A/N: I'm just going to continue from where I stopped last chapter. This dedicated to
Anonylnk
Elvesknightren
Briggsie
Straw-hat Monkey D. Luffy
WickedRocksSoMuch
Pooka Spirit
And the two guests who reviewed! It means a lot to me that people continue to support me, even though there have only been two chapters!
AND JUST SO YOU KNOW the more you review, the faster I write. I do this because it lets me know how many people like my stories, so I can prevent myself from disappointing them. If I only have ten reviews, I don't give a shit. But if I have fifteen or twenty, then I feel like I should work to improve myself.
Just saying.
New Years grinned like the Cheshire. "Good. Because we were just pretending to give you a choice!" Jack scoffed. The older spirit continued to amuse him. "I don't believe my heart is giving me a choice." She smiled and nodded. "Well, let's go get Pumpkin and Valen-"
"The hell?!" Jack shrieked, taken aback, "The entire group is here?!" Patrick nodded, dumb founded. "Yeah. Is that bad?" he questioned. The leprechaun looked between the pair, head cocked to the side. New Years let out an un-lady like snort, shaking her head. Her white hair spilled over her smirk, looking at her knees. "We have a bad reputation," she stated simply, smiling. Patrick looked between the pair, bewildered. "Why?"
Jack stared, dumfounded. New Years gestured for Jack to remain quiet. Patrick, though quite the problem, often did not know what he was doing. Yes, he had ruined countries, had torn apart romances, had killed hundreds, but it had all been in good fun to him. He never thought of the humans as living, breathing beings. They were more like his favorite toys, the kind that moved and talked. His innocence was both terrifying and beautiful. "Don't worry about it, sweetie," she turned on Jack, glaring, "Yes, the entire group is here. And they're supposed to help you as well. While Patrick and Valentine get to work on Bunny, Pumpkin and I get to play with you!" Her announcement was new to him, but seemed to be basic information to them.
"Well, where are they?" Jack sighed, exasperated. New Years shrugged, nuzzling back into his sheets. "You know," she mumbled through cotton, "How 'bout y'all go found them, and I'll stay here. Someone's gotta keep an eye out for Bunny, right?" Patrick rolled his eyes. He quietly gestured for Jack to follow him out of the room and leave the elder spirit to her own devices.
"How is she gonna keep an eye out for him if she's…?" Jack questioned. Patrick shook his head. "That girl is fucking insane. Like hell I know. Nor do I care. Let's just look for sis and that whore. I wanna get this done…" Patrick obviously didn't like Valentine, but seemed close to New Years. He didn't know a lot about any spirits other than the guardians, so it felt nice for him to speak face-to-face with one of the strangest, most eccentric sprite known to animism. The frost sprite tilted his head to the side as they began to walk down the hallway. "Who's your big sis?"
Patrick gave a toothy grin. "Pumpkin! The one and only, spirit of Halloween! She was my sister in our past lives! We grew up in Celtic Ireland," he explained. Jack nodded. "Then how did you guys die?" The leprechaun's smile immediately faded. He didn't stop walking, his pace didn't slow. Yet, his movements became more unwilling, his body caving in on itself as if in protection, his hands going into the pockets of his too-tight jeans.
"When Pumpkin was human, she was named Phoebe. The name is actually based off the Greek word for terror. Little fun fact for ya… She was fifteen, I was seventeen. It was the day before I was supposed to leave for my rite of passage. Celtic thing, ya know?" he looked back at Jack to see if he was still paying attention, and nodded in approval at the sight of the sprite nodding in time with his words. "We were gonna meet up for a tryst in the woods before I left. Romance like that was okay, whoever the goddess willed us to be with and all… Crazy shit, looking back… Thing is, she never showed up. Course I was gonna get worried, right?
"So, I went to look for her, and found her in a few minutes. First, I thought she wandered off the path and fell. Then I saw all the blood and the creep over her. It was this English boy, one who had asked for sanctuary, claiming he was 'bout to be burned by some Christians. He was apparently the son of a protestant, sent away just as some Catholic came into control… His name was Jack too. Thought he found her and was gonna go for help, the fool I was. Then I catch this creepy look in his eyes, almost feral. He ran, covered in blood. Phoebe had been almost gutted, was chokin' on her own blood and everything. Didn't get to even hit the bastard.
"Her internals were hanging out, covering her like it was some kind of lacy gown. I honestly didn't know our insides were blue and looked like albino sausages… Can't eat the stuff now…" Patrick chuckled wiping a stray tear that had begun to leak. "Yet, as she was dying, she kept smiling and laughing. Scared the hell out of me, it did. Also gave me too much hope. I thought she might have recovered. Fool I was. She kept telling me she loved me and how I looked so silly, crying. She apologized for getting the white dress I just bought her all dirty, but insisted it look so pretty in red and blue. When she finally died, she leaned up to kiss me. Was just a tad too short, and dropped down like a sack of rocks.
"I cried for hours. I cried until her body started to smell, until I was surrounded by the blood that was seeping into the ground… I watched her transform too. She used to be a brunette, the girl. Her hair kinda grew out, fading into red. The brown hair crumbled into dust almost, flying away. When her eyes flew open, right before she disappeared, they changed from green to yellow. I thought a demon had come over me… When I tried to touch her, she was gone. I never believed in certain spirits… Things like Cupid or Santa or even Jack Frost, so of course I couldn't see her…"
Jack's heart felt hollow at the story. He couldn't imagine loving someone he loved, especially family. He had only recently got back his memories, and wasn't willing to think of what it must have been like for his sister and mother after he died. "Did you ever find Jack?" the younger spirit asked. Patrick nodded. "Saw him in town, next day. Blamed me for the whole thing, said I threw the body into the goddess' lake. Exiled immediately, sent out into the woods I was. Got news of his death and the fact that he confessed to killing her, hoping to make amends with the goddess. Mother and father wanted me home immediately. Didn't go back…"
"How did you die?" Jack asked. Patrick smirked. "I'll tell you when you're older." Before he could protest, he gestured toward a door that was shut, holding back a hell of a lot of noise. "Obviously Pumpkin and Valentine's room. Can't you hear the screaming?" To emphasize this point, Valentine came storming out, screaming something out vegetables and vampires. She glared at Patrick and gestured wildly into the room. "See if you can handle that wild bitch! We are switching rooms!"
"New Years is in Jack's room!" Patrick called after her. "Fuck you!" she shrieked before she ran off. The leprechaun huffed, peeking into the room. Jack heard him mutter something along the lines of 'psychotic whore' before looking to his sister. Pumpkin sat on one of the full sized beds, covered in orange goop. She looked ready to kill someone, her eyes watering. Patrick laughed and walked over to her, running a hand through her once-red hair. "Love, you look a little dirty."
She glared at him, tears threatening to spill. "Shut the hell up! It's that stupid whore's fault!" a handful of tears raced down Pumpkin's cheeks, her brows furrowing. Patrick smiled. "Care to tell me what happened?" " She thought my pumpkin was cute and tried to make it a 'boyfriend'! I told her pumpkins don't need love and she insisted, so I tried to block her, but that only pissed her off and apparently 'changed the purpose of the spell'. I hate her!" she shrieked. Patrick snickered, pressing his lips to her nose. "Seems like you've had a rough day. I'll ask a yeti to clean this up. You go take a shower, m'kay? Jackie and me'll still be here when you're done." She nodded and went to the bathroom, wiping pumpkin off her wings in the process.
Patrick waited until he heard the door lock to snap his fingers. In a second, all of the pumpkin was gone. Jack stared at him, wide eyed for a moment. Patrick shrugged, smiling. "Best part about being the embodiment of luck. I sure as hell have a lot of it. Just don't tell Pumpkin. She'll figure out that I use it on everything." Jack nodded. The room, when not covered in slime, was actually very nice. The walls were an icy shade of blue, the beds white and neat with blue embroidered pillows. The floor was a light colored wood, with only a carpet next to each bed, matching the walls. Jack smiled at the presences of his favorite color on everything in the room.
In only a few minutes, Pumpkin was back in her normal, clean attire, sitting close to Patrick, both smiling at Jack. Her face seemed to want to split in two, the way she grinned. She took his hand and shook it a few times until finally giving in and hugging him. "It's so nice to meet you!" she exclaimed, as if she heard people talk about him often. She didn't seem like the psychotic, dangerous spirit she so often heard about. She seemed like the ditzy younger sister that everyone was always helping, always correcting. "I can't wait to work with you! I have so many ideas!" she started giggle. Jack smiled and nodded, feeling almost like an over pampered doll, the way she continuously eyed over his lean body.
She pulled a notebook out from god knows where and began to flip through the pages. She apparently had found what she was looking for because she almost threw it at Jack before squealing into Patrick's shirt. The squeal sent shivers up Jack's spine… The scream was like Baby Tooth and her friends, and how they always chased him, shrieking.
The list was very nicely written, the top reading JACKXBUNNY IS NOW CANON. He assumed she was a fangirl. This list listed every possible way he could get Bunny to love him, or hell, even chase after him. Ode to Bunny, Direct confrontation, Love letters… Each idea came from varying time lines, all original, all familiar. Subtle confrontation, Get a friend to ask, Become a pole dancer…
As he looked over the list, he stopped at one that brought a smile to his face. Being a master of tricks and jokes, the idea sent shivers down his spine. He could just see Bunny writhing, screaming and yelling at Jack. He could have been a masochist, the way he was excited so see Bunny pounding him. "Can we do this one?" he questioned, showing the notebook to the odd couple. Both smiled, nodding.
Jealousy.
Bunny was going to hit him…. And it was going to hurt.
A/N: I'm not the biggest fan of this…. But you're getting a feel for all of the characters… Right?
