Maybe I'll just have to start with something easy, and it may turn out in something big? Right? "Jerome!" He yelled a name and a boy from my age came to him. "Could you tell this girl what she will have to do at a day in the area?" Jerome looked at me and nodded yes. "Fine, then I'll go back to my tent."

What a creepy guy he was, he seemed to be the boss from the circus here. "He is nicer than he looks." Jerome looked at me again. I realized I haven't said a word to him yet. "Oh."

Seriously? Was that everything that came out of my mouth?

Jerome doesn't care about anyone in the area and stares straight into my eyes. He has orange, tousled hair. I estimate he is a year or two older than I am. He's nice, I think. Not that I know much about this stuff, but you know...

"I expected something else than clean up elephant poop with others." Jerome giggled. "Are you laughing at me too?" I replied quickly. "No it's just, everyone always thinks that. I'm Jerome Valeska by the way, what's your name?" He puts his hands in his pockets and has a patient expression on his face. It feels more like just a normal conversation with a new friend, rather than the first day at my new internship. "I'm y/n Gordon, for how long have you worked here?"

"Since I was a kid." I soon realized he didn't like it when I asked him about what he always had to do as a job here. "I live in one of those grey trailers behind the circus, with my mom." "You live here? That's so cool!" He shook his head and stabbed the shovel with a rough swish. "Not really, it sucks here and it's really cold in the winter."
"Oh, I am sorry to hear that." Jerome gestured with his hand telling me to follow him. "It's the one with the snake! You go inside and I'll be right back." I'm just supposed to go inside his house on my own? Maybe I shouldn't overthink this and just go inside.

Oh. Felt kinda bad to see that this is where he lives in, and probably lived his whole life. It had a strange smell inside and I could count the number of inappropriate items. I heard a few footsteps but before I could turn around a big hand was placed on my shoulder. I screamed so loud that probably the whole area could've heard me. "Wow, I didn't mean to scare you." I get the chance to see Jerome and I feel unsafe with the circumstances. "Eh, it's okay. I didn't mean to scream so loud." He started laughing in a friendly way and it made me calm down somehow. "Oh you're a funny girl y/n, take a seat." He gestures to the chair. Then Jerome bends over the table and takes a glass from the kitchen cupboard. To me this should represent a vacation spot, just imagine.

~

Talking with Jerome was the best thing that happened so far this day, and it got even better when he showed me his trailer from the inside. It was small, but his own little room was okay. I don't know how it is to have not so much money, but the only thing I wanted now is to talk to him again. His red hair and green eyes finished his pretty face. Thinking about him made me feel happy again.

"Why are you smiling?" My sister asked me when I was daydreaming about "work" again. "My work is pretty nice!" Dad wanted to say something when mom interrupted him. "That's amazing honey!" Somehow that response didn't sound serious, more sarcastic. Also had double feelings to tell them about Jerome when I decided to don't do that yet. He promised to search me up at the circus again, but I wasn't sure if I would see him. That kinda would be impossible because he worked there, but I mean you never know.

That day I finally slept without any problems in my head. Tomorrow I will wake up and go to my work, see Jerome and talk to him. Maybe he could introduce me to some popular people out there? What if he knows the Flying Graysons? And oh my god, he must be the son of Lila Valeska, the snake dancer. Didn't thought about that yet! The famous sideshow dancer who I've seen multiple times on tv, and he didn't even mention it.

Every single thought I had about this is what I wrote down in my diary. Yes. I have a diary, but it's for my own good. Haven't written in it in ages, because nothing important has happened to me in the last few years. Only that I could graduate earlier than my other classmates but that's everything I could think of.