Schooled [Laughing JackxReader]

16

Laughing Jack set your sleeping form down on the small bed and pulled the quilt over you. The whole 'tongue getting glued to the roof of your mouth' thing he'd heard about in movies and books...He didn't think they'd apply to a being who speaks out of voice box and only pretends to use his mouth. The clown still felt it though, much to his discomfort. He sat himself down at the foot of the bed and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again he was at the Carnival. A few dead children looked at him with glassy, miserable eyes before continuing to shuffle along.
Laughing Jack had bigger priorities than checking on the kids, though. The Clown swept through the rows of tents and towards the Big Top. A creaking version of Pop Goes the Weasel groaned out of the massive tent and echoed across the whole carnival. The area surrounding the big top was the only place completely without dead children or bits of gore. Laughing Jack pushed through its tattered opening and put on his best grin.

Tied upside down on the post in the center of the tent was a man with sandy hair and a sour expression, who only grew more unhappy at the sight of the clown.

"How's it hangin' Hoodie? Hope you've been having fun." Laughing Jack chuckled. He scooped the man's black mask off the ground, "Though I guess without this you're not really 'Hoodie'. Should I start calling you Brian then?"

"What do you want, Laughing Jack." Brian spat, framing his words more like a statement than a question.

Laughing Jack sighed out of his nose and rolled his shoulders. "Oh Brian, you do wound me." He moaned dramatically. The clown put his hands in his hips, "And here I was, just about to offer to let you go."

"....What?" Brian looked skeptical, and a little bit surprised.

"You heard me. Or has all the blood in your brain made you go deaf?"

"......What's the catch?"

"Clever as always." Laughing Jack booped Brian on the nose and grinned, "The catch is, you have to leave me and (y/n) alone. Forever. Deal?"

Brian's eyes lit up a little. "So she's alive."

Laughing Jack frowned and looked to the side. He didn't like the way Brian brightened at the mention of (y/n). Not at all."That's what I'm trying to ensure."

The Clown slashed the ropes holding Brian up and the man dropped to the floor. "And what do you mean by that?" Brian asked, pushing himself up and steadying himself on the pole. "Setting me free wouldn't make her any safer. Unless..."

"It got mad at me." Laughing Jack crossed his arms.

"The Operator." Brian breathed, finally putting the pieces together.

Laughing Jack nodded and held out his clawed hand. "So who'd you rather leave her with? Me, or it?"

"One more thing, clown." Brian squared up to Laughing Jack. "I just want to know why. Why are you going through all this trouble? Usually you just turn tail and run when the Operator is involved. This isn't like you."

"Mind your own beeswax, Brian." Laughing Jack spat, a little too quickly. He jutted his hand out insistently. "Do we have a deal or not?"

Briab smirked. He understood now. "Never thought I'd see the day...." he mumbled under his breath, then shook Laughing Jack's hand. "Alright. Deal."
Thick grey smoke gathered around Brian's ankles and began to rise. "Take care of her."

The clown's face relaxed as the smoke swallowed Brian up, and the feeling of his hand disappeared. The smoke cleared, and he was gone. Laughing Jack sighed, snapped his fingers, and opened his eyes to the light filtering through the cabin window. The fire was long dead. The clown looked over his shoulder at your sleeping form and thought about Brian's question. Why did he protect you? You'd asked him almost the exact same thing yourself, but most importantly, Laughing Jack had asked himself. Ever since that day when he met you in the window, he'd been doing an awful lot of...'research'. Some reading, mostly watching movies and TV. He was pretty sure he'd found the answer, even if he wasn't ready to admit it to anyone. That didn't matter now, though. He'd wait out a few more days in this cabin with you, and then you'll be safe, and everything will go back to normal. That put him in a good mood.

The clown stood up and stretched. Since he was in such a good mood now, he wanted to make you a surprise, so you'd both feel good, together. "Now let's see...." Laughing Jack cracked his knuckles. He hadn't brought any food to the cabin, so he'd have to conjure it himself. Real, non-candy food was always tricky, but if he tried really hard......

Jack held both of his hands palm up and concentrated. Round....warm.....fluffy....buttery....
Finally the fruits of his labour appeared in his hands. A hot, steamy plate of chocolate chip pancakes with a whipped-cream smiley face on top. Nailed it. He swept the dust off the small wooden table and set the breakfast down. The conjured up a fork and knife and set them next to the pancakes. Perfect. You were gonna love this. The clown went back to your bedside and poked your cheek twice. You groaned and rolled so your back was to him. He shook your shoulder gently.

"What is it....Jack....." You mumbled, rubbing sleep from your eyes.

"Wakey wakey~ I made breakfast."

You sat up in bed and pushed your (h/c) hair back. It took you a second to remember where you were, and by then Laughing Jack had already yanked you out of bed and sat you down at the breakfast table, behind a stack of smiling pancakes. "Aw, Laughing Jack. Thank you, these look lovely."

Laughing Jack beamed. "One does try their best~"

Suddenly explosive pain shot through your head. You winced, and Laughing Jack's grin faded. "What's wrong?" The clown crouched down to eye level with you. His voice sent waves of pain through your skull.

"A m-migraine....I think...." You forced the words out. It felt like a grenade went off in your brain. You squeezed your eyes shut to block out the morning light.

"Oh no." Laughing Jack breathed, "Nononononono no. It can't do that. You haven't seen it-" The clown stopped on a thought, then asked in a serious voice, "(Y/N), did you actually see something in the trees? Or just hear about it?"

You struggled to remember. The pain made it impossible to think straight. "I saw something...I think...I can't remember-"

Laughing Jack scooped you up in his arms. "We're leaving. Now." he turned around and froze in his tracks. You forced one eye open, just a little bit. There, standing between you and the door, was a monster.