To him, rhythm is the pattern of music. To her, rhythm is movement on a page.
JATP season 1
[reggie x female oc]
[alex x male oc]
Disclaimer: I do not own Julie and the Phantoms and the associated characters. I own all original characters and orig...
"Don't put yourself in danger for us. We're not worth that."
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"I care about you. Of course, you're worth it."
"And that's how that happened," Zoe finishes up the abbreviated version of the story as she sets the newly baked cookies in front of Julie and Justin. "Just a reminder that your mother is amazing."
She had left out her threats to Justin's father and the specifics of her tearful reunion. Though Jess seemed ready to burst about a few key details that Zoe knew couldn't be kept from Justin—like the letter. Jess could never lie to save her life, so it makes sense she had never developed the ability further.
Only Julie seems to be eating the cookies, though Zoe suspects it it from stress. The boys sit scattered throughout the living room: Luke stands behind the couch on Julie's side while Alex sits on the couch's arm next to Justin. Only Reggie is removed, sitting on the ground between the couch and Jess' chair, slowly inching closer to her.
Justin had told her how close Reggie and Jess had become, but seeing with her own eyes makes her heart warm. As Jess is oblivious, almost as bad as Reggie, whenever she figures out the bassist returns her feelings, she will probably faint from shock. It's clear Jess is still embarrassed by the welcome home and is still figuring out where she stands in all this.
Though Zoe had noticed the soft wincing every few minutes, how Jess adjusts in her seat far too frequently.
Justin leans forward, resting his clasped hands on his knees. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asks. His wide eyes melt Zoe's heart.
"Because he's your dad," Jess replies softly with a half shrug. "And no matter what bad he's done, he will still be your dad."
"I don't care about him anymore, not after everything he did."
Zoe glances at Jess before both of them lean back in their seats. "I know, sweetheart," Zoe says. "I know."
"I mean, would you?"
"Probably," Jess says. "Because even if my dad does something awful that hurts me, at the end of the day, he's still my dad. I still love him. I'd be upset, but I'd eventually understand that in his own twisted way, he probably loves me too." Jess shrinks in her seat, pulling a knee up to her chest and letting her gaze wander to the ground.
What tugs at Zoe's heart is the probably. If only she knew about Daisy. But one revelation at a time.
"And what about us?" Alex asks. "We would have helped."
"You guys got out," Jess replies simply.
"We didn't get out. You got us out."
"So if you got involved again, it would just be an endless cycle of Caleb using leverage against all of us. It wouldn't be productive." Jess looks down at her feet, curling her shoulders in.
