Soft Hearts | In A Heartbeat Fanfiction

28: twenty eight is my lucky number

•••

The wind howled angrily as Sherwin trudged down the cracked sidewalk towards home. Usually, the horizon would still be light blue around this time, but the sky was currently covered in dark, rolling clouds that threatened to storm any minute.

Sherwin looked around nervously, tugging Jonathan's scarf closer to him. His friend's smell gave him a bit of comfort as he walked alone. Only a few more blocks, he thought anxiously, glancing at his ominous surroundings. Suddenly, he heard a crackling noise to his left, as if a twig had been snapped.

Sherwin walked faster, but a shadow appeared behind him and he spun around to face a dark-haired figure in a hoodie. A torn backpack was slung over their shoulder, almost spilling out its contents as they quickly approached him.

"Wh-what do you want?" the ginger stuttered, scared out of his wits. The figure pulled back their hoodie. It was Jay. "Oh!" Sherwin gasped in relief. "Jeez, don't freak me out like that, Jay!"

"Shush!" the girl whispered, pulling his arm and dragging him behind a nearby fence towards a patch of forest. Sherwin looked at her confusedly as she rubbed her eyes and set down her stuff. "Sherwin," Jay started, avoiding his gaze, "I'm gonna need a favor."

He scrunched his eyebrows. "Depends on what that favor is, Jay. I mean, it's pretty shady to drag me over here near the woods when it's almost curfew." Jay sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry, but this is urgent," she pleaded, shifting back and forth. Sherwin hesitated, then nodded.

"What'd'you need?" he questioned.

"You know my friend Trish, right?" Jay asked, and he raised an eyebrow. "The one that I told you about during detention that one time?"

Sherwin's eyes widened. "Oh, her! The one you–"

"–Yeah, yeah, that girl. Okay, I need you to get me her address once Thanksgiving Break is over."

"What?!"

"Doesn't matter, just do it," Jay insisted, her hands clenched by her sides. Sherwin noticed the girl didn't have her usual makeup on, and there were bags under her eyes and her hair was in tangles.

"...Why can't you do it?" he pressed, becoming more concerned with each passing second. Jay paused, her eyes hinting at some hidden emotion Sherwin couldn't read.

"I..." she trailed off, then her gaze hardened once again. "I'll tell you more once you get me Trish's address. Meet me here once you have it, around six. I'll be here." Then she tossed her hood back over her head, grabbed her bag, and strolled off without waving or saying goodbye.

•••

"Hey, do you know a girl named Trish?" Sherwin asked Jonathan two weeks later during science. They were finishing a worksheet on cellular reproduction, and Mr. Gregg had left the room temporarily, giving Sherwin the opportunity to talk.

"Yeah, I think so," Jon replied in a low voice. "Patricia Walker? Her friends call her Trish. Why?"

Sherwin checked to see that no one was eavesdropping before responding in a whisper, "My friend Jay told me to ask Trish something, but I don't know what she looks like and we don't share any classes." Jon nodded, understanding.

"I think she might be in one of my last classes," he said. "Either english or history. What do you need to ask her?"

Sherwin shrugged. "Jay wants to know where she lives," he answered, suddenly feeling uncertain. "I have no idea how I'm gonna do it, though. Why would a girl give away her address to some random dude she doesn't know?"

"I got you," Jonathan told him, smirking. "Leave it to me, Pumpkin." Sherwin grinned as his friend ruffled his hair, then turned back to his work as their teacher reentered the room.

Four main stages of mitosis? Hmm. Sherwin exhaled and jotted down an answer. It was probably wrong, but he was too tired to check the book anyway. Everything with Jay, Dante, his family...all of it was driving him crazy.

•••

Note: I time skipped over Thanksgiving Break, if you hadn't noticed, so that I could continue with the plot. And I can confirm that yes, Jon and his mom did go to Sherwin's for holiday dinner.
;3