𝐋𝐎𝐌𝐋², jack champion

003, 𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞

003, 𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞
irl
(TW: brief mention of blood,
not too descriptive!)

(song for this chapter is 'fault
line' — gracie abrams)

THIRD PERSON +
july 7, 2024

The seventh of July arrived with no mercy.

Four days until Juniper's birthday, four days since Jack had shattered her world, and the pieces lay scattered everywhere around her.

Juniper sat in the dim living room, curled up under a thick blanket that seemed to serve more as a barrier from the world than as warmth. It was the only comfort she could cling to.

She hadn't left the couch in days.

Her phone buzzed now and then, but she ignored it. Close friends checking in, texts she couldn't bring herself to read. Even her music, once the only constant in her life, remained silent. Every note, every lyric was too painful to hear, she couldn't bear to pick up her songbook, the most recent words scribbled down were about him and their love.

Jack wasn't doing any better.

He had isolated himself completely, locked inside his house since the moment he had walked out of Juniper's life. He hadn't checked his phone, hadn't dared to look at the onslaught of social media posts about the lack of content they both had posted or the worried messages from friends.

Yesterday, Mason had shown up at his front door, concerned after hearing the news from Jenna.

Mason had been confused—just as confused as everyone else. He had wanted answers, but when Jack opened the door, all Mason found was the hollowed-out shell of his friend, a man drowning in the aftermath of his own decision. Jack had crumbled under the weight of Mason's questions, breaking down as he recounted the sleepless nights leading up to his breakup with Juniper.

He had spent countless hours agonising over the decision, crying himself into exhaustion, knowing what it would do to both of them but feeling like he had no other choice.

Mason had listened, feeling a surge of sympathy for Jack but an even deeper sadness for Juniper. Jack was in pieces, yes, but Juniper was shattered, and Mason didn't know how she would come back from this.

The sun was just starting to rise on this fourth day, casting a pale light through the blinds in Juniper's apartment. It felt wrong—everything felt wrong.

The world had no business moving forward when everything inside her had come to a stop. Every day had blurred into the next, and now Mason and Jenna were standing at her door, the smell of fresh food in their hands, trying to bring her back to life, to give her something to hold on to.

Mason had never seen Juniper like this. In the three years he had known her, she had always been full of life—bright, ambitious, fiercely independent. But now she was quiet, a shell of the person he used to know. She sat there, wrapped in her blanket, barely acknowledging their presence as they placed the food in front of her.

"Hey, we brought breakfast," Jenna said softly, her voice filled with gentle concern as she sat down next to Juniper at the kitchen table.

Mason sat on the other side, laying out the plates from one of Juniper's favorite cafés. They'd even brought her favorite—avocado toast with poached eggs, and a fresh green juice. But Juniper just stared at it like she couldn't even fathom eating.

"Come on, you need to eat something," Mason coaxed, his voice soft but firm. "Just a little bit."

After a few moments, Juniper reluctantly picked up the toast, nibbling at the edge. She ate in silence, her eyes vacant, her movements slow. The blanket still clung to her shoulders, as if she couldn't bear to let it go.