Jasper Died in the End

I Miss You Too

"Hey, do you guys remember that kid out on Spooky Island? I wonder how he's doing." Nikki inquired to her friends at their table, the trio all sitting together that morning in the Mess Hall.

"Oh yeah!" Neil nodded, his memory of that night coming back to him. "Man, that kid was the only okay thing about that night." he shuddered as he remembered their adventure to the island.

David leaned against the wall of the Mess Hall nearby. Curious as to what the kids were speaking of, and eavesdropped on their conversation without knowing it entirely. "What was his name again?" Neil nervously scratched his head, the boy's name escaping him.

Max, who was silent through this friend's exchange, blinked, before snapping his fingers as he made a discovery. "Oh right! It's that kid! What was it?? Uhhh, RIGHT! Jasper!"

David dropped his coffee mug, the item shattering to the ground of the Mess Hall, shards of ceramic and coffee spreading out on the floor. His eyes were blown wide, and unbeknownst to him, his hands started shaking. Everyone's attention was turned to the camp counselor, who was staring at the trio with ever-growing horror.

"What....what did you just say?" David spoke up, and everyone seemed unnerved by the sudden shift in attitude from the usually chipper man. Max looked the most apprehensive, but dawned a smug smirk instead. "What? Were you eavesdropping on our conversation? That's not exactly a nice thing to do, David." Max's smirk grew more smug as he continued, but the expression vanished when David looked even more horrified, his mind tossing and turning the trio's exchange over and over again, hoping, HOPING he heard wrong. His pupils got smaller and smaller as his heart was gripped tightly in the hands of his sudden attack.

"You...said Jasper.."

His eyes filled with tears, his throat closed up, his chest felt heavy, his entire body began to shake. Everyone's eyes were wide, not knowing what to do. "..David? Are you okay?" Gwen looked up from her book and looked genuinely worried for her friend, but David couldn't hear her. "Th-the boy..you were talking about..his n-n-name...w-was..Jas-Jasper.."

His voice broke up, tears flowing to the ground, eyes becoming unfocused yet hyper focused simultaneously. They flitted frantically through the room, trying desperately to see something, but to no avail. He noticed Nurf put his knife down, Harrison's latest trick was discarded on the table, Dolph's drawing barely finished; all because they were staring at him.

The trio looked at each other, not knowing how to react to David's sudden burst of emotion. "Uh..yeah! There's a boy on the island, didn't you know?" Nikki piped up in an attempt to get through to him, and that comment made David's entire world spin. He was going to be sick.

"David?" Max looked worried-scared, even, but David brushed it off as himself misinterpreting his expression to something it wasn't. The discomfort on his legs made him aware that he fell to his knees, and the fact that his head felt dizzy gave him the assumption he was hyperventilating. "Jas...p..er.." he choked out, rattling hands gripping his chest, bunching his shirt up into a ball in his fist, eyes truly unfocused and unseeing. "N..no.....I'm s-s-s-s-sorry...."

"I-I didn't.....I'm s-sorry...I c-couldn't...f-f..ind...yo u..."

He started sobbing, his other hand coming up to his mouth, covering it. He didn't know why, maybe to keep whatever dignity he had left, to try and limit what everyone was seeing. Maybe to try and stop his hiccups and violent sobs from filling the room. He shut his eyes tightly, causing a fresh spill of tears to flow down, his sobs wracking his body and causing him to jerk erratically.

All the kids in the room looked to each other, one singular thought echoing in their minds as they witnessed David's bottled up emotions.

He was breaking.