Footprints In The Snow

VII. Pictures

:|| Posted above: Charlie <3 ||:

Jack watches the sky turn from orange to purple to black. He waits until bright, multicolored stars fill the sky to finally look down at Azari.

He loves the way the corner of her mouth would twitch upwards slightly when she was sleeping, which let him know that she was having a good dream. He loves it when she would whimper--just loud enough for him to hear--when she was having nightmares, and then she would curl into the nearest thing, which happened to be him. He loves it.

And on this night, when she is laying on his chest, all he can do is smile at her.

Jack watches as her mouth twitches into a small smile. He lifts his hand and runs his thumb over the corner of her mouth. In this light, under the stars, she is beautiful.

She is his perfection.

-- -- --

That morning, after breakfast, Mom drops off more of Zeke's medication before going down to the market.

Jack sits in the living room, helping me clean up the house and curing my boredom.

Of course, as soon as Zeke realizes he's there, he is glaring out into the common room the whole rest of the day.

After I feed Zeke dinner and he is fast asleep, Jack and I go back onto the roof.

"Azari?"

I look over at Jack and see him propped up on his elbows. "What's up?"

"Does that mystery man ever get on your nerves?" he asks.

I pause, wondering why he would bring this up all of a sudden. "Yeah, of course he does. I mean, there's a strange man living just outside of my home town. It's difficult not to think about him."

Jack looks over his shoulder at the forest below. "Calla is going to kill me," he mutters.

"What?"

He looks over at me. "When Zeke is finally better, your mom is going to turn her attention to the fact that we snuck into the forest again, and we can't deny it because Zeke saw us both."

I listen to the chitter of birds for a moment. Down below, I can see vendors closing up their booths for the day.

Charlie and Kaia come out from behind their bakery and walk down the street towards our house. They exchange a few words, and Charlie nudges Kaia playfully with his shoulder. Kaia scowls at him, then nudges him back.

My heart seems to drop into my stomach as I watch the two. "Zeke's going to be miserable when he's finally able to walk about again."

"Why is that?" Jack asks, following my gaze.

"He likes Kaia, even if he never really shows it. Wouldn't it kill you if while you were recovering from getting shocked, the girl you've had a crush on for who-knows-how-long developed a relationship with your best friend?" I sigh and sit up.

Jack pulls his knees to his chest, staring down at Charlie and Kaia. Thinking.

"I should go back inside before Mom comes home," I mutter, crawling towards the ladder. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Jack says as I climb off the roof. "Tomorrow."

-- -- --

That night, my sleep is dreamless. I am floating in nothingness. And I love it.

Something pulls me from my sleep, and I open my eyes.

A masculine stands over me, silhouetted by the moonlight spilling through my window. My eyes widen and I scramble back against my headboard, opening my mouth to scream.

The man clamps a hand over my mouth before I can shriek.

My heart pounding, I strain to make out the man's features, my shoulders relaxing as I recognize Jack.

He doesn't say anything, only holding his index finger to his lips, indicating for me to be quiet.

"What the hell are you doing?" I whisper, climbing quietly out of bed.

Jack walks over to my window. I notice that it's open.

How did I not see that before?

He beckons me to follow him and--against all common sense--I climb out of the window after him, closing it behind me.

The streets of Terra Nix are lifeless, the only movement coming from a stray cat crossing the path.

"Jack, what are you doing?" I demand, grabbing his arm.

He pulls away from my grip. "You want answers, don't you? Well so do I."

Curiosity getting the best of me, I quietly follow  Jack down the street, through the lumber yard, and into the trees.

"Mom is going to kill me if she finds out," I mutter.

Jack glances back at me. "Calls doesn't need to know if we're sneaky enough."

I sigh and feel my whole body tense up as we approach the tree. "Do you think he's in there?"

"If he is, that's even better. Then we can find out what sort of creep would live in the woods just outside of a village," Jack whispers.