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CHAPTER ELEVEN | THE VIGILANT SENTINEL
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if you're happy in a dream... does that count? the happiness— does it count?
-from the god of small things // arundhati roy
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Sometimes, even when Jackie didn't have to babysit, Lucas and his pack of friends came over and raided Jackie's fridge. For the most part, she didn't mind — she loved kids, and was beginning to consider a job in teaching. So, with Lucas's level of comfort in her home and the typical brashness of all thirteen-year-old boys, the four boys rushed into Jackie's house one sunny, yet chilly, Saturday evening.
"What if I had plans?" Jackie asked, looking at Lucas with an arched eyebrow and her arms crossed sternly.
"Jackie, you never have plans," Lucas said. "That's why you're my Gandalf."
"Funny way of saying babysitter," Jackie snorted, knocking Lucas lightly on the head and leading him into the living room where his friends were already setting up a game of Dungeons and Dragons.
"You're playing this time?" Will asked, turning to look up at Jackie with his big, puppy dog eyes.
"If you guys are okay with it," Jackie said.
"I made you a character sheet," Mike said, thrusting a piece of paper in her direction but not looking at her.
He was in a bad mood, though that always seemed to be the case with Mike. Thanking him, Jackie took the sheet and read through what Mike had drafted up for her. In big, messy, block letters, the top of the sheet read: THE VIGILANT SENTINEL.
"We made you a sorcerer," Dustin said with a goofy grin. "And sentinel means a guard who stands and keeps watch, and since you're kind of our babysitter—"
"Gandalf!" Lucas yelled, interrupting.
"Since you're our Gandalf," Dustin corrected, rolling his eyes, "we figured it worked out."
"I love it," Jackie said, smiling. "Thank you."
And so the game began, and Jackie realized she was so out of her limit. She barely knew what Dungeons and Dragons was, and these kids were bizarrely good at this game of chance. She could tell Mike was getting annoyed with her, though the rest of the boys indulged in her complete lack of knowledge with some lighthearted jibes. When 7:00 rolled around, Jackie stood and excused herself from the game. She was hungry and didn't feel like pretending to understand the rules of the game anymore. As she busied herself with boiling water for pasta (Peggy had made meatballs and sauce earlier), the phone rang.
"Hanlon residence," Jackie said into the phone.
"Hey, Jack."
"Hey," she said, smiling against her better judgement. "What's up?"
She leaned against the wall and propped the phone between her ear and shoulder. She tucked her fingers beneath the sleeve of her sweater and ran her fingers over her tattoo. Ever since she told Steve about it, it felt like a giant weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She was no longer living a lie.
"Can I come over?"
"You don't have a date tonight?" Jackie snorted, hoping he couldn't hear the bitterness she felt as she rolled her eyes.
"Had one last night," Steve said. Jackie could hear the nonchalance in his voice, and she could just see him shrugging as he said that. "Saturday's are reserved for my best friend, obviously."
"Well, if you don't mind hanging around a pack of thirteen-year-olds, one of which is Nancy's little brother, you're free to come over."
"Mike?" Steve asked. "Agh. He hates me... little bastard."
"Steve!" Jackie chastised lightly, trying and failing not to laugh. "Be nice."
"I'll be over in ten minutes, okay?"
"Okay," Jackie agreed. "If you wanna pick up—"
"Pizza?" he filled in. "Jesus, woman. Okay, I'll see you in twenty minutes."
"Ugh, you're the best," Jackie groaned. "I love you."
The words slipped out before Jackie could even fully process what she was saying. Oh, God. Oh, God! OH, GOD! Her face burned as she listened to the silence on Steve's end of the line.
He chuckled softly. "Love you too, Jack."
[ ... ]
If the kids thought Steve being over was weird, they didn't say anything about it to Jackie. In fact, they barely acknowledged his presence, save for a small wave and glare from Mike.
"What a weird kid," Steve had whispered into Jackie's ear as they walked into the kitchen, prompting a quiet giggle from her.
"What kind of pizza did you get?"
"Extra large sausage, no onion," Steve said, opening the box and allowing the delicious, greasy, cheesy scent to waft out.
"You're learning," Jackie said with a grin, reaching into the box and pulling out a piece for herself.
Each body in the house got two slices, as there were six people and twelve slices in the box.
"Wash your hands after you eat," Jackie said, looking at the boys sternly. "Peggy will kill me if there are grease marks all over the furniture when she gets home tomorrow. You're lucky I'm letting you eat in here and not the dining room."
"Okay, Mom," Lucas groaned, rolling his eyes at her and smiling like the little smart ass he was.
"You got it, Jackie," Will said, looking up and smiling at her.
God, what a little angel. Though Lucas was definitely Jackie's favorite of the bunch (and she cared for them all, with no discrimination), she had such a soft spot for Will. He was so sweet and well behaved, and she could tell he was bearing the burden of a million secrets.
"Take notes, boys," Jackie said, pointing from each of them to Will. "He's a little angel."
And with that, she mussed up Will's hair and walked back into the kitchen. Steve was sitting at her table, flipping through Jackie's calculus notebook the she'd dumped on the table after getting home yesterday.
"Oh, are you just using me for my math skills, Harrington?"
"How'd you know?" he asked her, looking up and grinning.
"Just a hunch."
"You have a wonderful intuition."
"What can I say?" Jackie shrugged and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "It's a gift."
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We are Mike Wheeler stans first, and people second.
Also, the democrats officially took back the house and I'm so happy. However, we need to take this victory with a large grain of salt, considering we lost the senate (not that we had it to begin with). All that aside, though, let's take the time to celebrate the women, people of color, and LGBT+ individuals elected into office tonight! Colorado just elected the first ever openly gay governor and that's huge! Celebrate the little things tonight and go back to fighting in the morning! Your rights depend on it!
