Y/n's pov
The next morning, I woke up feeling a bit disoriented. Just as I opened my eyes, a shadow loomed over me.
“AAH! F&#€—JAX—STOP SCARING ME LIKE THAT! AND HOW DID YOU EVEN ENTER MY ROOM? I THOUGHT I HAD LOCKED IT!” I gasped, shooting up in bed.
“Oh, you did, darling,” he replied with a grin that was equal parts mischievous and infuriating. “But I've got keys everywhere. You didn’t hear me knock at your door? I apparently am in charge of you now.” He leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed, as if this was all perfectly normal.
“What do you mean you’re in charge of me?” I shot back, my heart still racing from the surprise.
Jax shrugged, unfazed by my outburst. “Caine called us for an... in-house adventure. I don’t really know the details, but he wants to keep it simple since there’s a new member. That means you. So get your a&# up right now.” His tone was playful, but there was an underlying seriousness in his eyes that made me wary.
“An adventure? This early?” I groaned, running a hand through my messy hair. “Can’t a person get a little peace in the morning?”
“Not in the Amazing Digital Circus!” he declared with mock enthusiasm, his grin widening. “Now hurry up. Caine’s got a schedule to keep, and you wouldn’t want to keep the big guy waiting, would you?”
I reluctantly swung my legs over the side of the bed, still trying to shake off the remnants of sleep. “Fine, fine! Give me a minute to get ready.”
“Make it quick, y/n!” he called as he turned to leave. “I promise I won’t bite… much.”
As soon as he was out of sight, I rubbed my temples, trying to process the chaotic whirlwind that was Jax. How did he manage to be both infuriating and oddly charming at the same time?
I took a deep breath, bracing myself for whatever awaited me outside. The last thing I wanted was to walk into another bizarre situation with no idea what I was getting into.
With that thought lingering, I opened the door, ready to face whatever “adventure” the denture had planned.
Jax was leaning against the wall outside my door, his arms crossed and a teasing smirk on his face as he waited for me to step out. The moment I did, he pushed off the wall and started walking down the corridor, clearly expecting me to follow.
“So, why do we even need... adventures?” I asked, falling in step beside him.
“Ah, it’s all part of the circus life, n/n,” he replied, glancing sideways at me with that signature glint in his eye. “To prevent us from going insane and losing what’s left of our sanity.”
“Oh,” I said, absorbing his words. “That makes a weird kind of sense.”
“Yeah,” he said, his tone dropping slightly as he looked ahead, the lightheartedness fading for just a moment. “You’d be surprised how quickly you can start losing your s&#€ in a place like this. You’ve got to keep things interesting. Otherwise, you’ll start questioning everything.”
“Everything?” I repeated, a little unease creeping in.
“Yep. Like why you’re here, who you are, what’s real and what’s not. It's like a mental game, and if you lose, you might just become another story in the circus,” he said casually, but his eyes flickered with something deeper, a shadow that made me wonder how much he really understood about losing oneself.
“Great,” I muttered, trying to shake off the heaviness of his words. “So, the adventures are a distraction, then?”
“Exactly! A little fun to keep our minds occupied. Besides, you wouldn’t want to miss out on the excitement!” he added, his grin returning.
I couldn’t help but feel a mix of anticipation and anxiety. What had I gotten myself into by putting this headset on?
