𝒜 𝐻𝒶𝓅𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝐸𝓃𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉

11 - 𝒜𝓃𝑜𝓃𝓎𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓈

Jack pulls the door open, stepping aside to allow a pale girl with shoulder-length blonde hair into the small house. She's clad in vaguely ripped jeans, a pair of sneakers, a maroon tank top, and a black zip-up jacket. Looped over her hand is a plastic store bag, and what resides inside isn't clear, although judging by the shape of the outlines Y/n assumes them to be the shoes Jack mentioned she was bringing. Her violet eyes land on Jack, then flit toward Y/n, who remains leaning against the wall and watching the scene in front of her warily.

She nods in silent greeting before walking through the door frame and into the living room, being followed by yet another girl, this one much younger and, instead of gripping a bag, a brown, tattered teddy bear is loosely clutched within her arms. Her eyes are a bright, piercing shade of green, and her chocolate-brown hair cascades over her shoulders. She wears a multi-colored hoodie splashed with shades of pink, lemony yellow, blue, and purple, and the hood itself has cotton cat ears attached to the hem. She has on a pair of black leggings, a pink mini-skirt, and rose-colored tennis shoes.

Faint freckles are scattered along her cheeks and across the bridge of her nose, and her gaze travels from the floor and up to Y/n as she tilts her head shyly. There's a kid here, too? Y/n wrinkles her forehead and glances between the three people now standing in plain view, two of which she's never seen before in her life. She assumes the teen to be who Jack called 'Wisteria', but who the younger one is she hasn't a clue. She never heard a kid being talked about, so the news is a bit startling.

That's when she takes notice of the blood that's crusted around the edges of an open wound on her head, hidden previously by her lengthy locks of hair, and makes a trail down the side of her face, where it had dripped down onto her hoodie, forever staining the brightly-shaded piece of clothing with quite a large blotch of crimson. The child doesn't appear to be in any pain, but how can that be? If she had been bashed in the head by some blunt object, how would she be able to ignore it? Come to think of it, how would she even be standing right now? Shouldn't she be knocked cold? Dead?

Y/n's heart rate increases from concern, and she's tempted to comment on it or even lunge forward; pull the girl toward her and get her away from the individuals standing in front of the doorway. They don't seem even remotely worried about it, either because they're the ones that inflicted the damage or they haven't taken notice of it yet. It's obvious that it's been there for a while, given it had time to dry. "Why'd you bring Sally with you?" Jack questions curiously, extending his hand and patting 'Sally' on the hair as a silent gesture of greeting. She shifts her focus up to his mask and grins excitedly, leaning into his touch with a startling lack of fear.

Wisteria shrugs, wrapping a hand around her hair and slinging it across one of her shoulders. "Because she wanted to come."

He hums in response, bending down to return the young girl's affectionate hug. "How're you doing, doofus?"

"I'm good! Wisteria gave me ice cream before we left, and it was real tasty!"

"Oh yeah?" He uses the pad of his thumb to wipe away remnants of the sticky treat that resides at one corner of her mouth. "Well, I can tell you enjoyed it."

"Mhm!" She nods in firm agreement, vivid eyes gleaming. "I did! Strawberry's my favorite."

"Cause it's pink?"

She goes silent and looks away sheepishly. "Uhh...no."

Jack merely chuckles; a sound that 100% confirms he is, in fact, the same person she met in the woods, and she isn't sure how to feel about that. With an amused shake of his head, he shuts the door and props his back against its solid wooden surface. Wisteria briefly motions toward Y/n with a raised eyebrow. "This the girl?"