Heathens | A Jerome Valeska Story

Chapter 1

Ellen ran for what felt like forever. She ran until her legs hurt, until she couldn't breathe, until her heart pounded so hard, Ellen was sure it would burst. Finally, she couldn't run any longer and she stopped abruptly, toppling over onto the ground in the process. The 8 year old simply laid there on her stomach, gasping for air. The weight of her backpack felt as if it was crushing her, but she felt she didn't even have the energy to remove it.

After several minutes, her breathing had regulated and her heart had slowed enough, assuring Ellen it wouldn't break her ribs with its wild beating. She pushed herself up to a kneeling position, staring down at her hands laying limply in her lap, the cold, sharp edges of regret poking at her mind.

What if she was making a big mistake? It wasn't as if she lived in some shabby old shack that was falling apart. She had a very nice house with a nice room and all the dolls she needed. Her parents weren't abusive, they were just teaching her how to grow up. Isn't that what they always said? Had she just been too ungrateful to see it? Maybe she should turn around and go home before she got any further. Go back to her room with her dolls and her books and her nice warm bed... The idea steadily grew more appealing to Ellen than sitting outside in the dirt with the stars over head and the flashy lights in the distance...

Flashy lights?

Ellen's doubts and regrets vanished almost as quickly as they had appeared. Instead, they were replaced with curiosity and a growing buzz of excitement. Slowly, she got to her feet and began to walk towards the distant lights, feeling too tired to run again. After some time, Ellen reached the edge of the lights and her brown eyes widened as she took in the sights and sounds before her.

The bright and colourful lights hanging in strings all around, giving the place a warm, welcoming glow. The pleasant music playing from speakers high up. Vendors selling mouth watering snacks and treats of all kinds. Clowns, acrobats, daredevils... All kinds of circus performers mingled about and on the other end of the property, a group of trailers were huddled together where said performers lived.

Ellen had made it to Haly's Circus.

She began walking, not knowing exactly where she was going. All she knew was that she wanted to see more. Ellen was so engrossed with looking around in awe, however, that she didn't realize she had bumped into someone until it was too late, as she and the stranger both fell to the ground. A little disoriented, Ellen sat up and immediately met the eyes of who she had run into.

It was a boy, about her age. He had bright ginger hair and piercing blue eyes that were just as wide as hers were at the moment. He had pale skin, save for a light sprinkling of freckles across his nose. He was wearing a dirty pair of jeans, worn boots, and a checkered flannel shirt that looked much too big for him, with the sleeves rolled up and pinned in place.

For a moment, neither child said a word. They just stared at each other, each studying the other in their own way. Ellen looked at the boy with an odd sort of wonder and curiosity while he looked at her with confusion, a thousand questions running through his head, no doubt. Finally, it was Ellen who spoke up first.

"I'm sorry. I didn't look where I was going," she said, her voice coming out softer than she had intended.

The strange boy didn't say a word, but gave a slight nod of his head in gentle understanding. Before Ellen could speak again, the boy got to his feet, then offered his hand out to her. She took it gently, smiling a little as he helped her stand.

"Thank you," she said as she released his hand. "What's your name?"

Instead of answering her question, he instead pointed to the bruise on her cheek.

"How did you get that?" He asked.

His voice sounded small, sweet, with a little bit of intrigue edging in with his question. He stared at her expectantly with wide eyes, awaiting her response.

"My Daddy got mad," Ellen stated sadly.

Suddenly feeling very self conscious of the darkening mark on her cheek, Ellen cast her eyes to the ground, clasping her hands and twisting them together. As if sensing the shift in her mood, the little boy immediately spoke up, his voice light.

"Oh. Well, my Mom does the same thing. See?"

Looking back up at the boy, Ellen watched him as he lifted up his shirt, revealing the many bruises littering his thin torso. They varied in shades of darkness and colour, some looking much more irritated than others. Ellen's eyes widened and when she met the boy's eyes again, he just gave a tiny little smile, like he was saying he understood. Ellen returned the gesture with a small smile of her own. She appreciated the way he tried to make her more comfortable, tried to relate to her. However, she noted that his mother seemed much more aggressive than her parents were. The boy pulled his shirt back down, then stuck his hand out in front of him.

"I'm Jerome," He said simply.

Ellen's smile grew as she clasped his hand in hers, giving it as formal a shake as an 8 year old could manage.

"My name is Ellen," She said, pulling her hand away. "It's nice to meet you."

Jerome gave a quick nod of his head, sticking his hands in his jeans' pockets. His eyes studied her for a brief moment before his gaze landed on her backpack still slung over her shoulders. His eyebrows furrowed in the slightest before those blue eyes met hers once again.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Oh, um..."

Ellen swallowed nervously and readjusted her backpack, feeling like it was filled with rocks. She was worried Jerome might think her silly, might laugh at her for wanting to be an acrobat so young, even if she only wanted to do it to escape her parents. Even though she had only met this boy moments ago, she suddenly cared very much what he thought of her.

"I... I want to be an acrobat," She said timidly. "My parents are mean to me, so I came to the circus to be an acrobat."

"Oh. That's cool," Jerome responded with a little smile.

Ellen felt a swell of pride in her chest. Jerome thought that her wanting to be an acrobat was cool.

"You should talk to the Ringmaster," Jerome suddenly said. "He can give you an act and people to train with and a place to live."

"Okay," Ellen agreed with a nod. "Where can I find him?"

"I can take you to him. Come on, follow me."

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there's the intro to cute little 8 year old jerome :3 i'm really excited to continue this and even more excited to build jerome and ellen's relationship

i'll try to have the next chapter out soon but i make no promises lol