Disclaimer : I don't own anything from Jumanji.
Thanks Defender31415 for the follow :).
Here's the new chapter with a bit of Martha POV. Things are getting complicated :)
What matters
Her hands plunged in her pockets and dragging feet, Martha was walking down to the campus. She was preoccupied. Spencer had become more and more nervous and quite secretive during the last few days. She tried to speak with him but he was not really cooperative. Martha wasn't jealous by nature - she though - but as Spencer was now her boyfriend she began to experience this terribly unpleasant feeling when he chose to ignore her. So, she began to be more attentive and to look for details. That was how she found the mail he sent to Alex, and the things went in a direction she didn't anticipated. They had their first real argument that day. Spencer was turning a bit paranoid about all things that had happened in Jumanji and the theories he thought out were just pure craziness to her eyes.
While she came close to the principal gate of the school, she suddenly saw Bethany scampering joyfully in her direction. She couldn't hide a wince. Her friend had this kind of joie de vivre and exuberance she didn't want to witness today. She was not in the mood. However, she couldn't do as if she hadn't see her and try to avoid her, so she let her approach.
- "Hi there!" Said the blonde girl with a big smile on her face.
- "Hi…" Martha replied more shyly.
- "Are you ok?" Asked Bethany noticing immediately the lack of cheerfulness of her friend.
- "Yeah… What's up?" added quickly the redhead girl with her best neutral expression. The blonde glanced at her critically.
- "Hmm… You're not a good liar." She smirked. "Is it about Spencer?" Martha flashed red. "Oh I see. You know, we can talk. Girl to girl." Added the blonde more seriously.
- "Well..." The redhead girl hesitated. "Yes, it's about Spencer, but I don't want to bug you."
- "Don't worry, you won't." Bethany smiled genuinely. "I won't force you to tell me, but I'm here if you need, ok? Don't be shy."
Even if she was reluctant at first, her friend's goodwill was infectious and Martha smiled back. To tell the truth, the proposition tempted her. There weren't much people whom she could talk to about Jumanji and Bethany had quickly become a good friend after the events. Some weeks ago, she would never have imagined getting close to the pretty girl.
The problem was that Spencer had involved Alex in the equation. Martha knew how Bethany felt on the subject and didn't want to hurt her by evoking him.
- "Ok. Thanks." She simply replied.
Before leaving, the blonde gave her an undesired but very welcome hug. Martha couldn't help but smile at the affectionate gesture. But as they separated, she felt a strange tickling where their skin touched, like a light electric residual pinch. The sensation vanished quickly so she almost instantly forgot about it.
###
Spencer had hope the week-end would help but Martha and he hadn't talk to him since they had their first serious argument. Neither a call nor a text. He knew from the beginning that was a bad idea to let her know but, since she had read the mail he had sent to Alex, he had no choice but to tell her the truth. Usually he wasn't the kind of guy who was not capable of express his thoughts but in front of Martha's incomprehension he found himself gabbling. Then, he said something stupid that triggered her and everything went off road. They both camped on their positions and they separated on that angry note. Right now, he didn't want to make the first step. In fact, he was a little bit afraid of her reaction if he did...
The day went pretty fast as the lessons distracted him enough of his own problems, but as soon as it was time to quit the campus his anxiety skyrocketed. He knew Martha finished her lessons at the same hour but she was in another part of the school. As nervous as he was, he was afraid to meet her and to do it wrong all again, so he tried to reach the exit as fast as he could. He already knew that was not a good idea but the fear to make it worst was stronger.
There was a lot of people in the hall and he was slaloming nervously, looking everywhere at the same time. But as he wasn't looking in front of him, he crashed into someone. The girl he just hit almost fell but she managed to recover.
- "Hey!" She protested. "Look out!" Her expression softened when she recognized him. "Spencer? You're in a rush?" There was definitively a bit of wariness in her tone. The teenager frowned.
- "I'm sorry." He replied quickly.
- "What's the matter, you look terribly nervous." she told him with an inquisitive look. "Well, it looks like you're trying to avoid someone." Bethany smirked.
- "You spoke to Martha." He asked in alarm.
- "She seemed quite upset this morning and you, Mister, have a curious behaviour, I have to say." Added the blonde girl with a faked seriousness in the tone.
Even if he got the light-hearted side of her act, Spencer couldn't help but feeling nervous. He watched above Bethany's head, searching in the crowd a possible redhead. The blonde noticed it immediately.
- "Ohhhh, I see. Is Mr Bravestone afraid to have his ass kicked by a certain killer of men?" she kidded.
Incidentally, her joke triggered him. He took her by the arm and guided her outside the campus afar from the crowd.
- "What's the matter with you?" She asked angrily when he released her.
- "She told you about my researches and the emails I sent to Alex, right?"
Spencer realised too late that he had just said the thing he shouldn't have. Bethany's expression darkened as he mentioned Alex. She seemed quite upset.
- "No, she didn't, but you just did…" She replied with a severe look. "So now…Spill the beans. Can you tell me what's it all about?"
At first, he was nervous because he was afraid that she would react like Martha, but the blonde girl didn't. She listened at his explanations without saying a word. She demonstrated an unexpected great patience with him. He could tell her all about his strange experience with his phone to the discoveries of the real persons behind their avatars. He tried to stay as laconic as possible but, as she was the first real attentive ear he got, he got carried away and was speaking freely by the end of it.
- "When I discovered that our avatars were from different time, I asked myself how they could have been trapped in the same game than us. That's why I contacted Alex. To ask him how it was for him twenty years ago. He told me that the game had changed. At first, his father had found the game on the beach and it was a board game, not a video game. So, the thing can mutate. That's why I'm afraid. Maybe we didn't really destroy it. Maybe it can change again and do people wrong. What do you think?" He was almost out of breath.
- "I think you should talk to Martha and forget about all this." She replied with great calm. Spencer frowned.
- "But this is important!" He exclaimed. "Jumanji could be still active somewhere, and …"
- "Yes, it could be. You said it. It could. But tell me. What's the most important thing to your heart? The one you love or that freaking game?"
She touched his hand. Suddenly, Spencer felt like an electric surge. It sent shivers down his spine and for a few second his mind went fuzzy. He couldn't remember what was bugging him lately. He knew that there was a problem but it wasn't important anymore. He looked down at Bethany. His vision was blurry. Though, for a brief moment, he swore he saw her left eye becoming glassy. He blinked several times and when he could see clearly again, her face was back to normal. He felt a little bit confused and strangely Bethany seemed also. But, soon the troubled sensation vanished and, with it, all his doubts. Everything was fine. Everything was right... He never felt that relieved since a long time.
- "Thank you."
- "No problem. Now, you know what you need to do. Talk to her. Apologize. And everything would be fine." Bethany said, visibly trying to keep her composure.
Ignoring – not by choice but because he wasn't able to care at the moment – the discomfort his friend was trying to hide, he nodded in agreement. She smiled at him and gave him a shy goodbye sign before turning heels.
Spencer didn't know how long he stayed there looking in the distance, but he almost jumped off his feet when he heard Martha's voice behind him.
- "Spencer? I saw Bethany talk to you. What did she..." She stopped when she saw his strange look. "Are you ok?" She added worryingly.
Just seeing her made his heart beat faster. Without warning, he hugged her and landed a soft kiss on her lips. Martha smiled through her confusion as he caught her unprepared.
- "I shouldn't have talked to you the way I did last time." He quickly said. "She just showed me that I was losing what's really important. You... Would you forgive me?" Martha flashed red.
- "I was a bit harsh on you too." She confessed, a bit mousy. "I over reacted."
Spencer smiled. He couldn't have hoped for a better resolution to their former quarrel. It was almost too simple to be true, but right now he didn't care. He was sincerely happy and that was all that mattered.
- "Wanna walk back home with me?" He asked almost shyly.
- "Sure." She replied, equally mousy.
They interlaced hands and they quitted the campus, leaving any bad thoughts behind.
###
Back home, Spencer was still on his cloud. Though, the fogginess that had blurred his mind was slowly dissipating. He was gradually growing nervous. Something was missing or just wrong. He couldn't put a finger on it.
More by habit than real need, he sat at his computer and opened his mail box. The most recent email was the reply Alex had sent about Jumanji. Spencer broke in a cold sweat as he began to remember what happened lately. What scared him the most was that he seemed to have forgotten some parts of the day.
He closed his eyes and he tried mentally to rebuild everything he did. He attempted several times and he realised soon that the missing part was the discussion he had with Bethany just before he reunited with Martha.
- "I know I talked to her... I know she helped... But how?" He murmured to himself.
That incident bugged him profoundly but he muted his concerns. He looked at the screen for a long time and then sighed. There was definitely something odd about all this, but he just regained the trust of his girlfriend and he didn't want to blunder that close to their reconciliation. The best way to do it was not the go in front of the troubles. He swore to himself that he will find the truth somehow but it will wait another day.
Spencer reluctantly closed his mail box. He got up and left his bedroom without much enthusiasm. As soon as he closed the door, hidden in his coat, far from any curious looks or attentive ears, his phone activated.
For a few seconds the interface glitched severely. A muffled drumming sound resonated. The same glitches appeared on the computer screen. Behind the dancing pixels, the web browser partially emerged. The pages seemed to pass high speed in the background. Suddenly everything stopped. The glitches froze. The drums went silent. The computer screen flashed several times before displaying the desktop as it should. And in the pocket the phone's one went black.
###
It was dark outside, as in Bethany's room. The blonde girl was sitting on her bed. Her face was lighted with the cold gloom her phone emitted. She was looking at the screen but she didn't seem to be aware of the glitches that were dancing on the interface. Suddenly the pixels froze and she began to speak with a strange monochord voice.
- "Compatible host found. Target acquired.."
The screen went black and the blonde girl suddenly jolted. The next second, she went slack and felt back on her bed. The phone restarted, vibrating against her leg, but she was totally unaware of it.
