Thirteen

Chapter One

Jack wasn't exactly a fan of rain on a Monday morning.

But the sky really didn't seem to care about Jack's meteorological preferences and decided to go ahead and unleash a torrent of rain on the land below regardless.

Jack narrowed his eyes at the trails of water streaming down the window before nestling further into the couch he was sitting on, and then threw a blanket over his head. That way he wouldn't have to look at the depressing "great outdoors."

Granted, rain wasn't enough to put him in an actually foul mood. It was just a tad annoying. He'd been hoping to go for a walk with Signe, and had been completely prepared to do so after discovering that the weather forecast predicted clear skies, but then this unexpected precipitation had to come along and ruin it all. It was rather unfortunate timing, really. Out of all the days he could've picked, and out of all the days it could've rained, it had to be today.

Sighing, Jack uncovered himself and tossed the blanket aside. After standing up, he began to make his way over the kitchen to grab breakfast. It would probably be nicer out tomorrow, so there was no use dwelling on the misfortune of a rainy day. Plus, he really wanted coffee right now, and he couldn't exactly get some if he was scowling at the rain-streaked window.

Jack walked briskly into the kitchen, humming to himself as he did so, and opened the cupboard where he and Signe kept the coffee. Naturally, he expected to find plenty of the caffeinated substance waiting inside, like always. But there was nothing there.

Swearing that there had been coffee in that cupboard just yesterday, Jack pushed aside the other contents of the cupboard in search of it. He'd had a cup last night; there was no way it could be gone.

Unfortunately, it really was all gone. No matter how many cupboards Jack searched, there weren't any coffee beans to be found. Opened doors and rifled through drawers were left in Jack's wake as he scoured the whole kitchen, incredibly confused as to where all of it had disappeared to. It was as if it had vanished sometime between then and the day before, somehow getting sucked into another dimension, never to return. That was the only logical answer to this predicament anyways. He'd considered the notion that either he or Signe drank the last of it the other day without realizing it, but that was ridiculous.

Upon even further investigation, Jack discovered there wasn't any tea left either, which made this situation increasingly strange. They never ran out of tea. The coffee supply would sometimes deplete without them realizing it, but never the stock of tea. One of them would always notice before the last bag was used and buy more before the drink could even be missed.

Their entire supply of hot beverages had disappeared overnight.

At this point, the world seemed extremely intent on vexing Jack, and Jack did not care for it.

With a murmur of both confusion and mild frustration, Jack returned to the couch and pondered what to do. If he wanted a cup of coffee, he'd have to go out and buy some, which normally wouldn't have bothered him. The trip to whatever store he chose would've actually been a pleasantry, not a chore, and Jack would've had a grand time. But it just so happened to be pouring rain out, which was enough to change anyone's opinion of a walk through the street (unless you were a frog), and Jack was no exception.

Going out in that weather would be an absolutely miserable experience.

Unless...

"Siiiiiiigneee," Jack called out with a grin on his face after an idea occurred to him.

"Yeeeeeeees?" Signe called back from down the hall, drawing out her response in the same way Jack had drawn out her name. This made him chuckle slightly.