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"And you said nothing?" Garrett questions, dodging the pebble Phoebe throws at him in response.
"Why do you make it sound like that's the worst thing in the world?" She huffs, ducking as he retaliates with a stick.
The duo is leading the way to the lake under ten miles away from their home as the rest of the combined family follows along at varying distances behind them. For once, everyone is walking and enjoying the naturistic scenery around them instead of racing each other, allowing them to converse peacefully. Though the calm and fight-free atmosphere definitely has everything to do with Tanya threatening everyone's lives beforehand, Carlisle and Esme aren't going to complain about the rare peace.
"Because your emotional support cowboy finally decided to stop wearing those hideous sweaters and you responded with an awkward silence," Garrett counters. "I'm no scienceologist but I doubt that's the reaction he was hoping for."
"It wasn't completely silent," she defends herself. "I asked if he had seen my sunglasses recently."
The memories of earlier this morning play on repeat in her mind, and she can't help but to think of a thousand ways it could have gone better each time the loop ends.
For the first time since they've gotten back together, Jasper wasn't hiding behind the protection of long sleeves anymore and, like the other boys, is dressed in swimming trunks and a t-shirt. While standing practically motionless in the doorway to their bedroom as she looked at him, it was written all over his face how terrified he was of what her reaction may be. For an empath, he's terrible at hiding his own emotions and it didn't take an expert to understand the topic of the scars covering his body made him ashamed and uncomfortable; so Phoebe downplayed the situation in an attempt to dissipate the clouds of worry hanging over him and continued the search for her sunglasses. But, clearly, this did nothing but worsen everything and Jasper has kept his distance since.
"Which leads to my third and favorite theory," Garrett is concluding a rant Phoebe hadn't paid attention to in the slightest, snapping her out of her thoughts as he claps his hands together like a proud detective. "Jasper is clearly the leader of a supernatural mafia."
"You're delusional."
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"You can't tell me it wouldn't make sense," he argues. "Besides, until you put on your big girl boots and ask him about it, you can't prove me wrong."
Phoebe groans and, purely out of spite, makes the decision she's been putting off. "Enjoy your theory while it lasts, boomer."
