𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙢𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩-𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨 || ʲ. ʰᵒˡˡᵃⁿᵈ

_eleven_

          Ten days.
         
          Jacob hasn't seen you in ten days.
         
          . . .
         
          Okay that was a lie. He's seen you around the ship and by your room, but you two haven't talked to each other like regular. You'd exchange a few words, a few jokes, but Jacob felt like these conversations with you were more like courtesies for the sake of just having them. It was like you weren't even at the Inevitable again.
         
          . . .
         
          Jacob sighs. He knew better than to pry deeper past any right he had to doing so. You'd said plenty that night you explained it to him in his room, and he feared that you might further hide yourself away from him more than you already have.
         
          . . .but also he missed you, and having even just regular conversations with you, so this was getting out of hand.
         
          He watches in quiet dismay as he swirls what little remained of his drink, currently leaning on a table in the bottom deck as the rest of the ship heartily sung in celebration. The hunters came across a relatively smaller sea beast, holding not much of a fight as they collected the thing's teeth and scales. Even as the ship rocked and threatened to tip completely starboard you had managed to stay inside your room, not once popping out to even laugh or joke or do something Y/N-like to it. It made him worry even more. It was just. . .so unlike you.
         
          "Unbelievable!" He perks up with a raised brow as Fen slams herself on one of the chairs left around the table Jacob had sat himself on, the girl's supposedly broken arm stable enough for her to move it around in exaggeration with her other one, even with the cast still on. "For all we know that girl could be dead now!"
         
          "Can you stop it? She needs time to herself!" Maria sits across the former, finding himself facing the two women on his left and right.
         
          "Uh, what's this about?" He had an idea of course, but one he wasn't sure of. Have they not talked to you as well? He was sure that he saw these two constantly entering and exiting your room with hours in between.
         
          The two girls looked surprise as though they weren't the ones who joined him at the table that he was sitting on first, but they were quick to jump into conversation as Maria all but slams her drink on the wood. "Jacob! Who's being reasonable here? It's me, right?! Y/N obviously needs some space! You of all people should know and agree with this, she's practically unreachable as soon as she decides to disappear!"
         
          "Unreachable?!" Fen almost screeches, "Her room is right there, you absolute drifting piece of dead sea weed! One good slam on the door and boom! You got the girl right in front of you! Stop making it seem like it'd be the end of the world if we talked to her!" Her defense was quickly about to be chipped away when Maria slams both hands on the table and stands herself up. Jacob found himself flinching backwards, blinking away almost in surprise. But not wanting to be bested, Fen does the same—with one hand—and he finds himself flinching away again.
         
          "You're missing my entire point! She needs time to herself, and when she's ready, she'll come to us!"
         
          "Uh huh, and that might be never, and when we finally decide to open the door after gods-know how long of waiting because you didn't want to be a slight inconvenience, she might be dead!"
         
          "OH YOU M—"
         
          "Okay, okay! Calm down, calm it!" Now it was Jacob's turn to stand up as he grabs both their mugs and splashes the both of them, an offended gasp from the two who had both their hands sort of still in midair planning to strike the other. It hit their necks and chests and shoulders as that little wake up call stopped them from hurting each other. "Both of you! Sit down, for the love of gods!"
         
          No other hunter seemed to even notice or care about their little dispute, the two women sharing a glare before ultimately doing as told. He hands them back their drinks with only half the content left, begrudgingly taking it from his hands and sipping quietly. He once again finds himself acting and feeling like a father to two teenagers, despite the fact that Maria was older than him by a few months and that Fen was his junior only by a year. It was a mind-fuck to see the usually calm and collected Maria be left like. . .this, bickering like an angsty adolescent.
         
          . . .
         
          "When was the last time you saw her?" He pauses, "Or, no, let me rephrase. When was the last time you talked to her?"
         
          He watches the helmet-wearing girl's eyes shift uneasily as she takes her drink in sips, biting the inside of her cheek as she thought. "Two days ago. That's two days too long." 
         
          "Right." He glances at Maria, who was fashioning a discreet glare as she scoffed quietly. He knew that he had no right telling these two how to feel or deal with a situation he quite frankly had nothing to do with. Yes, he missed you, and hasn't seen or talked with you in a while either, but they had their own ways of reacting to that, and gods-help if he say the wrong thing and end up offending the wrong person.
         
          Jacob opens his mouth to continue but stops when Maria's chair scrapes and she storms off, boots heavily thumping on the wood as she disappears into the crowd before Fen scoffs loudly. Some insult or retort dies in her throat as she takes her own pint and leaves as well, walking the exact opposite direction as the former as the blond is left staring jaw-slacked.
         
          . . .
         
          Well. . .well that certainly was one way to deal with that problem.
         
          He found himself sighing as he slumps back in his seat, drink long forgotten and headache resurfacing as he finds himself with new problems. Should he be minding these problems when it had absolutely nothing to do with him? No, not at all. Is he gonna do it anyway? You bet your bottom sea dollar that he absolutely is.
        
          . . .
         
          . . .
         
          . . .
         
          You leaned back on the crate as you hear that entire situation transpire with nothing but a flinch, nursing a half-empty glass of alcohol that quite honestly didn't taste as good as it usually did. The corner you sat in was dark as you watched Fen storm up the steps, while Jacob was left alone in his original seat sulking quietly. You didn't. . .have the heart to come out just yet, to tell them that you were still there so close and that you were faring somewhat well.
         
          . . .that was a lie, you felt awful.
         
          You spent the better part of the last week and a half cooped up in your room, similar to just a few weeks ago when you were bedridden and could barely walk. That much needed rest did wonders to all the aches in your body, but the lack of company made all the voices in your head swell. Honestly it was impressive how you managed to avoid everyone as well you did, living in the same ship and all.
         
          But you managed, and you found yourself in the darkest corner of the bottom deck sitting, hidden behind large crates and bathed in a foreboding shadow away from the ship's celebration. You felt terrible watching your friends have another fight over the same subject, but for some gods-awful reason you found yourself not wanting to fix it even though you knew you were more than capable of doing so.
         
          "You shy? Or feeling ugly?"
         
          You choked momentarily on your drink as Sarah quietly but effectively sneaks up on you, managing to hide herself in the shade next to you with a drink of her own. "Gods above, Sarah. . !" You voice was low as you looked around in a panic making sure nobody took notice of you. You heart almost stopped when you saw Jacob's head swivel, but it was to something else. "I almost pissed myself!"
         
          "Wouldn't be the first time."
         
          "Oh would you quit it I was seven!" The woman laughs softly as attention was thankfully the farthest away from the both of you, hearing a sigh moment later when you find her turning her gaze to you. "You haven't answered me yet. What are you doing hiding here?"
         
          "I'm not hiding."
         
          "You keep glancing at Jacob thinking he might catch wind of you." She pauses, and you felt yourself slumping. "The truth, girl."