Chaos and Corruption (Jeff the Killer Fanfic)

14. Goatsucker

Nina

As I followed Pierce down the path to his house I waved goodbye to Tanis, watching her split off to head another way while Vlad had departed a few streets back. I didn't want to be at home before I had to be today and instead I enjoyed the cold breeze as it slipped behind my head and pushed my hood down.

There were a few kids at the skate park today but most people were probably at home celebrating with their family. I didn't typically enjoy Christmas before but I was looking forward to seeing what kind of fucked up everyone was going to get tonight. Pierce and I talked as I kicked my board up and walked with him back to his apartment, feeling just a little bittersweet as I gave him a tight hug.

"Do you maybe want to hang out tomorrow?" he asked, running a hand over his head, "my mom's working tonight and tomorrow night, and I'm kind of sick of spending Christmas alone."

"You're welcome to come over, Tom and Chelsea will be there but most they'll do is sass you like Kitty," I told him with a softer laugh, "or I could swing by here. Just let me know."

"Yeah, I'd like that," Pierce nodded as he dropped his hand, "I'll text you tonight and give you a heads up."

"Sounds good to me."

He cracked a smile and ducked inside, leaving me to enjoy the rest of my morning, free as a bird while I rode through town. I waved to Chelsea as I passed by the Café, taking my sweet time to head back to the house and trotting up to the front door with a giddy little smile on my face. Kitty and Jules were on the couch watching a movie and I ran past them to put my phone on the charger, swapping clothes while I waited for a reply from Pierce. I'd already marked his name with a little purple heart that Tanis had given me massive shit for but I smiled as his name popped up across the screen.

Eventually I walked back downstairs and joined the two of them on the couch, prepared for the jabs and jeering while I stole Kitty's eggnog to sip. It wasn't long until she fell asleep, reaching out to set her empty mug on the table before she dropped it on the floor.

"Did you have fun last night?" Jules genuinely asked.

"Yeah, I can't thank you guys enough for letting me do that," I said with a warm sigh. "Pierce wants to hang out tomorrow, something about always being alone on Christmas."

"Does he not have his parents there?"

"No, I think his mom works nights, it's just him and her."

"That's unfortunate, I hope you invited him over here so we can smother him."

"I did, I'll have to see how it goes." Something else crossed my mind and I deflated, just a touch. "They all sort of recognized Kitty, it was easy enough to get them off the track but I'm wondering if this really was smart of me to do. I mean, they're all normal kids, I don't really want to drag them into this, but..."

"But?"

"This is the first time I've ever made my own friends, you know? They like me for who I am. I don't want to just drop everything because suddenly I've got people in my life but at the same time I don't think they'd be too keen on me once they find out who I really am."

"I think you're unfortunately in a bit of a tough position because of everything," she started and I focused in to listen, "while I agree that telling them you're wanted for murder in Arizona isn't a good idea, I think now is a good time to really weigh the pros and cons of everything. No matter what you can't go back to a 'normal' life, not in the sense that you had before."

"That's the thing, I never wanted a normal life, and— and I love the life I have now. I don't want to just ditch these guys though, either."

"You've got a lot on your shoulders right now, baby girl. I think it's gonna take more than just a few minutes and a cup of eggnog to figure out, but that's okay, we've got a while."